A.M. Links: Private Sector Creates 139,000 Jobs in February, Russia Says Soldiers in Ukraine are "Self-Defense Forces", Lindsay Lohan Getting OWN Reality Show

• 

  OWN

  The private sector created 139,000 jobs in February, according to payroll processor ADP.

• John Kerry is set to meet with the Russian foreign minister, who claims unmarked soldiers in Ukraine are Crimean self-defense units over which his country has no control.
• A judge in New Jersey ruled against an 18-year-old suing her parents, including a former police chief, for more financial support. She moved out of her home, suing her parents with help from a county freeholder. The judge did rule the teen's parents had to keep her on their health insurance and couldn't liquidate any college savings accounts they set up for her.
• A new study published this week claims eating meat and cheese could be as dangerous as smoking.
• The internet of sky things is coming; Facebook is interested in buying a drone maker while Google is working on balloons to deliver internet access to remote areas.
• Illegal downloads of 12 Years a Slave have tripled since it won an Oscar for Best Picture.
• Lindsay Lohan is getting her own reality show on the Oprah Winfrey network.

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

A new study published this week claims eating meat and cheese could be as dangerous as smoking.

And don't even get me started on second hand meat and cheese.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

Boy, 9am really sneaks up on you while you're cutting a pineapple.

[gaijin]

cutting a pineapple.

IS that some kind of kinky jargon?

[UnCivilServant]

Are we sure you're Canukistani? Or do you buy foreign fruits? Moving pineapples to the arctic puts a lot of exhaust in the air. Carbonator!

[BigT]

cutting a pineapple

And that is Canuck slang for ??

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Fucking the neighbor's wife.

[AlmightyJB]

Is she from Hawaii? Is it Hawaiian?

[Doctor Whom]

Kak vy pozhivayete?

[waffles]

Morning Rufus. Morning 'noids. Good morning world!

[Aloysious]

This really cheered me up.

[Invisible Finger]

Rufus, we know you were cutting cheese.

[Andrew S.]

Good morning, FoE.

I'm currently in the hospital being treated for cancer I got as a result of shaking hands with somebody who once met somebody who talked to somebody who was once in the same city with somebody else who once smoked and ate meat. It's sad. 🙁

[gaijin]

I'm currently in the hospital being treated for cancer

At least your birth control is free.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Don't even joke about having cancer. Edit your comment to make it heart disease.

[Andrew S.]

The patriarchy took away my edit button.

[Auric Demonocles]

It's pronounced EDIT BUTTON!!!!

[Slammer]

Howdy.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Why not take a break from meat and cheese for a specified time-period?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Big Lent is behind this study.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

I gave up lent for lent.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I will say this for the last time: Giving up something for lent is for children, not adults.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Why is that?

[waffles]

Because it's spurious if you give something up for 40 days. Change your life or don't. Mickey mouse games mean jack shit.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Somewhat, yes. Catholics are supposed to use the season to reflect on Christ's suffering and sacrifice and repent and mourn and whatnot, but since children don't have the capacity to do that in any meaningful way, they were asked to make a sacrifice (beyond meat on Fridays). People at some point just started carrying that into their adulthood. BUT NOT THIS FORMER ALTAR BOY.

[Ebriosa]

I don't know. There's something to be said to testing yourself and proving that physical addiction is bs in this particular case. Coming back to something after not having it for a long time can be a lot of fun. I had braces once and my first ribs after years of torture were amazing. I miss Fat Matt's in Atlanta.

[Fist of Etiquette]

You know you can have your sacrifice on Sundays during Lent? Every Sunday is a celebration of the Resurrection and it would be inappropriate to sacrifice on that day of celebration.

I don't make up the rules. (Someone else did that.)

[Fist of Etiquette]

(By sacrifice I mean fast.)

[Certified Public Asskicker]

I grew up Catholic, have since moved on.

I found it odd my mom would make seafood we rarely had the rest of the year during lent (the occasional pancakes or fish sticks for dinner too, bleh) but otherwise I feel like we ate better.

Didn't seem like much of a sacrifice.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Several of the Apostles were fisherman. Follow the money.

[Auric Demonocles]

Parents tend to neglect that information. Stupid jerks.

[Auric Demonocles]

Did you know that 100% of people who consume water eventually die?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

J'amais!

That's why you should drink wine. It doesn't rust. So told me an old Italian man in Calabria.

[Doctor Whom]

That's because evil corporations have polluted our water with dihydrogen monoxide.

[Fist of Etiquette]

You know they're planning to put fluoride in ice cream, Auric? Children's ice cream?

[Auric Demonocles]

They're making ice cream for kids now? Fuck that, all ice cream production should be for me.

[Fist of Etiquette]

If you're telling me you don't get that reference then you can just get out right now. Get out of the internet and don't come back.

[Auric Demonocles]

Hmm, it's been several years since I've seen that, at least. I actually may have only watched it once.

[CatoTheElder]

I didn't know about the fluoride in ice cream.

However, it is well known that that children's milk is loaded with artificial adulterants such as toxiferol and 9,10-secoergosta-5,7,10(19),22-tetraen-3-ol after it is subjected to separation and high-temperature processing. This is the sort of artificial processing that is typical of capitalism. It's obvious that such intensive artificial processing and adulteration is harmful to living things (particularly the things living in milk), but capitalists are only concerned about profit.

[Fist of Etiquette]

They're putting fluoride in all sorts of things.

[JD the elder]

Good one about the toxiferol. I am going to have to start using that one. "Did you know that industrial ice cream contains toxiferol, a chemical structurally similar to steroids, which is industrially extractged from grease?" It has a nice sound to it. Not that it will convince the "chemicalz r scary" crowd, but it will be fun to tweak them with.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Lindsay Lohan is getting her own reality show on the Oprah Winfrey network.

Seems about right.

[UnCivilServant]

The existence of an "Oprah Winfrey Network" is wrong in and of itself.

[Swiss Servator, alles klar?]

I look forward to the market correcting that.... she will run out of money eventually.

[Pro Libertate]

I feel I'm the only person in the world who finds deep amusement in that spelling OWN.

[Clich? Bandit]

When exactly was the transition from a female Jerry Springer to a highly respected and serious interviewer?

I remember seeing Oprah during the week in the 80s and it was just another Maury/Rikki Lake/Geraldo/Donahue/Montel stupid show.

At least Morton Downey Jr. was funny.

[Pro Libertate]

Sometime in the early 90s, I think. She saw the opportunity, just like Murdoch did with Fox News in a different context.

[R C Dean]

When exactly was the transition

Probably when her net worth exceeded $500mm.

[Lord Humungus]

I like Lindsay Lohan - I have a strange weakness for trashy drug-filled women - but I doubt I could stomach any reality show of hers.

[AlmightyJB]

I couldn't pick her out of a lineup but the fact that everyone fusses about her partying does make me root for her.

[Fist of Etiquette]

John Kerry is set to meet with the Russian foreign minister, who claims unmarked soldiers in Ukraine are Crimean self-defense units over which his country has no control.

Get a load of Foreign Minister Joe Isuzu over there.

[BigT]

My understanding is that they were unmarked, as were the vehicles - EXCEPT for the Russian license plates!

[UnCivilServant]

It's a flag of convenience. Do you really think Liberians run all those boats?

/Moscow Mikhail

[db]

I was just going to make a pun on car rental company names when.I.finally realized why.it it that Patrick Stewart does the voiceovers for Enterprise Rent-a-car commercials.

[Auric Demonocles]

I'm a bit ashamed that I only just realized it because of you.

[Swiss Servator, mehr K?se!]

Um...you mean National, right?

[db]

Well, they're owned by the same company. And I have Enterprise.on the brain.because they filed a.claim against me for a tiny chip on.the windshield of the car I rented.two.weeks.ago.

[Auric Demonocles]

Damn. This makes me sad that it's not Enterprise, though at least I don't feel as bad about missing it.

[db]

I have a strange sense of de ja vu, as if I have made this.mistake before.

[Swiss Servator, mehr K?se!]

"the Russian foreign minister, who claims unmarked soldiers in Ukraine are Crimean self-defense units over which his country has no control."

You know who else had units over which he had no control?

[Fist of Etiquette]

That guy in Downfall?

[mr simple]

Ben Roethlisberger?

[sloopyinca]

Frank Zappa?

[gaijin]

Randy Johnson?

[Kaptious Kristen]

Mike Tice?

[Injun Joe]

Gen. Pervez Musharraf?

[Don Mynack]

Has any enterprising journalist over there just walked up to them and asked them? Hell, they are Russians - you can probably get them to divulge extensive state secrets for a pack of Marlboros.

[Brett L]

A carton of those and a case of good whiskey and you can probably have your own copy of the warplan, with updates.

[Injun Joe]

Vodka, my friend. Whiskey is for them Irish.

[BigT]

Stimulus for Ben!

Ben Bernanke earned more in 40 minutes on Tuesday than he made all of last year as head of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Bernanke was paid at least $250,000 for his first public speaking engagement, in Abu Dhabi, since stepping down in January, according to sources familiar with the matter. That compares to his 2013 paycheck of $199,700, and the appearance was only the first of three around the world this week.

