A.M. Links: White House Politicizes Cinco de Mayo, Supreme Court Rules Public Prayer OK, Buddhist Monks Breakdance for Beastie Boy

• 

  Knarf NY/screencap

  Does it count as cultural misappropriation when the White House uses Cinco de Mayo to push immigration reform?

• The latest poll on the 2016 presidential election has Rand Paul tied with Jeb Bush on the Republican side and Hillary Clinton with an overwhelming lead on the Democrat side.
• Local governments can start meetings with an invocation or other prayer, according to a ruling by the Supreme Court about such a practice in Greece, New York.
• The leader of the Islamist group Boko Haram acknowledged it kidnapped 230 girls in Nigeria, threatening to sell them.
• Some residents in eastern Ukraine are growing weary of the government's campaign against pro-Russian insurgents. 
• Four monks in Brooklyn did some breakdancing to the Beastie Boys at the third annual MCA Day honoring deceased group member Adam Yauch.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Does it count as cultural misappropriation when the White House uses Cinco de Mayo to push immigration reform?

War on sensitivity.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

For gun enthusiasts here.

Beretta factory:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR4gaEF7bo4

[Root Boy]

Nice. I was hoping it would be the MD factory closing down for their move south.

I once helped move an Aerospace factory from Los Angeles to South Carolina - sad for the workers and engineers, but a lesson in how easy it is for blue states to loose jobs.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Yet, the one in Europe has not budged for generations.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Why is lose/loose so damn hard for people?

[Bones]

Some people spell things incorrectly. Others have completely asinine views on politics. Shit happens.

[Restoras]

FTW! Well done.

[Ted S.]

It's not cultural misappropriation when Obama does it.

[Marshall Gill]

Why would it be? Isn't that the day that we defeated Napoleon and won our Independence?

[DJF]

If Obama is using Cinco de Mayo does that mean he supports keeping the French out of the US?

[Brandon]

He does until they raise taxes on the rich to appropriate levels and stop acting like they're goddamn Somalia.

[Bee Tagger]

Eh, Faith finds it all 5 by 5.

[UnCivilServant]

There's no such thing as cultural misappropriation, just cultural diffusion and adaption. It is as old as culture itself. Trying to 'respect' the 'pure' source culture is just cultural suicide (especially when that too is the result of a fusion of several disparate and very contrasting elements from opposite ends of the world)

[Brandon]

Yeah, we get that. "Cultural appropriation" is just the latest cudgel for grievance-mongers who don't produce anything of value to use to bleed guilt money out of those who still buy into their increasingly-ridiculous schtick.

[TANSTaaFL]

I find it funny that progs cry "intolerance" if certain cultural events and practices aren't publicized and supported and then in equal disgust cry "appropriation" when americans start to partake and infuse the new cultural events with our own "style".

[TANSTaaFL]

could you imagine if people shamed anybody of mexican descent who lit fireworks on the 4th, or get drunk at a pub on St. Patty's day? That would be wrong and stupid, of course, but its the same as saying anybody who is white should be ashamed to do tequila shots or make some tacos on cinco de mayo.

[AlmightyJB]

undelay undelay AREEBA!.

[Auric Demonocles]

I'm actually pretty surprised he didn't use it to push Obamacare.

[Ted S.]

He doesn't need to push Obamacare any more. It's settled law.

[Lord Humungus]

Rare goblin shark caught in US
Prehistoric-looking pink shark caught in Florida has only been seen a handful of times

...thank goodness...

Shrimp fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico have caught a goblin shark ? a species so rare that one has not been seen for 10 years.

The 18ft-long pink predator was caught in a shrimp net off Key West, Florida.

The crew were shocked to find the prehistoric-looking shark thrashing around with the rest of the haul.

[Bee Tagger]

Weird, rule #2 for capturing them is to get them wet.

[Bones]

Is it just me or did that look like hair on the shark?

[Rhywun]

"My three-year-old grandson just loves sharks, so I've been taking pictures of every one we find. When I showed him this one he said, 'Wow, Pappa!' fled the room shrieking in terror"

What really happened.

[Restoras]

All China has to do is wait and there won't be anyone to stand in their way.

[Ted S.]

All China has to do is wait

Fixed it for you. 😉

[Restoras]

OMG is that awful! I curse you! May your monocle polishers develop arthritis!

[Mike Laursen]

Why would that affect him. He can just send them back to orphanage and get new ones.

[JWatts]

Maybe, but since the therapeutic effects of young blood have been announced their price (and exchange fee) has sky rocketed.

[Pathogen]

Yeah, except for one tiny little detail

[Restoras]

Fair enough. I was referring by implication what China will do with their excess male population.

[Pathogen]

Ahh.. now I see. Yeah, the centrally planned, state imposed sausage fest policy might not have been thought out to it's logical conclusion, in retrospect... They will probably evolve to reproduce asexually, if science has anything to say about it....

[invisible furry hand]

If you're interested, there's an excellent book called Bare Branches which goes through the security implications of China's demographic bulge

[alittlesense]

"sausage fests......demographic bulges...." where are you all going with this? Not sure I want to know.

[Pathogen]

Thanks, I'll have to check it out. I had read a somewhat interesting paper written on the futility of the alleged Chinese provocations on the Indian frontier awhile back, and it's 'string of pearls' policy in general. The main tenant of the paper sort of highlighted the failure of the one child policy, and showcased the fact that the Indians had a muuuch better demographic spread, age wise, and would ultimately eclipse China's regional dominance, both militarily and financially by the mid to late part of this century.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Local governments can start meetings with an invocation or other prayer...

This seems like a repeat link.

[UnCivilServant]

Prayers often have to be repeated a certain number of times.

[Lord Humungus]

The Nightmare of a Defenseless America

Ironically, the blizzard of YJ-82X cruise missiles launched from the Chinese subs lying off the coast of Baja California crossed the beach directly over the SEAL training complex on Coronado. America had decided that its special forces were a cheap substitute for the less glamorous hardware and formations that had traditionally been the foundation of American military power. Now, those elite warriors watched helplessly as the missiles roared overhead north toward the two carriers berthed at North Island.

The casualties would have been much higher if the Navy had been able to fully man the U.S.S. Carl Vinson and the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan. As it was, when the missiles tore into their hulls and exploded, only several hundred sailors died instead of thousands. Still, in a few moments, two of America's nine carriers were twisted hulks spewing radioactive smoke. Another dozen Navy ships berthed at local bases were in flames.

more fiction follows...

[gaijin]

The Nightmare of a Defenseless America

Dreams of His Father?

[Suthenboy]

Is there anything in there about China's economy imploding because they destroyed their best market and eliminated their biggest debtor's ability to repay?

[UnCivilServant]

wouldn't our default and ending imports trigger the war?

[Root Boy]

Also, don't forget the coming property bubble bursting in China -- though that may make it more likely for the Chinese to lash out.

But I suspect PI and VNM or Taiwan will be a more likely target.

[Ted S.]

Please could they lash out at North Korea instead?

[UnCivilServant]

Well, they may be getting annoyed at the Norks:

based on their leaking contingency plans in case of instability...

[Bardas Phocas]

NO! The Chinaman is coming for us!
Marching - inexorably across the sea.
I'll be in my bunk(er).

[Swiss Servator, Gnomes FTW!]

*High school band concert applause*

[Raven Nation]

The Chinaman has a better way of invading:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061387/

[Brett L]

I think the scenario is that they decide to take what is owed to them in real property. Which, to be fair, is probably their best shot of getting the value they've loaned us.

[Pro Libertate]

Um, there's exactly one power on Earth right now with enough reliable nukes to constitute a first-strike capability. Surprisingly, it isn't China or Russia.

Things could change, but for the near term, no one with anything to lose is invading the U.S.

[Brett L]

I didn't say it was realistic. Just the least unrealistic way of China getting all the money and interest they gave us at anything approaching the real value.

[JWatts]

Russia has a definite first strike ability. They no longer have an annihilate 60% of the population in the US inn 2 hours ability. but they still have over 1,000 strategic nuclear weapons.

