A.M. Links: Hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood Supporters Sentenced to Death, Ukraine Withdraws Forces From Crimea, Feinstein Says She Has Votes For Release of Interrogation Report

Lucas Cranach the Elder

• A ship has been sent to the area where an Australian plane spotted objects that could be debris from missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
• 529 supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood have been sentenced to death for the murder of one police officer.
• Ukraine has ordered the withdrawal of its forces from Crimea. Interim President Olexander Turchynov said the move was prompted by Russian threats to military personnel and their families.
• Taxpayers in 14 states will be contributing almost $1 billion in tuition for private schools, some of which teach young Earth creationism.
• Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) says that she has the votes to reveal the executive summary and conclusions of a report on Bush-era interrogation techniques.  
• President Obama has sent additional troops and aircraft to Uganda in the search for Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

529 supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood have been sentenced to death for the murder of one police officer.

Now THAT'S how you do officer safety.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello?

Kony?

The guy from South Park?

[Fluffy]

Cytotoxic will be along shortly to explain to us how this doesn't matter, because the Muslim Brotherhood considered banning alcohol.

[Swiss Servator, mehr Spr?ngli]

THAT IS WORTH THE DEATH PENALTY!

/barfly

[Robert]

That's just one of the many bizarre features of criminal law. In a lawsuit, damages are spread over the responsible persons. In criminal law, punishment is instead replicated?multiplied?over the responsible persons. If you're responsible for only 10% of a crime, why should you, and all the other 10%ers, each get 100% of the punishment instead of 10%?

[Bobarian]

U'mm, how do you get 10% of a death penalty?

[sarcasmic]

Aborted babies incinerated to heat UK hospitals
The remains of more than 15,000 babies were incinerated as 'clinical waste' by hospitals in Britain with some used in 'waste to energy' plants

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/hea.....itals.html
What else are they supposed to do with them?

[WTF]

What else are they supposed to do with them?

Preserve them and sell them as key chains in the hospital gift shop.

Soylent Green is also an option.

[Fluffy]

The good thing about eating an aborted fetus is that if that fetus was going to grow up to be really strong, or brave, or smart, or whatever, by eating it you get to ingest that power into yourself.

[mr simple]

Plus the stem cells could help heal any problems you have.

[Swiss Servator, mehr Spr?ngli]

+1 Idi Amin Dada heart eating episode

[Ted S.]

**** you. 😉

[WTF]

The veal was a nice touch.

[Ted S.]

Soylent Veal, of course.

[Tim]

What else are they supposed to do with them?

Let them be born?

(runs)

[Lady Bertrum]

Modern Britannia is vile.

[Lady Bertrum]

On that note, I'm visiting Charleston in a couple weeks and need a hotel recommendation. Something absolutely central to the city, yet roomy and modern.

Recommendations, pretty please????

[Lady Bertrum]

South Carolina - Charleston, SC.

[RBS]

The Vendue, Planter's, Charleston Place are probably the nicest, although probably not what you would consider roomy and modern unless you go for a suite. Roomy and modern doesn't really describe anything downtown.

[Lady Bertrum]

Thanks. 🙂

[RBS]

If you don't mind crossing the bridge to get downtown the Charleston Harbor Resort at Patriot's Point is nice. I also really liked staying at Shem Creek when I was little, but that's probably because of all the boats.

[RBS]

SC or WV?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Hospital HVACs ain't all they're gonna fuel.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Ah. Such civilized behavior.

[a better weapon]

Elegant, even.

Seriously though, is this a case of nobody believing they can question the practice or raise a red flag? Or do you think people working for the NHS have protested it on occasion, but nobody with any real power gives a shit?

I've seen some real shit hole hospitals here, but they would most certainly fire any person for even bringing up the idea of using medical waste to cut down on our heating bill.

[Zeb]

What do they normally do with medical/biological waste? Seems like incineration would be the most sanitary thing to do. And if that is done, why let any surplus heat go to waste?

[a better weapon]

Incineration is what they do. Every hospital I've known contracts to have it taken off site and incinerated.

It does seem much more efficient, and it is the most sanitary thing to do. The thought of someone's incinerated leg keeping me warm just seems creepy.

Not saying its wrong, just unsettling, and I personally wouldn't want it done anywhere I work or go for treatment.

The other point is to imagine a private hospital doing this and then imagine the kerfuffle and attention it would get.

[R C Dean]

What do they normally do with medical/biological waste?

Incinerate. In the US, though, dead fetuses stop being "waste" and start being "corpses" subject to the rules on disposing of dead bodies at some (arbitrary) point, usually having to do with weight and/or time since conception. In Arizona its 20 weeks or 350 grams, although its not super-clear that your not supposed to throw them out with the trash once they cross that line.

[Zeb]

Well, I am completely unsentimental about dead bodies and think that there should be no law about how they are treated except to make sure they are disposed of in a sanitary way. I would love it if the hospital would use the remains of my loved ones to heat the place. Then I don't have to figure out what to do with a corpse. So you can see why I wouldn't be the least bit troubled about burning abortions or any other medical waste and using the heat.

[a better weapon]

Well, ASFAIK fetuses are typically cremated along with other medical waste and body parts.

I'd feel odd as it is even if a fetus wasn't involved. Knowing I was being warmed by the energy created through incinerating limbs and plasma and blood would give me the willies. The fetus warmth definitely turns it up to 11.

[BardMetal]

There is something really fucked up about that.

[WTF]

Has a certain Swiftian feel to it.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

Logically, though, you have to do something with remains...it should be noted that I believe cremation is the norm in the UK

[BardMetal]

Yes, but I'm pretty sure they don't try to generate electrical power when they cremate someone.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

eh, shouldn't they?

We could solve this with market incentives - you can get some cash back if you agree to let them dispose of the remains as you see fit, or you can privately dispose of them.

[Zeb]

If they don't, they are stupid. Why let the heat go to waste because of some people's superstitious squeamishness?

[Mickey Rat]

District heating design courtesy of Auschwitz.

[Pavlov's Cat]

Aborted babies incinerated to heat UK hospitals

They have enough to heat the building?

[Lord Humungus]

Las Vegas male strippers apprehend man who stole items from their locker room: cops

He messed with the wrong male strippers.

A group of Australian exotic dancers apprehended a man who stole from them backstage at their Las Vegas show Tuesday, police said.

The suspect, who may have been under the influence of methamphetamine, fired a shot during the struggle with the Thunder from Down Under dancers, reports TV station FOX 5 in Las Vegas. One of the dancers suffered minor injuries from residue from the bullet, police said.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Aussie exotic dancers has outback crazy written all over it.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

The only thing that scares me more than drunk Aussie's are drunk hockey players from Saskatchewan.

[Swiss Servator, mehr Spr?ngli]

How about drunk rugby players from....anywhere?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Curlers?

But none beat drunk clowns.

[Ted S.]

I heard a report on the CBC this morning about a farmer in Saskatchewan who had a couple of snowmobilers trespass on his land and protected his private property with a gun. The fucking bastards at the CBC were, unsurprisingly, horrified.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Why do you listen to the Canadian Broadcast Communism?

[Ted S.]

I listen to different news sources from all over the world, since US news is so sensationalist. The CBC, like most others, is two or three days a week.

Plus, I can follow what's going on up in your neck of the woods and impress you with my knowledge of the place. 😉

[DontShootMe]

drop bears strippers.

[Swiss Servator, mehr Spr?ngli]

+1 ultrahazard

[Elspeth Flashman]

Outback Crazy sounds like a movie title.

[invisible furry hand]

"You call this a cock? This is a cock"

[Elspeth Flashman]

+1 naked butt scene where all the guys jump into the waves. Doesn't every aussie movie seem to include group male nudity? Or is it just me.

[Lord Humungus]

*a giant penis rolls out like a fire hose*

[Ted S.]

The suspect, who may have been under the influence of methamphetamine,

He may not have been under the influence of anything at all, but let's go with this to help fuel our moral panic.

[Swiss Servator, mehr Spr?ngli]

BATH SALTZ?!!

[Shirley Knott]

I'm sorry, but Thunder from Down Under sounds like something you'd take Pepto Bismol for.
But I agree, definitely does not sound like something you'd want to mess around with.

[Brett L]

True of false: They do this because exotic dancing is the place where you encounter the fewest number of species trying to kill and/or eat you in Australia.

[invisible furry hand]

You're forgetting the dreaded trouser snake

[Brett L]

Are those poisonous down under, too? Up here they just lead to vomiting, weight-gain and nine months of ill-temper to certain women.

[waffles]

President Obama has sent additional troops and aircraft to Uganda in the search for Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army.

Wasn't beating him in the 2012 election enough?

[Tim]

Undeclared war!

