Russia Agrees To "De-Escalate" in Ukraine, Rob Ford To Run Again, More Federal Regulations Than Ever Before: P.M. Links

• 

  State Department

  Russia's foreign minister announced today he and other diplomats in Geneva reached an agreement to "de-escalate" the situation in Ukraine and "all illegal armed groups must be disarmed." This may come as a relief to Jews, considering pro-Russian militants are reportedly telling them to "register" or else they'll lose their citizenship (but it might just be the world's worst hoax).

• Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is running again (not literally). He kicked off his re-election bid today.
• The federal government really outdid itself in 2013. The number crunchers at the Competitive Enterprise Institute say the feds produced a total of 26,417 pages of regulations—a new record!
• A North Dakota district judge overturned the state's law that prohibits an abortion after a heartbeat can be detected.
• The Portland, Oregon, Water Bureau is flushing 38 million gallons of reservoir water after a teenager peed in it.
• Your baby could be a racist, suggest researchers from the University of Washington who studied how little ones change their behavior around different ethnic groups.  

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Your baby could be a racist, suggest researchers from the University of Washington who studied how little ones change their behavior around different ethnic groups.

They know anchors when they see them.

[Matrix]

Only if the baby is born a white conservative.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

And they do change behavior.

I notice that here at the daycare.

But I don't think it's racist.

[Steve G]

Ummm, Hello?

[Steve G]

Eh, my dobe reacts differently to darker skin tones and I recall a friend's untrained Rott instinctively did not like the bruthas at all. Does that prove dogs is RACISSS? Or perhaps just that biology wires us to treat different things differently...

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I have a black educator. A couple of kids wouldn't go to her at first. Then it all works out - magically. No need to traumatize anyone with stupidity.

[SlV]

Do you know who else had a racist dog?

[SlV]

Kristy McNichol

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Fuckin LOL at the plot summary on Wik:

A rapist breaks into her house and tries to attack her, but the dog protects her so she decides to adopt him, against the wishes of her boyfriend .Unbeknownst to her, the dog was trained by a white racist to attack any and all black people on sight. It sneaks out of the house one night and kills a black truck driver in an attack.

[SlV]

The author of the source-novel once made a movie:

More Romain Gary craziness

[shortviking]

Dave Meltzer?

[Robert S.]

Larry David?

He named it Shariff, which is the "perfect name for a racist ass dog".

[Injun, as in from India]

The federal government really outdid itself in 2013. The number crunchers at the Competitive Enterprise Institute say the feds produced a total of 26,417 pages of regulations?a new record!

Productivity, people! Productivity!

[Root Boy]

Biggest drag on the economy in my opinion even bigger than taxes. Plus the terrific uncertainty Obama adds with all his O-care changes, Oil/gas indecision and so on.

Thanks Obama!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Russia's foreign minister announced today he and other diplomats in Geneva reached an agreement to "de-escalate" the situation in Ukraine and "all illegal armed groups must be disarmed."

Yeah, naturally the armed groups and protesters will go along with these high level agreements.

[Pro Libertate]

Well, yeah, I guess they might, since they're all mostly working for the Russians.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is running again (not literally).

Does Canada have reality shows?

[Ted S.]

"Reality", of course, should be in sneer quotes.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

You should see our version of reality court tv.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

In French I might add.

[Ted S.]

Does it have hot crazy quebecois women?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

No. An anglo-Jewish lady speaking with a French accent.

[Tonio]

Canada is a reality-tv show.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

We're The Truman Show of nations!

[Ted S.]

Well, it was originally qu?becois.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Didn't know that.

Quebec makes some pretty good movies actually.

K.R.A.Z.Y. is among an all-time favorite.

[Mad Scientist]

The federal government really outdid itself in 2013. The number crunchers at the Competitive Enterprise Institute say the feds produced a total of 26,417 pages of regulations?a new record!

I hope all those thousands and thousands of pages of new regulations aren't printed on KOCH BROTHERS paper!

[Me Inc.]

Kepler-186f:

Right now, 500 light years away from Earth, there's a planet that looks a lot like our own. It is bathed in dim orangeish light, which at high noon is only as bright as the golden hour before sunset back home.

NASA scientists are calling the planet Kepler-186f, and it's unlike anything they've found. The big news: Kepler-186f is the closest relative to the Earth that researchers have discovered.

It's the first Earth-sized planet in the habitable zone of another star?the sweet spot between too-hot Mercury-like planets and too-cold Neptunes? and it is likely to give scientists their first real opportunity to seek life elsewhere in the universe. "It's no longer in the realm of science fiction," said Elisa Quintana, a researcher at the SETI Institute.

[Restoras]

It never was the realm of science fiction. How many M-Class palnets must be out there, statistiaclly speaking?

[Rhywun]

Billions and billions...

[Tonio]

Lots of them in our own galaxy. The problem is finding one that we could reasonably get to. Interstellar travel is a pain. Voyager has only barely (if, even) left the solar system after decades of travel.

[Suthenboy]

"How many M-Class palnets must be out there, statistiaclly speaking?"

Back in the early 80's I was yelled at by a professor for saying that very thing. It was unthinkable to him that there were any other planetary systems other than our own.

[Mickey Rat]

There may be many in the universe but there may not be many that are accessible without fantastic technology.

[Raven Nation]

Damn, beat me to it! WOW story all right. Another account here:

http://www.universetoday.com/1.....able-zone/

[Brett L]

Let's go.

[Pro Libertate]

That's a long trip if it's actually not habitable. Let's see, we can probably do 100,000 mph without too much work, so at approximately 500 light years that's, um, somewhere over 3.3 million years, if my math is right, which it may not be.

