A.M. Links: Obama Announces Immigration Plans, AG Nominee Responsible For Nearly a Billion in Asset Forfeiture Last Year, Miss Honduras Found Dead

• 

  Miss Universe

  Last night President Obama finally announced his plan for executive action on immigration reform, in an address not aired on CBS, NBC, or ABC. He is in Las Vegas today to campaign for the plan.

• Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch boasted about being responsible for nearly a billion dollars in civil and criminal forfeiture in the last fiscal year.
• Charges against Officer Darren Wilson are unlikely, according to a union official.
• An armed woman was arrested outside the White House by Secret Service yesterday.
• The body of Miss Honduras was found on a riverbank; she had been shot dead along with her sister.
• Six feet of snow in Buffalo led the NFL to reschedule the Jets-Bills game to Monday in Detroit.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Last night President Obama finally announced his plan for executive action on immigration reform...

They're gonna take our jobs! Or, uh, keep the ones they already took.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

I win the Internet today:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/.....-1.2840916

[Ted S.]

Ididot didn't know about the winters before going to Saskatchewan?

Did she try to blame the US?

[Tonio]

Were you the reporter or the complainer?

[RBS]

Sounds like somebody is ready for the move down to SC or FL.

[Homple]

And no EBT cards, Medicare, Section 8 housing, no illegals crossing over to catch the next amnesty wave....

[mia380]

Learn The Simple Secret To Making Money From Home , Work From Home Safe And Easily
==== ==== ===== http://www.walletwiki.com

[invisible furry hand]

Man Stabbed For Asking Someone to Stop Catcalling His Girlfriend

http://jezebel.com/man-stabbed.....1661435738

[LynchPin1477]

Just last night, my wife asked if I would stand up to someone if they catcalled her. Of course, I said. What's the worst that could happen? I said.

[Florida Man]

*runs by, stabs LP*

[lap83]

I went to Half-Price Books with my husband the other day and he wouldn't defend my honor after I was catcalled by one of the store clerks. It's like they think they can greet you just because you go into their store. The nerve.

[Rich]

"May I 'help' you?"

[Restoras]

*nudge nudge wink wink*

[Bobarian (Mr. Xtreme)]

Reminded of a joke:

Woman comes up to her husband.

"Harold, you need to defend my honor, a man over there said terrible things to me."

"Alright, Maude. I'll go beat his ass... What did he say, anyway?"

M:"He said, he wanted to turn me upside down, fill me up with beer, and drink me dry!"

H: "Oh, shit, nevermind! There ain't no way I'm fuckin with somebody who can drink that much beer!"

[JEP]

In all seriousness, what would "defending her honor" entail?

If I were to punch to a guy for saying disrespectful things to a girl I was with, is that defensible legally?

In these current times of no tolerance polices, I'm curious exactly what is allowed.

[Snark Plissken]

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.c.....-injuries/

The man confronted the suspect and an argument ensued, ending with the suspect stabbing the man multiple times with a knife, according to police.

The suspect vehicle is described as a silver sedan, police said.

Well I'm glad they have a firm description of the vehicle, that should help solve the crime.

[Careless]

Describing the suspect would be racist.

[Sevo]

Larkin and Ellis really isn't an intersection you want to be populating at 4AM.

[Rhywun]

Yeah, the article kind of sidesteps the likelihood that the stabber was a raving lunatic loose on the streets of one of the shittiest urban neighborhoods in America.

[DJF]

I thought you were suppose to say "Yep, and I have her and you don't"

[Roger the Shrubber]

I believe a knife blade will pierce that witty retort just fine.

[Colonel Slanders]

I guess that's what he gets for asking the guy to stop rather than dropping the hammer on him from the git-go.

[RBS]

According to police, Schwartz's request ignited an argument with the man who apparently is willing to kill someone just for his perceived goddamn right to tell a girl how she makes his boner feel.

As abhorrent as I find the jezzies brand of feminism the juvenile manner in which they write about it is almost worse.

[Zeb]

I'm thinking that anyone who stabs someone multiple times for this is willing to kill someone just for the hell of it and catcalling is irrelevant.

And he does have a goddamn right to tell a girl anything. And the boyfriend has a right to tell him to fuck off without getting stabbed.

[SugarFree]

They think it makes them sound hip and young, unable to understand that "hip and young" are not synonymous with "13-year-old recently bashed in the head with a tire iron."

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

"Sounding like a Japanese schoolgirl suffering from oxygen deprivation"

[Fluffy]

Who escalated to physical force first?

[GILMORE]

Hey, hold on there = Words Can Hurt!

[Stormy Dragon]

Again, does falling someone around standing an inch away going "I'm not touching you! I'm not touching you!" become a NAP violation at some point?

[Bones]

These are the same women who want gun control. They can't fathom anyone defending themselves at all. They all say how they are threatened by catcalls. But they just want them to stop and hope that magically happens.

[Paul.]

Owning guns is just another perpetuation of the patriarchy.

[GILMORE]

I reiterate =

A Millenials's Last Words:

"Hey Man, that's not cool!

They naively think 'moral shaming' is an effective way to engineer a better world. They suffer from a 'white people' delusion that - because they themselves would never dare wield force *simply because they can* - that no one else can bear direct moral confrontation and still maintain the 'incorrect' view.

The fact is that this cat-loving lad who helps people recover their stolen bikes will probably take the opportunity to publicly 'forgive' his assailant, and make a speech about how "the real victim" was the poor man who probably suffered from discrimination and felt the need to lash out at perceived White Oppression.

Before you shake your head in wonder, fear not = he will likely die from microbial infections related to his employment of 'all-natural' antibiotic ointment on his few-hundred stitches. And so nature's cycle is renewed.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch boasted about being responsible for nearly a billion dollars in civil and criminal forfeiture in the last fiscal year.

Sadly, I doubt that will be a speed bump on her path to the job.

[Doctor Whom]

Since it involves both one of the Obamessiah's picks, and since forfeiture is a forbidden topic of conversation among the faithful, they'll stick their fingers into their ears twice as hard.

[invisible furry hand]

French man quits ISIS because it was too hard to stop smoking

http://www.salon.com/2014/11/2.....than_isis/

[Rich]

No Nicorette gun?

[Zeb]

That's probably halal too. I think they oppose smoking because it's an intoxicating substance, not because smoking is unhealthy.

[Zeb]

Haram, that is, not halal.

[RAHeinlein]

Nice malapropism in any event...

[DJF]

Plus it was too hard to smoke with your head cut off.

[Medical Physics Guy]

That author's byline changes pretty frequently. Last time I looked, she was described as writing on "issues of sustainability".

[Sevo]

Well, smoking affects 'sustainability'; you could get sick.

[Rhywun]

Can Salon write an article about anything without being insufferable nanny-pricks?

[Just a thought not a sermon]

I can't help but feel like today's teens and 20-somethings are entirely less skeptical of authority and more trusting of government than their past cohorts, and I put the blame squarely on the loss of Mad Magazine. When was the last time you saw a Mad Magazine on the stands? It's been years and years. Apparently it's still published by DC Comics but I go to a lot of comic stores and I don't recall seeing it lately. I know Mad played a huge role in opening my eyes to the various hypocrisies of American society and to the fact that authority figures often work for their own interests. Where have you gone Alfred E. Neuman? A nation turns its credulous eyes to you.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Mad and National Lampoon turned me into a PC hating cynical atheist. They are missed.

[WTF]

First off, the retarded don't rule the night. They don't rule it. Nobody does. And they don't run in packs. And while they may not be as strong as apes, don't lock eyes with 'em, don't do it. Puts 'em on edge. They might go into berzerker mode; come at you like a whirling dervish, all fists and elbows. You might be screaming "No, no, no" and all they hear is "Who wants cake?" Let me tell you something: They all do. They all want cake.

[SoCal Deathmarch]

So what turned you into a mendacious asshole, the New York Times?

[Palin's Buttplug]

Probably. I love the WSJ too but they have only about half the breadth of the Times.

[Sevo]

Palin's Buttplug|11.21.14 @ 10:02AM|#
"Probably."

Hey turd. You misspelled "eight percent".

[Rich]

I saw "Best of Mad" in a grocery store checkout line just the other day.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

Really, where? My son is 9 and I've been looking for Mad because I think he'd really like it. Every time I walk by a magazine rack in a grocery store or drug store I scan for it and I haven't seen one in our area. I've been doing this for months.

[Restoras]

http://www.madmagazine.com/

There is a button to Subscribe.

[Rich]

Knock yourself out.

[Lord Humungus]

they're still around - last issue I bought (a while a go) had a nice parody of "The Walking Dead".

I recently bought a big lot of Mad books - mostly from the late-50s/early-60s. A little dated but still funny.

[Old Man With Candy]

The artwork in that era was spectacularly good.

[Rhywun]

I think part of it is that nobody reads magazines anymore. Certainly not kids.

[Medical Physics Guy]

I grew up on MAD too. They were a great organisation. The owner flew to Jamaica to plead with the one subscriber there not to cancel. Also, they hired a penniless Sergio Aragones right off the street based on the quality of his doodles.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Well, maybe he used that as a cover story for why he went to Jamaica. I bet the subscriber was "G. Anja"

[Zeb]

Because it's really hard to find any in New York.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

If NY dope was as crappy as everything else in NY, of course he'd go to Jamaica.

[Zeb]

Yes, everything sucks in NY. That's why no one wants to live there.

[Roger the Shrubber]

No one goes there, it's too crowded.

[Zeb]

Thanks, Yogi.

[Mickey Rat]

Except for the Morlocks.

[Rhywun]

I have heard from a friend of a friend that the dope in NYC is just fine.

[Restoras]

I have heard from a friend of a friend that this is correct.

[Pro Libertate]

Me, too. Also read the lesser knock-off, Cracked, which, of course, has reappeared as a website with the same name but not much else.

I probably still have some Mad books somewhere.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

What kind of world is is that Cracked has overtaken MAD?

[RBS]

I wouldn't say that. The modern version of Cracked is more in the Buzzfeed vein.

[Pro Libertate]

Pretty much, though it's a little less noisy than Buzzfeed.

[Slammer]

We still sell it where I work. I was raised on it and still love it. There's an elderly black woman who buys it from me monthly. She told me she first started reading it in like 1958 or so. her parents took her as a little girl to Niagra Falls as a child. She was bored in the hotel room and her mom gave her a quarter to go to the store, and she found it on the rack. And I believe she has every issue since. She's awesome.

[Restoras]

I read it a lot back in the day too. Would ride my bike to the local variety store where all the kids hung out and spend my allowance money on candy and Mad. I stopped reading it in favor of Dragon, and after that I moved to Car & Driver...