[sarcasmic]

One Reason It May Be Harder to Find Flight 370: We Messed Up the Currents
How climate change factors into the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight.

http://www.motherjones.com/env.....370-search
Is there some rule out there that states that anything can be blamed on climate change?

[Fist of Etiquette]

That seems like some weak tea. I say Climate Change brought the plane down in the first place.

[waffles]

Serves it right. Burning jet fuel caused the climate change in the first place. Gaia is a vengeful bitch.

[gaijin]

What are you denying that it is possible?

[wareagle]

I believe that is the First Rule of climate change. Its wonder lies in how diametrically opposed events can be blamed on it.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Rule 34.

[DontShootMe]

Remember, the ocean currents, like everything else, must remain exactly as it was when it was first discovered. Any deviation is not permissible.

[Tim]

I just found a tear in my pants. I think climate change caused weak cotton. My ass had nothing to do with it.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Global warming makes it hurt when I pee.

[Shirley Knott]

Best wifi name ever:
It Hurts When IP

[a better weapon]

Dude, I know. I went bowling this weekend and I didn't roll a single game over 160!

All this global warming is totally warping the wood lanes.

[Stormy Dragon]

The List of Things Supposedly Caused by Global Warming:

http://whatreallyhappened.com/.....ming2.html

[Brandon]

If the Boeing 777 did plunge into the ocean somewhere in the vicinity of where the Indian Ocean meets the Southern Ocean, the location where its debris finally ends up, if found at all, may be vastly different from where investigators could have anticipated 30 years ago.

Why is "30 years ago" relevant?

[a better weapon]

Leftists have been a little slow to update their templates. Their vague, rounded numbers are a few years into the Reagan administration now.

We'll have widespread, generic use of "35 years ago" shortly now. Be patient.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

PA Democrats Took Bribes to Oppose Voter ID: Where Is Holder?
Pennsylvania Democrats were caught on surveillance tape reportedly accepting cash bribes in return for opposing voter ID in the Pennsylvania legislature. Gifts of Tiffany's jewelry were also given to Democrat legislators from Philadelphia, reportedly in exchange for "NO" votes on a Pennsylvania voter ID bill that passed in 2012.

Despite this evidence, Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane has not charged any officials. Kane is a Democrat.

Kane's excuse for her inaction? Racism: some of the legislators caught on tape accepting bribes were black Democrats from Philadelphia....

[Fist of Etiquette]

I'm not really sure why you HAD to bribe any Dems to oppose voter ID. Especially Philly Dems.

[R C Dean]

They probably wouldn't vote for the Puppies and Kittens Happiness bill without dipping their beaks.

[waffles]

Racism is a really pathetic excuse here. When you're investigating Philadelphia politicians there are going to be mostly black. Also some of the investigators were black while Kane is white. This venality and corruption that doesn't know color. But to think that is racist, duh.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Jesus mother asshole! This is a non-story! Democrats are just fighting fire with fire! The GOP and their destructive obstructionism made them do it! Dont you git it you morons!!!!??

Bush!

[Ted S.]

Are Philly politicians more or less corrupt than Quebec politicians? 😉

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I don't know Philly much.

But I think Massachusetts is just as bad if not worse.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

In case you haven't noticed, two smarmy left-wing regions who think their shitty progressive ideals don't stink.

[Bardas Phocas]

As a general rule, since the ABSCAM case, the FBI and most other law enforcement, avoids such stings on politicians. Mainly since it's so embarrassing to them as a class.

A undercover cop will spend dozens of hours convincing an autistic teenager to buy him pot. A whole multi-agency task force will spend hunreds of hours to convince a muslim convert to join the Jihad. But it only takes 15-20 minutes of chatting with most politicians to have them shaking you down and demanding hard cash.

Do you want them to have to ask every "donor" if they're a cop? They have busy schedules.

[Lord Humungus]

Which begs the question, how does Warty smell?

Human Nose Tallies More Than A Trillion Scents

Researcher Andreas Keller of the Rockefeller University told the journal Science's podcast why humans have such a discerning sense of smell:

"Our olfactory system evolved?to discriminate very similar smells, like my baby from my neighbor's baby, milk that's still good from milk that turned bad. So those are very similar smells that only differ in a few components. So we evolved to be able to make those discriminations. And as a side effect of that we can discriminate all those other odors too."

[gaijin]

Which begs the question, how does Warty smell?

like Elderberry?

[Sudden]

You just smell like a fart in his general direction...

[WTF]

Which begs the question, how does Warty smell?

I'm pretty sure his Doomcock has sophisticated olfactory inputs to process and analyze minute scent residues that even dogs couldn't detect.

[invisible furry hand]

Dunno about his natural smell, but he sprays himself with this

[Warty]

MY WARTY HAS NO NOSE

HOW DOES HE SMELL?

TERRIBLE

[Lady Bertrum]

how does Warty smell?

I'm going with stale farts, bourbon, and cheap cigars.

[SugarFree]

Stale?!? How dare you.

[Lord Humungus]

They're fresh as a dew on the morning leaf.

[Lady Bertrum]

Which implies sharting rather than plain old farting.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Occam's Razor and Climate Change
...As Professor Phil Jones of the CRU once admitted in an interview with the BBC, the instrumental record contains periods of warming which are statistically indistinguishable from the 1990s warming ? periods of warming which cannot have been driven by anthropogenic CO2, because they occurred before humans had made a significant changes to global CO2 levels.

Between 1860 and 1880, the world warmed for 21 years, at a similar rate to the 24 year period of warming which occurred between 1975 and 1998. There was simply not enough anthropogenic CO2 in the atmosphere to have driven the 1860s warming, so it must have been driven by natural variation....

[WTF]

Denier! Burn the witch!!!

[Drake]

1860 is about the end of "The Little Ice Age". During the Medieval Climate Optimum it was even warmer than the present. It was called the "optimum" because less people were dying of malnutrition and plagues due to cold and crop failures.

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

[Brett L]

Aaugh! The areas where we had instruments warmed in 1860 to 1880. So, sea lanes between Britain and her colonies, Britain and her colonies, America and Europe. Everything else is pretty much anecdotal. Part of the hype comes from the fact we suddenly got decent coverage of the whole world and started comparing them to local historical datasets of differing qualities. Data that can't be used to draw a conclusion, can't be used to draw a conclusion. (Britain, Europe and the Atlantic coast of America all experienced warming in that period. We don't know what the rest of the world did, really.)

[gaijin]

Taxpayers in 14 states will be contributing almost $X billion in payments for private business, some of which destroy the Earth.

OMFG! I did not vote for that. Not in my name!

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Union representatives join federal government safety inspectors on site visits to non-union businesses

[Atanarjuat]

From my time in the entertainment industry which included working for IATSE I have determined that a good chunk of union members and leadership are useless, ass-kissing scum. Is there an NRA-like political advocacy organization devoted to the destruction of collective bargaining I can donate to?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

You should see how many unknown union departments as part of the government structure exist here. It's so dirty the racket it can't be cleaned up unless a true leader with balls and hits it.

I remember getting a visit from one of these departments in one of my parent's buildings. Bunch of bullying scum. They even used terms like "we hear to protect you."

I still fume about it as I type.

[JW]

I knew a couple senior IATSE stagehands who were pulling in over $200K/year, with OT.

To move scenery. For a show. When they weren't sitting around and playing cards. $200K.

[Lord Humungus]

Of course...

One Reason It May Be Harder to Find Flight 370: We Messed Up the Currents
How climate change factors into the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight.

[a better weapon]

No dissent can ever be fit to print, no matter how well researched or how stable their methods are. Yet, this half-baked shit could literally make any publication with only a cursory review by the editor.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

The Media's Democratic Donor Delusions
His 2012 Wall Street Journal op-ed making the case for natural gas was co-authored with Tom Steyer, the hedge-fund billionaire who is quickly becoming one of the most powerful men in the Democratic party. Steyer is known mainly for his opposition to the Keystone pipeline, and for his recent pledge to raise and spend $100 million on behalf of Democrats in this year's elections. According to Reid Wilson, liberal donors such as Steyer "aren't going to realize a profit if their chosen candidates win." This is not true.

Steyer pledged to remove himself from the operations of his hedge fund, Farallon Capital Management, in the waning days of 2012, when he was being considered as a possible secretary of energy in the second Obama administration. But he remains an "outside limited partner" with the firm, and the "bulk" of his billion-dollar fortune is parked there. As of 2012, when Steyer was supporting Democrats, donating millions to Podesta's Center for American Progress, and otherwise championing natural gas over other forms of energy, Farallon held more than $7 million in shares of gas-technology company Fuel Systems Solutions. He was making plenty of money from the Obama administration's championing of natural gas.