It's ridiculous to not consider that a first-strike capability.

[mr simple]

Ah, the fevered dreams of the interventionists. Funny how the problem is always "they're coming to get us," and the solution is always more money. If we cut just one dollar we'll be nothing but sitting ducks.

[Bee Tagger]

according to a ruling by the Supreme Court about such a practice in Greece, New York.

Is it located at a higher elevation than surrounding towns? That sounds like a slippery slope no matter what the ruling was.

[robc]

A bush v clinton race might have the lowest turnout in history.

[Ivan Pike]

First female president.

[robc]

Even if jeb wins.

[Lord Humungus]

For President Obama, a renewed focus on climate

The satellite images viewed by President Barack Obama before a meeting with eight Western governors were stark, showing how snowpack in California's mountains had shrunk by 86 percent in a single year.

"It was a 'Houston, we have a problem' moment," recalled White House counselor John Podesta, one of two aides who briefed the president that February day. Obama mentioned the images several times as he warned the governors that political leaders had no choice but to cope with global warming's impact.

After years of putting other policy priorities first ? and dismaying many liberal allies in the process ? Obama is now getting into the weeds on climate change and considers it one of the key components of his legacy, according to aides and advisers

[Joe M]

Sounds like a political winner, just in time for 2014 elections too.

[Ted S.]

So he's going to move to his base and piss off the rest of America? Nice strategy.

[John]

Yes. See my post below. Bringing out the base doesn't work so well in Congressional midterms. It does no good to get Nancy Pelosi reelected with 97% of the vote if the price of that is killing off six Democrats from purple or red districts.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Yeah, there are fires raging today in Oklahoma and 100 degree temps. I can't think of a more worthless state to let burn.

1 dead, 1,000 evacuate as Oklahoma wildfire spreads

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014.....ter-blaze/

[UnCivilServant]

And how many times has California burned in the past decade?

Whatever.

[Root Boy]

Here's a good post on the Sierra's snowpack and relation to El Nino.

Look at the chart on snowpack going back to the late 1800s.

http://wattsupwiththat.com/201.....s-problem/

Dumbass is right.

[Restoras]

It's interesting that they think one year makes a trend. Anyone even remotely familiar with snowfall in the Rockies and it's environs knows that it varies and can vary quite widely from year to year.

It's just more alarmist bullshit.

[John]

Anyone who grew up in the plains or west knows that year to year it is often either a drought or a flood. The standard is now any year that deviates from the historic average is an example of "extreme weather caused by global warming". This is very convenient for them since even in the mildest climates you never hit the exact mean in a given year and out west, where the climate is often extreme, you never hit the mean.

[gaijin]

I guess they aren't showing pictures of the ice packs on teh great lakes this year for a reason.

20% of great lakes still covered by ice

Can the ice age be far behind?

[Restoras]

Or the fact that much of the northeast still doesn't have leaves on the trees.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

"I can't think of a more worthless state to let burn."

Finally, a statement consistent with your left-wing views.

[Restoras]

Indeed. It does confirm it's hard-core fascist leanings.

[Root Boy]

He should want his own state to burn since he lives in GA - that red state, southern, racist hell.

[UnCivilServant]

Given the average summer temperature and humidity, if Georgia caught fire, the only reaction would be - hey, it's a dry day.

[Soros' Wank-noose]

Can it be in OK during the burn???

Pweeeeze!

[XYZ]

Your compassion is truly inspiring.

[Don Mynack]

Just dumb. Below even your low standards.

[JWatts]

"Palin's Buttplug - I can't think of a more worthless state to let burn."

You're letting a little bit more than normal of the raging sociopath slip through today.

[John]

It is going to be fun watching the Democrats explain things when the lights go out. And they will go out if this continues.

Someone needs to explain to him that Congressional elections are not Presidential elections. In a Presidential election he can tell a good portion of the country to go fuck themselves and still win. In Congressional elections since there are Democrats running in every state and the geographic balance of the Congress and especially the Senate is different than it is in the electoral college, he can't do that.

If the Democrats get really hammered in November, the ones up for re-election in 2016 will defect and start voting for Republican bills to undo some of this shit. There might be enough to override his veto. When that happens he will no doubt just ignore the law and keep on doing what he wants. Going to be interesting to see what the Democrats in Congress do as he ignores the law and destroys their chances in 16.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

John, the author I was referring to was Donald Kagan and the book was 'On the Origins of War'.

[John]

Yes. He is a really good writer. That is a great book.

[Restoras]

That is a fantastic book. It is a must read for anyone that likes to read history.

[gaijin]

I agree with much of what you say, but, Republicans.

[John]

I am not saying that the Republicans won't fuck things up too. I am just saying that Obama is going to be the death of the Democrats.

Also, the Republicans are craven enough to do the right thing occasionally if there is something in it for them, which turning the lights on and undoing this shit would fit that description.

[Auric Demonocles]

Why would it be any different than when he ignores the law now?

[John]

Because he would be ignoring a law they passed not the evil Republicans. And right now his ignoring the law isn't causing them harm, or at least they don't think so. If the Democrats in Congress start to believe that his ignoring the law will hurt their re-election chances, it will be a whole different matter.

[Auric Demonocles]

He's ignoring their laws already. See: Obamacare implementation.

[John]

Sure he is. But he is ignoring them by not implementing things they know would be a disaster. When he starts doing things that are a disaster, they will feel differently.

Fucking the country for the greens is a whole lot different than making sure Obamacare doesn't destroy everyone's health insurance, at least until after the midterms.

[Palin's Buttplug]

You're nuts.

If the GOP does take the Senate expect nothing but abortion bills with a few repeal Obamacare bills thrown in. Lots of investigations too. Nothing will change but the country will get sick of the GOP again.

[John]

CHRISTFAG!!

Yeah retard, the Republicans won't do anything to stop the payoffs to cronies or the war on the power grid. Nope.

And what do you mean "if"? I thought it was impossible for the Republicans to take the Senate. Obamacare is great and only affects a few people anyway. Now it might happen?

Amazing how reality can sometimes be so strong it ever reaches the voices in your head.

[Palin's Buttplug]

"War on the power grid"? What?

Did Bratfart cough up another CT hairball? Or was is the Beckerhead?

[John]

Closing down coal plants and not replacing them or replacing them with horseshit wind is going to cause a problem dipshit. Also electric prices are through the roof and people are starting to notice.

[Ted S.]

Here in New York, everybody is trying to blame the utility.

[UnCivilServant]

Here in New York, everybody is trying to blame the utility.

Yeah, a lot of people don't realize that much of the generation facilities in the state belong to NYPA, and more is bought from out-of state, meaning NiMo (NG) has no control over the price.

[Marshall Gill]

Market Failure!

[Joe M]

Let's all take note of this post, and save it for referencing next year.

[Pathogen]

"..the ones up for re-election in 2016 will defect and start voting for Republican bills to undo some of this shit..."

This, of course, assumes that the Republicans have any intentions of undoing anything, as opposed to "fixing it". Now that this administration has paved the way, and their own statist machinations are potentially within their grasp, using President Dipshit's awesome 'rule by decree' powers, and shouting down the hypocrisy of any who oppose. The public at large seems somewhat apathetic towards the egregious abuse of executive authority, why would they give up that new found power, and 'undo' anything?

[John]

The climate stuff will get "undone". It will have to. People are not going to tolerate not having power.

And you give the Republicans way too much credit. They are not devious enough to do that. They will do whatever they think will keep them in power.

[Pathogen]

Well, I hope your right, but I'm hard pressed to recall anything of importance that congress has undone in a while, I'm just drawing a blank. Maybe I'm wrong there, maybe I'm just not thinking hard enough to recall any meaningful repealment that congress has orchestrated, and followed through on ... we shall see.

[VG Zaytsev]

Gee, maybe the enviro douches should have spent the last two decades increasing water storage capability instead of gleefully tearing down existing damns.

We'll all no know these assholes are serious about this as a problem when they stop pumping irrigation water into the sacramento delta to save a bait fish.

