Rand Paul Lectures Against Arming Syrians, Clapper Insisting He Didn't Lie About Surveillance, Border Patrol Tests Body Cameras: P.M. Links

• 

  James Clapper

  Sen. Rand Paul gave a huge speech on the Senate floor opposing the arming of Syrian rebels, calling it a mistake that will destabilize the region even further. His warnings may be falling on deaf ears.

• Director of Intelligence James Clapper says his now-famous lie to the Senate that the National Security Agency was not collecting data about millions of Americans wasn't a lie at all. He just misspoke. This is his position now after previously saying he gave the "least untruthful" answer he could give. Pretty ballsy.
• The Air Force will change its policy and make the "so help me God" part of its oath optional. They had courted controversy when an atheist airman attempted to reenlist and got into trouble for crossing that part out.
• I know we're all pretty tired of Pharrell Williams' song "Happy" by now, but Iran took it a step further and sentenced a group of citizens to lashes for posting a video of themselves online dancing along to the music.
• British journalists investigating the deaths of Russian servicemen on the border of Ukraine have been attacked by unnamed assailants and their recordings erased.
• The Border Patrol is going to test wearing body cameras in response to complaints about misconduct and lack of transparency.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

He just misspoke.

It was a pretty concise misspeaking.

[Aloysious]

Just the picture of that fuckhead makes me angry. I want him in jail. Pronto.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Like you wouldn't have a similar contempt for Congress.

[Aloysious]

Like you wouldn't have a similar contempt for Congress.

I wouldn't. My contempt for Congress runs much, much deeper.

[Rich]

Really. Where's Eric Holder?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Campaigning for congressional Democrats.

[Bobarian (dinosaur hunter)]

That alttext could be used for a whole lot of mother-fuckers.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

[Ted S.]

If he really wanted to make people angry, he'd respond like Jameis Winston did.

[AlmightyJB]

I'm not sure what's so ballsy given that no accountability exist at that level.

[Ken Shultz]

He just misspoke?

Well, the jury should definitely take under consideration--although he'd probably be better off foregoing a jury trial and just making his case to a judge.

Was he under oath?

Perjury is still a crime, right?

[Marshall Gill]

Perjury is still a crime, right?

That depends on what the meaning of is, is.

[Sevo]

And what level of gov't employment is involved.

[CE]

So is destruction of evidence, unless you work for the IRS.

[Brett L]

Martha Stewart misspoke in a similar manner.

[AlmightyJB]

I like that Martha didn't whine or bitch even though she had every right to.

[gaoxiaen]

That song deserves at least twenty-five lashes. I'd take ten to never hear it again.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Sen. Rand Paul gave a huge speech on the Senate floor opposing the arming of Syrian rebels, calling it a mistake that will destabilize the region even further.

Take your isolationism somewhere else, Senator.

[The Last American Hero]

Interesting play. If we are knee deep in the shit in 2 years, he could ride this speech to the Presidency against the war-mongering harpy.

[Ken Shultz]

At best*, it'll play out like the atrocities the Contras committed.

There's no way the rebels will abide by international law, and when their atrocities are publicized, the people who voted to arm, train, and finance them will look like they have blood on their hands.

The other thing is that, like I said elsewhere, this is being sold as if the Syrian rebels are going to go after ISIS, but, just to remind everybody, the Syrian rebels aren't rebelling against ISIS. They're rebelling against Assad.

I don't see why arming the Syrian rebels is going to be especially effective on the ground against ISIS in Iraq unless we're planning to let them invade Iraq. I don't know why the Syrian rebels would want to go on that kind of excursion, even. Their main objective is to fight Assad and Assad's allies in Syria, (Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I....._Civil_War

Two years from now, if the Syrian rebels haven't committed any atrocities and if they're fighting ISIS instead of Assad and his allies? I'll donate one dollar to the Hillary Clinton campaign (although I'd rather just chop off one of my fingers).

*From the Rand Paul campaign's most pragmatic standpoint.

[AlmightyJB]

Exactly. It's not like this shit hasn't been played out many times before. Of course, the right people are in charge so I'm sure this time will be different.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

British journalists investigating the deaths of Russian servicemen on the border of Ukraine have been attacked by unnamed assailants and their recordings erased.

Don't they know the First Amendment protects that sort of thing?

[Jerryskids]

British journalists investigating the deaths of Russian servicemen on the border of Ukraine have been attacked by unnamed assailants and their recordings erased.

NYPD?

