NSA Sort-of-Reform Bill Passes House, VA Horrors Just 'Tip of the Iceberg,' New Coup in Thailand: P.M. Links

• 

  Government of Thailand

  The House of Representatives passed an NSA reform bill. Well…sort-of reform bill. It's a bit wishy-washy.

• Thailand is once again engaged in its national sport: military coups (The U.S. government officially disapproves.). The head uniformed guy is now "prime minister," because generalissimo just sounds so crass.
• Rep. Jeff Miller, who heads the House Veterans Affairs panel, calls the recent revelations about lethal delays at Veterans Administration health care facilities "the tip of the iceberg."
• The Republican National Committee narrowed its list of 2016 convention locations to Dallas, Cleveland, Denver, and Kansas City. We hear Cleveland has a great orchestra.
• The U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions against Boko Haram, the group of Nigerian nasties that has inspired a tidal wave of outrage on Twitter.
• At least 31 people died in explosions in the Chinese city of Urumqi, in growing violence linked to separatists. The city is in largely Muslim Xinjiang province.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

The House of Representatives passed an NSA reform bill.

They're secretly hoping the judiciary will bail them out.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

I was so close Reasonable says I'm first.

[Auric Demonocles]

Every damn thread. Didn't we get over this in like 2002?

[Fist of Etiquette]

It will be years before they find a cure.

[Tonio]

Yes, except it would be the nation as a whole and the constitution that would be bailed out, not lawmakers.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

The U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions against Boko Haram, the group of Nigerian nasties that has inspired a tidal wave of outrage on Twitter.

Send in the hashtags!

[Suthenboy]

Huh? Sanctions on Boko Haram?

Would someone please kill the U.N. already ( as in dissolve it) and then Boko Haram ( as in shoot them) ?

[Agammamon]

Or, you know, the other way works too.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Republican National Committee narrowed its list of 2016 convention locations to Dallas, Cleveland, Denver, and Kansas City.

At least one of those locations is sure to let them down.

[Auric Demonocles]

If you listen to Saints fans after their recent (and first out of 11 attempts) Super Bowl bid defeat, there is no other city in the world that any event should ever be held, ever.

[rts]

Shot dead for walking away from cops

Warning: Graphic content
Video courtesy: https://www.facebook.com/yoanna.prieto

Salinas, California police officers claim they had to use lethal force on a man who didn't obey their orders and tried to attack them. However video filmed by an eyewitness shows that the man tried to back away from officers when he was shot to death. READ MORE: http://on.rt.com/0h22rz

[gimmeasammich]

"They killed Osman like a dog as he lay on the ground. Why are we to trust them investigating themselves? Why does it take so many bullets to the head to subdue a man who is already lying on the ground? Osman's life had value. We want the truth," a spokesperson for the man's family told reporters earlier this month.

A pharmacist did this a couple of years ago, and I think he got a life sentence. For some reason I see a different outcome here...

[Suthenboy]

I can't watch those anymore. I don't know what happened to me. As I get older I get more squeamish. I used to have damn thick skin. I guess it wore off.

[Andrew S.]

I can't watch them anymore either. Not because of squeamishness, but because it would be difficult to explain the fist-sized holes in the walls of my office.

[Paul.]

Reading posts on facebook gives me a headache.

So, he did have some sort of weapon and it looked like he was kind of maybe brandishing it... but there was definitely no advancement. If the guy was perpetrating what the officers were responding to, he might have been 8 kinds of crazy.

Officers end up talking to this individual, trying to find out what he's doing and what the situation was based upon the original 911 call," Maiorana said. "This individual started to wave the gardening shears at the officers. We tried to deploy a Taser; the Taser did not work and as the officers tried to detain this individual, this individual pulled the gardening shears and actually attacked the officers with the gardening shears.

IN the hard-to-make out video, he looked like he was waving them at the officers, but I'd stop way short of saying he 'attacked them'. Looked more like brandished, and backed away.

[wareagle]

the only possible response to shears is gunshots to the head. You do want officers to go home safely at shift's end, don't you?

[Paul.]

You do want officers to go home safely at shift's end, don't you?

No.

[Ted S.]

I just wish they didn't have to link to Soviet Union Today as their source.

[Brandon]

What American media is covering it?

[Damned Fool]

Thailand is once again engaged in its national sport: military coups (The U.S. government officially disapproves.). The head uniformed guy is now "prime minister," because generalissimo just sounds so crass.

A change of government financed entirely by public money without nasty interference by private PACs or big donors. Truly a model for us all.

[DJF]

Plus the general saved taxpayer money by not changing the sign on the door of his new Prime Minister office

[Matrix]

Krugman has a sad over how many jobs did not get created because he did not change the sign...

[BakedPenguin]

Just don't make fun of the King.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The head uniformed guy is now "prime minister," because generalissimo just sounds so crass.

Prime minister, eh? Sounds like he's just itching to be overthrown.

[Injun, as in from India]

The Republican National Committee narrowed its list of 2016 convention locations to Dallas, Cleveland, Denver, and Kansas City. We hear Cleveland has a great orchestra.

Insert Cleveland Browns letting them down joke here....

[Auric Demonocles]

I think you mean up there.

[Sudden]

I have it on good authority that Cleveland will trade up in order to move in front of Kansas City, and they will use that move to select either Brady QuinnChris Christie or Johnny FootballBobby Jindal.

[jesse.in.mb]

Do you remember our bet from last night?

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

I sure as fuck do. HE AGREED TO IT.

Should have videotaped it.

[Sudden]

Goddamnit, no I don't.

And I have it on good authority that drunkenness negates one's ability to consent to a bet. Ergo, I may back out of this bet should it seem like a bad idea in retrospect.

And I'm still mildly hungover.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

I did 2 liters of water when I got home.

[Sudden]

I woke up at some point in th middle of the night and puked so much korean pork belly into my toilet that I clogged it and had to actually go buy a plunger at Rite Aid before I could take a morning piss.