[JWatts]

"Gee, maybe the enviro douches should have spent the last two decades increasing water storage capability instead of gleefully tearing down existing damns."

+1, pumped hydro is the cheapest means of "storing" renewable power. It's vastly cheaper than batteries or similar technologies. And instead of building additional dams, the US has actually been tearing down dams for years.

It's that kind of issue (along with actively opposing any form of Nuclear power) that makes me wonder if Environmentalists are actually malevolent versus just emotional and illogical do-gooders.

[Mike Laursen]

Yup, it's not so big of a "crisis" that it couldn't be handled by improving our water management.

[Brett L]

"Hey, you know what issue we haven't totally destroyed our credibility on yet...?"

[OldMexican]

Obama is now getting into the weeds on climate change and considers it one of the key components of his legacy, according to aides and advisers

His legacy of hot air?

Maybe there is something about global warming being man-made!

[110 Lean]

Here in Minnesota, the snow pack has shrunk by 100%.

[Rhywun]

After years of putting other policy priorities first ? and dismaying many liberal allies in the process ? Obama is now getting into the weeds on climate change and considers it one of the key components of his legacy

Translation: "minimum wage" and "class envy" didn't fly, let's try something else now.

[Fist of Etiquette]

...Rand Paul tied with Jeb Bush on the Republican side and Hillary Clinton with an overwhelming lead on the Democrat side.

You can use Biden's name. It's okay.

[Auric Demonocles]

If Rand ended up running against Hillary in a general election, he'd have a really good retort if someone tried to call him an isolationist.

[invisible furry hand]

Couple who have planted pansies and daffodils on a grass verge outside their home for fifteen years face being charged with 'criminal damage'

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

[Ted S.]

If you don't take care of the sidewalk and the verge, the government will come after you.

If you do take care of it, but in a way the government doesn't like, they'll come after you.

Fuckers.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

But Ted. You can't upstart the lethargic bureaucracy with your uppity pride in your community!

[Ted S.]

When the hell did "upstart" become a verb? Is this one of those bizarro Canadian usages?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

'Upstage.' Sometimes wires criss-cross.

[Pathogen]

"..Sometimes wires criss-cross."

Yeah, the Canadians are a subversive bunch..

/narrows gaze

[robc]

From the article. The council said it was there responsibility to take care of the verge but couldnt because of the plantings. Yet they hadnt noticed it in 15 years and the others around it looked like shit.

[Root Boy]

That calls for someone to summon the killdozer.

[Lord Humungus]

Georgia drunk driver hands officer beer instead of license: police

Damon Tobias Exum, 37, was a little confused, and police reported he was "heavily intoxicated" and unaware he had struck a police car early Saturday morning in Dunwoody, Ga., a suburb of Atlanta, police report.

After Exum struck a police car, he continued down a highway, police said. The officer inside was uninjured and followed him until he finally pulled over, according to the police report.

When Officer Alvin Rodriguez asked the motorist for his license he was handed a beer instead, the officer said.

[Joe M]

I'm just shocked Exum isn't dead.

[UnCivilServant]

Cop was too busy laughing.

[invisible furry hand]

Yes, but until he's caught drink-driving three times in four hours he's not really trying

[Swiss Servator, Gnomes FTW!]

You think after, maybe the second time(?) he would have figured it was time to stop driving for the day.

[Brett L]

They actually have a law in most states that mandates 8 hours in custody. 🙁

[invisible furry hand]

Eight hours in custody? Where's the fun in that?

Many years ago in the same place cops got a call about a drunk driver... from the drunk driver. They went to the street he told them he was in, and sure enough there he was parked on the side. When they opened the door he looked up at them and sobbed "I'm very very drunk and very very bad".

[Brett L]

Hopefully, they gave that guy a ride home and a medal.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Some residents in eastern Ukraine are growing weary of the government's campaign against pro-Russian insurgents.

But not of the insurgents themselves?

[Ted S.]

It's the other residents who are weary of the "insurgents".

[Lord Humungus]

a followup to a previous story:

Artist guilty of exhibitionism after dancing with cockerel tied to his penis

A Paris court has found a South African artist guilty of sexual exhibitionism after a performance in Paris in which he danced with a cockerel tied to his penis.

But the criminal court imposed no penalty on 51-year-old Steven Cohen, noting that no complaint had been filed against him and that he had not engaged in sexual acts.

Prosecutors had requested a ?1,000 (?824) fine.

[gaijin]

Would the French authorities have been ok with this if both of the cocks had been domestic?

[invisible furry hand]

If they were both members of the appropriate union, yes

[UnCivilServant]

And filed for a performance permit with the proper 'fees' attached.

[The Late P Brooks]

White House politicizes some mundane aspect of American life?

Say it ain't so.

[Lord Humungus]

that's because we're lazy:

Dads: The antidote to helicopter parenting

But here's another possibility: Fathers seem to do a better job fostering independence in kids. And one of the biggest challenges of succeeding in higher education is the amount of freedom you're given.

In the past year, I've interviewed a number of kids from disadvantaged backgrounds who'd made it to college. Without exception, they report that the biggest difference from high school is the burden of studying on their own, managing their own time and prioritizing their own activities.

It's not just low-income kids who benefit from the fatherly presence when it comes to college. The AEI report notes: "It seems particularly important for young adults from moderately and highly educated homes."

[Notorious G.K.C.]

And without this study, we'd never have known!

[Night Elf Mohawk]

Without exception, they report that the biggest difference from high school is the burden of studying on their own, managing their own time and prioritizing their own activities.

My daughters can say this in their sleep by this point. "You'll get a syllabus and that will be the end of the handholding."

If they screw it up, it won't be because they weren't warned and prepared.

[John]

Good for you. I knew any number of kids in college who were great students in high school only to flop once away from mom and dad because they never learned to work on their own.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

I thought college was easier. I could read the book without filling out a million fucking worksheets for homework.

[robc]

Ditto. Homework has brought down my average in every class my entire life. That the first 2 years of college was mostly homework counting 0% was a blessing.

[Ivan Pike]

That the first 2 years of college was mostly homework counting 0% was a blessing.

Do they let you test out of college courses now? I always though that was great.

[robc]

No idea. I think they still allow that. I graduated in 1991 so have no clue.

[UnCivilServant]

They did not allow it when I was in college post 2000.

[Jordan]

My college offered CLEP tests for the usual subjects. I think a few classes had their own tests as well. This was in 2002-2006.

And of course high school students can take AP and IB classes.

[Raven Nation]

In most colleges you can test out of some classes such as foreign language, composition, basic math.

For courses such as history, sciences, etc., you can't usually test out of them. However, if you passed them as AP subjects in high school, you will actually be given credit for the equivalent college course.

[Jordan]

Actually, there are CLEP exams in history and the sciences.

[John]

Me too. And since I choose what classes I wanted to take, I felt more motivated in college. I was a total fuck up student in high school but blossomed in college.

[Restoras]

I had a similar experience. I was a mediocre student overall in high school in part because a lot of the required curriculum was uninteresting to me, and drove me to use my time for other things.

Once I got to college, and could study what I liked, the overall GPA went up dramatically.

[robc]

As did mine. And my university hadnt, at that time, suffered from grade inflation. Cs and Ds and Fs were regularly given. Sometimes in large batches.

[John]

My university was like that too. I went to a third tier Midwestern state university. Yet, an A from there, at least when I attended, really meant something. People routinely got Ds and Fs. Somehow people who went to schools that just gave everyone As, including (and I am not kidding) people who didn't even show up to the final, went to the "better" school and of course got the "better education" by virtue of some US News ranking.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

And my university hadnt, at that time, suffered from grade inflation. Cs and Ds and Fs were regularly given. Sometimes in large batches.

My first year as a TA in grad school, I was merciless on grading the first exam (for a world history class). It wasn't anything terribly difficult, I thought--two short answer and one essay question. When the tests came in, I was appalled. "Short answer" as I always understood it was a paragraph--meaning three to five sentences. An essay had to be 3-5 paragraphs depending on the time available.

