A.M. Links: White House-Appointed NSA Task Force Makes Recommendations, Senate Passes Budget Deal, Edward Snowden Isn't Taking Orders from Putin… Says Putin

Credit: World Economic Forum / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

• The White House-appointed NSA task force has offered President Obama 46 recommendations for bolstering accountability of the intelligence community, including not keeping a massive database of Americans' phone records. The president and Congress have said they will consider the recommendations … next year.
• The Senate passed a two-year budget deal by a vote of 64-36, undoing the minor cuts enacted by the sequester.
• Edward Snowden's latest revelations must have been planned before he landed in Russia, says President Vladimir Putin, who assures that a condition of Snowden's asylum was halting any anti-American activity.
• President Obama will nominate Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to China.
• Former NBA star Dennis Rodman returned to North Korea today in order to help train the national basketball team. And you thought he hit the peak of weirdness when he started wearing a wedding dress back in '90s.
• The Secret Service is investigating a credit and debit card data breach that could compromise up to 40 million cards used at Target stores since Thanksgiving. Maybe that Black Friday shopping spree wasn't such a good idea.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

The president and Congress have said they will consider the recommendations ? next year.

If you like your task force recommendations you can keep them.

[Rich]

"Ma?ana is good enough for us."

[BigT]

Calling Erskine Bowles! Calling Alan Simpson!

[Mike Laursen]

To be fair, Santa needs all the naughty and nice data they've collected. You can't spell SANTA without NSA!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Or Satan.

[CE]

The President asked for the task force recommendations, and will roll them out on his own schedule.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

[Mike M.]

Fail.

[Andrew S.]

Now that's just a shameful attempt to try to beat FoE.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I think it's kind of nice. We should all greet each other in the morning during this holiday season, instead of rushing to post snark. Hello, Andrew. (If that is your real name.)

[Elspeth Flashman]

What? overturn all that libertarian tradition for a new one? Pffft.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Merry Christmas Fist.

And if you are a Happy Holidays guy, well, then fuck you.

[Lord Humungus]

related: Bell Ringer Says She Was Assaulted For Saying 'Happy Holidays' Instead Of 'Merry Christmas'

[Rufus J. Firefly]

We just can't win either way.

Retarded that we've come to this point where saying 'Merry Christmas' is offensive to some.

People have wished me Happy Hanukkah and always took it in stride and appreciated it.

What's wrong with people?

[Rufus J. Fisk]

humans are mostly assholes

[BigT]

Only 99.44%. The rest are libertarians.

[Zeb]

You can say a lot of good things about libertarians, but not being assholes isn't really the first one that comes to mind.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Yeah, Merry Christmas to everyone here since I would probably forget if not for this bell ringer.

See? I am not always an asshole!

[#]

Most people dont like you here because you are a screeching idiot, not because you are an asshole.

[Auric Demonocles]

I will greet you all with the traditional greeting of my people:

I don't want to talk to you no more, you empty headed animal food trough whopper! I fart in your general direction. You mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

From this point forward I will open my first comment with a 'Hello' as I duck from the vegetables thrown at me.

Edict of Rufus.

[Auric Demonocles]

Go away, or I will taunt you a second time!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I love you.

[Rufus J. Fisk]

i love your first name and middle initial

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I know.

I opened the computer and saw 'there are no comments' and meekly attempted to see if I can get in there.

/assumes position.

[waffles]

Good morning!

I still think A.M. links should be renamed "Breakfast Links". As for P.M. links, any ideas?

[Elspeth Flashman]

post mortem links. That's what PM means, right?

[Ted S.]

Pavlik Morozov links.

[Elspeth Flashman]

Nyet! Something on H and R can't be named after an alleged soviet martyr.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The former right winger for the Pittsburgh Penguins? I didn't even know he was dead.

[H. ReardEn]

Evening Bangers

[Rich]

Bangers and mash. Yummy!

[Auric Demonocles]

I don't want a banger in the mouth.

[db]

You really should get that recorder.

[General Butt Naked]

Banger?

I hardly know her!

[Auric Demonocles]

Zenon: Links to the Post (Meridian).

[Zenon Evans]

I'll do what I can.

Signed,
Xenu

... I mean ... "Zenon"

[Auric Demonocles]

Actually, the full title would be "The Legend of Zenon: Links to the Post (Meridian)".

[UnCivilServant]

Wait, you meant you actually read those comments?

[Swiss Servator, yea Zwingli!]

*frantically checks to see what he has said*

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Logically, Dinner Links. No?

[waffles]

It just doesn't have that same ring to it. Also 4:30 pm is a but early for dinner. I'd go for Supper Links, but same problems. Or we just keep the status quo and I'll just let my imagination run wild in my own private sanitarium.

[UnCivilServant]

9am is late for breakfast, too.

[Brett L]

What sort of monstrous life do you live?

[Auric Demonocles]

9 AM is more of a second breakfast kind of time.

[Spoonman.]

My baby wakes me up at 5:30, don't know about yours...

[Brett L]

4am, but I had him back asleep by 5:30 yesterday and today. He's pretty considerate. about every third night he'll eat and go back to sleep without freaking out. Maybe 20 minutes to an hour of total awake time for one adult.

Also, the baby straightjacket (swaddling) is like kryptonite. It weakens them and makes them merely human in their fussing.

[Spoonman.]

My girl is very considerate, but she stays awake after she nurses around 5 and that's my job to handle. So I go down and have breakfast, then she eats again since she's slept most of the night, then I take her until 8 when I start work.

[Banjos]

You two help with middle of the night feedings? I'm going to need to have a talk with Sloopy.

[Cdr Lytton]

Next time, just tell him you're going to feed 'em deep dish unless he gets up.

[JurisCani]

No links - patties rule!

[BigT]

Happy Hour Links, of course.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Good morning, Rufus. Good morning, Fist. Salutations to all Reasonoids on this fine morning.

Yeah, I like this. It just feels good.

[Auric Demonocles]

Wasn't this Suki's shtick?

[Zeb]

Yeah, but all Suki had was schtick.

[UnCivilServant]

Screw you, I'm not going to be Civil around here.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Duh!

[Fist of Etiquette]

...says President Vladimir Putin, who assures that a condition of Snowden's asylum was halting any anti-American activity.

Putin is like Bill Clinton. He's got Obama's back and is sliding the knife into it at the same time.

[DJF]

Doesn't this depend on the meaning of anti-American? Is telling the American people that the American government is illegally spying on them anti-American?

[Brett L]

Exactly like Clinton.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Putting himself in Obama's shoes, I would say Putin probably thinks so.

[BigT]

Putin and the KGB know what is in all the Snowden stuff already. They don't want us to know.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Man, not even the execution of an uncle would make Rodman reconsider going to North Korea.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I'm beginning to suspect Rodman is actually quite mentally challenged.

[Snark Plissken]

He used to bang Madonna...

[Fist of Etiquette]

So you're saying syphilis has affected his brain.

[Snark Plissken]

I think we can take that for granted.

[Drake]

Anyone watching the NBA in the 80's came to that conclusion 25 years ago.

[Enough About Palin]

Say what you will, but the dude could pull down the rebounds.

[BigT]

Maybe Dennis is looking for Kim Jong Un on the rebound?

[Andrew S.]

That's just it. He's being installed as the new uncle.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Taking bets.

Odds that Mini-Me turns on Rodman and imprisons or executes him.

[Rich]

What a strange way for the next World War to begin.

[db]

The Swish Heard 'Round the World?

[EDG reppin' LBC]

It's Rodman. Not swish. The "clang" heard 'round the world.

[Slammer]

I thought the same thing. What would happen if he DID execute him on some real or trumped up charge?

[Being Waterboarded]

Ha. Same thing I thought about when I read this: What would actually happen if Kim DID execute or imprison Rodman.

We send an official thank you letter?

[CE]

Only if North Korea doesn't win the basketball gold medal in the Olympics.

[Raven Nation]

If they fail to qualify for the next international tournament, I wonder if Rodman will be sent to one of the internment camps.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Not a crazy notion considering Hussein's psycho sons used to kill Iraqi Olympians for not winning medals.

I wonder what the funding for Olympians were under those maniacs.

Is "Win or perish" a form of funding?

[Enough About Palin]

I'm still delighted that those two fuckers are dead.

[Fist of Etiquette]

President Obama will nominate Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to China.

Baucus must have been quite a bundler for Obama's campaign.

[Drake]

Max Baucus getting his payoff for pushing through Obamacare.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Seems like he should be punishing him for that. Or maybe he's rushing him out of Congress before his colleagues whose seats are in trouble because of Obamacare can get to him.

[Ted S.]

I thought he had already planned to retire at the end of his current term, which I think is up next year.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Montana has a Dem governor that will appoint a Senator that can run as incumbent.

[Drake]

WTF is wrong with Montana?

[BigT]

Ted Turner!

[kinnath]

President Obama will nominate Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to China.

Only fitting, since the Chinese are majority stakeholders in the Fed.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Senate passed a two-year budget deal by a vote of 64-36, undoing the minor cuts enacted by the sequester.

Let the economic recovery begin! Multipliers and whatnot.

[Rufus J. Fisk]

there was nothing left to cut!!!!

[CE]

At only 10 billion a day, we were one more sequester away from anarchy!

[Palin's Buttplug]

Fed trimming QE back, Dow surges 300 points, gold falls $30....

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/.....58386.html

But, but, the Peanuts said only QE was making stocks hit record highs - not earnings.

Building permits hit five year highs, architectural billings his seven year highs... and the beat goes on.

[a better weapon]

Right, because buying $75 billion a month in bonds instead of $85 billion is exactly what we were all talking about this whole time.

I'll be spending the morning glueing my shattered dogma back together, I guess. /sarc

[Mike M.]

No kidding. $75 billion a month is still all of the national debt we're accumulating, and then some. Pretty weak and pathetic stuff here.

[Marshall Gill]

You guys don't understand math. If we used to borrow $85B a day and now we only borrow $75B a day we are making a $10B a day profit!!!!1!!

[mad libertarian guy]

No. We're only borrowing $75B a day when we use dto borrow $85B a day which means that we're stealing $10B per day from the poor.