[110 Lean]

You don't have a sink?

[Mad Scientist]

Or a shower?

[Archduke von Pantsfan]

You don't have a window?

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Oysters, dude. You had oysters for dinner. 12 of them.

[Sudden]

I had had a late lunch of korean pork belly earlier. I thought that would somehow be enough to absorb the god knows how much beer I consumed.

That would prove to be the first of many dumb ideas I apparently had that day.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

If you were that drunk, maybe you don't remember me trying to steal your dog. He almost came with me, too.

[jesse.in.mb]

He almost came with me, too.

PHRASING!

[Bobarian]

Are we still doing that?

[Sudden]

Again, limited recollection of that.

That would've been a step too far I think. That dog is pretty much all I have in this world. Although he sucks as a roommate sometimes insofar as he's dirty and doesn't pay any rent.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

I would have brought him back. My wife really likes puggles, though.

[jesse.in.mb]

Weak. You seemed pretty sure of yourself when you made it.

[R C Dean]

I have it on good authority that drunkenness negates one's ability to consent to a bet

If this were true, Las Vegas would be a ghost town.

[Agammamon]

And I have it on good authority that drunkenness negates one's ability to consent to a bet.

Only if you're a woman.

[robc]

Baked Penguin paid off his bet with me in a reasonably timely manner. I just think the honor of H&R bets should be upheld.

So...what was the bet?

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

I was a little drunk at the time, so I don't remember what they were wagering on. But if Sudden loses, Jesse gets to fuck him in the ass. My idea, but Jesse didn't object too much.

[hamilton]

Memo to self: do not attend H&R meetup on the left coast.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

This wasn't the official H&R meet up. I'll be on much better behavior for that.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

I'm staying sober around all of you lot.

[Sudden]

I haven't the foggiest idea.

[jesse.in.mb]

You were adamant that Lizzy Warren would clinch the Democratic nom for 2016. I was adamant that she would not. Wagers were made.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Contracts were signed.

[Troll? (formerly Damned Fool)]

Firstborns were pledged.

[R C Dean]

AND NOTHING ELSE HAPPENED.

Oh, wrong thread. Carry on.

[Sudden]

Phew, I was worried that I needed something really unlikely to happen, like the Chiefs winning the SB or something.

Fauxcahantus? Yea, she's a lock. Not that that means the bet is valid as I was in a state of duress from drunkenness.

[BakedPenguin]

Yeah, $10 or $20 (one of which was the bet I made with robc) is probably a better idea.

Unless you're into that sort of thing.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

What was the bet?

[BakedPenguin]

Whether Tebow would ever win a playoff game. I chose "no".

[Ted S.]

Tell us more.

[yanking your chain]

Whoa whoa whoa, enough of the slavery crap, guy.

[Injun, as in from India]

Well yanked, sir.

[Clich? Bandit]

Denver's Orchestra likes Pot.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Mike Rowe is awesome

[Idle Hands]

Have people always been that dumb or are they just trolling?

[gimmeasammich]

Yes.

[Aloysious]

Have people always been that dumb or are they just trolling?

Yes and yes.

[Paul.]

Mike Rowe is awesome

That he is.

[Heroic Mulatto]

I wonder which handle he comments on this forum with now. People saw through mrowe.

[Paul.]

vpostrel?

[Mad Scientist]

Mr. Owe

[Paul.]

I wrote an open letter to President Obama, offering to help him promote those 3 million "shovel-ready" jobs he promised to create during his campaign

[...]

When I made the same offer to Mitt Romney (who actually responded), thousands of liberals chastised me for "engaging with a greedy capitalist," and threatened to stop watching Dirty Jobs if I didn't take it back.

You see, Mike Rowe's failure here when he contacted Obama was he thought that Obama actually cared about 'shovel-ready' jobs.

[Agammamon]

Or that 'shovel-ready' jobs actually existed.

[Brandon]

(Poor Ed Shultz at MSNBC nearly burst into tears. "You were on the wrong stage, Mike! The wrong stage!! With the wrong candidate!!!")

This is awesome.

[seguin]

Salty ham tears are delicious like salty ham.

[Archduke von Pantsfan]

already been done.

[Idle Hands]

The butthurt of this Jim Irsay DUI thing is hilarious.

Of course their is a double standard. What's so hard about this? Irsay signs the checks for the commissioner and the players, why is this so hard for these people to understand?

[John]

The only double standard is that saying something that is the RACIST in private is somehow worse than driving drunk and endangering other people. Yeah, that makes sense.

[Ted S.]

I heard a report on the NPR news that the local classical station carries that 50 scumbags calling themselves US Senators wrote a letter to the NFL urginng them to change the Redskins' name, citing the NBA's overreaction to Donald Sterling.

If they ever do changte the name, it ought to be to the Washington Scumbag Politicians.

[DJF]

Washington Thieving Senators.

Washington Leeches

Washington Money Pits

[R C Dean]

Washington Injuns.

Washington Hindus. Or Hindoos, if you want to old school.

[Agammamon]

Washington Musulmen

[Brandon]

Washington Harry-Reid-Can-Go-Fuck-Himself?

[Pope Jimbo]

Washington Limbaughs

[seguin]

Ladies and gentleman, we introduce your Washington Presidential Assassins to the field!

[Sudden]

The Republican National Committee narrowed its list of 2016 convention locations to Dallas, Cleveland, Denver, and Kansas City. We hear Cleveland has a great orchestra.

I believe Denver is the choice should Rand secure the nomination. Gotta hope all his delegates get too baked to come in and cast their ballots, thereby opening up the chance for a late surge of Santorum.

[Jordan]

Nobody wants a surge of Santorum.

[Tonio]

Except Sudden.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

It's a possibility now.

[Sudden]

I'm confident that Warren does get the nomination. However, I am not pledging my sacred hemorroids on that.