When I got back a bunch of minimal-effort exams, I absolutely destroyed them. Cs, Ds, and Fs abounded. I think there were 5 or 6 As and Bs total in a class of about 50. I wouldn't be surprised if the professor I was TAing for changed the grades post-hoc, but I didn't care--after that first exam, those students put a hell of a lot more effort into the tests than they did before when they thought it was going to be a cakewalk.

[Elspeth Flashman]

I went from A student to C- student in HS because I was sick of being compared to my sisters (who were also A students). Then in college I went from A to C again because I hated the school. Then I buckled down and kicked butt to bring my gpa back up before I graduated. But being able to choose classes was the ultimate freedom to me at the time.

[Rasilio]

Same here. There were several instances in High School where I looked at the syllabus saw homework was only 20% of the grade and told the teacher I wouldn't be doing any because I could pass the class without it

[Rufus J. Firefly]

You should see the horrors I saw in university classes about the syllabus. Students wanted specifics on what to focus on for the exam - like dumbass children.

[Raven Nation]

Yeah, that question still amazes me. Also, "Professor, will this be on the exam?" I had one guy actually ask me that in the middle of a lecture.

[UnCivilServant]

The standard answer was "Everything is fair game for the exam".

[Raven Nation]

My other favorite was: "Is this important?" At which point my sarcastic gene cut in: "No, I'm just standing up here wasting your time and mine."

[JWatts]

To be fair, everyone's had a professor that spend an inordinate amount of time on a trivial portion of the subject matter and then when you get to the exam you find out that a big chunk is something he never even covered in class.

That always used to piss me off. I assumed that if he spent an entire lecture on a sub-topic it was important. And that if he skipped over something it wasn't.

The response that "Everything in the syllabus is fair game" is a bullshit response to cover poor ass teaching abilities.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

The professor for the class I mentioned above actually provided a study guide of people and events to focus on for the exam, and a lot of them still fucked it up.

That whole experience really opened up my eyes to the fact that we're not doing society any favors by trying to shove anyone and everyone through a college curriculum. A lot of people just don't have the capability to handle an intellectually rigorous academic program. If they want to spend their post-adolescence doing the "college experience"--which is really just getting drunk on the weekends and banging random strangers without the threat of parental oversight--I don't really see why they should have to pay $10K a year or more for it. They'd be better off working and making money while experiencing those things instead of mortgaging their future.

[Raven Nation]

Agreed: I put my World History exams on line. For each exam I tell them that there will be 1 essay question. I give them a list of 6-7 questions and tell them that will be able to choose from at least 4. I then provide a sample answer of a comparative subject.

And they still can't get a decent grade or construct a logical essay.

[John]

Lazy or whatever you want to call it, men seem less likely than women to develop an unhealthy obsession with their kids.

[Root Boy]

John - part of the war on wimmins!

I find my wife focuses way too much on minor details and won't let our kids fail. I say tough luck kids, better learn from your mistakes. She also cannot do homework with my kids - typically ends in arguments and tears. That is time for me to work in the garage.

[John]

I don't have kids but am trying and I have no doubt my wife will be the same. It is funny, if you just met us you would think she is the one cut out for kids and the kids are going to cause me more stress. The reality I think will be just the opposite. I really only care about the big things. She will care about everything and it will cause her a lot of stress I think.

[Drake]

Same thing - my wife yells a lot about the details. I ask them what they learned when they screw up.

[Pope Jimbo]

When my daughter was starting school, my wife would sit with her and they would do a ton of flash cards and everything went well.

Then my son started school and she tried the same thing with him and it was a total failure. The problem was that she wanted him to sit still while they did the flash cards and that took so many brain cells for him, that he didn't have any left over for flash cards. Same thing, lots of shouting and tears.

Then I took over flash card duties for him and if he got one wrong he had to jump on one foot until he got 10 in a row correct. I also didn't care if he rolled around on the floor while answering other questions. My other son was the same way.

My wife just shook her head at the shenanigans, but agreed that it worked.

[John]

That is brilliant Pope.

[Drake]

Hell, I still pace around the office when I'm on a conference call - unless I'm trapped in a meeting room with other people. When I work at home, I'll roam the whole house unless I have to be looking at the computer.

[Restoras]

I do that too, Drake, and I get more done during the day than I do being at the office.

[Ted S.]

They just develop an unhealthy obsession with other people's kids.

Or at least, that's what the panic-mongers would have you believe.

[Lord Humungus]

Many years ago I was walking along with my 12yo nephew as he rode his bike. We come to a big steep hill - all grass.

He asked me, "Uncle, is it okay if I ride my bike down the hill?"

I give him a strange look. "Sure, knock yourself out."

He proceeds down the hill, manages to not wipe out and has a big shit-eating grin on his face.

Apparently his mom never let him do anything dangerous. Funnny thing - same kid grew up and did two combat tours - one in Iraq and one in Afghanistan - as an army medic. I wonder if the lack of excitement and danger as a young kid made his seek it out more when he got older?

[John]

maybe. I hope so because that means that there is hope this generation won't grow up into generation wus.

My wife's nephew is 11 now. He is a good kid. He is very quiet and earnest but about as good of an 11 year old as you could ask for. Man, that poor kid, his mother is up his ass constantly about the dumbest things. Sometimes you just want to scream "He is eleven years old for God's sake let him act like it once in a while".

My wife and I are always trying to get her sister and brother in law to send their kids down for a few days in the summer. They are 11 and 8. When I was that age, I would have loved to have gone and spent a few days with some aunt and uncle who didn't have kids and had a couple of cool cars and would treat me like an adult. But they won't do it. They just worry about being 500 miles away from their kids. What if something happened? I don't know, my wife and I would take care of it and you would get on a plane and come down if you needed to?

People are nuts.

[lap83]

I read a study a year or two ago that said mothers tend to be overcautious when it comes to estimating their kid's abilities while fathers tend to overestimate the kid's ability to do the same thing (the experiment involved some physical test)

My guess is that both instincts serve a role in parenting. Children need a primary caregiver for the first few years, and it probably helps to have one who is obsessed with safety during that crucial time, so they don't crawl into a snakepit. But once they've got a bit of competence they need the presence of another type of role model who can challenge them (ok, kid, go kill those damn snakes) so they can turn into an adult.

[John]

They both serve a role. This is why kids from stable two parent households tend to do so much better.

I wouldn't want to banish mothers from kids' lives anymore than I would fathers. It takes both. It just seems we have gotten a bit out of whack and are a bit too much on the mother side.

[lap83]

I think so too. I blame the myth about "equal partnership".

[Certified Public Asskicker]

By letting children engage in "unstructured play," by helping them gain the "grit" that comes with taking risks and letting them succeed or fail on their own, by pushing them to be a little more independent, it seems as though fathers may be the key to helping our children become, well, grown-ups.

Hmm, except we still have shitty public schools that discourage this and a push for mandatory preschool.

[Brandon]

We have a very large class of people with a vested interest in "our" children never becoming grown-ups.

[The Late P Brooks]

The latest poll on the 2016 presidential election has Rand Paul tied with Jeb Bush on the Republican side and Hillary Clinton with an overwhelming lead on the Democrat side.

DOOOOOOOOOOOM

[Lord Humungus]

Jonah Goldberg: Policing thought crime

In 1920, a bond salesman walked into Joseph Yenowsky's Waterbury, Conn., clothing store. Yenowsky was a tough sell. During their lengthy conversation, Yenowsky told the salesman he thought Vladimir Lenin, the Russian Bolshevik leader, was "the brainiest man" in the world. The bond salesmen turned Yenowsky in to the police for sedition. Yenowsky got six months in jail under a Connecticut statute.

This was hardly an isolated incident during the so-called "Red Scare" of the World War I era. In Syracuse, three activists were arrested for circulating fliers protesting the conditions of America's political prisoners. The subversive flier quoted the First Amendment. They got 18 months in prison. In Washington, D.C., a man refused to stand for the The Star-Spangled Banner. A furious sailor shot the "disloyal" man three times in the back. When the man fell, the Washington Post reported, "the crowd burst into cheering and handclapping." An Indiana jury deliberated for two minutes before it acquitted a man of murdering an immigrant who'd said "To Hell with the United States."