[Bobarian (Mr. Xtreme)]

I think my Dad and my Uncle both would buy it when I was a kid. My brother and I'd end up with them. I've still got some old ones (a Star Trek musical, A Clockwork Orange parody as examples).

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

The Clockwork Orange parody was pretty good!

[Pro Libertate]

Set phasers to caress.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Charges against Officer Darren Wilson are unlikely, according to a union official.

SPOILER ALERT.

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

Go long on tear gas futures.

[Rich]

tear gas futures

Nice band name.

[Rhywun]

For once, I have to agree. That is actually a great name.

[Zeb]

If I thought anyone involved was competent at all, I'd say they were trying to engineer a riot.

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

"A riot is an ugly thing...und, it is just about time that we had one!"

[NealAppeal]

If you wanna bleed, then come along with me
We're only half breeds but we'll be home free
So mark your territory, 'cause it's on

Put your badge on, we're gonna mow 'em down
We've got a feelin', it's even and breathin'
We know how cheap our freedom is

Put on my best white shirt, walkin' down the street like a speed ball
Purrin' like a cat out on early parole
Well I'm taking them on, 'cause it's on

And every power abused, and every item consumed
Now it's on, 'cause it's on
The laws of history never led me on 'cause they're clear
'Cause it's on, and it's on
(It's on)

We are the police and now we're gonna start a riot
(It's on)
Now you'll see just how we're gonna start a riot
We are the police and now we're gonna start a riot

Don't know where to begin, we'll start all over again
And it's on, it's on
And if you think you're free, then you'd better believe
That it's on, and it's on
And we'll drink anything if it burns and it's strong
'Cause it's on, and it's on
And the crop of the cream, ain't gonna fuck with me
'Cause it's on, and it's on
And we ain't gonna propagate for you
'Cause it's on, and it's on
We're gonna quit making money 'til it's taken care of
'Cause it's on, and it's on
(It's on)

We are the police and now we're gonna start a riot
Saw it on TV and now we're gonna start a riot
We are the police and now we're gonna start a riot
Saw it on TV and now we're gonna start a riot

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Beyond Gruber: How HHS Flip-Flopped on Federal Exchange Subsidies
...A February 2014 congressional investigation found that the IRS initially began developing a rule to make tax credits available only on exchanges established by a state. As the findings outlined below show, HHS had a similar understanding of the law. Here, it is important to note that in order for an exchange website to offer tax credits, it must have a tax credit calculator that allows individuals to view the actual cost of their coverage after tax credits have been applied to their premiums. Official documents show that while HHS moved quickly after the ACA's enactment to help state governments make tax credits available through state-based exchanges, for nearly two years, it developed its HealthCare.gov website without any effort to offer tax credits on the federal exchange.

The following timeline demonstrates that HHS initially set out to establish its federal exchange, HealthCare.gov, without a tax credit calculator?that is, it set up the federal exchange so that it could not provide users any information about tax credits. This strongly suggests that its original interpretation was that only residents of states that established their own exchanges were entitled to tax credits. ...

[Longtorso, Johnny]

The PDF attached to the article is an interesting read:

The PDF

[VG Zaytsev]

The tax credit limit to state exchanges was intended to be a political weapon that would increase democrat control of states.

[Snark Plissken]

Last night President Obama finally announced his plan for executive action on immigration reform, in an address not aired on CBS, NBC, or ABC. He is in Las Vegas today to campaign for the plan.

Future historins will note that the American Republic officially ended when Obama crossed the Rio Grandecon

[gaijin]

You can read the DOJs guidance on the policy here:

DOJ Letter on Legality of Deferred Action

Some selected pulls rationalizing the legality of the policy:

"Congress has long been aware of the practice of granting deferred action, including in its categorical variety, and of its salient features; and it has never acted to disapprove or limit the practice."

"perhaps the clearest indication that these features of deferred action programs are not per se impermissible is the fact that Congress, aware of these features, has repeatedly enacted legislation appearing to endorse such programs."

[SERENITY NOW!]

The thing is, because they will get an ssn and have to pay taxes, they will receive the Earned Income Tax Credit if they are low wage earners with kids.

[CatoTheElder]

And ObamaCare subsidies.

[Slammer]

NPR is insane.

Check out the headline for a story about the Republicans examining a variety of options in response to Obama and immigration.

[waffles]

This morning they interviewed some immigrant alien mexican guy who reiterated that he received no government benefits whatsoever, but his kid does. Later the reporter asked some team-D sycophant if this was a political move and she replied that no Obama is just doing what he can to make the United States a more just place.

Solid cheerleading effort.

[Auric Demonocles]

he received no government benefits whatsoever, but his kid does

But...I mean... Huh?

[UnCivilServant]

Is his kid 27?

[waffles]

Well his 11 year old is a citizen, Auric. Don't be so heartless.

[UnCivilServant]

Sacrifice the kid to Tlaloc to bring the rains and end the California drought.

[Sevo]

The Chron interviewed (wait for it)
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
The head of the SEIU local!
Of course, she said it was bullshit and no one in their right mind is going to 'sign up' and give the INS and address for when that "temporary" expires.
Well, no she didn't.

[Rhywun]

NY1 managed to find some union group that was mostly Mexicans to cheer the Great One on.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Hey I have it good authority that NPR is just a mouthpiece for the Republi-Corporate state.

/DU

[Auric Demonocles]

I saw something this morning and the comments had a ton of people bashing how evil the capitalist society is for not showing Obama's speech instead of regular scheduled programming (and also probably racist).

[DJF]

I think that helped Obama, the less the public hear about this the better.

[Robert Falcon Scott]

"people like you "

That's quite an assumption.

[Palin's Buttplug]

They were never going to be deported or exterminated anyway. Sorry about that Tea Party. You can't win them all.

[FUQ]

Please post the citation that the Tea Party wants to exterminate anyone you sick, pathetic pile of shit.

[UnCivilServant]

Oh, sorry, that was the Dalek Party Platform.

They didn't win any seats, despite the name recognition.

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

"So Mr. Dalek, please describe your platform for our viewers?"

"YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED!!!"

"Well I hardly think..."

*ZORCH*

"EXTERMINATE, EXTERMINATE, EXTERMINATE!!!!"

[Restoras]

Teh Weigel is descending further into Sorrow and Madness. If only WaPo would return his calls, or write him back. He is nearly out of Tears of Sorrow and all that remains is Despair, and the Voices in his head.

[WTF]

Don't lock eyes with 'em, don't do it. Puts 'em on edge. They might go into berzerker mode; come at you like a whirling dervish, all fists and elbows. You might be screaming "No, no, no" and all they hear is "Who wants cake?" Let me tell you something: They all do. They all want cake.

[FUQ]

Do not be suprised if you see me copy and paste this. It's hilarious everytime I see it

[Palin's Buttplug]

Second Amendment remedies. Rifle carrying border guard "citizens" for starters.

[FUQ]

Again, show me the the citation from the official Tea Party that they want to exterminate anyone. Your normal lunacy is funny and pathetic but some things just cant be left standing without challenge. I'm sorry you can't hold a real job but you are one seriously fucked in the head individual.

[Mike M.]

Yep. He's mentally ill, and admitted that he has to take constant medication because of it. That's why he acts the way he does.

[Palin's Buttplug]

There is no official TP. They are supposedly underground, secret, or grassroots.

[WTF]

What you've just said... is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever seen. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having seen it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul...

[Tonio]

Just. Don't. Feed. It.

[SERENITY NOW!]

^^THIS^^

[tarran]

Please post the citation that the Tea Party wants to exterminate anyone you sick, pathetic pile of shit.

All right!

This is getting tiresome!

At this point, it should be readily apparent to anyone that Shriek is not sentient. You guys are wasting your time as much as if you were spending your afternoon arguing with Eliza the computer therapist.

Just ignore it and reclaim those lost seconds of your lives!

[FUQ]

There is a point at which ignoring it doesn't work.It has to be spoken against. The rest of his pathetic comments are for the most part actually funny.

[Rhywun]

The leftist media that feed him his talking points make it abundantly clear that the Tea Party is just a bunch of racists. Of course they want to exterminate Mexicans.

[Snark Plissken]

Unlike those Jews your hero Soros joyfully turned over to the Nazis, eh Shrieky?

[DEATFBIRSECIA]

Youch!

[Sevo]

Palin's Buttplug|11.21.14 @ 9:10AM|#
"They were never going to be deported..."

Hey! Another prediction from the turd who claimed O-care wasn't going to affect the election!
I guess we can take that to the bank, right?

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Six feet of snow in Buffalo led the NFL to reschedule the Jets-Bills game to Monday in Detroit.

Is Detroit really preferable to six feet of snow in Buffalo?

[Slammer]

Hopefully the showers are working, and there is water to drink on the sidelines.

[The DerpRider]

The river is only a few blocks away. And I'm supposed to be indignant about people putting down the city because I grew up there. But, meh...

[Restoras]

Know who else had working showers?

[DEATFBIRSECIA]

Bill Cosby?

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

Penn State?

[Restoras]

*golf clap*

[The DerpRider]

Coin flip.

[DJF]

With their records wouldn't it be easier to mark both of them down as losing?

[Geoff Nathan]

Believe it or not, downtown Detroit (all the way up to the Wayne State area) is quite safe, clean, and has great bars and restaurants. And we only have an inch of snow at the moment, which will be gone by Monday anyway.
There are other parts of the city, of course, which aren't quite so salubrious...
Just saying....

[Fist of Etiquette]

Six feet of snow in Buffalo led the NFL to reschedule the Jets-Bills game to Monday in Detroit.

Detroit doesn't need any more bills.

[Restoras]

That's going to earn you a narrow gaze from LTC.

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

*narrows gaze*

[Careless]

*applause*

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

I swear Resotras' remark was not there when I posted - he was just....uncannily accurate.

[Restoras]

*places arms akimbo, narrows gaze*

[invisible furry hand]

rich white hypocritical pop stars like Geldof and Bono who use tax-avoidance tactics to sate their own greed while exhorting governments to spend more of other people's money on their own pet causes.

Go on, enjoy some righteous hate

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Bono made me vomit the day he spoke in Parliament saying something resembling 'the world needed more Canada'.

That and the fact I was pissed off the government gave him the Parliament floor to speak on. Absurd.

[Restoras]

I don't know about more Canada but more cow bell is always a good idea.

[Zeb]

But he did sort of figure out that actual economic development is better than direct aid and charity for improving life in poor countries. So he gets some points for that.

[Bobarian (Mr. Xtreme)]

Took him a while, though.

[Sevo]

That was after wasting your and my money and finally seeing it wasn't doing any good.
Did you get a refund? Me neither.

[Zeb]

I can't really put too much of the blame for wasting my money on Bono.

