Obama Wants More Spending, McCain Hates Anti-War Protesters, Senate Votes on KeystoneXL: P.M. Links

• 

  CNN

  President Barack Obama's budget will be formally revealed on Monday. It will call for a full reverse of any sequester cuts (whatever hasn't already been reversed, one assumes) and a 7 percent ($74 billion) increase in spending.

• Sen. John McCain called anti-war protesters from Code Pink who interrupted a Senate Armed Services Committee meeting "low-life scum." They were there to call for the arrest of Henry Kissinger, who was there to give a speech, for war crimes.   
• The second day of Senate committee hearings for attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch has partly been dominated by folks complaining about the behavior of the Obama Administration and current Attorney General Eric Holder rather than Lynch. Jacob Sullum and I analyzed Lynch's actual responses to Senate questioning here and here earlier today.
• Learning all the wrong lessons from the prohibition, the drug wars, and the general, overall history of human behavior, Dartmouth announced today that it will prohibit all students, regardless of age, from possessing or drinking hard alcohol on campus. As Robby Soave has noted, fighting assault and rape on campus actually requires colleges to do the exact opposite.
• The European Union has extended its existing sanctions on Russia for six months over continued fighting in Ukraine.
• The Senate has voted to approve the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Obama has threatened a veto.

• Create your own joke link: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has launched a presidential exploratory committee.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has launched a presidential exploratory committee.

That’s totally not a waste of time.

[Tonio]

OK, I don’t know how they work but we need a pool type thingy for the candidates. Who will declare. Who will drop before primaries, etc.

[Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!]

Huckabee and Graham out first and second.

100 quatloos.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

Just…Hello.

[MJGreen]

Hello!

[Injun, as in from India]

Create your own joke link:

Lindsey checks in to rehab.

Wait. There’s a Lindsey without the last name Lohan, who is also a great fellater?

[C. Anacreon]

Are you perhaps referring to George “Goober” Lindsey?

[sasob]

I thought he died.

[Trigger Warning]

Graham is so widely despised here in SC that I can’t figure out who votes for him. He must be very talented at funneling money to the right people.

[Dry End of the Titanic]

Fist!.. I mean first!

[Dry End of the Titanic]

Or indeed, second

[Fist of Etiquette]

Ouch.

[Clich? Bandit]

it isn’t worth the effort…I did it once, my soul will never recover.

[Injun, as in from India]

Internal Emails Show Al Jazeera English Banning Use of Terms ‘Terrorist,’ ‘Militant,’ ‘Islamist’

War Jihad is peace.
Freedom Sharia is slavery freedom.
Ignorance Dhimmitude is strength.

F*** Al-Jazeera.

[Derpetologist]

Al Jazeera means “the island” in Arabic. I presume the only residents of this island are Tom Hanks and his friend Wilson.

[Bam!]

And Scarlett Johansson.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

I personally think that’s the best movie Michael Bay was ever associated with.

[Pro Libertate]

I’m not sure “best,” “movie,” and “Michael Bay” should be put together in a sentence. Certainly not close together or in any way associated with one another.

[UnCivilServant]

Well, he does make movies, and there must be something in his filmography that is his personal best. You can’t exclude relative adjectives from a discussion just because they are often employed to mean absolute (when deployed unmodified, that is).

[Pro Libertate]

Ah, I see. Which of these visions of abject horror do you find least objectionable, to the extent that you can stand to contemplate them again?

[AlmightyJB]

The Island was better than I thought it was going to be. Johansson is always going to a few poi ts to a movie for me. Haven’t seen Lucy yet but want to.

[Pro Libertate]

Poi ts? Is this some sort of Hawaiian porn term?

[Trailer Trash]

Dont waste your time with Lucy, it is the first time in a long time that I didnt finish watching a movie at home. I literally stopped it half way through and started watching hgtv…

[AlmightyJB]

On mute then

[HeteroPatriarch]

Can we talk about Lucy now?

[Apatheist ?_??]

Not The Rock?

[John Titor]

What about the brilliance that is The Rock?

[Pro Libertate]

That was one fucking stupid movie. Just to show that I’m not without feeling, I said that in my Sean Connery voice.

[John Titor]

Losers whine about The Rock being stupid, winners go home and fuck the prom queen.

And I suppose I should have wrote ‘brilliantly stupid’ but I thought that was implied when it comes to Bay.

[Pro Libertate]

No, just stupid stupid. What are you, some hipster movie reviewer?

[Crusty Juggler]

Apparently someone has not seen Bad Boys 2

[Winston]

The Clonus Horror was so much better.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Indeed,

http://www.cracked.com/article…..es_p2.html

[sloopyinTEXAS]

Perhaps they were accidentally included in a White House Press Office memo. Was the author of the email a “Jabbar Earnest”?

[Timon 19]

Al Jazeera America and Al Jazeera English still report the news better than any of the other US-based outlets. Some of their documentary programs are actually quite good, too.

As always, there are things to be skeptical about, given the bent of many of their contributors, but that’s no different from anywhere.

The Arabic channel, it’s hard to say, since I don’t speak the language.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Senate has voted to approve the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Obama has threatened a veto.

Those clean-burning China-men are about to come into a new source of fossil fuels.

[Pro Libertate]

Wonder if this one has a chance of an override? I bet it does.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

I want him to have to explain himself. I’d really enjoy that

[Cytotoxic]

Just keep shoving the pipeline in general spending bills. Do not let up.

[BigT]

Doesn’t an over-ride require 2/3 majority, ie 67 votes? So, no chance.

[Pro Libertate]

I don’t know. The bloodbath the Democrats have taken in Congress has been of epic proportions. Where does their desire to support the president end and their drive for self-preservation begin? It wouldn’t take that many to get an override.

[AlmightyJB]

“Where does their desire to support the president end and their drive for self-preservation begin?”

