White House Droned (Peacefully), Yemen Droned (Not-So-Peacefully), Ohio Sues over Obamacare Taxes: P.M. Links

• A harmless, small surveillance drone flew onto White House grounds this morning, prompting a lockdown.

• In the wake of the Supreme Court taking up cases about how Oklahoma executes its prisoners, the state's attorney general is asking to postpone the upcoming scheduled lethal injections of three on death row.
• It's currently sunny and in the upper 70s in Los Angeles. Why is this news? It's not. I just wanted torment the tens of millions of people who are dealing with emergency announcements and travel bans as massive snowstorms descend on the northeast.
• Ohio is suing the federal government, claiming the Obamacare tax assessments to local governments to pay for public employee health plans are unconstitutional.
• The shifts in leadership in Yemen have apparently not stopped the United States from killing suspected terrorists with drone strikes there.
• In Spain, 10 have been killed and 13 injured Monday when a Greek fighter jet crashed into another aircraft on the ground during NATO training.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

...emergency announcements and travel bans as massive snowstorms descend on the northeast.

Uh, I call this The Snow Rapture.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

Are my friends in Philadelphia, New York and Boston worried?

Man, that's a lot of snow expected.

A LOT.

[UnCivilServant]

Nah, I'm not worried at all. The fridge is stocked, the electrical lines are buried, and I have enough leave if I have to take half a day to dig out my car.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

There's something about the serenity that comes after a snow storm. Everyone quietly comes out and begins the process of clearing things. One would think people would keep to themselves but the opposite happens. They actually interact and help each other out.

[Rich]

Yep. That's why Earth being invaded by space aliens would be a good thing.

[Bill Dalasio]

Yeah, that and the STIMULLUUZZZZ

/Krugnuts

[Pope Jimbo]

Yeah, I like big snow storms for the same reason. There are some people on our street who haven't bought a snow blower because they have smaller driveways and normal amounts of snow are easily shoveled by hand.

On big snows, those of us with snow blowers always go up and down the street helping those who don't have one. Nice way to keep the neighbors happy so they don't get so upset by my annual spring crop of dandelions.

[Ska]

I'm stocked up on bourbon, coffee, and steaks. I'm good.

[Bobarian (hyphenated-american)]

When that runs out, I'll start eating the neighbors?

[Moe19]

Where do you think the steaks came from?

[Crusty Juggler]

The grocery store. Ah doy.

[RussianPrimeMinister]

My local grocery store doesn't sell human.

Sigh.

[Whahappan?]

Look for it as "long pork."

[G?C]

A few years ago I was living in southern Germany. From Christmas morning through noon the next day we got over 2 feet of snow. Even in my tiny little village they had all the roads plowed and the residents had the sidewalks cleared.

Here in the US, we call it "Snowmageddon," "Snowpocalypse," and other such names. Over there, they called it "winter."

[UnCivilServant]

The press flakes out for ratings. The people under the snow? We shrug and call it just another day.

[Mad Scientist]

Snowmageddon get more eyeballs on the nightly news, which sells commercials. It doesn't matter one bit there's no actual mageddon.

[Enough About Palin]

"Over there, they called it "winter.""

Exactly. I live in Minneapolis and think, 30-inches of snow makes for a great day on the x-country skis.

[Pope Jimbo]

EAP that is because you are a native Minnesodan. The transplants still freak out and our local media is just as bad about hyping big storms. Of course it is just the local media and no one else freaks about it outside of our Star of the North.

[Fist of Etiquette]

And you had an unofficial ceasefire with the British troops.

[CE]

You know what we called 2 feet of snow in Minnesota when I was a kid?

Monday.

We would get to go into school 2 hours late, after the roads were plowed.

[RG]

I'm north of Philly, we're not going to get crushed (for once), but they jumped the gun and canceled the kids' school today. The coast and further north is an entirely different story. Best of luck.

[G?C]

I remember once while I was in middle school in Alabama we were released from school one day due to the threat of snow. It was sunny and in the upper 40s. I really think that the teachers just didn't want to deal with us any more.

That said, I think the most fun I ever had was when Birmingham got hit with a foot and a half of snow. City shut down for a week (they didn't have snow plows at all, so they just had to wait for the snow to melt). I was in college then, and we had a week long party...

[RG]

Yes. College snow was the best. So much alcohol.

I'm lucky to be able to work from home, so I played around on the laptop, avoided traffic, and watched my kids play in the snow.

Day 2 may be a bit more challenging.

[UnCivilServant]

It snowed while I was at college all the time - classes were never cancelled. The policy was "When we can't find the campus anymore, we'll cancel class.

[RG]

My college had a large number of commuters, so they would cancel if the roads were bad enough.

We only had 1-2 really bad storms that shut down campus for a day.

[mauricegirodias]

I took a winter course in Spanish at my suburban Baltimore college. They got a quarter-inch of snow, threat of sleet, so cancelled class on finals day. I was living in the apartments, so went ahead anyway and took my exam. Dude was kind of a tough grader, and didn't like me as I didn't appear to study (I spoke French well and was just filling a requirement so did great on the exams and lousy on in-class participation.)

Guess who got the only A?

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Jesus?

[wareagle]

yup, snow and the Deep South. Makes oil and water look like a match. They didn't happen often but the snowapalooza days are a big memory from childhood.

[Pope Jimbo]

When I lived in Memphis we had a huge ice storm. It knocked out all the power lines and there was glaze ice on all the roads.

