Obama Brushes Off Idea of Russia as Threat, US Accepts Ruling on No-Fly List Problems, IRS Classifies Bitcoins as Property: P.M. Links

• 

  Credit: btckeychain / Foter / CC BY

  President Barack Obama, speaking in the Netherlands, brushed off the idea that Russia is America's top geopolitical foe and called Moscow a "regional power."

• The United States will not appeal a court's ruling that it failed to appropriately offer due process when it incorrectly added Malaysian architect Rahinah Ibraham to the no-fly list over mistaken suspicion of terrorist ties.
• A Florida prosecutor officially said today that an FBI agent was justified in fatally shooting Ibragim Todashev during an interview last year. According to the report, the alleged friend of deceased Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev threw a coffee table at an agent and attacked him with a pole after admitting involvement with a triple homicide in Massachusetts. The Department of Justice also cleared the agent.
• Terrible bureaucratic behavior from a charter school, but apparently resolved quickly. Kamryn Remfro, 9, shaved her head in support of a friend battling cancer. This was ruled to be a violation of Caprock Academy's dress code in Colorado. The school booted her, but then quickly changed its mind and let her back today. School officials are holding a meeting to review the incident.
• The IRS is classifying bitcoins as property and "tax principles applicable to property transactions apply to transactions using virtual currency." Virtual currency is also subject to the appropriate taxes when used to pay employees or contractors.
• The United Nations human rights commissioner has condemned the mass death sentences handed down to 528 Muslim Brotherhood members in Egypt as a breach of international human rights laws.

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Comments

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

The IRS is classifying bitcoins as property and "tax principles applicable to property transactions apply to transactions using virtual currency." Virtual currency is also subject to the appropriate taxes when used to pay employees or contractors.

You can have my Bitcoins from my cold, dead, pixated internet hands!

[Sudden]

Stiff competition today

[Corning]

Speak of bitcoin.

What does a growing wedge downward mean in day trading?

You need to answer in like 5 min as it could mean me gaining or losing $1 with litecoins trading.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

IDK, but quicken is really angry at me right now.

[John]

They don't want your bitcoins, just your capital gains from them.

The problem is that if you never convert them back to dollars, the gain remains unrealized. If you use them to buy merchandize, it will be very hard to track or even figure what the capital gain actually is.

[Paul.]

That's not how I'm reading it.

doesn't this: "tax principles applicable to property transactions apply to transactions using virtual currency."

Mean that if I give you a 79 Camaro for your 82 Mustang, that property taxes apply?

[John]

Tax principles that are applicable to federal taxes are capital gains. There is no federal property tax.

[Corning]

In real estate if you make your living buy buying and selling it you have to personal and/or corporate tax.

Does this mean if you make a living through trading bitcoins you have to pay personal and/or corporate tax instead of capital gains?

[John]

Not sure about the real estate rule. But generally when you sell property for more than you paid for it, that is a capital gain and you are taxed on it as such. So, yes, if you buy and sell bitcoins, the money you make has to be declared as a capital gain.

[Paul.]

This is confusing, why then has the IRS classified it as taxable property if there is no provision for taxation on property?

From my reading of this, it looks like the IRS is trying to hit Bitcoin owners the same way they hit you if you 'acquire' an expensive Picasso. You get the painting, then an IRS agent knocks on your door and says you owe them $17 million.

[John]

No. There is no federal property tax. You would only owe taxes if you sold the Picasso and realized a gain on it. I can buy a Picasso and doing so will not increase my tax liability.

[Paul.]

You would only owe taxes if you sold the Picasso and realized a gain on it.

That's not true. I'll try to find the news story, but there was a family that received a Picasso or some painting that was confiscated by the Nazis and then found, and they had to sell it because they couldn't pay the taxes on it. No money ever changed any hands.

I can buy a Picasso and doing so will not increase my tax liability.

Yes, because the seller paid taxes on what he made in the exchange.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

If you are receiving a new item of value that you didn't have before, you have to pay taxes based on the current FMV.

[Paul.]

Q-3: Must a taxpayer who receives virtual currency as payment for goods or services include in computing gross income the fair market value of the virtual currency?

A-3: Yes. A taxpayer who receives virtual currency as payment for goods or services must, in computing gross income, include the fair market value of the virtual currency, measured in U.S. dollars, as of the date that the virtual currency was received.

This seems pretty clear that it ain't treating it as a capital gain.

[KDN]

You can buy it and not increase your liability, but if you pull one out of thin air or receive it as a reward for services rendered the fair market value of it is considered income subject to tax. The IRS is extending that idea to Bitcoin.

[John]

But KDN,

If I bought the bitcoins, which I am pretty sure everyone did, I didn't pull it out of thin air. They are not income.

[Paul.]

If I bought the bitcoins, which I am pretty sure everyone did, I didn't pull it out of thin air. They are not income.

According to the IRS, they are property.

Tell me what you make of this from the NYT:

The Internal Revenue Service announced on Tuesday that Bitcoin should be viewed and taxed as property, giving a little clarity to the shifting regulatory landscape of virtual currency.

Despite the fact that many users treat Bitcoin like a regulated currency, "it does not have legal tender status in any jurisdiction," the agency said.

That means that employers who choose to pay wages in Bitcoins will have to report those wages just like any other payment made with property, and Bitcoin income will be subject to the normal federal income withholding and payroll taxes.

What this sounds like is the recipient of Bitcoin is subject to taxation, even if the recipient doesn't convert the Bitcoin into USD. It sounds very clearly from my read that the IRS will tax you on the value of any Bitcoin you receive in a transaction for goods or services-- ie not Bitcoins you buy with USD.

[KDN]

Some method must be used to set basis for cap gains and losses and the general idea is that in order for basis to take effect the income used to make the purchase had to have been previously taxed. Since you effectively created the value of the bitcoin by finding it, you have to make the tax payment that enables basis to exist.

If you form a company, the basis of your stock in it consists of the value of the assets you contributed to it. But if you contribute your professional services to it in addition to those assets, the value of the company and your basis in it will increase by the value of your services rendered and you will have to pay income tax on the value of the services rendered. It seems like they're going for a similar angle here.

[KDN]

What this sounds like is the recipient of Bitcoin is subject to taxation, even if the recipient doesn't convert the Bitcoin into USD. It sounds very clearly from my read that the IRS will tax you on the value of any Bitcoin you receive in a transaction for goods or services-- ie not Bitcoins you buy with USD.

Outside of A-3 in the article (which is confusingly written), it looks like that's not the case. Unless you mine some bitcoin or receive it as a payment for services rendered, you have to pay tax on the cap gain only. If you bought some bitcoin and can prove how much you paid for it, you don't owe Federal tax on it until you sell it.

They're basically saying that a whole mess of income was created by the virtual currency coming into existence, and they want their cut of it.

[robc]

I won mine playing poker. No purchase.

[Paul.]

Now I know a lot of this often falls under "inheritance" (which is a kind of property tax)-- and some of what I've read occurred in Europe. I'm frantically digging.

But even if I'm wrong about the nature of the tax on the paintings why does the text in the article indicate that you pay taxes BEFORE you make a sale on your bitcoin and realize a capital gain?

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

If you get paid $500 worth of bitcoin (based on the exchange rate at the time you were paid), you owe taxes on $500 worth of income. If you later exchange that bitcoin for $1200 at a more favorable future exchange rate, you have an additional $700 in capital gains that are taxable.

[Paul.]

If you get paid $500 worth of bitcoin (based on the exchange rate at the time you were paid), you owe taxes on $500 worth of income. If you later exchange that bitcoin for $1200 at a more favorable future exchange rate, you have an additional $700 in capital gains that are taxable.

That's how I see it.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

I don't know anything about cars. Are those of equal value?

[Mad Scientist]

They're both worth about $400.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Huh. Not even enough to get 1099ed.

