Police Brutality in Hong Kong, Supreme Court Halts Texas Abortion Law, Harvard Law Profs Pan Sexual Violence Policy: A.M. Links

• Footage of Hong Kong police beating a pro-democracy protester has gone viral; officials say the officers involved will be suspended. 

• The U.S. Supreme Court stepped in to block several parts of a much-contested Texas abortion law, which the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld earlier this month. 
• Twenty-eight Harvard Law School faculty members issued a statement opposing the school's new sexual harassment and violence policy, which they say is "overwhelmingly stacked against the accused". 
• A second Texas health worker has tested positive for Ebola.
• Google Glass addiction is here. 
• Feminist video-game critic Anita Sarkeesian—a controversial figure in the ongoing #GamerGate dustup—canceled a planned talk at Utah State University after the school received threats of a "Massacre style attack" if the talk took place. 
• How whiskey conquered vodka in the U.S.  

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Footage of Hong Kong police beating a pro-democracy protester has gone viral...

How does one say stop resisting in Hong Kongese?

[Aloysious]

Me love you long time?

[Pope Jimbo]

Phooey?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Va_Rmpd3PZI

[mr lizard]

"officials say the officers involved will be suspended."

You know even of they are lying, at least they aren't hiding behind some chicken shit statement like 'ongoing investigation'

[Fist of Etiquette]

I just hope Hong Kong po-po acted within internal procedures.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The U.S. Supreme Court stepped in to block several parts of a much-contested Texas abortion law...

Late term, partial birth abortion of the law itself! Ouch.

[WTF]

So I guess this means that SCOTUS will apply the same principles and invalidate state laws restricting the right to bear arms.

[trshmnster the terrible]

HAhahahahahahahhaha

*giant gasp of air*

Aaaaahahahahahahaahhhahahahahhahhah

*gasps again

HAhahahahahahahhaha ohhhhh

That's a good one!

[entropy_factor]

Texas bans abortions after 20 weeks. Most of Europe bans it after 12 weeks.

God, we are so backward. Cavemen, not enlightened. Herp derp racist redneck rethuglikkans.

[sarcasmic]

Date-night for a traitor: NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden enjoys trip to the theatre with pole dancer girlfriend - as lawyer hints the pair may soon marry in Moscow

NSA leaker reunited with dancer Linsday Mills, with whom he lived in Hawaii
The two are together again in Moscow, where Snowden is claiming asylum
A picture shows the two enjoying a trip to a theatre in the Russian capital
Vladimir Putin has granted the wanted man permission to stay for 3 years

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....oscow.html

[Atanarjuat]

He's a traitor in the same way that King George considered the signers of the Declaration of Independence traitors. Fuck whoever wrote that.

[BardMetal]

He's not even a traitor in that sense of the word. He's the only guy at the NSA to uphold his oath to the constitution, as far as I'm concerned everyone else involved are the actual traitors.

[Ted S.]

And as if his girlfriend's profession is relevant to the story.

[Johnny Bravo]

We must all hang pole-dance together, or assuredly we shall all hang pole-dance separately.
Ben Franklin-ish

[ant1sthenes]

Well, it is a British rag.

[Lord Humungus]

She's pretty cute - a far as I can tell from the shoddy pix

[sarcasmic]

Waaaaay to skinny for John.

[entropy_factor]

9/10, would lose bodily fluids.

[The Laconic]

Thanks for bringing this "Daily Mail" to my attention, sarcasmic. Do they have any other articles worth viewing?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

He was faithful to his Constitutional oath, and his woman is faithful to him.

No wonder so many politicians hate him!

[sarcasmic]

Now that's a selfie! Rosetta sends back stunning image of itself with comet it will land on it the background

Comet just 16km away in latest image
On November 11, Rosetta will send Philae probe to comet's surface
Scientists hope the spider-like probe will send back data that could answer questions on the origin of Earth's water and perhaps even life

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sci.....round.html

[sarcasmic]

Earth's magnetic field could FLIP within a human lifetime: Change could bring down electricity grids and lead to an increase in cancer cases, warn scientists

New study finds it can take just 100 years to flip
Intensity of Earth's magnetic field decreasing 10 times faster than normal
Reversal could potentially wreak havoc with our electrical grid, generating currents that might take it down
Earth's magnetic field protects life from energetic particles from the sun and cosmic rays
Temporary loss of the field before a permanent reversal could increase cancer rates

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sci.....tists.html

[gaijin]

Somehow this is the result of burning fossil fuels, amirite?

[Doctor Whom]

If only the Randroid Teathuglicans stopped blocking common-sense regulation of the earth's magnetic field.

[Ted S.]

Damn you! 🙂

[Ted S.]

I blame global warning.

[sarcasmic]

I blame Bush.

[Corning]

I blame #gamergate

[Fist of Etiquette]

I believe in the gay world this is called being versatile. AND IT'S TO BE ADMIRED.

[Florida Man]

I though some gays don't like bisexuals because they won't choose a side.

[Tonio]

No, versatile does not mean the same thing as bi.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Also he's missing a T.

[Florida Man]

Don't you shine a light on me!

[Florida Man]

Also I get versatile now that I think about it.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Sexy.

[Zeb]

This is new?

Also in the news, a super-volcano could erupt and an asteroid might hit the earth. And Voyager is about to leave the solar system.

[sarcasmic]

Hillary Clinton says college should be more affordable ? at Las Vegas university event where her $2,500-PER-MINUTE speaking fee angered students facing tuition hikes

Former secretary of state earned $225,000 for a 90-minute college event in sin city
Students were angered when her contract was announced because their tuition has nearly tripled in the last decade
Newspaper mogul presented Clinton with a single Nike sneaker as a joke, referring to the April Las Vegas speech where a women threw a shoe at her
Clinton wouldn't hint at a possible presidential run, saying only that 'I'm really going to have to ponder that seriously'

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

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Clinton's speaking contract originally required UNLV to close the event to the press. But last week she relented.

Recordings were strictly forbidden, however.

Well isn't that nice.

[Doctor Whom]

She is beyond satire.

[Drake]

She should have said it at Rich Richman's house like Obama.

[Rich]

$2,500-PER-MINUTE speaking fee

People should get her to show up and speak for five seconds.

[The Last American Hero]

I have no problem with the her or any wealthy individual advocating for affordable college. Unfortunately, her reforms would pour more gasoline on the tuition fire.

[thom]

I think you mean that there will be even more money to shovel over to progressive academics, all financed by poor students and backed by the taxpayers. I'm guessing she would consider that to be a feature of her reforms.

[gaijin]

So wait, there were large numbers of chemical weapons in Iraq, but the US chose to keep what it found a secret?

The Secret Casualties of Iraq's Abandoned Chemical Weapons

American troops secretly reported finding roughly 5,000 chemical warheads, shells or aviation bombs, according to interviews with dozens of participants, Iraqi and American officials, and heavily redacted intelligence documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act....These encounters carry worrisome implications now that the Islamic State, a Qaeda splinter group, controls much of the territory where the weapons were found.

[sarcasmic]

Bush lied!

[The DerpRider]

So now Obama will be justified in sending in troops to stop them from using WMDs? I are confused if it's now okay.

[The Last American Hero]

He has a D by his name, so your supposed to stop asking silly questions.

