A.M. Links: Obama Urges Democrats to Defend Obamacare, Pro-Russian Activists Refuse to Leave Government Buildings in Eastern Ukraine, Mt. Everest Avalanche Kills 12

Credit: The White House

• President Obama has urged Democrats to defend and be proud of Obamacare ahead of the upcoming midterms. Obama also said he is "still puzzled" about why Republicans have made Obamacare their "sole agenda item."
• Some 268 people, many of whom are high school students, remain missing after a ferry capsized off South Korea's coast on Wednesday. It was reported today that the vice principal of Ansan Danwon High School, which many of the missing students attended, hung himself from a tree. He was one of the first people to be rescued from the sinking ferry. An arrest warrant is being sought for the captain of the ferry.
• Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) has said that talks between the European Union, Ukraine, Russia, and the U.S. should not delay the implementation of sanctions on Russia's financial and banking sector. Pro-Russian insurgents in eastern Ukraine are refusing to leave the government buildings they have occupied, saying that they will only do so if the government in Kiev resigns.
• According to Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg the Supreme Court will ultimately have to rule on the legality of NSA surveillance programs.
• An avalanche on a climbing route on Mt. Everest has killed 12 people. Three are missing.
• Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, son of Vice President Joe Biden, will run for governor of Delaware in 2016.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

President Obama has urged Democrats to defend and be proud of Obamacare ahead of the upcoming midterms.

Tone deaf or sadist? You decide.

[Tonio]

Oh, that's going to make for an interesting election season.

[Rich]

After the midterms they can adopt whatever attitude they want.

[Ted S.]

Why can't it be both?

[Auric Demonocles]

He's not up for election.

[wareagle]

egotist. Hubris knows few bounds.

[Pro Libertate]

Whistling past the graveyard, I think.

[Lord Humungus]

yeah, I would go with the "The lady doth protest too much, methinks". If it's so great, then you would just sit back and bask in the brilliance, not continue to hawk it like a cheap salesman.

[Pro Libertate]

That's exactly right. And no amount of speechifying or misdirection is going to convince people that healthcare is doing anything but getting much, much worse.

[BigT]

ProL, that's true for most of those here, but my many prog friends and relatives think it is great that poor people are being helped, and it was only a bad roll-out.

I expect that the worst is yet to come, however, when the employer mandated coverage kicks in and the other 85% of working people are faced with the new policies.

[Pro Libertate]

Poor people already had coverage. Before this law was ever enacted.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Second Fetish Model Arrested In Florida Animal Torture Case

[mr simple]

More interesting, from the slide show at the bottom of the article:

Percy Foster, 35

According to the Sunday Sport, Foster was a dwarf, a porn star, and a Gordon Ramsay (above) lookalike, a combination that should have made the man a legend in the blue film industry. Indeed, Foster had already purchased a BMW and a diamond-studded soda-making machine in anticipation of vast riches. So it was a shock to everyone when he was discovered dead and partially eaten in -- of all things-- an underground badger's den.

[Brett L]

I feel like I should stand to defend my state, but no. Fuck these people. Florida has an apparently infinite number of grotesque and stupid people.

[Entropy Void]

Probably carpetbaggers anyways. Just 'cos it happens in Florida don't mean they were born and raised in Florida.

[Brett L]

Also, I'll see your Florida woman story and raise you.

Chrystal Hassell, 37, told investigators she, her boyfriend and her 11-month-old child checked into a motel room at the Vacation Host Inn on Friday night in Ocala. She said that even though she was seven months pregnant, she started going into labor after smoking crack cocaine for an entire day.

Vincent Terry, Hassell's boyfriend, left with the 11-month-old boy to run an errand, so Hassell delivered the baby alone in the bathtub. According to a Marion County Sheriff's Office report, Hassell even cut the umbilical cord with her teeth.

[Coeus]

All these Florida woman stories, Florida man feels left out.

A Ft. Meyers man is facing two counts of attempted second degree murder and one count of battery after assaulting a jogger and then hitting two women with his car while taking his daughter to school.

Eric Noel Montez, 28, was driving his 7 year-old daughter to school when a jogger tapped his car believing Monetz had driven too close to him. According to NBC 2, Montez stopped his car, chased the jogger down on foot, and punched him in the face multiple times.

Two women witnessed the altercation and told Montez to stop and that they were calling the police.

Montez then got back in his car, backed up before pulling forward hitting the one of the women with the front of his P T Cruiser sending her flying over the cars hood.

As Montez attempted to leave the scene, the second woman ran screaming after him.

Deputies say Montez stopped the car, threw it into reverse and swerved to hit and drive over the woman.

[Entropy Void]

No Native Floridian would drive a PT Cruiser. Prolly originally from Joisey.

[Brett L]

"You fucking scold me in front of my fucking kid?!"

I've seen it. Never understood it, but seen it.

[Agammamon]

This, *this* is the sort of person who'll survive the nuclear apocalypse. Nothing left moving in the wastes except cockroaches and Floridians.

God, we need global warming more than ever.

[Entropy Void]

Floridians LOVE global warming.
Gives us more time at the beach.

[Brett L]

I know. I'm supposed to go out to Port St Joe this weekend and all we've got up here is rain and chill. What am I, Canadian? Give me heat so I can go in the water.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, son of Vice President Joe Biden, will run for governor of Delaware in 2016.

That's a little fucking deal.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Common Core lessons blasted for sneaking politics into elementary classrooms

[lap83]

Don't worry, they'll get rid of those lessons as soon as a Republican is in office.

[Injun, as in from India]

Is this a hoax?

[Zeb]

I really have to wonder that as well. It seems like a joke. Or someone deliberately trying to make common core look bad.

[Rhywun]

"the commands of government officials must be obeyed by all"

OBEY!

[Zeb]

If that is for real, what the fuck are these people thinking?

I don't know a whole lot about common core, but it doesn't seem like a terrible thing. Most of what I've heard about it seems pretty good (though I'm certainly not in favor of it being adopted as a national standard or something like that). So I have to wonder, is that just trolling, or are these people really that idiotic?

[invisible furry hand]

The NZ Herald's take on the avalanche is awesome:

A deadly avalanche on Mount Everest is believed to have avoided any New Zealanders on the world's tallest mountain.

[Tonio]

Now I understand why Aussies make fun of kiwi's for being otnay ootay ightbray.

[Ted S.]

They make fun of kiwi's what for not being too bright?

[Tonio]

Rather the same set of jokes that Americans tell about West Virginians, I believe.

[UnCivilServant]

Why would we joke about Virginians, West or Otherwise? We've got NYC and Jersey to make horribly derogitory jokes about.

[Brett L]

Arkansas.

[Tonio]

Should be "Kiwis" of course.

[sarcasmic]

Harry Reid Calls Cliven Bundy Supporters "Domestic Terrorists"
"I repeat: what happened there was domestic terrorism"

http://www.infowars.com/harry-.....errorists/

"They had children lined up. They wanted to make sure they got hurt first"

What a douche.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Says the king of the colonists.

[Lord Humungus]

The 'War on Women' Failed in 2012
And there's no reason to believe it will work in 2014. The exit polls tell the real story.

