Cantor Says Farewell, House GOP Border Bill Collapses, Wis. Restrictions on Public Unions Upheld: P.M. Links

• 

  Congressional Portrait

  Soon-to-be-former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), who lost his primary, gave his farewell address to Congress today. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will take over following the August recess.

• House Republicans couldn't agree on how to address the border crisis and thus a bill that was scheduled for vote today was abandoned.
• Wisconsin's Supreme Court has upheld the 2011 law that ended collective bargaining for most public employees, a victory for Republican Gov. Scott Walker.
• Regardless of any truces or cease-fires, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to destroy all of Hamas' secret tunnels.
• One single cop in Seattle has been responsible for 80 percent of marijuana tickets in the city this year since it has been legalized. He has been reassigned.
• Edward Snowden's one-year asylum in Russia is expiring and it's not clear yet whether it will be extended, though his lawyer believes it's likely he'll stay put for now.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

...Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to destroy all of Hamas' secret tunnels.

My friend vowed the same thing about the moles in his yard. We all know how that turned out.

[Andrew S.]

Sounds like the making of a direct-to-DVD Caddyshack 3!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

And weed. Don't forget about vowing to kill the weed in your grass. It consumes and eventually destroys you.

[Ted S.]

I thought you were supposed to smoke weed, not kill it.

[PD Scott]

Kill it with fire?

[Brandon]

Smoking pretty much does the trick

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Or you can eat a certain type of weed - chicory.

[C. Anacreon]

This is a mixture of Kentucky Bluegrass, Featherbed Bunt and Northern California Sinsemilla. The nice thing is, you can play nine holes on it, come home afterwards and get stoned to the Bejeezus Belt.

/two caddyshack references in one reply thread

[Brandon]

This is a hybrid. This is a cross, ah, of Bluegrass, Kentucky Bluegrass, Featherbed Bent, and Northern California Sensemilia. The amazing stuff about this is, that you can play 36 holes on it in the afternoon, take it home and just get stoned to the bejeezus-belt that night on this stuff.

[C. Anacreon]

dammit

[Sevo]

Chron (lefty) bizz writer has bad news:
""Many" Californians with health insurance, who have experienced double digit rate increases in premiums in recent years, are seeing them go even higher this year, according the California Department of Insurance. Defying "pronouncements" that 2014 rates would be lower, average rate increases for people who had insurance in 2013, factoring age and geography, "averaged between 22-88%."
http://blog.sfgate.com/bottoml.....ark-place/
Yep, that O'care is really bending the cost curve, isn't it? And part of the problem is those healthy young-uns aren't signing up, but our slimy lefty as a solution:
"And perhaps where some [?] political pressure needs to be applied."
Thuggery: It's what the left is all about!

[Sudden]

He said it would bend the cost curve. The direction of the bend was a bit more vague.

[Omni]

"He said it would bend the cost curve"

Or did he say "Prepare to bend over and receive the cost curve?"

[Pro Libertate]

Untold millions are getting screwed for the benefit of a very small number of people, who aren't quite sure what the benefit is to them. Not counting insurers, of course. Sluts.

[JW]

So, the system works?

[Pro Libertate]

Precisely as planned.

[db]

Man crashes car into bee infested home, dies.

Police spokesman Alex Krycek dismissed reports of a dark liquid reportedly seen in the driver's eyes just after the crash, saying that at the time, the planet Venus was at an elevation likely to interfere with witnesses' vision.

[PD Scott]

"Not the bees!"

[gimmeasammich]

"Oh my God it actually worked! Richard!"

"I think I just threw up on an ant hill."

[Jose Chung]

Alex Krycek... wasn't he one of the conspirators on the X-Files?

[Fist of Etiquette]

With a screen name like that, we're supposed to take this question seriously?

[db]

Rrrrrr.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Geez. Two minutes to hit refresh. I can't be blamed for that.

[Ted S.]

He tried to hit refresh, but he hit the period key instead.

[db]

Yeah, but I wanted to work the pun in there somehow. And that pun was smoking, man.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I DON'T GET IT.

[db]

I am not going to explain to you the nature of the pun.

[db]

With a handle like yours, I want to believe you know the answer.

[Jose Chung]

Ugh, didn't read the whole comment.. derp.

