Turkey Eases Way for Kurdish Reinforcements, Dem Election Prospects Infected by Ebola, Colorado May Ban Pot Brownies: P.M. Links

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  • Pot brownie
    smiteme / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

    Having just recently denounced the Kurdish Peshmerga as "terrorists," Turkey's government is now allowing Kurdish reinforcements through to Kobani to battle ISIS. The enemy of my enemy…

  • Obamacare, assaults on civil liberties, and hostility to entrepreneurs and business might not have torpedoed Democratic election hopes, but fumbling the response to Ebola has them bleeding from the eyes.
  • Voting is already underway in 34 states by the way, so get ready for smug hectoring from those who have already chosen institutional party Candidate A over institutional party Candidate B.
  • British gun owners now face unannounced, warrantless visits to their homes by the cops, just because. All the more reason to keep your guns off the books.
  • Marijuana-based edibles such as brownies, cookies, and candy will be banned if Colorado officials have their way, because— Oh, let's not pretend there's any logic behind this.
  • "He's been giving us descriptions, cooperating and accompanying us to locations," Hammond, Indiana, Police Chief John D. Doughty says of Darren Deon Vann who, apparently, admits to at least seven murders over 20 years. Better late then never.

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J.D. Tuccille is a contributing editor at Reason.

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  1. Marijuana-based edibles such as brownies, cookies, and candy will be banned if Colorado officials have their way, because?

    The Dowd Effect.

    1. Mongo

      Maureen’s Law.

      1. Medical Physics Guy

        Now that is a horrifying idea. What else would have to be law if Maureen Dowd could deccide? Men cannot leave shrill, cantankerous shrews to marry voluptuous actresses (i.e. Michael Douglas)? Maybe it’s not so dangerous since she stands for almost nothing.

    2. Rufus J. Firefly

      “British gun owners now face unannounced, warrantless visits to their homes by the cops, just because. All the more reason to keep your guns off the books.”

      There’s no room for such extreme views in a civil society.

      1. Rufus J. Firefly

        Where ARE my manners?

        Hello.

  2. …Turkey’s government is now allowing Kurdish reinforcements through to Kobani to battle ISIS.

    And then they’ll import a type of gorilla that thrives on snake meat.

    1. What the fuck did you just fucking say about me, Fist of Etiquette, you little bitch? I’ll have you know I graduated top of my class in the Navy Seals, and I’ve been involved in numerous secret raids on Al-Quaeda, and I have over 300 confirmed kills. I am trained in gorilla warfare and I’m the top sniper in the entire US armed forces. You are nothing to me but just another target. I will wipe you the fuck out with precision the likes of which has never been seen before on this Earth, mark my fucking words. You think you can get away with saying that shit to me over the Internet? Think again, fucker. As we speak I am contacting my secret network of spies across the USA and your IP is being traced right now so you better prepare for the storm, maggot.

      1. I almost tried a simultaneous gorilla/guerrilla joke but I wasn’t completely sure I was spelling it correctly, so I just stuck with the Simpsons quote.

    2. The storm that wipes out the pathetic little thing you call your life. You’re fucking dead, kid. I can be anywhere, anytime, and I can kill you in over seven hundred ways, and that’s just with my bare hands. Not only am I extensively trained in unarmed combat, but I have access to the entire arsenal of the United States Marine Corps and I will use it to its full extent to wipe your miserable ass off the face of the continent, you little shit. If only you could have known what unholy retribution your little “clever” comment was about to bring down upon you, maybe you would have held your fucking tongue. But you couldn’t, you didn’t, and now you’re paying the price, you goddamn idiot. I will shit fury all over you and you will drown in it. You’re fucking dead, kiddo.

      1. Rufus J. Firefly

        Kiddo?

        1. Beatrix

    3. Oh…and this.

    4. The Turks have one overriding goal:

      To get as many peshmerga dead as possible, to keep the Kurds under their boot as easily as possible.

