A.M. Links: Obama Urges Vaccinations, Japanese PM Vows Revenge on ISIS, More Winter Predicted on Groundhog Day

|

Large image on homepages
("Groundhog Day")
  • "Groundhog Day"

    In an interview with NBC News that ran in part last night, President Obama urged parents to stop doubting the "indisputable" science and vaccinate their children.

  • The U.S. is considering sending arms to Ukraine, for defensive purposes it says.
  • Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe promised "revenge" over the beheading of a Japanese journalist by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
  • A court in Egypt has upheld the death sentence of 183 people convicted of an attack on a police station that killed one.
  • The New England Patriots defeated the Seattle Seahawks to win their fourth Super Bowl, and their first in a decade.
  • Punxsutawney Phil says six more weeks of winter. His guess is as good as any.

Follow Reason on Twitter, and like us on Facebook. You can also get the top stories mailed to you—sign up here.

NEXT: Jacob Sullum on the Upcoming Trial of the Kettle Falls Five

Ed Krayewski is a former associate editor at Reason.

Editor's Note: We invite comments and request that they be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of Reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment for any reason at any time. Report abuses.

  1. Punxsutawney Phil says six more weeks of winter.

    I got you, babe.

    1. Rufus J. Firefly

      Hello.

      We’re all Patriots now?

      /ducks.

      1. Dances-with-Trolls

        Follow up: Tom Brady. Great QB or Greatest QB?

        1. Certified Public Asskicker

          Who is it that always bitches about Brady being overrated on here? Mike M?

          1. Crusty Juggler

            Most dreamy quarterback for sure.

            1. Certified Public Asskicker

              Oh a very handsome man.

            2. Mickey Rat

              Well, apparently his junk glows, at least according to the Ted sequal trailer.

        2. Andrew S.

          Great QB. Does he become the Greatest QB because Russell Wilson threw an INT?

          1. Certified Public Asskicker

            He still lead the comeback, unfortunately.

            1. DesigNate

              Didn’t he throw 3 interceptions?

              He had a couple of good plays but he was already getting sad face until that retarded pass call by the Seahawks O.

        3. BigT

          Brady is a lot like Montana – great at throwing 5-yd passes that the receivers turn into big gains. It’s a good strategy if you have a good corps of receivers and O-line.

          1. Rufus J. Firefly

            Dude, that was a smart tactic by the team to play it that way. How is that Brady’s fault? He executed, no?

            And those two drives mean nothing?

            Come on. This shouldn’t even be a debate. The guy pretty much owns the SB record book now.

            He’s the greatest; or among the greatest.

            1. Crusty Juggler

              And he has great taste in footwear.

            2. NebulousFocus

              I have to agree with Rufus.

            3. Pope Jimbo

              It is hard to compare players across eras.

              Brady is a great QB, but the best ever? I’m not sure. For one thing, he is playing in a great system with a great coach. There have been great QB’s who have been stuck on terrible teams their entire careers.

              It also helps that he is playing in an era when they don’t let QB’s get pounded like they did in the 70’s and 80’s. Longevity helps a lot when you are racking up stats.

              Personally I don’t know who the best ever was, but it would be nice to see Brady get stuck on a dog of a team for a year or two and see how he does.

              1. Red Rocks Rockin

                Personally I don’t know who the best ever was, but it would be nice to see Brady get stuck on a dog of a team for a year or two and see how he does.

                That’s the rub, though–great QBs tend to not be on bad teams. Setting aside the obvious that the QB can’t be on the field all the time and the defense has to perform as well, there aren’t many HOF QBs that carried the whole offense on their back and still had results. Elway was in five Super Bowls, but he didn’t win one until he had a HOF offensive tackle and tight end, and the NFL MVP at running back.

                Giving Brady his due, he’s won and led teams to Super Bowls with some Pro Bowl players, but very few all-time greats. Gronk and Randy Moss are probably the only weapons he’s ever had who will end up in the HOF conversation.

                1. Pope Jimbo

                  I think the genius of Belicheck is that he gets players who are B’s physically, but are A’s in football smarts.

                  The thing that kills me about the NFL is how many players are unable to do the right thing if they haven’t been coached on how to respond to a certain situation.

                  A good example of this was the Pats putting in ineligible receivers against the Ravens and watching the Ravens cover them anyhow. A small wrinkle causes too many NFL teams to fuck up because they don’t understand the game and don’t know what to do.

                2. Rufus J. Firefly

                  It’s called the ‘Brodeur Theory’ in hockey. Take an obviously great goalie ( my friend played against Brodeur in youth hockey and even back then he was dominant) and ask how he would do on a weaker team than the Devils back in the day.

                  I don’t subscribe to it because it’s too problematic. Too many variables including ‘what ifs.’

                  1. KDN

                    Take an obviously great goalie and ask how he would do on a weaker team than the Devils back in the day.

                    Well, we know the answer in that specific case: he was still awesome. Brodeur’s last Vezina came when the team’s #2 defenseman was Mike fucking Mottau.

            4. KDN

              Dude, that was a smart tactic by the team to play it that way.

              The game was classic Brady, he’s been doing that his entire career. Nobody does screens, slants, and shovels quite like him (note: that’s not an insult).

              But no, he doesn’t catapult to the top of the best QB ever conversation because Seattle’s OC Mornhinweged the game winning play. He’s somewhere in the top 10 depending on how you adjust for era, just like he was before the season started and just where he’ll be no matter how the rest of his career goes.

              1. Rufus J. Firefly

                Perhaps but…

                “But no, he doesn’t catapult to the top of the best QB ever conversation because Seattle’s OC Mornhinweged the game winning play.”

                That’s not Brady’s fault though.

                He did his job.

                Who are the greatest? What’s the short list? Unitas, Manning, Montana, Marino, Staubach, Elway, Tarkenton, Graham Young, maybe Bradshaw?

                Man, a very good case can be built to put Brady near or at the top I argue.

                http://www.nfl.com/qs/bracketology/round1.jsp

                1. KDN

                  Man, a very good case can be built to put Brady near or at the top I argue

                  As Jimbo says, comparing across eras is exceedingly difficult. I think the the top tier is Elway, Montana, Manning, Brady, Marino, Unitas, and Graham in some order, but I don’t feel the need to split hairs beyond that.

                2. Red Rocks Rockin

                  Man, a very good case can be built to put Brady near or at the top I argue.

                  I think he’s definitely top 5 regardless of era, but Pope Jimbo’s point above is interesting–how successful would some of today’s QBs be under 1960s and 1970s passing rules? What if Kam Chancellor could have pushed around Gronk all the way down the field, or if Michael Bennett could have head-slapped Nate Solder the whole game? This is why I think Graham, Unitas, Starr, and Bradshaw are far greater than the stats might reveal, because their teams were threats to win the championship year after year in an era where QBs were essentially handcuffed.

                  Great QBs are still going to do well regardless of era, but at the same time the level of success is interesting to think about if Brady, Manning, Brees, et al. weren’t operating under Madden video game passing rules.

                  1. Pope Jimbo

                    What if the receivers today had to worry about someone like Jack Tatum?

                    How many of those 5 yard slants that they throw today would be dropped because the receiver knew they were about to lose their head to Tatum?

                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qqBaTlVVYo#t=15

                    1. Enough About Palin

                      Now THAT’S football!

            5. BigT

              RJF, how is a comparison to Montana derogatory? Many think Montana the greatest, or nearly so. But he didn’t throw long.