[Mock-star]

Have you noticed the anti-war left's continued animosity toward Bill Clinton for bombing Iraq because they had WMDs? No? Well, There's your answer.

[sarcasmic]

Anger at controversial PBS project on the 'hardships' of being white: Critics round on 'The Whiteness Project'

New campaign by documentary filmmaker Whitney Dow and PBS
Interviewed 1,000 people across the country asking what it means to be white in America
So far 24 people have given their opinions
One man said white people experience the most discrimination
Criticized for attacking minority groups
Official Twitter page closed down following angry comments

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....erica.html

[RBS]

Official Twitter page closed down following angry comments

Bullshit, I have it on good authority that only rabid right wingers engage in this kind of behavior.

[Idle Hands]

Ugh.

In the first video installment to be released, a woman compares the discrimination she receives for having multiple tattoos to the judgement a black person might receive.
'I get discriminated against just as much as a minority does,' she said.

[RBS]

That is pretty dumb. I wonder if they are all like that?

[WTF]

We need affirmative action for the tatted.

[trshmnster the terrible]

I'm so sorry that a life decision that you made leads people to make judgments about the type of person that you are. Maybe, if you didn't want to be lumped in with tatted people, you shouldn't have gotten the tats?

Disclaimer: one of my good friends is head to toe tatted up, and he's talked about some of the crap he has gone through because of it. He understands some of it, but the over the top stuff pisses him off. I can't blame him for being pissed when doctors run unnecessary and unwanted drug tests on him and try to charge him for the tests.

[lap83]

It goes to show that tattoos are no longer the rebellious, devil-may-care marker they once were. The negative perception used to be a benefit. Now they're no more than fashion accessories.

[BardMetal]

Don't all the angry twitter comments actually help support their point?

[sarcasmic]

That was my thought.

[Ted S.]

If anything, this sounds more like a plan to make a certain part of the white demographic look stupid.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

As in 24 out of 1,000?

[Zeb]

How about we not encourage people of any race to think of race as a primary part of their identity?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Twenty-eight Harvard Law School faculty members issued a statement opposing the school's new sexual harassment and violence policy, which they say is "overwhelmingly stacked against the accused".

The war on women comes to the Harvard faculty.

[Bee Tagger]

phrasing!

[Rich]

"overwhelmingly stacked against the accused"

especially if the accuser is "overwhelmingly stacked".

[Restoras]

I thought we were done with phrasing?

[Pope Jimbo]

No, just the new freshmen class has some real hot pieces of ass in it. The professors are just getting out in front of the coming accusations.

[Mongo]

You ever go through the UofMinnesota campus, PJ? I hit a tree once riding my bike while checking out all the hotties.

[The Last American Hero]

How could you tell? They all wear 4 layers of clothes, parkas and those hats with the earflaps.

[Cdr Lytton]

I think that happens on most campuses with trees and bicycles.

Not to stray too far into the blame the victim territory but if rape rates were really approaching 25% or higher, I'd be wearing a burkqa not skin tight legging or yoga pants as most coeds seem to do these days.

[Pope Jimbo]

I think that the gals wear those yoga pants to create an inclusive environment for deaf guys. I know it must make them feel warm inside when the girls make it so easy to do some lip reading.

[mr lizard]

+1 European mublepants

[Pope Jimbo]

I was over there earlier this fall and saw some gal giving incoming freshmen and their parents a tour of the campus. She was at least and 11 on a scale of 1 to 10. She had on yoga pants and a shirt she had knotted up so it was extra tight.

The freshmen were all gaping at the campus, all the dads were drooling over the guide and all the moms were giving the dads the evil eye. My theory of why winter seems to be coming early to Minnesoda this fall is based on the fact that the frigity of the pussies belonging to those moms causing abnormal cooling.

Of course the guy I was with (sort of known client) and I both just stopped talking and stared at the guide. All brain cells were devoted to optical processing and even the appearance of speech was impossible.

[thom]

As a UofM Alum, where were all of these hotties 15 years ago?

[Cdr Lytton]

In preschool.

[Ted S.]

Didn't that already happen with their ex-president?

[DontShootMe]

You spelled Hah Vahd wrong.

[sarcasmic]

The real Sharknado! Tourists film incredible feeding frenzy as 100 sharks swim into shallow waters looking for food

Attack last week at Cape Lookout National Seashore, North Carolina
Members of One Harbor Church filmed sharks during camping retreat
Video has attracted over 87,000 views on YouTube in two days

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tra.....-food.html

[WTF]

I witnessed something very similar a couple of years ago at Cape May, but it was a bunch of dolphins rather than sharks that chased a school of fish into the shore.

[Mock-star]

I vacation at Stone Harbor (right next to Cape May) and love to watch the dolphins feed.

[sarcasmic]

Is this the holy grail of green power? Zero-emission fusion reactor promises 'cheaper than coal' energy

Engineers have designed a concept for a fusion reactor
When scaled up to the size of a large electrical power plant, it would rival costs for a new coal-fired plant with similar electrical output, they claim
Design builds on existing technology and creates a magnetic field within a closed space to hold plasma in place long enough for fusion to occur
Engineers at the University of Washington claim the design is cheaper than building a coal power station - but warn a full-sized version is years away

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sci.....nergy.html
It's always just over the horizon.

[gaijin]

IT will arrive when Voyager finally leaves the solar system...

[DontShootMe]

I larfed.

[Fist of Etiquette]

...after the school received threats of a "Massacre style attack" if the talk took place.

The attackers might have cheat codes.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Google Glass addiction is here.

Needed to see the alt-text?

[Fist of Etiquette]

A second Texas health worker has tested positive for Ebola.

Time to wall off Texas.

[db]

I bet liberals woyld be able to get behind a wall limiting immigration from TX.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Get behind keeping electoral votes from crossing the border to mainland USA.

[entropy_factor]

agreed, secede now!

[SugarFree]

Feminist video-game critic Anita Sarkeesian?a controversial figure in the ongoing #GamerGate dustup?canceled a planned talk at Utah State University after the school received threats of a "Massacre style attack" if the talk took place.

She only canceled the talk after the police refused to violate Utah's open carry law on her behalf.

The Streisand Effect needs to be retitled The Sarkeesian Effect.

[RBS]

BTW, if you ask me she is a goddamn hero for continuing to stand up to these mouth-breathing, woman-hating neanderthals no matter what they throw at her.

[RBS]

Threatened by a psychopathic mass murder, police forbid backpacks but not firearms. Isn't the concern about backpacks that they might conceal a gun?
Welcome to America, where we have gone stark raving mad.

[ant1sthenes]

No, this is more like exploiting a deliberate Streisand effect for maximum victimhood.

Surely vague anonymous death threats are normal for any controversial speaker. I can't exactly imagine Ayaan Hirsi Ali pulling this sort of shit.

[Corning]

So she was upset that the very people who would have shot anyone who attacked her might show up armed?

Brilliant.

[Matrix]

Anita Sarkeesian is a moron. I know this from watching her videos.

But these death threats are ridiculous. You are only making her more popular. I doubt the people making these threats are serious, but they only fuel feminazis like her.

[gaijin]

She probably made the threats against herself...she just knew her opponents were thinking that anyway.

[RBS]

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised at all if one of her supporters did.

[NebulousFocus]

She's done it before.