[John]

Amazing how that has been almost totally written out of history. All you get in most history classes is some vague reference to Socco and Venzeti and some mumbling about Wilson's wife running things after his stroke.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I was willing to let Socco go but not Venzeti. But....Sacco and Vanzetti.

Socco and Venzeti were two hitmen near my house.

/winks, smiles,and shoots air pistol.

[John]

And another thing. The red scare under Wilson is exponentially worse than anything that happened in the 50s. Yet, somehow it is totally forgotten and every liberal views the red scare of the 50s as some kind of American dark night of fascism.

It really is different when they do it I guess.

[Suthenboy]

I am slow....I was going to make some snark about who was running things then.

[Root Boy]

Snark away about Wilson and his racist, undemocratic, progressive administration

[Raven Nation]

And, a lot of textbooks omit the fact that HUAC was originally formed by the Dems to hunt down right-wing "extremists."

[Ted S.]

In Washington, D.C., a man refused to stand for the The Star-Spangled Banner. A furious sailor shot the "disloyal" man three times in the back. When the man fell, the Washington Post reported, "the crowd burst into cheering and handclapping."

Not that much different from today. Try suggesting that they shouldn't play the national anthem before every fucking sporting event.

[John]

I am pretty sure no one will shoot you for it.

[Emmerson Biggins]

Can we at least go back to "Take me out to the Ball Game" for the seventh inning stretch?

[Matrix]

The comments are rough. They refuse to hear what he has to say. Then they continue to go after Condoleezza Rice about promoting lies to push for a war. Well, do they forget their own people were doing the EXACT SAME THING? Of course they do. Most of the Democrats were in support of the Iraq War and voted for it.

Progs are ready to throw stones at people for the same sins they commit.

[invisible furry hand]

Meet the Four Americans Who Defected to North Korea in the 1960s

[BakedPenguin]

There's a good doc on Netflix about these idiots.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

"Today, little is known about Abshier and Parrish, who both dies from health complications years ago, and never had the chance to tell their own stories."

Paging FP Editor. Paging FP Editor. Mess in aisle 7.

[Clich? Bandit]

I aint clicking through paywalls...they OWE me their stupid articles

[Lord Humungus]

Eugene Robinson: Time for Some Happy Talk

Democrats, if you want to win in the fall, take some advice from Pharrell Williams: "Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth."

The Mountie-hat-wearing pop singer's infectious "Happy" should be the Democratic Party's theme song for the midterm election. Despite Republican claims to the contrary, things are definitely looking up. Democrats ought to be clicking their heels and spreading the good news.

Friday's announcement that unemployment fell to 6.3 percent was huge. The fact that the economy added 288,000 jobs in April -- despite continued bad weather early in the month in parts of the country -- suggests that the recovery has greater momentum than pessimists had feared. Economists were expecting decent numbers. These are great.

...and the rest reads like Shreek's talking points

[Joe M]

"Friday's announcement that unemployment fell to 6.3 percent was huge."

Unemployment as measured by ridiculously deceptive standards, ignoring the fact that 800,000 people dropped out of the work force. Oh well, expecting Robinson to have deep understanding or analysis is unreasonable.

[John]

And no government number, no matter how many hacks repeat it, can overcome reality when reality is that stark.

If the economy was healthy and so many people were not just out of the work force, the job market would be much better. People know how hard the job market is and thus just ignore the rosy government lies trying to tell them otherwise.

[Root Boy]

I'm already seeing articles in yahoo news about how the economy is going to grow 4% this quarter. I guess they already forgot about last quarters growth.

Lets see if the employment report gets revised next month.

[John]

That seems to be the game, release bogus numbers to give the state media talking points and then quietly revise them down later.

The only get away with that because the media are effectively co-conspirators in the lie.

[R C Dean]

Its actually a three-step process:

(1) Announce great numbers.

(2) Revise down as part of next release.

(3) Next release shows number that are higher than revised numbers. Progress! Summer of recovery!

The headline numbers are endlessly strong, and always show improvement. Its an economic miracle!

[Marshall Gill]

Lets see if the employment report gets revised next month.

If?

[Ted S.]

Why even trust the government numbers?

[John]

I am pretty sure people are starting not to.

[Emmerson Biggins]

http://www.businessinsider.com.....ate-2014-5

[Suthenboy]

"Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth."

Does it sound yellow, or purple?

[Joe M]

Has anyone see this video? It's an anti-social media screed dressed up as poetry, ironically making the rounds on Facebook. I'm a bit disappointed that so many people seem to think it's making a deep point.

[Ted S.]

You're reading Facebook. That's your first problem.

[Joe M]

90% of my feed is from libertarian groups though. 😛

[UnCivilServant]

You've made an echo chamber, that's even worse.

[Joe M]

Sorry, can't hear you.

[Lord Humungus]

flalalalalalala

[Jordan]

Ironically, a girl around here was killed when she tried to make a Facebook post about this song while driving.

[Rasilio]

I haven't seen it and without clicking the link to actually watch it I'm pretty sure that my wife watched it this morning

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Luddite with a romantic edge.

Meh.

He could have just put it in a Haiku.

[UnCivilServant]

Haikus push mo to violence. However poetic they may be in the original japanese, applying that structure to English just makes me want to hurt something - preferrably the author.

(cue a string of bad poetry responses)

[Ivan Pike]

Five syllables here
Seven more syllables there
Are you happy now?

Best haiku ever??

[Swiss Servator, Gnomes FTW!]

Needz moar seasonal reference?

[Protagoronus]

I'm just going to leave this hear about trigger warnings:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/alison.....e-internet

[Protagoronus]

McEwan explained. "Another issue that's been brought up is that the word 'trigger' might be triggering for people who have experienced gun violence."

[lap83]

It's like PTSD, but the S stands for stupid.

[invisible furry hand]

Well whoda thunk it?

"As a human being you're responsible for what media you engage with. If a Jezebel headline says 'harrowing,' or 'terrible,' or 'horrible,' that's a pretty good indicator that the content will be difficult," Coen said.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

GOVERNMENT RUN HEALTHCARE SAVES LIVES!

Deaths fell after Massachusetts healthcare overhaul: study

For every 830 people who became insured as a result of Massachusetts' mandatory coverage and Medicaid expansion, they calculated, one fewer person died each year.

That represents "a 3 percent decline in the death rate in the first few years after implementation," lead author Dr Benjamin Sommers of Harvard School of Public Health in Boston told Reuters Health.

[gaijin]

The study's authors cautioned that their analysis does not prove that Massachusetts's healthcare overhaul caused the decline in deaths; all it can show is that the two are correlated.

Because no way could death rates fall for any other reason. None.

[Marshall Gill]

An honest study would compare the decrease in the death rate before MASSicare and after it. Like with Medicare, you can not see at what date the program started on a life expectancy graph.

[John]

If we are going to do these complex aggregate calculations for death rates, maybe we should do some for the deaths associated with being poorer, which MASSCARe most certainly causes.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

And of course, with more people alive, we need more insurance, therefore, we need more government.

[BakedPenguin]

can't talk about MA healthcare without mentioning Justina Pelletier.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

yeah, but my Boston friend is convinced there's more to the story.

Even if there is, this is a mighty evil story in my view equipped with its own Nurse Ratchet for good measure.

[Rasilio]

More to the story how? You have some docs with a god complex and administrators who like the idea of using the power of the state to acquire a very profitable patient working with an unaccountable corrupt organization that loves to interfere and meddle in families and get more "clients" to secure their funding all while self righteously believing they are doing gods work helping the poor

[creech]

I was under the impression the death rate was still 100%. Geez, I guess OGL does walk on water.

[UnCivilServant]

The rate reported is the number of people per 100k who croak in a given year, not the long-term rate.

[Protagoronus]

Did you know police violence is sometimes overlooked?!

[Ted S.]

Only sometimes?