[Longtorso, Johnny]

"Catalist," Obama's Borg-Like Base-Turnout Machine
...The second example involves a recent statewide election. In a state where one Democrat and one Republican must be appointed to run each precinct, an election official described for me a problem encountered with the Democratic Party. It seems the Democrat she nominated to run the polls wasn't sufficiently ideologically pure. What evidence did the party have to object to her bona fides? A response to a telephone survey many years earlier in which the nominated poll official wasn't supporting the Democratic nominee for United States Senate...

[John]

We know that all of the tech companies were in the pocket of the NSA. We know that they also worked for the Obama campaign. Can you think of a single reason not to think Obama didn't use the NSA in his re-election campaign? I can't.

I also wouldn't be surprised if that information is what kept Snowden alive and Greenwald out of prison. Am I just a cynic here?

[Longtorso, Johnny]

John you paranoid SOB, next you'll start thinking they weaponized the IRS.

[tarran]

Normally, I would call such thoughts paranoid.

But, honestly, look at how much effort the Obama admin has put into harvesting personal information. The Change.gov website that harvests emails; the Obamacare exchanges; the IRS demands that conservative groups turn over donor lists.

These guys are building a huge database. And honestly, given their generally lawless nature, I doubt that they care how they get the data to the political campaigns.

And, even if they don't plan on doing anything now, that could change. I'm sure that in the 20's the families in France that checked Jew on the religion question on their census cards had no idea that the resultant punched cards would 15 years later bring cops to their door with instructions to put them in box cars.

[John]

Look how poorly they did in 2010 when there was no huge Obama campaign operation. Then we get 2012 and all of the previous polling and turnout models turn out wrong. Romeney held down the base and won independents by double digits. In any proceeding election a candidate of either party who did that would have won easily. Instead, there is this incredible turnout among Dems that gets Obama the win. That just happened because Dems loved Obama I am sure. It is not like the Dem base wouldn't have done anything to beat Bush in 00 of 04 or something. Nope it was just Obama's charisma.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Obama received about 8 million fewer votes in 2012 than he did in 2008, you dolt.

[John]

Yes, the country hated his guts. His first term was a complete failure. That is the whole point.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Still, Obama was an easy winner over Milt Romney.

[Sevo]

Palin's Buttplug|9.18.14 @ 5:00PM|#
"Still, Obama"...

Go away, turd.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Hey Weigel.

[Ken Shultz]

It isn't sentient.

[tarran]

The weird thing is that starting about four years ago, the local dem machine became very interested in whether my mom goes to the polls or not.

My mom is a staunch Republican. Every statewide election, they would call, around noonish, and ask if she needed a ride to go to the polls. The conversation would go something like: "have you voted yet? We're just calling to see if you want us to send someone later to give you a ride to the polls..."

My mom, who saw some pretty nasty, corrupt Turkish elections cum voter suppression firsthand, is of the opinion that the offer was a fake one - either to get her to stay home waiting for the ride that never showed up - or possibly to see if they could get someone to vote in her place.

I thought it really weird; the dem machine owns massachusetts. However, as I write this, I can think of few better places to experiment with various get out the vote schemes without risking the loss of an election.

[John]

Part of the effort is figuring out if people like your mother are going to vote. If they are not going to vote, then you can send a volunteer down to vote for them. This is why they hate voter ID laws so much.

You can see how useful the tech companies and data mining would be. It would allow you to figure out which people are unlikely to vote and then target them and get them not to allowing you to vote for them. They have made an art of doing that.

[Dr. Fronkensteen]

But is a lot of that done in person? There are stories of pets that get called up for jury duty. I assume the animal was registered to vote. Even without voter ID Fido's not voting in person. I'm thinking more absentee ballots.

[John]

That too Dr. Frankensteen. Watch any closely contested election and there is always a flood of late absentee ballots for the D. Funny that.

[thom]

Seems like a more likely use for the NSA would just be to do top-line adjustments of the numbers themselves.

[Ted S.]

Thank you IBM.

[gaoxiaen]

You're welcome, Mr Diebold.

[Dances-with-Trolls]

I don't think something like that could stay secret. It would require too many moving parts. It think it's much more likely that tech companies had employees that gave information to the Democrats than the NSA passing that data along. Also, I can't really see them taking that chance. If something like that ever saw the light of day even a diminished America would go crazy.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Would it see the light of day? The media would keep quiet.

[Dances-with-Trolls]

Not all of the media, it's not like the old days where they could completely black out a story. Too many outlets with diffuse ideological leanings.

