A.M. Links: Almost 300 Missing After South Korea Ferry Capsizes, Census Bureau Changes May Obscure Impact of Obamacare, O'Reilly Thinks Conservatives Won't Watch Colbert on The Late Show

Credit: AZRainman/wikimedia

• Three people are dead and almost 300 are unaccounted for after a ferry capsized off the coast of South Korea. Most of the passengers onboard were school students.
• Bill O'Reilly thinks that Stephen Colbert will struggle to get conservatives to watch The Late Show on CBS after he takes over from David Letterman.
• A column of six armored combat vehicles carrying Russian flags entered a city in eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian activists. A man in one of the vehicles said that he and others in the column were Ukrainian soldiers who had defected.
• Researchers say that the Census Bureau changing the way it calculates how many people have health insurance may obscure the impact of Obamacare. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, Americans increasingly prefer Democrats over Republicans when it comes to health policy.
• Video has emerged of what appears to be the largest gathering of Al Qaeda in years.
• Two bags were detonated near the finish line of the Boston Marathon yesterday, the anniversary of last year's Boston Marathon bombing that left three dead and 264 injured. A 25-year-old man has been charged with disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct, and possession of a hoax device.

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Comments

[Evan from Evansville]

Hello.

[UnCivilServant]

Uhhh... Isn't that supposed to be Rufus' reply to FoE?

[Evan from Evansville]

Such a quaint convention.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hey!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Colbert will be fine and wasn't Al-Queda supposed to be on the run with bin Laden dead and GM alive?

[PM]

Wait, bin Laden is dead? Next thing you know you'll be telling me Lou Reed is deceased!

[Moe19]

Actually, I am sorry to report the Lou Reed is dead. The Cleveland Browns were his pallbearers.

[Injun, as in from India]

Bloomberg Plans a $50 Million Challenge to the N.R.A.

"I am telling you if there is a God, when I get to heaven I'm not stopping to be interviewed. I am heading straight in. I have earned my place in heaven. It's not even close."

Thus spake Narcissus, admiring the beauty of his reflection in the mirror.

[Ted S.]

I thought money in politics was EEEEEEEEEEVIL!

[gaijin]

Only the evil people's money is evil.

[Bobarian]

So this $50M is evil?

[DEG]

Working link:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/15/.....?hpt=hp_t2

[DEG]

I love this quote:
"You've got to work at it piece by piece," Bloomberg told the newspaper. "One mom and another mom. You've got to wear them down until they finally say, 'Enough.'"

[Jordan]

Bloomturd's a MILF hunter?

[Drake]

He's talking about little boys' Moms.

[Root Boy]

Yes, not all milfs, but a lot of overinvolved soccer moms or single liberal ladies.

When does he get around to trying to ban pools and hammers?

[Satan]

*** laughs up sleeve ***

[Jordan]

Excellent. How much money did he blow on the Colorado recall election? I hope he spends himself into bankruptcy.

[John]

They really believe their own bullshit that spending money in politics automatically equals votes. They just can't comprehend that the NRA is powerful because millions of voters agree with them. It can't be that. It must be do to the magical power of money and the Kochs.

[Rhywun]

To be fair, it worked for Bloomberg three times.

[John]

Not really. Bloomburg is an idiot prog who won election in a city known for its idiots.

Lets see Bloomburg run for mayor in suburban Dallas and then get back to me on how many votes his money can buy.

[Rhywun]

If Bloomberg's only opposition in suburban Dallas were the likes of De Blasio, yes he would win. Sure he's an idiot prog in many ways but he did run to the right of his opposition. I was being a little facetious above but in his head I am pretty certain he thinks he bought his three elections.

[Injun, as in from India]

Worked for him 3 times? Let's see...

John Morse
Angela Giron
Evie Hudak

There you go...

[Clich? Bandit]

Hudak, who is a vile worthless mass of adipose tissue, resigned. And, before she did, she even stated that her defense campaign should not take money from bloomie cause that is what caused the other two to lose. I have testified before in Giron's committee (hudak was on it too) and both those PoSs don't deserve dog catcher much less stat political office.

[Karl Hungus]

They just can't comprehend that the NRA is powerful because millions of voters agree with them.

That, and the fact that pro-gun types will base their vote on that issue alone, whereas very few anti-gun types are single-issue voters.

[Kaptious Kristen]

Lots of gun-grabbers are single-issue voters, just not about guns.

[Mike Laursen]

You have somehow missed pro-choice voters.

[Karl Hungus]

You have somehow missed pro-choice voters.

Poor wording on my part. I meant most anti-gun types don't vote on the gun issue alone.

[Drake]

"... if there is a God, when I get to heaven..."

Mayor McDouche doesn't notice the problem with that statement.

[Doctor Whom]

Shorter Bloomberg: "I am telling you, if there is a God, you're looking at Him."

[gaijin]

+666

[John]

Wow. These people really are deranged lunatics.

[Restoras]

and dangerous.

[Pro Libertate]

Ye gods. People voted for this guy? I mean, not as a joke?

[KDN]

Yeah, something like 16% of the population figured he would be better at running the city than Mark Green, Freddy Ferrer, or Bill Thompson. Truth be told, they were probably right.

[BardMetal]

I'm just picturing a big booming voice in the clouds saying "Oh Yeah? Let's see about that"

[Mercutio]

"Bloomie?"
"Yeah?"
"How long can you tread water?"

[bostonaod]

This demands the CS Lewis quote..

"Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."

[BigT]

Great!! Love that quote. Most of CSLewis, not so much.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Researchers say that the Census Bureau changing the way it calculates how many people have health insurance may obscure the impact of Obamacare.

Why would they need data to find out something they already know. Total success.

[Brett L]

If we change what we are doing AND how we are measuring it at the same time, we'll definitely get results.

[Evan from Evansville]

The SK ferry situation is fucked. Lots of my students are freaked out.

[Jordan]

Are you teaching English in SK?

[Evan from Evansville]

Yeah, I've been in Daejeon (bout an hour fast-train ride south of Seoul) since late 2009.

I was here when the Cheonan ship was sunk in March 2010, killing 47 SoKo sailors. No one gave a shit, at least publicly. Four people die by getting shelled by the NoKos a year later--only a bit more consternation. This disaster, however, is on everyone's lips. Students are asking me to check for updates in class, which has never happened to me before (I don't recall, at least.) and asking me all sorts of questions. It was a field trip and so most of the victims are high school students--a very relatable event for my kids.

Hope they find these people, but with 290 unaccounted for (last I checked) in warm waters with a huge naval/air presence...I can't afford to be optimistic.

[Jordan]

I didn't realize the water was warm there. I guess that's one good thing, at least. Still, very tragic.

[Evan from Evansville]

Well. Jeju is considered the Hawaii of Korea and the weather today was lovely (72-78 or so). I'm not sure if the waters are warm but it ain't like the Titanic.

[Karl Hungus]

I just read that the water temp there is about 54 degrees, which can kill you in a couple hours.

[Matrix]

IRS wants to tax work perks like free meals and gym memberships
Maybe they should tax A/C and heating as well.

[Shirley Knott]

How about they start taxing the biggest work perk of all -- health insurance.

[Fist of Etiquette]

So are they incentivizing getting fit or not getting fit? Make up your minds, oh great social engineers.

[gaijin]

and coffee. and water.

[Stormy Dragon]

Your work still gives you free coffee? Lucky bastard.

[Restoras]

Mine does too, though I hesitate to call it "coffee"...