[Stormy Dragon]

You really think "these tweets don't have spelling errors, so Sarkeeshian must have made them herself" qualifies as a convincing argument?

[NebulousFocus]

Nope, but a screen shot of a new account with only 10 tweets all posted in the last 3 minutes and the latest tweet 12 seconds ago seems astonishingly unlikely.

[Tonio]

Well, it certainly sounds like the type of threat a stereotypical gamer would make, but has to be taken seriously nonetheless. So, fellow H&R folks was the threat made by an actual Sarkeesian adversary, or someone in her own camp hoping to burnish her victim-cred?

[SugarFree]

I wouldn't put it past an idiot to make this sort of threat, but the validity of the threat was probably somewhere in the monkeys-fly-out-my-butt range.

But then again, without the threats, she would be 140K poorer and just another obscure feminist complaining on YouTube about pop culture. And this would be far from the first time someone from her camp made up threats or sockpuppeted threats to boost her recognition factor.

It's an interesting question.

[mauricegirodias]

Also throw in that the #gamergate guys have been chastising one another to keep it civil, donate to good causes (providing money to make a perfectly acceptable, human-proportioned female character in a game) send polite emails to advertisers, and have those advertisers in many cases pull from the various game websites--Intel, most famously, just ended a campaign with Gamasutra two weeks ago.

It follows that out of frustration with the lack of attention to their issues and POV, death threats were sent to both Sarkeesian and Brianna Wu in the past week. SURRRRRRRE.

[Corning]

Turns out one of them what a Game Journalist in Brazil who wrote them to drum up views for his blog.

[Idle Hands]

2nd case of ebola in Dallas

[Idle Hands]

Protocols were not followed.

DALLAS (AP) ? A second health care worker at a Dallas hospital who provided care for the first Ebola patient diagnosed in the U.S. has tested positive for the disease, the Texas Department of State Health Services said Wednesday.
The worker at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital was monitoring herself for symptoms of Ebola, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said. The unidentified woman reported a fever Tuesday. She was in isolation within 90 minutes, Jenkins said.
Health officials said the worker was among those who took care of Thomas Eric Duncan, who was diagnosed with Ebola after coming to the U.S. from Liberia. Duncan died Oct. 8.

[Lady Bertrum]

Looks like the CDC has underestimated exactly how contagious it is:

Jahrling now serves as a chief scientist at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, where he runs the emerging viral pathogens section. He has been watching this Ebola epidemic with a mixture of horror, concern and scientific curiosity. And there's one thing he's found particularly worrisome: the mutations of the virus that are circulating now look to be more contagious than the ones that have turned up in the past.

When his team has run tests on patients in Liberia, they seem to carry a much higher "viral load." In other words, Ebola victims today have more of the virus in their blood ? and that could make them more contagious.

http://www.vox.com/2014/10/13/.....d-airborne

[The DerpRider]

I feel like I've seen this movie...

[Idle Hands]

We probably should find the monkey.

[RBS]

After vaporizing a village of course.

[Idle Hands]

You missed a clear opportunity for a racist joke.

[The DerpRider]

And prepare a heartfelt speech to be given over crappy helicopter coms.

[Lady Bertrum]

Or read the book: http://www.amazon.com/Passage-.....he+passage

When ebola survivors start communicating telepathically with their leader, Dr. Kent Brantly, we'll know we're onto something new.

[Ted S.]

Are you sure you got the link right?

[Tonio]

And I'd like to know what level of employee this was. MD or BSN/RN? Then we're hosed. LPN, nurse's aide or orderly? Tragic, but not surprising.

[RBS]

At least she was monitoring herself. I'm more worried about the person who likely knows they have been infected but tries to hide it.

[Rich]

This.

"Oh, it's just a cold. It'll go away."

[trshmnster the terrible]

I've never had a cold where I'm vomiting blood and bleeding out my ass at the same time. However, I wouldn't put it past somebody to think it was food poisoning.

[Gray Ghost]

Or the flu. Flu season is going to be extra fun this year.

So, two people out of how many exposed got this from Duncan? Fifty or so? Then consider that the number of people who were attending him towards the end of his disease is probably a lot smaller. My guess is that the two victims are going to be from that smaller pool of people, say, 20? If so, then how long do you think ICU staff are going to stay on the job if each patient gives them a 10% chance of catching a disease that, best case, only kills you horribly half the time?

Never mind that Presbyterian's ER---one of the bigger ones in Dallas---had to be shut down to incoming patients multiple times during this, and that Duncan's care took up all of 1 of the 2 ICU wards the hospital has.

Something's gonna' give. The country can't afford too many more of these cases. Thank God that, for now, it doesn't look like we're having tertiary infections from this crap, especially of non-clinicians.

Oh, and more happy thoughts: I wonder if any of the ~1 million or so Hajj pilgrims this last week or two had this bug, and if so, did it spread in the fantastically congested environs of Mecca during the Hajj? If it did, we'll be hearing about those infections right about...now.

[MegaloMonocle]

That is the nightmare scenario.

I know the Saudis closed the Hajj to people from the hot zone (not sure of the details), but man, talk about an event custom designed to get an infectious bug to break out uncontrollably.

The next month will be interesting.

[Tonio]

The possibility of symptom-hiding is indeed disturbing but it seems they're doing a pretty good job of monitoring everyone who has come in contact with the infected.

Also, the counterweight to symptom-hiding is hypochondria. We had one case where I live of a returned missionary who had a fever and was quarantined until testing negative. The lure of media attention works against symptom-hiding behavior.

[Idle Hands]

@tonio If there is something I've learned from every zombie movie ever is that there is always one.

[Tonio]

Yes, you are right that there's always one. And a few people will become infected as a result, then the greater populace will demand that anyone with so much as a cough isolate themselves.

[Ted S.]

Also, the counterweight to symptom-hiding is hypochondria.

That and panic-mongering.

[Cdr Lytton]

The CDC reminds me of my company's safety department. Did an accident occur? Then the employee must have broken one of the myriad safety policies.

[Atanarjuat]

Back when I was walking I-beams, the joke always was "you'll be fired before you hit the ground". I remember thinking there was probably more than a grain of truth, in that the employee would be blamed for an accident.

[Ted S.]

The policies are there to indemnify the company.

[Zeb]

Well, if the policy says "don't have any accidents"...

[Don Mynack]

Ever heard of the "Smith Driving School"? Safety Nazis invented it to always blame the driver, no matter happens, in any circumstance. Blindsided by truck? You weren't aware of your surroundings, etc.

[Gray Ghost]

Don, that's really funny: my Drivers Ed teacher was named Smith, and that was pretty much everything that came out of his mouth. It's your fault for putting yourself in a situation where an accident could occur.

Oh, and for the younguns here, Drivers Ed was this mythical program where your high school had a class to teach you how to drive, with real cars and everything. You didn't have to go pay someone else outside of school to teach you.

[Cdr Lytton]

Yes because I have to go through it every two years or so.

[Fist of Etiquette]

THERE'S ALREADY AN ACTUAL OFFICIAL AM LINK FOR THIS.

[Idle Hands]

Sure if you like to give the times page clicks I prefer to be subject to audit by going to brietbart. Also Drudge links to brietbart constantly.

[Fist of Etiquette]

ENB put a lot of effort into that link.

[Mongo]

ENBola.