[waffles]

That's what I figured but if you buy an item with bitcoin usually you are buying at a price denominated in USD then converted at the day's exchange rate. I will agree it's hardly worth the time to chase after the reporting of these sales so there's that.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Well I had a Fist to beat, and Shackford used the obvious joke in the alt-text.

[Bobarian]

What are you beating your fist with?

[Swiss Servator, mehr Spr?ngli]

Another fist...

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

[John]

President Barack Obama, speaking in the Netherlands, brushed off the idea that Russia is America's top geopolitical foe and called Moscow a "regional power."

Okay. Then shut the fuck up about Crimea then.

[Fist of Etiquette]

But it's getting less regional by the minute!

[Sudden]

Yep. Poland calling up reservists. And instead of just mindfully condemning the annexation of a sovereign, the dipshit leading this country is trying to get into a bitchy hubris pissing contest with a man who has no human empathy or mercy whatsoever.

Great job, Barack. Stir the fucking wasps nest by being petty and calling a man whose pride is sadly more warranted than your own (even if through ruthless efficiency) regional. Provoking the Bear is not wise.

[mad.casual]

And instead of just mindfully condemning the annexation of a sovereign, the dipshit leading this country is trying to get into a bitchy hubris pissing contest with a man who has no human empathy or mercy whatsoever.

This cannot be stated enough, the dipshit leading this country is getting into a bitchy hubris pissing contest with the leader that made him look like a fool wrt Syria;

http://online.wsj.com/news/art.....2358920978

Putin is a more effective brutal oppressor than Obama as well as a more effective populist leader. It could not be more obvious that BarryO is playing "Go Fish!" with card sharks.

[gimmeasammich]

Provoking the Bear is not wise

Did anyone else think of Zangief after reading this? Also I just did a quick search on Zangief. Apparently his original name was supposed to be Vodka Gobalsky.

[gaijin]

To quote something I read today: Any country with ICBMs is not a regional power.

[Bobarian]

Yeah, the IC in ICBM kinda eliminates the "Regional" descriptor.

[paranoid android]

Cliches and memes aside, this is an appropriate observation in this instance: you know who else was a regional power?

[John]

If Russia isn't our enemy, then tell your low sloped forehead supporters to stop acting like they are.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

The Macedonians?

[Tonio]

Imperial Japan?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Genoa?

[Rich]

Paula Deen?

[Paul.]

Bell Atlantic?

[Swiss Servator, mehr Spr?ngli]

UCLA in the 1960s?

[Injun, as in from India]

Shhhh! He is still campaigning.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

The reset button appears to be stuck.

[gaijin]

The reset button appears to be stuck.

Nah, it's just a glitch

[Bobarian]

Or is it a feature?

[Rich]

I'll bet popping off a few nukes would free it up.

[Corning]

Russia looks like a geopolitical foe of Europe.

If they are unwilling to push back their foe then why the fuck should we?

Jesus fucking Christ when the fuck does Europe stop being our fucking problem?

[SusanM]

According to John McCain, in about 30 years.

[Fist of Etiquette]

A Florida prosecutor officially said today that an FBI agent was justified in fatally shooting Ibragim Todashev during an interview last year.

Again, this really seems like news to be buried on a Friday afternoon.

[Sudden]

Hey now, he got an interview. Proof that jobs are still being created or saved!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Unfortunately the only opening they had was that of statistic.

[Sudden]

Hey, he got the job. And even while the FBI agent was apparently overly concerned he would bomb the interview.

[BakedPenguin]

In a way, he did.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

I thought it went pretty well.

[Sudden]

President Barack Obama, speaking in the Netherlands, brushed off the idea that Russia is America's top geopolitical foe and called Moscow a "regional power."

He's expecting the Euros to pay half for the coming WWIII, hence going Dutch.

[gaijin]

hence going Dutch.

I wonder if they will ask him to put his finger into a dike?

[Moe19]

He has some experience with that.

[Bobarian]

I believe that wookies are asexual, so your cis-gendering of the large brown formation that he may or may not have put his finger in is inappropriate.

[gaijin]

Wookies are asexual? You have crushed my boyhood Star Wars fantasies.

[Marshall Gill]

What does the President's appearance on Ellen have to do with this?

[Injun, as in from India]

President Barack Obama, speaking in the Netherlands, brushed off the idea that Russia is America's top geopolitical foe and called Moscow a "regional power."

Abusive spouse? No ! The love of my life!!!

[Paul.]

The IRS is classifying bitcoins as property and "tax principles applicable to property transactions apply to transactions using virtual currency." Virtual currency is also subject to the appropriate taxes when used to pay employees or contractors.

Hooray! We're finally free!

[Corning]

So i put money into bitcoin.

The government can trace that pretty easy unless you are buying in the street from some shady dude with cash. Like in the US buying bitcoin is pretty much through Coinbase and they get USD from your bank account.

So your bank knows and Coinbase (based in sanfran) probably reports everything to the US anyway.

But then you put it on an exchange (the bigs ones are all in china or Russia or some other crazy country) buy and sell there then put in on your wallet on your PC.

How is the government going to know how many you own at that point?

yes bitcoins can be traced but once it goes into an exchange it become part of a pool and i seriously doubt the exchange gives back to you the identified coins you put into it.

How is the US government to know you own them in your own wallet?

[Paul.]

*shrug*

A lot of tax compliance in this country relies on self-reporting. I guess if they know you intially purchased some bitcoins via Coinbase, an IRS agent that sounds like Chris Rock can simply do an audit and repeatedly ask, "What happened to the BitCoins?"

[Corning]

"What happened to the BitCoins?"

Yeah I suppose at that point you would have to lie.

"i lost em in day-trading"

Probably not a good place to be lying to the IRS.

[Bobarian]

I spent them on hookers and blow?

More believable?

[Corning]

I wonder if that can be considered a business expense.

[Emmerson Biggins]

I printed them as hard copies, then my dog ate them?

[mad.casual]

How is the US government to know you own them in your own wallet?

How hard is this to grasp?

The government doesn't care about bitcoins on the exchange any more than they care about about tickets at the fucking track or which fucking lotto game you won at the gas station and the serial number(s) of the dollar(s) you used to pay for it!

Leave them on the exchange for 20 yrs., get rich, convert them to dollars, lap dances, or sports cars, you're going to have to tell them where the dollars or sports cars came from.

If you convert them to lap dances, the stripper is going to have to explain to the IRS where her $$$ came from and the conversion rate of bitcoins to lap dances will be a minor detail once they find out *you* paid *her* $1M for lap dances.

Last I checked, you couldn't just throw a lotto tickets at Sotheby's and walk out with Faberge eggs. And nobody's going to insure an egg purchased with coins earned on an exchange in Russia, laundered through a stripper without getting a Federally backed bank involved.

[jesse.in.mb]

The United Nations human rights commissioner has condemned the mass death sentences handed down to 528 Muslim Brotherhood members in Egypt as a breach of international human rights laws.

Mass death sentences? That seems a bit extreme there Egypt.

[Sudden]

Mass Death Sentences would be a great name for Ted Kennedy's band

[BakedPenguin]

Or an album title for the Ted Kennedys.

[gaijin]

Or an album title for the Ted Kennedys.

Seems like the Dead Kennedy's should have made that album.

[John]

I don't think it is extreme. If the Brotherhood had ever had the power, those 528 would have ordered the death of a lot more people than that. If I were Egyptian, I would want them dead too.

[paranoid android]

I don't think it is extreme. If the Brotherhood had ever had the power, those 528 would have ordered the death of a lot more people than that. If I were Egyptian, I would want them dead too.

All of that may very well be true, nonetheless I can't help noticing that conspicuously similar logic was employed to justify purging the kulaks.