It's a good thing when people change their minds about things like this. I don't see what good comes from beating him up for his former views.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Just how big is Greenland?

http://jakubmarian.com/how-big.....to-africa/

[LynchPin1477]

Everything's bigger in Africa

[Restoras]

Texas too, or was I misled?

[LynchPin1477]

"Once you go Texan, you never go back" is not a thing.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I'm sensing we're not fans of spherical Greenland?

[Bobarian (Mr. Xtreme)]

I'm sensing you're a lot smaller than you look.

[Ted S.]

Cut Alaska in two and make Texas the third-biggest state.

[Restoras]

Will West Alaska and East Alaska also have two senators each?

[UnCivilServant]

It's Alaska and Yukon-West!

[Zeb]

You'd have to be really careful drawing the dividing line or you might end up with one state with 500 people in it.

[Cdr Lytton]

Finally! A real chance of the Free State Project succeeding.

[Bobarian (Mr. Xtreme)]

Everything's bigger in Africa

From the article, Greenland does not appear to be bigger in Africa

[Rich]

The lack of awareness of projection is astonishing.

[hamilton]

Oh, very well done, sir.

[Tonio]

[Narrows gaze at Rich.]

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

+1 Mercator

[LynchPin1477]

The problem is that (unlike some of us believe) the Earth has a spherical shape

Um, what? Is he talking about these people or is that a dig at conservatives?

[UnCivilServant]

Technically it's an oblate sphereoid, with the poles being closer to the center than the equator, but a low-information poster can't be expected to remember that.

[LynchPin1477]

Let's point and laugh!

[Notorious G.K.C.]

I remember being taught about the oblate spheroid thing. Maybe the most sophisticated thing I learned in public school.

[Zeb]

And informally, calling it spherical in shape is probably close enough.

[Robert Falcon Scott]

Yup, because an oblate spheroid is a spherical shape.

[LynchPin1477]

And as always, there is an xkcd for that.

http://xkcd.com/977/

Read about Gall-Peters at your own peril.

[UnCivilServant]

There was a Gall-Peters map in my school. It was only notable for still having the USSR and East Germany on it despite this being the mid-late 90s.

[Zeb]

I liked that one. All flat world map projections are very flawed. If you want a world map, get a damn globe. Everything makes sense when you look at a globe.

[Sevo]

I got one and it cured my cancer and grew my hair back!

[Zeb]

Oh, this again.

Yes, the Mercator projection (and prety much any flat world map, really) is terrible and useless. It is completely stupid that it has been used in schools so much. But a racist conspiracy?

If you want to have any good idea about the relative sizes and positions of different land masses, you need to look at a globe.

I actually had someone try to tell me that globes were distorted too because all cartographers ever are racist, or something.

[John]

A Mercator projection is very useful for navagation. It is only "useless" to idiots who don't understand how it works and think Greenland is larger than the continental US. Relative size of land masses isn't of much practical use.

[Zeb]

Ok, you're right, it is useful because angles relative to meridians are preserved so you can plot courses over long distances.

I should have said that it is a terrible projection to use to educate people about geography.

[Bobarian (Mr. Xtreme)]

Single World maps of any sort are useless except for a HS geography class.

As the scale of the map approaches real size (covering smaller areas) the different projections tend to make little difference.

[CatoTheElder]

I grew up in the racist South and went to segregated schools. I distinctly remember that, in 4th or 5th grade, we were taught that, like any projection of a sphere over a flat surface, the Mercator Projection was inherently distorted and that was why such maps also illustrated a scale projection diagram. We were also introduced to the Goode homolosine projection, though we were spared from having to learn that name, and instructed that it was a more true representation. And, of course, we were instructed that the earth was in fact spherical and the class had a globe to illustrate its true shape. Mind you, this was the instruction in a segregated Southern elementary school in days of George Wallace.

To call the Mercator Projection "racist" is ludicrous to the point of peak absurdity.

[Homple]

"South America is actually 9 times larger than Greenland".

~Gerhardus Mercator

[sarcasmic]

Buffalo police department have shot dead 73 dogs in three years ? with one officer alone shooting more than a third

Officers opened fire on 92 dogs since start of 2011, killing the vast majority
Figure is more than triple that in Cincinnati, a municipality of a similar size
Many shootings were in high-intensity raids and search warrant executions
Buffalo does not use non-lethal tools, like spray or Tasers, to control dogs

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

[Slammer]

What. The. Fuck.

[VG Zaytsev]

Pigs hate dogs.

[SERENITY NOW!]

Pigs hate dogs delight in killing.

[invisible furry hand]

When those cops die, may they come back as dogs in Buffalo

[waffles]

I bet they shoot fewer dogs in the snow.

[UnCivilServant]

Actually, the snow impedes the movement of the dogs, making it easier for the cops to hit with their legendarily poor marksmanship.

[Restoras]

Except that pigs are fat and out of shape and the snow makes it a lot harder for them to move around.

[UnCivilServant]

They stick to the 'rails' (shoveled walkways)

[Bobarian (Mr. Xtreme)]

I gotta comment on this...

My brother is a cop (LAPD).

We have many interesting and heated discussions on these types of things. He's a lot less statist than he used to be, so maybe I'm softening him up. He's also a dog lover.

Anyway, as to dog shooters: As a supervisor, he was dead on his guys about not doing this. What he found out about the guys who do shoot dogs, most cases, they're the guys who are afraid of them.

[John]

What he found out about the guys who do shoot dogs, most cases, they're the guys who are afraid of them

This is true of nearly every police shooting. The cops are not as a rule just psycho killers out looking to kill people. Moreover, the ones who are don't shoot people, they beat the shit out of and torture people. A cop can do that without much hassel. Shooting people brings a lot of attention. The cops who shoot people are nearly always like the cops you mention shooting dogs; they are terrified, poorly trained and have no control of the situation. You shoot someone because you are scared and don't know what else to do. Same thing with the dogs, they are terrified of the dogs and don't know how to handle the situation so they shoot.

[Ted S.]

How many cops are fapping to that article as we speak?

[Trouser-Pod]

"A veritable dog and pony show!"

/ducks and runs

[Pro Libertate]

I'm curious to know how many cops have actually been attacked by dogs. Not barked or growled at, attacked. With teeth.

[Robert Falcon Scott]

"with one officer alone shooting more than a third"

I'd watch this guy very very closely.

[sarcasmic]

More students sarcastically say '#THANKS Michelle Obama' and post photos of their 'healthy' but unappetizing school meals

Students in Wisconsin have taken to social media to blast Michelle Obama for their Thanksgiving themed lunches that feature a brown mystery mush
'Had a very #healthylunch today. The apple definitely made up for the 'mystery mush' #ThanksMichelleObama,' wrote a student on Twitter
The new lunch complies with food regulations championed by First Lady Michelle Obama and implemented by the USDA

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

[Tonio]

Nice. Because this is how rebellions start.

And I will totally cut FIRE a big-ass check if the schools mess with any of those students and FIRE takes the case.

[sarcasmic]

Maybe if the kids' parents would get off their asses and fix a healthy lunch, this wouldn't be an issue. I know my kid will never have to deal with that nasty shit they serve at school (I never did), so I don't really care.

[Zeb]

Yeah, it's really not hard to throw together a decent sandwich and some fruit or chips or something.
I often bought the subsidized milk, when they had whole milk and coffee milk, but that's it.
What's the out of pocket for a school lunch these days?

[sarcasmic]

What's the out of pocket for a school lunch these days?

I have no idea, and I never will.

[sarcasmic]

When I was in high school we could by Jolt Cola out of the vending machines.

[PapayaSF]

"Chips"? What sort of monster are you??

[Zeb]

Maybe they are fat free kale chips.

[antisocial-ist]

Many schools are actually confiscating sack lunches that don't conform to the wookie's guidelines.

[sarcasmic]

A few, not some. That practice is relatively rare. For now.

[Pro Libertate]

That it happens at all is absurd and fucking oppressive.

[Zeb]

And even more absurd since the "improved lunches" are still largely crap.

[Pro Libertate]

But they are officially mandated crap, which makes them better for some reason.

I know people who have eaten horribly for their entire lives and lived without unusual health problems into their 90s. Nutrition is important, but getting energy from food is the top priority.

[sarcasmic]

Outrage over roadside sign in Nebraska town that read: 'Aids, Ebola, Obama. Thank you Africa'

The sign was erected by a man near a highway in Minden, Nebraska
The local Mayor said he was stunned that 'anybody would do that'
Local residents couldn't believe such 'hatred' was so out in the open

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

[Restoras]

Free speech. You believe in it, or you don't. Still, tamer than the shrill calls for the assassination of Bush and Chaney that rang out from the progtards back in the day.

[sarcasmic]

The left is all for freedom of speech, as long as they agree with it.

Remember that tolerance means not tolerating intolerance.

[DEATFBIRSECIA]

They were calling for the assassination of Lon Chaney?

[Slumbrew]

I saw Lon Chaney walking with the Queen.

[Pro Libertate]

Was his hair perfect?

[Florida Man]

Take that geological formation!

[Palin's Buttplug]

We all came from Africa according to anthropologists but not conservative Creationist rednecks like that one.

[sarcasmic]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We learned that back in fifth grade. Thank you for sharing though. We know it was your proudest year of school being that it was the last grade you completed, but the rest of us have moved on.

[Tonio]

Just don't feed it.

[Zeb]

It's a pretty obnoxious sign, but if it's on private property, there it is.

Someone in Africa should put up a sign reading "Syphilis, tobacco, Obama. Thank you Americas."

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

I thought syphilis was a Levantine/Med contribution to the world

[John Titor]

First European epidemic was in a French army in Italy (hence 'French disease'), but yeah, it's widely believed to have been carried back by Columbus. There is some debate about a weaker pre-Columbus strain in the old world but that's unsupported by archaeological evidence (i.e. they can't find any bodies with syphilis that pre-date the Columbus voyage).

[Bobarian (Mr. Xtreme)]

Local residents couldn't believe such 'hatred' was so out in the open

Yeah, keep that shit for the informal portion of the Rotary Club meeting.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

WaPo's Greg Sargent Vindicates Halbig Case Against Obamacare Federal Subsidies With Bombshell Reporting
...Sargent just helpfully informed us that an earlier version of the ACA -- not a draft, mind you, but one that was actually passed out of committee -- included explicit language granting subsidies to people on federal exchanges, language that was later dropped from the final bill.

If Sargent had been an attorney rather than a layman, this is the point where he would have hit "delete" on his draft post and forgotten all about it.

One of most fundamental rules of statutory interpretation used by courts when they are asked to discern legislative intent from ambiguous statutory language is this: if explicit language was in an earlier version of a bill but dropped from the final version, the court will treat that as proof it was removed on purpose...

[antisocial-ist]

Thank God most of our opponents are retarded.