A closer look at the numbers reveals that Mr. Obama's success with the ladies actually stemmed from his well-known appeal to minority voters. In 2012, 72% of all women voters identified themselves as "white." This subset preferred Mitt Romney by a crushing 14-point advantage, 56% to 42%. Though Democrats ratcheted up the women's rhetoric in the run-up to Election Day, the party did poorly among the white women it sought to influence: The Republican advantage in this crucial segment of the electorate doubled to 14 points in 2012 from seven points in 2008. In the race against Mr. Romney, Obama carried the overall female vote?and with it the election?based solely on his success with the 28% of women voters who identified as nonwhite. He carried 76% of Latina women and a startling 96% of black women.

The same discrepancy exists when considering marital status. In 2012, nearly 60% of female voters were married, and they preferred Mr. Romney by six points, 53% to 46%. Black and Latina women, on the other hand, are disproportionately represented among unmarried female voters, and they favored Mr. Obama by more than 2-to-1, 67% to 31%.

[robc]

Crosstab needed. I want to see married white women and unmaaried white women and etc.

[BigT]

a startling 96% of black women.

Startling. Really?

[califernian]

Imagine if 96% of white males voted against him. We'd never stop hearing about how racist they are as a cohort.

Never heard a peep yet about all these racist black women who will blindly vote for their own kind in racist solidarity...

[sarcasmic]

After Nevada ranch stand-off, emboldened militias ask: where next?

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

[Steve G]

Home, before you lose the moral advantage/high ground.

[mr lizard]

And the tactical one... Because unfortunately George Washington's hammer is still used for ants.

[sarcasmic]

Al Gore Calls Global Warming Skeptics "Immoral, Unethical And Despicable"?

http://weaselzippers.us/183066.....espicable/

[wareagle]

projection is never pretty.

[Lord Humungus]

well that describes me to a T.

[WTF]

Al Gore? The same Al Gore who said five years ago that in five years there would be no more polar ice caps? And literally made hundreds of millions of dollars off of his scare mongering? That Al Gore?

[Matrix]

his intentions were good

[Brett L]

Well, if anyone would know...

[Matrix]

I'm super cereal!

[Fist of Etiquette]

According to Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg the Supreme Court will ultimately have to rule on the legality of NSA surveillance programs.

Constitutional!

[Rich]

It's a surveiltax!

[mr lizard]

The fact that they can make you eat brocli means leads to a significant government interest in the being able to monitor compliance.

[Injun, as in from India]

Better stock up on vomit bags. The ruling will make us - the selfish, amoral, anarchist, unethical libertarians - vomit a river.

[BigT]

All that info goes through the PUBLIC airwaves, so it's not private!!

/s

[sarcasmic]

So Tom's got a new girlfriend? Katie Holmes pulls out her sexiest mini dress as it emerges that Cruise has moved on

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....ed-on.html

After he was linked with Orange Is The New Black star Laura Prepon, a fellow Scientologist, a rep for the 51-year-old told MailOnline the two had not even met.

The redhead from That 70's Show? What else can that asshole ruin?

[PRX]

she's 5'10". it would never work.

[Rich]

Someone must have put him up to it.

[Tonio]

This is old news, I believe. Also, I believe Prepon was a Scientologist before she met Cruise, so was already demonstrably crazy.

[Restoras]

Meh, at this point, who is ruining who? She gets to add a notch to her bedpost and he just looks kinda pathetic.

[KDN]

Not much to ruin. She hasn't aged well, IMO.

[LiveFreeOrDiet]

So Tom's got a new girlfriend?

Beard. The proof is on Youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKbLquqxBAQ

[mr simple]

She's a scientologist, so she has proven an inability to make good decisions.

[invisible furry hand]

Italy has taken to eBay to sell luxury cars owned by the state that were "no longer deemed essential" in a bid to raise money.

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/art.....-cars-ebay

[Injun, as in from India]

Luxury is essential. At least when it comes to government

[Bee Tagger]

According to Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg the Supreme Court will ultimately have to rule on the legality of NSA surveillance programs.

Will they also get to rule on whether their ruling will make a difference?

[sarcasmic]

Lesbian police chief with 20 years service is summarily fired by new anti-gay mayor who said 'he'd rather have an alcoholic near his child'
Crystal Moore, a 20-year veteran with the Latta Police Department in South Carolina, was relieved of her duties as chief of police on Tuesday
This was following seven reprimands handed down by newly elected Earl Bullard
The chief had recently discovered the parks and recreations director Vontray Sellers had operated a city vehicle with a suspended license
During the probe, Moore found that Bullard failed to conduct a proper background check on Sellers before giving him the job
Council member, Jared Taylor, also provided WBTW with a recording of a phone call in which the mayor makes several anti-gay slurs
'I'm not going to let two women stand up there and hold hands and let my child be aware of it, and I'm not going to see them do it with two men neither,' Bullard was caught saying

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

[Tonio]

See, the Socons don't want to interfere with the lives of others, they just want to be left alone. LOL.

[robc]

This is the problem with government. If it was a private pd, I would say "so what?". At will employment and all.

[Tonio]

That wasn't my point, robc. Let's try this again.

I'm not going to let two women stand up there and hold hands and let my child be aware of it...

The article mentioned nothing about the police chief having a partner, or engaging in public displays of affection. This is a clear case of prejudice against her merely for being a lesbian, and fear of his children being exposed to people different than him. I'm not one for throwing around the term homophobia, but this is a clear case of that.

[robc]

My point stands. Who cares if a private pd chief is homophobic? Unless you are a customer, then you can care.

[Rhywun]

Not sure what a "private police department" is supposed to be - does that mean I get to choose between competing departments...? Where does this exist, anywhere?

[Tonio]

It doesn't. But there are some people here who argue that all LE should be privatized. And that would lead to conflicts, not just competition, between PD's. That's the difference between libertarians and anarchists; we're (mostly) smart enough to realize that absolutism gets impractical after a certain point.

[robc]

Actually, it isnt about practicality. Anarchy doesnt and cant exist, so isnt a real option.

Maximizing liberty requires some minimal amount of government and that might include police. Might not too.

[robc]

Malls.

[Zeb]

It's the mayor who is the homophobe.

Seems like both bigotry and good old fashioned corruption played roles here.

[Tonio]

Reading comprehension fail, robc.

[robc]

No fail, i just brainod. I meant mayor.

[robc]

I blame typing on my phone.

[wareagle]

I look forward the outrage from the people who were cheerleading over Eich's ouster at Mozilla.

[Steve G]

hoover damn!

[Tonio]

Why, bassboat, you make it sound like some sort of kulture warz boardgame. What about treating this case on its own merits, not implying a defense of this action as being justified by an unrelated incident on the other side of the continent?

[sarcasmic]

not implying a defense of this action as being justified by an unrelated incident on the other side of the continent?

I didn't get that at all. The implication that I got was that it's hypocritical to for a group to force someone out of their job and then bitch when the other side does it to them.

[Zeb]

Yeah, that's what wareagle was doing, but why? Mozilla wasn't mentioned.