[John]

This is why life and the world sucks. To stop killers, you have to become one yourself. The only way to stop people like the MB or the old Bolshviks was to put a bullet in their heads. Any mercy or principles on your part will just be used by them to take power and kill you.

[gaijin]

how many death sentences has Barack ordered via the drone program?

[Bobarian]

More than 528?

[gaijin]

If not, I'm sure he won't sleep at night until he is Number 1

[Wasteland Wanderer]

Somewhere around 2-3k, last I heard.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

President Barack Obama, speaking in the Netherlands, brushed off the idea that Russia is America's top geopolitical foe and called Moscow a "regional power."

Yeah, and the jock that gave Obama wedgie in school is probably a middle class construction worker now.

[Fist of Etiquette]

School officials are holding a meeting to review the incident.

I plan to shave my nuts in support of those officials.

[Ron Paul's Balls]

After the Revolution, all Americans' nuts will be shaved on the daily.

[Injun, as in from India]

In Soviet Russia, nuts shave you!

[gaijin]

you're all nuts.

[Tonio]

You know who else had a shaved scrotum?

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

Dr. Evil?

[PD Scott]

It was breathtaking.

[Tonio]

Winner, winner, chicken dinner! Bravo, NLK.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

w00t!

[Mad Scientist]

Dave Chappelle?

[hamilton]

Wait, is this a Hitler thing? Or did we lose the meme somewhere?

[Tonio]

That meme is still alive and well, but I was having a bit of fun.

[hamilton]

Oh, good. I was beginning to think I missed a critical history lesson somewhere.

As an aside, if a weren't already on a List by virtue of commenting here, a Google search for "Hitler shaved scrotum" oughta do it just fine.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

see he had *half* a shorn scrotum.

[Bobarian]

Hitler... had only one left ball.

Goering, had two, but very small.

Himmler, had something similar,

and Goebbels, had no balls, at all.

/Sung in fifth grade, to some John Phillips Sousa number

[Isaac Bartram]

I have only heard it sung to Colonel Bogey March more familiar to most, I expect as the Bridge on the River Kwai Theme.

According to wiki it was written in 1914 by Lieutenant F. J. Ricketts (1881?1945), a British Army bandmaster.

[GILMORE]

"The Colonel Bogey March". Not Sousa

http://www.thingsinmovies.com/.....iver-kwai/

[John]

http://bringatrailer.com/2014/.....og-u1300l/

I agree with the first commenter on this add. Some day I am going to have an excuse to own one of these.

[Ted S.]

What kind of car will you drive, when gas costs 2 FIM/liter?

(2 FIM would be about ?0.33)

[Bam!]

A stagecoach pulled by orphans.

[Sudden]

I prefer being carried. The wheels cost to much. The orphans are cheaper and lower maintenance.

Maybe a rickshaw one day. Two wheels is cheaper than four and only one orphan needed.

[RBS]

You mean a rickshaw powered by the homeless right?

[John]

I will take this

http://bringatrailer.com/2014/.....th-595-ss/

[Bam!]

Looks like it'd roll over easily.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Is there anything you can't do with a Unimog? I need a field to plow.

[Warty]

It looks like something you and Jim Brown would use to bust Steve McQueen out of an East German prison.

[John]

Yeah, and isn't it fucking magnificent?

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

That one looks like it doesn't have a PTO. I would need one if in case I buy the killdozer attachment.

[JW]

I definitely need one for the zombie apocalypse.

[Corning]

Some day I am going to have an excuse to own one of these.

A Mercedes truck...

Just kill yourself now.

[Coeus]

Piece of shit jackoffs just banned ecigs where I work. I have a strong urge to cause pain.

[Sudden]

Happened to me already courtesy of the City of Los Angeles. Having my own office though, I still discretely sneak a hit in here and there.

[JW]

How will they know if you do 'smoke' one? Test the humidity of your office?

[Coeus]

I don't have an office.

[Bobarian]

So... back to masturbating in your cubicle?

[Coeus]

Whadda ya mean, "back to"?

[Corning]

I should totally make a sell a candybar looking cover for ecigs.

[Ron Paul's Balls]

So today I wake up and I read about Barack Obama speculating about a nuke going off in Manhattan. Why in the hell would he raise that horrific image? It's a real question-- I'm stumped.

[Ted S.]

It would be better if the nuke went off in Chicago.

Think of all the stimulus!

[gaijin]

No, it wouldn't. For me anyway.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

Too close to MKE for my liking. Though I'd have an epic view of the mushroom cloud from my office building, assuming I survive.

[John]

Because he is a fucking moron who is too stupid to understand the gravity of the office he holds. Obama has all of the emotional maturity and moral gravity of a smart ass 9th grader sucking up to his lefty English teacher.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Holy shit, you are an idiot.

The bushpigs had mushroom clouds going up in every US state 2002-2008.

[John]

But BUSH!!!

Keep sucking that Obama cock whenever you can.

Maybe someday you will be able to understand and properly paste the party talking points.

[jesse.in.mb]

Actually FEMA produced a document (196) with maps in 1990 showing likely nuclear target sites in every state. It's popular with survivalist groups.

On the bright side, I'd likely be obliterated very quickly.

PB just has the wrong BOOOOSH!

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

If they hit 29 Palms, maybe the mountains will save Palm Desert.

[Spoonman.]

Colorado
Alright, I get what happens when I look at Texas, Pennsylvania, etc. WTF is going on with Colorado here? It's not Cheyenne Mountain, because that's near Colorado Springs. What the fuck happens in the northeast corner?

[Mad Scientist]

There were a bunch of missile silos up there.

[Spoonman.]

ND, SD, NE, MO, and MT have these too, so I'm guessing those are areas where there's a lot of silos for our nukes?

[SusanM]

It's like that in all states near that corner. Suspected ICBM silos maybe?

[The Last American Hero]

I thought it was hope and change, not more of the same shit sandwich.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Obama is not going to start a dumbass $1 trillion ground war that serves no purpose.

[John]

He is just going to destroy the health care system and get us in a war with Russia.

That is so much better. Considering that Obama is the dumbest human being ever to hold high office, it makes sense that he would command such loyalty from a congenital retard like you.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Yeah, like that Syria War you said he would start.

You are a blind GOP sycophant. You will get Jeb Bush in 2016 and you will lose, Red Tony.

[John]

Sure Shreek, you just show up on every thread or post that reflects badly on Obama and fuck it up by posting canned and screwed talking points by coincidence.

You would have nothing if you didn't have projection.

[Bobarian]

"Obama is not going to start a dumbass $1 trillion ground war"

He's going straight to thermo-nuclear armageddon?

[Tejicano]

Legacy, dude.

[KPres]

No, he'll just spend $1 trillion on a dumbass democrat slush fund disguised as a stimulus package that makes the economy worse.

[Pro Libertate]

Key anagram for "Hope and Change": "Changed, ah, nope."

[BakedPenguin]

Be fair, there's been plenty of change. The level of hope, as measured by the workforce participation rate, is at a 34 year low.

Then, there are also his predecessor's national security policies. He's changed them by making them much, much worse. He's the Hope 'n' Changiest!

[Pro Libertate]

Yes, I was using artistic license. I can't believe it, but things are much worse than they were under Bush.

[Palin's Buttplug]

"worse than Bush"? And you are an unrepentant moron.

The economy, markets, exports, deficit, war losses, security, UE situation, are all much better than where Dumbya left things.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

The economy, markets, exports, deficit, war losses, security, UE situation, are all much better than where Dumbya left things.

Proving you still can't do basic math.

[Michael S. Langston]

Did you mean

The economy, markets, exports, deficit, war losses, security, UE situation, are all much better worse than where Dumbya left things, including civil liberties, foreign policy, random war boners, murder droning, domestic spying, etc, etc, etc, etc...

[Corning]

It is good we have Obama.

