New Scrutiny For Hobby Lobby Owners, Your Medical Records Are Hacker Bait, EPA Overreach Alarms Farmers: P.M. Links

• 

  Christophe Verdier / Foter

  The Green family, owners of Hobby Lobby, find themselves at the center of national attention after their Supreme Court win against Obamacare's birth control coverage rule.

• The move to digitize and centralize health records creates a ginormous target for hackers, warn cybersecurity experts.
• The discovery of the bodies of three murdered teenagers in a West Bank ditch has Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatening heightened military efforts to capture the Hamas militants responsible.
• Farm groups say the EPA's plan to extend its regulatory authority over bodies of water "would really create an incredible overreach that is even greater than we have today."
• Kentucky's ban on gay marriage is the latest to lose in court, though the ruling remains on hold pending an appeal.
• The NSA has broad authority to spy on almost the entire world, documents reveal.
• Fighting intensifies in Ukraine with the end of a cease fire and the resumption of operations against separatists by the country's armed forces.
• The East Coast's Independence Day festivities could get a soaking from Tropical Storm Arthur.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Green family, owners of Hobby Lobby, find themselves at the center of national attention after their Supreme Court win against Obamacare's birth control coverage rule.

Free advertizing, that's something you just can't buy.

[Andrew S.]

It worked for Chick-Fil-A.

Why can't Team USA get through a game without a critical player going down with a hamstring injury?

[Andrew S.]

It worked for Chick-Fil-A.

Why can't Team USA get through a game without a critical player going down with a hamstring injury?

[Andrew S.]

I demand that Reason pay for birth control to control the squirrel population.

[kinnath]

We need to release thousands of sterilized squirrels to keep the server squirrels distracted.

[Stormy Dragon]

IIRC from an article I read, Chick-Fil-A itself regrets the whole thing. They got two month bump from the counter-protestors, but they went away when it wasn't in the news, while the boycotters didn't come back.

The company is doing okay anyways, particularly in the south, but they would be doing better had they not gotten involved.

[Dweebston]

I'm not surprised, but it did serve to bury the notion that activists have some amazing effect on the public rather than, you know, merely inciting counter protests.

[New Normal]

I really doubt anybody 'boycotting' Chick-Fil-A ever ate from the place anyway.

[jesse.in.mb]

I started going there less frequently after the brouhaha, but that may also be because some of my coworkers who ate there 1-2x daily were really starting to pack on pounds and it grossed me out.

[Tonio]

Nope, NN. While I've never been a fan, my peeps were bitching on the FB about missing CFA after the brouhaha started.

[Lucky Jack]

I eat out a lot when I travel, and I can tell you that every Chick-Fil-A I've been to has been exactly the same as it was before - packed to the fucking gills.

The food is good, but they always have like twenty people behind the counter, you get your food in three minutes even if there's fifty people in there, they're clean as a whistle, and everyone who works there is polite and genuinely seems like they enjoy and take pride in what they do.

They're just consistently good fast food places. Every single one of them is like this.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Considering they're now the number-one fast-food chicken chain, it's hard to see how they could do any better:

http://www.businessinsider.com.....kfc-2014-3

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

All for fricken...birth control.

Never under estimate a prog's self-entitled right to free shit.

[kinnath]

It has been quite a challenge to not type "your twat is not the center of the universe" in dozens of FB threads since yesterday.

[MJGreen]

Certain kinds of birth control. Not condoms or the pill.

These people are freakin nuts.

[C. Anacreon]

From what I understand, it's just what might be considered abortifacient types of birth control? Not condoms, the pill, diaphragms, etc? I have been so busy the last 36 hours so haven't been able to investigate sufficiently -- but when your employer pays the lowest employee double the minimum wage, and will cover 16 out of 20 possible birth control agents, there doesn't seem much to complain about.

[Fr?ulein Nikki]

Yes, though of course not everyone agrees that they are abortifacient, and it's not clear to me why the hormonal IUD would be more so than the usual Pill.

[wareagle]

you're right, C. HL objected to four, count 'em four, of the 20 contraceptives mandated by O-care. Only in progville is 80% considered failure. Because it's everyone's right to have someone else buy you things, even things they don't want to pay for.

[creech]

But I thought "compromise" was supposed to be valued?

[CatoTheElder]

Not when it comes to abortion and birth control.

[hotsy totsy]

Just a thought, but why does Obamacare get to limit the option to 20? Why not every single one?

[MJGreen]

Right. The Greens* objected to 4 kinds of birth control that they consider abortifacients. They still pay for insurance policies that cover the other kinds of birth control. Now, a few similarly structured corporations may be able to claim the same exemption. That's all there is to this.

*no relation... as far as I know

[BigT]

Should not all companies be free to offer whatever type of insurance they like? This case was argued and decided too narrowly.

[Christophe]

Yes but you probably could only get 0 of the Nazgul to back that position.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Whether or not they objected to 4, 1, or 14 out of 20 is irrelevant. Whether or not it is an abortifacient or a rubber is irrelevant. They had an objection to paying for it, the story ends there. If, as an employer, I don't want to buy you roses every other Thursday, the government has no right to force me to. I am merely obligated to compensate you for your efforts per our employment agreement.

[Not an Economist]

Tell me if I get their argument right. Considering, the progressives are saying that since health care insurance is considered part of employee compensation, the group of people who pay said compensation have no say in how it is spent.

Okay, if that is true, then why do another group of people called the government get to tell the employee how to spend their money? I don't get the difference? Could someone help?

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

The government achieves telling you how to spend your money by limiting your choices.

[110 Lean]

I cannot believe that my employer-provided insurance doesn't cover my daughter's clitoralectomy.

There are tons of things that insurance plans don't cover. That's why people look into what policy is best for them.

[110 Lean]

...So the source of the problem is government mandating what has to be covered, which is totally political.

[BigT]

Scruffy (same name as my dog),
Exactly, and a challenge on freedom of association would be useful.

[kinnath]

50% of all business qualify as closely-held corporations per the IRS. There is a raging debate as to whether or not this decision is narrow or wide-ranging.

