A.M. Links: Obama Shilling for Higher Wages at Costco, One Out of Two Doctors Consults Wikipedia, Scarlet Johansson Steps Down as Oxfam Ambassador

|

Large image on homepages
(Angela George/flickr)
sodalicious
Angela George/flickr
  • President Obama was at Costco shilling for a higher minimum wage, a policy that would give the store an advantage over its much smaller competitors.
  • A top Senate Republican, Jeff Sessions of Alabama, sent a package to all 232 Republican members of the House rebutting possible arguments against the immigration reform effort in Congress.
  • 50 percent of doctors and patients consult Wikipedia, according to a new report from a healthcare institute.
  • A Brooklyn school discontinued its gifted program over concerns about lack of "diversity."
  • Scarlet Johansson has stepped down as an ambassador for Oxfam after an outcry from some over her relationship with an Israeli soda company that operates a factory in the West Bank.
  • The United Kingdom and France are teaming up to develop a new generation of killer drones.

Follow Reason and Reason 24/7 on Twitter, and like us on Facebook.  You can also get the top stories mailed to you—sign up here. 

NEXT: Scarlett Johansson Stepping Down as Oxfam Ambassador After Outcry Over Relationship With Israeli Soda Company

Ed Krayewski is a former associate editor at Reason.

Editor's Note: We invite comments and request that they be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of Reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment for any reason at any time. Report abuses.

  1. The United Kingdom and France are teaming up to develop a new generation of killer drones.

    The Limeys think partnering up with the Frogs is more desirable than working with Yanks? How far we have fallen.

    1. Rufus J. Firefly

      Hello.

      1. Rufus J. Firefly

        And fuck them.

      2. EDG reppin' LBC

        Good day, sit.

        1. Rich

          Hello, roll over.

          1. UnCivilServant

            Morning.

            Now fetch.

    2. Raven Nation

      Yo, 'sup?

      BTW: whatever happened to Suki?

      1. Rich

        I think you know.

        1. Raven Nation

          There were rumors she was dead but she appeared on the A.M. links one morning to refute those claims.

    3. DontShootMe

      I suppose the French are responsible for all the surrender functions programmed into the drone?

    4. DEG

      I'm late, but this isn't the first time the UK and France have partnered. In 2010 they talked about sharing aircraft carriers.

      The UK and France have also agreed to keep at least one aircraft carrier at sea between them at any one time. Each will be able to use the other's carrier in some form, certainly for training and possibly operations.

  2. gaijin

    AM links and there are no bullets! WHy do you hate the second amendment.

    1. ELIMINATIONIST RHETORIC!

      1. gaijin

        Oh, so NOW they add bullets. Except they are quite small. Probably plastic.

    2. I see them. And there are under seven of them so even New Yorkers should be allowed to see them.

      1. UnCivilServant

        Hey! Even the corrupt buffalo judge struck down the 7 bullet limit.

      2. gaijin

        there are under seven of them so even New Yorkers should be allowed to see them.

        So Reason is no longer a high capacity magazine. damn

        1. Protagoronus

          +8

  3. Obamaphone

    Let me be clear: I will do whatever it takes to move this country forward. I won't stand still. It won't happen overnight, but I'm not going to stand by and let Congress or some ragtag gang of extremists stand in our way. Change is just too important for that. Face it libertards: we're expanding opportunity and sowing hope, with or without you.

    1. Aloysious

      Great. A talking Obamaphone. Next comes talking drones. Drones or phones; what a choice.

      (Let me be clear: that handle is funny. I loled.)

    2. Rufus J. Firefly

      Ever notice he says 'won't happen over night' a lot?

      1. Rich

        I think he got that line from Michelle.

    3. We must move forward, not backward;
      Upward, not forward;
      And always twirling, twirling, twirling toward freedom!

      1. jesse.in.mb

        +1 vote for Kodos

  4. 50 percent of doctors and patients consult Wikipedia...

    Uh, the former scares me a little.

    1. Obamaphone

      Yet another example of how my health plan is saving money and expanding coverage.

    2. Rufus J. Firefly

      My family doctor is starting to worry me with some of his responses. His one liners remind me of Rodney Dangerfield - only in French. If I had a portable rimshot I'd use it each time he answers a question.

      1. There's no doubt an app for that.

      2. So, did you take his wife or not?

        Oh, I guess that's Henny Youngman.

    3. gaijin

      Uh, the former scares me a little.

      Given that doctors in general practice do not, in my experience, spend alot of time keeping up, I'm pleasantly surprised that it's even this high. Now if it's specialists consulting wikipedia....

      1. Rasilio

        Yeah but shouldn't they be hitting something a little more trustworthy like Web MD?

        Course that would just result in all their patients having Lupus

        1. gaijin

          all their patients having Lupus
          hah. TRuer words not spoken!

          1. Rufus J. Firefly

            Doctor: Symtoms?
            Patient: I have a cough.
            Doctor flips through pages.
            Doctor: You may have Lupus.

            1. It's not lupus.

              1. Clich? Bandit

                It is never Lupus.

        2. EDG reppin' LBC

          According to Web MD:

          Sore throat = throat cancer
          Ear ache = brain cancer
          Hang nail = finger cancer
          stubbed toe = leg cancer

          1. The DerpRider

            I'm laughing because my wife is a hypochondriac and she always thinks everything is cancer after looking up symptoms on WebMD.

            1. Scruffy Nerfherder

              So is your wife the derp that you are always riding?

          2. Pavlov's Cat

            Sounds like my unemployed sister who stays up all night surfing to feed her hyperlinkchondria.

          3. Dead or In Jail

            Finger cancer's a bitch

            1. Corning

              Bah!

              So benign even the Yakuza could cure it

      2. Clich? Bandit

        I think wiki is a great starting place for many things. For one you get everything and the kitchen sink usually. Each numbnut gets out his pedant boner and puts forth his explanation of something. Then, you have the references section, which is easy to see and use to actual source material, and then you have the benefit of vocabulary. A good portion of the knowledge battle is know what words you are actually searching for.

        Sure GPs could find value in wiki...I then expect them to go "ok, i have an idea, let me check with this other source real quick to confirm"

        1. Yes. One of our research methods class assignments in my one semester of grad school in 2011 was to find the earliest mention of carbon nanotubes. The references in the Wikipedia article got me further back than the library reference system, which doesn't have obscure Soviet-era journals indexed yet. Or didn't at the time.

          I then had to explain to a bunch of foreign students how you couldn't believe (and most certainly not cite!) anything in Wikipedia articles, but the references are all fair game.

  5. Rufus J. Firefly

    "50 percent of doctors and patients consult Wikipedia, according to a new report from a healthcare institute."

    Better Call Saul!

  6. President Obama was at Costco shilling for a higher minimum wage, a policy that would give the store an advantage over its much smaller competitors.

    Those small mom and pop stores only have to raise their wages to remain competitive in the labor market. Or pony up some more campaign contributions and lobby money.

    1. Obamaphone

      Make no mistake: cynics and naysayers won't stop us from improving the lives of workers.

      1. Rasilio

        And the lives of those still working will be improved.

        The poor schmucks who loose jobs because they are no longer worth employing, well it just sucks to be them, but the guys with jobs will indeed be slightly better off.

      2. Clich? Bandit

        I am not going to sugar coat it, some small businesses may see a slight decline in revenue.

    2. Rufus J. Firefly

      Makes no sense. Doesn't Costco already pay decent salaries? Costco strikes me, given their business model, as the last place to visit. Quite the joke.

      He and the horde of degenerate left-wing hacks he represents are nothing but a bunch of defunct and defective intellectual superfly weights.

      1. Makes no sense. Doesn't Costco already pay decent salaries? Costco strikes me, given their business model, as the last place to visit. Quite the joke.

        THIS

        I remember a left wing meme about a year or so ago was that we should all go to Costco instead of Sams Club because LIVING WAGE!

        1. UnCivilServant

          I've never even seen a costco. I don't think they exist in my neck of the woods.

          1. KDN

            They're all over the place here in NJ. Judging by Google, it looks like they try to stick to major metro areas and their suburbs. It is a bit surprising that they've avoided upstate NY like the plague, though.

            1. Clich? Bandit

              What about MEEJER (Meijer for all the folks who have never been to the midwest)? What are their wages like?

              (I always pronounce their name in the same way as that chick from Star Trek I says VEEGER)

              1. Don't know about their wages, but i can say that in general their stores suck.

            2. Rhywun

              BJ's is big up there. Same thing I think.

        2. Pompey

          But Costco doesn't have Walton icky. But now Costco is icky.

        3. gaijin

          It's all about Identity.