[gaijin]

And the insight he shared that earned him his fiat? That the economic crisis was caused by 'Overconfidence'. SO there you go. Real Man of Genius.

[Ted S.]

I hate that Budweiser felt obligated to change the ad campaign from "Real American Heroes" to "Real Men of Genius" after 9/11.

[Ebriosa]

Now, more than ever, we need the freedom to make fun of the concept of heroes.

[Ted S.]

A couple of Veterans' Days back, I commented that I'd honor my Dad, who had 18 months stolen out of his life, which he spent at White Sands Missile Range keeping the Ernst Stavro Blofelds of the world from stealing the missiles. (He really was drafted, and served at White Sands, but the part about the Blofelds is probably not true.)

The military fellators got pissed.

[Swiss Servator, alles klar?]

They also serve who only stand and deter supervillians.

[Jordan]

I didn't realize clowns could pull in that much.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Jordan,

Clowns run everything now.

[Bardas Phocas]

And he demanded payment in GOLD!

[Invisible Finger]

Before Quantitative Easing the ex-Fed speaking Fee was only $80,000.

[Invisible Finger]

Honestly, anyone willing to pay to listen to a central banker deserves to be gouged.

[Lord Humungus]

Judge grants firebrand Democratic congressman's wife a restraining order after he allegedly pushed her to the ground... as she claims he also beat their children

A Florida judge has slapped Democratic congressman Alan Grayson with a restraining order after his estranged wife complained that he had battered her over the weekend and said she feared for her safety and the safety of their two smallest children.

Lolita Grayson's sworn complaint says the congressman 'showed up, unannounced' as she was preparing to take the two young children to a play date and asked to speak with her inside their house.

When she refused, according to a sheriff's office document, he 'deliberately and with force pushed [Lolita] very hard against the front door, causing [her] to fall to the ground as a result.'

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Yeah, that's the guy who said the GOP is the 'only' party waging a war on women.

What a piece of shit.

[Zeb]

Well, to be fair, he may only be waging war on one woman.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Well, at least one media outlet is willing to identify the party affiliation of scandal-plagued Democratic politicians.

[Auric Demonocles]

A media outlet in a different country, best known for pictures of celebrities on their way to yoga.

[Swiss Servator, mehr K?se!]

We take what we can get, Auric.

Heck, I am just grateful there was alt-text this morning...

[Auric Demonocles]

I almost missed the alt-text because I was a bit... distracted.

[Ebriosa]

I've always wondered at the proliferation of dailymail links on US topics. I had chalked it up to the H&R version of snooty US liberals who get their news from the BBC because it's not biased, but now I know. Yoga pants.

[sloopyinca]

Is Florida not a "must charge" state? I distinctly remember George Zimmerman recently being arrested on no more evidence that his estranged girlfriend's word and a PD spokesman saying they had to arrest someone if there was any evidence, including merely the accusation, of a physical altercation.

[Brett L]

No, but we do have Warren Moon laws. If the cops get called to a domestic altercation, someone has to leave with them.

[Griffin3]

Are you going on again about little-people laws?

[R C Dean]

I find it amusing that cops don't know the difference between "accusation" and
"evidence".

[CampingInYourPark]

"Obamacare Just Made Americans Richer Without Anyone Noticing"

OSo what exactly did the Obamacare rollout do to cause such a rise? For one, it expanded the Medicaid program, a critical and highly controversial aspect of the law, by adding up to a $19 billion in benefits in January. On top of that, health care enrollees additionally received another near $15 billion in the form of tax credits as a result of the rollout, according to the BEA.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....92267.html

[WTF]

Yes, and all those people who are worse off paying higher premiums and higher deductibles due to Obamacare are all just lying liars.

[mr simple]

That's all been debunked, according to Jon Stewart. I have yet to see a story doing this, but their totes sure all those stories are republican plants. They even put actors in commercials about it!

[Auric Demonocles]

Okay, so now you need to show why Medicaid or tax credits make Americans richer.

[Pro Libertate]

It's interesting they tout this, because in retail businesses, when one distribution channel cannibalizes another, it's not treated as new money or greater "wealth" for the company as a whole.

[Lord Humungus]

made some Americans "richer"

[CampingInYourPark]

You mean making money change hands doesn't make us all richer by default?

*raises suspicious eyebrow

[Doctor Whom]

The money for all of that free stuff will just magically appear. OTOH, Bush was evil for not fully funding his expansion of free stuff.

[CatoTheElder]

Here's a real world story about one guy who is actually $2000 richer due to ObamaCare.

I actually wanted to sign up for ObamaCare, and made serious efforts to do so. My medical insurance coverage ended in 2013 my individual policy was no longer offered under anything resembling reasonable terms. Back in 4Q13, I tried 109 times to sign up for ObamaCare on HealthCare.gov. So, thanks to ObamaCare and the stunning incompetence of its rollout by Team Sebellius, I've joined the ranks of the uninsured and now save about $1000/month in medical insurance premiums. I didn't get sick or impregnated by a collision with a bus in January, so I was indeed enriched by $1000 due to ObamaCare. Ditto February.

[Don Mynack]

Yes, Medicaid losers are swimming in wealth.

[Bee Tagger]

Google is working on balloons to deliver internet access to remote areas.

99 infrared balloons.

[UnCivilServant]

+5 Clones. (Friend Computer Approves)

[Swiss Servator, mehr K?se!]

+1 Nina

[sloopyinca]

That's Nena, dammit!

[Clich? Bandit]

touchee this morning sloop?

I am not positive but didnt they change the spelling on the US album release?

[a better weapon]

Why has the Obamaphone guy not replied to this yet!?

The president is on the line...

Ugh, so disappointed in that novelty account right now.

[Clich? Bandit]

we really do need a better class of trolls.

[sarcasmic]

Is racism making you FAT? Victims of prejudice are at greater risk of obesity

Researchers found relationship between racism and obesity was strongest among women who were frequent victims of prejudice
The study was based on the Black Women's Health Study, which enrolled 59,000 African-American women in 1995 and has followed them since
Workplace and community-based programmes to combat racism are an important component in strategies to prevent obesity, one expert said

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sci.....esity.html
derp

[gaijin]

Racism...is there anything it can't explain?

[WTF]

No one is ever responsible for any bad choices they make. It's all someone else's fault.

[Doctor Whom]

Pale males are responsible for the bad choices that they make as well as the bad choices that everyone else makes.

[gaijin]

I think I will name my next beer Pale Male Ale

[gaijin]

I should add it will have almost no hops.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

Nice.

[TANSTaaFL]

+10' (for NBA and college) and +8' (for youth leagues)

[JD the elder]

You're a little behind the curve there:
https://www.google.com/search?q=pale+male+ale

(It doesn't help that there's a well-known hawk in NYC named "Pale Male", so the phrase already had some currency.)

[Clich? Bandit]

I am entered into the NHA Annual comp...just kegged last night and am carbonating now.

Will mail in next week.

EXCITED!

Also, i get to be an amateur judge this weekend at a local competition.

SUPER EXCITED!

[Matrix]

The dinosaurs are extinct because of racism.

[neoteny]

At a minimum because of discrimination. I mean some dinosaurs are with us today; how come they got a break?

[Rhywun]

Racism...is there anything it can't explain?

Well, the gays are scooping up their black men, so... yes?

[WTF]

They are fat because they are victims of the white man. Not because they make unhealthy choices. Also, food deserts.

[Slammer]

Also, food deserts desserts

[sarcasmic]

Well yeah! It's those greedy corporations run by white men that force their unhealthy food upon the black community! If it wasn't for the corporations run by white men blacks would be eating all healthy and stuff! It's all because of white men and corporations!

[Doctor Whom]

Food deserts are bad. Food trucks are bad. Allowing Wal-Mart or Trader Joe's to open in a currently underserved community is bad. Every possible option is bad.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

This is why we need community farms, where everyone can go, pick the food they need, and then help in the growing of crops for everyone to share.

What could go wrong?

[Swiss Servator, alles klar?]

+1 Great Leap Forward!

[Tonio]

Tragedy of the commons?

[Malkavian]

To be fair, I don't think they have obesity problems in North Korea.

[Clich? Bandit]

+1 Jamestown

(not Jonestown...that was...different)

[a better weapon]

"Now let's see if we can't back this data up into some preferred, politically-correct bias"

- Researcher during grant review season

[Lord Humungus]

This fits certain commentariats:

13 Wonderful Old English Words We Should Still Be Using Today

1. Ultracrepidarian (n):"Somebody who gives opinions on subjects they know nothing about."

2. Snollygoster (n): "A shrewed, unprincipled person, especially a politician."

3. Zwodder (n): "A drowsy and stupid state of body or mind."

etc...

[WTF]

Well, we certainly have our share of ultracrepidarians.

[Swiss Servator, mehr K?se!]

But it is quicker to type "shriek" or "Tony" or "Tulpa".

[Clich? Bandit]

I covered some of this yesterday:

See Here

[a better weapon]

I haven't seen a definition of ultracrepidarian anywhere that makes any mention of socks

[Rhywun]

You leave the Clintons out of this.

[Mickey Rat]

Are not all three examples you used synonyms for "politician"?