He only worries about mushroom clouds over Manhattan.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/.....86009.html

Jesus Shrike your timing could not have been more ironic.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Maybe Obama is planning a third war in Iraq and needs to scare the kitties at home.

[Suthenboy]

This is the moron who, fresh into office, said on national television he did not know the facts, but it was clear to him that the police acted stupidly.." about a petty local law enforcement incident.

I hope you aren't expecting a sensible answer to your question.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Sucking up to cops now, S-boy? Cops who arrested a man in his own home at that?

You are a low-life authoritarian.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

I didn't see him comment at all on the appropriateness of the cops behavior at all. Nice try, swing and a miss.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

In my opinion, the way he handled the aftermath was much worse than the initial lack of impulse control.

After he made the mistake, he felt the need to instruct the rest of us, who didn't make the mistake, with a "teaching moment". What an immature asshole.

[Ted S.]

Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson dead at 95

[Brandon]

Obama: "I zinged Romney on it, therefore it can't be true!"

[Fr?ulein Nikki]

The IRS decision almost led me to flip the fuck out on a friendish person, but instead I used it as an opportunity to teach someone about Executive Order 6102 and we didn't get into a fight!

[Fr?ulein Nikki]

The IRS decision almost led me to flip the fuck out on a friendish person, but instead I used it as an opportunity to teach someone about Executive Order 6102 and we didn't get into a fight!

[Fr?ulein Nikki]

And then I was really excited about it.

[Auric Demonocles]

I envision you more as the Order 66 kind of gal.

[Fr?ulein Nikki]

And now you taught me something!

[dinkster]

We don't speak of non cannon fan fiction around these parts.

[Auric Demonocles]

nicole would naturally be part of the worst trilogy.

[gaijin]

led me to flip the fuck out on a friendish person

I originally read that as a 'fiendish' person and wondered why you didn't.

[gimmeasammich]

Glenn Danzig and Jerry Only approve.

[Injun, as in from India]

The IRS is classifying bitcoins as property and "tax principles applicable to property transactions apply to transactions using virtual currency." Virtual currency is also subject to the appropriate taxes when used to pay employees or contractors.

In other news, the IRS declares all citizens to be the property of the US government. Suck on this, bitches!

[Corning]

"the IRS re-declares all citizens to be the property of the US government."

fixed for you.

[Suthenboy]

Say, what is this?

http://www.redstate.com/2012/0.....overnment/

[Fist of Etiquette]

The United States will not appeal a court's ruling that it failed to appropriately offer due process when it incorrectly added Malaysian architect Rahinah Ibraham to the no-fly list over mistaken suspicion of terrorist ties.

But she will be audited to within an inch of her life.

[Coeus]

Krugman rides again

But you can't be an effective fox just by letting the data speak for itself ? because it never does. You use data to inform your analysis, you let it tell you that your pet hypothesis is wrong, but data are never a substitute for hard thinking. If you think the data are speaking for themselves, what you're really doing is implicit theorizing, which is a really bad idea (because you can't test your assumptions if you don't even know what you're assuming.)

[Bam!]

Krugman speaks for the data!

[hamilton]

He always did have the aura of a snarky little Lorax.

[Bobarian]

Krugman speaks for ignores the data!

FTFY

[Injun, as in from India]

Stick your partisan head into the ground, Krugman. A red tide is coming. And it will magically lead to... Less spending (NOT), fewer wars of choice (NOT), more civil liberties (NOT ), fewer regulations and subsidies (NOT).

[Palin's Buttplug]

Team Red is going global.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Star Trek releases Warnog, the official beer of the Klingon Empire

Star Trek's warrior race the Klingons may be more famed for drinking the alarmingly red bloodwine in outer space, but on Earth at least, they have a new official booze of choice: Warnog, a beer with notes of clove, banana and caramel.

The Federation of Beer, a Canadian company who have an official partnership with the Star Trek franchise, has commissioned the 'Roggen Dunkel' style ale, to be brewed at the Tin Man Brewing Company in Indiana. It's their second themed beer, following their Vulcan Ale last year, an Irish Red chosen to match the red planet of Vulcan where Spock hails from.

Warnog "incorporates rye malt into a modern Dunkelweizen grain bill, creating a flavor profile that is both familiar and unique," the Federation explains in a statement. "Warnog's aroma is predominantly mild banana and clove produced by the German wheat yeast, supported by subtle sweet malt character from the use of Munich malt. The flavor draws heavily from the blending of the rye malt and traditional clove character, creating a very rich and unique flavor. The inclusion of wheat and caramel malts help to round out the mouthfeel of this beer, making this Dunkelweizen hearty enough to be called a Klingon Warnog." Warnog was drunk by Klingons in both The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine TV series.

Qapla!

[Auric Demonocles]

The beer should have notes of prune.

[Tonio]

I LOL'd.

[Pro Libertate]

Prune juice--a warrior's drink.

[Juice]

You'd think it would be higher than 5.5%

[Coeus]

Then you should really ask for a refund.

[Fr?ulein Nikki]

Now I am really not reading his terrible-sounding book.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Sad Tom Brady.

[JW]

He comes across as an OK guy in his videos, but he really strikes me a smug dick IRL.

[Corning]

The odd thing is like 50% of the videos he makes contradicts all the garbage I learned in public Schools.

The other 50% tells me stuff that was never taught at public schools.

[Tonio]

I can't believe you linked to *&^%$#@! Myers' site. Blech.

[Andrew S.]

Yeah, after mousing over that there's no way I would click on it.

PZ Myers may be the most irredeemable asshole on the internet. And that says a lot.

[Coeus]

He gets no revenue from a hotlinked jpg.

[John]

Could he be more out of "we need a smug douche" central casting?

[PD Scott]

I'd wonder how anyone writing this could be so dumb but I read a lot of articles here which unfortunately lead me to the conclusion that there are a lot of really dumb people.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

That can't be real.

[PD Scott]

Based on their website, I think they may be engaging in humorous hyperbole/trolling.
"Weed is the worst and will be gone from this planet within a few years. You're welcome."
"Sorry toker addicts, if you aren't aware of or are willfully ignorant to the fact that weed kills, then you are NOT educated on this subject"
"If you find any bong needles in your childrens room call the cops IMMEDIATELY!"
"If you use marijuana YOU WILL DIE. Simple as that."

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Yeah. Not even the stupidest drug warrior has tried to link weed to world hunger. Yet.

[Suthenboy]

You made that up. That isn't real. You put that there to trick us.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Dear Prudence: Help! My ex cheated on me and now I want him to die a slow, agonizing death

I recently ended a relationship after a year, after I found out that my ex was cheating on me, via Facebook. He woke up in my bed and fell asleep in hers. I was out shopping for his Christmas present at the time he was taking her on a date. She knew he had a girlfriend and did not care. I was blindsided. I have been cheated on before and ended many relationships, but for some reason I am still feeling angry about this four months later. I find myself daily wishing he would die a slow painful death or drink himself to death. I have never felt such hate in my life toward someone and it scares me. I know lots of people joke about this, but I am not joking. I don't want to harm him, I just hope something really horrible happens to make him suffer. I am a good person, I volunteer, have good friends, and have never had feelings like this before and I feel horribly guilty. How can I move past this, or is this normal?

Well we'e all been there, right?

[John]

Honey, you are just hurting yourself. You are turning yourself into an angry shrew who can't get over her ex and whom no one would sleep with on a $1000 dare while he is out banging the other chick and having a good time.

Get over it. Good living is the best revenge.

[Sudden]

Easier said than done, depending on how fresh the wound is.

In my experience (and unfortunately I've had this experience with the added baggage of it ending a marriage), these feelings of rage and a hope that some unspeakably awful act of karma occurs are natural for a few months. They fade over time and eventually a proper indifference develops. The fact that she doesn't want to feel this way is a good start.