Didn’t happen with Obamacare.

[Pro Libertate]

No, but they were giddy as school girls then, thinking the Republicans had been beaten forever and ever and ever and ever.

Now, no so much.

[Pro Libertate]

Not so much. Danged fingers.

[BigT]

Who in the Senate is going to strong-arm 5 Dems to support the veto over-ride? McConell? McCain? Schumer? Hitlary? Those Dems would be on the top of Soros’ shit list and never get any money from the DNC.

The vote was 62-36, btw. The Dems who voted in favor:
Michael Bennet of Colorado, Tom Carper of Delaware, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Jon Tester of Montana and Mark Warner of Virginia.

[Pro Libertate]

I don’t know. But these are weird and surreal times for the Democrats. I think just about anything can happen, either way.

[Injun, as in from India]

What the Keystone XL bill needs first is an amendment to route the pipeline through the White House master bedroom.

[Pro Libertate]

Route it? No, that would be wrong. Have it end there with an open spout? Sure.

[Zeb]

Seems kind of wasteful. Or are you suggesting we replace the whitehouse with an oil refinery? I could get behind that plan.

[Pro Libertate]

I haven’t gotten that far in my thinking.

[Injun, as in from India]

And then burn the distillates and pump the CO2 right into the Greenpeace and Sierra Club offices on K-street.

[Zeb]

I was going to put them in my car, or heat my house. But that could work.

[CatoTheElder]

Good idea.

However, a refinery burns fuel gas and residual oil, but pipelining flue gas to Greenpeace and Sierra Club offices on K Street is a great idea. If they’re worried about CO2, they can figure out what to do about it.

[MJGreen]

Asian American, please.

[Fist of Etiquette]

President Barack Obama’s budget will be formally revealed on Monday.

“Why does Michelle need so many shoes?”

[Injun, as in from India]

Sen. John McCain called anti-war protesters from Code Pink who interrupted a Senate Armed Services Committee meeting “low-life scum.”

I’m guessing that “low-life scum” description includes our generally anti-war founders like George Washington?

[John]

I didn’t know there were any anti-war protestors. I thought they went into hibernation when Obama got elected.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

Code Pink has remained somewhat consistent in their protests. The difference is that the media stopped putting cameras on them sometime in January 2009.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

They must hate that.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

They don’t have to. They can just ignore it until it serves their purpose again…like in 23 months and two weeks.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

I mean, what’s the point of calling for someone’s arrest? Other than a publicity stunt, obviously.

[GILMORE]

” Other than a publicity stunt”

WHY – IS THAT NOT ENOUGH?! CLEARLY YOU ARE A WARMONGERING WOMAN-HATING CISPIG

[sloopyinTEXAS]

Mmmmmmm, cispig.

/Homer

[GILMORE]

“Code Pink has remained somewhat consistent in their protests. “

Really? because this time they were there to agitate for *Kissinger’s* arrest…For ‘crimes’ committed around 40 years ago?

Sometime between the vietnam war and now they seem to have been slightly sidetracked…

[sloopyinTEXAS]

In their defense, (NRA pretest lunacy aside) they’ve had plenty of other wars to get sidetracked about and forget Kissinger.

And they’ve at least bitched when Obama expanded the murderdrone war.

[GILMORE]

” they’ve at least bitched “

Last i checked, this is their sole M.O.

[Apatheist ?_??]

As sloopy said, Code Pink and Cindy Sheehan have remained consistent, its just that the liberal press doesn’t give them the time of day anymore.

[Cytotoxic]

Consistently stupid.

[Ted S.]

John McCain:

Please go fuck yourself.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Mail him a dildo first.

[Injun, as in from India]

The man does not need a dildo. His buddy Lindsey Graham’s head is kind of shaped like one.

[The Hyperbole]

Dildo? send him a pineapple or box grater.

[BardMetal]

Am I allowed to be against the war and still think code pink are a bunch of socialist cunts?

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

I will allow it.

[Sevo]

If you’re not, at least you’ve got lots of company.

[Medical Physics Guy]

Any volunteers to join them up and start converting people?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Do socialist cunts taste or feel any different from capitalist cunts?

[Injun, as in from India]

Only if you’re fully drunk on Victory Gin.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Thick grey ’70s bush. Enjoy.

[C. Anacreon]

Also, an ash-like, sooty discharge.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

That’s just the cilia on the vaginal walls sweeping out the cobwebs.

[Cdr Lytton]

Do socialist cunts taste or feel any different from capitalist cunts?

Let’s bring ken in for the ruling.

[Mike M.]

generally anti-war founders like George Washington

Is that the same George Washington who took part in the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, and ruthlessly put down the Whiskey Rebellion?

[Pro Libertate]

He was anti-European wars, anyway. STAY OUT. And he was fucking right.

[Mock-star]

Also he was 10 feet tall and had 3 dicks

[Pro Libertate]

Well, yeah, duh.

[Wasteland Wanderer]

I heard the motherfucker had, like, 30 goddamn dicks.

[Wasteland Wanderer]

Is that the same George Washington who took part in the French and Indian War…

Took part? Dude basically fucking started it (though, to be fair, it was probably going to happen anyway).

[BigT]

Monsieur McCain n’est pas Charlie.

[The Other Kevin]

It’s about time Obama increased spending, what with the draconian cuts and flat spending I keep hearing about.

[John]

The evil Republicans have reduced federal spending to 20% of GNP. It is Somalia out there.

[DesigNate]

Don’t tell shriek. He still thinks Obama is the fucking second coming and has only ever wanted to reduce spending or something equally retarded.

[Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!]

“And when I’m president, I will go line by line to make sure that we are not spending money unwisely”

[Bobarian (hyphenated-american)]

I see no evidence that he didn’t mean to say ‘wisely’ in that sentence.