[db]

'Fess up: you're actually Darin Morgan, aren't you?

[CE]

"The planet Venus", sure -- we all know that it was really a UFO.

[Elspeth Flashman]

But were the bees okay? Where was BeeTagger?

[Bee Tagger]

Let's just say work's been bzzier lately.

[Elspeth Flashman]

Thanks for the update. Same here. Plus summer time sucks monkey balls for child care schedules.

[Loki]

+1 Truth is Out There.

[Fist of Etiquette]

One single cop in Seattle has been responsible for 80 percent of marijuana tickets in the city this year since it has been legalized.

And that officer's name was Eliot Ness.

[Brandon]

Harry Anslinger IV.

[Dr. Fronkensteen]

Dunphy's going to keep on writing those tickets until he gets Episiarch.

[Sudden]

/thread

[Cunning Linguist]

my wife's cousin is Dunphy on book of faces. Why can't I leave well enough alone?

[gimmeasammich]

Soon-to-be-former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), who lost his primary, gave his farewell address to Congress today. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will take over following the August recess.

"Well... bye."

/Curly Bill

[Fist of Etiquette]

Smells like someone's career died.

[Ted S.]

How long until he shows up as a lobbyist?

[Elspeth Flashman]

You know the answer: not long enough.

[fish]

How long until he shows up as a lobbyist?

Are you kidding?.he gave his congressional farewell speech at his New Employee Orientation at FuckTheTaxpayer.com!

[JW]

Wasn't that his job in the first place?

[Jordan]

+1 Huckleberry

[BiMonSciFiCon]

One single cop in Seattle has been responsible for 80 percent of marijuana tickets in the city this year since it has been legalized. He has been reassigned.

So THAT'S what our favorite cop has been doing.

[Andrew S.]

He was reassigned to the Seattle PD surf team. Gives him more time to spend with the numerous bikini models that worship him.

[C. Anacreon]

Of course they worship him, with his gym-rat Mr Olympia-style ripped upper body

[Pi Guy]

+1 Morgan Fairchild

[rts]

Oh man, I hope the strike goes on until my youngest turns 13:

B.C. teachers' strike: parents to get $40 a day if strike continues

The B.C. government is offering the parents of each public school student under the age of 13 years $40 a day to help pay for child-care costs or tutoring if the provincial teachers' strike is not over by the start of classes in September.

[Ted S.]

The money ought to come out of the teachers' pension fund.

[paranoid android]

The B.C. government is offering the parents of each public school student under the age of 13 years $40 a day to help pay for child-care costs or tutoring if the provincial teachers' strike is not over by the start of classes in September.

Now, now, I know they're upset about the strike, but calling all of those teachers "provincial" is just rude.

[PD Scott]

Take from the taxpayers, give to the taxpayers. Thank God government is there to facilitate the process.

[Brandon]

Admission that public school is just overpriced babysitting?

[Cytotoxic]

$40 a day to help pay for child-care costs or tutoring

This is could be the most brilliant education-privatization coup de'grace in history! Who knew that Christy Clark was a machiavellian ultra-libertarian operator! She certainly does not look the part.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Edward Snowden's one-year asylum in Russia is expiring and it's not clear yet whether it will be extended, though his lawyer believes it's likely he'll stay put for now.

What easier way for Putin to stick it to Obama?

[entropy_factor]

honestly, I'd love for Snowden to come back to the States. Now that he is so high-profile, he wouldn't "disappear". And his trial could reveal some interesting shit. Yeah, he may get a sentence, but I think the govt would be wary of really throwing the book at him.

Oh, and a Prez Rand could pardon him.

[Elspeth Flashman]

You dreamer!

[Ted S.]

Your misguided confidence is refreshing.

[entropy_factor]

not confidence really, I'd just love to see a resolution. Sometimes martyrs are necessary, even though I think Snowden is a hero.

The leaks are so high profile, probably the most since the Pentagon Papers, that I just couldn't see a life sentence or execution or something. And Obama will be done in 2016. I just would love to see the govt really on its heels having to say "yeah well he's right, and these programs are illegal, but, but, but, TREASON"!

He would lose the court case, but perhaps we could gain a victory of public opinion against the govt.

That, or we will all be ruled by robots in 10 years and none of it fucking matters.

[Ted S.]