[UnCivilServant]

We don't get "coffee", we are barely allow to use the building "water", which you really don't want to drink since it's at least 30% iron oxides and 10% lead.

[gaijin]

Your work still gives you free coffee? Lucky bastard.

yep. It's my company, though, so not actually 'free'...

[Kaptious Kristen]

In gubmint, ain't no free nuttin'. When I worked in the dot com business, that was food paradise. Free beverages of all kinds, free snacks, free fruit.

Of course, we all got laid off and the company, despite it's insane margins, went belly-up.

[BakedPenguin]

We get free coffee. Kuerig single serving, with many choices of flavors.

[Stormy Dragon]

We have to pay for our Keurig pods as well as the water.

[DJF]

How about instead we cut spending by no longer heating and airconditioning IRS offices?

[Elspeth Flashman]

They'd respond with taxing that (heating and A/C use) at your workplace.

[PM]

"If you get too cold, I'll tax the heat"

[BiMonSciFiCon]

Taxing feet will just encourage people to have fewer feet.

[Restoras]

That should be the Tea Party's fight song.

[gaijin]

"If you get too cold, I'll tax the heat"

That's written into the Federal Penal Cold

[Raven Nation]

I live in an apartment where the gas company also bills for the water. Since the apartment management pays the water bills directly, there is nothing for the gas company to bill us for during the summer. So, instead, they levy a $15 "service charge" for doing nothing unless you actually use the furnace.

Then, and why I include this here, we are taxed on that $15. So, we literally pay a tax for nothing.

[Cyto]

This is the new deregulated schema. You pay separately for the gas and for the infrastructure that delivers the gas. My bill is 90% service charge and 10% gas use because I only use it for hot water. We don't have much use for heat in sub-tropical Florida.

But I can shop around for the best deal on that 10%, and I do enjoy the endless flow of hot water from my tankless heater though.

[Bobarian]

But you'll need the gas lines to fend off the impending python apocalypse.

[Ted S.]

They fucked themselves over when they made health insurance a non-taxable benny.

Well, in theory they fucked themselves over.

[Drake]

Do they realize that all the free bennies were a response to sky high income and payroll taxes? How do you motivate people when they take home half of what they get paid?

[Restoras]

Since when does the IRS get to decide tax policy? Isn't that a prerogative of the HoR?

I wonder if the Lerner "non-troversy" is not being thoroughly investigated because everyone in Congress nows that if the IRS is found to be so corrupt it has to be reined in then thier precious spigot of blood money from us citizens serfs will suddenly start to taper off.

[Drake]

Commerce decides tariffs, the IRS decides tax policy, the ATF creates gun laws.

Why do you hate Congress members so much you would want them to make career risking decisions?

[Injun, as in from India]

One of my FB friends posted a petition from moveon.org on Tax Day saying that the rich should pay their "fair share" whatever the f that means.

I wish there was a petition calling for the repeal of the 16th amendment floating around instead of done BS moveon.org nonsense.

Speaking of "fair share", I wonder if Bloomberg pays his, and what the progressive crowd has to say about that.

[invisible furry hand]

Do you ever ask ask for a definition of fair share? It's kinda fun watching them squirm or offer a figure PDOOMA

[Kaptious Kristen]

It doesn't count if the "fair share" is voluntary. It must be mandatory for it to be real. Progs literally won't do something that aligns with their principles unless everyone is forced to do it. I've asked wealthy progs: "why don't you just pay more taxes on your own?". The answer is always "why should I have to if nobody else does?".

Unprincipled slags.

[Injun, as in from India]

Agree. Most of them call themselves pro-choice, but somehow believe that less money in people's hands means less choice in a lot of different ways. It's my way or the highway with them.

[Injun, as in from India]

^don't believe

[Fist of Etiquette]

Video has emerged of what appears to be the largest gathering of Al Qaeda in years.

We should total protest outside the Al Qaeda embassy over it.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Bill O'Reilly thinks that Stephen Colbert will struggle to get conservatives to watch The Late Show on CBS after he takes over from David Letterman.

They're all in bed by then anyway.

[Ivan Pike]

+1 Ben Franklin

[Tim]

Once Wheel is over, I'm done.

[Bee Tagger]

Get the government and late night talk shows out of the bedroom.

[John]

The better question is is the audience of the Daily Show up for another hour of pre government propaganda and even if they are are there enough of them to beat Fallon.

[PM]

Was Letterman a big draw for conservatives? I'm thinking the composition of the audience will probably remain pretty much unchanged.

[Clich? Bandit]

Letterman did and "ok" job walking only a little left of the line on his show. But the recent trend seems to be "jump over with both feet". I watch Elementary sometimes and have now seen two episodes that intentionally slam conservatives/libertarians. I watched an episode of Sleepy Hollow and the Revolutionary war character actually DECRIED the 2A. These hollywood types are fucking insane.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

That was my take on it as well. Colbert might draw on a slightly younger audience than Dave, but Letterman's audience has largely been leftist hipsters, college students, and media members. That's mainly why Leno kicked his ass in the ratings for so many years.

[Matrix]

were detonated near the finish line of the Boston Marathon yesterday, the anniversary of last year's Boston Marathon bombing that left three dead and 264 injured. A 25-year-old man has been charged with disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct, and possession of a hoax device.

This guy should be put in the stocks for this. Have all the runners come by and pelt him with vegetables.

[Elspeth Flashman]

Agreed.

[Auric Demonocles]

He definitely fucked up and should be punished, but I'm not sure about a charge existing specifically for "possession of a hoax device".

[mad.casual]

I recall this charge being brought up with the Aqua Teen Hunger Force underground marketing/bombing campaign.

The more I think about it, the more I think 'Boston Proud' is synonymous with police state patriotism.

[BigT]

Isn't causing a panic a viable charge?

[Auric Demonocles]

That would be the disturbing the peace charge.

[mad.casual]

I'm not 100% on the perp's side, but having a rice cooker in your backpack (or just putting up a cryptic sign) isn't causing a panic or disturbing the peace.

The police had and used more explosives than, the perp had (presuming he had *some*) and were a greater disturbance to the peace.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the guy didn't have explosives. Aside from Feeney's use of the passive voice, I believe it was law enforcement who detonated the bags.

[Raven Nation]

Yeah, that's what I heard this morning. He told the cops he had a pressure cooker in his bag and they decided to detonate it.

I can see the stocks thing above b/c that's kind of community shaming. Criminal charges? Do most here think that's appropriate? Not sure where I stand on that.

[Fist of Etiquette]

If he threatened violence, criminal. Anything short of that, no.

[Spartacus]

Yeah, a few hours in the pillory would work wonders on this douchebag. Remember, it's not just rotten vegetables that you can throw. Feces, bags of urine, decaying meat, it's all good. I wonder if they would allow paintballs these days?

[Rod Flash]

Is there a link to the story? All I see is a link to the people injured and killed last year.

[Warty]

The problem with America? Bad governance. Our government is so bad that it allows us to have cars. Sickening.

U.S. Census Bureau statistics show that these suburban neighbourhoods continue to creep across America like an ink stain. And with them is a national splurging on new cars so large it is the main driver of economic growth.

The true nature of America's bad governance is fundamental and systemic. It is seen in Congress's unwillingness to pass laws of obvious benefit to the greater population. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the environment and in health care.

There are no signs the quality of governance will change in America. Last weekend, six Republican presidential hopefuls gathered at the "Freedom Summit" in New Hampshire. It was co-sponsored by the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, which is financed by the billionaire Koch brothers. Over the years, they have pumped millions of dollars into Congress to oppose carbon-emission regulations. So far, not a single climate-change bill has made it to the Senate floor.

