A.M. Links: Immigration Fight Heats Up, Justice Department Investigates Missing IRS Emails, Ceasefire Reached in Gaza

Damon Root | 7.17.2014 9:00 AM

Credit: jonathan mcintosh / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

According to a new Gallup poll, one in six Americans now believes immigration is the top problem facing the U.S.

"A Justice Department investigation into the Internal Revenue Service has expanded to include an inquiry into the disappearance of emails from a former senior IRS official."

Crime rates are dropping in Detroit and Police Chief James Craig says armed citizens deserve a good deal of the credit. "Criminals are getting the message that good Detroiters are armed and will use that weapon," Craig declared.

Philadelphia's attempt to tax strip club lap dances has been struck down in court.

"A ceasefire deal has been reached to end fighting between Israel and the Palestinian militants in Gaza, an Israeli official has told the BBC."

The U.S. has imposed a new round of economic sanctions on Russian banks and energy and defense companies in response to the situation in Ukraine.

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NEXT: Justice Department to Investigate Missing IRS Emails

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Fist of Etiquette 11 years ago

According to a new Gallup poll, one in six Americans now believes immigration is the top problem facing the U.S.

Time to pivot to women's health issues.
1. Rufus J. Firefly 11 years ago
  
  Hello.
  
  Johnny Winter dead.
  
  http://www.guitarplayer.com/ar.....umor/48013
  
  Who's next? Lou Reed?
  1. Swiss Servator, Alles Klar 11 years ago
    
    The Cleveland Browns.
  2. Rich 11 years ago
    
    NOOO!!
    
    RIP
  3. EDG reppin' LBC 11 years ago
    
    The man looked like a ghost anyways. RIP.
    1. Wasteland Wanderer 11 years ago
      
      You're thinking of Edgar Winters, I think...
      1. Reverend Mayhem 11 years ago
        
        Edgar and Johnny Winter are brothers.
        
        Obama's Buttplug 11 years ago
        
        Edgar and Johnny Winter are brothers were lovers.
  4. Lord Humungus 11 years ago
    
    Johnny Winter always looked dead. Are they really sure this time? (is this too soon?)
  5. Rhywun 11 years ago
    
    I loved him on Mork & Mindy.
    1. Swiss Servator, Alles Klar 11 years ago
      
      *narrows gaze*
2. WTF 11 years ago
  
  They believe immigration is the top problem, or that illegal immigration is the top problem?
  1. Rufus J. Firefly 11 years ago
    
    I've mentioned I'm confused as to why Americans are conflating immigration with illegal immigration. I see no problem with enforcing the law in the latter yet the Democrats seem intent on just simply amnestying everything to make it go away. Am I misreading all this?
    1. KDN 11 years ago
      
      the Democrats seem intent on just simply amnestying everything to make it go away.
      
      I think it's obvious at this point that the Democrats want to amnesty everyone while not reforming the system in any meaningful way so they get a shiny block of new voters while still being able to beat the Republicans with immigration cudgel in order to keep them in their camp.
      1. Rufus J. Firefly 11 years ago
        
        I see a cynical ploy as well. Given it's Obama who is as calculating as they come for political expediency.
      2. Bo Cara Esq. 11 years ago
        
        I think they care less about that and more about having the GOP continue to make stands that make them unpopular among present minority voters.
        
        KDN 11 years ago
        
        Well, yeah. But why settle for that when you can create whole new bloc that votes for you at a 75% clip as well?
        
        AdamJ 11 years ago
        
        It also could be that one I'm twelve is concerned FOR the immigrants and one in twelve is concerned ABOUT the immigrants. I did hear from a TX sheriff that many if these kids are probably terrorists and gang members.
        
        Rhywun 11 years ago
        
        I did hear from a TX sheriff that many if these kids are probably terrorists and gang members.
        
        Define "many". I saw a spoooooky pic of gang-y looking toughs but how representative is that?
        
        Ted S. 11 years ago
        
        It's a sheriff (and TX, to boot). He doesn't need evidence.
        
        KDN 11 years ago
        
        MS-13 steals male children from their cradles and indoctrinates them in the life. Trust none of these dirty Guats, they're all criminals at heart.
        
        wareagle 11 years ago
        
        decision-making by poll results - what could go wrong.
      3. Lord Humungus 11 years ago
        
        http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/.....10438b.jpg
    2. Homple 11 years ago
      
      Then we have believers in and whoopers for completely open borders.
    3. Clich? Bandit 11 years ago
      
      I am confused why some libertarians conflate immigration, immigration with arbitrary and discriminatory (not necessarily racist) restrictions, and the right of a business owners to hire whomever he (or she) so chooses.
      
      My new bumper sticker :
      Everyone Welcome, No free shit for anyone!
  2. Don Mynack 11 years ago
    
    Gallup equates the two for their own reasons, citing them as "Immigration/Illegal Aliens" on the results.
Fist of Etiquette 11 years ago

Crime rates are dropping in Detroit and Police Chief James Craig says armed citizens deserve a good deal of the credit.

Nice to know Detroit can be the model for something.
1. Rhywun 11 years ago
  
  I guess now we know how far a city has to fall before common sense starts to peek through.
  1. Bobarian 11 years ago
    
    Have you been to Detroit, eh? It's no longer a city.
    
    "All the bowling alleys had been wrecked, so I spent most of my time looking for beer. One day I was out looking for a nice place to build a city for my children when I spotted a mutant in the forbidden zone. I landed my vehicle to pursue and
    destroy this genetic freak before he could warn other mutants in the underground caves. I was kind of like a one man force, eh, like Charlton Heston in Omega Men, did you see that? It was a beauty.
    
    [Doug leaps out and confronts Bob]
    
    Fleshy-headed mutant, are you friendly?
    
    Doug
    
    No way, eh? Radiation has made me an enemy of civilization!
    
    Bob
    
    Alpha base, this is Bob McKenzie. I've spotted a fleshy-headed mutant in sector 16B."
Lord Humungus 11 years ago

Tennessee, Louisiana Added To the List Of States Getting Double-Digit Obamacare Premium Hikes

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Tennessee, the largest health insurer in the state, is upping its exchange premiums by an average of 19 percent, according to rate request filings. Humana is requesting an average 14.4 percent increase and Cigna is asking for a 7.5 percent rate increase, The Tennessean reports.

Louisiana customers will face even larger hikes. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana, the largest insurer in Louisiana as well, has proposed rate hikes between 18.3 percent and 19.7 percent for Obamacare customers. The company covers 52,600 people ? over half of all those who signed up for Obamacare exchange coverage in Louisiana.

Bend that cost curve!
1. Ted S. 11 years ago
  
  Wouldn't it be easier to list the states where the premiums aren't going up by 10% or more?
  1. pan fried wylie 11 years ago
    
    West Dakota and North Virgina.
    1. Swiss Servator, Alles Klar 11 years ago
      
      Wasn't South Alaska in there at just over 9%?
      