I was working as a repairman for IBM at the time and the dispatcher called me to see if I would be willing to go to a site in Mississippi to fix something. I told him he was nuts to even think of sending anyone and besides that wasn't one of my accounts. He said that they thought of me because I was from Minnesoda and knew how to drive on ice. I told him that because I was from Minnesoda I knew that there is no way to drive on ice. Lots of snow is different.

Much to my amusement, though, a lot of the rednecks didn't know that and thought that their big 4x4 trucks would be perfect for driving and immediately slid right into the ditch.

[Andrew S.]

Once while I lived in Greensboro, NC, we got hit with a whole lot of snow. 6 inches one day (school cancelled for 2 days), then 3 inches over the weekend, then a foot+ on Tuesday.

Schools were closed for 2+ weeks after the foot of snow. Stayed cold enough not to melt and the city didn't have any plows.

Then I moved to Syracuse, and learned that 3 feet of snow in an afternoon wasn't a barrier to movement. My apartment complex owned 4 plows.

[Crusty Juggler]

When I was at college in Syracuse it once snowed for twenty-one straight days. The beer helped make it not so depressing.

[Andrew S.]

I'm pretty sure that my first winter there it snowed every day from mid-December until the end of January. It ended up as the second snowiest winter there of all time (up to that point), and I lived southwest of the city in the hills, so we got even more snow.

(Plus in March it never made it to 50 degrees once. March!)

[Crusty Juggler]

Most of my family is from, and still lives in, Syracuse. I spoke to an uncle today (we work for the same company). As I live just north of NYC I told everyone I would most likely not be able to get around for a day or three. He emailed me to insult my masculinity, and then called me up and laughed when I said two feet of snow will cripple this region.

The snow belt and apparently Minnesota...they are a different breed.

[Whahappan?]

No shit. I once got to the Buffalo area on my way back to Canada immediately after a 3 day, 7 foot snow event. I had no idea, as it was lake effect snow, not really a storm and didn't make the news in NYC, there wasn't any snow 50 miles away.

Anyway, the snow had just tapered off, but all the main roads were plowed with 12-14 foot snowbanks, and I had no problem getting around with just all-season tires and front-wheel-drive. All the bridges to Canada were closed so we had to spend the night in Buffalo until the next day, but other than that no problem.

[Enough About Palin]

They were doing that 30-years ago when I lived in greater Philly.

[db]

Meh. I've seen more a few years ago in PA. The most I've ever seen was in St. John's, Newfoundland. That was insane.

[BigT]

I live in the snowbelt east of Cleveland. We avg 85 inches, about double Minneapolis, but ours melts occasionally. It's ideal if you have grandkids and time to build a snow woman.

[db]

When you get that much snow, you may as well build a snow woman--many places don't get enough for the good parts.

[Boomer]

Apparently it's not just the authorities that are up in arms over the coming storm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nWltlKn2vc

[Fist of Etiquette]

A harmless, small surveillance drone flew onto White House grounds this morning, prompting a lockdown.

"Drones" soon to be outlawed and Secret Service officials soon to be replaced.

[UnCivilServant]

Did Biden shoot it down?

[flye]

Biden was busy in Vegas at the AVN Awards.

[RussianPrimeMinister]

^This. I would watch that video over and over again. 😀

[Rich]

"Drones" soon to be outlawed

Including -- mark my words -- balsawood gliders. 8-(

[Mike M.]

Let's be honest: that "drone" was a cooler looking version of the remote-controlled airplane you could get at Radio Shack like 30 years ago.

And it didn't even have a camera on it, so it wasn't doing "surveillance".

[Pope Jimbo]

I was in Hawaii last week and couldn't believe all the drones I saw people flying there.

The best moment came when one of the nerds was trying to show off how he could hover just above the waves when a super big one came along and dunked his drone. It was only about 20 feet off the shore, but because of the rough sea and abundant rocks, he was fucked. Watching him moan about it made the whole trip worthwhile.

[BigT]

Is this the new best way to kill a president and get away with it? And how will it be contained/prevented?

[The Last American Hero]

Yes, as long as you are standing on a grassy knoll when holding the remote.

[Shirley Knott]

Those Greeks. Is there anything they can't crash?

[Tonio]

Good one, Shirl.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

I blame it on austerity. Poor bastard probably ran out of gas.

[Gene]

On takeoff.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

On takeoff, eh?

Fixed.

[C. Anacreon]

And to think, on the same day that the US becomes the Great White North.

[Pope Jimbo]

Yup, I blame the Canuck NATO officer who was running the exercise.

He probably came up to the ground crew and asked why the bird wasn't up in the air yet.

When the greeks told him it still needed gas, he said "Out of gas, takeoff you hoser!"

Then the greeks shrugged and the poor E2 refueler got in and tried to fly the thing and you see what happened.

[db]

They can't even rape up to expectations.

[Fist of Etiquette]

...claiming the Obamacare tax assessments to local governments to pay for public employee health plans are unconstitutional.

Anything with "Obamacare" and "tax" in it passes constitutional muster.

[waffles]

I'm in California and I miss blizzards too, Scott.

[RussianPrimeMinister]

Oh you get blizzards, waffles.

Blizzards of idiot legislation and taxes.

Out here in Illinois, we call them "shitstorms".

[Fist of Etiquette]

...the state's attorney general is asking to postpone the upcoming scheduled lethal injections of three on death row.

No, if anything you speed the schedule up, before the SCOTUS gets its dickskinners on your killing.

[rts]

Like something out of a Rand novel...