[Idle Hands]

meh I felt it lacked a certain pizzazz that SS would have communicated witfully.

[Ted S.]

People actually click on the links in AM Links?

[trshmnster the terrible]

Links? I thought this was the mourning Lynx! Albeit, I was confused why a page was named after a sad cat, but I've learned not to ask questions around here.

[Atanarjuat]

There's one question that's always OK to ask. You know who else...was a sad cat?

[Ted S.]

Nicole?

[trshmnster the terrible]

Emo Hitler?

[Marshall Gill]

What links?

[Mike M.]

So does this officially qualify as an outbreak yet, or is it all still just a bunch of ratfucker fearmongering?

[trshmnster the terrible]

Technically the rodent fornication may be part of the problem.

[BardMetal]

Blame the fleas fornicating on the rodents.

[Tonio]

No, see the peanut butter thread for a more robust response to your question.

[The Laconic]

OK, what are the arguments against nuking Dallas from orbit?

[Restoras]

NYC Reasonoid Meet-Up!

Important Update - New Date

When: Wednesday, 10/22/14, 6:00PM
Where: Rattle N Hum
14 E 33rd St
http://www.rattlenhumbarnyc.com/home

[Injun, as in from India]

Will there be any FBI informants present?

[Lord Humungus]

They all will be FBI informants... except for you.

[Injun, as in from India]

"We are all keynesians FBI informants now."

- R. Milhous Nixon

[Lord Humungus]

See something, say something.

[MJGreen]

Now, now. Some of us are with the NSA.

[Ska]

Damn, can't make it tonight.

[Slammer]

It's next wednesday

[Ska]

Is that what the bolded date signifies? Fucking coffee, how does it work?

[Clich? Bandit]

Resto, Me and the fam will be in NYC for the Macy's Day Parade and weekend. I can try to make an escape if there were perhaps a midtown location that was holding some Reasonoid event around that time...

Just sayin', since the Colorado folks are too rocky mountain high to have a meetup.

[TwB]

With all the bad stuff going on in the world recently, I thought it was time to post a joke on here (and if this one has already been posted, I apologize in advance):

Farmer Bob's wife, Jill, is sleeping in bed one morning, and she is awoken by Bob coming into the bedroom. Bob stands by the foot of the bed, and Jill notices that Bob has a small pig under his right arm. Jill says: "Honey, what are you doing with that pig under your arm?" Bob and the pig look at Jill and then Bob looks down at the pig and says "I wanted to show you this pig I've been fucking." Jill is startled by this and says, "Bob, you're fucking a pig?!?" and then Bob says: "I wasn't talking to you!"

You're welcome. Have a happy hump day

[gaijin]

ok, that was good

[Roger the Shrubber]

Well, if it's comedy hour....

Have you heard about Ray Rice's new endorsement contract?....Black and Decker.

[TwB]

Ah ha....and it's not too soon

[Slammer]

It never is.

[Ted S.]

Hump Day

[Clich? Bandit]

A hydrogen ion walks into a bar and says to the bartender "I think I lost my electron."

The bartender says "Are you sure?"

The ion says "I am positive."

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Save the Brutalism! Or why Baltimore cannot have nice things:

"The fountain is extremely unique, and it seems so iconic, I was hoping there was something equally as iconic that would replace it," Stone said...

..."If you tear it down, nothing like it will ever get built again," Asal said, adding that its unique, multi-tiered design allows people to both walk through it on a skywalk above and observe it from the plaza. "There's something nice about having a moment of discovery in going around the fountain."

But Downtown Partnership President Kirby Fowler questioned why opponents of the project have emerged now after a broader plan to revamp Pratt Street was floated six years ago. Fountain demolition was included in those plans, Fowler said, as well as expanding the plaza to eliminate a northbound spur connecting Light Street to Calvert Street in a bid to make the area more pedestrian friendly.

It's a bunch of shitty piles of concrete with a fountain that doesn't work.

[Doctor Whom]

Historic preservation long ago stopped being about preserving historical things and switched to "Never change anything, ever!"

[Zeb]

Hard to say which is worse, historic preservation or urban renewal.

[Tonio]

And while you are absolutely correct, it's also art (or more accurately "art"). I think it should be preserved as a monument to the stupidity of gratuitous public art with the price tag listed on every sign, direction or description.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Well, there is corporate support (OH NO!) to help tear it down, but you make a fair point too.

Especially with it being in the center of the city, it is a good reminder that there is a lot that government should not do.

[Rich]

It's a bunch of shitty piles of concrete with a fountain that doesn't work.

As Stone said: "extremely unique".

[thom]

I've always kind of liked that stupid fountain.

[SugarFree]

Why Is Meghan Trainor's "All About That Bass" No. 1?

Because there apparently is a God and He wants to prove that He hates us utterly?

[Idle Hands]

What is with all these white women appropriating black culture?

[SugarFree]

As long as it is encouraging women to be overweight, appropriation is just fine.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

This might lump me in with John, but she doesn't seem that fat to me.

She could lose 10 and be just right.

[SugarFree]

She's not wildly overweight, but that is the idea behind the song--which really doesn't have much to do with why the song is so fucking shitty.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Also, "fauxminist"?

Does that mean the feminists hate her? Because I would be a big fan then.

[SugarFree]

Because she is not fat for fat's sake, but rather fat because men find it attractive, she hasn't really made an empowering song.

[Heroic Mulatto]

You know what's an empowering, pro-fat song? Lapti Nek

[The DerpRider]

I'm guessing 10 year old girls because my daughter loves that song.

[Idle Hands]

I discovered this thing called fm radio yesterday and this song was playing , and kids in your daughters demographic must find it awesome.

[The DerpRider]

Ha. Holy shit. Yes.

[Ted S.]

317M views on Youtube? Yikes.

[The DerpRider]

I'll admit I don't hate it because it literally gets the ladies wiggling during bootcamp workouts.

[SugarFree]

Holy fuck that is awful.

[Idle Hands]

It's like watered down 2-live crew. 2-live crew was also awful but at least they had novelty.

[Lady Bertrum]

I'm just pointing out none of the women in the vid have fat asses, round and curvy - yes, really fat? No.

Snoop Dog is a hypocrite!!!!!! I had higher expectations, yeah.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Not every one can be Major Lazer.

[Idle Hands]

Yeah, that music video is awesome.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

That's Paddy's Pub!

[Ted S.]

I like big butts and I cannot lie.

[NebulousFocus]

I guess this can go here as well: Motherload

[Fluffy]

The Nicki Minaj re-mix of the above, Anaconda, is the other top 40 "No really, fat girls are actually hot" song in Top 40 right now.

Good luck selling that one, ladies.

[Zeb]

I know a few Jamaican guys who are buying.

[Gray Ghost]

This. The phenomenon of black guy with really fat white girl is practically cliche here in Houston.

It's great. I like seeing people be happy.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Should I have known who she is prior to this?

[Lady Bertrum]

Because women want to eat whatever they want and still consider themselves sexy regardless of health considerations.

I'm fine with that as long as I don't have to subsidize their Metformin addiction.

[Slammer]

The First Wookie's beat should be NUMBER 1!!!!!

[trshmnster the terrible]

Because they calculate the popularity of a song by weight, not capitation?

[Ted S.]

I was hoping she'd sing all about that tuna, myself.

[Cdr Lytton]

Thank god MTV no longer plays music videos constantly.