[John]

I see your point. But they have managed to keep the IRS quiet. Yeah, the IG found out about it. But as of yet no one has stepped forward and spilled the beans.

These people are remarkable fanatics. You name me a single person associated with Obama who has sold out and turned on them while he has been in office. I can't think of one. Can you?

[Dances-with-Trolls]

I think the IRS and NSA have very different personalities, and their functioning is different. Harder to create a politically motivated cadre willing to behave criminally for the cause. Shuffling papers at the IRS is an order of magnitude less complex than working at the NSA, so also, a smaller pool of people to try and create that cadre from. Additionally, the NSA relies a lot more on ex-military members, for example, many of whom take their oaths seriously.

I don't see it. Not saying that they couldn't keep something they could justify as within the bounds of their mission secret, but outright political manipulation? I don't think we are there yet.

[John]

The NSA is easier to corrupt. Leak shit that is going on at the IRS and you just get fired. Say anything about what is going on at the NSA and you go to prison. If they used the NSA for political purposes, there is little danger that anyone in the NSA would ever leak it since doing so would subject them to a potential life in prison.

Also, the NSA is very compartmentalized. So you just need a few of your political people in there to do the work. the rest of the agency will have no idea its going on.

[tarran]

So you just need a few of your political people in there to do the work. the rest of the agency will have no idea its going on.

THIS!

[Dances-with-Trolls]

It's a double edged sword. There are definitely greater dangers for an NSA employee, but there are also potentially greater protections because of the magnitude of the abuse that manipulating an election would entail. I think that in the end this is a wash.

The NSA is certainly compartmentalized, but that is not a perfect solution. Just think of Snowden and what he was able to eventually expose. It didn't stop it from happening, but they couldn't keep it a secret forever because all it took was one person to blow it up.

I have family members and friends that spent their careers working at the NSA (Hi everyone!) and have lived on Ft. Meade meeting many more. I just can't see something as big as this flying under the radar forever, and knowing the stakes, that anyone is willing to gamble on it doing so.

I could be wrong, but considering that there are so many other viable methods for the political parties to gain that information already I don't think I am.

[CE]

Yahoo wasn't in the pocket of the NSA. The NSA was threatening their pockets, with massive fines if they didn't cave.

[VG Zaytsev]

Along the same lines.

Think about how Herman Cain was knocked out of the presidential race.

Some reporter received a tip about 'suspicious' calls and texts between HC and his squeeze.

Who would be in a position sniff out such information in the first place?

[Fist of Etiquette]

...but Iran took it a step further and sentenced a group of citizens to lashes for posting a video of themselves online dancing along to the music.

Where were they when Rebecca Black's "Friday" was all the rage?

[Bobarian (dinosaur hunter)]

Or the maccarena?

[Almanian!]

That was our them song for 1996 local union negotiations.

Why do I remember this? Because God hates me...

[Doghouse Riley Jr.]

"Ayyy, organizers! STRI-IKE!"

[Almanian!]

My thoughts exactly.

Ahhh, the good old days!

[Aloysious]

Director of Intelligence James Clapper says ...

There's that fucking Klapper. He makes me want to research catapults and fire pots.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

How Gangs Took Over Prisons
...Because he is a gentleman, Skarbek waited until we'd finished our burgers to illustrate some of that ingenuity. "How can you tell what type of cellphone an inmate uses," he asked, "based on what's in his cell?" He let me think for about two seconds before cheerily giving me the answer: you examine the bar of soap on the prisoner's sink. The safest place for an inmate to store anything is in his rectum, and to keep the orifice supple and sized for the (contraband) phone, inmates have been known to whittle their bars of soap and tuck them away as a placeholder while their phones are in use. So a short and stubby bar means a durable old dumbphone; broad and flat means a BlackBerry or an iPhone. Pity the poor guy whose bar of soap is the size and shape of a Samsung Galaxy Note....

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

In that case I'll be taking Derek Zoolander's phone with me.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

In that case I'll be taking Derek Zoolander's Zach Morris' phone with me.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9cHB.....+phone.JPG

[Almanian!]

cruel...

[John]

Can I unsee that please?

[Doghouse Riley Jr.]

+99 44/100ths%.

[paranoid android]

So what I gather from this excerpt is that gangs took over prisons by carefully studying the Christopher Walken scene from Pulp Fiction.

[0x90]

"I got something for you. This Apple Watch, I got here, was first purchased by your great-grandfather, during the third world war..."

