White House Targets Wildlife Trafficking, Congress Mulls ISIS War Authorization, Ohio May Ban Abortion After Down Syndrome Diagnosis: A.M. Links

• 

  blackcountrymuseums/Flickr

  Congress on Wednesday received President Obama's formal request to authorize military force against the Islamic State. Democrats are saying the plan is too open-ended, while Republicans are insisting that it doesn't go far enough.

• Leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France, and Germany announced an agreement to end fighting in Eastern Ukraine.
• The Obama administration announced that American intelligence agencies will begin tracking and targeting "wildlife traffickers" in an effort to stop the selling of ivory, rhinoceros horns, etc., which President Obama has called "an international crisis."
• A federal judge hears arguments today over gay marriage in Alabama.
• An Ohio bill would make it illegal to have an abortion after a fetus has been revealed to have Down's Syndrome.
• The myth of Jon Stewart's massive millennial following.
• The GOP is doing everything it can to delay the FCC's approval of net neutrality rules, "or make the move as politically painful as possible," Politico reports.
• Have farmer's markets peaked?

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

A federal judge hears arguments today over gay marriage in Alabama.

That judge can just read those arguments here.

[Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!]

Zing!

[Fist of Etiquette]

An Ohio bill would ban the abortion of fetuses that have been revealed to have Down's Syndrome.

Good morning, ENB!

[SugarFree]

An Ohio bill would ban the abortion of fetuses that have been revealed to have Down's Syndrome.

The "You broke, you buy it" law.

[Warty]

The Bringing Home The Bacon Act of 2015.

[UnCivilServant]

Is that the one where everyone will be required to raise hogs in their homes?

[Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!]

I thought nobody could tell?

[gaijin]

PRediction: Next up, a bill that mandates testing for down's syndrome of pregnant women.

[Injun, as in from India]

I see abortion clinics in neighboring states seeing an uptick in visits.

[generic Brand]

Why not just skip the "abortion for deficiencies" question altogether and ban pre-birth screening?

[Rich]

"It'll be apparent when the mother's life is in danger."

[Restoras]

At this point we should just ban getting pregnant.

[Injun, as in from India]

If Ohio lawmakers had been screened in utero for control and dominance personality issues, and promptly aborted, we would not see a situation like this.

[Jerryskids]

Is this a new stand-alone bill or an amendment to the law banning abortion in the event genetic testing reveals the baby is female, black, handicapped, gay, Muslim, over 50, or has a criminal record?

[Robert]

Does the bill just repeal some exception that allowed those with Down's, but not normals, to be aborted after some point? Or does it make it illegal to abort those with Down's, but not normals, so that it favors the birth of Down's over normals?

[Just a thought not a sermon]

27) A friend of mine (who is not a libertarian) told me he thought of Easy Rider as the ideal libertarian movie. After all, it's about two guys who use drugs freely and ride motorcycles without helmets, driving all across America as they please. No no no no no! Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda don't start businesses, they don't engage in voluntary relationships with others, they are not libertarians! From my point of view, they keep encountering libertarians and annoying them: the rancher who lets them spend the night, the commune where they're kicked out for being too lazy and not contributing. In fact, in a real libertarian society, their whole plan of making the big score in New Orleans wouldn't work, because recreational drugs would be legal and selling drugs would be no more (or less?) profitable than any other business.
So what do you think? Is Easy Rider a libertarian movie? I've heard Ghostbusters is a libertarian movie, and that makes sense?they're trying to start a business but run afoul of nutty government regulations. Are there any other libertarian movies?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

They were hippie-liberals who got blown away by hicks at the end from what I recall.

I think the statute of limitation on spoilers has passed on this one.

[Anomalous]

How long is the statute of limitations on spoilers? Let's discuss.

[UnCivilServant]

Too long.

[Fist of Etiquette]

NO SPOILERS.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Achilles kills Hector.
Ulysses kills the suitors.
Beowulf kills some monsters.
Mordred defeats King Arthur.
Hamlet, Claudius and a bunch of other people die.

[UnCivilServant]

Beowulf kills some monsters

The Dragon Kills Beowulf.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

But he had a couple monsters under his belt before then.

[UnCivilServant]

I know, I was finishing out the spoiler.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

OK

[some guy]

What about for documentaries like Apollo 13, Titanic and Godzilla?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"What about for documentaries like Apollo 13, Titanic and Godzilla?"

I almost missed the joke there.

Everyone knows that Apollo 13 never existed.

[John]

Rosebud was a sled. And the wife did it in Presumed Innocent.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

The guy who the hero calls about evidence of conspiracy, and who says, "wait here, I'll come and get you," is in on the conspiracy and plans to kill the hero.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Some or all of the teenagers who sleep over in the abandoned cabin are going to die.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

After some setbacks, the plucky heroes call on all their strength and skill to defeat the bad guy just in time.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Two two cops who start out as mismatched, quarreling partners end up working together to crack the case.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

There is a climactic battle in an abandoned warehouse.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Everyone knows the hero and the heroine are made for each other, but it takes until the very end for them to find this out.

[Rasilio]

Verbal Kent is Kaiser Soze

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Congratulations, everyone, together we spoiled every movie ever made!

[UnCivilServant]

You forgot Soylent Green is people!

[mauricegirodias]

The chick is really a guy.

[Anomalous]

So, at the end of Casablanca, Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman...

[sarcasmic]

Serenity

[some guy]

You're Gorram right. Highly recommend this to anyone who hasn't seen it. Watch Firefly first, though.

[sarcasmic]

Someone lent me the movie before I had seen the series. Made me want to watch it that much more, then watch Serenity again.

[John]

No it is a Libertine movie. You are right. Fonda and Hopper are basically bums. They don't sell drugs out of any commitment to freedom. They sell them because they are too lazy to work for a living. In a libertarian society, selling drugs wouldn't be so lucrative or a way for people like them to avoid working.

It is Libertarian to the extent that people like Fonda and Hopper would in a Libertarian society be more free to be bums and live on the edges of society without being harassed.

[Drax the Destroyer]

It is Libertarian to the extent that people like Fonda and Hopper would in a Libertarian society be more free to be bums and live on the edges of society without being harassed.

Simultaneously, they wouldn't have any legal retribution, even posthumously, if they crossed a line and trespassed. Unlike those crooks whose families sue people who shot said crooks for breaking in.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I hate when that happens. It's the Bizarro world.

[Ted S.]

The Mating Game.

The main character (Paul Douglas) is a farmer who earns his living by bartering for everything. The next-door neighbor doesn't like him and could use the land, so he sics the IRS on Douglas' land. The IRS agent (Tony Randall) winds up falling in love with Douglas' daughter (Debbie Reynolds).

The happy ending is that the government has been screwing Douglas' family for decades and really owe him an eight-figure amount of money.

[John]

Like most movies with Tony Randall, that is a good movie.

[l0b0t]

+1 Hello Down There (also featuring a very young Richard Dreyfuss).

[Zeb]

I wouldn't call it a particularly libertarian movie, though I haven't seen it in a long time.
However, nothing says libertarians have to start businesses or anything like that. That's more like objectivism. You can be a libertarian hippie bum as long as you don't think anyone should be forced to enable your lifestyle.

[John]

Yes Zeb. I think what kills it as a Libertarian movie is not that they don't start a business but that they are such bums who take advantage of the rancher and the commune's hospitality. Starting a business is not essential to Libertarianism but paying your own way and not stealing certainly is.

[Drax the Destroyer]

Heck, the commune can exist in a Libertarian world, as long as it doesn't expect it's neighbors to support it against their will.

[sarcasmic]

I've tried without success to explain to collectivists that libertarian individualism does not oppose collectivism so long as it is voluntary, not forced. They can't understand.

[Drax the Destroyer]

They can't understand it because they can't accept it. They want you chained to their combine and forced to plow the fields so they can sit back gambol in the fucking meadow. Assholes. You know it to be true, Sarc.

[sarcasmic]

I don't think it's that so much as they can't imagine a world without central planning. How can anyone be free if they're not asking permission and obeying orders?

[Zeb]

I agree with sarc. Most people really just lack the imagination to see that things can and will happen without central control. Maybe even new things that no one has thought of yet. People really think that the alternative to central control is chaos.

[sarcasmic]

Lots of people are natural followers. It's human nature.