[Fist of Etiquette]

The judge did rule the teen's parents had to keep her on their health insurance and couldn't liquidate any college savings accounts they set up for her.

Is there any way to conclude this ruling is anything but arbitrary?

[Auric Demonocles]

Um... something something 26 year old child something something penaltax?

[tarran]

It's a preliminary hearing.

He's basically establishing the rules that will be in place until the trial and final judgement. He has no choice but to be arbitrary (since it happens before the evidence is presented), and the guiding principle is to basically minimize the harm to both sides.

For example keeping her on the health insurance doesn't increase parents' costs if they have other children, while saving her money.

The freezing of her college savings accounts is pretty standard fare; when ownership/usage of a financial asset is in dispute, the judge will generally issue an order that will preserve its value.

The denial of her motion for support and tuition speaks volumes; the judge is warning her that she is unlikely to succeed.

Of course, the parents are going to be out the money they paid for the lawyer, as will the daughter's new friend.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Lesson: do not raise shitty children.

[db]

Lesson: don't put your kids's names on any of your accounts.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Well, I don't like that answer at all.

[Pro Libertate]

I'm sorry, why isn't this being dismissed? The only possible grounds for her to get his would be severe mental or physical impairment, which I haven't heard alleged.

[RBS]

severe mental or physical impairment, which I haven't heard alleged

I believe Warty covered this yesterday.

[Pro Libertate]

What did the august Warty say?

[RBS]

Warty|3.4.14 @ 2:01PM|#|?|filternamelinkcustom

I think filing this suit is pretty conclusive proof of the former. Prima facie retardari.
reply to this

[Pro Libertate]

Yes, well, no argument here, but I think she's likely not clinically retarded, just stupid and bratty.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Spot a dead philosophy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VX9f8YWSAI

Meh. To me, liberalism has been dead since (sticks finger out the window to feel wind direction), say, 1892.

[Brett L]

I would pick the founding of the Fabian Society, but no later than 1914.

[db]

The private sector created 139,000 jobs in February, according to payroll processor ADP.

The Calculated Risk Blog used to post charts showing the rate of job creation needed per month to.return to.pre-recession levels of employment. Last one I.saw, back.in.2011 or 2012, neede at least 250,000 jobs.per month over a period longer than any recovery to.date just to get back to par.

[gaijin]

Like squeezing a balloon...the lack of job creation comes out as people leaving the workforce. We're going to be at 5% unemployment soon comrade!

[Auric Demonocles]

We also added somewhere in the range of 300,000 more people in February. If you want to look at the people turning 18 instead, it looks like Feb 1996 would still have been somewhere around 280,000.

[db]

Maybe Obamacare will help by increasing the child mortality rate bringing Americans' pediatric health care options in line with the enlightened systems of Western Europe.

[Invisible Finger]

to.return to.pre-recession levels of employment.

Also known as height-of-the-housing-bubble employment.

[Auric Demonocles]

A couple comments about my name stemming from yesterday's PM Links:

Pro Lib: I remember that you were there, which is why I said you get a vote.

RC Dean: It's pronounced the way Pro Lib suggested (Or-Ick). Actually if you Google Auric the pronunciation there is right (as is the second definition).

[BigT]

Demonocles will eat anything, but enjoy food that will struggle and scream as they devour them. They are one of the least advanced creatures in Zamonia

[Auric Demonocles]

Sadly it doesn't go into the golden variety.

[Pro Libertate]

We were all so proud, and while it's true the Urkobold used the event as an alibi when the heads of the Five Trolling Families were dealt with, he was still deeply moved.

[sarcasmic]

Goodbye guacamole? Chipotle threatens to take topping off the menu because of climate change

The Denver, Colorado-based chain said it will take guacamole off the menu if avocado prices continue to rise
Scientists are predicting a 40 per cent drop in avocado production over the next 32 years thanks to drought conditions attributed to global warming
The chain says it doesn't want to take the condiment off the menu, because it will harm business

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....hange.html
Surprisingly, the comments are not derpy.

[UnCivilServant]

Or goodbye guacamole because it's not all that good a flavor. I'll bet more people are buying the other toppings, meaning a minor price rise makes it even less economical to keep the green gloop around.

[sarcasmic]

Just because you don't like guacamole doesn't mean everyone else shares your taste (or lack thereof).

[UnCivilServant]

If it were popular, the price inelacticity of demand would be higher, and the increase in input costs would have less impact on the business as their customers would be willing to eat the difference (no pun intended)

[sarcasmic]

They make a point of buying local and organic. That makes their supply rather limited and expensive. Of course you'd know that had you actually read the article.

[mnarayan]

Of course you'd know that had you actually read the article.

So how did you learn about it?

[UnCivilServant]

Why would you buy local avacados? They don't grow in most of the country (thank God).

[Mokers]

Chipotle made a push to go organic to help market their products. I'm sure that has nothing to do with the price increases either.

[Jordan]

Yeah, that shit is disgusting. So is sour cream.

[BigT]

goodbye guacamole because it's not all that good a flavor

Maybe, just maybe, you're making it wrong. Try adding a little cumin.

[Snark Plissken]

Or eating those third-rate Florida ones, stick to the Hass cultivar.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

And coriander - fresh or ground.

Hint of cinnamon too. Add some pinchy olive oil, shallots, lime or lemon juice and balsamic cream. Dee-lish.

I've taken to, when not using those ingredients, adding Za'tar.

[sarcasmic]

Really? I like to keep it simple. Avocado, lime juice, salsa and garlic salt.

[Snark Plissken]

Yeah, this. I'll add a bit of mayo sometimes to stretch the guac out. Mostly I just eat them straight with some salt.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

At least you stretch it correctly. A lot of chain restaurants add pureed iceberg lettuce or lima beans to the avocado.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Well as long as we are sharing guacamole recipes:

Avocados
Seeded Jalapeno
Red Onion
Cilantro
Lime
Salt

[sarcasmic]

I use the salsa when I don't want to buy fresh vegetables. Otherwise I do your exact recipe only with the addition of fresh tomato.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Here's another: Tomatoes (Cherry or whatever is in season), Lebanese cucumbers, red wine vinegar, coriander/cilantro, olive oil, red onions.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Sometimes I do. But when I want explosion of flavors or something different I go that route.

We had a Mexican tenant a few years back who made his own tortilla's and chips as well as salsa. He would give us some recipes and one thing I still do is mix in salsa with avocado as you do.

[sarcasmic]

At one Mexican restaurant where I worked as a cook, the Mexican employees would take the available ingredients and make their own food. One thing they made was a tomatillo salsa that was positively deadly. They're roast tomatillos, jalapenos and red onion until fully cooked and starting to brown, then process it with cilantro and salt. Holy shit that stuff would make your ears ring as you went back for more.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Well, I have Meniere's so...I'm out.

Once upon a time I'd swallow it whole.

The region where my father is from in Italy eats hot and he loves eating hot anything - Lebanese, Chinese, Mexican, Italian. Whatever.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

*Stands up at his desk and points at the computer screen*

Do not talk bad about guacamole.

[db]

Hear, hear!

[RBS]

Depends on the guac, some is really, really good others are incredibly bland.

[a better weapon]

If it weren't for their guac, I wouldn't eat there any longer.

The guac really ties the burrito bowl together, does it not?

[RBS]

really ties the burrito bowl together

Until some Chinaman pees on it.

[mr simple]

Dude, chinaman is not the preferred nomenclature. Asian-American, please.

[Pro Libertate]

Yes, my wife and I like guacamole. Better at home than at Chipotle, but still.

[Brett L]

What the fuck is wrong with you? Next you'll disrespect melted cheese, at which time we will have to duel.

[UnCivilServant]

That implies you're eating cheese that isn't melted, which seems counterintuitive, as the flavor doesn't come out when it's solid.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

And of course, we still cannot accurately predict how much snowfall will occur the day before a storm.

But yes, we know for sure there will be drought conditions over the next 32 years.

[sarcasmic]

If it fits the narrative then it's a climate event, otherwise it's just weather.

[Zeb]

Or just maybe there are long cycles of wet and dry in the American West that we haven't figured out yet because lots of people who keep records of things haven't lived there for very long.

I don't like avocado much either. But I wish i did.

[Juice]

O well. Chipotle is gross and overpriced.

[Lord Humungus]

Kay Hagan sinks lower in North Carolina polls

The result of the latest Elon University Poll shows that approval of Hagan, now at roughly 33 percent, has declined in four consecutive polls.

"The trend suggests the senator will face a tougher-than-expected re-election battle this November," said Dr. Jason Husser, assistant director of the Elon University Poll.

Further troubling for Hagan is the roughly equivalent disapproval of her job performance by women and men. Thirty-three percent of women and 34 percent of men surveyed approved of Hagan's work.

Hagan has been pummelled for months by negative advertising. Americans For Prosperity, funded in part by the Koch brothers, has alone spent more than $8 million so far on advertising attacking Hagan -- more than the group has funneled to any other race so far this election cycle.

[WTF]

Kochtopus!

[CampingInYourPark]

IMO, the AFP ads regarding Hagan are stinging:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PRM_Hd5LU0

[Trials and Trippelations]

Been out of NC for a while, but I don't think her loss is a lock. The crowd for Republican challenger is not great.

