Anniversary of Boston Bombing Memorialized, Ukraine Takes Airport, Brussels Bans Uber: P.M. Links

• 

  Credit: streamingmeemee (Tim Carter) / photo on flickr

  Thousands gathered in Boston to memorialize the first anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing. Vice President Joe Biden spoke, saying that Bostonians have "become the face of America's resolve for the whole world to see."

• Ukraine claims government forces have secured an airport in the eastern part of the country from control by a pro-Russian militia group.
• The white supremacist suspected of killing three outside Jewish community centers in Kansas has been charged with murder. He could face the death penalty if convicted.
• Michigan cities Detroit and Flint broke snow records for the winter. After measuring the snow today (yes, they're still getting snow), the National Weather Service says Detroit's seasonal total was more than 94 inches. Too bad they can't sell that stuff.
• India's Supreme Court has recognized transgender people as a "third gender," saying "it is the right of every human being to choose their gender."
• The city of Brussels, Austria Belgium, is the latest to ban Uber ride-sharing services.

Follow Reason and Reason 24/7 on Twitter, and like us on Facebook.  You can also get the top stories mailed to you—sign up here. Have a news tip? Send it to us!

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

India's Supreme Court has recognized transgender people as a "third gender," saying "it is the right of every human being to choose their gender."

What about the 400 other options?

[PapayaSF]

The LGBTQQIAA crowd has a lot still to do.

[jesse.in.mb]

Hijras in India significantly predate and LGBT advocacy.

/earnest response to snarky comment

[Zeb]

I thought they already had had legal recognition for a while.

[jesse.in.mb]

They have, but there seems to have been specific limitations on that recognition:

The governments of both India (1994) and Pakistan (2009)have recognized hijras as a "third sex," thus granting them the basic civil rights of every citizen. In India, hijras now have the option to identify as a eunuch ("E") on passports and on certain government documents. However, they are not fully accommodated; for example, citizens must identify as either male or female to vote. There is also further discrimination from the government. In the 2009 general election, India's election committee denied three hijras candidature unless they identified themselves as either male or female.

[Injun, as in from India]

Good evening, Government-less Sodomites!

[Tonio]

Good Evening, Hiawatha.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

The white supremacist suspected of killing three outside Jewish community centers in Kansas has been charged with murder. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

Three counts of a murder...and a hate crime. Because it matters.

[Rich]

"Hated it!"

[RannedPall]

While murder is deplorable, hating someone isn't a crime, therefore, hate crimes are bullshit.

[Root Boy]

Latest I read was that he's being labelled a libertarian (guess him running as both a repub and democrat confused the media too much)

Maybe PB will be along soon to straighten this out.

[Virginian]

Latest I read was that he's being labelled a libertarian

What?

[Tonio]

Haven't seen that but wouldn't be surprised as we're the political bogeyman of the moment.

Remember: First they ignore us, then they laugh at us, then they debate us, then we win. We are somewhere between laugh and debate, an interphase characterized by slow unmasking of the fear for which the nervous laughter was a cover. They're hoping that by demonizing us it will turn people against us, then when they realize that isn't working they will have to debate us.

How many times do I have to say this?

/PMS schoolmarm voice

[Root Boy]

Here it is, LAT, the usual suspects:

http://www.latimes.com/nation/.....z2yzu22mk3

First sentence:
AURORA, Mo. ? The elderly man was well known in this slightly faded farm town for his failed attempts at elective office, his libertarian leanings, his Southern charm.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The city of Brussels, Austria, is the latest to ban Uber ride-sharing services.

But in their case it's because Hitler used to use that word.

[Almanian!]

I see that Alles well in Austria...

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Wait, did Austria go and annex Belgium again?!

[Pro Libertate]

Yes, that's what I was thinking, except without the "again" part, since that's Germany.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Same Reich though.

[DEG]

No, Brussels was once part of Austria . France took Belgium from Austria during the War of Austrian Succession but handed Belgium back to Austria afterwards.

[Pro Libertate]

Huh. Austria got part of the region after the War of Spanish Succession, apparently. I missed this whole thing.

[PapayaSF]

Except the linked article doesn't even mention Austria. They mean Brussels, Belgium.

[DEG]

I know. I was commenting about Pro Lib's "except without the 'again' part, since that's Germany".

[Pro Libertate]

I was thinking, of course, about the world wars, but I actually didn't know (or had long ago forgotten) about the period where Austria had control over the region.

[PapayaSF]

Lots of people don't know that Spain once controlled Holland (sort of).

[Pro Libertate]

I knew that part.

[Clich? Bandit]

A lot of people don't know that the Kahnate made it all the way to Vienna. And was going to burn it to the ground...Kahn died so they had to go hold their entmoot back in Mongolia and never returned.

[Pro Libertate]

Is that Genghis Khan or that Sikh-Mexican dude?

[robc]

"Entmoot"

Like the trees?

[KDN]

sort of

Yeah, it's less "controlled" than "claimed dominion over."

[Homple]

Did a bully steal your umlaut maker along with your lunch money?

[gimmeasammich]

India's Supreme Court has recognized transgender people as a "third gender," saying "it is the right of every human being to choose their gender."

But what about the bathrooms?

[Juice]

In India bathrooms don't matter.

[Sandi]

I took a shit in India once.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Thousands gathered in Boston to memorialize the first anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing.

They were promptly ordered to shelter in place.

[Ted S.]

I heard it was invite-only.

[PD Scott]

I hope they were thoroughly searched to make sure none of them was carrying anything dangerous.

I went to the Braves home opener last week. They have metal detectors installed by all the gates now, apparently this is a MLB pronouncement to prevent any similar tragedies happening at a baseball game. I guess it will prevent people from sneaking in pressure cookers but it didn't alert on the change in my pocket or my keys, if the detectors were on at all.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Brussels is a sister city to Atlanta.

Hey, just following the Belgian theme set here.

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

[PD Scott]

I did not know that.

(follows link) Brussels has a lot of sisters... Berlin, Moscow, Washington, Beijing... hedging our bets, Brussels?

[Pro Libertate]

Slut country.

[Clich? Bandit]

Dlerium is the most amazing bar on the planet. How the same city can house such a world treasure AND the EU is baffling

[Clich? Bandit]

Delerium

damn edit button.

[Tonio]

Too much Delirium Tremens, Bandito?

[Pro Libertate]

No, no, they're intended to prevent aluminum bats from invading MLB.

[PD Scott]

I'm pretty sure Brussels is still in Belgium.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I thought Brussels were a sprout.

[Juice]

I thought, hm, there's a Brussels in Austria too? Then I read the article and realized someone is just dumb.

[Scott S.]

Fixed. I am sick today and blame being sick. Because I am.

[PD Scott]

It's Tax Day, every decent American (and most of the indecent ones) should be sick.

[Injun, as in from India]

The city of Brussels, Austria, is the latest to ban Uber ride-sharing services.

Keeping your hard-earned money from hard-working cab drivers should be banned.

?ber? They're just a corporation, which is obviously not people.

[paranoid android]

Hopefully next they'll ban giving your friends a ride in your car. You're stealing food off the plates of a cab driver's starving family every time you help a friend instead of paying for a taxi.

[Ted S.]

The city of Brussels, Austria, is the latest to ban Uber ride-sharing services.

I bet the rest of Belgium was thrilled to get rid of Brussels.

[PD Scott]

Wouldn't most of Europe be thrilled? Or do they still love the EU?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"You Don't Have To Be A Racist To Practice Racism...

"This dynamic has led some liberals to call for a moratorium on accusations of conservative racism lest all communications break down....

"Tempting as it may be for white liberals to implicitly absolve conservatives of racially invidious motives, it's palpably unjust to demand the same of minority folk. I would argue it is also unnecessary....