              Did most of the great QB’s play in great systems, or did they raise the system to a greater level of effectiveness? It’s always subjective, and varies across eras.

              For my money the greatest was Otto Graham – played pro ball 10 years and took his team to the championship gave EVERY YEAR. Can’t beat that.

              1. Rufus J. Firefly

                I didn’t say it was derogatory. FAR from it. Montana is the (unofficial?) gold standard by which we measure the great QB’s.

                Hockey goalies and pitchers. We hear these sorts of debates all the time. Makes for colorful debates.

          2. Rasilio

            Err, the Pats categorically don’t have a very good corps of recievers.

            They basically have a cast of retreads that couldn’t make it on other teams, a 7th round former QB who would probably struggle to be more than a punt returner and 4th wide reciever on almost any other team.

            The only above average recievers on the team are Gronkowski (who if he can stay healthy is probably going to the hall of fame) and Shane Vereen (a Running Back).

            Finally, while the dink and dunk short passing attack can work there is a reason why teams with actual good reciever corps don’t employ it more regularly…

            It is REALLY hard for the Quarterback because it requires frequent play changes at the line of scrimmage, fast reads of the defense, pinpoint accuracy, and a deft touch on delivering the ball and there are very few quarterbacks who can master that type of offense.

          3. CE

            Brady also seems great at throwing 25 yard passes to Gronk. And he was pretty great at throwing 45 yard passes to Randy Moss back in 2007.

        4. hamilton

          The fucking greatest QB of all time, baby.

          1. Idle Hands

            Johnny Unitas.

            1. Dan Marino.

              1. Clich? Bandit

                Joe Montana followed closely by John Elway.

                1. Montana was great. Those 49ers teams were fun to watch.

                  I think my favorite team as far as style of play goes is the original Joe Gibbs Redskins. That’s fucking football. And they never really had that all-time-great QB.

                  1. Rufus J. Firefly

                    Like in hockey, where you don’t necessarily need a superior/dominant goalie (e.g. Roy, Hasek, Brodeur), you don’t really ‘need’ a top-tier QB if the team/system is strong.

                    The Red Wings were a dynasty and did it with Vernon/Osgood. Not exactly all-time greats.

                    1. Gibbs’ teams had great defenses, power running, and a deadly deep threat when they’d beat you down with the running game. I prefer that style of football, and the idea that it’s no longer relevant is silly. The problem today is that defense is at an all-time low in quality. Even Seattle, top-ranked as they are, doesn’t consistently dominate like great defenses in the past have.

                      I suspect this will fade as some enterprising coach decides to exploit the opportunities presented by everyone gearing up for pass, pass, pass, though you can’t ignore the problems created by the rules now making defensive violence, well, impolite.

              2. Mickey Rat

                Passer, maybe, not quarterback.

            2. BigT

              Otto Graham – played 10 years, made it to 10 championship games.

              1. CE

                Against a bunch of skinny guys without helmets.

        5. Follow up: Tom Brady. Great QB or Greatest QB?

          Much as I dislike him, I can’t deny that he is on the shortest list of greats. The bastard.

          1. CE

            I hate the Pats, but it’s obvious that Brady is the greatest QB of all time. He has the stats to rank with Manning and Favre and Marino, and the championships to rank with Montana and Bradshaw and Starr. None of the other great QBs have both.

            1. Bones

              And yet if Seattle hands off to Marshawn and wins the game instead of making the worst situational play call I’ve ever seen, we’re not having this same conversation today about Brady.

              He’s won 4 Super Bowls by a total of 13 points and each one with an asterisk. He could easily be the guy who lost 6 Super Bowls, but he has an all-time great coach (who cheats), had a HOF kicker, a great defense, a great running game, and some of the best o-lines we’ve ever seen. When he missed a season his team still won 11 games.

              Manning and Luck straddled a 2 win team without them. They have not had great coaches, or running games, or defenses, and have lost post-season games due to special teams, something that hasn’t happened once for the Pats in the Brady/Belichick era. Not once. Put Brady on those Colts teams and see how many rings he has. Put Elway on a Belichick team and see how many he has. Put Marino on those Bills teams. Love Kelly but come on.

              The easy way to see who is best is to swap wives, so to speak. Brady has a rabbit’s foot up his ass, planted there by Belichick, rubbed down with the devil’s cum jerked off of a leprechaun. He just won a Super Bowl because the other team had a brain fart at the one yard line. He couldn’t be any luckier than that.

              1. Ivoted4KODOS

                Ha! Bones, I looked you up in Webster’s under “Tiny-D Hater”. He threw 4 TD’s against the same Defense crowned “the greatest” and that dismantled Manning in last year’s SB. Been to 6 SB with 3 different rosters, 9 AFC championship games, 12 Division Titles and the highest winning percentage EVA for a QB. By all means, compare Montana and Graham and Unitas to him, but calling him “lucky” unmasks you as a tiny, jealous and dishonest little twirp.

    2. Andrew S.

      What do you think this is, FoE? Miami Beach?

      1. Pal, you got that moisture on your head.

    3. Zeb

      The trick with Groundhog day is that it falls roughly 6 weeks before the start of spring. So no matter what, you get 6 more weeks of winter.

      1. CE

        Sort of like if the president says “the state of the union… is strong” during the state of the union address, the national debt will go up that year?

  2. The New England Patriots defeated the Seattle Seahawks to win their fourth Super Bowl, and their first in a decade.

    The Ends Justify The Means Bowl.

    1. Certified Public Asskicker

      Welp. pic.twitter.com/PBxAV8t3PZ

      ? Jared Smith (@jaredwsmith) February 2, 2015

      [removed][removed]

      1. Clich? Bandit

        ohh shit

      2. Juice

        OMG. LFMAO.

    2. gaijin

      New England PatriotsPete Carroll defeated the Seattle Seahawks

      fixed!

      1. Andrew S.

        I’m 37 years old. The earliest I remember watching football was at 5 or 6, which would have been 1982 or 1983.

        That was the single worst play call I’ve seen in those 32+ years of watching football.

        1. Drake

          Carroll made some sense saying he planned to run it multiple times. If he was going to do that, they had to throw it at least once – to either stop the clock or get the touchdown.

          1. Running the ball in from the 1 yard line against an 8-man front is not automatic at all – I don’t care who your running back is.

            I’ve seen the great Steelers teams hold Earl Campbell to 14 yards rushing for the game.

          2. gaijin

            they had a timeout left with which to stop the clock.

            1. Drake

              One timeout – they would have had to use it after the next running play if they didn’t score.

          3. Mickey Rat

            Throwing it into the middle of the defense was bad. The play depended on deception and the Pats secondary read the play before the ball was snapped. The Seahawks were depending on Butler not knowing what to do.

        2. TwB

          I’m torn about it. On one hand, yeah, Lynch would probably have scored if Seattle ran the ball there but, Seattle didn’t have their goal line offensive personnel in there at the time. And, I imagine Bevell and Carroll knew they would have to throw once during the 4 downs to score. So, they rolled the dice on second down, but chose the worst possible pass play imaginable. When they set up in shotgun, I thought they would fake to Lynch and have Wilson run it in, or run a jet sweep w/ one of the WRs from left to right, but no, they decided to throw the ball in the middle of the fucking field w/ 8 Patriot defenders in the middle of the field. Idiocy. And a great play by Butler to pick off that pass, too. Overall, that was a great Super Bowl.