Truckers say new system cuts port access to 600 truckers

"For years, the container trucking sector that serves Port Metro Vancouver has been unstable and drivers have found it increasingly difficult to make a living," he said. "There is widespread agreement there are too many trucking companies and drivers, which has resulted in undercutting and other problems."

Egads! Competition! The solution?

More than 600 truckers say they're effectively out of a job after Port Metro Vancouver granted access to just 68 companies under a new licensing system finalized Friday.

[Rich]

It's the Anti-bulldog-eat-bulldog Rule.

[Trouser-Pod]

...after Port Metro Vancouver granted access to just 68 companies...

Well, someone had to pick the winners in this! I mean, geesh...Next, you'll be telling us they should have just left it to "Market Forces", or whatever mystical power you expect us to believe in.

/Can-prog derp

[Andrew S.]

Ah, I see why they're doing this.

"There was a broad range of criteria including the ability to pay fees to fund the provincial auditing program and the new provincial trucking commissioner, and minimum environmental and safety standards for trucks," he said.

[RussianPrimeMinister]

Graft and corruption already?

Color me suprised.

[Tonio]

In Spain, 10 have been killed and 13 injured Monday when a Greek fighter jet crashed into another aircraft on the ground during NATO training.

On. The. Fucking. Ground.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

I need clarification on that.

[paranoid android]

FTFA:

The two-seat jet was taking off but lost thrust and crashed into an area of the base where other aircraft involved in the NATO exercise were parked, the Spanish Defense Ministry said. At least five jets were damaged and the Italian statement said "numerous" helicopters were damaged.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

So it's not as crazy as it sounds. The thing was going pretty fast. It's not like it was an accident in the parking lot.

[Tonio]

But...the runways are deliberately long to allow for takeoff aborts. Sounds like he veered off the runway into where there were parked aircraft.

[wareagle]

sounds like plane was in the air, Tonio.

[Tonio]

Quite possibly, wareagle.

The linked article was somewhat lacking in specifics, "was taking off" was as far as it got.

[Tonio]

I think PM was a punking me, Marv, because I both bolded the "on the ground" part then repeated it for emphasis.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Sort of. If people died in a taxiing accident, it would be ridiculous.

[trshmnster the terrible]

Ridiculous and extraordinarily tragic

[RussianPrimeMinister]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

*sobs*

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Not taxiiing in my book. The plane was probably V1 or better

[trshmnster the terrible]

Something something Greek economy.

[Hyperion]

Hey, the Greeks are getting ready to finally prove that socialism works!

[PapayaSF]

Isn't now the time for some big, public bets? Let's get some progs who are cheering Syriza to put their money where their mouths are. They can define the success of leftist policies and a time-frame, and I'll bet it won't happen. Maybe I can get some of that sweet Michael Moore/Oliver Stone/Sean Penn money.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

They won't take the bet because they're afraid saboteurs and wreckers will stop the awesomeness which is socialism.

[PapayaSF]

Then they should give up trying socialism, right?

[Hyperion]

It happens every time!

[VG Zaytsev]

Those goddamn Kochs are everywhere.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The shifts in leadership in Yemen have apparently not stopped the United States from killing suspected terrorists with drone strikes there.

They need to go into lockdown.

[Rich]

It's currently sunny and in the upper 70s in Los Angeles. Why is this news? It's not.

Only because it's not "historically" sunny.

[UnCivilServant]

Isn't LA a famously overcast city?

Or was that Smog? Smug?

[Mad Scientist]

Nah, it's sunny here all the time.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Philadelphia?

[Trouser-Pod]

Just be sure to mention the creatine shits.

Or, possibly, the Jews.

[Hyperion]

When I lived in Simi Valley, I don't ever remember it being overcast. That was a long time ago, though, climate change and all you know.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Simi Valley? Are you a cop?

[C. Anacreon]

Simi, Feel Me, Touch Me, Heal Me.

[Hyperion]

Do I sound like a cop? When I was there I didn't see too many cops, but a lot of Mexican street vendors who would set up their little food stands on the corner and they had the most fucking awesome Mexican food ever.

[CE]

THe air is clearer now. Cars don't pollute as much as they used to.

[Rich]

"out of the fog, into the smog"

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Coastal fog in the summer. I have no AC and no heat.

[-Umbriel-]

In Philadelphia we have a couple inches on the ground. We're expecting a couple more, but the roads are clear. We're smugly chuckling at New York and New England too.

[Pope Jimbo]

It is 40 here in sunny Minnesoda. Which is great because it is helping me rationalize my foolish decision to get on the plane and return here after a week in Hawaii.

[Migrant Log Picker]

67 in Great Falls, Montana today. Record by 10 degrees.

[John]

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2015.....rew-cuomo/

Andrew Cuomo acts like the cornered weasel he is. He seems very worried about the indictment of the New York State Assembly speaker implicating him.

[UnCivilServant]

As a creature who lives on Schadenfreude and Caffiene, it's a veritable feast in the office today.

[Rich]

This could get quite interesting.

"Dammit, see if one of Bharara's relatives sold Big Gulps!"

[Somalian Road Corporation]

I wouldn't be lauding Preet Bhahara overmuch after his aggressive crackdown on online poker. It's just this time that his career-motivated headhunting ended up targeting somebody worthwhile.

[UnCivilServant]

I'll take good news where I can get it. If he rids me of both Silver and Cuomo, I'll like him for that alone.

[Somalian Road Corporation]

Online poker was my livelihood from 2005 to 2011 so I'm afraid he's going to be permanently on my shitlist.