[sarcasmic]

Duke freshman who turned to porn to pay tuition reveals herself in column that describes the 'bullying' she's endured since news of her new career spread

The Duke freshman identified herself by her stage name, 'Belle Knox'
Knox says she's been bullied constantly, with some people telling her to kill herself
Previously, Knox said her experience in porn brought her 'unimaginable joy'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....pread.html
There's her name for all y'all who will be in your bunks.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Serious Man posted a "SFW" article on her in the PM links that turned out to be NSFW.

Thank you again to Jordan.

[Jordan]

It's a tough job, but somebody has to inspect pr0n links.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

I did peek at it when I went home though.

There was one comment that took several pictures of her and made a storyboard. It was semi-amusing.

[neoteny]

She was bullied?! She was fucked, too!

[Trials and Trippelations]

Doesn't look as much like a gargoyle as I would expect for a Dook Student

-UNC fan

[Invisible Finger]

since news of her new career spread

Next time someone claims British English is better than American English, show them this.

[Lord Humungus]

Venezuela, the uprising no one is noticing

The most discouraging aspect of Venezuela's agony, however, is its isolation. While European and American diplomats have flooded into Ukraine and President Obama has spent hours on the phone with Vladi?mir Putin, Venezuela's crisis has been largely ignored by the outside world. No envoys visited Caracas in the past several weeks, even as street battles between government and opposition forces raged. The only would-be broker who has even talked about flying in is 89-year-old Jimmy Carter, who said he might add it to his schedule in April.

The neglect is not because the country of some 26 million is insignificant. In addition to being the fourth-largest supplier of U.S. oil, Venezuela props up the economy of Cuba and borders the Caribbean as well as Colombia. It is already a major transit point for drug trafficking. Its collapse into chaos could destabilize an entire region in the United States' back yard.

[Ted S.]

That's because a lot of media types like Maduro and what he's doing to the wreckers.

[Invisible Finger]

Venezuela is not in the US's back yard.

Detroit is in the U.S. back yard. And US media has pretty much had the same attitude about Detroit as they have had about Venezuela - leftist shitholes that are the right-wing's fault.

[CampingInYourPark]

The private sector created 139,000 jobs in February, according to payroll processor ADP.

Excellent news for the stock market!
Also, this is the result of Super-Villain: Klimate.

[Lord Humungus]

Police: Man wrote on van, cut hair in Universal Orlando garage

Orlando police said Universal security officers spotted Wisconsin man Aaron Lucano using a marker to write anti-government slogans on the side of his Dodge van while it was parked Saturday evening in the park's King Kong garage, the Orlando Sentinel reported Tuesday.

Lucano stopped writing when asked by the security officers, but he soon resumed his activities and started cutting his own hair, the police report said.

A security officer reported being "overwhelmed" by an odor coming from the van after Lucano left the garage, police said.

[Swiss Servator, mehr K?se!]

Florida Man wannabe?

[Slammer]

I'm not seeing a crime here.

[mr simple]

Unlicensed hairdressing?

[a better weapon]

Update: In an earlier version, we reported that Aaron Lucano was met by security guards while cutting his own hair. A youthful, precocious Mitt Romney was in fact the one cutting his hair.

[sloopyinca]

the park's King Kong garage

Racist?

[Lord Humungus]

WTF?

Crimea Crisis Haunted by Ghosts of Bungled World War I Diplomacy

A century later, as Russian President Vladimir Putin menaces Ukraine, the world hasn't banished the risks of the miscommunications, clumsy judgments and botched intelligence that blindsided Europe in 1914, said Max Hastings, a British military historian.

"There's a huge risk of a miscalculation," said Hastings, whose latest book, "Catastrophe," covers the descent into World War I. "We don't yet know what Putin's real agenda is. Is he trying to restore Russia's grip on the whole Ukraine, does he want to re-annex the Crimea?"

To be sure, Hastings said, there is no appetite for war in the West and Putin has a rational sense of Russia's limits. The major powers of 100 years ago shared a willingness to use force that has since been bred out of Europe's DNA, one of the reasons why the European Union was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012.

[db]

The Great War killed off all the "brave" European men.

[DJF]

""""one of the reasons why the European Union was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012""'

The European Union does not have much in the way of a military, wait until it gets one before proclaiming how peaceful it is.

[Invisible Finger]

Seems like Nobel prizes are a sort of Darwin Award.

[sarcasmic]

Wife takes out VERY passive aggressive newspaper ad as revenge for husband who had an affair and got lover pregnant

Advertisement appears in Texas local newspaper from wife congratulating her husband on getting another woman pregnant
The woman identifies herself as Timeshia Brown and the passive aggressive note attacks her husband Patrick and his mistress Shara Cormier

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....gnant.html
Funny in a sad way.

[Elspeth Flashman]

A fellow attorney has a client who found out about the husband's affair by opening the mail. Because their tax refund was being garnished due to a child support obligation.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Support for coercing private businesses is higher than support for SSM:

"According to the poll, public opinion is more unified on recent proposals that would allow businesses to refuse serving gays and others based on the religious convictions of the business owner. Nearly seven in 10 respondents say businesses should not be allowed to refuse service to gays. On this question, majorities across partisan lines said businesses should not be allowed to deny service. Last week, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) vetoed a measure that would have allowed businesses to refuse service to customers based on religious grounds.

""She did the right thing in vetoing that," said Charles Musser of Marana, Ariz., who said that he opposes same-sex marriage and adoption rights for gays but that he thought the legislation was ill-conceived. If they passed that law, "that would open the door to all kinds of discrimination," he said."

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

[Tonio]

Not getting enough attention, Eddie? Afraid that someone might forget just for a second about the poor persecuted christians?

[Swiss Servator, alles klar?]

Well, you sure gave it/him some attention...

[Zeb]

Evidence that support for gay marriage is a distinct issue from support for public accommodation laws. Thanks.

[Lord Humungus]

Greece's prescription for a health-care crisis

"The operation alone is 12,000 euros ($16,200)," he said. "We just don't have it. It's funny. I saw President Obama on television the other day, talking about how the United States, a country known for being cold to its citizens, was trying to help the uninsured. Here, we have the opposite. The state used to take care of you. But if you are sick in Greece now, you have an expiration date."

Europe, economists say, is turning a corner. After a four-year debt crisis that left a large swath of the region on financial life support, there are finally signs of a pulse in even some of the region's most moribund economies.

But a look across the still-bleak landscape, from Greece to Spain, Ireland to Portugal, suggests a painful aftermath, where the plight of millions of Europeans is worsening even as the financial crisis passes. One of the biggest problems now is in an area that Europeans have long prided themselves: public health.

derp.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Too funny.

'Known' to be.

Funny.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

You know. It's ironic that a country that gave us great mathematicians can't grasp it anymore.

[Invisible Finger]

It's been bred out of their DNA.

[Rich]

The judge did rule the teen's parents had to keep her on their health insurance

I suppose that's *one* thing Obama won't change.

[waffles]

The private sector created 139,000 jobs in February

Well February is a short month and the weather was bad so these numbers are good? I have a sneaking feeling that the current employment number are not so much a recession but the new normal. Labor force participation will continue to drop for some time eventually leveling off. It's going to turn ugly when baby boomers retire without much savings and their jobs are replaced by no one because they won't really be necessary in the future.

[Jordan]

A new study published this week claims eating meat and cheese could be as dangerous as smoking.

Another bullshit public health study. *Yawn*.

[UnCivilServant]

A new study published this week claims eating meat and cheese could be as dangerous as smoking.

The primary danger being the increased risk of attacks by leftist fundamentalists.

[RBS]

Yeah, I just skimmed the article but I didn't see anything about the actual population they "studied" other than they were "middle age."

[Lord Humungus]

Cadillac Clears Up 'Misconceptions' About Contentious 'Poolside' Ad

The spot for the new Cadillac ELR has provoked extreme reactions since its debut during NBC's broadcast of the Opening Ceremony of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics

Fans on the political right see "Poolside" as an unapologetic ode to American values. Critics on the political left see it as Ugly American chest thumping at its worst. During a time when Americans are working harder and longer for less money, others question the spot's perceived workaholic message.

Fox Business News contributor Jonathan Hoenig, a founding member of the Capitalistpig hedge fund, praised "Poolside" as a "tremendous" celebration of profit-seeking, productivity and, yes, enjoyment of material goods.

[Ted S.]

I'd never even heard of this commercial.

[Raston Bot]

it's solid. my wife, who is a borderline leftist, loves it.

[Warty]

"The Catholic church. We've made a few...changes."

[mr simple]

During a time when Americans are working harder and longer for less money

?Que?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

A different climate risk. David Friedman.

http://daviddfriedman.blogspot.....-risk.html

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Christian embarrassed about judging her pot-smoking neighbors when she finds out the wife takes pot for her cancer:

"Mary was dying from a cancer that causes your bones to fracture from the inside out, a cancer where your every movement causes an ache to cascade throughout your body. At the end, maybe your kidney cannot process all the extra calcium in your veins, put there by your cracking bones, and it fails; maybe you bleed to death after brushing your teeth because your blood no longer clots right; or maybe a cold will take you because your body cannot produce the antibodies to fight anymore.