[Palin's Buttplug]

You miss the point from an investor's perspective.

The Fed showed its hand. QE is ending by q4 2014. The economy has healed from the massive head blow of 2008. UE is a lagging indicator. Inflation is tamed and the end of extraordinary intervention is in sight. The deficit has been cut in half since 2008 and Congress finally has a new budget deal.

[some guy]

The point is that everyone was expecting the start of the taper and has already factored it in.

UE is a lagging indicator, but the the employment rate is still lower than it has been in decades. That doesn't bode well for the future.

So, yes things are better now than when they were worse. That doesn't mean things are good.

[KPres]

"The point is that everyone was expecting the start of the taper and has already factored it in."

Exactly. And the reason you got a surge is because the announced taper was less than everybody was expecting.

That's the only possible explanation for a rise in the market following the announcement of tapering. Even if the economy was fine as shrike claims, the market would still react negatively, just not as much.

Shrike doesn't know anything about how markets work.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

QE is ending by q4 2014.

I'll believe that when I see it.

The economy has healed from the massive head blow of 2008.

No, it hasn't.

UE is a lagging indicator.

The labor force participation rate is not.

Inflation is tamed

Nope.
http://www.caseyresearch.com/l.....lation.gif

The deficit has been cut in half since 2008

Only if you don't count the $328 billion that Jack Lew shell-gamed to avoid hitting the debt ceiling before the end of FY13, otherwise, it was over $1 trillion again.

Congress finally has a new budget deal

Which still doesn't recognize fiscal realities.

Face it, Kunta, I own your dumb ass.

[Palin's Buttplug]

NO YOU DON'T!

(see, I can write simple contradictions too)

[WTF]

Shreeky can count to potato.

[mad libertarian guy]

Inflation is tamed

You clearly don't buy food for a family. Funny how food's not factored in to inflation calculus. But I can tell you that feeding a family of 4 has gotten stupid expensive over the last 3 or 4 years.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

(see, I can write simple contradictions too

I realize it's heartbreaking for you to get raped by the government's own data, sheiek.

[CE]

And there are no real problems with Obamacare, just some technical glitches on the rollout?

[WTF]

Don't lock eyes with 'em, don't do it. Puts 'em on edge. They might go into berzerker mode; come at you like a whirling dervish, all fists and elbows. You might be screaming "No, no, no" and all they hear is "Who wants cake?" Let me tell you something: They all do. They all want cake.

[Rufus J. Fisk]

this is where i personally want you guys to take on so called "trolls". it teaches us lower level peons how to answer them in the real world outside H&R. I know it is hard to beleive but you have newbies who need to learn how to take on these onion lickers.

[WTF]

I used to take them on, but after years of dishonest 'argument', outright lies, projection, tu quoque, ad hom, and goalpost-moving, it becomes a little tiresome and pointless. Better to just treat them with the amount of respect and seriousness they actually deserve, rather than encourage them by engaging with them.

[BakedPenguin]

Herp derp

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I think this is the 5th time I ask.

Are you invested in the market?

[Palin's Buttplug]

Of course. I am not wealthy though.

[Marc F Cheney]

I would have someone with such insight into economic trends would be wealthy.

Probably just unlucky.

[Marc F Cheney]

thought*

[#]

Not to mention, that the bigger surprise was the FED saying it no longer considered 6.5% unemployment as the threshold for tightening, so they were going to keep the fed funds rate at zero for even longer. This wasn't really "tapering"

[sarcasmic]

'Bikini teacher' Victoria James sacked from school over racy pictures from her glamor model past poses on front of Hustler

'Bikini teacher' Victoria James said she wouldn't pose for the magazine
The 26-year-old obviously had a change of heart and features on front cover
Sprauer was asked to resign after posing for bikini-clad modelling shots

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

[Palin's Buttplug]

I always enjoyed Hustler's 'Asshole of the Month'.

Sample:

http://hustlermagazine.com/features/?cat=21

[WTF]

Says H&R's Asshole of the Year.

[BakedPenguin]

Retardation: a Celebration.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Didn't that guy end up being right?

He DID lie.

No?

[BigT]

PB posts ironic link to "JOE WILSON ? "YOU LIE!" - which was absolutely prescient.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Wilson was referring to "illegals getting free Obamacare" - which is not the case.

[#]

Well nominally the law doesn't allow it, but there isn't any real enforcment mechanism to maks sure, or at lease there wasn't That's what Wilson was refering to.

[waffles]

The Secret Service is investigating a credit and debit card data breach that could compromise up to 40 million cards used at Target stores since Thanksgiving.

Bitcoin users unaffected.

[CE]

Hackers don't need to take half their money, they already lost it.

[sarcasmic]

'I'm a bisexual 15-year-old, Japanese chef,
and four-year-old twins': Woman, 23, claims she has 15 personalities (and must buy Christmas presents for each of them)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/hea.....-body.html
John would do all of them...

[Jeff]

She should let the exercise addicted one take over completely.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

So...

My niece is 13. She says she has a girlfriend, that she is "bi", but that nothing sexual is going on. It's no big deal, because all the kids consider themselves bi these days.

Is this true of 2013 middle school life?

[Swiss Servator, yea Zwingli!]

Wow...not where I live.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

I figured she was full of shit, but then again, this is MD.

[Nikki just says no]

I mean she's full of shit and not, right, because she's also hanging out with a bunch of other full-of-shit teenagers. She sounds a lot like my sister did, who is 18 now.

[Fist of Etiquette]

From the movie Hanna, the title character's talkative new friend:

"Is Kraut an ethnic slur? Like queer or lesbo? I think I'd quite like to be lesbian. But not one of those fat ones, one who's like, a supermodel. But we'd only hold hands, and I think I'd probably marry a man."

[a better weapon]

Wow, that was an impressive and odd movie reference. How did you even remember that?

Also, that 1-shot scene of Eric Bana on the run and beating ass in the subway was awesome!

[Juice]

Now that was a good movie. Didn't like the end that much though.

[waffles]

Speaking as a transexual black woman, I think you need to stop worrying about your niece. Bisexuality is present in nearly 100% of thirteen year olds, it is only now that our society has the courage to accept and embrace it. Don't let your own insecurities stand in the way of her pansexual future.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

I am just trying to remember if I was even aware of what a bisexual was when I was 13.

I was aware of the constant boner in my pants though.

[BardMetal]

A 100% of thirteen year olds are bisexual? And somehow if I call bullshit on something that utterly ridiculous then somehow I'm insecure?

[Rufus J. Fisk]

I substitute teach in middle schools and I can verify that I hear these girls talk out loud about being bi-sexual. Then I tell them adults do not want to hear that. These kids today do not know how to keep this stuff privately away from teachers or faculty. They do not seem to realize how disgusting and annoying they are.

[Nikki just says no]

Yeah, that sounds like pretty normal 2013 middle school life, especially if your niece is not in the cheerleading-and-field-hockey set or whatever that happens to be in your geographic location.

[Rich]

"I lose a lot of time when my alters take over. When I was at school, Ashy attended it in my place quite regularly. In that time, he got with all of my female friends. When I returned, rumours were going around that I was a lesbian!"

And all her personalities had a good laugh over *that*!

[Andrew S.]

I'm so glad that they finally undid those disastrous sequester cuts. Didn't you people care about the devastation those cuts brought upon this country? Maybe in time we can undo the damage.

[wareagle]

needz moar stimulus

[CE]

Which is what the taper is -- continued stimulus at almost unprecedented levels.

[The Late P Brooks]

Trouble brewing in Reality land.

When asked what he thought was sinful, Robertson replied: "Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men."

But homosexuals aren't alone, Robertson said. "Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers -- they won't inherit the kingdom of God. Don't deceive yourself. It's not right."

A&E said it was troubled by Robertson's statements.

I don't suppose it ever occurred to the geniuses at Corporate HQ that a guy who finishes every show with a handholding prayer might harbor some sort of "conservative views". Those damn SoCons, keeping the gays down.

[Palin's Buttplug]

His gig at Fox News is waiting for him.

[some guy]

Why are you so obsessed with Fox News? It's a terrible network.

[Drake]

Either this will be the shortest suspension in history, or the Execs at A&E are incompetent and suicidal.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

A great distraction for the MSM. Obamacare? NSA? Fuck no! This hillbilly don't like gays!!!!!

[Kaptious Kristen]

Yep, and I know people who eat that shit up. Some obscure reality star on a half-rate cable channel said something mean!!!! ZOMGZ!

[Mike M.]

It blows my mind just how powerful the gay mafia is in this country now, especially considering what a small percentage of people they are. They can take down pretty much anyone across the political spectrum from the duck dude to Alec Baldwin.

It seems like it happened practically overnight too. Future revolutionaries will be studying them to try to figure out just how the hell they pulled it off.

[BardMetal]

I don't understand it at all. 10 years ago, when I was in school, we used to make fun of people by calling them gay. Now the the kids treat being gay like it's the coolest thing ever.

I don't understand this world anymore.

[Drake]

I have kids in school - the kids have not changed.

[Apatheist ?_??]

Well you can avoid the "gay mafia" by not saying dumb shit like that in print when you are on a popular television show.

[wareagle]

fuck the gay mafia. I don't have to agree with Phil to understand he has a right to his opinion. It's not like the show is targeting a gay audience. Plenty of folks don't like people like the Robertsons even without Phil talking.

[Apatheist ?_??]

I must of missed the part where he wasn't entitled to his opinion. The gay advocacy groups and A&E also have a right to their opinions. Nobody has a right to a reality television show. They are wealthy apart from the show and will do just fine, if he wants to risk his show by comparing homosexuality to bestiality that's his right. But the risk was A&E not putting him on television any more. That's the television game.

[wareagle]

he didn't compare homosexuality to bestiality; he linked the two among other behaviors he doesn't like. And it's not like A&E can pretend to be surprised that a guy constantly making biblical references may not be a fan of SSM.

[Apatheist ?_??]

"Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men."

That's what he said. Everything else was dumb but good natured, probably wouldn't have generated all this outrage.

[R C Dean]

That's the television game.

Sure, but cancelling your most popular show generallhy isn't how the television game is won.