[CatoTheElder]

Problem is that 4 USSC Justices don't care, and will rule that it was an oversight, and one USSC Chief Justice will discover that that that any defect in legislation that would make it untenable is a per se oversight that can be judicially corrected.

[sarcasmic]

Caught on camera: Moment two civilians confront police officer over littering sparking profanity-laced verbal spat

Marcus Smith and Randall Garrett recorded cellphone video of confrontation with Officer Lee Williams, of Chester Police Department
The civilians flagged down Williams outside grocery store in Ferriday, Louisiana, to chastise him for tossing candy wrapper out the window
The cop shot back at the two men that what he was doing was none of their concern, then dared them to file a complaint
Williams had been fired from another police department for disciplinary violations

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

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Volokh: Obama's immigration plan is most certainly constitutional and legal

Because of the enormous scope federal criminal law, presidents routinely exercise extraordinarily broad discretion in deciding which violations to prosecute. Far more violators are systematically ignored than punished. To take just one of many examples, for decades federal law enforcement officials have almost never prosecuted the possession and use of marijuana on college campuses, even though such possession clearly forbidden by the Controlled Substances Act. By doing so, they have let many millions of federal criminals of the hook, including the last three presidents of the United States ? far more than are exempted from deportation by Obama's policy.

Article II of the Constitution states that the president must "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed." But that does not mean that the president has an absolute duty to prosecute all violations of federal law, or that he cannot choose which ones to pursue based on policy considerations. If it did, virtually every president in the last century or more would be in violation.

[LynchPin1477]

virtually every president in the last century or more would be in violation

Which is entirely possible.

[John]

Volkh is missing the forrest for the trees. No, the President is not required to prosecute every crime. He and his minions most certainly can prioritize and not prosecute individual cases in the interests of efficiency and justice. That, however, is entirely different than refusing to prosecute entire classes of people for the purpose of amending the law in ways Congress refuses to authorize.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

How's this different than the administrations policy to not prosecute drug possessions that violate federal but not state law (a policy I wish he'd honor better)? That's a class of millions.

[John]

Two differences. First, this is more than just a refusal to presucute. This is giving people a quasi legal status. They plan to give people government cards that say "I can't be prosecuted". In the drug case, they are just not taking action. This is analogous to the DEA unilaterally issuing federal marijuana sales licenses.

Second, even if it were analogous, the drug case is a conflict of laws. It is is the Feds choosing to defer to state law. Here, the feds own the entire field. There is no conflict. They are just walking away form an entire area of law.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Good answers actually, but note they don't address the rebuttal of 'this is bad because it's an entire class"

[FUQ]

After catching up some missed days of reading this A.M. I'm making popcorn for this.

[John]

It does. In the drug example, the President is deferring to the states in a legitimate conflict of laws. He is not rewritting the law, he is resolving a conflict between state law and federal law.

The President isn't saying "I will no longer enforce marijuana laws". He is saying "I am going to not enforce federal supremacy in the states that legalize marijuana as a matter of comity". That to me is different. Maybe it is also wrong for the President to not always enforce federal supremacy at every opportunity. But that is a different debate. But whatever your answer there, refusing to enforce a law altogether is different and much worse.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

He's deferring to the states for a class of people. I'm only talking about the 'it's unprecedented because it covers a whole class of people' part of your argument.

[Jerryskids]

Congress makes the law, the President enforces the law. He has a great deal of latitude in deciding just how and how vigorously he enforces the law - but he can't just decide to make up his own laws.

If Obama insists he must act because Congress refuses to act, he seems to be arguing that his action is not Constitutional. If his actions are merely a matter of executive discretion then it matters not a whit what Congress thinks or says or does, it's not their place to tell him how to do his job.

But if Obama argues that he has to do Congress' job because they won't do their job, he is openly admitting that he is infringing on their territory.

So which is it, Mr. President? Are you exercizing the authority that you've had all along but found more convenient to fail to use and instead blame Congress for your failure or are you doing something you haven't done before because you know damn well you don't have the authority to do?

(Where's Jake Tapper to ask that question and demand an answer? Remember the way he refused to accept Obama's demurral that he lacked the authority to re-schedule marijuana when it's right in the law that he can have arijuana re-scheduled?)

[John]

The other thing is that his argument is that he doesn't have the budget to deport everyone so he has to prioritize. That would be sensible except that "not deporting" doesn't mean "giving a card and quasi legal status" and everyone knows Congress could raise the CPB and ICE anual budget to a trillion dollars and Obama would still be doing this.

I think what the Republicans should do is pass an immigration reform with a reasonable path to legal status but not citzenship for people who have been here for say 10 years and can prove so and also include as a trade off banning the EPA from regulating CO2. When Obama vetoes, which he would, tell Hispanics we tried to give you relief but Obama cares more about billionaire Greens and their money than he does about you.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I think the response would be 'since we can't deport them all we should give those we are not going to focus on a regular status to bring them out of the shadows.'

[Bobarian (Mr. Xtreme)]

But that shouldn't be by executive fiat.

That should be BO proposing a change in law to the congress and then working with the various factions in a give and take to get the law implemented.

You know, lead?

Something the asshole has never done, ever, at any level. I believe his narcissism makes him totally incapable.

[Pro Libertate]

You know, what Obama should've done was say that Congress was behaving unconstitutionally and that he was acting to deal with that and that alone. That is within his legal authority, though when either the legislative or executive branches take this position, a constitutional crisis may be the result. It's happened before.

The big problem for him is that he's said and is largely saying that this is something Congress needs to address, he's just doing it (he says) because it needs immediate action. Expanding his discretionary powers to a wholesale amnesty as a result doesn't take away the fact that he's openly and admittedly taking a legislative action because Congress has failed to. Not good.

[Fluffy]

Let's just remember this for the future.

If a future President decides to unilaterally declare half of the federal regulatory structure subject to "deferment", we'll see what the progs say then.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

A lot of regulatory law is written so that suits can be more easily brought to compel executive branches to enforce them.

[Fluffy]

So what?

Let them file lawsuits. Ignore them.

Do you know how adept the DOJ has become at drawing out the timeline of lawsuits filed regarding issues connected to the WOT?

If Bush and Obama's guys can find a way to stretch habeus corpus issues out for a decade at a time, my guys would be able to sure as fuck procedurally drag out any prog-tears lawsuits for a similar period of time.

Just call it Project Max Pain and pay bonuses based on how many days' delay each guy can come up with.

[Pro Libertate]

Congress has failed to act on abortion, so, in order to protect the unborn, I hereby declare abortion illegal under my discretionary power under the FDA Act.

[VG Zaytsev]

Where they prosecuting those people before last night?

[Pro Libertate]

That's what makes this stated need for immediate action so transparently bullshit. We aren't deporting these people as it is. Nothing he proposes will have much immediate effect, as most of those illegals would prefer to not pay taxes.

Even from what Obama himself says, what he should be doing is proposing legislation for the new Congress to debate in 2015. You know, like in the Constitution.

[Zeb]

the President is not required to prosecute every crime

I don't know how relevant this is to the legal analysis, but isn't immigration stuff generally civil and not criminal? Is it actually a crime, technically speaking, to be here without a valid visa?

[Pro Libertate]

Here's a huge challenge for him, if things go a certain way. What if the states decide to detain illegals? The president's say-so does not change federal law. Supremacy doesn't work with a single branch, only with properly constituted laws of the federal government. Even regulations have to tie back to enabling acts.

[Lord Humungus]

Giant sinkhole swallows up old mine in Russia's Urals

A sinkhole 20 by 30 meters (65 by 98 feet) in size has been found near a Uralkali mine in Russia's Perm region. While the company says the development is of no further threat, locals fear the whole nearby town could go underground.

The sinkhole was first discovered by Uralkali's Solikamsk-2 mine workers on November 18. According to local emergency services, it's located some two miles from the mine itself, in an old abandoned mine.

Old, out-of-use garden patches were affected by the accident, and there is no danger to locals, as the sinkhole is in no close proximity to any residential buildings, the company said.

[sarcasmic]

UC Berkeley students ignore Fox commentator waving ISIS flag but ATTACK him when he waves Israeli flag

Ami Horowitz made a video for Fox News in which he waves each flag on the liberal college's Northern California campus
Most of the elite students generally ignore him as he waves the terrorist group's black and white flag
When he waves the flag of Israeli flag, he's cussed at and reprimanded by many who pass

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

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

They're too cowardly to approach someone waving an ISIS flag.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I doubt most people know what ISIS' flag looks like.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

I wouldn't have recognized it except for his loud pro-ISIS speech while waving it.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I didn't watch the video, what was he saying?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

You know, ISIS is awesome, leave us alone, we're so misunderstood, etc.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

'Lets not lose our heads over this whole ISIS thing!'

[John Titor]

I said it before, but if I see a Jewish guy waving an ISIS flag I know he's full of shit.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I saw that today. Love the guy who approaches and tells him he can't smoke on campus. ISIS flag meh, smoke on campus, na-ah!

I'm not a fan of these videos but those people are just assholes.

[CampingInYourPark]

Love the guy who approaches and tells him he can't smoke on campus. ISIS flag meh, smoke on campus

You mean the guy who rushed into a poisonous fog, risking himself for the good of his fellow students. It's just like falling on a grenade

[invisible furry hand]

A bacon making kit looks ludicrously overpriced

[LynchPin1477]

Fucking sea salt. Worse than bottled water.

[Zeb]

Oh, sea salt has its place. Using it in all sorts of commercial products and marketing it as if that's somehow more healthy is ridiculous (and the FDA allows some things that are not actually from sea water to be called "sea salt", so it's really meaningless in a lot of cases). But different textures of salt that you get in some sea salt are useful in certain cooking applications, and there is some difference in chemical composition that makes the taste slightly different.

[Drake]

Where's the pig?

[UnCivilServant]

Long pork not provided.

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

+1 Actual Cannibal Shia LaBeouf

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Federal Obamacare Officials Once Recognized the Falsity of Their Current Argument about Tax Credits
...most importantly, the original contract does not include any specific language related to technology which would allow consumers, who sign up using the Federal Exchange website, to determine their individual tax credit eligibility, and calculate and display comparative pricing options after any tax credits. . . if the law was intended to provide tax credits to the residents of states included in the Federal Exchange, the HealthCare.gov original design contract would have included functionality to provide tax credits to individuals in these states.

Shortly after Obamacare was enacted, HHS provided guidance documents to states regarding tax credit technology and systems. . .By stating in the introductory paragraph that "IT systems should be simple and seamless in identifying people who qualify for tax credits", HHS made it clear that tax credits for consumers was one of its highest priorities...

[Sevo]

"Federal Obamacare Officials Once Recognized the Falsity of Their Current Argument about Tax Credits"

And now, well...