[Sevo]

So the Greeks are going to re-hire the government char-women, and as a result, Greek two-year paper is now returning (more than symbol) 16%.

“Greece’s New Leaders Act Swiftly to Reverse Austerity
Measures to Halt Privatizations, Rehire Public Workers Trigger Greek Market Selloff”
http://www.wsj.com/articles/gr…..1422485168

Are they hoping the Germans are going to smile paying 16% and getting 0.25%?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

That didn’t take long.

[Rhywun]

Well, I guess hiring a bunch of pubsec workers to sit around doing nothing is pretty much the opposite of “austerity”. Bravo, Greece.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Sen. John McCain called anti-war protesters from Code Pink who interrupted a Senate Armed Services Committee meeting “low-life scum.”

They should all show up in Jane Fonda masks.

[Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!]

A heart attack inducer for sure.

[Winston]

President Barack Obama’s budget will be formally revealed on Monday. It will call for a full reverse of any sequester cuts (whatever hasn’t already been reversed, one assumes) and a 7 percent ($74 billion) increase in spending.

So much for the fiscally responsible Democrats. The Republicans suck so Obama was going to be better right?

[Coeus]

JUST A TINY PROBLEM WITH THAT NFL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PSA

However, this ad also doesn’t really demand anything more from us than the status quo. At the end, it says “When it’s hard to talk, it’s up to us to listen.” But if the only thing we’re being asked to do is have compassion after someone has already experienced violence, we’re accepting that violence as a part of culture. We’re conceding something I’d rather not ? that we can’t prevent men from beating women. We can only care for these women’s wounds.

And, I’m sorry, but that’s bullshit. Call me na?ve, but I believe there’s something more we can do. I believe we have it within us, if we actually commit ourselves to full social, political, and economic equality, to end violence against women. Part of that requires a deeply uncomfortable conversation directly targeted at men, most of whom would never think of themselves as abusive or violent, but nonetheless were reared in a culture that has found violence against women acceptable.

That’s much nicer than what I was gonna call you.

[Ted S.]

I’ve said it before, but even the original two-game suspension with the concomitant loss of salary was more of a punishment for Ray Rice than what he got from the legal system, which is supposed to be handling these cases.

[DesigNate]

Did it start with a c and with a t?

Oh shit, I just proved that I was reared in a culture of violence and woman hate!

[Ted S.]

I don’t think she’s a casuist.

[Doghouse Riley Jr.]

A carrot?

[UnCivilServant]

A Civet?

[trshmnster the terrible]

A carport?

[Sevo]

I’m surprised we didn’t get a reprise of the ‘wymenz beaten on Super Bowl Sunday’ myths.

[Zeb]

I head a new one this year. Apparently football fans just love to rape children after the big game.

[DesigNate]

I know I’m planning on sending a quad out to Arizona to round up as many children as possible for processing and entrance into the child sex slave operation I run with STEVE SMITH.

[d3x / dt3]

WHY YOU TALK ABOUT THAT IN BLOG?

YOU PROMISE IT OUR SECRET!

[Winston]

Are Libertarians Looking for Results or Self-Congratulation?

There’s a big difference between trying to win people over and merely trying to feel good about ourselves.

Sheldon Richman | January 25, 2015

Hypocrite.

[John]

The same publication that hired Dave Weigal and Sheldon Richman asked today without irony why the Republicans have a thing for schmucks.

[BardMetal]

Hat tip?

[John]

Yes. I am totally stealing that. It was fucking brilliant Bard. Brilliant.

[Cytotoxic]

BOOM

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

He really shat the bed today.

[John Titor]

The best part about that article is that anyone with decent writing ability could have spun it in a much better way. You could have had an actual discussion about the ethics of soldiers in combat zones, how government policy can result in soldiers doing or being forced to do horrible things under penalty of court-martial, etc. Instead it’s all just references to the Nazis and spree shooters to invoke an emotional reaction.

[Fist of Etiquette]

…Dartmouth announced today that it will prohibit all students, regardless of age, from possessing or drinking hard alcohol on campus.

Existing students should be grandfathered in or be given a tuition refund!

[Rhywun]

Reason #45 to not live on campus.

[C. Anacreon]

And in an unrelated story, apartment rental prices in Hanover, New Hampshire shot up 600% today.

[Mike Laursen]

re: “They were there to call for the arrest of Henry Kissinger, who was there to give a speech, for war crimes.”

Fucking Henry Kissinger is still fucking alive?!

[Pro Libertate]

So is Kirk Douglas!

[Rhywun]

Don’t forget Lou Reed!

[Pro Libertate]

Actually, despite comments to the contrary, he’s dead. But not Abe Vigoda!

[Rhywun]

despite comments to the contrary, he’s dead

What???

[Pro Libertate]

I know. I’m sorry.

[Sevo]

And Francisco Franco!

[Homple]

That’s Generalissimo Francisco Franco to you, buddy.

[d3x / dt3]

Don’t call him buddy, pal!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

And Fish!

[Pro Libertate]

I said that already!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I missed!

/I bow.

[Pro Libertate]

I’m actually one of the few people who watched the spin-off show, Fish.

[MJGreen]

And he’s sexually active!?

[Ted S.]

Learning all the wrong lessons from the prohibition, the drug wars, and the general, overall history of human behavior, Dartmouth announced today that it will prohibit all students, regardless of age, from possessing or drinking hard alcohol on campus.

I didn’t think my alma mater could get any stupider.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Did you blog while you were there?

[Ted S.]

I was doing the news the morning Bush 41 threw up in the lap of the Japanese Prime Minister.

God I miss those obnoxiously loud AP wire machines.

[Dances-with-Trolls]

So, will PM Lynx finally kill the sniper thread?

[Doghouse Riley Jr.]

I don’t know, give it a shot.

[Dances-with-Trolls]

/narrows eyes in Swiss fashion

[Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!]

