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A.M. Links: EPA Can Garnish Wages, Dems Push Birth Control Bill, More Parents Choose Cohabiting Over Marriage

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 7.9.2014 9:00 AM

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    Not much for separation of powers this season, Congressional Democrats have developed legislation to override the Supreme Court decision on contraceptives. The bill, put together in consultation with President Obama, would require for-profit corporations like Hobby Lobby to include coverage for contraception in employee health plans. #CantStopWontStop

  • The Environmental Protection Agency quietly slipped a note into last week's Federal Register asserting its right to "garnish non-Federal wages to collect delinquent non-tax debts owed the United States without first obtaining a court order." Oh, is that all?
  • Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah told supporters Tuesday that he needs more time to decide whether to declare his own government after the Afghan Independent Election Commission released preliminary results showing him more than a million votes behind his rival. 
  • Married women have dropped to just 45 percent of all first-time U.S. mothers (and 25 percent of those under 23). Researchers say it's less a matter of single moms and more about parents shacking up without tying the knot. 
  • Sexual orientation isn't a basis for anti-discrimination lawsuits in America, but a gay Georgia music teacher is challenging his job dismissal on grounds of gender discrimination. "When you fire somebody because they are engaging in a same-sex marriage, I think that pretty clearly fits," said his lawyer. 
  • The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is bringing in Lisa B. Nelson, a former Visa executive who worked in Newt Gingrich's office when he was speaker, as its chief executive. 
  • Is this the soda tax's last stand? 

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NEXT: Shikha Dalmia on Gold and Gods in Modern India

Elizabeth Nolan Brown is a senior editor at Reason.

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  1. Fist of Etiquette   11 years ago

    Is this the soda tax's last stand?

    Fizzled out? Gone flat? Some third thing?

    1. db   11 years ago

      Popped.

      1. Fist of Etiquette   11 years ago

        Yinzer alert!

        1. db   11 years ago

          Coked up?

        2. waffles   11 years ago

          I've thought way too much about this and I have decided that "pop" is better. Soda is carbonated liquid. Pop is a flavored carbonated beverage. Also dropping a syllable aids in brevity. The rest of the country is wrong.

          1. Rich   11 years ago

            But "pop" is a "long" syllable, like "Schultz". Easier to say "soda".

          2. Zeb   11 years ago

            Actually, if you want to get all specific, soda is carbonated liquid with a sodium salt in it. Carbonation probably isn't strictly necessary.
            I'm not sure on the origin of "pop", but soda comes to mean fizzy sweet soft drinks through the soda fountain, where soda water was served with sweet things and flavors added. So I think soda is pretty good. Then there's "tonic", but all the people I knew who used that are dead now.

            1. robc   11 years ago

              Unless ordering a Gin and Tonic.

              1. Zeb   11 years ago

                Well, yeah. But it was an old-timey New Englander word for fizzy soft drinks in general as well.

            2. robc   11 years ago

              Then there's "tonic", but all the people I knew who used that are dead now.

              But not from malaria!

              1. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

                No, it was from drinking Moxie.

            3. Lord Humungus   11 years ago

              I drink tonic water... without anything else. Love the stuff.

              1. Bryan C   11 years ago

                Me too. There's nothing quite as refreshing on a dusty summer day.

              2. Zeb   11 years ago

                I loved it as a kid (still do, I guess, but why not throw a little gin in there). I also learned to mix G&Ts; when I was about 6. I remember once grabbing my dad's drink instead of my plain tonic water and getting a bit of a surprise.

                1. Lord Humungus   11 years ago

                  For a G&T, I like to use lots of crushed ice. Add the gin and stir it into the icy mix. After that, top off with tonic water until you get the desired blend.

          3. robc   11 years ago

            Coke is also one syllable.

    2. Rufus J. Firefly   11 years ago

      Hello.

      From comments in the NYT about Democrats amending the law concerning birth control like bratty, petulant assholes:

      "Thank you, Senator Murray for representing 50% plus of the population! I'll be there to support every Senator who stands up to assure our rights to coverage under this national law. Shame on the members of the Supreme Court who signed the majority opinion -- shocking."

      That's the first one with 191 recommends.

      These people are insane.

      1. Rufus J. Firefly   11 years ago

        139 recommends:

        "The Senate should pass a law that overturns the HobbyLobby case.
        First, the HL case is a matter of discrimination. The company selected medication/devices that are only used by women and said they would not be covered by the company health care plan. (I cannot help but wonder what some of you would say if a company did something similar for men, e.g., prohibit coverage of cialis or pumps, etc.

        Second, the HobbyLobby case should send a shiver down the spine of every "free market" and capitalist advocate. The Court pierced the veil of a corporation to look at the religious identity of the owners."

        All over...birth control.

        1. sloopyinva (previously -inca)   11 years ago

          Wait, but the government selected medications/devices to be covered that are only used by women and told companies they have to provide coverage.

          So if these shitheads want to make an equal protection issue out of this, I'll be happy to oblige them.

        2. Bubba Jones   11 years ago

          I have had multiple employers that didn't cover Cialis.

          not that I would know.

        3. Stilgar   11 years ago

          So they are going to pay for my condoms now?

        4. MJGreen   11 years ago

          Giving people slightly more freedom to run their business the way they want sends a shiver down me capitalist spine!

        5. Rhywun   11 years ago

          I cannot help but wonder what some of you would say if a company did something similar for men

          I wouldn't give a flying fuck because I don't consider sexy-time to be a "right".

        6. Suthenboy   11 years ago

          "All over...birth control."

          This isn't about birth control. It is about punishing ideological opponents and making people do as they are told.

      2. WTF   11 years ago

        They seem to really believe that they have the right to force people to buy them stuff. Incredible.

        1. Ted S.   11 years ago

          I'm to the point that people being forced to buy this stuff should turn around to the forcers and point out that the forcers hate these people's children since they want to take money that could be used to feed the children or whatnot. They're committing a War on Children too.

          "Why do you hate my children?"

        2. MJGreen   11 years ago

          It is nice to have an example where they're so forthright about it. They demand to be given this "right." They're not couching it in some welfarist sob story or trying to limit a handout to a select group of people. They're saying simply, "The government should create this right, because we don't want to buy our own IUD or morning after pill." Unmasked plundering.

      3. Michael Ejercito   11 years ago

        A right to coverage means that the government can not stop you, not that it has to force someone else to provide the coverage.

      4. Injun, as in from India   11 years ago

        The Hobby Lobby case was overturned on the narrow grounds of violating the RFRA. Anything that gets passed now to override the case will get struck down as a violation of the First F***** Amendment. The Democrats know it, and this is all just political theater. And if course, no way the GOP House would pass anything like it.

        1. DontShootMe   11 years ago

          Agreed, nobody wants this bill to pass. The Democrats just want to use it as a campaign issue.

        2. Stormy Dragon   11 years ago

          Given the RFRA was only passed to override Employment Division v. Smith, I'm not sure weakening it is the obvious first amendment slam dunk you think it is.

      5. Suthenboy   11 years ago

        ".....our rights to coverage..."

        No such thing exists.

    3. Elizabeth Nolan Brown   11 years ago

      I really toyed with both of those.

      1. Elizabeth Nolan Brown   11 years ago

        bad soda tax puns, that is

      2. Ted S.   11 years ago

        You should have toyed with getting the link right. :-p

      3. Lord Humungus   11 years ago

        go on...

    4. Ted S.   11 years ago

      All of those apply to the link.

      1. Rufus J. Firefly   11 years ago

        I'm sure by the 30th minute you kicked back and enjoyed things?

        Incidentally, I read an article a while ago where someone was bashing films from the 30s, 40s, 50s etc., saying the acting was 'wooden' and writing terrible.

        Personally, I disagree. What do you think?

        1. Ted S.   11 years ago

          At least films back then had writing, as opposed to today's movies that are effects and nothing else. And much of today's "acting" seems to be looking for photogenic people who have the bodies for comic-book hero outfits.

          Color back then was color, too. All the TV ads for movies I see seem to have a color pallette of light blue with a smattering of orange for the explosions.

          Seriously, there were good movies back then, and lousy movies. Just like in any era.

          1. Rufus J. Firefly   11 years ago

            I agree with your first paragraph totally. I also feel the plots were more challenging and dynamic. Action movies had far better dialogue even if they seemed 'forced' unlike today where there really isn't much thoughtful writing in the script. Depending on the movie of course, but generally, it's how I come away with things.

        2. Zeb   11 years ago

          With most older films, you have to accept that they weren't going for the super realism that is so common now in films and the writing and acting makes sense. It was more like writing and acting for the stage than films are today, for the most part. I can completely see how people only used to more modern film making would think that the writing and acting in older films seems odd and somewhat stiff in comparison.

          1. Rufus J. Firefly   11 years ago

            I can see why they think this.

            And yes, older films do feel like more 'theater'.

        3. Emmerson Biggins   11 years ago

          I agree. Old movies suck. New movies suck too, but in a different way.

  2. generic Brand   11 years ago

    It's official: Juggalos are gangmembers now.

    A judge has thrown out Insane Clown Posse's lawsuit against the FBI, saying the government has every right to categorize the band's fans as gang members....

    U.S. District Judge Robert Cleland dismissed the latest lawsuit because the FBI's report on gangs "does not recommend any particular course of action for local law enforcement to follow."

    So when will police departments be officially classified as gangs by the FBI? Not saying they have to follow any particular course of action, but if the shoe fits... (it's probably stepping on your neck.)

    1. Ted S.   11 years ago

      Do Juggalos actually go around committing violence?

      1. waffles   11 years ago

        To some their mere existence is an act of violence.

      2. Fist of Etiquette   11 years ago

        Assaults on my sensibilities.

    2. DJF   11 years ago

      How about categorizing judges as gang members, they stick together, they make their own laws, they wear those gang black robes.

  3. Fist of Etiquette   11 years ago

    Researchers say it's less a matter of single moms and more about parents shacking up without tying the knot.

    Libertarian couples refusing that official stamp of approval!

    1. WTF   11 years ago

      We should bring back the term 'bastard'.

    2. kilroy   11 years ago

      I've been refusing that official stamp for 15 years. Because FYTW government.

  4. sloopyinva (previously -inca)   11 years ago

    Cops don't think private Roberts rights should apply to them.

    http://www.policeone.com/chief.....ave-store/

    Also threaten retaliation or to not protect people that don't treat them better than "civilians".

    1. sloopyinva (previously -inca)   11 years ago

      How the fuck did my iPad get "Roberts" out of "property"?

      I blame the NSA.

      1. Jordan   11 years ago

        I was wondering what the hell that was.

    2. AdamJ   11 years ago

      Huh,
      Last I checked you assholes WERE civilians. Did they pass a new law?

      1. Ted S.   11 years ago

        The people are the police and the police are the people.

        These fuckers don't give a shit about the Peelian principles.

      2. WTF   11 years ago

        They ARE the Law!

      3. sarcasmic   11 years ago

        What do they care about laws? They don't have to follow them, and they certainly don't enforce them.

      4. The Last American Hero   11 years ago

        Maybe we should all become police

        http://www.detroitnews.com/art...../307080032

    3. Florida Man   11 years ago

      At least one of them is sane.

      I might remind those posters who think discriminating against armed people is just dandy, a citizen with a CCW tried to take down the two scumbags who murdered two cops in Las Vegas. He fared no better against the murderous POS but he was willing to TRY. Many other good folks out there with CCW would have done the same.

      So if a store only makes exceptions for LE, they can go piss up a rope as far as I am concerned. Hope they don't whine when the bad guys with guns come calling......

      1. Bubba Jones   11 years ago

        I have a carry permit. I have no intention of using it to defend people who go unarmed.

        No good deed goes unpunished.

        1. Florida Man   11 years ago

          I have a carry permit. I have no intention of using it to defend people who go unarmed

          Depends. If it is theft I'd let it go. Rape or trying to kill someone I feel like they need to be put down. One less scumbag that could hurt someone I care about.

          1. Restoras   11 years ago

            Just be sure to have your firearm put away before the cops show up.

      2. sloopyinva (previously -inca)   11 years ago

        I'll see,your sanity and raise you one xenophobe with a badge:


        well those new generations have no clue about respect or common sense when it comes to the police, and even fire and EMS service as you can read from the news about riots because of "delayed" response. It will get worse, as we are loaded up with immigrants who come from countries where the cops are crooked, and our own younger generations here have not been taught respect for anything...welcome to hell

        1. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

          as we are loaded up with immigrants who come from countries where the cops are crooked

          Which means they will know how to deal with the police more effectively than the native-born.