And the people who would cheer the Eich thing and be outraged over this may be assholes for pushing someone out of a job for private political views, but they really aren't being inconsistent or hypocritical. They don't care about fair treatment of different points of view. They care about shunning people who they perceived as opposed to gay rights.
I'm not saying that's a good thing, but it is a consistent position: punish people who oppose gay marriage or who are anti-gay bigots.

[sarcasmic]

thoughtcrime is death

[Steve G]

The pic of her was everything I imagined it would be.

How long before Bullard is Mozilla'd?

[LiveFreeOrDiet]

Why is that policeman wearing lipstick?

[Tonio]

Because it's actually dunphy, and those "contests" to which he was always talking about competing in were drag shows. Do I have to explain everything to you straight people?

[Brett L]

I can believe that. I would not want to have a fist fight with a drag queen. Those bitches are crazy.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Oversight member on Lois Lerner coordination with DOJ: 'Now I see why IRS is scared to give up emails'
..."I got a call today from Richard Pilger Director Elections Crimes Branch at DOJ ? He wanted to know who at IRS the DOJ folks could talk to about [Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Sheldon] Whitehouse idea at the hearing that DOJ could piece together false statement cases about applicants who 'lied' on their 1024s ? saying they werent planning on doing political activity, and then turning around and making large visible political expenditures," Lerner wrote in a May 8, 2013 email to a colleague, just days before the IRS scandal broke.

"DOJ is feeling like it needs to respond, but want to talk to the right folks at IRS to see whether there are impediments from our side and what, if any damage this might do to IRS programs. I told him that sounded like we might need several folks from IRS ?," Lerner wrote....

[Restoras]

Phake Skandel!

[WTF]

Fake. Scandal.

[sarcasmic]

'I didn't call the cops because he was one of them': Social worker claims her ex-police officer boss raped her 18 times in 'torture chamber' office
Jane Doe, 47, from The Bronx, filed federal lawsuit against former NYPD officer and supervisor at Highbridge Woodycrest Center Michael Riengold
Suit claims Reingold, 53, relocated social worker to a remote office, where he forced her to have sex with him on pain of being fired
Alleged victim said her boss showed her his gun and said she must obey him
Reingold was fired last fall and now works for hospitality company affiliated with the Yankees

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....ffice.html
The majority of the comments side with the cop, of course. I'm mixed. After all, social workers tend to be cut from the same scummy cloth as cops, so I'm finding it difficult to pity her.

[Andrew S.]

Cut from the same cloth, but well down the list of scum.

[KDN]

Reingold was fired last fall and now works for hospitality company affiliated with the Yankees

If you've ever dealt with a Yankee Stadium usher, you know that this makes perfect sense.

[Ted S.]

Aren't all NYC people like that?

[sarcasmic]

What do you expect when the light at the end of the tunnel is New Jersey?

[Injun, as in from India]

LOL.

[KDN]

The Mets' ushers are chipper and polite. Must be the tips.

[Restoras]

It's easy to be chipper and polite when no one shows up for the games. Hard to believe the Mets were more popular than the Yankees in the 80's

[KDN]

The Mets could probably get back to that point if they weren't run by abject morons. New York is a front-runner's town. It's not going to happen so long as the Wilpons are around, though. Their incompetence pervades everything they touch. And this goes beyond baseball; I've dealt with other Sterling entities in a professional capacity, management always seemed to be ignorant micromanagers that didn't realize how ignorant or meddlesome they were.

I'd feel bad for Mets fans if only so many weren't so smarmy about rooting for a loser team that tries so hard but, gosh-darnit, just can't compete with the big, bad, Yankees.

[Ivan Pike]

claims her ex-police officer boss raped her 18 times in 'torture chamber' office

social workers tend to be cut from the same scummy cloth as cops, so I'm finding it difficult to pity her.

It's ok as long as they are of the despised class, right?

[sarcasmic]

Because lacking pity is the same thing as condoning, right? idjit

[Ivan Pike]

It was the lack of pity I was commenting on, which I found telling.

idjit - cute

[sarcasmic]

which I found telling

What else does your straw man whisper to you at night?

[Ivan Pike]

So you didn't find it difficult to pity her? No straw man, that is why I even quoted it.

[sarcasmic]

Yes I find it difficult to pity her. Social workers are scum. But that doesn't mean I think it's OK when they are raped, which is your obvious implication.

[Ivan Pike]

But that doesn't mean I think it's OK when they are raped, which is your obvious implication.

It's not OK to rape scum, but you have difficulty feeling pity for them when it happens. I understand exactly what you are saying.

I have no idea what progressives have to do with this discussion.

[sarcasmic]

Unlike retarded progressives, I can think one way and feel another about something.

[Rhywun]

despised class

"New Yorker"?

[Bones]

Unless this was 18 times in one session, where she was not able to leave the whole time, I call bullshit. How does a 47 year old social worker not know there are other police depts that she could report the assault to, such as the state police? Or FBI? Anyone but the dept her attacker worked for? And if you're raped at gun point once and then let go, wouldn't you stay away from the guy, or is keeping your job worth being raped 17 more times? Is she a social worker because she's just that stupid? I lack sympathy for her because she's either too stupid to help herself or because she's lying.

[The Late P Brooks]

According to Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg the Supreme Court will ultimately have to rule on the legality of NSA surveillance programs.

Ink up the rubber stamps.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

The New New Professionalism awaits.

[Ted S.]

You just gave me a horrible image of Scalia rubber-stamping Ginsburg's butt like that scene from Closely Watched Trains.

[Tonio]

And you had to go and share that nightmare with the rest of us. Thanks a lot, Theodore.

[invisible furry hand]

Shopping centre introduces fast and slow walking lanes

more

[Ted S.]

I can't wait to see how that's going to work in real life. 🙂

[lap83]

It'll turn into the slow walking and standing lanes, respectively.

[Rich]

Quaint solution, ifh.

In the States we have "the Knockout Game".

[Kaptious Kristen]

Speaking of, I was walking up the escalator at the train station this morning and there was a tourist standing on the left. I said "excuse me". The wife of the couple looked at me like I was fucking insane and said "are you trying to get by us?!?!?!". When I told her here in DC we stand on the right and walk on the left, she looked like she had swallowed a frog. As if standing aside were the height of psychosis.

Then about 20 other people behind me proceeded up the steps, and past her and her husband's fat asses.

Fucking tourists.

[robc]

Tourists are the only good part of dc.

[robc]

They were probably from ohio. Those bastards do the same thing on the interstate.

[Kaptious Kristen]

I have noticed that, too. Especially in and around Cleveland.

[BigT]

I'll tell my wife to move over. It's a bad habit of hers.

[robc]

They are worse oyt of ohio. They clog up I65 in KY.

[Kaptious Kristen]

BTW, I think tourists are OK as long as they abide by some simple rules. Well, one rule: don't fuck with commuters. Especially captious libertarian commuters on a Friday morning.

[robc]

One of my great joys as a tourist is fucking with commuters.