[Lord Humungus]

Rare disease afflicts Brazilian village

This is a village where the people melt away.

Tucked into the sunbaked rolling hills of Brazil's midwest, Araras is home to what is thought to be the largest single group of people suffering from a rare inherited skin disease known as xeroderma pigmentosum, or "XP."

Those with the disease are extremely sensitive to ultraviolet rays from sunlight and highly susceptible to skin cancers. It robs victims of the ability to repair the damage caused by the sun.

[Lord Humungus]

Woman Films Her Own Abortion To Show World How 'Cool' It Is

Emily Letts, a counselor at a New Jersey abortion clinic, decided to film her own abortion and post it on YouTube as a form of positive inspiration to women who are contemplating having the procedure but worry that they might feel guilty afterward.

Letts has no such guilt. She recalls the procedure with fondness. She even describes it as "birth-like," and said it made her feel good, just like giving birth would.

Letts, whose job involves encouraging women to have abortions, sees her own abortion as an entirely positive experience, and hopes the video will prove to be both instructional and morally persuasive. She feels better about herself every time she watches the video, according to Cosmopolitan.

[gaijin]

She feels better about herself every time she watches the video, according to Cosmopolitan.

wtf? So she'll be getting pregnant every quarter just so she can experience the thrill of abortion again and again?

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Her body, her choice?

Just kidding, fuck her. (just don't impregnate her)

[John]

How the hell does a counselor at an abortion clinic manage to get herself knocked up by accident?

I am going to go out on a limb here and guess that she got herself pregnant just so she could pull this stunt. That is pretty fucked up when you think about it.

[tarran]

.... rule 34, John... rule 34. 😛

[Elspeth Flashman]

Probably.

[UnCivilServant]

In the coverage for this one of the articles I saw said:

The Fetus could not be reached for comment

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"according to Cosmopolitan."

Cosmo is doing choicer propaganda now?

[Swiss Servator, Gnomes FTW!]

Now?

[Red Rocks Rockin]

She recalls the procedure with fondness. She even describes it as "birth-like," and said it made her feel good, just like giving birth would.

Apparently she knows as much about giving birth as she does about abortions.

[Lord Humungus]

Why people don't donate their kidneys

The national transplant list just passed a morbid milestone: More than 100,000 people now wait for kidneys.

We are at this point largely because even though demand is growing, donations from living and deceased donors have remained flat, between 16,500 and 17,000 annually, for the past decade. Between now and this time tomorrow, 14 people will die, many after languishing on dialysis for 5 to 10 years, while their names slowly crawled up the queue.

The problem lies in the requirement that all organs be given altruistically (as a friend did for me in donating her right kidney eight years ago). Federal law is widely interpreted as forbidding donors to receive anything of tangible value in return for their lifesaving deeds.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

In addition to giving blood on a semi-regular basis (I'd do it more often but I can't stand the sight of blood), I signed the 'organ donor' part of my driver's license. My mother gave a surprised look when I first did it years ago. I said to her, 'what good is it to me or you when I'm dead? If it could save a life why not? I'm already DEAD.'

/cue any Warren Zevon song.

[Ted S.]

If they want to pay my estate for my organs, they're more than welcome to the organs. It doesn't have to be anything more than a modest fee to cover funeral expense, but it needs to prove the point that my body is mine, and not the state's.

[robc]

I refuse to sign mine. The day it becomes legal to sell them, i will agree to donate mine. I dont want money for them, but i want my fucking rights.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Interesting takes.

[UnCivilServant]

/cue any Warren Zevon song.

I was going to go with "Laywers, Guns and Money", but since it's you, I think "Hit Somebody" is more appropriate.

[John]

Not applicable to this situation, but the Zevon reference made me think of Splendid Isolation, a great and under appreciated Zevon song.

[UnCivilServant]

I have to pick on Canukistan at least once an AM Links. Hockey reference was the best I got at the moment.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

You want to hit me or do I give the impression of wanting to hit?

[UnCivilServant]

I may have responded to the wrong comment, so, see above.

[The Late P Brooks]

It really is different when they do it I guess.

They stifle dissent for the right reasons.

[sarcasmic]

Two Dallas cops indicted after 'both were caught on camera shooting suspects that were not a danger'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....l-man.html
Indicted doesn't mean convicted.

But police union leader Ron Pinkston said the indictments are a bad signal to send to officers dealing with potentially life-threatening situations.
'The result will be more names on the police memorial wall,' he said.

Officer safety!

But Pinkston said the video alone could be misleading ? and that police work is not always clear.
'The video is just one part of the investigation,' he said.
'But that's not what the public sees.
'They only see the video and they make conclusions off the one piece of evidence.'

Totality of the circumstances!

[John]

It doesn't mean convicted but it might and that is something. Just going through the stress of a trial is more than most cops who shoot people have to suffer.

And I ask again, why is the Daily Mail the only non local newspaper who seems interested in these stories? Fuck our media.

[SugarFree]

Some acrobats fell, John! Are they just supposed TO IGNORE THAT?!?

[UnCivilServant]

Falling acrobats? was it the flying graysons?

[SugarFree]

They were all girls. Sorry to disappoint.

[sarcasmic]

My local paper has had a few stories in a row about a local guy whose leashed dog was killed by an asshole cop in Louisiana. Not that anything will come of it, but at least it's in the news. Kind of. It's in the paper, but I can't find the story on the paper's website.

[John]

In the day and age of the 24 hour news channel where they will cover the most mundane local bullshit, they generally won't touch these stories. It is pathetic.

[Zeb]

The Mail covers those stories because their readers like reading about how awful Americans are so it makes them feel better about their fucked up and declining country.

[John]

And Americans don't like reading the same thing?

[Zeb]

Well, some certainly do, but it wouldn't help Americans feel better about the fucked up and declining country.

[John]

I am pretty sure corrupt cop still makes good copy. How many movies have been made about corrupt cops? It is a pretty reliable seller.

[Zeb]

Oh yeah, I agree that it would play better here than the coverage you see in the press would lead you to believe. I wasn't praising US media, just pointing out the likely motivation for covering these things in the DM. They cover the cops for the same reason they cover every American teacher who gets caught fucking a student.

[Andrew S.]

'They only see the video and they make conclusions off the one piece of evidence.'

Who are you going to believe? The word of one of our brave police officers, or this unreliable "video" that shows exactly what happened?

[sarcasmic]

Terrified Jack in the Box staff lock themselves in the freezer after heavily armed pro-gun group come in for dinner
Members of Open Carry Texas went for dinner at the Jack in the Box in Fort Worth, Texas, last Thursday
Were en route to a peaceful demonstration advocating public possession of firearms
Workers fled, believing it were a robbery
Some 10 police cars arrived at the scene
The group maintained it should be normal for them to be able to take their guns anywhere

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....inner.html
There's a whole lot of stupid in the comments.

[Swiss Servator, Gnomes FTW!]

Fort Worth has a lot of of non-native Texans who have come down there...and carry their old prejudices with them...

[Karl Hungus]

There's a whole lot of stupid in the comments.

I tend not to read the comments anymore when the article is about guns. The stupid is just oo exhausting.

About a year ago, I was standing in line in a Mexicna restaurant, waiting to order. The guy in line in front of me was wearing a heavy sweater, and it had hiked up in the back, revealing a small pistol in a waistband holster in the small of his back. I tapped him on the shoulder and quietly told him he might want to adjust his sweater. He thanked me profusely and pulled his sweater back down over the weapon.

Point is, I encountered an armed stranger in a restaurant, and never once did it occur to me to be afraid or to think he was up to no good. Pointing out that his weapon was exposed was, to me, no different from, say, handing him back a dropped wallet.

Some people are simply conditioned to be fearful of their fellow man, and to quail in terror at the notion of an armed citizen. I'm glad I don't live my life with that mentality.

[Zeb]

I thought open carry wasn't allowed in Texas?

[R C Dean]

Its not. Which is what makes this civil disobedience.

And, sorry, but one gun apiece is not "heavily armed".

