Growth in Americans Renouncing Citizenship, New Obamacare Contractor Has Issues, Pastafarians Unwelcome at British University: P.M. Links

• 

  Credit: DrJohnBullas / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

  Americans are renouncing their citizenships in – well, not droves, exactly, but at a 221 percent rate increase over 2012. The total number is 2,999.

• The contractor hired to fix Healthcare.gov also has a history of problems with the federal government. The United States Postal Service was considering cutting ties with them.
• A poll indicates Coloradans think legalizing marijuana has harmed the state's image. Nevertheless voters still support the decision.
• In today's "This is not The Onion" headlines, a group of militants in Iraq learning how to become suicide bombers died when their trainer accidentally blew up a belt packed with explosives.
• London South Bank University's student union officials are anti-Pastafarian bigots, removing posters promoting the atheist mascot known as the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
• While the United States struggles with rules for private drone use, the United Arab Emirates is rolling out plans to allow them for deliveries of small items like medicine or official government documents.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Americans are renouncing their citizenships in ? well, not droves, exactly, but at a 221 percent rate increase over 2012.

Quick, Schumer, empty their pockets before they hit the door!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

[Ted S.]

Goodbye.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I don't know why you say good-bye, when I say hello.

The Beatles.

Forever.

[db]

Forever overrated.

[Pro Libertate]

If you mean in the sense that even great things can be overrated, okay. Just so long as you aren't suggesting they sucked, which is false.

[db]

I'm not.immune to.their.catchy, insipid tunes but they were definitely.overrated.

[Brandon]

They're only the greatest band of all time by a little bit.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Yeah? Who's close?

The Stones?

[mad libertarian guy]

Earth, WInd, and Fire.

And Rush.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

db, what you talkin' 'bout boy? White, Revolver and Sgt. Pepper's are anything but 'catchy.'

Sheesh.

At least make a valid point.

[db]

Well, insipid, then.

[Ted S.]

McCartney's songs are catchy; Lennon's are pretentious twaddle.

[Sevo]

Ted S.|2.10.14 @ 4:57PM|#
"McCartney's songs are catchy; Lennon's are pretentious twaddle."
And neither have aged well.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Apu's version of Sgt. Pepper's is still better than the original.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I go back and forth with Lennon post-Beatles but I do think the idealist love affair with him; especially 'Imagine' to be irksome at times.

But again, look at their body of work.

You gonna tell me those albums were 'catchy?' No they weren't.

They were masterworks of music.

[paranoid android]

I go back and forth with Lennon post-Beatles but I do think the idealist love affair with him; especially 'Imagine' to be irksome at times.

Yeah. I hate "Imagine", but I wouldn't dislike it nearly as much if not for the imbeciles that go around saying it's the greatest song ever written.

*Glances pointedly at Rolling Stone*

[waffles]

Insipid? Now there are lots and lots of things you can call the Beatles, but insipid is not one of them. Maybe the immense popularity and general overplay of their tunes has caused them to become insipid for you, but in the era that they created music they were exciting and genre-creating.

You cretin.

[db]

I fucking love.trolling Beatles.fans.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I had a feeling you were. The IQ here is a little too high to succumb to such simplistic views on music.

So with that, fuck you for playing on my starving emotions.

[db]

Thanks. I.really don't care.for.the Beatles, by the.way.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

There's always one.

It's like saying Gretzky or Ali or Ruth are over rated.

http://www.hooksandharmony.com.....test-ever/

[John]

Yeah Rufus, sometimes people or things become a cliche for a good reason.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

My brother - a musician - says things like that too without really making a point other than it's not their 'gig.'

I remember a friend of mine - a drummer - on the bus in high declaring The Beatles were 'over rated' citing pre-Rubber Soul Beatles as his argument.

Of course, everything that came after had no bearing on his opinion.

Ridiculous.

The arrangements and melodies of The Beatles were pure genius.

Next.

[John]

The arrangements and melodies of The Beatles were pure genius.

This. There are Beatles songs that were never singles and are rarely played on the radio that would have been career highlights for even good bands.

[110 Lean]

Gretzky and Ruth are overrated; Ali was the greatest.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Ah. Care to posit a reason for that tenuous assertion?

Be careful, I'm ready to rip to shreds anything you may assert especially regarding Gretzky.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I'm itching to fight today seeing I haven't eaten today.

[110 Lean]

Ali was the most recognized figure on the earth when he was boxing. Also, I am old enough to remember him calling which round he would knock out his opponent and sure enough, that's the round that the guy went down. I never recall Gretzky doing something like that. Baby Ruth, maybe with that two home-runs for the sick kid story, but not every fucking game.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I can't argue with subjective - ie popularity. Objective through stats is another matter. Boxing and hockey can not be compared for obvious reasons.

But Gretzky did pull off some remarkable feats. His body of work is possibly the greatest in North American pro sports - as Sports Illustrated concluded.

[Freedom Frog]

If Gretzky never scored a goal he'd still be the all time points leader.

[Virginian]

but not every fucking game.

He did it once.

Ruth played many positions, played them all well, and of course was an exceptional hitter. If he isn't the best of all time, I don't know who is.

[waffles]

Believe it or not, hockey is not that special or important to most Americans.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I believe it. However, sports fans (and I do think Americans are great sports fans) can't deny the feats of Gretzky or Maradona or Pele or anyone other great sports legend for that matter.

Squirrels may attack so forgive duplicate posts if any.

[Raven Nation]

Re: Gretzky. It's not just how many records he holds but the distance between him and second place in most cases.

Parallel: Bradman's test batting average.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Dominance. His dominance is like no other athlete I've seen or read about including Ruth.

It's fucking nuts. He has more assists than players have points in a career.

[The Last American Hero]

Howe knew how to throw a punch and was a more complete player.