[MJGreen]

Oh, 50%, damn. Though I guess that makes sense, as there are a whole lot of corporations out there that aren't titans of industry.

[paranoid android]

For the left, insufficient buckling to the dictates of the State is the only thing to complain about.

[Max Power]

I thought no one was entitled to sex. Why do these people think they're entitled to birth control?

[JW]

All for fricken...birth control.

Abortifacients. That's a bit more than a box of rubbers.

[Tonio]

And while you may care very much about that distinction, other don't.

[Tonio]

"others"

[JW]

I try to avoid being a pedant, but the rampant dishonesty from lefties on this whole stupid, fucking thing annoys the shit out of me.

You can still get birth control, by yourself or through your insurance. If you want Plan B, crack open your wallet.

[Zeb]

And it's not that expensive. IUDs aren't too bad either when you consider how long they last and how convenient they can be (though I gather that they aren't for everyone).

[Tonio]

Abortion is literally a form of birth control; it controls whether the fetus gets born or not. Yes, duly noted that in some cases an intact fetus is at least partially delivered, then killed, but my understanding is that the old D&C or similar chop it up then bring it out in small bits technique is still preferred for early/mid-term abortions.

[Zeb]

Suspected, possible abotifacients if you want to be extra pedantic.

[JW]

Whatevs. All I've heard is that the big, fat meanies at Hobby Lobby are forcing all of their female employees to wear leather chastity belts on the outside of their Chadors.

[Mickey Rat]

Me: Freedom of religion is a right. The government forcing employers to provide specific health insurance coverage is not.

Friend of Proggie Friend: are you saying health care is a privilege and not a right?

Proggie Friend: Yep life liberty and the pursuit of happiness only for those who can pay for it.

[Injun, as in from India]

The Green family, owners of Hobby Lobby, find themselves at the center of national attention after their Supreme Court win against Obamacare's birth control coverage rule.

The latest Facebook rant I saw was about the greens profiting from the sale of birth control. They apparently have mutual funds which invest in some manufacturers of those products.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Newsflash. If you invest in mutual funds, chances are you're money is in all sorts of companies who do all sorts of business with unsavory characters, operate in countries with little or no labor standards, don't invest in organic turnips and so on. Somewhere along the line, we're all invested in something the progs don't like.

[wareagle]

Somewhere along the line, we're all invested in something the progs don't like.

clearly, all investments should be banned. Because Kochtopus. Or something like that.

/derp

[Tonio]

Or more to the point, here, that someone somewhere doesn't like. The progs are fine with all forms of BC, even the ones which some claim to be abortifacients.

But the irony of the Green family having investements in companies that produce these would be delicious.

[Christophe]

IIRC that was employee 401k's, which fall outside the employers ability to control.

[Juice]

So the company isn't really investing in birth control if that's true.

[Irish]

Well, progs better not buy Brawny paper towels then, since they're owned by the Kochs.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The NSA has broad authority to spy on almost the entire world, documents reveal.

[Injun, as in from India]

What did FoE not reveal?

[Fist of Etiquette]

I blame my inability to get tags right for that one.

[PD Scott]

Spying on the world is supposed to be their job. Spying on the USA is supposed to be right out.

[Raven Nation]

So, whoever complained yesterday about the paucity of P.M. links should be placated today.

[Fist of Etiquette]

NEVER.

[Raven Nation]

Oh Lord FOE, I did not realize it was you. My humble apologies for suggesting what you should do.

*Backs out of room tugging forelock*

[The DerpRider]

Player punches and kills referee in beer league soccer game. The guy who was killed graduated a few years ahead of me.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Brutal. Absolutely tragic.

[Injun, as in from India]

Kentucky's ban on gay marriage is the latest to lose in court, though the ruling remains on hold pending an appeal.

Scopes Monkey Trial part 2?

[kinnath]

The move to digitize and centralize health records creates a ginormous target for hackers, warn cybersecurity experts.

I've had a long-time policy of only telling the Dr what I think he needs to know to solve whatever illness I might have. I now tell him even less if I can.

[paranoid android]

"Doctor, I can neither confirm nor deny that I enjoy a --hic!--drink on occasion."

[Notorious G.K.C.]

That's gotta hurt!

The head of Planned Parenthood, Cecile Richards, is married to Kirk Adams, an executive at the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). They can grieve together at the defeat of their organizations' cherished policies in the Supreme Court.

http://www.jillstanek.com/2014.....s-bad-day/

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Do they get to make 'sad sex?'

[Injun, as in from India]

And then abort all their future union-member fetuses?

[BakedPenguin]

Of course they do. Their health policies still cover that, thank Goddess.

[Injun, as in from India]

Damn them Cadillac health insurance plans. TAX THEM!

[Anonymous Coward]

I would think any sex between them was sad.

Sad, sad, sad.

[kinnath]

The level of in-breeding in liberal circles in astonishing.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Who else could stand to listen to their constant waterfall of verbal diarrhea?

[pogi]

It's Prince Charles all the way down.

[Dances-with-Trolls]

Meh, that's a people thing not limited to progressives, there are just more of them among the ruling class than other types.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Kentucky's ban on gay marriage is the latest to lose in court, though the ruling remains on hold pending an appeal.

All those people with their wedding plans put on hold for want of a piece of paper.

[Invisible Finger]

Why don't they just legalize it and make sodomy punishable by death?

[Injun, as in from India]

Farm groups say the EPA's plan to extend its regulatory authority over bodies of water "would really create an incredible overreach that is even greater than we have today."

Eventually the EPA, under the guise if regulating methane emissions, will regulate our flatulence. Because FYTW.

[Tonio]

You laugh. If you're a younger person, and things don't radically change, you will see that.

[Zeb]

You'll be required to light all of your farts.

[Pathogen]

Capture is the preferred method, disposal is the problem. It's time consuming and expensive...

[CatoTheElder]

I doubt it will ever apply to humans.

However, they already inventory the CO2-equivalent of livestock flatulence and manure management. You can bet that the plan is to regulate and tax it.