[Zeb]

No, that's just regular armed.

[Clich? Bandit]

HOLY CRAP! Open Carry isn't allowed in TEXAS? Cause it is here in Colorado. So is Shall Issue on CCW. There are even strict posting requirements for businesses. Only a few select locations are prohibited such as schools blah blah. And Denver being home rule thinks it can violate the Colorado Const. but it hasn't been adequately challenged lately.

[Soros' Wank-noose]

Can you believe? And switchblades are still way illegal, too. Blew my mind when I heard other states allow them, then I saw how many allow them.

[Soros' Wank-noose]

For handguns. Long guns is kosher, which is why they sport rifles at the gatherings.

[sarcasmic]

'Peaceful' Occupy Wall Street protester, 25, faces SEVEN YEARS jail for elbowing police officer in the face as activists were evicted
An Occupy Wall Street activist was convicted on Monday of assaulting a police officer in Manhattan
A New York jury found Cecily McMillan, 25, guilty of elbowing a police officer, Grantley Bovell, in the eye as he was attempting to arrest herin March 2012
McMillan's lawyer argued that his client was reacting to someone groping one of her breasts
She is known among activists as the 'queen on non-violence'

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

'Reacting to being grabbed by a stranger is not a crime,' said one of her lawyers, Rebecca Heinegg.

Unless that stranger is a cop.

[Andrew S.]

The entire trial was a joke. Apparently, at least as far as the jury heard, the only thing that happened is that she elbowed him in the face. Nothing else happened around that.

[John]

Cops are so bad they make the Occutards sympathetic. If I were a judge, i would throw the verdict out, which is of course why I will never be a judge.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Fuck OWSers but seriously, seven years? Cops do WAAAAAYYYYY worse than elbows to the face.

[Brett L]

Remember, Occupy was a peaceful movement where there were hundreds of physical confrontations; Cliven Bundy ran a violent movement where no one was physically assaulted.

[sarcasmic]

Oh there were plenty of assaults during the Bundy movement. Granted the cops committed all them, but it's untrue to say there were none.

[Joe M]

"I put him in a lateral vascular neck restraint, which is not a choke hold."

[Notorious G.K.C.]

When I click that, some guy starts reciting the Gettysburg Address and I can't turn it off.

[Ted S.]

In that case, here's creepy Margaret O'Brien reciting the Gettysburg Address.

[sarcasmic]

'I do love to twerk': Helen Mirren admits she's 'mesmerised' by dance craze and has practiced in the mirror

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

[John]

Helen is old but she still isn't bad.

[WDATPDIM?!]

Yes, she is bad. She's like a Brit Sarah Jessica Parker -- someone the tastemakers keep trying to make us believe is a sex symbol.

[John]

Whatever you philistine. She was beautiful when she was young. And Parker never had a body like that. Mirren has a better body than Parker today even at sixty something.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

They call me the twerking man
I guess that's what I am

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzl1R7wzjwo

[invisible furry hand]

That is utterly unarousing

[sarcasmic]

She's got a tatt or two! Heavily inked models bare all in new book that celebrates female body art
Top tattoo models reveal their torsos in new coffee table book
Showcase tattoos in their armpits, under their eyes and on their bikini line
Stunning body art includes illustrations of butterflies and intricate flowers
More unusual images feature man wearing gas mask and women's chest

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/fem.....y-art.html
Am I odd for finding that to be a turn off?

[gaijin]

Suicide Girls have had this covered for years. But I guess coffee table books are retro cool?

[Bam!]

I hate tats in general and really hate that type of tattoo.

[Suthenboy]

No

[Ted S.]

I find tattoos to be a turn-off, too.

[Root Boy]

But they are so unique and cool and different than everybody else.

Look at that fuckin' butterfly!

[invisible furry hand]

I find the dead kid tattoo particularly creepy. You need a tattoo to remember your own dead child?

[Certified Public Asskicker]

The car decals too. Very weird.

[Brett L]

I love those. You're gonna have a car for what, five years on average? Then your memorium is over?

[Certified Public Asskicker]

I guess so, but in the mean time you can think about Billy Bob's death, every time you get in your car.

[Swiss Servator, Gnomes FTW!]

I find it repulsive, but that might just be me, SF.

[WDATPDIM?!]

Well, I find that a turn-off, and I'm odd. But n = 1.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Those aren't women with tattoos, those are tattoos with women!

[Zeb]

Not odd. There is definitely a great diversity of opinion, though. There a lot of bad tattoos out there, but I like some of the better ones.

[R C Dean]

Bad ink is bad.

Good ink is good.

Like most things in this life, 80% of tattoos are bad.

But I find the good ones to be, err, good. Thinking about taking mine in for a touch-up and some color.

[mr simple]

Am I odd for finding that to be a turn off?

No

[mr simple]

I especially hate the paragraphs that seem to be in vogue these days. Sentences people get are never clever, let alone whole paragraphs. You really want that on you the rest of your life?

[Clich? Bandit]

I find skinny, hot, brunette chicks with tats (like half sleeves etc.) kinda hot...You know they put out basically. But hey I am easy.

[sarcasmic]

The mystery disease causing America's starfish to EXPLODE
Wasting disease causes body to rupture and spill internal organs
Has been found on Pacific and Atlantic coasts

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sci.....PLODE.html

[Swiss Servator, Gnomes FTW!]

Maybe they could be used like mines, to stop exploding Canadian whales!

[sarcasmic]

The under-the-SKIN bra: Op stops sagging - using cups and straps screwed into a woman's ribs
Three patients have undergone revolutionary 'internal bra' operation
Procedure carried out at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital in London
Surgeon inserts silicone cup under the skin and fine silk straps to ribs
Experts have called for extensive clinical trials to prove safety and efficacy

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/hea.....-ribs.html

[Joe M]

Frankenboobs!

[invisible furry hand]

No no, they're roboboobs

[gaijin]

Let's just hope they stop at lift and shape?

Machine Gun Bra

[WDATPDIM?!]

I won't be happy until they make Frankenboobs that can change size with the push of a button.

[lap83]

Ow.

[The Late P Brooks]

When the hell did "upstart" become a verb?

"What was that thing you called me?"

[Karl Hungus]

NYPD continues to commit armed home invasion looking for a man who died in 2006. He was wanted for turnstile jumping:

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014.....latestnews

[John]

They are energetic enough to go kick down a door on a 28 year old warrant but too fucking lazy to take the damn thing out of the system. Pathetic.

[Swiss Servator, Gnomes FTW!]

Holy Crap - that has to be one of the damned dumbest things I have seen in a long time....and I worked with cops for 5 years!

HEY, DON'T YOU DUMBASSES HAVE A WARRANT CALL IN YOUR COURT SYSTEM? Even us idiots in flyover country managed to pull warrants for dead people...and wouldn't kick in doors for a freakin' subway fare.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Journalists in poll say journalism going in the wrong direction

http://jimromenesko.com/2014/0.....direction/

[Swiss Servator, Gnomes FTW!]

They will recover in...say, January 2017 (presuming TEAM RED takes the White House).

[SugarFree]

The NYC Queen of Hep-C goes to gala with vampire

She looks like a refugee from a bad Fraggle Rock acid trip.

[invisible furry hand]

What does a good Fraggle Rock acid trip feature?

[SugarFree]

Muppet hand-jobs.

[invisible furry hand]

Oh. So it's Meet the Feebles

[Notorious G.K.C.]

""Rainy Day Women" is more about persecution than intoxication. It sounds like a Salvation Army band playing a funeral march, but its words are deadly serious. When Dylan says that "they'll stone ya when you're trying to be so good" and that "they'll stone ya when you're tryin' to go home," he is speaking straight from the Bible. His comment about the Book of Acts makes the reference more explicit: it's not just any good man being stoned, but Stephen."

http://www.firstthings.com/web.....get-stoned

[John]

I know his singing is an acquired taste to put it mildly but I love Dylan. He often writes on a different level from any other rock composer. And even when he doesn't and is just throwing words together, it still is interesting.

[Andrew S.]