[Surly Chef]

The real gamble even if you could reach speeds which incur noticeable time dilation a la Physics of the Impossible, it's still a long ass time for stuff to go wrong at your destination, with it's passage of time. Like long enough for a sentient species to become the apex predator of the planet and invent space travel.

[Suthenboy]

I am gonna go out on a limb here.

I think that there is a good chance that there have been some miscalculations/misinterpretations and that many of the planets/planetary systems we have found are not what we think they are.

There are more planets like this one than we realize yet. I could be wrong, but I would be willing to wager on it.

[Steve G]

"seek life elsewhere!"

Movie quote. Anyone, anyone?

[Sudden]

Your baby could be a racist, suggest researchers from the University of Washington who studied how little ones change their behavior around different ethnic groups.

Of course babies are racist, why do you think no infants voted for Obama?

[Rich]

"Racism connotes hostility," she said, "and that's not what we studied."

Well, if lack of sharing does not connote hostility it at least shows babies are libertarians.

[Brandon]

I actually think quite a few infants voted for Obama.

[Root Boy]

Those infants are real dicks. Proving their leech nature.

[Coeus]

"I did punch a baby once, in anger. In my defense the baby was being kind of a dick."

[Root Boy]

HA HA HA. Good one.

[Rich]

Rob Ford has the runs *again*?!

[Aloysious]

I really hope he gets so drunk/wasted that he moons his opponents.

I don't want to *see* him do the deed, but I would like it to happen just the same.

[Wasteland Wanderer]

He has a love/hate relationship with Taco Bell.

[Ted S.]

He got caught, and better run for the border?

[gimmeasammich]

Taco Bell I am OK with. It's that damn Castle Pack that gives me the problems.

[jesse.in.mb]

The Portland, Oregon, Water Bureau is flushing 38 million gallons of reservoir water after a teenager peed in it.

I think I speak for the state of California when I say: "pipe it to us and we'll send you some of the avocados we won't have to stump due to drought conditions. you scratch our back, we'll scratch yours"

[KDN]

Governments believe in theft, not trade.

[jesse.in.mb]

Fine. I suppose we'll have to invade Oregon, kill the men, rape the women and drain them of their fresh water.

We tried to play nice though.

[Ted S.]

They'll stop sending you their electricity. Hello permanent brown-outs!

[The Last American Hero]

Invade with what? I'm pretty sure they don't have guns in California, and the carbon emissions from tanks don't meet state regulatory requirements.

Plus, when it rains the entire Californian army will just pull over onto the shoulder of the road to wait it out, which could take months in Oregon.

[jesse.in.mb]

We'll just borrow the military the Federal government leaves lying carelessly around the state. And send Torrance PD up to fire wildly at the Asian women.

[Virginian]

kill the men, rape the women

I thought you would reverse that.

[jesse.in.mb]

Were it just me I'd despoil a new lumberjack every hour until I died of exhaustion, but something tells me that if I set that as policy for my invasion force 90+% of my troops will be annoyed.

I'm hardly an army of one.

[Steve G]

Oregon: California's Canada

[I can't trust my fans]

I'm worried about Rob Ford's health. He looks like he could have a heart attack any minute.

[Tonio]

Sounds like we need a Christy vs Ford pool - who has a heart attack first.

[I can't trust my fans]

Christie got his stomach tied. I think that means his enormous appetite has been constrained and he can concentrate full time on torturing his subjects with special attention paid to cancer victims.

[Andrew S.]

The federal government really outdid itself in 2013. The number crunchers at the Competitive Enterprise Institute say the feds produced a total of 26,417 pages of regulations?a new record!

----

That's impossible. I've been told that all our problems stem from a lack of regulation.

[fish_remote]

That's impossible. I've been told that all our problems stem from a lack of regulation.

Well we still have problems don't we....? Quick back to the printing press...we'll scourge every problem with type!

C'mon....who's with me?!?!

[Matrix]

I hearby announce the coming of the grandchild of Ms. Satan

Chelsea Clinton is pregnant!

[Notorious G.K.C.]

darn you

[Matrix]

mwahaha!

[Ted S.]

Why are you damning Matrix? He didn't knock Chelsea up. At least, I hope he didn't.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

I wasn't damning anyone (nor could if I would).

I was *darning* him - "mend[ing him]...by weaving yarn across the hole with a needle."

Perhaps I should say "oops, you posted first."

[jesse.in.mb]

I was *darning* him - "mend[ing him]...by weaving yarn across the hole with a needle."

I want so badly not to make a series of immature jokes about you, yarn and Matrix's hole.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Thank you for your self-restraint.

[jesse.in.mb]

When I have ulcers later in life, I'll know it's because of this moment.

[Matrix]

*looks down* Nope. It's still there. So I certainly did not. It would've been severed by the razors in her *****

[Bam!]

Friends of the Clinton family have already setup a super PAC for baby for the inevitable 2054 run.

[Ted S.]

There's no presidential election in 2054. :-p

[Andrew S.]

2054 NY Senate, 2060 Presidential. Duh.

[Restoras]

I'll be mildly surprised if there is a Presidential election in 2060.

[Root Boy]

Before that - Emperor Clinton the First will disband elections, because it will only take a village to decide our leader (Upper West Side).

[Wasteland Wanderer]

There will be after Hillary wins and decides to become "President for Life". She will then retire in 2028 to make way for Chelsea, who is expected to retire in 2054.

[Sudden]

THE PMATRIARCHY!!!!11!!!!

[MJGreen]

THEN SHE'LL CHANGE IT!