        4. Rufus J. Firefly

          He's full of shit. Costco always catered to upscale clients. You needed to own a business or be part of some organization to get a card.

          To turn around and tell Wal-Mart - who have a completely different pitch - to copy them is ludicrous, insane, irresponsible and show how sufficiently stupid about business this man is; especially using it to mislead people.

          I draw the line here with Obama.

          1. MJGreen

            I don't get it. Costco pays a higher wage. Why can't WalMart just pay the same wage as Costco? Both hire human workers. Both have those workers do... things. WalMart makes those profit thingies. Just pay 'em more. Seems pretty simple.

        5. a better weapon

          I fucking hate it when the left uses them as some paragon of business.

          You know why Costco can pay more than Sam's club? Because a Costco wouldn't ever consider opening up in most of the locations Sam's does. Their business model is very specifically tailored to only opening in upper middle class neighborhoods.

          These same assholes will be complaining about 'food deserts' and 'access' the very next day.

      2. Rasilio

        No, he has to go somewehere that he'll find loyal supporters. Over at the Sams club he'll find too may small business owners

      3. I hate the hard-sell at Costco. I don't want to be upsold at the fish counter, dick brain.

        So we only go about every six weeks when it is time for me to stock up on meat for the freezer.

        1. Rufus J. Firefly

          Same here more or less.

          We're only three people. My wife has severe allergies and can't eat a lot of crap and my daughter eats like a bird leaving bulk purchasing pretty much irrelevant to us.

        2. So we only go about every six weeks when it is time for me to stock up on meat for the freezer.

          You can buy meat online cheaper and have it delivered to your house for cheaper.

          We buy red meat once a year (buffalo). Any other red meat we eat is killed by me.

          1. The problem with that is that my wife has OCD and since she can't envision a "place" for a chest freezer and we don't have a garage, I can only use the freezer in the fridge I have.

            But yes, there is a guy in south GA who does pasture raised beef, lamb and chicken and has his own abattoir. His bulk price is very reasonable and it is my goal this year to convince my wife that we should buy good meat in bulk and freeze it.

  7. Rufus J. Firefly

    In critical news from Canada...

    http://www.betterfarming.com/o.....arch-54246

    As long as they can make my piss less yellow after eating asparagus.

    1. Notorious G.K.C.

      Asparagus the jokes.

      1. EDG reppin' LBC

        And now we start to beet the joke to death with puns.

        1. Rufus J. Firefly

          Is it asparagi or asparaguses?

          Asparaguses..ses.

        2. Rich

          PLEASE, just lettuce alone!

          1. Let's just squash this right now.

          2. F. Stupidity, Jr.

            If you'll all excuse me, I gotta go take a leek.

            1. Rufus J. Firefly

              Butternut squash my nuts!

              1. gaijin

                I don't cotton to such humor. It's corney.

        3. An Innocent Man

          We cantaloupe! We're already married!

  8. sarcasmic

    Is Facebook making us MORE political? Researchers find site can polarise our views - and cause us to ignore friends with different views
    Study dubbed Facebook 'the great divider'
    Claims people stick with their own circles of politically similar friends
    Says Facebook's algorithms could be more partisan

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

    The majority of participants were liberal, female and under the age of 40, mirroring the traditional Facebook user.
    More than 70 percent said they don't talk about politics with their friends with different opinions

    Tolerant people don't tolerate intolerance.

    1. Smilin' Joe Fission

      Progressive dogma that dictates that you only tolerate other progladytes is making us more divided.

    2. gaijin

      Facebook has revealed many of my 'friends' to be much less thoughtful and to suffer from many more impulse control issues than I would have thought based on my in-person experiences with them. It's a regular tower of babel once it strays outside the cute kid and animal pics.

      1. They really hate when I point out that they suddenly formed a fervent opinion about a previously unmentioned subject after it hits the Daily Double of Daily Show plus HuffPo. Bonus points when I say: "I know what John Stewart thinks about this. What do you think about it?"

        1. wareagle

          between the liberals feeling comfortable with letting their authoritarian flag fly and the god folk constantly praying or asking others to, it's become a pleasure when someone posts a kid or dog pic.

          1. I actually have a small stable of reliably small "l" friends. So the Balko Nutpunch(tm) now at the WaPo is featured on my feed every Friday by one of them.

    3. Bones

      It hasn't stopped me from engaging, but I do think twice before posting a link or video about the audience. I think it's made me more civil, not less.

    4. It's not only the reality based community that does this though. My wife has blocked numerous friends because they would post 20 or more derpalicious liberal rants per diem, and she got tired of that shit.

    5. More than 70 percent said they don't talk about politics with their friends with different opinions

      I'm sure there are a lot of non-progs out there who say, "Screw it, why should I mention my poliitcal views to people who are only going to harangue me for having them?"

    6. db

      I just quit Facebook altogether. It became too full of derp. Unsalvageable.

      1. sarcasmic

        Me too. My wife lives on it though. But for her it's mostly family and fellow reptile enthusiasts. She avoid politics. On Facebook anyway.

        1. db

          The benefit of FB to me was getting back in touch with family I rarely saw and getting to hear about what they were doing. The drawback was random people from my past who I barely knew wanting to be "friends." That was manageable...don't 'frriend' them.

          What was less manageable was s3eing how people who were legitimate friends back in the day had become m8ndless TEAM BE RULED cheerleaders. They couldn't leave politics out of any area of life. When I would argue with them (wyich was rare), the arguments were made difficult by people from their.friends lists wyo didn't know.me jumping in and dogpiling me with derp. Fuck those people. I don't kjow them and don't car3 about their.opinions, and they jumped.into an otherwise intelligent discussion with mindless derp.

          What really ended it for me was anticipating what the 2012 election year would bring. I quit in Jan of that year. I peeked in once or twice to see what was up; it was as bad as I had.feared.

      2. Lady Bertrum

        I never joined. I spend a great deal of time trying to avoid contact with people I only marginally like. Why the fuck would I create a space where I'm forced to interact with them constantly?

        Call my cell or text if it's important.

        1. I never joined. I spend a great deal of time trying to avoid contact with people I only marginally like. Why the fuck would I create a space where I'm forced to interact with them constantly?

          Call my cell or text if it's important.

          This could have been written by me. Fuck facebook.

        2. Roger the Shrubber

          Joined Facebook. Received a multitude of friend requests from long lost highschool classmates. Posted 'I've successfully avoided you for 18 years. Just because we went to the same high school doesn't mean I want to be your Facebook Friend.' Soon realized what a circle jerk FB was and never went back.

    7. Zeb

      It's a lot easier to be tolerant if you ignore the stupid things that people say or post. I doubt this is a phenomenon peculiar to liberals/progressives. It's what I'd do if I ever looked at facebook.

    8. Clich? Bandit

      I find Far Left proggies and most libertarians tend to limit their social circles to political fellow travelers but for TWO VERY DIFFERENT REASONS.

      The progs hold nothing but contempt for those that disagree with them and the libertarians are only seeking to avoid losing sanity due to idiotic rhetoric from the progs and socons. Ironically, some of the most tolerant people I know are the bible thumping, earth is 6k years old, DEVIL WEED, types. They are also some of the nicest. They just aren't as much fun.

    9. Corning

      The majority of participants were liberal, female and under the age of 40, mirroring the traditional Facebook user.

      HA!

      On a side note what the hell is a nontraditional facebook user? Also how can there be a tradition for a website that is less then 10 years old?

  9. sarcasmic

    'U' Students Want Crime Alerts To Avoid Using Racial Descriptions

    http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/.....criptions/
    Because some people feel uncomfortable when, after a black person robs a liquor store, the crime alert identifies the robber as black. They should only be allowed to describe their clothing, accent, vehicle and such. Skin color makes people uncomfortable.

    1. Jim Norton ?@JimNorton 42m

      Black Student Union wants no racial descriptions used in suspect descriptions. I guess race should only be used describing student unions.

      1. Notorious G.K.C.

        Ouch!

    2. Tonio

      Not peak idiocy, but they just raised the bar.

    3. Man, I used to do some work for the University of Florida which necessitated becoming an employee and getting the crime texts, even though I didn't live in Gainesville. Apparently they have a decent amount of crime there because I got a text once a month or so. And almost without exception, the suspect was a black male.

      1. Only one crime a month seems rather low to me. 😉

        1. They don't report the athletes' crimes.

          1. You're thinking of Tallahassee.

            1. Us too.

              1. One town has the capital, the other does not.

      2. Floridian

        UF was security crazy. You had state police, city police, county police and university police. I think after they had all those nurses get killed they went a little over board.

    4. gaijin

      Excellent. And if there is a gunman loose on campus, they should only describe the clothes to the police so that the heroes can deal with the threat appropriately when they come upon anyone matching the description.