[robc]

Back in 91 I was walking against the morning rush in Venice. Accidental fun. Tight alley, too many people, and one asshole going the wrong way!

[KDN]

Isn't that escalator etiquette everywhere? I've never been to a mall, airport, or train station where this wasn't the case. Must be my east coast bias.

[Tonio]

My guess is that they are from a small town.

[Restoras]

Yes, you might be right about that Tonio. People from small towns don't understand the basic rules of navigation in a big city, though I'm surprised they were so rude.

On the hand - they may be from NYC.

[Tonio]

Well, they probabably thought that KK was being rude. Their only escalator experience may have been in a department store where the escalator is more of a convenience than a necessity, and nobody is in that much of a hurry. It never occurred to them that the other people on the escalator were commuting, on a tight schedule, etc.

Shorter: Rubes.

[Coeus]

Even though I follow the rule elsewhere, in Texas, I've never seen anyone climb the steps. People look at me funny when I do it here now out of habit.

[Azathoth!!]

You ride the escalator.

You walk up the steps.

Never seen this 'stand on the right, walk on the left' thing. There's a bajillion people on the escalator.

If you want to walk, get the hell off the escalator and walk. Otherwise, shut up and stand there. And be grateful I don't fart.

But that's New York. Not a ton of escalators in the subway system. Stairs are faster.

Very provincial to assume that everyone would know a local custom.

[Brett L]

Proud kiwi shows off his beauty-contest girlfriend to the Royals.

[Rich]

Obama also said he is "still puzzled" about why Republicans have made Obamacare their "sole agenda item."

With all due respect, Mr. President, many Republicans are "still puzzled" about why Democrats have made Obamacare their "sole agenda item."

[sarcasmic]

Is THIS the Loch Ness Monster? Satellite image on Apple's Maps software may finally have solved the mystery of Nessie
Satellite in the atmosphere was accessed using Apple's satellite map app
Shows a creature swimming below the surface of the world famous loch
Location just south of Dores - only be viewed on some iPads and iPhones

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

[Tonio]

Interesting picture.

FTFA: A satellite high in the atmosphere, accessed using Apple's satellite map app...

The Guardian might want to consult an expert before making statements like that. Even satellites at the outer fringes of the atmosphere experience a braking effect and fall to earth.

[Brett L]

So you admit that satellites interact with the atmosphere?

[Tonio]

I didn't phrase that as well as I could have. Depends on the orbital parameters, obviously.

[Steve G]

I know the bar is low at DM, but always amazed at what passes for journalism. How exactly does yet another piece of unconfirmed evidence "solve" anything?

[Restoras]

If the purpose of newspapers is to sell newspapers...

[SRVolunteer]

The location was just south of Dores, were beamed from Apple's satellite map app and could only be viewed on some iPads and iPhones.

Huh? Apple's app grabs data directly from satellites when requested to do so by your iDevice? Rather than pulling aerial (from an airplane!) photography that was taken last spring and has been stored on a server somewhere?

[Mock-star]

That picture is most definitely an aboleth.

[sarcasmic]

'I hope you die!' Furious US Judge lashes out at convicted killer after she snickers and asks 'is that it?' as victim's aunt recounts murder
Michigan Judge John McBain snapped at 31-year-old Camia Gamet after she laughed and interrupted an emotional account from the victim's family
Gamet was convicted in March of brutally murdered Marcel Hill, her boyfriend, two years ago
McBain said in her sentencing hearing Wednesday it was 'one of the worst cold-blooded murders he's ever seen'
After Gamet rolled her eyes, snickered and then interrupted Hill's aunt, the judge lost it
'You're going to shut your mouth or I'm going to have some duct tape put on it,' he said

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

[Ted S.]

Fuck the rule of law.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

People like this sometimes make me wish we would go back to hangings on the courthouse lawn.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

How does this implicate the rule of law, exactly?

[Agammamon]

Its already bad enough that 'victims' (ie people related to the person killed) get to come up and make a post-evidence/pre-sentencing statement that will influence the judge.

Now the accused is expected to treat this crap seriously?

[Azathoth!!]

Accused? Once you're convicted you're not the 'accused' anymore.

And why shouldn't the family get to petition for clemency, severity or slow flaying? It's all they're gonna get.

[Lord Humungus]

Lots of sign-ups for Obamacare ? and almost as many questions

The news was so good that even Republicans should, in the president's words, admit that the Affordable Care Act is working.

Maybe not. What the administration has not told us is how many of those 19 million people already had coverage and lost it because of the Affordable Care Act. Or how many of them would have been covered by insurance this year and changed plans to get a big subsidy. Or how many of them thought they were going to get a better health plan but found out that their doctor is not in the network. Or how many of them spent more on insurance than they felt they could afford because there were no lower-cost alternatives. Or how many will find out that the taxpayer subsidy they are receiving will turn out to be too high?they might get a rise in a few months or work some overtime and will make a little too much money this year, or it might just be that the government's computers didn't get it right?and will have to repay the Treasury hundreds and perhaps thousands of dollars?

[sarcasmic]

Graphic monochrome images from a liberated Denmark show how kidnap squads hunted down and abused women who had slept with Germans at the end of WWII
Black and white images were taken during liberation of Denmark in 1945
Pictures depict members of Danish Resistance rounding up suspected conspirators
Images show British paratroopers cheered through streets of Copenhagen
Album has been revealed for the first time as it goes up for auction

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

[Tonio]

As the WW2 generation fades from the earth more about this sort of thing is starting to come out. Unquestionably, the Nazis were pure evil. But the allies were not as virtuous as they made themselves out to be.

[sarcasmic]

You know what they say about who writes the history books.

[Restoras]

4,000,000 Germans were marched to Russia after the war for forced labor. Did they deserve that?

[Snap and Crackle, no Pop]

Yes.

[Injun, as in from India]

War brings out the worst in men.

[sarcasmic]

The snake who really bit off more than it could chew: Centipede EATS its way out viper's stomach
Researchers found the two creatures on Golem Grad, in Macedonia
They believe the young snake had underestimated the size of her prey
Both creatures were dead and the centipede was heavier than the viper

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

[Rich]

That'd make a good trailer for the upcoming film "Jonah".

[Steve G]

I certainly hope you're joking. Is Michael Bay directing?

[Rich]

"Joking"? Moi?

[Rhywun]

Aww, centipedes are cu-... OMFG what the hell is that thing??

[Fist of Etiquette]

An avalanche on a climbing route on Mt. Everest has killed 12 people. Three are missing.

Rescue teams are currently searching the Indian Ocean.

[AdamJ]

Well done.

[sarcasmic]

This morning on the radio I heard some Democrat politician accuse our state's governor of waging war against the poor because he doesn't want to expand welfare. Looks like Tony isn't the only idiot who feels that not giving is taking.

[Tonio]

There's a lot of that going around, Sarc.

[Entropy Void]

Local Alt Paper guy here in Central Florida touting his appearances on MSNBC about how the Gov murdered a woman by not expanding Medicare. Silly-assed Progtard.