It's easy to make somebody else be a martyr.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Fun, too.

[entropy_factor]

dude, he is in the situation, not us. He had to know there would be SOME resolution, good or bad. I think we can't just ignore the revelations anymore. It has to be confronted, the sooner the better, because eventually ppl will just forget and stop caring. Then all the leaks are for nothing.

[Loki]

That, or we will all be ruled by robots in 10 years and none of it fucking matters

I for one will welcome our new robot overlords!

[Andrew S.]

I wish I could be as optimistic as you are.

[entropy_factor]

idk if I'm optimistic, but I think there has to be a resolution at some point. Pentagon Papers were just as damning and the actual process of confronting the charges legitimized his actions, IMO

[Andrew S.]

Ellsberg has said that wouldn't be possible nowadays. He's said that if he were to do it in today's environment, he'd run as well.

[entropy_factor]

yeah I know but I just think Snowden's story will (has) fade away without confrontation. Wat, is Moscow his home for the next 50 years? C'mon. There is an end game.

[kinnath]

You grew up after the Berlin Wall came down didn't you?

[kinnath]

Mr Snowden would die in custody due to undiagnosed suicidal tendencies.

[The Last American Hero]

He comes back, he winds up like the terror suspect that died from a gunshot wound while under FBI interrogation.

If he knows what's good for him, he stays put.

[rts]

Not sure if serious...

Blogger fired from language school over 'homophonia'

But when the social-media specialist for a private Provo-based English language learning center wrote a blog explaining homophones, he was let go for creating the perception that the school promoted a gay agenda.

[PD Scott]

Homophoniaphobia!

[Stormy Dragon]

If we let our children be exposed to homophones without complaint, the next thing you know people like Torkildson will be advocating that schools teach them how to conjugate!

[Agammamon]

Got to keep our children away from those horrible pediatricians and podiatrists too!

[db]

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to destroy all of Hamas' secret tunnels

Bill Murray called in to consult IDF for the task.

[C. Anacreon]

"Hey, we're all gonna get laid!"

[Andrew S.]

Any Baltimore-ians around? Other than "don't go outside at night", and besides a convention involving colorful miniature equines, any other suggestions (whether food/sights) for the weekend?

[John]

Inner Harbor and Fells Point.

[Andrew S.]

That's rather generic. Staying around the Inner Harbor though.

[db]

Torsk!

[thom]

When I lived in Baltimore I would take my visitors to:

Lexington Market for crab-cakes at Faidleys

Poe's Grave

Ft McHenry

Fells Point

[Ted S.]

Get out of Baltimore? :-p

[KDN]

The wife and I always make it a point to go to Max's Taphouse in Fells Point. Huge beer selection, deliciously unhealthy bar food. Perfect for washing that dirty clop stink off of you.

http://www.maxs.com/menu.php

There's also Brewer's Art in Mt. Vernon, like 1.5 mi away. Never had the food, but it's a microbrewery with a very good product.

Apologies if you don't plan on drinking, but I'm young and childless so that's what I focus on when in a city.

[The Last American Hero]

I liked the aquarium.

[Arkansaustrian Economics]

Aquarium. Yes.

[Sevo]

And I was late this morning:
4th installment of the guy's full-page ads:
'in the last 20 years, population increased by 25% while spending grew by 200%, nearly all funded by borrowing'
http://ads.contracostatimes.co.....cations-ar

[rts]

'Mr. Big' stings get stricter rules from Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of Canada has upheld a lower court ruling that ordered a new trial for a Newfoundland murder suspect, in a decision that puts stricter rules on how police obtain confessions through "Mr.Big" sting operations, but does not forbid the practice.

Mr. Big stings are controversial operations in which undercover officers pose as criminals to draw confessions from suspects.

[Andrew S.]

I'm the one who wants to be with you (when you confess)
Deep inside I hope you feel it to
Waited on a line of greens and blues
Just to be the next to be with you

[Ted S.]

Damn you!

[entropy_factor]

House Republicans couldn't agree on how to address the border crisis and thus a bill that was scheduled for vote today was abandoned

Definitely missed a golden opportunity there to pass something and lay the blame at Reid and Obama's feet. GOP is good at only one thing- fucking things up/

[John]

What additional law do we need? The problem is not the law. It is that Obama refuses to enforce the law we have. What is Congress going to do besides legitimize Obama's action by amending the law to conform with Obama's actions?