[CatoTheElder]

Forever and ever.

[Tonio]

Also, UCS, don't forget that the more big cases he wins the more powerful he and his philosophy become. He could be angling for AG of NY or the US, and think of how much more damage he could do there. And attorneys general become governors, though not so often president these days.

[The Last American Hero]

Especially when they frequent brothels in their spare time.

[John]

Of course he is a shit weasel. He is a US Attorney. That, however, doesn't dampen my schadenfreude over Cuomo getting his.

[CatoTheElder]

Agree completely, SRC. I really miss low-stakes online hold 'em tournaments.

[Hyperion]

It's currently sunny and in the upper 70s in Los Angeles. Why is this news? It's not

You know why snow sucks? Because it won't fucking snow enough to get me a snow day, that's why! It's always this 1-3 inches shit. That ain't getting a snow day. Needz moar snow or no snow!

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

In fairness, it did rain this morning while I was taking the trash out. It was a warm, tropical, 78 degree rain from the Sea of Cortez, but still, my feet got wet.

[waffles]

You coastal people make me sick.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Flip Flop privilege.

[Hyperion]

Maybe Obama will come up with a program to redistribute the climate.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Is there nothing that can't be done with identity politics?

[Hyperion]

Not with The One in charge.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Motherfu...

[John]

Even so, the film's lack of left-wing politics has been treated in some quarters as an unpardonable sin. "The mere act of trying to make a typically Hollywoodian one-note fairy tale set in the middle of the insane moral morass that is/was the Iraq occupation is both dumber and more arrogant than anything George Bush or even Dick Cheney ever tried," wrote Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/.....tml?page=2

I had no idea Taibbi was that big of a dumb ass. Why did I think he wasn't?

[UnCivilServant]

I donno, since he does write for 'Rolling Stone' of all rags.

[John]

There is that. For some reason I thought he was different. Apparently, he is exactly the kind of retard you would expect to write for Rolling Stone.

[Bill Dalasio]

For some reason I thought he was different.

Oh, I'd say Taibbi is different. He's a vastly more insidious douchebag than any of the rest. While the others aren't above going along with made-up stories, Taibbi is the consummate smear artist. He won't bother to make an actual case against a target, just a lot of innuendo, half-truths and sneering. If he'd done the UVA story, the implication would probably have been worse, but there wouldn't have been an accusation to refute.

[Andrew S.]

Taibbi got his start in conjunction with Mark Ames. Even if he wasn't a dumbass (and he is), he'd be one by association.

[Irish]

Ames isn't even the worst person to write for the Exile. Yasha Levine is a less talented Mark Ames. Let that sink in.

[Andrew S.]

I don't see much of a difference between Levine and Ames. They work together and are both complete pieces of shit.

[John Titor]

Eh I'm pretty sure only one of them threatened to kill their underage girlfriend if she didn't get an abortion.

[Irish]

Mark Ames wrote that in a book, but its veracity is questionable. Ames is an inveterate liar and could very well have written that to be 'edgy.'

[Mike M.]

I almost never go to the movies anymore, but I may go see this one.

Any movie that drives the psychotic left this nuts must be pretty decent.

[John]

I have made it a point of never watching any Iraq war movies. But I am thinking of making an exception for the reason you give.

It must be pretty good and if nothing else, it making a lot of money clearly makes these people miserable, which is something I am happy to contribute to.

[Hyperion]

On the day of the release people were like camping out in Arundel Mills Mall in line to see it.

The fact that it doesn't have a hard left message embedded in it and is making all this money is driving the progs insane. They own Hollywood, it's theirs damnit! How dare anyone stray off the groupthink plantation!

[John]

The thing is that it is not a big rah rah pro war movie either. It is just not a far left movie and they can't stand that. Everything is for the hive or it must be against it.

[Hyperion]

The left are gradually losing their iron grip on a lot things that they worked hard for a century or longer to get. That means that the mask will come off and they will get more nasty than ever. They can't accept it.

[John]

I is going to be their downfall. They are so intolerant and so bat shit insane and intellectually insecure, they are incapable of any kind of tactical retreat. They are just going to keep coming until they alienate everyone.

[Cytotoxic]

they are incapable of any kind of tactical retreat. They are just going to keep coming until they alienate everyone.

GamerGate in a nutshell.

[Hyperion]

they are incapable of any kind of tactical retreat

Is there any bigger example of this than Obama? Look at him. His party just suffered historic defeats at practically every level. And what does he do? Turn a blind eye and double down on the very policies that made that happen.

[PapayaSF]

Rush Limbaugh thinks the success of this film may be related to the 2014 elections: a big "Fuck you!" to the leftist Hollywood establishment from ordinary Americans.

[UnCivilServant]

It could always be just a good movie.

[PapayaSF]

I think it's a combination of the two.

[Bill Dalasio]

Clint Eastwood pictures usually are.

[Hyperion]

It's probably part of that. Like I was saying, in Arundel Mills Mall, every camo wearing redneck from the MD country side were lined up to watch it, actually sitting around on the ground outside the cinema in their camo pants and Duck Dynasty t-shirts.

[John]

Having your movie be an approved way of telling the liberal elite to fuck off, is guaranteed bank. Probably the best guaranteed bank there is.

[CE]

It's an underserved audience. Cable TV has been pandering to rednecks for years. Hollywood, no so much. They could make a lot of money.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

I'm not watching a movie just because retards hate it.

