A.M. Links: U.S. Sends Troops to Iraq, Supreme Court Considers Facebook Threats, Alabama Decriminalizes Blow Jobs

• 

  dvids/Flickr

  Annnd we're back: Hundreds of U.S. troops have been sent to Iraq "to provide support and security for U.S. personnel and the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad," President Obama announced late Monday. Secretary of State Secretary of State John Kerry said that drone strikes on militant targets are under consideration. 

• The U.S. Supreme Court is mulling whether threats made online must actually be serious in order for the threat-maker to go to jail, rather than merely perceived as seriously threatening by a reasonable person.
• The Food and Drug Administration has decided to tackle the least of our nutritional worries by issuing new salt guidelines for food manufacturers. 
• Doctors without borders without sense? A group of 129 medical professionals from 31 countries is urging the World Health Organization to more strictly regulate e-cigarettes.
• The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals has overturned part of a state sexual misconduct law under which oral and anal sex were technically banned.
• A transgender rights group is pressuring South Carolina to allow 16-year-old Chase Culpepper to retake his driver's license photo while wearing makeup. "The Department of Motor Vehicles should not have forced me to remove my makeup simply because my appearance does not meet their expectations of what a boy should look like," Culpepper said. 

Follow Reason and Reason 24/7 on Twitter, and like us on Facebook. You can also get the top stories mailed to you—sign up here.

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Hundreds of U.S. troops have been sent to Iraq "to provide support and security for U.S. personnel and the U.S.

You know who else sent troops into Iraq?

[gaijin]

Philip of Macedonia?

[db]

Jennjis Khan?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

Why the Stanley Cup is the best trophy in pro sports:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBbhzOmL1AI

[Fist of Etiquette]

A challenge cup. There's only one. (Except for those other two.)

[robc]

America's Cup, Ryder Cup and ?

[Fist of Etiquette]

No, I meant only one Stanley Cup, except for that display cup and I don't know what they use the other one for.

[Mike M.]

The Stanley Cup IS America's cup.

[Raven Nation]

We anticipate seeing it in NY in 2048.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

It was a good one though. Those games were close.

[Raven Nation]

True: turning point was losing G2 I think. One blown lead you can recover from but 2, especially in the 3rd period, almost certainly not.

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

Suleiman the Magnificent?

[Slammer]

BOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSHHHH?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hammurabi?

[Ted S.]

Xerxes of Persia?

[BigT]

JFK??

..oh wait, that was VietNam

[Spoonman.]

Hitler, actually

[Alton Knutson]

What did I learn from that wikipedia article? That such a thing as the HMS Cockchafe has existed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Cockchafer_(1915)

[mr lizard]

King Arthur?

[Warren's Strapon]

They told me if I didn't vote for Obama, we'd never get out of Iraq. And they were right!

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Lindbergh kidnapping investigator's son?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Secretary of State Secretary of State John Kerry said that drone strikes on militant targets are under consideration.

They're working to add columns and rows to the threat matrix spreadsheet.

[Copernicus]

I was just watching Al Jezeera and the scroll at the bottom said that ISIS has 3000-5000 armed fighters.

Really? That's it? They are taking over the country with 5K guys?

[mr lizard]

The paid attention to the schooling from Executive Outcomes.

[Mike M.]

Fidel Castro took over Cuba with like a couple hundred guys.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Food and Drug Administration has decided to tackle the least of our nutritional worries by issuing new salt guidelines for food manufacturers.

They finally got around to seeing "The Man Trap".

[WDATPDIM!?]

+1 suction cup.

[Slammer]

Howdy!

Taxi Limousine Commission interrogates private citizen and steals his van at JFK.

The TLC has law enforcement powers now? The mask is off with the taxi thugs.

[Rhywun]

"That's a nice minivan you've got there."

[Bee Tagger]

"The Department of Motor Vehicles should not have forced me to remove my makeup simply because my appearance does not meet their expectations of what a boy should look like," Culpepper said.

It's entirely possible the only reason they made him remove the make-up was to make everyone in line wait that much longer.

[Slammer]

Maybe his mascara was running from all his crying.

[Fist of Etiquette]

"The Department of Motor Vehicles should not have forced me to remove my makeup simply because my appearance does not meet their expectations of what a boy should look like," Culpepper said.

The Juggalos feel your pain.

[Slammer]

WOOP WOOP!

[Restoras]

Has Reason done a story on Juggalos yet? If not, why not?

[gaijin]

If not, why not?

Because, Magnetism

[Slammer]

Yo, how do they work?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Get in line, pal. I'm waiting for them to do one on Lou Reed.

[Jordan]

The Food and Drug Administration has decided to tackle the least of our nutritional worries by issuing new salt guidelines for food manufacturers.

Too bad salt is perfectly healthy.

[WTF]

Too bad salt is perfectly healthy.

What does that have to do with anything? The State must regulate.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Ron Paul wanders into conservative looney-bin TownHall - gets insulted repeatedly.

Haven't We Already Done Enough Damage in Iraq?
Ron Paul | Jun 17, 2014

In 2006, I invited the late General Bill Odom to address my Thursday Congressional luncheon group. Gen. Odom, a former NSA director, called the Iraq war "the greatest strategic disaster in American history," and told the surprised audience that he could not understand why Congress had not impeached the president for pushing this disaster on the United States. History continues to prove the General's assessment absolutely correct.

In September, 2002, arguing against a U.S. attack on Iraq, I said the following on the House Floor:

"No credible evidence has been produced that Iraq has or is close to having nuclear weapons. No evidence exists to show that Iraq harbors al-Qaeda terrorists. Quite to the contrary, experts on this region recognize Hussein as an enemy of the al-Qaeda and a foe to Islamic fundamentalism."

http://townhall.com/columnists.....ampaign=nl

Odom and Paul were right.

[WTF]

You, however, are still an idiot.

[John]

Since Obama didn't vote against funding for the Iraq war when he was in the Senate, continued the war and is likely to restart it now, Obama disagrees.

Look retard, read the latest talking points. Don't take the ones they gave you from seven years ago and repost them. You support the war in Iraq now.

[Doctor Whom]

Heck, we're no longer allowed to follow talking points from last week.

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

Its not like he can think of anything on his own...tarran is looking eerily accurate.

[VG Zaytsev]

They've gone full Orwellian.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Bush pissed away $2 trillion counting (VA) and 4600 lives FOR NOTHING.

Ron Paul is right. He should have been impeached and convicted. But Democrats are spineless.

[WTF]

BUSHPIGS!!11!!!CHRISTFAGS!!11!!!!

I sure am glad Obama immediately ended the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as soon as he took office so no further harm was done!

[This Is My Last Post]

That was GREAT! He really earned that NPP!

[This Is My Last Post]

So are Republicans.

Primarily because Republicans and Democrats are just one big party with only a few token exceptions like Paul and Kucinich.

[Charles Easterly]

"Primarily because Republicans and Democrats are just one big party with only a few token exceptions like Paul and Kucinich."

I tend to agree with you.

It seemed to me that some of the most vitriolic condemnation these two men received was from members/citizens of their own party.

[Restoras]

Yes, Bush did do those things, with the advice and consent and blessings of lots and lots of Democrats that wish to avoid the inconvenience of having their names dragged into any impeachment proceedings. I am not surprised you are too stupid to realize this given your bloodstream is oxygen-deprived Team Blue.

[John]

And Bush is going back into Iraq as we speak. We are never going to get that rat bastard out of office!!!