[entropy_factor]

at this point, I don't care. It would kill the leftist talking point of "herp derp dey h8 the meskins!"

We are gonna have to wait till Obo is out of office to even have a chance at a lawful Prez. even then, I have my doubts. But at least with a passed bill,Obama cannot play the victim

[Ted S.]

No it wouldn't.

[entropy_factor]

cool story bro

[Ted S.]

No matter what the Republicans do, the Democrats are still going to use the "Republicans are racist/anti-Mecixan" talking point.

Look at the response to Rand Paul's proposoals regarding the racist nature of the drug war.

[Atanarjuat]

Just learn to ignore leftist talking points. It's almost always a distraction from their real goals.

[Cytotoxic]

The problem is not the law.

WRONG. America will not have a secure border until it is easy to legally immigrate. This bill sounded awful anyway.

[Stormy Dragon]

Blow to House G.O.P. Leadership as Border Bill Falters:

"This situation shows the intense concern within our conference ? and among the American people ? about the need to ensure the security of our borders and the president's refusal to faithfully execute our laws," House Republican leaders said in a statement. "There are numerous steps the president can and should be taking right now, without the need for congressional action, to secure our borders and ensure these children are returned swiftly and safely to their countries."

Why is President Obama, whom we're suing for acting alone without the approval of Congress, irresponsibly failing to address this crisis by acting alone without the approval of congress!?

[Redmanfms]

Stormy storms to the rescue of Team BLUE.

[Loki]

Regardless of any truces or cease-fires, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to destroy all of Hamas' secret tunnels.

How? Isn't the whole point of secret tunnels that they're secret?

[entropy_factor]

they should stop fucking around, annex Gaza like they are eventually going to do anyway, oppress them for 40 years or so, then a Mohammad Luther King JR could emerge and lead a civil rights movement. Yaaayyyyyy

but seriously, fuck that whole region

[Brett L]

OT: Email me if still interested in coordinating a Labor Day weekend meetup in Austin. Email should be linked to my handle.

[entropy_factor]

may do, I should be up here but I may go out of town too. who knows

[John]

Crazyfuckistan doesn't do nonviolent resistance well.

[entropy_factor]

agreed but I just like to joke about Gaza magically transforming and getting rid of Hamas. They'd be better for it, and if Israel continued to pound the civilians, it would tarnish their image more than it is. But, Palis being Palis, they will keep Hamas around and eventually require bulldozing at the hands of the Semetic Steamroller

[Corning]

but seriously, fuck that whole region

^^this

[Cytotoxic]

annex Gaza like they are eventually going to do anyway,

Still peddling that line of shit I see.

[rts]

I dare you to wade through this reddit thread:

About to have major lung surgery that would have bankrupt me before Obamacare. Thanks Obama!

I double-dog dare you...

[Sevo]

Lemme guess:
Now it'll bankrupt someone else!

[Andrew S.]

One of many reasons I unsubscribed from every default subreddit (except for AskScience and Movies)

[robc]

So my wifes doc/surgeon was talking about this kinda stuff at her last checkup.

His father was a doc too. Basically, pre medicare/medicaid, docs (and hospitals) were allowed to write off up to 20% of income for unpaid bills, so handling the poor for free wasnt a big deal (within reason, couldnt have too many). He wants a return to that system.

He doesnt have a medicare/medicaid number for filing. He is rich and could retire if he wanted, but just takes some cases for free instead of filing with them.

[Ted S.]

But that doesn't give the government CONTROL.

[Invisible Finger]

Unfortunately, the majority of doctors are totally incapable of handling money responsibly. You know, leftists.

[cavalier973]

Wisconsin's Supreme Court has upheld the 2011 law that ended collective bargaining for most public employees, a victory for Republican Gov. Scott Walker.

I see a Presidential Nomination in his future. And a movie deal.

[PD Scott]

Hmm, since movie making is a pretty well unionized industry, Walker will be the villain, right?

[Ted S.]

Not if they get Se?or Spielbergo to direct!

[cavalier973]

Racist!

[Mock-star]

provided that he's not pre-occupied on his latest dinosaur safari, of course.