The movie will simply be a few levels of retardation above the retard critics, but still retarded.

If it wasn't retarded, why would Hollywood be doing it?

[John]

Hollywood makes great movies sometimes. Not every movie is retarded.

[Hyperion]

We just watched Hunger Games Mocking Jay part 1. It was ok.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

OK, sure, but someone who actually saw it has to reassure me beforehand that this is one of the non-retard movies.

[Cytotoxic]

Birdman is really weird and really good.

[BigT]

Birdman was weird. It was too much inside baseball for actors. Glad I didn't pay to see it.

[John Titor]

Eh, Clint's a pretty good director. The weirdest thing about all these people screaming about it being 'pro-war' is that I remember he filmed two movies from different perspectives of the same battle, Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima, and you certainly wouldn't call either 'pro-war'. And I can't think of many directors who would do back-to-back movies deliberately to show the contrast but also the similarities of two different warring factions.

[John]

The other thing is that Eastwood is the master of the meditation on the cost of violence. How anyone could think that the director who make The Outlaw Josey Wales, Unforgiven and Gran Torino would make some mindless pro war movie is beyond me.

[BigT]

This. I saw Sniper and came away thinking that we send too many good men into pointless wars. Of course I went in thinking the same thing. It seems a good statement against intervention. Rand should run with it.

[Irish]

Taibbi's article on this subject is so stupid it physically hurt me. His basic argument is that you aren't allowed to make any movie that focuses on the experiences of individual soldiers because if you do that you aren't being political enough and are ignoring the myriad sins of Chimpy McHaliburton.

ALL FILMS MUST BE POLITICAL! THE TAIBBI HAS SPOKEN!

[Irish]

Saying that making a movie Taibbi disapproves of is dumber than anything Bush ever did is also one of the most fucktarded statements ever uttered by anyone.

It's kind of funny that Taibbi's basically remembered for nothing other than his 'Vampire Squid' metaphor.

Some writers are remembered for a single hit. It's pretty pathetic that Taibbi's career highlight is one fucking metaphor.

[The Laconic]

FALSE. I remember him for his eviscerations of Thomas Friedman's writing style, which are brilliant.

[lap83]

"Even so, the film's lack of left-wing politics has been treated in some quarters as an unpardonable sin."

Hmm, I might have to see this movie.

[Cytotoxic]

STOP PORTRAYING GOOD AND EVIL AS GOOD AND EVIL

Progs need moral obfuscation and denigration to get away with evil. Some libertarians enable and go along with this in foreign policy.

[Irish]

What I love is that progs are unwilling to admit that the type of people we were fighting in Iraq were, almost to a man, utter scum.

That doesn't have any bearing on whether the Iraq invasion was a good idea or morally right. You can admit that the insurgents were horrible human beings while also believing the war was a bad idea.

[CE]

But is shooting people from cover good or evil? Or does it depend on whose side the shooter is on?

[The Last American Hero]

Shooting people is an unfortunate and inevitable cost of war. Whether the shooter is hiding or in plain sight is not relevant.

[GILMORE]

I pointed out the Full-Retardedness that Salon has reduced itself to over American Sniper earlier today

They've written like a dozen pieces about the million different ways the Movie is all about the GOP/Tea Party Agenda of Death and Hatred of Brown People and Delusional Attempt to Murder Their Enemies and their Worship of Evil and derpderpderpderpderp...

If anything, the reason they hate the movie is because it actually humanizes someone they see as a symbol of things they hate.

[John]

It is always projection with them isn't it? They attack the movie for dehumanizing the Iraqis when in fact they hate the movie because it humanizes someone they want to see as a symbol of what they hate.

[GILMORE]

More or less.

They refuse to accept that this guy was anything other than a one-dimensional cypher = a Conservative Redneck GOP Killer Who Thought Shooting Arabs Was 'Fun'.

See, when Paul Greengrass made *thoughtful* movies like The Green Zone?

Where..."Veteran CIA operative Marty tells Miller that there are no [WMDs], it is a deception to allow the Americans to take over the country and install a puppet leader..."

...see, that's a *realistic* Iraq War movie! it reinforces the narrative.

A movie about a single 'actual guy' and his personal struggles? No, that's just Conservative Propaganda.

[Matrix]

Magnetic balls in a blender

you're welcome

[Andrew S.]

Had to check to see if this was Warty or NutraSweet before I thought about clicking. It sounds like it could be a fetish for one of them.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Hey, the sparks and lighting remind me of *my* balls!

[Pope Jimbo]

It would suck to have magnetic balls and an artificial knee. You wouldn't be able to wear shorts ever again.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

How Rufus is enjoying the PM links:

With olive and basil rustic bread and Centonze D.O.P. olive oil.

Life is good.

Even with the -20c weather.

[UnCivilServant]

-4f? Meh, a bit nippy.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Yup but -30 with the wind...cold enough to stop me from going to the rink to slap the puck around.

[UnCivilServant]

Ten more degrees and you won't have to put scale on that wind chill.

[B.P.]

Does the cold weather deflate the puck any?

[Hyperion]

So what is that, like -3 F? See how you silly C people are always trying to make it look colder than it really is? But it totally doesn't work the other way. See how silly this sounds?

OMG, It's 32 today, it's so hot! Lol.

[Somalian Road Corporation]

I went to Chipotle and got one of those sofritas (tofu) burritos with the promotion they had today. It was OK, but I fully intend to snag a free carnitas one on my return trip.