[WhatAboutBob]

Obama Administration Encouraged Insider Trading

Since then the general population has gotten far more used to encouraged criminal activity and facilitated insider trading by the government so comparable revelations no longer generate the expected loathing and disgusts, which is perhaps why over the past week the Obama administration once again leaked material information, in effect allowing and encouraging frontrunning of public data, when it told "asset managers last week that it was planning additional sanctions against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine."

[Injun, as in from India]

Fake scandal. Not a smidgen of corruption.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Good Friday hymn by the Cure:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa2nLEhUcZ0

[Lord Humungus]

U.S. Warns Money Managers of More Russia Sanctions

The Obama administration told asset managers last week that it was planning additional sanctions against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine.

Officials from the Treasury Department and the National Security Council met in Washington with mutual-fund and hedge-fund managers, according to a person who attended. Their comments sent a message that more sanctions are on the way and that investors, if they were concerned about the impact, should manage that risk, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the discussions weren't public.

wait, isn't that insider trading?

[Lord Humungus]

I see WhatAboutBob beat me to it.

[Restoras]

Not when they do it.

[Rich]

Edward Cocaine has a cooler smile than the Mona Lisa.

[Lord Humungus]

Jess the border collie named and shamed as 'vandal' behind six-month spate of tyre-slashing in Cumbrian village

And, after spending six months and countless hours studying CCTV police got the lead when it transpired that Jess had been using her daily walk to bite the two nearside tyres of cars she came across - causing slow punctures and flat tyres by morning.

Jess had been allowed off her lead while being walked by her owners and had been nipping the tyres without them noticing.

[Ted S.]

A couple of summers ago US flags were going missing from gravestones in a cemetery somewhere up near Albany, with the local TV news engaging in the usual moral panic scare stories.

It turned out to be gophers or some other burrowing rodents taking the flags.

[Raven Nation]

And there was that incident during the 2012 election when some couple thought their front yard election sign was being vandalized by the opposition. Turns out it was a deer.

[invisible furry hand]

That deer was a paid operative of the Kochtopus

[Raven Nation]

+1 conspiracy

[Auric Demonocles]

It was a GM deer.

[Suthenboy]

What the hell is a 'tyre'?

[Entropy Void]

City in The Lebanon, not all that far from The Crimea which used to be a part of The Ukraine.

[Auric Demonocles]

Obama also said he is "still puzzled" about why Republicans have made Obamacare their "sole agenda item."

So is he actually retarded, or is he attempting to pull of the "Are you serious?" gambit?

[Rich]

Why can't it be both?

[Auric Demonocles]

Joez law strikes again.

[Rich]

Nice ctach.

[Pro Libertate]

He's trying to get people to think that statement is true. Of course, as we all know, there are a whole host of other issues the Republicans and the rest of us have with this government.

[Auric Demonocles]

He's trying to get people to think that statement is true.

That's the second option I was referring to.

[Pro Libertate]

It's all he's got unless he wants to start admitting error, which I believe is physically impossible for him.

[Coeus]

Not content just to gloat, Krugman also decides to cast aspersions on people fucked out of the ability to make their own health care decisions

Kliff doesn't make this point too explicitly, but this diagnosis has another crucial implication: the benefits of Obamacare, for all its imperfections, are immense. Millions of people who lived extremely anxious lives now have far more security than before. Compared with those benefits, the complaints of some already insured people that they have less choice of doctors than before, or that they're no longer allowed to retain minimalist plans, look like whining.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

He really is a bootlicker.

[Coeus]

I was gonna go with mendacious asshole. But bootlicker works.

[robc]

There are only so many times you can say "Fuck off, slaver". Before it loses uts meaning.

But its the proper response 99.44% of the time.

[Rich]

In 2014, the vagina hair trend is natural, big and bushy.

Any of the distaff commentariat care to weigh in on this?

[Auric Demonocles]

I'm pretty sure men are allowed to have an opinion on this too.

[Rich]

"Opinions are like vaginas. Not everybody has one, but the ones that people do have all stink."

[Palin's Buttplug]

"Once you get past the smell you got it licked".

[invisible furry hand]

Speak for yourself Rich.

As for your question, as with anything, the key is to be stylish, not fashionable. Living in a sub-tropical city, I prefer a minimalist look in all things

[Auric Demonocles]

I've got to agree that it's very easy to find ones which don't stink. Perhaps Rich needs to rethink the type of girl he's going after?

[Rich]

Perhaps you've not heard of the "OpinionsExcuses are like assholes" maxim? Stylish *and* practical.

[invisible furry hand]

I have. I was making a joke about your having a va-- ... oh, never mind

[Rich]

Well, I *never*!

[Tonio]

Booooosh!!1! Oh, wait.

[Steve G]

Ruh roh, looks like the hipster beard is moving south. A Publar Vortex if you will.

[Coeus]

Not a fan of the Don King in a scissorlock look.

[Auric Demonocles]

Hair in your teeth really sucks too.

[Steve G]

I'm stifling a LOL at work and crying my eyes out...

[Loki]

It's going to be very difficult to explain to the IT guys why I spewed soda all over my monitor and keyboard.

[Auric Demonocles]

I'm shocked that this many of you guys haven't heard this type of phrase already.

[lap83]

It was a cold winter.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

New book explores worldwide persecution of Christians

http://www.washingtontimes.com.....persecuti/

[Rich]

Creepy autonomous AI CCTV surveillance network watches all of Boston

It actually predict threats by itself, completely free of additional human programming, guidance or monitoring.

Now, if only it could neutralize those threats by itself, say by controlling armed drones, Boston would be truly safe.

[Loki]

Now, if only it could neutralize those threats by itself, say by controlling armed drones, Boston would be truly safe.

Why stop at just Boston? This sounds like exactly the kind of thing that needs to be done worldwide. Take the "human element" out of the WoT completely.

Maybe we should stop giving them ideas?

[Palin's Buttplug]

California beats ACA market projection by over 100%

Of that total, the state's Obamacare exchange signed up nearly 1.4 million people in private health insurance plans by the close of open enrollment, officials said. That tally exceeds original projections by nearly 816,000 people.

"That is a huge number," said Peter Lee, executive director of the Covered California exchange, of the 1,395,929 official sign-ups since enrollment began Oct. 1.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101592978

[Lord Humungus]

California? how shocking.

[WhatAboutBob]

Only 58% have paid their first month's premium, 29% are in the 18-34 age bracket, 88% will receive subsidies, and only 43% used the Covered California website.

So no mention of how many of these signups previously had coverage but were dropped because of Obamacare. But with 88% of them eligible for subsidies it shows that !!FREE STUFF!! is always a winner for politicians (and a loser for taxpayers).

I bet those 88% getting subsidies will have fun doing their income taxes next year and some find out they have to repay some of that money because they calculated their income wrong.

[Palin's Buttplug]

My link says 85% have paid.

[The Late P Brooks]

Compared with those benefits, the complaints of some already insured people that they have less choice of doctors than before, or that they're no longer allowed to retain minimalist plans, look like whining.

Utilitarianism is fun.