You are the party of drones and endless war. Just stop worrying and post the talking points that are given to you by your betters.

[BigT]

He should have been impeached and convicted. But Democrats are spineless.

Since 77 Senators voted for the war in Iraq, that would have required convincing 37 of those Senators to admit they were wrong. Have you ever heard of a Senator admitting to error?

Maybe a few of these?
Sens. Lincoln (D-AR), Feinstein (D-CA), Dodd (D-CT), Lieberman (D-CT), Biden (D-DE), Carper (D-DE), Nelson (D-FL), Cleland (D-GA), Miller (D-GA), Bayh (D-IN), Harkin (D-IA), Breaux (D-LA), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Kerry (D-MA), Carnahan (D-MS), Baucus (D-MT), Nelson (D-NE), Reid (D-NV), Torricelli (D-NJ), Clinton (D-NY), Schumer (D-NY), Edwards (D-NC), Dorgan (D-ND), Hollings (D-SC), Daschle (D-SD), Johnson (D-SD), Cantwell (D-WA), Rockefeller (D-WV), and Kohl (D-WI)

[Cyto]

You can't impeach a President for following the constitution while pursuing bad policy. Bush got proper congressional approvals for all of his actions.

Unlike the current administration, where they continue to pursue bad policies but have decided to skip the constitutional niceties. Not just Libya, but down to weird things like using regulatory powers to drive porn stars out of business (operation choke point). This kind of thing makes Nixon look positively quaint.

[Restoras]

Bush got proper congressional approvals for all of his actions

Meaningless, you Bushitler-ite! The Constitution only matters when it suits Team (insert team color here)!

[VG Zaytsev]

Look retard, read the latest talking points. Don't take the ones they gave you from seven years days ago and repost them. You support the war in Iraq now.

FIFY

[Mike M.]

Obama was against the war before he was for it.

[DontShootMe]

Obama was against the war on the front 9, and for the war on the back 9.

[Slammer]

Doctors without borders without sense? A group of 129 medical professionals from 31 countries is urging the World Health Organization to more strictly regulate e-cigarettes.

129? Wow!

[Restoras]

Don't you dare question Consensus, you anti-science denier!

[WTF]

Consensus! The science is settled!

[Elizabeth Nolan Brown]

It's more than double the number that sent a letter to WHO last month against regulating e-cigs, though.

[Restoras]

It's more than double the number that sent a letter to WHO last month against regulating e-cigs, though

Double-Secret Consensus!!

[Charles Easterly]

"It's more than double the number that sent a letter to WHO last month against regulating e-cigs, though."

"Double-Secret Consensus!!"

Perhaps... but I heard that 50% of the second group consisted of everybody in the first group because, well, no borders.

And no sense.

[Slammer]

A black market for e-cigs will work out just fine.

[VG Zaytsev]

Just think of the opportunities it will give cops to play with their toys, terrorize non violent 'offenders' and shoot puppies.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The U.S. Supreme Court is mulling whether threats made online must actually be serious in order for the threat-maker to go to jail, rather than merely perceived as seriously threatening by a reasonable person.

Sexual harassment laws have already shown that it's the perception that determines guilt.

[Juice]

Rule 1: Be attractive.

[Bee Tagger]

Food companies and restaurants could soon face government pressure to make their foods less salty

These pretzels aren't really making me thirsty, now that I think about it.

[WTF]

Restaurants? They are seriously going to require restaurants to make their food bland? What the fuck is wrong with these people?

[VG Zaytsev]

Echos of the Puritans actual war on Christmas

[Restoras]

Is this why England has Father Christmas and not Santa Claus? Or is that more recent - say about 1914ish?

[robc]

Salt is only an issue for a minority with certain conditions. For everyone else, too low of salt intake is a bigger health risk.

[WDATPDIM!?]

That's RACIST!

[Slammer]

Fucking SALT, so WHITE!

[R C Dean]

Or not.

http://www.saltworks.us/kala-n.....fgodfr0AGg

[Restoras]

WTF. Salt has nothing to do with anything except making food taste better.
http://kfor.com/2013/07/09/cdc.....cing-salt/

[Restoras]

Say what you want about Obumbler Clownshoes, at least his administration has been really strong about not spying on US citizens! Oh, wait a minute...

[Fist of Etiquette]

A group of 129 medical professionals from 31 countries is urging the World Health Organization to more strictly regulate e-cigarettes.

You don't usually willingly get involved with any arm of the United Nations without being a flaming statist in some way or another.

[mad.casual]

The blood-thirsty statist part of my brain kinda wishes there were some way to set up a honeypot for these regulators and revoke their licenses to practice science.

Seems like competitive academics would be all over pointing out to grant reviewers that one researcher or another publicly favors just banning something rather than study it or exploit it for human benefit.

Any ENT or researcher doing drug delivery who publicly speaks out against vaping should have their funding revoked.

[JW]

the World Health Organization to more strictly regulate e-cigarettes

I'm sorry, but where in the fucking fuck does your authority come from to even think about doing such a thing?

[R C Dean]

So that works out to an average of 4 "medical professionals" (whatever those are) per country.

[Rich]

The U.S. Supreme Court is mulling whether threats made online must actually be serious in order for the threat-maker to go to jail, rather than merely perceived as seriously threatening by a reasonable person.

One of my, um, concerns is that "a reasonable person" is not on the same wavelength as the H&R commentariat.

[Auric Demonocles]

I will fight every alt-text-less person here!

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

And I will help you.

[Bee Tagger]

You have a right to a trial by a jury of your retweeters.

[Rich]

If only. 8-(

[gaijin]

perceived as seriously threatening by a reasonable person

Define 'reasonable'.

[Rich]

"A tax."

[trshmnster the terrible]

Stick 12 people stupid enough to not get out of jury duty in a room, highlight every mistake that the person has made, and then ask whether this last mistake was "reasonable" or not.

[Jordan]

Uber Will Send Optimus Prime To Pick You Up In These 3 Cities

Transformers fans and Uber users in Dallas, Phoenix, and Los Angeles now have the chance to get a ride from the legendary Optimus Prime.

Uber announced on its blog on Monday that it would be rolling out a partnership with the Transformers franchise leading up to the June 27 release of the newest movie "Transformers: Age of Extinction." The Uber Autobots campaign is backed by Paramount Pictures and Western Star Trucks.

The Optimus Prime-styled truck has already touched down in Dallas and Uber's website says the truck will be in Phoenix on Thursday, and Los Angeles on Saturday. One lucky Uber user shared her Transformer experience on Twitter.

I hope the navigation system uses Liam Neeson's voice.

[RBS]

Old school Optimus Prime or the Michael Bay version?

[robc]

or the soldier who changed his name?

[Jordan]

Well, it's a promotion for the movie...

[Tonio]

Yeah, until some local taxi and limo commission thugs steal that from them.

[Slammer]

Join #OceanChat with Bill Nye and John Kerry!

The responses are hilarious.

[John]

If we would just get right with mother earth, she would take care of the Russians and the Muslims. These terrible things are only happening because she is punishing us for our indiscretions.

When you cut past all of the appeals to authority and faux scientific language, that is really all Kerry and Ney and people like them are saying.

[robc]

Which gets mocked when some televangelist says the same kind of thing about New Orleans.

[John]

That old statement about the danger of people not believing in God is not that they will believe in nothing, it is that they will believe in anything. For whatever reason people have a disposition towards religious belief. And modern people seem to have a real disposition towards religion couching in the language of science.