          1. Brian D

            I heard it said that Lynch was only 1-for-5 this season on getting into the end zone from the 1-yard line, so running against a goal line defense might not be his forte.

          2. mr lizard

            Ya they should have sent #13 to the outside left corner, and lobbed it up. That guy is almost as by as Calvin Johnson.

            1. Matthews stopped being effective when they switched from the 5’11 Arrington to the 6’4 Browner. Matthews’ success was all in using his physical advantages against a short CB.

              One of the real problems for the Seahawks was not having a WR who could beat man-to-man coverage.

              1. TwB

                Yup. None of the Seattle WRs could get any separation on the NE corners. And where the hell was Luke Willson, the Seattle tight end? He didn’t even have a catch the entire game. I guess NE’s linebackers had him locked down, too.

                1. CE

                  Should have kept Golden Tate.

            2. TwB

              Seattle couldn’t do that in the second half because NE put 6’4″ corner Brandon Browner on Matthews after half time and consequently, Matthews pretty much got shut down for the rest of the game.

          3. Idle Hands

            I kind of think they were anticipating Belichick to call the timeout, and when he didn’t they panicked.

        3. Idle Hands

          Someone will be fired.

        4. CE

          The play call was fine. The QB needs to throw it away if the receiver isn’t open. Stop giving Wilson a pass.

      2. Rufus J. Firefly

        Lynch would have likely scored but overall, the Pats were the better team.

        Part hubris, part trying to confuse the Pats was how I see the decision. But it wasn’t that crazy. Apparently the Seahawks used that play 66 times this year without an INT.

        And that catch. I couldn’t believe it given once again it was the Pats.

        Great game though.

        1. CampingInYourPark

          “Apparently the Seahawks used that play 66 times this year without an INT.”

          I doubt they used it in a field confined to 11 yards 66 times. It was a stupid call.

          1. Rufus J. Firefly

            Heard it on the radio. Unless I misheard.

      3. Matrix

        Technically, the OC made the call, but Carroll could have and SHOULD have vetoed the call. It should have been Run, Run, Pass, Pass/Run in that sequence. They had one timeout. Though their poor management of timeouts and getting plays off cost them extra opportunties at the end.

        Marshawn Lynch – I’m just here to not run the ball on the 1 yard line.

      4. The fucking refs blew the call, I think, on that incredible catch that got them downfield.

        I think they left the clock running, and forced the Seahawks to take a time out, which I think is why Carroll opted to throw. If he’d had another time out, I don’t think he would have thrown.

        That catch was clearly made when nobody was touching the receiver, and he was then knocked out of bounds. Clock should have stopped, but I think it didn’t.

        I wasn’t paying super-close attention, so maybe I missed it.

        1. KDN

          I was in shock over the catch and wasn’t paying attention to the clock, but I can see this being the case. The officiating was subpar overall.

        2. Teaching Student

          The clock had stopped. Seattle had to take a Time Out because they let the play clock run all the way down.

    3. The only thing better would have been Seattle losing on a bad refereeing call.

    4. Drake

      The Haters gonna hate bowl.

      1. Crusty Juggler

        the Pats just shook it off.

    5. BigT

      A great ending – two thug teams brawling like thugs. Too bad New England couldn’t have lost, too.

    6. Zeb

      It’s the “oh good, now people might shut up about football for a few months” bowl.

  3. Andrew S.

    New Rochelle, NY Police Department: What, that video you saw of the cop pulling a gun on a bunch of kids having a snowball fight? Totally didn’t happen! There was a 911 call! About a man with a gun! What? No, we can’t release the audio of that call! But we’ll release a transcript! You guys will totally believe a transcript, right?

    1. Charles Easterly

      Step back!
      http://mashable.com/2015/01/30…..-main-link

      1. Old Man With Candy

        Was that Dunphy?

        1. Charles Easterly

          Having read (too many of) Dunphy’s comments, I’m confide he would explain to us what that was a “good spray” and end with “Winning!” for good measure.

          1. Charles Easterly

            Allow me to try again:

            Having read (too many of) Dunphy’s comments, I’m confident that he would explain to us how that was a “good spray” and end his post with “Winning!” for good measure.

            Sheesh.

      2. Matrix

        Copologists are saying “well, they shouldn’t be blocking the street. The teacher was walking on the sidewalk… I really hate copologists. I was attacked on Facebook for saying, “You people who support using violence against peaceful protests sicken me. Stop defending tyranny.”
        I was called a commie among other names.

        And naturally people were putting out the whole “well, call a crackhead” meme or “let’s have the police not do anything for X amount of time and see how you like it.”

        My response was, “this is like saying that a kid that is abused or molested by their parents should go live on the street and see how much better they have it.” As if we should accept police brutality and unaccountability so they can sometimes arrest bad people.

        1. Charles Easterly

          It can be infuriating.

        2. Old Man With Candy

          Given who the guy was (and that he is of course lawyered up and looking for more publicity and a payday), I can only think of that famous Kissinger quote. “It’s a pity they can’t both lose.”

          1. Zeb

            that famous Kissinger quote. “It’s a pity they can’t both lose.”

            Kissenger said that? I bet a lot of people have come up with that one independently.

        3. let’s have the police not do anything for X amount of time and see how you like it

          Didn’t we try that in NY recently?

          Worked pretty well, as I recall.

      3. Pope Jimbo

        I’m sure if those anti-American, dope smoking hippies had provided more of the video, you would have seen the other cops tackle the female cop who sprayed the poor innocent guy (and the old granny).

        SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURE!

        Why do I still watch this shit? My guts are still rumbling from the bad food I ate yesterday and now this.

      4. See? It’s not just cops too fat to chase people who resort to immediate pepper spray and taser usage. It’s cops easily physically intimidated, too.

        1. Charles Easterly

          That was my initial impression. There seemed to be more than a bit of panic and a lot of fear in her voice.

  4. Bee Tagger

    Punxsutawney Phil says six more weeks of winter.

    Once, when in high school, a groundhog ran full-steam into my leg while I was just standing there mowing the lawn. I took that as a prediction of 6 weeks of being terrified to be in that part of the yard.

    1. Florida Man

      Do ground hogs have poor vision or was he attacking you?

      1. Bee Tagger

        No idea. I thought it was the family dog at first out of the corner of my eye so my poor vision led to me being attacked.

        1. Florida Man

          Lol. That’s weird.

    2. Charles Easterly

      A moose once bit my sister….

    3. db

      Generally mowing the lawn goes better 8f you’re walking instead of standing.

      1. Bee Tagger

        That’s a pretty poor way of capturing the odd combination of feeling oppressed and self-sabotage that is being required to do something you don’t want to do as a teenager but then making it take as long as possible to get back at the world.

        1. db

          If a teenager shows that he can complete a chore efficiently, he is more likely to be assigned additional chores.

          /teenage brain

          1. SugarFree

            Is that the teenage brain or just simple logic? Doing a job well only means you get more work while the other dipshits around you just float along in a happy fog.

            1. Pope Jimbo

              One of the theorems that I have developed in the corporate world is that if you do a good job on a shitty task no one else wants to do, you will be continually passed over from promotions. This is because the managers say “If we promote Pope Jimbo to this new fun role – that he obviously could do – then who would do the shitty task? I know, let’s promote Bob instead that way we don’t have to find someone else to do the shitty task.”

              I have literally had to blackmail myself out of at least a dozen roles because of that. I would unfuck a situation and then instead of being rewarded, I would be trapped.