[SugarFree]

It's a libertine movie, not a libertarian one. Most movies that are called "libertarian" are also really just "libertine" in intent and content.

[Lord Humungus]

It's a fairly silly movie. Not as bad as "The Trip" - another piece of bad hippie trash with Fonda.

[John]

I have never gotten why people like it so much. Even the soundtrack only has three good songs (The Weight, Born to Be Wild, and Its Alright Ma, I'm Only Bleeding).

[Ted S.]

I think it's Boomer cultural signalling.

[RBS]

One reason, smoke a bowl, watch it with some girl who's never seen it, get laid. At least that's how it worked for me in college.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Incredibles. Despite claims to the contrary, The Lego Movie is mostly about individualism and an attack on central planning.

[Rich]

Watched Lego last night As with many CG animations, enjoyable on several levels. I always like the references that go over the kids' heads.

[RBS]

It's really a good movie that has something for the parents and the kids.

[Marshall Gill]

I second The Incredibles as being about individualism.

[Robert]

The good guy was the kid-inventor, right? Making it possible for everyone to be special, and therefore nobody to be favored.

[Rasilio]

Yeah the Incredibles By a pretty good margin the best Pixar movie IMO and very good libertarian themes celebrating individuality and shooting down the everybody gets a trophy mentality of the modern world

[Roger the Shrubber]

Wall-E was not as good, but had a good libertarian theme. My brother claimed it was an environmentalist and collectivist movie. While there was an environmentalist angle to the movie, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, the plotline rejected and overcame the collectivism.

[Raven Nation]

Barb Wire

[Warren's Strapon]

Iron Man 2

[UnCivilServant]

A man who violates the terms of his contract goes unpunished for his actions? I don't get it.

[Warren's Strapon]

Justin Hammer tries to use government to steal Tony Stark's technology? It's right out of Atlas Shrugged.

[UnCivilServant]

Stark Industires is a defense contractor. Standard boilerplate contract with the DoD says that the technology developed by a defense contractor during the term of contract belongs to the government. It was their tech, not his.

[Harold Falcon]

KidCo, an early '80s movie about a group of kids who start a fertilizer business but get indicted by the IRS for not paying taxes.

[Enough About Palin]

Your "friend" is mistaken about the helmuts.

http://images.popmatters.com/f.....-splsh.jpg

[Jgalt1975]

"The Man in the White Suit" is usually considered to be pretty libertarian (scientist invents synthetic cloth that stays clean and is basically indestructible -- government officials, labor unions, and big businesses all try to gain control of the suit and destroy the formula).

[Emmerson Biggins]

Other Peoples Money

[Robert]

Any?! There must be tons of movies that celebrate freedom.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France, and Germany announced an agreement to end fighting in Eastern Ukraine.

Are Russia, France and Germany going to split Ukraine up and each take a chunk for themselves? Because that's been done before.

[UnCivilServant]

No, a piece goes to Poland too.

[Juice]

Yeah, how could he forget about them?

[BardMetal]

Wait why are the French and Germans included in this? Pretty sure they're not in the Ukraine.

[Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!]

Vee could be...

/Germany

[Pro Libertate]

They've occupied Ukraine before?

[Lord Humungus]

Heavy metal musician falls from door of speeding coach after 'mistaking it for toilet door'

In a mishap that police believe was alcohol-related, a member of the band apparently stepped out the tour bus door as it was speeding along a motorway in Poland, having mistaken it for the door to the bus's toilet.

Alex Teyen, 23, the band's singer, was taken to hospital after suffering head and face injuries, but is understood not to have been badly hurt. Police told local media in Poland that judging by his behaviour he was "probably under the influence of alcohol".

Coach? How quaint.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

I'd be surprised if Ozzy doesn't do this on a weekly basis when he's on tour.

[DontShootMe]

Why would anybody bother to reanimate Ozzy in between shows? Just leave him in the travel bag.

[Zeb]

He's got a guy whose sole job is to stop him doing that.

[Illocust]

There is probably a lot of truth to that. After you are worth so much money, there begins to be enough people with their livelihoods dependent on you that somebody hires a don't let the money maker kill himself guy.

[Ted S.]

Key man insurance

[Zeb]

Coach? How quaint.

Or British.

[Entropy Void]

"was taken to hospital after suffering head and face injuries"

No "the" before "hospital", second clue.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Number one or number two?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

"Leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France, and Germany announced an agreement to end fighting in Eastern Ukraine."

As they all look to the USA.

[Raven Nation]

Of course, of the four nations, only one leader actually matters in that announcement.

[Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!]

France does swing big dick these days!

...

What?

[Jerryskids]

It takes two to fight - I'm pretty sure Putin hoped there wasn't going to be any fighting in Ukraine in the first place.

[Raven Nation]

True. But, if the other three agreed and Putin said screw you, there would still be fighting. On the other hand, if Germany, France, & Russia agreed, I don't see Ukraine rocking the boat.

[Fist of Etiquette]

...which President Obama has called "an international crisis."

Good thing they have a firm handle on what constitutes a crisis. I'd hate to have that term watered down.

[Florida Man]

I've wondered about a rhino farm. Breed them in Wyoming and trim their horns every so often without killing them. Rhinos become plentiful and people stop buying black market rhino horn. It's a win-win.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Do you know how expensive rhinoplasty is? You'd operate at a loss.

[Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!]

*narrows gaze*

[Florida Man]

I saw a rhino trim his own horn once at animal kingdom. I imagine it would work like dairy cows. Except instead of milk you get keratin.

[R C Dean]

I saw a rhino trim his own horn once

Is that what they're calling it now?

[Pope Jimbo]

Well I figured it would take a lot of booze to get a rhino plastered. But are the rhinos all that picky? Couldn't you make rhinoplasty cheaper by using rot gut instead of good booze?

Or does cheap hooch affect the quality of the horn?

[Just a thought not a sermon]

I just checked Wikipedia. Rhino gestation is 15-16 months. As they're endangered, it would presumably take quite an effort to get even 2 or 3 breeding pairs. Apparently the horns take 12-24 months to regrow after being cut. It would take a long time to get this farm going, for a relatively small amount of horn. But could be worth it if rhino horn is valuable enough?

[Illocust]

You could use the farm as a tourist attraction while getting started and in-between horn cutting times. Lots of folks like seeing animals. Plus eventually you could allow hunting of the olds ones to subsidize some costs as well.

[Jerryskids]

Doesn't Warty run a retirement home that uses this same business model?

[Zeb]

I don't think they would like the winters in Wyoming very much.

Apparently a horn can sell for $250k, so it could be viable if you could get some breeding stock. Maybe from a zoo?

I think that as Asia continues to get richer, the demand will just keep growing. So some solution other than "just say no" will be needed to save wild animals like Rhinos and Elephants. Farming might help. Private game preserves seem to be the best thing to save large mammals.

[Rhywun]

I think that as Asia continues to get richer, the demand will just keep growing.

Maybe they'll get rich enough to start believing in real medicine.

[Zeb]

I think that is a different problem. It's the rich elite buying what is essentially ground up fingernails at heroin prices. And I bet they use evidence based medicine too if they are actually sick.

[Rhywun]

Yeah but belief in caveman medicine usually fades when you get rich. At least in the other half of the world it did.

[Somalian Road Corporation]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs

Despite his diagnosis, Jobs resisted his doctors' recommendations for medical intervention for nine months,[180] instead consuming a pseudo-medicine diet in an attempt to thwart the disease. According to Harvard researcher Ramzi Amri, his choice of alternative treatment "led to an unnecessarily early death."

...

Barrie R. Cassileth, the chief of Memorial Sloan?Kettering Cancer Center's integrative medicine department, said "Jobs's faith in alternative medicine likely cost him his life.... He had the only kind of pancreatic cancer that is treatable and curable.... He essentially committed suicide." According to Jobs's biographer, Walter Isaacson, "for nine months he refused to undergo surgery for his pancreatic cancer ? a decision he later regretted as his health declined."[223] "Instead, he tried a vegan diet, acupuncture, herbal remedies, and other treatments he found online, and even consulted a psychic. He was also influenced by a doctor who ran a clinic that advised juice fasts, bowel cleansings and other unproven approaches, before finally having surgery in July 2004." He eventually underwent a pancreaticoduodenectomy (or "Whipple procedure") in July 2004, that appeared to successfully remove the tumor. Jobs apparently did not receive chemotherapy or radiation therapy.