[VG Zaytsev]

It's also not like he said it on the show.

[BardMetal]

Well here's a question. If he would have said something derogatory about foot fetishists or people into BDSM would people have reacted the same way, and why or why not.

I mean how is being gay different then any other sexual desire? Why are gays treated like they are their own race, and not say someone who likes to be slapped around by some leather clad woman?

[Mike M.]

"If you say anything we don't like we won't just criticize and counter you, we'll completely destroy you."

Yeah, how totally American.

[Apatheist ?_??]

They aren't destroyed, they still have their popular business and wealth.

What do you people want, we always say that there is no need for using the coercive power of government because bigotry and racism can be dealt with through the free market. Then when they go and do that, using advocacy and boycotts, you complain about that too.

I personally choose not to take the artists/reality stars's personal and political views into account when choosing what to watch but I also don't care if there shit gets them in trouble when no government coercion is involved.

[Slammer]

I agree, especially your last sentence. But what's annoying to me is the people doing the boycotting frothing at the mouth, red-faced, and screaming with indignant self-righteousness. If something offends you and you choose to speak with your wallet or eyes not on the TV, don't be a dick about it.

[Mike M.]

People absolutely have the right to advocate and boycott things if they want to.

I just believe in free speech. My attitude now is exactly the same as it was back when Howard Stern was at the peak of his career and the conservative Christians were pissed off because he insulted them all the time. He said "if you don't like it, don't listen", and I completely agreed with him.

I just don't understand how it is that some pressure groups are so much more damn powerful than others. Gays don't even watch that stupid duck show, and there are a lot more conservative Christians in America than there are gays.

[mad libertarian guy]

They aren't destroyed, they still have their popular business and wealth.

What do you people want, we always say that there is no need for using the coercive power of government because bigotry and racism can be dealt with through the free market. Then when they go and do that, using advocacy and boycotts, you complain about that too.

I personally choose not to take the artists/reality stars's personal and political views into account when choosing what to watch but I also don't care if there shit gets them in trouble when no government coercion is involved.

Ding ding ding!! We have a winner!

[R C Dean]

I'm with Mike on this. The bug-eyed, fanatical, spittle-flecked hatred and desire to cause as much damage as you can to someone who dares disagree with you in public is not what I think Americans should aspire to.

The fanatics of all stripes are perfectly willing to leave you alone, provided you keep your head down, tug your forelock when you pass them on the street, and do as your told. That isn't the kind of civil society I want to be part of.

[mad libertarian guy]

I'm with Mike on this. The bug-eyed, fanatical, spittle-flecked hatred and desire to cause as much damage as you can to someone who dares disagree with you in public is not what I think Americans should aspire to.

Hatred and damage? Probably too far. Ridicule and laughter directed at such nonsense? Absolutely. It's the idea that this kind of behavior simply cannot be tolerated at all by anyone and that it must be stamped out RIGHT NOW that is discouraging, not the idea that the free market should be able to dissuade people from saying ridiculously stupid shit.

[robc]

Considering relative numbers, you would think the adulterers or those sleeping around would be more upset than the gays.

Much less the slanderers, the swindlers, the drunkards, and the greedy.

All outnumber gays, Im pretty sure.

[wareagle]

probably true but none of those is seen as an oppressed class and none is able to marshall the congregants in the church of the aggrieved and offended.

[VG Zaytsev]

Much less the slanderers, the swindlers, the drunkards, and the greedy

AKA the Obama administration.

[some guy]

AKA the Obama administration politicians.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Robertson clarified but didn't apologize.

And nor should he.

His beliefs are his beliefs.

Don't watch Duck Dynasty if it bothers you.

[mad libertarian guy]

Robertson clarified but didn't apologize.

And nor should he.

His beliefs are his beliefs.

Don't watch Duck Dynasty if it bothers you.

It really is this simple. It's making a huge deal out of it that is so stupid. Don't like it, don't watch.

[BigT]

It blows my mind just how powerful the gay mafia is in this country now

Anti-gay is the new 'original sin' that we all must cleanse from our souls. It is an addendum to racism, our original 'original sin', that we all must actively disavow or be deemed sinful.

The parallels to Catholicism are clear.

[Zeb]

"Gay mafia"? Has anyone been forced to do anything?

It's just a change in what is socially acceptable. Bigotry is bigotry even if it is also a sincerely held religious belief.

Though in this case, I think A&E would be stupid to fire him. I've never seen the show, but as far as I know the whole point is that they are some backwoods hillbilly types who got rich. What else would you expect?

[mad libertarian guy]

as far as I know the whole point is that they are some backwoods hillbilly types who got rich.

The entire point of the show is to reinforce bad stereotypes about flyover country. See Moonshiners for another example.

The point of the show is to give big city liberals an excuse to feel superior to backwoods rednecks.

[Zeb]

Hmm. If that were the case, I'd think they'd want to find some rednecks that aren't rich.
Also important to remember that no one like making fun of rednecks more than rednecks.

[General Butt Naked]

What kind of dumb trash thinks he's gonna say something like that and have a job the next day?

Especially if you work for A'nE.

Gawd. It'd be like showing up at your job in a soul food restaurant dressed as a klan member.

[Drake]

An independently wealthy one with the most popular show on cable TV.

[General Butt Naked]

Well, I'm praying for him and his family.

We can't have uppity nigras and faggots stopping good, honest white folks from speaking the Lord's truth to the people!

[Drake]

Apparently we can.

[Zeb]

Really? Who was stopped? Far more people have now been exposed to what that guy said that would have if no one got worked up about it.

[Apatheist ?_??]

Seriously, if he had just left out the homosexuality morphing into bestiality part there would be far less outrage. He'd be wrong about it being the same as adultery or alcoholism but at least those are common enough "sins".

Hell the prompt was "What, in your mind, is sinful?" He could have just skipped homosexuality and stuck to the other stuff.

[General Butt Naked]

I don't get why jesus freaks are so into the whole gay thing.

Is that a big part of the bible? From what you hear, you'd expect about 90% of it to be buttfucking.

[wareagle]

it's not just the jesus freaks. It's the mohammed freaks, too, and other religions. Most view relationships/marriages through the traditional prism. They choose to ignore that homosexuality has been around as long as man has.

[font_of_stupidity]

I don't expect a whole lot of critical words for the Mohammed freaks.

[Swiss Servator, yea Zwingli!]

I don't think they ignore it so much as proscribe it, right?

[R C Dean]

I don't think the Mohammed freaks proscribe so much as kill people for doing it.

[Swiss Servator, yea Zwingli!]

I was responding to wareagle - but your point is correct.

[BigT]

I don't get why jesus freaks are so into the whole gay thing

You might have noticed that fundies (Xtian, Hindu, Muslim) are really into the subjugation of the wymens. Recognition of gay relationships upsets that paradigm.

[trshmnstr]

don't get why jesus freaks are so into the whole gay thing.

Is that a big part of the bible? From what you hear, you'd expect about 90% of it to be buttfucking.

It's because they bought into the whole "Christian Nation" and "Kulturr Warrr" crap hook, line, and sinker. It's funny how little homosexuality matters to Christian libertarians and anarchists.

In fact, there is a bunch of crap that cultural "Christians" do that has no basis in the Bible. Nowhere in there does it mention achieving the "American Dream" or any concept like it. There's no mention of using government to enforce Christian morality (lookin' your way Pope!). There's nothing that says that your job is to establish a moral society at all. In fact there is plenty that says Christians should differentiate themselves from society, and "love their neighbors." Of course, that doesn't really work when you're a cultural "Christian," not enough outrage.

[Andrew S.]

Everyone, on both sides, is ignoring the other thing he said (that blacks were better off under Jim Crow).

However, A&E is nuts. I can't stand the show, but it's insanely popular. And the audience is going to trend to be conservative and Christian. Plus AFAIR, the family had tons of money even before the show; they don't need it. It's A&E's highest rated show, and they may lose it to a network like CMT (even if the family gets less money there) if they keep screwing up like this.

[RBS]

Yeah, I think the Robertson's will be fine no matter what happens.

[General Butt Naked]

Are you implying that that's the sort of nonsense that conservatives think and agree upon?

[RBS]

I think what he is saying is that the shows viewers will rally around Phil. I've seen it on FB already.

[Andrew S.]

A&E's facebook page is filled with hundreds of posts criticizing them (didn't see any of support). Twitter as well.

[Andrew S.]

Er, criticizing A&E, not the Robertsons.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

A&E's facebook page is filled with hundreds of posts criticizing them (didn't see any of support).

I suspect when A&E first started this show, the execs thought "Here's a way for us to make fun of rednecks, which is always a pleasure, but because they're rich, they won't really care that we're showing them acting like buffoons." I don't think anyone really expected the show to gain the kind of following that it did.

And here's the thing--the Robertsons aren't stupid. Willie in particular is a marketing savant and a lot of the show's appeal is how it manipulates Blue State biases against southerners by showing "Hold my beer and watch this!" antics, and at the end of the day they're having dinner in Willie's mansion, or they're shown driving around in tricked out RVs and $70,000 trucks while running a highly successful business. Slammer's post below about Phil possibly trying to bring the show to an end might be more on the mark than people realize.

[Andrew S.]

The gay thing? Yeah, I'm pretty sure most SoCons think that, whether or not they're willing to say it.

The Jim Crow thing? Probably not, but nobody seems to care about that statement anyways.

[wareagle]

take the Jim Crow thing in context - Phil was calling his own white trash, about as poor as the blacks they worked beside. It was not uncommon.

When you're working with a black guy day in and day out, and you're in roughly the same fiscal boat, pretty soon he stops becoming a black guy and is just one of the guys you work with.

[Matrix]

I probably need to read the article in GQ to get the full context of what he was saying, but I was not getting anything racist from his remarks. Some people apparently did. But I did not get the whole "I think blacks enjoyed life better under Jim Crow" vibe.

[wareagle]

and Phil never said they enjoyed Jim Crow. He said he never saw blatant racism personally. Among poor whites, I have no trouble believing that. They were in the same poverty with the blacks. Bigger things to worry about than the skin color of the guy next to you.