      /57 states
  2. Entropy Void 11 years ago
    
    Those would be the states where it looks like the Republicans are competitive for a Democratic congressional seat.
2. AdamJ 11 years ago
  
  Somehow, the law did nothing about state-granted healthcare monopolies...
  1. wareagle 11 years ago
    
    I'm amazed at how that is so easily overlooked, as if the dominance of BCBS happened in a vacuum. Each state restricts the companies that can offer service. Yet, people point to rising costs as evidence of market failure. Sure, if you believe a market is defined as the number of companies govt permits to sell a given product.
    1. The Last American Hero 11 years ago
      
      Maybe they could sell health insurance medallions. Of course, then some clever guy would just start DocWagon.
      1. Bobarian 11 years ago
        
        Get Uber providers to start carrying first aid kits in their glove box?
waffles 11 years ago

"A ceasefire deal has been reached to end fighting between Israel and the Palestinian militants in Gaza, an Israeli official has told the BBC."

When was this? Because NPR told me the ceasefire lasted all of 5 hours.
1. Fist of Etiquette 11 years ago
  
  They never said permanently. Always check the fine print, Israel.
  1. Swiss Servator, Alles Klar 11 years ago
    
    "Did you find everything you need? Would you care to purchase the extended warranty cease-fire?"
2. Rhywun 11 years ago
  
  Yeah I heard this morning they're likely going to send troops in.
Bee Tagger 11 years ago

"A ceasefire deal has been reached to end fighting between Israel and the Palestinian militants in Gaza

*wipes hands clean*
well, that should settle that.
Fist of Etiquette 11 years ago

Philadelphia's attempt to tax strip club lap dances has been struck down in court.

Time to tax boners then, I guess. Since it's Philly it wouldn't do to tax by the inch, though.
1. LynchPin1477 11 years ago
  
  Nice.
Longtorso, Johnny 11 years ago

Remember, Buttplug is Weigel and Suki is still dead.
1. Bobarian 11 years ago
  
  Fuck, I forgot how fun HampersandR was before registration. The "Ted Koppel" post made everyone in the office think I was choking to death.
2. Clich? Bandit 11 years ago
  
  3 fucking years ago...damn
Lord Humungus 11 years ago

These Days, Rock Cover Bands Can't Seem to Get It On
Desperate for Gigs, Performers Don Spandex, Sing at Strip Malls; Glut of Aging Musicians

Despite a brush with fame, Mr. Brown doesn't shy away from even the most cringe-worthy of gigs. One day he'll perform for thousands at a festival with his rock band, Trixter, whose videos briefly topped MTV's charts in the 1990s. The next night he'll be in a yellow, zebra-print vest belting out Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)" at a party in the Hamptons, or singing "Hotel California" as customers examine Buicks at a car dealership in New Jersey.

"Not every show can be Madison Square Garden," he says.

Mr. Brown is among the many cover-band artists these days who are finding it more difficult to earn a living. The problem is a paucity of lucrative bar-band gigs (thanks to DJs, trivia nights, karaoke, and changing tastes) combined with a glut of middle-aged musicians who just can't quit the scene.
1. Rufus J. Firefly 11 years ago
  
  Man, I remember Trixter.
2. Rhywun 11 years ago
  
  The class war against smokers makes bars suck too.
  1. sloopyinva (previously -inca) 11 years ago
    
    We've been going to a bad in NoVa where smoking is allowed. It's surreal after living in California,for so long.
    1. Ted S. 11 years ago
      
      Wouldn't it be good if smoking were allowed? 😉
    2. Swiss Servator, Alles Klar 11 years ago
      
      I despise smoke indoors, but it should be the bar owner's choice, not the nanny-state's.
      
      Before IL went all ban-y, some places had popped up that advertised/marketed themselves as "smoke free"... Obviously the market wasn't going to solve this, so the State stepped in and just banned it all.
      
      Bah.
    3. Idle Hands 11 years ago
      
      Virginia hasn't been completely raped by progressives yet, I mean McAuliffe was just elected.
3. Don Mynack 11 years ago
  
  Just another reason to hate DJs.
Rich 11 years ago

According to a new Gallup poll, one in six Americans now believes immigration is the top problem facing the U.S.

Just a doggone minute. Did that poll ask "new Americans"?
1. sloopyinva (previously -inca) 11 years ago
  
  What about millennials?
  1. Swiss Servator, Alles Klar 11 years ago
    
    Yeah! Has anyone thought to poll them on anything lately?
Longtorso, Johnny 11 years ago

Atheist Adam Lee's smear campaign to silence my discussion of Christian sexual morality.
sloopyinva (previously -inca) 11 years ago

Years and years and years of admitted violent physical abuse gets a cop the incredibly harsh sentence of...30 days.

http://www.thedenverchannel.co.....r-old-girl

But they're held to a higher standard than "civilians", right?
1. Scruffy Nerfherder 11 years ago
  
  According to court records, the girl told Loveland police investigators that Yachik abused her almost daily for years. The abuse allegedly included restraining her hands with handcuffs or plastic zip ties and then slamming her head into a wall hard enough to leave a hole and choking her until she blacked out, according to a Loveland Police Department arrest affidavit.
  
  The girl also said he beat her with ropes, restricted her food, shackled her in a darkened room for hours and force-fed her "ghost pepper sauce" that's roughly 10 times hotter than habanero peppers, the affidavit said.
  
  30 days. What in the fuck?
  1. Jose Chung 11 years ago
    
    Professional courtesy.
  2. sloopyinva (previously -inca) 11 years ago
    
    Remember, a minor in Georgia was sentenced yesterday to 23 years for breaking into a cop's house and killing his dog.
    
    Keep that in mind when you look at this guy's sentence and remember them the next time some cop apologist says they're held to a higher fucking standard than normal people are.
  3. Pathogen 11 years ago
    
    Asked why he did these things, Yachik told investigators the teen "won't communicate" with him, the affidavit said.
    
    And why the "investigator" didn't beat Yachik to death with a claw hammer upon receiving that reply will elude mankind for years to come..
    
    He didn't cite anything the girl had done to warrant these punishments, police wrote.
    
    Yeah, I can't imagine anything she could've done to warrant that assholes constant abuse either... go figure.
2. UnCivilServant 11 years ago
  
  Higher standard of evidence maybe.
  1. Ted S. 11 years ago
    
    **** you! 🙂
  2. Scruffy Nerfherder 11 years ago
    
    During a voluntary Sept. 27 interview with Loveland investigators, Yachik, who is 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs 270 pounds, admitted doing many of these things to the girl, the affidavit said. The officer also confirmed he was the man shown in a video abusing the teen in July 2012.
3. Ted S. 11 years ago
  
  Yes. There's a higher standard of evidence needed before you can convict them.
4. Doghouse Reilly 11 years ago
  
  9:30 and already it sounds like whiskey time.
  1. Ted S. 11 years ago
    
    It's always time for your spirits of choice. (I preferred vodka when I drank spirits. Nowadays I generally limit myself to wine unless I have a mixed drink at a restaurant.)
Fist of Etiquette 11 years ago

"A Justice Department investigation into the Internal Revenue Service has expanded to include an inquiry into the disappearance of emails from a former senior IRS official."