[Injun, as in from India]

thereby opening up the chance for a late surge of Santorum.

I can't visualize a late surge of Santorum without throwing up.

[Tonio]

That is a normal reaction.

Hmmm...a new question for the VK test just presented itself.

[Pro Libertate]

It's going to be Cleveland.

[Archduke von Pantsfan]

We're often mistaken for a cabaret act ? but double-dressing makes us feel like celebrities': 60-yr-old twin sisters have worn identical clothes for 14 years... even in BED

[Ted S.]

It would be cheaper if they slept in the buff.

[wareagle]

Old guy 1: what are they wearing?

Old guy 2: I'm not sure but it could use some ironing.

Try the veal, folks.

[Ted S.]

Tip the veal and try the waitress.

[seguin]

DOHOHOHOHOHO!

[BakedPenguin]

"Come play with us - forever... and ever... and ever!"

[Corning]

I am confused as to why the twin ghosts of children raped and murdered by the gentleman's club would be allied with them?

[Injun, as in from India]

The U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions against Boko Haram, the group of Nigerian nasties that has inspired a tidal wave of outrage on Twitter.

What the Hillary State Department did not accomplish, the UN Security Council does. But what difference at this point does it make?

[Sevo]

Hmm, what happens to O-care before a long weekend?

"Health care law changes could give 'bailout' to insurers"
[...]
"The Obama administration has quietly adjusted key provisions of its signature health care law to potentially make billions of additional taxpayer dollars available to the insurance industry"
http://www.sfgate.com/default/.....496730.php

But, remember, it's The Law and can't be changed!

[Tonio]

Re: Head Uniformed Guy: Well, I think the king does wear a military uniform sometimes. At least I think that's him in the photos all the Thai restaurants have near the cash register.

[Agammamon]

That's because the king is also the head of the military - the 'Prime Minister' is not.

[Archduke von Pantsfan]

Norm MacDonald has been campaigning for a new job on Twitter for a while now. He wants to be the next host of "The Late Late Show"

[Winston]

Norm who?

[Brandon]

Turd Ferguson.

[Jerry on the sea]

His podcasts are hilarious. You should see the one with Andy Dick.

[110 Lean]

Rep. Jeff Miller, who heads the House Veterans Affairs panel, calls the recent revelations about lethal delays at Veterans Administration health care facilities "the tip of the iceberg."

This actually vindicates Obama; he really did mean corpse-men.

[Tonio]

Boo!

[Archduke von Pantsfan]

World Cup oddities of the day

[Warty]

I hope they do have the convention here. It will help me decide to move far, far away from this dying dump.

[The Last American Hero]

If you still have The Circus, then it can't be all bad, right?

[Pro Libertate]

I think it's very likely, given that Ohio is a populous "swing" state. It was in Tampa last time, same reason.

Of course, they'll be wondering why the beach is so fucking cold and the strippers less hot, but votes are votes.

[Clich? Bandit]

We still need to drink and if you come to CO you can get stoned and throw rocks at Boulder Hippies.

[Mad Scientist]

The Republican National Committee narrowed its list of 2016 convention locations to Dallas, Cleveland, Denver, and Kansas City.

Why can't these turds just stay in D.C.? It's already the country's asshole. Seems like a perfect fit.

[110 Lean]

Why would you want Santorum in the nation's asshole?

[BakedPenguin]

Best place for it. Also, it'd be good to know they were getting fucked for once.

[Paul.]

We hear Cleveland has a great orchestra.

Every country has a city they make fun of. In America, you make fun of Cleveland. In Russia, we make fun of Cleveland.

[Agammamon]

Ba-dum Tish!

Paul'll be here all night folks, try the borscht.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Two more men arrested in bizarre conspiracy to photograph wife of US senator

Two more men have been arrested in connection with a bizarre alleged scheme to illegally photograph the elderly wife of Mississippi Republican Sen. Thad Cochran

Mark Mayfield, a lawyer and board member of the Central Mississippi tea party, has been charged with conspiracy. And Richard Sager has been charged with tampering of evidence and conspiracy, reports Mississippi's WLBT, citing a lawyer for political blogger Clayton Kelly.

Kelly, who is said to go by the nickname "Constitutional Clayton," was charged Friday with breaking into a nursing home in order to photograph Cochran's wife, Rose, who has been a patient there since 2000. Rose Cochran is reportedly bedridden and suffering from dementia.

Kelly, 28, allegedly posted the photo online, as part of an anti-Cochran video. Kelly is a supporter of tea party favorite Chris McDaniel, who is challenging Cochran for the GOP nomination.

Kelly is charged with conspiracy, exploitation of a vulnerable adult, and photographing an individual without permission.

The sensational episode has shaken up the Senate race, in which McDaniel was seen as having a good chance of upsetting Cochran, who has been in office since 1979. McDaniel's campaign has been on the defensive, denying claims that it knew in advance about the plot.

A Coen Brothers movie.

[Tonio]

Kelly is charged with conspiracy, exploitation of a vulnerable adult, and photographing an individual without permission.

Kelly is a douche. But having said that, those are all bullshit charges. Sounds like he was trespassing, and that should be all they need.

[R C Dean]

No kidding. If he broke in to the nursing home, there's a whole raft of real charges they could bring.

[Corning]

But if they charged them with those then there would not be special laws protecting US senators.

[Dances-with-Trolls]

Yeah, so the man most responsible for the Oregon health care exchange disaster? Still getting paid.

But Goldberg never stopped drawing a paycheck and will continue to do so until July 18, The Oregonian has learned. He continued drawing a full director's salary at Cover Oregon for nearly a month after Kitzhaber announced his "resignation," until April 10. That's when the Cover Oregon board formally accepted his resignation at a board meeting.