"No amount of white-wash can eliminate the strong impression that [Mitt Romney's welfare] ad was intended to persuade white voters that the first black president was walking back his party's commitment to make welfare beneficiaries ? perceived as primarily minority members ? work. But does that mean Mitt Romney is a racist, subjectively speaking? I doubt it very seriously, but in the end, who cares?"

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/c.....ice-racism

[waffles]

in the end, who cares?

There you have it.

[John]

Obama's black AG got up before the country and said "it is my job to look out for my people".

Maybe this clown ought to worry about that causing white people to think Obama is out to get them more than he should worry about Romney.

[John]

And Josh Marshall is a horrible human being but makes up for it by being an idiot.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

'Wheel of Fortune' contestant mispronounces Greek hero's name, loses chance at $1 million

I guess you can say pronunciation was his....Achilles' heel!

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Non-SF'd link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nztzwMiQTaI#t=37

[trshmnster the terrible]

Quite a quality education they get down there in Bloomington.

[jamesrk]

_n-th_-sp_t
D_c_s__N

ON THE SPOT DICESPIN!

[rts]

Abbotsford Heat leave city with $12M in losses

[Mayor] Banman said in total the contract with the team has cost the city more than $12 million since 2009, when then-mayor George Peary signed a ten-year deal with the Heat to guarantee $5.7 million a year in revenue.

With the team pulling in around 2,000 fewer fans per game than the minor hockey league average, taxpayers in Abbotsford have covered $7.2 million in losses in five years, plus the costs associated with owning and running the stadium.

[Injun, as in from India]

I feel bad for the city residents who opposed this boondoggle. It is people like them who genuinely get screwed over.

[PD Scott]

The Heat is... off?

[Injun, as in from India]

Or the team thought that the taxpayers were... in heat?

[Invisible Finger]

The funny thing is Vancouver wanted to put it's AHL team there but Calgary didn't want to give it up. So Vancouver tried to shake down Peoria instead and Peoria told them to get bent. So they raped Utica instead.

Can't understand why Abbostford would want to align with Calgary in the first place

[William of Purple]

Buying bread from a man in Brussels
He was six-foot-four and full of muscles

[Juice]

I see we've come full circle.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

No we haven't.

Famous Belgians!

http://www.famousbelgians.net/top10.htm

I know six of them. Didn't know Hepburn was Belgian.

The more you know. /rainbow flash.

[Injun, as in from India]

Why the hell is van Damme not in the list? He is, after all, Mr. Muscles from Brussels.

[Pro Libertate]

Hercule Poirot.

[Ted S.]

Father Damian of leper colony fame was Belgian.

[Pathogen]

Bakelite is fucking awesome...

[Mad Scientist]

Did he speaka your language?

[John]

On a hippie trail head full of zombie.

[Injun, as in from India]

You bought bread from Jean Claude can Damme?

[Pro Libertate]

That's Brussels, Australia, silly.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Drug offender's sentence was increased from 11 and a half years to 15 years due to a typographical error which the courts said it's too late to correct.

Obama commutes the sentence back to 11.5 years.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....53754.html

[Notorious G.K.C.]

This religion article is a bit more irreverent than I would like, but by H&R standards it's virtually The Imitation of Christ, so here goes:

"This God's For You: Jesus and the Good News of Beer

How Jesus partied with a purpose....

"At the party pad of Matthew the IRS agent (also known as Levi), Jesus is chillin' with his friends and followers. Our Lord and Savior kicks back, lays back, and throws back, along with everyone else. The members of this ragtag gathering would never be found on the guest list for high tea with the high priest down at the local temple....

"I believe that several important theological truths are revealed by both the party at Levi's house and the miracle at Cana, including the idea that it is far better to believe in something or somebody than to believe in nothing or nobody. The one who has little to celebrate, celebrates little, while the one who has much to celebrate, celebrates much. There is a bit of prodigal son in each of us."

http://www.faithstreet.com/onf.....beer/31698

[Notorious G.K.C.]

That was supposed to be a new link, oh well.

[Tonio]

typographical error which the courts said it's too late to correct

That's unacceptable. Completely.

[John]

It is Kafka's world We just live in it.

[Injun, as in from India]

Wonder if the typo would be correctable if someone put the judge's name instead of the defendant's name as the recipient of the 15 year sentence.

[John]

Or if they had put 5 years instead of 11.5. I am thinking if the mistake worked in his favor, they would have found a way to fix it.

How fucking evil do you have to be to refuse to fix a typo that locks someone up for four years?

[Injun, as in from India]

How fucking evil do you have to be to refuse to fix a typo that locks someone up for four years?

Agree. That in itself should be a punishable offense. It is the judicial equivalent of high crimes and misdemeanor.

[Mad Scientist]

How is that not cruel and unusual punishment?

[Gene]

Obama took the extraordinary step of commuting Cantu's sentence from 15 years to 11 1/2 years

I guess we're supposed to applaud this pitiful gesture. It amounts to a dick move considering the additional harm done by the false sentence.

[Ted S.]

I didn't read the article since HuffPo is such a fucking memory hog, but had he already served more than 11-1/2 years?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

It says he was sentenced in 2006, so he hadn't done the extra years.

[William of Purple]

Brussells may be in Belgium, but the best movie about Belgium is still In Bruges.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

And the best soccer with Anderlecht!

[Ted S.]

Not The Singing Nun?

(Of course, when they made The Singing Nun they had no way of knowing what was going to happen to her.)

[Clich? Bandit]

I liked that movie. I liked Bruges even more. Plus, Chocolate and WestVlet. nuf siad...ooo and mussels.

[Palin's Buttplug]

The CBO, a nonpartisan agency that advises Congress on budget policy, on Monday said the adjustments will lower its forecast for the 2014 deficit to $492 billion, or $23 billion less than it estimated two months ago. That's equivalent to 2.8% of gross domestic product, marking the smallest deficit since 2007. Since 1980, the deficit has averaged roughly 3.2% of GDP.

http://online.wsj.com/article/.....10455.html

[Juice]

The sequester worked. It's been Obama's best idea.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

I wonder if a new tax had anything to do with it?

http://www.irs.gov/Individuals.....Income-Tax

[MJGreen]

Finally! We've dropped back down to BOOOSHPIG's level of deficit spending. Maybe things are turning around.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Bush left the deficit at well over $1 trillion.

Obama promised to cut it in half by the end of his first term.

OBAMA LIED!

[Injun, as in from India]

Only a $492 billion deficit? That is chump change! Time to party!!!

[Sevo]

Palin's Buttplug|4.15.14 @ 4:37PM|#
"The CBO, a nonpartisan agency that advises Congress on budget policy,..."

Yes, shitpile, if we could force Obo to do what he doesn't want to do, we'd all be better off.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

The current deficit's already $413 billion, dumbass--and that's not counting the $328 billion that Jack Lew left off the books this year.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Study: Americans---including atheists---intuitively associate atheism with a lack of morality

After reading a description of someone committing an immoral act, participants in five experiments "readily and intuitively assumed that the person was an atheist," University of Kentucky psychologist Will Gervais reports in the online journal PLoS One. "Even atheist participants judged immoral acts as more representative of atheists than of other groups."

The findings suggest our instinctive belief that moral behavior is dependent upon God?as ethical arbiter and/or assigner of divine punishment?creates a belief system strong enough to override evidence to the contrary. It leads people many to look at non-believers and reflexively assume the worst.

Gervais describes five experiments with a total of 1,152 participants, all recruited online via Amazon's Mechanical Turk. (He notes that users of that service have previously been found to be "less religious, on average, than Americans in general," making his findings all the more striking.)

[snip]

When Gervais looked at the responses of hard-core atheists?that is, those "who both self-identified as atheists and who rated their belief in God at 0??he found even they "viewed immorality as significantly more representative of atheists than other people."

[MJGreen]

I blame the commies.