[Kaptious Kristen]

That's fucking awesome. Love the yinzer one.

When JK took over at State he clearly said "climate change" would be our #1 policy priority. Guess he's just gonna stick wit dat, come hell or high water. Climate pun intended.

[John]

The Chinese could invade Hawaii and Kerry would claim we can't do anything about it because the carbon footprint of waging war is just too high.

[Bee Tagger]

The U.S. Supreme Court is mulling whether threats made online must actually be serious in order for the threat-maker to go to jail

Future law students will be well-versed in the JK defense.

[db]

NTTAWWT

[db]

Forevermore, posts will have to be appended with boilerplate:

"Hi guys!

IANAL, NTTAWWT, JK, LOL, FYTW, SIIHPAPP"

[VG Zaytsev]

WDATPDIM

[Rich]

White House: Lerner emails lost in computer crash

"I think it's entirely reasonable. And it's fact," incoming White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters aboard Air Force One Monday. "You've never heard of a computer crashing before?" he asked.

House steps up IRS probe over missing e-mails

Let the good times roll.

[robc]

Youve never heard of off-site tape backups before?

[robc]

That was directed at Josh, not Rich.

[Jordan]

Well, it is the government. It's almost plausible. Almost.

[John]

Except that the government is subject to FOIA, the national archives and gets sued every day and is subject to various discovery orders. Amazingly, keeping records and backing shit up is one of the few things the government does well.

[Brett L]

Apparently, they recycle them every [period less than 2011-2014], but without using them TO RESTORE LOST INFORMATION before they do. This is so transparently silly. 15 years ago, they might have gotten away with it, but now? Obviously, the IT staff need to be subpoenaed and questioned about whether they are incompetent or willfully disregarding federal statutes.

[robc]

Yeah, so company I worked for in the late 90s (and I know the details as I was in charge of the backups) did twice daily backups that never left the building. These were rotated so the "Tuesday Noon" tape lasted until next Tuesday Noon.

Friday night backup was separate and a monthly rotation, so "First Friday" tape lasted a month. These also never left.

Monthly tapes were taken off site and not rotated, but I only bothered 2-3 times per year. But they lasted forever.

There might have been something here or there that never got restored so didnt get onto monthlies. But it was rare. In 3+ years, I only had to go to the safety deposit box to restore something once. The on site ones were good enough.

But, you know, it was a private sector company. It was all about the bottom line, they would never spend the money to do something right. [insert appropriate emoticon here]

They had one of their highest paid non-partner employees spending time twice a day doing this. I wonder why?

[Cyto]

I had the same job. And that was the standard in the 90's. By the early 2000's it was clear that simple backups wouldn't do the trick. Everyone began moving to email archiving systems for compliance and legal discovery. By 2010 a midsize shop without these systems would have been suspect. A 90k employee organization that deals exclusively in financial matters?

[robc]

That company was under 20 employees when I worked there. Its about 40 now.

And, yes, they have moved on to more advanced backups since then.

There backups werent about email back in the 90s. It wasnt for legal purposes. They were a market research company and data COULD NEVER BE LOST.

[JW]

What's truly fucking rich about this is now they're claiming that only the external emails were lost. They have the internal IRS emails.

There isn't an email system in the world that I know that has separate databases for email that goes outside an organization. It's all part of the same mailbox.

LYING THROUGH THEIR LYING, FUCKING TEETH.

[Cyto]

I have been trying to parse this myself.

My first thought was that she was using an outside email service via a POP account on her outlook - which would explain the reliance on her personal OST or PST files for the outside emails.

Since then some of the language has referenced being able to peice together her emails using the mailboxes of other employees, which would be another explanation for the outside email dichotomy. In this scenario they actually don't have any of her email from her own mailbox. They only were able to obtain the internal emails from other people's inboxes.

If this is the case, we can't even be reasonably sure we have all of her emails for internal communications either.

[John]

It is entirely reasonable that the focus of an investigation just happens to lose her computer hard drive containing two years worth of emails that are likely incriminating. It is just bad luck.

Jesus tapdancing Christ, the Gambino family didn't have this much nerve.

[Rich]

I keep hoping for some "reporter" to literally rend its garment over this crap.

[Raven Nation]

Worked for this guy:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N.....minute_gap

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

It's the stall until it blows over or is no longer relevant to current politics method.

[John]

He resigned in disgrace and a good number of his advisers went to prison. I am not sure that counts as "working".

[Raven Nation]

Yeah, that was sarcasm. Just noting the difference b/w the two excuses. Nixon's was doubted almost immediately and probably made things worse for him.

[John]

Sorry I missed the sarc. And yes, the missing 18 minutes were the end of him. To this day no one knows who erased them or even why. It very well could have been an accident and the 18 minutes could have been Nixon and Halderman talking about the Redskins. But it didn't matter. People assumed that the 18 minutes were the smoking gun.

[BakedPenguin]

They didn't have as much muscle, either.

[gaijin]

You've never heard of a computer crashing before?" he asked.

You've never heard of enterprise backup systems? an incredulous press (in another universe) shot back?

[gaijin]

crap...and clearly I have never heard of refresh before submit

[robc]

enterprise backup systems sounds more modern than off-site tape backup.

Im not sure there is tape large enough to handle modern systems.

Of course, if they are keeping email on their desktop, tape could handle it.

But who the fuck does that?

[JD the elder]

Modern tape libraries get pretty damn big. Here's one that will hold up to 30 petabytes at once: http://www.spectralogic.com/in.....CatID=2206

[Doctor Whom]

No one I know is taking the "dog ate my hard drive" defense seriously, and I know some truly devout Obots.

[robc]

Are they calling for Chocolate Nixon to resign?

[WTF]

No, that would be racist.

[MJGreen]

No, this guy is a press fluffer. I'm pretty sure he has no idea how email systems or servers actually work.

[Drake]

The proper response is a respectful round of laughter at the joke - then keep asking the question until he answers it.

[Rich]

"Seriously, Josh -- answer the fucking question."

[mad.casual]

*throws shoe*

[John]

Exactly. They should have just burst out laughing. I would have been great to watch the impotent rage on that douche bag's face.

[Drake]

Former IRS Information Tech Worker Doubts Agency's Claim to have 'Lost' Lerner's Emails

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2014.....rs-emails/

I think their BS story is going to collapse quickly.

[Restoras]

It will, but that doesn't mean we are going to see those emails.

[Brett L]

Were I the GOP on the committee, I would make it clear that we are happy to subpoena and have IT workers incriminate themselves under oath (or take the Fifth) if that's what it takes.

[This Is My Last Post]

What brought down Nixon wasn't the burglary - it was the cover up.

[Restoras]

What brought down Nixon wasn't the burglary - it was the cover up

And an interested press. Is the press interested?

[robc]

The analogy is dead on really.

Slightly different, but illegal investigation of political opponents with an insane coverup.

The question is, will Biden be President before Jan 20, 2015? If so, he can only serve 1 more term.

[Brett L]

The question is, will Biden be President before Jan 20, 2015

Jesus Christ, rob. That's not okay.

[robc]

Biden would be a better President than Obama.

Talk about a low bar.

[Restoras]

Biden would be a better President than Obama

If only because teh lulz would earth-shatteringly EPIC!!!

I hope he runs and wins the nomination. I will totally vote for him.

[Ted S.]

You'd think this story had never been reported before.