        2. Florida Man   11 years ago

          I saw that one too. I never read a police one post before. I thought it would be an echo chamber, but that one guy says LE shouldn't be treated different. If I didn't post that it would be like finding a unicorn and not telling anyone about it.

        3. SugarFree   11 years ago

          It will get worse, as we are loaded up with immigrants who come from countries where the cops are crooked

          Arizona is a country?

          (Feel free to substitute every other possible locale in the US.)

        4. Bryan C   11 years ago

          "as we are loaded up with immigrants who come from countries where the cops are crooked"

          Immigrants from Chicago?

      3. Ken Shultz   11 years ago

        "He fared no better against the murderous POS but he was willing to TRY. Many other good folks out there with CCW would have done the same."

        That guy was like a hero.

        My understanding is that he misread the situation and thought that the loser guy had abducted the girl that was with him as a hostage, so he took a shot at the guy. When the girl saw him draw on her boyfriend, she killed the guy that was trying to save her.

    4. Jerryskids   11 years ago

      I was wondering about the recent item about the Philly woman who got popped for carrying her licensed and permitted gun into NJ (and got popped because at a traffic stop she showed the cop her license and notified him she had the gun) - when Obama visits NJ, does his Secret Service detail have to leave their guns behind?

      1. WTF   11 years ago

        when Obama visits NJ, does his Secret Service detail have to leave their guns behind?

        No, because laws are for the little people, not the nobility.

    5. Brandon   11 years ago

      What rights have cops ever thought they should have to respect?

    6. Brandon   11 years ago

      IKEA rolled over:

      "We regret that there was a misunderstanding of our weapon policy in our College Park Store. Our weapon policy does not apply to law enforcement officers. We are taking steps to ensure that this is clear for all our co-workers."

      We will make sure that all of our employees know that some animals are more equal than others.

  5. Lord Humungus   11 years ago

    Madonna excused from jury service after two hours

    The pop star spent two hours waiting in a separate room from other prospective jurors, but was not called to serve on any case.

    David Bookstaver, the spokesman for the state court system, said her appearance and dismissal "really goes to show that everyone gets called".

    The singer will now be excused from jury service in New York for six years.

    She was called in for a separate session of jury service in May but did not have to present herself to the court.

  6. AdamJ   11 years ago

    McCarrran airport smells especially like BO this AM

    1. sloopyinva (previously -inca)   11 years ago

      /rimshot

    2. Lord Humungus   11 years ago

      How do you know how Bo Cara Esq smells?

      1. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

        I would imagine he smells like Egg McMuffins and Mountain Dew Red.

  7. Fist of Etiquette   11 years ago

    OMG these links are all so wordy. ENB needs to trim them down for quick and easy turnarounds into snarky comments.

    1. AdamJ   11 years ago

      Life is getting harder, day by day

    2. UnCivilServant   11 years ago

      Nonsense, we need more verbosity!

      1. Ted S.   11 years ago

        I prefer prolixity.

        1. Jerryskids   11 years ago

          Facility.

          1. Rhywun   11 years ago

            Felicity?

  8. Lord Humungus   11 years ago

    Tiny Houses Big With U.S. Owners Seeking Economic Freedom

    Dramatic downsizing is gaining interest among Americans, gauging by increased sales of plans and ready-made homes and growing audiences for websites related to the niche. A+E Networks Corp. will air, beginning today, "Tiny House Nation" a series on FYI that "celebrates the exploding movement."

    The pared-down lifestyle allows people to minimize expenses and gain economic freedom, said architect Jay Shafer in Cotati, California, who founded two micro building and design companies and is widely credited with popularizing the trend.

    "It shows people how little some need to be happy, and how simply they can live if they choose," said Shafer, 49, who shares a 500-square foot home with his wife and two young children.

    1. Certified Public Asskicker   11 years ago

      Liberal trailer parks.

      1. waffles   11 years ago

        Wow. You're right! This is a trailer park by another name for the right sort of white people.

    2. Ted S.   11 years ago

      That 500 sq.ft. house in California probably cost $6 million.

    3. John   11 years ago

      One man's economic freedom is another man's loss of standard of living and expectations thanks to idiotic government policy. Expect to see more of this between now in 2014. See America, Obama and the Progs haven't lowered your standard of living and made you poorer, they have given you economic freedom. You should be thanking them for your new shitty house and eco box car.

      1. Restoras   11 years ago

        I'd never tell anyone what size house they should or should not live in. But it is cheaper to live in a smaller space - and it leaves more money for other things, like a nice car or whatever else you like to spend your money on.

        1. Auric Demonocles   11 years ago

          Most of the stuff I like to spend my money on requires space.

          1. Restoras   11 years ago

            To each his/her own.

          2. db   11 years ago

            Same here. I need workshops and space to stretch out.

            1. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

              And for me, for what I like to do, I prefer more land over more house.

              The difference between us and the Proglodytes is that we realize the world don't move to the beat of just one drum. What may be right for you, may not be right for some.

              1. Auric Demonocles   11 years ago

                No, Heroic, we must force everyone to live in a large house with a basement brewery and spacious backyard!

                1. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

                  I'm down with the basement brewery mandate. Let a thousands bottles bloom!

          3. Pro Libertate   11 years ago

            Cubic light years of space?

            1. generic Brand   11 years ago

              Parsecs, really.

            2. Auric Demonocles   11 years ago

              I'm not too greedy. Just one seven-billionth of the solar system...

              1. Pro Libertate   11 years ago

                Ah, but I know that you define the scope of the solar system. . .liberally.

        2. John   11 years ago

          It is cheaper to do so. It would be one thing if people were doing this because they wanted to spend their money in other ways. But that is not what is happening. They are doing this because they don't have the money to do anything else and still be financially responsible.

          1. Restoras   11 years ago

            I remember when I was buying a house about 10 years ago. At the time there was lots of advice to buy as much house as you could afford - I guess the thinking being that real estate always goes up and you can't lose.

            Trouble with that, aside from the burst housing bubble which is bad enough, a large house requires a much bigger monthly nut than a smaller house. Factor in the upkeep of a larger piece of property, and property taxes that always move in one direction, and all of a sudden that buy as much house as you can afford advice doesn't look so smart. Just sayin'.

            If people are downsizing to be more financially responsible, well maybe that's a good thing.

            1. John   11 years ago

              It could be. But I think it is more likely they are also downsizing because they are poorer and the media is trying to spin it as "you are getting your freedom".

              1. Atanarjuat   11 years ago

                They totally are spinning it, in the vein of the press secretary's "those unemployed people were given the freedom to pursue hobbies".

            2. kilroy   11 years ago

              property taxes that always move in one direction

              Actually, my property taxes have gone down by about 30% since 2008. The Zillow estimate on my home value has dropped about 10% over the same period.

          2. robc   11 years ago

            I think the house value of 2.5x annual salary is still a good rule of thumb. There are way too many people with 5 digit household incomes living in 300k homes.

            1. Brandon   11 years ago

              Huh. Our house was about 1.5x our annual salary. Guess we could've done better.

            2. Brett L   11 years ago

              Good news, my house started at 3x my annual salary, and between raises and devaluation, is now less than 1.5x. Wait...

        3. Certified Public Asskicker   11 years ago

          Yeah, I poked fun above, but I hate owning stuff so I generally like the idea of not living in giant spaces.

          My house is only about 1,500 sq ft and I still have spaces that are empty.

          1. Rhywun   11 years ago

            Same here. I guess my apartment is around 800 sq ft but I have a whole room just for the cat box and some misc junk in the closet. A lot of my friends have so much shit it amazes me. I like to watch Hoarders and marvel at how those people are the exact opposite of me.

        4. thom   11 years ago

          To me, there is such a thing as too much house. I've found that about 1000 square feet is the sweet spot for me. Any less I start to feel cramped, any more is just unused space I have to clean.

        5. mad.casual   11 years ago

          But it is cheaper to live in a smaller space - and it leaves more money for other things, like a nice car or whatever else you like to spend your money on.

          At $30K for 500 sq. ft. that's pricier, smaller, and (from the pictures) shittier than many of the mobile homes I've been in.

          I understand the economics of buying a smaller home, that's not what this is. This is putting the biggest contribution in your particular church's offering plate as loudly as possible.

      2. Spoonman.   11 years ago

        Well, I'm in the process of moving from 3200 sf to 1900 sf, but that's because in 3200 sf I am doing OK and in 1900 sf I am rich.

        1. Lord Humungus   11 years ago

          I moved from a larger house to smaller digs. Of course the new place is in a much, much better neighborhood + school.

    4. UnCivilServant   11 years ago

      My apartment is bigger than 500 sq ft. I wouldn't stuff four people into that space.

      1. KDN   11 years ago

        I previously lived in a ~750 sq ft one bedroom w/ my wife. Much of the complex was Indian immigrants living 4-8 in the same space. I could see how it's doable, but that just can't be comfortable.

        1. Injun, as in from India   11 years ago

          I lived like that too, but I was in college back then. No way would I do it now.

    5. DJF   11 years ago

      Its a bit much to claim small houses are winning big when their own story says that the average house is getting bigger.

      1. Swiss Servator, Alles Klar   11 years ago

        Revolutionary Truth, Comrade - do you doubt it???

    6. waffles   11 years ago

      So, hipster homes? I'm not gonna lie, I dig it.

    7. sloopyinva (previously -inca)   11 years ago

      I wonder how much of this is market grab by a guy who lives in a state that is starting to mandate a certain %age of new houses be small.

      It's not a bad idea, but wish it we're the market creating it rather than government regulation.

      1. Jerryskids   11 years ago

        Since when has government mandated smaller houses, and how the hell do these houses conform to zoning laws? My county has a 'temporary' moratorium on multi-family housing that's been in place about 7 or 8 years now and upped the square footage requirement "to maintain the character of the community", i.e., keep out poor people who can't afford big fancy houses or even want to live in small houses that makes it look like they can't afford big fancy houses. Grandfathered duplexes and small houses are hard to find on the market and fetch a premium price. A single person or a retired couple can live quite comfortably in a two bedroom 1,000 s.f. house and have more money for travel and leisure, but not in this county.

        1. sloopyinva (previously -inca)   11 years ago

          Look up Plan Bay Area. They're mandating that growth in a nine county area have a certain percentage of homes built for low income people as well as a certain percentage be within walking distance of BART stations. And the only way to accomplish the goals is to build considerably smaller homes in certain areas.

          It was challenged by a couple of municipalities and the challenge was just rejected a few days ago.

        2. sloopyinva (previously -inca)   11 years ago

          Look up Plan Bay Area. They're mandating that growth in a nine county area have a certain percentage of homes built for low income people as well as a certain percentage be within walking distance of BART stations. And the only way to accomplish the goals is to build considerably smaller homes in certain areas.

          It was challenged by a couple of municipalities and the challenge was just rejected a few days ago.

          1. Rhywun   11 years ago

            In an area with high demand, little to no room to build on, and decent transit - why wouldn't that happen by itself?

            1. sloopyinva (previously -inca)   11 years ago

              Nothing happens in the Bay Area unless the government deems it to be.

    8. Fr?ulein Nikki   11 years ago

      who shares a 500-square foot home with his wife and two young children

      Child abuse.

      1. Warty   11 years ago

        Little House in the Big Smug

        1. Big Chief   11 years ago

          * golf clap *

    9. Lord Humungus   11 years ago

      I've often thought about making an old fashioned log cabin - one large "communal" room (kitchen + living), a loft for sleeping, a side bedroom, and a bathroom.

      Then I think how nuts I would go without some additional privacy.

      1. Ted S.   11 years ago

        Sounds like the Finnish m?kki that everybody goes to for their summer holidays.

        1. db   11 years ago

          Well, yeah, often people on vacation stay in a small space, because they want to experience the place they went to vacation, not the.inside of a building.

    10. db   11 years ago

      Alright, I had a long and thoughtful reply to this that I typed twice, only to lose it. Suffice to say, not everyone can be.squeezed into a small urban living space without going nuts. Many people value quiet time alone more than the.bustle of city streets, and when.you live.in a shoebox, I.imagine you spend much.of your time and money outside.of it. If all you have is room to sleep, you either.live a super boring existence, or you depend on others to share or rent their space to you.

    11. lap83   11 years ago

      You know who else thought cramming people into tiny quarters would improve economic freedom?

      1. sloopyinva (previously -inca)   11 years ago

        People at the US Mint?

        1. Rich   11 years ago

          Nice.

        2. lap83   11 years ago

          Nice one, although I kind of doubt they want economic freedom...wouldn't be good for job security.

        3. Swiss Servator, Alles Klar   11 years ago

          *applause*

      2. Lord Humungus   11 years ago

        The Soviets?