As of the end of 2013, Farallon also held close to $40 million in Kinder Morgan, which is building a competitor to the Keystone pipeline.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Sorry,

The Media's Democratic Donor Delusions

[Lord Humungus]

Va. Woman Arrested After Visiting Jailed Husband In the Nude

A 26-year-old Virginia woman was arrested Saturday after she arrived naked at the Arlington County Magistrate's Office to visit her husband, who had been arrested in Clarendon earlier that day.

Police say Maura Fussell, of Reston, arrived at about 11 p.m. and refused to get dressed or to leave in a cab.

Fussell was arrested and charged with indecent exposure and being drunk in public. She was held until she sobered up.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

No pics?

[John]

I would be surprised if you would want to see them.

[Pavlov's Cat]

No pics?
I would be surprised if you would want to see them.

Only pics I could find were head shots, but things looked promising.

[Restoras]

Would you really want any?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Well...

[Swiss Servator, mehr Spr?ngli]

I suspect we would not want any.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

I googled her. She's on the bubble but I think when in doubt the answer is "yes we want to see"

[Lord Humungus]

She's not bad at all.

[Drake]

What I call "a good egg."

[JW]

Now THAT's some fucking dedication.

Would not kick out.

[RBS]

Also a Skins fan...

[Tim]

You know else held naked drunk women?

[Restoras]

The Philadelphia Eagles drunk tank?

[Swiss Servator, mehr Spr?ngli]

Bacchus?

[Almanian!]

Bill Clinton?

(I assume there's a "held" in there somewhere)

[Ted S.]

Warty?

[Rich]

Al Held?

[gimmeasammich]

Samuel L. Jackson?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Wouldn't it be cool if there was a study looking at the credit score of people by ideology?

I bet liberals/progs/socialists would have a poor score - if any.

[WTF]

"Credit scores are capitalist servitude, man."

[JW]

when I went to buy a new car recently, the loan guy said that my credit score was only 6 points off the max.

I was really annoyed at that. WHO FUCKED MY CREDIT SCORE?

[Zeb]

You are probably right, but I bet it correlates much mroe strongly with economic status than anything. Rich left leaners have perfectly good scores, I am sure, but poor people with bad credit probably tend to lean Democrat.

[Lord Humungus]

U.S. Small-Cap Rally Sends Valuation 26% Above 1990s

Small-cap shares tracked by the Russell 2000 Index (RTY) have rallied for seven straight quarters, the longest stretch ever, sending valuations 26 percent above levels at the height of the 1990s rally. Gains in stocks from LogMeIn (LOGM) Inc. to Athenahealth Inc. have pushed the gauge up 248 percent since the bull market began five years ago, leaving price-earnings ratios about three times as high as for shares in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.

Surging small-caps were cited by Federal Reserve Governor Daniel Tarullo last month as one reason policy makers should ensure they're not creating systemic risk in financial markets. While the increase in the Russell 2000 reflects speculation America's economy will expand faster than the rest of the world, investors may be getting ahead of themselves, according to Matthew Peronof Northern Trust Corp. in Chicago.

[gimmeasammich]

...the Russell 2000

Did that come before or after the Andre 3000?

[Longtorso, Johnny]

If temperatures don't rise, the hype must
Strange, given the IPCC only last year conceded that much of the predicted disaster wasn't actually happening.

In fact, according to one of the most important climate-related measures of all, we are doing brilliantly:

[Lord Humungus]

Anti-austerity protest turns violent in Spanish capital

The so-called "Dignity Marches" brought hundreds of thousands to the capital, according to estimates of Reuters witnesses. Travelling from all over Spain, they were protesting in support of more than 160 different causes, including jobs, housing, health, education and an end to poverty.

Banners urged the conservative government not to pay its international debts and to tackle Spain's chronically high unemployment of 26 percent.

"Bread, jobs and housing for everyone", read one banner, "Corruption and robbery, Spain's trademark," said another.

[waffles]

How do you dole out bread, jobs, and houses to everyone without the process being rife with corruption and robbery?

[RannedPall]

Not sure if this was discussed awhile ago, but I'm gonna leave this little gem here. Note how NPR can't help but fawn over this guy's dick.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/paral.....ist-utopia

[John]

There is no more money to steal. I am not sure how burning the place down is going to help. But, maybe that will give them more of a fresh start.

[Swiss Servator, mehr Spr?ngli]

If they burn it down, it will keep them warm for a moment or two.

[Shirley Knott]

If you teach a man to build a fire, he'll be warm when he can gather the materials.
If you set a man on fire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life.

[DontShootMe]

I LOL'ed.

[Restoras]

When the ashes have cooled and they remain in their current state...they will still demand free stuff.

[John]

I am sure they will. But after they get cold and hungry enough, they will start doing things for themselves again. It is going to be a hard lesson. But they will learn.

[Restoras]

Maybe. Or, they might look covetously at their neighbors? In the end you are right, it's just a question of how many people die first. Humans hate taking responsibility for actions and decisions that led to poor outcomes.

[John]

They might, but they would need to build a few things to do that. I am sure Haiti looks covetously on the relative wealth of the Dominican Republic. But I can't see them taking it anytime soon. And I can't see Spain marching on France either.

[Restoras]

Oh I'm not suggesting any Spanish Army will march on France. But an army/mob of refugess/immigrants might.

[BardMetal]

Doesn't the EU allow for the free movement of people throughout the EU? I bet a few countries will start rethinking that policy.

[wareagle]

if you burn the place down, you have to rebuild. Ergo, economic development. And jerbs!! You gotta think beyond windows.

[Fluffy]

Spain would happily go ahead and renege on its international debts if it wasn't for the tricky little fact that they can't meet their current obligations either, and they need to borrow more money internationally to do that.

[JW]

Always relevant.

[invisible furry hand]

What about the dignity of paying your fucking bills?

[wareagle]

classist!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) says that she has the votes to reveal the executive summary and conclusions of a report on Bush-era interrogation techniques.

I suppose we will have to wait for some future Republican, fearful of losing the Senate in midterm elections, to gather the votes to reveal the executive summary and conclusions of a report on the disposition matrix.

[Lord Humungus]

Christfag!

The Catholic Roots of Obama's Activism

"He so quickly got us," said Andrew Lyke, a participant in the meeting who is now the director of the Chicago Archdiocese's Office for Black Catholics. The group succeeded in inserting its priorities into the congress's plan for churches, Mr. Lyke said, and "Barack Obama was key in helping us do that."

By the time of that session in the spring of 1987, Mr. Obama ? himself not Catholic ? was already well known in Chicago's black Catholic circles. He had arrived two years earlier to fill an organizing position paid for by a church grant, and had spent his first months here surrounded by Catholic pastors and congregations. In this often overlooked period of the president's life, he had a desk in a South Side parish and became steeped in the social justice wing of the church, which played a powerful role in his political formation.

[Almanian!]

became steeped in the social justice wing of the church

Surprised by this, I am. I doesn't fit with everything else in the President's life, ever.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

So he found a bunch of child molesters to be politically useful. This is my shocked face.

[Fist of Etiquette]

[cough]abortion[cough]

[Lord Humungus]

Israel closes embassies around the world as diplomats strike

The industrial action has already threatened to postpone a visit by Pope Francis to Israel planned for May - one of 25 trips by foreign officials affected by a work slowdown the diplomats began on March 5 when wage talks broke down.

By escalating the action to a full strike - the first by the diplomatic corps since the country's establishment in 1948 - the diplomats will close all of Israel's 102 missions abroad, paralyzing most diplomatic work with other countries and the United Nations.

"We are completely shutting down the (foreign ministry) office and missions abroad. This is the first time ever," ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said.

[Ted S.]

Fire the lot of them, like Reagan did with the air traffic controllers.

[PD Scott]

"I've got your 'Diplomatic Solution' right here!"

[John]

So I was getting gas this weekend and noticed the cover of the current Time Magazine. I didn't know they sold it anywhere but doctor's offices. But apparently they do. The cover headline was

CODE RED: The behind the scenes story of the disastrous rollout of the Obamacare website and the team who fixed it.

First, I thought the website was still barely functional. Beyond that, the other problems associated with this disaster have dwarfed the website issues. Who is even talking about the website anymore? Yet, here is Time telling us the story of the courageous Obama team that "fixed" it.

Just imagine Time doing a cover headline that said "CODE RED, FEMA's disastrous response to Katrina and the team who fixed it". They really are Democratic Operatives with bilines.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Time. The magazine that failed time.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

Yeah if there's a fix out there I'd like to see what that is.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

Taxpayers in 14 states will be contributing almost $1 billion in tuition for private schools, some of which teach young Earth creationism.

Given that school/property taxes exist, this is a good thing, right?