[Zeb]

Huh, I've never heard of her or that song. I seem to be at least a year behind everything pop-culture as my completely out of it comment about Archer yesterday demonstrates.

[Zeb]

Is it a song about fishing?

[trshmnster the terrible]

It's about star trek

[Heroic Mulatto]

China is one big Tyler Perry drama. Don't these ladies know thatwhen your man wanna get buckwild, just go back and hit 'em up style?

[Derpetologist]

I taking a sick day to an illness which may be Ebola. This means Reasonoids will get to enjoy my musings throughout the day.

Yesterday, I realized that Team Red's platform can be reduced to catch phrases from South Park, like:

Drugs are bad, mkay
DEY TUCK ER JERBS!
Respect mah uhthoritah!
We don't take *kindly* to your *types* around here.

[Rich]

I taking a sick day to an illness which may be Ebola. This means Reasonoids will get to enjoy my musings throughout the day.

Well, ... OK.

But I'm sure as hell not clicking any of your links.

[Tonio]

See, it is an OUTBREAK!!1! OMG...panik. /hysterical H&R commenters

[Matrix]

Houston Mayor demands that city pastors turn over their sermons

This can't be a violation of the First Amendment or anything...

[Rich]

Oh, FFS!

I may have to reconsider moving to Texas.

[Apatheist ?_??]

It's a bit surprising because as a whole Mayor Parker has been not so terrible (which is about as good as I expect from a Mayor).

[JWatts]

Maybe, but this is way over the line. There is no justification for these subpoena's. There nothing more than an attempt to harass the political opposition.

"The city of Houston has issued subpoenas demanding a group of pastors turn over any sermons dealing with homosexuality, gender identity or Annise Parker, the city's first openly lesbian mayor. And those ministers who fail to comply could be held in contempt of court."

The Left has become a bunch of tyrants.

[Tonio]

That's some incredible stupid for a big city mayor. That's the type of thing one expects from a major of a town with a population under 5k.

[Stormy Dragon]

It's likely a due process violation due to an overly broad subpoena, but if the contents of a sermon were materially relevant to a particular case, they don't enjoy any special exemption just because they're religious. e.g. if a pastor accused someone of committing a crime in a sermon and was sued for slander, subpoenaing any recordings of it would be perfectly valid.

[JWatts]

To put some detail behind that:

"The Houston Chronicle reported opponents of the ordinance launched a petition drive that generated more than 50,000 signatures ? far more than the 17,269 needed to put a referendum on the ballot.

However, the city threw out the petition in August over alleged irregularities.

After opponents of the bathroom bill filed a lawsuit the city's attorneys responded by issuing the subpoenas against the pastors."

This looks more like a fishing expedition looking for some outrageous quotes they can feed the media.

[MegaloMonocle]

I'm trying to figure out what legal claim those sermons are supposed to be relevant to.

[Stormy Dragon]

They aren't, hence the "overly broad subpoena". But the focus on the victims being pastors makes it sound like this is a religious freedom issue, makes it likely the solution will be the to exempt church sermons from subpoena.

This does nothing to solve the problem of misuse of the subpoena power and creates a new problem by giving religious speech special protections above and beyond non-religious speech.

[Slammer]

The Ferguson effect: A cop's-eye view

I live and work more than 1,900 miles west of Ferguson, but the effects of that case are still being felt here. Not a week goes by without someone I encounter mentioning it.

"Ferguson" has become the latest defense for committing crime, often invoked by people we arrest and their loved ones. Sadly, this feeling has not only infected the normal criminal element that I expect that behavior from, but even seems to be affecting middle-class families.

The same people whom we used to count on for support, the good, law-abiding general public, are now reluctant to trust us. We, the local cops they've seen and contacted in the past, haven't changed. We've done nothing different.
What's changed is the public's perception of us, created by the reckless reporting by nearly every news outlet very early after the shooting of Michael Brown.

The national media jumps all over a story where an 18-year-old criminal punk, who shot at a cop, is shot and killed. That criminal is made out to be some sort of victim by many outlets. That story is front-page news all over the country.
Did you know that in just three days last week, six cops were shot in the line of duty, one of whom was killed?

[Heroic Mulatto]

The national media jumps all over a story where an 18-year-old criminal punk, who shot at a cop, is shot and killed

What about all the stories where unarmed, mentally ill people are murdered in cold blood?

[Matrix]

That's been the problem all along. They picked the wrong person to defend. The Michael Brown incident had no good guys or bad guys. A police officer and a punk who both made very bad decisions that night, and one of them ended up dead. This was not the incident people should have marched over.

No, there have been plenty of incidents over the years where cops murdered innocent, non-violent, and unarmed citizens. No national outcry. No demonstrations. No media frenzy. Light needs to be shed on THOSE incidents so that copsuckers can finally have the truth revealed to them. It will also put police officers like this one in the spotlight for supporting criminal elements within their own departments.

[Idle Hands]

To me it's hilarious when they lump their anti gun tyrades and shit on stuff like trayvon martin, when this shit happens. They really know how to pick'em.

[John]

That is the real problem and why sadly nothing good is going to come of any of this. If you want to riot about something, riot about the homeless guy they beat to death out in California or the Sunday School teacher the cop murdered in Culpepper, Virginia. Anyone who reads Reason or Radly Balco knows there is no shortage of real and very sympathetic victims.

The real victims never get any attention. It is forever some piece of shit who did everything but beg the cop to shoot him. It just drives me nuts.

[trshmnster the terrible]

Yep. Although, I find that surprisingly many people have already heard about the weekly nutpunch from Balko when I tell them about it.

It may not be top of the ticker headline news, but people read things and hear about them, even when the media is in blackout mode.

[Zeb]

the Sunday School teacher the cop murdered in Culpepper, Virginia

Yeah, that one seems like it would have been perfect for people to get riled up about. If I recall correctly, there is even a racial angle to that story for the people who need that to be part of the narrative.

[John]

I don't think there was a racial angle. Both the cop and the woman were white as I remember. But he got off with manslaughter and a few years in prison for shooting an unarmed woman who was peacefully sitting in a parking lot for the crime of trying to drive off and end their encounter.

[Zeb]

Oh, I remember that one now.

This is what I was thinking of: http://www.theagitator.com/200.....drug-bust/

[WTF]

The same people whom we used to count on for support, the good, law-abiding general public, are now reluctant to trust us. We, the local cops they've seen and contacted in the past, haven't changed. We've done nothing different.

No matter what, don't look in the mirror to see why that might be, nope, just keep blaming it on 'bad press' and keep on doing what you're doing.

[MegaloMonocle]

Maybe the fact that no one trusts you and you are still conducting business as usual are connected, you dumbass?

[SugarFree]

The same people whom we used to count on for support, the good, law-abiding general public, are now reluctant to trust us. We, the local cops they've seen and contacted in the past, haven't changed. We've done nothing different.

Boo-fucking-hoo. If you don't like, feel free to quit and go work at a Dollar Store.

[John]

Its all the media's fault. Don't you see that. The cops own actions have nothing to do with it. The cop is never to blame.

God forbid this guy look in the mirror and wonder "why do they hate us"?

He is right though. The cops have lost the trust of a whole lot of law abiding people who used to trust and support them. I have been saying this for years. Looks like at least some cops are starting to notice.