[John]

If anything Ruth is underrated Lean. His offensive numbers were not even touched until Bonds started juicing like no one on earth. And in addition to that he was once a dominant left handed pitcher with HOF ability. It would be like if Clayton Kershaw decided to be an outfielder and turned into Miquel Cabrerra at the plate. Unthinkable. But it happened.

[KB Check Release]

If anything Ruth is underrated Lean. His offensive numbers were not even touched until Bonds started juicing like no one on earth. And in addition to that he was once a dominant left handed pitcher with HOF ability. It would be like if Clayton Kershaw decided to be an outfielder and turned into Miquel Cabrerra at the plate. Unthinkable. But it happened.

^^This. Ruth hit more homers than other teams at times.

I'll repeat that. Ruth hit more homers than other teams.

[Mad Scientist]

I'm with db on this one. The best thing the Beatles have going for them is that they're not rap, and they're not country.

[db]

But they have an intensely loyal and uncompromising fan.base that is deliciously.fun.to.tweak.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I'm not in the fan base. Like sports, I just know when to understand when greatness spits you in the face.

Is all.

[kevrob]

Grestzky is over rated.

He played in an all-offense era, with tons of expansion teams, and wasn't half the player that, say, Gordie Howe was, in his prime. Certainly not defensively. (Google "Gordie Howe Hat Trick.")

Wayne was a big Howe fan, and wore #99 as a tribute to #9.

Still, a great player. His Edmonton Oilers kept my NY Islanders from winning a 5th consecutive Cup, and then went on to win a total of 5 in 7 years.

I still think I'd rather have Lemieux in his prime than Gretzky in his. Fast and a genius with the stick is one thing. Fast, GWTS and an imposing physical presence is another. All these comparisons have to handwave away injuries. Mario came back from cancer to play again, for cryin' out loud. Teeder Kennedy cracked Howe's skull open.

I'll leave off before I start with Denis Potvin v Bobby Orr.

Kevin R

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Kevin, that he played in a high-scoring era is inconsequential because when you adjust the numbers HE STILL DOMINATES.

Raven Nation was more on cue: No one rivaled him. And, just to add, everyone else played in that era - from Kurri to Hawerchuk to Yzerman. I didn't see them dominate. So I rate that long-debunked argument as weak.

As For Howe. Look, everyone has their favorites. People swear by Bobby Orr. Others Maurice Richard. And yes, the great 66 v 99 debate.

Gretzky is the greatest despite it all. In terms of NET DOMINANCE only Howe and Orr come close.

Next.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Kevrob. Sorry. Dunno where I got Kevin.

[kevrob]

`Sawright. My given name is Kevin.

Back to hockey.

Oilers won their 5th Cup without Gretzky. No Cups for the Great One after that, not in LA, nor as a member of the hated Rags. NYR needed Messier to turn to the dark side for that.

People choose Gretzky because they don't give enough credit to defensive play. Heck, maybe Terry Sawchuck was the greatest, or Glenn Hall?

Kevin R

[Slammer]

The Beatles were only interesting post LSD. Up until then they were just the biggest Boy Band of all time.

[Bobarian]

^^This is absolutely true. Without the LSD albums, the Beatles would be the Dave Clark Five.

[kevrob]

You can call the Beatles a "boy band," except that unlike said BBs:

1)They were an actual band, not just a lip-synching singing group.

2.) They wrote their own songs. And as pop songs go, they were damned good ones, easily the equals of the Brill Building songwriters, the Motown stable or any other non-performing writers.

3.) They changed the way we consumed pop music, making albums that people had to buy, not just selling singles. Elvis sold a lot of albums, but Tom Parker gave Presley crap to record, letting the highest bidders' songs make the cut. Bands like the Beach Boys made better music trying to compete with the Beatles.

They also recorded a bunch of pretentious nonsense, but it was often interesting nonsense, as opposed to formulaic pap.

Kevin R

[Rufus J. Firefly]

They were, so, Alex Rodriguez?

Silly.

All bands were doing drugs. So the playing field was pretty much equal.

Come on guys. Is this all you got?

[kinnath]

Just the number 1's. (in 8 years)
"Love Me Do"
"From Me to You"
"She Loves You"
"I Want to Hold Your Hand"
"Can't Buy Me Love"
"A Hard Day's Night"
"I Feel Fine"
"Eight Days a Week"
"Ticket to Ride"
"Help!"
"Yesterday"
"Day Tripper"
"We Can Work It Out"
"Paperback Writer"
"Yellow Submarine"
"Eleanor Rigby"
"Penny Lane"
"All You Need Is Love"
"Hello, Goodbye"
"Lady Madonna"
"Hey Jude"
"Get Back"
"The Ballad of John and Yoko"
"Something"
"Come Together"
"Let It Be"
"The Long and Winding Road"

[db]

"Let's write a swimming pool."

[kinnath]

Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of their appearance on Ed Sullivan. I remember it pretty well, even though I was but a lad then.

[John]

What did you think the first time you heard them? Did it seem like a big deal at the time or was it a "meh"?

[kinnath]

Before the Beatles

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EO7cD6qmydo

They were revolutionary. And while some might find them insipid 50 years later, they represented everything that parents found evil in the world in 1964.

[John]

It is hard to appreciate things that came before you were there. For me, I listen to the Beatles having heard and lived with everything that came afterwards. So it will never sound quite as revolutionary to me.

[kinnath]

I have a box of 45's from my youth. The only LPs I own from really early were greatest hits compilations from various artists and Beatles albums. Before the Beatles, no one gave a shit about making albums. But you could listen to a whole Beatles album because the worst song was still pretty damn good.

[Pelosi's Rabbit]

I don't know, the first time I heard Purple Haze 15 years after it came out pretty much blew my socks off.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I always like my uncle's takes on rock from that period in particular with The Beatles. Even though he became an arch-conservative in his later years, and did have harsh criticisms of The Beatles relative to his politics, he recently relented and said, 'They were special. No doubt about it. What an impact.'