      They finally figured out that every Turkish pershmerga that dies in Iraq fighting ISIS is one of the good Turkish peshmerga.

      As far as ISIS goes, I have every confidence that the Turks have already reached an arrangement with ISIS.

      1. VG Zaytsev

        Yeah, I wouldn’t put it past the Turks to attack the Peshmerga in the backs or while their in transit through Turkey.

  3. rts

    I’ve been away for a week, so apologies if this isn’t news…

    Washington State Patrol Aircraft catches multiple police cars speeding and does nothing.

    Caught this today on Highway 2 just out of Wenatchee. WSP had their aircraft up to catch speeders in the 60mph section of Hwy 2. Apparently there was a “DRE” drug recognition expert conference up in Lake Chelan today- so the WSP plane caught several marked and unmarked (and a motorcycle) doing well above the speed limit (26mph over in at least once case)

    The aircraft stopped calling out the speeds until ground units would confirm they were or were not a police car. If they were a police car they didn’t get stopped.

    1. Injun, as in from India

      All animals are equal, but some are…

    2. Bam!

      They use planes to catch speeders? That seems incredibly inefficient.

      1. Injun, as in from India

        Government and inefficient are synonymous.

      2. Agammamon

        They just raise the cost of tickets, fines, surcharges, taxes, etc to cover the cost of the plane

      3. Bobarian (dinosaur hunter)

        Not if you’re a police officer who also gets to collect flight pay…

  4. Andrew S.

    http://www.miamiherald.com/new…..b58841d4-1

    Cop driving with blood alcohol level 3x the legal limit, alcohol results overturned because of a screwup, now they’re trying to get the last charges against him dropped.

    Amazing how often there are minor screwups in procedure that lead to such charges being dismissed against officers, isn’t it? I’m sure that’s just coincidence though.

    1. He wasn’t trained not to drive drunk!

    2. Officer Jim Lahey

      Liquor may have inadvertently been spilled into his groin region. It’s only fair, boys.

  5. British gun owners now face unannounced, warrantless visits to their homes by the cops, just because.

    See? What could a national database hurt?

    1. Injun, as in from India

      Piers Morgan would be so proud.

  6. Rich

    The Home Office is apparently worried that legitimate guns could easily be stolen and wind up in the hands of terrorists.

    Emphasis added. YA reason to never set foot in the UK.

    1. Jerry on the sea

      Guns? Shouldn’t they be banning knives and cleavers instead?

      1. Rich

        And underpants and printer cartridges!

  7. rts

    Delta police officer charged with murder at Starlight Casino

    On Nov. 8 in 2012, police were called to the Starlight Casino following reports of a man with a gun in the parking lot. There was lengthy standoff, and police could be heard imploring Bayrami to drop his weapon.

    After a period of roughly five hours, Bayrami was shot. At the time, police refused to say whether an officer shot Bayrami.

    1. Bayrami shot himself. In the back. 1328754084 times.

      1. Marshall Gill

        Unpossible, Ted. Considering how pigs can’t shoot for shit, that would require an infinite number of rounds.

  8. Certified Public Asskicker

    Why Howard County (rich county in MD) residents give away so little of their wealth

    Possible reasons cited for Howard County’s giving rates are middle-class families who have to shell out for expensive mortgages and high fees for kids’ sports leagues. Those families also need to save for their children to go to college.

    The profile also argues the county’s largest community, Columbia, does not have many natives who feel tied to it. Many people who live there work in Baltimore or Washington, D.C. And the profile says residents aren’t as likely to give to religious causes as residents in other parts of the country.

    1. Injun, as in from India

      Who says that forced charity via government does not crowd out voluntary charity?

    2. trshmnster the terrible

      I can’t help but chuckle smugly. I really wish that I could suppress the urge and keep a facade of humility, but I see a bunch of rats on wheels, spinning, spinning, spinning. They want the cheese, but they just can’t.. quite… get close enough.