[Redmanfms]

Yeah but belief in caveman medicine usually fades when you get rich. At least in the other half of the world it did.

Never been to Sedona I take it?

There is a shitload of money to be made in homeopathic make-believe "medicine."

People spend millions upon millions on quackery like chiropracty.

And America is no exception, plenty of Europeans are still big believers in folk medicine (like damn near all of the ones I've met).

[Rhywun]

America and Europe have NOTHING on Asia when it comes to this shit, despite celeb exceptions and some town in Arizona I've never heard of.

[Pro Libertate]

Breed them in Florida, train them to herd pythons.

[Florida Man]

Now you're thinkin'!

[Entropy Void]

With some frog skin, a petri dish and a MakerBot you don't need the rest of the Rhino.

[Lord Humungus]

Penis Penis Penis.

Sexy Symbols Found at Ancient Cult Sites in Israel

One hundred prehistoric "cult sites," complete with penis stone structures and artifacts with vulva shapes cut into them, have been discovered in the Eilat Mountains, an extremely arid area of the Negev Desert in Israel.

At the sites, which date back around 8,000 years, archaeologists discovered a variety of stone structures and artifacts, including stone circles that measure 1.5 to 2.5 meters across (roughly 5 to 8 feet) with penis-shaped installations pointing toward them. Other findings there include standing stones that reach up to 2.6 feet (80 centimeters) high, stone bowls and stone carvings that have a humanlike shape.

[BigT]

Circumcised?

[Fist of Etiquette]

At the sites, which date back around 8,000 year...

8,000 years is longer than 4 hours. Israel better call its physician.

[Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!]

+1 little blue pill

[Notorious G.K.C.]

I wonder if anyone ever criticized idols such as this.

[Zeb]

No you don't.

[np]

The ancient times were sexy times.

[BigT]

Naomi Klein getting her full Marxism on for AGW:

Another point I would make, [about] carbon pricing, is that when we make the argument that this is a rogue sector, that their business plan is at odds with life on earth, we are creating an intellectual and political space where it becomes much easier to tax those profits, to increase royalties, and even to nationalize these companies. This is not just about the fact that we want to separate ourselves from these companies, it's also that we have a right to those profits. If those profits are so illegitimate that Harvard shouldn't be invested in them, they're also so illegitimate that taxpayers have a right to them to pay for a transition away from fossil fuels, and to pay the bills for a crisis created by this sector. It's not just about dissociating ourselves from their profits, but potentially getting a much larger piece of them.

[Palin's Buttplug]

The only way to effectively mitigate AGW is with markets. If this is true:

On Sunday, Germany's impressive streak of renewable energy milestones continued, with renewable energy generation surging to a record portion ? nearly 75 percent ? of the country's overall electricity demand by midday. With wind and solar in particular filling such a huge portion of the country's power demand, electricity prices actually dipped into the negative for much of the afternoon, according to Renewables International

http://thinkprogress.org/clima.....y-records/

then Germany has the right idea.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Huh?

Germany's play on green energy has been a pure disaster. As it's been in Spain and the UK.

What the fuck? Oh. Thinkprogress. Right.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Yeah. I should just read wingnut.com for info. My bad.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

http://www.spiegel.de/internat.....20288.html

Whatever you say, pal.

/rolls eyes.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Hardly a "pure disaster", Rufi. The article complains about the poor paying more due to mispriced subsidies and concludes:

The experts propose changing the system to resemble a model long successful in Sweden. If implemented, it would eliminate the more than 4,000 different subsidies currently in place. Instead of bureaucrats setting green energy prices, they would be allowed to develop indepedently on a separate market. The report's authors believe the Swedish model would lead to faster and cheaper implementation of renewable energy, and that the system would also become what it is not today: socially just.

Read the article next time.

[Jordan]

But this week, the issue is forcing its way onto the agenda. On Thursday, a government-sanctioned commission plans to submit a special report called "Competition in Times of the Energy Transition." The report is sharply critical, arguing that Germany's current system actually rewards the most inefficient plants, doesn't contribute to protecting the climate, jeopardizes the energy supply and puts the poor at a disadvantage.

That sounds pretty disastrous.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

There's an article every other week in Germany about the disaster.

[Entropy Void]

Zolindra!

Ach du Lieber!

[WTF]

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

[Restoras]

Best to ignore Teh Weigel. You never know when it is off its meds, not that it is actually sentient anyway.

[NebulousFocus]

Speaking of, Julian Sanchez tweeted this article in which he claims Weigel to be a libertarian. I lol'd.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

It's Always Sunny...in Germany?

[Pro Libertate]

It's springtime. . . .

[Certified Public Asskicker]

On one sunny, windy day in Germany...renewables worked for a few hours.

[UnCivilServant]

"In order to provide proper environments for renewables, we have installed nuclear-powered fans and lighting rigs to supply the required light and wind."

/goldberg solution.

[Charles Easterly]

"It's springtime...."

I just re-watched The Producers last night (the second one).

I shant quote it here.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Thinkprogress from May 2014.

[Marshall Gill]

The shrieking imbecile probably thinks that thinkprogress is a libertarian website.

[Jordan]

Nope:

Indeed, despite the massive investment, solar power accounts for only about 0.3 percent of Germany's total energy. This is one of the key reasons why Germans now pay the second-highest price for electricity in the developed world (exceeded only by Denmark, which aims to be the "world wind-energy champion"). Germans pay three times more than their American counterparts.

Moreover, this sizeable investment does remarkably little to counter global warming. Even with unrealistically generous assumptions, the unimpressive net effect is that solar power reduces Germany's CO2 emissions by roughly 8 million metric tons?or about 1 percent ? for the next 20 years. To put it another way: By the end of the century, Germany's $130 billion solar panel subsidies will have postponed temperature increases by 23 hours.

[Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!]

Yeah, like we can trust some Reich-wingut publication like....oh.

[Entropy Void]

"exceeded only by Denmark, which aims to be the "world wind-energy champion"

How quixotic of them ...

[BigT]

Maybe Germany does have the right idea ... increase coal utilization.

Germany, Europe's largest economy, boosted consumption of the fuel [coal] by 13 percent in the past four years, while use in Britain, No. 3 in the region economically, rose 22 percent, statistics from oil company BP Plc show. While Germany pledged to cut heat-trapping gases 55 percent by 2030 from 1990 levels, it's managed 25 percent so far and is moving in the wrong direction, according to the European Environment Agency.

Germany's emissions rose even as its production of intermittent wind and solar power climbed fivefold in the past decade. Utilities boosted production from profitable coal-fired plants after Chancellor Angela Merkel decided to close all 17 of the country's nuclear plants by 2022 in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011.

[Monty Crisco]

"On Sunday, Germany's impressive streak of renewable energy milestones continued, with renewable energy generation surging to a record portion ? nearly 75 percent ? of the country's overall electricity demand by midday."

I do not believe it is possible that someone could be such a dumbass as to take this at face value as fact, so the only other conclusion I can draw, fucktard, is that you are the most intellectually dishonest dipshit on the net.

Seriously, you think anyone here would even wipe their ass with a thinkprogress citation. You are a fucking moron and not a particularly good troll...

[John]

Shorter Klein, we have to murder or enslave humanity to save it.

[ColonelEngineer]

Absolutely disgusting... Why is the last name Klein synonymous with being a douche? Naomi, Ezra, the guy I know... (no offense to anyone on the board)

[This Machine]

It's not just about dissociating ourselves from their profits, but potentially getting a much larger piece of them.

She went full retard. You never go full retard always go full retard, when you're a proggie.

[Charles Easterly]

Does Klein always so blatantly advocate theft on a grand scale, or is this display likely the result of a new confidence that viewers have finally accepted state aggression against the property of others?

[NebulousFocus]

It seems they're sensing the end of their progressive moment, so they're doubling down while the savior is still in office.

[Charles Easterly]

Good. If that's the case I hope that many of our fellow citizens view their double-down rhetoric as drastic and unethical.