[Fist of Etiquette]

...has Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatening heightened military efforts to capture the Hamas militants responsible.

I suppose it's either that or let the deed go unanswered.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

I guess they're moving to plan B:

If Climate Change Wasn't Real, We'd Still Have A Ton Of Environmental Problems

[some guy]

I thought Global Warming was plan B and Climate Change was plan C.

[Brett L]

"We're fucked. Move the goalposts."

[Dances-with-Trolls]

I guess they're moving to plan B:

I thought I saw on FB feed that the Supreme Court just declared that no one may have plan B anymore.

[Mad Scientist]

That's totally true. If the government doesn't provide something for free then it ceases to exist.

[Dances-with-Trolls]

Damn. What is the point of all that chanting and sloganeering if you can't whip up a mob and rob people whenever you want something?

/chucks union provided protest sign.

[Pathogen]

There's always the old true and proven gun and ski mask...

[Brandon]

This is true. And the answer is still the same: Leave people alone, let them build wealth to the point where they take an interest in the cleanliness of the environment and have the resources to pursue that interest. Boom. Clean energy revolution. Trying to force it through the clumsy, mendacious hand of government agencies is counterproductive, at best.

[Pi Guy]

...and if you need a proper education on why it is, please see John Oliver's excellent ribbing on the topic.

John freaking Oliver? That's your source??

Wholly jeebus, these people are imbeciles.

[a better weapon]

If I see one more person trot out John Stewart, John Oliver, or George Takei to try and convince me what my worldview should be, I may snap.

People who use celebrity as a vessel for their principles or arguments are truly pathetic. All it shows is how little thought they've given the topic themselves.

[a better weapon]

So all in all, among the glimmers of hope, there are some very worrying developments that we need to keep track of, outside all the attention climate change is getting

Sounds like there is a hint of butthurt. An old-guard of the green movement who does work on pesticides is pissed about all the attention (read:money, grants, and publishing opportunities) that climate scientists are getting. I'm honestly surprised I don't see this kind of infighting/jealousy more often, to be honest.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Is it wrong of me to want to buy coat hangers at Hobby Lobby?

[Almanian!]

heh!

[Clich? Bandit]

i lol'd

cause i am sexists or something.

[Pathogen]

Coat hangers micro-aggress and 'other' fetuses, it's a long story..

[Fist of Etiquette]

Farm groups say the EPA's plan to extend its regulatory authority over bodies of water "would really create an incredible overreach that is even greater than we have today."

"Water, that's what I'm getting at, water. Mandrake, water is the source of all life. Seven-tenths of this Earth's surface is water. Why, do you realize that 70 percent of you is water?"

[Mad Scientist]

The logical consequence is eventually they'll redefine you as the environment, and the EPA will be perform surprise inspections to determine if you're emitting the proper amount of CO2. Do you have a permit for that beer, comrade? The EPA considers it to be a pollutant.

[Pathogen]

Yeah, beer... and breath. I suppose too many people gathered in one area, breathing, constitutes a clear and present danger to Earth. Time to regulate city sizes, birth quotas, and protest gatherings, for the good of the planet...

[Rufus J. Firefly]

The American defense is not forming a tight back line. Under pressure, they tend to scrunch up. Bradley isn't getting any type of support to start his passing game.

[Almanian!]

I'd watch soccer if one of these teams would make like 5 year olds and chase the ball around in one, huge, bumblebee mass.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Wouldn't that be classic? It would take a coach completely of his rocker. The Wolf Pack tactic.

It's funny, because that's how I see the U.S. defense!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

off

[BigT]

RJF, the US looks like a typical HS team at times, giving away the ball too easily and going for the long pass too frequently.

[Juice]

When the clock is running out I see lots of scramble and tons of shots at the goal. That seem to me to be the reason that so many goals have been scored in the last minute. Ok, so there is a strategy that pays off with goals. Why aren't you doing that the whole fucking game?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

It's a strange occurrence in sports. I see that in hockey all the time. Coaches don't want you deviating from the game plan until 'shit, we have one minute! Attack!'

[Timon 19]

It's not just that. You simply cannot just throw yourself into desperation mode from minute one. You'll lose badly.

[Fr?ulein Nikki]

I'm rooting for Poirot.

[BakedPenguin]

I'm rooting for Poirot.

We would expect no less from the worst.

[Brett L]

They are holding it back as best they can, but I'm afraid the US is going to shit the bed.

[BakedPenguin]

Yeah, they're looking shaky. They'll need some luck to get through this one.

[Fr?ulein Nikki]

HT to GILMORE for posting a link earlier to some INSANITY about how bra shopping has become bra shaming.

When I was 15 and my breasts popped to an almost DD, I'd strap them to my chest with leotards. Because when you're that large, you don't even bother asking for a proper fitting. You desperately cram your breasts into a C even if they're floating out from the top. I slouched my shoulders to disguise my enormous breasts and destroyed my lower back in the process. Even after a breast reduction at 23, bra-shopping shame trailed me. For years, I wore a sports bra just to avoid explaining to an avid bra fitter that I had no idea what size I was. I'm hardly any better now. I buy bras at the Gap online because the in-store bra shopping process is so anxiety-producing. (OK. I think it's time to get fitted.)

Um, you think? Also, your lived experience is...yours. When you're that big is when you do bother to get a fitting, because...you don't want to be doing whatever the f it is that you did.

[paranoid android]

So what's your take? Is there any reason for this post to exist other than as a giant #humblebrag about the size of her jugs?

[Fr?ulein Nikki]

Well she has a news hook that seems relatively legit: let's not be dicks to trans women who want to try on bras. But everything else is just nonsense. I'm sure there are plenty of women who wouldn't consider it a "good time" to go try on bras in front of someone else, but I've never found it remotely traumatizing. It's just a lady working a dressing room trying to help you find clothes that fit.

[kilroy]

an avid bra fitter

I was unaware of the existence of such a thing. I may have missed my calling in life.

[Raven Nation]

+1 George Costanza

[Carl ?s his privilege]

I'm confused (and unwilling to click over to Salon):

Why is she ashamed of her big breasts?