[Corning]

House Republicans couldn't agree on how to address the border crisis and thus a bill that was scheduled for vote today was abandoned.

Smart move really. Even if they could agree there is a high probability something bad and fucked up would happen because of it. Better to just let Obama cause the inevitable disaster rather then volunteer to take blame for it.

[CE]

Somehow I doubt the answer will be "let's cut funding to the agency that isn't doing the job it's supposed to."

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Wonder how the group feels here about this. Here in Montreal the cops and firemen are protesting and angling for better pay and pensions. Since they can't walk off, they've taken to wearing camouflage pants, caps and plastering their patrol cars and trucks with syndicate stickers.

Personally, it tells me they can't be professional during a labor dispute.

The other day I was at a red light where cops were conducting a speed trap. One of them was leaned against the post talking to the car behind me. Just the way she spoke I was aggravated. It was like she belonged more in a truck stop than being a police officer. Then again, what's the diff these days?

[PD Scott]

People in truck stops shoot fewer people and way fewer dogs?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

More along the lines of how they speak to people. Truck drivers in diners is fine but when cops talk like them it's annoying. Yes, I do feel they should be polite at all fucking times.

[Ted S.]

Fuck Quebec government workers.

[Cytotoxic]

Fuck Quebec government workers.

[Jordan]

I don't get it. What is the significance of wearing camo pants? And wtf is a syndicate sticker?

But, yeah, sounds like they're a bunch of crybabies.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Stickers that represent their union.

[Jordan]

Gotcha. So is the camo pants thing just something that they randomly decided would be their symbol of protest or something?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Yes. And it's stupid. They look like whiny clowns.

[Ted S.]

My other comment shouldn't have the word "just" in it.

As for the camo pants, I'm reminded of when I was in college and the gay/lesbian organization tried to organize a "wear jeans day" to support gay rights.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

I haven't checked, but surely some conservative student group would counter with "Cleanliness week - take showers and wear deodorant this week to express your support for the Judeo-Christian foundations of Western civilization!"

[Loki]

Maybe it's because they like to pretend to be soldiers?

[Ted S.]

They're allowed to put such stickers on government property?

And the camo pants is just a sign that the police really think they are military.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Yeah. Amazing. I remember postal workers doing the same with mail boxes.

[Invisible Finger]

They put camo pants on mail boxes?

[Corning]

And wtf is a syndicate sticker?

I am guessing the syndicate is another name for Union.

Sooo union sticker.

....

If biscuits are cookies what do the British call biscuits?

Can you even order biscuits and gravy?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

In French they're called 'synicats.' I took it for granted you could translate it into 'synidicate' and use it for union. But syndicate may have a different meaning.

[Ted S.]

"Syndicate" has been used for when Mob groups from various parts of the country collaborate, so it would be appropriate for a government-sector union.

There's also syndicalism.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

That's what I thought Ted.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

syndicats. damn. sorry.

[BakedPenguin]

Here in the US, "Syndicate" can be used for an organized crime group, so pretty much the same.

[Ted S.]

Scones, although I think the freaks pronoune it "scoons".

[SugarFree]

In the UK, biscuits and gravy are called "smeck and fluffers."

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I was gonna go with cock and cum but whatever.

[Ted S.]

Your cum is gravy-colored? You might want to see a doctor about that.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Tastes like...gravy.

[db]

But, chunks are okay, right?

[Corning]

smeck and fluffers

We in the US really need to adopt not only every cuss word the English have to offer but also need to adopt their frequent everyday use of them.

[Trouser-Pod]

All right-you threw it down...

Will we see Warty ordering "smeck and fluffers" in a new adventure?

[db]

"Who wants a banger in the mouth?"

[Trouser-Pod]

"Don't call it that."

[Coeus]

What does Thomas Massie know about 9/11?

U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. on the Glenn Beck Program Tuesday said there will be "anger, frustration and embarrassment" if a classified 28-pages of an intelligence report on the 9/11 terrorist attacks are released to the public.

"It is sort of shocking when you read it," Massie said in the press conference. "As I read it, we all had our own experience, I had to stop every couple of pages and absorb and try to re-arrange my understanding of history for the past 13 years and the years leading up to that. It challenges you to re-think everything."

Massie told Glenn Beck that the information won't damage the United States but will cause some embarrassment.