[John]

Atheists can have whatever moral system they like. They just can't claim its primacy over any other system.

[Virginian]

Oh shit you just lit the Objectivist signal.

[Clich? Bandit]

Did john just invoke moral equivalency?

Must be the blood moon.

[lap83]

I don't associate immorality with athiesm so much as random morality. You often know what to expect, morality-wise from a Muslim or Christian. But if you're an athiest you basically invent all of your notions of right or wrong. (ironically at the same time that you scoff at every religion for being made up)

[Virginian]

But if you're an athiest you basically invent all of your notions of right or wrong.

Or you just strip the god out of one or more religions and discard the silly and outdated rules. Because stripped of silly things like mystical days without meat and never eating pork or cheeseburgers or whatever, most religions have some pretty universally acceptable moral values. The ones I take from my general cultural milieu:

Thou shalt not kill
Thou shalt not commit adultery
Thou shalt not steal
Thou shalt not bear false witness
Thou shalt not covet

[califernian]

we evolved our morals. It's not that hard to figure out.

[Coeus]

Man up

Q. Need More Heat: I have a happy marriage for the most part. I'm a take-charge kind of woman, and my husband normally is happy to let me control most situations unless they are serious issues dealing with our family. Our marriage works on that capacity. The trouble I have is, in the bedroom, I actually want the opposite. I want him to take the lead, be more commanding, and me to be more submissive. He goes along, does what I want, and half the time I have to guide him, goad him, and tell him to tell me what he wants or just simply do it. I'm finding it difficult to have a discussion with him about what turns my crank per se. Our sex life is good, we both walk away satisfied, but I just know it would be so much better (for me) if he went outside his normal personality a bit. How do you suggest I go about telling him, hey, I want you to be more demanding/bossy/alpha/dominant in bed?

[Coeus]

I was just consoling a drunk friend the other day over the fact that the simple rules for dating no longer applied. He was sad that a great job, nice car and large house was no longer the guarantee it used to be.

I told him that that was lost, but look at what men had gained. No longer the responsibility to financially care for others. No more of numerous responsibilities that had, until very recently, been men's sole burden. And the only thing you had to do was take control in the bedroom. That's it. The only responsibility left.

I happen to think it's a great deal.

[Ted S.]

Until you knock her up.

[Coeus]

I don't trust the pill. It's condoms, nuvaring or IUD all the way for me.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Fuck her in the ass then.

[gimmeasammich]

Out of curiosity, what don't you trust about the pill? Isn't it just as effective as Nuvaring or IUDs? They all operate on similar principles.

[Mad Scientist]

You have to not only trust the pill, but you have to trust that she's actually taking it.

[PD Scott]

And for some women who take it, if they don't take it at about the same time each day, they can still become pregnant. Whoops!

[gimmeasammich]

You have to not only trust the pill, but you have to trust that she's actually taking it.

That's what I figured the mistrust was about.

[Coeus]

I can feel Nuvaring and IUDs with my dick.

[gimmeasammich]

I can feel Nuvaring and IUDs with my dick.

And that was my first thoughts on those.

[Mad Scientist]

IOW, how do I get him to do what I want and pretend he's doing what he wants?

[Tejicano]

Nope. Pretending won't cut it.

He has to intuit what she wants without explanation and really want to do it too.

I'm not sure where the unicorn and rainbow farts get woven in but I'm sure they're part of the fabric.

[Tonio]

Oh, the eternal feminist dilemma.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Beat me to it. Although this is more on the wife than her husband since she obviously wanted a beta to dominate and now she's annoyed that he can't be take charge in the bedroom?

[Tonio]

^That.

[Ted S.]

You must be in one of those behind-the-times time zones.

[Anonymous Coward]

So you want him to pull your hair and smack your ass a bit, push your face into the bed and ride it like he owns it?

Too bad, lady. You married a simp. It doesn't come natural to him. You wanted a man you could be in charge of, and you have to be in charge of him all the time, including in the sack.

[Juice]

Honestly just about every girl I've been with likes this sort of thing. They all seem to like it when a guy "takes charge" and gets a little rough with them. I try to do it, but I don't like it. I'm just not that into it. And I'm not the type to be dominated either, in bed or anywhere. I don't like to dominate or be dominated. But I get rough sometimes, just because it makes her get off a little better, and that's what I'm there to do. It sounds kind of pathetic when put that way though.

[paranoid android]

I'm the same way. People are so obsessed with the "power dynamic" or whatever you want to call it of relationships these days. And I'm thinking, maybe nobody has to be dominated? Maybe people can just do things kind of mutually if they try? But yeah, in bed I'm all about trying to give her a good time, and if that means spanking her and calling her a slut then I'll go along with it, but it doesn't really make sense to me.

[Coeus]

Honestly just about every girl I've been with likes this sort of thing.

Agreed

I try to do it, but I don't like it. I'm just not that into it. And I'm not the type to be dominated either, in bed or anywhere. I don't like to dominate or be dominated.

It grows on you.

just because it makes her get off a little better, and that's what I'm there to do. It sounds kind of pathetic when put that way though.

Everything you do to facilitate dating can be summed up that way from the hetero male perspective.

It is what it is. Just don't let it make you bitter.

[JEP]

I went backpacking around Europe after I graduated college, as white middle class males often do, and sitting outside the Venice train station I saw a guy throw a girl against a billboard by her neck and punch the billboard just beside her head.

She was in tears and this guy had been drinking in the middle of the day. I fucking lost it. Luckily, I had the awareness not to deck the guy myself, but I found one of the wondering police patrols and asked they spoke English. Some Italian people intervened as well.

Having witnessed that first hand and realizing how angry it made me, I can't imagine a girl asking me act like that in bed.

[Stormy Dragon]

Notice the complete lack of interest in finding out if there's anything she could do to make him happier in the sack as well.

[gimmeasammich]

This was basically my response when this article was posted earlier (A.M. Links I think?).

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Geez, since you put it that way, I may want some of that.

[Stormy Dragon]

Q. Feeling Guilty and Spoiled by New Boyfriend's Parents: I have been dating my boyfriend for almost a year. His parents are very well-off financially, and from the beginning have been incredibly kind and generous to me. They love to entertain, dine out, and drink fine (and often expensive) wine. As they only live 20 minutes away, we often go over for dinner and end up staying the night in their large, comfortable home?it feels like a getaway for us, as we are underpaid twentysomethings with small apartments and roommates. They have never accepted money from me, which I have felt guilty about but have justified because they seem to enjoy our company. However, we returned recently from BF's brother's wedding across the country and they paid the bill for everything?airline, hotel, meals, etc. and now I am feeling especially guilty. Is there anything I can do to "repay" them?even if I can't afford to write them a check? This compounded with the fact that my mom is a lower-middle-class single parent who is too embarrassed to entertain in her small, older home and can't afford to spoil my boyfriend the way his parents spoil me has got me feeling like I'm in a bind!

Yes, you can get off the fence. Either marry their son or move on.

[lap83]

and don't marry their son unless he cuts the purse strings and stops mooching off his parents.

[Stormy Dragon]

So do you give everyone in your family a bill after thanksgiving dinner to make sure nobody is mooching off you?

[Redmanfms]

The trouble I have is, in the bedroom, I actually want the opposite. I want him to take the lead, be more commanding, and me to be more submissive. He goes along, does what I want, and half the time I have to guide him, goad him, and tell him to tell me what he wants or just simply do it. I'm finding it difficult to have a discussion with him about what turns my crank per se.

Translation:

"I expect my husband to be a fucking mind reader."

And of course, if changing his behavior from doing what she wants to being more "alpha" he doesn't "hit the spot" she'll be upset that he somehow doesn't magically know exactly what to spot to hit every time they fuck.