      1. Rufus J. Firefly

        Suspect is a white male with strong brown hue skin...almost like...never mind...

    5. Night Elf Mohawk

      "Be on the lookout for someone wearing maroon and yellow."

    6. a better weapon

      My grad school, ladies and gentlemen.

      Hasn't changed a bit.

      1. Dead or In Jail

        What did you study?

    7. Kaptious Kristen

      Totally. Because clothing can't be changed, but skin color.....oh....wait....

  10. db

    Gifted students tended to be quite diverse in my hometown in central western PA. I wonder what Brooklyn is doing wrong?

    1. They were probably all Asian.

      1. db

        Well, they included all the Asian students, 50% of the Black students, and a whole bunch of Irish, Italians, and Polish. I was a minority, being largely Swedish/German.

      2. Lady Bertrum

        The test schools in NYC (Bronx Science, Bedford Sty) are predominately Asian and mostly male. There's constant bitching about this much like the bitching that was done in the '70's when they were mostly Jewish and, of course, even more male.

        1. Rhywun

          Bedford Sty

          I think you mean Stuyvesant HS. Bed-Stuy is something quite different.

  11. Smilin' Joe Fission

    Posted this in the wrong place before. EPA bureaucrats will always remind me of the guy from that scene in Ghostbuster.

    Dr Ray Stantz: Everything was fine with our system until the power grid was shut off by dickless here.

    Walter Peck: They caused an explosion!

    Mayor: Is this true?

    Dr. Peter Venkman: Yes it's true? This man has no dick.

    Bill Murray never fails.

    1. db

      Imagine such a treatment of tge EPA in a film today.

      1. Smilin' Joe Fission

        Most of today's comedians lick at the heels of our progressive leaders. This would be heresy.

        1. Rufus J. Firefly

          Not Doug Stanhope or Nick DiPaolo.

          1. EDG reppin' LBC

            Colin Quinn, Jim Norton, Jay Mohr, Adam Corolla too.

          2. Stanhope is an Obama voter.

            http://www.lawrence.com/news/2.....-stanhope/

            He is like me. I secular rationalist first and a libertarian second.

            1. Rufus J. Firefly

              You're as disingenuous as the crowd describes.

              Secular rationalist. Fuck off. You're derp through and through.

              "Stanhope is known as a libertarian comedian and is a self-described anarchist.[21] In 2004, he endorsed the Free State Project, and was quoted as saying, "The Free State Project stands out as one of few ideas that could produce tangible change in our lifetime. The vision of Christian gun enthusiasts buying hand-painted targets from pot-smoking artists, laughing together while they give the tax man the finger, is beautiful enough to make the move."[22] In 2012, Stanhope originally supported Ron Paul for U.S. president, but later endorsed the Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson.[23]
              2008 presidential campaign

              Stanhope announced on July 9, 2006 through his website that he would run for president of the United States in 2008 as a Libertarian. After consulting political advisers, he stated on his website, "[O]fficially?I am reconsidering my presidential run while my exploratory team looks into the viability of such an endeavor."[24] He explained that he made this statement due to campaign finance laws and other reasons. Later he said, "The presidential run is getting in order. You keep asking me if I'm serious. You have no idea. Let's have fun again."

              1. Rufus J. Firefly

                Plenty of libertarians voted for Obama thinking he was less of a douche than Bush but in the end, I'm pretty sure they rue the day.

                1. I gave you the link quoting his vote.

                  Yes, we voted anti-GOP more than pro-Obama then.

                  1. Rufus J. Firefly

                    You can't be this full of shit.

                    HE'S LIBERTARIAN.

  12. Night Elf Mohawk

    A Brooklyn school discontinued its gifted program over concerns about lack of "diversity."

    Uniform incompetence also lack "diversity."

    1. "If we're jealous of your intelligence, it's virtuous for us to deny you an appropriate education."

      What a thoroughly wicked attitude.

      1. Smilin' Joe Fission

        It is sad that most people can't read these statements and understand that this is what they are really saying. All of those awful things you see in movies about a futuristic authoritative government are being said by our current government, just in a more delicate and hidden way.

        1. Rufus J. Firefly

          It's why the West is in a coma at the moment.

        2. Tonio

          It's like "Brazil" realized.

      2. Tonio

        +1 Harrison Bergeron

      3. Roger the Shrubber

        A majority of school funding must be spent on those for whom it is the least effective.

        1. SugarFree

          It's the best way to argue that you need more, and less obvious than a money fire.

  13. ...Jeff Sessions of Alabama, sent a package to all 232 Republican members of the House rebutting possible arguments against the immigration reform effort in Congress.

    Everyone realizes any comprehensive immigration reform agreed to by Congress is going to suck balls, right?

    1. DJF

      Since Congress does not even know what would be in a "comprehensive immigration bill" it would be interesting to hear Sessions tell us what he is defending.

    2. SIV

      Why do you hate brown people?

      1. Gadianton

        I hate all people. Why should brown people be exempt?

  14. sarcasmic

    Are you a hairy diabetic who smokes and suffers from stomach cramps? Your NEANDERTHAL ancestry is to blame
    Remnants of Neanderthal DNA in the genes of non-African modern humans are linked to a range of health problems including diabetes and Crohn's
    They are also associated with thick hair and tough skin and nails
    Between 2% and 4% of the human genome is thought to be the legacy of interbreeding between ancient Homo sapiens and Neanderthals

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sci.....estry.html
    SugarFree?

    1. Auric Demonocles

      What if I only match one of them? Coincidence, or am I just slightly less Neanderthal than SugarFree?

    2. SugarFree

      hairy - Y
      diabetic - Y
      Crohn's - N I poop like a champ
      thick hair - Not on my head 🙁
      tough skin and nails - Y It takes and incredible amount of force for me to bruise and my nails grow so fast I have to cut them at least once a week.

      1. Now that you mention it, most of the guys I know who have Crohns/Colitis are hairy, balding guys with heavy builds.

        1. Auric Demonocles

          I'm lean and nearly hairless besides my head (which is admittedly thin/fine).

          1. I guess I have to eliminate you, then. To keep my experience consistent.

            1. Auric Demonocles

              Maybe I'm just a genetic engineered Neanderthal. A.... superior caveman, if you will.

              1. Great. One who can pass. Next they'll all want rights.

                1. Auric Demonocles

                  I have been surgically enhanced to overcome my weak colon, and will be surgically enhancing my eyes soon.

                  1. Scruffy Nerfherder

                    Citrucel and cod liver oil. I'm as regular as governmental disfunction now.

                    1. Auric Demonocles

                      Scruffy, which one do you have?

      2. Clich? Bandit

        Hey SF, wouldn't it be great if you could go to Walgreens to buy a DNA kit to see your own genetic line? That would be awesome wouldn't it? Well, too bad it is dangerous for you to know such things...if Warty found out you were his Australopithecus love child it could get weird.

        i hate the gubmint...i guess I am just pissy today.

        1. SugarFree

          A little self-knowledge is a dangerous thing.

    3. gaijin

      Are you a hairy diabetic who smokes and suffers from stomach cramps? Your NEANDERTHAL ancestry is to blame

      Wait, Neanderthals smoked?

      1. Rich

        Why do you think they invented fire?

        1. gaijin

          ah, they were supply siders. I should have known 🙂

      2. KMA Too

        And, they were problem shitters?

  15. The Late P Brooks

    Be afraid.

    Officials say 18 people are being rounded up in New York City on allegations they sold "party packs" of cocaine and sex to high-end clients and texted clients to advertise ahead of this week's Super Bowl festivities.

    The officials say the arrests follow an 11-month investigation by state and city authorities. The law enforcement officials with knowledge of the operation spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to disclose it before court filings Thursday.

    They say surveillance shows the ring laundered money and credit cards through clothing, wig, beauty supply and limousine businesses and targeted wealthy out-of-town customers, especially during large events.

    I can't believe they didn't try to pin it on the Russians.

    1. I can't believe Eliot Spitzer wasn't rounded up.

      1. gaijin

        He was probably hired as a consultant for the undercover team's investigation.

    2. Bones

      11 months to nab 18 non-violent offenders of that which should not be illegal.

      Nope. Nothing can be cut.

      1. Rhywun

        They had to go with what they had in the last few days before the Super Bowl, because... SUPER BOWL HOOKER RING!!1!!

  16. Scarlet Johansson has stepped down as an ambassador for Oxfam after an outcry from some over her relationship with an Israeli soda company that operates a factory in the West Bank.

    Better for people to starve than to be helped by the Jooooooooooooos.