"This will not tear our country apart," Massie responded. "It will be embarrassing. It will not endanger us to release this information. But the American public needs to have it.

[Stormy Dragon]

Given that he's not on any commitees which would allow access to classified documents, I'm pretty sure he doesn't know squat and is making the whole thing up.

[Coeus]

So the TSA would have nothing to do with this?

[Ted S.]

And making himself look like a Truther. 🙁

[Atanarjuat]

When he says "embarrassing", my mind goes straight to incompetent federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies dropping the ball. When could this possibly be released?

[Loki]

I think that's more likely than any kind of blatant truther type stuff. But rank incompetence from top to bottom wouldn't surprise me.

[PD Scott]

Late on a Friday afternoon is the traditional time to release info that makes the govt look bad.

[Coeus]

Some people think that it was orchestrated by america's oldest enemy.

[db]

What, women's rights?

[Cytotoxic]

Better question: why did Massie vote against suing Obama?

[Corning]

One single cop in Seattle has been responsible for 80 percent of marijuana tickets in the city this year since it has been legalized. He has been reassigned.

Dunphy knows this guy.

[Anonymous Coward]

"Partners in Powerlifting."

[Loki]

Dunphy knows is this guy.

FTFY. Probably.

[Corning]

No. He is a cop brutality apologist but he was pretty clear on his desire to legalize pot.

[derpules]

More gun derp from the NYT

[Brandon]

Jesus, even Kristof's profile picture sucks.It looks like the propped the corners of his mouth up with toothpicks.

[Brandon]

If we had the same auto fatality rate today that we had in 1921, by my calculations we would have 715,000 Americans dying annually in vehicle accidents.

Instead, we've reduced the fatality rate by more than 95 percent ? not by confiscating cars, but by regulating them and their drivers sensibly.

You mean by consumers demanding safer, more comfortable vehicles?

[Brandon]

My God, the stupid just keeps on going.

Yet, instead, we built a system that protects us from ourselves. This saves hundreds of thousands of lives a year and is a model of what we should do with guns in America.

Lives created or saved! Totally not an unfalsifiable meaningless waste of words!

[Coeus]

So he wants no restrictions at all as long as the guns are kept on private property?

[Brandon]

Why can't I stop looking?

Yet the paradox is that a bit more than a century ago, there was no universally recognized individual right to bear arms in the United States...

There wasn't? The Second Amendment didn't exist a century ago?

[paranoid android]

There wasn't? The Second Amendment didn't exist a century ago?

Well it is true that just over a century ago there was a somewhat large population that didn't recognize a universal right to gun ownership. That would be the population of southern Democrats that sought to enact laws barring freed slaves from possessing firearms.

[Anonymous Coward]

Yet the gun lobby is too strong, or our politicians too craven, to do the same for guns. So guns and cars now each kill more than 30,000 in America every year.

First, I wasn't aware that there were roving gangs of guns and cars stalking the land, killing anyone hapless enough to cross their paths. Second, Mr. Kristof insinuates bad faith on the part of people defending the right to keep and bear arms while arguing in bad faith himself. Were he anything remotely resembling an honest commentator, he would note that 2/3 of all firearms deaths are suicides. Of course, he won't do that because he can't let a little thing like truth fuck up his argument.

[Doghouse Reilly]

Regardless of any truces or cease-fires, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to destroy all of Hamas' secret tunnels.

If only this plan really existed. Can't say I'd blame them for trying something different.

[Brandon]

Well, destabilizing the region would probably collapse a lot of those tunnels, so there's that.

[Corning]

Edward Snowden's one-year asylum in Russia is expiring and it's not clear yet whether it will be extended, though his lawyer believes it's likely he'll stay put for now.

Until a CIA agent bribes a few officials and a black ops team puts a bag over his head.

[a better weapon]

I've had this satirical bit as my FB status up for over 5 hours now and supportive comments from prog friends keep coming in. They literally have no idea its bunk, but they are fucking agreeing with it! My more liberty minded friends are all just liking it and not saying a thing. We are having a grand old time in my message bin over some of the comments.

Saw broken glass on a street today and it triggered the memory of when my car was broken into. I remember the intrusive nature of the policeman's questions "Did you leave out any valuables?" "Was the CD case and GPS just sitting out in the open?". The officer assured me these were just "routine questions."