[Timon 19]

These asshats are lying so hard it's not even funny. Large organizations are legally required to keep electronic communications for a decent period of time.

I'm almost positive that the government has hard-and-fast laws about the same for themselves. I know they do for anyone involved in government contracting.

[Ivan Pike]

I'm almost positive that the government has hard-and-fast laws about the same for themselves. I know they do for anyone involved in government contracting.

They do.

14. Electronic Mail Records.

Senders' and recipients' versions of electronic mail messages that meet the definition of Federal records, and any attachments to the record messages after they have been copied to an electronic recordkeeping system, paper, or microform for recordkeeping purposes.

Delete from the e-mail system after copying to a recordkeeping system. (N1-GRS-95-2 item 14)

[NOTE: Along with the message text, the recordkeeping system must capture the names of sender and recipients and date (transmission data for recordkeeping purposes) and any receipt data when required. (N1-GRS-95-2 item 14 Note)]

From here

[JW]

I wonder what would happen if some business wasn't able to produce required emails for a tax audit?

Murdered raped and then eaten? And if they're very, very lucky...

[All-Seeing Monocle]

Off to a fine start there, Josh.

[John]

http://thehill.com/policy/heal.....-for-lunch

Wow is Michelle Obama an unpleasant woman.

[Rich]

Mandatory

[Idle Hands]

Ehhh, she kind of has a point in that parents these days are seemingly unable to say no to their kids.

[db]

Maybe so, but it.is.not the.place.of the state to.supplant parents' or children's choices.

[sarcasmic]

Children are getting abortions?

[db]

Carp, I forgot, the language has been redefined. Can I get a window in my reeducation cell?

[trshmnster the terrible]

you've always had a window! It's the one in the middle of the door where they shove food through.

[John]

Sure. But her solution is for her to decide what they eat.

[Idle Hands]

No I definitely agree, and its not just hers but many parents/people solution is to have a third party raise their children.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

IH, not her place. Simple as that.

That kind of thinking runs dangerously along the coercive lines of "do as we say" and "we can't trust people ergo we must make them".

[Idle Hands]

Never said it was. I just commented on what she said in the article.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Sorry.

[Matrix]

It's really more of a lack of activity than it is of diet. I think kids probably eat better today than they did 20 years ago. When I was growing up, we at all manner of fried shit and sugery shit. We weren't fatties like kids today because we were also out a lot.

[lap83]

So many fascist policies seem to originate this way. A decent premise is put through the wringer and taken to an irrational extreme.

A. Some parents suck at their job...

B. So why don't we have the government raise kids instead! Yeah! Great Idea!

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

Fuck off, lunch slaver!

[Slammer]

Why the hell is she even involved in 'policy'? She wasn't elected.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Why the hell are school lunches in any way, shape, or form, the responsibility of any part of the federal government?

[sarcasmic]

Because general welfare.

[Idle Hands]

who gives a shit whose involved in policy when there shouldn't be a policy in the first place.

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

FTA - "The fight over school lunches has been a rare foray into politics for the first lady."

Wait...what?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

She packs the three progressive 'P's' quite well:

Projection, Presumptuousness, Paternalism.

[Ted S.]

You forgot Puritanism.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

D'oh!

[sarcasmic]

Fancy teeing you here! Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel enjoy a round of golf as they are pictured together for the first time in weeks

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....ether.html
I'll give her legs an eleven. No. Twelve. Yeah. Definitely a twelve.

[lap83]

I chuckled at the last couple of pictures. I think checking out a nice car is the girl equivalent of a guy checking out another woman.

[sarcasmic]

'I am so proud!' Ellen Page takes her status as a role model seriously as she suits up to attend LGBT gala event

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....-York.html
You're gay. We get it. I pretty much figured that when I watched Juno. So fucking what.

[Ted S.]

Technically she's a lesbian. 😉

[Zeb]

I'm pretty sure lesbian is a subset of gay.

[Palin's Buttplug]

World Nut Daily: Needed: A white Christian conservative president

http://www.wnd.com/2014/06/nee.....president/

Because..... BEGHAZIIII!!!!!! BENGHAZI!!!!!! BLOOP!

[sarcasmic]

Deficits by the year.

2013: $680 billion
2012: $1,087 billion
2011: $1,300 billion
2010: $1,294 billion
2009: $1,413 billion
2008: $458 billion
2007: $161 billion
2006: $248 billion
2005: $318 billion
2004: $413 billion
2003: $377 billion
2002: $157 billion

Obama cut the deficit in half! And that warm yellow liquid on your back is rain!

[Palin's Buttplug]

Fiscal year 2009 is Bush.

You should learn the concept of a "fiscal" year. It is not the same as a calender year.

[sarcasmic]

Fiscal year 2009 is Bush.

But you said they didn't use Bush's bailouts as the baseline.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Splitting hairs. Even if you give the progs 2010, the deficit still ran high.

[Restoras]

September 30, 2009. Who was president?

[John]

Fiscal year 2009 is Bush.

There was no FY 09 budget. Obama took office in January 2009 and immediately signed various CRs and the prokulus and set the budget for that year.

Not even the other retards at KOS believe that talking point. You seem to be the only creature in the world repeating it. I don't know if it is because of one of your various mental illnesses or if the nuronet that runs you has some kind of a bug that prevents your handlers from deleting the code relating to that lie. But constantly repeating the same disproved lie over and over again doesn't really accomplish what you mean to.

You might as well go back to just screaming BUSHPIG on every post. If the medicine you take only gets you to stop doing that and doing this, the side effects are probably not worth the benefits.

[Palin's Buttplug]

On Jan. 7, 2009, two weeks before Obama took office, the Congressional Budget Office reported that the deficit for fiscal year 2009 was projected to be $1.2 trillion.

http://www.politifact.com/trut.....istration/

Want the CBO link too? It is in there.

[John]

That was a projection retard. There was no budget. Obama and the Dem house managed to beat even those projections.

We already know you are retarded and have serious mental issues. Some people on here are not even convinced you are human. Whatever you are, constantly dropping this lie is even more tiresome and pathetic than screaming BUSHPIG and Christfag. At some point even the voyeuristic value of how hideous you are starts to wear off.

[Palin's Buttplug]

It is all a conspiracy to make Bush look bad! The CBO and Politifact are in on it too!

Budgets =/= spending, you idiot.

[John]

No. It was Obama and the Pelosi and Reid running the country with no adult supervision. The budget wasn't set and in fact the Congress held off on passing any kind of long term CR because they knew they were taking the White House. So they own that deficit.

Look, it is not your fault you are retarded. It is, however, your fault that you refuse to let those of us who are not try and help you.

[WTF]

Don't lock eyes with 'em, don't do it. Puts 'em on edge. They might go into berzerker mode; come at you like a whirling dervish, all fists and elbows. You might be screaming "No, no, no" and all they hear is "Who wants cake?" Let me tell you something: They all do. They all want cake.

[This Is My Last Post]

Palin,

Few here are partisan Republicans trying to defend Bush. Most of us here are libertarians who have a great deal of criticism for Bush. Please, explain to us what your interpretation of "projection" is.

[Palin's Buttplug]

John, Restoras are Team Red all the way. RC Dean and sarcasmic are too. There are others - wareagle and Mike M don't even try to hide it.

[This Is My Last Post]

"John, Restoras are Team Red all the way. RC Dean and sarcasmic are too. There are others - wareagle and Mike M don't even try to hide it."

I have seen no actual evidence of this. But still, you have not given us your definition of "projection".