[Brandon]

That's actually a pretty good read.

[Stormy Dragon]

Missed the important question: if you end up in prison and just want to keep your head down and go home, how do you do that?

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Border Patrol is going to test wearing body cameras in response to complaints about misconduct and lack of transparency.

Make sure they're pointed inward when you're drawing your weapon on Boy Scouts, though.

[Fist of Etiquette]

British journalists investigating the deaths of Russian servicemen on the border of Ukraine have been attacked by unnamed assailants and their recordings erased.

While being told to stop resisting.

[Rich]

"It has been very disappointing to have my integrity questioned because of a mistake," Clapper told government officials....

Clapper's explanations for his answer have shifted over time.

"Very well. It has been very disappointing to have my integrity questioned because of shifting explanations."

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

I feel so bad for disappointing him. I should send him flowers.

What a narcissistic POS.

[John]

In a administration filled with the most dishonest and slimey people ever to hold public office, Clapper still manages to distinguish himself.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Guys, we have a troll problem today.

THIS IS NO TROLL THURSDAY!!!!

[db]

Seriously. I've been away for a few days and I scanned a couple of threads today, wondering where all these new handles came from. Lots of trolling for support for republicans. Don't waste your vote! Hahaha, guys.

[Brandon]

Every Tulpa needs a hobby.

[John]

The only trolls I have seen are Mary and Shreek.

[trshmnster the terrible]

There's one or two new ones. They're still in the "I'm somewhat legit" phase, but the mask has slipped in a few threads.

[Andrew S.]

Forget "how does this man still have a job". How in the nine realms is that man not in prison?

[Dances-with-Trolls]

Anyone know the current score in the Scotland vs UK match?

[BiMonSciFiCon]

1-nil. The rest of the country took the libertarian position on voting.

[Rich]

I think the Queen just cast the tie-breaker "Against".

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Results announced tomorrow, also known as The Day of Regret.

[Ted S.]

Salzburg 2, Celtic 2.

(I don't think I'm spoiling anything, since Europa League isn't real football.)

[Longtorso, Johnny]

The most metal thing ever

[Aloysious]

That is unmetal. Here is something a little different.

[Ted S.]

This is even more different.

[Aloysious]

Hubba hubba.

[GILMORE]

NOT EVEN CLOSE

[Aloysious]

THOR!!! There is nothing like large, rubbery monsters and poofy hair. These don't have a large rubbery monster bent on world domination, but they do have some damn fine poofy hair.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

A Gentleman's Guide To Sex In Prison

Openly gay men are not as oppressed as one might fear. The feminine ones are often desired, and there is quite a bit of prostitution going on. I once saw oral sex performed in exchange for two cigarettes and a honey bun, a bargain offered by Dirty Tommy, who told people he had "the AIDS" as soon as they met him.

:-O

My wife and I had no children to worry about; we'd been married only six months at the time I was incarcerated, so we had a lot of making up to do. The trailer visits last up to 44 hours, though it's harder to schedule weekends. Considering the need for at least a bit of sleep, plus the nice outside food that wives are permitted to bring with them (mine brought me lamb and trout and sushi and filet mignon), the big question was always: How many times? The guys in the prison yard who went on trailer visits and had the youth and stamina to really give it a go were endlessly competing. In 44 hours, we all professed to hit double digits; if you removed the obvious braggarts' numbers, it left an average of 14. I found this to be accurate.

14 times in 44 hours!?

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Lotions are also in demand, for exactly what you think, but for some, nothing beats the "fifi." It's called a "Suzy" in other prison systems, but it amounts to the same thing: a handmade vaginal substitute. This is accomplished by inserting a bag or glove into a tightly rolled-up towel and filling it with lotion. Then it is tightened up. This leaves a rather unwieldy cylinder for humping, but apparently it works. For extra verisimilitude, an open tuna can is left around. I never used fifis myself, but I know men who swear by them. As you read this, there is someone in a jail cell, staring at an issue of Buttman and bouncing a fifi on himself.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Maybe when I was 18. Although my dick hurts just thinking about it.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Would anything even, er, come out at the 14th time?

I imagine a puff of smoke maybe.

[Rich]

Probably bile.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Or that burst of air you get after they shut off your water for awhile.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Still feels good when you're shooting blanks.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

I think I can, I think I can...

[trshmnster the terrible]

it would be sad

[MJGreen]

They're called ghost loads.