They're not going to have enough whitewash for all of this.
1. WTF 11 years ago
  
  It's okay, the media has extra.
  1. Elspeth Flashman 11 years ago
    
    So as long as they keep fanning the flames about the Hobby Lobby decision, this other stuff will all go away?
2. DontShootMe 11 years ago
  
  This is Holder's Justice Department. Some crony will be appointed, who will do nothing. However, the fact that the Justice Department is now investigating will result in a parade of officials in front of the Congressional inquiries saying things like; "I cannot comment due to an ongoing investigation." This will last however long it takes.
3. Rich 11 years ago
  
  "Mrs. Pelosi, you don't know anything about the disappearance of emails from a former senior IRS official, do you?"
  
  *** files report on inquiry ***
Lord Humungus 11 years ago

CBO Projects Lower GDP Growth and Wage Growth

Yesterday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its annual Long-Term Budget Outlook for 2014. Compared to its 2013 outlook, the CBO projections include a significant reduction in real wage growth, to the tune of more than $40,000 over the next 10 years for a middle-income earner.

In its 2014 Budget and Economic Outlook published in February, CBO noted a reduction in gross domestic product (GDP) growth compared to its 2013 Budget and Economic Outlook. In particular, it projected that GDP growth would average 2.6 percent over the 2014?2023 period, as opposed to the 2.9 percent it had projected in 2013. CBO also lowered its projections for long-run potential GDP due to lower labor force participation, persistent effects of the recent recession and slow recovery, and federal tax and spending policies.
1. The DerpRider 11 years ago
  
  Microsoft cuts 18,000 jobs.
2. VG Zaytsev 11 years ago
  
  In particular, it projected that GDP growth would average 2.6 percent over the 2014?2023 period, as opposed to the 2.9 percent it had projected in 2013.
  
  Those are depression level numbers, considering that long term trend is 3.1%
  
  Bammy and the progs have done a heckuva job.
  1. BakedPenguin 11 years ago
    
    Yeah, they're not even achieving replacement.
sarcasmic 11 years ago

Now Captain America will be black: Marvel makes latest announcement just one day after revealing Thor is becoming a woman

Sam Wilson, also known as The Falcon, will be taking over the reins after Steve Rogers lost his special powers and youth last month
Marvel executive editor Tom Brevoort says 'It's about time' and the move 'shouldn't be seen as revolutionary'
News comes in the same week as Marvel revealed Thor is now a woman

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....woman.html
If you care then you are a dork.
1. WTF 11 years ago
  
  Thor is an actual Norse god, and is not a woman!
  
  Okay, I'm a dork.
  1. Ted S. 11 years ago
    
    Thor is a fictional character.
    
    [ducking]
    1. Wasteland Wanderer 11 years ago
      
      And I suppose you think Jesus Christ was a fictional character as well!
  2. The DerpRider 11 years ago
    
    Isn't Thor Thor. And the hammer is its own thing. So if Sally can pick up the hammer, she is still Sally with a hammer, and Thor is still Thor?
    1. Wasteland Wanderer 11 years ago
      
      Yeah, pretty much. The hammer is called Mjolnir.
    2. UnCivilServant 11 years ago
      
      Dosney is trying to kowtow to the gods of 'diversity', but Marvel doesn't have 'legacy' characters where the title can pass to antoher person, so they have to perform all sorts of nonsensical contortions to appease the unappeasable behemoth.
      1. Heroic Mulatto 11 years ago
        
        Or, you know, they could just be trying to tell an interesting story using a preexisting character that is already known and liked by fans.
        
        UnCivilServant 11 years ago
        
        That's not what they're selling, so I'm not prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt. They haven't ditched the people who gave us the speculator bust and the dark age of comic books yet.
        
        Heroic Mulatto 11 years ago
        
        They haven't ditched the people who gave us the speculator bust and the dark age of comic books yet.
        
        I'm not a huge Marvel fan, but I am familiar with the concept over at DC. Still, this reminds me of the bitching that occurred with the Ultimate universe's Nick Fury, who ended up becoming 1,000,000 times better than the original Nick Fury was. (That is, unless you're a Hasselhoff fan.)
        
        UnCivilServant 11 years ago
        
        I can't argue from a position of authority on Marvel either. See my prior comment about not buying Marvel titles nor giving a crap about them. I do, however, love a good argument (better still if it rised to the level of debate). But the creative decisions coming out of Disney seem to be a cavalcade of confusion with little authorial input on the creative decisions. The unwillingness to let the writers write has plagued the major houses of the industry for the past couple of decades. They also have a paralyzing fear of attempting to introduce new characters rather than remolding existing characters for new traits. I don't know if there is actual sales data that backs up the difficulty of introducing new characters, or if it's a self-fulfilling prophesy where editorial is afraid the new characters will fail without name recognition, so they put no time money or effort into making them work and they fail to gain name recognition.
        
        Heroic Mulatto 11 years ago
        
        I keep forgetting that Disney has their vile tentacles wrapped around them. Point taken.
        
        Scruffy Nerfherder 11 years ago
        
        +1 Ursula
        
        Bobarian 11 years ago
        
        "The unwillingness to let the writers write has plagued the major houses of the industry for the past couple of decades."
        
        In general this is true, but there have some fine exceptions; Peter David's run on the Hulk was a great example where lots of wild things were allowed to happen.
    3. SugarFree 11 years ago
      
      Unless Thor is a woman, how can they sell a trillion dolls based on her?
2. UnCivilServant 11 years ago
  
  I'm going to continue my lifelong and ongoing boycott of Marvel - because I simply don't give a crap. Plus, they raised their price to $4.99 an issue.
  1. Heroic Mulatto 11 years ago
    
    Plus, they raised their price to $4.99 an issue
    
    For 26 pages?
    1. UnCivilServant 11 years ago
      
      Yep, at the very least along the high volume titles where they expect the buying populace to ignore the price tag because they regard their readership as loser sheep. (DC also regards their radership as loser sheep, but has maintained a 2.99 price point by throwing in more ads)
3. Rufus J. Firefly 11 years ago
  
  Villain: Capt'n 'Murica a niggar?
  Captain America: That's Captain Niggar to you!
  
  PAF!
  
  They're taking over! Obama, Oprah and now Captain America!
  1. Heroic Mulatto 11 years ago
    
    Already been done, 10 years ago, with Marvel's take on the Tuskegee Experiments.
    1. SugarFree 11 years ago
      
      I see how it is. Gotta gang up on me.
4. SugarFree 11 years ago
  
  There already was a black Captain America. Marvel can't even remember their own damn publishing history.
5. ant1sthenes 11 years ago
  
  If they can make another Captain America, why not just make a thousand and take over the world?
6. sloopyinva (previously -inca) 11 years ago
  
  He said, "Captain America is near."
  1. Mainer2 11 years ago
    
    Blazing wit
sarcasmic 11 years ago

Rosetta's seeing double! Remarkable images reveal Esa spacecraft's comet target is a TWIN and not a single rock

Stunning images of the comet Rosetta is heading to have been revealed
Paris-based Esa have yet to comment on what they mean for the mission
Images reveal a two-lobed comet rather than the single comet expected
This is something known as a 'contact binary', when two objects in space 'stick' together
Could make a planned landing on the comet in November more difficult
Rosetta is due to enter orbit on 6 August after ten years of travel

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sci.....-rock.html
1. Rich 11 years ago
  
  Ha! The space aliens beat us to the landing!
2. Lord Humungus 11 years ago
  
  Stunning? It looks like a blog of white salt rock.
  1. Lord Humungus 11 years ago
    
    *block
    
    der, I need some coffee. Or else a new noggin'
DEG 11 years ago

Yahoo exec case turns into "she said, she said".