[Juice]

When you're working with a black guy day in and day out, and you're in roughly the same fiscal boat, pretty soon he stops becoming a black guy and is just one of the guys you work with.

That can't pee in the same restroom as you.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I'm personally indifferent to his views. I don't agree with it but we watch the show because it's pretty entertaining. They do have comedic cadence.

Still, I'm waiting for its 'jump the shark' moment.

Those Si t-shirts are on the way.

[Slammer]

My wife and I watch it, too. Phil ain't stupid. Think he knew what the fallout would be? I think he did. And doesn't really care. Maybe he wants the show to end and get his real life back.

[Matrix]

Imagine if a Hollywood star had run down Christianity. That person would likely be run out of the country and never be able to find work. And I'm sure the networks would be raking him over the coals for it... right... RIGHT?!?!?!

[Zeb]

Probably not. But that probably won't happen to this guy either. There is no shortage of conservative Christian pressure groups.

[Rufus J. Fisk]

I love how it led CNN news last night. As it is some freakin shock that a guy with a beard from Louisiana who' smain source of income is gander related might not enjoy DA GAYZ!!

[Zeb]

And it's a show whose whole premise is "look at these crazy rednecks". He probably said what he did to promote his image.

[CE]

Wait -- drunkards? Huh?

[sarcasmic]

'Prankster' robbery witness tricks ABC TV reporter by giving his name as 'Father of a Whore' in Arabic

Sayyed Jamal Hamideh studies journalism at University of Houston
Three men robbed six students at gunpoint in a dorm there last week
Hamideh called himself 'Abu Sharmouta' during an interview with reporters

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

[Ska]

Sharmouta is one of the first words I learned from my Egyptian friends.

[Kaptious Kristen]

Meh. Not as good a troll as this guy

[Brett L]

I worked with a Michael Hunt. Nobody was really surprised when it came out that he'd been using the company credit card to woo a stripper. It just seemed like the sort of behavior a man saddled with that name would end up engaging in.

[Rufus J. Fisk]

My Cunt hah?

[mr simple]

I knew a guy in highschool that got his picture in the freshman section of the yearbook - when he was a senior - under the name Iam Theman.

[sarcasmic]

How low can you go? Incredible moment wingsuit daredevil flies through gully just a few feet from the ground

BASE jumper team made dangerous attempt at Chamonix gully
Daredevil Brian Drake flew down Couloir l'Ensa in a wingsuit

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....round.html
Talk about having a death wish. Holy shit.

[some guy]

I want to see someone take one of those things out in a cat 5 hurricane; See if he can get airborne without dying.

[Zeb]

It's fucking nuts, but I'm glad someone does it.

[Auric Demonocles]

The Senate passed a two-year budget deal by a vote of 64-36, undoing the minor cuts enacted by the sequester.

Surprisingly, I have found something to complain about with the AM Links even though there is alt-text today.

[sarcasmic]

Is this the best piece of cycling kit ever? Detachable wheel stores energy while you pedal to power you along when you get tired

The Copenhagen Wheel can be fitted to any existing bicycle
It syncs wirelessly with a smartphone and can track speed and elevation
Built-in electric motor kicks in when riders need a boost uphill, for example
This motor, powered by rechargeable batteries, can reach speeds of 37mph

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sci.....phill.html

[Snark Plissken]

However, the developers have put speed limits in software to meet local cycling speed limits, effectively turning off the motor once the speed reaches 20mph in the U.S. and 15mph Europe.

Oh, well fuck off then.

[Ted S.]

Many years ago when most international broadcasters still had programs on short-wave radio, Radio Vlaanderen Internationaal repeatedly interviewed some traffic concern group that had a bug up its ass about stopping speeding by putting governors in cars and transponders on the speed limit signs that would prevent cars from going faster than the speed limit.

I wrote in saying how much I'd like to see computer hackers hack the system to prevent cars going to the seaside resorts from going faster than stalling speed, and force cars in school zones to do 100 MPH.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I used to love listening to public radio form Europe in the car in the wee hours of the morning. Nothing like the voice of a German or Swedish reporter talk about society's ills after a long-night of debauchery.

[Zeb]

Bicycle speed limits? IS there such a thing?

[Elspeth Flashman]

It's hideously expensive though. And easy to steal.

[Ted S.]

Corrupt New Zealand cop sentenced to home detention

Corrupt former Christchurch policeman Gordon Stanley Meyer has avoided a jail sentence on charges of bribery and indecent assault.

Meyer, 45, pleaded guilty last month to a charge of bribery for suggesting a suspected drink-driver could avoid being charged if she performed oral sex on him, and for indecently assaulting an 18-year-old he groped while giving her a lift in his patrol car.

For this, he got nine months' home detention and not prison because....

A prison sentence would be "disproportionately severe" because, as a former police officer Meyer would likely have to serve his sentence in isolation.

Fuckers won't try to prevent non-cops from getting raped and assaulted in prison.

[CE]

This is backwards. When a person in a position of authority commits a crime, the punishment should be MORE severe, not less. They need to be held to a higher standard.

[sarcasmic]

Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson is SUSPENDED from hit show 'indefinitely' after shocking anti-gay comments

TV network A&E said it does not support Robertson's views and he will not appear on the show until further notice
The rest of Robertson's family will continue to star in Duck Dynasty - the most watched reality TV show ever
GLAAD hit back after Robertson, a multimillionaire, listed a number of 'sins' including homosexuality, bestiality and infidelity
Grouped homosexuals in with terrorists and prostitutes in a paraphrased Bible quote
Son Jep appeared to endorse his father's comments: 'I'm definitely in line'
He released a statement: 'My mission today is to go forth and tell people about why I follow Christ and also what the Bible teaches, and part of that teaching is that women and men are meant to be together'

Robertson claimed he never saw black people mistreated before civil rights era

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....rview.html
If you don't like what he has to say, then don't watch the fucking show!

[Apatheist ?_??]

The flip side of course is that A&E doesn't have to continue to put him on TV if they don't want to. Robertson seems smart enough to know better than to risk killing his cash cow like that.

I find it difficult to care either way.

[Swiss Servator, yea Zwingli!]

"I find it difficult to care either way."

Seconded.

[Loki]

Thirded. Never watched the show, don't plan to now. Don't care about his views on homosexuality either.

If he ever runs for and achieves a high enough political office to influence policy or legislation to give his views the force of law, then I'll give a shit. Until then I can't really spare any extra shit to give.

[John]

Exactly. It is a free country, he is entitled to his opinion.

[sarcasmic]

Exactly. It is a free country, he is entitled to his opinion.

Haaaaaaaaaaa ha ha ha ha ha! That's a good one!

[John]

I think Robertson doesn't give a shit about the money. He made his money in the duck call business. He just wants to hunt and fish. He doesn't need or want any more money.

A&E on the other hand will probably never have another hit like Duck Dynasty and has millions of dollars and more than a few executives jobs riding on its success.

There is little doubt who will win this pissing match.

[robc]

He already passed up the chance at an NFL career.

I dont think he gives a damn. He has more than he will ever need.

He literally has "Fuck You Money".

[Loki]

He literally has "Fuck You Money".

"We can fix that." - IRS

[Rufus J. Firefly]

The guy gave up a potential career in the NFL. Yeah. I don't think he gives a shit.

[Apatheist ?_??]

I suspect you are right, but that's just the game. He can say dumb shit and A&E can choose to react or not. They may have made a dumb financial decision but there is no persecution going on here.

[John]

If A&E canceled his show, how many minutes would it be before another network was on the phone offering to pick it up?

[Apatheist ?_??]

Well and that's the possible sneaky part here. From what I've read they have already filmed the next season and are still planning on airing it. A&E is probably betting that all the people upset about him being suspended will tune in to show their support. Maybe they will make bank after all and when this all dies down they can end the suspension.

I mean the Phil Robertson is on "hiatus," there's nothing to say that can't end or they can't film the show without him. this may end up a wash in the end.

[John]

Him and Jase are the best parts of the show. The old man is smart as hell. His dry takes on the various antics of the rest of them is what makes the show funny. He has this way of cutting the nonsense of our current society to the core.

[Kaptious Kristen]

I think Phil and his wife (and all the other wives, and the kids, and Willy and the "factory" "workers") are personae non-grata. I would watch a show called The Adventures of Jase and Si, though.

[John]

Phil's wife is annoying as hell Kristen. But how can you not like Phil? Jase is just a younger version of his dad.

[Kaptious Kristen]

Phil is a non-entity to me. All of the action and crazy sitcom-like scenarios happen with Jase and Si.

[Auric Demonocles]

Was anyone watching that show not already assuming this was how he felt?

[Jeff]

Seriously. It's Duck Dynasty, not Dick Dynasty.

[Swiss Servator, yea Zwingli!]

*narrows gaze*

[Auric Demonocles]

The bigger issue here is how those unhygienic chubby guys all have hot thin blonde and apparently non-redneck wives.

[RBS]

They were much less dirty and fat at one point. The whole bearded redneck thing is a fucking gimmick.

[robc]

$$$

Was this some sort of mystery?

[John]

Exactly rob. And think about the competition. Beards or no beards, the men on that show seem to be actually interested in holding down a job and living a responsible life.

[Auric Demonocles]

Because most of those dollars came after most of those wives.

[BakedPenguin]

Millions and millions of dollars.

[R C Dean]

Fish around the intertubes. Not that long ago, they were beardless and camo-less (well, not sure about Si).

[PRX]

Oh it's all felt perfectly normal since you've arrived Seth. - Phil #DuckDynasty

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Each time he speaks I envision a left-winger cringing. Especially his outright love of guns and hunting.

That makes me happy.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Yeah, I have to agree with the Duck fans.

It is a REALITY show - supposedly. Let the fucker spew his shit.

[Auric Demonocles]

Speaking of reality shows, I walked through them filming an episode of Catfish at the Fort Lauderdale airport Monday night. I thought one of the guys looked vaguely familiar, but couldn't place him until I saw the camera. I'm sure my sister will let me know if I'm in the background of the next season.