[SIV]

Before The Beatles

[db]

Surf Rock would have had its proper place at the top of the musical Pantheon if the British Invasion hadn't provided something shiny for everyone to be distracted by.

[John]

What did you think the first time you heard them? Did it seem like a big deal at the time or was it a "meh"?

[Mickey Rat]

Because you are habitually late.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The contractor hired to fix Healthcare.gov also has a history of problems with the federal government.

Maybe they should go back to Michelle's cronies. Barry's campaign donors ain't getting it done.

[playa manhattan]

I have no doubt in my mind that this is somebody's crony.

[db]

There is an old song.from the Civil War called "Somebody's Darling" that I.am currently editing.ij.my head to "Somebody's Crony."

[Raven Nation]

Jackson Browne's "Somebody's Baby," could be adapted pretty easily as well.

[Homple]

How about a series of fantasy toy animals, My Little Crony?

[Specail Sauce]

Or breakfast cereals...

Captain Crony?

[Bobarian]

My Little Crony?

People (sad pathetic people) could dress up to it and make it a thing.

[Fist of Etiquette]

...a group of militants in Iraq learning how to become suicide bombers died when their trainer accidentally blew up a belt packed with explosives.

Those who can, do. Those who can't, blow up their students.

[Slammer]

The trainer was sent to a 'rubber room'. Still gets full pay.

[db]

Probably.double dipping with th3.disability checks, too.

[Tejicano]

"I am the only person in this room professional enough to..." BOOM!

Ha! I'd call it the will of Allah.

[jesse.in.mb]

In today's "This is not The Onion" headlines, a group of militants in Iraq learning how to become suicide bombers died when their trainer accidentally blew up a belt packed with explosives.

At least they died doing what they loved!

[John]

It is the problem with building a good suicide squad. Your best soldiers never make it through training.

[Pro Libertate]

This is incorrect. The major problem with training suicide squads is that the trainers are not successful suicide bombers.

[John]

Those who can't do teach. That is a problem in every field.

[Pro Libertate]

I suppose, but military training usually involves a veteran of some sort. Like a DI here is a veteran of the service and usually of some combat, depending on how much warfare the country has been in in the past couple of decades.

[John]

We having a conference about this problem next month. We are working on it.

[playa manhattan]

Gotta respect their dedication to live fire exercises, though.

[Brett L]

"The textbook says you should never do this, but I've done it hundreds of times and been totally fi--"

This is what happens when you let scientists teach an engineering class.

[Pro Libertate]

"Back off, man. I'm a suicidist."

[Citizen Nothing]

Trip to Vail upcoming next month. I'll report back on, er, the state's image.

[Lady Bertrum]

Bring me back some "brownies".

[playa manhattan]

How's the snowpack there? I have a mandatory ski week coming up, and Mammoth isn't looking too good.

[Protagoronus]

Great depth, scary weak layer under it all if you are doing any back-country. If not, shred away.

[playa manhattan]

Are there any areas of the back country where they dynamite/cannon?

[Protagoronus]

Not sure. Silverton Mountain maybe (I am thinking about hitting that soon - looking at their site, it seems they use a small helicopter to bomb).

[Protagoronus]

yikes: http://avalanche.state.co.us/

Utah might be good. If you want low avalanche danger, I think the safest area with lots of snow in the US is probably northeast of Seattle.

[Raven Nation]

Hey, they got 30 inches in Aspen 10 days ago and it snowed again last week and is snowing again today.

[The Late P Brooks]

A poll indicates Coloradans think legalizing marijuana has harmed the state's image.

Not as much as those stupid fucking gun laws.

[R C Dean]

I'd bet that the constant butthurt from the authoritarians in CO whining about it has done a lot to raise the media profile and hurt their image.

If they're so worried about their image, maybe they should shut the fuck up about what a disaster they think this will be.

[Fist of Etiquette]

...the United Arab Emirates is rolling out plans to allow them for deliveries of small items like medicine or official government documents.

The UAE UPS should filibuster.

[Mad Scientist]

London South Bank University's student union officials are anti-Pastafarian bigots, removing posters promoting the atheist mascot known as the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

That's some first class tolerance right there.

[Mickey Rat]

Great Britain IS officially a theocracy.

[SIV]

the atheist mascot known as the Flying Spaghetti Monster

What a silly religion.

[Cytotoxic]

Believing something isn't so =/= believing something is so

[John]

An affirmative statement about the absence of something is still an affirmative statement.

[SIV]

Having shared dogma about the numinous realm is a good definition of religion.

[JD]

How dare they call my deity a "mascot"!

Blasphemers!

[Dead or In Jail]

At least Colorado went ahead and implemented their law on schedule. Washington State is not only tardy and stuck in throat-clearing mode-- they can't even give the date when retail stores will be open for business!

Thank God for Richard Sherman.

[R C Dean]

Yeah, these things need to be written to be self-executing, as in

"All laws imposing criminal penalties for use, possession, or sale of marijuana will be repealed as of X."

"Any applicant for a license to grow or sell pot will have their application deemed accepted unless the agency rejects it for cause within 90 days of receipt."

With that, the authoritarians have two choices: start issuing licenses, or let anarchy reign. Delays stop being slow-mo denials, they become permission.

[Virginian]

We have something like this for the federal NICS gun background check. If your FFL tries to run the check, and the system is backed up or down, then the feds have I think three or four business days to get it back up and process the background check. If they can't get it back up at the end of the three days, then the FFL can go ahead and sell the gun.

[Fist of Etiquette]

..removing posters promoting the atheist mascot known as the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

By all means, Shackford. Ruin Links with one of the five forbidden topics: Atheism.

[Lady Bertrum]

Let me guess, another of the forbidden topics: immigration?

What are the other 3?

Pizza?

Circumcision?

Crossfit?

[Mad Scientist]

The only topic I know that's ever been forbidden had to do with sheep and who may or may not be fucking them.

[Ted S.]

Abortion, I'd guess.