[UnCivilServant]

Bah, what do Canukistanis know about running a government, they can't even keep their monarch within their borders.

[Bobarian]

Justin Bieber?

[gaijin]

That's rich. Someone publishing in the Montreal Gazette about how bad american governance is.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

'We're not American!'

Yes, because we in Montreal, Qc have earned our right to speak ill of other places. Our arrogance is only surpassed by our ignorance.

Has this asshole noticed the condition of Quebec's roads and bridges among the worst in North America? Or that we have irrational exits littered across our highways? Has he noticed how close we came to having a xenophobic party bent on introducing abhorrent anti-liberty charters?

What's wrong with these idiots?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

That's why I haven't read The Montreal Gazette in years.

It insisted on keeping on its staff perhaps the worst sports writer on the continent in Jack Todd. God, you want punchable stuff read his juvenile crap.

[Ted S.]

As I've stated a bunch of times before, ice hockey is Canada's #1 national sport. Canada's #2 national sport is America-bashing.

[Doctor Whom]

Had the U.S. a universal health-care system and a workers' compensation program, the chances of this happening would have been slim.

Then, all of three paragraphs later:

A Medicare database of doctors' charges, for example, showed that eye doctors were using a drug that costs $2,000 US per injection over an equivalent drug made by the same company that costs only $50. The Washington Post found that the more expensive drug costs Medicare an additional $1 billion US a year.

[Doctor Whom]

Also, I like the underlying assumption that if those in power in America have bolloxed things up so completely, the answer is to give them even more power.

[sarcasmic]

Well yeah! I mean, the corporations and the rich control the government! The way for the people to take back the government (the government is the people, we the people and all that) is to give more power to the government that is controlled by the rich and the corporations so it, the people, can control the rich and the corporations that control it! It makes perfect sense if you don't think about it!

[Soros' Wank-noose]

Smic, yours might not have been quite as funny, but, dammit, it was spot on.

[Root Boy]

An eternal question that progs never seem to get around to answering other than hey, give gov more money and they will be more efficient.

[Ted S.]

Let the fucking Canucks freeze in winter.

[Auric Demonocles]

What's frozen may never freeze.

[John]

Maybe it has changed but Canada looks just like America for the most part. I am pretty sure there are millions of cars and big nice suburbs.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Trust me. We have governance issues. Maybe we should reserve the criticism for ourselves. Several Mayors in Quebec are under arrest at the moment with one said to have stolen $40 million - in my city no less.

That's Nigerian king territory right there.

I can't stand Canadians who write such bull shit.

[John]

It just makes them look like the insecure little brother they are.

[Warty]

Canadian TV creeps me out. "Isn't it great to be Canadian? I love being Canadian! America is horrible! Good thing we're not American!"

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Your forgot, eh.

And yes, that thinking is not that far off our television and radio.

Pats on backs all around.

It's grating and annoying. But boy they love to flock to America for a bunch of reasons. Or as one guy once put it to me, "we go but doesn't mean we like them."

Asshole.

[WTF]

Perhaps we should secure our northern border.

[Ivoted4KODOS]

"Canadian TV is pretty creepy"

DaVinci's Inquest being the exception.

The CBC stumbled ass first into an awesome show. Then they made up for it by canceling it just a few seasons in.

[William of Purple]

I dunno, Orphan Black is pretty cool

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Vikings too.

Da Vinci's Inquest was indeed a good show.

[gimmeasammich]

Don't forget about Kids in the Hall. That was also on CBC. I've watched a couple of episodes of Orphan Black. It's good, but I haven't gotten to that "I have to watch it RIGHT NOW" feeling yet.

[Rhywun]

Polls indicate that in most countries there is no shortage of willpower. But not so in the U.S., where only 40 per cent said climate change is a major threat ....

"Willpower"? Is that what they're calling it now?

[Injun, as in from India]

The bigger question is whether willpower is renewable, and if yes, if it can replace fossil fuels.

[Doctor Whom]

Only if you subsidize it.

[R C Dean]

Willpower, as in "The Triumph of the Will".

Fascists gonna fash. Doesn't matter what laundry they're wearing.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Two bags were detonated near the finish line of the Boston Marathon yesterday...

They should find whoever detonated those bags and lock them up and throw away the key!

[DEG]

I wonder what the overreaction to this incident will be.

[gaijin]

I wonder what the overreaction to this incident will be.

A couple hundred million in Homeland Security dollars would be my guess.

[Restoras]

Boston police firing thousands of rounds of ammunition indiscriminately? Or just at all boats on trailers?

[Injun, as in from India]

+1 Boston massacre, followed by a revolution!

[Auric Demonocles]

A revolution typically requires an armed populace.

[UnCivilServant]

We'll import them.

[Injun, as in from India]

Is this where I say:

+lots of Hessians

[Jordan]

BOSTON STRONG HURRRR

*cowers in closet*

[WTF]

You forgot
*meekly lets government goons conduct warrantless search*

[Karl Hungus]

I wonder what the overreaction to this incident will be.

Best guess: Boston police going door to door again, ordering occupants out at gunpoint before conducting warrantless searches for crockpots and backpacks.

[Auric Demonocles]

Non snarky answer:

A stupid amount of security at the Marathon on Monday.

[Auric Demonocles]

By which I mean even more stupid than it was already going to be.

[The Late P Brooks]

Bill O'Reilly thinks that Stephen Colbert will struggle to get conservatives to watch The Late Show on CBS after he takes over from David Letterman./i

Did "conservatives" watch it before?

Did they watch Colbert's show?

Should I give a shit?

[UnCivilServant]

No, no, and no.

[Rich]

the Census Bureau changing the way it calculates how many people have health insurance may obscure the impact of Obamacare.

Surprise, surprise, surprise!

/Gomer Pyle

[gaijin]

New calculation for GDP-check
New calculation for Health Insurance-check
New calculation for Inflation-check
New calculation for Deficits-check
New American Century-check

Check please!

[sarcasmic]

Olivia Wilde strips naked in new trailer for upcoming flick Third Person... but not even her killer curves are enough to boost the critical failure

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....ilure.html

[gaijin]

Liam Neeson kissing on Olivia Wilde? I like Liam but seems kinda creepy old manish...like Harrison Ford and Callista Flockhart creepy. Maybe some day I will disown these comments.

[Restoras]

I hope you get to!

[Red Rocks Rockin]

To be fair, Calista Flockhart's getting up there herself. She's got to be pushing 50 by now.

[Juice]

Am I the only one that doesn't find her all that attractive?

[sarcasmic]

Yes.

[Matrix]

+1

[Raven Nation]

I actually didn't know who she was so I wasn't sure how to answer tour question. But now:

http://www.artistasfamosos.com.....revista-gq

I can say yes, yes you are the only one.

[sarcasmic]

She could put a woody on a statue.

[Juice]

From the neck down everything is great. That face tho. Maybe if she didn't have the jaw of a light heavyweight it wouldn't be so bad.

[Auric Demonocles]

Her face is kind of, I dunno, "sharp"?

She's definitely above average, but the different standards for celebrities makes her very "meh" in context.

[lap83]

Her face looks like a weasel's to me. A pretty weasel, but weasel-y nonetheless.

[BakedPenguin]

This.

[kibby]

No. & I fail to see anything on her that remotely resembles a curve.