[Jerryskids]

They have no grasp of economics and voluntary trade whatsoever. These companies are not out there polluting our air and our water just for the fun of it, they are polluting our air and our water because we pay them to do it. We value what they are producing more than we value the cleaner air and water, therefore we are the ones profiting from their polluting. You could make the argument that they are entitled to steal the profit from us just as easily as you could make the argument that we are entitled to steal the profit from them.

[BigT]

And Obama and California double down on stupid AGW laws and regulations.

The White House, Office of the Press Secretary: ...the Administration is launching a Clean Energy Investment Initiative and announcing a goal to catalyze $2 billion of expanded private sector investment in solutions to climate change, including innovative technologies with breakthrough potential to reduce carbon pollution.

SACRAMENTO -- California lawmakers on Tuesday unveiled a sweeping package of bills that would boost the Golden State's reputation as a national leader in the battle against climate change.

If enacted, the legislation would in the decades ahead trigger fundamental shifts in the kind of cars Californians drive and the way they power their homes and businesses.

The bills would beef up the state's investments in clean energy, increase building efficiency standards and cut gasoline use in half by requiring cars and trucks to meet tougher emissions and gas mileage standards.

[Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!]

If Kaleeforneeyha enacts this, I am going to do a little investing in utilities in neighboring states. They are going to make a killing.

"Oh, you need a few megawatts, CA? Sure, we can do that, but it is gonna cost ya...."

[R C Dean]

That would be interstate commerce. Count on Obama to cap prices on electricity sold to CA.

[Jerryskids]

If enacted, the legislation would in the decades ahead trigger fundamental shifts in the kind of cars Californians drive and the way they power their homes and businesses.

Most of the legislation in California for the last 40 years seems to be deliberately designed to trigger fundamental shifts in the way people live - even though it's not like living naked, cold and hungry in caves hasn't already been tried before.

[Zeb]

Maybe Harvard should have stayed invested in fossil fuel companies so they could do some good with those evil profits. Divestment as a political statement always seems stupid to me. If all of these universities with enormous endowments really cared about how oil companies are run, they could probably get together and buy enough of the stock to have some influence on how they do business.
I suspect that the social signalling of "doing the right thing" is more important to them.

[robc]

Like Ive always said about unions, instead of lobbying, pump the dues into buying shares in the company. Controlling a few seats on the board helps negotiations. Of course, the union is then dependent on the company staying profitable too.

[Zeb]

Of course, the union is then dependent on the company staying profitable too.

One would think that would be seen as a good thing.

[R C Dean]

Controlling a few seats on the board helps negotiations.

On a functional board, those members would be conflicted out of discussing or voting on anything to do with the union.

[wareagle]

these folks cannot wrap their heads around this malicious truths: fossil fuels are natural resources. They're not "at odds with the earth"..they are OF the earth.

[Zeb]

People act like oil is some foreign substance that the biosphere can't deal with. From what I gather, more oil seeps naturally into the gulf of Mexico every year than spilled in that BP disaster thingy. Of course having it come out all at once in one place causes some particular problems. But mostly it just means that it will take a bit longer to go away.
But people act like it is permanently poisoning the whole Gulf or something.

[BigT]

And the UN unmasks its goal of restructuring the world economy to socialist principles.

"This is probably the most difficult task we have ever given ourselves, which is to intentionally transform the economic development model, for the first time in human history", Ms Figueres stated at a press conference in Brussels.

"This is the first time in the history of mankind that we are setting ourselves the task of intentionally, within a defined period of time to change the economic development model that has been reigning for at least 150 years, since the industrial revolution

- Christiana Figueres, the Executive Secretary of UNFCCC

[Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!]

"This is probably the most difficult task we have ever given ourselves, which is to intentionally transform the economic development model, for the first time in human history", Ms Figueres stated at a press conference in Brussels.

The Ghost of Lenin laughs.

[Heedless]

What's more, we shall accomplish all of this in a mere 5 years.

[Charles Easterly]

"What's more, we shall accomplish all of this in a mere 5 years."

Nice.

[Lord Humungus]

Rattlesnake Causes North Central Texas Radar Outage

The NWS put out a message saying "due to complications involving a rattlesnake" the site in Granger will be down overnight Tuesday and possibly into Wednesday afternoon.

The NWS tells NBC 5 a technician went to the site Tuesday to upgrade software and when he opened a cabinet containing some computer equipment he discovered a rattlesnake. The technician quickly left the building.

The NWS says animal control will remove and relocate the snake Wednesday.

[Raven Nation]

remove and relocate the snake

Really? When my parents found snakes in our driveway or wherever (in Australia), they just decapitated them with a shovel.

[Rich]

"Your snake is living happily on a farm in upstate New York."

[Raven Nation]

"Your snake died and dad buried it; although not necessarily in that order."

[pan fried wylie]

their shovel is stored in the same cabinet.

[UnCivilServant]

You want to hit the computers with a shovel? That is not the appropriate troubleshooting step for a snake infestation. I mean, the fans are not locked up! Seriously.

[Raven Nation]

No, I don't want to hit them with a shovel. I just can't believe they're "relocating" a single snake.

[SugarFree]

"Relocating" means tossing it in an ex-girlfriend's backyard.

[Pro Libertate]

Florida has a solution. Pythons. How many does Texas need?

[Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!]

Moving the snake ranches for Mounty Python's out West?

[Charles Easterly]

I see what you did there.

Move them far to the north and they'll keep the name but make for sluggish law enforcement.

But at least they'll learn hockey.

[Pro Libertate]

Ah, our corporate strategy is less subtle than I once thought.

[Zeb]

That's funny. Don't they still do big rattlesnake culls in a lot of places?

[Raven Nation]

Whacking Day.

[R C Dean]

There's a lot of people in Tucson who pay to have rattlesnakes relocated.

I actually believe a lot of the relocated snakes are released unharmed.

Which is beyond weird, to me.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

'The myth of Jon Stewart's massive millennial following.'

Yeah, yeah. He was the 5th Bea-tle.

Wasn't this linked in the PM links yesterday - and directly to The Weekly Standard where there is no paywall?

Hm? Eh?

[UnCivilServant]

PM Links don't count

[John]

I didn't read that article Rufus. Did it have any facts like the actual demographics of his ratings? The few people I know who watch Stewart are not milennials. They are my age or just old progs of the drive a Prius with a COEXIST sticker on the back.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

http://www.weeklystandard.com/.....48151.html

[Irish]

It said the average age of a John Stewart viewer is 41 and pointed out that if you look at his ratings and the % who are Millenials, he only gets like 750,000 Millenials a night. A lot of those are constant viewers, so there are probably about 2 million who watch his show even periodically.

For perspective, supposedly geriatric nightly news broadcasts on the networks get about 2 million Millenials a night.

[John]

Like most TV stars, he was never as popular as he seemed. Even if you count people who watched clips on youtube, not that many people watched him. It is just the ones that did were very vocal. Moreover, I think a lot of journalist types watched him. Journalists being about the most smug, self important and insular group in society, of course assumed everyone watched him and that he was much more important than he was.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

And then Oprah said he was a 'genius.'

She thinks everyone's a genius.

[Zeb]

I don't know about genius. But I think he was a good comedian who ruined himself be becoming too political.

[Somalian Road Corporation]

The absolutely overblown importance of any random blathering on Twitter can also be attributed to journalists being heavy users of that particular medium.

[UnCivilServant]

I'm reminded of some SJW who claimed their appearance on MSNBC gave them more credibility than their detractors, who 'merely' had YouTube channels. Channels whose subscriberships far surpassed MSNBC's ratings. Her detractors had a much bigger audience than that paltry little cable show she'd been on.

[ColonelEngineer]

Literally everyone I know who is even remotely left of center watches Jon Stewart. And they frequently quote him as gospel truth.

What's worse... They see John Oliver as the next big thing. He makes me want to mainline Drain-O.

[John]

Don't be discouraged Colonel. Them watching that shit is a good thing. It just allows them to pretend they don't have a problem or that the rest of the country is getting tired of them.

It used to be that when a party got its ass beat the way the Democrats did in 2014 and at the state level for years before that, it would cause them to come to their senses a bit. But now thanks to things like the Daily Show, the true believers don't even realize they are in trouble. All that show does is make them more stupid, more narrow minded, and less informed and by doing so less dangerous.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The GOP is doing everything it can to delay the FCC's approval of net neutrality rules, "or make the move as politically painful as possible," Politico reports.