[Ted S.]

My babies polish my monocles and brush my top hats. They don't have time for bigotry.

[Injun, as in from India]

The Portland, Oregon, Water Bureau is flushing 38 million gallons of reservoir water after a teenager peed in it.

100 ml of urine / 38 million gallons of water = 6.95 * 10^8 % pollution.

Idiots.

[Mad Scientist]

Idiots and Portland go together like New Orleans and jazz, or Philly and cheese steak.

[Root Boy]

I wouldn't be surprised if some of the locals support people shitting on their yards and gardens as a natural fertilizer so they should support pee water.

[Brett L]

I think you want a negative in the exponent, yeah?

[Injun, as in from India]

Ugh. Yeah.

[SweatingGin]

What they're really saying is: anyone (plausibly) announces that they pissed in the reservoir, and they'll drain it.

Think it'll be an expensive summer for them.

[Stormy Dragon]

It's an open air resevoir; I'm sure it was full of urine and feces from all manner of critters even before this guy showed up.

[Wasteland Wanderer]

Not the first time they've done this, either...They flushed the same reservoir back in 2011 for the same reason.

Never mind that it's an open-air reservoir, and hence has plenty of birds and ducks using it as their personal piss pot...

[Mad Scientist]

From the plant supervisor's point of view, the only thing they drained out of the reservoir was other people's money, so it's all OK.

[Rich]

I take it you're not into homeopathic remedies.

[Tonio]

Heh.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Did they panic like the pool scene in Caddyshack?

[Mad Scientist]

OK, that gives me an idea. This summer I'm driving to Oregon and dumping 100 Baby Ruth bars in their reservoir.

[Raven Nation]

You know, if you could hang around for a week (?), you could dump fifty in, wait for them to drain & re-fill, then dump the other 50 in.

If you had enough friends, you could keep this going for a long time.

[Mad Scientist]

Oh, come now, I'm a libertarian; I don't have any friends.

[Raven Nation]

Oh, come now, I'm a libertarian

Well then, surely you could PAY someone to dump Baby Ruths?

[Andrew S.]

Pay? This seems like something that can be done by our orphan slaves.

[Ted S.]

Expletive deleted you.

[Ted S.]

Make his orphan labor dump the Baby Ruths into the reservoir.

[Mad Scientist]

Well, sure, but that means fewer monocles get polished. I'm going to need a whole new set of orphans for this stunt.

[Swiss Servator, Versicherung!]

Call jesse's Adorphan! Get a short term lease on monocle polishing orphans - or candy bar dumping ones - your choice.

[jesse.in.mb]

I'd recommend the pick-pocket tier Adorphans if you're sending them out to dump Baby Ruths. They're adorable and crafty. Standard tier Adorphans should be fine for monocle polishing.

Unless you're really a high roller in which case I suggest you send a team of two ninja-assassin Adorphans. It may be overkill, but if you have the cash, why not?

Thanks for your continued referral support, SS. Next time you're in LA drop by the Adorphanarium for a tour and your pick of an Adorphan from the prototype lab.

[Swiss Servator, Versicherung!]

Excellent!

[Mad Scientist]

Can you guarantee your Adorphans won't just eat my Baby Ruths instead of dumping them into the reservoir? If they are lactose intolerant or have severe peanut allergies, you have a deal.

[jesse.in.mb]

How gauche of you to suggest that J.i.MB Talent Conglomerate Adorphans would steal from anyone (other than targets you've selected, of course). We have some of the best behaved orphans on the market*.

I suppose I could retrofit some of the orphans from the "defectives" holding pen, but special orders like that aren't cheap.

*Sucralose Technologies technically has orphans that are forced to read The Chronicles of Warty Hugeman if they misbehave, but the loss rate due to madness is too high to be acceptable at J.i.MB Talent Conglomerate.

[Mad Scientist]

I don't want my orphans to be merely well-behaved. I want their very existence to be endless, hopeless misery. The units you keep in the defective pen are very likely the lowliest, and therefore the best stock.

[jesse.in.mb]

You're probably not looking for an Adorphan then...

Might I suggest you inquire with Sucralose Technologies Orphan Division? If you need something emotionally functional, but still pitiable and barely on the edge of human you might want to try Nikki's Orphan Bargain Barn. Her orphans are, like her, worse than Hitler.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

And each time they - the gubmint - repeat the process...like Groundhog Day.

I'm popping out those movie references, baby!

[paranoid android]

This is in line with what I've observed about Portlandites, namely that they're fucking bonkers, like full-on General Ripper crazy about the water. When I was in Portland about a year ago there were ads everywhere, on every visible surface on which you could possibly situate an advertisement, urging people to vote against a resolution that would allow fluoride in the drinking water. The general sense from the ads was that this was an unconscionable danger which would poison the entire city, I'm not exaggerating.

[The Last American Hero]

Same goes for Washington. They love themselves some big communist government, but talk of putting flouride in the drinking water and they go all bunker-in-the-woods-tin-foil-hat crazy.

[Steve G]

Oh yeah, Portland native here (living in VA). It was nutty. It was comparable to the mandatory vaccine argument within this here commentariat, only on a city-wide scale and instead of libertarians vs libertarians, it was liberals vs liberals with mental circuit breakers popping all over the place

[Ornithorhynchus]

Homeopathic science clearly proves that this is equivalent to 38 million gallons of pure urine.

[Tejicano]

They should have told everybody that it's OK because they spooned all the pee out.

People who would believe that are probably the same people who would believe one teenager's pee can contaminate an entire reservoir.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Portland, Oregon, Water Bureau is flushing 38 million gallons of reservoir water after a teenager peed in it.