"Mary was dying, and there I was, her next-door neighbor, worried about a second-hand high."

http://www.faithstreet.com/onf.....jane/31170

[Lord Humungus]

some further ADP junk from Zero Hedge:

More snow. That is the assessment of Mark Zandi and the ADP Private Payrolls, which just printed at 139K on expectations of a 155K print. But don't worry: the number was pre-spun for idiot consumption, as the 139K was actually an increase from the January 127K. What was not said is that the January number was a massive revision lower from the previously announced 175K. What will also not be said is that the December ADP print was revised lower from 227K to 191K and the November 289K was chopped off and revised to only 245K. Of course, both of those numbers were massive beats at the time, and have now become misses, but who cares: they have served their algo kneejerk reaction purposes. And while the data is complete garbage, and is obviously manipulated and goalseeked (as we have shown before), it should be welcome to the US to know that in February it generated a whopping 1,000 manufacturing jobs.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/.....ther-blame

[waffles]

But Zerohedge is the opposite side of the spectrum. They deliver doom and gloom by the ton. Where can I get a report that says "everything is all right, but it could be better"?

[CampingInYourPark]

Where can I get a report that says "everything is all right, but it could be better"

Every Jay Carney press conference?

[a better weapon]

"everything is all right, but it could be better"?

Isn't that already the side of the spectrum opposite to Zero Hedge? This is not the middle ground you seek.

[waffles]

Maybe what I seek is "things are really fucked up and these are things we can do right now to make it better". That would satisfy me.

[Auric Demonocles]

"unexpectedly"

[The Late P Brooks]

Fans on the political right see "Poolside" as an unapologetic ode to American values. Critics on the political left see it as Ugly American chest thumping at its worst. During a time when Americans are working harder and longer for less money, others question the spot's perceived workaholic message.

One more social justice controversy I was blissfully unaware of until Morning Linkage.

[Slammer]

German court: Cops can't keep gal off force for breast implants

Of course, AP can't post a damn photo anywhere...jerks.

[The Late P Brooks]

Of course, both of those numbers were massive beats at the time, and have now become misses, but who cares: they have served their algo kneejerk reaction purposes. And while the data is complete garbage, and is obviously manipulated and goalseeked (as we have shown before), it should be welcome to the US to know that in February it generated a whopping 1,000 manufacturing jobs.

Mmmmmm, chocolate.

Thank you, Big Brother.

[Ted S.]

Could the author write in English?

[Tejicano]

"...goalseeked..." I hope to never understand what that is supposed to mean and would pay to keep it that way.

[Invisible Finger]

Wall Street/DC consultant-ese.

[Lord Humungus]

Has anyone noticed that the price of beef has gone up? The pack of steaks I normally get has gone from $15 to $20.

and completely unrelated - my kitty sitting on the used Nakamichi receiver I bought.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1_Pb....._SR-3A.jpg

[Slammer]

Yes. It's been steadily rising the past few years, but since last summer it's really jumped.

[Jordan]

Whoa. You can buy packs of steaks? Where can I find this wizardry?

Cute kitty, btw. Have a libertarian kitty picture.

[CampingInYourPark]

As you will see below, the size of the U.S. cattle herd has dropped to a 61 year low

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/.....ll-over-am

[Swiss Servator, mehr K?se!]

Drought was a bear for cattle herds. We need moar cattlez, STAT!

[sloopyinca]

I deal with ranchers a lot, and here are some of the causes aside from the drought:
1. The alfalfa farmers have incurred considerable expenses to replace workable, but not-CARB compliant equipment.
2. The hay haulers have been forced to replace their trucks at considerable expense.
3. The feed lots have also had to replace equipment to comply to CARB regs.
4. The slaughterhouses have had to replace equipment to comply.
5. The trucks that haul met ot distributors and then to market also all had to basically be replaced in the last 2-3 years.
Those are all specific to California in some way, but also impact any trucker driving into California more than twice a year...which pretty much means any guy driving a reefer.
and
6. Corn subsidies have sent a lot of feed to ethanol facilities, making the cost there rise in the rest of the nation.

The market would solve this problem if left alone. The government is totally fucking it up.

[Brett L]

Beef subsidies are the obvious answer!

[Swiss Servator, mehr K?se!]

That cat is giving quite the stern look. Guard cat?

"I am the Guardian Feline, touch the receiver and you die!"

[Ted S.]

Touch the cat and the receiver dies from the static electric shock. 😉

[Snark Plissken]

That pack of steaks is a deathtrap, just get a pack of smokes instead, I think they are about the same price w/taxes.

[Mike M.]

There's no inflation though, because you don't get steak; it's hamburger for you and me.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Is it not possible for you to buy beef in bulk?

I do an 8th or a quarter, and pay about $2.79/pound.

[Lord Humungus]

I gotta start going to a butcher instead of the supermarket - but the one stop shopping is easier time wise.

[Brett L]

Save $2.50/lb and buy the larger cut. I got 12lb of NY Strip for under $70 the other day. And then you can finally get them cut thick enough, too.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Costco?

[Brett L]

Publix does it too, around here, but yes. I see tenderloin, whatever the strip comes off (top sirloin?) and a could of other 10-15lb cuts. The premium is about the same for steaks versus cuts. I still have to go to the butcher to get a decent brisket, though. Everyone else trims the fat cap too much.

[Lord at War]

Kitty says, "Thank you for building such a fine buttwarmer".

[sarcasmic]

'It's the meth': Sex offender back in jail for sexting minors says he just can't help himself when he's on the drug

Andrew Gisle Caffroy of Auburn, Washington is accused of sending nude photos to underage girls
The 29-year-old was convicted of an identical offense late last year
He blamed drug use for his actions and told police, 'I'm OK when I smoke it, but when I inject it, I can't control myself'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....-drug.html
Obviously it is the fault of the drugs, not poor impulse control.

[Swiss Servator, mehr K?se!]

Maybe they could tattoo "poor impulse control" on his forehead?

[Brett L]

Maybe if they tattooed it on his junk, the underage women would be more likely to see the warning.

[Loki]

He blamed drug use for his actions and told police, 'I'm OK when I smoke it, but when I inject it, I can't control myself'

*AH-CHOO!!!*

Oh, sorry about that, I'm allergic to bullshit.

[CampingInYourPark]

On a foggy Thursday morning in early January, 30 medical coders gathered in a nondescript meeting room on the third floor of the downtown Hyatt Regency in Jacksonville. They paid between $585 and $985 each to attend a two-day "boot camp" on the new codes taught by Annie Boynton, from the American Academy of Professional Coders. On the black cloth covering each table were the day's necessities: a Hyatt Regency pad of paper and pen, a coffee cup and saucer, a jar full of hard candy, a glass and a sweating metal pitcher filled with ice water. At each place, students found a thin spiral book???the "ICD-10-CD General Code Set Manual" for 2014???and a six-pound, phone-book-thick "ICD-10 Complete Draft Code Set."

http://www.weeklystandard.com/.....83576.html

[John]

yet another example of our current political class belief in magic words. I mean they said the words "electronic" and "records", how can that not make things better?

[Rasilio]

Actually this is only indirectly related to electronic medical records.

ICDX is the set of billing codes used by Medicare/Medicaid and most other insurance companies. As with every other standard every few years the standard is revised to account for new information/needs ICD10 was designed with the idea of being used with EHR's but did not come about because of them

[Brett L]

ICD-10. So granular and yet overlapping that epidemiological data will be hopelessly unavailable for longitudinal studies.

[Jordan]

For my fellow gamers, the new South Park game is fucking hilarious.

[Auric Demonocles]

What's the premise?

[Jordan]

It's an RPG. You play as the new kid in town, helping the gang defend an ancient relic (the Stick of Truth) from elven invaders. If you watched the Game of Thrones themed episodes, it's a bit like those.

[Wandering Texan]

The Stick of Truth was actually released? I guess I'll have to play it.

[Auric Demonocles]

I thought that was a joke when they mentioned it during the GoT episodes.

[mr simple]

Especially with the message at the end of the episode.

[Apatheist ?_??]

I bet, and also fucking expensive. It is made by Obsidian though so I'm sure it's worth it. Still, I'll wait till the Steam Summer Sale to get at least half off.

[Riven]

Steam sale... gets me every time.

[Agile Cyborg]

At the very LEAST provide 20 recipes after articles that proclaim that everything I eat will kill me soon. Give people a fucking sense of purpose. Pushing crap like this is almost as bad as stating that I'll probably die of starvation from falling into a hole today while refusing to tell me where the damn pit is.

And, other than the rare trim woman (like my wife) or 12 year-old's, who the fuck weighs 130 pounds?

[Ted S.]

These articles never talk about quality of life either. I know I'd be much happier not having some fucking nanny telling me everything I do is going to kill me. I'm sure I'm not the only person who feels this way, either, so that makes it a public health issue.

[Auric Demonocles]

I weighed about 130 pounds when I was 14, so it's also 14 year olds with no muscles who haven't hit their final 6 inch growth spurt.

And I'm not quite sure I'd classify 130 pound women as that rare, though this may have something to do with my age range too.