I'm guessing their efforts are focused mostly on the latter.

[Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!]

Yeah, I was catching myself thinking "Wow, TEAM RED is standing up for freedom?" Then I read the stuff after or...

[Restoras]

Neither team believes in Freedom for us plebs. That would mean less power for them when it is their turn to rule.

[Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!]

I thought they may have made a fortunate blunder....guess not.

[Coeus]

When Taking Anxiety Medication Is A Revolutionary Act

I had to rearrange everything I knew to allow myself to look up the number for a psychiatrist, and rearrange even more to actually make the call. It takes courage and strength to look the stigma of being medicated in the face and push through it, to persist because you care about feeling whole and happy and calm more than you care about what other people think. Loving yourself enough to take care of yourself when it is easier not to is a revolutionary act.
And so I became a revolutionary. I was given a prescription for Celexa, an antidepressant also used to treat anxiety, and took one before work the next day. It worked.

Jesus. Can these idiots be any more up their own asses?

[Drax the Destroyer]

You forget, they aren't up their own asses. They ARE their own asses.

[Florida Man]

Side note: I discovered if you are taking lexapro you should avoid dextromethorphan, which is in a lot of cold medicines. It can increase risk for serotonin syndrome.

[John]

They don't even know what words mean. Using a drug as it was intended so that you become a well adjusted normal is not a revolutionary act. It is a conformist act. A Revolutionary act would be taking the drugs because you like the high they give you not because you need them. A Revolutionary Act would be embracing your anxiety as your unique experience and refusing to be medicated to what society considers normal.

Everything they say is the opposite of the truth. They really do live through the looking glass where up is down and black is white.

[Illocust]

Where is this magical stigma everyone keeps talking about. I have ADD and depression. I was so excited when I got medicated for them I told everyone I know. Nobody had anything but good for yous to say about it.

[Zeb]

Meh. Who cares? It's a silly way to talk about it. But if thinking that way gets you to a better place, why not?

[Coeus]

They got to a place where they wrote that drivel. You sure it's a better one?

[Zeb]

I'm not sure of anything based on a brief excerpt of some stupid essay or whatever it is. But if they are truly happier, then yes.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I hate people who brag about not having TV's in their houses.

Carry on.

[UnCivilServant]

I have TVs, I use them as monitors.

[Coeus]

Yeah, I get the feeling that this complaint dates you quite a bit. Almost everyone has a computer and almost all TVs are also monitors. And there ain't no hipsters staying off the internet.

[UnCivilServant]

I used to also use them as TVs, but then I realized I didn't watch enough TV to keep paying the cable bill, so I had that shut off.

However, I really don't understand most of what you just said.

[Coeus]

Not you. Anyone complaining about people bragging that they don't have TV. It just means you are saving money, not forsaking normal programming. Everyone downloads or streams everything now anyway.

The complaint is no longer relevant.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

It was a morning joke. Don't take it so seriously. Perhaps I've taken for granted folks 'round here hear that assertion as often as I do.

Also, I don't think TV's are as obsolete as you seem to imply.

[UnCivilServant]

Of course not, it take inputs of 1980x1200 over HDMI.

[Coeus]

Perhaps I've taken for granted folks 'round here hear that assertion as often as I do.

That's the part that dates you. No one's meant it in the way you mean for over a decade.

[SugarFree]

I love it. It makes it easy to spot assholes.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

Stevie: You want to watch TV? Can't. Not allowed.
Malcolm: What? You mean, ever?
Stevie: Mom says TV makes you stupid.
Malcolm: No, TV makes you normal.

[Charles Easterly]

Can't they do both?

[Zeb]

I hate people who brag about not having TV's in their houses.

At this point, unless they are doing some off-the-grid thing, it's almost certainly bullshit anyway. Almost everyone has some screen that fills the traditional role of TV. I don't have any cable/satellite/broadcast TV access at home, but I watch stuff on the internet all the time, so I'm not going to pretend I don't watch TV, even though technically I watch a computer screen.

[Matrix]

Cop partially paralyzes an Indian for being brown and outside

I wonder what the folks at Police One think. But they have blocked viewing comments for non-members.

[Coeus]

I am honestly surprised it took them this long to do that.

[Ted S.]

If you've done nothing wrong, you have nothing to hide!

[sarcasmic]

Transparency.

[Injun, as in from India]

F***ing pigs. This could have been my Dad for Pete's sake.

[Matrix]

I live in the same county as Madison, AL (the county is called Madison County). I feel safer knowing that I can walk around a neighborhood and be beaten senseless by a police officer for no damned reason what-so-ever.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

It's amazing how easily people can become. A neighbor called the cops because they didn't recognize Patel.

It's retarded on so many levels. I don't recognize plenty of people around here.

[sarcasmic]

Last summer I was driving my wife's car when I went to pick up the stepkid for the weekend. He had decided to walk back from camp that day, so I had to wait. One of the neighbors called the cops. Luckily for me all the cop did was ask how I was doing, then drive off when I didn't act suspicious.

[Matrix]

Sounds like that officer needed to be fired for not beating you senseless. Procedures were NOT followed!!

[Somalian Road Corporation]

I wonder what the folks at Police One think. But they have blocked viewing comments for non-members.

Oh god hahaha. Simultaneously amused and disgusted.

[Drax the Destroyer]

The Obama administration announced that American intelligence agencies will begin tracking and targeting "wildlife traffickers" in an effort to stop the selling of ivory, rhinoceros horns, etc., which President Obama has called "an international crisis."

So...this incompetent bullshit government, that wastes 9 out of every 10 "welfare" dollars on bureaucracy, is going to somehow stop ivory trafficking? They can't even balance a budget. Maybe Green Peace should arm itself with Hollywood funds, and go kill the dirt bags themselves. They'd be more successful than the U.S. government at any rate.

[UnCivilServant]

With all the money spent to combat traficking, they could be cloning the animals and flooding the market in cheap ivory/horn/etc

[Drax the Destroyer]

Or some stem cell madness where this shit is cooked up in lab factories. So. Fucking. Stupid.

[John]

How about we encourage some country in Africa to build elephant farms to produce ivory which would then flood the market making ivory much less valuable and poaching elephants no longer a profitable business?

[Drax the Destroyer]

Stop making sense John.

Although, it should be noted, that this trade (and that of Tiger Dicks) is partially fueled by old Chinese superstitions about health. And when 100 million - 2 billion people want something , even for irrational reasons, they gonna get it.

[John]

It is horrible. It really makes me hate the Chinese. What a bunch of fucking ignorant barbarians.

[Drax the Destroyer]

There was some report I saw, think it was on VICE, that interviewed a Chinese man who took Rhino horn to cure his cancer. He was asked if he felt better weeks after ingesting the powdered horn. He said no.

He's probably dead now. I wonder if Rhino hell and human hell intersect.

[Charles Easterly]

Chinese have a lot of hells, Drax.

[Pro Libertate]

"Hell of the Upside-Down Sinners!"

[Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!]

+1 I'm a reasonable guy. But, I've just experienced some very unreasonable things.

[Pro Libertate]

"Jack" what? I'm supposed to buy this shit? 2000 years, he can't find one broad to fit the bill? Come on, Dave, you must be doing something seriously wrong!

[John]

I hope he is spending eternity with a Rhino shoving a horn up his ass.

[BardMetal]

Ignorant barbarians, with nuclear weapons, automatic rifles, and soon an aircraft carrier.

Kinda of frightening realizing even as our tools advanced we're still the same primitive species we were sense we kicked the Neanderthals out of ice age Europe.

[SugarFree]

Homeopathic rhino horn. A single sliver of horn could make two billion doses.

[Rich]

Excellent

Also, nice band name.

[BardMetal]

Brilliant we can save the rhino by mixing traditional Chinese medicine with new age bullshit.

[Pro Libertate]

I touched a Moon rock this weekend. If I take my finger, which has atoms of Moon rock on it, and place it in a cup of water, then mix that water with vats of kale smoothie, dry the mixture, and sell it as a homeopathic remedy (Made with Actual Moon Rocks), would I be insanely rich? I'm thinking yes.

[SugarFree]

I will buy your moon rock smoothie, good sir!