[John]

Tax payers contribute to poor people buying coke and hookers with their welfare. Liberals never seem to mind that. Yet, a parent actually getting their taxes back and educating their kid as they see fit is apparently a disaster.

[AlmightyJB]

I have a great idea. Let's have our taxes owed broken out by where the money goes and we can check which boxes we want to pay for and keep the rest to spend as we see fit.

[John]

If we didn't have public schools, we wouldn't have to worry so much about what our tax money is being spent on. Maybe we could just let people save their tax money and use it to educate their kids as they see fit. And then we could let charities set up schools for kids that are too poor for their parents to pay for school. Hell, maybe even do a few things to encourage that.

It is so crazy, it just might work.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

I didn't read the whole thing, but it seems to be a hit piece with the obligatory Koch Bros reference.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

I saw that there and didn't even blink. They drop "Kochs" in there like Soviets dropped "kulaks". Same sick obsession.

[Swiss Servator, mehr Spr?ngli]

Throwing that one in seems like comment trolling to me.

[waffles]

Yeah, I don't get Feeney's sneering tone here. Surely creationism doesn't preclude an otherwise solid foundation in reading and math skills. Also, parents aren't forced to send there kids to these schools. What's the problem exactly?

[Restoras]

Schools are sacred, or something equally idiotic.

[Restoras]

If you send your kids to any school and think you won't be reprogramming lots of crap/nonsense/lies/distortions/omissions, then I have several bridges to sell you.

[AlmightyJB]

That's half of what public school is. I'm an Atheist and I less problem with these kids being taught creationism where they will no doubt be untaught it later in life than I do public schools teaching that oil corporations solely exist to dump toxic waste in our oceans because they hate all living things which is what my daughters were taught in the 5th grade. I can tell you that my oldest daughter didn't get her leftest brainwashing in our house.

[John]

When it comes to things like creation versus evolution, the parents have the biggest influence. If these kids were taught evolution, their parents would just tell them it is bullshit and to ignore it and the kids would go on believing what they want.

The only reason anyone should care what these kids are taught in school is if you think society has some kind of duty to debase them of their heretical views. Politico finds this issue offensive because they find the entire idea that anyone in this society believes in creationism offensive. The goal is to snuff out the belief and the culture that Politico hates. That is what this is about.

[Palin's Buttplug]

As Chris Hitchens wrote, "Religion Poisons Everything". Those who choose to give up their freedom to a Dead Guy on a Stick deserve no freedom and as history shows don't want freedom for others.

[WTF]

CHRISTFAGS!!!11!!!!BUSHPIGS!!11!!!!

[John]

Shreek, quite literally the dumbest man in America not currently in an institution, is constantly concerned about the ignorance of the Christfags.

Look at it this way Shreek, if you woke up tomorrow and suddenly decided to believe the world was 6,000 years old, it would actually be an improvement over the various forms of idiocy you believe now.

At this point, you should just randomly pick something different to believe in because you can only go up from where you are. And since you are retarded, your ceiling is pretty low anyway so it won't matter much what you choose.

[Brandon]

Shrike is becoming more blatantly fascist.

[R C Dean]

who choose to give up their freedom to a Dead Guy on a Stick deserve no freedom

So, off to the camps with them, eh, shreek?

[Brett L]

Eh. Who cares. This is no worse than the bullshit they tried to teach me about the purity of the American government and the sanctity of Keynesian economics. Had I not had a couple of wildly subversive teachers and parents who would let me read literally anything bound between two book-covers, I'd be just another TEAM player -- probably TEAM RED given my family and geographic origin.

[Lord Humungus]

A Costly Failed Experiment
The law's treatment of people is arbitrary and unfair. Its economic impact is only going to get worse.

A family of four at 138% of poverty level is able to enroll in Medicaid in about half the states and obtain insurance worth about $8,000. Since the coverage is completely free, that's an $8,000 gift. If they earn $1 more, they will be entitled to join a health-insurance exchange and obtain a private plan that costs, say, 50% more in return for an out-of-pocket premium of about $900. That's a gift of more than $11,000.

At the same time, the employees of a hotel who earn pretty much the same wage as in the two previous cases will be forced to have an expensive family plan and they and their employer will get no new government help. The only assistance is the long-standing tax break that exempts employers' premium payments from federal income and payroll taxes. Even so, the ObamaCare mandate amounts to about a $10,000 burden on these businesses and by extension their employees.

[John]

I am pretty sure the Progs view forcing people out of work and onto the dole as a feature not a bug. People on the dole are more docile and easier to control.

[gaijin]

Plus they can pursue their dreams when unleashed from the chains of labor.

[a better weapon]

the ObamaCare mandate amounts to about a $10,000 burden on these businesses and by extension their employees.

Bullshit! If I've learned anything from my progressive friends, its that increased costs to businesses never ever ever get absorbed by the employees in any way.

[Almanian!]

Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) says that she has the votes to reveal the executive summary and conclusions of a report on Bush-era interrogation techniques.

Excellent - although too late to do anything, this will shed some light on what our government is doing and help guide citizens to demand better from it in the future. divert attention from the disaster that is the current administration and continue to keep the spotlight on BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!111!

[AlmightyJB]

Yes. Only Bush era policies should be investigated.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

http://ericpetersautos.com/201.....hl-eevuhl/

Google. Evil.

Anyone heard about Google taking down Mark Dice?

What's wrong with Google? Are they mental? Bunch of tough guys with no 1-800 number.

[Carl the Jarl]

I don't get it. It shows up fine for me.

Also, the "trusted flagger" thing has been making the rounds, and is way overblown. It just means that YouTube's standards and practices team will get to their complaints first, which makes sense if the flaggers have influence in the local government or have a good track record of accurate reports.

Bunch of tough guys businessmen who want to avoid being banned in foreign countries with no 1-800 number.

FTFY. Though you are right; one of the most common recurring complaints about Google is that it's hard to talk to a human, even when you are paying them for something.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Interesting. I admit to being somewhat ignorant of Google; except for what they've done to me in the past.

But they're banning harmless cooking shows. The thing I don't like is they can just pull you off without warning.

It's not right.

There should be more of a "professional" courtesy approach. No?

[Carl the Jarl]

But they're banning harmless cooking shows. The thing I don't like is they can just pull you off without warning.

It's not right.

There should be more of a "professional" courtesy approach. No?

I don't know that I would refer to it as "not right", but I do agree that a more courteous approach would be preferrable.

However, depending on the jurisdiction and the content in question, not acting quickly enough after a complaint may call into question Google's exemption from legal liability for the content of videos.

Finally, knowing Google, I would bet $50 that they have algorithms that auto-remove videos that are determined to be highly likely to be in violation, and then have humans come in to review them afterwards.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I believe you're referring to the Googlebot? I see it on my blog.

[Carl the Jarl]

No. Googlebot is what adds pages to Google's search index.

[mr simple]

Taxpayers in 14 states will be contributing almost $1 billion in tuition for private schools, some of which teach young Earth creationism.

Sounds like it's time to get the government out of education.

[Tim]

Tax money should only go to public schools that don't teach anything.

[Restoras]

So, status quo?

[Lord Humungus]

Why churches should brace for a mass exodus of the faithful
The more conservative churches, anyway

Think about it: Men and women in the pews now live in a world in which nearly all obstacles to women's equality have been torn down. Where once women were relegated to submissive and subservient roles in the family, now domestic gender egalitarianism is the norm. Where once women were excluded from participating in politics ? including denial of the vote ? such strictures are now unimaginable. Colleges and universities that were once all-male have become co-ed. Just about every career that once excluded women is now open to them ? including that most traditionally masculine occupation, military service. And so forth.

None of this is new. But this is: the churches are now largely populated by people who have no living memory of it ever having been otherwise. Living, studying, working, and voting in a world marked by ever-increasing recognition of the equal dignity of men and women, they go to church on Sunday and confront our culture's last significant institutional vestige of inequality ? when that very institution worships the God who is the ultimate source of our egalitarianism.

[John]

The story of the last 30 years in American religion has been the death spiral of the mainline Protestant churches. Every year they lose more members and respond to it by getting more permissive and liberal which drives more people away. Meanwhile, the more conservative evangelical denominations have exploded.

People don't go to church to socialize. They go for answers. People like answers and they like rules. It is just how they are generally. This guy is delusional if he things conservative religion is going to die. It is in all its forms, Jews, Muslims, Christians, going to get bigger because conservative religion by its own terms has an excuse for existing. Liberal religion doesn't. If you are not going to have any rules or standards and are going to tell everyone whatever you like is great, what is the point of showing up? You can do that at home, no attendance required.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

John, I think his point was that the 'conservative' churches are only a generation behind the liberal ones in rotting away for the exact same reasons. They won't remain 'conservative'.