[lap83]

Yeah I don't get the "curvy" thing. She seems to be at a healthy weight for her height, but the average woman is probably curvier.

[Kaptious Kristen]

I'm wondering how enormous Jason Sudeikis's penis is to have bagged that babe.

[Rhywun]

Hey, some of us are trying to eat breakfast here.

[Clich? Bandit]

I though size doesn't matter KRISTEN!?!?!?!

[Kaptious Kristen]

I have never once made such a statement.

[sarcasmic]

That's as bad as John claiming that a woman with less than huge breasts is male.

[Rasilio]

Um, curves? I see no curves there.

She looks good enough with clothes on but assuming that is actually her body and not a body double she has a very oddly shaped body because her waist, hips, and shoulders all appear to be about the same width

[Juice]

Hmm. I guess I have the entirely opposite reaction. Body great. Face not so good.

[sarcasmic]

Boy punched and kicked by girl 'bully' on bus finally turns the tables and places her in a choke hold after NOBODY came to help
A boy is seen on a bus seat trying to cover his face as a girl stands over him - slapping him and punching him
As the girl tries to kick the boy repeatedly, he manages to get to his feet and start fighting back
Eventually he puts the girl in a 'choke hold,' then lets her go and asks if she is alright

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....-back.html

[Ted S.]

Sexual harassment.

[Warty]

The fat kid has good instincts. Looks like the next Rulon Gardner to me.

[Root Boy]

Was he suspended for fighting back (sorry too lazy to read the link)?

[sarcasmic]

I'm surprised there were no hate crime charges. I mean, a white boy fought back against a black girl. Obviously he's racist.

[Root Boy]

Man, that is an even worse position to be in. Hope he has somebody to watch his back (against her friends and the school dictators).

[sarcasmic]

I'm sure her brother has kicked the shit out of him by now.

[RBS]

Nice, I'm guessing that girl is not used to anyone fighting back.

[sarcasmic]

According to the story, her brother got all mad when he fought back. So it looks to me like she's used to beating on people while her brother eggs her on.

[Warty]

Is her brother the skinny little fuck who throws some punches at the air while whiteboy is choking her? Good luck with that, kiddo. The first thing you should learn in Bully 101 is: don't ever let a fat kid lay his hands on you.

[sarcasmic]

That was awesome!

[John]

That is great!!

[Auric Demonocles]

That little kid jumps around like a jackass.

[invisible furry hand]

Apparently the bully's mother was planning to sue Casey for breaking her son's kneecap. I think I see a pattern here

[Kaptious Kristen]

I love that big girl at the end walking up on that tall boy.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

It's cool that Casey walked away. He could have sat on the little kid and beaten him to death. Literally.

[sarcasmic]

Mom, 44, shot dead 'in front of kids by husband who was hallucinating after eating a marijuana cookie'... even though she had called 911 to plead for help for 13 MINUTES
Denver, Colorado woman, Kristine Kirk, 44, called 911 around 9:30p.m. Monday
She told dispatchers that her husband Richard Kirk, 47, was 'talking about the end of the world' and 'scarring' their three children
Mrs Kirk said there was a gun in the house but it was in a safe, according to a probable cause statement
'She then said that her husband retrieved the gun from the safe and she began to scream,' the statement reads
A gunshot could then be heard followed by silence
Officers arrived shortly after to find her dead with a bullet wound to the head
Mr Kirk was arrested at the scene and is being held on suspicion of first-degree murder
The family was well known in the community and the boys played soccer and hockey with the local children

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....-call.html
See? That's what happens when you legalize the demon weed!

[UnCivilServant]

If he had enough congnition to open the safe - it wasn't the weed. He just decided to use it as an excuse.

[Ted S.]

I call bullshit.

[Root Boy]

I have a loose connection to this. No real insider info, but the dad was kind of weird already. The neighborhood is very upscale, working mother, dad took care of the kids or worked at home or something. The dad supposedly told his wife to shoot him so maybe he was hallucinating.

I've seen people get paranoid on MJ long ago, but that was the era of PCP in MJ, but also hear the new stuff is more potent.

Still, probably 10x this many murders happen due to the devils drink. Feel very sad for the kids.

[SlV]

that was the era of PCP in MJ, but also hear the new stuff is more potent.

*facepalm*

[RBS]

Must have learned that in DARE.

[sarcasmic]

The whole PCP laced marijuana thing was a myth, and stronger weed just means you don't need to smoke as much.

[SugarFree]

Not completely a myth. I smoked PCP-laced marijuana as a teenager, although we didn't know it beforehand. Though I do believe that the idea that people were buying PCP-laced marijuana on accident is a myth. If we had not been smoking weed stolen from a friend's step-dad, I'm sure we would have had to pay a premium.

[invisible furry hand]

If you'd known, would you still have smoked it?

[SugarFree]

Yes, but not in a car in a mall parking lot.

[SlV]

PCP-laced parsley was more of a thing. I don't recall any cases of spaghetti or poached salmon psychosis related to it.

[Kaptious Kristen]

You buy what the Drug Warriors are selling, I see.

[Root Boy]

I'm sure this won't be read since I'm so late to your responses (was travelling today) but no, I don't buy what the drug warriors sell. I'm all for legalization (not just decrime).

I was a teenager in the 70s, so my memories are hazy, but remember PCP in MJ (I think paraquat was a rumor) and did see people freak out after getting high. I also dealt MJ, Hash and blotter acid, so I'm not some dunce who just reads about this stuff.

[Jerryskids]

From the local news story:

She told the authorities that Richard may have ingested marijuana edibles.

She called because he was acting crazy, not because he was all hopped up on weed. My guess would be that the 911 operator asked if he was on drugs and the wife said he might have eaten some marijuana, and that's all the news media needs to make a sensational headline. Why they aren't investigating the killing in connection to the McDonald's hamburger the guy ate the day before or the Pepsi he had at lunch or the South Park episode he watched the night before or the game of Skyrim he was playing earlier, I don't know.

[sarcasmic]

That's the way it works. If someone smokes a joint or drinks a beer, and is then killed by a sober person running a red light, the accident is declared to be drug or alcohol related. The person is never to blame. It's always the fault of the chemical.

[Rhywun]

And if either of them ever smoked a cigarette, well there's another tobacco death.

[Rich]

Donald Rumsfeld begs to be audited

[Stormy Dragon]

Is the guy who became a multi-millionaire off a lifetime sucking at the public teat really the best face for tax reform?

[Rich]

It's just his little way of sticking it to The Man.

[Drake]

Does not make his points less accurate.

[Root Boy]

He's probably a level 5 crony since he at least went out and ran a company (drugs, so he still probably used his gov connections).

Better than the shitbirds who become k-street whores or "Dir of Govt Relation

[Stormy Dragon]

The fact he was hired as a CEO without any previous experience also suggests he was hired primarily for his political connections.

[Rasilio]

"'Protip: IRS doesn't write the tax code, Congress does,' one user wrote. "

Lol how cute. This is actually a large part of the problem, even politically aware Americans do not realize just how little input their elected representatives have into the actual operation of government. They really think that Congress writes the rules and regulations and have no clue that 90% of the time Congress passes a relatively vague law and a regulatory agency creates the rules and regulatory framework to achieve the legislations ends

[sarcasmic]

That's one way to beat the bear claw! Missing toddler found INSIDE arcade machine after squeezing through gap to claim his toy
Three-year-old slipped out of his home and headed to amusement arcade
Frantic mother had already called police when son was found in machine

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....m-toy.html

[Root Boy]

Kid is going to be a cat burglar when he grows up.