[Pro Libertate]

Let's see. The Moon is connected to lunacy, so there's a whole area we can claim to treat. There's also the menstrual cycle. And tides. Gotta be a tide angle.

I'm going to be so fucking rich.

[SugarFree]

Lycanthropy cure. And the market is just going to go up; werewolf is the new vampire.

[Pro Libertate]

Oh, right, good point. With vampires and zombies played out, next up is the werewolf.

[UnCivilServant]

Don't, you'll end up like Cave Johnson.

[Warty]

And don't forget that traditional Chinese quackery was on its way out before Mao promoted it. Fuck Mao.

[BardMetal]

Wait are saying he wasn't part of the party of Science?

[Virginian]

And don't forget that traditional Chinese quackery was on its way out before Mao promoted it. Fuck Mao.

Wow so he managed to keep killing people after he was dead?

Damn.

[Warty]

Yup.

Fuck all communists, but really, seriously, fuck Mao.

[Pope Jimbo]

John one of the ugly secrets of animal lovers is the fact that the countries where hunting is legal have growing populations. Where it is illegal, the populations are plummeting.

There's been a regulated hunting industry in Botswana since the 1960s. Before the ban took effect, the government was issuing roughly 400 elephant-bull tags per year, of which Jeff Rann was allowed to buy about forty. And counterintuitively, even in the presence of an active bullet-tourism industry, Botswana's elephant population has multiplied twentyfold, from a low point of 8,000 in 1960 to more than 154,000 today. These healthy numbers, as people like Rann are keen to mention, mirror elephant populations in other African countries where hunting is allowed. Despite a recent uptick in poaching problems, both Tanzania (with 105,000 elephants) and Zimbabwe (with 51,000) have seen similar patterns of population growth. Kenya, on the other hand, banned elephant hunting in 1973 and has seen its elephant population decimated, from 167,000 to 27,000 or so in 2013. Some experts predict that elephants will be extinct in Kenya within a decade.

http://www.gq.com/long-form/wh.....n-elephant

[John]

If the animals are an asset, the people who own them will protect them and the poachers don't have a chance. If they are not, no one will care.

[Pope Jimbo]

It isn't hard to figure out why if you think about it. If you allow hunting, elephants are a valuable resource. If you are a farmer in Botswana you are willing to put up with a bit of damage to your crops because a rich hunter might come by and shoot a bull. If he does you get the meat and usually a tip from the hunter.

If you live in Kenya, an elephant is just a hopped up white tail deer, only there to eat up your garden and is a pure loss for you. A total pest animal. Why not poach it?

[Virginian]

And counterintuitively, even in the presence of an active bullet-tourism industry, Botswana's elephant population has multiplied twentyfold, from a low point of 8,000 in 1960 to more than 154,000 today.

It's only counterintuitive to economic ignoramuses. When something is worth money, the market produces more of the thing to make money.

Great example with the white rhino. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (commie shithole) does not allow hunting, and has four white rhinos. The Republic of South Africa, which does allow hunting, has over 20,000.

[John]

I wonder also if you can just cut off an elephant's tusks and have it grow back. If you could, the elephant farms wouldn't even have to kill their elephants. They could give a few thousand of them an easy life at the price of whacking off their tusks every year or two.

Of course no one does this because trading in ivory at all is illegal. It sounds so simple to just ban ivory trade to save the elephants. In reality doing that is probably going to ensure their extinction.

[UnCivilServant]

I think the problem is they tend to use their tusks, and the rate of growth probably precludes getting more than a single pair from any given elephant.

[kinnath]

In some places, the already cut the tusks off of elephants in the wild so that ivory hunters won't have a reason to kill the elephants.

[pan fried wylie]

You have to hunt the ivory to save the ivory.

[Raven Nation]

According to elephantsforever.net (not kidding), tusks do not grow back.

[Pro Libertate]

Ah, but you're talking about non-GMO elephants.

[John]

Sad. And yes, what pro liberate said. We need new elephants.

[UnCivilServant]

If we're going to do that, at least up it to four tusks again to increase yield.

[Lord Humungus]

Despite national criticism, Notre Dame moves forward with 'white privilege' class

In order to participate, students had to complete a 15-20 minute interview prior to acceptance. The seminar's description states that "the goal for each participant is personal transformation: to leave the class? more aware of injustices and better equipped with tools to disrupt personal, institutional, and worldwide systems of oppression."

"[P]eople consciously and unconsciously simultaneously participate in and are affected by systems of oppression. However, since these behaviors can be learned, they can be unlearned."

The course includes a university-funded trip to the annual White Privilege Conference, which is being hosted in March in Louisville, Kentucky.

[P]eople?

[WTF]

Can the re-education camps be far behind? The mask has really come off, hasn't it?

[Florida Man]

I think trying to put white people in camps would go poorly. Especially anywhere not the north east.

[Restoras]

Yes but outside of the urban centers the Northeast you might find a lot of people that would object as well...and are armed enough to resist.

[Zeb]

Yeah, the North East does not consist entirely of New York and Boston. And there are an awful lot of armed white people.
Can we just stop this regionalism bullshit?

[Florida Man]

No

[Zeb]

Fine. Why don't you go fuck your sister in the back of your confederate flag bedecked pickup truck and eat some grits and then wrassle some gators before accidentally shooting yourself in the leg after saying "hold my beer".

Am I missing anything?

[WTF]

Sure, which is why they haven't tried it...yet. They see what they can get away with and gradually ratchet it up. The boiling a frog slowly saying comes to mind here.

[Restoras]

Re-education camps? That's what US college campuses already are. All that's missing are walls, guards, and informants.

[UnCivilServant]

The informants are already in place, or haven't you been paying attention?

[WTF]

I'm pretty sure they have the informants.

[Pro Libertate]

I mentioned this earlier--it's really a good thing they've lost the ability to hide their intentions. Most Americans are fairly indifferent to all of this noise, but if you get too blatant about screwing them over and ignoring the source of your political legitimacy (i.e., the Constitution), you're going to have a hard time maintaining control.

[SugarFree]

It be nice if they concentrated all this nonsense into a single, avoidable class, rather than smear it all over everything. But they'd just make it a requirement...

[John]

As long as it is not required only morons will take it. I bet three credit hours at Notre Dame is six or seven thousand dollars. For the price of a lavish vacation to Europe you can spend months listening to propaganda you can get for free every day from KOS and Jezebel.

[Virginian]

lol college. Every day I'm happier and happier I get throwing money down that rat hole.

[ColonelEngineer]

Kentucky... Goddammit, can home make the news for something positive for once!?

God has abandoned me

[Ted S.]

That's some wedding!

Shooting outside Northern Ireland wedding kills man

The priest who was conducting the wedding described what happened. He said it had been a wedding involving two families from the travelling community.

Father Michael King told Chris Buckler that the bride was traumatised after the shooting, but carried on with the wedding

Fr Michael King said the shooting started as the bride stood at the back of the church waiting to walk up the aisle.

"The next thing I heard was (people shouting), 'there's shots, there's shots'.

"I thought 'God what's going on here' so I went out and there was a fella lying on the road and around six fellas around him.

"Travelling community" is a euphemism for gypsies.

[Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!]

"Persons of mobile residency"

[Charles Easterly]

Pikeys.

How much for the caravan - in Periwinkle blue?

[Virginian]

It's a fair deal. Take it.

[Virginian]

"Travelling community" is a euphemism for gypsies.

I fuckin' hate pikeys.

[Charles Easterly]

You beat me to it as I was spell-checking.

Oh - congratulations on the passage of the new asset forfeiture law, Virginian.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The myth of Jon Stewart's massive millennial following.

Since it's behind a paywall I'm powerless to breach, I'm assuming they're saying the Millennials aren't really the lemmings we make them out to be? Someone should take a poll.

[Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!]

Emily, get on this STAT!!!!

[Pro Libertate]

They're all libertarians. Every one of them.

[Lord Humungus]

San Francisco commuters possibly exposed to measles on train

Tens of thousands of commuters on San Francisco's Bay Area Rapid Transit system may have been exposed to measles after an infectious Bay Area resident rode a train to and from work for three days last week, public health officials said on Wednesday.