Unbelievable right? Apparently it's "routine" to victim-blame! I think we should spend less time shaming victims of burglaries and more time teaching people not to burglarize. We just choose not to teach people to not burgle other people. When a sign says I should 'hide my valuables,' I don't see advice or help, I see a message that we live in a society that says it's ok for guys to be burglars.

[C. Anacreon]

Nice. Not one of your FB friends sees the disguised rape argument?

[a better weapon]

Oh they do, just not the progressive ones. It's going much better than I ever planned.

[Coeus]

Reality based

That's why a $50 cocktail in the hands of a Koch brother is just a cocktail, but a $15 cocktail in the hand of Rachel Maddow is grounds for accusations of being high and mighty. Leadership on the right has very good reason to believe that if their followers actually engaged with the arguments being offered by those evidence-loving, reality-based liberals, they might start finding those arguments persuasive. So the key is to head it off at the pass, convince their audiences not to listen to the arguments in the first place. You can't actually hear the evidence for global warming if you're too busy slagging on the messenger for thinking he's so smart with his PhDs and his facts. Which is exactly where conservative leadership wants their audiences to be.

[Cytotoxic]

These are the people who want us to believe the Kochs are evil because...well they are don't listen to them. PROJECTION TIME

[Anonymous Coward]

Leadership on the right has very good reason to believe that if their followers actually engaged with the arguments being offered by those evidence-loving, reality-based liberals, they might start finding those arguments persuasive.

I didn't know that screeching at people that they are racist/sexist/patriarchal/othering/etc. rose to the level of evidence-loving, much less arguing persuasively.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

http://yhoo.it/1lgRrJI

Man sues C. Ronaldo over CR7 trademark.

"In a complaint filed Monday in Rhode Island federal court, 43-year-old fitness enthusiast Christopher Renzi said he had received letters from lawyers for the Danish company JBS Textile Group demanding he give up the trademark because it had "imminent plans" to enter the U.S. market with Ronaldo's CR7 underwear."

Fuck them.

[Ted S.]

Isn't being there first an automatic defense?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

"You could use CR8 or CR6. Why do you have to use CR7? Or DR7 or BR7. We don't care just be reasonable!"

[Brett L]

Not imminent enough to file a trademark.

[vserve629]

Sounds like a pretty good plan to me dude.

http://www.WentAnon.tk

[barfman2014]

*barf*

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"The world's first ever all-atheist TV channel officially launched Tuesday, with American Atheist president David Silverman declaring it is geared toward all atheists, everywhere....

"Atheist TV was launched through streaming service Roku, and partners with other atheist groups, such as the Richard Dawkins Foundation....

"In an earlier press release, Silverman promised that the channel will offer "superstition-free programming" for adults and children."

http://www.christianpost.com/n.....ry-124097/

Related - Silverman denounces the Hobby Lobby decision and supports legislation to overturn it:

"If you think your god prohibits certain types of birth control, then don't use them, but access to health services guaranteed under the law is an employee's right, and it's a right American Atheists defends, and a right for which we will fight."

http://news.atheists.org/2014/.....by-ruling/

[Anonymous Coward]

"If you think your god prohibits certain types of birth control, then don't use them, but access to health services guaranteed under the law is an employee's right, and it's a right American Atheists defends, and a right for which we will fight."

What a nice hill you've chosen to die on. Plenty of shade, gentle breezes, soft grass. All in all, ideal.

[Sevo]

"but access to health services guaranteed under the law is an employee's right, and it's a right American Atheists defends, and a right for which we will fight.""

"we"?
Fuck off, slaver.

[Blueman]

I notice this "we" rhetoric a lot on the left. I assume they mean the royal "we".

[Derpetologist]

No one lacks access to BC. It's matter of WHO pays for it.

When a prog chooses a word, it means exactly what they want to mean, neither more nor less.

Have I mentioned lately how thoroughly I despise leftists?

[Stormy Dragon]

American Atheist president David Silverman

Is the american atheist president like the black student council president back in college?

[See Double You]

"In an earlier press release, Silverman promised that the channel will offer "superstition-free programming" for adults and children."

As is your right to offer.

"If you think your god prohibits certain types of birth control, then don't use them, but access to health services guaranteed under the law is an employee's right, and it's a right American Atheists defends, and a right for which we will fight."