[Lord Humungus]

it'll be the usual shit recommendations - lots of "healthy" grains (sugar), plus fruits (sugar) and vegetables.

[sarcasmic]

My wife claims to weigh 119, so that means she probably weighs 130.

[Agile Cyborg]

Eh, anything under 130 is trim and likely malnourished. 😉

[Zeb]

I weigh about that. I haven't gained or lost weight since I was 18.

[Mike M.]

George P. Bush gets elected?

We're never going to be rid of these SOBs, are we? It's dynasties all the way down to the bottom.

[Ebriosa]

I glanced over a Canadian study once that found people voted for candidates with the last name "Kennedy" in ways that didn't line up with regular party lines/spending/etc. In Canada.
I guess it's just easier if all your politicians have the same name, so you don't have to make new posters.

[Bam!]

Jeb vs Hillary 2016. It'll happen, sadly.

[John]

No. Jeb has no chance. Hillary obviously has a good chance of getting the nomination but even that is hardly a sure thing.

Seriously, who on earth is going to vote for Jeb Bush? I don't care how much money he has. He has no constituency.

[Mike M.]

If Chelsea Clinton married George P. Bush, we'd probably end up with our dictator for life some time around the year 2060.

[Bardas Phocas]

Article about the Hillary! stealth campaign organization "Ready For Hillary' (really, that's its name).
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/d.....ield-staff
The comments are interesting, in that the hardcore blue team sycophants don't seem too enthusiastic about Hillary!.

[a better weapon]

What a terrible org name. It is ripe for ridicule.

"I've had the rest, and now I'm ready for Hillary."
- Bill

[Ted S.]

But isn't it time for a president with a vulva?

[gaijin]

Hillary and vulva. Now I need mind's eye bleach.

[Loki]

Man stabs dude with Legend of Zelda replica sword.

According to the website Click2Houston, a man named Eugene Thompson was arguing with his girlfriend when she called her "estranged husband" over. When said "estranged husband" arrived, the woman let him in and he began chasing Thompson who defended himself with the aforementioned replica sword.

I think the hardest part about this story to believe is that a fully grown man who owns a Legend of Zelda replica sword would have a girlfriend in the first place.

[waffles]

There is serious irony in the breaking of a clay pot during an altercation with Link's sword, though I suspect it was lost on the combatants at the time.

NOT IRONY.

[RightofCenter]

Not Irony? This is like O. Henry and Alanis Morissette had a baby and named it this exact situation.

[mr simple]

Thompson apparently only needed stitches after the brawl

He should have gone to the blacksmith for the upgrade.

[Loki]

Thompson was the one with the sword. Apparently he must have somehow cut himself?

So I think he needed to spend a few more XP on dexterity.

[Mike M.]

I like how they keep putting "replica" in the story, as if the real master sword is sitting out there in the mists of time somewhere.

[a better weapon]

Got a job offer at UCLA. Although I grew up in the Pasadena area and we'll be closer to my wife's family in San Diego, I am enjoying Dallas.

Any of you Hit n Runners have any neighborhood recommendations for a young couple who is starting a family? We'll start in an apartment for a couple/few years most likely. Although the raise in salary will cover the increased cost of living, value recommendations are still welcomed.

[Jordan]

Are you open to moving to the burbs? Plano, Allen, and Frisco are very family friendly. McKinney as well. I'd imagine Richardson has some decent neighborhoods too.

If not, then I'm not too familiar with Dallas proper. I lived in an apartment on the north side for a while, and it was pretty good. It was the Village Apartments.

By the way, look up Singkee Chinese BBQ and Pho 95. Two of the best Asian places I've ever eaten at. I miss Dallas...

[Ted S.]

I think he's saying he's moving from Dallas to LA.

[Jordan]

Doh!

[waffles]

I think you've got the wrong state.

[a better weapon]

If we were to stay, Richardson was where we were looking to get a house down the line.

Waffles is essentially being a voice redundant to my own inner one. I'm sort of willing to defy them though since its what my wife desperately wants (I grew up in Houston for a time as well, while she has only known SoCal until we married and moved south).

Also, I have strong contacts in Houston and Austin should I need to GTFO of Brown Town in a hurry. How fast do you think Jerry can erect a Berlin Wall?

[a better weapon]

I think you've got the wrong state

Whoops, thought this was a reply to me advising me not to go to California and not to correct Jordan.

[waffles]

I say do it, make your wife happy. I have the same conflict in my life. I'm slowly coming around to the idea that it matters less where I live and much more who I live with. This is in month 6 of a trial-by-fire long distance engagement.

[Overt]

We lived and had friends up along the 210 corridor and found most of those areas to be really family friendly. Lots of out-doorsy stuff to do and, best of all, lots of good schools.

As you probably know, Pasadena schools are more or less shit. There are a couple decent ones but, unless you live next to one of them, you are in a lottery to try and get in. But east of that, you get places like Monrovia, Sierra Madre and Duarte. All of those have great schools, small communities where walking/biking is still feasible around town.

Renting is a good idea. Buying in a good school district will cost you around $100 - $200k more for your house, but you are likely to get it back when you sell your house (as opposed to spending 10,000s on private school each year).

If you plan to work at UCLA, though...Man. Talk about all the worst of LA. You are stuck on the 405 which is fucking gridlock at 4am. no thank you.

[Ted S.]

Squat at Jesse's place.

[Lord Humungus]

zomg! Homophobic alert!

[a better weapon]

IIRC, Jesse is a Whittier College alum too (I know Hugh is). Looking forward to a meet up this summer.

[Auric Demonocles]

Congrats!

(I have no advice unfortunately, my only time in LA has been an hour in the airport, though there's a chance I may move their in a couple of years)

[waffles]

move their what? all their stuff? That's awfully big of you Auric.

[Tejicano]

He meant "they're"

[John]

I hope it is a really good job that pays really well. If it pays well enough you can afford the taxes and cost of living, California is still paradise. But anything less than "wow I never figured I would ever make this much money" and it is going to suck.

You either want to be so poor you don't give a fuck because you don't pay taxes and it sucks to be poor anywhere so why not at least be poor in a nice place or so well off you can afford to pay for the Team Blue insanity. Anything in between and you are fucked. Such are the wages of Progressive government.

[tarran]

IF YOU ARE LIVING IN CALIFORNIA, AND ARE MIDDLE CLASS, YOU NEED TO GET A WILL!!!!!!!!!

The probate court system does to average people there what Dillinger did to banks. If you die intestate, they will be taking a huge chunk of your assets.

[John]

Why am I not surprised that California is the one state that violates the age old axiom "the state doesn't take your shit just because you don't have a will".

Yet another example of the face of progressive government. Progressive government means the government stealing money from orphans because their parents committed the crime of not having a will.

[Loki]

Anything in between and you are fucked. Such are the wages of Progressive government.

If I didn't know better, I'd think maybe they really don't like the bourgeois middle classes too much. /sarc

[sloopyinca]

If I were you, I'd suffer the commute and buy a $250k house in Riverside or MoVal. You're at about $110/SF out here and you'll be paying twice that for an apartment in Pasadena.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

What's you budget for rent?

[a better weapon]

We're capping it at $2100-2200. I'm a miser, so the further I can get below that number, the better. I've been looking in Pico-Robertson and West Hollywood so far and have found some good value.

I'd gotten a recommend from someone saying Westchester neighborhood, but I don't know about that. Seems too close to LAX.

Schools I can worry about in a few years. For now just need a quiet and safe place to rent for a reasonable price.

[Invisible Finger]

You are getting a 300% raise?

[The Late P Brooks]

The comments are interesting, in that the hardcore blue team sycophants don't seem too enthusiastic about Hillary!.

They made their choice in 2008. They may be dumb, but they're loyal.

[Lord Humungus]

Obama Takes Tough Stand Against Russia ? On A Kid's Alphabet Carpet

By Erin Dooley
Mar 4, 2014 2:21pm
GTY obama elementary school mar 140304 16x9 608 Obama Takes Tough Stand Against Russia On A Kids Alphabet Carpet

(Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

U is for Ukraine! President Barack Obama spoke at Powell Elementary School in Washington, D.C., today and had some harsh words for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

But the backdrop was anything but serious.

After a classroom tour, Obama stood on a multicolored alphabet carpet and said that "the course of history is for people to want to be free to make their own decisions about their own futures. ? We stand on the side of history that more and more people around the world believe in," he said.

[Lord Humungus]

apologies for the extra verbiage

[tarran]

"the course of history is for people to want to be free to make their own decisions about their own futures. ? We stand on the side of history that more and more people around the world believe in," he said

LOL!!!!

If there anything that the Obama administration stands for, it isn't allowing people to be free to make their own decisions about their own futures.

[hamilton]

Drat you tarran! Milliseconds ahead of me, are you?

[tarran]

It's much harder to type while vomiting than while laughing.

[Invisible Finger]

And he was saying this in a school full of children coerced into being there.

[hamilton]

Obama ... said that "the course of history is for people to want to be free to make their own decisions about their own futures..."

Sorry, I'm going to have to go vomit now.

[Lord at War]

Obama stood on a multicolored alphabet carpet and said that "the course of history is for people to want to be free to make their own decisions about their own futures.

Except when it's health insurance.