    1. How will she cover that lost paycheck? Oh, that's right, by earning one from the verboten Israeli company.

    2. I should have searched her name rather than "jobs" before posting my comment, because you've said it already. Actually providing a few jobs in the West Bank is a bad thing?

  17. Aloysious

    I approve this picture. I approve any picture as long as f*&^%$#@ing Biden isn't in it.

  18. gaijin

    rebutting possible arguments against the immigration reform effort in Congress.

    Are they arguments anyone in Congress has yet made? Or is this some kind of precognition on his part?

  19. sarcasmic

    Florida woman who pulled knife on boyfriend when he refused to CUDDLE will not face criminal charges
    Shavonna Rumph told authorities she and her boyfriend had been drinking all day
    When he refused to cuddle with her, authorities say she attacked him before grabbing a knife
    In 2011, police were called after Rumph allegedly slashed her boyfriend's tires during a fight

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

    It's unclear why prosecutors declined to charge Rumph with any crimes.

    Obviously she is related to someone in a position of power. Duh. Rule of man. That's how it works.

    1. If a man pulled a knife on his girlfriend for refusing to cuddle, what do you think the response would be?

      1. sarcasmic

        For starters all his guns would be confiscated.

    2. Huh. My wife just sighs and tears up. I'd rather face the knife.

      1. DontShootMe

        My wife just says, "Thank God." and rolls over and goes to sleep.

        1. You don't have a cuddler? Not spending ten minutes before sleep spooning with my wife is, apparently, a way of telling her that I think she is -- to save some description -- a prototypical Jezebel poster.

          1. Clich? Bandit

            I would like to quote the GREAT Lenny Kravitz:

            "American Woman Stay Away From ME!"

            God bless foreign chicks (not sure about Aussies though IFH...sorry)

            1. Kaptious Kristen

              I would like to quote the GREAT Lenny Kravitz

              Troll or serious? I can't decide.

              I hate cuddling. The squeeze is like some sort of magnet and insist on entwining legs and spooning as soon as I hit the pillow. It's fucking annoying. And I'm, like, fairly American and shit.

              1. Clich? Bandit

                Serious (kinda)...I married foreign cause I got tired of the particular brand of American crazy...obviously there are exceptions but on the whole most American chicks have a shitload of hangups (and no I am not using jezzies as the standard).

                Interesting side note: I hear the same from foreign women about foreign men which is why they like American men. I know my sample size is not statistically significant but the evidence I have is piling up.

                1. Clich? Bandit

                  I see the questions was about Kravitz...I is serious. One of the best concerts I have ever been to...GOT A PROBLEM WIT DAT????

                  (we need to start a new focus of discord on here...i am tired of deep dish uncut aborto STEVE SMITH fantasies)

                  1. Kaptious Kristen

                    Well, only that the Kravitz version was a cover of a Guess Who song from 1970.

                    1. Clich? Bandit

                      I never said it was my favorite Kravitz song. Fly away is probably my favorite.

                    2. Kaptious Kristen

                      It's not a Kravitz song, was my point!!!

  20. Rufus J. Firefly

    "The biggest problems that we're facing right now have to do with George Bush trying to bring more and more power into the executive branch and not go through Congress at all. And that's what I intend to reverse when I'm president of the United States of America." - Senator Barack Obama, March 31, 2008

    Which reminds of the great scene where Sylvester smacks Foghorn Leghorn on the head with a bat. Around 4:50 mark. You just want to tell him to 'shaddap!"

    1. Rufus J. Firefly

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8TQZBHszI4

      Link would help.

    2. Spoonman.

      Awesome quote.

    3. He evolved on that issue. And do you know why he was forced to evolve? The legacy of Booooooosh!!!!

    4. Auric Demonocles

      He might "reverse that" in the sense that the power is no longer going through the executive branch where he isn't and away from Congress where he is. Now it's going away from Congress where he isn't to the executive branch where he is.

      Anyway, file this under another "super easy campaign ad showing Obama arguing with himself but the Republicans are too dumb to make it".

      1. Bones

        This is why the Republicans need to nominate Rand Paul. I don't think he's too dumb to make that ad.

      2. Zeb

        Too dumb, or do they know that it will come back to bite them when the next Republican president also fails to back off on executive power grabs?

        1. CatoTheElder

          The Dems were smart enough to make hay with "Read my lips" Bush.

    5. Smilin' Joe Fission

      But to save the country from Bush's abuse of executive power, Obama had to use that executive power. So, really, it is all Bush's fault. Don't you see Rufus? Just embrace it, embrace your feelings, embrace the warmth and comfort Obama can provide you. Close your eyes, relax your brain, and repeat after me...

      1. Rufus J. Firefly

        I can easily say 'I don't need to embrace it because he's not the leader of my country.' The problem for me, though, is HIS MENTALITY transcends borders. People start to reason like this.

        Like Palin for example.

        We were always told growing up to 'own it' and not 'blame others' and other basic stuff taught in civics and at home.

        Yet, we have to listen to all these retarded progs defend Obama by breaking all those elementary tenets by reducing their arguments to 'Bush.'

        Fucking. Retarded.

        1. Smilin' Joe Fission

          We are moving further and further away from personal responsibility. And anyone who does take responsibility for themselves tends to be demonized.

          Also, I can't stand the continued Obama love up here. I generally enjoy living in Canada, but there are a few select things that make me hate it.. it's not many, but what they are are big issues to me.

          1. Rufus J. Firefly

            I can't stand Canadians who refer to Fox as 'Faux' and when you ask if they actually listen or watch any of their programming they usually NEVER have.

            Conversely, most don't see Matthews or Maddow yet, somehow, magically they're reputable talking heads.

    6. Best political debate ever: Senator Obama versus President Obama.

      1. Auric Demonocles

        Someone could have a pretty lengthy youtube channel just doing it.

      2. Rich

        Awesome.

        Paging Reason.tv ....

        1. Smilin' Joe Fission

          I would actually think about posting this on my facebook. Too many people in Canada love the guy still.

        2. CatoTheElder

          Proper treatment of Obama v. Obama would really be too partisan for Reason.tv. The project should go to pjtv.com.

      3. Rufus J. Firefly

        You talkin' to me?

    7. I suddenly have this vision of Bush and Obama as the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote.

  21. sarcasmic

    Becoming burlesque: Photographs of adult entertainers show how a little make-up, a risque outfit and a lot of imagination can create an incredible transformation

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....esque.html
    WARNING: Some things cannot be unseen.

    1. In the 90s heyday of Atlanta strip clubs one of the better ones (Taj Mahal) opened an outdoor pool for happy hour. Even though the Atlanta girls were known back then for their natural beauty some of them refused to perform in the natural light. The ones that did were worth it.

      1. Had a friend whose major project for a photography degree was photos of strippers in natural light without makeup. Some were pretty , many were merely thin.

    2. SugarFree

      Years ago, visiting our friends that moved to NYC after college, some of them mentioned that they were going to a burlesque show in Coney Island later that night and invited us along. My brother-in-law, a fine young man but not yet worldly asked "What's burlesque?" Before anyone else could dissemble, I said "Fat strippers." He was confused while a great cry of butthurt went up from the rest of the table.

      1. sarcasmic

        Nice.

      2. John

        Beautiful. It only hurt them because its true.

    3. Scruffy Nerfherder

      Those must the Lindy Wests of Burlesque. Yikes.

  22. sarcasmic

    The cat who hates junk mail more than you! Aggressive feline lies in wait for postman then rips everything he puts through the letterbox to shreds...including his gloves!

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....loves.html
    Here kitty kitty kitty!

  23. sarcasmic

    Guess who's coming to dinner! Woman's shock as she finds a hungry PUMA tearing up her kitchen
    The photo was taken at a home in Santiago, Chile
    Pumas are common in many parts of Chile and the rest of the Western Hemisphere
    Pumas are the second-largest cat found in the Western Hemisphere

    Here kitty kitty kitty!

    1. UnCivilServant

      Not what she expected from the cougar club?

  24. waffles

    A Brooklyn school discontinued its gifted program over concerns about lack of "diversity."

    Hmm...too white? Too Jewish? Too Asian? Damn, I'm racist.

    My prejudices aside, can anyone tell me which gets more funding, programs for the gifted or the remedial?

    1. You are joking? When I lived in Albuquerque and the complete school budget was published in the ABQ Journal by law, remedial programs worked out to 1/3 of the entire budget.

      1. Tonio

        Per-pupil cost per special ed student is incredible compared to ppc for normal students. Huge staff/pupil ratio. Huge transport budget. Huge administrative overhead for extra paperwork.

        And many of those kids do not earn their diplomas so much as they are awarded them because of no child left behind and similar initiatives.