Then he drew a Cover Oregon salary of one-fourth that rate, $3,606.25 a month, in exchange for being available for consulting with his successor, Clyde Hamstreet, until May 14. On May 15, the day after his employment terminated at Cover Oregon, he returned to the Oregon Health Authority, where his full salary was restored.

[DJF]

""""consulting with his successor""

Failed Top Man consultin with new Top Man, what could go wrong.

[jesse.in.mb]

Russian dash cam shows driver push cop car off the road.

[Warty]

SPY HUNTER

I love how nonchalant the Russians always are in these videos.

[jesse.in.mb]

Damn it Warty. Now I'm going to have to break out MAME.

[gimmeasammich]

I mentioned it the other day, but Spy Hunter was the very first NES game that I ever owned.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

IIRC, my longest run on Spy Hunter was a little over 15 minutes.

[gimmeasammich]

You, sir, are a god among mortals.

[mr lizard]

Ya that's pretty impressive. Sounds like my 45 min crazy taxi streak... While drinking with a friend reloading my beer.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Beer helmet?

[Corning]

I made it to the boat once....then promptly died cuz i freaked out with excitement.

[Troll? (formerly Damned Fool)]

Could we import that guy?

[Mad Scientist]

Hey, rewind that. That car looks awfully funny for a black Trans Am.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

He didn't stop. Smart man.

[Almanian!]

What a fucking ABORTION this site has become today! Sheesh!

*sticks circumcised cock in jar of artisanal mayonnaise*

[yanking your chain]

deep dish pizza, and new today, not being born is a right too.

[R C Dean]

That was a new one. Did the argument really go that abortion doesn't violate the fetus/baby's rights unless the fetus/baby has given written consent to be born?

[Christophe]

No, I think Nicole was bombthrowing by saying bringing children into existence is something they have no say in, hence potentially morally problematic.

[hamilton]

I was just assuming it's sweeps week or something.

[Tonio]

Heh.

[Ted S.]

I hope UnCivilServant is OK; I know he's somehwere up in the Albany area:

Spotters report tornado damage, home destroyed

Duanesburg, where the most damage is being reported, is a bit to the west

[Archduke von Pantsfan]

14 hipster trends that need to stop right now

[Archduke von Pantsfan]

15. This article originally appeared on The Huffington Post.

[Jordan]

Here's my list of hipster trends that don't need to stop right now:

[BilboTeabaggins]

easy women

[Tonio]

Here's my list of trends that have needs: {}

[Christophe]

That's not a list, that's a dictionary.

[Mad Scientist]

+= 1

[Terr]

Alright, alright, you win. I see you've played listy dictionary before.

[Corning]

Lots of those things come from dirty hippies.

All things being equal hipsters turning into hippies is a positive development.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Paul McCartney hospitalized in Japan

Paul McCartney has canceled the remainder of his tour of Japan and South Korea after being hospitalized in Tokyo with a viral infection, according to multiple reports.

McCartney, 71, apologized to fans last week when he had to postpone several concerts. Since then his condition has reportedly worsened.

"I'd like to thank my Japanese fans for their love, messages of support and understanding," McCartney said in a statement. "I hope to see you all again soon. Love, Paul."

The Sankei Sports newspaper in Tokyo is the source for the news reports on McCartney's hospitalization,but it gives no confirmation from the hospital to which he was reportedly admitted.

Our emails to McCartney's reps were not immediately returned.

McCartney has several more dates lined up in the U.S. starting in June. According to his "Out There" tour's official website, those concerts are still on.

Oh no, he might die a second time!

[gimmeasammich]

Good. Out of all of the Beatles, he is the one that I hate the most. Ringo is alright, though.

[Ted S.]

Why hate on Paul? I find his music to be devoid of any great meaning, but generally fun to sing along to. As he himself sang,

Some people want to fill the world with silly love songs
And what's wrong with that?

It's better than the socially conscious shit John Lennon was putting out.

[Winston]

It's better than the socially conscious shit John Lennon was putting out.

"Deep meaning", "adult" and "social consciousness" is usually code for "depressing" and "leftist propaganda."

[gimmeasammich]

He just annoys me, much in the same way (although to a lesser extent) Bono does. I can't really explain it. Maybe it's my deep-down hipster tendencies on music and a select few other things? Maybe it's just his face. I honestly don't know why I hate him, I just do.

[BakedPenguin]

Harrison was the best Beatle. His post career had some tripe (Got My Mine Set on You), but was nowhere near as embarrassing as some of the crap McCartney wrote, or the crap Lennon did with Yoko.

Also: Taxman, Something, etc.

[JW]

He's just another man to the guy with the t-shirt cannon.

[110 Lean]

Here's why I hate the piece of shit. He shot a video of himself playing all four Beatles, the implication being that he was the Beatles. His self-promotion is deplorable and at his present age, he can't sing for shit.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Bears repeating.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Mark Cubam today: (probably posted - I was busy)

"I know I'm prejudiced and I know I'm bigoted in a lot of different ways," he said. "If I see a black kid in a hoodie on my side of the street, I'll move to the other side of the street. If I see a white guy with a shaved head and tattoos, I'll move back to the other side of the street. None of us have pure thoughts; we all live in glass houses."

Extremely rational guy - and libertarian (I know - the Purity Test!)

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Jennifer Lawrence makes rape joke, internet freaks out

Vulture reports that while at the Vanity Fair Cannes Film Festival party on May 17, the 23-year-old actress made an off-the-cuff rape joke and, predictably, people are not happy about it. Upon spotting "Gravity" director Alfonso Cuar?n in the crowd, Lawrence allegedly cried out, "I broke out my rape scream for you!" as she grabbed his shoulders and screamed, "Ahhhhh!!!" into his face, like a "crazed fan, or a woman in distress."

JLaw is now being accused of trivializing rape.