[Lady Bertrum]

+1

[110 Lean]

Shouldn't that be -1?

[Lady Bertrum]

Depends. Are you pro-choice or pro-life?

[Anonymous Coward]

American Civil War.

The long knives come out fast.

[Lady Bertrum]

You mean The War of Northern Aggression, right?

[Brett L]

The War of Southern Intransigence?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Now is the time to strike the South. They're crippled by frozen moisture; something the North knows how to navigate. Finally put the Rebels down once and for all.

[Brett L]

Was talking to a woman from Detroit this weekend (work conference again) who said it hadn't been above zero since December. I think she was using the Farenheit scale, too. But since it was 45F and nasty in Kissimmee, FL, I was too worried about the new Ice Age to ask a followup.

[paranoid android]

But how are we supposed to burn Atlanta down again when it's all wet!?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Forget that. It will be just like when that army attacked the commie Soviets in the dead of winter, but this time the good guys will win!

[Bobarian]

The good guys?

Way to godwin the thread.

You're worse than...

than...

Nikki!

[The Last American Hero]

Winter is coming!

[Mickey Rat]

The North Remembers.

[waffles]

Crossfit was the dumbest fucking cult a girl I was dating ever tried to get me suckered into. Fuck, I'd rather go live in Jonestown than have to do Crossfit every day at 6 am.

[Brett L]

Thank your lucky stars you didn't marry her and pass me that Kool-Aid.

[alan_s]

abortion
anarchy
gay marriage

[Ted S.]

I was astonished not see anything in the AM or PM links about the Swiss referendum on immigration.

But sure enough, there was a full story in between.

[Lady Bertrum]

Yes. Fully of carefully thought-out circumspect comments.

[playa manhattan]

That's for sure. There was a whole lot of this.

[Lady Bertrum]

Virginia Postrel approved this message.

[The Other Kevin]

Americans are renouncing their citizenships in ? well, not droves, exactly, but at a 221 percent rate increase over 2012.

They had actually planned on doing this during the Bush years, but are only getting around to it now because of, uh, stuff.

[jesse.in.mb]

Florida, Brazil would like to have a word with you about your snake problem.

[playa manhattan]

I love the baby crying in the background. What happens if the snake comes back to life?

[jesse.in.mb]

Haha, I didn't listen to the sound. Weeping children make everything better.

[John]

Eeh Gads.

[Floridian]

Poor puppy.

[db]

What was that? A pig?

[playa manhattan]

Pit Bull.

[Citizen Nothing]

This kind of thing would never happen if terrorists would watch more Looney Toons

[Anonymous Coward]

Obama Considers Drone Striking Another American Citizen

An American citizen who is a member of al-Qaida is actively planning attacks against Americans overseas, U.S. officials say, and the Obama administration is wrestling with whether to kill him with a drone strike and how to do so legally under its new stricter targeting policy issued last year.

Four U.S. officials said the American suspected terrorist is in a country that refuses U.S. military action on its soil and that has proved unable to go after him. And President Barack Obama's new policy says American suspected terrorists overseas can only be killed by the military, not the CIA, creating a policy conundrum for the White House.

If Obama Rex Mundi wants this terrorist dead, what reason do we have to question Him?

[John]

Whole thread on that today. But Tony and Shreek declined to participate. It is almost like they have no canned talking points or something.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Barack Obama's new policy says American suspected terrorists overseas can only be killed by the military, not the CIA, creating a policy conundrum for the White House.

In other words, he didn't really mean it, now did he?

[110 Lean]

If you like your life you can keep it.

[Fist of Etiquette]

If the disposition matrix does it, that means it's not illegal.

[Pro Libertate]

Look, who are you to argue with math and science? Are you a drone process denier?

[The Other Kevin]

Tony and Shreek spent all their time today defending Bill Clinton.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Did they?

I specifically remember the harsh criticism of Clinton back in the day from all sides. The Economist ripped him apart for Kosovo.

His Presidency was possibly the most benign mediocre reign in contemporary American politics.

Not surprising they'd defend mediocrity.

[Pelosi's Rabbit]

After the past 13 years I'd settle for mediocre.

[paranoid android]

I could tip the authorities off right now with the description and location of a guy who's planning to blow up American citizens! Tall guy, kinda lanky, caramel-colored skin, lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue...

[Ted S.]

Obama Considers Drone Striking Another American Citizen

Michelle?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

When you read about the succession of Roman emperors that ruled after Augustus one begins to notice a streak of splendid mediocrity in their governance.

I get the feeling we're watching this in the flesh with Obama.

[Pro Libertate]

Well, they got better for a while, then sucked, then got better for a while, then pretty much sucked for the rest of the imperial period, with a few not as sucky emperors.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Yup. That's how it went down.

[Pro Libertate]

Look for my follow up treatise on English monarchs.

[Bobarian]

"American suspected terrorist is in a country that refuses U.S. military action"

Canada?

The city of Berkley?

[Brett L]

Troll bait for the Jezebel readers. It turns out that toy preference in monkeys is strongly related to the in utero hormonal environment they experience. Which kind of sucks when they are trying to keep little boys from wanting to hit each other with sticks, but bolsters many of the "born that way" arguments for trans* persons.

[playa manhattan]

The digit ratio thing used to be a party gag around here.

Me: Ring longer than index, and I like trucks.

[jesse.in.mb]

That's the way it's supposed to be, shorter index = more testosterone and for some reason same length index and ring are associated with teh gehz.

*puts away porcelain phrenology bust*

[playa manhattan]

Are yours same length?

[jesse.in.mb]

They are.

It does seem to show up a lot with gay men I've met, but I haven't kept a formal count.

[grrizzly]

My ring finger is longer. Never heard anything about the index and ring fingers being of the same length.

[jesse.in.mb]

It's possible I misremembered, it wouldn't be the first time.