        1. Yeah my mom was a teacher, she really hated the special ed (it was actually called that at the time) teachers, especially when they mainstreamed a students into her crowded classes.

        2. wareagle

          and that is all you ever needed to know about how govt works - spend the most money for the least return.

          1. When they aren't spending money to actually make things worse, that is. I contracted for BIA, that shit was surreal.

      2. waffles

        I guess I knew the answer but the specifics are nice. How can anyone defend this? What a tremendous waste of resources. Maybe I am "able-ist" but there must be more to gained by boosting the children who have the best potential to gain.

        I guess it's not controversial here.

        1. Yes, and not even just the gifted, surely average students could benefit from a better allocation of resources.

          1. Tonio

            Don't forget the dull but not actually retarded students, say IQ 85-90. They and the average students benefit the most from a little extra attention.

            1. Would be to have a two track system where such kids could focus on trade skills, not that tradesman are necessarily low IQ, but many such kids are going to lack the concentration and abstract reasoning to read and analyze Hamlet.

              To even contemplate a two-track (or three or four track) system is completely antithetical to the whole system of course, even though it's common here in the Europe liberals love to use as a socialist model.

        2. wareagle

          they defend it based on the feelz and about the chirruns.

    2. An Innocent Man

      Waffles, my local school district budget is about 21% Special Ed and about 3% gifted. And that's in a pretty decent district.

      1. UnCivilServant

        You see, the 'gifted' are self-driven and can learn on their own.

        /end sarcasm.

  25. sarcasmic

    'You're worth what you're worth!': Libertarian CEO worth $70M says the 'mentally retarded' should be happy to work for $2 an hour

    Investor and financial commentator Peter Schiff was on the Daily Show arguing against a minimum wage hike
    'I'm not going to say that we're all created equal': Schiff said people should be free to accept the wage the market judges them to be worth
    The multimillionaire investor attended Beverly Hills High School and leads Connecticut-based Euro Pacific Capital

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

    The truth hurts.

    1. Certified Public Asskicker

      I knew I was going to be beaten. Why did I even try.

      1. sarcasmic

        Ha ha!

    2. waffles

      I love and hate that guy. I loved his "Ask the 1%" schtick. Hate his incessant goldbuggery. I guess you don't become wealthy just acting like a CEO, you have to sell.

      1. Rufus J. Firefly

        I would love to see the returns for his clients.

        1. waffles

          Depends on the year. In recent times it is certainly dire.

          1. Clich? Bandit

            the current gold price on the COMEX reflects paper manipulation not real gold prices. I am not trying to advocate for being a goldbug but at least judge gold in its actual performance against the dollar, not the ETF market. Just look at the premiums on rounds...fucking insane.

        2. His European gambit crushed his clients a few years back.

    3. Tonio

      It's a real problem. Many of those people can't produce enough value to justify statute minimum wage. Yet they do need to live, eat, etc. And many of them want to be productive members of society within their limitations.

      1. Certified Public Asskicker

        Of course, a better way to answer the question would have been along the lines of:

        "I can't tell you specifically who is worth $2 an hour, but if someone is offering that as compensation and someone else accepts, why is it any of my business?"

      2. It's a real problem. Many of those people can't produce enough value to justify statute minimum wage. Yet they do need to live, eat, etc. And many of them want to be productive members of society within their limitations.

        Agreed. But were there no statutory minimum wage, those people would have a chance to live because the goods and services we all purchase wouldn't be priced such that they must be able to sustain a minimum wage for employees.

      3. It's a real problem. Many of those people can't produce enough value to justify statute minimum wage. Yet they do need to live, eat, etc. And many of them want to be productive members of society within their limitations.

        Agreed. But were there no statutory minimum wage, those people would have a chance to live because the goods and services we all purchase wouldn't be priced such that they must be able to sustain a minimum wage for employees.

      4. Tonio

        And I'm not saying it's up to business to pay them wages far above their actual labor value. But, yeah, a free market wage and let families, private charities, et als, make up the difference between their earnings and expenses.

  26. Rich

    A Brooklyn school discontinued its gifted program over concerns about lack of "diversity."

    Permit me: "It's for THE CHILDREN!"

  27. Certified Public Asskicker

    Peter Schiff fucked up big time on The Daily Show:

    http://www.rawstory.com/rs/201.....ure-worth/

    *Link to Raw Story for those of us who hate ourselves and like to read comments.

    1. Schiff always appears to be a detached-from-reality fool whether it is CNBC or TDS.

      1. When he's not hanging out here commenting, Palin's Buttplug goes to his side job.

        1. Rufus J. Firefly

          Fuck.

          1. KMA Too

            Yep.

            I don't know how, but I knew it was going to be that pic before I got anywhere near the linky.

            How did you know, Atanarjuat?

        2. Pope Jimbo

          It is a move up from his last job

    2. Certified Public Asskicker

      Here we go:

      "It's socialism that creates, you know, scarcity, that creates famine,"

      This is patently false...it is in fact Capitalism that thrives and functions on scarcity. Anything in great abundance cannot be capitalized, the law of supply and demand is a law of scarcity...is this guy stupid or just lying??

      1. BiMonSciFiCon

        The law of supply and demand isn't a "capitalist" law, it's an economics law. It exists whether an economy is market-based or command and control.

        So... is the commenter stupid or just lying? I'm going with a combination of stupid + ignorant.

    3. Certified Public Asskicker

      Ho ho ho:

      Pay the mentally retarded $2 an hour? I do not think that would be fair......we can't expect the whole republican party to live beneath poverty levels on $2 an hour.

  28. sarcasmic

    Who doors wins: Red-faced Turkish special forces fail to smash their way into house in dawn raid? then end up having to knock and ask to come in
    Gaffe was caught on camera and has now been posted on the internet
    Eventually an elderly man in a vest opened the door to the squad

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

    I wonder if doors that sturdy are legal in the Land of the Free.

    1. Did they shoot the homeowner's dogs?

  29. sarcasmic

    Husband who killed wife and put photo of her body on Facebook asks judge to have victim's remains tested for BATH SALTS in support of his self-defense claim
    Derek Medina, 31, is accused of shooting his wife, Jennifer Alfonso, 26, then posting a picture of her dead body on Facebook in August
    Defense filed motion asking judge to grant them access to Alfonso's urine, blood, hair and stomach contents
    Medina's lawyers claim a diet supplement bottle found in the couple's kitchen contained synthetic ecstasy
    Attorneys showed clip featuring what they claim to be Alfonso opening the cabinet containing diet supplement hours before her death
    Medina claimed he was forced to kill wife to protect himself because she threatened him with a knife and was acting erratically

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....claim.html
    Sorry dude. That defense only works for cops. You're going down.

  30. sarcasmic

    So THAT'S how she does it! Krysten Ritter reveals the secret to her slender figure as she hikes and sips on a green juice

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....juice.html
    I was so bummed when they killed her character on Breaking Bad.

    1. She eats nothing and exercises a lot?

      1. sarcasmic

        She eats.

        And she throws like a girl.

    2. Protagoronus

      I recommend "Don't trust the Bitch in apartment 23" if you are a fan (on Netflix)

  31. sarcasmic

    School bus driver charged with drink driving after crashing into a tree while children were on board
    Karl Herber, of Rollingstone, Minnesota, stank of alcohol, police say
    None of the five children driven home were injured in the crash
    Herber was arrested at the scene on Fern Valley Drive, Winona, Minnesota

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....board.html
    Hail to the bus driver, bust driver, bus driver...

    1. F. Stupidity, Jr.

      See, we need to ban alcohol. Or buses. Or schoolchildren. All three. Let's ban something or people will DIE!

      1. UnCivilServant

        TREES! Ban the Trees, if it wasn't in the way, they wouldn't have crashed.

      2. DontShootMe

        Simple. Make it illegal to die. Then no one will ever die. Problem solved. Because, you know, laws!

    2. In Wisconsin, the kids would have been drunk, too.

  32. At least one parent described the small gifted program, Students of Academic Rigor ? or SOAR ? as overwhelming caucasion, although others disputed that characterization.

    The author of that sentence must have been oppressed by being excluded from the gifted program. By the way, am I the only one to notice that if gifted programs are a tool of racism, they are failing spectacularly at anti-Asian racism?

    1. Tonio

      Now, now, doc. Asians are counted as white when we're talking about G&T programs, but are counted as non-white when bragging about diversity numbers.

    2. I was excluded from the Academic Excellence program (like gifted, but everyday rather than selected days of the week), but it was because one of the "regular" teachers thought that I would cause too much trouble because I talked too much. She never once considered that I talked too much perhaps because I was fucking bored.

  33. robc

    Re: Gifted program and diversity.