That reservoir really tied the city together, did it not?

[Injun, as in from India]

"I just want to understand this, sir. Every time a reservoir is micturated into in this fair city, I have to compensate dump all the water?"

[gimmeasammich]

I watched that the other night. It had been WAAAAY too long since the last time. I remembered that it was funny, but not THAT funny. I think I'll put in on again this weekend while my wife toils away cleaning every surface for the guests on Sunday.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Don't do that to your fucking lady friend.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Another Clinton on the way:

http://www.politico.com/story/.....05791.html

[OldMexican]

The world will be full of them before you know it!

[Matrix]

KFC is bringing back the double down

Too bad it has bacon on it.

[Andrew S.]

Begone, blasphemer.

The problem is that it has your normal crappy fast food bacon on it.

[jesse.in.mb]

Are you some kind of bacon hating mutant? Do you keep a halal kitchen or something?

[Matrix]

I'm Jewish but not exactly "kosher". I just stay away from non-kosher type animals like pigs, shellfish, catfish, etc.

Throw some beef bacon on it (yum) and I'd be thrilled.

[Pro Libertate]

I have a feeling that the kosher diet was foisted on Jews by some non-Jews to keep them away from yummy pork, shellfish, etc. It's the only explanation I can come up with. Unless God hates Jews, which is also plausible, given the history.

I was at a Seder with an ex-girlfriend's family, and I was appalled at the food. I think they had some illusions about converting me, but if that was their plan, they should've served sushi or something.

[Stormy Dragon]

More likely it started as general health guidelines (shellfish tends to go bad real easily, pork has a lot of parasite if not cooked properly, etc.) and got converted to religious dogma over the course of centuries of transmission.

[Pro Libertate]

I was kidding--I agree completely. On the other hand, that is all N/A today.

[Suthenboy]

This, probably.

[paranoid android]

I figure Moses probably had some bad pork chow mein once and was like, "I'm never having pork again. Fuck it, it's unclean. That's going down as a commandment."

[Matrix]

That would make sense, however, it is all animals with split hooves that do not chew cud. And it's all animals that do not have a split hoof but chew cud or do not have a split off at all.

So no horse meat for me.

As far as fish, water dwelling animals must have scales (and only a certain kind of scales) and fins.

[Stormy Dragon]

Given that the horse was only first being domesticated in central asia about the same time that the oldest parts of Mosaic law were being developed, they may not have had horses when the split hooves rule was first written.

[Ornithorhynchus]

The best explanation I've heard is that Kosher rules are mostly based on fitting things into the proper categories. Most hoofed animals are ruminants, so therefore, the few that aren't are 'wrong'. Likewise, anything aquatic that isn't a proper fish with scales is also wrong.
This matches up with many of the other seemingly arbitrary rules that don't involve food, such as yoking an ox and donkey together, or weaving linen and wool into the same fabric.
Basically, the ancient Jews wanted everything in its proper place, and rejected anything that violated the boundaries.

[Mickey Rat]

I also heard some thought that because the Israelites were nomadic herdsmen, kosher laws made animals that were more associated with the farming cultures that were their enemies off limits.

[jesse.in.mb]

I sort of figured. It's just funny having someone worry about the bacon portion when the rest of it is meat and cheese.

[Pro Libertate]

Same trip, I came close to putting cheese on a pastrami sandwich, not getting it through my head that I could have a cheese sandwich or a meat sandwich.

[KDN]

Well fish are cheese, so you could have just had a fliet-o-fish facsimile.

[Pro Libertate]

Pastrami and fish on rye? Okay, I'll do that.

[KDN]

Nah, I was suggesting pastramied lox. I mean, two great things are always great together, right?

[Pro Libertate]

Sure, why not?

[Ted S.]

I remember being at some function in high school that was catered, and the catering was subway sandwiches that all had both meat and cheese. The one Jewish friend there traded all the meat on her sandwich for all the cheese on mine.

[Matrix]

Indeed. But I don't have much of a problem with meat and dairy. Though, I am *trying* to cut down, especially beef and dairy by using dairy substitutes like tofutti.

[Pro Libertate]

My ex-girlfriend's family only kept kosher at home. They ate anything and everything everywhere else.

[Matrix]

There are a lot of Jews like that. I may eventually get to the point of keeping kosher at home.

[Pro Libertate]

It's a heck of a lot easier. I have vegans in the family who sometimes just skip the whole business when eating out--similar issues.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

So many wonderful things come from a pig.

It's a magic animal so magical Homer didn't believe such a creature could exist.

[gimmeasammich]

I'm Jewish but not exactly "kosher". I just stay away from non-kosher type animals like pigs, shellfish, catfish, etc.

Well Happy Passover to you, good sir.

[Matrix]

Thanks!

[jesse.in.mb]

I live in CA, there's no way for me to know that a Jewish high holiday is happening now that we've banned Jew Coke.

Oh how I miss those glorious yellow caps.

[Matrix]

Yeah, I don't do the whole prohibition on kitniyot (like corn) on Passover. That's a specifically Ashkenazi tradition that I really hope will go away.

[gimmeasammich]

One of my friends usually makes matzoh ball soup for Seder. Come to think of it, weren't the meals supposed to be like Monday and Tuesday? I wonder if he just got busy or something...

[Suthenboy]

"I'm Jewish but not exactly "kosher". I just stay away from non-kosher type animals like pigs, shellfish, catfish, etc."

Why?

[Restoras]

Yeah I still don't get it, but more for the rest of us!.