[John]

Beyond that, my last post, even if it were true, that doesn't make Obama any less responsible for the 09 budget deficit. The facts are what they are. Shreek, being retarded and deranged, can't understand that and reverts to attacking the messenger.

[sarcasmic]

Shreek, being retarded and deranged, can't understand that and reverts to attacking the messenger.

But this is just like a court drama where if you personally attack a person it renders their arguments moot!

[Restoras]

Can you really be this stupid? There wasn't a budget passed by Congress and signed by Bush. If deficits were so important to Obumbler the Clownshoes he could have easily dealt with it after he was sworn in - but he didn't. Why not?

[WTF]

If deficits were so important to Obumbler the Clownshoes he could have easily dealt with it after he was sworn in - but he didn't. Why not?

Because BOOSH drove the economy onto a ditch, duh!

[This Is My Last Post]

"Because BOOSH drove the economy onto a ditch, duh!"

I remember a classic Three Stooges skit in which they were in a boat that sprung a leak. They got this bright idea to drill another hole in the bottom of the boat to let the water out. That is kind of what Obama did by spending more money to get us out of problems caused by overspending.

[Restoras]

mmmmmm....Sluuuurpeeee....

[R C Dean]

If I follow, PB is saying that Obama is only responsible for, what, 8% of the 2009 deficit?

[gaijin]

2009...hmm. Who controlled the legistlative body that determines spending? hmm.

[Restoras]

Never mond how the government works and how powers are enumerated. It was all BOOOOSSCCHH!!! He was dictator!!! He and he alone got us into all those nasty wars and deficit spending trouble!!

[Drake]

Who controlled both Houses of Congress from 2007 through 2010?

I forgot, we elect God-Kings now.

[This Is My Last Post]

Presidents should be impeached regularly and often - and removed from office too. That would make them think twice before trying to take on powers they do not have.

[Restoras]

At a minimum, unelected officials like Holder et al should be.

[John]

That is a fake scandal dude. You are not supposed to talk about it anymore.

Are your handlers just asleep today? Did they just give up on making you submit your posts before letting you post them?

[WTF]

Obama and the democrats have turned into such a giant shit sandwich that his handlers have nothing, so the shreektard is freelancing, and it's not working out too well.

[Tonio]

WND? Really? It's trolling us with that?

There must be a limiting function such that when the problems defending current talking points become too onerous it switches to posting articles from tabloid and conspiracy type sites while it recalibrates.

[Andrew S.]

I hope they fix it soon. Otherwise it may start linking to Alex Jones.

[This Is My Last Post]

What's wrong with Alex Jones?

[Harvard]

Alex Jones is what's wrong with Alex Jones.

[sarcasmic]

Cop investigated after being caught on camera 'grabbing a woman by the hair and punching her' at Pittsburgh gay pride parade
Pittsburgh Police Officer Souroth Chatterji says he was trying to break up a fight between the woman and a man opposing the LGBT parade
Chatterji says the woman, 22-year-old Ariel Lawther, punched him and kicked him in the groin
Video of the incident shows Chatterji swinging Lawther around and punching her in the ribs
LGBT groups have called for Chatterji's termination
The mayor says the incident will be investigated as Chatterji is put on desk duty

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....-LGBT.html
There's a manly man. Grabbing a woman by the hair and punching her in the ribs. At least he went home safely. That's all that matters.

[Tonio]

FWIW, I think Jesse posted this to PM linx yesterday.

[All-Seeing Monocle]

Does that make jesse the alt-PM-universe version of sarcasmic?

[Rich]

Norks have cruise missile

But analysts say the North does not appear to have successfully manufactured a warhead small enough to be carried by its missiles.

Alrighty then.

[John]

It is just a matter of time before they do.

[Brett L]

Let me know when they have guidance computers small enough to steer those missiles.

[PD Scott]

They have malnourished orphans, does that count?

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

So I watched World War Z last night on Netflix. So incredibly stupid and preachy, not sure what I expected.

[Bam!]

The Honest Trailer.

[sarcasmic]

That was pretty good.

[Restoras]

I liked it for what it is - mindless entertainment.

I finally saw Ender's Game over the weekend - I thought it was pretty well done, considering it's movie.

[sarcasmic]

I liked it for what it is - mindless entertainment.

I agree.

[Tonio]

The book is so, so much better. I think they just licensed the novel WWZ for the name recognition.

Max Brooks, the author of WWZ, is the son of Mel Brooks and has his father's sense of humor.

[Restoras]

That is an interesting bit of inofrmation.

[Drake]

The book is always better but the screenwriters for WWZ never even opened the book.

[Tonio]

^This. Srsly.

[Andrew S.]

There's no way in hell that book could've been turned into a two hour movie.

Now, a 10 episode HBO miniseries? Exploring some of the stories told in the book? That would be incredible.

[Restoras]

Now, a 10 episode HBO miniseries? Exploring some of the stories told in the book?

I think this is what Peter Jackson has in mind for The Silmarillion...

[Trouser-Pod]

I tried watching WWZ on Sunday. Couldn't finish it. I guess I dislike the zombie hing more than I had given myself credit for.

[MJGreen]

I saw it for the first time a couple weeks ago; how is it preachy?

I thought it was pretty fun, though the whole end sequence in the lab was a bit anticlimactic. And there were some clever ideas regarding North Korea and Israel.

[WDATPDIM!?]

The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals has overturned part of a state sexual misconduct law under which oral and anal sex were technically banned.

Why "technically"?

[Tonio]

In the sense that the law, although still on the books, was unenforceable due to the SCOTUS decision in Lawrence v. Texas.

[WDATPDIM!?]

If this guy hadn't appealed, it would have been enforced as to him. The judge instructed the jury that consent to sodomy was not a defense, per the statute.

[Pathogen]

"Why "technically"?"

Because "arbitrarily enforced", as opposed to technically banned just sounds soo... arbitrary..

[Slammer]

Two tornadoes side by side.

[trshmnster the terrible]

This was nuts yesterday! I was watching the live stream, and the storm was constantly spawning new tornadoes! One would rope out, and the next one would immediately drop and start tearing up the fields. There were at least 2 on the ground for 2 or 3 hours straight.

[Timon 19]

OT: John Fucking Brooks.

That is all.

[Apatheist ?_??]

This is what our military should be focused on.

[John]

That and maybe Jurgen Klinsman knows a little more about soccer than Micheal Wilbon. I really hope people rub Wilbon's race bating xenophobic nose in this, but I doubt they will.

[Timon 19]

Wait, what?

Granted, I haven't paid attention to Wilbon and Kornheiser in ages.

[Ted S.]

Great minds think alike.

(Timon 19 is not a sockpuppet, at least not of me. With my slow computer, I don't have the time to do sockpuppets even if I wanted to.)

[John]

After Klinsman cut Donovan he said that he cut him because he had to think of the future and not give spots based on the past and that Americans have a bad habit of paying and rewarding sports figures for past performance not current ability. Klinsman gave Kobe Bryant, who is the highest paid player in the NBA but not even a top ten performer at his age, as an example. Wilbon went on the xenophobic rant about how dare a German have the nerve to question Kobe Bryant and how stupid Kinsman was for cutting Donovan and Klinsman needed to just shut up and know his place or go back to Germany.

[Timon 19]

Wow. That is some concentrated stupid.

Also, Damarcus Beasley pretty much proves both aspects of that wrong. He came up in the same "class" Donovan did, playing on all the same youth teams, making his WC debut in the same World Cup as Landon. Same age, and everything.