[Slammer]

Texas Trooper: "If that video goes up on youtube, I know where to send the investigators"

[Ted S.]

Warning: article contains disturbing photo

Whakatane police officer admits shooting dog with arrow

A police officer is under investigation after he admitted shooting a dog with an arrow in Whakatane.

The incident happened on November 12, when four-year-old bull mastiff-cross, Zeta, reportedly wandered onto the officer's property.

The arrow struck Zeta behind his elbow and through his chest, narrowly missing vital organs. The dog was treated by a veterinarian and managed to survive the ordeal.

(And fuck sites that add their own text to what you've copied.)

[antisocial-ist]

When I was about 4 or 5 my dad shot a german shepherd with an arrow. Difference was, that was after my dad came home and saw me pinned against an oak tree with my bike in the dogs mouth trying to push him off of me, and hitting the dog with a 7 iron just pissed him off.

[Lord Humungus]

What's the Best Item to Carry With You During Time Travel?

[Restoras]

Coke bottle? Binder clip?

[Rich]

Would Warty be considered an "item"?

[Bobarian (Mr. Xtreme)]

That would be "What's the best thing to watch out for when time travelling".

Getting stuck in a Warty rape time loop would twist your mind into dark dank place, with low ceilings and cobwebs...

Sort of like SF?

[Ted S.]

Are you going forward in time, or backward? That would make a difference in what I'd bring.

[waffles]

It's implied backward. A la Michael Crichton's Timeline.

[UnCivilServant]

What's the Best Item to Carry With You During Time Travel?

A time machine with a return feature.

[The DerpRider]

And batteries.

[waffles]

I think an e-reader with a solar battery charger would be awesome. I think we all imagine some Army of Darkness scenario.

[Fluffy]

Yeah, this.

But I'd make it a general purpose tablet that just happened to have a lot of technical e-books loaded on to it.

I know these days we think our computers are worthless without an internet connection, but a Surface with Excel installed on it would essentially allow you to personally revolutionize, say, the administration of government in any European country in antiquity or post-1350.

Even the lowly calculator would allow you to do incredible things for the engineering of virtually any era.

[PapayaSF]

This reminds me of the classic SF novel Lest Darkness Fall by L. Sprague DeCamp, about a modern man zapped back to late Roman times, and trying to prevent the fall by introducing (among other things) double-entry bookkeeping.

[Pro Libertate]

I really like that book.

[John Titor]

"Hey Charlemagne, check this shit out!"

[WTF]

"Witchcraft!" BURN THE WITCH!!"

[John Titor]

Hey, he might have been super religious but the guy started the Carolingian Renaissance. Of course, I'd probably have to learn what "Check this shit out" is in Latin.

[Steve G]

lottery numbers

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

*applause*

[Tonio]

Totally depends on when and where you're going. A kindle reader loaded with history and science books could make you a god, or get you arrested as a spy or a witch. A cigarette lighter would be awesome for a primitive setting.

[Bobarian (Mr. Xtreme)]

Much like space travel...

A towel.

[Lord Humungus]

With immigration action, Obama moves to cement his coalition

Now, with his unilateral edict to legalize millions of illegal immigrants, Obama is seeking a third legacy. This one is political, as he tries to strengthen, expand and extend the Obama coalition, built on the support of minorities, youth, and women, in hopes that it will last far beyond his presidency.

No, Obama's executive action will not turn millions of illegal immigrants into voters tomorrow. But it will begin a process that will end there. And it will encourage more immigrants to come illegally to the United States in the future, where Obama and his party hope they will become reliable Democratic voters. The country is already becoming less white ? a trend that for now favors Democrats ? and Obama's move will push the process along.

[John]

Maybe not

A six-percentage-point margin of approval is far short of overwhelming. A higher number of Latinos, 56 percent, told pollsters they would support congressional action on the issue, and 69 percent supported the idea of a pathway to citizenship for those now here illegally. But a core of Latinos opposed those measures too: 32 percent opposed congressional action, and 30 percent opposed a pathway.

And even more oppose unilateral Obama action. It turns out Latino support for the president's strategy, which doesn't even amount to a majority, is not quite as decisive as some advocates hope.

http://www.washingtonexaminer......le/2556467

And remember, even the ones who support it won't necessarily vote on that single issue.

[VG Zaytsev]

The idea that immigration is the overriding issue for all hispanics is an ivy league fantasy.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Maybe it's not overriding, but having people urge deportation of people like you because they're no god socialist disease ridden criminals is going to turn people off...

[Restoras]

Cool straw man.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I guess you haven't read PapayaSF's (among others) comments on this subject here.

[Restoras]

I haven't run across that kind of vitriol. Concerns about abiding by the law and the potential strain on an already over-taxed welfare system? Yes. No-good, socialist, disease-ridden, and criminals to boot? Sounds more like some projection on your part though I don't bother with a lot of the immigration threads.

[FUQ]

Bo can smell the intentions of the SoCon evil doers from miles away.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I've read that South Americans are culturally disposed to socialism, that they bring disease like TB, and that they have higher crime rates all from Papaya.

[FUQ]

I've read that your quite the prick who has the unbelievable ability to unite people who normally oppose each other.

Plus I read most threads and thats not exactly what he or anyone else is saying. But live in your fantasy land of pureness.

[Bobarian (Mr. Xtreme)]

Fucking bulls-eye!

[PapayaSF]

I've read that South Americans are culturally disposed to socialism, that they bring disease like TB, and that they have higher crime rates all from Papaya.

All of which is demonstrably true, but doesn't quite jibe with your initial straw-man summary of my position. There's a not-so-subtle distinction between saying "Let's not import poor diseased criminal statists" (roughly my position) and "All immigrants are poor diseased criminal statists" (not at all what I am saying).

[John]

Sure it is important. But it is likely never going to be uniformly important or produce anything like the kind of lock step voting that the Democrats get from the black community. Thirty-two percent of Hispanic voters object to any sort of immigration reform at all. That means the ceiling for going total amnesty is 68% of the Hispanic vote. So that makes doing so and risking the backlash from the rest of the country a much more risky political proposition. The people on the right who are wetting their pants over Obama importing a new population are wrong.

[VG Zaytsev]

Odds are that the 32% opposed care a lot more about the issue that most of the 68% in favor and may change their votes democrat to republican based solely on that issue.

That's why race baiters like Bo, are trying to make it a racial issue - people who look like... - instead of an immigration issue.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

"That's why race baiters like Bo, "

Something about a pot and a kettle comes to mind here, but VG would really get his Rev Al on if I used that metaphor

[VG Zaytsev]

Odds are that the 32% opposed care a lot more about the issue that most of the 68% in favor and may change their votes democrat to republican based solely on that issue.

That's why race baiters like Bo, are trying to make it a racial issue - people who look like... - instead of an immigration issue.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

John, what did Obama get in 2012, 75-80 percent of Hispanic votes?

[John]

He got 70. He hit the ceiling. It goes back to what I keep saying. The Democrats could have had legal amnesty back in 2009. And they could have had it with the support of a decent number of Republicans. Yet, they didn't do it.

The Democrats may be economic illiterates and live in a bubble, but they do know something about politics. If they honestly thought this was such a politcal sure thing, why didn't they do it then and take the credit for it?

[Bo Cara Esq.]

http://www.latinodecisions.com.....-election/

[PapayaSF]

If they honestly thought this was such a politcal sure thing, why didn't they do it then and take the credit for it?

Because they are getting desperate and reckless.

[VG Zaytsev]

Great demonstration of your ignorance.

Do you think whitey would get upset at Irish or Russian illegal immigrants getting deported?

[Bo Cara Esq.]

'Whitey?'
HAHAHAHa

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Unilateral executive action worked so well in their countries of origin, why won't they support it here?

[Rich]

FTFT: If you've with been in America more than five years. If you have children who are American citizens or illegal residents. If you register, pass a criminal background check and you're willing to pay your fair share of taxes, you'll be able to apply to stay in this country temporarily without fear of deportation. You can come out of the shadows and get right with the law.

So, you must have children to get this deal?

*And* or *or* "be willing"?

I have no idea what Obama is proposing until I see the text of the actual executive order -- and I fully expect *that* will be unclear and ambiguous as well.

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

See also; "temporarily".

[Rich]

Oh, it gets "better".

And to those members of Congress who question my authority to make our immigration system work better or question the wisdom of me acting where Congress has failed, I have one answer: Pass a bill.

Notice the outrageous avoidance of the real issue here.

[UnCivilServant]

Here's a bill they could plop on his desk:

Failure by an official of the federal government to evenly enforce the laws as written is a felony punishable by at least ten years for each offense.

Sure he'd veto that right quick, but it's a message.

[Homple]

Erm?chtigungsgesetz! Erm?chtigungsgesetz! Ich brauche kein stinkenden Erm?chtigungsgesetz!

[Sevo]

"See also; "temporarily"."

My name is Juan. I've been here for six years and I'm doing pretty well running the crew for the roofer business. Pretty sure I'm not in danger of being deported anytime soon.
Now that guy wants me to go sign up with the INS so I can stay 'temporarily'? Sorry, I need to start the job over on Maple St. today.

[Slammer]

Unhealthy eating habits could become an issue of national security. The Department of Defense says that obesity is affecting the number of Americans eligible to serve in the military.

"I am very concerned about the reduced number of men and women who can meet all of the qualifications required to serve in our armed forces," said retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Steven Tomaszeski.
Now, retired admirals from Maryland are releasing a report, citing obesity as the number one reason young adults can't serve in the military.
"Nearly one quarter, 25 percent of all Americans ages 17-24 are too overweight to serve. Obesity is not only affecting those who can qualify for military service, it is also creating challenges for our active duty military," Tomaszeski said.

[John]

Basic training is a very good weight loss program. Haven't these dorks ever seen Stripes?

[Steve G]

Yeah, but its shifting from a secondary feature to a primary one. I think there's a legitimate concern that the ave recruit is sliding farther backwards, and it ain't all about obesity. Those that aren't fat are just skinny fat and weak. Plus, the folks who manage to get by in basic, just become future problem children on the fat boy pgm since they never really fixed the underlying cause.

[John]

You do PT four days a week from 6:30 until 8:00 am. And you do it seriously and don't just fuck around and play football or some horseshit.

The places where people can't pass their PT tests and get fat and such are places where the commanders and the NCOs don't do their jobs and run a proper PT program. I am not talking about getting everyone up to a 300 or running 13 minute two mile runs. I am talking about getting everyone to pass and make weight. Passing is easy and running a PT program where all the soldiers have to do is show up and make an effort and do what they are told and they will pass not that hard.