I don't like DDs, but most guys seem to.

The uncomfortability aspect I can understand, but why would that lead you to avoid bra fitters?

Or is this all just code for being fat?

[Dances-with-Trolls]

Or is this all just code for being fat?

Was my first thought.

[Fr?ulein Nikki]

Or is this all just code for being fat?

That is my best guess, but of course there are thin people who have issues with getting undressed in front of other people (and themselves) too.

[jesse.in.mb]

I have a hard time believing in never-nudes.

[MJGreen]

There are dozens of them.

DOZENS!

[Invisible Finger]

Writing for Salon is usually code for psycho.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Along with majoring in child psychology

[Pathogen]

Salon writers have the psychology if children? I see, hmmmm.. a lot of things are starting to maker sense now..

[Zeb]

I definitely remember some of the girls I went to high school with who had unusually big breasts making efforts to hide them or at least make them less prominent, consciously or not. Baggy shirts, arms crossed on their chests, slouching, etc. I can imagine, especially when the things just sort of appeared in the last year or so and you know that all the boys want to check them out, that a lot of big breasted girls would be somewhat uncomfortable about it.

[lap83]

This. There is no benefit for a woman with large breasts unless she wants a job that requires little else. Most don't want that.

[VG Zaytsev]

Bullshit

[lap83]

Bra fitters are the devil, I will attest to that. But she still needs to get her shit together, bra-wise. It's possible to figure it out without the aid of a saleswoman hiding behind her measuring tape.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

OH NOES! I have to buy clothes, it's so demeaning!

[110 Lean]

After a trans woman was denied entry to a fitting room, it's time to make bra shopping less terrible overall

WTF? That's really the trigger here?

[jesse.in.mb]

Author has an issue that isn't a big deal, waits for somebody else's story that may or may not be a big deal, uses it as a hook and makes it all about herself.

How is that not a reasonable premise for a Salon article?

[kibby]

WHAT IS WRONG WITH HUMANITY? It's a goddamned bra, it's really not that big of a deal.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

She's a victim of the brassierarchy

[Max Power]

I buy bras at the Gap online because the in-store bra shopping process is so anxiety-producing.

Sounds like she solved her own problem?

[Pathogen]

I wonder how she deals with airport security...

[Clich? Bandit]

I love all boobies.

I am a blithering idiot when boobies are involved.

honestly they should be registered.

[Clich? Bandit]

to clarify, I am into female/cis/whatever only boobies. NTTAWWT but others aint my thang.

[Anonymous Coward]

Even after a breast reduction at 23

Sorry, I stopped reading after she uttered this blasphemy.

[kibby]

Now, now -- let's not judge. They're not always a bad thing, it's not like people drop down to an A cup or something.

[Zeb]

I wouldn't blame her. Big breasts can cause all kinds of back rpoblems.

[Mad Scientist]

I get the impression she has several rolls of back fat to balance her out.

[GILMORE]

"Fr?ulein Nikki|7.1.14 @ 4:41PM|#

HT to GILMORE

I ensure to stay abreast of stories like this.

[CatoTheElder]

I thought all good feminists wanted to burn the bra, a symbol of male oppression if there ever was one, or something like that. Seems like the trannies ought to follow suit.

[jesse.in.mb]

European and US electrical grids have the malware.

From Symantec

Dragonfly uses two main pieces of malware in its attacks. Both are remote access tool (RAT) type malware which provide the attackers with access and control of compromised computers. Dragonfly's favored malware tool is Backdoor.Oldrea, which is also known as Havex or the Energetic Bear RAT. Oldrea acts as a back door for the attackers on to the victim's computer, allowing them to extract data and install further malware.

[...]

The second main tool used by Dragonfly is Trojan.Karagany. Unlike Oldrea, Karagany was available on the underground market. The source code for version 1 of Karagany was leaked in 2010. Symantec believes that Dragonfly may have taken this source code and modified it for its own use. This version is detected by Symantec as Trojan.Karagany!gen1.

Karagany is capable of uploading stolen data, downloading new files, and running executable files on an infected computer. It is also capable of running additional plugins, such as tools for collecting passwords, taking screenshots, and cataloging documents on infected computers.

(Emphasis mine)

Oh yay! But who could be at fault?
(cont)

[jesse.in.mb]

(cont)

Dragonfly bears the hallmarks of a state-sponsored operation, displaying a high degree of technical capability. The group is able to mount attacks through multiple vectors and compromise numerous third party websites in the process. Dragonfly has targeted multiple organizations in the energy sector over a long period of time. Its current main motive appears to be cyberespionage, with potential for sabotage a definite secondary capability.

Analysis of the compilation timestamps on the malware used by the attackers indicate that the group mostly worked between Monday and Friday, with activity mainly concentrated in a nine-hour period that corresponded to a 9am to 6pm working day in the UTC +4 time zone. Based on this information, it is likely the attackers are based in Eastern Europe.

(Emphasis mine)

Damn you Russia (or segments of the Middle East)!

[Invisible Finger]

I'm sure the NSA has worldwide offices.

[Pathogen]

"We're with the Ace Tomato Company.."

[Almanian!]

Second day of vacation. Installed a ceiling fan in the living room yesterday, which I'm enjoying now. Have not accomplished fuck all else.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Make sure you don't stucco your ceiling while you jack off.

[Mad Scientist]

Why are you not celebrating with a beer, you slacker!?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

About to have something to drink. Not sure what!

[The DerpRider]

I stepped through the ceiling in the closet in my son's room while walking over to install a light in another room. I finished installing the light, pushed the drywall up in the closet, and moved some clothes so you can't see it.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

[110 Lean]

The discovery of the bodies of three murdered teenagers in a West Bank ditch has Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatening heightened military efforts to capture the Hamas militants responsible.

Seems reasonable.

[toolkien]

Wouldn't it be nice that the battle over reproduction wasn't a workplace issue? Maybe if employers hadn't had to offer increased benefits due to war economy wage freezes in the 1940's to attract better talent, so that now it's an entrenched "right", we wouldn't be in this mess. Imagine an industry where people have bought their own health insurance like they shop for their own homeowners or car insurance.