      Then they spend their emotional energy bitching about how hard it is to get the cheese. All the while, the rest of us laugh because we got off the hamster wheel a long time ago.

      I have zero pity for the upper middle class and their money problems. *puts on monocle and beats an orphan for fun *

      1. Certified Public Asskicker

        Sheesh, have some sympathy. Do you have any idea what it costs for little Chase to play lacrosse in Columbia???

        1. No, and I don’t give a shit.

      2. robc

        New “rule” I have. Buy(rent) in a neighborhood in which median income is about 20% below your own.

        Make 100k? Find an 80k neighborhood. Make 50k. Find a 40k neighborhood.

        1. trshmnster the terrible

          The “old” rule was 15 year fixed monthly payment (including tax and insurance) should be at most 1/4 of your take home.

          That means an median income family only has around $900/month to allot to a house. Assuming around $1k yearly property taxes, $1k yearly insurance, and 20% down, your median household income can afford a $128k house by the old rule.

  9. Aloysious

    Meanwhile, in Detroit

    UN officials criticise Detroit water shutoffs

    UN human rights officials have called for Detroit to restore water service to poor customers in arrears on their bills, arguing the shutoffs discriminate against minorities.

    Catarina de Albuquerque and Leilani Farha say the shutoffs hurt “the most vulnerable and poorest”.

    Detroit has closed the taps for more than 27,000 people prior this year.

    Activists in Detroit had appealed to the UN for assistance in stopping the practice in the high-poverty city.

    “It is contrary to human rights to disconnect water from people who simply do not have the means to pay their bills,” Ms de Albuquerque, UN special rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation, wrote in a statement on Monday.

    “I heard testimonies from poor, African-American residents of Detroit who were forced to make impossible choices – to pay the water bill or to pay their rent.”

    1. Injun, as in from India

      Free sh** = Human Rights.

      Got it.

    2. Rich

      UN sp?cial rapporteur

      Well, la-dee-DAH!

    3. flye

      Poor Detroit. It’s probably that uncaring teathuglican leadership which is causing them to resort to petitioning the UN.

    4. Hey, U.N.-
      If you wanna pony up the money to cover these past-due bills, be our guest. Otherwise, kindly fuck off.

      Please, and thank you.

    5. Slammer

      Shouldn’t they be focusing on places that don’t even have clean water or an infrastructure to deliver it first?

    6. “It is contrary to human rights to disconnect water from people who simply do not have the means to pay their bills,”

      OK, lets turn the water cannons on them then.

    7. Every Cop is a Criminal

      If you don’t pay your rent and get evicted, you won’t be needing water service anymore.

    8. Agammamon

      What does the UN think about the water company simply not providing service in the first place?

      After all, if you don’t build the infrastructure then you have no obligation to provide the service.

      Its like shoveling the snow off your sidewalk and then getting sued when someone slips on the theory that by shoveling you took responsibility for that section. If you had just let the snow pile up you’d have been home free.

    9. Officer Jim Lahey

      Didn’t Milton Friedman address this adequately in one of his Q&As; with college students, regarding the allegorical death of an Ohioan who died due to not paying his electrical bills?

  10. Rich

    A prominent Thai academic has been accused of insulting the monarchy, for remarks about a king who died more than 400 years ago. If convicted, Sulak could be imprisoned for 15 years.

    A series of acid attacks on women in the historic Iranian city of Isfahan has raised fears and prompted rumours that the victims were targeted for not being properly veiled.

    WTF is wrong with people? 8-(

    1. Help me, Spock.

      1. Rufus J. Firefly

        Not even Spock can rationally explain the idiocy of people.

    2. I have mixed feelings about Sulak Sivaraksa. The charges against him are bullshit; still, he’s a weird and obnoxious mixture of socialist and Buddhist SoCon. I can’t get worked up about someone like Sulak, who has advocated for others to be put in prison for insulting the Thai king, rotting in Klong Prem when actual, pro-freedom people like Darunee Charnchoensilpakul are suffering in unjust imprisonment.