Bob Dylan may be my favorite living person. His singing... meh, but I live with it. And he's one of the greatest poets America has ever produced.

[John]

I think so. What I like most about him is that he never seems to have bought into the bullshit of success or his fans. Most artists when they get really famous it goes to their head and they start to believe the bullshit their fans tell them. There are only a few exceptions, Dylan and Willie Nelson being to me the most notable.

[John]

The other thing about Dylan that amazes me is that he can write and record a song like Lay Down Your Weary Tune or Blind Willie McTell and not even release them. Most artists would give their left nut to write either of those songs. Dylan wrote them, recorded them and thought "nah" and left them on the shelf. The raw number of songs he has written is just astounding.

[WDATPDIM?!]

an overwhelming lead on the Democrat side

When did Reason adopt the Team Red usage of "Democrat" as an adjective? Don't you guys normally stay pretty agnostic about whether one team is worse than the other?

[Jordan]

I think you're reading too much into that.

[UnCivilServant]

When did Reason adopt the Team Red usage of "Democrat" as an adjective?

I thought it was an expletive.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"And that's what's frustrating to me sometimes about Obama is that the world seems to disappoint him" "Republicans disappoint him, Bashar al-Assad disappoints him, Putin as well. And the fighting spirit sometimes is lacking in the performative aspects of the presidency."

http://www.weeklystandard.com/.....91045.html

[John]

At some point isn't being "disappointed" by the world and the people around you a nice way of saying you don't understand it or how it works? It only disappoints you because your assumptions about it are wrong.

What is frustrating about Obama is that he seems to have the mental maturity of a teenager. The world disappoints you when you are young and don't know any better. If it is still disappointing you when you are 50, you have clearly failed to learn much over the years.

[Lord Humungus]

heh - reminds me of a story my old boss told me.

He bought some property to build a house on. He had some issues with the property line with his next door neighbor.

Anyway, the neighbor says to him once "You have to be careful in the neighborhood, everyone here is in asshole."

My boss thought to himself, "Maybe you're the asshole."

[John]

There is one of everything in every crowd. If you don't know who that "one" is, you are it.

[Sevo]

Now, Mr. amd Ms. Low-info Voter, we don't have "Death Panels"! Of course not! We prefer to call the groups making the decisions "Life Selection Committees"! So that nasty Ms. Palin was WRONG!:

"$1,000 hepatitis C pill a tough miracle to swallow"
"To people like Barnes, Sovaldi is a miracle drug. But patients may face a long wait for the miracle, if they get it at all.
[...]
Many hepatitis C patients rely on taxpayer-funded insurance, which puts pressure on state and federal budgets."
http://www.sfgate.com/health/a.....455230.php

It's the Chron, so the focus is on the horrible company expecting to make money curing a disease, and the slimy writer takes until she includes:
"Sovaldi is worth it, Gilead argues, because it is a one-time cure that is cheaper than treatments for serious complications associated with the disease, like liver scarring and cancer."
So it's cheaper than the current treatments, actually cures the disease, cost the company $11Bn to bring to market, but they are 'charging too much'

[Sevo]

Oops:
"takes until *THE SECOND PAGE IN THE PRINT VERSION BEFORE* she includes:"

[WDATPDIM?!]

The way Team Red bungled their side of that issue just shows what idiots they are lately.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Private insurers still get to make that decision all by themselves.

Hep C drugs are a big deal in state prisons since most states won't spring for the $60,000 per patient.

[Sevo]

Palin's Buttplug|5.6.14 @ 10:11AM|#
"Private insurers still get to make that decision all by themselves."

Thank you, shitstain, for proving once again that:
1) You love to like Obo ass.
2) There isn't a goal-post in the world you can't move.
3) You're ignorant enough to think no one notices.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Hey Weigel.

[invisible furry hand]

What an excellent pet tombstone

More here

[Swiss Servator, Gnomes FTW!]

"Well, this is embarrassing.
We can't find that page yet. But it's probably still just being formatted by our system. Please wait a few minutes and try it again. Chances are, it will be here. If it's not here after a few minutes, it may be have been deleted by the author or one of our administrators. Feel free to let us know about it."

Are the intarwebz faster down there?

[invisible furry hand]

How bizarre. It's the second tombstone on this page, underneath Barty Bear's poignant memorial

[Swiss Servator, Gnomes FTW!]

"Buster Swoverland"?

[UnCivilServant]

I'm sorry, my first impression of "Pet Tombstone" was along the line of "Pet Rock" and it got a really weird image in my mind.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

The governor of Oregon, a former emergency room doctor, stops on the way to some event to give a woman CPR

http://www.oregonlive.com/poli.....ms_cp.html

[OldMexican]

Obama is now getting into the weeds on climate change and considers it one of the key components of his legacy, according to aides and advisers - The Sacramento Bee.

His legacy of hot air?

Maybe there is something about global warming being man-made!

[WDATPDIM?!]

Doesn't using "get into the weeds" to mean "delve into the details" demonstrate a misunderstanding of golf?

[SugarFree]

And Emma Stone pisses off women everywhere.

'I've seen articles or comments that have addressed my weight, or ''caving to pressure to be thin.'' Keeping weight on is a struggle for me? especially when I'm under stress, and especially as I've gotten older,' she said.

(Not here, of course. You Reason ladies be fine!)

[John]

Some women and med are just naturally thin and sometimes even too thin. I know several women whose doctors gave them hell because they were not gaining enough weight when they were pregnant. It would be nice to have won the genetic lottery like that.

[tarran]

It's not the fucking genetic lottery.

The fat on a pregnant woman plays a critical role in fetal brain development. Women need fat to have smart babies.

[WDATPDIM?!]

Yes, but who needs smart babies? They just make the rest of the class look bad.

[John]

Yes. Fat is important. It is just some women have a hard time putting it on even while pregnant.

[Zeb]

I'm very thin naturally and while I wouldn't say I struggle to keep on weight, my weight hasn't changed since I was 18 and I'd like to gain a bit of weight to have a bit more of a buffer.
It's nice not to be fat, I guess, but on the down side I'm one significant illness away from being very underweight.

[lap83]

I'm naturally thin too, but I don't think it's considerate to say you "struggle to keep weight on". It sounds to most people like humble-bragging. Just say you're lucky, and leave it at that.

[The Late P Brooks]

here's creepy Margaret O'Brien reciting the Gettysburg Address.

No Margaret Hamilton version?

[The Late P Brooks]

"And that's what's frustrating to me sometimes about Obama is that the world seems to disappoint him"

I'd like to teach that buffoon the meaning of disappointment.

[Pathogen]

"And that's what's frustrating to me sometimes about Obama is that the world seems to disappoint him"

Yes indeed, It's truly unfortunate that the world cannot live up to The One's meager expectations, He's such an altruist... this world just isn't.. *choke*.. good enough.. *gag* for him... *wretch*

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"Thomas Piketty: I Don't Care for Marx

"An interview with the left's rock star economist"

(disclaimer: I haven't read this interview so I don't know if it's interesting)

http://www.newrepublic.com/art.....ign=buffer

[WDATPDIM?!]

"I don't care for Marx ... but his ideas are magnifique!"

[John Thacker]

Supreme Court unanimously overturns Fifth Circuit, says that the courts should at least hear the facts before deciding that a cop can shoot an unarmed innocent man with no penalty.

[Pathogen]

But..but.. qualified immunity?!

[GILMORE]

"The leader of the Islamist group Boko Haram acknowledged it kidnapped 230 girls in Nigeria, threatening to sell them."

Man, that's a shame. I loved the song Whiter Shade of Pale.

[Root Boy]

I've had hit or miss experiences.

I tell my kids they have to play the public school games. Keep your eyes open and watch your back. We've had a bullying kid choking other kids and I tell my son he better fight back. Kid never gets punished which doesn't fit the no tolerance vibe going around -- I think the school is just run by a bunch of "we're an awesome school with no problems" types.

Meanwhile I see their getting educated in Human Rights but know nothing of the Constitution. I'm tempted to write FU on their homework sometimes.