[sarcasmic]

'They were bought as a joke!' Jennifer Lawrence reveals maid discovered 'copious amounts' of sex toys hidden under her bed

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....plugs.html
Suuuuuuuuuure...

[Certified Public Asskicker]

I can't look at her anymore, the haircut is truly awful.

[mad libertarian guy]

I can't look at her anymore, the haircut is truly awful.

Disagree.

[sarcasmic]

'She runs around me like I'm a big tree': Adorable photos of a man and the pet flying squirrel he rescued and raised to become a member of the family

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....amily.html
How long before someone from the government comes along and takes away the pet to be euthanized because dude didn't get the proper permits and licenses?

[Swiss Servator, yea Zwingli!]

72 hours.

[Brett L]

My cat brought home a pet flying squirrel. Took me 5 days to catch that little fucker. I'd here it eating out of the cat food dish, but it would be hidden away by the time I got to it. Eventually I trapped it in the bathroom and got it in a Tupperware to release.

Then I had a serious talk with the cat about only bringing home dead things. (This was after a second incident in which I came home to find a live duck in my house.)

[sarcasmic]

When I bought my house, little did I know it had a flying squirrel colony living in the attic and walls. I set traps, cats got some, shot a few with the pellet gun, and finally they left when I cut down some of the trees that were near the house.

[Swiss Servator, yea Zwingli!]

Sarc's Scorched Earth campaign against the squirrlez! I am surprised any of your comments ever make it up on H&R.

[CE]

Seems like your cat fell asleep during the latter part of her hunting lessons.

1. Catch food.
2. Play with food.
3. Kill it and eat it.

[Rich]

The entire Democratcare law could come crashing down in the 36 states that have opted not to run their own exchanges.

"President Obama is trying to do the exact opposite of what the law says."

It's just his nature.

(Sorry 'bout the link to Newsweek.)

[Auric Demonocles]

"It's a LAW!" only applies when it's Republicans trying to change it via the legislative process.

[CE]

And never to the debt ceiling law.

[Auric Demonocles]

During the first challenge to Obamacare, liberals scoffed at the legal arguments created to undo the law, only to see the law nearly toppled by the Supreme Court.

Emphasis mine. I didn't realize that you had to create the argument that the federal government can't regulate non-interstate non-commerce (or that when the law calls it a penalty it's a penalty and not a tax).

[mr simple]

And that argument was only created to undo this law. you know, because racism.

[The Late P Brooks]

The Copenhagen Wheel can be fitted to any existing bicycle
It syncs wirelessly with a smartphone and can track speed and elevation

Is it beaming this info to the NSA? I'm pretty sure the person riding the fucking bicycle already has a pretty good handle on speed and elevation.

[Loki]

Is it beaming this info to the NSA?

Nah, the FDA. They have to make sure all of the inmates are getting the recommended amount of exercise each day.

[Rich]

U.S. Attorney: Indian Diplomat Treated Very Well

She was even given coffee while being cavity searched! Via enema, no doubt.

[CE]

Yeah, she was obviously a dangerous criminal, one who might not pay the help enough. Who knows what she would have done to the jail staff -- not thank them?

[AlmightyJB]

How are any teachers still sending nude photos? I mean, do they want to self destruct? What an idiot.

http://www.nbc4i.com/story/242.....nt-charged

[John]

Some people completely lack impulse control or a grasp of cause and effect.

[BakedPenguin]

Upon speaking with the alleged minor victim...

Victim? Victim? Oh, noes, he had to look at a decent looking nude woman!

Jesus, what a pansy.

[John]

We are completely insane as a society.

[some guy]

sarcasmic posts forces me to look at all sorts of horrible things on the dailymail website. Can I be a victim too?

[Loki]

We're all victims now. It's victims all the way down.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Why are these teachers usually hot or hottish?

[BakedPenguin]

That, I don't get.

[Swiss Servator, yea Zwingli!]

Those are the ones that get publicity - the TV news or Daily Fail ain't gonna show some 295lbs'er that did this kind of stuff.

[Another David]

Edward Snowden's latest revelations must have been planned before he landed in Russia, says President Vladimir Putin, who assures that a condition of Snowden's asylum was halting any anti-American activity.

Wow, it's almost like he and Greenwald have been telling the truth about how he leaked the documents to journalists all at once, and they're writing about them on their own schedule! Uncanny.

[waffles]

But then how will he go about getting "amnesty" for halting the leaks? It's like Snowden doesn't even want Obama's forgiveness.

[Loki]

It's like Snowden doesn't even want Obama's forgiveness.

If you want God's Obama's forgiveness, you first have to let God Obama into your heart. /prog-derp

[Don Mynack]

Aren't all the docs on a secure, guarded, non-networked computer in the Guardian's offices?

He probably backed them up somewhere in the cloud, too.

[Rich]

the Secret Service ... is charged with safeguard[ing] the nation's financial infrastructure and payment systems

Well, they're doing one heck of a job, aren't they?

[Swiss Servator, yea Zwingli!]

When they can climb off the whores and sober up.

[Lord Humungus]

ah, satiated with a meat-lovers omelette and a long-winded business meeting, Lord Humungus finally releases his dogs of war.

who are too damn high to do anything.

It's a dog of a way to get high but Queensland pooches are lapping up hallucinogenic sweat from cane toads

Vets warn that some dogs are so desperate for a fix they deliberately hunt down the amphibians to stimulate the excretion of the deadly poison, then lick their prey.

Like all addicts, the pooches are risking their lives for their cheap thrill.

[Lord Humungus]

fap material for a certain troll:

Gold Drops Below $1,200 an Ounce for First Time Since June

Gold fell below $1,200 an ounce in London and New York for the first time since June as an improving U.S. economy prompted the Federal Reserve to cut stimulus and reduced demand for precious metals as alternative assets.

Bullion declined as much as 1.5 percent to $1,199.63 an ounce in London trading, the lowest since June 28. Bullion for February delivery fell as much 3 percent to $1,198 on the Comex in New York on trading volume that was double the average for the past 100 days for this time of day, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Prices are down 28 percent this year, heading for the first annual drop in 13 years.

[waffles]

Bitcoin users unaffected...1.5% decline? Hah! Real volatility is where it's at!

[robc]

Gold price: $1201.00
Oil Price: $97.80

Ratio: 12.3

In the normal range (5-20). Around 10 is where it bounces, so gold still may have another $200 to drop.

When the ratio hits 5 or 20, you can make money buying a combo of going long/short on the two, as one will move.

When Oil was really high a few years back, I recommended shorting it/going long gold. I was right, of course.

I wouldnt touch either by themselves.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Gold hasn't capitulated yet - it has a long way to fall yet.

When the faithful sell in mass just to escape the pain you will see capitulation in effect.

The stupid "hyperinflation" myth has long been broken and the volume on the GLD is still not high today.

[some guy]

You still betting on $600?

[CE]

Pay no attention to that quantitative easing behind the curtain.

[db]

I haven't bought gold since it was $800 an ounce. Buying the all time high is never a good way to invest. I'm no investing genius but I.know.that much.

[robc]

It wasnt close to all time high in terms of ratio to oil. But was clearly a selling point and not a buying point.

[R C Dean]

Yeah, my gold stash is still worth more than I paid for it.

Wouldn't be surprised to see it pull back to another support level.

Its all about time frames. I'm in gold for the long haul, and given the realities of the physical market, I think its going to be worth a lot more in a relatively short time (< 7 years) than it is today.

When I see convincing signs that the bottom is behind us, I'm buying. I haven't seen them yet.

[db]

Same here. I expect it to go lower but not much more so.

[robc]

s/bounces/balances/

[some guy]

Is oil still the best commodity to measure against gold? Any chance gas will take over this roll soon?

[robc]

No clue.

I dont actually invest this way, so its just something fun to look at. When it stops working, it stops working.

[some guy]

When it stops working, it stops working.

Of course. I'm too risk averse to do anything directly with individual commodities or stocks. But the gold/oil relationship you mention has held up rather well for many decades. I'm guessing it holds up because oil has been the only real portable energy source. I'm just wondering if gas will ever infiltrate that market enough to be disruptive.

[BigT]

Gas is not as fungible as oil - you can't move gas from N America to Europe. It is a regional commodity.

[db]

LPG tankers are going to make that possible to an extent not seen before. They have the potential to be quite.disruptive to establishhed players which is why governments are coming up with environmental and safety roadblocks.

[some guy]

I was thinking the same thing. It's more expensive to ship gas, than oil. But its getting cheaper to extract the gas, so there has to be a point where it is cheaper to buy gas from over the pond than oil regionally. Regulations notwithstanding, of course.

[Lord Humungus]

I thought it was the smoking.

Dolphins Suffering From Lung Disease Due to Gulf Oil Spill, Study Says

Dolphins in an area hard hit by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010 are suffering from lung diseases and other abnormalities that are consistent with toxic exposure to oil, according to a study backed by the federal government and released on Wednesday.

The peer-reviewed paper, which was disputed by BP, was published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. The paper makes the strongest connection to date between the BP spill and dolphin deaths, which jumped in the Gulf of Mexico after the spill.

[Lord Humungus]

Pastor accused of slapping woman on tractor

A local pastor is facing domestic battery charges.

In a report obtained by Action News, a woman told police Elmer Holbrooks hit her in the arm and head and threatened her husband, all because she reportedly looked at him funny after he made a comment about the way she drove a tractor.

The incident happened at the Anchor Church on U.S. 1 in Callahan where Holbrooks works.

[John]

http://www.theblaze.com/contri.....ark-money/

The left's preferred narrative is simple, easy-to-understand and has a ring of truth. It goes like this: Regulation helps consumers but hurts business' profitability. Individuals give money to big-government organizations to promote regulation. Corporations donate to small-government organizations like Americans for Prosperity, the American Enterprise Institute and the Competitive Enterprise Institute to fight regulation.

But the fact that corporations also fund big-government organizations raises questions about this narrative. If regulation hurts corporations, why are they funding think tanks which promote it?

The truth is that most regulation is written by and for incumbent businesses to erect barriers to entry and to buy advantages over their competitors. That's why corporations fund groups like the Center for American Progress.