Thanks, Dances w/Trolls.

[Ted S.]

People are still posting to it?

[Dances-with-Trolls]

I think it’s finally down to John, Tony, and Irish, but it’s been going strong all damn day.

[Rhywun]

I knew immediately it would hit at least 500. Let’s see if they can go for 1,000.

[Sevo]

Just looked; Tony is explaining something about libertarianism.
I left.

[Rhywun]

Wow, it’s officially bottomed out then.

[John]

When Jackland Ace showed up, I was done.

[Bobarian (hyphenated-american)]

I was busy today.

[AlmightyJB]

Me too. Do I even want to know?

[Irish]

“I think it’s finally down to John, Tony, and Irish, but it’s been going strong all damn day.”

Tony still believes the Iraq War was fought for oil because feelings tell him so.

[Medical Physics Guy]

Sheldon articles, as Guy Vidra put it, “travel well” around here

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

This morning’s article was TWA flight 800.

[Sevo]

Got legs.

[DesigNate]

Doubtful.

[John Titor]

That thread needs to go on for days, maybe weeks. Make it the Centralia PA of threads. Richman deserves it.

[BigT]

Richman drives eyeballs to Reason, gets raise. Is that what you want?

[UnCivilServant]

Depends, did he have to pluck out his own eyes to achieve it?

[Coeus]

I’ve written before that women who are targeted by the police, particularly trans and gender non-conforming women, are rarely candidates for “innocence.” They are seen as disposable, far from being moral actors. Jessie Hernandez is already being painted negatively, already being blamed for her own death at the hands of the state. To the police, and surely much of the media that will cover her death, she was a wild, pot-smoking lesbian who used her car as a weapon against the police.

And what if she was? Does that truly justify being killed?

Let’s talk for a moment about what constitutes “justified.” I recall a white man in Aurora, CO ? just outside of Denver ? getting out unscathed after shooting up a movie theater, killing and injuring dozens. If an armed, dangerous person can be apprehended safely ? as surely he should have been ? why wasn’t this possible for the unarmed Jessie Hernandez? Why does this seem so impossible for people of color in general? How is it that the bodies of people of color are, on their own, a bigger threat to officers than a white guy with multiple firearms?

White supremacy is how. A system meant by design to exert control over communities can do little else.

Anybody want to tear that apart for me? we can start with the fact that the guy was out of ammo.

[Ted S.]

I think you need to fix your quoting.

[Rhywun]

Anybody want to tear that apart for me?

Leave the crazy alone and move on.

[Coeus]

block quote fail

[John]

The Aurora example is a really good one. Somehow the police managed to not shoot a raging lunatic who just murdered a dozen or however many people. Yet, they constantly shoot much less dangerous people in the name of officer safety.

It seems to me that they shoot people because they are not dangerous. If you are really dangerous, like the guy in Aurora, they seem to back off a bit.

[d3x / dt3]

Because in Aurora, the officers weren’t in danger, just everyone else. There’s no reason to shoot him!

Police = crime historians

[Tonio]

What part of that, other than the link, is a quote?

[Coeus]

every thing before

Anybody want to tear that apart for me? we can start with the fact that the guy was out of ammo.

[Riesen]

Here are some irrefutable arguments that I got from a derpbook group.

We were talking about the right to discriminate. I don’t know how I made it out alive. Do I win a prize? I mean, in a 10-minute period, I had:

Roadz!

government = society!

Stop watching Fox News!

Affirmative Action is different!

It was ok for MLK to be in jail because he broke the law!

You’re an anarchist!

If you don’t like America, well you can just get out, go start your own island country somewhere!

Libertarians say, “I want to run red lights dammit, fuck everyone.”

A Non-Aggression Principle? I didn’t vote for that!

The ONLY way libertarianism would ever work is if everything was divided equally by the government, and there was a even playing field for everyone.

Refusing to allow a black man to buy gas when he’s on empty is infringing on his rights… How was he suppose to know that gas station would be racist…and what if there isn’t another gas station for miles? When that black man pays taxes which goes to the roads which that gas pump owner recieves his gas to pump by…

You are ok with the world going to shit as long as its not inconveniencing someone to accommodate a Black man.

I like libraries, and state parks.

So if you owned a canned soup company, you wouldn’t want the mean old government telling you to hire more employees to check can’s for animal waste, right? Or to pay more taxes so that poor kids could get a better education?

[Ted S.]

What are you doing on facebook?

[Riesen]

Mostly staying in touch with relatives who say I’m bitter and angry for posting Reason articles about… well, pretty much anything.

[Dances-with-Trolls]

Punishing himself, obviously.

[Injun, as in from India]

This is why I don’t open my mouth on Derpbook.

Speaking of which, there is fanatic proggie at work who found out that I don’t tow the leftist line. He got sick recently, and I send him a “get well soon” note and offered help if he need any. Guess what? I got NO response at all, while his co-religionists who sent similar notes did.

Thin skin and a lack of tolerance seems to be a general pattern that I’m noticing more and more.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

A rather unsporting and pathetic individual I would say.

[Doghouse Riley Jr.]

He did say “fanatic proggie”.

[Bobarian (hyphenated-american)]

WE TOW LIONS AROUND HERE!

[Wasteland Wanderer]

Accuse him of racism. Watch him squirm.

[Derpetologist]

Their comments would make an excellent addition to the Derponomicon.

http://platedlizard.blogspot.c…..art-1.html

[Derpetologist]

Yesterday I was watching MSNBC at 2 AM again. One of the topics was the proposed 529 tax. I advise getting a good strong drink and taking several deep breaths before reading further.

OK. Here is the reason they said it was a good idea. The reason it’s a good idea is because no one would be able to save enough to actually pay for 4 years of college. Yes, that is what they actually said. “We shouldn’t give tax breaks on saving because people aren’t saving enough.”