[Andrew S.]

The fact that they're finally noticing that won't do much good if they continually blame everybody but themselves for it.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Sadly, this feeling has not only infected the normal criminal element that I expect that behavior from, but even seems to be affecting middle-class families.

I would squint as I read behind the lines, but the space between those lines is like a mile wide.

[Tonio]

This is actually good news, sorta. They are terrified of losing the support of the middle class. The lower classes (other than their own segment of that) have never supported them. The rich mostly take care of their own security.

[Andrew S.]

Yeah. I'm not sure if he thought he was hiding what he was truly saying, but he didn't exactly do a good job of it.

[gaijin]

Ferguson" has become the latest defense for committing crime...

If by "crime" you mean police killing unarmed people and by "defense" you mean the whinings of cop fellators, then yes. Yes it is.

[Andrew S.]

Is he implying that Michael Brown, who was unarmed by all accounts, shot at Darren Wilson?

[Heroic Mulatto]

I think he was referring to the St. Louis incident, of which said 'punk' may have only been armed with a sandwich.

[SugarFree]

Is he merely stupid or canny enough to blend the two for his "argument?"

[Heroic Mulatto]

I don't know. I'd have to see his pre-professionally edited raw text rant on PoliceOne to judge.

[Stormy Dragon]

The national media jumps all over a story where an 18-year-old criminal punk, who shot at a cop, is shot and killed.

Michael Brown "shot at a cop"?

[MJGreen]

"Ferguson" has become the latest defense for committing crime, often invoked by people we arrest and their loved ones.

The crime of talking back interfering with police business and resisting arrest?

[Lord Humungus]

Missouri couple's $680,000 Florida beach house is built on the wrong lot

Six months after the custom house was built along the Atlantic Ocean near Palm Coast, Mark and Brenda Voss learned it's on the wrong lot in the gated Ocean Hammock community.

Mark Voss tells the Daytona Beach News Journal they're in "total disbelief." The couple own 18 other residential lots in the community. They bought the lot in 2012 and hired Keystone Homes to build a three-story, 5,000-square-foot vacation rental for $680,000.

[Rich]

Sounds like the owner of that lot can have a lot great deal of much fun with this.

[John]

That is a good law school exam question. Technically the actual owner of the lot owns the house. The couple in the story however has a breech of contract action against the home builder who fucked up or a negligence action against the developer or whoever screwed up the address.

If they screwed up and just told the builder the wrong address, they will still be okay. They have a cause of action in equity for the value of the house against the land owner. The land owner doesn't get to keep the house for free and will have to pay for it even though he never asked for it to be built.

So it will all get worked out. Chances are they will just trade lots with the people who own the lot where the house was built with one side making up for any difference in value between the two lots.

[BakedPenguin]

That's what I thought when I read that. So long as the other property owners are good with it, swapping deeds would be the quickest solution.

[Lord Humungus]

Pilot, distracted by bee, slides along runway

A pilot distracted by a bee in the cockpit forgot to lower his landing gear and did a "belly slide" down the runway at the New Bedford Regional Airport.

Airport Commission Chair Paul Barton tells The Standard-Times that the single-engine plane slid 1,000 to 1,500 feet when it landed at about 1:30 p.m. Monday.

[Injun, as in from India]

Please don't give Al Qaeda any new ideas.

[The Laconic]

It's bad enough I have to take off my shoes, now they have to screen me for bees?

[Johnny Bravo]

Was the bee ok?

[Reverend Mayhem]

Dammit, I laughed.

[JWatts]

Me too.

[db]

Distraction is basically the #1 cause of gear-up landings. That and not properly completing a pre-landing checklist.

[trshmnster the terrible]

People have a really irrational fear of bees. The fucking thing has to kill itself to sting you. You really think it's going to do so short of you sitting on it or stealing its honey? Just land the damn plane and open the window while you're taxiing.

[Zeb]

Some more rational than others, though. If the pilot was allergic, a sting could have led to a much worse outcome.

I just ignore them. I haven't been stung since the last time I ran over a yellowjacket nest with the lawn mower.

[trshmnster the terrible]

True, bees Allergies are nothing to mess with, but what's the best way to get a bee to sting you? Panicking to the point that you crash an airplane seems like a good candidate. I can attest from my childhood that bees don't like being shaken around in confined spaces.

[Lord Humungus]

Squid swarm attacks research sub in Greenpeace video

They weren't as big as they look in the video ? they're only about half a metre long. But they could still be dangerous.

Because there were such thick swarms of them, on two occasions a squid got sucked through the submarine's thrusters and propellers, blowing fuses and disabling the sub's ability to move around, Hocevar said. That forced Greenpeace to abort two dives and resurface early.

[Injun, as in from India]

Are they sure this was not a plot by French intelligence?

[ant1sthenes]

Was Raquel Welch around?

[Lord Humungus]

The Illiberal Ezra Klein
Jettisoning due process for those accused of rape is a small price to pay for social change.

Among those who are struggling with the idea is Vox's Ezra Klein, who yesterday afternoon argued in no uncertain terms that we should disregard the due-process rights of accused rapists in the name of bringing about social change. California's controversial new sexual-consent law, Klein wrote, was little short of "terrible," and yet, because he agrees with its intentions, he has decided to "completely support it" anyhow. "If the Yes Means Yes law is taken even remotely seriously," Klein explained, "it will settle like a cold winter on college campuses, throwing everyday sexual practice into doubt and creating a haze of fear and confusion over what counts as consent." "This," he concluded, "is the case against it and also the case for it."

[SugarFree]

He's scum. Absolute vile scum.

[gaijin]

SOmeone should accuse him of rape...just for the lulz

[ant1sthenes]

He isn't in college. But, if it became broader law, yes. He absolutely deserves it. It would entail actually sleeping with him, though.

[MegaloMonocle]

It would entail actually sleeping with him, though.

Why? He would have to prove that he hadn't banged the "victim", wouldn't he?

[ant1sthenes]

Well, questions of fact as to whether any sexual contact at all occurred are less affected by "yes means yes". An alibi is still an alibi.

If you really wanted to make a point about the idiocy of the law itself, it would make more sense to screw him on video without ever giving verbal consent (just positive body language), and letting him take the lead, and then claim rape. It wouldn't even be he said/she said, it would be a complete lock. Obviously rape according to the letter of the law, and obviously not according to any sort of common sense. The best part is he would probably be urged by his lawyer to challenge the law in court.

[trshmnster the terrible]

Principles are for the proles! All for the party! All for the cause!

[Idle Hands]

Vox's

Never will you find a more"wretched hive of scum and villainy.

[tarran]

Oh wow... does the little shit realize that he's adopted Robespierre's idea about justice being terror and virtue combined?

[John]

No he doesn't. He is a 30 something product of the Prog education system. That means he thinks he is brilliant and knows everything but is in fact at best profoundly ignorant and at worst horribly misinformed about every imaginable subject.

I doubt he knows anything about Robespierre beyond the fact that he was some French guy who cut off a bunch of people's heads. Remember Klein is the guy who said the Constitution didn't matter because it was really old and no understood what it was supposed to mean anymore.

[trshmnster the terrible]

I doubt he knows anything about Robespierre beyond the fact that he was some French guy who cut off a bunch of people's heads.

That's actually really generous. My prog education had zero content on the French Revolution. In fact, I learned that there was a French Revolution while in college.