[Steve G]

Not every unit/service conforms to that template. Regardless, my point is you don't have to PT but one or two days a week if you know what you're doing and you're not eating the wrong stuff, and I include the food pyramid/myplate in that category.
It's smarter vs harder. I in my 40s get better results training once month than my 30 yr old self PT'ing 3+ days a week. I've even demo'd and proven but no one is interested in unconventional thought in mil PT (or nutrition) circles. What affected me in my 20s/30s is affecting others in the service and as well as teenagers in the target recruit population. Basic shouldn't be a rehab program it should take healthy/fit folks beyond the mins. But that's just in a perfect world.

[Steve G]

DISCLAIMER: I'm not advocating a nanny state. Just advocating for fixing our horrible health and fitness guidance and conventional 'wisdom'.

[John]

Yes, there are more efficient ways to do it, if you are good. My point is that it is not hard to do even doing it the hard way. The standards just are not that high. They are high enough that you can't just blow it off but not so high that anyone should have to stretch to do it.

And as far as not following that model, that is on the services. If they want to emphasize PT and weight and make it a requirement to have a career, they owe their members making the time available for them to do that. If they are not willing to give up an hour and a half of the work day three or four times a week to make sure people meet the standards, then the standards are not that important.

Some of what is going on here is the services want their standards for free. They want a force of workaholic jocks who will work their asses off for 12 hours in a desk job and go home and work out for two hours afterwards to make PT. Well, not everyone is like that and no large force is going to contain just those types of people. And a lot of people who are not that way bring important skills to the table. So if you want to have PT standards and you should, the services have to make the effort to get peopel to meet them.

The services don't get that. They view PT as some kind of freebe from their members and it is not. It is a skill that requires work and resources just like anything else. They realize that with every other skill.

[Bobarian (Mr. Xtreme)]

This is not a new problem. They said he same thing about me and mine in 1983 when I joined up.

They said it in 1990 when I was an XO in a BT Troop.

They said it in 2001 when I was a mil analyst working at recruiting command.

They're still saying it.

[Chinny Chin Chin]

+1 lean, mean, fighting machine

[lap83]

You know who else thought physical features were an issue of national security?

[John]

It is complete PC horseshit designed to push the nanny state. If the military is unable to take fat kids and get them in shape, we have a lot worse problems than recruiting.

[FUQ]

When I went through basic 20+ years ago we had guys that were 100+ pounds overweight. They wen to "Fat PT" every morning and all but one was within normal weight range by the end of basic. My wife just went through Army basic 8 years ago and they had some of the same types and most of them passed the final PT test. I can see morbidly obese not being able to be admitted but the military has always gotten grossly overweight kids down to size.

[John]

Yes they have. They did for decades when we had the draft. If they hadn't of, getting fat would have been a way to get out of the draft.

[Rich]

Hannibal?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

The Amazons, because they cut off their breasts?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

(to shoot arrows better)

[Mike M.]

Six feet of snow in Buffalo led the NFL to reschedule the Jets-Bills game to Monday in Detroit.

Global warming, now even more powerful than the NFL.

[Ted S.]

We'll see if it's stronger than FIFA and the fuckers finally come to their senses and either reschedule the 2022 World Cup or move it out of Qatar.

[robc]

I dont understand why they didnt require Qatar to build domed stadiums with AC.

[Gray Ghost]

They have to play on grass. It's hard to make a decent grass surface grow in a domed stadium, unless you retract the roof or do that ridiculous "grass-in-a-box" crap the Texans do at their stadium.

[Mickey Rat]

I suspect it is pretty difficult to grow grassin the Arabian desert as well so I am not I buy that.

[Lord Humungus]

something, something animism

Man threatens to kill staff at Tesco near Cambridge - while brandishing PHOTO of a gun

A man threatened to kill staff at Tesco in Bar Hill ? and brandished a photograph of a gun.

Officers were called to the giant supermarket off the A14 after staff told operators in the force control room that a man was threatening to kill them and showing them an image of a firearm.

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

Did he have some "images of bullets"?

[Bobarian (Mr. Xtreme)]

They beat him with pictures of nightsticks...

which, unfortunately for him, they'd wrapped around real nightsticks.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

It would have been even scarier if he'd had a Pop Tart.

[Matrix]

+Zero Tolerance

[John]

http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/.....-Democrats

The growing impression that politicians don't play straight with their constituents is completely toxic, particularly to Democrats, who actually want to use government to improve people's lives. It's one thing to downplay unpalatable choices made in the law; it's another to never disclose the consequences of legislation until it's too late for anyone to react. Combine that with the moustache-twirling of a Jonathan Gruber, saying that the idiots should be happy for what they got, and you have basically every conservative stereotype about liberal elites confirmed.

The sad part is that this was all known four years ago. You could see that Gruber was the world's worst spokesman, and that his style of selective disclosure would get him in trouble. And you could see that a Rube Goldberg health care reform, turning patients into shoppers and relying on them to negotiate the maze, could lead to serious problems for individual customers, even if you didn't know exactly how. It must sound good to neoliberal technocrats to avoid charges of socialism by routing policies through the market. But voters care about results, and price spikes and clawbacks will highlight how markets create losers as well as winners.

[John]

This guy is saying what I have been saying since the Gruber videos first came out. The Progs get away with their programs failing by lying to get them passed and then lying about how the harm the programs caused was caused by something else. Gruber and Obamacare in general reveals the lie and makes it much less likely to work in the future. The Progs depend on people trusting and believing the government when it tells them these programs are designed to help people but not hurt them. If people stop believing that, the whole thing falls apart.

[Ted S.]

particularly to Democrats, who actually want to use government to improve people's lives.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!111!!!

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Well they do want to use government (force) to improve people's lives-connected cronies, preferred interest groups and their pols.

[LynchPin1477]

price spikes and clawbacks will highlight how markets create losers as well as winners

See prices, were lower before government got more involved. But then government got involved, and, um, well prices went up. Because, um...those evil markets just jacked prices because they hate government! Yeah, that's it! So obviously the answer is even more government.

[See Double You]

It must sound good to neoliberal technocrats to avoid charges of socialism by routing policies through the market. But voters care about results, and price spikes and clawbacks will highlight how markets create losers as well as winners.

What is this guy saying? Neoliberal? What's so "markety" about government-created web portals with institutionalized oligopoly providers, price controls, mandates, and a plethora of regulatory interventions?

[Lord Humungus]

'Normal Barbie' to come with stretch marks, cellulite, acne

The Lammily doll, also known as the normal Barbie, is ready to purchase online for about $25.

And a $5.99 sticker extension pack--including 38 reusable stickers--will be available on January 18.

The stickers, called Lammily marks, include cellulite, stretch marks, freckles, acne, glasses, temporary tattoo, scratches, bruises, cast, mosquito bites and dirt stains.

[Restoras]

Should name it Jezebel instead.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

So Lena Dunham is going to be the next generation of girls' Barbie?

[waffles]

Is there a market for this? I bet it sells as well as the Lisa Lionheart doll.

[waffles]

I had to look, the sticker pack is awesome. Yeah, put them zits on girl, fuck yeah, that's hot.

[Mike M.]

Bill Cosby would hit it.

[lap83]

Isn't that encouraging girls to be dirty, exposed to diseases, prone to skin cancer, and get into physically abusive relationships?

[TwB]

so turning them into Pamela Anderson?

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

*applause*

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Roseanne Barr-bie?

[Restoras]

Curse you to Hell for the mental image that just popped into my head!

[Longtorso, Johnny]

If Martin Luther Quotations Were Motivational Posters

[John]

Sin boldly. I love that one. And "Fart Ass" needs to return to the lexicon of insults.

[invisible furry hand]

Samuel Beckett back atcha

[Lord Humungus]

US health system reveals gown to cover rears

A Detroit health system has unveiled a hospital gown that aims to put the wraps on a big source of patients' grumbles?a lack of rear coverage.

Resembling a wrap-around robe, the "Model G" gown closes the once-drafty back, using adjustable snaps on the front and along the shoulders. As well as catering to patients who appreciate a more modest look, the gown?with color-coded trim?is made from a cotton-poplin blend for improved comfort.

[UnCivilServant]

It only took them how long?

[Lord Humungus]

what - you don't enjoy flashing old ladies as the nurses lead you to another room?

[Chinny Chin Chin]

Your 'invisible hand' didn't give this to us, did it Kochopuss-zombies?

This ONLY HAPPENED AFTER the ACA was passed!

Thank you, Obama, for covering my ass!

[Lord Humungus]

I Dare You to Impeach Me

For a hundred years the progressive left has yearned to dispense with the Constitution's various safeguards against precipitous, faction-driven change. Victory is in sight. Obama has broken the constitutional taboo and Hillary has embraced his precedent.

Why should Democrats preoccupy themselves with fears of Republican autocracy when they're inches away from 6 to 10 continuous years of liberation from constitutional restraint? The lure of fundamental transformation outweighs any fear of frustration or reversal under a Republican president. With the GOP House already blocking Obama, and Democratic control over Congress unlikely to be restored at least until after the next census, abuse of executive discretion is the only way out for America's newly emboldened and ambitious left.

[John]

The Republicans need to throw up their hands and tell the country "we would like to stop Obama but we cannot do it without the support of Democrats". Since the cant' stop him alone, Obama and whatever he does is not the Republicans' problem. It is the country's and the Democrats' problem.

[TwB]

I'd rather the GOP do that than impeach BO. Impeaching BO will make him a martyr for the Democrats, even though BO doesn't give a fuck about them, and that is the last thing the GOP would want. But, we are talking about the stupid party here, so I could see them strongly considering impeachment.

[John]

There is no point in impeaching if it doesn't result in conviction and removal from office. And that won't happen without the support of the Democrats. The Republicans also can't override his vetos alone or stop him from shutting down the economy in the name of global warming. The Republicans need to pass bills designed to stop him, let him veto them, and then when the Democrats won't agree to override the veto say "we tried to stop him and now he is your problem".

[TwB]

Agreed.

[robc]

I would, however, force him to veto as many bills as possible.

Make him the veto leader in history. Give him a bill he despises daily.

[John]

Yes and make Democrats vote again and again to sustain them. Make everyone of them vaunerable to campaign attacks about how they "voted with Obama 98% of the time" or whatever.

You can't stop Obama without the help of the Democrats. That is unlikely to happen. The only small chance it might happen is if the Democrats suffer enough pain supporting him doing unpopular and stupid things. Don't let the Democrats fight to save the President from impeachment. Make them fight to sustain and defend what Obama is actually doing.

[Lord Humungus]

U.K. 'poo bus' takes to the streets

A bus fuelled exclusively with biomethane gas from human and food waste hit the road in southwestern England Thursday, servicing passengers from Bath to Bristol.

One tank of gas, which requires the equivalent of the annual waste of about five people, will take the new Bio-Bus and its 40 passengers up to 300 km down the road.