The basis of authority in the church is approval of its women. The rules, submission, etc aimed at grinding men down into the bottom of a hierarchy that starts w/ any randomly selected woman, then the so-called 'leaders', then the cattle males beneath them. Pastors teach obedience, pay lip service to it concerning women, and demand the men 'under' them act like women and submit to pastors.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

This is why teh gay is such a big issue w/ conservatives. They need a scapegoat. Hetero divorce is the threat to the hetero family, not gays, but if pastors say that the divorced women hoping to find some sucker to help pay for the kids she spawned fucking bartenders in her 20s will leave, and butts in the pews are the basis of evangelical pastors' power.

Gays are judged because judging straights who divorce would involve, shudder, judging a woman. Your chickenshit leaders won't do that.

[John]

Maybe. But then people will just move on to other new conservative churches. Also, I think that the feminist experiment is starting to run its course. The last two generations of women have been successively less feminist than the last. Mainline feminism is mostly an ideology of aging boomer hags and deeply confused younger women.

Life doesn't work out very well for most hardline feminists. Society has self correcting mechanisms. It over time rejects ideologies that don't work.

[Swiss Servator, mehr Spr?ngli]

This why the United Methodist Church may split in the future - then the SJW wing can go off on its own and shrink to Anglican size and the regulars will carry on.

[Lord Humungus]

I was raised Christian Reformed. What drove me away - and I'm probably a minority on this - was the stifling conformity. I don't like to belong to groups, and want to find my own answers without "guidance".

But yes, I agree mostly with your point. For example my sister-in-law belongs to an ultra-liberal church. It seems more like a social club than anything else. Membership is always an issue with them.

Another example - my wife used to work as a receptionist at a liberal church with an openly gay preacher. Some of the older members fled and getting new ones was always difficult. Money, therefore, was always an issue. Compared to the big mega-churches here - which are very conservative - they had insignificant members.

[Lord Humungus]

*number of members

[John]

What is interesting is that the liberal churches are in many ways for all of their claims of tolerance more stifling than the conservative ones. They maybe not pay attention to the bible, but they sure as hell pay attention to political orthodoxy and won't tolerate any deviation from it.

The Conservative churches in contrast never agree about anything. Those churches are rife with constant "not a true Scotsman" type arguments among the members. They may be "conservative" but they are certainly not uniform.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Dalrock: Church Apathy About Divorce

[Lord Humungus]

The strange revival of Republican America
Demographic and other factors are against the Grand Old Party but its electoral hopes are high

Yet there is something deep within America's political DNA that recycles first-generation social democrats into second-generation conservatives. For most of the 20th century, Catholic Italians and Irish were a reliable Democratic voting block. Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan changed that partly by using dog whistles to play on their racial fears and partly by appealing to their upwardly mobile aspirations. There is no rule that says Latinos cannot gradually move into the Republican fold. Of America's ethnic groups, only black and Jewish voters are unshakeably Democratic. If a Republican-controlled Congress can push through immigration reform next year, it could undo much of the sense of alienation felt by Hispanics. With barely a quarter of the Latino vote in 2012, the Republican performance can only improve.

[John]

Maybe Hispanics don't like being spied on and getting ripped off for health insurance any better than anyone else. And maybe they have figured out that neither side is going to give them Amnesty so they might as well vote on other issues.

[DJF]

""'Amenesty""

Or maybe the hispanics realize that they left hispanic countries for a reason and don't want that reason following them to the US

[John]

We can certainly hope so.

[BardMetal]

Do that even want Amnesty in the form of citizenship? Or just to be able to work here without being harassed?

If it's the later then this is a very easy issue to solve, just hand out about 20 million worker visas, and be done with it.

We can background check the people they are given to so that were aren't allowing in terrorists, the migrants can work here without the INS harassing them, We wouldn't be allowing a bunch of foreigners to vote just because they happen to be standing on American soil during election time.

And they could still apply for citizenship at a later time.

Everybody wins except the democrats, and a few members of the "they took our jobs crowd"

[John]

I think mostly they just want to be able to work legally. This is why the GOP if they were anything but the stupid party, should have passed amnesty with no path to citizenship out of the House. The Dems would have never taken that deal because they don't give a shit about Hispanics. They want votes. The Hispanics meanwhile would have been perfectly happy with such a bill and would have seen the Democrats kill it.

[Emmerson Biggins]

hell, we could find out the market price for coyotes, and charge half that amount for a 5 year work permit (taken out of paychecks if they need credit), and still have an improvement over the current situation (in a "pareto" kind of way)*.

*standard disclaimer applies, I'm not necessarily advocating this, just sayin.

[Emmerson Biggins]

also, we don't have to be "fair" about this in any international way. We could make this offer only good to Mexicans and Canadians. Then we'd effectively farm out a lot of our immigration problems to those two countries.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

They voted for Nixon and Reagan because Democrats behaved as if they were *trying* to cheese off the white ethnics. The Republicans picked up the people the Dems contemptuously threw away.

But yeah, geniuses, blame the Republicans for the loss of your formerly-loyal voters!

[Warty]

How not to negotiate with believers

It's amazing that Malcolm Gladwell seems to think that Waco was a fiasco because of religion.

[John]

If those people just hadn't resisted, it would have been fine Warty.

I wonder if Gladwell think that the MOVE disaster in Philadelphia is the fault of black militants? It is good that he let the mask slip. Gladwell is apparently okay with the government murdering the children of dissident religious groups.

[Warty]

At least he doesn't repeat the old lie about those people setting themselves on fire. But the article is bizarre. It's like Gladwell, instead of talking about federal power run amok like any sensible person, wants to use this poor bastard's book about his experience in the siege to start some navel-gazing conversation about how America deals with its wacky religions and how We Need To Be More Inclusive. Which is fine, I guess, but to note something like the below in passing, like he does, is just bizarre.

Gonzalez's job was to infiltrate the Davidian community and look for evidence. (He found none, a fact that?along with the A.T.F.'s bizarre decision to serve a warrant on Koresh by force, rather than arresting him on those numerous occasions when he ventured into town?loomed large in the many Waco postmortems.)

[John]

The idea that in any big society you are going to have kooks and it is the job of the government to treat said kooks with the same sense of fairness and justice that it should treat everyone never seems to occur to him. Goes back to my contention that all progs are crude materialists who are incapable of understanding or appreciating abstract and universal ideas like justice and fairness. They only see crude material results. So for Gladwell the problem isn't one of "how do we make sure the government treats everyone with the same standard of fairness" it is "how do we ensure ideal results in the world".

[waffles]

I recently read Outliers and I can see how Gladwell isn't content to observe diversity in humans. Given the opportunity he would certainly favor nudging, pushing, and lovingly coercing people to the correct outcomes. That said, he still makes interesting observations.

[Ted S.]

Government is a religion.

[Lord Humungus]

FiveThirtyEight Senate Forecast: GOP Is Slight Favorite in Race for Senate Control

When FiveThirtyEight last issued a U.S. Senate forecast ? way back in July ? we concluded the race for Senate control was a toss-up. That was a little ahead of the conventional wisdom at the time, which characterized the Democrats as vulnerable but more likely than not to retain the chamber.

Our new forecast goes a half-step further: We think the Republicans are now slight favorites to win at least six seats and capture the chamber. The Democrats' position has deteriorated somewhat since last summer, with President Obama's approval ratings down to 42 or 43 percent from an average of about 45 percent before. Furthermore, as compared with 2010 or 2012, the GOP has done a better job of recruiting credible candidates, with some exceptions.

[John]

But shreek says Obamacare is a big nothing and the GOP is doomed. Does Shreek know his hero Nate Silver has turned into a Christfag?

[Palin's Buttplug]

Read Silver, you fucking idiot. He agrees with my thesis - the two big drivers that make the GOP favorites don't include Obamacare.

[John]

Yeah, fucking up millions of people's health insurance will have nothing to do with your coming loss of the Senate.

Face it Shreek, Obama is going to put your entire ilk out of power. He is a fucking moron and you still love him.

[Lord Humungus]

Obama's approval rating dropped; partly done by Obamacare. Therefore, if the party is tied to the president, Obamacare will have some impact on the senate races.

[a better weapon]

If this actually happens and the GOP takes the senate, the last thing it will be called by the media is a mandate.

I look forward to the chorus of politicians and news associates berating the public for how fucking stupid and easily manipulated they are.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

I just want to know what excuse they'll come up with. Can't use gerrymandering. ALEC? Koch Brothers? Soft money? All of the above? It ought to be just fantastic.

[John]

Soft money, Kochs and of course RACISM!!

The spin over the next two years is going to be that America is just ungovernable and not worthy of a great man like Obama.

You can see Shreek starting to give this spin above. The Dems are about to lose their asses and the reason can't be that Obama is a complete fuck up who has damaged the Prog and Dem brand for the next generation.