[Slammer]

They guillotined Robespierre face up. Which is kind of cool.

[John]

And he started out wanting to abolish the death penalty. No kidding. Rospierre is a really interesting study in how someone allows events to let them rationalize all kinds of evil. There were actually worse political factions than his. He took over and executed so many people because he felt that if he didn't satiate the mob and reestablish some order, the really bad factions would take over and do even worse.

[tarran]

He screamed until his head came off, because the last thing the executioner did in getting him ready for the guillotine was to rip the bandage off of Robespierre's shattered jaw.

The fact that that monster died screaming in agony gives me schadenfreude.

[John]

He tried to kill himself and cocked it up. He really is one of the few great monsters of history who died a deserving death. Most of them cheat the hangman.

Robspiere was also the template for the monsters who came after him. He was a middle class, intellectual who though a failure in life had an incredible sense of his own genius and desire to change the world for the better combined with a deep seated hatred for the world for not recognizing his own genius. Hitler, Mao, Lenin, Pot, Castro all fit that description.

[Fluffy]

a middle class, intellectual who though a failure in life had an incredible sense of his own genius and desire to change the world for the better combined with a deep seated hatred for the world for not recognizing his own genius

Seems like he was kinda correct.

This is kind of an Orwell vs. Brooks question.

Orwell has the Inner Party maintain total control in part by identifying anyone who could possibly be a threat and elevating them into the Inner Party.

The French nobility lost their heads (and the British lost America and, because of that, the world) because they were too stubborn to assimilate a guy like Robespierre (or a guy like Washington).

The US system was incredibly good at co-opting potential internal opponents, right up until very recently. (Even the 60's were, from one perspective, the process of co-opting one very large group of new elites, by letting them "graduate" from positions in the counterculture and in minority communities to new positions in the mainstream culture and the state.)

I think Brooks is terrified of "unmediated men" because he sees warning signs that this system is breaking down, as cronyism and internal corruption ossify our institutions in favor of existing insiders.

[John]

That is not why the French nobility lost their head. The French nobility lost their heads because they decided that using the mob as a way of getting what they want was a good idea and because they ran out of other people's money. The people behind the initial revolution were the middle and upper classes and lower nobility.

The French system was actually very good at co-opting its opponents. It was easier to buy your way into the French nobility than any other country in Europe. If anything, the old nobility lost out because they let too many people in. This is true for two reasons. First, it raised the expectations of influence among those people and second made those people immune from taxes since the aristocracy didn't pay taxes.

So the country goes broke. The new middle class and lower aristocracy see it as a chance to finally get some influence and the first revolution happens (the Tennis Court Oath and all of that). The problem was that it occurred using the muscle of the mob. They did things like have the mob go out and drag the king out of Versailles and bring him to Paris. Well the mob got out of hand and started killing more and more people. And you had assholes like Marat running around inciting them and targeting anyone he didn't like for death. Eventually the mob murdered thousands of political prisoners in the jails of Paris in a single rampage.

[John]

The other thing that drove the mob was the first solution to being broke was to loot the top aristocracy. When that money ran out they moved on to the church. When that money ran out the mob started getting really violent since there wasn't anyone left to loot.

It was into this situation that Robespierre stepped. His solution for stopping the mob was to have the government step in and kill people before the mob could in the hope that the mob would be satiated and go away and the government could get control of the situation.

[lap83]

"My prog education had zero content on the French Revolution."

Same. If we wanted to learn history outside of the civil rights movement, American exceptionalism, or famous African Americans (but only in February), we had to take an elective or AP class.

[trshmnster the terrible]

I give my school credit, they had an elective American history credit, and there were 4 or 5 choices. I chose WWI/WWII. There was also "HERstory", "Vietnam and the cold war", and "Civil rights in the 60's"

Not exactly a comprehensive history, but the premise was that the required courses taught through reconstruction, so the electives were 20th century history. World history was an AP elective, and only World Geography was required. What a waste of 2 semesters. I think we just colored in maps and memorized capitals for 8 months.

[Lord Humungus]

When Women Become Men At Wellesley College

Last spring, as a sophomore, (transgender) Timothy decided to run for a seat on the student-government cabinet, the highest position that an openly trans student had ever sought at Wellesley. The post he sought was multicultural affairs coordinator, or "MAC," responsible for promoting "a culture of diversity" among students and staff and faculty members. Along with Timothy, three women of color indicated their intent to run for the seat. But when they dropped out for various unrelated reasons before the race really began, he was alone on the ballot. An anonymous lobbying effort began on Facebook, pushing students to vote "abstain." Enough "abstains" would deny Timothy the minimum number of votes Wellesley required, forcing a new election for the seat and providing an opportunity for other candidates to come forward. The "Campaign to Abstain" argument was simple: Of all the people at a multiethnic women's college who could hold the school's "diversity" seat, the least fitting one was a white man.

[trshmnster the terrible]

Let the butt hurt Olympics begin.
*Olympic music plays*

Today, well be seeing three black women compete with a Trans white dude for a seat on the multicultural affairs Council! Which will win? Who has the most privilege?

[Idle Hands]

hahaha. That is awesome, I do love it when they eat their own.

[WTF]

I'm confused, by 'transgender', is he biologically a man, or a biological woman who thinks she's a man?

[Rich]

a biological woman who thinks feels she's a man

FTFY

[Andrew S.]

Biological woman.

There's enough scientific evidence about transgenderism showing that transgender males (biological females) have brains more similar to biological males, and vice versa, that I don't generally have a problem with it.

[trshmnster the terrible]

I think there needs to be more research into the causal chain of brain chemistry. Do thoughts influence brain chemistry, or does the chemistry influence the thoughts, or both. (obviously, the answer is both, but what are the implications w/r/t addictions, transgenderism, and other mental "deviancies"? )

For example pseudocyesis

I find this entire area fascinating, especially since we consider certain types of mental displacement to be delusion, and others to be a good thing.

[BakedPenguin]

I've heard that. Between that, and the sheer commitment it requires (once the procedure is done), I believe transgender is a real thing.

[Rich]

Of all the people at a multiethnic women's college who could hold the school's "diversity" seat, the least fitting one was a white man.

I notice that dead people are vastly underrepresented on these things.

[SugarFree]

It's an interesting case in the logic of trans identity.

If a biological women presents as a man, and we are supposed to consider her an being no different than a biological male that identifies as male, then where is the "diversity?" (How diverse is a straight or gay white male in a culture like Wellesley?)

Or are we supposed to always remember that the person was born female and transitioned to male, which undermines the proposition that trans individuals actually are the genders they identify with (the argument behind letting them alter their birth certificates.)

[trshmnster the terrible]

*flips through prog handbook *

They are men (and always were) when being a man gets them something they want. They are Trans when being so gets them something they want. See, it feels right because Trans people are discriminated against or something. Affirmative action! Patriarchy! Male gaze! Born that way!

Sorry, I ended up in the debate and discussion section of the handbook.

[John]

There is no logic to it. And worse still the real science concerning this issue all points to it being a disorder and the result of deep issues manifesting themselves. It has been shown time and again that the people who get sex change operations end up with the same psychological issues they had before after a short period of happiness. Their desire to be another sex is just a manifestation of deeper issues that changing sex doesn't solve.