[UnCivilServant]

So, those 40 people would be unable to power that bus for their daily commutes.

[Zeb]

I wonder what the cost ends up being?

Using methane produced like this as a fuel seems like it could be a good idea.

[Auric Demonocles]

I really hate signing this congratulations on your baby cards when everyone else writes a paragraph. What the hell am I going to say? The closest I have to a kid is my sister's dog.

[Drake]

Thanks for birthing a sucker who will pay my Social Security Benefits?

[Auric Demonocles]

I think you're sorely mistaken on my age.

[Lord Humungus]

yeah - I get the same thing for the "get well" cards that get passed around. Uh - "hope you feel better. Smooches."

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

"hth"

[invisible furry hand]

Whatever you said to your sister is probably good enough.

"Best wishes to you and your new pup"

[Auric Demonocles]

The problem is that there are already a dozen entries, all of which are 3+ sentences talking about how great yet difficult having kids is. In a vacuum that type of response would be fine, but now it's going to look very apathetic.

[Lord Humungus]

Just don't sign. Fly free from the shackles of humanity.

[Spoonman.]

The new parent won't give a shit. They are busy. Just sign your name.

[tarran]

... pick the hottest chick at work, and sign your name next to hers on her entry.

Hail Eris!

[Brett L]

"May the smell of his/her poop not make you nauseous."

"I hope the tearing was minimal"

[invisible furry hand]

Speaking of poop, how's William?

[Brett L]

He's the king of light switches. Not quite walking, but already of strong personality.

[Auric Demonocles]

Both actually, they had fraternal twins.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

poor bastard

[Brett L]

"'To sleep, perchance to dream' -- just kidding, you're fucked."

[Rich]

"I hope the tearing was minimal"

Beautiful.

[Ted S.]

If it's for the father of the baby, you should write, "Nine minutes of passion for you, nine months of work for her."

[invisible furry hand]

Or try Evelyn Waugh's reflections of fatherhood: "The pleasure is momentary, the position ridiculous, and the expense damnable"

[lap83]

Just say congratulations, you don't have to overthink it and they probably won't read it.

[waffles]

You write the same thing you would write if someone's kid got hit by a bus or got cancer.

[Drake]

Smoking gun proof that the Obama White House and the Eric Holder Justice Department colluded to get CBS News to block reporter Sharyl Attkisson

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2014.....attkisson/

[John]

Schultz also told Schmaler that he was working with reporter Susan Davis, then at the National Journal, to target Rep. Darrel Issa (R-CA). Issa led the House investigation into Fast and Furious. Davis now works at USA Today. In the email chain, Schultz tells Schmaler that he would provide Davis with "leaks."

Davis wrote a critical piece on Issa a few weeks later.

This of course won't be covered by the major media. So Ms. Davis has no worries of ever being held accountable. It would, however, be nice if one of these journalists who are always professing to care so much about jounralistic ethics would ask Ms. Davis why she was doing hatchett pieces for the Justice Department. It is one thing to listen to a source and then go write what you think are the facts after further investigation. It is another thing to do what Davis apparently did, which is to print everything the source tells you and act as an operative with a bi-line for the government.

[VG Zaytsev]

They also chatter back and forth about Atkinson being out of control - implying that most in the media are under their control, or something.

[John]

That is a good point. Aren't journalists supposed to not be under the control of the government?

[tarran]

I may be engaging in wishful thinking here, but I am certain that the collapse of traditional news media as a profit-making set of businesses is in large part because much of their work-product is uncritically repeating the press releases they are fed.

They have been uncritical mouthpieces of states, NGO's, corporations, activists, public figures, rabble rousers, scum bags etc.

And people tune them out because on some level the people know that the mouthpieces are unreliable and frequently full of shit.

[John]

I think you are right. The newpapers in the UK are not dying. The reason is that they are wiling to print any story that moves copy. Progs bitch and moan about Fox News. Really, if you ever watch Fox News it is not particularly conservative. It is tabloid and shameless more than anything. That is where Murdoch made his money, running tabloids. Fox runs whatever story will get it ratings.

The other networks and old line newspapers don't do that. They refuse to run stories, no matter how interesting, that don't fit the narrative. The Obama scandals could have made the Post of the NYT or any major network willing to really go after them a fortune. They are all great reading. The fucking IRS was going after enemies of the President for God sakes. But they won't cover it. Before the internet and Craigslist when newspapers made real money from classified ads, you could afford to ignore stories that you didn't like even though they would sell. You can't do that now. You can't make money unless you run every single story that will move product.

The other thing that happened is that they can't afford editors and being a journalist pays nothing. So the quality of people going into went way down and the ones who do it get very little training other than how to be hacks. Someone like Sad Beard would have never been hired 30 years ago and if he had, he would never got out of the obituaries section as some old school editor tortured him into suicide.

[PapayaSF]

This is true. Look how popular the Daily Mail is.

It's hilarious that Craigslist ended up helping to kill newspapers, thus hindering the liberal messaging system, because I know Craig and he was a big fan of Obama, at least at the start.

And don't forget how the media can manufacture and promote the stories they want. Like the "popular demand" for campaign finance reform. Or my favorite, the NY Times crusade about the no-women policy at the Augusta National Golf Club. They ran something like 30 stories on this supposed controversy, and then on the day of the big demonstration, one bus showed up with about 20 protestors. The Times had written more stories than there were protestors. Ha.

[John]

That is a good point Papaya. The real effect of the media losing control of the news cycle is that they no longer get to choose what stories get attention and thus no longer get to choose what stories make money. Before, no one would ever hear about stories the media didn't like and since the market has to consume something, the media effectively got to choose which stories got attention and made money. They can't do that anymore. People don't have to be interested in what the NYT thinks is important.

[Drake]

The out of control line is what caught my eye too. "In control" shouldn't be the default setting for journalists.

[PapayaSF]

True. And that's why the left hates Fox News so much.

[TwB]

Is 1984 an instruction manual for the mass media today? Jesus.

[SugarFree]

The Uber CEO just suggested doing this to a reporter with a huge obsession with bashing Uber and the leftweb has been screaming about it for days.

Hypocritical twats.

[John]

And don't forget the CEO of Buzzfeed, who ran that hitpiece on Uber, is a major investor in one of Uber's competitors. No conflict of interest therre.

[Lord Humungus]

Rochester and Strood: Ukip victory piles pressure on David Cameron

Ukip has seized its second seat at Westminster in as many months, defeating the Conservatives by 2,920 votes in the closely fought Rochester and Strood byelection.

The insurgent party's victory amounts to a humiliating defeat for David Cameron. The prime minister promised to throw everything at winning the contest, visiting the seat five times and ordering his MPs to each make at least three trips.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Assume the position: Obamacare penaltax could cost you more than you think

There's been a lot of attention paid to the $95 tax penalty for people who are uninsured this year. But in reality, few people will pay that little, and high-income households could owe thousands of dollars when they file their 2014 taxes. Plus, the minimum penalty more than triples for the 2015 tax year.

Don't expect to hear much about the mandate during the big enrollment push under way. Although the individual mandate is a critical part of Obamacare, it's politically toxic. Plus, focusing on the positive benefits of the law has proven more effective at increasing enrollment -- and decreasing the number of people who'd be penalized -- than emphasizing the negative parts of it, said Anne Filipic, president of Enroll America, a nonprofit promoting Obamacare sign-ups.

"We are continuing to lead with the facts about what's available to consumers, and especially the message about financial assistance," Filipic said. "We want to be careful not to talk about it in a threatening way." Information about the mandate and penalties will be secondary, and the group plans to emphasize it closer to the February deadline to use the the health insurance exchanges to sign up for coverage that will be in effect next year, she said.

[John]

The penaltax goes through the roof over the next few years. It is the tax or the greater of a percentage of your income. That combined with the mandates and and huge reduction in full time employment is going to destroy the middle class. It is going to be an epic disaster.

The problem for the Democrats is that everyone, especially now thanks to Gruber, knows why it is happening and knows who and what to blame for it. So they won't be able to pull the usual "this is just so unfortuneate we need to do more" Jedi mind trick with the public.

No one on here believes me but this law is going to be repealled or completely gutted. Once Obama's sorry ass is out of office, the Democrats will want it gone more than the Republicans do. It is their voters and supporters who are going to be fucked by this as much as anyone.

[tarran]

No one on here believes me but this law is going to be repealled or completely gutted.

You aren't alone on this... I expect it will be gutted within 4 years of Obama leaving office. I think it will be repealed in all but name (the Democrats will insist on being allowed to keep the emperor in exchange for signing the instrument of surrender).

[John]

Even if Hillary wins the White House, don't you know the Clintons wouldn't love to totally gut and redo Obama's "signature achievement"? Hillary and Bill would reach out to a GOP Congress and gut this thing in a heart beat and spend the rest of their lives rubbing his nose in it.

What we would get from that would not be great. But it would better than this. It would have to be. And that is the worst case scenario. If the Democrats don't get the White House, the whole thing goes.

[Aloysious]

Assume the position

NSFW - titties.

[The DerpRider]

You know who else painted...

A 100-year-old watercolor of Munich's old city hall is expected to fetch at least 50,000 euros ($60,000) at auction this weekend, not so much for its artistic value as for the signature in the bottom left corner.

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

Winston Churchill?

Oh, you were being rhetorical...

[Restoras]

George W. Bush?

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

Gotta suck to be a worse painter than Corporal Shicklgruber.

[Restoras]

Well maybe but he's doing what every former President should. Cincinnatus would approve!

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

Good point.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

The ancient Britons (painting themselves)?

[TwB]

Some guy from Austria who was mediocre at it?

[FUQ]

Your being kind rating it that good.

[Slammer]

UK telegraph: The Libertarians planning to take over New Hampshire

Depending on one's point of view the Free State Project is just a logical extension of the libertarian tradition, or a bunch of disruptive anarchists who have taken a perverse pleasure in niggling the authorities.

It would be easy to dismiss the libertarians as eccentric, if there were not so many of them and if the belief in small government did not resonate with a sizeable chunk of American voters.

Cynthia Chase, a Democrat member of the state legislature, described them as "the biggest threat the state is facing today" and "wolves in sheep's clothing".
In a progressive blog she wrote: "There is, legally, nothing we can do to prevent them from moving here to take over the state, which is their openly stated goal.
"In this country you can move anywhere you choose and they have that same right.
"What we can do is to make the environment here so unwelcoming that some will choose not to come, and some may actually leave."

[Slammer]

Cont.

Mr Paul, 45, who moved to New Hampshire from Florida decided the law was an ass and ignored it.
Openly smoking cannabis and even selling it, he was arrested, fined and jailed.
Having been caught selling marijuana to an FBI informant - entrapment according to Mr Paul - he tried fighting the case in the courts.
"Weed is essentially harmless," he said, making no apology for his drug dealing enterprise.
His defence relied on an arcane principle known as jury nullification.
It gives jurors the power to acquit somebody of an offence if they believe the law itself is wrong.