The rider represents the first case of measles confirmed by Contra Costa County health officials during an outbreak of the disease that began in late December. The infected person also spent time at a San Francisco restaurant and bar on the evening of Feb. 4.

"Although the risk of contracting measles by being exposed on BART is low, Bay Area residents should be aware of the situation," the county public health department said in a statement.

[Drax the Destroyer]

Although the risk of contracting measles by being exposed on BART is low...

Not as low as the ridership.

[Ted S.]

Those immigrants didn't bring ebola; they brought measles.

[John]

Mass Transit kills. If those people had lived in a civilized city that encouraged cars, they wouldn't have been exposed.

[robc]

A civilized city neither encourages nor discourages cars. As mass transit isnt encouraged, I doubt subways or light rail exist. Or maybe someone figures out how to run a profitable private subway.

A civilized city has no zoning, so all neighborhoods are mixed use by default (excepting HOA rules). Which may mean that streets are commonly used equally by cars, pedestrians, bicycles and other forms of transportation. But that is okay, because it works.

[Rich]

Which of the 11 American nations do you live in?

"Deep South" will rise again for the first time!

[WTF]

I apparently live in "New Netherland". Yeah, it makes no fucking sense.

[UnCivilServant]

Bah! The morons who compile these maps don't take into account that the primary divide is between urban dipshits and everyone else.

[Rich]

This.

[Pro Libertate]

No doubt. When I encountered country folk in downstate Illinois, I realized that the South had no monopoly on rednecks.

[RBS]

My most redneck clients are people who moved here (SC) from Ohio.

[WTF]

Fuck, there are rednecks in Sussex County New Jersey.

[Pro Libertate]

I've seen them almost everywhere I've been. Just get out of the cities. It's one of the total hoots that urban leftists truly don't get--they ain't all in the South.

[wareagle]

redneck does not describe a region, it describes a lifestyle and mindset. Ex-NBA player Karl Malone happily calls himself one.

[Pro Libertate]

Grew up with black rednecks. Pick-up trucks, Confederate flags, the whole nine yards. I'm sure they didn't think through the full implications of all of that, but they were promoting a lifestyle, not history.

[Elspeth Flashman]

What? No "Wartyville?"

[WTF]

Warty can not be constrained by artificial borders.

[SugarFree]

Who runs Wartytown?

[Charles Easterly]

Faster Blaster?

[SugarFree]

See, people? This is a man who knows what he is doing.

[Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!]

Squat Blaster

[UnCivilServant]

It's a self-hating anarcho-capitalist commune.

[WTF]

You misspelled "rape dungeon".

[Elspeth Flashman]

Major Malfunction?

[l0b0t]

The claim that Florida's South West coast is "part of the Spanish Caribbean" is so thoroughly nonsensical it could only be promulgated by someone who has never, ever, ever set foot in the Sunshine State.

[Lord Humungus]

oh Florida Man... and Woman...

Authorities: Man, woman sleeping in Florida dumpster get emptied into garbage truck

Hillsborough County Sheriff's officials say the couple had been sleeping in a dumpster outside a convenience store near Tampa early Wednesday. When the dumpster was emptied into the back of the garbage truck, they started screaming and banging on the sides of the truck.

Rescue crews were called just after 5 a.m. They removed 37-year-old Donald L. Jordan and 49-year-old Lisa Spirella from the truck. They were taken to Tampa General Hospital after complaining of back pain.

Deputies originally believed they were homeless, but learned they were highly intoxicated after hanging out at a nearby casino.

[Florida Man]

Check out my new banana peel hat guys!

[Elspeth Flashman]

People throwing away a perfectly good white boy.

[Restoras]

+ $2

[Charles Easterly]

Nice.

Better off Dead bonus points for Elspeth.

[Pro Libertate]

Yeah, this has been all over the news here. I like the back pain claim, because that smells a lot like they want to try to sue. Good luck with that.

[Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!]

Well, it smells a lot like something alright...

[Elspeth Flashman]

Teen spirit?

[sarcasmic]

World's first penis REDUCTION surgery: Teenager requested op after his manhood grew so large it stopped him having sex
17-year-old complained his penis was too large, stopping him have sex
It measured 7ins in length and had a circumference of 10ins when flaccid
Despite the size, his penis did not grow when erect - it just became firmer
Surgeon said: 'It's girth was just massive' and was shaped like rugby ball
Doctors didn't take post op measurements but said it was still 'generous'
'It was a life-changing event, he's all smiles,' urologist told MailOnline
WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/hea.....g-sex.html

The surgeon who treated the teenager, Rafael Carrion, a urologist at the University of South Florida, told MailOnline: 'There comes a time in every urologist's career that a patient makes a request so rare and impossible to comprehend that all training breaks down and leaves the physician speechless.
'That question was "can you make my penis smaller"?'

[Rich]

The surgeons sliced along an old circumcision scar, unwrapped the skin of the penis, and cut out two segments of tissue from either side.

SEE?! Circumcision *is* good for something!

[Caleb Turberville]

ID4, best film of the 90s or greatest ever?

[Drax the Destroyer]

It's pretty good for what it is. But I'd hesitate to say it was the best of the 90's. Speed was pretty badass and stupid at the same time.

[Caleb Turberville]

Speed didn't have Cousin Eddie saving the day, or Jeff Goldblum making stream-of-conscious, word associations that lead up to the third act.

[Caleb Turberville]

"Pizza, Pizzas are baked. Bake...baking oven...Oven, oven has two vowels. Vowels, vowels starts with V. Virus. Let's upload a virus to the mothership."

[Drax the Destroyer]

It did have a decapitated Dennis Hopper and a blown up Jeff Daniels. Ante upped.

Although I do love the line:

-"But I'm not Jewish."
-"No one is perfect."

[Drax the Destroyer]

Die Hard with Vengeance came out in 95. That kicked some balls in as well.

[Ted S.]

All About My Mother is from 1999.

If you can find a copy of Schtonk, a comedy about the Hitler diaries, that's from the 90s, too.

[John]

It beats the hell out of the Matrix. As far as a fun big budget summer movie, maybe. It is silly for sure. But compared to what passes for that kind of movie now, it is The Manchurian Candidate.

[robc]

I will take the Matrix.

ID4 I thought didnt age well. It was fun but low on rewatchability. The Matrix was rewatchable, although I havent in a while.

A Night at the Roxbury was from the 90s.

[sarcasmic]

Helena Bonham Carter has a phobia of fish but she doesn't want us taking too many of them out of the oceans. So here's a picture of her posing naked with a giant tuna

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....paign.html
Um... SugarFree?

[Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!]

Oh miserably lucky fish...

[Restoras]

I'm with you LTC. I bet she is a wild, crazy ride.

[SugarFree]

First of all, that is not even remotely a giant tuna. And secondly, she looks pretty good for her age, but for the love of all things holy and otherwise, can someone teach this woman about the virtues of conditioner?

[Pro Libertate]

I've seen bigger tunas on a plate. Come on, can we not get accurate news reporting anymore?

[sarcasmic]

It's the Daily Mail. You read it for the pictures, not the news.

[Pope Jimbo]

No mention of the pic of the funky cod piece?

[Charles Easterly]

Nice.

[Lord Humungus]

Little noticed, new Saudi king shapes contours of power

By rapidly appointing two heirs, Saudi Arabia's King Salman has pressed pause on "succession Sudoku", as one leading local journalist calls speculation over whose star is rising and whose waning in the large and secretive Al Saud ruling family.

The choice of 69-year-old Muqrin for crown prince and 55-year-old Mohammed bin Nayef for deputy crown prince resolved the most important dilemma in the dynasty's recent history - how to jump from sons of its founder, King Abdulaziz, to his grandsons.

We need young blood!

[sarcasmic]

Arizona schools ditch Michelle Obama-backed Smart Snacks plan after snow cones were banned from fundraiser
The Smart Snacks provision of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, bans sugary and fatty foods from being sold on campus
However, Arizona schools chief Diane Douglas has granted an exception for the patch she manages, calling the regulations 'ridiculous'
Her outrage stemmed from an incident where school children were told they could not sell snow cones because they were not approved

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....isers.html
Careful. She might show up and start ripping peoples' arms off.