Jesus, I hate woman like her. I feel sorry for the poor sot married to this bitch, he's obviously trying to please and be accommodating in bed but she is still upset because he doesn't know her deepest desires .

[Sevo]

Boston f'ing STRONG? You mean all those wimps who went home and hid under the bed since there were two guys driving around?
That Boston f'ing STRONG?!

[Tonio]

^This. Can never be said enough.

[gimmeasammich]

Did they really have any choice BUT to hide under their beds? I seem to recall the whole city being on lockdown. I have a couple of friends that live in Cambridge, and they said that they were pretty much forced to stay indoors all day.

That said, they would have done this anyways whether the police were telling them to or not.

[Tonio]

Well, in retrospect the po-po's illegal order did give the citizenry cover for their cowardice.

[tarran]

What cover?!?

I kept my kids in door because I didn't want them shot by the trigger happy goons! My son looks a lot like the picture of 12 year old Tamerlan that they were circulating on the airwaves.

Given the panic fire that the cops kept engaging in, keeping indoors was the smart thing to do.

[Tonio]

Given your particular circumstances, certainly so. And no hate or charges of cowardice for anyone who chose to hunker down at home. But also disappointment that people didn't say - fuck this shit, we're forming a neighborhood watch with spotters on rooftops and grocery runs from the corner market and helping out elderly and infirm neighbors and stuff.

[paranoid android]

Well, they didn't barricade the doors, so what do you mean by forced? I know it's really easy to say this having not been there, but if I had been there I like to think I'd have had the courage to face them. You know, just go outside and go about my day. I'd rather get arrested for leaving my house than live with the shame of submitting to some goons playing soldier.

[Redmanfms]

I'd rather get arrested

That's not the worst thing that police can (and likely would) do to you.

[tonguesandelbows]

Hasn't Lance Armstrong ruined ending anything with "strong"? I hated when the Colts did their "Chuckstrong" bit as well. Does this mean Boston is cancerous?

[Pro Libertate]

Lance is offset totally by Neil.

[PD Scott]

Moonstrong?

[Ted S.]

Dopestrong.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I thought Ukraine had the copyright on 'strong.'

As in Ukraine Strong!

[Ted S.]

Well, they did take over the Brussels airport.

[John]

Boston strong is letting the IRA raise money in your city and use it to set off bombs in London and Belfast. I really wish someone form London would have tweeted "karma is a bitch" the day of that bombing.

[Freedom Frog]

That's a bit much, don't ya think?

[Anonymous Coward]

Bostonians have "become the face of America's resolve for the whole world to see."

Shelter in place, peasants. The Warrior Caste now holds the streets. Anyone caught breaking the curfew will be summarily executed in the name of Officer Safety.

You have been warned.

[paranoid android]

Well, Biden is 100% correct in that statement, just not in the way he probably intended.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I'm pretty sure other parts of the world go through a helluva lot more likely with surpassing resolve than a couple of dipshit assholes running around a city.

Talk about over blowing it.

[Rich]

India's Supreme Court has recognized transgender people as a "third gender," saying "it is the right of every human being to choose their gender."

Serious question: How long before some "Supreme Court" rules ""it is the right of every human being to choose their RACE"?

[Tonio]

If you want to be really controversial, change that to "caste." Heh.

[Rich]

Beautiful. Nice catch.

[Tonio]

Snarkem gratia snarkis.

[pan fried wylie]

If Reason made a bitcoin token....

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Money in politics is taxation without representation

Today, April 15, is Tax Day. Most of us will dutifully pay our taxes to a government that no longer represents us. Policy decisions on nearly every issue, regardless of public opinion, are decided in favor of a select few who can afford to write massive checks, host campaign fundraisers, and hire armies of lawyers and lobbyists.

That might read as an exaggeration to some, but it's a verifiable fact of the American political system. A new analysis of 1,779 recent policy outcomes by researchers at Princeton and Northwestern found that "economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy," while average citizens -- the people in "We, the People" -- "have little or no independent influence."

Why? Because if you want representation in today's Washington, you must buy your way in.

Then I guess we should abolish the income tax and make Washington beg for our patronage. Or is that not what this guy has in mind?

Money in politics corruption is a national disgrace that does every hardworking American a disservice. As citizens of this great republic, it is our duty to put an end to this corruption once and for all. Lets start by demanding No Taxation Without Representation.

No, I guess not.

[Warty]

I don't have any representation. Can I...*gets dronebombed*

[Tonio]

No "Kochtopus"? I are disappoint.

[Anonymous Coward]

Since I refuse to click HuffPo links, I went to his website. Lots of smiling, happy, white people, no black people, therefore, Josh Silver is a racist.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Oregon high school students protest National Day of Silence with 'Gay Is Not Okay' shirts, school forces them to take off the shirts

Friday was National Day of Silence. It's where students take some form of silence to call attention to the bullying of the LGBT community in schools.

Two students told KATU News that if the school is supporting Day of Silence, then they have the right to speak out against it.

They wore T-shirts to school that said, "Gay Is Not Ok" and "Gay Day Is Not OK," which is a reference to Day of Silence. They sought out a KATU reporter to be interviewed.

"I'm not comfortable with you guys making a whole day about what you believe," said Alex Borho, a senior. "So if you're going to make a whole day out of it and not talk and a have a 'moment of silence,' then I can wear my T-shirt."

[snip]

A student wearing one of the shirts said his teachers didn't seem to care about it. But a school administrator said the school is not allowing the shirts on campus. The administrator said the school is making the kids turn the shirts inside out or take them off.

Of course the civil liberties violation is buried in the last paragraph.

Maybe the internet can retaliate against his parents or something. Get them fired.

[Rhywun]

Friday was National Day of Silence. It's where students take some form of silence to call attention to the bullying of the LGBT community in schools.

Oh FFS. Can't everyone just keep their politics out of the classroom?! There is no good side in this.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

There should be a National Day of Sucking My Cock.

[jesse.in.mb]

There should be a National Day of Sucking My Cock.

Walk into the seediest gay bar and make an announcement. I'm sure you'll get some takers.

Then you can immediately change it to the "National Day of RJF Regretting His Poor Life Choices"

[Mad Scientist]

Jesse, you're always here for us when we need practical advice.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Why would I regret it?

[jesse.in.mb]

I suppose you could end up having a great time with a bunch of hot strangers, but even my libertinism ends somewhere before the crusty old opportunists that hide in the darkest corners of seedy bars (straight or gay) begin.

[Tonio]

SMH, Jesse. I'm proud of you.

[Tejicano]

A fantasy of mine, should I have been given a wish by a genie, would be for my semen to taste like Belgian chocolate and have the effect of pure cocaine. I think it would be a great plot for a porno movie if porno with story lines were a thing.

[Homple]

The love that dared not speak its name now won't shut up, but the rest of us have to keep quiet for a day?

[John]

Public objection to homosexuality will never be criminalized. Reason assured me of this.

[jesse.in.mb]

"I'm not comfortable with you guys making a whole day about what you believe," said Alex Borho, a senior.

No more Easter or Christmas for you, bro.

Also the administrator is being a cock in principle and a fool by giving those kids a larger platform by abridging their right to free speech.

[John]

Exactly. Either say "this is a school take your politics elsewhere" or let everyone express their politics. The worst thing to do is let one side do it and not the other.

[Virginian]

But that one side is right, and the other side is wrong. Tolerating intolerance is intolerant!

[Tejicano]

I guess if I was more interested I would RTFA but from what I see above it seems like the two people protesting are not so much homophobes as they are just against one-sided politics in the classroom.

[Ted S.]

The government is trying to bully them into parroting the accepted opinions.

[Virginian]

When my high school did it there were three teachers who participated. As in, they planned "silent lesson plans". One was the ASL teacher, so meh no harm done there I suppose. But I had Spanish that day, and my teacher decided she was joining in the day of silence.