[sarcasmic]

When two tribes go to war: Incredible moment legion of hippos turn and flee after stand-off with more than 100 crocs in epic Zambian river battle

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....attle.html

[Ted S.]

They should relax.

[SugarFree]

Don't it.

[Warty]

Marshall Folsh, Goldendale Washington USA, United States, moments ago
That would be a great place to drop off Members of Congress.

Right on, Marshal Foch.

[Raven Nation]

Wow, thanks for that. I was struck, however, by one of the captions, viz.:

The hippos, usually considered fearsome creatures, were clearly in no mood for a fight when confronted by the prehistoric savagery of the crocodiles

Umm, so hippos are not pre-historic?

[UnCivilServant]

Hippos are mammals, so, they're newcomers compared to crocs. When one side has millions of years on the other, they're more prehistoric.

[Raven Nation]

Ahh, thank you.

[sarcasmic]

I'm pretty sure crocs were around long before mammals grew larger than a shrew.

[sarcasmic]

Refresh. How does it work?

[Rhywun]

RAAACCISS... oh.

[sarcasmic]

Bella Thorne looks thrilled as boyfriend Tristan Klier plants a kiss on her... after admitting she 'eats a lot' and 'is not working out now'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....riend.html
Youth is wasted on the young.

[sarcasmic]

Don't go in the water! Great White that's so big it's dubbed JOAN OF SHARK is spotted near popular beach
Female measuring more than 16ft long was tagged in Albany last month
She was believed to be among those drawn to a washed-up whale carcass
Beach was shut as fishermen named animal after 1400s fighter Joan of Arc

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....beach.html

[The Last American Hero]

Gotta love how they have to explain the Joan of Arc reference.

[UnCivilServant]

Really? You mean they're not planning to catch the shark and roast it at the stake?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

+1 bigger boat

[sarcasmic]

It IS Pam and Cheryl: DNA tests prove skeletons recovered from Studebaker in creek were two teens who went missing in 1971
Pam Jackson and Cheryl Miller were last seen on May 29, 1971, driving a 1960 Studebaker Lark on their way to a party
Officials found skeletons inside a car believed to be the girls' beige Studebaker last September
Mechanical tests showed car was in high gear, lights were on and keys were in ignition
Miller's purse was found in the car containing her driver's license, photos and notes from classmates
Victims' families said in a statement: 'Our journey is done'
A man already serving a prison sentence on unrelated charges was indicted for murder in the deaths of Miller and Jackson in 2007
Charges were dropped after prosecutors found out that a supposed confession given to a fellow inmate was faked

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....-1971.html

[Stormy Dragon]

Bill O'Reilly thinks...

[citation needed]

[Rich]

Video has emerged of what appears to be the largest gathering of Al Qaeda in years.

Video taken from a drone?

[Rasilio]

http://www.theonion.com/articl.....enj,35788/

[sarcasmic]

AC/DC guitarist Malcolm Young 'too sick to play live', according to friends

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....iends.html

[Night Elf Mohawk]

Fuck.

[Pro Libertate]

That sucks. It must be something serious for the talk to be so final.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Rock on AC/DC.

Rock fucking on!

[sarcasmic]

Since when did conservatives watch Letterman? Seriously.

[The Last American Hero]

1992-94

[Root Boy]

True. Stupid pet tricks, funny non-political interviews, Bruce Willis.

[Ted S.]

Drew Barrymore flashing herself....

[Pro Libertate]

Teri Garr took a shower on air.

[SlV]

Crispin Glover psychotic break.

[Pro Libertate]

Larry "Bud" Melman.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

I quit watching Letterman after this guy left.

[Pro Libertate]

I loved the Guy Under the Seats. I'll be here, watching you, Dave. Making your life a living hell.

[The Late P Brooks]

According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, Americans increasingly prefer Democrats over Republicans when it comes to health policy.

Who doesn't want free unlimited health care?

Republicans are heartless barbarians.

[sarcasmic]

Not giving is taking! Not giving free unlimited healthcare to everyone is the same as taking away free unlimited healthcare from everyone! Republicans are taking away healthcare!

[Rich]

"beards are SO 2013".

The evolutionary science is settled.

[invisible furry hand]

Coincidentally i just chucked some coin at this Kickstarter project

[Rich]

A noble cause, ifh.

I trust you will be tickled by the results!

[Brett L]

Thank goodness the face pelt will once again belong to men who DGAF what people think about them.

[Rhywun]

God I hope tatts are next.

[Kaptious Kristen]

I used to love facial hair. Hope I can again someday....

[BigT]

I'm going to be different - just like everyone else. Fashion is fickle.

[Lord Humungus]

Giant South American Bird On The Run In The U.K.

An ostrich-size South American that's reportedly capable of "seriously injuring humans" escaped from a farm in Hertfordshire, U.K., last month and has been on the lam in the English countryside ever since.

the flightless bird, , as "standing six foot tall and capable of running at speeds of 40mph." the bird is "capable of disemboweling a human."

[Pro Libertate]

If it's dangerous, can regular citizens kill it then? Or is that illegal?

Oh, wait, no guns, right? Fucking horror movie time, I guess--Night of the Rhea.

[gimmeasammich]

I want to see someone chop its head off with a sword. Or are those illegal as well?

[Pro Libertate]

BANNED.

[PD Scott]

"Officer Tom Harrison and his partner, Gary Young, described finding that rhea as a "surreal" moment.

"[It] wasn't best pleased to see us and was even less happy to go into the car," Young said. "I've wrestled many times in the back of a police car but it's the first time it has been with an animal.""

Do tell, Officer Young, do tell.

[Lord Humungus]

Meet Mr. Poo, India's Dancing Anti-Public Defecation Mascot

In an attempt to get people in India not to leave their shit just lying around - literally - the U.N. has hit upon a novel solution - an anthropomorphic cartoon turd who'll lick you in the face. Unlike, say, Senhor Testiculo, Mr. Poo is a villain, as seen in the online game where you have to flush his turd minions away.

Now, if I were to ask you, "Seeing as how this is a campaign intended for an Indian audience, what do you imagine would be the most stereotypical thing they could do to market themselves?" and you said, "Why, a music video full of singing and dancing bowel movements and a disco toilet, of course!" we'd be right on the money.

[gaijin]

If public defecation is a major problem in a country, it seems odd that the country would also possess a nuclear arsenal.

[Elspeth Flashman]

OK, I laughed so hard at just reading this it made me wheeze. I'm afraid to click on the link, but I feel I must.

[BigT]

Mr Hankey trademark violation?

[The Late P Brooks]

There are no signs the quality of governance will change in America.

Selection of members of Congress by lottery would vastly improve the quality of governance in this country, but that's probably not what the concerned Canuckistani has in mind.

[Lord Humungus]

speaking of poo...

Burger King China Is Selling a Beverage Called the PooPoo Smoothie

Now that it's getting warm out, doesn't a nice cold smoothie sound so nice and appetizing? Probably not a PooPoo smoothie though, right?

Well, that's the name of Burger King China's latest cold drink, Kotaku reports. But don't let the name deceive you. Apparently, the PooPoo smoothie is quite delicious. Its Chinese name is something that roughly translates to "mango ice smoothie with blow up pearls cold beverage" which is a much more accurate description than "PooPoo."

[gaijin]

Does it come in a cup big enough to share?

[Lord Humungus]

between two girls?

[BardMetal]

+ 2 girls
+ 1 Cup

[Rich]

Infants 'unable to use toy building blocks' due to iPad addiction

So much for repairing our aging infrastructure ....