When Austrian economists bust out "Welfare/Warfare" socialism, this is a prime example of the how the two Statist arms wrap tightly around the individual and squeezing the life out of one. Of course, it doesn't help that for the average Statist, interventionist failure calls for more intervention instead of EVER thinking of going in the other direction.

[Invisible Finger]

The average statist in the US is brainwashed since age 4.

[Lady Bertrum]

Get ready for an even bigger threat to Obamacare

Now that the Supreme Court has issued its ruling in the Hobby Lobby case, the legal fight over the Affordable Care Act will shift a few blocks away to another Washington courtroom, where a far more fundamental challenge to Obamacare is about to be decided by the powerful U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Indeed, if Hobby Lobby will create complications for Obamacare, Halbig vs. Burwell could trigger a full cardiac arrest.

The Halbig case challenges the massive federal subsidies in the form of tax credits made available to people with financial need who enroll in the program. In crafting the act, Congress created incentives for states to set up health insurance exchanges and disincentives for them to opt out. The law, for example, made the subsidies available only to those enrolled in insurance plans through exchanges "established by the state."

But despite that carrot ? and to the great surprise of the administration ? some 34 states opted not to establish their own exchanges, leaving it to the federal government to do so. This left the White House with a dilemma: If only those enrollees in states that created exchanges were eligible for subsidies, a huge pool of people would be unable to afford coverage, and the entire program would be in danger of collapse.

[Bam!]

SF'd the link.

[Lady Bertrum]

http://www.latimes.com/opinion.....story.html

[Entropy Void]

Happy Canukistan Day, eh?

Enjoy the national dish:

http://mentalfloss.com/article.....ry-poutine

[jesse.in.mb]

Ugh, the only place to get poutine around here is incredibly disappointing. I have it on good authority LA is getting a decent poutine joint, but until then I suffer a poutine-less existence.

Note: Canadian border guards do not find it funny when you say you're crossing the border to get poutine and ketchup chips. DO NOT DO THIS.

American border guards will ask why you didn't also get "all-dressed" chips while you were there.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

I'm opening a chain of poutine and haggis deep dish pizza joints.

[Entropy Void]

Can we get maggoty, stinky, wood plank aged cheese as a topping for either?

[Andrew S.]

One of the reasons I miss living in upstate NY was the ability to take easy, short, cheap trips to Toronto and Montreal. Poutine. Yummy, yummy poutine.

[Clich? Bandit]

Euclid Hall in Denver has a duck poutine that, if I ate carbs, is AWESOME!...Come to Denver, you know you will like it.

[jesse.in.mb]

Duck poutine, you say?

*checks frequent flyer mile account*

Go on...

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Damn. I missed my opportunity to open a poutine joint in L.A.

I'd call it Le Montrealais.

[Pathogen]

Call it 'The Hot Mess'..

[Notorious G.K.C.]

*Here's* the Canadian national dish:

http://www.josepvinaixa.com/bl.....0x1200.png

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Finally.

A civil American.

Not one of youz wished me a happy birthday.

/looks away. Kicks dirt.

[Jensen]

Being passive aggressive to Americans? I see you're celebrating with one of Canada's great traditions!

[Pathogen]

I'm sorry that we were insensitive. What if we just authorize the Keystone XL pipeline? Would that make it up to you?

[Juice]

So, fries with gravy and melted cheese on top is good. So why is poutine such a failure? The gravy is runny and flavorless usually and the cheese, equally flavorless, is not melted, but clotted up into little curds that fall off the fries as you try to eat them. Why anyone likes it is a mystery.

[Invisible Finger]

Because french fries with chili and cheese on top is better.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hey, I'm from Quebec and never had it. But the folks around here seem to be in love with it.

[Res Publica Americana]

What the fuck is it with soccer players and their pussy dramatics? Fuck off. Seriously.

[Timon 19]

Go fuck yourself.

[Los Doyers]

Yeah, those kinds of dramatics are unheard of in the nba.

[Carl ?s his privilege]

duck vs. rabbit

[Mad Scientist]

Awesome!

[PD Scott]

It's Elmer season.

[PD Scott]

Wrong duck vs rabbit.

[110 Lean]

Plus the page links to Donald Duck's family tree.

[db]

Nice.

[Max Power]

Philly phone-sex cop has new side job.

The Philadelphia cop who irked police brass for her side gig as a phone-sex operator has launched another side business selling lingerie and blogging as "Cutie Off Duty."

The Daily News exposed Barrow's phone-sex work in a February story. For years, Barrow ran websites and phone lines appealing to lusty callers with fetishes both tame and taboo, including fetishes that would be illegal if acted upon in real life like pedophilia, rape, incest, kidnapping and snuff.

Barrow then told the Daily News that she quit the business about two years ago, because she worried that they would endanger her police job. And Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey confirmed that while Internal Affairs detectives probed the business, Barrow didn't get in trouble because being a phone-sex operator wasn't explicitly forbidden under police rules.
Barrow's new website features a "female empowerment" blog called "The Cutie Chronicles," with entries like "Misbehave Mondays" and "Touch Me Tuesdays." Barrow writes on the blog that it's a "judgement-free zone with no limits or restrictions." She also posts audio clips, including one in which she coaches listeners, in a soft baby voice and giggles, how to sexually pleasure themselves.

[paranoid android]

And Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey confirmed that while Internal Affairs detectives probed the business,

Oh, is that what they're calling it these days?

[flye]

Later they collared the perp.

[Brandon]

This is what irks police brass? You can rape, murder and rob people, kill pets, drive drunk, threaten witnesses and destroy evidence, but don't you DARE have a legitimate non-coercive side business that makes the chief uncomfortable!

[Max Power]

Yes, you can punch a women right in the face on camera, or get caught disabling security cameras so you can steal from immigrant bodega owners, or arrange fights between teenagers. But doing phone sex while off duty is right out!