Later, they were talking about SYRIZA. The said this would be like the Occupy movement winning power in the US. They were relieved that leftists were in power again to save old people from starving in the streets.

But I do have good news. I have lost 17 pounds so far this month. I have another 30 or so to go. I eat one good meal per day, avoid beer, and workout for 5 or 6 hours at night. I mostly walk uphill on a treadmill since that burns a lot of calories and I can do it for long periods. I also mix in some running and weights.

[John]

Tony and Jackland Ace are corpse fucking the Richman Chris Kyle thread. It is like a intergalactic vortex of ignorance and stupidity over there.

[GILMORE]

” corpse fucking “

is that when people show up to a dead thread to deliver their belated intellectual ‘coup de grace’?

cute

[John]

Yes

[Andrew S.]

Most commonly seen with Tulpa sockpuppets in police brutality threads.

[Bobarian (hyphenated-american)]

It’s been Tony SOP for years.

[Derpetologist]

I’d better go take a look. Stay back- I’m a professional.

? When there’s somethin’ dumb
On the internet
Who ya gonna call?
DERPBUSTERS!

[sound of proton pack powering on]

[Stormy Dragon]

I eat one good meal per day, avoid beer, and workout for 5 or 6 hours at night.

I think I’ll just live with dying sooner.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

No beer? The cure sounds worse than the disease.

[Derpetologist]

As the French say, you must suffer to be beautiful.

I haven’t given up beer completely. I might get a bottle of Arrogant Bastard to celebrate my progress.

Speaking of beer, make sure you try the Shiner Birthday Stout. That stuff is amazing. It’s like drinking a brownie.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

I get a discount on Stone Products. 100%.

Unfortunately, I’ve already consumed my quota for the entire year. I can’t wait til next January.

[BigT]

Thanks for the recommendation of Shiner Birthday Stout – I love that type of beer.

For a diet, I simply eat a banana for breakfast, a baked potato or a bowl of soup for lunch, a decent dinner, and a snack of popcorn in the evening with a couple of beers. I’m within 10 lbs of what I weighed at 18. I find that as long as I feel hungry for at least an hour each day – usually right before lunch – I won’t gain any weight.

And I don’t exercise much – walk the dog and shovel the walk.

[The DerpRider]

One meal per day?

[Derpetologist]

Yes. Typically a footlong sub with lots of veggies and chips.

[GILMORE]

“Yesterday I was watching MSNBC at 2 AM again”<?I

Jesus man, why not take up heroin. Its healthier.

” avoid beer”

GAH!!

[Derpetologist]

I have to watch something to keep my brain occupied during my marathon workouts.

[Bobarian (hyphenated-american)]

Add in some strength training and a little more calories. That kind of crashing your doing can be bad for you and hurt your physical improvements.

Change up your work-out some.

[Medical Physics Guy]

Speaking of learning all the wrong lessons, UK edition:

Men must prove a woman said ‘Yes’ under tough new rape rules

New guidance will be issued to all police forces and prosecutors as part of a ‘toolkit’ to move rape investigations into the 21st century

[Matrix]

So guilty until proven innocent now?

[Medical Physics Guy]

It looks just horrifying. And the Telegraph is supposed to be the conservative rag but they cheer for it.

Laws like this are being passed all the time in the UK. I never see even a solitary voice stand up for process. I don’t get it.

[Zeb]

Conservative seems to mean something quite different over there than it does in the US.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Rufus’s Edict: You must date 535.5 days before you fornicate.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

.5? Better make sure you start the relationship early in the morning.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Inspired by a joke on WKRP. After hearing couples have sex 2.12. times a month (I forget the number), Dr. Johnny Fever wondered how they calculate the .12 part.

[Dry End of the Titanic]

And notice, no comment section. The Telegraph has really shot itself in the foot.

I would love to see their online audience figures these last couple of months since they fired all their bloggers and severly curtailed commenting

[Coeus]

We believe that broader social attitudes are slowly changing as, for example, we better recognise that girls who are sexually exploited by older men do not ‘consent’ to their abuse, and that men in positions of power target and abuse vulnerable victims.”

I’m sure it’s just a coincidence that that happens to raise the sexual market value of older women.

[Matrix]

I know a girl who, since her early teens, had relationships with teachers and older men. She never considered herself a victim because she wanted those relationships.

I wonder how many other girls are like that.

[Calidissident]

Dude, honest question? Do you read /r/theredpill on Reddit? Because that is the only other place I’ve ever seen the term “sexual market value” used.

[Coeus]

That term has been in use for decades. I generally only use reddit for niche porn.

[Injun, as in from India]

How long until women are replaced with sex bots?

I don’t think prostitution will ever get legalized. SoCons and “feminists” won’t allow women to make that sort of choice with their bodies.

[Zeb]

Feminists are far from agreement on the subject. And it’s legal in a lot of Europe. Isn’t being more like Europe everything to progressives?

[Coeus]

They tried to preemptively ban them in Canada already.

[C. Anacreon]

How long until women are replaced with sex bots?

How long until the sex bots start claiming they didn’t consent?

[Doghouse Riley Jr.]

“Dammit, I clicked the EULA! I know I clicked the EULA!”

[Stormy Dragon]

Irony:

Jewish leader trapped and arrested inside Auschwitz

[Bam!]

You know who else locked people in Auschwitz?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Bakers?

[Ted S.]

It was 10,000 spoons when all he needed was a knife?

[LongTimeListenerFistTimeCaller]

Those Jersey teens in the snow removal thread got off pretty easy. Here in Utah, the cops threaten to arrest you, then assault you when you get pissed off, and then shoot and kill you for defending yourself.

This happened a couple of blocks from my house

[LongTimeListenerFistTimeCaller]

You will all be shocked to discover that the body cam failed to catch the actual homicide, and the local media have let the cops do the standard character assassination on the dude. His friends that live in the neighborhood claim otherwise.