[Brett L]

Infants are not aged "3 OR 4". Those are children. I have an infant. He lacks the motor skills to use toy building blocks. He also lacks the motor skills to control an ipad.

[invisible furry hand]

Is he simple or something? H must be nearly one, after all

[Brett L]

4 monts. But he may be simple. I continue to hope he takes after his mother. If he is a simp, I'll love him dearly and groom him for a counter job at McDonalds or bagging groceries.

[PD Scott]

Or Vice President. Dream big, Brett L, dream big.

[lap83]

I wouldn't mind my kid being addicted to an iPad if I thought they were interested in becoming a developer. But you've kind of failed as a parent if they're developing addictions without developing skills. Assuming you don't want them to live at home forever.

[Lord Humungus]

Maths teacher's ?2,600 phone bill for downloading Neil Diamond album
Katie Bryan downloaded the ?8.99 album from iTunes whilst on holiday in South Africa, but roaming charges cost her far more

[Ted S.]

Idiot should have read her contract regarding roaming charges.

But the telecom company has a big pile of money, and dammit, that just isn't fair.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

I turn off cellular data when I get on the fricking plane. It doesn't seem like that hard of a concept.

[kinnath]

Stupid is as stupid does

[Kaptious Kristen]

That reminds me of this classic.

[Clich? Bandit]

I love that. I still watch it occasionally to remind myself that those people can vote and it isn't all my fault.

[gimmeasammich]

I had something very similar happen to me when I went to a wedding on Toronto (or "Tor-AH-no" as they say) a few months ago. I called to temporarily add the international plan for a weekend. Between my wife and myself we made about 3 minutes worth of calls. During the time that the modem was turned on on each of our phones several texts messages came in. She also looked up the address of our hotel, then shut off the modem.

I thought everything was fine because the representative on the phone quoted me in megabytes. I made sure to ask that it wasn't kilobytes, and she assured me that it was megabytes. Well, she definitely was wrong because when I got the bill it was about $30 higher because it most definitely was kilobytes. Verizon's customer service didn't seem to care.

[Lord Humungus]

U.K. Unemployment Rate Falls to Five-Year Low

Britain's unemployment rate dropped to a five-year low in February, underscoring the strength of the economic recovery and raising the prospect of a debate among Bank of England officials about whether to raise interest rates.

The jobless rate measured by International Labour Organization methods dropped more than economists forecast to 6.9 percent in the three months through February from 7.2 percent in the quarter through January, the Office for National Statistics said in London today. The report also showed that wage growth accelerated in the period to 1.7 percent, matching the inflation rate in February. The pound strengthened.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"Obama team to review clemency process

"..."The president believes that one important purpose can be to help correct the effects of outdated and overly harsh sentences that Congress and the American people have since recognized are no longer in the best interests of justice," [White House Counsel Kathryn] Ruemmler said in a speech at New York University's law school.

"She added: "This effort also reflects the reality that our overburdened federal prison population includes many low-level, nonviolent offenders without significant criminal histories.""

http://www.usatoday.com/story/.....n/7767741/

[Notorious G.K.C.]

So far, Obama has been stingy with clemency.

What's another word for stingy?

[Rich]

Transparent?

[Ted S.]

Miserly.

[UnCivilServant]

I was slow 🙁

[Ted S.]

You were good enough for government work.

[UnCivilServant]

miserly?

[UnCivilServant]

judicious

[kinnath]

niggardly

[Lord Humungus]

RAACCIIST!

[Rich]

'Sup, kinnath?

[kinnath]

Just giving notorious the word he was fishing for.

[UnCivilServant]

That's not how the game is played.

[kinnath]

Oops

[Raven Nation]

Austere

[John]

So they get around to it after five years in office just when it looks like the giant black turnout might not save their sorry asses in the fall. These people really care.

[Pro Libertate]

I'm curious about who Obama plans to pardon right before he leaves office. Of course, that's assuming none of these scandals hit his administration (or him, for that matter).

[John]

Lois Lerner. Maybe Leeland Yee. Maybe a few rich people we have never heard of who will buy one.

Really though, when your administration is completely beyond accountability such that no one is ever fired much less prosecuted, there really isn't much reason to use the pardon power.

[Lord Humungus]

High-Speed Trader's Hockey Team Seeks Bond Bailout: Muni Credit

Vincent Viola, whose high-frequency trading firm plans to raise millions of dollars in an initial public offering next month, is seeking tax dollars to help cover the bills for the Florida Panthers hockey team he bought six months ago.

Viola asked lawmakers in South Florida's Broward County to use $64 million in taxpayer funds for arena bond payments owed by the team, which says it's losing money as attendance has fallen to a 14-year low. Officials in Broward, which encompasses Fort Lauderdale on the Atlantic Coast, disagree on how to proceed, with some saying that if they don't pick up the tab, the team may move and leave taxpayers with $225 million in debt and an empty arena.

[Ted S.]

NHL contraction. Them and Phoenix.

[Restoras]

And Tampa Bay. Who else? Kings? Preds? Jackets? How do the ISalnders survive?

[Lord Humungus]

The Preds and Jackets could die away, that's for sure. The joke with the Jackets was when the Wings played there, it was almost like a home game for Detroit.

[The Late P Brooks]

Infants 'unable to use toy building blocks' due to iPad addiction

Sounds legit.

[invisible furry hand]

AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson denies band is over, but confirms one member is seriously ill

[UnCivilServant]

Wait, you mean they didn't break up years ago like everyone else from their dawning era?

[gaijin]

🙁 Aging rockstars...who would of thought there would be any?

[Ted S.]

The band didn't die with Bon Scott?

[Lord Humungus]

It should have...

but when I saw AC/DC in '89, it was still a good show.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Some say it did just like the Stones did after Brian Jones died.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

You should check out "Back in Black." It's not bad.

[John]

As long as it isn't Angus, they can go on. I don't see how you can have ACDC without Angus and Brian Johnson. The rest can be sideman.

[Pro Libertate]

Maybe, but the band was founded by the Young brothers, so they may not feel the same.

Brian Johnson is really an amazing story, because who could possibly replace Bon Scott? Yet he did it.

[John]

It is about the only time in history a band has lost its lead singer and replaced him and gone on to bigger success. Pink Floyd and Genesis did. But neither of those two bands were as established as ACDC was when they lost their front man.

[Pro Libertate]

What's weird about it is that Bon Scott was very much identified as Mr. AC/DC (along with Angus Young), yet they didn't miss a beat, really, when Johnson came on. Not that he's just like Scott, but it worked, anyway.

[Rod Flash]

What about Steel Dragon?

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Maybe, but the band was founded by the Young brothers, so they may not feel the same

Malcolm's been one of the lead songwriters for their entire existence. He might not be the face of the band, but he's a critical component to their success.

[Rich]

'World's most haunted island' up for auction

Seventeen acres, with a castle *and* a monastery!

*** waves hand ***

FOUR THOUSAND U.S. DOLLARS!

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"A hospital for the elderly which opened in 1922 and operated until 1968 is rumoured to have hosted experiments on the mentally ill, including crude lobotomies, carried out by a director who was driven mad by ghosts before throwing himself from the hospital's tower?.

"The Italian state is now hoping that offers will arrive to transform the hospital into a luxury hotel under a deal giving the buyer a 99-year lease to redevelop the property, while the island remains the property of the state."

This movie basically writes itself.