[John]

Yes. But the first step to them fading is understanding that you want them to fade.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Never been cheated on. Either she is:
A) A bad judge of character
or
B) Horrible in bed.

Both are things she could work on. If this were a real person.

[Suthenboy]

"Never been cheated on."

*cough cough, raises eyebrows*

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Why take a ride in a Yugo when you have a Ferrari in the garage?

*Kisses Biceps*

[jesse.in.mb]

How can I move past this

Put a hit out on him over Silk Road?

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

That's a good way to get the attention of humorless men in 3 letter windbreakers.

[RBS]

The FDA?

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Maybe, if it's castor bean poisoning.

[Sudden]

Or unpasteurized milk.

Cuz I hear that's poison.

[jesse.in.mb]

What does the BIA have to do with this?

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

You're the guy with the experience with the men in windbreakers. You tell me.

[jesse.in.mb]

I wasn't here for it. I got all the stories second hand.

[Apatheist ?_??]

This one is scarier:

Q. Relationships: My boyfriend of four years and I are breaking up after a rather bitter relationship. At the worst part of the relationship, he cheated on me with someone he used to date in college. He says, and I believe, that he thought it was a mistake. Upon my request, he let her know that I'd found out and that he would not communicate with or see her anymore. She works for a corporation with a household name, and I viewed their ethics policy online. It states that members of the public and employees of the corporation can and should report any unethical use of corporation resources. There is no "statute of limitations" and it can be done anonymously. My ex-boyfriend said that he did not want me to inform the corporation that she had used the company hotel suite and comp account to carry on an affair?she paid for his drinks and his parking?because that would "bring her back into our lives." (She had threatened to press harassment charges against me if I contacted her.) Can I file an anonymous complaint with her employer?

[Rich]

Can I file an anonymous complaint with her employer?

Yes, you may.

[RBS]

Not really anonymous if she would know exactly who filed the complaint is it?

[John]

If I were the women's boss and this chick called me about this, I would be calling legal about getting a restraining order.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

I wonder how long it takes for the boyfriend to start banging her again on the corporate dime.

[JW]

I'm thinking he was lucky that he got out when he did.

[Auric Demonocles]

Hockey fans, is there a reasonable argument that Crosby isn't the best player in the league? Had this discussion today and I'm curious what a broader audience thinks.

[The Last American Hero]

Lack of durability?

[Andrew S.]

If there is an argument to be made, that's it. Another bad concussion and I'm not sure if he comes back.

[Auric Demonocles]

He's tied for 91st in the league for plus-minus, and this is despite him leading the league in points by a large margin and being on a team with the 7th best goal differential (so don't give me "that relies on the rest of his team").

Why doesn't his defense count as part of the equation? Since when does "best hockey player" exactly equal "points leader"? He doesn't have to be the best defensive player on the ice, but when it's bad enough to drag him back down to the middle of the pack despite his offensive capabilities that should keep you from being considered the greatest.

Not to mention as a center he should have a better faceoff percentage if he's going to be the undisputed "best".

[Swiss Servator, mehr Spr?ngli]

Johnathon Toews

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Actually, those are deceptive, if not, overblown stats you're citing in my view. Faceoff won on to itself mean little. +/- is often a function of ice-time and quality of linemates and luck. Grain of salt.

It's like ball possession in soccer. Holding it doesn't mean you're efficient.

I've seen plenty of great players do so-so in the FO circle and enough teams win the SC with average FO and team +/-.

Crosby's skills are second to none.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.c.....nderrated/

Who do you reckon is better than Crosby? Toews? Let's see. If he does better in the FO circle and better 'defensive play' as indicated by +/- BUT produces less how does that make him better?

He's not.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

http://www.arcticicehockey.com.....ercentages

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I was just talking to a DERANGED hockey buddy - we saw Crosby play in junior and a few times in the pros - and he reminded me about how his skating is like Lemieux in the day: Explosive.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

No.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

That was the short end of it.

Now the long.

There isn't a player in the league that can do everything he does at that level. There are great "five-tool" players like Toews and better pure snipers like Stamkos and Ovechkin and better passers like Getzlaf and better skaters like Duchene but Crosby takes all those attributes - including skating - and becomes this one big, machine.

And he wins the Art Ross. Had he stayed healthy he'd have won a couple of more trophies. And he plays hard.

Spare me about he whines. Lemieux whined. Jordan whined. The entire Boston Bruins organization whines. I don't care.

He's just too good. The best hockey player.

Just like Wayne Gretzky was the best hockey player BAR NONE.

[Freedom Frog]

One could argue Messier was better than Gretzky.

Gretzky is by far the best offensive player though.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

No, one can not say that. Mess was a beast and innovated the skate, shoot on the fly but he WAS NOT better than Gretzky. And it was GRETZKY NOT Mess the leader of those Oilers dynasties.

[Auric Demonocles]

Defense counts too.

Which apparently no one wants to apply to Crosby.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Bah.

Defense.

You're an offensive player.

The back checking role is more recent phenomena. I stick to metrics I can measure. All this 'leadership' and 'he back checks' stuff is subjective.

Sakic, Yzerman, Dionne, and pack of other players were outstanding at their peak but none come close.

I will give an honorable mention to Jagr though. He was dominant.

[Auric Demonocles]

Well, at least you're admitting you don't give a shit how he does for half the time he's on the ice.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

That's a coaching philosophy and player can't be faulted or blamed for what's asked of him.

One of the debates we used to have back in the day when Team Canada selections took place was the belief in taking "role" players. But my friend made a very good point. Why do you need a one-dimensional player? As if Joe Sakic can't penalty kill. Your best players are just that - your best players.

In any event, Gretzky back checked.

[Chinny Chin Chin]

Spot on with Crosby.

Not so regarding Gretz. The "Hockey's GOAT" debate is a terrific one, with room for many conclusions.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I defy you to find me a better player than Gretzky during his era.

I understand the Orr, Howe, Lemieux argument but even real hockey experts who watched those players will lean Gretzky. Orr is the only player people think was greater. Lemieux strictly from a talent perspective but 66 was not a leader like 99.

I watched plenty of Mario games in junior at Laval. Saying was as good as Gretz is not nuts, but Gretzky has the GREATER BODY OF WORK.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

I was at this game as a kid:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U555qfydhX0

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I remember that game. The rise of hockey in California is attributed to Gretzky. California teams do well up here at various pee-wee, midget, junior tournaments. Some even win.

[Auric Demonocles]

Didn't you just barely dismiss leadership as a factor?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Yes but I was preempting the inevitable 'but Mess led the Oilers' argument.

Anyone who watched those teams knows the Edmonton Oilers belonged to Wayne Gretzky.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Just to add auric about leadership. When people up here debated as to who would get the 'C' for Team Canada at the Olympics, it quickly became evident how hard it is to delve into such debates. People actually said Toews is 'better' than Crosby as a 'leader.'

Hog wash. They're all leaders because they're awesome players. Weber is a leader too so I don't worry about things the players and management know better than us.

Honestly, I think it's an overblown thing. Some players just don't necessarily react well to certain captains and styles. I was part of elite soccer teams where the leadership were loud mouth "raw raw" guys and it annoyed the shit out of me.

Privately, I didn't think they were leaders.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

CCC, I will conclude there aren't that many conclusions.

It's a pretty open and shut case.

Gretzky has more career assists than players have points. High scoring era you say? Even when you adjust the numbers Gretzky still owns the record books.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

By the way.

Ask me who I think was the best goalie of all time.

Plante? Hall? Roy? Nope.

Brodeur. Sawchuck? Dryden? No.

Hainsworth, Vezina, Brimseck? Broda, Benedict? Durnan, Parent, Esposito, Bower?

All legends.

But...

Hasek.

That guy is under rated.