[GILMORE]

“Dartmouth announced today that it will prohibit all students, regardless of age, from possessing or drinking hard alcohol on campus.”

OBLIGATORY

[Carl ?s the level]

Microsoft to Invest in Rogue Android Startup Cyanogen

People familiar with the matter say Microsoft is putting money into Cyanogen, which is building a version of the Android mobile-operating system outside of Google’s auspices.

Microsoft would be a minority investor in a roughly $70 million round of equity financing that values Cyanogen in the high hundreds of millions, one of the people said. The person said the financing round could grow with other strategic investors that have expressed interest in Cyanogen because they’re also eager to diminish Google’s control over Android. The identity of the other potential investors couldn’t be learned.

The investment would be unusual, because Microsoft offers its own Windows Phone mobile operating system. But Windows Phone has only about 3% market share, which may be prompting Microsoft to consider unconventional steps.

Android was intended as an “open source” operating system that hardware makers can deploy in their devices for free. Yet Google has frustrated manufacturers in recent years by requiring them to feature Google apps and set Google search as the default for users, in exchange for access to the search engine, YouTube, or the millions of apps in its Play Store.

[Timon 19]

MS is going to ruin a truly-open alternative to Android.

Great.

[Carl ?s the level]

Eh, I’m going to wait and see what happens before worrying.

[Timon 19]

It’s MS. Everything they touch turns to shit.

[Emmerson Biggins]

No matter how dickish I may or may not consider Google to be, I enjoy seeing Microsoft frustrated by the “embrace and extend” strategy though.

[Stormy Dragon]

Same thing they always do:

Embrace. Extend. Extinguish.

[Carl ?s the level]

I’ll take “things everyone on any tech-related comment board already knows about, thank you” for 500, Alex.

Ooh, can you link me to the xkcd comic on standards? That hasn’t gotten stale!

Ugh.

[d3x / dt3]

Did they intend irony when they named it after a chemical warfare agent?

[Carl ?s the level]

Cyanogen, Inc. is named after CyanogenMod, which in turn is named after Cyanogen, the handle of its creator, Steve Kondik (which, presumably, is based on the chemical).

[Cytotoxic]

Question and Comment Time with Cytotoxic (yes, this is becoming a regular feature)

Today’s discussion: saving Reason from becoming total shit.

If it wasn’t already obvious that the quality of Reason articles is in decline, then Sheldon’s retarded article about how Chris Kyle = Adam Lanza should make it clear as a neon sign. Getting rid of Sheldon is certainly necessary, but it’s clear this is not the only problem at Reason. Yesterday’s nauseatingly hagiographic and ridiculously long column on Andew Sullivan written by Suderman is another mark of decline. Reason hates partisan hacks and here was Suderman giving uncritical praise for one of the worst. There’s also Reason’s and in particular Gillespie’s attempts to shoehorn statements by pop stars such as Bob Dylan into signs of The Libertarian Moment. Suderman and Welch’s insistence on the shutdown being a disaster for the GOP was another low point, with the latter doubling down and insisting that it lead to the raising of the debt ceiling.

Reason clearly needs a change of editorial leadership to filter out the bad columns and bad columnists. It needs less cultural buzz and more citical thinking. No drink: we need Postrel back as editor, an Objectivist. Either that or…someone else. His columns are always well informed and his prose is clear. He gets too much heat for his global warming stance. Ron Bailey for editor and not a dollar of donation until that happens or Reason otherwise stops pushing out shit. SOLIDAS

[John]

The biggest problem Reason has is that their staff is understandably worried about their future journalism careers. This makes them hesitant to be too critical of other journalists or get really crossways and subversive about beltway conventional wisdom.

They are understandably responding to the incentive structure that exists in the industry. I am not really sure how you fix it or where you find journalists of the truly don’t give a fuck what the other beltway journalists think variety that you want.

[Pro Libertate]

They should think of themselves as new-wave bloggers and not stinking journalists.

[Stormy Dragon]

I thought Sheldon went too far, but I also thought it was the best column on here in a long time.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

QED

[John]

Okay, that is funny and really brutal towards reason.

[Cytotoxic]

Then Reason is REALLY far gone.

[Ted S.]

Better than Bok and Payne’s pieces?

[Calidissident]

Genuinely curious in what sense? I don’t think Kyle is a hero, and don’t mind Richman or any other Reason writer writing an article stating that and I thought it was terrible. He made an awful case when he could have easily made a much more convincing, much less controversial argument instead.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Curious. How many Canadian dollars did you donate this year?

Instant poll: everyone else?

We need to find out who the heavy hitters are
Me? $250

[Ted S.]

Cytotoxic only donates Canadian Tire dollars.

[Cytotoxic]

That’s REAL money.

[Cytotoxic]

$0, because of my dis-satisfaction with content and job insecurity. I had previously donated a couple hundred dollars.

[Somalian Road Corporation]

$0. I used to regularly donate and stopped last year due to the decline in article quality.

Get Weigel’d once, shame on you. Get Richman’d after that, shame on me.

[Medical Physics Guy]

You think Postrel is an Objectivist? wut?

[Cytotoxic]

Sorry, typo. Supposed to read “OR an Objectivist”.

[John]

One of the biggest barriers to freedom in this country is the mass media. You can’t overstate how loathsome the media is and how many ways they make things worse.

Given that, any effective Libertarian publication should spare no effort in savaging and discrediting the partisan media. It is a bit hard to find journalists who are willing to make the enemies that come with doing that.

[Rhywun]

Sheldon Richman doesn’t work for Reason. Besides, who wants to read only articles that toe one specific line?

[John]

You don’t. But you want to read smart articles and fearless articles that are not afraid to offend people. Richman’s article was bad because it was stupid and poorly reasoned not because it went against the grain. The Sullivan tongue bath was just cowardly praise given to someone because they are in the same industry.