Warning: Auto-play video.
Lord Humungus 11 years ago

Ex-caseworker in Dallas housing program who traded apartment for sex, lied to feds gets 15 months in federal prison

From 2012 until last year, Hart worked for the city's Housing Department as a caseworker for Project Reconnect, which uses federal dollars to help the formerly incarcerated find housing, counseling and jobs once they're released. Problem was, Lawrence Hart helped someone who wasn't even remotely qualified for the program get a Carrollton apartment at a deep discount using U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development dollars: Lawrence Hart. He got the place by using someone else's name on the application; court docs refer only to a "Person A."

That was bad enough. But Hart also admitted to federal prosecutors earlier this year that he helped a woman, known only as Person B, get an apartment through Project Reconnect. Here's how he did it, according to court records: "Hart propositioned her for sex and expedited Person B being placed in an apartment because she agreed to have sex with Hart." He kicked her out in January 2013, only after the woman broke up with him.
1. sloopyinva (previously -inca) 11 years ago
  
  What an idiot. He should have become a police officer, then gone on to physically torture a girl for years. His sentence would have been 1/15th as severe.
sarcasmic 11 years ago

Firework fail! Man blows up his own boat dock after placing explosives the wrong way up

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....ay-up.html
Ha ha!
/Nelson
1. Brett L 11 years ago
  
  "THIS SIDE TOWARD ENEMY"
robc 11 years ago

At grocery this morning. Ad for robert mondavi playing, i heard robert muugabe. It was confusing until i figured it out.
1. Swiss Servator, Alles Klar 11 years ago
  
  Unless the shelves were empty, it could not have been Mugabe.
  1. DEG 11 years ago
    
    Mugabe is proof that only the good die young.
2. Ted S. 11 years ago
  
  At least you get to buy wine at the grocery store.
  1. robc 11 years ago
    
    Actually, no. Beer only. Wine is in liquor store separate.
    1. Ted S. 11 years ago
      
      So why were they advertising Robert Mondavi?
      1. robc 11 years ago
        
        Kroger grocery was advertising for Kroger Wine & Liquor.
        
        Encouraging you to walk next door (actually, diagonally across the parking lot, they dont even adjoin).
Monty Crisco 11 years ago

Detroit Police Chief James Craig : ONE LEO THE REASONOIDS CAN GET BEHIND!!!

http://dailycaller.com/2014/07.....e-decline/

Christ, I wish there were more like him!
sarcasmic 11 years ago

Learning the family business: Father teachers his boy, five, how to wrangle and wrestle GATORS five times his size

T-Mike Kliebert hopes his son Blaise will one day take over family gator farm
He is now teaching the boy, five, how to handle some of the 2,500 alligators
The Kliebert Gator Farm is the largest and oldest in the world after Mr Kliebert's grandfather Harvey set it up in the 1930s

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....-size.html
Yeah. What could possibly go wrong.
1. Scruffy Nerfherder 11 years ago
  
  Stupid is as stupid does
2. Idle Hands 11 years ago
  
  you don't know nothing about wrastling.
3. invisible furry hand 11 years ago
  
  T-Mike?
4. Rhywun 11 years ago
  
  "Father teachers"? Maybe "T-Mike" is doing their editing.
5. Brett L 11 years ago
  
  What kind of pussies are you guys? T-Mike learnt it from his pappy who learnt it from his own pappy. Losing a finger or an eye is just as much a right of passage in the 'gator farming business as it is in the wood-working business.
Lord Humungus 11 years ago

Man sets house afire trying to kill spider with lighter, spray paint

Firefighters originally battled the blaze from a distance after learning there may be ammunition inside. Crews were eventually able to extinguish the fire, but not before it did significant damage to the structure.

A man who lived at the home told fire officials he was trying to kill a spider in his laundry room using a can of spray paint and a lighter when the wall caught fire, according to Kyle Moore with the Seattle Fire Department. The man wasn't able to put the fire out himself, and he left the home when it began to spread.

"I don't want to encourage people to do this, but that's what he did," Moore said. "The spider tried to get into the wall. He sprayed flames on the wall, lit the wall on fire, and that extended up to the ceiling."
1. Swiss Servator, Alles Klar 11 years ago
  
  Any word if the spider was OK or not???
  1. UnCivilServant 11 years ago
    
    Of course not, it's now homeless at the very least!
2. antisocial-ist 11 years ago
  
  And the pussification of men continues.
3. Rich 11 years ago
  
  "I don't want to encourage people to do this."
  
  Safety first, Chief.
4. WTF 11 years ago
  
  But is the spider dead?
5. Elspeth Flashman 11 years ago
  
  I can see this happening at my house, except it would have been a wasp or a bee.
  1. Ted S. 11 years ago
    
    You admit your husband is a pussy?
    1. Bardas Phocas 11 years ago
      
      Or a Fire Bug?
6. Brett L 11 years ago
  
  This is why I use archery to combat big, scary bugs. Less chance of structural damage to my domicile.
sloopyinva (previously -inca) 11 years ago

Out of vacation pay? Need a break from the grind of being a Prince George County police officer? Well then, just pull out your gun and point it at a valet in DC. That'll get you a sweet paid vacation.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....feafdd1394
1. Ted S. 11 years ago
  
  Nothing else happened.
sarcasmic 11 years ago

Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner performs acrobatic stunts

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/vid.....tunts.html
I never thought one of those could do a vertical climb on takeoff. That's cool.
1. Ted S. 11 years ago
  
  If I were President, I'd ask if Air Force One can do barrel rolls and then think seriously about having the pilot do one if the answer is yes.
  
  Can it loop the loop?
  1. Scruffy Nerfherder 11 years ago
    
    The first jet airliner, the 707 (367-80), was capable of a barrel roll. The test pilot performed 2 of them at a demonstration to help sell the plane. Management was not pleased.
    1. sarcasmic 11 years ago
      
      Here's video.
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KNbKFMBsQE
    2. Ted S. 11 years ago
      
      Somehow, I'd think most passengers on a long-haul flight wouldn't want to do a barrel roll.
    3. DaveSs 11 years ago
      
      The test pilot had an excellent answer to why he performed that maneuver.
      
      I was selling airplanes
Longtorso, Johnny 11 years ago

Survey Reveals Unhappy Person Profile: She's 42, Single, and Working
If you were thrown into a random group of white-collar workers and offered a million dollars if you could select the happiest person in that group, what kind of person would you pick? Would you select a man or a woman? Married or single? Children or no children?