    12. Rasilio   11 years ago

      If you really want economic freedom. Don't buy a friggin house

  9. John   11 years ago

    Researchers say it's less a matter of single moms and more about parents shacking up without tying the knot.

    But I thought marriage was this giant welfare program built on the backs of the gays. How could it be that people don't take advantage of such. Perhaps marriage isn't quite the big government welfare program Reason always says it is? Never!!

    1. AdamJ   11 years ago

      I pay more in taxes now that I'm married. But we have no kids.

      1. WTF   11 years ago

        Me too. I think it's the lack of kids that screws us, too.

        1. gaijin   11 years ago

          Trust me, you pay more when you have kids than you get credit for on your tax bill. But it's all worth it, right?

          1. Swiss Servator, Alles Klar   11 years ago

            Certainly is worth it!

      2. Rasilio   11 years ago

        I'm not sure how different our tax situation would be if my wife and I were not married but my wife has more than $20k in student loans she would not have had to take out if we had not been married and I won't even get into the fact that if we were not married she would qualify for tons of free shit that we could never qualify for together

    2. sloopyinva (previously -inca)   11 years ago

      But with the government rewriting a lot of the welfare programs (read: ACA subsidies) to benefit singles, methinks reason was in fact correct in their assessment.

      You look at it differently because you're a productive member of society whose income level likely renders the benefit/drain of marriage financially irrelevant. But there are a lot of people out there whose status in that 1099 box makes a whole lot of difference in the amount of free shit they get.

      1. John   11 years ago

        It has been the case for a long time that the easiest welfare scam is to have kids and never marry their father. If dad has a job, you can live with him and get welfare. Since you are not married, his income doesn't count for your welfare eligibility.

        The government basically pays mothers to have kids and not get married. Unsurprisingly, that is exactly what they do.

        1. sloopyinva (previously -inca)   11 years ago

          I guess I just didn't get your jab at reason.

          For the longest time, there were certain bennies only married people got while gay couples we're excluded.me so in a way, my getting married so Kara could be on my insurance was being done on the backs of others in a similar relationship that the state refused to recognize.

          And now that gay couples are free to get those same bennies, the story reverts back to welfare queens gaming the system for more free shit. Only now we're adding in the ACA to the equation so there's even more incentive to not get married for people otherwise disposed to.

          Sorry, I just don't see where your beef is applicable here.

          1. Fr?ulein Nikki   11 years ago

            That's because it's more like a meatloaf than a pure beef.

            1. Swiss Servator, Alles Klar   11 years ago

              A beefloaf?

              1. db   11 years ago

                Meatcake!

            2. sloopyinva (previously -inca)   11 years ago

              When's the wedding?

              And where's our invite?

              1. generic Brand   11 years ago

                At the rate you two are producing kids, Banjos wouldn't be able to fly to the wedding anyway. 😛

                1. sloopyinva (previously -inca)   11 years ago

                  She's not pregnant this year.

                  Yet.

                  1. SugarFree   11 years ago

                    It's like her uterus has a crosshair painted over it.

          2. John   11 years ago

            If marriage produces so many bennies, then why are people living together and choosing not to get married?

            If there really was free shit to be had by getting married, it would create incentive to get married that wasn't there before. If that were true, marriage rates should be going up in response to the incentives. Yet, marriage rates are doing the exact opposite.

            The truth is there never were nay bennies to getting married. The government has been creating disincentives to get married for over 50 years now. The idea that there was was just bullshit put out by the pro gay marriage people.

            1. Bo Cara Esq.   11 years ago

              If marriage is as disincentivized as you say, why do gays want to get married?

              1. Restoras   11 years ago

                Maybe it's part of their quest for greater/full social acceptance?

                1. John   11 years ago

                  It is that Restoras. The power of the gun via government certainly makes that quest easier.

                2. Bo Cara Esq.   11 years ago

                  I just have a hard time thinking most people would accept a disadvantageous position for themselves to make such a point, but I guess its possible.

                  I think they likely want what sloopyinva is talking about, plus some people see marriage as having non-economic values and they see government recognized marriage as 'real marriage.'

              2. John   11 years ago

                There is no evidence the majority of them want to. They just want the "right to" and they also want the right to fuck with their cultural enemies.

              3. Rasilio   11 years ago

                This is actually a VERY easy question to answer.

                For a heterosexual couple that never marries no one will ever challenge their long time partner's role in their lives. For a homosexual couple they will.

                So if your life partner of 20 years is sick in the hospital whether the staff assumes you are "family" or not determines if you are allowed to visit past "visiting hours", whether you are capable of making decisions for them (sometimes even in the face of medical power of attorney contracts). For an unmarried heterosexual couple they are very likely to just assume you are married and treat your partner as your spouse. For a homosexual couple this is often no the case.

                Therefore the benefits and incentives for marriage are actually different for heterosexual and homosexual couples and there is more of an impetus for homosexual couples to seek the institution out.

            2. sloopyinva (previously -inca)   11 years ago

              I never said there was free shit, and if I gave that impression I apologize. I was merely saying that only married couples got certain rights, like survivorship benefits and the family coverages for group insurance (due to regulations). Those are pretty big incentives to the productive class if you ask me.

              1. John   11 years ago

                I used to think that too Sloopy. But the more I think about it the more I think gays were better off being outside the marriage system. Before gay marriage they were free to create whatever relationships they wanted. Now they are stuck in the ones the government mandates.

                1. sloopyinva (previously -inca)   11 years ago

                  They may have been free to create whatever relationships they wanted...except for the one most socially recognized by society writ large.

                  And also, insurance, adoption and survivorship benefits were being withheld/restricted until the marriage issue became a moot point. And I think those are/were pretty important to a lot of gay couples.

                  1. mad.casual   11 years ago

                    And also, insurance, adoption and survivorship benefits were being withheld/restricted until the marriage issue became a moot point. And I think those are/were pretty important to a lot of gay couples.

                    IMO, this is still a bit of a "fuck you" from the "gay rights" community.

                    Being denied these benefits is only a violation of a fundamental human right if they're gay. And the only way to deal with being denied these things is to make the Federal Gov't and subsequently each and every state legislature create, not just civil unions (which are/were more generally inclusive), but gay marriage.

                    At the very least, it sounds more of the same shitty logic that created whatever 1100 legal privileges that went into marriage in the first place.

            3. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

              then why are people living together and choosing not to get married?

              They aren't; He is. And can you blame him with how divorce is handled in this country?

        2. Jerms   11 years ago

          Hasidic Jews are famous for this in Brooklyn. They get married but dont invole the government in it, and the wives collect on the ten kids they have. Then they shave their heads and put a wig on.

    3. Notorious G.K.C.   11 years ago

      Perhaps some people have got the strange idea that the law makes a marriage a raw deal for them?

      1. John   11 years ago

        You mean having to go before a judge and ask permission to split up and be forced to split up by the terms some stranger decides might be a downside?

    4. Drake   11 years ago

      And all the wonderful tax incentives to get married! Unless of course you both actually work and already pay taxes.

      1. AdamJ   11 years ago

        Yep.

      2. Bubba Jones   11 years ago

        There are no tax incentives for people who don't pay federal income tax.

        1. Swiss Servator, Alles Klar   11 years ago

          EIC?

  10. Fist of Etiquette   11 years ago

    Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah told supporters Tuesday that he needs more time to decide whether to declare his own government...

    I'm declaring my own comments section. AND I'M FIRST!

    1. WTF   11 years ago

      AND I'M FIRST!

      FTFY

    2. Swiss Servator, Alles Klar   11 years ago

      The First Fist, Leader of the Glorious new Declared Comment Republic of H&R is Fist of Etiquette!

      1. gaijin   11 years ago

        Don;t you mean "Declared Comment Monarchy"?

        1. Fist of Etiquette   11 years ago

          We're calling it a republic for marketing purposes.

    3. sloopyinva (previously -inca)   11 years ago

      Splitter!

      1. Swiss Servator, Alles Klar   11 years ago

        Literally!

        *runs from room*

    4. The Last American Hero   11 years ago

      Are you equipped to rule? Do you have a phone and a pen?

      1. Fist of Etiquette   11 years ago

        I shan't be issuing any dictates. Seems like a lot of work.

  11. WTF   11 years ago

    Congressional Democrats have developed legislation to override the Supreme Court decision

    They think they can override a constitutional right with legislation? After the Nazgul just knocked down that very thing? We really are doomed.

    1. Notorious G.K.C.   11 years ago

      RFRA is a statute, albeit a statute attempting to override a Supreme Court misinterpretation of the Constitution.

      1. db   11 years ago

        I was surprise the SCOTUS bothered to rule on such a question: whether a statue trumps a regulation. One imagines they would strike down any law designed so blatantly to limit 1A rights...*giggles*

    2. gaijin   11 years ago

      Weren't they grumbling about doing the same thing for Citizens United? I'd have figured they'd try a 2A override first...because they are that insane.

    3. Drake   11 years ago

      Republican should attach an amendment that requires employers to fund employees Second Amendment rights.

      1. WTF   11 years ago

        Sure, since there is actually an enumerated right to keep and bear arms, then it would be fine to require businesses such as the NY Times to provide guns for their employees.

      2. Auric Demonocles   11 years ago

        Also, give employees bacon cheeseburgers, CO2 machines, and NASCAR tickets.

      3. John   11 years ago

        Require employers to give all employees two hours off per week to attend religious services.

      4. Bo Cara Esq.   11 years ago

        All they need do is wait for a Republican administration's HHS to put out a regulation mandating employer's insurance cover pro-life 'crisis pregnancy counseling' to spark the hypocrisy.

        1. sloopyinva (previously -inca)   11 years ago

          You are starting to morph completely into shrike, do you know that?

          This is a libertarian site, not one for GOPer fanbois.

          1. The Last American Hero   11 years ago

            Bo's right here. I think he's arguing more of the "Hey Lefty, if a President Santorum did the kind of stuff Barry does, here's what it would look like."

          2. Bo Cara Esq.   11 years ago

            Do you not get this post is in agreement with all the others? Liberals who support the contraceptive mandate are so short sighted and unprincipled they do not realize that the same HHS that can make a regulation mandating something they think is good (BC) can tomorrow with a different administration be one mandating something they will go 'ape crazy' about.

            1. sloopyinva (previously -inca)   11 years ago

              Then I guess I misread your comment. You're so quick to accuse the right of hypocrisy that I assumed you thought a GOP admin would propose such a regulation and the hypocrisy would be from their side.

              1. Bo Cara Esq.   11 years ago

                I guess it would have been wishful thinking to think you'd just admit you were wrong in your rush to attack me.

                1. sloopyinva (previously -inca)   11 years ago

                  First off, I apologize for,misreading your comment.

                  Secondly, it took me 16 minutes. Hardly a rush.

                2. robc   11 years ago

                  Ummm...he did.

                3. Freedom Frog   11 years ago

                  You have a track record of doing exactly that, to be fair.

        2. Injun, as in from India   11 years ago

          I made a similar argument to a friend, but used gay conversion therapy as an analogy. Mandate that the employer provide it, and let the employees choose whether they want it or not. I got blank stares at first, and them arguments about how gay conversion therapy is unscientific and opposed by the American Psychiatry Association or something. My point was entirely lost.

          Bo's analogy is better and closely related to the case.

          1. Bo Cara Esq.   11 years ago

            "arguments about how gay conversion therapy is unscientific and opposed by the American Psychiatry Association"

            Good grief, it's like if a Comittee of 'experts' had passed on it then it would be ok to force people to do!

            Progressivism in a nutshell, I submit.

            1. mad.casual   11 years ago

              Good grief, it's like if a Comittee of 'experts' had passed on it then it would be ok to force people to do!

              I don't know his friend but it wouldn't surprise me if they are that batshit crazy about it.

              There are forumites around these parts that are that start to tilt in crazy directions about it.

          2. Rasilio   11 years ago

            How about Prostitute coverage.

            Well really sex therapist might be a better term but there are already a couple of European countries who cover payment for prostitution services to the "disabled" on the grounds that sex is a fundamental human right

        3. Don Mynack   11 years ago

          Agreed.

        4. Bryan C   11 years ago

          That's ok. The screams of hypocrisy are nicely drowned out by the unceasing leaden clangs of cognitive dissonance echoing inside their heads.

      5. Rich   11 years ago

        "Are you serious?"

      6. Elspeth Flashman   11 years ago

        This idea (the proposed legislation to override a decision) just seems so . . . stupid. And pandering. And makes me so annoyed with the constant one-upmanship from the left. Also, does no one on their side get Con Law?

        1. Auric Demonocles   11 years ago

          Well, the President was a (n adjunct) professor and there are some who say he is a "constitutional scholar" .