[Winston]

The Problem with Richman is that he sucks. He writes articles about the Shutdown and Jon Stewart only to go on irrelevant tangents about foreign policy. Even ignoring the dubious comparison to Adam Lanza his American Sniper article isn’t even about the book or movie but just another foreign policy rant.

[Ted S.]

Today’s discussion: saving Reason from becoming total shit.

Ban Cytotoxic’s derp about wanting to use US forces to fight his wars for him.

[ducking]

[Cytotoxic]

I know you’re joking, but that’s still retarded, and you’re still retarded. They’re not ‘my’ wars, they are the wars of anyone seriously concerned with freedom ie not you.

[FUQ]

Cytotoxic|1.29.15 @ 1:25PM|#|?|filternamelinkcustom

That’s stills silly because the regime America overthrew was a dictatorship and had no rights. Free states have the right to annex or change the regimes of unfree ones as long as they are much freer afterward.

[Juice]

No matter how many they kill to get the job done.

[John Titor]

I’ll throw my hat in for improved Reason writer. My first column:

‘Removing’ Objectivists: Euthanizing mentally ill sociopaths or late, late term abortions?

I don’t think that’s what Cytotoxic wants though.

[Tonio]

Titor, I’m starting to warm to you.

[Cytotoxic]

You’re not smart enough to be in the pool. BTW you’d better get used to us Objectivists. We’re not going anywhere, and we will win because we have the moral and intellectual equipment libertarians lack.

[John Titor]

And shockingly your definition of ‘smart’ is hardly objective. ‘Smart’ in Cytotoxic’s worldview translates to ‘only those who agree with me’.

[John Titor]

And Objectivists will always lose, largely thanks to their massive complexes and egos undermining any attempts at human interaction outside of their hive.

That and they’re too busy with wife-swapping parties.

[Enough About Palin]

You left out Dalmia’s bullshit about hyphinated-americans.

[Andrew S.]

PM link from 6 months from now: Dartmouth officials at a loss as to how to explain significant uptick in DUI arrests, traffic accidents near campus.

[LongTimeListenerFistTimeCaller]

Really good article in the New Yorker about the cops in Albuquerque, NM.

And nothing else will happen…

[Carl ?s the level]

The depths of bullshit the tax code forces companies to go to

The basic contours of the Yahoo/Alibaba situation are well known. Yahoo owns Alibaba shares worth $40 billion. Those shares are in a glass box. They look so good, sitting there, in their box. Don’t you want those shares? But be careful! If you break the box, then they stop being worth $40 billion. They become worth something like $24 billion.

The glass box is, of course, made out of taxes. If Yahoo sells the Alibaba shares, it will owe $16 billion in taxes, leaving only $24 billion of value left. If it takes the shares out of the box to give to its shareholders, it will also owe $16 billion in taxes. It needs to hand the Alibaba shares to its shareholders while they are still encased in the box. The way it plans to do this is to give the shareholders shares of “a newly formed independent registered investment company (‘SpinCo’),” which will in turn own Yahoo’s Alibaba shares. Yahoo’s shareholders won’t just get Alibaba shares and go on their merry way. They’ll get SpinCo shares. Then what?

…and it goes on from there (it’s actually somewhat interesting IMO).

[Carl ?s the level]

And the best comment:

SAm Woods ? 20 hours ago

These guys really seem to know what the heck they are talking about over there.

BestAnon.tk

[d3x / dt3]

AnonBot, you little SLUT!

[Rhywun]

Geez, way to skip out on your FAIR SHARE, Yahoo.

[Cytotoxic]

So are these ‘war crimes’ committed by Kissinger real or are they as ephemeral as Bush and Cheney’s ‘war crimes’?

[Stormy Dragon]

I would note Kissinger did win the Nobel Peace Prize. While that doesn’t conclusively prove he commited war crimes, it’s certainly probable cause to suspect he did.

[John]

He won it with his North Vietnamese counter part for ending the Vietnam war. The fact that the war ended in 1973 and the whole fall of Saigon thing in 75 was an entirely different war, has been put down the memory hole.

[John]

He bombed the Khamer Rouge in Cambodia and Nixon launched the Christmas bombing campaign that forced the communists to come to the table and agree to peace.

His war crime was bombing communists.

[Matrix]

You mean bombing communists that were massacring civilians?

[Derpetologist]

A short version of the charges against Kissinger:

http://www.goodreads.com/quote…..-kissinger

[Cytotoxic]

In other words, he’s being damned for coldly if imperfectly pursuing the interests of America and thereby securing freedom on a global scale.

I stand with Kissinger.

[Derpetologist]

You might have a different opinion on omelettes if you were an egg.

[Cytotoxic]

Wouldn’t change the dire need for omelettes.

[Irish]

Of course you do.

[Cytotoxic]

You can rely on me to do the right thing.

[Cytotoxic]

You can rely on me to do the right thing.

[Cytotoxic]

You can rely on me to do the right thing.

[Cytotoxic]

You can rely on me to do the right thing.

[d3x / dt3]

Damn! That’s some “right thing”-ing, right there!

[sasob]

Kissinger was/is a vile, amoral, elitist bastard who makes even Richard Nixon look good by comparison. Common, everyday people of other countries mean no more to him than pawns on a chessboard – toilette paper with which to wipe his shitty old ass. Fuck him.

[Derpetologist]

I’ll just leave this here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xghrs_N4Vuo

[Andrew S.]

Police K-9 attacks student at Norfolk State University. That’s not the news here. I mean, that’s news, but that’s not why this is incredible.

No, it’s incredible because this is the response of the police chief. It’s a miracle! The first time ever police officers have done anything wrong!