I don't include Tretziak. Dude didn't play in the NHL.

[Jerry on the boat]

Porn model fired as the face of German far-right party because she has sex with a black man in her new movie.

[PD Scott]

"Ja! Ja! JA-A-A-A!"
"Nein! Nein! NEIN!"

[John]

It is Chapelle's world, we just live in it.

[Warty]

Not to sound like some sort of KULTUR WAR doucheidiot, but this is appalling, right?

[Coeus]

Also, apparently he's never tried to post on a feminist site about child support, alimony, etc. Cause guess what they say?

[Fr?ulein Nikki]

Do you think he can even squat or what?

[Bobarian]

I think he squats to pee.

[John]

He must have missed the memo about how men are not "manning up" and marrying and taking care of women anymore. I am pretty sure the current feminist talking point is that he very much needs to be told to "man up".

And also, I doubt "man up" means what he thinks it does anyway. So, what is the point of telling him to do it?

[Coeus]

How about this one?

[hamilton]

What the actual fuck?

[JW]

The muggy heat makes their yeast infections more pronounced.

[Corning]

This can't be serious..

Can it?

[Coeus]

World ends. Women and minorities hit hardest.

[Mad Scientist]

Poe's Law applies here. That's so absurd that it must be a joke. And yet...

[Suthenboy]

Goddammit stop that. Yours and Warty's post are a hell of a 1-2 punch. Fuck.

[Corning]

These have to be like those petitions getting people to outlaw water and repeal the 1rst amendment.

If not we have no hope.

[Sudden]

I think I need to create one that says:

"I need feminism... for the lulz"

[RBS]

I don't even know what that sign is supposed to mean.

[Fr?ulein Nikki]

It's supposed to mean that it's mean to tell him what being a man is really about.

[Corning]

You micro-agressed that explanation which is totally mean.

[Swiss Servator, mehr Spr?ngli]

She is no the worst for nothing.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

That guy needs to man the fuck up!

[Sudden]

I'd say he needs to sack up, but his sack is probably undescended anyhow so its about as up as it'll get.

[JW]

I'm guessing that he wouldn't be able to fulfill that request.

[Suthenboy]

I don't even know what that sign means. I do know a self-absorbed douche when I see one.

[Wasteland Wanderer]

That guy's balls are made of pussy.

[Mokers]

This guy definitely needs feminism:

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/.....22755.html

[PD Scott]

Not even "For the Children" worked: Georgia fails to pass (mediocre) medical marijuana bill.
FTA:
H.B. 885, sponsored by state Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon, passed the House with overwhelming support. However, state Sen. Renee Unterman, R-Buford, attached another mandate to the measure requiring insurance companies to expand coverage to young people suffering from autism - an amendment with minimal support among state reps.
If passed, H.B. 885 would have made it legal for those suffering from seizure disorders, glaucoma, or cancer to enroll in a medical marijuana study at an academic research institution. The bill would have also made those enrolled in such studies, as well as parents or guardians, immune from prosecution if found with the drug.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Envy-monger: Stop accusing us of being envious of the 1%!

Alan Pyke at the website ThinkProgress adds, "While precise estimates of lost revenue are difficult to make, previous inquiries into profit offshoring found that it cost the U.S. between $30 billion and $90 billion each year during the early and middle 2000s, when the pile of untaxed corporate profits was much smaller.

Think of the highways, bridges and housing that money could build or repair, and the jobs that could be created, the teachers and tuitions it could provide, the mouths it could feed. Then throw in corporate malfeasance without punishment, gross mismanagement and exorbitant executive salaries -- for example, Henrique de Castro, the failed #2 at Yahoo, who's getting $109 million for his 15 disastrous months there, or about $244,000 per day (h/t to R.J. Eskow).

Anger about these salient facts is simply common sense. And income inequality is all too real. But we're not jealous or anti-money. As Mark Twain wrote, "I am opposed to millionaires, but it would be dangerous to offer me the position."

So try to change your tune, plutocrats. Contrary to your fantasies, we are plagued by reality, not envy. Unless you live here in Manhattan and have a lot of closet space. Then we need to talk.

If you act like wealth is a zero-sum gain, then yes, you are envious and have a childish understanding of econ.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Oh, I should add he wrote this:

What's handy about making accusations of envy or jealously is that it doesn't have to reflect badly on you, the accuser. Hey, it can't be helped if people are resentful -- your success is your own and why should there be apologies for making something of yourself? Thus, victimhood becomes the whine du jour of the superrich -- it goes well with everything.

"The politics of envy are the wrong politics in America," Wall Street shill and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers proclaimed to Politico. "The better politics are the politics of inclusion where everyone shares in economic growth."

There it is -- the sound of the other shoe dropping. Because the second half of the argument goes that instead of being jealous, we all should be working in harmony together to create jobs and opportunity. Problem is, the deeply rich talk about building the economy but do almost nothing about it. There's a lot of take and a lot of keep, but not much giving back.

Obviously the solution is to triple down on progressive policies that destroy wealth and economies so we can all be equally poor. Obviously.

[Injun, as in from India]

Contrary to your fantasies, we are plagued by reality, not envy.... There's a lot of take and a lot of keep, but not much giving back.

Take? Who took from who? What a lying rat.

I don't envy you, I just want to TAKE what is yours because you HAVE it, and no, I'm not envious, I'm just being realistic.

[Mad Scientist]

Progressives are master liars, and the first person they practice lying to is themselves.

[John]

Think of the highways, bridges and housing that money could build or repair

As I dodged potholes the other day on the way to work, the thought occurred to me that I have been to nearly every state in the union. And the quality of the roads is in direct proportion to the amount of liberal power in a state. The more liberal a state is, the worse its roads are.

Every time someone on the right mentions that maybe we should cut government before we go bankrupt, every low sloped forehead prog scream ROADZ!!! Yet, they are so fucking retarded that they can't even build roads anymore.

[The Last American Hero]

It's not a lack of knowledge of road construction, it's the Gordian Knot of regulation they've created that makes it cost billions to lay a quarter mile of asphalt.

[John]

It never occurs to them that their love of regulation makes it impossible to do anything, including the things they like like roads. That is just a fancy way of saying they are too stupid to even build roads anymore.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Also broadly true in an international sense. Southern Euro roads are shit; obviously the USSR was no master at road-building; Chile has the best interstate in Latin America; Costa Rica and Panama have the best roads in Central America. Germany (which is relatively right-wing for Europe) is well-regarded for its road system.

[Sudden]

I think that may be more feature than bug. The more disrepair the roads are in, the easier it is to tell the constituents that they need to be taxed more to fix them.

[JW]

Baltimore is close to qualifying for 3rd World status, road-wise.

[John]

So is the rest of Maryland. PA and Virginia in contrast are significantly better. Why? Those states are less liberal than Maryland.

[JW]

MLK Blvd will shake things loose off your car on a good day. Adding winter potholes to it is just a bonus.

[GILMORE]

I would argue that public sector contractors are a huge suck on state-$ in Blue states, while in lesser-population-dense Red states you have much more affordable and competitive bidding for roadwork, and much more practical respect for their maintenance verusus urban areas where decay in certain areas is perfectly status quo.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Another thing: I have seen people get voted out of office for bad roads in right-wing states, because the government does less and there are less issues on the political docket.

I have rarely seen that in a leftist state.

[Rich]

"It's the freezing and thawing."

[John]

It freezes and thaws in Virginia too. Yet the roads are much better.

[Rich]

"No. In Virginia it thaws and freezes. There's a difference."

[Corning]

Revisit Montana and Wyoming and Idaho.

Some pretty shity road there.

Also the roads in Washington state are pretty damn nice.

Probably some of the best in the union.

[Wasteland Wanderer]

Yeah...I used to take I84 down to US95 and take that down to Nevada, and the change between the quality of roads between Oregon and Idaho are...somewhat dramatic.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Shorter:
"Think of all the things I could do with your money!"