    I was in the "advanced program" in the Louisville public schools. In 2nd and 4th grade there was reasonable racial diversity in my class.

    In 3rd grade, I was bused. My 3rd grade class was 100% white. All of the black 3rd graders in the AP who would have gone to that school were getting bused out to burbs. Everyone in my class was getting bused in. I guess it did create a diversity of suburban neighborhoods. We represented a number of different suburban schools.

    There is a reason that the Louisville busing plan has been overturned by the Supremes two or three times since then.

    1. kinnath

      Off topic, but have you tried to brew a sour ale?

      1. robc

        Nope.

        I dont like tying up my equipment for that long and also, anything that touches lacto or brett never gets used for anything but sours from that point forward.

        1. kinnath

          I expected to need a separate set of equipment (I have way more primaries and carboys that any home brewer really needs to have). I just wondered if I needed to brew in an entirely different locations as well.

          1. robc

            Nah.

            I might try to set the fermenter as far from your others as possible, just in case the lacto gets free. Or the Brett, which has taken down breweries in the past.

            1. kinnath

              I was thinking about keeping the primary in a different room which would be easy enough to do. Long term aging becomes problematic though, because I really don't have a second location for keeping carboys at a steady temperature in a dark environment.

          2. (I have way more primaries and carboys that any home brewer really needs to have)

            Next thing you know they'll tell you how many guns you need.

            (I don't do home brewing; I'm one of those freaks who doesn't like carbonated beverages.)

            1. Clich? Bandit

              there is no such thing as too many vessels. I am curerntly working on a Pinot Noir, a Belgian Trippel, a German Hefe (not traditional), and a Belgian Wit. If you EVER need to dump some vessels, I will pay for shipping...to me.

        2. Hey!

          1. SugarFree

            It's not your fault you ruin beer, it's just science.

            1. kinnath

              No, Brett only ruins wine, mead, and most beers, but is responsible for the awesome character of Flanders Red Ale.

              1. SugarFree

                Then let him go live in Flanders.

                1. I don't speak Flemish, though

                  1. SugarFree

                    Boo-hoo.

                    1. Clich? Bandit

                      I just bottled a mead.

                      three months to go.

                    2. Clich? Bandit

                      Question:
                      I want to try to make a frisee mead. Has anyone done this? Has anyone made a spumante mead? Do I need cages for frisee? (I would assume yes) Does it enhance the flavor or detract? Inquiring zymurgists wish to know.

      2. CatoTheElder

        I have. robc is correct wrt anything plastic (hoses, corks, vents, etc. and plastic containers if you use them) but you can disinfect glass contact surfaces. Also, it does take a lot of time and almost a year for the second fermentation.

        Turned out great ... if you like sour kriek lambic. However, if you have sweet Lindemann's framboise in mind, forget about it. I really don't know how it is possible to get a sweet ale with natural carbonation in the bottle.

    2. My very weird experience (in retrospect): My elementary school "enrichment" program served students bused in from schools throughout the district, and was held in an all-black elementary school (in a 95-percent black village). All the students in the class were white.

      1. Rufus J. Firefly

        By enrichment you mean they fed you vitamins?

  34. sarcasmic

    Don't look up! Mesmerizing photographs capture the claustrophobia of Hong Kong's teeming apartment blocks
    Immense photographs capture the reality of living in one of the world's most densely populated cities
    Bright apartment blocks soar above Hong Kong providing homes for the seven million people in the country
    Photographer Peter Stewart shines a positive light on the cramped conditions revealing the city's bright landscape

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....ities.html
    Unreal.

    1. Claustrophobia?

      This is the solution to sprawl. All cities should look like this, Paul Krugman said so writing from his huge suburban mansion.

    2. John

      But the city provides so much economic opportunity, people still get in line to move there.

      But a place like California or Massachusetts is losing population because of bad luck.

    3. Zeb

      That's something. What was really incredible was the old Kowloon Walled City.

      1. John

        Yeah. It was absolutely lawless. There was some poster on here many years ago who had visited there. He had lived in old Hong Kong and for whatever reason went there under the protection of some Hong Kong underworld figures. He said it was incredibly dangerous, especially for Westerners but for anyone not under the protection of a crime lord, but absolutely amazing in some ways.

  35. Rich

    50 percent of doctors and patients consult Wikipedia, according to a new report from a healthcare institute.

    Meh.

    What percent owns guns and watches porn?

  36. sarcasmic

    Attorney General Eric Holder can't explain constitutional basis for Obama's executive orders

    http://washingtonexaminer.com/.....le/2543100
    FYTW!

    1. Mike Lee is a racist for asking the question.

    2. How is it that EO's just now became unConstitutional after a couple hundred years?

      1. waffles

        You're not being serious. Have they ever been constitutional? Obama pledging his dedication to the practice is the news.

        1. Then it is not news. EO's are fewer in number with Obama. We just have a bunch of wingnuts who suddenly discovered they get political mileage out of bitching about them (like Obama once did himself).

          1. John

            Then it is not news. EO's are fewer in number with Obama.

            Because every EO is qualitatively the same. And issuing fewer EOs must mean that they are less abusive.

            Jesus Christ shreek, that talking point is so stupid even Eric Holder couldn't say to Congress with a straight face.

          2. Jordan

            Then it is not news.

            So, if bad behavior goes on long enough, we should just ignore it?

            EO's are fewer in number with Obama.

            That is meaningless. It's about quality, not quantity.

          3. waffles

            Look here Buttplug, I don't really have a firm ideology (hence waffles) vur I'm fairly certain you cannot compare EO's quantitatively like you might with say, pardons or drone strikes.

            1. I didn't say you could. Let's go with pure quality.

              Show me an illegal EO Obama has signed.

              One.

              The ACA was designed to be flexible in its implementation.

              1. wareagle

                flexible? Really? What part of O-care said "feel free to disregard or delay provisions that may be inconvenient?"

                1. sarcasmic

                  What part of O-care said "feel free to disregard or delay provisions that may be inconvenient?"

                  Considering it's over two thousand pages long, such language very well might be in there.

              2. Night Elf Mohawk

                It set out dates, you fucking simpleton. It did not set out a mechanism for the executive to change those dates.

              3. Jordan

                DHS emergency power extended, including control of private telecom systems

                At issue is a provision of the four-page order that says Homeland Security Secretary Janet A. Napolitano "shall ? satisfy [federal] priority communications requirements through the use of commercial, government, and privately owned communications resources."

                "The previous orders did not give DHS those authorities over private and commercial networks," Ms. Stepanovich said. "That's a new authority."

      2. Jordan

        How is it that you are this retarded? You realize that some executive orders can be legal and some can't, right?

        1. Then find an illegal one and bitch about it.

          1. Jordan

            That's what the article is doing, moron.

            1. No it hasn't. The employer mandate in the ACA was designed to have its timing altered in the bill.

            2. The ACA states that implementation will be "in accordance with regulations promulgated by the secretary."

              1. Red Rocks Rockin

                The ACA states that implementation will be "in accordance with regulations promulgated by the secretary."

                Everyone knows the delay was political; the Democrats set some arbitrary timetables and left the implementation open to HHS as a hedge because they had no idea how long it would actually take to put it together.

                That's why the left's limpout over Cruz's filibuster was so stupid. "ACA is the LAAAAAAWW!" doesn't mean shit when the executive branch can pick and choose how that law is going to be executed.

          2. Rufus J. Firefly

            Why should they? No amount of facts persuades you anyway since you'll just spin away into a dizzying stupor.

            With you, it's all about counter-factuals and tu quoques.

            Round and round and round and round...

            1. SugarFree

              Maybe that's why people should stop responding to the sockpuppet.

              1. NoVAHockey

                Would Hit and Run even exist without our sockpuppets?

                1. SugarFree

                  Would Hit and Run even exist without our sockpuppets?

                  Yes. The editors just keep them around as a form of sadism.

              2. The memo frames its discussion around Treasury's delay of the reporting requirements associated with the employer mandate, which are found in ?6055 and ?6056 of the Internal Revenue Code. Per those requirements, employers must submit tax returns that report on the health-insurance coverage that they do (or don't) offer their employees. Those returns must be submitted, per ?6055 and ?6056, "at such time as the Secretary may prescribe." Delaying the reporting requirements until 2015 is arguably just a specification of the "time" at which the reports must be submitted. (The ACA does contemplate that the reporting requirements would come into force "after December 31, 2013." But that general effective date should probably give way to the specific instruction that the Secretary can adjust the timeframe.)

                As I have proven, the delay in the employer mandate is a legal timing issue only.