In a sample of over 2,000 participants, men had significantly lower 2D:4D ratios than women (d = .36 and .23 for right and left hands, respectively), and these results were consistent across ethnic groups. Heterosexual men had significantly lower (more male typical) 2D:4D ratios than gay men (d = .32 and .31 for right and left hands, respectively), and these results tended to be consistent across ethnic groups. Heterosexual and lesbian women showed no significant differences in 2D:4D ratios, after ethnicity was taken into account. The current findings add to evidence that prenatal hormonal factors may be linked to men's sexual orientation.

[GILMORE]

"
Never heard anything about the index and ring fingers being of the same length.

Don't get them started on the earlobes and webbed feet.

[Warty]

for some reason same length index and ring are associated with teh gehz.

*checks hands*

UH OH

[BuSab Agent]

I don't think it applies to you Warty. Aren't all your fingers the same length?

[Jarl ? the booty]

Speaking of Jezebel and toys

Of course the author's response is "sorry, not sorry":

Lol. No. Mt@gamerocker92: Do u plan to issue an apology for ur latest article that shames and humiliates men for enjoying masturbation toys?

[Brett L]

Umm. I mean, unless someone else is using them on you. In which case its a fun change of pace. Right? Guys? Hello?

[playa manhattan]

From the comments:
"There's a difference between the stick of empowerment and the tube of despair."

[Brett L]

Perfect.

[Jarl ? the booty]

I didn't buy "Busty Betty" when I saw her in a vending machine (nor did I buy "Trigger Travis" -- NTTAWT), so it doesn't really make any difference to me. It's just the blatant hypocrisy on display.

[paranoid android]

God Patriarchy bless TiA.

[Anonymous Coward]

She is absolutely right. Men should be disgusted and ashamed of their sexual desires because all men are rapists who should feel blessed if a woman deigns to even touch them.

But a Jezzie who can stick a hand holding a cueball in all of her holes at the same time while riding a mountain lion is empowered and has taken charge of her sexuality.

[Jarl ? the booty]

But a Jezzie who can stick a hand holding a cueball in all of her holes at the same time while riding a mountain lion is empowered and has taken charge of her sexuality.

Get Sug on this ASAP.

[SugarFree]

What's left for me to do? AnonCow nailed it.

[Jarl ? the booty]

for Epi

[John]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....story.html

Employer health care mandate delayed by another year.

LOLOLOL

Has the White House been taken over by terrorists?

[Mike M.]

Dammit.

[John]

I guess the squirrels gave the tie to me.

[Apatheist ?_??]

The 2016 election should be fun.

[Mike M.]

Obamacare's employer mandate delayed until 2016 for medium-sized employers.

Yeah, that Obamacare sure is a great law. Well done libs, you must be proud.

[paranoid android]

Time for employment Russian roulette if you work somewhere with just over 100 employees.

[GILMORE]

""
paranoid android|2.10.14 @ 4:53PM|#

Time for employment Russian roulette if you work somewhere with just over 100 employees."

Did you not hear the shittiest scumbag detail the admin tacked onto the 'delay'?

"Employers with fewer than 100 workers will have to certify to the government that they haven't fired workers to get under the threshold and qualify for the delay until 2016. They also must certify they won't drop health plans they already offer, officials said. "

Why the 'certification'? Not to actually *prevent* employers from dumping employees to avoid penalties, or dumping coverage to force employees onto exchanges... (because how would that be actually *track-able and enforceable* until years after the fact? At which point its simply a fait accompli, and any lawyer not Bo Cara Esq could easily find reasonable excuses why changes were made...

...No, the reason for the certification is *obvious*. The admin wants to be able to claim "no one was fired" because of this law. How do they know? "People told us so".

Its handing out some temporary delay in burden on small employers in exchange for faux political-cover for the real impact of the law.

Please, anyone out there who really thinks it actually serves some legitimate purpose, try and defend it. Shreek? Tony? Please, tell me how this shit sandwich is prime rib au jus.

[paranoid android]

My God.

*Pours small amount of whiskey into tumbler, walks off with rest of bottle*

[Rufus J. Firefly]

It's an abject joke at this point.

What a sorry bunch.

[Killaz]

John Roberts could go some ways to redeem himself if the next time he swears one of the fuckers in, he does it like this --

"Repeat after me -- 'I, '"

"I, George P. Bush"

"'do solemnly swear'".

"'that I will faithfully'"

"that I will faithfully-"

"faithfully"

"'faithfully'"

"faithfully"

"'faithfully'"

[quizzical look at the Chief Justice]

"We had some major problems with the last guy, 'faithfully'"

[NoVAHockey]

They just delayed the mandate for small employers until 2016

[NoVAHockey]

well, shit. and I do this for a living. oh well.
bronze medal!

[Ted S.]

You're forgetting what the Olympics are all about: giving out medals of beautiful gold, so-so silver, and shameful bronze.

[db]

"Which is third...IN THE WORLD!"

[alan_s]

Tell that to Hannah Kearney. She acted like she had been denied entrance to the gates of heaven after she won bronze.

http://www.vnews.com/home/1060.....other-gold

[John]

It is interesting to read the comments on that story at WAPO. There were last I looked 141 of them and hardly any of them from liberals.

They really do seem to have no ability to comment on anything until they get their canned talking points from the hive.

[NoVAHockey]

should have pushed those out before the federal register update

[Mike M.]

No doubt Weigel, Krugman, and all the rest of the JournoList scum are hard at work right at this very moment furiously coming up with their spin, which we'll hear first thing tomorrow in the A.M. links.

[NoVAHockey]

put me down for "this is no big deal, nobody would really dump employees onto the exchange, they're just working hard to overcome GOP obstruction."

[John]

How long before they waive the penaltax? I can't see how they can enforce it given the complete failure of the website and the exchanges.

[Pro Libertate]

How this total abortion of a law isn't being repealed as we speak--by practically unanimous vote--shows how screwed up modern politics really is. Old days, they'd all be running away, screaming, just out of self-preservation.