Earlier this year, Center for American Progress donor Citibank hired lobbyists to literally write 70 out of 85 lines of a bill regulating derivatives trading which passed the House. If this regulation was meant to hurt Citibank's profitability while defending their customers it's unlikely to have done so.

And it is worth noting, Cathy Reisenwitz is a babe.

[Rich]

Pig 'bigger than a bear' tramples pensioner

'I somehow got out of there and was found hanging on to the fence, but I can't remember that. It was a nightmare.'

[John]

Pigs are smart, aggressive and dangerous.

[WTF]

Pigs are smart, aggressive and dangerous.

And delicious. You forgot delicious.

[John]

That too.

[Lord Humungus]

Priorities.

Man arrested but not before chugging beer

He refused to set the 12-ounce beer down, instead chugging the last of it before showing the deputy his hands.

[Elspeth Flashman]

I am right there with him, priority-wise.

[UnCivilServant]

He wasn't going to be allowed to finish it otherwise, and it'd go bad or get tossed if he tried to wait.

[font_of_stupidity]

Wasn't officer safety compromised by this guy finishing his beer? And yet somehow, he didn't get shot. Go figure.

[Lord Humungus]

George Will: Obama's extreme use of executive discretion

In 1998, the Supreme Court held that "there is no provision in the Constitution that authorizes the president to enact, to amend, or to repeal statutes." But by claiming a power to revise laws through suspension of portions of them, Obama is exercising what Price calls a "second veto." Actually, he is wielding what the Constitution forbids and no statute can grant ? a line-item veto, which violates the presentment clause. The Constitution says "every bill" passed by Congress shall be "presented" to the president, who shall sign "it" or return "it" with his objections. The antecedent of the pronoun is the bill ? all of it, not bits of it.

[John]

Shame on the idiot right for not waging legal warfare against this. They are either useless and stupid or support this. It really doesn't make any practical difference which one it is.

[Andrew S.]

Of course they support it. You don't think they want to wield it themselves when a Republican is in the White House?

[John]

For sure. And then they will act totally shocked when the Left sues the shit out of them for it and the leftist media portray them as fascists.

They are so mind numbingly stupid. They honestly think that the Left will let them play by the same rules.

[a better weapon]

And then they will act totally shocked when the Left sues the shit out of them for it and the leftist media portray them as fascists.

Hadn't thought that far ahead, but that's exactly what will happen.

[db]

It will be just as useful a tool for the next Republican president to selectively enforce the law, hence no.opposition.

[John]

But it won't be. The Left will go to court and put a stop to it and the media will forget all about what Obama did and murder them.

[mr simple]

And I doubt the tu quoque, "But they did it, too," will hold up in court.

[John]

http://www.theblaze.com/contri.....ark-money/

The left's preferred narrative is simple, easy-to-understand and has a ring of truth. It goes like this: Regulation helps consumers but hurts business' profitability. Individuals give money to big-government organizations to promote regulation. Corporations donate to small-government organizations like Americans for Prosperity, the American Enterprise Institute and the Competitive Enterprise Institute to fight regulation.

But the fact that corporations also fund big-government organizations raises questions about this narrative. If regulation hurts corporations, why are they funding think tanks which promote it?

The truth is that most regulation is written by and for incumbent businesses to erect barriers to entry and to buy advantages over their competitors. That's why corporations fund groups like the Center for American Progress.

Earlier this year, Center for American Progress donor Citibank hired lobbyists to literally write 70 out of 85 lines of a bill regulating derivatives trading which passed the House. If this regulation was meant to hurt Citibank's profitability while defending their customers it's unlikely to have done so.

And it is worth noting, Cathy Reisenwitz is a babe.

There in its own thread. Damned threaded comments.

[BakedPenguin]

Cathy Reisenwitz is a babe.

I am certainly not an objective observer, but it seems that while libertarianism gets fewer women than other ideologies, we get better looking, more intelligent, and just more awesome women than say, progressives.

[John]

Yes. What we lack in quantity we more than make up for in quality. I will take one Reisenwitz or Eekins over a hundred Marcottes any day.

[John]

And Reisenwitz bills herself as "sex positive and poly". The left can eat their hearts out over that one.

[BakedPenguin]

And it's not just the hotness, or the fact that they agree with us politically. So many project an aura of competence and a refusal to let institutions run over them, or be intimidated by the requirements of daily living.

[Lord Humungus]

Why Ukraine spurned the EU and embraced Russia

"We will pursue integration with Europe," he (Yanukovich) barked back, according to three people who attended the meeting. He seemed dead set on looking west.

Less than three months later Yanukovich spurned the EU, embraced Russian President Vladimir Putin and struck a deal on December 17 for a bailout of his country. Russia will invest $15 billion in Ukraine's government debt and reduce by about a third the price that Naftogaz, Ukraine's national energy company, pays for Russian gas.

It is not clear what Yanukovich agreed to give Russia in return, but two sources close to him said he may have had to surrender some control over Ukraine's gas pipeline network.

[John]

There is the cheap gas an the largely incompetent but still very large Russian Army and missile force.

[waffles]

Sure it makes sense for the Ukraine state to embrace Russia, but for the people? EU membership would help the little guy out a lot more than cheap gas and a big military. Easy travel, trade, and work across borders is precious. But it also means very little to the rulers.

[BakedPenguin]

Yanukovich has always been committed to closer relations with Russia. It wouldn't surprise me if the Ukrainian speaking western part of the country started agitating to secede from the Eastern Russian speaking part.

[BakedPenguin]

"...eastern Russian..." Eastern Russian is not a thing.

[seguin]

I have a cousin in Vladivostok who would like to speak with you.

Well, not so much a cousin but heroin dealer.

[BakedPenguin]

...not so much a cousin but heroin dealer.

Sounds like I'd like to speak to him, too.

This is why there are no libertarian cops

[Rich]

The Popular Romance Project has received nearly $1 million from the National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH) since 2010 to "explore the fascinating, often contradictory origins and influences of popular romance as told in novels, films, comics, advice books, songs, and internet fan fiction, taking a global perspective?while looking back across time as far as the ancient Greeks."

Nothing to cut.

[John]

Taxes are the price we pay for civilization.

[Kaptious Kristen]

How about the Greenlandic language web site about to be launched by the State Dept? Greenalndic is spoken by 60k people. How many of those do you think don't speak any other language than Greenlandic? 100? 200?

Nothing left to cut!

[some guy]

They had to spend that money on something. Otherwise their budget wouldn't go up as much next year. I'm sure you understand.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

Just got some great news. A utility has agreed to work hand-in-hand with me on my PhD project. They see almost immediate value from what I will be doing and want in on the work. Early Christmas for me!

This is the reason I even decided to do the PhD; I saw big practical value in the results my project could produce. I don't know if any of you care, but you're my digital family so I need to keep y'all in the loop whether you care or not. Happy December 19th Reasonoids!

[John]

Congratulations. That is awesome.

Go post that news on a leftist site so they can explain to you how evil you are for helping the power companies rape mother earth.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

The Big Bad Nuclear Industry boogyman looms over us all. It is the 650,765th tentacle of the Kochtopus!

[John]

That is right. Is there anything worse than a nuclear plan producing megawatts of power with no emissions of any kind?

Why do you hate the earth Joe?

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

no emissions of any kind

Myth perpetrated by profiteers and the Rockefeller banksters.

But seriously, the waste from all commercial nuclear power generators worldwide could fit inside a single sports stadium.. easily. I think the latest estimate is the US (who still produces the most MWh's of nuclear power) could place all of their commercial nuclear spent fuel into an NFL football field and it would reach the level of the bottom bar of the uprights. That is for 50 years of commercial power.

[John]

Also, couldn't most of that waste be recycled if we would allow breeder reactors? Forgive me if I am making this up, but I want to say that I have read that pretty much our entire nuclear waste problem was created in the 1970s when we banned breeder reactors in the name of showing support for non-proliferation.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

No you are right. Except we banned reprocessing. By "we" I mean Carter banned it in the name of non-proliferation.

Fast reactors can get an order of magnitude more energy from that spent fuel than what was produced from the fresh fuel initially. They can burn the heavy actinides in the fuel that cause the 240,000 year dangerous reactivity issue and turn the fuel into a 300-500 year issue. Which is not an issue, really.

It doesn't matter to hardcore anti's though. Even if all of their grievances with nuclear power are addressed, they will fabricate more. Their lives are defined by the movement. What would they do if the movement suddenly ended?

[CE]

...the waste from all commercial nuclear power generators worldwide could fit inside a single sports stadium.

Can you put it in Lincoln Financial Field?

[Kaptious Kristen]

Congrats!

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

Thank you Kristen!

[Kaptious Kristen]

Hey, anyone engaged in physics is a'ight by me!

Speaking of, Heroes of Telemark was on teevee the other day and I missed it. 🙁

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

I have never seen that but have been meaning to for a long time. I've always thought that if the Nazi's weren't so anti-jew, their brilliant physicists wouldn't have fled to America. They may have beat America to the bomb which might have seriously altered the outcome of the war.

[Kaptious Kristen]

I've never seen it, either, and have only read a brief synopsis of the operation(s) in the book e=mc2 by David Bodanis. The book written by one of the participants, Knut Haukelid, isn't on Kindle. I guess I'll have to buy the hard copy.

[Rich]

Congrats, Joe!

I think you'll be seeing a little extra something in your stocking next year, too.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

I also interviewed with this utility about a month ago for a job directly related to my PhD work so hopefully they will become my employer as well as my PhD collaborators.

[Cdr Lytton]

Are they located in the land of the free (shit) so you'll no longer need that firearms owners card?

Congratulations!

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

Negative, still in the great white north so I will be keeping my license to buy rifles that don't look scary and that can only carry 5 round magazines. I still cannot buy a handgun with this license (and obviously no concealed carry at all here). The gun laws up here are ridiculous. At least we got rid of the long-gun registry a couple years ago though.

[Cdr Lytton]

Just so you know, the special visa fee for Canadians is one C7 or C8 paid directly to me.

I've always wanted an AR with a maple leaf and Made in Canada stamped on it.

[Elspeth Flashman]

Great!

[BakedPenguin]

Awesome. Let us know about the project as it develops (if you can).