Watching her snap her fingers and glare at me while I ignored her totally was a freaking joy. Bitch, if you're going to hand out worksheets and not teach, then I'm going to break your rules of classroom decorum.

[John]

Why should students be punished by losing a day of instruction so a teacher can make political points?

Say what you want about wearing a T-shirt, at least it doesn't stop class. I don't care what the "day of silence' is for. Any teacher doing it is effectively refusing to do their job and should be at the very least docked a day's pay.

[Virginian]

Which is what I told her when she hauled me into the hallway to break her vow of silence to tell me to quit goofing off and do the assignment. I told her that if she wasn't going to do her job, I wasn't going to do mine.

The fact that I didn't get referred to the chief administrator for that indicates to me that she knew she'd get in a hell of a lot more trouble for refusing to work.

[Invisible Finger]

Hooray for Detroit, agreeing on a pension fix.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/.....2888.story

(Absolutely no mathematical fix in the agreement.)

[Rhywun]

"it is the right of every human being to choose their gender"

...but not whom they can legally have sex with. Wut?

I get the feeling from all that that the "third gender" are treated more as curiosities than actual people.

[Palin's Buttplug]

The white supremacist suspected of killing three outside Jewish community centers in Kansas has been charged with murder. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

He is also a big Ron Paul fan according to the right-leaning website Little Green Footballs.

http://littlegreenfootballs.co.....f_Ron_Paul

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"right-leaning website"

You're so 2009

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L....._the_Right

[Palin's Buttplug]

On November 30, 2009, Johnson blogged that he was disassociating himself with "the right", claiming that "The American right wing has gone off the rails, into the bushes, and off the cliff. I won't be going over the cliff with them." He has been heavily critical of conservatives and libertarians since then.

Can't argue with that. It sounds like Johnson prefers the right but has been chased off by their crazies.

I understand that.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

So it's *not* a right-leaning Web site?

Why did you say it was?

[Juice]

Pre-2009 LGF was the crazy far right, neocon style. The whole site was dedicated to demonizing Muslims and dumb liberals who just want America to be weak while promoting the Iraq War and wanting more. Then it did a complete 180 for some reason.

[Palin's Buttplug]

That is actually fascinating for some reason.

[Virginian]

Well it was very focused on the GWOT, on the Muslim threat to Europe, all that stuff. The guy who ran it (I forgot his name) was never really a rightwinger in terms of limited government or capitalism. He just really thought teh Mooselimbs were going to take over.

He got over that, and dived headfirst into Obamamania.

[Palin's Buttplug]

See, I also hate Islam. But I hate all religion.

Christian v. Islam? Same shit but different book.

But I knew this well before 2009.

[Root Boy]

Charles Johnson. Kind of like when Andrew Sullivan turned on a dime against Bush, probably due to Gay Marriage.

PB probably had the same transformation as Johnson once Obama the savior was elected.

I soured on Bush when he refused to fire people after all the fuckups in Afgh and Iraq and decided running huge deficits was a great way to reinvigorate Repubs reputation as small government champions.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

The whole site was dedicated to demonizing Muslims and dumb liberals who just want America to be weak while promoting the Iraq War and wanting more.

CJ's neoconism was about two things: 1) political opportunism, and 2) rabid hatred of religious people. When the winds shifted, he turned his focus from hating Muslims to hating Christians. The methodology hasn't changed, just the targets.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Microagressions: Washington-Lee University is hostile to blacks because it honors the Confederate general

he two "most influential" people in American history are George Washington and Robert E. Lee. Not Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Not even Washington and John C. Calhoun... you know, the guy who came up with the whole, bollocks secessionist legal reasoning. But Washington and Robert E. "I'd rather fight for my state than combat a great evil for my country" Lee. Lee's logic is akin to me fighting the Orkin Man because the "New York City" rats shouldn't be subjugated to a "national" company, but whatever.

[snip]

But really, this is a Confederate Battle Flag issue. To me, it's a symbol of racial oppression. To others, it's a symbol of Southern pride. My question to the Southern Pride people is always: what about all the black Southerns? Are they not allowed to be "prideful" of their Southern roots as well? Or are they supposed to wave around a Confederate flag in support of their "state's rights"?

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

These are the demands of a black student activist group:

1. We demand that the University fully recognize Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on the undergraduate campus.

2. We demand that the University stop allowing neo-confederates to march on campus with confederate flags on Lee-Jackson Day.

3. We demand that the University immediately remove all confederate flags from its property and premises, including those flags located within Lee Chapel.

4. We demand that the University issue an official apology for the University's participation in chattel slavery, including a denunciation of General Robert E. Lee's participation in slavery.

If the school does not act by SEPTEMBER 1, 2014 we WILL engage in civil disobedience.

Number 2 is particularly galling since it's a direct assault on freedom of expression.

[Pro Libertate]

"4. We demand that the University issue an official apology for the University's participation in chattel slavery, including a denunciation of General Robert E. Lee's participation in slavery."

Just letting Washington off the hook completely?

[Juice]

I thought Robert E. Lee was anti-slavery and never once participated in it.

[PD Scott]

I was under that impression too; he was personally anti-slavery but his wife and her family had slaves, if I'm reading the various links right.

[tarran]

That's not correct.

*He* didn't own any slaves. His wife, on the other hand, came into the marriage with a huge plantation (expropriated and turned into Arlington NAtional Cemetery).

IIRC the slaves were confiscated by the union at the beginning of the war and not freed until after the war.

[John]

Lee managed his wife's plantation at Arlington House for a few years. He was not known to be a particularly kind or cruel slave overseer. More of an average one.

He did however grow up in a culture where it was accepted. Easy for us sitting fat dumb and happy 150 years later to condemn him for not doing the right thing when chances are many of us wouldn't have either.

[Brett L]

From Wikipedia:

After the Civil War, General Robert E. Lee turned down several financially tantalizing offers of employment that would merely have traded on his name,[6] and instead accepted the post of college president for three reasons. First, he had been superintendent of the United States Military Academy, so supervising higher education was in his background. Second, and more important, he believed that it was a position in which he could actually make a contribution to the reconciliation of the nation. Third, the Washington family were his in-laws: his wife was the great-granddaughter of Martha Washington, and Lee had long looked on George Washington as a hero and role model, so it is hardly surprising that he welcomed the challenge of leading a college endowed by and named after the first president.

Arguably Lee's finest achievement was transforming a small, not particularly distinguished Latin academy into a forward-looking institution of higher education. He established the first journalism courses (which were limited and only lasted several years),[7] and he added both a business school and a law school to the college curriculum, under the conviction that those occupations should be intimately and inextricably linked with the liberal arts. That was a radical idea: Journalism and law had always been considered technical crafts, not intellectual endeavors, and the study of business was seen with skepticism.

Obviously a monster.

[Pro Libertate]

Lee has been viewed as a very admirable and principled person, despite fighting for the South. . .until now, anyway. Now he must be exhumed and raped or something.

[Tonio]

We demand that the University stop allowing neo-confederates to march on campus with confederate flags on Lee-Jackson Day.

Yep, L-J Day is an actual state holiday in Virginia, falling the Friday before MLK day (always a Monday), IOW a four-day holiday for state and municipal workers.

FWIW, W&L is a private school, so they can recognize whatever holidays they want.

[John]

http://www.campusreform.org/?ID=5549

West Virginia University looks for ways to reduce the number of white people who attend the school. Nothing says equality like discrimination.

[Pro Libertate]

I thought that sort of thing was illegal now.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Stop selling bottled water

Close the Drama Department

Stop recycling

[John]

No soccer.

[Tonio]

Why do you hate Shakespeare, Eddie?

[PD Scott]

Correct, except it's Western Washington U. in the state of Washington.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

We are relocating your university...pray we do not relocate it any further.