[Brett L]

Not to worry, Nancy Pelosi just hasn't quite finished leading the Democrats to their final end.

[Mickey Rat]

They must not follow her, she is the Harbinger of Death.

[John]

I bet they never enforce the employer mandate. It won't be any more palatable in 15 than it is now, election or no.

[Pro Libertate]

Good luck enforcing the individual mandate without the employer one. Some citizens might take that the wrong way, see.

[Juice]

Doesn't matter how they take it as long as they take it.

[Corning]

How this total abortion of a law isn't being repealed as we speak

I am pretty sure the house has repealed it a few times....or at least defunded it which amount to the same thing.

[Killaz]

But you can retire early from having to work. Have you not heard? ACA enhances freedom. Like salt on the fries!

[Brett L]

Another hero on unpaid leave.

A San Diego police officer was booked into jail Sunday, accused of false imprisonment with violence and sexual battery charges.

[db]

In today's "This is not The Onion" headlines, a group of militants in Iraq learning how to become suicide bombers died when their trainer accidentally blew up a belt packed with explosives.

"The truth.is, I am the only.one.in.this room professional enough.to.handle.this Mark III Suicide.Belt..."

[Coeus]

Interesting. Hillary damage control on rawstory.

The Washington Free Beacon published a lengthy article Sunday night based on personal papers kept by Diane Blair, the late University of Arkansas political scientist and longtime Clinton friend.

According to the papers, Clinton defended former President Bill Clinton's admitted infidelity in a Sept. 9, 1998, phone call to Blair, saying her husband had made a mistake by becoming involved sexually with the "narcissistic loony toon" Lewinsky but blaming his political opponents, the loneliness of the presidency and her own failures as a wife.

Hillary Clinton told Blair the extramarital affair was devoid of sex "within any real meaning" and disputed suggestions that the president had abused his position of power, telling Blair the relationship with Lewinsky, then 25, had been consensual.

The commenters still react like it's a hit piece and circle the wagons.

[NoVAHockey]

devoid of sex "within any real meaning"

war on women. he just used her. and that's okay!

[John]

By all accounts Monica was in love with Bill and was naive enough to think he was going to leave Hillary for her. Meanwhile, Bill viewed it as "sex devoid of any real meaning". Doesn't that seal the case for Bill being a predator?

[NoVAHockey]

"naive enough to think he was going to leave"

that's just sad.

[John]

People say "oh it was just a blowjob" but when you look at it, it was some nasty shit. He really took advantage of her.

[Coeus]

If getting your salad tossed by an intern in her early 20s is wrong, I don't wanna be right.

[Bobarian]

But I don't want you to be President.

[Raven Nation]

By all accounts Monica was in love with Bill

And not just at the time. There were reports years later that she was still pining for Clinton. She did finally let it go but not sure when.

[John]

And she ended up being notorious and a punch line. Yeah, she was an adult. But he still took advantage of her. The Clintons are scum. They really are.

[paranoid android]

Shhh! You'll attract T0ny here from that other thread! My IQ dropped 15 points reading that shit earlier!

[Pelosi's Rabbit]

Try Reasonable. You'll never go back.

[mad libertarian guy]

her husband had made a mistake by becoming involved sexually with the "narcissistic loony toon" Lewinsky but blaming his political opponents, the loneliness of the presidency and her own failures as a wife.

Yet she is held on high as a feminist model.

She has somehow taken the fall for every powerful man in her life. A strong woman she is.

[Raven Nation]

And don't forget that piece of shit Carville with his "drag a dollar through a trailer park" comment about Paula Jones then 20 years later decrying a War on Women.

[Killaz]

She has some mean things to say about feminist groups in those papers too. So, it gets even better.

[jesse.in.mb]

Russian Police Choir Covers Daft Punk's 'Get Lucky'

There's something delightful about watching a bunch of old, Russian, uniformed men stand around looking uncomfortable while two of them rock out (one of them looks like Mr. Bean).

[Warty]

My favorite is the guy with the moustache. Also, "what keeps the planet springing". Also, the fact that they're dressed like NKVD executioners and happily singing a happy song about banging sluts. Everything about it is incredible.

[GILMORE]

"Everything about it is incredible."

Even my sense of the absurd has limits. That video comes extremely close to breaking me.

I need to go watch What's Up Tiger Lilly to stop feeling sick and suicidal now.

[Brandon]

Has this been posted here?

http://thefreethoughtproject.c.....ave-house/

SWAT team kicks woman out of her house, uses it as a base without permission. The best part is the video where a "criminal defense attorney" cites a "tactical advantage" exception to the constitution, which I hope the Supreme Court doesn't pick up on.

[Jarl ? the booty]

There's already a dedicated H&R post

[Capt. Rimmer]

Imagine giving this guy a blowjob:

http://theadvocate.com/home/83.....ads-guilty

[110 Lean]

Whatever floats your boat, Captain.

[jesse.in.mb]

Well thank you for that emotionally scarring mental image.

BTW are you the same guy who went by Capt. Ace Rimmer, or just another Red Dwarf fan?

[Capt. Rimmer]

both actually

[Capt. Rimmer]

Been meaning to ask if you're the Jessie from the Fred Thompson Reverse Mortgage Commercial?

http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7qHN/aa.....d-thompson

[playa manhattan]

Regardless of what he tells you, I assure you that it's him.

[jesse.in.mb]

Not me, sorry. I'm much beardier and less likely to jauntily wear a toque.

[Coeus]

Jezebel once again proves being against "body snarking" just means "lay off my fat ass, I'm hungry"

Lululemon's slightly scarier-sounding men's clothing line won't debut until 2016, which means that if you're an optimist, we've got two years to brace ourselves from the onslaught of bulge display, and if you're a pessimist, we've got two years to terrify ourselves with horror visions of what might be coming down the pipeline. So to speak.

All feminist trappings of logic are thrown out the window when the "eek, a penis!" response comes to the fore.