[Matrix]

To which part? I would place being shomer shabbat above being full on glatt kosher, and I'm not exactly shomer shabbat.

I'm as observant as I'm comfortable with at this point in my life.

[gimmeasammich]

Do you work? Do you drive a car? Do you ride in cars? Do you turn the oven on? What I'm getting at is do you roll?

[Matrix]

I don't work at a job on shabbat, no. I specifically try to be off on that day and most high holidays.

[gimmeasammich]

Not even bowling? Do you have your ex-wife's Pomeranian?

[grrizzly]

Literary giant Gabriel Garcia Marquez has died, Mexico's state-run news agency reports. He was 87.

[paranoid android]

Well you should see my story reading baby,
You should hear the things that she says,
She says "Hon, drop dead,
I'd rather go to bed
with Gabriel Garcia Marquez."

[Sudden]

I read that as "literally" giant and wondered what he was doing south of the wall.

[Root Boy]

RIP. Wrote some great stories and novels. I assume he was a leftist as are most literary/artist types.

I'd love to hear what he had to say about Chavez since he seemed to like writing about Bolivar.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

It's Maundy Thursday - time for the Pope to wash some feet -

http://www.catholicreview.org/.....-pope-says

[Ted S.]

Women, make certain you're not wearing panty hose.

[Rich]

Why? "Serving others with love" includes removing their panty hose, doesn't it?

[jesse.in.mb]

Grams: Google for the Dark Web

Grams, which launched last week and is patterned after Google, is accessible only through the Tor anonymizing browser (the address for Grams is: grams7enufi7jmdl.onion) but fills a niche for anyone seeking quick access to sites selling drugs, guns, stolen credit card numbers, counterfeit cash and fake IDs ? sites that previously only could be found by users who knew the exact URL for the site.

[Ted S.]

And how are they going to prevent the po-po from using this?

[jesse.in.mb]

I hear they have a team of 11 Kabbalah initiates meditating over the servers 24/7 to prevent unwanted access.

[SweatingGin]

Hidden Wiki is (was? I assume it's still there, but I haven't looked for a while) a pretty well known directory for things.

It seems rather impractical to crawl most deep web things. Actually, that's the definition of deep web. Not crawled by search engines.

[Warty]

Well this sounds fun.

[Wasteland Wanderer]

You still need a new source for your steroids after Silk Road got shot down?

[Gene]

On a more serious note: is this what you really want to be known for Wired? A resource for tips on how to track down unregistered weapons and high quality heroin?

I thought this comment was a classic.

[Root Boy]

Wish I was known for that.

[Coeus]

Krugman is angry that anyone would dare accuse the government of ever cooking the books.

Just a quick note in support of government statisticians. They do an incredibly important job, and by and large do it very well. They've also maintained a well-deserved reputation for staying out of the political fray, of acting as civil servants, not party apparatchiks.

You can argue that the Census decision to change its health-insurance questionnaire starting with the 2013 data wasn't such a good idea ? in fact, I know a number of health care experts who are dismayed. But it's really quite vile to have talk-show hosts who quite literally know nothing about the field, other than that they're against covering the uninsured, casually accusing Census of "cooking the books" to support Obamacare.

But remember, MSNBC is the liberal network, right? Why don't they just hire Donald Trump and be done with it?

[Ted S.]

They've also maintained a well-deserved reputation for staying out of the political fray, of acting as civil servants, not party apparatchiks.

Either Krugman has never seen an episode of Yes, Minister, or he's a mendacious bastard, or both.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Krugman suffers from Stockholm Syndrome. His tormentors in this case come from the government.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Krugman is a numbers guy. He needs them to write about public policy - right or wrong on the policy.

Conservatives, on the other hand, hate numbers and prefer their "gut". That is why conservatives don't make good scientists (if they ever try).

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Pure. Fucking. Idiotic. Bull. Shit.

Then again, look at the source of who spewed it.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

Krugman is not a numbers guy. Not one bit.

[wadair]

Conservatives, on the other hand, hate numbers and prefer their "gut". That is why conservatives don't make good scientists (if they ever try).

Since you neglect to back up your assertion with data, just how do you differ from the conservatives you disparage?

Bonehead.

[The Other Kevin]

They've also maintained a well-deserved reputation for staying out of the political fray, of acting as civil servants, not party apparatchiks.

He probably still thinks this of the IRS, too.

[Injun, as in from India]

Given that this sh involves something like 15% of the US economy, the INVERSE of Hanlon's razor applies:

Never attribute to stupidity that which is adequately explained by malice.

[Rhywun]

other than that they're against covering the uninsured

What an unpleasant, little man.

[Suthenboy]

"... other than that they're against covering the uninsured..."

Good grief. That is a straight-up shreekism there, isn't it?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"The U.S. Department of Labor must pay more than $565,000 in attorney fees to an oilfield services company it accused of wage-and-hour violations totaling more than $6 million, a federal judge has ruled....

""The DOL failed to act in a reasonable manner both before and during the course of this litigation," [Judge John] Rainey wrote."

http://www.nationallawjournal......0317164505

[Ted S.]

Unfortunately, the taxpayers are going to pay this, not the DOL workers.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Marvin Olasky: "We want Christian businesses and nonprofit groups to be free to hire executives with a biblical worldview, so Mozilla should have a parallel freedom."

http://www.worldmag.com/2014/0.....of_mozilla

[OldMexican]

Yeah, no question about it. And I am perfectly free to stop using Mozilla products because I feel the company is being run by politically-correct ideologues instead of savvy business people, and that troubles me.