Beasley, whose natural position has never been left back, but who has been groomed into one over the last 8 years or so, played fantastically, as Ghana went after his side all night. It helped that Jermaine Jones busted his ass all over the field to help out, which is WAY not Jermaine's normal position (he's a deep-lying center mid, not an outside left), but Beasley was fantastic and no one is talking about it.

[John]

The white guy with the dredlocks is the same age as Donovan as well. I am not sure why Klinsman didn't like Donovan. But he didn't. I don't know that much about soccer but it seems to me thta Klinsman seems to be intent on creating a team more than a group of all stars and wants the US to be more athletic and pressure more. What he is trying to do with the World Cup team seems similar to what Herb Brooks did with the 1980 US Hockey team. Not that Klinsman will get the same results, but I think the approach is similar.

[Brett L]

I am not sure why Klinsman didn't like Donovan. But he didn't.

Donovan said in the runups that he was happy being a dad and had found a life outside of soccer. Which is great for Donovan, but the coach wanted people who were hungrier. (Not that it ever seemed to affect Donovan's play, but sometimes the coach looks to the team, too.

[John]

Culture matters Brett. If the US is going to do anything at all, it needs to be desperate. Hard to get a team desperate when one of its most respected players isn't.

[Brett L]

I agree, John. Donovan was the captain. You can't say that out loud, and then reiterate when given a chance to clarify. Not on a competitive team.

[Rhywun]

His "sabbatical" may have had something to do with it. Dude is not in the game.

[Timon 19]

Beckerman (white guy with dreds) has played so well that he couldn't be ignored. He's had a great professional career and has turned into a fantastic player in a position where the US actually has a lot of competition.

He fills a particular role especially well - sitting in front of the back four, usually next to another guy, breaking shit up and starting counters.

[John]

Timon,

Becherman has waited forever to make the team and will never be on another one. He certainly fits the bill for a hungry, desperate player.

[BakedPenguin]

Beckerman (white guy with dreds)

I'm a white dread. I'm a white dread, so?
I'm a got a ball, and I kick it in the goal.
Got a little game, and it's played in the park.
I don't care who plays, so long as the game is on.

(With apologies to Perry Ferrell).

[Brett L]

Beasley was great in marking. He couldn't pass to save his life from minutes 9-80. None of them could. It was like watching a U-14 team out there. They knew they were supposed to pass it to someone, but damned if they could.

[John]

It didn't matter since Ghana is an African team, meaning they specialize in blowing offensive opportunities, having mental breakdowns on defense and horrific goal tending.

[Andrew S.]

First goal was on the defense. Second goal was on the keeper. He had no clue how to play corner kicks.

[BakedPenguin]

None of them could [pass]. It was like watching a U-14 team out there.

This. They were 2 different teams - the top shelf back line stopping almost everything, and the clown show offense.

[trshmnster the terrible]

Yep, they're gonna get torn up in the rest of group play if they can't generate at least a drop of offensive pressure. Even if they only score 1 or 2 a game, the defense needs a rest for a few minutes.

[Timon 19]

Ghana is a terrible match-up problem for the US and they're young. Portugal, believe it or not, does not scare me as much.

Maybe even Germany. We match up pretty well against them, though Muller will be a major problem.

[Brett L]

Maybe even Germany. We match up pretty well against them, though Muller will be a major problem.

Germany is going to eat us. But if we can hold them to 3 goals and maybe get one of our own, it would be a good result. I think Portugal is already on the plane home.

[mr simple]

Jones was the same way. He played well defensively, but had no idea what to do with the ball when he could actually hold on to it.

[Ted S.]

What did Wilbon say?

[Slammer]

Good thing the VA is focused on the important things. Like Farmer's Markets.

[Tonio]

Well, honestly, the Office of the Dietitian doesn't have anything to do with the current scandal since the dietitian appears to be involved in proactive health care.

This is not to be construed as a defense of the existence of a VA OD.

[Fluffy]

My bitch with that SCOTUS "threat" case is that the "reasonable person" standard shouldn't be allowed to override simple grammar.

Or, put another way, there is no such thing as a reasonable person who perceives a Brandenburg-test threat in a statement that is grammatically not a threat.

For example, the sentence "Gosh, it would be really nice to strangle my ex-wife to death, but unfortunately that is against the law so I can't do that," is grammatically not a threat (in fact, it's an affirmative statement that one has a definitive reason not to undertake the act) so the target of the statement should not be entitled to invoke any "reasonable person" standard to the contrary.

It shouldn't matter how it makes you feel.

[WDATPDIM!?]

Yo, Fluffy, if I enjoyed Malediction, which of your other books do you think I would be most likely to enjoy?

[Fluffy]

I haven't read Malediction, so I'm not sure how to make a comparison.

[WDATPDIM!?]

Sorry, I must have you confused with another commenter. Maybe I'm thinking of Lord Humongous.

Are you the guy who wrote the ancient Roman zombie book? That was a hoot.

[Fluffy]

Maybe it's Humongous. I know he's on the Kindle platform.

Thanks for giving De Bello Lemures a try!

[EDG reppin' LBC]

I enjoyed De Bello Lemures as well. Gave my copy to a close friend, and he dug it as well.

[Fluffy]

Thanks!

A paperback buyer, I see.

There aren't many of you left.

[robc]

Reading on devices suck.

[Fluffy]

I find that devices are worse to use at home, better to use anywhere else.

I'm sure I'll never give up on physical books. Physical music? Sure. Already did, about 95%. But not books.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

To be honest, when I purchased the paperback, I didn't have any device to read e-books. Now I have an iphone with the kindle app. I read more now than I did before. It's just so damn convenient. Between Amazon, Netflix, and Spotify, all of my entertainment/information consumption is digital and on-line. Hell, I don't have cable or satellite, and stream any sporting events on my laptop.

[db]

I still buy all my "serious" music on CD, then rip it. One-offs, I just buy the mp3. Same for books, generally. If I expect to like and keep the book, I will buy the paper copy (as I did.with the two Fluffy books I have read). If it's just lark, I get the kindle.version. but I.greatly prefer real books, the ebooks are just.more.convenient when.traveling.

[robc]

Yes.

My favorite is The Last Days of Jericho, but Ive only read the two.

[db]

+1 for "Last Days." That's a really cleverly haunting tale. Also, liked "Lemures."

Fluffy, if you ever need a test audience/proofreader, keep me in mind please.

[John]

You are just restating basic tort law. A assault cannot be an "if then" statement. An assault has to be immediate. That doctrine dates back to the middle ages. The seminal case involved a dispute where one make left an axe driven into another man's door. The court ruled that leaving the axe there was not an assault because the guy wasn't there when the accused drove the ace into his door.

Somehow we got away from the old common law doctrine of assault and invented this bullshit concept of threat. I have never seen how you square a threat with free speech without it being swallowed up by assault. If I give a threat that is not immediate, then I have exercised my free speech rights. If it is immediate, I am guilty of assault.

[This Is My Last Post]

"That is a nice neck you have there, it would be a real shame if someone were to break it." Is also not GRAMATICALLY a threat but a reasonable person would probably see it that way.

[Fluffy]

Right, but I thought the whole reason people used that formulation was because it was well-established that it's NOT a threat and you can use it.

[This Is My Last Post]

Fluffy, this is why context is so very important. When someone says that some form of communication is being attempted - otherwise all there will be is confusion. If communication CAN be made it will be obvious to a reasonable person that a threat is being made.