[Carl ?s his privilege]

Man spends $40,000 buying out IMAX theaters to prove ex-girlfriend wrong

A man who was dumped by his girlfriend seven years ago after he was unable to afford movie tickets for a date declared proudly on his Weibo account this week that he'd spent 250,000 RMB (US $40,650) to book all the seats in two Beijing IMAX cinemas screening Transformers 4 to show that she was wrong to leave him.

The man, surnamed Wang, wanted to get the attention of his ex and prove to her that she'd made the wrong choice by leaving him all those years ago, Beijing Youth Daily said. Wang said that anyone who "retweeted" his original post might have a chance of winning a ticket.

The post has been forwarded nearly 110,000 times, yet some people question its authenticity and whether the whole thing is just a publicity stunt. In response, Wang uploaded the invoice and the agreement he signed with a Shanghai-based ticket agency. The agency also forwarded his post as a confirmation.

Not to mention that 40K USD goes pretty far in the PRC.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Wang, huh huh huh

[110 Lean]

Oh, I think she clearly made the right decision.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Everybody WANG chung tonight.

[lap83]

No wonder he doesn't have money.

[Los Doyers]

This USA game is doing wonders for my blood pressure. ONWARD YANKS!

[Timon 19]

The lowness of your blood pressure.

[Carl ?s his privilege]

Pablo Escobar's hippos: A growing problem

I already new about this but I found the following passage entertaining:

Colombian people, he believes, are more vulnerable than Africans because they see hippos as cuddly, "floppy" animals. The respected El Colombiano newspaper recently reported that children in a school near Hacienda Napoles are sharing a pond with the animals, and having direct contact with hippo calves at home.

"My father brought a little one home once," an unnamed girl told the paper. "I called him Luna (Moon) because he was very sweet - we fed him with just milk." Another child, a boy, told the paper: "My father has captured three. It is nice because you have a little animal at home. We bottle-feed them because they only drink milk. They have a very slippery skin, you pour water and they produce a kind of slime, you touch them and it's like soap."

Also, just kill the damn things (that is, the hippos, not the Colombians).

[paranoid android]

*Grabs pith helmet and elephant gun*

If you'll excuse me, I have some H. Rider Haggard-inspired fantasies to live out.

[BigT]

Hippos kill more people than any other animal in Africa, except man.

[Tonio]

Sir, this mosquito would beg to differ with you.

[BigT]

True dat. OK, large animal. And it's because people think hippos are slow, so they get too close.

[Matrix]

Cop body slams a man into the ground and pummels his face. Man responds by choking out the cop

Unforunately, the police win in the end. :/

[Juice]

The guy's name was Mr. Manners?

[Juice]

Jesus. The balls of the cops in that story. "I can't believe someone would just walk by and not get into the middle of a cop fighting somebody." Really? They wouldn't fear any charges of interfering or whatever? If you incentivize people to avoid interaction with cops, don't be surprised when people stay out of it. The video clearly shows the guy flailing his arms about to prove to anyone seeing it that he wasn't striking the cop. But the cops keep talking about some other video that shows something entirely different.

[Coeus]

All the same, I'm wondering about that edit. Looks like the one that happened when that ex-football player got shot. The beginning of the action is missing.

Without seeing that footage, it could go either way.

But he obviously wasn't fighting the cop in the footage I saw.

[Stormy Dragon]

If he's not fighting now, then it doesn't really matter what he was doing before the video started, does it? One the person is no longer resisting, the use of force by the cop is purely punitive and thus invalid.

It's the same way legitimate self defense can turn to a crime if the person you're defending yourself from begins to retreat and you pursue them.

[Coeus]

I'm saying it could be a relatively normal (but still wrong) overreaction or a full on travesty.

[Carl ?s his privilege]

Shockingly, a man on a motorcycle witnessed the whole fight and drove off.

"There are not too many people out there in the world that would see an officer in a physical confrontation on the ground and actually walk by a couple of steps, watch the fight and continue to go about his business without offering aid," Alexander said.

Yeah, that totally makes sense. Even a competent, well-meaning cop could mistake my intentions and arrest me or worse in response to "offering aid".

And ugh, the dual bootlicking and internet-tuff-gai-ism in the comments.

[Max Power]

There was a story here a few months ago where a cop was fighting some guy in the subway and people just got out of the way and went about their business. The cops were outraged that no one helped them. Warmed my heart.

[Max Power]

Here it is.

[Carl ?s his privilege]

The funny thing is that bystanders doing nothing is the norm, no matter who's involved; the police complaining are either too stupid or too egotistical to extrapolate that.

I know the solution though: a Seinfeld-style "Good Samaritan Law" that applies only when cops are in trouble. Where "in trouble" includes, of course, being mildly hungry.

STOP RESISTIN!

[Anonymous Coward]

If the police have no duty to protect you as an individual, why should you have any duty to assist them when they are taking a well-deserved ass-kicking?

[110 Lean]

It is outrageous. We are supposed to help out in situations like that. Are you telling me that when fireman are putting out burning oil refinery that you don't step in and help them out? Or who doesn't jump in to help doctors perform heart surgeries at state-run hospitals? I guess some people are just selfish assholes.

[Juice]

Remember that story when cops didn't intervene when a guy was subduing a murderer.

http://nypost.com/2013/01/27/c.....ed-killer/

Guess what? We have no duty to protect you either.

[Stormy Dragon]

There are not too many people out there in the world that would see an officer in a physical confrontation on the ground and actually walk by a couple of steps, watch the fight and continue to go about his business without offering aid

In Philadelphia, there are entire train stations of such people:

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com.....01871.html

That's what happens when you let your police force get away with armed robbery.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Happy birthday Canada.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYreuaoxZc4

For you non-hockey fans, no defenseman in hockey was doing what Orr was doing in those clips.

[BigT]

RJF, it was a treat to see Orr play. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. And: Keep Calm, and Party On, Canada.

[Carl ?s his privilege]

IRS Rejects Non-Profit [Charity] Status For Open Source Organization, Because Private Companies Might Use The Software

Among several stupid reasons, this one sticks out:

You have a substantial nonexempt purpose because you develop software published under open source compatible licenses that authorize use by any person for any purpose, including nonexempt purposes such as commercial, recreational, or personal purposes, including campaign intervention and lobbying.