[sarcasmic]

Libertarians: Diligently plotting to take over the world and then leave you alone! Muahahahahaha! Liberty is tyranny!

[Ken Shultz]

"First they ignore you,
then they laugh at you.
Then they fight you,
and then you win."

----Mahatma fucking Gandhi

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"Then they take credit for your victory and rewrite history to make themselves the heroes."

[FUQ]

I love when the mask slips. Progs are becoming their own worst enemies. It the stupid party would just keep their mouths shut and keep from passing stupid things they may have a chance of forcing the Dems to be less fascist.

[John]

New Hampshire is a nice state. The White Mountains are gorgous. It is also not far from Montreal or Maine. I can only hope they do. I am tired of the Progs taking over every nice place in the world and leaving the rest of us to the southern swamps or the wastelands of the plains. Fucking A man, you go Libertarians. I need a decent place to retire without leaving the country.

[Andrew S.]

Yeah, if I could find a job up there I'd love to move. Not much securities law work in New Hampshire unfortunately.

[DEG]

New Hampshire is a nice state.

When it's not winter, unless you like winter.

[John]

I don't mind winter.

[The Laconic]

I thought that being a bunch of disruptive anarchists who have taken a perverse pleasure in niggling the authorities IS the libertarian tradition.

[Matrix]

So now the Proggies know what it feels like? They've been taking over for a long time across the entire country and there was nothing anyone else could really do about it. They took over high education and made public education a joke. They pushed welfare on us in nearly every facet of our lives. Now the tables are turning in one little area, and they are flipping their shit.

Fuck you, proglodyes!

[Trouser-Pod]

Well, it seems Mrs. Shit-heel Cynthia Chase has two passions in her job.

[Ken Shultz]

"Last night President Obama finally announced his plan for executive action on immigration reform".

Just for the record, Barack Obama can french kiss my ass.

[Ken Shultz]

"Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch boasted about being responsible for nearly a billion dollars in civil and criminal forfeiture in the last fiscal year."

At this point, I feel like it's the patriotic duty of every Senator to oppose everyone Barack Obama appoints to do anything and everything until...he leaves office.

IF he even leaves office willingly, that is.

[Mike M.]

After thinking about it for a while last night, I'm convinced that the only way to stop this out of control maniac that has any chance to succeed is for the republicans to enlist the help of the courts and do everything through the legal process from here on out.

Obama clearly doesn't give a flying crap about the voters and he has basically declared congress to be illegitimate, but there MIGHT possibly be a chance that he still has some respect for the judiciary.

[Ken Shultz]

On the immigration issue, specifically, I think they should pass their own reforms.

It's one thing to rule by executive order in the absence of congressional action--quite another to rule by executive order after you've vetoed a bill on that very issue.

Other than that, yeah, Congress needs to oppose this guy in every way they can. Block everything. He can't even hide behind the Democratic Party anymore--he's out there on his limb all alone.

[Ken Shultz]

"IF he even leaves office willingly, that is."

Incidentally, I'd be really interested if some reporter would ask Obama if he's considered running for president again.

[Lord Humungus]

I bought some Pirelli Sottozero Three snow tires for the wife's car - wow... now it almost has as much traction as my departed 4X4 truck. Looking forward to the Blizzaks the BMW is getting next week.

[Steve G]

There's a video out there that demonstrates how different snow tires are from 'all-seasons'. A 2WD vehicle with snows basically embarrases a 4WD without. I personally would have never guess it and it challenged my faith in AWD/4WD alone.

[Whahappan?]

AWD/4WD only helps you get going, it doesn't help you turn or stop, so you can be going that much faster when you wrap around a tree.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Why does the AG have to be a prosecutor? It's be nice to see a defense attorney as a nominee since we supposedly value our adversarial system.

[Rich]

Why does the AG have to be a prosecutor?

Indeed. Why does the President have to be a community organizer?

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Until this one that wasn't the case, but it seems like the AG is always a former prosecutor.

[sarcasmic]

Because the people who seek the job are opportunistic douchebags who don't give a shit about putting innocent people in prison if it means a chance to attain higher office.

[Ted S.]

True with elected state AGs *coughEliotSpitzercough*, but not the appointed US AG.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Rudy Giuliani?

[Tonio]

"Tradition..."

[Tonio]

Delicious derpbook progshit last night about how the networks that didn't carry the speech were "censoring the president" and wondering how that was even legal.

Delicious.

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

Bottle that and sell it - you may retire a wealthy man, Tonio!

[lap83]

Silly progs, that won't be illegal until Obama decides it is. Don't they know how the law works?

[Lord Humungus]

So one of my co-workers decided to snow blow his driveway before heading off to work... and proceeded to lose the first 1/8th of an inch of his middle finger by trying to clear the chute with his hand.

[Auric Demonocles]

You should send him a card.

[Lord Humungus]

and not sign it.

[Auric Demonocles]

Just sign it first, then you set the expectation for what everyone else should write.

[Snark Plissken]

As someone who lost the tip of his index finger to a fan belt, he has my deepest sympathies.

[Snark Plissken]

The worst part of it all isn't the loss of sensation, misshapen fingertip, or drooping due to the cut tendon, but the overwhelming thought of, "What the fuck was I thinking?"

[FUQ]

I cleared a piece of wood between the blade and rip fence on my table saw about 20 years ago. This is how it went.

Reach hand out to push wood.
Before my hand gets there I think "What the fuck are you doing?"
Index finger makes contact with spinning saw blade.
Jerk back hand and stare at exposed bone.
Say out loud ... "That was fucking stupid. What was I thinking?"
Go to clinic and get 10 stitches in finger.

Your comment brought it back like it just happened.

[Slumbrew]

That horrific split-second where you realize you're in the middle of doing something stupid is just the worst feeling.

[FUQ]

It's making my guts churn even thing about it.

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

Similarly not fun, seeing others react faster than you while the thought pops up "say, should you not be doing the same, idiot!?"

[Snark Plissken]

Yeah, seeing the exposed bone really brings it home to the hindbrain.

[Jerryskids]

I may have missed this particular Brickbat: Cops Assault And Arrest Woman for No Reason, Leave Her Cuffed and Naked in Public for 30 Minutes - Police claim that they did not need a warrant to enter Padavic's home or detain her because she was intoxicated and argumentative when they came to her door.

[SugarFree]

"Never drink in your own home in case a brave officer needs to speak to you."

/dumphy

[FUQ]

According to Dunphy it's a good thing she didn't answer the door with a gun in her hand. They could have just shot her and walked away.

[Andrew S.]

He's knocked on 2 million doors in his career and never once was somebody holding a drink. She was clearly asking for it.

[The artist known Dunphy]

Boooya!!!

Still waiting for some nimrod to answer the door with a gun in hand to a uniformed officer

Here in the reality based community it doesn't happen

Did those cops who shot the guy ever get charged?

Nope!

Sweet!

He had nobody to blame but himself for being shot

[Whahappan?]

It's disgusting how you celebrate the corrupt and evil legal system of this country.

[sarcasmic]

Padavic says that the police are lying about what happened to cover up after themselves and place the blame on her.

Well, yeah. That's what they do.

[The DerpRider]

Talk about getting the DNA short stick.

Tallulah and Scout also upped the glamour for the fashion party, ditching their usual casual styles for seriously chic outfits.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Jeez, Tallulah looks more manly than me.

[Slumbrew]

Jeez that's rough. Even if it went the other way - a son that looked like Demi - that would have worked OK (he'd just be a pretty dude).

[RBS]

That outfit certainly isn't doing her any favors.

[Gray Ghost]

I was wondering where I'd seen that expression before and then it hit me, it's when Private Pyle snaps.

[sarcasmic]

They'd make handsome men with those jaws.

[PapayaSF]

No kidding. It must suck to be daughters of a beautiful mom and a handsome dad, and end up homely.

[Steve G]

Central/South American beauty contestants dying in violent ways is starting to become a cliche.

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

Same as athletes, politicians, doctors, engineers, ...

[DEG]

I don't understand the concept of involuntary employment. Words mean things.

[Fluffy]

They mean that people wish they had different jobs.

By that standard, every job I've ever had was "involuntary", in the sense that I would rather have been employed as "Victoria's Secret Model Blowjob Tester".

[John]

By that standard having to take my wife to some event she loves but I can't stand is "involuntary servitude". Saying things like "involuntary employment" is saying that you think anything short of living a super rich Elvis or Micheal Jackson life were your every eccentricity no matter how bizare is indulged to its fullest is living in "slavery".

[John]

But remember fluffy, people like you and I are the selfish ones. The people who think having to work for a living or meet any of life's responsibilities is "slavery" and expect the world to do something about it are the selfless ones.

[sarcasmic]

Well yeah. Wanting to keep what is yours is selfish and greedy.

Using force to give away what does not belong to you is the highest form of altruism.

[DEG]

They mean that people wish they had different jobs.

I figured that is what they mean, but that's twisting the meaning of "involuntary" such that "involuntary" becomes meaningless.

[sarcasmic]

By not giving people full time jobs, the evil capitalist are taking away full time jobs. This forces people into involuntarily working part time jobs that they voluntarily accept. But it's not really voluntary because what they really want is a full time job. So that means that evil capitalists are forcing people to voluntarily accept involuntary part time employment. Or something.

[DEG]

I know folks that think this way. I don't associate with them anymore.

[sarcasmic]

After a few debates on the subject of minimum wage I lost all my proggy friends. Oh well.

[DEG]

Did this get covered elsewhere? China's central bank cuts rates.

[Drake]

Hey it's worked great for Japan and the U.S...

[GILMORE]

It was noticed

[Ted Levy]

"Last night President Obama finally announced his plan for executive action on immigration reform, in an address not aired on CBS, NBC, or ABC. He is in Las Vegas today to campaign for the plan."

Didn't want to go with "double down on the plan"?

[Bobarian (Mr. Xtreme)]

Sure, when you're betting with other people's money, why not?

[The artist known Dunphy]

Sarcastic, any prog who would stop being your friend because they disagree over min wage was never your friend in the first place

Assuming you discourse with respect and aren't an assmunch about it (a big assumption in your case), they were never your friend

I live Seattle

I have lots of prog friends

Ime, they are perfectly fine with disagreeing on economic issues while remaining friends

That's what REAL friendship is, and ime prongs make just as good friends as anybody else

[Ammy]

my neighbor's aunt makes $75 /hour on the laptop . She has been laid off for 7 months but last month her pay check was $18092 just working on the laptop for a few hours. read the article.......... http://www.payflame.com

[mia380]

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