[Jarl ? the booty]

Hypocrisy? From Gawker? Never!

Compare this to this.

[Coeus]

favorite jezzie hippocracy article of all time...

[John]

Making fun of men being fat is just fighting the patriarchy. Stop it with your manspainling trying to say it is anything like fat shaming.

[Brett L]

I may have worn a pair of shorts I bought 10 years ago -- when I was running and not squatting -- to an athletic function at a work conference this weekend. At some point I realized that I was packed in a little tighter than I remembered. Oh well. There was a lot of drinking later that night and nobody mentioned it, so maybe it wasn't as bad as I thought.

[playa manhattan]

I have a pair like that. My wife calls them my "pervert shorts". It makes me want to wear them even more.

[jesse.in.mb]

A well endowed friend showed up at lunch wearing his (much smaller) ex's running shorts. It was a very distracting meal.

[Coeus]

"I'll have the salami..I mean salisbury tube steak..I mean salisbury steak....Godammit Yohan, just sit down already."

[jesse.in.mb]

onslaught of bulge display

Oh god, they need to sign the Hammaconda to rep their clothes stat!

[Anonymous Coward]

thrown out the window when the "eek, a penis!" response comes to the fore.

What you did there. I saw it.

[GILMORE]

But remember = women are mature and sensible and adult about biological things, while men are a bunch of silly drooling children who cant see past a pair of tits.

[Corning]

Jezebel - Whines that they want men to act like women, whines about it when men start acting like women.

[Brett L]

Listen, if those pants do for my ass what they do for my wife's...

[Jarl ? the booty]

Installing VLC Media Player voids your speaker warranty

As the main developer of VLC, we know about this story since a long time, and this is just Dell putting crap components on their machine and blaming others. Any discussion was impossible with them. So let me explain a bit...

In this case, VLC just uses the Windows APIs (DirectSound), and sends signed integers of 16bits (s16) to the Windows Kernel.

VLC allows amplification of the INPUT above the sound that was decoded. This is just like replay gain, broken codecs, badly recorded files or post-amplification and can lead to saturation.

But this is exactly the same if you put your mp3 file through Audacity and increase it and play with WMP, or if you put a DirectShow filter that amplifies the volume after your codec output...
At worse, this will reduce the dynamics and saturate a lot, but this is not going to break your hardware.

VLC does not (and cannot) modify the OUTPUT volume to destroy the speakers. VLC is a Software using the OFFICIAL platforms APIs.
The issue here is that Dell sound cards output power (that can be approached by a factor of the quadratic of the amplitude) that Dell speakers cannot handle. Simply said, the sound card outputs at max 10W, and the speakers only can take 6W in, and neither their BIOS or drivers block this.

[John]

What is a VLC media player?

[Jarl ? the booty]

It's a free program that can play all but the most obscure audio and video formats

[waffles]

I like it. I'll void warranties all day if it means getting freaky with VLC.

[Juice]

I like the player. I hate it's ugly ass icon.

[GILMORE]

http://www.winhelponline.com/b.....s-7-vista/

[playa manhattan]

I haven't found anything it can't play. It is the only app that can access the RSTP streams on my security cameras.

[kbolino]

Indeo, for one. It's pretty obscure, though. FFmpeg supports it, but VLC does not, I'm guessing for patent reasons.

[playa manhattan]

True, but I haven't come across and Indeo file in years.

[jesse.in.mb]

I'm a fan of Media Player Classic. It's played some extremely damaged files that I was too lazy to reindex and recode.

[Duke Trshmnstr of Stench]

It's like the old Windows Media Player or RealPlayer, except that it works.

[GILMORE]

Tripled here. VLC does it all. Shit I got rid of almost every other media device just to ensure that VLC was default codec farm for all sorts of stuff, audio/video, whatever.

I have libraries of DVD rips and VLC will play the .IFO files among other things, which just makes the whole process simpler because you don't need anything 're-encoded' into MP4 or any other dumb shit. It also will read and play even proprietary temp audio formats from editing software like Cakewalk/Cubase/Protools etc. so you can find lost takes or files you want to delete and aren't sure what they are... etc.

As far as I know or care, VLC is the last media prog you should need on a pc. I have yet to find something it doesn't do well.

[playa manhattan]

How big is your library?

*whips it out and puts it on the table*

[GILMORE]

2.5TB on external drives, + ~500 hardcopy DVDs. Adds up to maybe 1200 titles, give or take 100. I don't really know.

A lot of it is 'collections' that I like to keep for reference/posterity. Like this =

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_at_War

...which I think was ~40hrs, 12 double sided disks. Or silly stuff, like 13(?)Zatoichi films. Godzilla. Lots of documentaries. The 'complete works' of a bunch of my favorite directors, etc.

I stopped around the time Netflix streaming got more content rich. Combination of already having everything I wanted, and having easy access to new stuff at will...

[playa manhattan]

I have about 9TB on my ReadyNas servers. A lot of it is TV shows, though.

I have 13 Seasons of America's Test Kitchen, which takes up a lot of space.

[The Late P Brooks]

devoid of sex "within any real meaning"

"Eatin' ain't cheatin'"

[Coeus]

Egalitarian marriages lead to less sex.

"It's the first time in history we are trying this experiment of a sexuality that's rooted in equality and that lasts for decades," Esther Perel said. "It's a tall order for one person to be your partner in Management Inc., your best friend and passionate lover. There's a certain part of you that with this partner will not be fulfilled. You deal with that loss. It's a paradox to be lived with, not solved."

If you read the interviews and quotes, you realize what the issue is. The problem isn't an egalitarian marriage, it's that they don't leave that shit at the bedroom door like they should.

[John]

The problem is that egalitarian usually mean "asexual" as in both parties lose their gender roles and become interchangeable outside the bedroom. When couples do that they quickly become more like brother and sister killing their sex drive for each other. You can't be all asexual with someone and then magically decide to be sexual again in bed. It doesn't work that way.