[WTF]

Obama is a complete fuck up who has damaged the Prog and Dem brand for the next generation election cycle.

The public has a short memory.

[John]

Nah. Carter fucked it up for 20 years. It didn't come back until the late 1990s. Obama is a hundred times worse than Carter ever was. Sure, the public has an even shorter attention span now. But Obama is such an epic moron that he will fuck up the Dem brand for at least as long as Carter did.

[WTF]

I think you may underestimate the power of the leftist media and the ignorance and fanaticism of the democrat base.

[Restoras]

Very likely since there is a really good chance any change in control means nothing will change.

[Lord Humungus]

The electorate swings from one stupidity to another.

[John]

Things are going to change Restoras. They have to. We are running out of money and things are finally getting bad enough the big, dumb low information middle is starting to feel it.

I don't know that they will change for the better. I hope they will, but I don't know. But they are going to change. This cannot go on as it is much longer.

This is why Progs have gone so insane and are so defensive in the last few years. They know that if it doesn't work under the light worker, it isn't going to work. At least at a feral instinctual level, they sense that things are going to change. And they hate change more than anything. This is why they are so fanatical and unreasonable. That is not a sign of strength.

Obama is going to be remember as a giant fuck up first and foremost. But he will also be remembered as the last ambitious Prog President before what came after, God help us whatever that is.

[Lord Humungus]

According to my reading of history, there will be a call for "The Strongman" to cut through all the BS and "unite" the people.

Hello, dictatorship - or whatever strange form it takes - paying lip service to the republic.

[John]

Maybe Lord Humungus. But I doubt it. The US is too well armed, too big and too diverse for a strong man to take over like has happened in other places.

The court media would love nothing better. This is why they want to disarm the populace. But I really can't see it happening.

What is more likely is the government is going to go broke and by necessity return to a manageable size.

[Lord Humungus]

I hope you're right. At best we'll see a reduced federal government, and the states take up the slack - forming a loose, er, confederacy setup for common defense and trade.

At worst, an attempt to consolidate central power - even if that takes the form of quashing armed civilians. Of course that will be a hard tightrope to walk considering the military is made up of the types they would want to ostracize.

I'm a cynic, so I lean to the latter. You know the "ungovernable" excuse is also a reflection on the elite's wish to rule without any troublesome things like due process and rule of law.

[Emmerson Biggins]

ALEC? Koch Brothers? Soft money? All of the above?

my money is on ungovernable bitterly clingning whiteness syndrome

[waffles]

I fear the internet has made me stupid. I never had an issue with apostrophes, there/their/they're, or any other grammatical construct before I spend any serious amount of time reading forums and message boards. Can prolonged exposure to drivel such as feminist tumblrs cause brain damage? I'm starting to feel like Charlie in decline from Flowers for Algernon.

[Swiss Servator, mehr Spr?ngli]

"I'm starting to feel like Charlie in decline from Flowers for Algernon."

+ a large number

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

if you want to go Full Retard, spend time on Twitter. I had to stop after I started getting nosebleeds and actually saw bloody, battered IQ points fall out of my ears onto the ground.

[Swiss Servator, mehr Spr?ngli]

Never go full Twittertard?

[Elspeth Flashman]

I was thinking of promoting my business via a twitter account, but I just can't bring myself to do it.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

there's really very little point. Professionals stay off Twitter because it's such a nightmare.

[Lord Humungus]

Did the internet make you stupid, or is the internet just stupid? Why are we involved in such stupidity.

related: my broadband connection went down last week. Reason? Squirrel damage! After a few days of calling Comcast, we finally got a service call in.

Anyway, a few nights without internet access was actually kind of nice. I sat around and really listened to music, instead of having it just as background music while I surfed the web.

[waffles]

Sounds nice. Maybe that's why I like camping so much. Better plan some expeditions this summer.

[AlmightyJB]

For me, I post from my smartphone a lot which is a lot more tedious than a keyboard especially on non-android friendly sites like this one. Add in correcting the spellcheck corrections, fat thumb errors, and the extra pain of punctuation on a touchpad and half the time I just let mistake go. I feel like getting me point across is the most important thing. Spending five minutes screwing with what should be a 30 second post seems a waste of my time.

[AlmightyJB]

my:)

[Carl the Jarl]

at.least.your not like.db

[db]

Fuck.you. i always correct the grammar problems. Typos, I have learned to live with, although it.pains me greatly.

[SugarFree]

***Warning: The following contains scene of intense genital violence. Reader discretion is advised.***

Warty Hugeman and The Doomcock of Doom

Chapter Seven

Running. Warty Hugeman's rage shut out everything else. His long strides were mechanically perfect. The Doomcock churned up and down, intent with its own terrible purpose. There. The ache to kill. Warty felt his scrotum clench like a fist. Faces turning into screams, blurring into nothing. Steve Smith. Warty was gaining.

"LITTLE MAN!" Steve Smith bellowed at the fleeing Time Institute thief.

Warty fired off a volley of pubic missiles from the Doomcock, programmed to seek mammalian flesh, each with enough paralytic to bring down Pleistocene megafauna. Creatures all along the rent Steve Smith had torn in the crowd dropped to the ground, but none reached the great beast himself.

"Nearing edge of exclusion field," the suit told him. Warty only growled in reply.

Steve Smith had caught up with to the stooge enough to try swiping at him with Sven's Time Axe. The blunt end smashed into the his head with a sickening crunch and he dropped. Steve Smith stood over him, panting, lifting the Axe again, when Warty reached them both.

Continue reading

[Swiss Servator, mehr Spr?ngli]

YOU GOT GOOD GUEST STAR!!!

/STEVE SMITH

[Warty]

Google indicates that you are not the first person in history to type the string "genital hostilities". How odd.

[invisible furry hand]

Genital Hostilities would be a great band name

[Warty]

I saw them open for Discordance Axis and Napalm Death. Unlistenable.

[invisible furry hand]

But a great t-shirt

[WTF]

Holy crap, this one actually had me trying to suppress my laughter in case someone walked into my office and thought me insane.

[Lord Humungus]

+1 STEVE SMITH victim

[Restoras]

So I was surfing around Amazon Instant Video this weekend and stumbled on this really cool animated series called "Archer". Have you guys seen it? Definately check it out.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

ha ha. that's good (and good-natured) trolling right there.

[Restoras]

True story. I've seen the commentariat go on and on about but I was totally clueless until I literally stumbled on it.

I am now binge watching at every possible moment - but only after I caught up on Vikings and True Detective.

[SugarFree]

All three are fine television.

[invisible furry hand]

I am rewatching Vikings right at this moment. Thor told me to.

[SugarFree]

The guy playing Ragnar (Travis Fimmel) has charisma to burn. He's been on a few things, but this should break him out to stardom.

[invisible furry hand]

He really does convey menace, brains, tenderness and humour bloody well.

Just another in a long line of hot Aussie exports. Aslaug is Australian too. So there's something we do right.

[Restoras]

He's great but let's face it, Katheryn Winnick might be the best thing to come from Canada, ever.

[John]

I agree. You watch that show and you want to raiding with Ragnar. The actor has that rare quality of being wildly attractive to women without alienating men. He has that "women want him and men want to be him" quality that very few actors have.

If he doesn't become the next Russel Crowe, Hollywood casting directors are morons.

[waffles]

I really really liked True Detective. It was so refreshing after I accidentally exposed myself to The Following.

[RannedPall]

Hey mr. Impatient can I finish the walking dead first?? Geez, because after that I've mad men, house of cards, breaking bad, and dexter, well, maybe I can squeeze in some archer..

[a better weapon]

I too used Amazon Prime this weekend, except I found Orphan Black. Really interesting so far.

The lead actress is also a smoke show (at least after she's cleaned up after the first couple of episodes and not doing the grungy punk look anymore).

[SugarFree]

dat ass

[John]

She is a Canadian of Russian dissent just like the even better looking Katherine Wynnick from Vikings.

What is up with Canada producing hot Russian actresses?

[R C Dean]

a Canadian of Russian dissent

Priceless. Don't ever change, John.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

Taxpayers in 14 states will be contributing almost $1 billion in tuition for private schools, some of which teach young Earth creationism.

As usual, Politico is full of fail. First, they go down the rabbit hole of "this religious school teaches this course that his this book that mentions YEC somewhere something" and then they tie that directly to the voucher. That's such an attenuated connection that it's laughable. Also, when they list the "examples" the schools that are supposed to make us reel in horror, this is what they come up with:

Another Calvary Christian Academy, this one in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., describes the goal of its AP Biology course as preparing "students to have faith in Jesus in an age of science by evaluating college-level biology, chemistry and physics from a purely biblical perspective." Both participate in their states' voucher programs.