No. Fuck off and die in a fire.

[Coeus]

Shelia Jackson Lee Rides again.

Texas Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee argued Wednesday the Republican effort to sue President Obama is nothing but a veiled attempt to impeach him ? something Democrats never did to President George W. Bush:

I ask my colleagues to oppose this resolution for it is in fact a veiled attempt at impeachment and it undermines the law that allows a president to do his job. A historical fact: President Bush pushed this nation into a war that had little to do with apprehending terrorists. We did not seek an impeachment of President Bush, because as an executive, he had his authority. President Obama has the authority.

Except former Rep. Dennis Kucinich did actually introduce a bill to impeach Bush in 2008 ? and Jackson Lee actually was a co-sponsor to the legislation.

[See Double You]

Except former Rep. Dennis Kucinich did actually introduce a bill to impeach Bush in 2008 ? and Jackson Lee actually was a co-sponsor to the legislation.

I wasn't aware of this.

Wow, she is either incredibly stupid or a liar.

[Coeus]

It's Shelia Jackson Lee. My representative. She is both a liar and an idiot. But mainly an idiot.

Here's a list of some of her greatest hits.

[Raven Nation]

Don't forget these two:

"No tribute to the intellectual firepower of Congresswoman Shiela Jackson-Lee would be complete without her famous visit to NASA JPL. She wanted to know if the Mars rover would have any footage of where the astronauts planted the flag before. She also drinks the other dark cola, because Pepsi, you see, has racist commercials.

Oh, and who could possibly forget?.

One of Lee's crusades as a Representative of subtropical Gulf Coast Houston has been to end what she calls the government policy of giving hurricanes "lily white" names. "All racial groups should be represented," she told The Hill Magazine, adding that she hoped the weather establishment in the future "would try to be inclusive of African American names" such as "Keisha, Jamal and Deshawn."

More here:

http://www.redstate.com/diary/.....peechless/

[See Double You]

Stand-up-comedy gold.

But seriously, taxpayers are forced to pay for this person to...do what, exactly? Remain woefully misinformed?

[Raven Nation]

There is ignorance of the highest level among leftists who believe that liberals are inherently smarter than non-liberals (for the record, I don't believe the reverse is true).

The list of idiocy on the Democrat side of Congress is lengthy. Even the light-bringer has demonstrated his stupidity at times but it is always excused.

[Headless Body of Agnew]

And the minute hurricane Jamal knocked down a tree or a powerline anywhere on the East Coast, she would turn around and accuse the Weather Service of racism for spreading the stereotype that blacks are blustering, chaotic, windy, and prone to make white people in windbreakers with microphone in their hands fall over themselves for dramatic effect.

[Sevo]

Coeus|7.31.14 @ 6:59PM|#
"It's Shelia Jackson Lee. My representative"

Yer lucky; I live in San Francisco.

[Coeus]

At least you don't have to put up with people bitching about the "horrible republican gerrymandering" from inside a Dem district that resembles stringy vomit.

[See Double You]

it undermines the law that allows a president to do his job.

And what law is that?

We did not seek an impeachment of President Bush, because as an executive, he had his authority. President Obama has the authority.

She sounds like a fan of the Unitary Executive Theory. For that alone she does not belong anywhere near Congress.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

When the Founding Fathers talked about a Unitary Executive, they just meant that there would be one President, not a panel of 3 or 5 people exercising Presidential authority.

Having one President rather than a committee was itself a sufficiently radical move in a country which (at the time) was skeptical of anything even squinting at monarchical authority.

So the U.S. Constitution established the principle that the executive power (however defined) would be wielded by a single person and not by a committee.

It took modern commentators to expand this principle to mean that the executive power could override the legislative. If the Founders had any hint that their Unitary Executive idea would be misused this way, they would have freaked.

[See Double You]

It took modern commentators to expand this principle to mean that the executive power could override the legislative. If the Founders had any hint that their Unitary Executive idea would be misused this way, they would have freaked.

Yes, this is what I was referring to. I should have specified the theory as the Strong Unitary Executive.

[Agammamon]

One single cop in Seattle has been responsible for 80 percent of marijuana tickets in the city this year since it has been legalized. He has been reassigned.

Dunphy?