"Lawrence is painted as the goofy girl next door that everyone wants to be best friends with, but would you really want to befriend someone that describes excitement as a 'rape scream?'" wrote Bustle's Maitri Mehta. "It might seem like a joke to Lawrence, but rape is never an acceptable topic to joke about -- especially for a star in a young adult franchise that so many young girls look up to."

Meanwhile, Crushable's Alexis Rhiannon concedes that Lawrence probably didn't intend for anyone to hear her remark except for Cuar?n, but that doesn't excuse it. "By her blas? use of the terminology, it seems likely that she's been lucky enough never to be in a situation necessitating that type of scream, or else I hope she wouldn't throw it around so casually," she wrote.

We are a silly culture.

[Pro Libertate]

Isn't she an actress? You know, a person who emotes various things that aren't actually happening to her?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

What are you babbling about? Why is that relevant?

[Pro Libertate]

I mean that an actress should have a rape scream ready to go for those times when she's portraying a woman threatened with or actually being raped. This is not something most women would be practicing, unless they were fetish prostitutes or something.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

It was sarcasm. I mean it *is* relevant. Because she's an actress, like you said.

[Pro Libertate]

Oh, I see. So you weren't serious. Was that your rape comment then?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

I have a quota? Why me and not Warty?

[jesse.in.mb]

We tried to implement some kind of rape joke cap-and-trade, but Warty raped everyone involved, the agreement, the computer the agreement it was typed on, and several Japanese tourists who were wandering past the UN building wearing Hawaiian shirts and taking pictures.

Their last words were "Gojiiiirrraaagh"

When you're willing to rape anyone and everyone without remorse, then you'll be free.

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

*applause*

Bravo! Author! Author!

[seguin]

Warty is the proverbial snuke at the SALT talks.

[Troll? (formerly Damned Fool)]

"Lawrence is painted as the goofy girl next door that everyone wants to be best friends with, but would you really want to befriend someone that describes excitement as a 'rape scream?'" wrote Bustle's Maitri Mehta. "It might seem like a joke to Lawrence, but rape is never an acceptable topic to joke about "

Every topic is the appropriate subject of jokes. They make life easier. Also I would rather have a friend prone to humorous outbursts than one prone to histrionics.

[Pro Libertate]

It's a good thing Sam is dead, because he'd probably get arrested today for doing that homosexual necrophiliac rape gag.

[Aloysious]

Still funny.

[Pro Libertate]

I miss Sam.

[Suthenboy]

"Every topic is the appropriate subject of jokes."

Not if you are a silly douche that takes themselves too seriously and wears their skin inside out. For them every topic affords a new opportunity for outrage.

[Pro Libertate]

Wait, in the U.S.? We had people telling 9/11 jokes within weeks of 9/11. Challenger jokes even sooner after it blew up. And I've heard Holocaust jokes before.

[Brandon]

You mean you'd rather have Jennifer Lawrence as a friend than, say, Maitri Mehta or any writer at HuffPo?

[paranoid android]

She seems like such a nice gal, I can only hope existing in Hollywood doesn't warp her too terribly.

[110 Lean]

She is pretty neat.

[Auric Demonocles]

Lawrence is painted as the goofy girl next door that everyone wants to be best friends with

That is, um, not exactly what everyone wants to be with her...

I broke out my rape scream for you!

I don't think this is offensive, though it is weird and confusing.

[MJGreen]

Rape has been pretty overused with my generation, which puts the lie to that person's declaration that rape can never be the subject of a joke. This raped my childhood, that raped my mind, this is my rape scream. It's pretty lazy.

[Pro Libertate]

You should date her. I understand she spends hours at a time walking around naked in blue make-up. Seems like your type.

[Auric Demonocles]

Okay, but only because she has red hair to go with that makeup.

[110 Lean]

If Jennifer Lawrence has a special scream she uses while raping me, who am I to complain?

[MJGreen]

Like anyone would want to R her.

[JW]

"Lawrence is painted as the goofy girl next door that everyone wants to be best friends with, but would you really want to befriend someone that describes excitement as a 'rape scream?'" wrote Bustle's Maitri Mehta.

TRIGGERZ WARNINGZ

Her? Yeah. Lawrence seems pretty cool to hang out with.

You? Not even if you managed to pry that very appropriately large stick from your ass.

[jesse.in.mb]

BUGNADO

Ana, 54, spotted the 1,000-foot-high swarm of bugs which was thought to be made from red locusts in an area known as Leziria Grande - meaning big plain.

Image

[Archduke von Pantsfan]

THIS PRUVES CLIMATE CHANGES

[Pro Libertate]

Look, mock climate change all you want, but it was cooler last night, warmer this afternoon, and cooler again this evening. It's fluctuating like crazy!

[DJF]

Yesterday where I live there was water falling from the skies, today nothing!

[Pro Libertate]

Man, that's even more radical change. I understand that climate can change if you move from one place on the globe to another, too.

[JW]

And the sun keeps going out every night!

SOLAR CHANGE!!

[Pro Libertate]

Here in Tampa, sometimes it's windy. Sometimes it isn't. When it rains, sometimes the Earth discharges electrons into the sky.

[seguin]

We must ritually sacrifice jobs to ensure that it returns.

[kibby]

Holy Hades, I never want to go outside again.

[jesse.in.mb]

SHE LIVES!

[kibby]

SHE DOES!

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

It means Warty has not gotten to her....yet.

[Paul.]

Shopped!

[Archduke von Pantsfan]

How the Gaelic-themed drinking establishment took over the world

[robc]

I dont know what the article says, but I know the answer to this one.

They carried Guinness, which for a long time in certain parts of the country was the only non-pisswater beer readily available, so people who liked good beer went to them.

So, did I get it right?

[Auric Demonocles]

I never really think of Irish bars that common around the country, but maybe I just have a biased baseline living in a state where 25% of the people have Irish heritage.

[robc]

In Louisville, I would go to a "real" Irish bar, in the sense that the owners were Irish immigrants. Real is in quotes because as one reviewer put it, its more of the idea of what a mid 20th century country irish pub was like, but probably never existed.