  12. Lord Humungus   11 years ago

    How To Blow $9 Billion: The Fallen Stroh Family

    And in the 1980s Stroh's surged, emerging as one of America's fastest-growing companies and the country's third-largest brewing empire, behind only public behemoths Anheuser-Busch and Miller. The Stroh family owned it all, a fortune that FORBES then calculated was worth at least $700 million. Just by matching the S&P 500, the family would currently be worth about $9 billion.

    Yet today the Strohs, as a family business or even a collective financial entity, have ceased to exist. The company has been sold for parts. The trust funds have doled out their last pennies to shareholders. While there was enough cash flowing for enough years that the fifth generation Strohs still seem pretty comfortable, the family looks destined to go shirtsleeves-to-shirtsleeves in six.

    Someone tell Thomas Piketty.

    1. John   11 years ago

      When a company stays in business, the progs tell us it is the market failing by creating an oligarchy. When a big company goes out of business, the progs tell us the market failed and destroyed this great thing. Funny that.

      1. thom   11 years ago

        It's a core tenet of progressivism that the market always fails. It sounds like the fate of the Strohs wasn't determined by government experts, who would have had sound reasons for either allowing the company to stay in business or forcing the company to shut down. Instead the "market" did this, with no regard to reason or rationality at all.

    2. Drake   11 years ago

      My roommate was an intern there in the early 90's. He can't be surprised. Great stories about incompetence and drunkenness.

      Beer was free in the cafeteria - and he quickly learned to never schedule an afternoon meeting because everyone was drunk and/or asleep.

      1. Lord Humungus   11 years ago

        sounds like a good place to work - provided you don't want to actually accomplish anything.

      2. The Last American Hero   11 years ago

        Plus, good ice cream.

    3. robc   11 years ago

      There is a lot of interesting shit from the beer wars era. It wasnt clear until it was over who was gonna survive. In 1980 no one would have predicted Bud Miller Coors and sorta Pabst.

  13. Lord Humungus   11 years ago

    'Buffalo' Bill Hillmann, Author of Pamplona Bull Run Guide, Gets Gored

    A Chicago author who penned a guide to surviving Pamplona's famous bull run should perhaps have read his own work more closely, given that he was gored on Wednesday. "Buffalo" Bill Hillmann is described as one of the best bull runners in America and co-wrote the influential guide "How to Survive the Bulls of Pamplona." But the bulls clearly have no respect for such honors, and 32-year-old Hillmann was gored in the leg after he tripped during Wednesday's morning run, according to the website Sanfermin.com. Alexander Fiske-Harrison, one of Hillmann's co-authors, wrote on his blog that his injured friend was doing well after surgery.

    1. John   11 years ago

      Sometimes you get the horns I guess.

    2. Notorious G.K.C.   11 years ago

      The Battle of Bull Run?

    3. UnCivilServant   11 years ago

      Shorter "How to Survive the Bulls of Pamplona" - stay out of Spain.

      1. Swiss Servator, Alles Klar   11 years ago

        Avoidance is a fairly foolproof risk management technique.

    4. AdamJ   11 years ago

      Tip #1: don't trip whilst running from angry bulls.

    5. Matrix   11 years ago

      Maybe the bull read his book as well?

      1. WTF   11 years ago

        "Hillman, you magnificent bastard, I read your book!"
        -The Bull

        1. Swiss Servator, Alles Klar   11 years ago

          +1 minute faster

      2. Lord Humungus   11 years ago

        You magnificent bastard, I read your book!

        1. Lord Humungus   11 years ago

          damn you, WTF!

    6. Pro Libertate   11 years ago

      The trick is to get tight. Real tight. And run with a friend from the war who got his balls shot off.

  14. Longtorso, Johnny   11 years ago

    The Environmental Protection Agency quietly slipped a note into last week's Federal Register asserting its right to "garnish non-Federal wages to collect delinquent non-tax debts owed the United States without first obtaining a court order." Oh, is that all?

    Between this new found ability to raise revenue and this new found ability to spend it, both without Congressional input, we've pretty much tossed away the last remnants of the Old Republic.

    1. Jerryskids   11 years ago

      I swear to gourd, keep an eye on the EPA - that's where the coup is coming from. From the fact that they don't have to do cost/benefit analyses on their regulations to the SC argument that you have no right of recourse to appeal their process outside of the EPA itself, to the 'due deference' that says they have the final say in interpreting their own regulations (even if they decide after 40 years that their interpretation has to be re-interpreted) to the ever-expanding jurisdiction, at some point the EPA is going to be the first executive branch agency to declare its' sovereignty from the rest of the federal government.

      They've already argued that the SC can't tell them what to do, they've already argued that Congress can't tell them what to do, the next R president will be told he can't tell them what to do. With their own army of EPA SWAT-team enforcers and their own revenue source of fines, a blank check to write and enforce and interpret their own laws, and a wholly internal adjudication system, what do they need any other government agency for?

      And when they start fighting a holy war against those who would profane Goddess Gaia, forced to do so because the morally weak-willed cowards in the rest of the government refuse to save Humanity from itself, there will be a ton of supporters applauding their bold action.

      1. pan fried wylie   11 years ago

        there will be a ton of supporters applauding their bold action.

        "This is how liberty dies....to thunderous applause."

        /iblametheprequeltrilogy

  15. Lord Humungus   11 years ago

    Stripper is terrorizing my family, woman claims

    Rogers said she was a student who worked at the strip club Deja Vu in downtown Los Angeles.

    Everything was fine for the first year.

    But in late 2013, Carrie said Roger's friends moved in, she got cats, installed an air conditioner and started making a lot of noise at odd hours of the night.

    "The screaming, the spanking, the moaning ? that would wake the dead and my 5-year-old," Carrie said.

    1. John   11 years ago

      "The screaming, the spanking, the moaning

      Let it not be said Rogers isn't a good time. And who on earth has a five year old and wants to live a quiet life takes a stripper in as a roommate?

      1. AdamJ   11 years ago

        Someone looking to go halvsies on bulk glitter and body oil?

        1. John   11 years ago

          There is that. I am thinking there are a lot of people in Las Vegas who don't have small children who are sorry they missed out on renting a room to Rogers. I know I would be.

      2. Ken Shultz   11 years ago

        $1,500 a month for a room.

        She must live in Manhattan Beach.

        1. John   11 years ago

          Or maybe no one would rent to her and she was forced to pay a premium to someone who would.

          1. Auric Demonocles   11 years ago

            The government should have forbidden that price gouging!

    2. lap83   11 years ago

      I don't think I'd want a stripper for a roommate even without kids. From my experience they're some of the dumbest creatures on the planet and I've watched MSNBC.

      1. John   11 years ago

        Most of them are pretty fucked in the head. It is fun to tell yourself that we should all be free sexually and doing things like take your clothes off and let strange men grope you for money should be just like any other way to make a living but it is just not true. It is true for a small number of people. But for most women doing that does something really bad to their self image or their doing it is the result of them being fucked up to begin with. It is just the way it is.

        1. Warty   11 years ago

          I have a friend who's a former stripper. She's an odd one, that's for sure.

        2. sloopyinva (previously -inca)   11 years ago

          You know the thing about a stripper, she's got... lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's eye. When she comes at ya, doesn't seem to be livin'.

          1. Idle Hands   11 years ago

            +1 bigger pole

        3. Rasilio   11 years ago

          I think you are wrong about the job doing something bad for their self image but I will agree that the overwhelming majority of the people who would ever consider taking a job like that are pretty fucked up in the head before they ever take it and that kind of career is certainly not going to help them one bit.

      2. The Sego Sago Kid   11 years ago

        I had a stripper for a roommate for a short time in college. She was the girlfriend of one of my other roommates, and he invited her to stay in the apartment (without asking myself or the other guy). She was pretty touched in the head. She'd spend hours screaming and crying on the phone in polish to her mom. Every fucking day. Also her thighs were like tree trunks, which I assume was from all the pole dancing.

        Also, I currently have a stalker who is an ex-stripper. She's clearly insane, but she keeps texting me nudes, so I haven't called the cops.

        1. Warty   11 years ago

          PICS YOU IDIOT

          1. Jerryskids   11 years ago

            Be careful what you wish for, she not only has thighs like tree trunks, she has an Adams apple like a baseball. And those are dick pics.

            1. The Sego Sago Kid   11 years ago

              Jerryskids, this is Warty you're talking to here. Are you trying to get him all horned up?

        2. John   11 years ago

          I will give you credit, you really have a high class of stalker. My compliments.

  16. sarcasmic   11 years ago

    Quacking down on crime: Police department's Duck of Justice stalks the streets of Maine? and has the bad guys in a flap
    Bangor Police has had 20,000 Facebook likes thanks to a stuffed duck
    The duck, dubbed the 'Duck of Justice', appears in numerous photographs
    The police see the duck as an effective way of interacting with the public

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

    'It's definitely a new way of engaging with the public,' Marshall said. 'I admire the Bangor police department for being bold enough to expose their humanity.'

    They're cops. They have no humanity to expose.

    1. Rich   11 years ago

      What's the bill for this "Duck of Justice"?

      1. Swiss Servator, Alles Klar   11 years ago

        *narrows gaze*

        1. Rich   11 years ago

          "Suffering succotash!"

    2. Shirley Knott   11 years ago

      Duck you, that's why.

    3. db   11 years ago

      I wouldn't give them too much credit...they thought they were.ordering a "Duke of Justice."

      1. WTF   11 years ago

        "Duck, I sez."

      2. sloopyinva (previously -inca)   11 years ago

        Their mascot ought to be a dick of justice:

        http://smg.photobucket.com/use.....e.jpg.html

        1. BakedPenguin   11 years ago

          "I am the cock of jurisprudence, I am the penis of truth and right, I AM...
          THE DICK OF JUSTICE!"

          1. sloopyinva (previously -inca)   11 years ago

            Clapclapclapclapclap

            Ok, now do one where the President is actually a talking asshole.

        2. db   11 years ago

          Does that have sound? Because all I got was a candy bar ad.

    4. Matrix   11 years ago

      This is taking away jobs from real duck superheroes like Darkwing Duck and Batduck!

      1. mad.casual   11 years ago

        Gizmoduck talented enough to avoid the downturn?

    5. Injun, as in from India   11 years ago

      I've never been duck hunting, and I'm very interested now.

    6. Bryan C   11 years ago

      Duck Season!

    7. Rasilio   11 years ago

      I don't know. Bangor probably has low enough crime that the rot might not have totally spread there

  17. sarcasmic   11 years ago

    Just when you thought it was safe... Sharks painted as backdrop at Chinese water park
    Terrifying giant sharks painted on the walls of a Chinese water park
    Bizarre backdrop did little to put off crowds seeking refuge from heatwave

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....-park.html
    That's funny.

    1. some guy   11 years ago

      The number of adult lifevests in those pictures is... disturbing.

  18. Longtorso, Johnny   11 years ago

    That time Obama shook hands with a man wearing a horse mask

  19. Matrix   11 years ago

    Repost from late last night in PM Links:Officers beat and sic K9 on man for filming them beating a woman
    Queen claims the authorities confiscated his phone and erased the video of police beating up the woman before giving him back the device.
    Let this be a lesson... live stream that shit and password your phone.
    Trenton already lost a case last year for the exact same thing... someone recorded the police beating up someone. That person got an ass kicking for not turning over the phone so the evidence could be erased. The only thing that needs to be erased is the Trenton PD.

  20. sarcasmic   11 years ago

    The 60-year-old hipster! John Malkovich displays his individual taste in fashion as he sports chunky turn-ups in New York City

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....-City.html
    Looks more queer than hipster. NTTAWWT

    1. Rufus J. Firefly   11 years ago

      Being John Malkovich.

      1. MJGreen   11 years ago

        Malkovich Malkovich? Malkovich.

    2. Whahappan?   11 years ago

      The real question is, WTF is wrong with them, wearing jackets, a hat and a scarf in fucking July in NYC? Even if it was early morning, it would have been in the low 70's, and heating up fast.

      1. mad.casual   11 years ago

        When you're that cool...

  21. Rich   11 years ago

    The bill would ensure that women had access to insurance coverage for birth control even if they worked for businesses that had religious objections.

    ? la carte coverage independent of one's employment, one might suppose?

  22. sarcasmic   11 years ago

    Could you pass this kindergarten admissions test? The tough new exam for New York City's private schools

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/fem.....-exam.html
    Too tough for Tony or PB.

    1. Rich   11 years ago

      What did Lily do ...?

      Since Lily is depicted as a person of color, one might be tempted to go with "ripped off a can of soda".

      1. sloopyinva (previously -inca)   11 years ago

        False, and you fail.