[John]

I read it as WVU. But yeah it is WWU.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

It's WWE. The need more wrestlers of color.

[PD Scott]

It's entirely possible WVU has too many white students as well. Better get the Dept of Education on it STAT.

[Invisible Finger]

Race-shaming. Niiiice.

[jesse.in.mb]

I know the BLOOD MOON is yesterday's news, but I snapped a shot of it that turned out decently for those that were following it.

[Pro Libertate]

Cool. I think I see alien spacecraft in the photo as well.

[Palin's Buttplug]

So is this a sign of the Apocalypse? When will all the SoCon nutjobs get raptured up?

[jesse.in.mb]

I think there'll be three more of them this year...

[Wasteland Wanderer]

No...they're spread out over two years. So one more this year and two more next year.

[jesse.in.mb]

Hmm, that sounds so much less apocalyptic. Last time I take astronomy notes from Hyperion.

[Wasteland Wanderer]

Nice. I caught the first part of it but it clouded over before it entered totality.

[MJGreen]

Damn. I really was not paying attention and assumed the eclipse was tonight. It was probably raining by 2am here anyway.

[Root Boy]

Outstanding photo. I snapped some aweful pics of it with my cell phone, but also used my gopro - don't think they turned out much better but haven't downloaded them yet.

Dragging ass today after being up for two hours last night. I got my kids up, they looked at the start and said wake us up when something interesting happens. I let the lazy leaches sleep.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Survey: 26.5% women are bisexual

A study into female sexuality shows 26.5% of women surveyed are bisexual ? and many do express a preference for one gender or another.
Research carried out by Biscuit, a new website for bisexual woman, states the figure rises to 38% when taking into account straight women who have at one point engaged in some form of sexual activity with a same-sex partner, often as part of a group, and gay women who have sometimes had sex with men.

The survey was conducted over four weeks in February and March. Respondents were recruited anonymously via social media channels. The results were compiled once 1,000 respondents had completed the questions.

The research showed many women in the 16-24 and 35-44 age range appear to support the statement that pigeonholing one's sexuality is an outmoded and irrelevant exercise. And many women, especially those over 44, were concerned that there was no category for those who, when young, had conformed to society's expectations of heterosexuality and had come out as lesbian in later life.

Obviously not very scientific but still interesting.

[Mad Scientist]

Trying a doughnut doesn't make you a cop.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Can this mean my wife may be '26.5%' bi?

Been meaning to invite her friend over...for a coffee. Relax.

Sheesh.

[Palin's Buttplug]

I believe that. My wife came out as bisexual on a trip to Hedo II in Negril.

Better that than the "Big Bamboo" Jamaicans sing about.

[Weigel's Cock Ring]

And by "wife", I mean Matt Yglesias.

[Weygand]

Down goes Frazier....down goes Frazier

[BakedPenguin]

I have the impression that women are often more flexible with their sexuality than men. Perhaps I should do a study...

[kibby]

The issue with that is weeding out all the women who think it's cute to make out with other girls because guys like to watch it.

[Redmanfms]

The issue with that is weeding out all the women who think it's cute to make out with other girls because guys like to watch it.

Which is every girl I've ever met who claims to be bi. When it comes to actually munching on some oyster ditch, yeah, no. They usually grow out of it when they graduate college and get their MRS.

[Virginian]

Obligatory.

http://www.theonion.com/articl.....year,1505/

[kibby]

Well now you've met a real one! But, yeah, it's incredibly frustrating when people play at being something they are clearly not.

[Tejicano]

Exactly. A woman who was a fcuk-buddy of mine was into making out with other girls and said she was bi. So of course I explored that a little - since she was kinky in other ways - to see if a 3-some might be possible. I asked her about things she had done with other women but muff diving, either giving or taking, was not on the list. As far as I'm concerned that defines whether a woman is bi or not. Kissing and petting is one thing. Going as far as sexual pleasure or refraining from it is the line that a bi person willingly crosses.

[BakedPenguin]

Well, at the least, I have to believe the number of women who try gay sex once or twice for the hell of it is greater than the number of men. As someone pointed out above, that may not be "bisexuality" depending on your definition.

[Virginian]

The standard line I hear a lot is that it happens about the same amount with guys, but girls trying out the bi thing is much more socially accepted, which is why it seems more like it happens more.

In other words, sex surveys continue to be worthless.

[BakedPenguin]

That could definitely be true.

[Virginian]

I mean, as someone alluded to above, two girls making out is going to get wolf whistles and cheers from most of the guys in the room.

Two guys making out will get the one weird Tumblr girl all hot and bothered.

[Brett L]

A blowjob is a blowjob, right? I mean, if you close your eyes...

[Virginian]

Also obligatory

http://www.theonion.com/articl.....ock,10861/

[BakedPenguin]

I've read it before, but that's hilarious.

[jesse.in.mb]

That one makes me laugh every time.

[MJGreen]

I like those odds.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Wonder how they calculate the .5%.

[lap83]

What percentage aren't sure whether or not they're bisexual?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

This religion article is a bit more irreverent than I would like, but by H&R standards it's virtually The Imitation of Christ, so here goes:

"This God's For You: Jesus and the Good News of Beer

How Jesus partied with a purpose....

"At the party pad of Matthew the IRS agent (also known as Levi), Jesus is chillin' with his friends and followers. Our Lord and Savior kicks back, lays back, and throws back, along with everyone else. The members of this ragtag gathering would never be found on the guest list for high tea with the high priest down at the local temple....

"I believe that several important theological truths are revealed by both the party at Levi's house and the miracle at Cana, including the idea that it is far better to believe in something or somebody than to believe in nothing or nobody. The one who has little to celebrate, celebrates little, while the one who has much to celebrate, celebrates much. There is a bit of prodigal son in each of us."

http://www.faithstreet.com/onf.....beer/31698

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"My Adult Circumcision

"How I made the cut for my new religion...

"While bloodletting has always been a condition of the Orthodox and Conservative wings of Judaism, Reform congregations have been willing to welcome the sexually sheathed and uninjured. Biblical law doesn't require otherwise. Neither do most of the arguments of the Talmud. But a funny thing happened on the road to gay, female, pork-friendly Judaism: The Reform movement began to ask more people to put some skin in the game....

"That's how I found myself Biblically nude in a kind of spiritual locker room, a shower space in a converted brownstone, waiting on a man with a razor."

http://www.newrepublic.com/art.....ut-judaism

[PD Scott]

How is Biblically nude different from regular nude?

[paranoid android]

When you're ashamed of it?

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

I'm friends on Facebook with one of my former English teachers. She recently posted a picture today of a person who rode into campus on a horse to ask a girl to prom.

I think we are taking the grand gesture a little too far.

[JEP]

Did she say "Nay?"

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Better question: Did it work?

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

I'm sure the guy will find out on prom night after leaving the dance with her.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

That would be EPIC if she turned him down.

[Apatheist ?_??]

Otherwise known as your average day in Tomball.

[Brett L]

I would have picked Cut'n'Shoot, but yeah.

[kibby]

I think you need to rethink grand gestures, kid.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

How so? What's next? You need to cure cancer before you can propose to a woman in style?

And didn't we recently establish that you dislike public, romantic gestures like that?

[Mad Scientist]

I agree with kibby. Treating a woman like a princess is a sure fire way to have her treat you like a servant.

[Brett L]

"As you wish."

Although I'd take mid-eighties pre-Sean Penn, Robin Wright however she'd have me.

[jesse.in.mb]

"As you wish."

That was last night, Brett.

There are claims it was a Vader reference...

[kibby]

Do you people just follow us around & take note of how cute the things we do are?

WE ARE NOT LAB RATS.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

What about Princess Peach?