[John]

What the hell is wrong with you and Longtorso? Its like you both are trying to make Sugar Free and Warty seem normal or something.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

I've been on a roll the last two days.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

A roll stuffed in a towel?

[Certified Public Asskicker]

I know men who swear by them

[trshmnster the terrible]

Hoo hoo!

/Pillsbury dough boy

[Longtorso, Johnny]

John, does that mean you watched my video above?

[John]

Not for love nor money.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

How about for both.

[Obama's Buttplug]

I and a girlfriend did it 12 times in one day. This is back when I was about 22. After she went to sleep (around 2:30 am) I was still so sexually charged that i went into the bathroom and rubbed one out. We started in again first thing the next morning.

[John]

More government sponsored mysandry

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09.....ience&_r=1

[jesse.in.mb]

Iran's Awesomely Bad 'Top Gun' Knockoff: 'Passion of Flight' even has a Persian Goose

It's an action thriller about an F-14 fighter pilot and volleyball ace who gets tapped for special training with the best of his peers. Soon he's tangling with bad guys over the Middle East in the 1980s.

Top Gun? Not quite. It's Passion of Flight, Iran's awesomely-bad, ahistorical 2012 miniseries about the life of Iranian military hero and martyr Abbas Babaei.

Ok. Where do I find the English subtitles for this?

If 16 hours of TV that's long on plodding melodrama and short on action scenes and special effects isn't quite your thing, don't worry.

Belay that order!

Iran still has you covered. Fortunately, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps is a generous, ahem, patron of the arts?subsidizing lots of propaganda thrillers besides Passion of Flight.

Praise Allah! They had me worried for a second.

[ant1sthenes]

Wait, I thought there were no gays in Iran.

[Brett L]

**snaps teeth at ant1sthenes**

[OldMexican]

If 16 hours of TV that's long on plodding melodrama and short on action scenes and special effects isn't quite your thing, don't worry.

As long as it has steamy sex scenes between the hero and an ugly lesbian with bad 80s slow music, I'm in!

[Trouser-Pod]

How awful, OM!! Berlin wasn't bad...

[This Machine Triggers Warnings]

The Air Force will change its policy and make the "so help me God" part of its oath optional.

Oh, hey, thanks for the hat tip, after y'know, I mentioned it in the AM Links and everything. Pretty sure I even beat Drudge to the scoop on that one.

[Rich]

The Air Force will change its policy and make the "so help me God" part of its oath optional.

Ah, but the swearer might still *think* about it. Surely that should precipitate another lawsuit.

[PapayaSF]

In a way, I don't understand why an atheist would object to swearing to God. It's not as if they are being asked to swear allegiance to God, which would be a different thing.

If they believe God doesn't exist, then the practical effect is the same as being asked to swear to the Purple Unicorn of the Moon. This seems more like a political issue ("I refuse to pretend to acknowledge your God") than an ethical one ("I am being forced to do something against my conscience").

If it was a condition of employment to swear allegiance to Baal, I'd object. But if I had to take an oath that ended "so help me Baal," I'd think it was weird but it wouldn't violate my conscience to repeat the words.

[Wasteland Wanderer]

1) atheists aren't the only ones who object to swearing an oath to god; there are several Christian denominations that do as well, and

2) By requiring a religious oath, the military is actually violating their oaths to protect and defend the Constitution, since it forbids religious tests. It really seems like bad policy to have your oath actively violate itself.

[PapayaSF]

1) Good point.

2) I suppose this is a "religious test" of a sort, but only in the sense of your first point. But it's not (as far as I can see) one for atheists, because of what I've already said: saying four words that you believe have no meaning isn't a "test" in the same way that "no Catholics allowed" is a test.

[Wasteland Wanderer]

Whether it has meaning is up to each individual atheist, and it clearly has meaning to some of them as they have objected to it. I find it a bit patronizing that you presume to know what they belief.

[Wasteland Wanderer]

*believe.

[PapayaSF]

It's "patronizing" for me to explain why I don't understand it? Chill, dude. I'm asking a question, not presuming anything.

[Wasteland Wanderer]

None of what you said looked like questions to me, but rather assumptions. Perhaps the subtleties were lost when translated into text.

I'll say this: as an atheist, I can see myself going either way with the oath, depending on the climate. If it were a one off nobody really cared about, I might not get my back up about it (though I'd still much rather be able to affirm rather than swear to god, as doing so would feel like lying to me).