Well, according to a new survey released this month, your odds of winning would be increased if you skipped over the 40-something, single, female doctor or lawyer and opted for the middle-aged, married senior manager with a child at home and a wife who works part-time. In its Office Pulse survey, Captivate Network, a media solutions company, says its uncovered "profiles of the happiest and unhappiest workers." And women don't fare so well....
1. Anonymous Coward 11 years ago
  
  As Christine Hassler writes in The Myth of Having It All, "Somewhere along the path of the women's liberation movement, we began to buy into the belief that to be an empowered woman means we have to do everything that both men and women do. So instead of making choices, we have tried to fulfill both gender roles at the same time." Hassler goes on to say, "Instead of giving us a tremendous amount of freedom and opportunity, this concept of having it all has morphed into something that excuses putting so much on our plates that we are stressed out, burned out, and running out of time for ourselves (and our loved ones) every single day."
  
  Somebody is going to receive some of that famous, feminist compassion and empathy in the very near future.
2. ant1sthenes 11 years ago
  
  I plan to teach my daughters to get married before 20 (to someone in their mid-20's with a career) and have their kids before 25. Then, college (which is a lot more flexible about the life/"work" balance situation than a job), then career.
  
  Trying to follow the traditional male life path doesn't work for women, since it's optimized for male biology. Once feminism learns to pursue parity rather than equality, it might actually be a useful philosophy again.
  1. Stormy Dragon 11 years ago
    
    So your goal is to have your daughters all be single mothers?
    
    Age at start of marriage vs. divorce rate:
    
    15-22 58.4%
    23-28 43.1%
    29-34 36.2%
    35-40 23.4%
    41-46 10.5%
    1. Carl is dead inside 11 years ago
      
      I don't agree with ant1sthenes, but Holy Shit, Stormy, do you really not see what's wrong with your statement?
invisible furry hand 11 years ago

Sweden's School Choice Disaster

You'll have your own favourite mistakes in this article, but i enjoy the naive correlation between private school rates and PISA rankings (fun fact: 40% of Australian high school students are in private schools, and we rank higher than Sweden and its 14% on the PISA rankings. Not that Slate would see that as disproving its thesis)
1. Ted S. 11 years ago
  
  Sweden doesn't have real private schools anyway, does it?
Rich 11 years ago

Australia shark 'chokes on sea lion'

"This could explain why the shark was exhibiting such unusual behaviour," principal research scientist Rory McAuley said.

Hey, ifh -- Is this humor?
1. invisible furry hand 11 years ago
  
  Nope, I was going to post that as proof that my homeland is freakin' awesome
  1. Rich 11 years ago
    
    You do realise I meant 'humour', right?
    1. invisible furry hand 11 years ago
      
      Yeah, I'm bilingual
  2. WTF 11 years ago
    
    And by 'awesome' she means that anything that walks, crawls, or swims will freakin' kill you.
    1. Homple 11 years ago
      
      "The important thing to remember about Australia, though, is that it is some tough-as-nails country. It's, like, where all the nasty stuff from evolution went to go and live in a trailer with a shotgun."
      'Ray Smuckles' in Chris Onstad's "Achewood"
2. EDG reppin' LBC 11 years ago
  
  Fish can't choke.
  1. invisible furry hand 11 years ago
    
    Well yes. The two theories are:
    
    * a large object like this may have damaged the shark's internal organs or impeded water flow into his gills, contributing to his death; or
    
    * it accidentally become stranded in his attempts to get rid of the obstruction.
  2. Roger the Shrubber 11 years ago
    
    When I was a kid, a dead muskie was found that would have been a state record if caught on an line. It had a duck stuck in it's gills. I would say it choked on the duck.
Longtorso, Johnny 11 years ago

Why Feminists Won't Surrender The War On Marriage
1. waffles 11 years ago
  
  So given all that I've read here about feminists and family courts, why do men get married?
  1. Idle Hands 11 years ago
    
    the loveless sex?
  2. Elspeth Flashman 11 years ago
    
    Apparently it makes them happier. (see article about who's unhappiest, feminists, etc.)
    1. waffles 11 years ago
      
      This one?
      
      It just so unclear what the rational decision for a man to get married is. So it must be irrational, like love or some junk.
  3. Anonymous Coward 11 years ago
    
    Because somehow, the woman he's chosen is "different" from every other woman. She "loves" him.
    1. waffles 11 years ago
      
      I know about this love thing, but I am fucking terrified of this.
      1. Rhywun 11 years ago
        
        Sounds like he needed a better lawyer.
    2. Clich? Bandit 11 years ago
      
      Open your pool to outside the US and your odds greatly improve.
  4. Swiss Servator, Alles Klar 11 years ago
    
    Key point - don't marry a "feminist", marry a normal woman. It has worked for me.
    1. EDG reppin' LBC 11 years ago
      
      That was what I was going to say. It's worked out for me, too.
  5. kilroy 11 years ago
    
    Getting married is an economic and legal choice. No reason you can't love each other and live your lives together.
  6. Jensen 11 years ago
    
    Men seem to be asking themselves that.
2. Carl is dead inside 11 years ago
  
  I hate to make arguments based on source, but...
  
  ...no sites with "Red Pill" in the name are welcome here, unless they're posted mockingly.
3. Warty 11 years ago
  
  Fuck off, weirdo.
Lord Humungus 11 years ago

Pentagon told lawmakers that it plans to move six Guantanamo detainees to Uruguay

By Ernesto Londo?o July 16 at 6:23 PM

The Pentagon recently notified members of Congress that it intends to transfer six low-level detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Uruguay soon, including a Syrian man who is legally challenging the manner in which the military force-feeds some prisoners, U.S. officials said Wednesday.

The men ? four Syrians, a Palestinian and a Tunisian ? are among the more than 70 detainees who have long been cleared for release from the U.S. detention facility because they are not deemed an ongoing threat. The move would mark a significant step in the Obama administration's long-stymied quest to shut down Guantanamo Bay, where 149 inmates remain.
1. Ted S. 11 years ago
  
  Why don't they just leave these detainees outside the gates to Guantanamo? Let them go to Cuba.
  1. Entropy Void 11 years ago
    
    Send them to Guatemala, let them dress up as kids, Mexicans take them right up to the border so they can get across, Bingo: 9/11 the sequel.
2. ant1sthenes 11 years ago
  
  Well, at least they didn't move them to Honduras, I guess.
Lord Humungus 11 years ago

Microsoft plans to slash 18,000 jobs

In a Thursday morning letter to his employees, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced that the company would be cutting 18,000 jobs in the next year.

"We are moving now to start reducing the first 13,000 positions, and the vast majority of employees whose jobs will be eliminated will be notified over the next six months," Nadella wrote. "It's important to note that while we are eliminating roles in some areas, we are adding roles in certain other strategic areas."

Microsoft had 127,000 employees as of June 5, which would mean the company will see a headcount reduction of over 14 percent.
1. Swiss Servator, Alles Klar 11 years ago
  
  The former Nokia people I know are sure they are first ones gone.
Auric Demonocles 11 years ago

According to a new Gallup poll, one in six Americans now believes immigration is the top problem facing the U.S.