[jesse.in.mb]

That entire episode was retarded from start to finish, but I need two browsers to keep my work stuff and personal stuff separate at work so I'm not about to dump FF over their corporate politics.

[BakedPenguin]

THIS.

[vicariance]

what is this i don't even:

The reaction to the Brandeis affair is a troubling harbinger. It suggests that America, like Europe, might also begin to pick and choose who deserves to be protected from offensive speech. Once that door is open, the Trojan horse of libertarianism will smuggle in intolerance.

This reads like word salad to me. The apocalypse begins with government protecting certain identity groups, which provides a window to sneak in "intolerance" via non-aggression? Didn't the intolerance of those groups theoretically already exist to motivate the protective legislation?

Am I wasting my time trying to figure this out? The article seemed halfway sane until that paragraph.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Let me help the author out.

Suppose Brandeis planned to give an honorary doctorate to Chuck Schumer. Then libertarians protested about giving academic honors to a hoplophobe, and the university rescinded the invitation.

Would that be wrong?

[Homple]

It's wrong to think that libertarians would demonstrate against someone saying whatever the hell they wanted to say.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

The "protest" I was thinking of involves more mass emails than getting out in the hot sun and marching around.

[paranoid android]

Really? I couldn't get past this:

The defense of free speech often hides a multitude of sins. Since Brandeis University withdrew an honor it had intended to bestow on the author and activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali, many have flocked to her defense in the name of free expression ? no matter how offensive. But implicitly they are suggesting that Islam and Muslims are worthy targets of Ms. Hirsi Ali's scorn.

Defending a person's free expression is implicitly endorsing the substance of that expression. That is what the author is saying. I think if we try a little substitution here the situation will become clearer:

The defense of free speech often hides a multitude of sins. Since Brandeis University Skokie withdrew an honor a parade permit it had intended to bestow on the author and activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali Nazis, many have flocked to her their defense in the name of free expression ? no matter how offensive. But implicitly they are suggesting that Islam and Muslims Jews are worthy targets of Ms. Hirsi Ali's the Nazis' scorn.

[Pro Libertate]

So the ACLU endorses Nazism?

[vicariance]

Halfway sane as in "the words he's stringing together are sensible."

[MJGreen]

Jesus. This isn't even an underhanded attack on free speech. "The defense of free speech often hides a multitude of sins"? Just the use of "sins" makes me think this comes from some 17th century royalist.

[Suthenboy]

The author, Nesrine Malik, is muslim and writes for The Gaurdian and has been published several times in the NYT.

I am shocked that she would be confused about what freedom of speech is, why it is defended, and that she is not a proponent of it. Truly shocked.

[Ted S.]

"Libertarian" is becoming what "fascist" used to be, or what "neoliberal" seems to be in Europe: a word increasingly used without meaning as an all-purpose pejorative that allows the user to say, "I can ignore anything the person I'm slurring says."

[Root Boy]

See the article I linked to in a thread on the KC KKK dude. First sentence in the LA Times article about him said he had Libertarian leanings.

Which goes right along with wanting a race war or Jim Crow laws I guess.

[Tonio]

Crikey, they're on to us!

[Rhywun]

It's the NYT Opinion page - why are you even trying to figure it out? That way lies madness.

[Max Power]

Did any Philadelphia people get an email about a reception with The Independents? Anyone going?

[Ted S.]

Why would anybody want to go to Philadelphia? :-p

[Max Power]

To purchase cheesesteaks or drugs?

[Anonymous Coward]

To observe Neaderthals (Eagles fans) in their natural habitat?

[Max Power]

BOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

{Throws battery}

[Surly Chef]

I didn't get one. Or else I just didn't see it.

[OldMexican]

A North Dakota district judge overturned the state's law that prohibits an abortion after a heartbeat can be detected.

"Just because the baby is alive does not mean you cannot kill him!"

[Coeus]

Does Traditional College Debate Reinforce White Privilege?

On March 24, 2014 at the Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) Championships at Indiana University, two Towson University students, Ameena Ruffin and Korey Johnson, became the first African-American women to win a national college debate tournament, for which the resolution asked whether the U.S. president's war powers should be restricted. Rather than address the resolution straight on, Ruffin and Johnson, along with other teams of African-Americans, attacked its premise. The more pressing issue, they argued, is how the U.S. government is at war with poor black communities.

[Coeus]

In the final round, Ruffin and Johnson squared off against Rashid Campbell and George Lee from the University of Oklahoma, two highly accomplished African-American debaters with distinctive dreadlocks and dashikis. Over four hours, the two teams engaged in a heated discussion of concepts like "nigga authenticity" and performed hip-hop and spoken-word poetry in the traditional timed format. At one point during Lee's rebuttal, the clock ran out but he refused to yield the floor. "Fuck the time!" he yelled. His partner Campbell, who won the top speaker award at the National Debate Tournament two weeks later, had been unfairly targeted by the police at the debate venue just days before, and cited this personal trauma as evidence for his case against the government's treatment of poor African-Americans.

[OldMexican]

At one point during Lee's rebuttal, the clock ran out but he refused to yield the floor. "Fuck the time!" he yelled.

People were throwing popcorn at the bad guy while his partner tagged him and made it to the ring with a folding chair in hand.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"Now Disraeli is using...is that a false dilemma? And now Demosthenes replies with an ad hominem! And what's this? Here comes Daniel Webster with an *Ignoratio elenchi* - ooh, that's gotta hurt..."

[Suthenboy]

Goddammit OM, I really did spit coffee out of my nose. I was trying to think of a snarky way to describe the classless, lowbrow atmosphere of that while sipping my afternoon coffee and my eyes wandered to your comment.