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Mario is a plumber, not a member of the nobility. In a lot of countries with monarchies it was actually a form of treason to have sexual relations with female royalty because it could pollute the legitimacy of the house in question.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

I was thinking of the way Bowser treated her.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

But Mario must be noble to have earned this coat of arms:

http://lyndonpatrick.deviantar.....-327680635

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

House Plumber

Sigil: A white M on a field of red with a star and mushroom

Words: HERE WE GO!

[cavalier973]

I refuse to accept the retcon that makes Mario a plumber. He is, in fact, a carptenter.

[kibby]

Well it would put a rush on curing cancer, wouldn't it?

(& yes, I would murder anyone who put me through something this embarrassing.)

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Well after we kill the whore we've been hunting through the woods and you find a ring on her corpse, it won't be an embarrassing, public spectacle because we'd be alone.

[Virginian]

I've had good results with ether.

Seriously, I was talking about Ramsay's psycho squeeze with this girl at work, and it's freaking retarded that there would be a cute, batshit crazy, medieval action girl/psycho killer for him to hookup with.

What the fuck is up with that? Fangirl, explain to me.

[kibby]

There is no logic to Myranda. All I can think is that she's about to pull the wrong stunt in bed with Ramsay & will suffer horribly for doing so -- that way the audience can get some sort of catharsis for Theon's rape/torture/mutilation.

[kibby]

Way to blow the surprise! Now you're going to have to hide it in my box of flaying knives or something.

[jesse.in.mb]

Anyone who doesn't like that romantic gesture is just broken inside.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

I know, right? I even planned on hanging a banner outside my hall made from the skin of flayed enemies proclaiming our engagement.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Awww, your first fight!

[GILMORE]

"Grand Moff Serious Man|4.15.14 @ 5:18PM|#

I'm friends on Facebook with one of my former English teachers. She recently posted a picture today of a person who rode into campus on a horse to ask a girl to prom"

If he did it wearing a black mask, wielding a sword, grabbing her athwart the waist and throwing her across his lap and shouting, "Acta, Non Verba!", then I fully approve.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

New Ken Burns documentary shows learning-disabled students recite Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

http://www.zap2it.com/blogs/th.....ns-2014-04

[PD Scott]

I'm sure the world will little note nor long remember it, except on PBS whenever they get a Burns marathon going.

[Bobarian]

Sounds more like the Farrelly Brothers.

[Dweebston]

India's Supreme Court has recognized transgender people as a "third gender," saying "it is the right of every human being to choose their gender."

What does such a right entail, other than bullying people unaccustomed or unwilling to share in your identity crisis?

Working toward a civil society in which all pursuasions and predilictions are tolerated embraced, by the point of a sword if necessary.

[Brett L]

Found that article about the (please God!) possible GOP mutiny against their shitty leadership.

[Pro Libertate]

Better happen, or their complete control of Congress may be short-lived.

[Virginian]

To be replaced by Cantor? Oh....yay....

[Pro Libertate]

What happens to the leadership will depend on who these new Republicans are, I suppose.

[Brett L]

Baby steps. Although I think the much, much more important thing would be finding a stronger Senate Majority Leader who was willing to set a confrontational agenda with the Executive branch. But, if they were going to do stuff like that, I wouldn't have left the party.

[Stormy Dragon]

If Cantor wanted to be speaker he'd be speaker. But Cantor isn't a fool and only a fool would want to be speaker at present. There's not enough political power for any serious reduction of federal spending to happen right now, so being speaker just means volunteering to be the scapegoat for things you have no actual control over.

[Virginian]

I don't know....the GOP is real big on seniority and paying your dues. I thought it was Boehner's turn, pure and simple.

[Stormy Dragon]

Seniority is why, of all the fools available, Boehner was the specific fool who ended up getting the job.

[Brett L]

Patti LaBelle assaults Aretha Franklin over lack of propers. (Warning, autoplay.)

Onlookers say Labelle quickly removed her wig and earrings as she approached Franklin. Aretha, knowing that the removal of earrings is a tell-tale sign that a fight is about to ensue, attempted to prepare herself for the confrontation. Franklin was quickly struck with a Mayweather style right and left and stumbled backwards, landing awkwardly. Bystanders subdued Labelle and escorted her outside of the venue. Franklin suffered only minor injuries.

[Pro Libertate]

One does not fuck with the Godmother of Soul.

[PD Scott]

Patti LaBelle, you need a new attitude!

[Brett L]

BTW, the wig and earring thing is also true in the transvestite community. If that shit comes off a drag queen, be prepared to run or fight.

[Palin's Buttplug]

U.S. right wing extremists more deadly than jihadists

http://us.cnn.com/2014/04/14/o.....ar_twitter

[BiMonSciFiCon]

What about left wing extremists? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Dorner

[paranoid android]

The leftists like to talk a lot about killing, but fortunately for the sane public, in practice they usually end up either wimping out or being so horrendously incompetent that they fail to harm anyone but themselves (see: the Weather Underground).

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Dorner was a case of workplace violence, nothing to see there.

[BakedPenguin]

Just like Hasan!

[GILMORE]

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense as long as you exclude the few thousand people killed on 9/11, the guy caught trying to blow up LAX, the 'Dirty Bomber', the Nigerian Underwear Bomber, the Sneaker Bomber, and the thousands of people killed annually in Democrat controlled urban landscapes.

Yeah, when you simply take the dozen or so right-wing schizophreniacs and examine them as a phenomenon in complete exclusion of all other crime in America, you might start to think it were a *special problem*.

Or that you were a fucking idiot.

[Palin's Buttplug]

You Dumbass - Islam is a conservative right-wing ideology.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

U.S. right wing extremists more deadly than jihadists

[Palin's Buttplug]

Both groups comprise warring factions among themselves.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

Goalposts moved. Again.

[John]

Wow you are a retard.

[Calidissident]

Eh, bringing up violence in Detroit in the context of political violence is a red herring. That said, I question their count. Didn't the IRS plane guy write a manifesto that was very anti-capitalist?

[Coeus]

I'm fat because society made me that way.

But though I never consciously thought about it, food very possibly also allowed me never to have to think about all the violence I experienced as a kid, or the anxiety and fear it produced. To this day, I am both an overachiever and overweight.

When others sit in judgment of my weight, when I'm tempted in a culture that hates fat people to be ashamed of myself, when I hear yet another program and lecture about the fact that half of black women are overweight, I remember "they" don't know my story. They don't know our story, the tragedies these bodies have witnessed, the testimonies they tell about how we got over. Allowing one's body to become larger is a legitimate and reasonable response to repeated trauma. Insisting on taking up more space in culture hellbent on making you invisible makes a lot of sense to me. I know that every thick sister's story isn't my own, that all fat isn't about trauma. But if people ? policy makers, scientists, preachers ? were actually concerned about the health of Black women and girls, they would focus on reducing the routine forms of psychic and physical violence we experience, rather than pathologizing our strategies for dealing. Until this changes, I insist on being gentle with myself.

[Virginian]

I bought ice cream at the grocery store today. One of Black Raspberry Chip, the other of Rocky Road.

Which one should I open tonight?

[paranoid android]

They don't know our story, the tragedies these bodies have witnessed, the testimonies they tell about how we got over.

Usually, they testify that you got over with a tub of Ben & Jerry's...

[Ayn Random Variation]

Found myself in the presence the NY daily News and the Post today.
Richard Cohen in the News wrote that Rand Paud has no business running for President due to a lack of experience, unlike like Romney, McCain, etc. vomit.

Rich Lowry in the Post wrote that Paul has no business running as a Republican because he's a lefty conspiracy mongering Cheney hater.

They really must be scared.

[Virginian]

Lowry sucks so much. They ought to bring back Derbyshire and fire everyone else except Goldberg and Hanson.

[Stormy Dragon]

Yeah, because what the National Review really needs is a self-described white supremacist on staff.