[John]

Just because I want to take your money and live my dreams with it, doesn't mean I am envious of you having it.

[Suthenboy]

" Just think what we could do with all that money if we stole it!"

Right. Like every other thief who hits a jackpot you would just run off to Vegas and blow it.

[Suthenboy]

"President Barack Obama, speaking in the Netherlands, brushed off the idea that Russia is America's top geopolitical foe.."

So, as it turns out, Obumbles can't lick 50 tigers after all? Whoda thunk it?

[Tim]

Obama should just moon Putin on live TV, he's sunk so low.

[Rich]

LOL

And his base would think it "witty" and "cool".

[The Late P Brooks]

Unimogs are cool and everything, but I want something with a top speed faster than a moped. What if the zombies are riding Vespas? You'll never outrun them.

[Mad Scientist]

They also have clutches that fail all the freaking time. And you have to remove the cab the replace them. Still, they look so damn cool...

[John]

You just run over them Brooks. Unimogs are unstoppable forces of nature.

[TwB]

The answer might be my dad's work truck. My dad runs an excavation and field tiling business, and he tore up every 3/4 ton and 1 ton truck he had towing trailers, driving in corn fields and such. So in 2000, he bought a 4wd Mitsubishi Fuso cab over truck and put his own custom bed on it w/ toolboxes and such. It was odd looking but damn if it didn't go anywhere you wanted to go. It's top speed was around 65 mph, but if the zombie apocalypse ever happens, I'm going straight to my dad's shop and getting that truck.

[jesse.in.mb]

Beer before bed can disrupt sleep because of the alcohol, but the hops component can actually improve sleep patterns.

Solution: drink non alcoholic beer before bed!

*runs for cover*

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

You're dead to me.

At least I ordered a lunch beer.

[jesse.in.mb]

I spiked my coffee this morning before I had breakfast.

[gaijin]

In my experience, alcohol only disrupts sleep when the dose is too low.

[grrizzly]

Yes.

[Sidd Finch]

Public Service Announcement:

It's now officially homophobic to use the word "homosexual."

[John]

What happened to gay pride?

[Rich]

advancing the peculiar argument that the scientific term has a "pejorative connotation."

You know what other scientific terms have a "pejorative connotation"?

[Rich]

Black hole?

[Mad Scientist]

idiot?

[Rich]

Mole?

[Rich]

Foot-pound?

[hamilton]

siemens?

[Fr?ulein Nikki]

Of course it started in the fucking Times Style section.

[JW]

So, we're back to 'faggots?'

[Sidd Finch]

I like "homosexualist." It pisses people off and nobody really knows why.

[jesse.in.mb]

I like sodomitically inclined, but I can't get it to catch on.

[Rich]

How about "homophobephobe"?

[Wasteland Wanderer]

Homophilliac?

[jesse.in.mb]

The homophile movement was actually the precursor to the modern gay rights movement.

[Corning]

Some men like sodomizing women...

It is to broad to be useful.

[jesse.in.mb]

And some men like sodomizing chicks.

[Marshall Gill]

Speaking only for myself, Jesse, it isn't particularly specific to homosexuals, so that might be why.

[jesse.in.mb]

Fine, straight guys can be damnable sodomites too. Just when you get done gentrifying a word middle class straights all want a part of it too. The nerve.

[Coeus]

Count me in the sodomite club as well. Although, I really consider it quite vanilla.

[Coeus]

No, they must never be referred to at all. We're going Iran style.

[jesse.in.mb]

It depends heavily on context. In a sociological paper homosexual may be appropriate, but when OneNewsNow specifically (and to occasionally funny effect) filters Reuters stories so that any reference to 'gay' is changed to 'homosexual', the use of the word becomes suspect.

[Sudden]

didn't stop Media Matters from accusing Fox News of using the term to "marginalize, pathologize, and and [sic] marginalize" homosexuals.

I love that additional "and" Media Matters throws in. It's like they're so worked into a foaming rage at everything that they repeat their "ands" the way a five year old throwing insults on a playground would.

[Libertymike]

A litany of one?

How about "so on and so forth" after just one example?

[Juice]

Don't use the word "moron" or "idiot." These people are just slow, so call them "retarded."

50 years later: Don't say the word "retarded." That's mean. Say "mentally challenged."

30 years later: Don't say "mentally challenged." That's mean. Say "differently abled."

[jesse.in.mb]

Eh. It's not like this process is confined to insulting words. Look at the euphemisms for bathroom that have been polite and have taken on a crass edge before being discarded in favor of something different.

[Michael S. Langston]

This too, stolen from one of Carlin's famous monologues: shell shock became battle fatigue became Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which is now simply PTSD.

[JW]

What if the zombies are riding Vespas? You'll never outrun them.

Vespas make a satisfying crunching sound under the weight of 3 tons.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

TNR on Rand Paul and libertarians

An unswerving devotion to individual liberty can attract a devoted corps of activists. But most who stand outside that self-reverential band would agree with Emerson's famous observation that "a foolish consistency is the hobglobin of little minds."

Ideological zealots have never dominated American politics. New Deal liberals triumphed far more because they met mass demands for jobs, security, and civil rights than because they bashed the corporate rich or preached about the Four Freedoms. Ronald Reagan and his fellow conservatives rose to power by indicting the shortcomings of federal programs and Jimmy Carter's failed foreign policy, not because they made a strong case against "big government."

In fact, if not political rhetoric, the United States has never been a libertarian nation. Even during the Gilded Age, the federal government financed, through loans, the building of the transcontinental railroads and subsidized American industry through high tariffs. Many individual states, using the "police power," also banned the liquor traffic and segregated the races. Libertarianism is a grand aspiration of Americans who wish they could live in a society in which the only government that mattered would be the government of oneself. Like all utopian wishes, it will never be granted.

[John]

To some degree it is true that the US has never been a strictly libertarian nation. But so what?

This is my favorite though

Ronald Reagan and his fellow conservatives rose to power by indicting the shortcomings of federal programs and Jimmy Carter's failed foreign policy, not because they made a strong case against "big government."

Isn't indicting the shortcomings of federal programs the same thing as making the case against "big government"? Think about what that sentence says. It is saying "sure Reagan won because he pointed out what a failure the federal government is, but he didn't run against big government or anything."

[Rich]

Isn't indicting the shortcomings of federal programs the same thing as making the case against "big government"?

"If *only* the right people ran those programs!"

[John]

I remember Reagan. that is most definitely not what he was saying.,

[The Immaculate Trouser]

When progs were screaming about Reagan "dismantling government" and Thatcher's admiration for Hayek, it sure didn't seem like Reagan/Thatcher were agnostic to big government.

[John]

Exactly. These people have no memory and no shame.

[gaijin]

government=federal [(individual=state government or oneself) = zealotry]

[gaijin]

hmm. something ate the 'greater than' sign

[Rich]

hmm. HERC never complained about that!

[gaijin]

he was the savignoningnest!

[Cytotoxic]

Like all utopian wishes, it will never be granted.

We'll just fucking see about that. I think it is Progtopia that is forever at the end of the rainbow in Mordor.

[Sudden]

The very phrasing, "will never be granted" just shows you the contempt these people have for anyone who disagrees. Not that that wish will never become a reality. Not, rather it will never be granted (as a grant of such requires the agency of others, namely her).

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Now, he does make a few valid points about Americans being too attached to their government freebies to be comfortable with libertarian rhetoric going mainstream.

That is a challenge Paul will have to deal with. But he greatly overstates the power of the so-cons and neo-cons in today's party. They have no standard-bearer that can be taken seriously unless Ted Cruz wants to fill that void.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I think most libertarians and once upon a time classical liberals understand/stood that the government is part of the process. No one is saying get of the government - unless they're anarchist.