It burns.

[Steve G]

...and the moderator was.... sleeping during all this?
FFS, ignoring the topic, dropping the f-bomb, and calling people 'nigga' is not "alternative-style" debate since it's not debate at all, but rap-battle performance art. What's next, a skinny white boy from 8-mile breaks onto the scene and out "debates" the reigning champs???

[paranoid android]

No, I'm guessing the moderator made the careful rational decision not to become famous for being the white supremacist who shut down the voice of truth, as accounts of the incident would have portrayed him had he intervened.

[Suthenboy]

"...the voice of truth..."

You give yourself away paranoid android. If you were really down with it you would have used the phrase like this; "voices speaking truth to power".

[Coeus]

...and the moderator was.... sleeping during all this?

No the moderator was patting himself on the back for being so "accepting and tolerant of other cultures".

[Coeus]

p.a.'s answer is equally likely.

[Root Boy]

Yep, didn't want to get labelled an oreo or be accused of trying to act white.

Where is the U-tube of this fascinating debate and did they talk about Obama's "nigga authenticity"

[Coeus]

Here's part of one.

Remember, the topic was "presidential war powers".

[Root Boy]

Yep, that's why I asked. Libs like Bill Maher are always saying Obama has to act like a street thug, but it's almost always in the context of beating up on Republicans, not terrorists.

Plus, Obama himself has said he wishes he pulled a Bullworth - which is telling since that was a white guy trying to act like a black street thug.

[Coeus]

I always read the bullworth comment as wanting to be like Ron Paul. Not the same positions, but the same candor.

[Root Boy]

Come on, Obama grew up a white kid. He's always been focused on his lost Black father and moved to NY and CHI to become authentic. He does hide his progressive side, and that also is the part he wants to come out -- and I guess that is what you mean.

[MJGreen]

Huh? What?

The fuck?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

*facepalm*

There was actually a movie about a successful debate team from a black university during Jim Crow, and the winning team managed to follow the "white" rules.

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

[Coeus]

It gets better:

To counter this trend, Hardy and his allies want to create a "policy only" space in which traditional standards for debate will be enforced. However, this is nearly impossible to do within the two major debate associations, CEDA and the National Debate Tournament (NDT), as they are governed by participants and have few conduct enforcement mechanisms. For instance, while CEDA and NDT's institutional anti-harassment policy would normally prohibit the term "nigga" as it was used at the recent Indiana University tournament finals, none of the judges penalized the competitors that used it. In fact, those debaters took home prizes.

14 schools expressed interest in sending debaters to Hardy's proposed alternative tournament, scheduled to occur last month. But after word got out that a group of mostly white teams from elite universities were trying to form their own league, Hardy and his supporters were widely attacked on Facebook and other online forums. Ultimately the competition didn't happen, purportedly because of logistical issues with the hotel venue. Nonetheless, Hardy wrote in an email that a "toxic climate" has precluded even "strong supporters of 'policy debate' from "publicly attach[ing] their name to anything that might get them called racist or worse."

[Anonymous Coward]

You entered in a bunch of words.

What I got from it was "WAAAAAHHHHHH!!! Mommy! Those mean kids actually want to play a game with rules! They're being mean! And racist! And sexist! And Patriarchal! And othering! Make them play with me!"

[Coeus]

That's a fair read.

[Coeus]

Twitter gave me PSTD

A Washington woman has come under fire over claims her PTSD caused by online harassment and Twitter trolls is equal to that of military veterans.
Melody Hensley was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder 16 months ago following online abuse, which she says is the result of her being an outspoken feminist and atheist.
She caused upset to many military veterans and their families and friends when she claimed her PTSD from Twitter trolls was as bad as mental anguish suffered by those who do active duty.

[paranoid android]

In that case, I suggest she follow the example of the shell-shocked soldier from Mrs. Dalloway and defenestrate herself.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I wonder how many times she railed against Bush.

Speaking of which, I'm surprised he wasn't diagnosed with PTSD.

[Raven Nation]

which she says is the result of her being an outspoken feminist and atheist

And, of course, since she is outspoken, she has the right to assume that no one will speak out against her (which is how a lot of activists - on both sides - define harassment).

[Coeus]

And, of course, since she is outspoken, she has the right to assume that no one will speak out against her (which is how a lot of activists - on both sides - define harassment).

I'm not too sure about that. I've never heard of an anti-SJW who considers all twitter disagreements (and even fucking contentless retweets) as harassment.

[Anonymous Coward]

She caused upset to many military veterans and their families and friends when she claimed her PTSD from Twitter trolls was as bad as mental anguish suffered by those who do active duty.

Computers have an off button; the front line of a warzone does not.

[paranoid android]

Computers have an off button; the front line of a warzone does not.

This will come as a surprise to our country's cowardly and psychopathic brave and fearless drone operators.

[Root Boy]

Or Maj. Hassan, who people were convinced had PTSD before he even went to war.

[Homple]

In his case it was PRE Traumatic Stress Disorder.

[Stormy Dragon]

Lawyer who defended prop 8 in front of the supreme court is now in favor of gay marriage because one of his daughters is gay:

Prop 8 lawyer's views on gay marriage evolving

Would be nice if there was a faster way to get socons to develop empathy for homosexuals than having to get each of them personally father a gay child.

[Suthenboy]

It would also be nice if people who figure out they are wrong about something and change their minds could just admit it and say " I was wrong" instead of using weasel words like 'evolve'.

But then that would involve intellectual honesty and mean accepting responsibility, so I guess that won't happen.