And at Cherokee Christian School in Woodstock, Ga., the biology curriculum presents Charles Darwin's theories mostly in the context of showing students how to rebut them. Students are taught to argue, for instance, that cellular mutation could not lead to increased genetic variation. A class goal: "Discuss the importance of a right view of evolution."

Oh my god. How will we go on?

[John]

Just a guess, but I bet you there are at least a few Muslims who use those vouchers to send their kids to Islamic schools. And I bet those Islamic schools teach some things that would cause some pearl clutching at Politico. Funny, that doesn't get mentioned.

Not that I care what Muslim parents teach their kids anymore than any other parents. It is in my view a free country and kids' eduction is the prerogative of their parents.

Like everything with these idiots, this issue is just an intramural fight amongst white people. The liberal whites at Politico hate the conservative whites in Woodstock, Georgia (and everywhere else) and thus use the issue of vouchers as a stick to beat them with and feel superior.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

The annoying part to me is that they're willing to bootstrap almost any declaration of faith in "YEC-ism" but they completely ignore the endemic corruption that plagues schools on a daily basis. Are students better served in schools that have faith but are honest or in schools where graft, numbers-rigging and bloated "graduation" and "attendance" rates are the norm?

[Swiss Servator, mehr Spr?ngli]

So, Chicago, Philly and Atlanta, to start then?

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

That's just the proverbial tip of the doomcock.

[John]

Me too. There are public schools in this country that don't have text books. We have millions of kids graduating high school every year who are functionally illiterate.

I will bet you money the kids that go to the schools Politico is whining about don't graduate illiterate and are probably in the top half or quarter of graduates in general.

So on the one hand we have millions of kids graduating from public schools who can't even read. On the other hand we have kids who go to these religious schools who can read and do a lot of other things but are taught creationism (something their parents would be teaching them any way).

Of course Politico thinks the latter group is the most pressing problem worth talking about. I wish that our education system in this country was so good that the most important or even the 100th most important thing we had to worry about was some kids in Georgia being taught creationism.

[a better weapon]

I will bet you money the kids that go to the schools Politico is whining about don't graduate illiterate and are probably in the top half or quarter of graduates in general.

Many studies show that they do (LA schools get the equivalent of 50 more days of learning vs public schools). The others that progs grip to show lower levels of success, like the Stanford CREO one show equal or worse. However, when you drill down, you find that its because white kids do worse vs public school whites, and black and Hispanics do better in reading and math (the only two subjects looked at in the study). Asians do worse in math, but better in reading.

Why the results look this way in that study, I don't know, but its extremely telling that the progs don't filter the data from this study to find a way to improve minority outcomes in public schools.

[John]

Because Progs are insane and have long stopped caring about actual results.

[Rufus J. Fisk]

teaching a high school US Govt class today and my first period class just watched the biggest fluff piece DVD on the Legislative Branch. Guess who the so called expert interviewed was? Chris Fuckin' Dodd. I could not contain my laughter.

[Rufus J. Fisk]

not to mention they spent alot of time on the passing of Civil Rights Act. They really played up MLK and LBJ shaking hands....I paused it to remind kids of what LBJ liked to do while drinking and hanging out with friends; listening to secret recordings of MLK and his affairs...

[JW]

Don't forget about his ordering slacks.

[invisible furry hand]

The most controversial thing an Australian politician can say:

"In a free country people do have rights to say things that other people find offensive or insulting or bigoted."

[Rich]

"Why is the Prime Minister weakening decades of protections against racial hate speech?"

FYTW!

[Brett L]

Jaysus, next they'll be dismantling political power centers like the Climate Bureau (or whatever that thing was they took apart). If you guys would just get sane on guns, I could raise my kid comfortably as an antipodean.

[invisible furry hand]

Check this out

http://www.cuttingredtape.gov.au/

[Brett L]

Wow. I wonder if my wife gets a masters degree if we'd have enough points. And if I could convince her to get on a plane fpr 20 hours. I'd probably have to ruffie her.

[Carl the Jarl]

You know, I'm trying to be less judgemental of other people's tastes in music but...

...seriously?

Girl group Crayon Pop, who are almost as famous in Korea for their dance moves and costumes as for their music, will serve as the opening act for some of Lady Gaga's upcoming concerts in the U.S.

It is the first time for a Korean singer or band to be invited to give performances at the global pop star's concerts.

"I'm excited to announce June 26 through July 22 of Lady Gaga's artRAVE: The Artpop Ball will be opened by CRAYON POP!" Lady Gaga wrote on her Twitter account on Friday, while also highlighting the band's hit song "Bar bar bar."

the mentioned song

[SugarFree]

I made it through 49 seconds.

I like that they are out and proud about their tard status. They even openly wear tard helmets so they won't fall down and go boom and break open their eggshell-thin tard skulls.

[Ted S.]

I've never understood why people like K-Crap music anyway. Thoroughly derivative hip-hop wannabe, with metrosexual guys wearing what looks to be so much TV makeup you can barely tell whether they're men or women.

[Carl the Jarl]

I listen to some of the girl groups now and then, most of which are bubblegum pop rather than rap.

...well, I watch some of the girl groups. Most of them are pretty damn sexy.

To the extent that I care about the actual music, K-pop has two advantages:
* I listen to a lot of angry, serious, and/or sulky metal normally; it can be nice to listen to something "peppy" now and then.
* Being pop, the lyrics are retarded (I've checked some of the translations). But since they're in Korean, I can't tell and thus won't be annoyed.

[hamilton]

Um, this, a lot. The girl groups are hot. And Hyuna's Bubble Pop video goes a long way to explaining why they call her the Korean Shakira.

[Warty]

Needs more Ari.

[Carl the Jarl]

Hot -- unfortunately dyed hair aside -- but low production values

[Warty]

It's a wonderful world we live in, where K-pop academy washouts can whore it up for the entire world.

[Carl the Jarl]

I don't think there are washouts -- I think they just kill them. The record companies spend a lot of time and money culutivating their "idols".

[Carl the Jarl]

also, too much ass-shaking

[Evan from Evansville]

I fucking love this song.

FUCKING. LOVE. IT.

I have pretty much no reason to, but after one listen it wormed its way into my brain and there it resides still.

[Slammer]

RIP Dave Brockie...founder of GWAR

[sarcasmic]

That sucks.

[Warty]

Fuck. That blows.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Rot in Space Hell, you brilliant SOB.

[SIV]

Alternative energy

[OldMexican]

The furnaces used to burn the aborted babies were built by A.J. Topf & Sohne

[invisible furry hand]

A police officer in Baltimore, Maryland is accused of raping a woman he was supposed to be helping after a traffic accident.

http://jezebel.com/it-happened.....1549983829

[Warty]

Making robberies into larcenies, making rapes disappear. You juke the stats and majors become colonels.

[Swiss Servator, mehr Spr?ngli]

Damn, I knew I was doin' it wrong...I had to go to Afghanistan and Iraq to make it into the colonel ranks!

Who knew all I had to do was hide crimes?!

[Carl the Jarl]

Taiwan police disperse protesters occupying government headquarters

Police in Taiwan have forcibly removed activists occupying the island nation's main government offices. But protesters remain holed up in parliament, which they have blockaded in protest against a trade pact with China.

Baton-wielding riot police cleared Taiwan's government headquarters of a sit-in on Monday, a day after scores of mainly student protesters had torn down barbed-wire barricades and used ladders to break into second-floor offices.

"The government will never tolerate the occupation of government buildings, which seriously hinder the operation of our government," said Taiwanese presidential spokeswoman Garfie Li.

Police also deployed a water cannon against people who were protesting outside of the two government buildings in the national capital, Taipei. According to authorities, at least 58 people were arrested and 137 injured, including 24 who were hospitalized.

I hope, if it is possible, that they recall that joker Ma.

[OldMexican]

Meta-analysis of 72 studies from around the world with 600,000+ participants found NO compelling evidence linking saturated fats with heart disease.

For the meta-analysis, the researchers analyzed data from 72 unique studies with over 600,000 participants from 18 nations. The investigators found that total saturated fatty acid, whether measured in the diet or in the bloodstream as a biomarker, was not associated with coronary disease risk in the observational studies. Similarly, when analyzing the studies that involved assessments of the consumption of total monounsaturated fatty acids, long-chain omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, there were no significant associations between consumption and cardiovascular risk.

Interestingly, the investigators found that different subtypes of circulating long-chain omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids had different associations with coronary risk, with some evidence that circulating levels of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids (two main types of long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids), and arachidonic acid (an omega-6 fat) are each associated with lower coronary risk.

[sarcasmic]

Phhht! Nobody cares about the scientific method anymore! We have consensus!

[Lord Humungus]

Currently listening to Falloch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhDFV2OdDjc

kinda/sorta in the Agalloch/Alcest vein.