All we are saying is give limited government a chance.

/to the tune of Give peace a chance.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

I think Rand Paul has a great response to that. During one interview he said that he's always thought it was funny that people accuse him of wanting no government when he's in favor of $2.6 trillion dollars worth of it as long as there's a balanced budget.

[OldMexican]

New Deal liberals triumphed far more because they met mass demands for jobs, security, and civil rights than because they bashed the corporate rich or preached about the Four Freedoms.

Talk about consistency being "the hobgoblin of little minds." TNR keeps repeating the historically-incorrect notion (or frank invention) that the New Deal created jobs or gave civil rights to the masses, when the exact contrary was true: minimum wage and pro-union laws kept minorities from participating in the labor market plus the government was still segregated, and unemployment was still very high all up to 1941.

In fact, if not political rhetoric, the United States has never been a libertarian nation. Even during the Gilded Age, the federal government financed, through loans, the building of the transcontinental railroads and subsidized American industry through high tariffs.

Well, nobody said that the US government was a libertarian government, leaving aside the continuous insistence from the TNR Proggies to equate the nation with government. However, the intrusion by government over people's lives was much less prevalent during the Gilded Age than in the 30's and beyond, the tariffs not carrying the destructive power than pages of regulations and freedom-sapping legislation.

[Sudden]

And considering FDR also barreled us at full force into the defining war of human history and presided over the single biggest attack on this country from a foreign military power, I think the idea that he met demands for security is hogwash.

In a sweet irony, Reagan actually met mass demand for jobs (un employment dropped from a high of 10.5 to a low of 5.4 under his administration) and provided security by being instrumental in the collapse of the Soviet Union, all without fighting a single major war.

These people have no shame. They will lie and lie and lie.

[Cytotoxic]

I posted this before but I'm doing it again: Venezuela caves to free market reality, restores the permuta-swap market for USD exchange that Chavez shuttered in 2010.

http://www.reuters.com/article.....DG20140324

Apparently there are other changes like letting companies repatriate their profits easier. It is the only way to get imports, but pent-up inflation is coming due and capital is going to run because this is a massive devaluation.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Rejoice, fellow history nerds: Crusader Kings Rise of India is out now, letting you take control of a medieval Indian lord or (even better) re-enact the Libertarian Glory Days of British India centuries earlier.

http://tinyurl.com/lkmo2ob

[Andrew S.]

As someone regularly getting nuked by Gandhi in Civ 5, how do the games compare?

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Crusader Kings (and most of the Paradox stable) is far more complex than the Civ series. It is also more historically accurate; you can pick any day between 1066-1337 to play as a ruler of that time period in a historically accurate Europe. Paradox games have a notorious learning curve, but it's worth it IMO.

[paranoid android]

As a HUGE Civ fan, Crusader Kings, the couple of times I've attempted to play it, makes Civ V look like Candy Land.

[Juice]

nuked by Gandhi

You stole my band name.

[Pinky]

President Barack Obama, speaking in the Netherlands, brushed off the idea that Russia is America's top geopolitical foe and called Moscow a "regional power."

When I read that at first, I wondered whether he was addressing his statement to Americans, or to Russians. I need to stop being so naive.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Former student, 18, sues teacher for 'traumatizing' him with sexual relationship

Smith met Heenan in her class as a 17-year-old senior attending Hollenstein Career and Technology Center in February 2012. He had planned to join the Marine Corps as a diesel mechanic and was scheduled to do so one day after graduation.

The two soon exchanged 'sexting' conversations,' the paper reports. They later met in a gym parking lot and checked into a hotel where they had sex. Heenan also allegedly engaged Smith in multiple sexual encounters -- including at school events, in hotels and her in own car.

Smith's attorney Bobbie Edmonds told the paper the illicit relationship damaged him both mentally and emotionally -- and that his plans to join the Marine Corps were delayed.

'He was mentally impacted by what happened,' Edmonds said. 'He was impressionable, and there was the age difference and the fact that she was a teacher,' she said.

In court documents, Edmonds says Heenan 'assaulted, raped and battered [Smith] in her capacity of teacher/educator, in violation of the law.'

Smith also reportedly damaged school district property, costing over $24,000. Edmonds told the paper that emotional trauma related to the relationship caused him to act out.

17 seems old enough to consent. Also this reminds of 'The Reader'.

[Sidd Finch]

I'd be traumatized after sex with her too.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Was she hot? That is an important consideration in awarding him his "luckiest boy in America" medal.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Oh. I clicked the link. Maybe he can have a participation medal instead.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

It's not like she's hideous or obese. I can see why a 17 year old wouldn't turn down sex with her.

She kind of looks like Amy Poehler.

[paranoid android]

Oh, please, who looks good in a friggin' mugshot?

[Sidd Finch]

http://media.videogoneviral.co.....s-003b.jpg

[SIV]

The "hot mugshot" chicks you see slideshows of all over the internet?

[Suthenboy]

Given what teachers make, I would think he could have chosen a richer target.

[Michael S. Langston]

Leaving aside whether a male child of 17 should be able to sue successfully for such a thing -this delayed the young man from the marines?

I'm assuming his fellow soldiers know nothing of the lawsuit.

& if he's still delayed, I hope the Marine Corps does the right thing and use this as reason to deny his entry. As if he cannot get over getting laid, not sure how he's going to handle the whole "war" thing...

I know - impossible, but one can hope.

[Cytotoxic]

Iran's government may be running out of money, probably to prop up Assad. Gas subsidies and other handouts are getting slashed.

http://www.ncr-iran.org/en/new.....he-economy

[John]

They are so stupid and corrupt they are losing the ability to even pump their oil.

[Libertymike]

No matter how you spin it, any state which slashes subsidies is not something about which to be disappointed.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Daniel Snyder announces Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation to help Native American communities

In a four-page letter posted on the Redskins Web site, Snyder said his decision to create the Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation was the result of four months of research into what Native Americans thought of the Redskins nickname and logo, including visits by Snyder and his staff to 26 Indian reservations in 20 states.
"The more I heard, the more I've learned, and the more I saw, the more resolved I became about helping to address the challenges that plague the Native American community," Snyder wrote. "In speaking face-to-face with Native American leaders and community members, it's plain to see they need action, not words."
Snyder's announcement drew criticism from the Oneida Indian Nation, a New York tribe that has emerged as one of the most vocal opponents to the name. In a statement released late Monday, tribal representative Ray Halbritter reiterated the Oneidas' hope that Snyder will change the name.

It's not going to help Dan. Your intentions matter much more than your actions to people that obsess over the name.

Why else do you think white liberals harp about the name while ignoring the horrible conditions on Indian reservations?

[GILMORE]

Obama's shtick about Russia is all an effort to convey the message to a domestic audience that this kerfuffle in Eastern Europe is not some kind of resurgence of Cold War politics, and therefore not something to consider a vital US interest, or in fact even a significant threat to any NATO/European security issues at all, but rather something that we should be sure that in his great maturity and wisdom he is able to put into context and ruminate upon in a responsible manner.

AKA = pretend he's thinking about something while he lets things take their own course, because he's completely unwilling to make any potentially risky moves in a congressional election year.

Don't think Putin didn't calculate that into the issue when choosing to push into Eastern Ukraine recently. For the record, I don't think he really will cross the border and attempt any real direct annexation of Eastern provinces the way he just took Crimea directly; but that he knows that by creating the perception of a threat there he will force capitulation and acceptance of the Crimean Status quo and force Ukraine and Eu to grant further favors that will cement their position as unassailable.

[RishJoMo]

lol, people taking this terrorist nonsense WAY too seriously.

http://www.EliteVPN.tk

[Coeus]

This is amazing.

Also, I had no idea that my bloody mary recipe already had a name. Ceaser. Damn flappy-heads.