        The correct answer is, "This is a trick question. Lily lives in manhattan, therefore her maid Consuela does the shopping."

    2. Rhywun   11 years ago

      Surely not all the kids that get in are taking that test? I imagine there is a different "test" for a lot of them.

  23. Matrix   11 years ago

    The Environmental Protection Agency quietly slipped a note into last week's Federal Register asserting its right to "garnish non-Federal wages to collect delinquent non-tax debts owed the United States without first obtaining a court order." Oh, is that all?

    How do I due process?

    1. Jerryskids   11 years ago

      Due process is whatever the EPA says it is. I'm sure they have some secret group of top advisors using a secret garnishment matrix to determine who gets whacked with a garnishment and there's a secret court that has signed off on all this with a secret ruling making it all ok.

  24. sarcasmic   11 years ago

    Ashley Roberts goes topless as she suns herself in Ibiza wearing just her multi-coloured bikini bottoms

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....Ibiza.html
    They pixelate her nipples when she's standing, but not when she's laying on her back. Weird.

    1. kilroy   11 years ago

      The uncensored version if you are so inclined.

      Obviously NSFW.

  25. Lord Humungus   11 years ago

    Amanda Marcotte: Obama's Contraception Mandate: Still Punking the GOP

    Have a good laugh, guys, but it's a stretch to think the Obama administration has egg on its face. The requirement that health insurance plans cover contraception without a copay is still in place, and most employers are actually complying without much of a fuss because most of them are smart enough to prefer the cost savings you get from covering contraception to worrying about what their employees are up to in their private time at home. While the Department of Health and Human Services still hasn't addressed how corporations will be able to access their new right to opt out, it still remains possible, even likely, that the administration will simply do what it did for nonprofits back when I wrote that post: require insurance companies to cover female employees directly so that contraception access is not dependent on your boss's whims. Democrats are already drafting a bill that would provide a similar accommodation.

    1. John   11 years ago

      Every poll I have seen shows that a healthy majority, 60% or more, support the Hobby Lobby decision. I guess I am missing the genius of forcing your opponents to take a popular position.

      The Progs I think have finally found a position so ridiculous even the average low information voter won't buy it.

      1. WTF   11 years ago

        Free shit, John. FREE SHIT.

        1. John   11 years ago

          The 40% free shit people already vote Democrat.

          1. Bo Cara Esq.   11 years ago

            Down 7%?

            1. John   11 years ago

              According to the polls, yes, at least with regard to this particular piece of free shit.

              The problem with the "but everyone wants free shit" theory of voting is that not everyone wants the same free shit. And people are always happy to vote against other people's free shit.

          2. Auric Demonocles   11 years ago

            The problem for them is that birth control is one thing involved with health that most people have a good idea of the cost.

            1. John   11 years ago

              Yes. And more than half of the population has no need for it. The only people who want birth control are young unmarried women and married women who don't want kids. Most of those women vote Democrat anyway. So what does this issue buy them?

              1. Bo Cara Esq.   11 years ago

                Political parties have to do things for their base occasionally, lest they lose them.

    2. Fr?ulein Nikki   11 years ago

      So she may have read the decision at this point.

    3. Don Mynack   11 years ago

      http://www.goodrx.com/ella

      Ella costs a whopping $41 at Kroger, with no insurance. A drug you have to take ONCE - that's not even a weekly prescription you have to fill. So, liberals are freaking out about a company that pays its employees a minimum wage of $15/hr, provides generous bennies and vacay, and is requiring its employees to pay 1/5 of what an entry level smart phone costs for drug they will hopefully never have to take again, plus covers the medical if you have any side effects.

      What exactly are they mad about here?

    4. MJGreen   11 years ago

      Yes. That's what we've all been saying. That's why we laugh at the hysterics over it.

      So we can all agree that the HL decision was nothing huge? I have a feeling Marcotte and friends will not be so cool about it as the midterms get closer.

    5. pan fried wylie   11 years ago

      smart enough to prefer the cost savings you get from covering contraception to worrying about what their employees are up to in their private time at home.

      Huh?

      1. mad.casual   11 years ago

        I've seen the tactic with firearms from the left. "My opponents support of the NRA is a direct indication of his support for ."

        I can only assume, in some collection hyper-feminist of minds somewhere; that not paying to have women forcibly sterilized is tantamount to raping them.

        Given those people I can only assume greater numbers with more "mild" suppositions like; "The GOP doesn't want to pay for my BC because they think abstinence is the best policy or women should be barefoot and pregnant or the Church is against it."

        You need to assume a weird sort of anti-logic to grasp the concepts. I mean, she uses the phrase "prefer the cost savings" like employers were falling all over themselves to provide birth control and screaming at the top of their lungs to get Obama to finally sign the ACA into law.

    6. Jerryskids   11 years ago

      Holy shit - you mean to tell me that Congress is going to pass a bill allowing/requiring HHS to do exactly what the Supreme Court suggested HHS do, except that the requirement the SC ordered HHS to change is one HHS wrote itself? Tell me this isn't grand-standing by Congress.

  26. sarcasmic   11 years ago

    National Park Service bans all drones within their borders
    New regulation went into effect in June
    Exemptions could be made for scientific use or search-and-rescue missions
    FAA is currently developing federal code on drone use

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....rders.html
    That which is not allowed is verboten.

    The ban is meant as a temporary measure as the government assesses how to best pilot the machines over populated areas.

    Um, yeah. That makes sense. Ban the machines over unpopulated areas while they assess how to best pilot them over populated areas. That's government.

    1. db   11 years ago

      Dude, that is how the FAA works. It starts by prohibiting absolutely everything in the National Airspace System, and then doles out "authorization" to do certain things to certain entities.

  27. Fist of Etiquette   11 years ago

    The Environmental Protection Agency quietly slipped a note into last week's Federal Register asserting its right to "garnish non-Federal wages to collect delinquent non-tax debts owed the United States without first obtaining a court order."

    They realized controlling money is where the real power is.

    1. Jerryskids   11 years ago

      They need to fund their SWAT teams.

  28. sarcasmic   11 years ago

    Girl power! Liv Tyler champions Hillary Clinton for president as she flashes her long slender legs in outdoor fashion shoot

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....shoot.html
    What a maroon.

    1. WTF   11 years ago

      What difference at this point does it make?

    2. Idle Hands   11 years ago

      Still the best thing Steven Tyler ever produced.

  29. Lord Humungus   11 years ago

    A Window Opens Onto the Left-Wing Conspiracy

    The Democracy Alliance is not a famous organization, but it deserves to be. The Alliance consists of approximately 100 rich liberals who have taken upon themselves the task of coordinating America's many left-wing organizations to promote a single radical agenda. The Alliance does not publicize the names of its members, but it held a conference for its "partners" and membership prospects in April, at the Ritz Carlton Hotel (naturally) in Chicago. Someone who attended the conference unfortunately (heh) left his or her copy of the documents passed out by the Democracy Alliance behind, and they eventually fell into the wrong hands. Ours.

    In the document below, you can see the agenda for the April DA conference and get information about DA's partners, among other things.

    1. gaijin   11 years ago

      A Window Opens Onto the Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy

      Fixed!

  30. Lord Humungus   11 years ago

    Jonah Goldberg: Our Conservative Popular Culture
    Does the Left really have a monopoly on storytelling today?

    One explanation is that while it is true that culture is upstream from politics, reality and, I would argue, morality are upstream from culture. Good stories must align with reality and a sense of justice. They can be set in space or Middle Earth, but if they don't tap into something real about the human condition, they will fail. As Margaret Thatcher used to say, "The facts of life are conservative."

    Confirmation of that, I think, can be found in liberal Hollywood's failure to be as liberal as it wants to be. And that's definitely funny because it's true.

    1. John   11 years ago

      Hollywood loves to make liberal polemics. They just don't sell any tickets. If they want to make money, they have to make at least a neutral and likely a conservative movie. All of the really big money making movies have at least a pro freedom or a pro American message.

      1. Bo Cara Esq.   11 years ago

        Transformers?

        1. John   11 years ago

          Haven't seen it. But I have never heard where it had any kind of a liberal message. Even if it did, it is just the exception that proves the rule.

          Actually, the better example is Avatar, which was a total liberal crapfest and made a fortune, though you could argue it made money because of its special effects and in spite of its idiotic political messages.

          1. Bo Cara Esq.   11 years ago

            I agree it had an idiotic message. Let's all live in trees!

            1. John   11 years ago

              And a primitive civilization would be able to defeat one advanced enough for interstellar travel.

              1. Bo Cara Esq.   11 years ago

                They had the Ewoks as precedent.

                1. Zeb   11 years ago

                  But the Ewoks had Jedi help.

                  1. Pro Libertate   11 years ago

                    If they'd made the Ewoks Force-users, they'd have been far less stupid.

        2. Atanarjuat   11 years ago

          Transformers?

          Haven't seen the latest, but my son makes me watch the first three constantly. Very pro military. The Autobots basically become another branch of the military and fight alongside U.S. troops. Also, none of them transform into Priuses.

        3. mad.casual   11 years ago

          Transformers?

          If I'm not mistaken, Optimus Prime's mentor says, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." as he enslaves the human race (from Chicago, naturally).

          Then Optimus Prime shoots him in the face.

          I made sure the kids watched it twice.

          I mean, if I thought Micheal Bay had half a wit of cultural intelligence, I'd think his repeated destruction of the Tribune Tower in Chicago was some sort of message.

          1. mad.casual   11 years ago

            I forgot to add that Optimus' mentor is colored solid red, while Optimus himself is, obviously, red, white(steel), and blue.

  31. Fist of Etiquette   11 years ago

    The bill, put together in consultation with President Obama, would require for-profit corporations like Hobby Lobby to include coverage for contraception in employee health plans. #CantStopWontStop

    The cheap and promiscuous girl vote is going to push them over the top in November.

    1. WTF   11 years ago

      It's also the "Free Shit" brigade they are counting on.

      1. Notorious G.K.C.   11 years ago

        *There's* an overlapping Venn Diagram!

    2. Bo Cara Esq.   11 years ago

      "The cheap and promiscuous girl vote is going to push them over the top in November."

      No, but comments like that might help.

      1. Fist of Etiquette   11 years ago

        I like to pitch in where I can.

        1. Swiss Servator, Alles Klar   11 years ago

          "Snarky Comment on Libertarian Site Propels TEAM BLUE to Electoral Victory!"

          1. Restoras   11 years ago

            More at 11?

            1. Fist of Etiquette   11 years ago

              No, that's pretty much it.

    3. mad.casual   11 years ago

      The cheap and promiscuous girl vote is going to push them over the top in November.

      Ladies night at the DNC!

  32. Ken Shultz   11 years ago

    "The bill, put together in consultation with President Obama, would require for-profit corporations like Hobby Lobby to include coverage for contraception in employee health plans."

    Well, Obama's proven that he's openly hostile to the Fourth Amendment, and openly violating the rights of hundreds of millions of Americans by way of the NSA hasn't cost him a thing--why should Obama give a shit about the First Amendment either?

    The important thing is to spin this legislation as an attack on rednecks. Because the Constitution doesn't protect the rights of rednecks. I know because Obama used to teach a class about the Constitution in college.

  33. SugarFree   11 years ago

    Obama confronted by 1/8 reverse centaur.

    1. Rich   11 years ago

      What's with the person in the blue dress?

      1. SugarFree   11 years ago

        She is stunned by his holy visage.

        1. Rich   11 years ago

          Looks like she got stunned *twice*.

          1. SugarFree   11 years ago

            They need to test that blue dress.

      2. Idle Hands   11 years ago

        is she the devil?

        1. Lord Humungus   11 years ago

          thanks for the earworm.

    2. John   11 years ago

      Apparently the ACA sucks for mythical creatures just as bad as it does for real ones.

    3. Ken Shultz   11 years ago

      That shouldn't be too frightening for him. Didn't Joan Rivers recently claim he was being confronted every night by a half-reverse girly man?

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et38_Ufv-Jw

      1. SugarFree   11 years ago

        Baryy knows all there is to know about the crying game.

    4. Fr?ulein Nikki   11 years ago

      That photo is creepier than I feel like it really should be.

      1. SugarFree   11 years ago

        I think the nonplussed mook in the stripped wifebeater, the staring girl and the old man hand from nowhere really amps it up.

      2. Rich   11 years ago

        It truly is a delightful image.

        Look carefully. Who is *really* shaking hands with the horse?

      3. mad.casual   11 years ago

        It does feel like some sort of cognitive test.

        Like somebody's got a gun in the president's rib cage and none of us noticed.

    5. gaijin   11 years ago

      Looks like a pair of jackasses to me

    6. Fist of Etiquette   11 years ago

      Is that Ramsay Bolton in the tank top?