[Pope Jimbo]

The low birthrate of Canada explained in one simple pic

https://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/8149258240/h83E5C445/

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"in television, movies, and music, just because conservative ideals are receding does not mean that liberalism has actually carried the day....

"...an absence of reactionary sentiment is not the same thing as the presence of progressive values."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....c=nl_popns

[Palin's Buttplug]

Those terms confuse debate for most of us.

Conservative is reactionary, traditional.

Progressive = active change using government force.

Liberal = laissez-faire.

It is why I identify with "liberal".

[Lord Humungus]

I always thought you identified as an asshat.

[wareagle]

which totally explains your fellating O-care. Nothing says laissez-faire more than a govt program that forces participation under threat of fines.

[Loki]

But O-care is totally a private market insurance solution. If you weren't a closted Rethuglikkkan you'd understand that. /sarc

[Raven Nation]

Been interesting to watch the comment trends of my liberal friends on social media. During the Obamacare debate, there were all about healthcare for the poor, etc., etc.

When the system was implemented and started tanking and costing people money, they began criticizing the Affordable Care Act as a product of Big Insurance and crony capitalism.

[sarcasmic]

You almost had me until that last line. Haaaaaaaaa ha ha ha! idjit

[Restoras]

Yes, liberal means forcing people to provide healthcare for others. Force being the operative word and included in its own definition of Progtard. Honestly, this clown is so retarded I really don't know how its brain regulates the flow of oxygen through its respiratory system.

[Loki]

It's not a real person, it's a poorly coded computer algorithm that can't even pass the turing test, much less a voight-kampf.

[Elspeth Flashman]

Government force. How can you make that sound good?

[Lord Humungus]

but it comes with free cake.

Warning: cake frosting is made with dog shit.

[Injun, as in from India]

Warning: cake frosting is made with dog shit.

But those dogs are the 1-percenters' dogs. Tax the rich!

[Auric Demonocles]

The system the company built for Boston after the bombings is on the bleeding edge of such technology

Apparently "bleeding edge" is a real term, but I've never seen it before.

[Auric Demonocles]

Didn't mean to go all P Brooks here. This was in response to Rich's video surveillance link.

[Lord Humungus]

Schoolboy in coma after lunch time testicle squeeze prank

A teenager is in a coma after another lad tugged his testicles as part of a prank that went wrong.

The 17-year-old, who is from Artane in Dublin, suffered cardiac arrest while joking around with other youths.

He passed out after the incident which happened during his lunch-break on Thursday.

[Rich]

lunch time testicle squeeze prank

Nice band name.

[Lord Humungus]

Their first album was really good...

[Rich]

LOL

[Loki]

This is what happens when you read reason's coverage of wrong door SWAT raids during lunch.

[Ted S.]

Porn for EvH:

Ica pulls contested Easter commercial off TV

The clip in question (below) shows the four staff members seated around a table for Easter dinner. As store manager Stig breaks a baguette in two, a male colleague references the breaking of the bed in the bible.

But when he also points out that it represents Christ's body, a female colleague interjects to say that talk about bodies around the dinner table grosses her out. She even shudders. And shouldn't her male colleagues wax their backs, while on the topic of bodies?

There's a video of the ad, although of course it's in Swedish.

Radio Sweden interviewed one of the offended people, and it's fun to hear the double standards coming from the interviewer (the interview is in English). Especially because on Wednesday's show SR was going nuts about so-called neo-Nazis getting permits to march on May Day, and how dare that be allowed.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Well, they pulled the ad and said they'd avoid such things in future.

Good thing the ad didn't show a picture of Mohammad!

[Loki]

First species in which the female has the penis and male has vagina discovered.

It's called Homo Hipsterus. It's believed to be caused by the wearing of skinny jeans by males who were already beta to begin with.

[Coeus]

Don't Hyena females have a penis also?

[Loki]

These are the first examples of animals with genitalia that reverse the traditional sex roles

Apparently not.

[Coeus]

Yep, just looked it up. Both sexes of hyena's have dicks. So not reversed, just a logistical nightmare. My bad.

[mr simple]

"It is very likely that female Neotrogla can coercively grasp and copulate with a reluctant male," Yoshizawa told Live Science. "In animals, coercive mating is generally an exclusive feature of males."

Are they promoting this rape culture?

[The Late P Brooks]

It was reported today that the vice principal of Ansan Danwon High School, which many of the missing students attended, hung himself from a tree.

What a culture of primitive savages.

An American high school principal would hire an agent and start booking appearances on the morning infotainment circuit.

[Lord Humungus]

Poll: Hillary Clinton's numbers worst since 2008, as GOP brand surges

The Fox News poll, from Democratic pollster Anderson Robbins Research and GOP pollster Shaw & Company, shows Clinton's favorable rating dropping to 49 percent, compared to 45 percent unfavorable.

The last time her numbers were in that ballpark was during the 2008 Democratic presidential primary race. After she ended her campaign, her favorable/unfavorable split was 47/46.

[Lord Humungus]

The more surprising part of the Fox poll, though, might be how people view the Republican Party. It shows Americans are now evenly split -- 45 percent to 45 percent -- on the GOP. As recently as October, the same poll showed just 30 percent of Americans viewed the GOP favorably, compared to 63 percent unfavorable.

The poll actually shows the GOP's numbers are about the same as the Democratic Party, which has long been held in better regard.

[Karl Hungus]

Woman who killed hit man hired by her husband eight years ago speaks out:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....47893.html

"I got the hammer and started hitting him with the hammer several times. My father, the carpenter, always taught me a hammer could be used for self defense -- the claw end would work the best."

[Elspeth Flashman]

Ban hammers, then?

[Karl Hungus]

Ban hammers, then?

That was the takeaway for me too. I find it appalling that I can just walk into a Home Depot and buy a hammer right over the counter - no background check, no ID, no waiting period.

[Elspeth Flashman]

I have two- or maybe three - unlicensed hammers in my house right now.

[Auric Demonocles]

Mary already got that.

[Loki]

Ban all hand tools except for licensed contractors, of course. Because no one needs a 30 piece socket set.

[Matrix]

Just think of all the JOBS it will create!

/Krugabe

[Tonio]

I see what you did, there, Elspeth.

[lap83]

That's pretty impressive, but I can't believe he's eligible for parole.
If I was her I'd move far away.

[Karl Hungus]

If I was her I'd move far away.

I think upon his release from prison, he needs to move far away. A woman who takes a man's hammer away and beats his bitch ass to death with it doesn't strike me as the type who's likely to flee in fear.

[Coeus]

My father, the carpenter, always taught me a hammer could be used for self defense -- the claw end would work the best."

Who art in heaven?

[Coeus]

alternatively...

[Auric Demonocles]

The real question is: when Voyager gets to this planet in another 8.7 million years, will it have left the solar system?

[Pro Libertate]

You already know the answer to that question, Lord of Kepler-186f.

[Auric Demonocles]

You can be my Hand.

[Pro Libertate]

I'm Lord of Vega-XM24. And several quadrillion other worlds that sit within the infinite range of Sol.

[Auric Demonocles]

Are you saying you have enough power? Such a strange concept.