Since January 25th, my department has been investigating the arrest of London Colvin. While we continue to wrap up the final few interviews with witnesses and officers, I feel I have enough information to determine the use of force in Ms. Colvin’s arrest was unreasonable.

I will address my officers’ actions through our disciplinary process.

My review of the policies governing the use of police canines continue. This review will ensure that Norfolk canines are used appropriately in all circumstances. As Chief, I am responsible for the policies and procedures that govern my officers’ actions. While I expect my officers to make the best judgment in all circumstances, if the policy doesn’t support the outcomes I expect, I have failed them. I am committed to having the best trained department and I will make this right.

I will make the revised policy available once I have completed my review.

Sincerely
Chief Michael Goldsmith

Mind you, the issues should probably be handled through criminal charges and not nebulous “discipline”, but hey, it’s a start.

[Doghouse Riley Jr.]

“Chatman said Norfolk police tried asking Colvin questions about that altercation, but she refused to answer and started walking away.”

WITHOUT PERMISSION?! Look, this is a free country and that means you have to wait until the cops say you can leave.

[d3x / dt3]

I’m geasing that the response will begin and end with “more training.”

[Stormy Dragon]

Russia offers Greece a bailout:

Russia would consider aid to Greece if asked – Siluanov

[Winston]

Wonder what sort of strings they would attach…

[Rhywun]

Jesus, here we go again. I feel like I’m in high school again.

[Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!]

*roots around looking for old copy of Pax Britannica and Diplomacy*

[Rhywun]

Get ready for nuclear bomb drills – everyone to the fallout shelter!

[Pro Libertate]

Really, Russia might want to hang on to that money for its own uses.

[Winston]

You Know Which other Russian Regimes offered aid to Greece?

[Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!]

Tsar…whatshisname’s?

[grrizzly]

New Greek Government Has Deep, Long-Standing Ties With Russian ‘Fascist’ Dugin.
http://www.rferl.org/content/g…..18523.html

Dugin is also tied to Greece’s new foreign minister, Nikos Kotzias. In April 2013, Kotzias — then a professor at the University of Piraeus — invited Dugin to give a lecture on International Politics and the Eurasianist Vision. During that lecture, Dugin said that Greece should not join the Russia-led Eurasian Union, but instead should play a role “in the re-creation of the architecture of Europe” and form an “eastern pole of European identity” within the EU together with Serbia and others.

[Winston]

Does Sheldon Richman have an editor? Doesn’t look like it judging from his Shutdown and Jon Stewart articles which turn into irrelevant foreign policy rants.

[Coeus]

Halve female prisoner numbers, says minister Simon Hughes

Female offenders are a “special case” and should be treated differently to men because many had been victims themselves, he told BBC Radio 5 live Breakfast.

There are currently around 3,800 women in prison in England and Wales.

Further government measures to help stop women ending up in custody are expected to be announced later.

“There are so many women who ought not to be in prison. About half ought not to be there at all,” the minister said.

“I met a woman in her 20s the other day who clearly ought to be sectioned. Her problem is a health problem, not a criminality one. Prisons shouldn’t have to cope with that.”

Caring responsibilities
When asked why female offenders should be treated differently to men Mr Hughes said: “Women are a special case for very good, evidenced reasons. Firstly, many more women who go to prison have themselves been victims. They’ve often been abused or in violent partnerships.

“Secondly, many more women have caring responsibilities than men do.”

[Doghouse Riley Jr.]

Sounds like what the minister should really be advocating is the elimination of laws against consensual acts. Also, don’t a lot of male criminals come from abusive backgrounds? Do they lose their victim cred when they turn 18?

[Enough About Palin]

As rapeologist Robby Soave has noted, fighting assault and rape on campus actually requires colleges to do the exact opposite.

[Raven Nation]

Apologies if already covered. One hostage in Sydney cafe siege killed by fragments from ricocheting police bullet:

http://tinyurl.com/pv34awd

Testimony from other hostages that gunman executed cafe manager which then led the police to go on.

[GILMORE]

Sheldon Not Alone in Leftist Human-Pinata-Bashing!

NBC Host on Kyle = “Racist Who Went on ‘Killing Sprees’“

MOHYELDIN: A lot of his stories when he was back home in Texas, a lot of his own personal opinions about what he was doing in Iraq, how he viewed Iraqis. Some of what people have described as his racist tendencies towards Iraqis and Muslims when he was going on some of these, you know, killing sprees in Iraq on assignment. So I think there are issues….

SCARBOROUGH: Wait, wait. Killing sprees? Chris Kyle was going on killing sprees?

MOHYELDIN: When he was involved in his — on assignments in terms of what he was doing. A lot of the description that has come out from his book and some of the terminology that he has used, people have described as racist.”

its a neat trick when you as a reporter can call people “racist mass murderers” by simply saying, “Some People Suggest That…”

*What* People? You? Your friends? Isn’t it convenient when the Liberal media can report on its own mischaracterizations?

[Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!]

The passive voice was employed?

[GILMORE]

“There are those who say….”

[trshmnster the terrible]

*gaze was narrowed*

[trshmnster the terrible]

Let’s talk vaccination (as if it hasn’t been talked to death).

Woman writes CNN opinion piece about having a newborn around unvaccinated people, but DOESNT cry for regulations and laws. Is this what a Libertarian Moment feels like?

I realized that I cannot assume caretakers for my baby or my 98-year-old grandmother are vaccinated. But I am not powerless. I have the ability to do something to protect my family. I can ask those who come into contact with us whether they are vaccinated. If they’re not, then I can insist that they get vaccinated before getting near my newborn.

[GILMORE]

” Is this what a Libertarian Moment feels like?”

I think you should read the comments before you get excited. Its a multilayered onion of derp

[Matrix]

San Fran public defender arrested by police because she would not allow them to talk to her client without being present

This is America today…

[d3x / dt3]

Why do you hate Our Heroes In Blue??