    7. Pro Libertate   11 years ago

      I AM CENISTAUR!

  34. Palin's Buttplug   11 years ago

    Meet the ratfuckers who went after Menendez (includes Cubans).

    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/m.....llegations

    Menendez is worthless but ratfuckers gonna ratfuck.

    1. WTF   11 years ago

      First off, the retarded don't rule the night. They don't rule it. Nobody does. And they don't run in packs. And while they may not be as strong as apes, 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.

      1. Andrew S.   11 years ago

        I still protest this insult to the mentally disabled. They generally have no choice in the matter. PB makes a conscious choice to be this stupid.

      2. Swiss Servator, Alles Klar   11 years ago

        We ever figure out what kind of cake?

        1. Tejicano   11 years ago

          I always figured we would sex it up with some yellow cake.

    2. Ken Shultz   11 years ago

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGi0ViNg1hc

    3. Bo Cara Esq.   11 years ago

      The Mendendez thing is interesting. If it were a Republican Senator involved I think you'd hear more about it in the comments here.

      1. Palin's Buttplug   11 years ago

        John and other Ream Red types openly support the GOP ratfuckers.

        DC is a big enough cesspool without the paid liars making things worse.

        1. John   11 years ago

          Yeah, there is nothing suspicious about a Senator accepting free trips from a big donor to a resort that is known for its underage prostitution.

          1. Bo Cara Esq.   11 years ago

            I guess he deserved to have all this concocted and he, not the liars, are to blame?

            I am no fan of Mendendez, but these people are 'busted' up to no good.

            1. John   11 years ago

              If I am a politician and I like to spend my vacations alone in Bangkok, can I really be surprised when one of my political enemies smears me for being a child molester? Doesn't make my enemies right. But it also doesn't make me any smarter or less corrupt for taking the free trips.

              1. Bo Cara Esq.   11 years ago

                I think the bigger scandal is not your trip to Bangkok but a conspiracy to lie and defame you. Look, if this were a Tea Party Senator being set up by liberal activists you'd be screaming right now.

                1. Idle Hands   11 years ago

                  ehhh, this happens all the time. Do I condone it no, but its politics and its why no decent person will ever be involved in it.

      2. John   11 years ago

        The bottom line is that he was taking free trips with a big donor down to a resort in the Dominican Republic that is renown for its underage hookers. If the charge was false, and I am still convinced it was, it is hard to have much sympathy for him considering his total lack of judgement.

        1. Palin's Buttplug   11 years ago

          So when Rush Limbaugh visited those same resorts with a box of Viagra we can assume the same thing?

          1. The Last American Hero   11 years ago

            Like most lefties, PB thinks that Rush Limbaugh is both a member of congress and head of the GOP.

          2. WTF   11 years ago

            First off, the retarded don't rule the night. They don't rule it. Nobody does. And they don't run in packs. And while they may not be as strong as apes, 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.

      3. Idle Hands   11 years ago

        If he were a Republican he would be forced to retire over this.

        1. Notorious G.K.C.   11 years ago

          So, did Menendez do it or not?

          1. Idle Hands   11 years ago

            I have no idea.

            1. SugarFree   11 years ago

              shrike never saw him there, so that means Menendez must not have been there. QED, ratfuckers.

        2. Palin's Buttplug   11 years ago

          It was a ratpack of lying ratfuckers, you idiot. It is the GOP way from Lee Atwater to Karl Rove to James O'Keefe.

          Karma hit Atwater hard. His head blew up to twice its normal size right before he died from a brain tumor.

          1. Andrew S.   11 years ago

            Jesus Christ, PB. You're usually incomprehensible but this is horrible, even for you. Fuck you for even suggesting that anyone deserves something like that, you piece of rat feces.

            1. WTF   11 years ago

              Don't try to reason with it.

              1. Andrew S.   11 years ago

                This has nothing to do with reason. The ratfucker's political ramblings can be ignored, but shit like that I'm going to call him out on.

            2. Palin's Buttplug   11 years ago

              When your life work is destroying others via lies then you might deserve a miserable end.

              1. Andrew S.   11 years ago

                Fuck. You.

                No, seriously. Fuck. you. I pray you've never known anyone to die of cancer, and I pray you never will. The fact that you can make a fucking joke like that proves you're even worse than most people here think you are. Crawl in a hole and die, you sub-human piece of shit.

                1. SugarFree   11 years ago

                  Andy, it doesn't believe anything, it just says what it can to wind you up, to get any sort of attention. Just ignore it.

                2. tarran   11 years ago

                  It's not sentient. It can't comprehend the concepts contained in its comments. Cancer and cockroach are equally meaningless words to it.

                  Somewhere it saw a joke about cancer, and it repeated it here hoping to elicit a response.

              2. jmomls   11 years ago

                *When your life work is destroying others via lies then you might deserve a miserable end.*

                So I guess that means you'll be coming down with a bad case of Lou Gehrig's Disease any second now.

    4. Don Mynack   11 years ago

      The real story has always been Melgen.

      "Separately from the escort story, a federal grand jury was reportedly investigating whether Menendez used his office to advocate for Melgen's business interests. Menendez had caught the attention of the Senate Ethics Committee when he reimbursed Melgen for two flights to the Dominican Republic aboard his private jet after initially failing to report them. Melgen also acknowledged that he and Menendez discussed a Medicare-billing dispute and a port contract in the Dominican Republic benefitting Melgen's company."

  35. Jordan   11 years ago

    Student abandoned for 5 days without food or water in DEA cell awarded $4.1 million

    The agents did nothing because they assumed someone else was responsible for the detainee, and because there was no training for agents on how to track and monitor wards at the Kearny Mesa detention center, the report found.

    Drug Enforcement Administration supervisors also compromised any potential criminal prosecution of the agents at fault by responding improperly to the case, in which charges were never filed, the Justice Department's Office of Inspector General said.

    Chong, a University of California San Diego student who later won $4.1 million in a legal claim against the DEA, was caught up in an April 2012 drug sweep but never charged with a crime.

    The case made international news, as Chong came forward with his account of how he drank his own urine and tried to eat his broken eyeglasses during his unthinkable ordeal.

    Nobody was punished, of course. Even after they intentionally compromised the investigation.

    1. Fist of Etiquette   11 years ago

      No one was punished? They had to pay up $4.1 million!

      1. Bo Cara Esq.   11 years ago

        We had to pay 4.1 million.

        That's the problem with this sort of thing.

        1. lap83   11 years ago

          I agree. I'm sympathetic toward his ordeal but that money doesn't belong to anyone who could be considered responsible for the travesty. How will it change anything?

          1. Bo Cara Esq.   11 years ago

            He deserved it, it was the taxpayers and the perpetrators of this outrage who did not deserve what they got.

            1. John   11 years ago

              If I had to go through what he went through, I don't think I would ever be right in the head again. No amount of money would ever make me whole.

              1. Fist of Etiquette   11 years ago

                I'll take it if you don't want it.

                1. John   11 years ago

                  If it comes at the price of being locked in a cage and forgotten for five days with no idea when or if someone will find you, you can have it FOE.

        2. Idle Hands   11 years ago

          I think fist was being facetious.

          1. Fist of Etiquette   11 years ago

            How. DARE. You.

      2. Idle Hands   11 years ago

        But due to the multiplier effect everyone is better off. Look at all the shovel ready jobs that money will create.

        1. db   11 years ago

          Citizen + Police + Cemetary = Shovel Ready Jobs

      3. Andrew S.   11 years ago

        We paid up $4.1 million. The cops involved had a few beers and laughed at the kid they fucked over.

        1. Fist of Etiquette   11 years ago

          They had to live with the shame they put a kid through that and cost the taxpayers money.

          1. Andrew S.   11 years ago

            Well, clearly.

            (I was going to say something about how while I know you're being facetious, it's depressing that people out there are probably saying that exact thing seriously. Then I realized that most of those people are actually saying the kid deserved nothing and deserved to be locked in that cell alone for the marijuana. Then I cried a little inside.)

            1. Fist of Etiquette   11 years ago

              I know people springboard off my comments to vent at the sentiment in general. That's the service I provide.

    2. Rich   11 years ago

      he drank his own urine and tried to eat his broken eyeglasses

      Obviously high on the bath salts.

    3. Idle Hands   11 years ago

      "Sources say all he had was the ability to comment in an online blog called Reason.com where he went by the username of "Palin's Buttplug."

      1. Obama's Buttplug   11 years ago

        Wanna see his head explode?

    4. some guy   11 years ago

      $820,000 a day? Not bad work, if you can get it.

      If I were in that position I don't know which emotion would win out: Fear that I might die alone or elation that I'll be set for life if I survive...

      1. Jerryskids   11 years ago

        I'm just surprised that the kid wasn't found to have committed suicide after 5 days locked up and forgotten. Sure, there might be some questions raised about how exactly he managed to hang himself with his shoelaces with his hands handcuffed behind his back after having beaten himself up badly enough to have broken a few ribs and ruptured his spleen and shattered an eye socket and where exactly he got the gun that he managed to shoot himself in the back of the head twice with, but I'm sure an internal investigation would have concluded that he just really, really was determined to commit suicide.

  36. Auric Demonocles   11 years ago

    Some Facebook idiocy (I'm currently still debating on her hotness-to-advocacy ratio) regarding a power outage caused by a storm up in Vermont:

    Hypothetically, just think, last nights power outage in burlington was as if finally humanity (around here) wasn't contributing to climate change. A brief couple hours of rest you could say.

    1. Fr?ulein Nikki   11 years ago

      As her if she farted during that time.

      1. Ted S.   11 years ago

        This is why Nicole is the worst.

      2. Auric Demonocles   11 years ago

        That would certainly help with the hotness question.

        1. Auric Demonocles   11 years ago

          Help clear it up whether she's hot enough to warrant keeping around, I mean. Not help as in "make her hotter".

          1. SugarFree   11 years ago

            cool story, bro. We all remember that your original handle on the board was "dutchovenlover."

    2. Aloysious   11 years ago

      Dealbreaker.

  37. Notorious G.K.C.   11 years ago

    "A referendum proposing to allow the use of experimental drugs not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration on terminally ill patients will be on Arizona's general election ballot in November."

    (from azpm.org)

    http://bit.ly/1xRTFGL

  38. Jordan   11 years ago

    Members of Congress Declare "Immunity" from Insider Trading Probe

    The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee is refusing to cooperate with an insider trading investigation, saying its employees are "absolutely immune" from having to comply with subpoenas from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

    U.S. District Court Judge Paul Gardephe ordered the committee last week to explain why it hadn't responded to the SEC's year-long request for documents, phone records and the testimony of staff director Brian Sutter, as part of a probe into whether he or other House members leaked private information about health care policy to insurance companies.

    I don't believe insider trading should be a crime, and I would never convict a private citizen of it. However, those who intervene in markets with force should absolutely be subject to these laws.

    1. Notorious G.K.C.   11 years ago

      The dog ate my homework, we lost the emails, we have Congressional privilege...

    2. Rich   11 years ago

      Oh, FFS! I thought 60 Minutes settled this years ago.

    3. Pro Libertate   11 years ago

      Jesus. Would it be wrong for citizens to simply tar and feather these guys?

    4. Whahappan?   11 years ago

      As usual, the government gets it exactly backwards.

  39. Certified Public Asskicker   11 years ago

    Televised sports' 'honey shot' plays into the idea that games are only for men

    I'm not going to pretend I have never admired someone beautiful. I'm not going to say that during Wimbledon I have not looked at a player's legs and thought thoughts that do not belong in the national press. But when watching a sporting event, the athlete's almost superhuman fitness, their shape and definition, the fact that they are physically extraordinary, is very much part of the natural admiration we have for sportspeople. I don't see how shots of a player's beautiful girlfriend ? between every point, it feels like sometimes ? add to that.

    To me, the explanation is simpler and grossly offensive. It is this: only men like sport. All men also like "birds". Let's throw some "birds" in with their sport. And if you're thinking it is all rather innocent and not objectification, consider that some (almost without exception) middle-aged, male director is sitting in a control room somewhere, scanning shots of the crowd, until he chances upon one and thinks "Phwoar! Yeah. Let's show her."

    1. Palin's Buttplug   11 years ago

      Back in the 80s when Ted Turner owned WTBS watching a Braves game was made pleasant due to the many "honey shots". One of the producers preferred the big breasted variety.

      Liberty Media now owns the Braves and honey shots are verbotten. Fucking fundies!

    2. lap83   11 years ago

      The honey shot isn't what suggests that games are only for men. At most it suggests that there's a horndog behind the video editing somewhere. Is he an authority on culture just because he has that job? What does play into the idea that the games are only for men is the fact that this is probably the only thing she got out of watching the match.