However, the Air Force, or at least an influential portion of it, seems to be trying to institute some form of mandated religiosity, and in that situation I can see myself making an issue over the oath, both as a way to hopefully push back against that sort of thing and to find out where exactly, as a non-believer, I stood in the organization.

[John]

http://dailycaller.com/2014/09.....-reporter/

As revealed in the FOIA docs, Media Matters Deputy Research Director Matt Gertz sent a post concerning the NRA's growing contributions to Holder's critics to DOJ spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler, Holder's top press flack who resigned in March, 2013. She replied, "Thanks, you know boyle has been doing robo calls to top members right? This is campaign mounted by daily caller. He has called 60 offices and gotten to 8 last week." Gertz replied, "Yeah, that was what my original piece on the story was about."

[PapayaSF]

Oh John, this sort of thing isn't bad when Democrats do it!

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Some positive NFL news:

Peyton Manning: Colorado's new laws have been good for pizza business

Pizza business is pretty good out here, believe it or not, due to some recent law changes. So when you come to a different place, you've kind of got to learn everything that comes with it."

[John]

Good for him.

[Ted S.]

The positive news would be Peyton Manning announcing his retirement.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

He gets a thumbs up for his entrepreneurial spirit.

*Also, Papa John's does not sell deep dish.

[Horatio]

His spine should decide that for him

[Doghouse Riley Jr.]

Future politician spotted: Friend sent me this from Not Always Learning
Pot Calling The Kettle Brownie
High School | VA, USA |
(I am sitting at lunch with a group of my friends, when one of my other friends excitedly runs up to our table.)
Friend: "Guys! Guys! Guess what? I got elected president of YADDAP!"
(YADDAP is our school's anti-drug group. It stands for Youth Against Drugs, Drinking, And Pregnancy. She is wearing one of their red ribbons that say: 'Celebrate a drug-free [Home City]!')
Me: "[Friend], you got elected president of YADDAP?"
Friend: "Yeah!"
Me: "Didn't you have a pot brownie before coming to school this morning?"
Friend: "Yeah. What's your point?"

[paranoid android]

Against pregnancy? They advocate the voluntary self-extinction of the human race?

[Doghouse Riley Jr.]

Voluntary... for now.

They could just hassle pregnant women. "Don't you know pregnancy is as bad as drinking or doing drugs? I'm going to make sure my little brother bullies your kid, lady."

[Palin's Buttplug]

We know that 8 million people have enrolled in Obamacare. But how many of them have actually paid their premiums? The Barack Obama administration has been curiously silent on this point. By now, it must have the data, but for some reason, it chose not to issue it.

Until now. Apparently, Marilyn Tavenner, the head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, just told Congress that 7.3 million people have paid premiums and are currently enrolled in exchange policies. What does that mean?

http://www.bloombergview.com/a.....s-we-think

[Longtorso, Johnny]

E-mails reveal Post reporter [Weigel] savaging conservatives, rooting for Democrats
...In the e-mails, Weigel appeared particularly invested in the President's health care law, expressing undisguised scorn for moderate Democrats who seemed fearful about voting for it....

[John]

Leave Dave alone. He won his involuntary commitment hearing this morning. Let him enjoy for a bit.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

I hear there is only an 8% chance of his being involuntarily committed.

[OldMexican]

Apparently, Marilyn Tavenner, the head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, just told Congress that 7.3 million people have paid premiums and are currently enrolled in exchange policies. What does that mean?

It means that people who misuse the word "apparently" like that should be covered in honey, buried to their shoulders and left to be eaten alive by ants.

[Brett L]

Agreed. Professional writers who scatter adverbs like pigeon shit through their copy should have their fingers broken and be cast out from society.

[PapayaSF]

Why would we ever doubt figures given by this administration?

[Solanum]

Steve Smith Has Some Thoughts About Domestic Violence And Elevators

http://deadspin.com/steve-smit.....1636390656

[GILMORE]

STEVE SMITH MADE RAPE BABIES!!! IN ELEVATOR

[Fluffy]

Rumor has it that Ebola has spread to Venezuela and the Maduro government is suppressing the news.

[ant1sthenes]

Of all the times to be short on toilet paper...

[Lt Womack]

Director of Intelligence James Clapper says his now-famous lie to the Senate that the National Security Agency was not collecting data about millions of Americans wasn't a lie at all. He just misspoke. This is his position now after previously saying he gave the "least untruthful" answer he could give. Pretty ballsy.

"The master of whisperers must be sly and obsequious and without scruple. A courageous informer would be as useless as a cowardly knight."