              1. SugarFree

                Every manager should have the entire text of this tattooed on their back.

              2. JEP

                A thousand times what Pope Jimbo said.

                A lot of people say that you need to create a niche so that you have job security. The problem is that by finding that niche, you’re making yourself a single point failure, so by definition the company will never give you the opportunity to do anything else.

                My problem is that I identify what needs to be done and I do it. When entering a new company or position, there are going to be voids of sucky work that no one else wants to do. So, when I come in, I naturally find the void of sucky work and fill it, forever dooming myself.

                Other people suck.

            2. kilroy

              Don’t do well what you don’t want to do.

            3. Zeb

              I imagine it depends on the teenager (and their parents). When doing chores at home, the incentives are a bit different from the work world.

    4. TwB

      I grew up in the country and saw groundhogs from time to time. I remember an old neighbor of mine saying that groundhogs might look all cute and such but he said to never corner one because they will rush at you, and they have really sharp teeth. And those little bastards would burrow under almost anything, including one of our barns. Luckily our 80 pound Labrador Retriever decided to chase off the groundhog one day and that was that.

      1. Sharp teeth or not, groundhogs are no match for a Lab. I’m surprised yours didn’t have it for dinner.

      2. Pope Jimbo

        The farm I grew up on had a lot of groundhogs and pocket gophers. It was heaven on earth for a kid with a 22 and summer vacation time to kill.

      3. Zeb

        So, is a groundhog the same thing as a woodchuck?

  5. Rufus J. Firefly

    “In an interview with NBC News that ran in part last night, President Obama urged parents to stop doubting the “indisputable” science and vaccinate their children.”

    There he goes playing with big words again. Someone should give him a GI Joe doll before he speaks.

  6. Notorious G.K.C.

    “President Obama urged parents to stop doubting the “indisputable” science and vaccinate their children.”

    Shorter Obama: “You SWPLs were dumb enough to vote for me, but please don’t be so dumb as to oppose vaccinating your kids!”

  7. Crusty Juggler

    If there is one thing I learned while watching the game last night, it is that I should purchase Nationwide insurance so that I do not not kill any children.

    1. SugarFree

      Most of the commercials were downers. If I wanted to be depressed, I’d go to the mall.

      1. Clich? Bandit

        uhh, it was NE vs SEA…One of them had to win so it was already depressing. The adverts just stuck with the theme.

    2. I’m not even sure how the connection between “having homeowners insurance” and “my kid won’t die in a household accident” is made. Does Nationwide offer/require a home safety inspection as part of signing people up?

      1. Rhywun

        Probably – the insurance company I work for inspects all new properties and I imagine all of them do it. If you meet certain conditions you will be required to fix them before we will cover you.

        1. Rhywun

          Grrr – if you DON’T meet certain conditions…

    3. I skipped most of the commercials, because they mostly suck. . .like all commercials that I spend money to avoid the rest of the year, but I caught that one. How is me having insurance going to prevent the massacre?

      1. JEP

        They should have sold it as…hey, your kid may be dead, but at least you get this fat check from your home insurance!

  8. Jordan

    The New England Patriots defeated the Seattle Seahawks to win their fourth Super Bowl, and their first in a decade.

    One group of millionaires chased a ball better than the other group. Between that and the depressing commercials about domestic violence, lost puppies, and dead kids, I’m glad I missed it.

    1. I turned on the TV when I thought the game would be over to see the score, and found the Patriots driving for what would be the game-winning drive. Talk about serendipitous timing.

    2. Drake

      Pretty cool that it was decided by an undrafted guy who was working at Popeye’s a couple years ago.

      1. Rufus J. Firefly

        Yeah. Those are the best stories.

        Out of West Alabama is he?

    3. CE

      Budweiser made fun of hipsters who drink craft beer. Which would be funny if Budweiser made good beer themselves.

  9. SugarFree

    How do post-recession English departments attract students to a field losing popularity?

    Oh the desperate rationalizations of the professors they interview…

    1. gaijin

      fewer students are taking that initial course in which they catch the philosophy or history or English “bug,”

      This was cute. English as a form of infection…Noam Chomsky agrees!

      1. SugarFree

        I’ve argued for years that librarianship is a virus. I’m often hesitant to hire non-library school students for fear of exposing them.

      2. expat

        Stop doubting the “indisputable” evidence that a dose of the “real world” vaccine is 100% effective in preventing this “bug”

    2. Illocust

      I like how they still pretend English helps critical thinking skills. Completely ignoring the studies that in most colleges critical thinking skills get worse after an English degree.

      1. Zeb

        There are lots of different things you can do to get an English degree. So, I’d imagine that some don’t damage your critical thinking. I bet it’s all the Marxist literary analysis bullshit that breaks people’s brains.

        I’ve always been puzzled at the popularity of the English major. A lot of people seem to use it as a fall back when they can’t decide what else to do. People who really are passionate about whatever the hell it is happens in English departments should be English majors if they want to, but I really don’t get why you would if you don’t have a specific interest in being a scholar or maybe a high school English teacher.

        1. Crusty Juggler

          I was an English major. I do not think that it damaged my critical thinking skills. I don’t understand how an English degree is any worse than a general business degree (this is how you use excel!), but I do regret the decision.

          1. When they used to teach textual analysis–(you know, analyzing Shakespeare’s sources to see what the Bard used), they were passing along a vital skill. Most of the people I went to school with, if they didn’t become teachers/get married, became DBA’s, ‘cuz it was a direct link to SQL, and we all got it better than the Comp Sci/IFSM guys. That was the DC area, so they’re all still employed at 6-figures-ish.

            Nowadays, when what little textual analysis that remains is a study in ad hominem–story came from Fox News/Limbaugh/Koch Brothers, must be falses!!!!–not so useful.

            /Luckily, we’ll soon be able to automate textual analysis.

      2. JEP

        You can learn critical thinking from liberal arts, but most don’t. And as a result most liberal arts majors aren’t capable of making a decent argument defending their decision.

        Some idiot posted an article on LinkedIn saying you should hire liberal arts majors because they majored in writing good bullshit. In every situation I’ve been in, the goal is to eliminate the bullshit surrounding a situation. So, why would I hire you to add more bullshit to an already difficult problem?

        Not to mention, the last conversation I had with a legit liberal arts major was some random theater guy in a pub. He brought up the movie Idiocracy and how there were so many stupid people in the world and we need to stop them from breeding, and one thing led to another and I ended making him explain why Hitler was wrong to try to impose a master race.

        His comment as we left was “I kind of like talking to you, but you’re frustrating as hell!”

        That probably sums me up in a nutshell.

  10. DEG

    Matt Damon and Reason on The Chive.

    1. It’s just your chive talking

      1. SugarFree

        “Excuse me, stewardess, but I speak chive.”

        1. Charles Easterly

          Nice.

    2. Florida Man

      I’m at work so I can’t watch the video. Is it rage inducing? If so I’ll skip it.

      1. Jordan

        It’s MATT DAMON being a bullying douchebag. So yes.

        1. Florida Man

          Thanks J.

      2. DEG

        Someone took the old reason.tv video of an interview with Matt Damon and added some “Thug life” shit.

  11. Jordan

    Get your shocked faces ready: Obama wants MOAR taxes:

    Obama plans to tax US companies’ $2tn profits held overseas at 19 per cent closing loophole

    Living outside the country is a “loophole”. The State owns you, comrade.