Idiots. It's clearly the alt-text shortage.
1. Swiss Servator, Alles Klar 11 years ago
  
  Maybe they are related?! Note you well...we didn't have these kinds of problems when alt-text was plentiful, right???
  1. PD Scott 11 years ago
    
    DEY TOOK UR... alt-text?!
Longtorso, Johnny 11 years ago

New Birth Control Ads Show Women's Fucked Up Priorities
...In just the past couple of years, I've seen a drastic shift in the tone of marketing campaigns for women's birth control. Gone are the wives and fathers of previous pitches. Enter the floozies. Today's woman, the new ads inform us, is busy. So busy and distracted, in fact, that taking a pill every day is too much of a burden. Ron Popeil's famous set-it-and-forget model has reached the American pussy in the shape of rings and wishbones and an array of other suppositories. You crush the thing into the love canal and don't have to worry about "forgetting" to take your pill....
1. Auric Demonocles 11 years ago
  
  "Women: More Forgetful than Old, Sick People."
  
  Nothing sexist about that.
2. Auric Demonocles 11 years ago
  
  Also, I thought replacing children with cats was considered a sign of a crazy, unlovable woman?
Lord Humungus 11 years ago

Bubble Paranoia Setting in as S&P 500 Surge Stirs Angst

Two years of uninterrupted gains in U.S. stocks are sowing anxiety among financial professionals, with three in five saying the market is on the verge of a bubble or already in one, the Bloomberg Global Poll found.

Forty-seven percent of those surveyed said the equity market is close to unsustainable levels while 14 percent already saw a bubble, according to a quarterly poll of 562 investors, analysts and traders who are Bloomberg subscribers. Almost a third of respondents called the market for lower-rated corporate debt overheated and most said stock swings will increase within six months, the July 15-16 poll showed.
1. Scruffy Nerfherder 11 years ago
  
  Individual investors are piling in now, it's over.
2. TwB 11 years ago
  
  I'd say investors could be in for a shock this fall, maybe December or January at the latest. Something has to give, here. I'm not saying the end of the financial world is nigh, just that there has to be a slight downward adjustment coming at some point. The constant upward movement of the SM can't continue forever.
  1. Ted S. 11 years ago
    
    Mid-November at the earliest. FedGov is going to do everything it can to make certain any downturn isn't until after the election.
  2. KDN 11 years ago
    
    The constant upward movement of the SM can't continue forever.
    
    JANET YELLEN DISAGREES.
3. waffles 11 years ago
  
  So stocks are staying pumped up due to the Fed's monetary policy goosing the whole operation and people are looking for returns. The stated reason for the monetary steroid is to shore up weakness in hiring. My question is this. How do we know low interest rates reduce unemployment?
  1. KDN 11 years ago
    
    I think they were banking on the correlations between low interest rates and high market returns and market returns with GDP as a continuous process, but all they proceeded to accomplish is to disengage the market from the real economy. It's very interesting as an experiment, but we'll have to deal with the effects of a stock bubble bursting when we already have a weak economy.
    
    THANKS BENJANET.
Lord Humungus 11 years ago

Australia Becomes First Developed Nation to Repeal Carbon Tax

In a vote that could highlight the difficulty in implementing additional measures to reduce carbon emissions ahead of global climate talks next year in Paris, Australia's Senate on Wednesday voted 39-32 to repeal a politically divisive carbon emissions price that contributed to the fall from power of three Australian leaders since it was first suggested in 2007.

Australia, the world's 12th largest economy, is one of the world's largest per capita greenhouse gas emitters due to its reliance on coal-burning power stations to power homes and industry. In 2011, daily emissions per head amounted to 49.3 kilograms (108 pounds), almost four times higher than the global average of 12.8 kilograms, and slightly ahead of the U.S. figure of 48.2 kilograms.

g'day, mate.
1. DEG 11 years ago
  
  I wonder if plane tickets to Australia will get cheaper.
sarcasmic 11 years ago

My wife called to tell me she saw the grossest thing she's ever seen. A decapitated raccoon on the side of the road. Body on one side, head on the other. Yuck. How the fuck did that happen?
1. Swiss Servator, Alles Klar 11 years ago
  
  An angry possum with a samurai sword?
2. TwB 11 years ago
  
  It pissed off Warty.
3. Scruffy Nerfherder 11 years ago
  
  Send your wife to reddit.com/r/wtf
  
  She won't be grossed out so easily after some time there.
4. Wasteland Wanderer 11 years ago
  
  I'm pretty sure the dead raccoon I found in my grandmother's woodshed was worse. It had putrefied and was mostly composed of maggots.
5. sloopyinva (previously -inca) 11 years ago
  
  So your wife has never seen goatee or meatspin?
  
  What's her email address? I'll wipe the image of that raccoon out of her mind in three minutes.
  1. sloopyinva (previously -inca) 11 years ago
    
    Goatse.
    
    Although I don't think it's a coincidence that Apple,autocorrects one for the other. They're basically interchangeable.
  2. sarcasmic 11 years ago
    
    No thanks. She's trying to quit.
6. robc 11 years ago
  
  THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE.
  
  Watch out for the immortal raccoons.
  1. sarcasmic 11 years ago
    
    That's funny. I'd tell her that except that she doesn't watch guy movies and wouldn't get it.
Lord Humungus 11 years ago

Reporter stopped by TSA agent who didn't know District of Columbia is in US

Gray, who lives in Washington, D.C., was flying out of Orlando International Airport when a TSA agent said Gray's District of Columbia driver's license wasn't a valid form of identification. Gray said his license is legal and up-to-date, but the TSA agent didn't seem to know what the District of Columbia was when Gray arrived at the security checkpoint over the weekend.

When Gray handed the man his driver's license the agent demanded to see Gray's passport.

Gray told the agent he wasn't carrying his passport and asked why he needed it.

The agent said he didn't recognize the license.
1. TwB 11 years ago
  
  *Face-palm*...and these are the folks who are responsible for making sure that our flights are terrorist-proof? Jesus...
  1. UnCivilServant 11 years ago
    
    Well, I'd agree with the premise that Washington DC is as Unamerican as they come, but the security kabuki players were not hired for their stunning intellect or geographic understanding.
    1. Entropy Void 11 years ago
      
      Wait a minute ... Washington, DC ... that is one of the 57 states, isn't it?
    2. SForza 11 years ago
      
      "Security kabuki"
      
      Read that as "security bukaki"
2. antisocial-ist 11 years ago
  
  You don't professionalize until you federalize. God Harry Reid has a punchable face.
Certified Public Asskicker 11 years ago

Here's What Jesus Would Think About Major Issues Facing America

1. Jesus would not support gay marriage.
2. Jesus would oppose legal abortion.
3. Jesus would support universal healthcare.
4. Jesus would not support the death penalty for murderers.
5. Jesus would not support stricter gun laws.
6. Jesus would not support high taxes on the wealthy.
7. Jesus would support reducing carbon emissions.

Jesus is all over the fucking place.
1. invisible furry hand 11 years ago
  
  What's Jesus' opinion on Iggy Azalea?
  1. Scruffy Nerfherder 11 years ago
    
    gross
  2. Idle Hands 11 years ago
    
    he would probably think she was black when he heard her music, and then be shocked when he came to realize she was white.
  3. Certified Public Asskicker 11 years ago
    
    He approves
    1. Idle Hands 11 years ago
      
      He did have a thing for town whores.
  4. Jordan 11 years ago
    
    She's a godawful abomination.
  5. Anonymous Coward 11 years ago
    
    Jesus: She's Eminem, only without the penis or the talent.
  6. Idle Hands 11 years ago
    
    Does she come from the same phylum as twiggy?
2. Rich 11 years ago
  
  Jesus is all over the fucking place.
  