                1. http://theincidentaleconomist......they-dont/

                  Finally:

                  For now, though, let's assume for the sake of argument that the waiver is unlawful. So what? Could someone challenge it in court, as Avik Roy suggests might happen? Almost certainly not. A would-be litigant must have standing to go to court, which means that the supposedly unlawful agency action must have injured, or be expected to injure, the litigant. Employers can't meet that standard: waiving a tax penalty doesn't harm them (and no, fancy theories that an employer is harmed because his competitor isn't taxed enough won't get off the ground). Nor would upset advocacy organizations or members of Congress have standing.

                  So who's hurt? It's possible, even likely, that some workers will lose out on employer-sponsored insurance as a result of the waiver. But any individual worker is going to be hard-pressed to convince a court that her employer would have given her health insurance in 2014 but for waiver of the tax penalty. Under current doctrine, that's much too speculative a potential injury to support standing. Unless I'm missing something, no one has standing to challenge the waiver?whether it's legal or not.

        2. John

          Obama could issue one EO waiving the entire Constitution and Shreek would be on here telling us that Bush was more unlawful because he issued so many more EOs.

          Yeah, Shreek is that retarded.

      3. Rasilio

        The question was not the concept of executive orders, the question was the specific executive orders Obama was giving dumbass

    3. Rich

      At least Holder is consistent.

  37. Jordan

    A Brooklyn school discontinued its gifted program over concerns about lack of "diversity."

    Only a progressive could read Harrison Bergeron and see Diana Moon Glampers as the protagonist.

    1. We didn't study that in public school. I cannot begin to imagine why not.

      1. We actually did read Harrison Bergeron in public school. Though I grew up near a military base in the south, not exactly progressive utopia.

        1. UnCivilServant

          We read it to satisfy the curriculum, but the teachers avoided discussion of the implications and themes.

      2. Rasilio

        I had to read it in the 6th grade iirc, but then that was back in like 1979 before progressivism had taken full control of the educational establishment

  38. SugarFree

    Trigger Warning: I09 article...

    Failed Utopian Cities of the Past is a very telling glimpse of the obsessions that still grip city planners and new urbanism.

    The infinite disappointment that millions don't want to have to live the way you want them to...

    1. sarcasmic

      Just imagine . . . a resort entirely centered on the culture of alcohol. A boozer's paradise built expressly to facilitate drinking and the good times that naturally follow. Where the bars, clubs and liquor stores never close. Where the police force is there to help drunks, not hassle them. Where even the street names salute sweet mother booze: Gin Lane, Bourbon Boulevard and Scotch Street. An adult playground like no other. Just imagine.

      I'm there!

      1. SugarFree

        I'm not sure getting on that moving sidewalk was such a good idea.

      2. Gin Lane

      3. Notorious G.K.C.

        So the urban planners came up with an actual design for the Big Rock Candy Mountains

        http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics.....ntains.htm

        1. db

          The cops have wooden legs.
          The bulldogs all have rubber teeth
          And the hens lay soft boiled eggs

  39. The Late P Brooks

    RECOVERY

    In a move that was widely expected, the Fed said it will reduce its bond-buying program to $65 billion in February, down from $75 billion in January.

    The Fed had been purchasing $85 billion in bonds each month since September 2012 in an attempt to stimulate the economy. But it began reducing the program this month -- a process Wall Street has nicknamed "tapering."

    Congressional outrage to follow.

    1. 3.2% GDP just in. Moody's is all bullish.

      Zandi has a bullish outlook on the U.S. economy: he's forecasting 3% GDP growth this year and 4% growth in 2015.

      "The U.S. economy is set to experience much stronger growth as the middle of the decade approaches," he writes in his latest macro outlook. "Businesses are highly profitable and very competitive, households have reduced debt and are saving more, and the banking system is well-capitalized and liquid."

      AP

      The macro outlook is fantastic.

      1. John

        Just ignore that big silver back sitting in the corner wearing the "Labor Force Participation Rate" T shirt.

        1. waffles

          That just means fewer people have to work to have a functional and robust economy. These early retirees are the real winners in our new economy.

        2. Everyone with a pulse that wants a job has one.

          You sound like a whiny progressive.

          1. John

            http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/busi.....EET1028979

            Commerce Department said that the US economy grey by 1.9%. that was far below the 2.8% expansion seen in 2012.

          2. Jordan

            Everyone with a pulse that wants a job has one.

            [Citation needed]

          3. Jordan

            Debt deflation is coming:

            I did a report on corporate cash in April of 2013. At that time, the five largest corporations, led by Apple, were sitting on available cash of $39.71 billion.

            Care to guess the actual cash levels of the top 50 non-financial companies?

            Taking debt into consideration, even counting short-term investments as cash, the answer back in April was negative $543.67 billion.

            [...]

            By the way, this "alleged cash" is nothing more than an economic distortion caused by the Fed's artificially low interest rate policy that enables corporations to borrow at lower and lower rates. Many do, even though they have little use for the money, and so it sits.

            1. Scruffy Nerfherder

              But the weather and climate are the same!

            2. John

              Interest rates are so low right now, it makes no sense not to borrow. You can get a used car loan for 1.99% if you have good credit. Meanwhile, your savings account ears like 1% if you are lucky.

              My wife is a mad saver. Normally I would be with her. And I still plan to save some. But I am ready to buy a car or something simply because keeping the money makes no sense right now. You need to put at least some of it in some kind of a hard and usable asset.

              1. Last year I refied the compound at 3.99 percent for 30 years. That felt real good.

                1. Now's probably the time for a new utility tractor. I bet I could get a nice diesel Kubota for something around 0%.

                  1. John

                    I am going to buy a used car I have always wanted that is close to its peak depreciation. I figure I can enjoy having it and after I pay off the note have a hard asset that I know will be worth something, which is a guarantee I am not prepared to make on my cash savings.

              2. Yeah. I've had the same thought. We borrowed $18000 for a car over 3 years and will give them $17/payment for that privilege. Meanwhile, I'm dumping money into money markets that won't return me $625 over the same term.

                Hell, the bank will give me a line of credit on nothing but my name for 6.25%. I got a home loan 8 years ago for a higher interest rate.

                However, I always try to remember that every time I agree to pay over time, that's an obligation that limits my options, while every time I put cash away that grows my options. I don't think everyone values that in the same way.

                1. John

                  You make a good point about options. I would never obligate too much of my money in debt. But at this point, I don't have any credit cards or car loans or much debt really to speak of. I don't even have a mortgage since I have a great rental deal and housing prices are completely insane where I live.

                  I figure in this environment it makes sense to carry some debt. In a normally functioning economy being debt free is nearly always a good thing for an individual. But in this insane economy of Obamabucks, carrying some fixed rate debt on a hard asset is probably smart.

                  1. There is an optimal balance that is probably not zero if you are in a high-demand, low-danger field and don't have any risk factors for otherwise seeing your income change radically. Bonus if you are in a relationship where your partner provides some additional income stability. I got stuck in the FL real estate crash and probably would not have stayed were I not upside down on a mortgage. But I think the eight years I've been in this home is the longest I've resided anywhere. People who don't think it is normal to move every five years might not value having the cash to just up and move with six weeks notice the way I do.

              3. Rufus J. Firefly

                Why does your wife hoard, John?

                Don't you know she needs to dump it back into the economy so the progtards can use it?

          4. Roger the Shrubber

            Everyone with a pulse that wants a job has one.

            You are reinforcing the conservative argument that subsisting off government handouts is an accepted way of life for some people.

            1. Some do just that.

          5. Mike M.

            Everyone with a pulse that wants a job has one.

            Weigel, out of all the completely asinine comments you've ever made, I think this one here takes the cake.

            1. John

              I know peek derp is theoretically impossible. But damm, that statement may be as close to it as you will ever see in the real world.

        3. Scruffy Nerfherder

          Now that's funny

      2. Rasilio

        He's probably right, might even be undershooting.

        GDP usually does quite well in the final stages of a bubble and it wouldn't be too shocking to see the current one last until 2016 before it finally bursts.

  40. The Late P Brooks

    Link

  41. Rich

    Japanese cyclist to pay 47m yen ($459,000) over fatal crash

    The judge said he wanted the case to serve as an example to other cyclists that bicycles can be deadly weapons.

    Sheesh, just ban bicycles!

    1. John

      Or make the riders pay for the damage their negligence causes. IF the guy was at fault, he should pay.

      1. Rich

        The judge ruled that the cyclist was not paying attention to the road when the accident happened, and that Mrs Azuma was "in no way at fault".

        Life is cheap in Japan.

        1. John

          It can be cheap here too, if the person is old and doesn't have much projected future income.

          1. Rich

            I would be interested in seeing an algorithm for computing "projected future income".

            1. John

              Economists calculate it based on age, education, earning history, health etc..