[trshmnster the terrible]

My wife told me that she is no longer cooking me dinner and fully expects me to bring her one of these. I hope they're good. I can't stand tofu when it's used at a meat replacement. However, I really loved getting the tofu burrito at Moe's when I lived up north.

tl;dr Moe's needs to move down to Dallas!

[Somalian Road Corporation]

It basically just makes it a bean and cheese burrito. I got it with pinto beans, which have little bits of bacon and jalapeno, so it wasn't a wholly vegetarian entree.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

78 and overcast here. I guess it's beer time.

[Hyperion]

30 and it was snowing here, but seems to have stopped. Beer time!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Don't let them bring you down Hyp!

[Hyperion]

Nah, I lived in the midwest for nearly 20 years, so the climate here in Balmer is actually quite pleasant in comparison.

[MJGreen]

Is this the most Wonkbloggy post since Ezra rebelled and started his own site? It's definitely the funniest thing I've seen on WaPo:

This powerful Reddit thread reveals how the poor get by in America

Of the four extensive quotes used in the piece, it appears that at least 2 are observations or even guesses as to what poor people do, not testimonials. Another is from a woman who can't pay for health insurance (that qualifies her as poor and on the same level as those unable to open a checking account?), and the fourth - the big climax - is a guy reminiscing about growing up poor. But even if every story was from a desperately poor person today, it's nice to know they have an Internet connection and phone/computer to browse reddit.

But the biggest laugh comes at the end, when you see the picture of the author. My sides still hurt.

[John]

Is it that hard to go out and talk to actual poor people? An undergraduate journalism class could go out and collect anecdotes from poor people. Do these clowns just think poor people are that icky? They couldn't be bothered to talk to them?

[UnCivilServant]

Speaking as a former poor person, poor people are icky. (And they keep asking me for money or rides)

[Somalian Road Corporation]

Better to be nouveau riche than no riche.

[UnCivilServant]

I'm barely middle class.

[Hyperion]

Don't worry, the government is going to fix it so that we don't need to worry about no middle class shit any longer. We'll all just be equally poor in the new paradise.

[Hyperion]

They've probably never seen a poor person or even drove through one of their neighborhoods. They have those apps on their iPhone that warn them when they get near the ghetto.

[C. Anacreon]

I love the comments section with all the people talking about homeless dying in the streets because of 'lack of government programs'. Another example of cluelessness. In the ER I see these people every day.

The city of San Francisco spends on average over $80,000 per homeless person per year when you take into account all programs and services. There are enormous opportunities for anyone who is homeless to take advantage. However, there is, of course, no compulsory housing, and a lot of these people refuse to accept services or housing. Be it due to mental illness or a preference for living without rules, there are just a lot of homeless that won't go away no matter how much you spend.

Unless you want a world in which we force people to accept housing or make living on the streets illegal, be prepared to accept this reality, WaPo posters.

[Mad Scientist]

To a progressive, someone who don't want to live by someone else's rules is someone who just needs to be educated.

[Irish]

Sort of like how the ACLU made it so that you can't involuntarily commit people to mental institutions as easily (which I agree with, by the way) and now progs whine that there are mentally ill people who aren't in psychiatric hospitals.

You have to accept a trade off. You either have to allow involuntary commitments (which could very well be an infringement of rights) or you have to allow potentially ill people not to get help because they refuse it.

Progs want to have it both ways.

[Somalian Road Corporation]

I bet you find the enlightened Europeans and Americans attempting to curry favor with them saying that America has a "nonexistent healthcare system" rather amusing.

[Pope Jimbo]

I secretly admire the homeless guys who are so committed to drinking that they are willing to give up housing and other shit just to pay for their lifestyle.

Commitment like that is actually pretty admirable.

[SusanM]

That sociology class they took at Oberlin is good enough to know all about the poor.

[Hyperion]

And rape culture.

[lap83]

They can never get it right, because if they called their dad he could stop it all, yeah.

[paranoid android]

+1 Shatner

[Mad Scientist]

This report was brought to you by he letter P, and the number 2.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

The show has gone downhill since you last watched

[Somalian Road Corporation]

But even if every story was from a desperately poor person today, it's nice to know they have an Internet connection and phone/computer to browse reddit.

Hence the goalposts shifting from "poverty" to "income inequality".

[Rufus J. Firefly]

MJ answered you in the AM link.

Basically, not my best comment.

[MJGreen]

I saw! I also made a comment about Orange is the New Black, but I bet you didn't see that!

[Tonio]

Get a room, girls.

[MJGreen]

We're in a room!

[waffles]

How do people get denied free checking accounts?

[UnCivilServant]

They run a Marijuana business?

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

They don't. Almost all of that is bullshit. Especially the part about how much amoxicillin costs

[C. Anacreon]

You've got that right. It's the second time recently I've seen someone try to claim in the press they only buy fish amoxicillin because regular amoxicillin is so expensive.

Walmart amoxicillin is $10 for 90 500mg capsules.

The cheapest online fish amoxicillin I could find is about $30 for 100 500mg capsules.

Either someone is a big liar, or they are trying to promote their fish antibiotics company. You can get the fish drugs without a prescription, perhaps that's why people get them. It's pretty bad, though, as you should only use antibiotics for an active infection or prophylaxis -- anyone using them otherwise is helping to create antibiotic-resistant organisms.

[kinnath]

You bounce enough checks, you get on a list.

[grrizzly]

I understand that banks use check verification services like ChexSystems before opening a checking account. There will be negative information in the system if you ever had a bounced check.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Which would make the article intentionally dishonest.