[Pro Libertate]

No, no, no, I'm just saying that it takes time to count all the planets under my heel.

[Auric Demonocles]

That's what your Hand is for. Or maybe Master of Count.

[Pro Libertate]

My mentat is good, but finite in his capacities. I tried to hire a Kwisatz Haderach, but the only one available was some prescient human sandworm who kills staffers on a daily basis. I had to let him go.

[Auric Demonocles]

Have you considered an android? Only about half of them turn out to emotionless evil monsters capable of impersonating the good androids and mimicking your voice precisely.

[Pro Libertate]

Crap, I didn't think about that. I've got all my androids out subduing the Tarphag-Urk rebellion.

[Auric Demonocles]

I just use big rocks to subdue all my rebellions.

[Pro Libertate]

Yeah, we tried that. They bought some sort of force field system. But it doesn't block slow-moving objects, like leaping androids.

[Auric Demonocles]

Get slower rocks.

[Pro Libertate]

What, rocks with parachutes? Not sure how much those would induce behavioral changes.

[Rich]

"We've found one, but that means there's hundreds more."

Oh, don't be so modest. It's probably *thousands* more.

[Pro Libertate]

There are hundreds of billions of stars in the Milky Way. I figure a few of them have planets in the habitable range. It's got to be in the millions, at least.

[Auric Demonocles]

Whoa whoa whoa. Calm down there. All we really know is that it's in the tens. We better stick with that estimate.

[Pro Libertate]

I'm comfortable with this extrapolation.

[Rich]

Note to self: Use less-subtle sarcasm.

[invisible furry hand]

From the man who missed a vagina joke...

[Pro Libertate]

Oh, I understood you, but we don't mess around here with astronomical imprecision. Has Voyager taught you nothing?

[The Late P Brooks]

I'm sorry you're such a thin-skinned bitch.

"The point is, the repeal debate is and should be over," Obama said. "The Affordable Care Act is working, and I know the American people don't want us spending the next 2-1/2 years refighting the settled political battles of the last five years."

Obama's frustration over the Republican-led House's 50-plus votes to gut Obamacare was palpable. And he made clear that he takes the GOP resistance to the law personally. He said he would like Congress to consider changes to the law to make it work better but doubted Republicans were ready for that.

"I don't think there's been any hesitation on our part to consider ideas that would actually improve the legislation," Obama said. "The challenge we have is, is that if you have certain members in the Republican Party whose view is making it work better is a concession to me, then it's hard in that environment to actually get it done."

Petulant narcissism is unbecoming. Somebody should tell him.

[Auric Demonocles]

He said he would like Congress to consider changes to the law to make it work better but doubted Republicans were ready for that.

You mean like delaying the mandate for a while?

[Pro Libertate]

OR FUCKING REPEALING THE ABOMINATION?

[Auric Demonocles]

That too, but I was going with the thing that he (publicly) considers to be a "change to make it work better", and the Republicans tried to do it, but he refused them.

[Injun, as in from India]

No guvking way the republicans will repeal even if they control both houses of Congress and the White House.

[Pro Libertate]

Why on Earth not? The law isn't doing anyone any good.

[Injun, as in from India]

A) insurance company campaign contributions.
B) cowardice in doing anything bold.
C) inertia. Social security and Medicare are still around and have only grown over the years.

[Pro Libertate]

I think this one is different in that it's not at all popular.

[Auric Demonocles]

I don't think they will either, because if they did they couldn't use it to run against anymore.

[Loki]

You mean like delaying the mandate for a while?

Like the bill Congress talked about passing to delay the employer mandate that he was already delaying anyway? That he then threatened to veto? Because FYTW?

[Suthenboy]

A. The repeal debate is not over. It will never be over.

B. Don't tell me what I want.

C. No one is worried about a concession to you personally, shithead. We will not concede that the government, be it the president, congress, or the courts, can tell us what we have to buy.

D. Fuck you.

[Auric Demonocles]

E. Cut spending.

[Pro Libertate]

C.5 No

[Zeb]

The Affordable Care Act is working

That's the part that really struck me. You can't just say it's working without saying what your criteria are for calling something "working". And even then, to declare that it is working is not meaningful to the debate over whether it should be repealed. A program can work exactly as intended and still do no good for anyone. The Nazi extermination of Jews and others was an example of a government program that worked.

[Lord Humungus]

Egypt's gay community fears government crackdown
Recent series of raids and long jail terms fan fears that gay people may be new target of authoritarian government

Activists interviewed by the Guardian said they had documented up to nine raids across the country since October 2013 ? an unusually high rate of arrests. Most significantly, at least seven raids have seen people arrested at home rather than at parties or known meeting places, raising concerns that the community is facing the start of a targeted crackdown.

The latest and most concerning raid saw four men seized from their east Cairo apartment on 1 April within hours of signing the lease, according to activists. Within a week, the four were given jail terms of up to eight years ? sentences unusual for both their length and the speed at which they were handed down.

[OldMexican]

Maybe they should try bullying the current president of Egypt to make him step down. Worked so well here...

[The Late P Brooks]

Also-

Eight million people have now signed up for health coverage on government-run exchanges. That's 1 million more than the Obama administration's original target of 7 million enrollees for the first year of the mandate for individuals to carry insurance.

Some 35 percent of enrollees in the federal marketplace are under age 35, Mr. Obama added, suggesting that enough young, healthy people signed up to offset the cost of insuring older and less healthy people, who draw more on insurance.

The Obama administration's early targets included a goal of 38.5 percent of enrollees between the ages of 18 and 34. That number came in at 28 percent, the White House said on Thursday.

Young healthy people are necessary, or the whole thing falls apart. They don't even try to pretend this is anything but a subsidy and wealth transfer from young healthy people to old sick people. It's not insurance.

[Suthenboy]

"They don't even try to pretend this is anything but a subsidy and wealth transfer from young healthy people to old sick people."

That is the excuse, but the only transfer they are interested in is the one that occurs when they channel 1/6th of the economy through government channels. They get to skim a hell of a lot more into their own pockets than they were already.

[Lord Humungus]

hmm... didn't see anyone post this:

How Breast Implant Size is Relevant to Tax Policy

The relevant issue in Hess was whether breast implants ? traditionally thought of as a luxury good bought for personal benefit ? could be considered a legitimate business expense. Given that the plaintiff was an exotic dancer, she had a fair argument. But in general, taxpayers aren't allowed to treat personal appearance expenditures as business expenses unless they aren't suitable for personal use. Hess, arguing pro se, convincingly established that her implants were inconvenient in everyday life due to the sheer enormity of her breasts. The courts ruled in her favor:

Because petitioner's implants were so extraordinarily large, we find that they were useful only in her business. Accordingly, we hold that the cost of petitioner's implant surgery is depreciable.

There is good reason to believe the courts got this one right. As a matter of good tax policy, those expenses that go towards a taxable final good or service should not be hindered with additional taxation.

[lap83]

One could argue that anything you do appearance-wise is an inconvenient chore that helps you professionally, even if you're just an accountant.

[Zeb]

Sort of. But I think it can be demonstrated that most people will still clean and groom themselves and wear clean clothes whether or not their job requires it.