[Root Boy]

Seems like Republicans (mostly) have to have a gay kid, but Dems like Obama just have to wait for their financial backers to tell them to evolve.

[jesse.in.mb]

Social conservatives with gay kids or who are later surprised to find out they have a gay kid seem to be bigger assholes about the gay marriage debate than those who don't. I'd posit it's the same over compensation that turns some closet cases into homophobic assholes.

I think this is why you end up with quite so many stories of conservatives "finding out" their flaming little child is gay and having a turn around.

[Root Boy]

Hadn't seen examples of that, only know about Cheney, this guy and ....was it a senator from Indiana who changed after their kid came out? But I'm sure some folks get pissed if their kids come out, less than 10 years ago I'd suspect.

So do you think they use it as an excuse to change their views or just a shield to get sympathy for what they always thought?

[Stormy Dragon]

I think it's more about an inability to emphasize with people in the abstract. Until they knew a specific person who was upset about not being able to get married they couldn't comprehend the idea that a generic person might be bothered by it.

[Coeus]

I still don't get it. That was like the best part of being gay.

"It's been 6 months. We need to talk about where this is heading."

"Ohh, sorry honey. I would, but the government makes the conversation pointless. Guess we'll just have to co-habitate and have sex without putting our financial futures on the line."

[Raven Nation]

That could be correct. But what bothers me is that it seems to raise the questions of principles. That is, if you argue against gay marriage in court, you seem to be taking some kind of principled position (insert lawyer joke here). But, if you then change your position based on one of your kids you are either saying your principles have changed or you didn't really have principles in the first place (kind of like suthenboy was saying above at 6:49).

For example, and somewhat different: say I oppose government payments to someone because they are a single mother but a good friend of mine becomes a single mother and gets a government payout. Now, I can empathize with her, and maybe not even criticize her directly for taking the payout. But it doesn't necessarily mean I would suddenly announce that I now support a national policy of payouts to single mothers.

[jesse.in.mb]

I think some folks have a genuine change of heart once the denial thing falls apart. Others dig their heels in harder.

Cheney impressed me with his handling of the issue when debating Edwards, who was a complete douchebag on the topic. It's been interesting to see the financial conservative wing of the Republican party start swinging harder on the issue in the last few years.

[Coeus]

I love Outkast. I hate misogyny.

But that wasn't what disappointed me most. Nor was it the full ten minutes of the set that was dedicated to album promotion for Future (but seriously, as much fun as Future song can be, what the fuck was he doing there?). My disappoint came during 3000?s solo set. He was preparing to perform "Behold A Lady," and he asked the crowd, "Are there any bitches here tonight?" Look, I'm under no illusion that Outkast is perfect. They dabble in the same misogyny the rest of the world does. But something about the way he asked that question so directly hit my eardrum like a dirty q-tip.

Then he asked, "Are there any hoes?" It got worse. "Don't act surprised, if you a hoe, you know you a hoe." To his credit, I suppose, he didn't sound judgmental. But?harsh. Then: "Are there any ladies out there?" I hate this. I hate it so much. Outkast is probably the greatest duo/group in hip-hop history. Andre 3000 is one of the best emcees ever. But the shortcomings are real and incredibly disappointing.

I guess he didn't realize that, as a libertarian, Big Boy's the real mysogynist.

[Root Boy]

I want to know how many cheers he got from Women when he asked about Bitches, Hoes, and Ladies.

[Cytotoxic]

If anyone's interested in a Latin American-centric libertarian commentary and news source, visit the Pan Am Post. Good opinions.

[Root Boy]

Have to check it out. Every South American I've met has been libertarian or conservative - probably what drove them to move to the US (ha! we tricked them) in the first place.

[Coeus]

Paul Krugman: We live in the most unequal society ever, and it's only getting worse

"Nobody wants us to become Cuba (but) the question is, do we have to have levels of inequality that are getting close to being the highest levels anywhere, ever," Krugman told Bloomberg News. "We're really starting to set new records here. Is that a good thing for anybody?"

He said current conditions were much worse than the notorious "Gilded Age" of the late 19th Century that ushered in an era of progressive reforms to start the 20th Century.

Gee, I wonder why?

[jesse.in.mb]

are getting close to being the highest levels anywhere, ever

I do so hate being casteless in India. Oh wait, I'm not...

[Root Boy]

I am much more unequal with myself from 20 years ago.

Does he take that into account?

Also, what progressive reforms will we get this time? OWS ruling council to decide who gets what?

[Swiss Servator, Versicherung!]

Why do I picture Kruggie riding this derp down to the ground like Slim Pickens riding the bomb in Dr. Strangelove?

[Coeus]

Because they both couldn't see where they were heading?

[Coeus]

I forget, which of our regulars is "ghost of bastiat"? He is killing it in the comments.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

I think it's kibby's bf, Serious Man. Could be wrong though.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

Reading the comments makes me remember that people like Tony are a lot more common than I would like to believe.

[RishJoMo]

Dude seems to know what makes the world go round. Wow.

http://www.GotsDatAnon.tk

[Sheriff Bart]

I was watching the HNL network, and the show before Nancy Grace began. This was the story, but I couldn't stand listening to her long enough to know if she even brought up the pain medication.

DENVER (AP) ? Authorities say a Denver man accused of killing his wife while she was on the phone with a 911 dispatcher ate marijuana-infused candy before the attack.

Search warrants released Thursday said 44-year-old Kristine Kirk told dispatchers her husband bought and ate the candy before he started hallucinating and frightening the couple's three children.

Police say 47-year-old Richard Kirk also may have taken prescription pain medication before he began acting erratically.

It was not clear whether the pot influenced his behavior.