    1. Haven’t read it but the regular tax rate for those earnings is 35%. Of course it can be avoided by never repatriating.

      1. Jordan

        Haven’t read it

        But you’re going to comment anyway in a desperate attempt to defend your messiah.

      2. They’re using that money to invest abroad, but Obama simply sees big piles of money and thinks that’s not fair and the government should have all of it.

        What a thoroughly vile idea.

        1. Actually most of it is parked in Ireland/Bermuda where they are not investing at all.

          http://arstechnica.com/busines…..proposals/

          Still, it is perfectly legal.

          1. Story time: I have been involved in several transactions involving assignment and license-back of assets to lower tax bills. But no, government never has a distorting effect on the economy.

            1. Of course tax policy distorts the economy. The question is how to minimize that distortion.

              1. Monty Crisco

                How about fewer taxes, dipshit?

          2. Homple

            “Actually most of it is parked in Ireland/Bermuda where they are not investing at all.”

            So the money in Ireland and Bermuda is just stored in Scrooge McDuck money bins?

            1. Yes, my Swiss masters often fly out there to swim in piles of lucre.

      3. wadair

        A better idea is to remove the incentive to keep that money overseas in the first place. This is a great example of doubling down on stupid. But with Obama, what else would one expect?

        1. Without government, who would try to fix problems caused by government?

        2. If the US dropped the corporate rate to 28% like the rest of the developed world (which we should do) the Irish/Bermuda/Dutch trick would still exist.

          1. Monty Crisco

            God forbid those greedy 1% corporations should keep the money they made!! THE MONSTERS!!!

            Quite the libertarian you are, turd

          2. FUQ

            If we quit taxing overseas profits here in the states then the problem would go away completely.

    2. Brian D

      The new rate would effectively close a loophole in which profits made by firms outside the US are not taxed unless the money is returned to the country.

      The fact that my income, earned entirely within the borders of the United States, is not taxed by the country of Botswana apparently constitutes a loophole.

      1. Andrew S.

        To Obama, the fact that you’re allowed to keep any of the money you make is a loophole.

        1. AlexInCT

          To be fair, this is not a feeling that is limited to Obama. All the collectivists/progressives feel this way. The world is unfair and needs mar “social justice”.

    3. Sometimes it’s hard to predict the unintended consequences. This, not so much.

    4. loophole, n. any aspect of any law that lets people do something that I don’t like

    5. DEG

      Living outside the country is a “loophole”. The State owns you, comrade.

      I have to renew my passport soon. I saw on the renewal form there is this declaration:

      DS-82 08-2013
      ACTS OR CONDITIONS
      If any of the below-mentioned acts or conditions have been performed by or apply to the applicant, the portion which applies should be lined out, and a supplementary explanatory statement under oath (or affirmation) by the applicant should be attached and made a part of this application.

      I have not, since acquiring United States citizenship/nationality, been naturalized as a citizen of a foreign state; taken an oath or made an affirmation or other formal declaration of allegiance to a foreign state

      It goes on.

      Since the US doesn’t ban dual citizenship, I wonder what the purpose of this declaration is.

      1. Zeb

        I think there are certain foreign states where the state department would prefer US citizens not become citizens of. You can also lose your citizenship if you take up a government office in another country, I think. So they want to make sure you haven’t done that.

    6. KDN

      In the US President’s budget, due to be announced this week, a new one-off 14 per cent rate of tax on the estimated $2tn of profits currently held overseas will be proposed. A new rate of 19 per cent would then be imposed on future foreign profits.

      “This transition tax would mean that companies have to pay US tax right now on the $2tn they already have overseas, rather than being able to delay paying any US tax indefinitely,” a White House official said. “Unlike a voluntary repatriation holiday, which the president opposes and which would lose revenue, the president’s proposed transition tax is a one-time, mandatory tax on previously untaxed foreign earnings, regardless of whether the earnings are repatriated.”

      There’s no way that’s just going to spur more inversions. Nope, none at all.

      He really does manage to propose the absolute worst solutions to any problem.

    7. Zeb

      “Exploiting a loophole” is another way to say “complying with the law”.

      It’s just stupid when people talk about loopholes as if the people taking advantage of them are the problem.

      I wouldn’t call this a loophole anyway. The problem here is taxing money people make overseas.

  12. Andrew S.

    Punxsutawney Phil says six more weeks of winter.

    You want a prediction about the weather, you’re asking the wrong Phil. I’ll give you a winter prediction: It’s gonna be cold, it’s gonna be grey, and it’s gonna last you for the rest of your life.

    1. Certified Public Asskicker

      That is very depressing.

    2. lap83

      +infinity Groundhog Days

  13. Anti-trade lefty whackjobs organize to oppose Obama’s Free Trade Agreements (TPP, TTIP).

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…..20640.html

    1. What’s this “fast track” legislative process that circumvents Congress?

    2. DJF

      You mean the trade agreements which are so great that they keep them secret and don’t want Congress to investigate but instead give a quick up or down vote?

      Another we have to pass them before we know what is in them deal.

      1. Yes. Even Congress realizes they are inept at certain things – trade treaties and monetary policy are two examples.

        1. DJF

          Its a trade agreement, not treatie. If it was a treatie it would require a 2/3 vote in the Senate. Why this ‘agreement” is not considered to be a treaty I do not know.

          As to being inept about trade then they should not vote at all.

          As to monetary policy, they were in charge of it during the first half of US history and the dollar kept its value, once the FED took over the dollar has lost more then 95% of its value

          1. What matters is wealth – not some arcane measure of the dollar from 1913. We are immeasurably wealthier now. No one cares that someone holding a nominal dollar from 1913 is still holding a dollar today.

            Anyone with a functioning brain invests most/all of their excess cash.

            1. CampingInYourPark

              Maybe some of us are waiting for $700 an ounce gold

            2. DJF

              “”””Anyone with a functioning brain invests most/all of their excess cash”””

              That is what the big banks did and in 2008 they had to be bailed out by the taxpayers.

              True going ‘all in” can maximize your return it can also maximize you losses. And while I have no problem with people maximizing their profits I don’t want to be involved in their losses especially when I don’t get part of their profits,

              In market not taxpayer subsidized world having some cash at times can be very important. Just like having a few cans of food in the house can be very nice when a hurricane hits. The people who don’t expect the taxpayers via FEMA and various rescue services to subsidze them.

            3. wadair

              No one cares that someone holding a nominal dollar from 1913 is still holding a dollar today.

              Anyone with a functioning brain invests most/all of their excess cash.

              Anyone with a functioning brain should recognize the stupidity of putting both of these statements in the same post. If I’m investing at all, statement one is false because I care about the falling value of my investments.

            4. Anyone with a functioning brain invests most/all of their excess cash.

              Nah. Anyone with a functioning brain realizes that there are times where cash is the smart place to be.

              The hard part is knowing when those times are.

              How ya doin’ on those gold shorts, PB?

              1. He was right – gold is at $300-$600 an oz, right?

            5. We are immeasurably wealthier now. No one cares that someone holding a nominal dollar from 1913 is still holding a dollar today.

              No we are very measurably wealthy and by the same measure it’s clear that we’d be even more measurably wealthy without statist interventions in the economy.

  14. …President Obama urged parents to stop doubting the “indisputable” science and vaccinate their children.

    Someone Michelle went to school with must have an autism business.