A guy buys the island and moves himself and his family into the old hospital while he renovates it. He disregards the locals' warnings, etc. etc....

[Rich]

"Rio Lobotomies"

[Elspeth Flashman]

a zombie cover band that does Duran Duran songs?

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Isn't that the plot of every Mario Bava film?

[BigT]

He disregards the warnings, and scary, suspicious happens. But the govt is found to be behind the activities, and it blows up in their faces. A libertarian twist to the formula!

[Isaac Bartram]

The Seventeen acre island, the castle and the monastery are all separate properties in completely different parts of Italy.

The island does have an old hospital on it though.

[Lord Humungus]

Berlusconi ordered to do community service for tax conviction

A court on Tuesday ordered former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to serve a tax fraud sentence by doing community service with the elderly, in a ruling that restricts his movements but not his political activity.

The court ruled that Berlusconi, one of Italy's richest men, must spend four hours a week in a Catholic old people's home on the outskirts of Milan for a year. The home's director said the media tycoon would keep residents company and take them to Mass.

The four-time prime minister, 77, will not be allowed to travel outside Lombardy, the region around Milan where he has his main residence, except for restricted trips to Rome.

[PD Scott]

You just know this is going to turn into GMILF bunga-bunga parties.

[The Late P Brooks]

Two bags were detonated near the finish line of the Boston Marathon yesterday

I'm disappointed by this person's lack of imagination. It should have been a giant Jack-in-the-Box Grim Reaper holding a sign saying, "BOO!"

[John]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/261450748922

Here it is, the ultimate hipster douche mobile. Someone on Bring a Trailer described it perfectly.

Drive this to various cycling venues and complain to your fellow hipsters how it's such a struggle to find good coffee and a dry cleaner in your pre gentrifying neighborhood while off loading your eight thousand dollar Pinarello Dogma for a weekend race.

[Brett L]

Good old fashioned "Shit-tron".

[John]

They are so weird I have always found them compelling. Sadly, the Hipster factor ruins them like it does everything else.

[Lord Humungus]

Hallelujah! It's Tax Day.

Happy Tax Day, when just getting the forms filled out and mailed is cause for celebration.

One person not celebrating is former Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner. She was a regular green eyeshade employee carrying out thankless tasks until, one day, she caught the attention of House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa of California and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp of Michigan. Since then, her life has been a living hell. Her latest reward for doing her job is a 97-page criminal referral to the Justice Department by the Republican Congress.

[Rich]

The IRS has a simple (and unenforced) 14-point [sic] test for churchiness: regular services, Sunday school, ordained ministers and a regular congregation.

"Sunday school"?

Blasphemy!

Seriously, it would appear that H&R is a church.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"carrying out thankless tasks"

I bet the Democratic National Committee thanks her.

[Raven Nation]

She Nixon was a regular green eyeshade employee carrying out thankless tasks until, one day he caught the attention of House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa of California and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp of Michigan Democrats. Since then, his life has been a living hell. Heris latest reward for doing heris job is an impeachment 97-page criminal referral to the Justice Department by the Republican Democrat Congress.

[The Late P Brooks]

Parsimonious.

[Ted S.]

Describes P Brooks in his use of threading.

[Lord Humungus]

Romney's Son Tweets at Harry Reid with Pic of Mitt Paying Taxes

"The word is out that he has not paid any taxes for ten years," the majority leader claimed during the 2012 presidential election, citing a supposedly "extremely credible" unnamed source. "Let him prove he has paid taxes, because he has not."

Romney denied that was the case and released tax documents showing that he had paid taxes for the past 20 years. (Reid's unsubstantiated and far-fetched allegations earned him a "Pants on Fire" rating from PolitiFact and four "Pinocchios" from the Washington Post.)

Just in case that wasn't enough, though, Josh Romney provided Reid with some photographic evidence of his father standing in line to send off his tax returns:

[John]

Day late and a dollar short. Harry Reid is a complete crook. He has never made an honest dollar in his life. Romney should have gone after his sorry ass and turned the tables. Instead he sat there with his teeth in his mouth and let Reid slander him.

[BardMetal]

He lost gracefully to a democrat so now maybe the media will start liking him again, which seems to be more important to Republicans then actually winning races.

[John]

That is I think what he wanted. Given a choice of winning and having the right people not like him or losing and having them tell him how great he is, he picked losing.

[Stormy Dragon]

Mitt Romney is a professional influence peddler. He cares whether people like him because his only actual skill is getting people to pay him for access to his network of politically connected friends.

[BardMetal]

I think he wanted both, which is impossible. There was no way he was going to beat Black Jesus and still be liked by the media.

Romney thought he could run a very cautious campaign, score an early lead, and then run out the clock. Obviously it didn't work.

[SlV]

He backed off the very effective factually true charge that the Obama administration was quietly gutting welfare reform because he didn't want to get called a racist. I guess it is better to get called a fucking loser.

[Pro Libertate]

What completely surprised me is that he didn't go for the kill with his huge advantage in the debates. He could've won right there. And he was a totally shitty candidate.

[Stormy Dragon]

Not that Reid's allegation wasn't ridiculous, but how does the fact Romney mailed in a return prove he's paid taxes?

[John]

It doesn't. That is why it is called snark not proof.

[Stormy Dragon]

And seriously, Romney MAILS in his tax returns?

[John]

If you owe money why wouldn't you? All efiling does it let the bastards get their money a few days earlier. I always mail in my returns when I owe money.

[Stormy Dragon]

And I'm betting the time you waste waiting in line in the post office ends up costing far more than you actually save delaying your payment three days.

[UnCivilServant]

What line? I've never once seen a line at any post office.

[UnCivilServant]

Oh wait, you answered John.

[John]

Only if I were an idiot who didn't know there were things called mail boxes.

Here is a hint Stormy, you can buy stamps by the book in the grocery store. Then you can put those stamps on an envelope and drop it in a mailbox or even the one at your house and the post office will pick it up for you, no post office needed.

You are pretty liberal so maybe you get joy out of giving the government your money early. I don't. So I mail them. I would imagine Romney does the same.

[SugarFree]

And Romney probably has to pay quarterly as well. We always mail them and the blood money they squeeze out in April.

[Stormy Dragon]

No, I'm just don't think the IRS even notices, much less cares, when exactly my return arrives, so I'm not going to waste my time on pointless symbolic displays because I've somehow convinced myself that mailing in my return instead of e-filing strikes a big blow against big government.

[John]

Time is money. The extra days of you having your money is more money. I imagine Romney pays pretty significant taxes. So it makes even more sense for him to hold onto his money.

It may not seem like much to you. But rich people get rich and stay rich by worrying about such small things.

[UnCivilServant]

I always mail my returns. Make them work for it.

Also, the YNS return if you make more than a pittance they charge you for e-filing, so I do both the same way.

[UnCivilServant]

*NYS

[SlV]

You have to mail in some state returns.

[Lord Humungus]

University calls the amount of white people on campus a 'failure,' asks for ideas on how to have fewer

A school-wide questionnaire at Western Washington University (WWU) asked the community "How do we make sure that in future years 'we are not as white as we are today?'"

The question, released through the communications and marketing department's daily newsletter Western Today, comes on the heels of admonishments given in multiple convocation addresses by WWU President Bruce Shepard for the university's "failure" to be less white.

[Pro Libertate]

Would it make them happy if we just spray-tanned ourselves?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Tell them you're transracial - you see yourself as an Aleutian Islands resident trapped in a caucasian's body.

Dare them to call you on it. If they do, ask why you can change your sex but not your race.