  *God*, don't ya know.
3. waffles 11 years ago
  
  Jesus was never a policy maker. All the Christ the King stuff really rubs me wrong given my knowledge of the Gospels.
  1. Certified Public Asskicker 11 years ago
    
    You mean, he didn't necessarily believe in state coercion?
    1. waffles 11 years ago
      
      Not my Jesus. He didn't seem like the type to force people to do things. Pretty cool guy.
      1. Scruffy Nerfherder 11 years ago
        
        Eh. I perceive Jesus as the ultimate Jewish mother. Love me, accept me, and beg me for forgiveness or you're suffering eternal damnation.
        
        But that's just me.
        
        Swiss Servator, Alles Klar 11 years ago
        
        Dad was more the harsh one... Jesus was the "can't you all just get along, follow the simple rules and listen to your father?!" one.
  2. Idle Hands 11 years ago
    
    Jesus was black, so obviously he would be a Democrat. Ducks.
    1. Stormy Dragon 11 years ago
      
      Jesus was Irish. He worked in the building trades, he thought his mother was a saint, and the last thing he said before he died was to ask for a drink.
  3. robc 11 years ago
    
    You might want to check out Matthew again. Its theme is "Christ the King".
    
    The genealogy in Matt 1 is to establish his claim to the throne.
    
    But, yeah, a different kind of King than the Jews were expecting.
    1. waffles 11 years ago
      
      Maybe in the sense of fire and brimstone judgment is how it bothers me. The genealogy to David seems silly to me but I live in a post monarch world.
      1. robc 11 years ago
        
        Matt 22:1-14
        
        Thats red letter, we arent talking letters of Paul or anything like that.
        
        waffles 11 years ago
        
        But it's also a parable. Designed in terms to be familiar to the recipient. If I were a christian I would not believe God wants to rule us on Earth, but rather in some other plane.
        
        robc 11 years ago
        
        Yes, of course. And the "fire and brimstone judgement" is also on that other plane.
4. Scruffy Nerfherder 11 years ago
  
  Jesus wouldn't give a shit about most of those, since Jesus believed that the only thing that mattered was your personal relationship with God.
  1. Bo Cara Esq. 11 years ago
    
    Jesus really was a libertarian in that I don't think he once endorsed state coercion for what he thought wrong or right. Of course as progressives would say with such a stance he had little chance of causing any real and meaningful change in the world.
    1. Jordan 11 years ago
      
      Oh, I'm stealing that one.
    2. Anonymous Coward 11 years ago
      
      "RENDER UNTO CAESAR! TOTALLY A PROGRESSIVE! DERP!
      1. robc 11 years ago
        
        Ive mentioned it here before, and its been about 20 years so I guess it isnt going to happen, but I have an outline in the back of my head for an essay entitle On Being Caesar.
    3. Certified Public Asskicker 11 years ago
      
      Alright, not bad Bo.
      
      I was raised Catholic, not really anything anymore (deist/agnostic I suppose) but I do hate when progressives try to play "Gotcha!" when it comes to how Jesus would have voted.
      1. waffles 11 years ago
        
        Jesus didn't vote!
        
        Certified Public Asskicker 11 years ago
        
        But what if we did? These hypotheticals are extremely important for some reason.
    4. tarran 11 years ago
      
      It's right there in the passages where he was tempted by Satan.
      
      Specifically, the third temptation was political power over the Earth. Jesus rejected it, choosing a path of peace instead.
    5. Stormy Dragon 11 years ago
      
      I don't know. An eternity of torture for not doing everything he demands seems pretty statist to me.
  2. ant1sthenes 11 years ago
    
    As reflected in your treatment of other people, it must be said.
5. Homple 11 years ago
  
  Years ago some religious planet savers anxious to discredit automobiles started asking "what would Jesus drive?"
  
  The best answer I heard was, since he was a carpenter, an F250 pickup with a crew cab and a chromed diamond plate toolbox in the back.
  1. Swiss Servator, Alles Klar 11 years ago
    
    Nice.
invisible furry hand 11 years ago

Sweden can have flavoured snus, but it can't label it as flavoured

http://www.thelocal.se/2014071.....lavours-eu
1. Scruffy Nerfherder 11 years ago
  
  But what about flavoured snu-snus?
  1. Bobarian 11 years ago
    
    The spirit is willing but the flesh is spongy and bruised.
Lord Humungus 11 years ago

why go on living?

Scientists Engineered Mutant Worms That Can't Get Drunk

A team of researchers in Texas recently did something extraordinary. They made a genetic tweak to worms' brains that made it impossible for them to get drunk. More specifically, the scientists modified the worms' genes so that a molecular channel that binds alcohol to their brains would no longer work. And humans have a similar molecular channel.
1. Rich 11 years ago
  
  Mutant Worms That Can't Get Drunk
  
  Nice band name.
2. robc 11 years ago
  
  Thats a good way to kill people.
  
  I can keep drinkin, I aint drunk yet!
  
  It wont turn off the BAC.
  1. Bobarian 11 years ago
    
    But why bother drinking?
    
    For the taste?
sloopyinva (previously -inca) 11 years ago

Revere, MA cop steals money used for controlled drug buy, admits to the crime and...is allowed to resign without facing any criminal charges. The lack of charges is due, apparently, to a new policy in the state where administrative penalties are used instead of criminal charges in order to maintain integrity in pending criminal cases.

http://www.reverejournal.com/2.....ce-money/#

Equal,protection is effectively dead in Massachusetts.
1. tarran 11 years ago
  
  It's been dead for a while.
  
  Here in MA they got rid of the dash cams because there were too many instances of the camera contradicting the police report.
  
  Most citizenry doesn't notice because their view is blocked by the clouds of smug.
invisible furry hand 11 years ago

She's too fat for Instagram
1. Lord Humungus 11 years ago
  
  Just too fat.
  1. Certified Public Asskicker 11 years ago
    
    Fat shamer!
    1. waffles 11 years ago
      
      Better than being a fat apologist.
2. Idle Hands 11 years ago
  
  Uhh this is like the third time this has been re-posted and I click it every time, because I see Instagram and I'm programmed to think i'm going to see a bevy of hot ass only to be treated to what I assume is a cosplay of the readership of Jezebel.
  1. Swiss Servator, Alles Klar 11 years ago
    
    "a cosplay of the readership of Jezebel"
    
    Nice.
    
    *applause*
Entropy Void 11 years ago

"A Justice Department investigation into the Internal Revenue Service has expanded to include an inquiry into the disappearance of emails from a former senior IRS official."

Move along, nothing to see here. You will receive any updates via email.

Or not.