You don't get denied a checking account for being poor at all. You get denied for having a history of fraud.

[Irish]

DING DING DING! Progressives claim certain things are caused by someone being poor, when in fact they're caused by a history of criminality and low moral character.

[Stormy Dragon]

Bouncing a check == fraud?

[Wasteland Wanderer]

If you knew you didn't have the money to cover it, yes.

[MJGreen]

Look in the comments, someone makes this exact point. The response?

Your lack of compassion is sad. I feel sorry for you. May you never know poverty because you would not last one day.

That's copy-paste. A guy points out that bad credit is the problem, not greedy banks being mean to poor people, and the first response is about his "lack of compassion." Empathy is all that matters!

[paranoid android]

How do people get denied free checking accounts?

By repeatedly overdrafting and carrying negative balances on previous accounts they've had, of course.

I'm somehow unable to work up much moral outrage at the idea of banks being reluctant to assist people with an established history of spending money they don't have and juking responsibility for it

[Hyperion]

people with an established history of spending money they don't have and juking responsibility for it

Hey, don't talk shit about our federal government!

[PapayaSF]

I'm always amazed at the sob stories about poor people with children, as if having babies is some sort of mysterious, unpredictable natural phenomenon. Guess what? Raising kids costs money. If you can't afford them, don't have them. Why is that so hard? (I make exceptions for widows, divorced/abandoned, etc., but those no no longer seem to be the major reasons for poor children.)

I also shake my head at complaints like "home owners insurance is often more expensive for the poor." They own a house, so they're not that poor.

[UnCivilServant]

They own a house, so they're not that poor.

Houses in some depressed urban areas are going for $1.

[Hyperion]

A lot of so called poor people in Murika also weigh 400 - 600 lbs and drive a new Escalade or Infinity. This makes it very difficult for me to believe that it's impossible for them to open any type of bank account or get a state ID.

[lap83]

If liberals really cared about the poor they wouldn't be so gung-ho about regressive taxes like sales tax.

[Hyperion]

If liberals cared about the poor, they wouldn't approve of policies that make them more poor and make other people poor who previously were not poor.

Maybe they just want to make everyone poor so that they can care more?

[GILMORE]

Apparently they hire 15yr olds to write for their "Finance" blog.

He seems like he's still in the "why do we even need money"-phase of his intellectual development.

[C. Anacreon]

It's pretty similar to the pleading arguments my 12-year-old son has been hitting me with lately, that there is really no practical use for what he is learning in the Algebra class he is in.

[waffles]

A television that costs $200 might cost $700 on one of the payment plans that poor people are obliged to use, the study found.

Obliged!?

I guess there's no limit to financial illiteracy. I recall once in a small California town noticing a trifecta of bad decision enablers. There was a rent-a-center next to a payday loan place next to a dive bar. It's a one-stop shop!

[Andrew S.]

Weather here is awful. Rained this morning and the wind blew a frond off one of my palm trees.

Near 70 degrees and sunny tomorrow though.

[Tonio]

STFU

[Hyperion]

Yeah, what Tonio said! Climate elitist!

[Fist of Etiquette]

100th comment.

[UnCivilServant]

So?

[The Other Kevin]

Ok Buffalo Bill, now you're just showing off. Next you'll shoot a cigarette out of Warty's mouth.

[Fist of Etiquette]

We make our own achievements. LITERALLY.

[Matrix]

Scientists can now unboil an egg

Oh my science!!

[Hyperion]

Is the chicken still alive?

[UnCivilServant]

It's egg whites, so no.

[Hyperion]

Well, did the chicken have a name before it got boiled and then became an egg white?

[Cytotoxic]

As someone who has done recombinant protein expression and purification I thank you and say this is a big deal.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

In the name of full disclosure, this guy is a Catholic priest:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SX-byTs5sM

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Interview:

http://theadvocate.com/feature.....t-connects

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Disclosure? Is that you?

[Free Society]

Ohio is suing the federal government, claiming the Obamacare tax assessments to local governments to pay for public employee health plans are unconstitutional.

The federal government can't tell local governments what to do because....federalism!

The federal government can tell individuals what to do because...commerce clause, now fuck yourself!

[Free Society]

In Spain, 10 have been killed and 13 injured Monday when a Greek fighter jet crashed into another aircraft on the ground during NATO training.

See where austerity gets us? /Krugtroll the Invincible

[Cytotoxic]

Question and Comment Time with Cytotoxic: decentralization (ex Uber) seem to be all the rage these days. Is it possible that (large) cities will be obsolete in the future? What do future living arrangements look like?

[John]

Not obsolete but definitely less desirable than they once were. You can see this already in the decline of importance of big media markets like New York and LA.

Thirty years ago LaBron James would have had to have played in NY or LA or maybe Chicago if he wanted to be the biggest sports star in the world. Now it doesn't matter where he plays. The media is everywhere. Someone in China doesn't care what US team he plays for.

Even on a personal lever, it used to be that you couldn't get a lot of things outside of the big cities. Living in a small town used to really restrict your options. Now you can get anything no matter where you live. So there is just less reason to live in big cities.

[Cytotoxic]

Could the decline in LA and NY just be down to the rise of other cities? Granted, if so, that would still speak to a diminishing return in the 'economics of scale'/competivity in terms of city size.

[John]

Some of it is because those cities are ruled by retards. But some of it is because they no longer hold as many advantages by virtue of being big that they once did.