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

My work will be public knowledge so I can explain most of it. The only thing I likely will have to keep hush hush is the 3 years of station data the utility will be giving me. They like to keep the hard station operating data close to the chest for the most part it seems.

[Brett L]

Nice. Now remember to say "whoops" and "uh-oh" a lot when doing demonstrations for the uninitiated. Also, saying things like, "its no big deal, but just in case, showering for 10-12 minutes and really rubbing the water into your extremities would be a good idea."

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

"I am a nuclear engineer. If you see me running, get behind me. Time-Distance-Shielding."

[Brett L]

Perfect.

[General Butt Naked]

Good shit man.

Hopefully, with your help, we'll be able to rid the countryside of ugly, bird-killing windmills.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

Hard to compete with an industry that is subsidized to the hilt by government, but I am doing my best to find cost savings wherever possible. It's a testament to nuclear power I guess that even with the mountain of regulation that has been stacked on top of it over the last 3-4 decades, it is still competetive.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Remember us little guys who helped get you there. Felicitations.

/coughs lightly.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

I couldn't get through my days without checking regularly on the continuing battle between the heroic 94% pure libertarian Shreek and all you teathuglican sheep on here!

/sarc

[robc]

Congrats!

Have to support my fellow NukEs.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

Thank you Rob!

[BigT]

Nice. The energy industry has kept me solvent for 35 years, and I'm sure it will be kind to you.

[Clich? Bandit]

Congrats.

My pa was nuclear geologist...he found places to bury the low level waste, so I have a peripheral connection to your industry and I must echo what he still says a lot (and he is even a Libertarian now); the DOE is the single worst federal agency.

Good luck turning this shot canoe around and getting us on more nukes.

[DEG]

Congratulations!

[Loki]

Heard about this on the radio this morning: Cops arrest a man on outstanding warrants... while he was proposing to his girlfriend.

At least they let him finish his proposal before hauling him away. I would have expected them to scream "FURTIVE MOVEMENT!" *BLAM, BLAM, BLAM* when he went down on one knee.

And the chick said yes even though they were hauling him off to jail. I guess some women really do like the bad boys.

[John]

What were his warrants for? If he is a real criminal, I find this funny. If he is some bullshit "didn't pay his traffic ticket" guy, then fuck the cops.

[Auric Demonocles]

Maybe the guy has Barry Zuckerkorn for a lawyer.

[Loki]

According to the radio report this morning it was passing bad checks. So it's not like he was a wanted murderer or anything.

[John]

He is still a thief. I wonder if the ring was bought with a hot check and if the woman got to keep it.

[Loki]

He is still a thief.

Agreed. Just to clarify in case there was any confusion, I do consider passing bad checks to be a real crime, so he is a "real criminal" and deserves to spend some time in jail. But he at least doesn't appear to be a violent criminal.

[CE]

And not a good one, if he got caught. She should have passed.

[Lord Humungus]

The other day I watched In the Shadow of the Moon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9d9-pHZzIE

It brought back a bunch of childhood memories when it seemed that serious space exploration was just around the corner. I was also amazed what they did with essentially 1960s technology - and how "big things" seemed possible back then. The astronauts - especially Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong - come across as the type of men you want around in a bad situation.

[John]

They didn't have any environmental laws to be sued over, they had no affirmative action or politically correctness. They just had a job to do and the ordinary bureaucratic incompetence to overcome.

Now they would have GS15 diversity advisers picking which engineers to hire and fire and an entire legal department devoted to getting the environmental assessments through court and making sure all the permits were in order an in the process of doing that essentially calling the shots on which engineering options to choose.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

The moon mission, with current bureaucratic red tape, would still be an ongoing project.

I am waiting for the government to step in and stop the 1-way trip to Mars that private company is proposing. If the project ever gets seriously close to a reality, I guarantee some sort of government intervention to delay it.

[Cdr Lytton]

Wasn't that the plot of one of Heinlein's stories?

[Loki]

The moon mission, with current bureaucratic red tape, would still be an ongoing project.

Why do you think NASA seems so incompetent any more. It's not that today's engineers are any less competent than the 1960's counterparts, it's the miles of bureaucratic red tape combined with an extremely risk averse culture that makes it impossible to accomplish anything.

[Clich? Bandit]

I am not so sure that today's astronauts could perform orbital mechanical computations by hand, on paper, while in a crisis, in SPACE! That shit is hard.

[CE]

No, but today's NASA astronauts are less competent than their 1960's counterparts. Back then, NASA was it, the place all the super mart engineering types wanted to work. Now it's a government job, and you can make real money as an engineer if you find the right startup.

[Rich]

An African-American student at Sacramento State University is under fire for her recent work of art ? which consisted of "lynching" two white men from a tree on the northern California campus.

You can't spell "hate crime" without a-r-t!

[Somalian Road Corporation]

So Joe Biden was right about racism lurking in every dark shadow in America?

[Rich]

Yep. So Eric Holder was right about us being a nation of cowards?

[UnCivilServant]

Right for the wrong reasons.

[AdamJ]

One of those credit cards was mine. never use debit folks...

[robc]

Cash is even better.

[a better weapon]

The massive ammunition purchase kind of makes sense now

If I was any armed service or LEO agency, I'd buy a metric fuckton of bullets too before I was forced to use ammo that the EPA says I can have.

[John]

Moreover, as Fox News reports, the military has set 2018 as its target date to have troops operating lead-ammo-free. "Green bullets" have been under testing at Picatinny Arsenal since 2010, and the Army plans to issue "a lead-free version of the 7.62 mm rounds fired from M-14 rifles... in 2014." The Army already switched to a greener 5.56 mm "enhanced performance round" in 2010.

Am I cynical to think that "enhanced performance" means exactly the opposite in reality?

[Cdr Lytton]

M-14 rifles

I'm sure that's where most of the Army's 7.62 is being used in.

[General Butt Naked]

Maybe that's why they've spent the last couple of years stocking up (LE agencies, that is). Perhaps they were tipped off by the EPA.

[General Butt Naked]

Not that I actually think the rules that apply to us would apply to the government.

They'll probably reopen the smelter as part of the Army, or contract it out, and it'll be twice as pollutive.

[Tim]

Is it wrong to laugh at Putin man raping Obama at every turn?

[a better weapon]

Team Blue commenters everywhere are tu quo queing the hell out of this.

"He's ex-chief of the KGB, OF COURSE PUTIN SPIED ON HIS CITIZENS TOO!"

Of course, they're totally leaving out the if I was caught spying part. They have no idea that he's not insulting Obama. He's insulting the slaving devotion of his acolytes and media friends.

[Lord Humungus]

completely 100% unrelated to anything here, but I might be getting a new cat today.

A Norwegian Forest cat
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_Forest_Cat

[Brett L]

Kitty!

[John]

I love those cats. Good choice. They are quite noble looking.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

My kid has been busting to get one.

[Eduard van Haalen]

Its expression says, yeah I'm cute, now where's my food?

[BigT]

If you live in a warm climate you might consider how much such an animal might shed.

[Lord Humungus]

Michigan - Freezing in the Winter, a sauna in the summer. It will be an indoor cat with A/C, so not too many worries. From what I've read, Norwegians will require 3x a week brushing during the spring.

[trshmnstr]

Get the furminator brush... soooo much better than a regular one. I have shorthairs, but they don't need brushed nearly as often if I use the furminator.

[mr simple]

Perfect for striking fear into the hearts of your enemies.

[Clich? Bandit]

Don't let Warty know or he will perform "safety ans welfare" inspections to make sure you aren't abusing your kitty...just yourself.

[Steve G]

I was expecting something more bad-assed with "norwegian" and "forest" in the name. I am disappoint.

[CE]

I have one. He's pretty low key and sweet usually, but he'll bite you if he feels like it, or if he doesn't want you bugging him. And he's as strong as a horse. Smart too. You need to keep him brushed, or he'll get some serious hairballs.

[Eduard van Haalen]

Progs are learning to stop worrying and love death panels

(From Creative Minority Report)

http://bit.ly/1c3JCVU

Sarah Palin receives formal apology letter -ha ha, psych!

[John]

John Podesta, the former Clinton chief of staff who was recently named a special adviser to President Obama, apologized Wednesday for comparing the Republican Party to the cult at Jonestown in an interview earlier this year.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-.....comparison

He says this as the Democrats follow Obama over the "fuck you, you were just too stupid to realize your old health insurance was a ponzi scheme" cliff.

These people would have nothing if they didn't have projection.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Loser Chris Matthews compared the GOP to the twirp in North Korea.

They're mental. What more can one say anymore?

[John]

They really are. It is not a sign of strength. They increasingly reliance on hyperbole and emotion just shows that they have no rational arguments left anymore. They know there is no defending their position, the administration or their ideology. So they are resorting to increasingly bizarre attacks on their enemies.

What you are seeing is the final stages of a cult. Everyone is really nice and rational when a cult starts. But gradually as things start to go south, the cult gets increasingly nasty and paranoid as it tries to prevent the members from believing their own eyes. That is what is happening here.

[Eduard van Haalen]

Pardon Poeer blog ssys more pardons coming

http://www.pardonpower/2013/12.....oming.html

[Eduard van Haalen]

http://www.pardonpower.com/201.....oming.html

[John]

Organizing for America must have needed a cash infusion. It is a blue light holiday special on Pardons!!

[John]

Americans are among the most mobile people on earth, but ObamaCare may soon start freezing them in place. Millions are losing their health insurance policies and being forced onto the ObamaCare exchanges, where most plans only provide local medical coverage. As Americans realize they must pay for all non-emergency medical care when they leave their home county, their decisions may have a profound impact on the real-estate market, particularly the second home sector, and on the travel business.

http://www.americanthinker.com.....ation.html

So much for keeping a vacation home or snowbirding after you retire. You really can't tell the people who voted for that stupid bastard and the evil morons who voted for this legislation "fuck you die in fire" enough.

[Drake]

Hey! You can't have serfs running off from their feudal lords' lands.

[John]

If people want to engage in binge traveling and spewing out carbon, they can get a travel permit and buy some offsets.