Same reviewer called the more common ones, disney versions.

Both are fake, but different kinds of fake.

[gimmeasammich]

Both are fake, but different kinds of fake.

This is true of so many things.

[Bobarian]

The only "real" Irish Bars are in Ireland?

[JW]

I took the She-spawn to Otakon a few weeks back and decided to hang out at a bar whilst she played. I found an "Irish" bar and had a seat.

It was the worst fucking bar I've ever been in. They played 90's boy-band angst pop. They only thing Irish about it was having Guinness on tap. It was like a Friday's with a ethnic delusion.

[Pro Libertate]

There's a bar in Tampa (or was, anyway) with a thatched roof, Irish singers, the whole nine yards. If it's still around, it's probably sold out, but it used to be pretty hardcore "Irish" (understanding that it was likely, even, so, a little ersatz).

Me, I'm no more than okay with Irish pubs. Not a Guinness guy, don't really give a shit about Irish food and culture, don't like getting drunk and into fights, you know.

[Mad Scientist]

Them's fightin' words!

[Pro Libertate]

Watch it man, I'm half-Scottish and half-German. That makes me insane by international law on a level far beyond the Irish, especially when you throw in my Americanness.

[JW]

There's an Irish pub in Alexandria that's actually pretty fucking fun. Lots of drinking, drunks and loud sing-a-longs.

[Pro Libertate]

The place I'm talking about was (and maybe still is) very fun and hugely popular. Used to be jammed.

[Bobarian]

I got extremely drunk on Harp and singing along with Seamus Kennedy in Alexandria.

[kibby]

I have absolutely nothing of substance to add to this thread, but just wanted to say while I have some crappy internet that I miss this place terribly. You're all awful monsters & it's the best thing ever.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

D'awwwwwwww

[Mad Scientist]

This is my kind of flattery!

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Stockholm Syndrome?

[Mad Scientist]

Don't other kibby's penchant for abuse!

[kibby]

I'm glad to see nothing has changed whilst I've been away. *sigh*

[Auric Demonocles]

I almost think that this has too much substance for a Links thread.

[hamilton]

YOUR EMOTIONAL WEAKNESS HAS BEEN NOTED.

[kibby]

I HAVE NO EMOTIONS!! *cries*

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

NYT: Koch Brothers kic Detroit while it is down because they hate unions and black people

Yes, those poor, poor government workers. What sort of monster doesn't want to honor pension obligations crafted by a notoriously corrupt city government?

[paranoid android]

The poor management of the city by its own officials is well-known and stretches back decades, but the state and its residents bear a huge responsibility for Detroit's plight. State officials allowed fleeing white residents to hide behind suburban boundaries that depleted the city's tax base while cutting revenue sharing.

What the fuck is this bullshit? Are they saying the state should not have allowed its residents to move out of Detroit? Or that the boundaries of Detroit should have expanded to cover wherever they moved to so that Detroit could still suck tax money out of people who don't live in the city for the city's benefit?

Am I completely misunderstanding the author, or is this as monstrously idiotic as it sounds on its face?

[Troll? (formerly Damned Fool)]

Berlin Wall Midwestern Style

[Corning]

Are they saying the state should not have allowed its residents to move out of Detroit?

Yes.

[Winston]

Is it any wonder why they end up with the Berlin Wall?

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

No, that mask just came flying off. Joan Walsh wrote about it too and quoted the piece (though not that part) because the Koch Brothers are eeeevvvillll.

I just pulled that quote and posted it in the Salon comments. So we will see what happens.

[JW]

The Collective will have its revenge on those who fled.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

The response I got from a few Salonistas was that the Michigan state government had the audacity to pass a law prohibiting Detroit from taxing the income of people that worked in the city but lived outside of its boundaries.

Because it's totally fair for people to get fleeced twice to fund Kwame Kilpatrick's rackets.

[Mad Scientist]

Although it's not fair to tax people twice, it would be fair to double or triple tax all the people at Salon who think it's fair.

[Dances-with-Trolls]

The system doesn't work without bond-tenants, don't you know? How.. progressive.

[DJF]

When the Roman Empire was falling apart one of the "fixes' was to ban people from moving, turned them into serfs.

[Pro Libertate]

No moving, no changing careers, price-fixing. Total disaster.

[Suthenboy]

I don't think you are misunderstanding it at all.

[Rhywun]

Or that the boundaries of Detroit should have expanded to cover wherever they moved to so that Detroit could still suck tax money out of people who don't live in the city for the city's benefit?

Isn't that SOP out west and south?

[Ted S.]

Kick 'em when they're up;
Kick 'em when they're down.

[Brandon]

underhill ann arbor, michigan 4 hours ago
No bailout for that bad city, Detroit. But the country had better pony up and build that oil pipeline right? Welfare for the Kochs, not a penny for the little people.

The reason lefty outlets keep demonizing the Koch Brothers is that it works so much better than facts.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Red Robin worker in Missouri may have exposed up to 5000 people to Hepatitis A

In a news conference Wednesday afternoon, the Springfield-Greene County Health Department says they received a report of Hepatitis A in a food service worker and they predict nearly 5,000 people may have been affected.

According to Kevin Gipson with the Heath Department, an employee at Red Robin on S. Glenstone Ave. has Hepatitis A.

Symptoms of Hepatitis A include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite and discolored urine. The incubation period for the disease is 28-30 days and vaccinations need to be taken within 14 days.

The Health Department has ordered 4,000 doses of the vaccine, which is in transit from Memphis.

The Health Department is considering this a significant health threat, however they say an important thing to remember is that people are now commonly vaccinated for Hepatitis A.

A statement from Red Robin says the worker has not been in the restaurant since May 16, and will not return to work until they have been granted medical clearance.

[Ted S.]

Hepatitis Mary.