/E. Holder
1. Jordan 11 years ago
  
  Isn't losing those e-mails a crime in and of itself, regardless of whether they are incriminating or not, or whether it was intentional or not? I'm pretty sure they're required by law to retain all official records.
  1. Scruffy Nerfherder 11 years ago
    
    The one time the principle of mens rea will be applied
  2. sarcasmic 11 years ago
    
    Who will prosecute? Exactly.
    1. Swiss Servator, Alles Klar 11 years ago
      
      Maybe find one person willing to take a misdemeanor hit then proclaim justice done and moveon.org.
Bo Cara Esq. 11 years ago

So the administration is taking steps to economically hit Russia's banks and energy sector? Only fair I guess since they've been doing the same to ours for six years.
1. Jordan 11 years ago
  
  Heh. Or their plan to fight climate change is to cripple every major economy in the world. It might be the first time in history a trade war was also a holy war.
  1. KDN 11 years ago
    
    The Fourth Crusade doesn't qualify?
    1. Swiss Servator, Alles Klar 11 years ago
      
      That was more a straight up opportunistic pillagin' and rapin' event, wasn't it?
      1. KDN 11 years ago
        
        I thought it was a little of both. From what I remember, Venice and Constantinople were going at it over eastern Mediterranean trade routes at the time, East and West had just schismed, and here come some Crusaders supported by Venetians and Rome to Constantinople right when the Byzantines had enacted a policy of Muslim appeasement since they were tired of getting their asses handed to them by the Turks. However could the Italians have known that the pillaging of their rival would occur?
2. Palin's Buttplug 11 years ago
  
  I actually support the fines like the $7 billion Citi just received for breach of contract. They misrepresented their shitty mortgages as conforming loans to the GSE's.
  
  Think of it as a civil suit for damages.
  1. Anonymous Coward 11 years ago
    
    Hey, Weigel. Fancy meeting you here.
    1. Mike M. 11 years ago
      
      Hey, Weigel.
      
      Of 2124 12th St NW Washington, DC 20009, phone number 202-261-2848.
      1. Emmerson Biggins 11 years ago
        
        Ok, do we really think this?
        
        Or is this just counter-trolling?
        
        I'm OK with it even it is just counter-trolling. But now I'm confused.
  2. Jordan 11 years ago
    
    No need to state the obvious. If it's done by the Obama Admin, it's understood that you will support it.
    1. Swiss Servator, Alles Klar 11 years ago
      
      Heh.
    2. Palin's Buttplug 11 years ago
      
      You prefer taxpayers pay the bill for scam artists in the private sector.
      
      Typical.
      1. Scruffy Nerfherder 11 years ago
        
        Actually, I would prefer that those who have committed fraud go to jail.
        
        waffles 11 years ago
        
        Good point. If malfeasance of this magnitude cost people their freedom rather than some faceless check being written out we would have much less of it.
        
        Palin's Buttplug 11 years ago
        
        The criminal definition of fraud was not met in these cases.
        
        Throwing some mid-level jackass into prison won't recover the damages anyway.
        
        Regulators and the GSE's are partly to blame for not doing their job as well.
        
        Maybe they were watching porn all day.
        
        Scruffy Nerfherder 11 years ago
        
        Is the point to recover the damages? Or is it to create a deterrence to future behavior?
        
        Citi has a guaranteed business, extracting $7 billion from them will do nothing in the long term. If it were that bad, they should lose their licensing and be broken up. If it were a violation worth $7 billion, somebody did something criminal. We put people in jail for not paying court fees.
        
        Palin's Buttplug 11 years ago
        
        Both.
        
        But just getting someone here to admit the private sector misbehaved on a massive scale is noteworthy.
        
        Of course the government oversight was incompetent as usual too. Govt will always eventually fail but there are more con men in the private sector.
        
        Look at Gov Rick Scott and his Medicare con. It takes two to tango - a con man and incompetent government.
        
        Sevo 11 years ago
        
        STFU, turd.
        
        Sevo 11 years ago
        
        go screw your daddy, turd.
      2. Sevo 11 years ago
        
        8%, turd.
  3. antisocial-ist 11 years ago
    
    Just like a civil suit, except the people who were defrauded will never see a dime of that money.
    1. Palin's Buttplug 11 years ago
      
      Nope, that is the Emo-prog false line. MBS investors were "defrauded" - not homeowners.
      
      People who got these NINJA bullshit loans were in on the act. Not that I can blame them too much. If a sham bank wants to loan you $500k so they can sell the paper off why turn it down?
  4. Sevo 11 years ago
    
    Where's the emails, turd?
sloopyinva (previously -inca) 11 years ago

The hilarious case where a Missouri cop thought he was using his taser but instead pulled his gun. The "gee whiz" moment only resulted in the shooting of a panhandler though, so I guess the misdemeanor charge is applicable.

Oh, and by the way, the cop is on paid leave and there's a good chance he'll keep his job after the trial.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/...../12493779/

I'm sure if you or I approached a schizophrenic panhandler and shot him in the back when he left, we'd also get an extended paid vacation and keep our job, right?
1. Swiss Servator, Alles Klar 11 years ago
  
  I'll go check the "policies and benefits" part of the HR page....maybe under "hobo shooting"?
  
  ......
  
  Nope, we don't get paid vacations for backshooting people, dammit!
2. sarcasmic 11 years ago
  
  Charged does not mean convicted.
  1. sloopyinva (previously -inca) 11 years ago
    
    Oh, I think it's safe to say he's going to plead guilty to a lesser charge and get a 30 day suspended sentence and he'll keep his job because he's one of the King's men.
    
    On the off chance he sees jail time, he can use all the PTO he's accumulating during the trial so he won't miss work. It's really a win-win from the taxpayers standpoint.
    1. sarcasmic 11 years ago
      
      Or he'll waive his right to a jury trial, get a sympathetic judge, and be found not guilty.
      1. Swiss Servator, Alles Klar 11 years ago
        
        Why waive when he could get 50 uniformed "supporters" to show up and stare at the jury?
Elspeth Flashman 11 years ago

Are you a tax protestor? Want to improve your arguments (or at least discover how typical arguments fail)? Look no further.
http://taxprof.typepad.com/tax.....dison.html
sarcasmic 11 years ago

Cop alleged to have kicked girl, 13, in state care

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/ne.....6992649729
He's caught on video kicking her in the head. Nothing else happened.
1. WTF 11 years ago
  
  So long as he was yelling "STOP RESISTING!" it's all good.
2. Aloysious 11 years ago
  
  Suggested theme song for these type of stories.
  1. BakedPenguin 11 years ago
    
    I thought it was going to be this.
sloopyinva (previously -inca) 11 years ago

Ill see your head-kicker, sarc, and raise you a cop using his squad car to escort drug runners. Of course he was at least sentenced...to probation.

His coo-defendant was sentenced to a year because he got leniency due to being a veteran.

http://www.chron.com/news/hous.....612298.php

You just can't make this shit up anymore.
1. Kaptious Kristen 11 years ago
  
  When y'all going to O'Shaughnessy's again?
  1. sloopyinva (previously -inca) 11 years ago
    
    Looks like Wednesday were gonna have a meetup there. I'll email ya.
Warty 11 years ago

Good news, everyone: Dick Dale is on tour. Plan accordingly.

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