  11. Really, is it not okay to actually want the GOP to win the Senate? Sure, they suck with the power of the galaxy’s central black hole, but wouldn’t a fully armed and Republican Senate be a whole lot better than what we have now? This lawless government has to be stopped somehow, and the only possibility of that, however slight, is to get the Senate out of the Democrats’ control.

    1. Injun, as in from India

      Divided government is the best outcome we can hope for. Partisan fighting is liberty’s last hope.

      1. trshmnster the terrible

        It was originally set up so that the states and the fedgov provided that intragovernmental tension, but Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Wilson neutered that.

        1. Yes, let’s restore federalism. In fact, let’s come up with a new layer so that we can have a further check. I hereby deem it civism–a collection of city states with sovereign powers independent of the state and the federal systems.

          1. Agammamon

            I could back this – city governments independent of and co-equal with state. Could allow those blue cities in red states to pursue their own agendas without destroying the whole state in the process.

            Something to think about when drafting the new constitution after the bloody revolution.

            1. You could go down even further, maybe to individuals. I deem this. . .individualism.

    2. Brett L

      Yeah. I’m good with 2 years of show trials of the excesses of Executive Power and compromise budgets that runs the money presses at redline.

      1. Impeach everyone, repeal everything, have a gridlock FESTIVAL!

        1. Rich

          “Throw up your hands ? you’re doing the People’s Business!”

      2. Aloysious

        I’m hoping for duels. Or, at the very least, face slapping.

        1. Bam!

          Fisticuffs.

          1. . . .with extreme prejudice.

          2. Bobarian (dinosaur hunter)

            Beatings with walking sticks.

            1. Been done. We need Taser fights.

          3. Fart Wars.

    3. Bam!

      This lawless government has to be stopped somehow

      And replaced with another lawless government.

      1. Exactly. I’m glad we’re all in agreement for once.

    4. Bo Cara Esq.

      I think the GOP should win, but as a rebuke to the Dems, not under any delusion the GOP will rule in a more libertarian way. Last time up they increased spending, created the DHS, Patriot Act, invaded full bore two countries, etc

      1. Oh, absolutely. I have no faith at all in the GOP except perhaps as a brief counterpoise to Democratic excess.

      2. Injun, as in from India

        I’m looking forward to Obama getting blowback for his “my policies are on the ballot” comment.

        1. trshmnster the terrible

          Here in TX, they play that comment in an ad that shows a name plaque that says “Barack Obama, Governor of Texas”

          I thought it was a creative ad from the Abbott camp.

    5. Agammamon

      I’m worried that the next president will be a Republican and if the R’s win the senate we’ll have a majority R government to pursue the same sort of freedom destroying policies that the D’s did when they had majority control of the government.

      1. Injun, as in from India

        ^THIS

      2. At least there’s a small chance the GOP Congress will do some damage to the state in the meantime. We know what we’ll get with the current situation.

        Previously, we would be total gridlock right now. But with a president willing to act unconstitutionally without any other branch willing to stop him, we need a Congress that’s completely in the hands of the opposition party. It’s a thin thread of a hope, but it’s better than nothing.

      3. Meh. I can’t worry about the next election.

        I’m too busy planning my vote for third-party candidates, in violation of my sacred duty to vote for some dirtbag I don’t want over some other dirtbag I don’t want.

        Or something. How does that “spoiler” thing go again?

        1. I’m fine with that, too. I like the idea of a Republican Congress, but I lay it at about 50-1 odds that they’ll do much to stop the growth of the state.

  12. Brett L

    So… got wind of an interesting opportunity in Houston today. At least good enough to get a phone interview. That would be cool except the offices are in the most congested parts of the city and there’s not much work-from-home opportunity. Looks like Houston may be getting a major influx of libertarian-breeding-program participants.

    1. That would be cool except the offices are in the most congested parts of the city

      I thought all of Houston was congested with massive amounts of water vapor.