  15. Jordan

    Texas boy suspended for saying he could make classmate ‘disappear’ with ‘Lord of the Rings’ sorcery

    The family moved to the Kermit Independent School District only six months ago, but it’s been nothing but headaches for Aiden. He’s already been suspended three times this school year.

    Two of the disciplinary actions this year were in-school suspensions for referring to a classmate as black and bringing his favorite book to school: “The Big Book of Knowledge.”

    “He loves that book. They were studying the solar system and he took it to school. He thought his teacher would be impressed,” Steward said.

    But the teacher learned the popular children’s encyclopedia had a section on pregnancy, depicting a pregnant woman in an illustration, he explained.

    They’re working overtime to create libertarians in that district.

    1. Drake

      The picture of the school looks like a prison.

      Did the Dad sleep with the Principle’s wife or something? Might be time to move or find an alternative school.

      1. Florida Man

        Actually he refused to sleep with the principal’s wife. Now I’m not saying it’s true but I heard the principal may or may not be a cuckhold.

        1. Andrew S.

          Well, I heard that he was driving by a farm and saw the principal having sex with sheep. Now, I’m not saying it’s true. It’s just a rumor. But that’s what I heard.

        2. I heard the principle is a goat fucker.

      2. The picture of the school looks like a prison.

        Government schools are prisons.

        Reason covered the case of a woman in Pennsylvania last year whose kids were truant, and who was imprisoned when she couldn’t pay the fine. She died in prison.

      3. Re: Drake,

        The picture of the school looks like a prison.

        Schools ARE prisons. The fact that they allow kids to go home for family visits means nothing!

        1. CE

          Where else do you get hauled off to on a bus without seatbelts, and forced to eat mystery meat on a plastic tray for lunch?

    2. DJF

      “”””They were studying the solar system and he took it to school. He thought his teacher would be impressed”””

      Ha, ha, ha. The last thing many teachers and schools want is someone who will not follow the lesson plan. Next they will ban all unauthorized books from school.

  16. Coeus

    It might soothe our conscience to deny the connection between the violence of our streets and the brutality of the NFL. But let’s at least have the courage to see our reflection in our favorite sport.

    A clear-eyed assessment would take us to a dark conclusion: Football genuinely enacts our values and priorities. It reflects and feeds on deep social and economic inequality. We ask athletes, disproportionately young black men, to perform mock warfare for our amusement. If the violence that ensues (on and off the field) is disturbing, building a better helmet is hardly the answer. We should focus instead on building a better society.

    Paying NFL athletes millions of dollars is racist.

    1. Coeus

      what the hell is up with my blockquoting lately?

      Last line is mine.

      1. Florida Man

        Switch to italic. It’s never let me down.

    2. BigT

      A guy I knew in grad school wasn’t much of a sports fan. He said: “What do I care if my naggers can beat your naggers?”

    3. Notorious G.K.C.

      Ooh, ooh, oppress *me,* oppress *me!*

    4. It might soothe our conscience to deny the connection between the violence of our streets and the brutality of the NFL.

      It soothes a lot of people’s consciences to deny the connection between the violence of our streets and the brutality of the state.

      1. CE

        What connection? Violent crime on our streets is way down in the past 40 years. Violence in the NFL is way up, because the players are much bigger, faster and stronger.

    5. Societies have long exploited the poor for pleasure and profit. In this respect, Americans exhibit the same callousness that Jonathan Swift satirized in his famous 1729 essay “A Modest Proposal,” which encouraged the wealthy to eat poor Irish babies to alleviate poverty.

      Sweet baby Baphomet! The derp, it burns!

      1. Allowing grown men to play a game for millions of dollars is indistinguishable from cooking and eating toddlers.

        1. Enough About Palin

          You laugh, but the Nationwide dead kid was eaten as a toddler

      2. Allowing grown men to play a game for millions of dollars is indistinguishable from cooking and eating toddlers.

      3. Societies have long exploited the poor for pleasure and profit.

        Also known as, giving them jobs in the entertainment industry.

  17. Couple has sex in office after hours, oblivious to the fact that people across the street could watch them

    Oh, did people watch them, taking smartphone photos too. The article is illustrated with a blurry photo of a topless woman from the back.

    “The whole pub knew about it and was watching, while they were totally oblivious to it. And afterwards celebrating with wine,” one man posted.

    “They should have turned the lights out,” said another.

    Several patrons said the band stopped playing while most of the bar watched out the windows.

    1. lap83

      new feminist term? barfly-gaze

    2. Cdr Lytton

      More pics

      http://www.news.com.au/lifesty…..7205697002

      Probably NSFW

  18. Falcons being investigated for fake crowd noise; could lose draft pick

    Atlanta is accused of piping in the noise while the opposing team was huddling, trying to call its play. The tactics originated from the Falcons’ game operations department.

    Stadium officials are allowed to use stadium audio until 20 seconds remain on the play clock, 10 seconds longer than previous years. Video boards can incite crowds to make noise throughout a visiting team’s play when previously it had to be discontinued with 30 seconds left on the play clock.

    http://atlantafalcons.blog.ajc…..owd-noise/

    Falcons cheating?

    Fake scandal?

    1. Matrix

      lotta good it did them. But cheating is cheating. If they did do it, they should be penalized.

  19. Notorious G.K.C.

    “In a tweet he has since deleted, [Richard Dawkins]… asked: “Good idea to beam erotic videos to theocracies?”

    “He clarified: “NOT violent, woman-hating porn but loving, gentle, woman-respecting eroticism.”…

    “Editorial designer James Kelleher said: “Richard Dawkins, the only man with the balls to say the things that none of us are thinking.””

    http://www.independent.co.uk/n…..15488.html

    1. Crusty Juggler

      He is the only one who says things!

    2. Notorious G.K.C.

      “Hello, I am the pizza-delivery guy, and, by Allah, I would like to engage in some respectful eroticism with you!”

  20. What’s with the Theodore Roosevelt hagiolatry? TCM showed The Wind and the Lion yesterday, about a 1904 kidnapping incident in Morocco involving an American. The action switches back and forth between Morocco and the US, and every time there are scenes of Roosevelt, he’s an overweening asshole who’s basically putting himself in a dick-waving contest. And his douchey bluster is presented as a good thing.

    1. Notorious G.K.C.

      +1 Big Stick

    2. Crusty Juggler

      Don’t make us defend the canon of John Milius.

      I am pretty sure Milius was attracted to the adventure side of TR, and from what I have read about Roosevelt that is his most appealing quality.

      1. The Sean Connery/Candice Bergen scenes were quite good, although the real-life incident involved an older man and his adult stepson. But the TR scenes really bog down the movie. I wanted somebody to smack the bastard upside the head.

        The fight at the end never happened, either.

    3. Rufus J. Firefly

      To think the CFL had not one but TWO teams named after the Rough Riders!

      FYI: Chris Matthews played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

      1. That’s racist. It should be th Bombers of Color.

        1. Rufus J. Firefly

          Yes. Racist:

          “In 1936, a Winnipeg Tribune sports reporter referred to the Winnipeg team as as the “Blue Bombers” after boxer Joe Louis who had come to be known as the “Brown Bomber.” The name became official in 1937.”

          http://www.thecanadianencyclop…..e-bombers/

          1. Mickey Rat

            Does that make Winnipeg the Cleveland Browns of the CFL?

        2. Pope Jimbo

          You try playing a game while wearing tights in Winnipeg and see what color you turn!

    4. Jordan

      I just finished watching Boardwalk Empire. One of the things I liked about it was that it portrayed all politicians as corrupt pieces of shit.