[Heroic Mulatto]

The head uniformed guy is now "prime minister," because generalissimo just sounds so crass.

The reason he can't call himself "generalissimo" is because that rank would be higher than field marshal, chom phon in Thai, a rank is already held by the monarch. To outrank the monarch would be a death sentence.

[Troll? (formerly Damned Fool)]

Even when you control the military? Who do they like more?

[Heroic Mulatto]

The current King of Thailand is basically a God-King, in part thanks to the cult of personality the CIA built up for him during the late 50s/early 60s as a way to fight off the small Communist movement in the northeast of the country. All the king would have to do is to publicly state "fuck this guy" and he would be hanged from the nearest lamppost. The reality is that all the coups have been greenlighted by the king in someway or another.

[Agammamon]

I don't think its quite that bad, but the King *is*, at the very least, a figurehead for Thai unity. To do anything that would appear to be attacking the king's status would open the flood-gates for every power-seeking group in the country to go at it full-bore.

The military is walking a very fine line - they have de-facto control of the country but have to at least appear to be acting in the monarch's name, according to his wishes, and submissive to his will.

[Stormy Dragon]

It was long before the 50s. See "The King and I"

[Ted S.]

Jerry Rawlings, who led a coup in Ghana, kept the title "Flight Lieutenant"

[BakedPenguin]

I'll give Rawlings some credit. He held elections, and actually stepped down when he didn't win.

[Corning]

Kansas City

Which one?

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Yo. From your question yesterday:
Where white people come from.

[Corning]

You probably should not have told me about this.

I am going to talk about it all the time now.

[Fluffy]

THIS IS WHAT THE NATION OF ISLAM REALLY BELIEVES

[Winston]

So who what do you guys want out of comedy? To laugh or political propaganda?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Both.

Did you hear about the Democrat who returned a $100 bill to its owner?

Neither did I.

[Agammamon]

Heh, that's funny, I don't care who you are.

[Coeus]

50 U.S. Senators Demand Change To 'Redskins' Name In Letter To NFL

Fifty United States Senators have called for a change to change the name of the Washington Redskins in a letter to National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell released Thursday. The letter, first reported by the New York Times, cites the NBA's swift action against the racism of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling and asks Goodell and the NFL to take similar action against a name Native American activists call a "dictionary-defined slur."
The letter echoes the remarks Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) made on the Senate floor immediately after the NBA announced that it would ban Sterling, who made racist comments about African Americans, for life and would seek to force a sale of the team.
"Today, we urge you and the National Football League to send the same clear message as the NBA did: that racism and bigotry have no place in professional sports. It's time for the NFL to endorse a name change for the Washington, D.C. football team," the letter states.
"Now is the time for the NFL to act," it continues. "What message does it send to punish slurs against African Americans while endorsing slurs against Native Americans?"

[Winston]

So how does nonviolent pressure from the politicians fit in the libertarian perspective?

[Mad Scientist]

It's not non-violent. It's a threat.

[Winston]

Not yet...

[Sidd Finch]

It's absolutely a (non-violent) threat. The USPTO office can pull the trademark whenever they want and that would force a change.

[Winston]

I don't want to get into the semantics of whether or not any government pressure is in of itself violent or what exactly constitutes a threat but I do agree that they are not far from taking more pro-active steps against the Redskins.

[Sidd Finch]

I didn't mean that in a 'this is the way USG could theoretically act' way. The USPTO has denied a trademark because it used the word "Redskin" and they have some sort of case or complaint or something right now with the Redskins.

[Winston]

Ah, so yeah that sounds like a threat.

[Brandon]

If you sign a letter as "US Senator X," you are acting as a government agent and it is a threat.

[The Last American Hero]

The NFL is a not-for-profit organization under 501c6, which specifically calls out professional football leagues.

Nice tax status you got there, be ashamed if anything happened to it.

[Winston]

Or the threats to take away the MLB's anti-trust exemption...

[Heroic Mulatto]

Absolutely hilarious to anyone who knows about Kenesaw Mountain Landis.

[Coeus]

That they should be working on repealing bullshit laws instead of grandstanding on the floor and sending "nice team you got there" letters?

[Rhywun]

I would toss it in the trash just as I would if any 50 random idiots mailed me "calling for change".

[BilboTeabaggins]

It's definitely a racist name, but I have a hard time getting worked up about it. Maybe I would feel differently if I was an indian.

[Coeus]

Doubtful. None of the people of native american persuasion that I know give a shit.

[Auric Demonocles]

More persuasively, 90% of them polled in 2004 said it wasn't offensive. The margin was +-2%.

[Winston]

It's racist but it seems pretty old-fashioned.

[Auric Demonocles]

The odds are that you wouldn't find it offensive.

Which isn't surprising since it wasn't created as a slur and isn't used as a slur now.

[Juice]

How long has it been in existence? 82 years. And NOW you have a problem with it?

[Winston]

What do people think about the USG got the Redskins to integrate?

[lap83]

I like how potentially racist sports teams names are a bigger deal to our elected officials than, I don't know... this administration killing people, destroying healthcare, and spying on everyone. Those other things are fake scandals. This is serious.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Dear Prudence: Help! I'm a 27 year old woman tha'ts never had an orgasm

Dear Prudence,
I am a 27-year-old woman and I don't think I have ever had an orgasm. I have had a variety of sexual partners (both long-term boyfriends and flings) and masturbate regularly. I've tried different positions, sex toys, you name it. Sex feels great and sometimes I do feel a sort of release, but nothing as intense as I hear an orgasm is supposed to be. I love sex and don't really have a problem with the fact that I don't orgasm (although it would certainly be nice!), but I don't know how to broach it with my partners. Sometimes men get frustrated or feel like it is something they are doing wrong and it becomes awkward. I'd rather not have to fake it. How do I convince them that I still enjoy sex even without the big finish?

Maybe go try out the other side?