[Pro Libertate]

Well, I do have reason to believe that my remote ancestors evolved in Africa, true.

[Auric Demonocles]

Because you were there?

[Pro Libertate]

Well, I did visit once with Warty on a time-travel adventure.

[Auric Demonocles]

You shouldn't time travel to points that will intersect your own timeline.

[Pro Libertate]

You should be grateful. I stepped on a bacteria that would've killed one of your ancestors.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"How do we make sure that in future years 'we are not as white as we are today?'"

Stop serving kale in the cafeteria.

Close the Starbucks franchise.

Come on, put on your thinking caps!

[BigT]

Tanning beds.

Longer spring breaks.

Exchange program with Nigeria.

[Ted S.]

They should have asked in PM Links.

[Azathoth!!]

'aksed'

[Rich]

Well, President Shepard, I'll do my part by making sure no white people I know ever even visit your university.

[invisible furry hand]

Don't do any of these things

[BardMetal]

And yet if a German guy says he wants fewer Jews he's automatically deemed "racist".

Maybe the Nazis were really just the ultimate progressives/liberals.

[Rasilio]

"Maybe the Nazis were really just the ultimate progressives/liberals.'

Um, they were

[Raven Nation]

And here's a pic of Mr. Diversity:

http://www.wwu.edu/president/

Maybe he should publicly announce he will step down if WWU agrees to hire a non-white president.

Idiot.

[invisible furry hand]

My friends call me Bruce

You call that an academic Bruce? This is an academic Bruce

[Raven Nation]

Classic.

[Doctor Whom]

The rules are different for them. The rules are always different for them. Never underestimate the power of special pleading.

[Auric Demonocles]

I mentioned the other day that my undergrad was considering ways to increase diversity while I was there, since blacks only made up 10% of the student body... Which is literally 10 times their percentage of the state's population.

[Pro Libertate]

How about diversity of ideas, which is about eleventy billion times more important than diversity of race, sex, or whatever other identity construct that's vogue today?

[Lord Humungus]

Almanian's love may still be around...

Sebelius Said to Weigh Run for Kansas Senate Seat

In her darkest hour last fall, Kathleen Sebelius suffered one of the deepest cuts from an old family friend who accused her of "gross incompetence" over the rollout of the Affordable Care Act and demanded that she resign as secretary of health and human services. Now she is weighing revenge.

Ms. Sebelius is considering entreaties from Democrats who want her to run against that old friend, Senator Pat Roberts, Republican of Kansas.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

At least she'll have a lock on the Finnish vote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOSaT6U4e-8

[Elspeth Flashman]

My dad had this on an album when I was little.

[Ted S.]

Ms. Sebelius is considering entreaties from Democrats who want her to run against that old friend, Senator Pat Roberts, Republican of Kansas Washington DC.

Those two SOBs running against each other? It might even be worse than McConnell and his opponent.

[John]

I love how he is her "old friend". All of these crap weasels know each other and cover each other's ass. I think Robertson is going to get primaried.

[Warty]

Oh yes. There's nothing Kansans love more than prominent national Democrats.

[RBS]

So, I was listening to John Feinstein whine about the likelihood that the Northwestern football team will vote to not unionize. He pretty much compared the players situation to the hostages that are forced to say nice things about their captors since Pat Fitzgerald has come out against them unionizing. So now we're treating athletes at big D1 programs like prisoners of war? I mean, wasn't it just a couple of years ago they were all over privileged meat heads?

[John]

Feinstein is amazingly stupid. He is living proof that it takes very little actual intelligence or thought to write a sports book. Has he ever said anything that wasn't appallingly stupid?

[gimmeasammich]

Speaking of sports writers and lack of intelligence, whatever happened to Kweef Olbermann?

[Raven Nation]

And, it's not like Northwestern would be recruiting average intellects.

[The Late P Brooks]

"How do we make sure that in future years 'we are not as white as we are today?'"

This is the question which keeps me up at night. Seriously.

[The Late P Brooks]

It's fucking snowing.

Here, too. Springtime in the Rockies.

[KDN]

I woke up to 3 inches of ice on my car. It's New Jersey, that shit is supposed to stop in mid-March at the latest. Fucking global warming.

[The Late P Brooks]

The first thing you should learn in Bully 101 is: don't ever let a fat kid lay his hands on you.

Holy shit that was awesome.

[Sevo]

Luddites fear micro-beads:

"Skin-cleansing microbeads harm marine life, targeted for bans"
[...]
"Most people freak out when they find out they are washing their face with plastic," said Stiv Wilson, associate director of the 5 Gyres Institute in Santa Monica, which studies marine plastic debris and is backing bills to ban microbeads."
http://www.sfgate.com/science/.....405452.php

Doesn't take a lot of reading on their site to see that 'plastic debris' is any plastic waste; they really want plastics banned, period.

[Sevo]

Even the Chron calls BS on the SEIU:

"S.F. tax-day protest marches on Twitter"
[...]
"a tax benefit for tech companies is a convenient target for progressives on the city's political left, including the Service Employees International Union Local 1021."
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/.....hc-bayarea

[William of Purple]

25 richest athletes in the world

[The Late P Brooks]

Bring a Trailer's comment section is infested with prissy douchebags.

That is all.

[John]

More or less. But what comment section isn't?

I am always amazed at how every thread will have some geek who can point out that the hubcaps on this 51 DeSoto are wrong because those are the 52 hubcaps.

[lap83]

The vintage and classic car website? Who'dve thought...

[John]

I wonder if there is a vintage bicycle website. Talk about peak douche.

[William of Purple]

you had to ask

[lap83]

"Your early 1900s era walrus moustache is clearly wrong for your 1928 Gent's Special Raleigh"

[Elspeth Flashman]

We had some yesterday. Depressing as hell. But today, back in the 50s 🙂 at some point.

[Brett L]

Oh man, it must be oh... 55F on its way to 65F here and so goddamn sunny, I'll probably work this afternoon from the porch of an establishment that serves beer.

[UnCivilServant]

Earlier this week I had to turn on the AC. This morning, I had to break out the ice scraper to disinterr my car.

[Auric Demonocles]

Yeah, it's not even May.

[Raven Nation]

Plus Ranger hatred.

[invisible furry hand]

It was 71F today. It's autumn

[Brett L]

Well, I did have to go back inside and put closed-toed shoes on. I thought we were solidly into flip-flop weather. Instead we get Canadian beach weather.

[KDN]

Which is like Canada's America hatred at this point. Between the revenue sharing, MSG overpaying for the Isles' local broadcast rights, and (NYC) government subsidy of their new arena, the Isles might as well be a subsidiary of the team.

[Raven Nation]

I discovered to my chagrin that May is, apparently, the wettest month in Tasmania. Guess which month I'll be in Hobart?

[invisible furry hand]

Wow, your trip just keeps getting better. All you need is a few icy gusts of wind off Mt Wellington to make it perfect. OTOH, what a great reason to seek warming alcoholic beverages from Tasmania's craft brewers or local distillers.

[Raven Nation]

Hmm, yes.

On the plus side, I snared a decent ticket: $US1900 r/t Denver-Hobart with 4 days in Brisbane on the way back. Kicker was, I couldn't get Virgin Australia's website to get me all the way to Hobart. So, girlfriend suggested I try Cheap Tickets. They got me the whole trip - on Virgin Australia.

For a company that's got a "tech guy" at it's head, Virgin's website truly sucks. Six weeks later I'm still "waiting" for a reply to my e-mail query.