[Pro Libertate]

Huh. Christina Hendrix is The Adventures of the Busty Accountant.

[Sevo]

"President Obama has urged Democrats to defend and be proud of Obamacare"

Be PROUD you forced millions of people out of insurance plans they'd decided on after a lot of effort!

[Lord Humungus]

sounds legit...

Residents panic in Markurdi because chicken speaks in Arabic

NE gathered that the incident happened at about 12 noon around the Wadata central mosque premises located few meters from the divisional police station.

A woman in the area who gave her name as Aishetu said "I have not seen the chicken myself," she confessed. "I heard that police have taken it into custody and that is why the station is so crowded. Everybody wants to see it talk," she said.

The incident initially created a tense atmosphere for motorists plying the route as they hurriedly reversed to the opposite direction while buyers and sellers in the market ran helter-skelter for safety fearing it was a renewed hostility between farmers and herdsmen who ceased fire barely a week ago.

Our correspondent who observed the confusion that ensued near the police station reports that the policemen threw canister to disperse the crowd who returned few minutes later determined to see for themselves.

[Suthenboy]

"Obama also said he is "still puzzled" about why Republicans have made Obamacare their "sole agenda item.""

This could be the one time he is telling the truth. He probably is genuinely puzzled as to why the American people do not want this government unconstitutionally mandating that they buy something, be it broccoli or health insurance. As an authoritarian The Dave Brooks article telling us that we need binding and to obey I am sure resonated with Obama. People telling him "no".... not so much.

My father belongs to a german club. He said one of the guys is getting senile and is starting to spout nazi bullshit. The guy told him this week "You may not like Obama, but he is your president and you must respect him and do as he tells you".

Uh....no, we don't. He isn't our Fuhrer. He is the fucking hired help. We hired him to do a job and to do as he is told, not the other way around. In a world where the republicans had a little bit of sense and were not authoritarians in their own right, they could easily use the issue of Obamacare to win and win big. Sadly, I don't think we live in that world.

[sarcasmic]

I can see it. After all, it was done with the best of intentions. Why would anyone question his good intentions?

[Loki]

He is the fucking hired help. We hired him to do a job and to do as he is told

Like a slave, right? RAAAAAACCCCCISST!!!11!!!1!!!! /sarc

[Chinny Chin Chin]

Unfortunately, I think more Americans agree with your father's associate than agree with you.

The POTUS cult of personality looms large.

[The Late P Brooks]

He isn't our Fuhrer. He is the fucking hired help.

Why is it so hard for the boobousie to comprehend this?

[Auric Demonocles]

There's a lot of words in "public servant".

[Coeus]

Saving tweets is harassment.

Bullies use a variety of tools. They hurl slurs on Twitter, Reddit, and Facebook. They attack on comment sections and YouTube videos. They use spam- and abuse-reporting options to silence opponents. There are other, more subtle weapons.
Storify is an endlessly useful tool for presenting nuggets of information from across the Web in a cohesive package. The Daily Dot frequently uses it. It allows anyone to curate public information, including any public tweet. But where do you draw the line between chronicling conversations for the public interest and using it as a collection tool for harassment?

ElevatorGate, however, styles himself as an "investigative journalist." Some say ElevatorGate does not stalk or harass women; he merely collates tweets or uses Storify satirically. Another suggested the "feminist blog-o-sphere collectively confuses citation and quotation with stalking and hatred."
ElevatorGate often slaps his targets' tweets on his blog, and seems to poke fun at them by Storifying Twitter accounts satirizing "angry feminists." He claims his opponents want Storify to shut down his account because "it is embarrassing for them." His targets claim his actions have damaged their lives.

[Coeus]

Balls of muthafuckin steel.

Yesterday we, like many, were perplexed by Ed Snowden's decision to go on a Russian television program, and to ask Vladimir Putin a question about whether or not the Russians do mass surveillance like the NSA does (which was, of course, exposed by Ed Snowden). It was clearly playing into Putin's propaganda efforts, because Putin immediately took the opportunity to insist that no, Russia does not do mass surveillance like that. Of course, Putin's answer was not true. Many of Snowden's detractors immediately jumped on this as an example of how he was working for the Putin propaganda machine -- and many (including us), wondered if he was, at the very least, pressured to play a role in order to keep his temporary asylum. Others thought he was just being naive. Some Snowden supporters, however, insisted that we should hear him out, and see if there was some more specific motive behind his question.

Apparently, we didn't have to wait long. Snowden himself has now directly called Putin out for lying about Russian surveillance, and said that his question was designed to act similar to Senator Ron Wyden's now famous question to James Clapper, leading to Clapper's lie, which (in part) sparked Snowden's decision to finally release the files he'd been collecting.

[Suthenboy]

Huh. I guess Snowden is tired of living.

[Brett L]

I say this with great admiration, but the dude is obviously crazy. Gave up sex on the beach in Hawaii with a smoking hot ballet dancer and now fucks with the Premier and former head of the Russian spy agency? Good God, man.

[Pro Libertate]

It's hard not to think that Putin has at least considered murdering Snowden and blaming the U.S. Everyone would believe him.

[Coeus]

Rawstory, so full of hatred for snowden, didn't bother to google the story before it was written.

But short answer from Putin was: "Nyet, dude."

So why would Edward Snowden participate in this ham-handed Jeff Gannon-esque Potemkin presser?

Snowden , who is one of those guys who thinks his mad computer skillz automatically makes him the smartest guy in the room, really didn't plan his Escape From Security State U.S.A. very well, and is still stuck inside of Moscow with those eviction blues again. And, with an August deadline coming up, he either has to figure out how to renew his lease on the good life in his hipster neighborhood on the Volga or check-out craigslist for other countries who might be willing to give him free room and board in return for exclusive information that a U.S. spy agency spies.

[wareagle]

from supporters of the party of Clinton, the Kennedys, Edwards, Filner, et al.

[Zeb]

Oh good, nothing like a good dose of regional bigotry and partisan idiocy.

[Auric Demonocles]

According to wikipedia, the fist documented use is only in 83, and it came after leading edge.

[Lord Humungus]

That term once was used by our manager quite a bit - eg, "I don't want to be using bleeding edge technology here"

Of course this is the same guy who used to say that we weren't running a code shop... when we were, in fact, writing as much custom code as we could.

[Auric Demonocles]

Acceptable as long as you were (or least attempting to) getting laid.

[Coeus]

All praise welcomed, but it's an old joke.

[End Child Unemployment]

The Finns were virtuous, because Russians are not human beings. Killing, maiming, and abusing them is doing the world a service.

[BigT]

kidnap squads hunted down and abused women who had slept with Germans

Maybe some of them screwed Germans to get information for the resistance, to get food to feed their kids, or as payment for keeping someone out of Auschwitz. I am sure they were not all collaborators, although many might have been. Shouldn't these cases be viewed individually?

[Agammamon]

Dude, what world do you live in? There's witches to burn!

[Entropy Void]

+1 Ukranian

[Entropy Void]

Apropos beats old, everytime.