      1. Brett L

        The conversation that triggered the opportunity happened because I was there visiting a client and had dinner with a friend. Even the shitty parts of Houston are booming. Its weird. But yes, despite the fact that they appear to have more than doubled the number of lanes on the highways in the last 10 years, the traffic is worse.

    2. Spoonman.

      Is Houston getting so expensive that you can’t just live in the Galleria? In 2010 I walked to work from my $600/month apartment, but then they replaced those apartments with fancier ones.

      1. Brett L

        Its starting to look that way. I don’t know. We will definitely be renting for a year or so if this goes through. Take enough time to sell the Tallahassee house and get reacquainted with the city.

  13. Aloysious

    Comet Siding Spring skims past Mars

    A recently discovered comet has whizzed past Mars, giving scientists a unique chance to study an object from the farthest reaches of the Solar System.

    The comet, known as Siding Spring, raced past Mars at 56km per second (125,000mph), missing it by 139,500 km.

    Rovers on the Martian surface and satellites were primed to catch the event on their cameras and instruments.

    Siding Spring comes from the Oort Cloud – a spherical region of space far beyond the planets.

    Researchers believe the comet is very little altered from the time of its formation more than 4.5 billion years ago.

    1. The Oort cloud. You mean that group of objects that arbitrarily surrounds the solar system but isn’t part of it in any way? That Oort cloud?

      1. Rich

        I say let Voyager decide.

        1. Voyager is totally unreliable, given the contradictory articles it keeps writing about itself.

    2. Brett L

      Also, there’s no evidence that the Oort Cloud is remotely spherical!

      (Which is why it should be called the Oort Region as it is an entirely arbitrary region)

      1. NOT WITHIN THE SOL SYSTEM. ALL THESE WORLDS ARE YOURS, EXCEPT THOSE IN THE TOTALLY UNCONNECTED TO THE GRAVITATIONAL INFLUENCE OF YOUR SUN OORT CLOUD.

        1. Agammamon

          Except they are, you know, gravitationally connected – just in really long period orbits.

          If they weren’t gravitationally bound then they’d have wandered off long ago.

          1. NO, ONLY THAT WHICH IS WITHIN THE HELIOSPHERE IS SOL’S. ALL ELSE IS NOT. DON’T YOU READ THE PAPERS?

  14. Rufus J. Firefly

    What a horrible ‘Blame Canada’ article.

    http://bit.ly/1wkoEKp

    Leave the ‘blame Canada’ shtick to South Park, m’kay’?

    1. What? Please, Canada, drill the fuck away.

      1. Rufus J. Firefly

        Our fate was sealed a loonnnggg time ago. We’re a semi-diversified, resource-based economy. That’s what these people don’t understand.

        No oil, no wealth for Canada. And where will the money come from to pay for all the free shit progs love to give away.

        1. Agammamon

          Maple syrup, like it has for the past 1,000 years.

        2. John Titor (Formerly Jensen)

          Well, if everyone goes back to wooden sailing ships, Canada can fall back on its other major resource industry for a hundred years, timber/lumber. But shockingly they’d probably complain about that too. So I guess it’s back to mining. *cue environmentalist whine*

    2. Cytotoxic

      DELICIOUS

  15. waffles

    Marijuana-based edibles such as brownies, cookies, and candy will be banned

    Enjoy them now, because in the future the will be illegal!

    Anyway, I feel a little bit bad for the companies producing some truly innovative products in the edible arena. They took the risk knowingly so I don’t feel too bad. Still, how incredibly stupid.

    1. Invisible Finger

      It is only legal to consume a product in the most harmful way possible.

  16. Aloysious

    Sweden steps up ‘mystery sub’ hunt off Stockholm waters

    The Swedish navy has stepped up its search in the waters off Stockholm amid suspicions that a Russian submarine might be in trouble there.