[R C Dean]

If you go with the intent standard, a jury gets to decide whether they believe the defendant's claim that it wasn't a threat. Context comes in there. If its a guy with no visible means of support, who claims the victim owes him money, etc. then the jury can conclude it was a threat.

If its me sitting around the boardroom joshing with my colleagues, not so much.

[Timon 19]

One of the few great benefits of empire is that we've got a shitload of dual nationals out there.

We're just catching up to what France, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, and Germany have been doing since the early 20th century - just slightly less exploitatively.

[Rhywun]

But are there enough bases left in Germany to continue to sow to seeds of future AMNT soccer stars?

[The Late P Brooks]

A transgender rights group is pressuring South Carolina to allow 16-year-old Chase Culpepper to retake his driver's license photo while wearing makeup. "The Department of Motor Vehicles should not have forced me to remove my makeup simply because my appearance does not meet their expectations of what a boy should look like," Culpepper said.

I hope it was some sort of "Juggalo BronyKlown" makeup.

[Andrew S.]

Don't mix us bronies in with the Juggalos. We're not considered a gang by the FBI! And we wear less makeup. And we don't do nearly as many drugs or drink Faygo.

[Brett L]

We're not considered a gang by the FBI!

Yet.

[mr simple]

we don't do nearly as many drugs

Is this supposed to be a point in your favor?

[db]

There is a woman in my office who when.she.laughs, sounds like Mel Blanc as Bugs Bunny pretending to be.female. it's hilarious.

[Ted S.]

Get it on video. 😉

[Andrew S.]

Did you ever find Bugs Bunny attractive when he put on a dress and played a girl bunny?

[db]

No comment.

[lap83]

"ooh brunehilda, you're so wuuvwy"

"yes, I knoow it, I can't heelp it"

[Ted S.]

View readers' photos: Midsummer week, and snow falls!

Here is a story in English, without many pictures.

[John]

But I thought global warming would mean our children wouldn't know what snow was?

[Sevo]

John,
During the D-Day thread, a guy I didn't recognize recommended a book, "Command Culture" ( http://www.amazon.com/Command-.....nd+culture )
It has faults, but the analysis of officer selection and training is more than worthwhile.

[John]

I have heard of that. I will check it out. Right now I got off on a bit of a tangent. I found a first edition of Bruce Catton's Grant Moves South and am reading it. Wow as Catton a great writer. He really was the Shelby Foote of the north. Two of my nephews are coming for th 4th and I am giving them the tour of Gettysburg. So I am brushing up for that. It seems to be Civil War June for some reason.

[DEG]

Fun times in Dayton.

Warning: auto-play video.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/17/.....?hpt=hp_t2

[db]

That's sad.

[DEG]

Yes, I should have changed my font to something sarcastic....

I also wonder how many corpses like this exist in Detroit.

[Sevo]

SF Supe demands all children be above average!:
"Supervisor Jane Kim seeks 30% threshold for affordable housing"
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/.....557375.php

Why not just mandate it *ALL* below-market-rate? Just tell developers they have to lose money if they want permits in SF!

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"Obama's Bush hangover...

"The rising chaos in Iraq ? and the blame game over who's responsible ? are the latest reminders that halfway through his own second term, he's still often more consumed by dealing with the legacy of President George W. Bush than building his own....

""The hangover was much, much worse than I think any president's been left with, with the exception of Andrew Johnson," said Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor and Democratic National Committee chairman, though he notes that in that case, he doesn't blame Abraham Lincoln. "It underlines what unbelievable damage they did in just a short eight years.""

http://www.politico.com/story/.....07885.html

[Andrew S.]

Shrike is writing for Politico now?

[Mike M.]

No. he writes for Slate.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"Look what Goldstein did this time!"

[Pathogen]

+ One thousand nine hundred and eighty four..

[John]

Isn't saying "Obama just couldn't deal with Bush's legacy" another way of saying "Obama wasn't up to the job"?

You could say the same thing about any failed President. A President is elected to deal with the situation at the time of his election, not whine and cry about how the job was just too hard.

[VG Zaytsev]

But he inherited those problems, it's not like he wanted the job or something.

[Sevo]

John|6.17.14 @ 10:12AM|#
"Isn't saying "Obama just couldn't deal with Bush's legacy" another way of saying "Obama wasn't up to the job"?"

AAA can get a car out of a ditch.

[Brett L]

Nobody told him it was a standard before he took the job of getting it out of the ditch, John. He's spent the last six years learning to drive stick, but now he's ready.

[mr simple]

To a leftist, life is just something that happens to you, which makes everything not fair. This is why it's ok to make other people pay for your stuff, because you were just unlucky because you can't do anything about life. You know, like take responsibility for your actions, overcome obstacles or work to achieve your goals.

[WTF]

So, shreek is Howard Dean?

[Fluffy]

This is just incredible dishonesty.

Look, I too would have tried to avoid the sunk cost fallacy in Iraq.

I would have withdrawn as soon as I could, to avoid incurring additional new costs.

But having done that I would have had to be prepared for the Maliki regime to collapse. That's what happens when you avoid new costs - the situation changes, and becomes different from what would have transpired if you had kept plugging away.

These guys wanted to cut their losses - but then pretend there were no losses. It doesn't work that way. If you don't have the guts to stand up and say, "Yeah, I meant to do that," then don't say anything at all.

[John]

Exactly. Either face up to the consequence of leaving or don't do it.

And the "sunken cost" fallacy is only a fallacy if the cost of leaving is less than the cost of staying. There is nothing to say that the cost of staying there is the best of a set of bad options. But Obama was too stupid and too dishonest to even ask that question. Like everything else, the decision was all about him. And he wanted to be able to say he got out of Iraq and that was the only factor that mattered. Planning for or considering the consequences of that was not something that was done because the only thing that mattered was Obama and what made him feel good.

[robc]

Maybe they are complimenting Bush.

Like when a coach follows a legend. You didnt want to be the guy after Wooden or Bryant or Rupp or Switzer.

[mr simple]

Actually the sunken cost fallacy is saying that the price we have paid heretofore is too great to give up now. That cost has already been incurred and is not something we will make up. Judging whether to stay or go based on which action will cost more is just good cost-benefit analysis.

[John]

It is like saying Andrew Johnson was just not up to dealing with the legacy of a ruined South and divided nation left by Lincoln or James Buchanan just couldn't deal with the legacy left by the Kansas Nebraska Act.

Basically they are admitting that Obama is a complete failure but can't bring themselves to do it directly. So their solution is to just say "but it was just so hard".

[VG Zaytsev]

The left and their stenographers in the press were saying similar things at the end of Jimmy Carter's presidency - in that the presidency was just too big of a job for one man to handle and also something similar about NYC after Dinkins - that the city was ungovernable.

You'll be sorely disappointed, if you expect them to learn anything from this.

[John]

They never will. And yes, they said the same thing about Carter. The problem is that the non prog low information American voter never learns anything. I am convinced that they are going to leave office in complete disgrace and discredit come 2017. They will leave things so bad that even the Republicans will be able to fix a few things and turn the economy and country back around.

People forget how resilient and amazing this country is. It takes years of concerted effort to fuck it up and only takes stopping the government from tying to kill it to turn around. But it will take about a decade before the country forgets and the Progs are right back in power with the same idiotic policies that will do the exact same thing they always have done.

[VG Zaytsev]

Yep.