              They do it in wrongful death suits all of the time.

              1. robc

                Seems the actuarial tables for that would be pretty straight-forward.

                1. John

                  They are. That is how they price long term disability insurance. The payout for such insurance is based on a percentage of your income. You couldn't price it unless it were possible to create an actuarial table for someone's future income.

  42. The Late P Brooks

    Zandi can go fuck himself.

    And so can you.

  43. Scarlet Johansson has a relationship with a company that actually provides a few jobs in the West Bank, and this is a bad thing?

    1. Lord Peter Wimsey

      Yes, this factory provides jobs to palestinians. The Israeli-controlled areas are where the jobs are, for the most part.

      In the pali-controlled areas things are pretty bleak, unless you are connected.

      When Israeli-controlled areas change to Pali-controlled areas there's a frantic attempt by palestinians to follow the Israeli soldiers. Not because they like Israel, but because they want employment, food, medical care, and the ability to redress grievances in the courts.

      1. John

        A huge number of Palestinians worked in Israel. When the Islamists assholes, with encouragement and applause of various Western idiots, launched the suicide bomber campaigns back in the 1990s, Israel's response was to shut down the crossings condemning Palestinians working in Israel to poverty and dependence on the UN for food.

        Most Palestinians just want a job and a life like the rest of us. I really think you could solve this entire problem tomorrow by granting legal status in the US, Canada or Europe to any Palestinian who wanted it. That shit hole would empty out of everyone but the murderous and corrupt leaders in a bout a month.

  44. Lord Peter Wimsey

    "Scarlet Johansson has stepped down as an ambassador for Oxfam after an outcry from some over her relationship with an Israeli soda company that operates a factory in the West Bank."

    Finally, something to admire about Scarlet Johansson other than her incredible rack.

  45. The Late P Brooks

    Everyone with a pulse that wants a job has one.

    That must mean long term unemployment benefits are no longer necessary.

    1. Fine with me.

  46. Notorious G.K.C.

    Michael Moynihan on "The Death of 'Stalin's Songbird'"

    "Along with countless other sensible people, I have often bristled at the mindless deification of Pete Seeger, the nonagenarian folk singer who died yesterday at age 94. I have no doubt that Seeger was a lovely man (a mutual friend, who became a dedicated enemy of Seeger's far-left politics, once assured me that he was), nor can one argue with his outsized influence on American music. And we all remember good-but-overpraised songs like If I Had a Hammer and the treacly classic Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

    "But as the encomiums threaten to overwhelm, it's important to remember that Seeger, once an avowed Stalinist, was a political singer devoted to a sinister political system--a position he held long after the Soviet experiment drenched itself in blood and collapsed in ignominy."

    http://www.thedailybeast.com/a.....bird0.html

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder

      This. Fuck Seeger, I hope he's assigned to be the perpetual object of Uncle Joe's paranoia in the afterlife.

      1. John

        What Scruffy said. To my knowledge Seeger never even reformed beyond admitting that well maybe he and his fellow travelers made some well intentioned mistakes.

        1. Kaptious Kristen

          INTENTIONZ!!!!

  47. Elspeth Flashman

    One for the ladies!
    https://plus.google.com/+TMZ/posts/5erxKkJRHW3

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder

      This is why there are no libertarian men.

    2. Lady Bertrum

      41 and he still looks good in his underwear!

      1. Elspeth Flashman

        You're welcome.

    3. Kaptious Kristen

      I wouldn't kick him out of bed (though I wouldn't let him spend the night, either), but I'm kind of meh on those gym bodies.

      1. Elspeth Flashman

        It was a surprise to me that he was a gym user. I usually don't follow popular stuff, but a friend posted this on her fb page, and I thought: Hello!

  48. Where's the soul-crushing coverage of France's unemployment rate and Venezuela's death spiral??

    http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0.....ab7de.html

    Although Venezuela earns about $100bn a year from oil, its foreign reserves have tumbled to $20bn from about $28bn a year ago.

    http://in.reuters.com/article/.....8E20140127

    With the jobless rate at nearly 11 percent, Hollande's failure so far to tame unemployment has driven his ratings to record low levels for a president in modern France.

    1. John

      Venezuela had the oldest functioning democracy in Latin America. And on top of that it has all of that oil. Now thanks to Chavez and socialism it is going to look like Zimbabwe before long if it doesn't look that way already.

      Remember how Joe from Lowell used to come on here and apologize for that fucker? Those vampires suck the life out of every country they touch.

      1. I remember how incredulous the old Economist was, calling out Chavez for having tried and failed to launch a coup, then being allowed to run and getting elected. And of course subverting the whole democratic process whilst in power.

        I don't recall any other rags mentioning the coup.

        1. Scruffy Nerfherder

          I remember how incredulous the old Economist was

          Too bad they don't live up to their old standards anymore.

          1. They have new standards, Keynesian standards, not liking Obama is racist standards.

            Yeah, it really is too bad, though the old editors did fuck up supporting the Iraq War which seems to have helped spur an internal backlash.

        2. John

          Remember the outrage over the Bush Administration not doing anything to stop and maybe encouraging a coup attempt back in the early 00s? Chavez was a legitimate elected leader who was reforming the country after all.

          I bet most people who live there wish that coup had been successful.

          1. I'm fine with our government not intervening. You get what you vote for.

        3. Eh. Once they stopped being pro-Brit and started being Eurofellators, I had no use for them.

      2. Real-time socialist case studies are fascinating. I expect Sean Penn to make a movie about the paradise that was suffocated in its infancy by evil markets.

    2. His ratings had a nice bounce when he was caught having an affair, showing he's a red-blooded Frenchy.

    3. Why would they report on France? Everyone, including the French, knew what they were getting when they elected Hollande.

    4. db

      Nope, nope. Haven't you heard about the global good times recovery?

  49. Kaptious Kristen

    Turns out the rental shop at PCMR has Apex ski boots. I'm so gonna try them (I haz big hoofs and a super-high instep, so normal ski boots are like torture devices for me). I'm-a fuck up that mountain on them boots!

    1. You can haz orthotics?

    2. Protagoronus

      Try Surefoot if you ever want to invest in foot happiness.

  50. The Late P Brooks

    the rental shop at PCMR has Apex ski boots.

    Call me crazy, but if I click a link from a company which makes ski boots, I expect to see... oh, I don't know, maybe a picture of the fucking ski boot, and not a bunch of fucking ridiculous hocus-pocus meringue.

    Fucking marketers.

    "It's not a ski boot, it's a LIFE!"

    1. Kaptious Kristen

      Here ya go, ya curmudgeon!

      1. John

        Just get off Brooks' lawn already Kristen.

  51. 110 Lean

    Best Ass Ever?

    1. Not sure about best, but pretty goddamn good.

    2. Kaptious Kristen

      It's easier to get an idea of ass attractiveness when the chick is standing up. Even mediocre asses look good on all fours. Trust me on this.

      1. Also, back arch. More than a certain amount of back arch is deceptive.

      2. John

        This is true Kristen.

        And the best ass ever, if it exists, is on some 18- 20 year old. Alba is plenty hot and all. But gravity has an undefeated record. I don't care how good of shape or attractive a woman is, there are some things they have before the age of 21 that go away, even if it just a little bit.

    3. Kaptious Kristen

      Much better representation. And yes, that is a damn fine ass.

  52. The Late P Brooks

    "What do you want?"

    "INFORMATION."

    "Well, you won't get it."

  53. CampingInYourPark

    "Jobless claims rise more than expected"

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, but the underlying trend suggested the labor market continued to heal.

    Underlying trend, huh?

    The four-week moving average for new claims, considered a better measure of underlying labor market conditions as it irons out week-to-week volatility, edged up 750 to 333,000.

    Healing means more unemployment benefit claims.

    http://finance.yahoo.com/news/.....40879.html

    1. John

      For five years now no one has once ever expected bad economic news. Funny that

    2. Actually, it might. More churn isn't necessarily bad. It might be an inflection point signaling more workers moving and former non-participators joining. Probably not, but it could.

  54. Juice

    Costco already pays well above minimum wage so I don't see why he was stumping for an increase there.

  55. Kaptious Kristen

    I'm flying Delta in two days. Hope I see this. The last 10 seconds are especially awesome.

    1. db

      Can't watch at work but will at home.

      They mention the Delta "glass bottom.jet" app, which sounds awesome. On a flight from Shanghai to Beijing past year, the first class cabin had a screen at the front that showed live camera footage from the nosegear during taxi and taxeoff and landing, and switched to a belly cam during flight. That was cool.

    2. Clich? Bandit

      Look kid, you tell your dad I bust my ass runnin up and down that court every game!

Please to post comments

Comments are closed.