They really would turn this country into North Korea if they could.

[tarran]

I am continually amazed by the proggies obliviousness to the feudalist nature of their favored policies.

[Swiss Servator, yea Zwingli!]

Who knew that in the 21st Century we would see a return of Glebae Adscripti?

[Rich]

Why do you hate the environment, John?

[Loki]

And I'm sure pointing out that every authoritarian regime in history has tried to suppress the ability of its people to travel and move around freely will just paint me as a paranoid teathugliKKKan moron.

[Eduard van Haalen]

Judge Napolitano rejoices in the Christmas gift of the anti-snooping court decision

(From the Fox Web site)

Caution - the final paragraph is not for the squeamish

http://ow.ly/rV2Xg

[sarcasmic]

Uh, Reason posted that this morning.

[Eduard van Haalen]

Oh fudge

[db]

Minus the religious last para. I have wondered for a while.if reason was simply editing that stuff out after some (including.me) complained that it felt tacked.on and not essential to the Judge's solid arguments.

Not that I'm opposed in principle, I just think the rligious parts of his arguments are not necessary and unfortunately limited the audience to those who get.hung up on that kind of thing.

[trshmnstr]

Not that I'm opposed in principle, I just think the rligious parts of his arguments are not necessary and unfortunately limited the audience to those who get.hung up on that kind of thing.

Depends on who his audience is. If he's just talking to libertarians, then the religious arguments are superfluous. If he's under the assumption that he may be able to reach out to parts of the religious right, it makes tons of sense to tack those paragraphs on.

[John]

In the poll, 13 percent of insured Americans say they've received a notice that their health insurance plan is being cancelled or changed because it does not meet the minimum coverage requirements under the 2010 health care law."

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/po.....e-options/

But shreek said Obamacare is a big nothing that will effect very few people. And remember, this is with the employee mandates delayed. What is that number next October when companies start preparing for the employee mandates? 80%?

[Lord Humungus]

Knowing Obama, he'll suddenly push a delay of this mandate. To be implemented after the 2014 elections.

[John]

The pressure to do that will get pretty big. Let him do it. The results won't be any less catastrophic for the Democrats in 2015 than they will be in 2014. It will just give the GOP more to run on in 16.

[Auric Demonocles]

Yeah, but 13 percent of insured Americans is only millions of more people than the total number of uninsured Americans. So of course some number of people, so tiny as to be insignificant, was going to get pushed around to help out the huge number of people who couldn't get coverage because they already had cancer.

[Lord Humungus]

If you can't get enough of #pajamaboy, here he is kickin' back with his socks 'n' Xmas sweater

More

[DJF]

Luckily the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is just a private institution which as far as I know have no force on anyone else and anyone can start their own list and put their own bands on it. Or even better if you don't like the old band start a list of the New Rock and Rollers.

[DJF]

Oops wrong place

[mad libertarian guy]

So one of our indoor-only cats got out almost 2 weeks ago and we haven't seen him since. Everything I've read about finding lost cats (which is quite a lot) states that he's very likely close by (within a few hundred feet of the house), but too scared to respond for fear of being eaten. Because he's been displaced from his territory (inside the house) he's gone in to "complete cover mode" where he'll only move at night and only for food and water.

Most of what I've read states that the best way to get him again is to trap him. He's just not going to come home or respond to us calling for him. He's too scared and views everything as a threat. That it may take a couple of months. I've set a trap and a game cam to monitor it.

I have one pic that shows what I think is a light colored cat with a striped tail (Harvard is an orange tabby with a striped tail and faint stripes on his body) hauling ass from the trap when Mr. Coon shows up, but I'd like your opinions.

The animal hauling ass . . . cat? Or something else?

http://www.macademic.net/images/MFDC0010.JPG

[John]

That is terrible. He won't come back for food or anything? The times I have had cats get out, I have left a door cracked with some food by it overnight and their stomachs got the best of them.

Is he chipped so if he shows up at a pound they will know he is yours? Hopefully in a few years GPS trackers will get so small and cheap you can just put one in their collar and track them down with your smart phone.

Really sorry to hear that.

[Clich? Bandit]

GPS trackers are that small but they can be pricey (I say GPS but mean radio transmitter. GPS is a receive only technology. You get the signals, you triangulate, you transmit position [or display on local device with synced maps]). Also, RFIDs are being implanted all the time under the skin of pets. That actually keeps them from getting euthanized of the shelter has a scanner.

All in all it is possible to know as much about your cat as the NSA knows about you, even his web habits.

[Eduard van Haalen]

Sorry t hear it - hope the cat comes back.

[Lord Humungus]

We've had this happen 2-3 times in the past. One time, the next day the cat was just waiting at the back door to be let in.

The other time, we rented a trap from the hardware store. The first night we captured an unknown cat - who wasn't too happy. The second night we got ours. Bait was just an open can of cat food.

[John]

I love it you caught some random neighborhood cat. I bet he was pissed.

[Lord Humungus]

Hissing & yowling.

[mad libertarian guy]

I have another cat that darts out every chance he gets and shows up at the door when he's ready.

This one hasn't. Can't leave the door open. We have multiple cats and dogs, and even if we were to isolate them inside there are coons and whatnot outside. We live in the country. Leaving the door open isn't an option.

I'm pretty sure that a cat has shown up to the trap site twice, and both my wife and I think that there's at least a good chance that the one running away in the photo is our cat, but we have to get this fucking coon out of the way. He's raiding the trap every night and finding ways to steal the food without setting the trap off. Little fucker.

I've ordered dog proof coon traps. That'll get him. It can't hurt to get as many coons as I can either way as they keep stealing my goddamn chickens.

[Clich? Bandit]

In my neighborhood if you are not at least 40 pounds, regardless of species, then you are dinner. Had a cat get out a couple of times, first time came back next morning all "Sup?" but second time howled and cried and ran in the door. Hasn't seemed too interested in exploring since.

[sarcasmic]

One of our indoor cats got out a couple years ago. When one of us would go outside for a cigarette we would hear her faint cries, so we locked the other cats in a room, cracked the front door, and set a bowl of food just inside. I think it took doing that for two nights before she took the bait. Poor thing was shitting twigs for days. I wish you luck.

[John]

Their stomachs always rule in the end. If they won't come for food, they won't come at all.

[trshmnstr]

I had my tabby disappear for a week this fall. He was just sick of being cooped up in an apartment and a small yard, and jumped the 5' fence. It's not like he knew anything but apartment living, but i guess his curiosity got the best of him.

Who knows where he got around to, but he wasn't close enough to respond to a can of food (this cat's hunger drive is pretty epic. He will literally try to take the can out of my hands as i'm putting it down for him). I had pretty much written him off as there was a festival going on at the nature preserve next door, and I figured he had gotten into traffic or panicked and took off (there were hot air balloons and fireworks).

One night the next week I hear caterwauling at the back door, and there he is... a little skinnier, but none the worse for the wear. The other cat was pissed at him for a few days, but that was it.

Thankfully one of the other times he got out, an unleashed dog got after him and spooked him. Now he doesn't venture out of sight distance of the apartment.

Point being, I'm hoping for the best, and sometimes they get off adventuring for a bit and it takes them a few weeks to get tired of it. Especially if they have a good hunting instinct.

[db]

Cat, IMO. I hope you get him back!

[mad libertarian guy]

I think so too.

But we haven't snapped another picture of him since that one (3 nights ago). I'm afraid the coon has run him off a bit, or at least scared him from using that trap site to get food. Had both an opossum and a coon at the trap last night. No cat.

[Eduard van Haalen]

Popes Gone Wild - Francis asks woman to bare her breast in public

http://shar.es/OI2XI

[Eduard van Haalen]

http://reason.com/blog/2013/12.....nt_4198777

[itsnotmeitsyou]

If you're just trying to link to different 404 pages, might I suggest this.

Best 404 pages

[The Late P Brooks]

CNN surprises me.

But how can anyone believe that Snowden would not be deserving of amnesty? Clearly it is the government and its senior officials who committed the crime -- people who took oaths to defend the Constitution from enemies both foreign and domestic and who failed to take to heart the words they swore to uphold. Indeed, Snowden did not -- nor does any government employee -- swear allegiance to the president of the United States, or even to the secretary of Defense or the director of NSA. No, he swore to uphold and defend the Constitution.

Who let that racist terrorist in here?

[Matrix]

Kid buys $1000 worth of groceries for $6 using coupons. Donates food to poor

You can save that much by couponing? Damn, maybe I should get on it!

[Kaptious Kristen]

I've seen people on those "extreme couponing" shows that get money back at the cash register. As in, their total bill was negative $5 or something.

But then there's the time it takes to organize yourself enough to get the truly big payoffs. It's substantial enough to not make it worth it for most people (especially the employed).

[trshmnstr]

One time when I was working grocery in high school, I saw a woman get $350 worth of groceries, and we owed her $50 at the end of the transaction. It was the single good thing (besides getting tipped on holidays) about working grocery.

[Brett L]

I have a friend whose wife started doing this as a service for people. She would take your list, do all the couponing, and then charge a delivery fee that was 15% of the total before couponing. Since the grocery stores all print the unadjusted price, you can see the "savings". With the delivery fee it is almost always 20% less than the unadjusted cost, some of which you or I would get (Publix for example has lots of BOGO deals, so I routinely "save" 10% just by picking up common items in the BOGO bin). I want to try it by my wife claims she likes doing the grocery shopping more than saving $40/week.

[trshmnstr]

The big thing with couponing that makes it not worth it to me is that coupons tend to focus on the brand name, processed stuff. My wife and I tend to buy raw ingredients (fruits, vegetables, grains), so couponing doesn't do much for us unless we're buying housewares.

[Clich? Bandit]

This is my problem as well. We cook almost everything. We buy meat, veggies, and fruits. Name brand means nothing in most cases. The only things I could coupon are cream cheese and garbonzo beans and both those are dirt fucking cheap anyway.

[Kaptious Kristen]

(split infinitive. goddammit)

[Clich? Bandit]

you'll live, you aren't John.

[CE]

And it's usually not "food". Sugar-water sports drinks, plastic-coated cereals, stuff like that.