[Coeus]

I disagree. You don't have to open car doors and order food for someone in order to be sexual with them. There is a place for gender roles. It's the bedroom. This is not something that my generation has problems with. Most of us get it.

[John]

No you don't. But they are talking about egalitarian in a much different way than that.

[Coeus]

No you don't

They do to a point. You are also correct to a point. The main problem is that many guys don't really know how to flip the script, so to speak, on a dime. They know what they should be doing but are uncomfortable with it, due to the lack of social reinforcement in other avenues. Too damn bad. Either learn or get dumped constantly. My point is this:

I have found that in the majority of stories women tell me about reluctance to taking charge in the bedroom are of men they were dating who were in their late 30s or early 40s. The younger guys are mostly either getting it, or checking out entirely after a few heartbreaks.

(Also, this contingent makes up the most virulent strain of commenters on the so-called "man-o-sphere" cause they are pissed at getting lied to all their lives, but unable to change their current learned behavior.)

[Duke Trshmnstr of Stench]

Stupid squirrels ate my first post

2 issues here:
1) When you don't stop bitching, you come off as selfish and naggy. Your spouse is a full grown adult, and being a condescending prick to them screams of "you're here to serve me."
2) What John says, but for a different reason. When you "split things equally" it never works out to be equal in your mind. No matter what, you think you're doing more of the work. This leads to disdain and hidden contempt, which leads to viewing somebody as a roommate more than a sexual partner. When you spend most of your time talking to your spouse about chores and other homekeeping/business topics, there's no room for the stuff that turns you on.

[Brett L]

As I tell my wife when I get up before her on the weekends on occasion and clean or do laundry: The work doesn't care who does it.

For fuck's sake, the dishwasher does not give a shit who loads it. Why would you spend one minute talking about that instead of enjoying each other? Why not just load the dishwasher (or scrub the toilet) when you're bored at home? It takes literally five minutes. It takes longer to fight about it.

[Duke Trshmnstr of Stench]

I think it has so much to do with the tone that you approach it with.

"Can you unload the dishwasher so I can put all the stuff from dinner in there?" is much better than "Damnit, I work so hard and have to cook dinner! The least you could do would be to unload the fucking dishwasher!"

It's all selfishness and entitlement. You don't take a condescending tone with your spouse if you want them to respect what you're saying. The only reason to do that is if you think you're entitled to them reading your mind and doing what you want them to.

[John]

There is a retired hooker who blogs under the name "The proper courtesan" or something like that. Her name is Maggie McNeil. She has this great rant about women and why men cheat or leave them. Basically it comes down to "if you wouldn't feed your kids an unappealing unvaried diet of food and act surprised when they won't eat it or eat elsewhere, so why are you expecting your husband to accept the same sort of diet of sex". I assume the Jezzies have never read it or their heads would have exploded in rage.

[Apatheist ?_??]

An "equal" marriage doesn't mean you have to divide every role/responsibility/power in half. Much better to divide tasks according to your strengths as much as possible.

They aspire to what's known in the social sciences as an egalitarian marriage, meaning that both spouses work and take care of the house and that the relationship is built on equal power, shared interests and friendship.

Why the fuck would you need to have completely shared interests and friendships?

[John]

It is the "your spouse is your friend" thing that kills the sex. At some point she becomes like your sister.

[Duke Trshmnstr of Stench]

Yeah. Shared interests are a good thing. Sharing all your interests is a terrible thing. Then you can't get away from your spouse when you need time away from them. Think how horrible it would be if you worked with your spouse, lived with them, and all your friend groups included them. You literally wouldn't be able to have any human interaction outside the context of your relationship.

[playa manhattan]

This.

I'm a great cook, and a slob. My wife is a neat freak, and she can't even cook a pop tart. So we divide the labor accordingly.

We are a great match.

[Brett L]

Are we the same guy?

[grrizzly]

The Obama administration is giving employers more time to comply with rules requiring them to provide affordable health insurance for their workers.

Companies with 50 to 99 employees will now have until 2016 to provide affordable coverage under Obamacare, a year later than expected. And larger companies must offer insurance to only 70% of full-time workers in 2015, rather than 95%.

[GILMORE]

"grrizzly|2.10.14 @ 4:56PM|#

The Obama administration is giving employers more time..."

Employers? He's editing the law on the fly to prevent people all feel the pain 'all at once', or at least especially not right before the 2014 mid-terms. Jesus, if the shit is so 'affordable' why is it they are so desperately afraid of people's reaction to being forced to BUY it?

[Coeus]

Doubling down on the idiocy...

It has everything to do with it since CVS claimed that the move to drop tobacco products was to help people's health. Again, smokers will not quit smoking because of CVS's move. However, rectifying the problem of food deserts will directly end many problems with nutrition, something that has a lot to do with health.

when a company does something that is good for public health, [we skeptics shouldn't] immediately attack the company for not doing something else that we think it should be doing. Accept the good action for what it is, acknowledge that it's good, and resist the impulse to instantly yoke it to criticism of bad things the company is still doing.

It isn't that great of a move: it will not stop anyone from smoking. As for the "yoking" in which I engaged? A great way to get people to pay attention to what you have to say is to tie it into a current event to which they are paying attention. Much as Orac used my piece to talk about his frustration with his perception of knee-jerk reactions, negativity, and demands for moral purity, I used #CVSQuits to talk about deeper inequalities that often are ignored in the greater discussions of corporate responsibility.

[Corning]

http://jalopnik.com/womans-hor.....n=mondayPM

Holy fucking shit.

[GILMORE]

Mental illness and alcohol.

I don't think its 'sex' at all. Trust me, I have schizo relatives. I know the sound.

[RishJoMo]

Sometimes man you jstu have to roll with the punches dude.

http://www.Anon-Works.com

[cheap soccer jerseys]

By all means, Shackford. Ruin Links with one of the five forbidden topics: Atheism.