    The military has asked civilian vessels to evacuate the area between Nattaro island and Danziger Gatt.

    A Swedish source told the BBC an underwater vessel was spotted in waters about 25km (16 miles) from Stockholm.

    Russia’s defence ministry denied any “irregular situation” involving its ships.

    It said a Dutch submarine might have triggered Sweden’s alert after carrying out exercises in the area.

    However, this theory has been dismissed by the Dutch defence ministry.

    “It was definitely not a Dutch submarine,” a ministry spokeswoman in The Hague told the BBC.

    1. Brett L

      “Vasily, do you mean to tell me that you’ve lost another submarine?”

    2. Wait, I saw this movie. Is the sub captain Scottish-Russian?

      1. Dr. Fronkensteen

        +1 ping only

        1. The best Soviets are Scots and Australians.

      2. Jerry on the sea

        But that movie didn’t have a great eurodance tribute.

        1. Das Boot is the awesome.

    3. Dutch submarine

      Good name for a ____________*

      (* really could go in various directions)

      1. Rich

        an underwater “Dutch oven”.

        1. You can smell it!

      2. Sandwich Shop.

    4. Russia’s defence ministry denied any “irregular situation” involving its ships.

      Then you won’t mind if we run a live-fire anti-submarine drill, eh, Ivan?

  17. Homple

    Officer got home safely, didn’t he? What’s the problem?

  18. Aloysious

    Death Star moon may be ‘wonky or watery’

    The internal structure of one of Saturn’s moons is either wonky or awash with water, according to a new study.

    Mimas is nicknamed the Death Star because it resembles the infamous Star Wars space station.

    1. I thought Mimas was a giant ball of snow. Is that still in question?

    2. Rich

      “Wonky”? What’s that in Americanese?

      1. Made up of wonks, of course.

        1. BiMonSciFiCon

          Does that mean we can Ezra Klein there?

          1. I think your sentence missing a verb.

            1. Brett L

              Someone accidentally the whole thing!

            2. All your wonk are belong to us.

            3. BiMonSciFiCon

              New at Vox: “Why Verbs Are a Construct of the Patriarchy and How If you Use Them, You’re Part of the Problem.”

              1. “Why Verbs a Construct of the Patriarchy and How If You Them, You Part of the Problem.”

            4. Bobarian (dinosaur hunter)

              Isn’t Ezra Klein a verb for wonking off?

              1. Andrew S.

                I’ll be sending you a bill for all of the therapy I’ll have to go to after reading your comment.

          2. John Titor (Formerly Jensen)

            Only if Poland can into space.

    3. The internal structure of one of Saturn’s moons is either wonky or awash with water, according to a new study.

      That really narrows it down now, doesn’t it?

      1. My God, it’s full of water.

        1. Marshall Gill

          What are you doing, Dave

          1. Open the cod bay doors, HAL.

      2. CE

        Wonky? Saturn’s moon bores people with minute political policy details?

        I need to find someone who speaks British.

  19. Protagoronus

    Guy gets cop to read part of law that allows him to play guitar in subway station. Hero arrests him.

    1. Matrix

      Guess I’ll be the first to comment.

      FTP!

  20. Coeus

    How is this legal?

    ZQ filed and was granted an ex parte 209a order against Eron in mid September and on Tuesday it was extended for a year. Note that this is a physical abuse prevention order. It is meant to protect victims of physical abuse, not victims of internet harassment (you want a 258e for that). (Issues relevant to 209a orders that were in the affidavit but not brought up at the hearing are addressed in the footer of this post.*)

    The reason you haven’t heard anything about the case is that the order contains a written in PRIOR RESTRAINT ON FREE SPEECH, which is absolutely absurd (ZQ reported his participation in this KoP stream to the police as a violation of the ex-parte order, so now he also has to have a hearing for that). I however, have no such restraint, and thus it is entirely within my rights to discuss public court hearings and public court documents. And should any overly litigious public figures with questionable ethical principles think about changing that, I’d recommend they take a look at Nilan v. Valenti first.