[Auric Demonocles]

This got brought up last night. I was surprised it didn't get more attention then.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

They made a movie about this. It's called Deep Throat.

[Corning]

I read that 57% of women who do crunches have experienced orgasm from it.

She should do crunches.

[Auric Demonocles]

This really doesn't fit with my experience in fitness classes, or they are much more stealthy than I would expect.

[Corning]

They don't orgasm 57% of the time....

Only that 57% of them have orgasmed from it.

[lap83]

Yes. Abdominal muscles are key. I'll just leave it at that.

[Fluffy]

I think I dated this girl.

[lap83]

If only there was a way to achieve orgasm without the aid of another person.

[Coeus]

Mask keeps on slippin, slippin, slippin...

Nayak also criticized the premise of the debate, saying, "We're actually backwards having a debate." And he's right -- if CNN continues to familiarize their audience with the false theories of skeptics, they are more likely to be believed -- a big step backwards.

[Suthenboy]

That is MediaMatters. I don't think they ever had a mask, did they?

[Corning]

Yeah they did.

Joe would complain every time we called mediamatters team blue hacks and they actually use to bill themselves as non-partisan truth finders.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

New York man pleads guilty to videotaping mentally handicapped persons fighting each other

A former Southampton group home worker accused of videoing his co-workers goading two developmentally disabled men under their care to assault each other pleaded guilty Tuesday and is cooperating with prosecutors.

Justin McDonald, 19, of Lindenhurst, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person for his role in what prosecutors have called a "developmentally disabled fight club."

Questioned by Jacqueline Kagan, deputy special prosecutor for the Albany-based Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs, McDonald acknowledged that he and two other workers, Stephen Komara, 58, of East Moriches, and Rosemary Vanni, 45, of Brookhaven, "had the opportunity to intervene" but didn't, Kagan said.

McDonald also acknowledged a third worker, Erin McHenry, 29, of Brookhaven, had encouraged the two men to fight.

The co-workers pleaded not guilty to two counts each of the same felony charge during their arraignments Tuesday.

McDonald is expected to be sentenced in July to 5 years' probation and 90 days in jail, said state Supreme Court Justice William Condon.

[jesse.in.mb]

Herndon climb 2014!

It's been a year already.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

I see the sodomy, but where is the rum and the lash?

[jesse.in.mb]

The rum and the lash are at the after party.

[JW]

"It's just a peek of what awaits you on the high seas, me laddies!"

[Nyarlarrythotep]

Rep. Jeff Miller, who heads the House Veterans Affairs panel, calls the recent revelations about lethal delays at Veterans Administration health care facilities "the tip of the iceberg.

Come on, this isn't news. The -actual- VA issues are news, sure! But this is just some Republican who's hyping the crowd ahead of time, because it's a Democratic scandal. It's politics. I wish reason.com wouldn't pander and hack like this.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

New mystery novel has Abraham Lincoln, Mormons:

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/20.....eve-berry/

[Pro Libertate]

I grow tired of Lincoln in fiction. I'm not terribly fond of him, given my libertarian sentiments, Southern upbringing, and aversion to Illinois politicians. Oh, and I don't like many lawyers.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Other than that, pro L, how do you like Lincoln?

[Pro Libertate]

Well, I like that speech he ripped off from Pericles okay. And I like his hat.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Well, then, we've had about enough of your hat speech.

[Pro Libertate]

Followed by stovepipe hat bombs?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

You "hat" to go there, didn't you?

[Pro Libertate]

What do you expect from a Southern white male libertarian descended from at least one German haberdasher?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

You may as well check yourself into the re-education camp right now.

[Pro Libertate]

Oh, I've been preparing for that for a while. Watching Hogan's Heroes, reading King Rat--the whole nine yards. Episiarch and I have already carved out spheres of influence in the camp--he'll run the anarchist gang and hoard thin pizza; I'll run the minarchist gang and hoard deep-dish.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Fine, so long as you don't horn in on my brisk black-market trade in large cups of soda.

[jesse.in.mb]

he'll run the anarchist gang

Ummm. Have you guys thought that completely through?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

An anarcho-syndicalist commune, taking it in turns to act as a sort of executive officer for the week, etc.

[Pro Libertate]

You guys don't understand Episiarch. He's an anarchist of one. Meaning he rules himself. . .and anyone else he can dominate.

My gang has better clothes.

[Stormy Dragon]

"The Libertarian camp doesn't actually have any guards, as the minarchists and anarachists have spent all their time fighting each other rather than trying to escape."

[Pro Libertate]

For once, you've understood us completely.

[Pro Libertate]

I'm actually slightly reluctant to mention not liking him, because there's a tendency to assume that people who are anti-Lincoln are Rockwellians, racists, or all of the above. I'm neither, except for my prejudice against CroMags, being a Neanderthal descendent and all.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

So...was 'Our American Cousin' a good play or no?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

It was #1 with a bullet

[Notorious G.K.C.]

It was #1 with a bullet

[Notorious G.K.C.]

New biography tries to rehabilitate Mrs. Lincoln

"Journalist Mary Clemmer Ames, a contemporary of the Lincolns and a critic of Mary Todd Lincoln, comes in for particular scorn from [author Betty Boles] Ellison, who writes: "Ames conveniently forgot that former first lady Julia Gardiner Tyler hired her own publicity agent to tell the world about her activities as the 'Lady President.' Imagine what would have happened if Mary Lincoln had bought in an elaborate carriage drawn by eight matched Arabian horses, as Julia Tyler did. Or, if Mary Lincoln had sashayed around Lafayette Park with an Italian greyhound on a leash as Julia Tyler did. Ames was terribly concerned about Mary Lincoln meddling in affairs of state but ignored Julia Tyler's lobbying Congress for control of federal patronage in New York and for the annexation of Texas.""

http://www.kentucky.com/2014/0.....-mary.html

[Notorious G.K.C.]

meow!