OH NO!11!!!11111!!!!!!!

As the piece notes, there are already several notable 501(c)(3) organizations that produce open source software, most notably the Mozilla Foundation (though they have bit of an odd organizational structure wherein the it, while itself a charitable organization, wholly owns the nominally for-profit, taxable Mozilla Corporation).

[Coeus]

Black GOP candidate in Flordia's sign is defaced

Opinions in the comments are of the "She's a republican, so it's ok" and "it must have been a false-flag". That makes up about 80 percent of the comments. And they're facebook comments.

[Brandon]

Galton Terrell ? Top Commenter
Sorry, not racial discrimination. Learn the difference between actual racial discrimination and criticism of her politics. Her face was painted white to show that she's a sell-out. Pure and simple.

You've got to be pretty deep in the echo chamber to just throw "she's a sell-out" out there as axiomatic.

Papajoe Joe ? Top Commenter
The president faces racism everyday from the Republicans and Tea Bagger, but to be a member of a minority group and identify with the oppressors is unforgiving! The Republicans will never accept any person of color as an equal!

This is absolutely deranged.

One more. This one is impressive. The circular non sequitur:

Tiffany Miller ? Top Commenter ? Keiser University
Napoleon Smith III ??? I'm sorry but allowing a corporation to deny health coverage is NOT religious freedom. Corporations do NOT deserve rights. Corporations are not covered by the bill of rights only individual citizens. The bill of rights should not apply to corporations.

That comment could actually be a .gif.

[Matrix]

Yeah, stay away from the comments.

A black person, especially a black woman stepping off the plantation. Definitely can't have that.

Minorities and women are owned by the Democratic Party. If you step away from that, they will hunt you down and mercilessly attack you until you repent.

[Pathogen]

"If you step away from that, they will hunt you down and mercilessly attack you until you repent."

That' how pimps roll...

[BigT]

Socio-political shunning.

[Coeus]

Man pulls over Illinois Trooper for speeding and talking on his cellphone.

In a video uploaded last week to YouTube, a man identified as Brian Miner flags down an Illinois state trooper, allegedly because the officer was speeding and talking on his cellphone.

"You pulled me over with your horn, I don't know what that was about," the unidentified officer said.

"Because you were speeding and had your cellphone in your hand," Miner responded.

The officer then says "Police officers can actually use technology when we're driving."

The officer then asks Miner for his license and registration and, after asking him if he was speeding, says he's going to write Miner a ticket for "unlawful use of horn".

Then Miner tells the officer that he's being recorded and shortly after the officer decides not to write him a ticket.

"I didn't want to hurt your record," the officer said.

After the interaction concludes, Miner turns the camera toward himself and says "And that's what happens when they know you're recording."

[Brandon]

But at least he didn't have a side job as a phone sex operator!

[db]

What happens once they pass your license plate number around the donut shop?

[Jensen]

Rob Ford returns from rehab looking marginally better, and according to one witness: "I don't get the mindset of people who want to introduce their kids to him. It's like introducing them to some tyrant from past times."

[Coeus]

Here is the horror that the hobby lobby ruling could lead to.

NUDITY LAWS
Entire colonies of people are dedicated to the belief that being compelled to wear clothes is wrong.

Good

TAXES
Most religions profess a deep affinity for peace (while drenching history in blood in the name of religion, but whatever). Why should religious pacifists be compelled to pay taxes that subsidize war?

Good

LSD
There isn't much more religious of an experience than talking directly with God. Hell, Huston Smith included a section on acid in his definitive book The World's Religions. While we're at it, all drug laws rub up against religious practice. Sorry officer, this is our church.

Good

GROWING HEMP

Good

PASTEURIZED MILK
For some Amish folk, following a strict religious interpretation of "Do unto others what you would have others do unto you" means selling raw, unpasteurized milk, a practice banned under U.S. law for its potential to carry dangerous bacteria such as salmonella, E. coli and listeria.

Good

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
To hell with the Violence Against Women Act,

Well, when you put it that way...Good.

GENITAL MUTILATION

That's already legal.

[Brandon]

HuffPo has actually gone downhill. I didn't think that was possible.

[Sevo]

Newspaper writer lacks self-awareness:

"In other words, a publicly traded corporation that makes money by showing you ads tried to toy with your feelings."
http://www.sfgate.com/technolo.....hc-bustech

He's writing about Facebook, not his employer, and the implication is that the activity is WRONG!
He's also a brain-dead lefty.

[JW]

He's also a brain-dead lefty.

But you repeat yourself.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Tim Howard saves America.

[Zeb]

Do they really not see the very clear line that separates domestic violence and genital mutilation from the others? I'm surprised they didn't throw human sacrifice in there.

[Zeb]

That was response to Coeus.

[Carl ?s his privilege]

Pollution Mask Couture Makes Debut on Hong Kong Catwalk

Next week, Beijing- and Hong Kong-based designer Nina Griffee, owner of face-painting and body art company Face Slap, will introduce a new line of outfits that incorporate face masks on the runway as part of a collection at Hong Kong Fashion Week.

Even the designer, who was born in England, admits that the eight outfits she's created to launch the line ? which look something like burkas for the space age ? might not be everyone's cup of tea. "There's a fine line between fashion and costume," she says. "I'm not entirely sure we made it completely into the fashion category."

Though it isn't the first time models will have appeared on stage wearing masks, it appears to be the first time the effect is so deliberate.

The outfits incorporate Vogmask pollution masks?already a choice among many of the pollution cognoscenti as the most stylish face coverings?attached by a zipper to shawls, dresses and ponchos. The zipper allows the wearer to remove the mask to dine, for instance, while retaining the high-fashion look.

In one design, Ms. Griffee created a long, black evening gown that is complemented by an oversized black face mask, making the wearer look a bit like a cicada out for vengeance.