      1. Certified Public Asskicker   11 years ago

        What does play into the idea that the games are only for men is the fact that this is probably the only thing she got out of watching the match.

        Ding, ding, ding.

      2. John   11 years ago

        What CPA said. The other thing is that they do the same thing when the sports appeal to women. They don't televise men's diving during prime time every Olympics because it is wildly popular or particularly exciting. They do it because the men are generally really good looking and it is the lust Olympics for female viewers. Sex sells to each sex.

        1. Idle Hands   11 years ago

          if you watch a sport any sport the commentators will comment on the physique of the players at least once, which is why this whole thing is retarded, everyone is objectified in sports.

          1. John   11 years ago

            And isn't she being a bit heterocentric? Who is to say only men enjoy seeing an attractive woman?

    3. Notorious G.K.C.   11 years ago

      I'm not going to endorse this practice, but come on:

      "Objectifying images of spectators imply that only men like sport, and that all men like pictures of lightly dressed women"

      No, not all men like sport and lightly dressed women, but a lot of them do, and they're one of the key demographics of these broadcasters.

      Um, duh?

    4. Bo Cara Esq.   11 years ago

      There is this, but anyone that watches baseball games know that there are other types of things they like to show between the action. Pictures of fans with their children outnumber these 'honey shots' and anyone sleeping or the like is highly valued.

    5. Restoras   11 years ago

      Fauxrage is fauxrageous. During the womens events, do the cameras not zoom in on boyfriends?

      1. Certified Public Asskicker   11 years ago

        I thought the womenz only played beach volleyball?

        1. Notorious G.K.C.   11 years ago

          I've heard rumors of other women's events, but haven't checked to confirm.

          1. Certified Public Asskicker   11 years ago

            Oh, I forgot the Dutch Field Hockey Team.

            1. Notorious G.K.C.   11 years ago

              How can she navigate on the ice with those high heels?

            2. Warty   11 years ago

              Naomi Van As? Now they're fucking with us. That's clearly a pornstar's name.

              1. Isaac Bartram   11 years ago

                I'm not exactly certain but my I believe it's pronounced more like "Ahsh".

                I recall from my Tasmanian high school days that womens' field hockey can be a pretty rugged sport.

    6. Zeb   11 years ago

      What about all the sweaty, young, athletic men? That's not anything for the ladies?

      And most women I know seem to get some enjoyment from looking at or commenting on attractive women.

      1. Atanarjuat   11 years ago

        And most women I know seem to get some enjoyment from looking at or commenting on attractive women.

        THIS. Who's kidding who, here?

  40. Lord Humungus   11 years ago

    Obama's 'imperial presidency' doesn't rule much of anything

    This is why the oft-leveled accusation that Obama is running an "imperial presidency" is a bit silly. As imperial rulers go, this president has about as much oppressive might and raw dictatorial clout as Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein. Republicans have never respected Obama's authority. And now, as his popularity slips, he seems to be losing his ability to influence foreign allies, congressional Democrats and some of his previously loyal supporters.

    1. Notorious G.K.C.   11 years ago

      His dictatorial ways and his imcompetence kind of cancel each other out? If only that were true in all cases!

    2. SugarFree   11 years ago

      "It's all right for Obama to have all this power because he is so incompetent."

      Gosh, I certainly feel better now.

    3. Tejicano   11 years ago

      I'm sure wedding parties in Yemen constantly worry about what Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein knows about any of the attendees and what he intends to do to or about any of them.

    4. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

      Maybe that's because Prince Hans-Adam II, in an interview with the Hoover Institution stated his belief that "government should be limited to a small set of tasks and abilities," and that people "have to free the state from all the unnecessary tasks and burdens with which it has been loaded during the last hundred years, which have distracted it from its two main tasks: maintenance of the rule of law and foreign policy.

      1. db   11 years ago

        I think that guy gets.my vote as emissary of Earth to the Alien invaders.

  41. Lord Humungus   11 years ago

    Chart and economic fact of the day: Texas has added one million jobs since 2007 vs. only 24,900 jobs in California

    1. By May of 2011, Texas had regained all of the jobs lost during the Great Recession. In contrast, it took California three years longer, until April of this year, to regain the state jobs lost due to the effects of the recession. Since the Lone Star State regained all of the lost recession-related payroll jobs by May 2011, the state has since then added more than one million new jobs, bringing the state's employment level to a new record high in May 2014 of 11.53 million jobs.

    2. Since December 2007, Texas payrolls have grown by 9.5% and by more than one million jobs through May 2014, while California employment has increased only 0.16% and by fewer than 25,000 jobs over that same period.

    1. John   11 years ago

      And Texas has the same issue with illegal immigration, a much worse climate, no direct access to the Pacific Ocean and nothing like Hollywood or Silicon Valley.

      But hey, California must have just had some bad luck.

      1. Auric Demonocles   11 years ago

        Though I think your general point is correct, to be fair, Texas does have energy industries and access to the Atlantic.

      2. VG Zaytsev   11 years ago

        We did - a bunch of northeastern assholes moving here in the 70s and 80s that brought their crappy political culture with them.

    2. Michael Ejercito   11 years ago

      Texas does not pander to the sodomites. That may be the reason.

      1. Jordan   11 years ago

        WTF?

      2. Warty   11 years ago

        Cute.

        1. SugarFree   11 years ago

          Those hard, lithe bodies of those sinful homos force ungodly thoughts right into his mind.

          1. Warty   11 years ago

            "Why do all these fucking faggots refuse to suck my cock?!?"

      3. Idle Hands   11 years ago

        Debbie does Dallas contradicts all your points.

      4. Idle Hands   11 years ago

        Also why would you wanna go anywhere where you couldn't get a blowjob?

    3. Palin's Buttplug   11 years ago

      Texas has far more oil.

      TN and FL have no state income tax. Check their numbers out.

      1. WTF   11 years ago

        Does it try to be this stupid, or does it come naturally?

        1. Palin's Buttplug   11 years ago

          The implication is that TX has done well due to a lack of a state income tax. Test that thesis with FL and TN, dumbass - not CA.

          1. WTF   11 years ago

            Must be natural. You can't force this kind of blatant cluelessness and stupidity.

            1. KDN   11 years ago

              The implication is that TX has done well due to a lack of a state income tax.

              Let's start by pointing out that one of those states ? Texas ? is pro-energy (i.e. fossil fuel energy), it's a right-to-work state, it has no state income tax, its electricity prices are significantly lower because it doesn't have a renewable energy mandate, and its regulatory burden on businesses is much lighter.

              Man, this board just can't handle complexity. Thank God shrike is here to correct our simplicity.

              1. #   11 years ago

                The presence of very few zoning laws in its major metro areas also go a long way towards cheap housing, even if it doesn't meet the visual esthetics of limo liberals.

                So you have a state with cheap housing, low taxes, and fast job growth - it doesn't take a genius to figure out why people move there.

          2. Jordan   11 years ago

            Maybe try reading the article before responding.

            1. Certified Public Asskicker   11 years ago

              He doesn't do that even when he is the one posting the article.

              1. Los Doyers (prev. RannedPall)   11 years ago

                He? Are we giving it a sex now?

      2. generic Brand   11 years ago

        Can't speak for Tennessee, but Florida has probably the largest retiree population in the country, which means a hell of a lot of people NOT working. Hard to hand out jobs to people who have stopped working.

        1. Certified Public Asskicker   11 years ago

          Florida

          1. Pro Libertate   11 years ago

            Totally inaccurate--where are the bugs?

            When I was in the Everglades last week, the guide told me they think there are at least 100,000 pythons there now. They cancelled a planned hunt for this year, because during the last one, the number of pythons they caught was less than than the number of hunters they had to rescue.

      3. VG Zaytsev   11 years ago

        Texas has far more oil.

        More like Texas exploits it's natural resources instead of trying to create a pre-human eden.

        1. #   11 years ago

          Also CA is still one of the larger oil producers in the country, even if not as large as TX.

  42. Notorious G.K.C.   11 years ago

    In defense of California's affirmative consent law for college sex -

    "So are affirmative consent laws a good idea? If they are broad enough to include nonverbal cues, I think so. If we can admit that enthusiastic consent is often communicated in body language or knowing looks, then we must also accept that the lack of consent doesn't always manifest itself in a shouted "no" or "stop," either. It shouldn't be the sole responsibility of the uninterested party to speak up during a sexual encounter. If you think it's easy for a person to just say no, then why would it be so hard for his or her partner to just ask?"

    (If only there was some method to make consent to sex unambiguous, such as some kind of formal committed relationship which includes sex...)

    1. Bo Cara Esq.   11 years ago

      Any married person can tell you that being married does not make consent to sex unambiguous Eddie.

      1. Notorious G.K.C.   11 years ago

        800 women said yes, and their babies ended up in a septic tank!

        1. Bo Cara Esq.   11 years ago

          Like Linus with his blanket.

          1. Notorious G.K.C.   11 years ago

            The problem is not that you made a mistake, but that like PB with his 8% you tried to bluster your way out of it instead of just saying, "oops, I was wrong, sorry about that."

            If you can't graciously acknowledge mistakes, you're going to make yourself vulnerable to these kinds of taunts.

            1. Bo Cara Esq.   11 years ago

              And how will you bluster out if this comment suggesting marriage=tacit consent for subsequent sex between the parties?

              That's what's going on here, it's like a middle schooler tripping in front of everyone and getting up and saying to someone laughing 'oh, yeah, but remember when you fell running the bases at baseball practice two years ago! What about that, huh?'

              1. Notorious G.K.C.   11 years ago

                Marriage *does* equal tacit consent to subsequent sex between the spouses (or "parties," if you prefer).

                What I should have specified - and it's *my* fault for not doing so - is that I certainly don' think it's OK to use *violence* to enforce your sexual rights vis-a-vis your spouses.

                Consent to sex/= consent to violence.

                Now, any confusion I caused is my own fault, so I apologize.

                And there you go - see how easy that was?

                1. Zeb   11 years ago

                  Marriage *does* equal tacit consent to subsequent sex between the spouses (or "parties," if you prefer).

                  I don't think that is a completely uncontroversial statement. And in any case, that's hardly an arrangement exclusive to marriage.

                  What is the Church's teaching on sex while one party is asleep?

        2. Zeb   11 years ago

          800 women said yes, and their babies ended up in a septic tank!

          A bit of a non-sequitur. It wasn't the mothers who threw them in the tank. Also, how do you know they said "yes"?

          1. SugarFree   11 years ago

            Women's bodies have a way of shutting down a pregnancy when they are raped.

          2. Bo Cara Esq.   11 years ago

            He's just trying to draw attention from himself stepping in it Zeb. He said something silly (being married would make consent to sex unambiguous), I called him on it (gently I might add), so he just brings up my posting a WaPo headline that turned out to be incorrect as to one detail. It's dodge and duck in the overall driving aim to defend the Catholic Church in all things and at all times with Eddie.

            1. Notorious G.K.C.   11 years ago

              "I don't agree about what marriage means, so my disagreement makes everyone else stupid"

              "one detail"

              heh heh.

    2. Fr?ulein Nikki   11 years ago

      If you think it's easy for a person to just say no, then why would it be so hard for his or her partner to just ask?

      I'm sorry, are we endorsing drug dealing here? If so, I'm down.

  43. Palin's Buttplug   11 years ago

    Georgia whore murders Google executive via heroin overdose on his yacht:

    http://www.ajc.com/ap/ap/calif.....ing/ngb5d/

    Georgia girls!

  44. Warty   11 years ago

    ISIS winning hearts and minds

    1. Lord Humungus   11 years ago

      You know who else failed at winning hearts and minds?

      1. Swiss Servator, Alles Klar   11 years ago

        The Cylons?

    2. Tim   11 years ago

      Violence escalates in the Middle East
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yPYT4aEho4

      1. Suthenboy   11 years ago

        The dog is hilarious.

  45. Bo Cara Esq.   11 years ago

    Jesse 'The Body' Ventura's Lawsuit Against Chris Kyle's Estate

    "Mr. Ventura, 62, who on Tuesday sat quietly at the plaintiff's table in a sedate gray suit, his hair in a modest silver ponytail, has sued the estate of Chris Kyle, the former SEALs member, who alluded to Mr. Ventura in his book, "American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History."

    The case is likely to test the higher legal standard a public figure must meet to prove defamation. The proceeding is also complicated by Mr. Kyle's death in a shooting in Texas in 2013, about a year after the suit was filed. The death left Mr. Kyle's widow, Taya, as the defendant on behalf of his estate. "

    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07.....itics&_r=0

    1. Drake   11 years ago

      Takes a lot of balls to sue a dead man. Be a shame if Jesse had a run in with some of Kyle's buddies.