I'm a 50 yr old never married smoker with no children. I had a "plan I liked" that was $155/mo-with a $5k deductible.

Unfortunately, it didn't cover pediatric dentistry, maternity services, addiction recovery, and had a $6 million lifetime limit (for someone who needs a $100k/yr job for the next 15 years to reach $3 million in lifetime earnings.)

The "cheapest" Bronze-level plan available to me has a $380/mo premium with a $6k deductible- without even mentioning the co-pays.

I guess the "free" annual colonoscopy is supposed to sway me.

[John]

http://dailycaller.com/2014/03.....t-hearing/

Lois Lerner says she fears for her life if she testifies before Congress. But remember this is a fake scandal.

[Pro Libertate]

Fears for her life? Because some people sent her nasty letters? I bet she fears other repercussions from a different source.

[Slammer]

Someone in the White House?

[John]

I am quite sure she fears for that. Sucks to be Lerner these days. She either risks going to jail for lying or contempt or she tells the truth and the entire prog media and government establishment consider her an enemy of the people.

It sounds easy to just hang in there. But she is a very small fish. The Democrats are unlikely to be able to pretend nothing happened here. The Democrats are very likely to throw Lerner to the wolves as a way of killing this thing and keep the full truth from coming out. I have no doubt a long time hack like Lerner knows this and also knows this administration well enough to know it won't save her, not even with an 11 pm January 19th 2017 pardon.

[R C Dean]

I would say the odds of her catching a bullet from a Tea Partier are lower than her odds of catching a bullet from, let us call it, the other side of the fence.

[John]

The odds of her catching a bullet from anyone on the Right are zero. Killing her would be the worst thing that could happen to this investigation.

The odds of someone on the left killing her are low, but more than zero.

[Brett L]

I guess we can be certain the Clintons are involved now.

[a better weapon]

What? There is no safer place to be than the Capitol.

Her stated fear will provide her ample cover from the media though.

[CampingInYourPark]

Issa cuts off Cummings mic today:

http://www.c-span.org/video/?c.....rch-5-2014

[Mike M.]

If it's really true that Lois Lerner is receiving written threats on her life, that should immediately be turned over to the FBI for investigation.

Of course, the FBI ultimately falls under Holder, so good luck with that going anywhere.

[Invisible Finger]

She should move to Venezuela, no US media there.

[Raven Nation]

Anybody seen Invisible Furry Hand on the Comments recently?

[Sevo]

Ambulance-chasers bribed Ecuadoran judge to rule against Chevron:

"$9.5 billion ruling against Chevron was corrupt, judge says"
[...]
..."lawyers suing Chevron interfered with the country's courts, ghost-wrote the judgment against Chevron and offered an Ecuadoran judge $500,000 to sign it."...
http://www.sfgate.com/green/ar.....289187.php

Maybe they'll stuff those feathers up the noses of the actors claiming to be Ecuadoran natives.

[Brett L]

This case is making an enviro-lawyer friend of mine lose it. She was so sure that dude was a hero, and she has just enough integrity to feel upset at the idea that this person she met and thinks is an environmental hero might really be a fraud. To her great credit, she has not ever taken the fallback position of "they had to lie to win justice". Which is why we remain friends despite seriously disagreeing about many things.

[Sevo]

"To her great credit, she has not ever taken the fallback position of "they had to lie to win justice"."

It's nice to be reminded from time to time that not all proggies are of the Tony-slimeball sort.

[The Late P Brooks]

After a classroom tour, Obama stood on a multicolored alphabet carpet and said that "the course of history is for people to want to be free to make their own decisions about their own futures. ? We stand on the side of history that more and more people around the world believe in," he said.

But what about the goat?

[Matrix]

He must think freedom means asking permission and taking orders. His whole presidency has been focused on forcing people to do shit.

[Sevo]

State is giving pharms the FYTW treatment:

"Court rejects pharmacies' appeal on Medi-Cal rates"
[...]
"Managed care health plans that serve low-income patients in California don't have to consider pharmacies' costs of obtaining prescription drugs when setting their Medi-Cal reimbursement rates,"...
http://www.sfgate.com/health/a.....289092.php

Next I predict an 'Anti Going Out of Business" law in the interest of fairness!

[John]

Are they forced by law to accept it? If not, they no doubt will be after the low sloped foreheads who run California are shocked to find out low income people can no longer get any pharmacy to serve them.

Then of course they will be shocked when California no longer has any pharmacies or the cost of drugs for those not on public assistance is higher than anywhere else in the world.

[Sevo]

..."low income people can no longer get any pharmacy to serve them."...

'Pharmacy Desert!'
Just as they presume groceries conspire to avoid low-income areas.

[Invisible Finger]

Just like France.

[The Late P Brooks]

I guess i can add the Daily Caller to the long list of websites who can just kiss my ass. Go load that shit on somebody else's computer, assholes.

[R C Dean]

John Kerry is set to meet with the Russian foreign minister, who claims unmarked soldiers in Ukraine are Crimean self-defense units over which his country has no control.

So, the Russians would have no objection to the Ukrainians exterminating them, since they aren't Russian soldiers and, as far as Russia is concerned, are purely Ukrainian secessionists/insurgents.

C'mon, Ukraine. Grow a pair, at least diplomatically, and call their bluff. Announce that your concerns with getting into a military conflict with Russia have been put to rest, and military units will be moving to eradicate the insurgents.

[John]

The Russians would have to intervene to stop the killing. This isn't hard. Call Putin's bluff. Call for a popular referendum on leaving the Ukraine and joining Russia. If Putin says no, he loses all pretense of legality and has to admit he is just invading. He could do that sure. But it would pretty much force the world to go along with serious sanctions. If Putin says yes and loses, he is humiliated. If Putin says yes and wins, then the US has a way to save face by saying they support the popular sovereignty of the Crimea.

[Bones]

Calling all cars...

I made the argument that the free market would solve the problem of discrimination better than government force. I was then asked for an example, but I have no specific example, because my argument is a philosophical one. Can anyone give me an historical example (preferably modern but I'll take what I can get) of the free market solving the problem of discrimination?

Thanks in advance.

[sloopyinca]

Jim Crow institutionalized discrimination vs market-driven integration perhaps?

[Bones]

Right, I made the generalization. But could use an example of market-driven integration.

[Bam!]

How about this?

The resistance of southern streetcar companies to ordinances requiring them to segregate black passengers vividly illustrates how the market motivates businesses to avoid unfair discrimination.
[...]
Streetcar companies refused, however, to discriminate against blacks because separate cars would have reduced their profits. They resisted even after the passage of turn-of-the-century laws requiring that they segregate blacks. One railroad manager complained that racial discrimination increased costs because it required that the company "haul around a good deal of empty space that is assigned to the colored people and not available to both races." Racial discrimination also upset some paying customers. Black customers boycotted the streetcar lines and formed competing hack (horse-drawn carriage) companies, and white customers often refused to move to the white section.

The street car bit is at the bottom of the page.

[Sevo]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LCVP
Higgins (in New Orleans) employed anyone who could help build boats.
http://www.amazon.com/Andrew-J.....ggins+boat
The book is worthwhile.

[John]

Sports. After Alabama got its ass kicked in the late 60s and early 70s by teams who had fully integrated like USC and Nebraska, even the home of George Wallace decided that playing with black players wasn't so bad.

No government to my knowledge ever mandated the integration of sports teams. It just happened. Once one team did it, the others had to follow or be unable to compete.

[Sevo]

..."No government to my knowledge ever mandated the integration of sports teams."...

Good point; Jackie Robinson wasn't on the field as a result of an election.

[creech]

""In 1951, the Rock Island and Norfolk & Western abandoned segregation on passenger trains, and before long the C&O, L&N, and Nashville Chattanooga and St. Louis relaxed Jim Crow restrictions. Non-segregation became the prevailing practice on trains in Arkansas, notwithstanding the state's Jim Crow law, and in Texas the Jim Crow law applying to passenger trains and buses often went unenforced." John E. Wilz, Trains Magazine, Feb. 2001

[John]

Much of the country was never segregated. Progs never seem to remember that.

[Rasilio]

Sports.

Sports integrated on their own with no legislation spurring them before society at large did.

[RBS]

A new study published this week claims eating meat and cheese could be as dangerous as smoking.

Interesting

[Sevo]

IOWs, smoking isn't too dangerous?

[Kaptious Kristen]

Already covered?

UK Porn Filter guy arrested for child porn. Shocking.

[Brett L]

Yeah. We even got a post from Nick about during your snow day yesterday.

[The Late P Brooks]

I made the argument that the free market would solve the problem of discrimination better than government force.

Gay bars.

Kosher delis.

[Bones]

Thanks! It's particularlyly helpful because I know he's gay and think he may also be Jewish.

[John]

You might want to point out that making sexual orientation a protected class threatens the very existence of gay bars and things like the gay Olympics. It is just a matter of time before some straight person gets pissed off and sues some gays only organization for discrimination. And they will win.

[Loki]

It is just a matter of time before some straight person gets pissed off and sues some gays only organization for discrimination. And they will win.

They may sue but they won't win. You don't see too many whites suing to get into Grambling and winning on discrimination. It's perfectly OK to discriminate against whites, males, and heterosexuals. Especially if you're all three. Because "priviledge" or something.