[Stormy Dragon]

Wasn't the VAWA already overturned anyways?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Good evening, and welcome to Circumcision Action News. Tonight, the Supreme Court of Israel decides that a baby must stay intact...for now. Rabbinical courts had ordered the circumcision of the child of divorcing parents. The rabbincal courts were handling the couple's divorce proceedings. But on petition of the mother, the Supreme Court said that rabbinical courts had no jurisdiction to order circumcision, since circumcision isn't linked to divorce.

The father could still take his case to a secular family court, according to the Supreme Court ruling.

Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef criticized the ruling. Yosef, who presides over the rabbinical court system, said: "The Supreme Court's decision to prefer the civil court over the rabbinical court even for religious issues like circumcision is outrageous, and it also symbolizes the troubling trend in recent years of constricting the rabbinical court's authority."

http://www.haaretz.com/news/na.....m-1.602016

[jesse.in.mb]

Circumcision Action News

All the news that's fit to print, broadcast uncut to your living room.

Walk a Mohel in another's shoes with Circumcision Action News Global edition!

[Isaac Bartram]

Actually, to my mind the decision is totally backasswards.

Consult any number of economists and they will tell you that insurance is not appropriate for day to day expenses like birth control (this is presumably why Canadian Medicare does not pay for contraception).

If there was ever a situation that called for insurance, ie an emergency unexpected event it is a condom bursting a rape or any of the things that might bring a woman to need emergency birth control.

[Coeus]

Stop holding me to account for my public criticism

I've been hearing from several people, such as @thetrudz and Oolon, that Twitter is now making tweets with links to other tweets show up in the mentions of the person whose tweet is linked to. I tested it myself and it didn't happen, so I'm guessing the feature is being rolled out gradually.

I haven't seen any announcement about this yet, but assuming it's accurate and happening, I think this is a good opportunity to talk about what I see as a fundamental disconnect between how tech companies and their employees see things, and how people like me and my friends and fellow writers see things.

Set it to private or join the discussion. No one is entitled to not receive criticism from public statements.

Jesus. How can atheists not see that this is the same as not being able to criticize religion?

[Overt]

God damnit, USA

[Brandon]

Can't blame Howard.

[Juice]

What did you expect?

[Timon 19]

What Juice said.

Though holy shit, that fight at the end was tremendous.

[BakedPenguin]

I said it on another thread, but the outcome might have been different had they shown that level of sack through the first 90 minutes instead of just the last 20 or so.

[Timon 19]

It's a balancing act. Belgium is a VERY good side, and they attacked outside incessantly to keep Johnson and Beasley from getting forward too much. When Yedlin came on, that seemed to change a bit.

But at the end of the day, you CANNOT attack with no abandon, especially against a team like that. You WILL get eaten alive. That's probably one of the most expensive teams based on transfer fees and salary at the entire tournament.

[BigT]

Belgium was clearly the better team. With a different keeper it's 4-0 or worse.

[Timon 19]

I said elsewhere...don't sell the backs short. There's only one reason Tim makes a large number of those saves: defensive work and positioning. Whether it's changing a shot, narrowing the angle, or putting the player just that little bit off, it was an entire effort from everyone.

[db]

OK, so I take.it the World Cup.is.over now, and we can start talking about World War III again?

[Timon 19]

There are 8 teams left.

[Raven Nation]

Yes. If by WWIII you mean France vs. Germany on Friday.

[Timon 19]

+1 Ardennes.

[Timon 19]

Bright side: I can now ENJOY watching the rest of the tournament. When the team you care about is still in it, it feels like you're dying every minute of the matches. Mentally and physically spent.

[db]

The plus is that this is how Shreek feels all. The. Time.

[Timon 19]

Haha. Probably.

Antilles was acting very much Shreek-like in the Coulter thread.

[Pathogen]

The Adams-apple drives him wild, and suppresses his inhibitions..

[cavalier973]

Black Pastor accuses Thad Cochran of literally (as in, literally; not the Sean Hannity fake "literally") buying votes in Mississippi.

[Pathogen]

If there's any truth to this, it speaks volumes about the stark terror that the TP strikes in the heart of the chamber if cronyism commerce, and their bought and paid for flunkies in congress...

[lap83]

"Fielder, who was paid by freelance journalist Charles C. Johnson for the story"

I don't know anything about journalism, so is this a commonplace occurrence?

[lap83]

Sorry that was supposed to be a reply to the story.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I didn't see today.

Lemme look.

[Invisible Finger]

Buffalo was way under the salary floor.

[Invisible Finger]

Vanek can now disappear into the wild.

[Andrew S.]

I'm waiting for the Flyers to manage to give someone a stupid contract despite the salary cap problems, ensuring the salary cap problems will go on forevermore. It's what they do.

[Andrew S.]

How did Jarome Iginla get 3/$16 from Colorado? Isn't he about 60 years old by now?

(I know that he played pretty well last year. I just always wonder about giving a $5m+ cap number to a player through their 40-year-old season)

[Fr?ulein Nikki]

"This is super traumatizing to me, but for trans women it should be an awesome rite of passage." lolz

[Mad Scientist]

Who are these fucking people? Ashamed to buy a bra? Seriously!?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Wow. There hasn't been that kind of action in some time.

Superficially, I like Moulson but not sure he's worth that much. He's a 30-35 goal 65-70 pointer.

St. Louis grabbing Stastny is sweet. Avs looking to add veteran presence in Briere and Iginla. Now I get the Briere trade.

Spezza seems like a great fit in Dallas.

Vancouver did well with Miller.

And for you guys, Vanek will score in bunches. He just has to play harder in the playoffs. Not sure if Therrien put him in the best position to succeed.

[BakedPenguin]

She was ashamed of her massive boobs, kind of like how guys with big dicks are mortified of letting anyone in on that fact.

[a better weapon]

Chiasson has a really high ceiling. Ottawa got some pretty good value for a guy begging to leave. I hate to see Chiasson go, but Jason Spezza will definately be an immediate upgrade this season.

[Overt]

Yeah, I was definitely questioning the Briere trade. But with iginla, it makes sense.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

It's the silly season. I guess the Avs feel they're ready to challenge and Iginla may be worth the price.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

**looks away in shame**

[db]

*golf clap*