Worse still, something like 80 or 90 percent of children who have feelings they are the opposite sex lose them and become well adjusted adults as they grow up. Yet, we now have parents indulging these kids' thoughts and perhaps needlessly condemning them to an adult life of depression and confusion.

[trshmnster the terrible]

A ton of study needs to be done to find the root cause of some of these issues. Like you said, the surgery alternative tends to have poor general outcomes (regarding fixing the mental issues), but most of them don't regret doing the procedure.

It seems strange to do such a drastic physical procedure when the overall outcomes aren't that great. It would seem (at least to this untrained third party observer) that intensive therapy and psychiatric medication would be preferable to a nip and a tuck with such a poor result. However, I'm not knowledgeable enough to know whether those mental health steps are taken prior to surgery.

[Zeb]

Indulging little kids who have gender identity things going on does seem a bit much (though if a boy wants to play with dolls or have pink things or whatever, why not). Even in the most supportive conditions, it's not any easy life.
If teenagers and adults decide that that is just how they are, it's none of my business.

[John]

Sure it is their business. But saying it is their business is not the same thing as saying the law should require everyone to indulge them.

[Zeb]

Sure.

I say just use the bathroom you feel is appropriate and if no one notices, then you are a successful transsexual.

[John]

This is true.

[lap83]

"Their desire to be another sex is just a manifestation of deeper issues that changing sex doesn't solve"

That doesn't surprise me at all. It's only human to build up something you want in your mind as being the solution to all your problems, only to find out that they're not all miraculously solved when you get it.

[Zeb]

Yeah, the same exact thing often happens with marriage, graduations, getting a new job, and pretty much any big exciting change in one's life.

[Lord Humungus]

A few days old but hey...

Amazon Must Be Stopped It's too big. It's cannibalizing the economy. It's time for a radical plan.

Whether Amazon, which does $75 billion in annual revenue, has technically violated antitrust laws is an important matter, of course. But descending into the weeds of predatory pricing statutes also obscures the very real threat. In its pursuit of bigness, Amazon has left a trail of destruction?competitors undercut, suppliers squeezed?some of it necessary, and some of it highly worrisome. And in its confrontation with the publisher Hachette, it has entered a phase of heightened aggression unseen even when it tried to crush Zappos by offering a $5 rebate on all its shoes or when it gave employees phony business cards to avoid paying sales taxes in various states.

In effect, we've been thrust back 100 years to a time when the law was not up to the task of protecting the threats to democracy posed by monopoly; a time when the new nature of the corporation demanded a significant revision of government.

[Slammer]

I think he meant a revision FROM government there.

[WTF]

So, Amazon providing me all kinds of goods in a vary convenient way at very good prices is bad, and somehow threatens 'democracy'? This is one of the stupidest things I've read in quite some time.

[The Laconic]

It's about time somebody saved us from Amazon. The fact that I can get a good price, on almost anything I want, through a few button clicks, and have it delivered in two days, is tearing apart the social fabric.

[John]

We need to do something about your binge consumerism.

[Fluffy]

Amazon should be scrupulously fair and treat all its suppliers the same.

To wit, they should immediately delete all Hachette product pages and let Hachette personnel rebuild them from scratch using the Marketplace, CreateSpace and KBD systems.

If it's good enough for me, it's good enough for Ursula LeGuin.

[Outlaw]

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion.....r-sermons/

Does anyone have any more information on this story? I want to be sure I have all my ducks in a row before I hammer some proglodytes I know with it.

[Outlaw]

Oh and the title of the article is:

City of Houston demands pastors turn over sermons

[BakedPenguin]

Look above.

[Outlaw]

D'oh. I found this link, though, for those interested. It goes into more detail than the Fox piece:

http://www.commdiginews.com/po.....unt-27879/

The city subpoenaed communications and sermons from pastors not even involved in the lawsuit.

[John]

What happened is the Lesbian mayor of Houston decided the most important issue facing the city was making sure Trannys could go to the bathroom they choose. So they passed an ordinance requiring every public building, including churches, to let trannys go to the bathroom of their choice. The churches objected and petitioned to have a repeal of the ordinance put to a vote. The mayor and her allies on the council said they didn't have enough signatures and refused to put it on the ballot. The churches claim they do.

So the churches sued over the way the ordinance was passed and some others sued over the petition issue. As part of one of those law suits the city has demanded the churches produce a copy of all of their sermons as part of discovery.

As a lawyer who has done litigation, I can't see how the sermons could possibly be relevant to the issues in the case or produce any relevant evidence. And any competent lawyer or judge could see that. The request is just the city being thugs and wanting to intimidate the churches. The idea is "you want to sue us fine, we will be reading all of your sermons and turning anything we think is political over to the IRS so they can go after your tax exemption".

Its pathetic and I doubt the judge will let them get away with it.

[JWatts]

From the article:

"However, ADF attorney Stanley suspects the mayor wants to publicly shame the ministers. He said he anticipates they will hold up their sermons for public scrutiny. In other words ? the city is rummaging for evidence to "out" the pastors as anti-gay bigots."

That seems the most likely reason for the request.

[John]

And the pastors should tell them to go fuck themselves. And the judge most certainly should. Who cares if they are "anti gay"? That has absolutely no bearing on the merits of the case whatever those are.

From what my friends tell me in Houston, this mayor has been a complete disaster.

[Outlaw]

Thanks for the explanation, John.

[DEG]

Foreign countries offering retirees tax breaks, discounts, and more. American retirees are taking advantage of them.

http://money.cnn.com/2014/10/1.....?iid=HP_LN

[Andrew S.]

New laws to prevent retirees from taking advantage of this in 5, 4, 3, 2...

[JWatts]

"Speaking Thursday at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College, Mr. Obama accused the firms involved of "cherry-picking the rules" and damaging the country's finances and the economy.

"My attitude is I don't care if it's legal, it's wrong," Mr. Obama said. He and other Democrats increasingly have cast the issue in terms of economic patriotism, questioning the loyalty of firms that take advantage of American infrastructure and services, then take their profits elsewhere. "

http://online.wsj.com/articles.....1406220197

[trshmnster the terrible]

How dare you spend MY money as you please! You know I need some money for cigs and beer, and you spent it at fucking seven eleven!?! You stupid bitch! You deserve everything that I'm about to do to you!

/Obama's economic policy on a local level

[Lord Humungus]

interesting... will definitely keep an eye on this for future consideration.

[Stormy Dragon]

Derp:

Male Allies Are Important, Except When They're the Worst

[ant1sthenes]

This is why there are no male feminists.

[Robert]

I was unaware vodka had ever been ahead of total whiskeys, and that gin didn't even make the chart. Is gin too expensive to compete vs. vodka in clear liquors?

[WTF]

The lefty Facebook political posts seem to be fluctuating between "Ready for Hillary" and "We Want Warren". I guess they figure it's a woman's turn to be POTUS.

[Slammer]

LOL! I killed it with Asphyx

[TwB]

Thank you

[l0b0t]

If I may be so bold. Please to enjoy Ozzy at his finest, 1978 Top Of The Pops, performing their brand new song (and my absolute favorite Sabbath tune) Never Say Die.

http://youtu.be/qZ5EayHay7w

[BakedPenguin]

Funny to see kids dancing along to Sabbath. OTOH, if you're going to, that's the song to do it to.