      1. Rufus J. Firefly

        Watch ‘House of Cards’ too.

        1. Crusty Juggler

          And Veep

        2. SugarFree

          House of Cards credits them with far too much intelligence. Veep is closer to the truth than anyone but us is prepared to accept.

          1. Crusty Juggler

            I assume that in the real word, Jonah from Veep eventually becomes a ten term congressman.

            1. SugarFree

              Yup. That sort of craven toadying is always rewarded.

              I think progs love HoC so much because they are fine with evil, murdering shitbags being in office as long as they can still get the left agenda pushed through.

              If Frank was a Republican, they’d boo and hiss and the show wouldn’t have made it out of the first season.

              1. Crusty Juggler

                I agree 100%, but I still like House of Cards. I appreciate how the political process is portrayed to be so demonic and manipulative.

                And I have a thing for Robin Wright and her legs.

              2. Rufus J. Firefly

                I’m glad you mentioned this. As I watch this, it wasn’t lost on me that it’s Democrats doing all these ‘evil’ things. It’s part of the ‘game’ and when they do it so long as it’s their policies – all good. Of course, a prog will counter, if they accept this, with the argument ‘yes it’s bad but imagine what goes on on the GOP side! They must sacrifice babies at the alter! We don’t do that!’

                Also, they seem to stick to the stereotype and caricature of the burnt out, conspiratorial libertarian.

                Which made me think. Libertarians will only be taken seriously when A) they have Frank Underwood scheming for them and B) are sitting at the table with the schemers.

                When I see a libertarian portrayed on TV in a suit, then maybe we can say the ‘libertarian moment’ has come.

                Until then, it’s all Cheech & Chong and…Kennedy.

                What’s with the ‘Kennedy’ board on her show? Looks like she’s about to go topless and dance or something.

                1. SugarFree

                  Well, and the over-the-top nature of Frank’s evildoings is also cover. They make him just cartoonish enough for statists to dismiss the idea that the backroom deals really are that cynical and callow.

                  House of Cards takes the terminal cancer that is eating away the 21st Century and gives the tumor a top-hat, tails and a big shit-eating grin.

                2. Big Chief

                  In the original BBC version, he (Urquhart) is a Conservative. All the conniving starts after Thatcher steps down and they fight to keep the Tories in power.

                  So it’s interesting they used Dem’s here. I haven’t seen the US version yet.

              3. Libertarian

                From Russ Roberts:

                But the real reason they made Underwood a Democrat, I think, is a little stranger and a little darker. And it comes with a lesson for Republicans. I think Willimon made Underwood a Democrat because he wanted us to like him.

                http://www.politico.com/magazi…..M-nT3CbulI

          2. Juice

            And that’s why Veep was never all that funny.

  21. Zombie Jimbo

    Chester Springs Bubba, my resident groundhog, did not see his shadow today. When he does come out in February, he always covers his eyes since I told him that if he saw his shadow he’d get a 22LR in one of his eyes.

    He just mumbles, “Don’t see a thing, Boss.”

    1. Florida Man

      Probably cheaper to shoot him with 5.56 now a days. Or hell .17 HMR

    2. Pope Jimbo

      Do you have him trained to shake the bush too?

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7QwTTn3FIk#t=45

  22. Coeus

    Articulation is racist.

    My piece was about a fisherman who manages the tuna club of Avalon. But while editing my script aloud, I realized I was also imagining another voice, one that sounded more white, saying my piece.

    Without being directly told, people like me learn that our way of speaking isn’t professional. And you start to imitate the standard or even hide the distinctive features of your own voice. This is one of the reasons that some of my black and brown friends refuse to listen to some of my favorite radio shows despite my most passionate efforts.

    1. Crusty Juggler

      I am sure your “friends” love being referred to as your “black and brown friends.”

      If only those black and brown people were smart enough to understand and appreciate pompous diction.

    2. lap83

      As a person of non-color, I resent the equating of pretentious liberal talk show hosts with white speaking.

    3. Rhywun

      Oh FFS… the speech of certain southern whites and blacks is indistinguishable. But of course it’s about race.

  23. Coeus

    Jesus.

    A ‘celebrity’ Saudi preacher accused of raping, torturing and killing his five-year-old daughter has reportedly been released from custody after agreeing to pay ‘blood money’.

    Fayhan al-Ghamdi had been accused of killing his daughter Lama, who suffered multiple injuries including a crushed skull, broken back, broken ribs, a broken left arm and extensive bruising and burns. Social workers say she had also been repeatedly raped and burnt.

    Fayhan al-Ghamdi admitted using a cane and cables to inflict the injuries after doubting his five-year-old daughter’s virginity and taking her to a doctor, according to the campaign group Women to Drive.

    Rather than getting the death penalty or receiving a long prison sentence for the crime, Fayhan al-Ghamdi served only a few months in jail before a judge ruled the prosecution could only seek ‘blood money’.

    Albawaba News reported the judge as saying: “Blood money and the time the defendant had served in prison since Lama’s death suffices as punishment.”

    Fayhan al-Ghamdi, who regularly appears on television in Saudi Arabia, is said to have agreed to pay ?31,000 to Lama’s mother

    1. How many times did they whip the 5-year-old for her immoral actions?

    2. Andrew S.

      I’m mostly numb to stuff on Reason. A lot of it gets me angry, of course, but this? I’m shaking right now after reading this.

      I’m not sure there’s even a human response to this, because it isn’t human.

      1. Charles Easterly

        Fayhan al-Ghamdi might very well inspire an atheist to want Hell to exist.

    3. lap83

      That is really fucked up.

    4. Andrew S.

      Update from the bottom of that, for the record:

      Today, however, the Saudi Justice Ministry issued a statement saying the cleric remained in prison and the case was continuing.

      The Times reported sources in the Saudi capital Riyadh as saying the royal family had been “stung” by the outrage over the case, with senior members intervening to ensure a stricter punishment is given.

      One source told the newspaper, “The royal court is now looking at the case. He [Al-Ghamdi] will stay in prison for a long time.”

    5. Andrew S.

      Another update: That happened in 2012. Looked up. Apparently he ended up being sentenced to 8 years in prison and 800 lashes, or 2 years and 200 lashes less than a blogger gets for saying ungood things. He ended up being released in 2014.

      1. So he’s on the street, where anything could happen, eh?

  24. Coeus

    If you’re worried about censorship or bullying, conservatives are the bigger problem

    And the most recent example is from 2010. Others are more than a decade old. Proggie denial at it’s finest.

    1. Coeus

      Sure, there are some leftist bullies out there, but percentage-wise, I can tell you right now a lot smaller percentage of leftists are comfortable with the idea of censorship as a political weapon than conservatives are.

      ha

      On the contrary, when it comes to the bullying tactics Chait claims he opposes but whiffs when coming up with substantial evidence of, conservatives are the absolute masters. The entire point of that website Twitchy is to round up mobs of people on Twitter not to argue with liberals but to overwhelm them in harassment in hopes that they give up writing. There’s nothing even like it on the left. While there have been some campaigns to get people fired on the left that have employed lies and bad faith, there’s nothing on the level of the character assassination campaign that was aimed at climate scientist Michael Mann, which has even led to attempts to legally harass him based on a bunch of lies about his work. And let’s not talk about what’s happened to Anita Sarkeesian for daring to say video games can be kind of sexist sometimes.