[Virginian]

His writing was good, and interesting. You read Hitchens the commie when he was alive, right? Because if you didn't, you were missing out.

[Stormy Dragon]

Derbyshire's writing was interesting at one time (indeed I own two of his books). But he has increasingly become that embarassing grandparent you're afraid to have guests meet because you know they're going to say something that makes the entire evening incredibly awkward.

[Root Boy]

Kevin Williamson is the go to guy over there now.

[PapayaSF]

Kevin Williamson is very, very good.

[RishJoMo]

Jap da Frap DoMo says that aint gonna happen.

http://www.GotsDatAnon.tk

[Isaac Bartram]

Don't Democrat and liberal go hand in hand for the most part?

No Democrat basically means "I want free shit and I resent it when someone outside my identity group gets free shit.

The main point is the wanting of free shit is much stronger that the antipathy towards "the other" so Democrats keep getting votes from completely disparate identity groups.

"Liberal", in either the classical or the modern American sense) might have something to do with some Democrat candidates and some Democrat activists but it has has nothing to do with the typical Democrat voter.

The most racist and the most homophobic people I ever knew identified as Democratic voters. That is in the 1990s and 2000s not the Jim Crow days.

The main point is that getting free stuff or having the economy manipulated to give them an advantage overruled their racism etc.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

I was sick of it last year. I can't even watch ESPN because of its non-stop coverage of the bombing and Boston sports teams.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

You are free to be bored.

As for me...high expense month. Not happy. I feel like firing everyone.

[Mad Scientist]

I've been to Boston twice, both times in the summer. The whole place smells like a landfill for some reason. Those people have to be strong.

[tarran]

Bored?!?

It's fucking embarassing.

Even worse are the Watertown Strong posters littering my commute.

You know, the town which cowered in fear in their homes while their cops used the Death Blossom to shoot up each other and the upper stories of residences while allowing an unarmed and wounded fugitive in a bullet-riddled car escape their cordon.

[Pro Libertate]

I feel total sympathy for the victims and their families and friends, but I remain disturbed at the lockdown and the reaction to it. Or rather, the lack thereof.

[Brendan]

It's always OK to border with pretend slogans.

It's like asking if it's OK to be bored with "I'm cuckoo for cocoa puffs".

Boston and Watertown especially demonstrated how not strong they were then and Boston is continuing the tradition of letting lowlife nothings make large alterations in their way of life.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Or the incessant reporting on those asshole brothers and cunt mother and how law enforcement failed to heed Russian intelligence and blah, blah.

Feel bad for any kid who dies though.

[Ted S.]

I remember in the first round of the Stanley Cup, a Toronto fan made a sign reading "Toronto Stronger". The Boston Weak people had a conniptino fit.

[William of Purple]

Go Red Wings

[Brandon]

I'm just happy that the Avs can finally play Detroit in the finals.

[Ted S.]

I posted the article about how the cops requested that the Dunkin Donuts shops remain open on another forum.

The cop fellators went nuts.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Remember that.

It was a good one.

Bah. Bruins fans talk tough and whine when they get a beat down. Harry Sinden's legacy.

/throws glove to the ground in front of Bruins fans.

[tarran]

Yep, the cry-bullies in the law enforcement culture here in MA were particularly upset by that sign. They had a good sob on each other's shoulders about how awful it was to be mocked.

[Invisible Finger]

Go with "Boston Chicken"

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Well, the one weakness the B's have is speed and Detroit (and Montreal) have lots of it.

Red Wings have a chance but the Bruins are really effen good.

[tarran]

Cry bullies hate it when you point out that they are being cry bullies.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

You kill me.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

You kill me.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I keep hearing and hearing over the years (including a Wilbon rant a couple of years back) about how racist Boston is. Which is strange given it's a liberal city that consistently votes Democrat. What do Bostonians around here think of those charges?

[PapayaSF]

Maybe the "strong" refers to the smell.

What I remember from Boston were the hard-to-find street signs. It was like they feared an invasion and wanted outsiders to get lost.

[tarran]

Boston *is* very racist.

The Irish/Italian lower classes hate the blacks. The blacks hate the Irish/Italians. And the Boston Brahmins fret that without their firm, loving, wise guiding hands the lower classes would drink alcohol seven days a week, every day of the year, even on Thanksgiving and live dissipated lives.

[MJGreen]

I've never heard anyone dispute the charge. Boston has a lot of racists.

[DEG]

Full disclosure: I'm not a Bostonian. I moved to New Hampshire from outside New England. I don't (and hopefully never will) live in Massachusetts.

Take a look at the school busing controversy in Boston in the 70s.

A few years ago, I dated a woman who taught in a public school just outside of Boston. She told me that there was, at the time I dated her, still a program in place that sent inner city kids (in other words, black) to white suburban schools. It was not the busing program of the 70s that resulted in riots, it was much smaller scale. It was not popular among some folks that lived in the town she worked in.

I used to know some blacks that migrated to Massachusetts. All of them agreed that Massachusetts is a crappy place for blacks, and that if they were to stay in the Northeast, that New York City was the place to be if you're black.

[gimmeasammich]

What do Bostonians around here think of those charges?

Ever seen The Departed? Think Sullivan (Damon's character) and everything he says to Billy (DiCaprio's character). THAT is what Bostonians think of those charges.

[Ted S.]

Which is strange given it's a liberal city that consistently votes Democrat.

Liberal Democrats are consistently racist.

[Zeb]

It is a mistake, especially in Mass. to assume that Democrat means liberal in any sense of the word. A significant chunk of Mass. Democrats are anything but liberal.

[Ted S.]

At least there's the Champions League semis coming up next week.

[gimmeasammich]

Or Wahlberg's character.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

The Departed was sick.

So Boston is a typically liberal full of shit liberal city full of shitty liberal elites who think their liberal shit don't stink or taste bad, huh?

[DEG]

Yes

[gimmeasammich]

So Boston pretty much any city of even a remotely sizable popultion is a typically liberal full of shit liberal city full of shitty liberal elites who think their liberal shit don't stink or taste bad, huh?

FTFY. I live in Chicago. I'm sure you've read more than just a couple of articles on what goes on here. It's not really different than a lot of other places, but City Hall and the stat government seems to think otherwise.

[BakedPenguin]

In the 70's, my dad rented the upstairs apartment (in Manchester, NH) to a black woman. Her (bi-racial) daughter once admitted that she was scared to go to Boston.

[Zeb]

For many cities I'd say "run by a Democratic party machine" is far more accurate than "liberal". It's corruption and control more than any kind of ideology. The fact that it is often Democrats in that position is historical accident as much as anything.

[Zeb]

That is definitely true. I get lost every time I go to Boston. The streets are poorly marked and meander all around.

[Ted S.]

Wow! I killed you twice!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Don't Democrat and liberal go hand in hand for the most part?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

What are they?

My friend from Boston sounds pretty liberal to me.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Germans are not supposed to be funny or be about fun and games.

[Mad Scientist]

We Germans aren't all smiles und sunshine!

[Ted S.]

I'm Bavarian. We're the Germans with a sense of humor.

[Brendan]

*to be bored with pretend slogans

[Isaac Bartram]

Don't Democrat and liberal go hand in hand for the most part?

No Democrat basically means "I want free shit and I resent it when someone outside my identity group gets free shit.

The main point is the wanting of free shit is much stronger that the antipathy towards "the other" so Democrats keep getting votes from completely disparate identity groups.

"Liberal", in either the classical or the modern American sense) might have something to do with some Democrat candidates and some Democrat activists but it has has nothing to do with the typical Democrat voter.

The most racist and the most homophobic people I ever knew identified as Democratic voters. That is in the 1990s and 2000s not the Jim Crow days.

The main point is that getting free stuff or having the economy manipulated to give them an advantage overruled their racism etc.

[VG Zaytsev]

What are they?

Commie bastards.