[Stormy Dragon]

It should be noted that LA and NY are still the two fastest growing cities, so they're only in decline in the "Democrat budget cut" sense.

That being said, the other rapidly growing cities in the country right now (e.g. Phoenix, Austin, Charlotte) are far more sprawly than traditional cities. So to answer your question, the cities of the future are probably going to look like the suburbs of the present.

[John]

I think you are probably right. And that is going to drive the city planners insane.

[C. Anacreon]

Yes, bank on hearing a lot of people lamenting "sprawl" and demanding that everyone move to in-fill "walkable" condominium/retail projects built on top of train stations, where they can live their entire lives without ever leaving the places they live, work and shop.

I always laugh the most at people pushing for such 'sustainable communities' when they insist that people of the future won't want their own homes with yards, but will prefer a small apartment in a transit village.

[BigT]

My kids are grown and I no longer drive after drinking, so, yes I'd like to have a compact walkable place to live. According to Mrs BigT all such places are 'crime-ridden hellholes', however.

[C. Anacreon]

No doubt these are excellent setups for some stages in life, as you describe in your situation, and also for when you are young and single. Yet it sounds like you had the single-family detached home with a yard when you had kids in the house -- as surveys show still is the eventual desire of people, even most millenials, when they get to raising a family.

But the political speak is insisting that the families of the future will mostly want to live in apartment buildings, and I just don't buy it. It's an amazing collaboration insisting this will be the case, between developers, progs and enviromentalists.

[Mad Scientist]

We will live inside shipping containers on Ceti Alpha V.

[waffles]

Does it come with a nice view?

[Hyperion]

As long as I'm far enough away from the IRS and big government in general, I welcome my new shipping container.

[Carl ?s the level]

Question and Comment Time with Cytotoxic

That's what would have saved The Independents.

[Stormy Dragon]

Make PB respond to the 2 minute hate mail.

[Cytotoxic]

YOU ARE A GENIUS

WELCH ARE YOU SEEING THIS?!?!

I am available for a $45,000/year starting salary. Entirely reasonable.

[John Titor]

Or driven it into the ground six months earlier. Then again, Kennedy got her own show, so what the fuck do I know about television.

[Stormy Dragon]

A group of scientists who are apparently enraged by common aphorisms prove that you can in fact unboil an egg:

Scientists unboil an egg, and it may be a big deal

[Carl ?s the level]

You are 21 minutes late.

[Stormy Dragon]

Drat, I wish I could delete this comment now, but I guess you just can't...

[MJGreen]

Yeah, but he didn't link to fucking Gizmodo.

[Somalian Road Corporation]

Well played, sir.

[John]

But can they unfuck a chicken?

[Stormy Dragon]

Not yet, but noise cancelling headphones can un-ring a bell.

[Derpetologist]

Your evening derp: caller to CSPAN says Hillary should be next president. Her number 2 choice is Biden. Also says that gas cost more in red states and people are poorer. Finishes by saying that most people live in a bubble.

Call begins at 30:11 mark.

[Derpetologist]

War Porn: Apache vs. 30 Taliban

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaufhZv84Gk

[John Titor]

I was hoping it was an actual Apache fighting like that really dumb scene in The Patriot.

[Derpetologist]

It sure is great when your enemies attack one at a time and then pause and stand still when their attack is dodged or blocked.

[John Titor]

Oh, if you want dumb ahistorical fight scenes and a mess of historical stupidity (Mel Gibson's character runs a plantation managed by freed slaves, the British burn people in churches like Nazis, etc.) then The Patriot's for you.

One thing about the actual Apache video: Christ, how expensive are those missiles used to kill one or two guys.

[Crusty Juggler]

Don't forget the cleavage.

[Enough About Palin]

His Penis Extension Broke -- And 9 More Crazy Reasons People Divorced

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....09836.html

[Irish]

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02.....inion&_r=1

^ New York Times in 2014: Is this the end of snow?

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01.....storm.html

^ New York Times in 2015: LOOK AT ALL THIS GODDAMN SNOW

[Suthenboy]

Making Apocalyptic predictions only works if the arrival of said apocalypse is indefinite. Setting a time for that arrival, especially in the near future, is really dumb. The only thing dumber than cooking up a global warming scare is buying into it.

[B.P.]

70 degrees F in Denver today.

[R C Dean]

Excellent non-denial by Brady in Ballghazi:

"I didn't alter the ball in any way," Brady said. "I have a process before every game where I take the footballs I want to use for the game. Our equipment guys do a great job breaking the balls in for the game. Our equipment guys have a process they go through."

Nobody said Brady did it personally. I like the way he personally picks the balls he wants to use, and then goes right ahead and tells us the equipment guys work up those balls. All 100% true, gives the impression that he is denying anything happened, but is also 100% consistent with the Pats cheating.

[R C Dean]

Oops. Linky:

http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/s.....ant-012615

[Andrew S.]

Repeating something I saw on Twitter the other day: The most likely outcome is that a ballboy takes the fall and then suddenly starts dating one of Giselle's model friends.

[maryrprice45]

Six months ago I lost my job and after that I was fortunate enough to stumble upon a great website which literally saved me. I started working for them online and in a short time after I've started averaging 15k a month... The best thing was that cause I am not that computer savvy all I needed was some basic typing skills and internet access to start...
This is where to start???......... http://www.cashbuzz80.com

[Cdr Lytton]

In Spain, 10 have been killed and 13 injured Monday when a Greek fighter jet crashed into another aircraft on the ground during NATO training.

It was at Moron Air Base, right?