[Aloysious]

cool. thx.

[Snark Plissken]

John Hinderbrake destroys WaPo leftie environmental shills who claim Keystone is giant Kochctopus conspiracy.

The theme of the article was that the Keystone Pipeline is all about the Koch brothers; or, at least, that this is a plausible claim. The Post authors relied on a report by a far-left group called International Forum on Globalization that I debunked last October.
...
Note that Ms. Eilperin quoted Podesta, her husband's boss, in her puff piece on Tom Steyer.

Oh, yes?one more thing. Guess who sits on the board of the Center for American Progress? Yup. Tom Steyer.

This kind of incest is common in Washington. You can't separate the reporters from the activists from the Obama administration officials from the billionaire cronies. Often, as in this instance, the same people wear two or more of those hats simultaneously. However bad you think the corruption and cronyism in Washington are, they are worse than you imagine. And if you think the Washington Post is part of a free and independent press, think again.

[John]

The best comment on that was from Jonah Goldberg. The WAPO hacks' excuse for lying was that "it stimulated debate". So Goldberg came back and said why not just go all the way and link the Kochs to the Kennedy assassination and 911 and the missing airliner. Wouldn't that really stimulate debate?

The other funny thing about that is Hindrake went out and talked to experts on the record who all said the Kochs were not the largest investor. Yet the hacks claim they have talked to unnamed "authorities in the industry" and stand by their claim. Why would anyone want to remain anonymous making that claim?

[Snark Plissken]

Yeah, blatant lying is ok because we just want to stimulate debate, and besides they are evil and we are good so we won't take it back, pffffft.

[SugarFree]

blatant lying is ok because we just want to stimulate debate

i.e. Tony and shrike

[Carl the Jarl]

rollo/Tulpa

[Juice]

construction of the Keystone Pipeline would actually be harmful to Koch's economic interests

The way I understand it, the Kochs have some oil refineries around the Houston area that are designed to refine heavy, sulfur rich oil that comes from very few places. Right now they get it exclusively from Venezuela and because they can only buy from them, they get high prices. The tar sands oil would give these refineries a new source so they could lower the price from Venezuela.

[Carl the Jarl]

"Eye of the tiger" on dot matrix printer

[db]

That is excellent.

[Sevo]

"Taxpayers in 14 states will be contributing almost $1 billion in tuition for private schools, some of which teach young Earth creationism."

As an atheist, I find that almost as pathetic as the many billions we now contribute for public schools to teach Malthusianism

[Elspeth Flashman]

So, a federal district court ruled on Friday that the Michigan (voter-supported) law banning same gender unions was unconstitutional. And that county clerks must issue licenses. But by this morning, 6th Circuit says "not so fast." In the meantime, hundreds of same gender couples got hitched. Are they legit?

That's the predicament roughly 100 couples are in following an order late Saturday from the U.S. Sixth Court of Appeals, which issued a temporary stay of a lower court ruling that declared Michigan's ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional. The order didn't come down until late in the day ? well after roughly 300 same-sex marriage licenses had been handed out across Michigan.

http://www.freep.com/article/2.....egal-views

[R C Dean]

This actually gets to a very interesting philosophical issue, namely, whether court orders overturning a statute or another court order have retroactive effect.

If the higher court says, "no, you got the law wrong", then it seems they should. Isn't a statute or ruling that is invalid one that never had any effect?

OTOH, you have people who relied on the overturned rule.

The courts go both ways on this. Interesting conundrum, really.

[John]

They generally do not have a retroactive effect. For example, a court decision finding a particular set of circumstances surrounding a search unlawful under the 4th Amendment or finding a sentence cruel and unusual will not apply retroactively.

In this case, the court dictating marriage policy in the state will just mean that people are free to get married going forward. If another court disagrees, those marriages go poof, although they are probably valid for acts that occurred while the first court's ruling was valid.

This is one of the many reasons why courts making laws is generally a bad idea.

[R C Dean]

They generally do not have a retroactive effect.

Its a mixed bag. Of course, they (nearly?) all have some degree of retroactive effect: they apply in the case at hand, and often in other cases that are not yet final (that is, have exhausted their appeals).

Its mostly an issue in Constitutional cases, where the Court is supposed to be telling us what the Constitution means. Since the Constitution hasn't changed, that should mean that it always meant what the ruling says, and that the ruling should be retroactive.

When you start applying "new" Constitutional rulings prospectively-only, you seem to be saying that the Court just changed what the Constitution says.

[db]

President Obama has sent additional troops and aircraft to Uganda in the search for Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army.

Six weeks. Five years. Six weeks Five years you are trying to catch the General. You put up reward posters. What is this, "Gunfight at the K.O. Corral?"

[swillfredo pareto]

+2 Black Hawks down.

[Sevo]

Lefty rag admits the cost of developing drugs is driven by gov't regs!

"Long, winding road to approval for new drugs"{
[...]
"A company that goes 24 years without ever selling a product may sound unusual. But in biotechnology, it's not that uncommon."
http://www.sfgate.com/business.....342693.php

(and strawmen die at the keystrokes of lefty commenters!)

[a better weapon]

Nice to see that the FDA bog is finally a concern of the SFgate now that the camel is a little further into the tent after Obamacare.

Only now are they considered about the efficiency of healthcare delivery and government's ability to get out of its own way.

[a better weapon]

+concerned, -considered

[Sevo]

a better weapon|3.24.14 @ 10:30AM|#
"Nice to see that the FDA bog is finally a concern of the SFgate now that the camel is a little further into the tent after Obamacare."

I'm gonna put money on the guess that the solution is:
MOAR GOVERNMENT!

[OldMexican]

Re: Sevo,

(and strawmen die at the keystrokes of lefty commenters!)

That's because they're the only ones who bother to read the SF. Other people only bother with it to wrap fish or line birdcages.

[Acosmist]

"Taxpayers in 14 states will be contributing almost $1 billion in tuition for private schools, some of which teach young Earth creationism."

This is terrible but charters are awesome, because ???

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Taxpayers in 14 states will be contributing almost $1 billion in tuition for private schools, some of which teach young Earth creationism.

Scary, I guess. What is the problem with this from a libertarian standpoint as compared to the status quo again, Feeney?

[GILMORE]

Statements like that also need a pie chart showing that this scary "$1bn" is a pussyhair-fraction of the whopping sums appropriated to send kids to schools that teach them Capitalism is Rape.

[GILMORE]

"President Obama has sent additional troops and aircraft to Uganda in the search for Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army."

A last ditch effort to appeal to Millenials? You be the judge

[GILMORE]

"President Obama has sent additional troops and aircraft to Uganda in the search for Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army."

A last ditch effort to appeal to Millenials? You be the judge

[waffles]

Don't blame me I voted for Kony 2012.

[GILMORE]

McInnes @ Taki Mag

"Teachers R Dum"

http://takimag.com/article/tea.....z2woMgvrDy

"This is how America talks about teachers.

They assume bad test scores come from a lack of funds, but on top of the $30 per hour that teachers make, we've been hurling money at the problem for ...half a century. Test scores haven't changed. Bill de Blasio's wife says racism is the issue, but New York spends $20 billion yearly trying to make inner-city schools smarter. It ain't happenin'.
....When I talk to teachers about this, they say things such as, "The whole system needs a reboot" and insist that free-market solutions are "na?ve." One told me the problem is that American schools "reject science," which I assume was some kind of a stab at creationists and "climate assholes." I'd be thrilled if my kids were brainwashed by literate evolutionists and global-warming scientists. Most NY public-school teachers couldn't hold a candle to retarded pundits such as Bill Maher and Keith Olbermann. "

in other words = who gives a wet fart if "$1bn" happens to be going to schools that believe the earth was the jizzstain of a 12 armed monkey-god = can they read, write, do math, and otherwise perform decently on the SATs? then whoop-de-do. I bet they'll be some of the best atheist students in College - because nothing amplifies the inherent cynicism of teens more than being told dumb shit because God Says So.

[John]

Doubtful on the atheist in college part. Most people follow the cultural values of their parents. You only notice the ones who don't because they are the exception. If it wasn't so, religion wouldn't last two generations much less the entire history of the human race. Regardless, it doesn't matter one way or another. They can believe what they want.

The best part of that is what you bolded.

I'd be thrilled if my kids were brainwashed by literate evolutionists and global-warming scientists.

They are admitting upfront they think it is great for the government to brainwash their kids. I wish them luck with that.

[Stormy Dragon]

For obvious evolutionary reasons, there is a short window (five years or so) at the beginning of their lives where young children will believe pretty much anything an adult tells them without question.

This phenomenon is why most people end up the same religion as their parents: that window is the only time most people are willing to accept the insane troll logic that most religions require.