      1. Almanian!   11 years ago

        "I ain't got time ta bleed..."

        1. SugarFree   11 years ago

          That's why Almanian takes Yaz.

          1. Almanian!   11 years ago

            Yeah!

            Wait - what?

      2. Bo Cara Esq.   11 years ago

        He's defending himself against the charge of insensitivity to killed SEALS by.....suing the estate of a killed SEAL...

      3. tarran   11 years ago

        He sued a live man. It's not his fault that the man died.

        1. Drake   11 years ago

          Who's fault is it that he didn't drop the lawsuit when Kyle died? Instead he continues to try to take money from a dead SEAL's widow and children.

  46. Invisible Handjob   11 years ago

    Hilarious @salondotcom Twitter parody site run by at least one libertarian. Honestly, it's really difficult to tell their fake headlines from the real ones. And you have to follow the reactions of outrage as some clearly think they're real.

    Some of my favorites:

    Nanoaggressions: Science reveals structural oppression too small or human eyes.

    "Winter is coming": The racist motivations behind Game of Thrones seasonal cycle.

    Dear climate crazies: If global warming isn't real, why is it so hot? Weatherman predicts continued trend.

    Seven misconceptions about Stalin's land reforms.

    "They've been around for centuries" Matt Damon on why rights are the new racism.

    Michael Lind on the libertarian hellscape where you can buy birth control over the counter.

    Let's nationalize Amazon and Google: Publicly funded technology built by Big Tech -- time to make them utilities.

    Oh wait, that last one is real.

  47. KeithC   11 years ago

    So Nate Silver and 538 had Brazil as a prohibitive favorite at 45% to win the WC before it started. I don't really care that that prediction now looks silly, given yesterday's result. What I am curious to know is whether he or anyone at 538 put big money on Brazil, given the bookies mostly had them at 3/1 pre-tournament. That's an implied 25% probability of winning it all, not a marginal difference.

    Interestingly, they did run a 'mea culpa' article of sorts after the game had ended, but much of the article focused only on that particular game, as opposed to how ridiculous it was to have them at 45% at the off.

    1. John   11 years ago

      This is what people don't get about Nate Silver; the numbers are only as meaningful as the knowledge of the person who created them. Silver is a statistician. He knows how to do math. He doesn't know shit about soccer or most sports. So he has no way of knowing if the numbers he feeds into his math in anyway correspond to reality.

      I don't know soccer so I was not smart enough to see the weaknesses in Brazil's team. I have no doubt however, that people who do know soccer watched Brazil play and knew they were going to get beat at some point, though probably not this badly.

      People like Silver and the rest of the advance metric geek crowd annoy the shit out of me because they pretend that there isn't more to sports than numbers. And by that I don't mean mythical bullshit like "clutch hitter". I mean real things that you can only understand by watching the sport like match-ups and technique and weaknesses in the way a team is built that don't necessarily show up in every game.

      1. Auric Demonocles   11 years ago

        Going into the Super Bowl some people were just looking at the numbers and saying that Denver was going to win (and maybe even win big) by scoring all over the Seahawks. Just from watching games from both teams through the season, I felt pretty confident that Seattle would win, and certainly wouldn't give up a ton of points. If you were able to take away the quick, short pass, the offense was shut down. Though if you didn't have the cornerbacks to do that against 4 legitimate receiving threats, they would score a ton.

        Although I didn't think it would end up nearly that lopsided.

        1. John   11 years ago

          The Super Bowl is a good example and I thought the same thing. Denver had never played a team that had the defensive back seven anything like Seattle's. They had never played anyone who could match up one on one with their receivers and shut down the short passing game. So all the numbers Denver ran up against teams that couldn't do that, meant nothing against Seattle. Indeed, a really big strong physical team that ran the ball down Seattle's throat, like San Fransisco, gave Seattle much more problems than Denver, even though Denver, by any statistical measure, had a "better" offense.

          1. Auric Demonocles   11 years ago

            Denver got pretty shutdown by the Colts until their defensive backs started dropping.

          2. Jaybirdmojo   11 years ago

            Tebow would have won that game.

      2. KDN   11 years ago

        [the] real things that you can only understand by watching the sport like match-ups and technique and weaknesses in the way a team is built that don't necessarily show up in every game.

        The advanced metrics crowd is all about quantifying exactly this. Basketball is especially adept at it because the NBA has embraced the concept fully and tracks everything.

        1. John   11 years ago

          Since t he opponents and the conditions are different every night, it is not that simple. To the extent it works, it will work in a very closed environment like the NBA, where there are a set number of teams, the lineups are the same or close to the same every night, and each team is overall equally motivated.

          International soccer is completely different. Not every national team fields its best lineup for each match. They will send younger players to friendlies sometimes or not quite have their act together yet even of they do send their best.

          For example, I am sure Silver based a large part of his analysis on Brazil's winning of the Confederations Cup last year. The problem is that the teams that went to that are not the same as the teams that come to the world cup. So the numbers don't translate.

          1. Timon 19   11 years ago

            International soccer is different for a shitload of reasons, not least of which is because these guys really don't play together very frequently unless you have most of a super-team like the Bayern-Germany connection (and even then, there are plenty of players from bitter rivals Dortmund). Even if you train together for a month and play 5 games together during a high-pressure tournament, you don't have the cohesion of a club team.

            It was no real secret to many people who follow the game that Brazil was the weakest team of the four remaining. The only question was if they could ride the home-field advantage any further.

            NO ONE expected that insult of a match yesterday.

      3. KeithC   11 years ago

        To be fair, I don't think it was crazy to have Brazil as the favorite -- they've got good players, they've played well under their current coach and their playing in their own country. Having them as such a huge favorite is what I found ridiculous. As AD mentions below, you essentially have to have them as better than 2-to-1 favorites in BOTH the semi and the final, and that says nothing of the earlier games (they were inches away from losing against Chile, and were fortunate to not have a man sent off against Colombia).

        1. Rhywun   11 years ago

          Up until yesterday, I would have given even odds for any of the 4 remaining teams in the quarterfinals to win it all. Up until yesterday, nobody was playing for anything greater than 1:0.

          1. Rhywun   11 years ago

            Ugh - again I sound repetitive once more.

        2. Timon 19   11 years ago

          It was borderline crazy to think that this version of Brazil could have much of a shot win it all without a ton of things going their way. They proved it time and again.

          They were the most thuggish team at this tournament by some way and should have lost to both Chile and Colombia.

    2. Auric Demonocles   11 years ago

      Even after getting to the semifinals, a 45% chance of winning the whole thing would be huge. That would mean you had something between a 45% of winning one with a 100% of the other and a 67% chance in each game. Whatever the breakdown, that would be a massive advantage in at least one of the games.

    3. Warty   11 years ago

      Nobody was permitted to see the Emperor of China, and the question was, What is the length of the Emperor of China's nose? To find out, you go all over the country asking people what they think the length of the Emperor of China's nose is, and you average it. And that would be very "accurate" because you averaged so many people. But it's no way to find anything out; when you have a very wide range of people who contribute without looking carefully at it, you don't improve your knowledge of the situation by averaging.

      1. tarran   11 years ago

        +1 Feynman

        1. Pro Libertate   11 years ago

          Oh, it was Feynman? I thought it was Chiun.

  48. Warty   11 years ago

    Salon.com @Salondotcom ? 16h
    Why I harassed Hobby Lobby employees at their work and homes and why it's a social justice victory
    ReplyReplied to 0 times RetweetRetweeted 105 times105 FavoriteFavorited 76 times76
    More

    Salon.com @Salondotcom ? 13h
    'Sh-tlord' is ableist against those with Crohn's disease -- try out these 6 progressive insult alternatives
    ReplyReplied to 0 times RetweetRetweeted 46 times46 FavoriteFavorited 41 times41
    More

    Salon.com @Salondotcom ? 4h
    Germany's completely gratuitous goals served only to humiliate PoC in a way all too common in our culture
    ReplyReplied to 0 times RetweetRetweeted 47 times47 FavoriteFavorited 26 times26
    More

    1. Warty   11 years ago

      Dammit.

    2. SugarFree   11 years ago

      'Sh-tlord' is ableist against those with Crohn's disease -- try out these 6 progressive insult alternatives

      I'd totally read that article.

      1. Almanian!   11 years ago

        Huh - I'd assumed you WROTE it.

        Good to know.

    3. Auric Demonocles   11 years ago

      I'm going to use my non-priveleged status to say that "shitlord", or any insult based on a derivation of "shit", is fine for you guys to say. If someone calls you out on it, just them it's cool, you've got a colon-less friend.

      1. Jerryskids   11 years ago

        Fuck you, I can say 'shitlord' because I have a friend who's a buttplug.

    4. John   11 years ago

      But I thought the employees were victims? Why is he harassing the victims? That is like being mad about the OJ verdict and deciding the best thing to do is harass Ron Goldman's father.

      These people are so retarded they don't even know how to engage in proper political violence.

      1. Auric Demonocles   11 years ago

        Pssst, look at Handjob's post about this same account higher up...

        1. John   11 years ago

          How so? I don't always read retard very well.

          1. Auric Demonocles   11 years ago

            It's a parody account.

            1. Rasilio   11 years ago

              And John proves how good the parody site is, and how ridiculous the Proglodites at Salon are by not being able to tell the difference between the two

    5. Rhywun   11 years ago

      Germany's completely gratuitous goals served only to humiliate PoC in a way all too common in our culture

      What does that make Jerome Boateng? Not to mention that Bernard looks a little white to me. Oh that's right, these people only think in terms of "tribe".

      1. Rhywun   11 years ago

        Oh shit, I guess I was fooled too. That's what I get for skipping around.

  49. FatherBrain   11 years ago

    Please fix the link for the soda tax story.

    1. Certified Public Asskicker   11 years ago

      http://lmgtfy.com/?q=soda+tax+last+stand#

  50. RishJoMo   11 years ago

    Sounds like some serious business.

    http://www.Anon-VPN.com

  51. PRX   11 years ago

    Today is the 76th anniversary of Daniel Wrong Way Corrigan being the first to fly solo across the Atlantic without permission.

  52. Andrew S.   11 years ago

    Prosecutors want to force teen in sexting case to receive a shot so they can take pictures of his erect penis

    I'd say it was a joke before seeing who the prosecutor is, given that he's one of the worst prosecutors around. How on earth could a judge possibly even consider granting that warrant?

    1. Lord Humungus   11 years ago

      Looking at teenage erect penises - no deviancy there.

    2. Matrix   11 years ago

      So it's okay for the government to produce CP, but it's not okay for a teen to do so of himself?

      Got it!

  53. robc   11 years ago

    Brewery update time:

    The first building in BG fell thru. It was very good location but owner didnt go for concept after delaying for months. Found better location with owner who loves concept. Negative is it isnt large enough for both retail and packaging, so will have a pilot brewery there and the packaging brewery in dirt cheap warehouse somewhere. LOI went to landlord yesterday. He closed on buying the building last week. Its raw shell space, gravel floor right now, so gonna take some workbto get open.

  54. Stormy Dragon   11 years ago

    Not much for separation of powers this season, Congressional Democrats have developed legislation to override the Supreme Court decision on contraceptives. The bill, put together in consultation with President Obama, would require for-profit corporations like Hobby Lobby to include coverage for contraception in employee health plans. #CantStopWontStop

    Since the ruling was based on a legislative basis (namely the RFRA) rather than a constitutional basis, how does changing the legislative basis violate a separation of powers?

    1. Pro Libertate   11 years ago

      It's all pointless culture war crap for the election, anyway. Nothing like that is going to pass.

  55. Suthenboy   11 years ago

    "The Environmental Protection Agency quietly slipped a note into last week's Federal Register asserting its right to "garnish non-Federal wages to collect delinquent non-tax debts owed the United States without first obtaining a court order." "

    There is so much wrong here I hardly know where to start.

    1. Government agencies do not have rights, they have powers.
    2. One power government agencies do not have is the power to grant themselves more power.
    3. Why would the EPA want to evade already existing and available legal means if they have a sound case?
    4. It seems that the courts may have a problem with being cut out of the loop here.

    The Feds are out of control.

    1. Corning   11 years ago

      The Feds are out of control.

      The EPA is especially out of control...and the courts have been giving them a pass on it for decades.

  56. Corning   11 years ago

    The bill, put together in consultation with President Obama, would require for-profit corporations like Hobby Lobby to include coverage for contraception in employee health plans.

    Wait...

    So Obamacare didn't require it yet the government tried to require it anyway?

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