    1. Because fuck you that’s why.

      He should tell his friends about his ex and they can blog about her.

      1. Coeus

        He told the entire gaming community.

        1. Oh, this is part of the “Gamergate” [sic] story? I didn’t recognize the names.

          1. Coeus

            It’s interesting enough on it’s own. I didn’t know you could be legally stopped from showing evidence to people that your ex cheated on you.

  21. Mainer2

    That word legalization…I don’t think it means what you think it does.

    1. Brett L

      No, they’re pretty sure that they’ve given the peasantry permission and they can take it away.

  22. Coeus

    For those interested, the reason gamergate exploded the way it did:

    When you were writing the Zoe Post, did you have any inkling that what you wrote would cause anything near the kind of reaction that it has?
    You don’t spend weeks making flowcharts and discussing probabilities with a bunch of people without accounting for the loudest possible outcomes. So yes, I’d considered it possible that things would devolve this way, but I’d assigned it an extremely low probability. Because the model I’d based my predictions on was that of Temkin and Mattingly.

    1. Coeus

      Journalists seemed to be more than happy to quickly report on the first signs of faults in the personal lives of those two, and Wardell. But when it came to Zoe’s faults, they rushed to protect her. When Wozniak spoke out about Zoe sexually harassing him, they protected her. When Van Keenan spoke out about the hypocrisy of her consent claim, they ignored it. When fans spoke out saying that they did in fact want to know if they were supporting someone who did things they wished to not support, they repeated the private matter party line. When Nasrallah spoke out that back when Zoe was doing porn, she would routinely make false rape claims, even murder claims, they turned a blind eye. It wasn’t so clear at the outset just how broken that system was. It made its self clear in the wake of the debacle. It was literally a bunch of her friends trying to protect her image ? a courtesy in no way extended to Temkin, or Mattingly, or Wardell.

      Readers were outraged at the hypocrisy ? that despite massive public outcry through revelation after revelation painting a single picture of a person more toxic than Mattingly or Temkin, or Wardell combined, discussions were censored, and journalists deemed themselves the arbiters of who should be protected, and who should be scrutinized. People didn’t look to them to mold culture, they looked to them to inform, so that culture could mold its self.

      1. Wait…that Wozniak?

        1. paranoid android

          No, different guy I’m pretty sure. I can’t remember the full story but I think he’s a game developer, tweeted something about how Quinn sexually harassed him at a wedding and got dozens of “You’re dead to me!” responses from his SJW friends.

          1. The image of her coming up to the Woz with a line like “I’ll polish your apple” is too hilarious to let go.

            1. John Titor (Formerly Jensen)

              I don’t think Steve’s letting that apple go.

  23. The Late P Brooks

    Voting is already underway in 34 states by the way, so get ready for smug hectoring from those who have already chosen institutional party Candidate A over institutional party Candidate B.

    Ever since I quit going into my “old” bar, my life has been blissfully free of unsolicited political insights from the sort of independent thinker who would rather be boiled in oil than vote for a Republican.

    1. Brett L

      You used to hang out with libertarians?

      1. Marshall Gill

        No, Bo.

    2. Don’t blame me; I voted for Kodos.

    3. trshmnster the terrible

      I’ll be writing in LizardPerson 14462 for governor this election. He likes to boil independent thinkers in oil… They’re extra good when chicken fried.

      1. They’re all lizard people.

  24. Colorado May Ban Pot Brownies: P.M. Links

    When we said it was legal, we didn’t mean legal legal.

    1. flye

      See what happens when you give people freedom? They go out and use it, like a bunch of assholes.

    2. Bobarian (dinosaur hunter)

      When you voted for it to be legal, you didn’t really know what you were voting for…

      Just like when you voted for me.

      /Colorado Statist!