And having retarded proglodytes dominating education and journalism is a real threat.

[WTF]

The Long March through the institutions. They basically control news media, entertainment media, and the educational institutions.

[WTF]

And they also dominate government bureaucracies.

[Whahappan?]

Exactly. Look how quickly the country recovered after 16 years of the Great Depression and WWII, just from the simple expedient of trimming back government spending and regulation.

[JW]

"It underlines what unbelievable damage they did in just a short eight years.""

It's a bit early to be calling 2015 and 2016, but he probably knows the trend line isn't going to suddenly change.

[The Late P Brooks]

Did you ever find Bugs Bunny attractive when he put on a dress and played a girl bunny?

I decline to answer, on the grounds that it may incriminate me.

*stamps foot repeatedly, wolf whistles*

[The Late P Brooks]

Isn't saying "Obama just couldn't deal with Bush's legacy" another way of saying "Obama wasn't up to the job"?

He jumped into the hole(s) Bush started and kept right on digging; at an increased rate, if possible.

What single thing did that dummy do to differentiate himself from Bush's "legacy"?

[John]

What single thing did that dummy do to differentiate himself from Bush's "legacy"?

He fucked up millions of people's health insurance and perhaps the entire health care system. There is that.

[VG Zaytsev]

He also made apologizing for America and genuflecting to tin pot dictators the center piece of his foreign policy.

As bad as Bush was, the crazy cowboy persona that he projected definitely said don't fuck with me whereas Obama is figuratively wearing a kick me sign on his back.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Since this bring-us-together President took office, he and his supporters have been treating us to a parade of Goldsteins who are blamed for Obama's problems.

Bush! The Kochs! The Tea Party terrorists! Bush! The 1%! Bush! All conspiring to wreck the Leader's plans to make the country a better place!

Seriously, if their 2-minute hate persists beyond 4 years, consult a physician.

[John]

He has set race relations back to the 1970s. Anyone but the real brain dead believers is sick of race baiting and being accused of racism. We will never see another black President in my life time. I don't care if Christ himself comes back to earth in the body of a black man, the country will never again elect a black President for fear that doing so will make every criticism of him a racial issue.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

A majority of the whites voted against Obama last time (and in 2008, IIRC). I would imagine that whether we get another black President will be up to the Latinos and the Asians.

[sarcasmic]

Leftist voters will cheerfully support another black president precisely because they can respond to criticism of policy with accusations of racism.

[John]

Leftist voters will vote for whomever their masters tell them. They are not, however, a majority and have to convince non leftists to vote with them. And even leftists are not keen on another black President. Do you see any black contenders for the Dem nomination in 16?

[sarcasmic]

Do you see any black contenders for the Dem nomination in 16?

Was Obama a contender this far away from the election?

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Obama was a contender after delivering a rousing speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention. It was apparent to me that he would get the nomination, and win in 2008.

[John]

Yes. They were talking him up from his 04 speech on. There won't be a major black candidate in 16. No one wants one.

[Ken Shultz]

Obama's like the speed of light. What he does is always right.

To the left, that's their universal constant.

Once you accept that Obama is always right, everything starts to make sense, and it makes it easier for the left to make their case in public, too.

You don't even have to stake out a position anymore. Just whatever Obama does, you defend that as being the right thing, and you're done!

What's the right position on gay marriage? Well, the day before Obama embraced gay marriage, having Obama's position was the correct position--even if it was the same as the Southern Baptist Convention's.

What's the right position to take on Iran, Iraq, and whatever fresh hell of a crisis comes next? Don't worry about staking any special position out now--just wait until Obama does (or doesn't do) something, and that will be the right call then, for certain!

Just close your eyes, look deep in your soul, step outside yourself, and let your mind go. Embrace Obama as your personal savior. Obama wants to love you, GKC. But first you have to let him into your heart.

[Restoras]

Nero fiddled. Obama golfs.

"Last weekend Barack Obama played his 175th and 176th rounds of golf as president. He played first at Sunnylands, the famously private course on the Rancho Mirage, California estate of the late billionaire Walter Annenberg. Obama next played at Porcupine Creek, the equally private course on the nearby estate of the very-much-alive tech billionaire Larry Ellison."

http://washingtonexaminer.com/.....le/2549799

[The Late P Brooks]

Do you see any black contenders for the Dem nomination in 16?

They are completely bereft of ideas, at this point. All they have is footstamping appeals to emotion. How else can you explain the inevitability of Hillary?

Who besides Hillary is dumb enough to stand on the train tracks with upraised hand as the Super Chief comes screaming into the station?

[The Late P Brooks]

Nero fiddled. Obama golfs.

You cannot expect him to sully himself by keeping company with a bunch of Beltway politicians; they're nothing but a bunch of time servers and traitorous backstabbers. He's a Man of the People.

[Harvard]

The amusing part is, this was all so apparent prior to 2008.

A more incompetent candidate for the job you couldn't name.

[JW]

John Fucking Brooks

I must have missed this thread.

[R C Dean]

I don't know what they are worried about. Its not like she was using her legal IRS email for anything interesting. That's what her illegal yahoo/gmail/hotmail account was for.

A convenient crash of her desktop could have wiped the evidence of that, I suppose.

[Ken Shultz]

Everybody tells me that a hard drive can't be reformatted enough times to truly destroy the data that was on it--to the point that law enforcement couldn't retrieve all of that data somehow--but why is it that when a government employee simply deletes an email, it's supposedly gone forever?

P.S. Doesn't the IT department at the IRS do backups?

[JW]

Everybody tells me that a hard drive can't be reformatted enough times to truly destroy the data that was on it

Supposedly a DOD 7 pass wipe of randomized 1's and 0's will do it.

[Timon 19]

For the layperson, and even midly tech-savvy person, physical destruction is the only way to be sure, but you can certainly overwrite enough times to render any data useless.

And it doesn't necessarily take a certain number of times, if you choose the right method. DoD procedures demand writing all zeros (or random data, can't remember which) to the entire device at least three times (the three times is just out of paranoia), which is easily accomplished if you're not a Mac or Windows-only person who understands a few things.

You can also "shred" files (using the command "shred") that will pretty much take care of that particular location on disk.

[Emmerson Biggins]

I'm pretty sure it can be. 30 or 40 re-writes with 'random' bytes should be good enough, I reckon.

Maybe thats just what they want me to think though.

[R C Dean]

a hard drive can't be reformatted enough times to truly destroy the data that was on it.

Aside from just doing a hard wipe magnetically of the drive, which will definitely destroy all the data, you can also overwrite the drive multiple times to get the same result. The last I checked, 9x overwrites would do the job.

[Ken Shultz]

I always use the claw end of a hammer.

But if she did anything like that to her hard drive, wouldn't that be definitive evidence of obstruction?

Aren't there forensic experts at the J. Edgar Hoover building--within walking distance of the IRS--whose job it is to find deleted email?

[TwB]

I want to pose this question to you fine folks here: do any of you think that there is even the remote possibility of a revolution happening in this country anytime in the next 100 years or so? I say this because it is appearing more and more likely that the federal government will continue to grow ever more powerful, regardless of who is in control of Congress or in the White House, and I just wonder if there will be a time when the common citizens of this country say Enough and have a go w/ the Feds. Thoughts on this?

[Matrix]

Not until people have nothing left to lose. Unfortunately, it probably won't be the libertarian revolution. It'll be more commie bastards executing entrepreneurs along with the corrupt politicians.