      So much wrong there, I don’t even know where to start.

      1. The entire point of that website Twitchy is to round up mobs of people on Twitter not to argue with liberals but to overwhelm them in harassment in hopes that they give up writing.

        Yeah, that’s its raison d’etre: To harass them by quoting them.

        Sheesh.

        There’s nothing even like it on the left.

        This girl doesn’t get around much, does she?

        1. My personal favorite thing about the idea of ‘twitter harassment’ is that you can literally ignore it very easily. The angry tweets pop up, you ignore them, they go away. It isn’t like someone’s yelling at you from your doorstep as you cower inside your home.

          1. It isn’t like someone’s yelling at you from your doorstep as you cower inside your home consult with your gun safe on an appropriate response.

      2. wadair

        I would start with: citation needed. This is nothing but speculation on his part–at best. More likely, it’s just a lie to fit the narrative.

      3. “So much wrong there, I don’t even know where to start.”

        You mean like the alleged ‘harassment’ of Michael Mann only occurring after Mann filed a million dollar lawsuit against a writer essentially for the crime of criticizing him?

        Mocking someone on twitter is worse harassment than filing specious lawsuits against your political opponents, apparently.

    2. I noticed that in the Gawker attack on Chait too, where all of their examples were from like the mid-80s. The only examples of recent vintage were the Dixie Chicks (which is actually a valid point) and Ward Churchill. Of course, Ward Churchill was ALSO embroiled in a plagiarism scandal, so blaming Churchill’s dismissal on conservatives is mendacious at best.

      The Little Eichmanns essay was published in 2001 and Churchill wasn’t fired until 2007, following the plagiarism issues. So their one example of an academic being punished by ‘conservative political correctness’ isn’t even true.

    3. I noticed that in the Gawker attack on Chait too, where all of their examples were from like the mid-80s. The only examples of recent vintage were the Dixie Chicks (which is actually a valid point) and Ward Churchill. Of course, Ward Churchill was ALSO embroiled in a plagiarism scandal, so blaming Churchill’s dismissal on conservatives is mendacious at best.

      The Little Eichmanns essay was published in 2001 and Churchill wasn’t fired until 2007, following the plagiarism issues. So their one example of an academic being punished by ‘conservative political correctness’ isn’t even true.

      1. Azathoth!!

        I wouldn’t say that the Dixie Chicks are a valid example. They pissed in the face of their fans and their fans said ‘fuck you’.

        Everything else was just talk.

  25. SugarFree

    I mean, of course Republicans are behind the anti-vaxxers. Even when it was California hippies, I knew it was the Republicans.

    YOU IRRESPONSIBLE, PANDERING SHIT-HEAD. We’re not even talking about tax cuts or school vouchers, here, some traditional conservative small-government talking point?we’re talking about throwing the car in reverse and accelerating away from one of the greatest achievements of the twentieth century toward the goddamn Middle Ages. Your average ancestor circa 1810 would probably rip every hair out of your head if she thought you were seriously considering turning your back on an invention that renders a great scourge powerless.

    1. You know who else was okay with putting laws on other people’s bodies?

      1. SugarFree

        Please, not an abortion thread.

        1. Notorious G.K.C.

          Why discuss abortion when we still have to argue vital issues like: Janeway, best captain of the Enterprise or most awesome captain ever?

        2. Crusty Juggler

          Nationwide is on your side.

          1. Andrew S.

            Did the kid die from choking on a chicken parm sandwich?

            1. trshmnster the terrible

              but it tastes so good!

        3. THAT’S NOT A VALID GUESS.

      2. Charles Easterly

        “You know who else was okay with putting laws on other people’s bodies?”

        Andy Golub?

    2. Seriously? What is this new meme about anti-vax being a right-wing thing? Virtually all of the anti-vax nuts we have any contact with here are total lefties, also eschewing GMOs, hating corporations, the whole nine yards.

      1. Re: Pro Libertate,

        Seriously? What is this new meme about anti-vax being a right-wing thing?

        It’s nothing new. It’s the Walter Duranty Shuffle, practiced by all seasoned little red Marxians:

        “It wasn’t true Communism.”
        “It was Socialism that increased the Middle Class in the 50’s and 60’s” (lie told by Bill Maher)
        “P.C. does not exist / it is a conservative thing.”

        Et cetera, et cetera, per secula seculorum.

        1. I’m sure there are some right-wing religious nuts who are anti-vax, but most of what I’ve seen, heard, and read seems much more on the granola left.

      2. Red Rocks Rockin

        Seriously? What is this new meme about anti-vax being a right-wing thing?

        They’re trying to distract from the fact that the most anti-vaxxers in this country are clustered in left-wing-dominated counties in California.

      3. Progressives are pro-science, therefore when progressives are being anti-science it must secretly be a right-wing conspiracy.

    3. Rhywun

      They are SO edgy there, those chicks.

  26. The New England Patriots defeated the Seattle Seahawks to win their fourth Super Bowl, and their first in a decade.

    There’s a new name for that play by the Seahawks that lost them the game, with 1 yard to score and 1st down:

    The Obama Pass.

  27. Rhywun

    The U.S. is considering sending arms to Ukraine, for defensive purposes it says.

    What could possibly go wrong with this plan.

    1. Crusty Juggler

      Show me one instance in our history where sending arms to a foreign country has ever gone wrong. Just show me one. I am waiting…

      1. Re: Crusty Juggler,

        Show me one instance in our history where sending arms to a foreign country has ever gone wrong.

        The U.S. armed the Soviets during WWII, even gave them nuclear weapons secrets (this is true)… Oh, and also gave them hundreds of thousands of tons of butter, meat and other foodstuffs while people in the U.S. had to go by with rationing cards.

        1. Yes, this is one of the things that really bugs me with a relatively recent push to make WWII all about Russia, because of their huge body count. Obviously, the Russians took the brunt of the abuse, but they would’ve lost without U.S. support.

        2. Rhywun

          I think Crusty was being sarcastic. God, I hope so.

          1. Crusty Juggler

            Wink.

      2. Charles Easterly

        Clearly you are an appeaser the likes of which would have let Hitler take over the whole world and hurt the children… and uncounted puppies.

        1. It all started in Munich, when a friend of Hitler’s saw Hitler steal some pasta from his plate and didn’t protest. From there, Hitler moved on from pasta to stealing cars, then apartments, then political seats, then whole countries in Europe.

          1. Charles Easterly

            That is correct,Pro Libertate, it all started with Sp?tzle.

            1. Everything should start with Sp?tzle!

              *drool*

              1. Charles Easterly

                When I would order Sauerbraten both of my side orders would be Sp?tzle.

    2. SugarFree

      Well, we can’t just send them weapons, we have to go over there and show them how to use them. And, of course, send troops to keep the instructors safe. And then more troops to keep those troops safe, I mean, we’re America, right? Don’t want to look like pussies. And then when those troops get attacked, the only solution will be a full scale American presence in Ukraine, which Putin will have no problem with, of course.

      Whee!

      1. What we should do is sell arms to the rest of Europe and let them do what they want with them. Russia is going to destroy its already weakened economy if it doesn’t stop acting like the Idiot of Europe. We don’t need to get involved, even if we should, which we shouldn’t.

  28. The Late P Brooks

    the Idiot of Europe.

    I find your gratuitous disparagement of honest, hard working idiots to be offensive.

    1. I, of course, exclude the Village Idiots Union from my criticism.

Please to post comments

Comments are closed.