  25. CE

    You missed the pumpkin festival riots in Keene. Maybe they really did need that armored vehicle after all…

  26. Iucundus (ex Damned Fool)

    So… I’m in class right now. We’re supposed to watch “Inside Job,” a documentary on the financial crisis. Should I pay serious attention or just enough to get by on the test?

    1. BiMonSciFiCon

      If they talk about the real causes, the former. If they just blame greedy bankers, the latter.

    2. CE

      It sounds like conspiracy mongering. Watch it!

    3. Agammamon

      I’d say, pay attention, write down all the stupid assertions the ‘documentary’ makes and then provide rebuttals of the mistakes, fallacies, and outright lies its full of.

    4. paranoid android

      Just keep piping up with comments like “Hey, I thought Denzel was in this?” every few minutes.

    5. Cytotoxic

      Note that Spain and Ireland had worse property busts.

  27. The Late P Brooks

    We’re supposed to watch “Inside Job,” a documentary on the financial crisis.

    Let us know if they name Greenspan as the ringleader.

    1. Iucundus (ex Damned Fool)

      Check.

  28. Iucundus (ex Damned Fool)

    So far it’s all “privatization is bad,” “romanticize small banks,” and “excessive compensation.” Because market discipline and economies of scope and scale aren’t things.

    1. Iucundus (ex Damned Fool)

      Also repeatedly speaking with our friend George Soros.

    2. Are they blaming government at all?

    3. Cytotoxic

      Point out that tons of small banks failed because of the laws that keep them small and unable to transfer capital between states. Note that Canada’s banking sector is basically a government-sanctioned oligopoly and we had no failures. Also note Canada has less banking regulation, no CRA, no equivalent to FM and FM (CMHC is different). Ask why Texas didn’t have a housing boom and bust (it’s because of the lax zoning regulations).

      1. trshmnster the terrible

        Yep, plus add in the fact that taxpayer backing of certain (read poorly qualified borrower) loans shifts the risk burden from the lender to the government. Just like anything else, you get more of what you subsidize (subprime mortgages in this case).

      2. flye

        A discussion of unintended consequences of Basel II is a must for any rational review of the crisis.

  29. The Late P Brooks

    It’s amazing what you could do in the Wild West laissez faire dog eat dog unregulated financial world of 2006. Talk about free market!

  30. The Late P Brooks

    Are they blaming government at all?

    WHY DIDN’T THEY STEP IN AND END THE MADNESS?

    WHY DID THEY WAIT SO LONG TO WRITE A RULEBOOK?

    1. I was thinking more for creating artificial barriers to entry, creating regulatory morasses that prevented any market flexibility and limiting competition even among existing companies, and, of course, bailing out the bad at the expense of the good.

  31. Every Cop is a Criminal

    That is one butt-ugly brownie.

    1. B.P.

      Mmmmm… porkchop brownie with thyme sprinkles.

  32. The Late P Brooks

    I was thinking more for creating artificial barriers to entry, creating regulatory morasses that prevented any market flexibility and limiting competition even among existing companies, and, of course, bailing out the bad at the expense of the good.

    None of that stuff would be an issue if banks were nationalized and run as a utility. All bank staff would be federal employees, with only the customer’s best interests at heart. Think of the economic boom.

    1. It’s perversely fascinating to watch people jump through totally absurd mental hoops to find ways to make our wealth so much less than it could be. We’re probably at 25% of our potential capacity right now, even without taking into account what technological advance could bring.

      1. Cytotoxic

        Imagine where Hong Kong is. Now add lots of natural resources and much better gun and free speech rights. 25% is high.

        1. I was being nice.

    2. Agammamon

      Like the TSA – you can’t professionalize until you federalize.

  33. Cytotoxic

    Bryan Cranston is not happy with the Florida mom trying to ban Breaking Bad action figures from Toys ‘R’ Us

    http://arts.nationalpost.com/2…..ederated=1

    Welcome to Florida.

  34. BigT

    Global warming…not according to any of the data sets.

    http://tinyurl.com/lqozubo

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