[Raven Nation]

It's a tough sell, but there has been at least one fairly high profile case where males sued and won:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Daly#Career

[John]

They may sue but they won't win. You don't see too many whites suing to get into Grambling and winning on discrimination.

White students go to HBC. There is no prohibition on admitting them. You never see any law suits because every white student who wants to go there gets in. But if they didn't, they could sue and win.

[Loki]

I knew some HBC's admitted white students (that's why they "Historically Black Colleges" as opposed to "Black Colleges") but I thought there were still a few who were all black, and that Grambling was one. My mistake.

[Bones]

Did they appear due to discrimination or just because they offered an atmosphere or product that those markets sought?

[The Late P Brooks]

Blues clubs.

[Loki]

University: It's racist for white students to have Olympics-themed party, counseling made available

The administrator, Dean of Students Terry Martinez, said campus resources would be made available to provide counseling to anyone who was offended by Kappa Alpha Theta's party...
"It is our utmost responsibility to ensure that your living and learning environment is free from any act or behavior that degrades individuals or groups, including racially or culturally- based insensitivity. As such, the bias-related response team, which is comprised of members across Student Affairs including the Office of Multicultural Affairs and Fraternity and Sorority Life, are currently reaching out to potentially impacted communities to offer support and follow-up."

Bias related response team? WTF? I don't even... HUH?!

[Kaptious Kristen]

Link SFed, goldangit. I almost never click on links, and the one time I do....

[Loki]

Link SFed

Dammit!

http://dailycaller.com/2014/03.....available/

[Brett L]

What you have to understand is that the counselling center is totally overmanned, because administrative bloat requires not just a couple of licensed mental-health professionals, but a staff of 15-30 licensed professionals, otherwise you can't really go to conferences and have a VP slot.

[John]

As such, the bias-related response team, which is comprised of members across Student Affairs including the Office of Multicultural Affairs and Fraternity and Sorority Life,

And we wonder why college costs a hundred times more today than it did 40 years ago. None of those people work for free.

[Mainer2]

Do you think they know they are parasites ? Or do they go home at night confident they are doing God's work ?

[John]

Totally confident.

[mr simple]

After searching for this story and clicking through various links I found this. I'm not sure what it means, but I think it might be glorious, and apparently being educated is oppressing others.

[tarran]

I also like how being white appears twice. I guess I am twice as bad for being white (my American Indian ancestor, being a woman, doesn't save me from having evil blood, because my English male ancestor who married her clearly must have been oppressing her colonially, sexually and racially).

[Loki]

I have no idea what the hell that means.

[WTF]

That's because it doesn't really mean anything. It's all just bullshit and jargon.

[WTF]

As demonstrated by Alan Sokal, all these "studies" idiots just make shit up based on nothing but their own esoteric jargon and social signaling, but it has no basis in logic or reality.

[tarran]

I can explain; each line going through the center represents a an axis of oppression-victimhood / dominance-submission / privilege-sucks-to-be-youism.

I'll use the line pro-natalism to describe the diagram parts.

The label running along the line identifies it, for example "pro-natalism"

The evil oppressive white male end of the line the one up top, eg "Fertile"

The good gaia-friendly womyn of color end of the line is the other end eg Infertile.

The upper hemisphere is the Dominant one, although they fucked up and put the label in the wrong place, probably because they hired a graphic designer primarily based on her race rather than her ability.

Basically, she made up a bunch of lines juxtaposing things she liked with things she doesn't like, and made up this circle to make it look profound. If I had time, I'd have fun with this:

We could do one about privilege and prejudice in science fiction fandom, among members of the gender studies community, chicago vs new york cuisine, the French.

[Loki]

Ah, I think I get it now. At first I wasn't sure if maybe the X or Y axis was supposed to represent the amount of priviledge a person has (but then why would it be a circle?) or what was going on. But I think I see it now.

Basically someone with a ______ Studies degree and a background in graphic design had a lot of free time on their hands between shifts at their local Starbucks.

[Rhywun]

Re: deadly meat and cancer-cheese

But the question is not whether a certain diet allows you to do well for three days, but can it help you survive to be 100?

I stopped reading right there but are they really claiming that the standard for "healthy" now must be "survive to 100"? Because in that case I think I am still on the right track ignoring everything these nannies have to say.

[The Late P Brooks]

The administrator, Dean of Students Terry Martinez, said campus resources would be made available to provide counseling to anyone who was offended by Kappa Alpha Theta's party...

"STOP SNIVELING AND GET TO CLASS!"

[The Late P Brooks]

It is our utmost responsibility to ensure that your living and learning environment is free from any act or behavior that degrades individuals or groups, including racially or culturally- based insensitivity.

Good grief.

[Loki]

More "b-b-but... it's our policy!" idiocy

School forces half-naked, sopping wet student to stand outside, frostbite results

Hagen-Tietz asked to wait inside an employee's car, or at the elementary school across the street. But administrators believed that this would violate official policy, and could get the school in trouble, so they opted to simply let the girl freeze...
Eva Tietz told National Review that the school was wrong to put a wet, unclothed kid out in the cold.

"Immediately, when they had seen that, they should have had some kind of protocol," she said in a statement.

Or maybe instead of a "protocol" they should have used some, I don't know, FUCKING COMMON SENSE. Sheesh, these fucking people...

[tarran]

That's fucking felony child abuse....

If her dad had done that to her, he'd be facing felony charges.

[John]

Yes it is. If a parent did that to their kid, they would be in jail and rightfully so. Every person involved in that needs to be locked up.

There is some kind of mental illness going on in this country. Public schools seem to be near the center of it. You have to be deranged to be so so mindless and dependent that you think following the rules for a fire drill is more important than getting a person, child or no, out of the Minnesota winter. If you are that stupid or sick, you need to be locked up for your own good.

[tarran]

The people who burned whitches 300 years ago never went away John...

They're still here, still just as superstitious, and still just as violent.

And, I suspect, a very high proportion of the educational-industrial-complex a.k.a. 'the Blob' are members of this group.

[WTF]

If they had done that to my kid, I'd be facing felony charges for sending some fuck to the hospital.

[Loki]

I suspect a lot of us would. But remember, we're the "crazies and extremists."

[Mainer2]

"Immediately, when they had seen that, they should have had some kind of protocol," she said in a statement.

Mrs Eva Tietz gave her daughter a hyphenated last name, so of course she's the kind that would expect protocol instead of saying the people at the school are morons.

Plus that poor girl with the last name of Hangin-Titz.... /immatuer

[The Late P Brooks]

Did they appear due to discrimination or just because they offered an atmosphere or product that those markets sought?

Well, I'm thinking in terms of products or services intentionally made unavailable to some segment of the market, not forced inclusion.

Gay bars are themselves discriminatory, in that they offer an atmosphere of comfort and acceptance explicitly for gay people (and straight people who are not assholes). They serve a specific defined segment of the market. They do not provide a service, under duress, for everyone.

[John]

Many lesbian bars are women only. Some gay bars are fairly welcoming to straight people. But some are not. But the patrons being unwelcoming doesn't make the owner guilty of discrimination.

The bars that would be in danger would be the lesbian women only bars. Also, any sort of special designed to appeal to just gays would probably no longer be legal. If a bar couldn't have a "half price drinks for white people" happy hour, it couldn't have a "half off for gays" happy hour.

[GILMORE]

American yoga teacher and social activist goes to india, pledges to stay and help their society achieve greater equality by taxing the rich and giving to the poor, engaging in works of charity, environmental protection efforts, and if possible, get celebrities involved in some way.

As a gesture of her utter commitment to her project, she marries a rickshaw driver. Who stabs her to death and then blows up his own apartment and himself with a homemade bomb.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03.....ef=edition

And yeah, she was pretty hot.

Apparently marrying the dirt-poor-indian guy was part of her commitment to "the culture" she 'loved so much'.

http://www.thinkinghousewife.c.....-love-die/

As an after thought, an Indian commented:

""I suppose it never occurred to her that the culture she "loved" was completely interdependent with the part of it she was trying to get rid of (poor hygiene, lack of consciousness for health and the sensibilities of others, etc.)""

just in case = fuck off, 'murkin

I guess we should file this under "when white guilt goes wrong"

[John]

She didn't view Indians as people. She viewed them as players in her own internal psychodrama.

[GILMORE]

Shreek rites =

Palin's Buttplug|3.4.14 @ 10:07PM|#

The shareholders overwhelmingly back the Apple CEO up [over Global Warming pants-wettin]

Tesla, Apple, and Google are not going to start listening to Neanderthals."

Chipotle suggests Global Warming may affect availability of Guacamole ;

CONSUMER SHIT THEMSELVES IN FEAR

http://www.latimes.com/nation/.....z2v70W2OfV

[Raven Nation]

Thanks.

[mr simple]

Do you have to butcher or does it come cut? Do you have a deep freeze to store it?

[Swiss Servator, alles klar?]

Maybe she is drop bear hunting?

[Clich? Bandit]

That fucking continent is dangerous.

[Raven Nation]

Yep. Even the dangerous life forms attack each other:

http://www.abc.net.au/local/ph.....955563.htm