[sarcasmic]

Did deep sea currents end the ice age? Carbon dioxide released from ocean floor triggered warming, claims study
Researchers at the University of Southampton studied fossilised plankton
They found acidity in ocean surface water soared 16,000 to 7,500 years ago
They suggest currents carried the carbon dioxide up from the deep ocean
This allowed the gas to escape into the atmosphere and trigger warming
Scientists say the finding provides new clues about what ended the ice age
However what triggered the release of the carbon dioxide is still unclear

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sci.....study.html
Must... keep... grasping...

[Certified Public Asskicker]

what triggered the release of the carbon dioxide is still unclear

Man, obviously.

[WTF]

Cthulhu.

[Ted S.]

However what triggered the release of the carbon dioxide is still unclear

It was anthropogenic, of course.

[UnCivilServant]

Time travellers! Of Course! It all makes sense now!

[Dr. Fronkensteen]

Aren't you forgetting Atlantis?

[Restoras]

Amazon Studios is bringing back Sigmund and the Sea Monsters...

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/ph.....ID=2016229

[Pro Libertate]

I was a fan. What's next, Dr. Shrinker?

[sarcasmic]

'I looked gorgeous but felt dead inside': Woman who destroyed her health through extreme dieting piles pounds BACK on to become 15 stone plus-size model
Eva Believer, 34, now 15st, is in the final of Miss Plus Size International
She hated her size 24, 18st frame and slimmed to 10st 13lb and a size 8
But health complications due to weight loss impacted her career
Put weight back on and moved to UK where people love her curvy figure

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/fem.....model.html
John says "Sha-wing!"

[Rich]

Or "Shamu!"

[Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!]

Was she a large girl? - Yes.

Big through the hips? Roomy? - They all were

[Charles Easterly]

Bonus lotion in the basket.

[Ted S.]

Then I saw her face,
Now Eva Believer.....

[sarcasmic]

'This tastes like cow poop!': Children sample breakfasts from around the world... with mixed results
'It tastes like cow poop!' said one young boy when tasting coffee from Brazil as part of the gustatory experiment from website KitchenBowl.com
Video of the American youngsters trying foods from aroud the globe has nearly half a million views on YouTube
The most popular foods were the eggs, sausage, and potato from Poland and chocolate toast from Finland
The least popular breakfast was anchovies from Korea and coffee from Brazil

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

Next the adventurers were asked to try food from Finland which was characterized by a bowl of raspberries along with salmon and onion on a piece of bread.

Sounds good to me.

[Enough About Palin]

The onion is worn on the belt, btw.

[Dr. Fronkensteen]

Well it is in the style of the time.

[sarcasmic]

Kesha ditches the glamour as she kicks off NYFW in casual ensemble... but still manages to flash flesh with skimpy hotpants

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....pants.html
She looks like someone told her to take a sedative, and then took their advice.

[Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!]

Or she has a concussion.

[SugarFree]

That would actually explain quite a bit.

[Steve G]

I would... all day e'ry day

[sarcasmic]

Happy to be arrested! Robbery suspect dragged out of his car and beaten by female driver after rear-ending her in high speed police chase
The dramatic incident was caught on camera on a busy freeway in Dallas
Police rushed to the scene after they received a report of a robbery
But when they arrived a woman was beating up the robbery suspect

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....chase.html
Ha ha!

[Lord Humungus]

White House Stalled ISIS Rescue. Foley, Sotloff, and Mueller Died.

The U.S. government obtained intelligence on the possible location of American captives held by ISIS in Syria last year, but Obama administration officials waited nearly a month to launch a rescue mission because of concerns that the intelligence wasn't conclusive and some of it had come from a foreign service, U.S. and British officials told The Daily Beast.

British officials, as well as private security contractors, said they were frustrated by Washington's hesitance to give the go-ahead for a rescue attempt, which eventually was carried out on July 4, 2014, by which time the hostages had been moved. The following month, ISIS began beheading its American and British prisoners in a series of grisly Internet videos.

"They got the information. They just didn't trust it. And they did sit on it, there's no doubt about that."

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Love how the comments are defending Obama. Let's play a game.

If it were Bush how do you think they would have reacted?

[WTF]

BUSH dallied, people died!!11!!!!

[The Late P Brooks]

American intelligence agencies will begin tracking and targeting "wildlife traffickers"

Nothing

left

to

cut.

[Bee Tagger]

The myth of Jon Stewart's massive millennial following.

And the allure of almost alliteration?

[Charles Easterly]

Nicely noted and some well-done alliteration, Bee.

[Lord Humungus]

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Thinks Americans Are Ready for Gay Marriage

Americans are prepared to accept a U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said, pointing to what she described as a sweeping change in attitudes toward gays.

In an interview Wednesday in the court's oak-paneled east conference room, Ginsburg also said President Barack Obama's health-care law, which is under attack in a case before the Supreme Court next month, will be a central part of his legacy.

[WTF]

Ginsburg also said President Barack Obama's health-care law, which is under attack in a case before the Supreme Court next month, will be a central part of his legacy.

Gee, I wonder which way she's going to vote on the state exchange issue?

[John]

I am starting to think Justice Penaltax is going to give Progs gay marriage on the same day he sticks a stake in the heart of Obamacare.

I am starting to think Roberts might not be as craven as I thought. He might actually be smart and also really like making Progs suffer. If you think about it, the best thing he could have done for Democrats and Progs is kill Obamacare. It would have saved them the misery of defending it and pretending it works while allowing them the myth of "it would have been great had the evil Rethuglicans not killed it". Sure it was the wrong thing to do and bad for the country. But I think Roberts maybe hates progs more. If so, he will torture them even more by giving them gay marriage while killing Obamacare.

[Virginian]

If so, he will torture them even more by giving them gay marriage while killing Obamacare.

Let's hope so. Killing Obamacare and legalizing gay marriage at the same time would be one of the best things to happen for liberty for a long time.

[John]

Their heads would explode. They couldn't call him a partisan because he just stuck it to conservatives. They couldn't claim the court was illegitimate without making conservative complaints about gay marriage legitimate. They would be fucked. I bet that is what he does. Roberts more than anything wants people to respect the court. And doing that would put both sides in a real bind.

[UnCivilServant]

Roberts more than anything wants people to respect the court.

Odd, his tenure has cost a lot of the respect I used to have for the court.

[John]

You and a lot of other people. Roberts is the classic figure who will do anything to be liked and respected by all and ends up being loathed by all.

[robc]

Based on past history, he will probably kill gay marriage (or actually, allow states to make their own decisions) and support Obamacare.

[BigT]

Ginsburg also said President Barack Obama's health-care law, which is under attack in a case before the Supreme Court next month, will be a central part of his legacy.

Is she going to listen to the arguments next month?

There's a word for this, when you judge something before learning the facts. Don't help me now...

pre.... pre... pre...something

[UnCivilServant]

Oh come on, how many times has it ever been unclear how Ginsberg was going to vote on a partisan issue?

[SugarFree]

Pre-ejaculate?

[Pro Libertate]

No offense, but I don't want gay marriage. I mean, me personally. They can keep it and give me the cash equivalent instead.

[Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!]

There is a cash equivalent available?! HURRY UP AND RULE, SCOTUS!!!

[Pro Libertate]

Yes, due to the doctrine of equal protection, any rights given to one group of people that are not given to another require a cash payment.

[Bee Tagger]

Have farmer's markets peaked?

At the farmer's daughters? They'll soon find out you reap what you sow.

[Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!]

+1 traveling salesman joke

[Bee Tagger]

Democrats are saying the plan is too open-ended, while Republicans are insisting that it doesn't go far enough.

Eager to shed the "do-nothing" label, Democrats have gone with "do something" while the Republicans are staking claim to "do everything"

[Rich]

'Radical Brownies' Learn Social Justice Instead Of Selling Cookies

"White policeman are killing black young folks such as women, men and children."
"Mike Brown. He was shot because he didn't do nothing. Only the police officer shot him because of his skin color."
These girls are called the "Radical Brownies." And instead of learning sewing, they're learning social justice.
Their first badge, a fist emblazoned with the words Black Lives Matter. They earned it for marching in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in Oakland last month.

You can't fool *me*, Rich. That's from The Onion.

[Coeus]

Trolling brands is different than people.

But not understanding (or refusing to understand) the big problems with conflating HappyGate and GamerGate is just part of what's worrying about the campaign. An even larger social tendency ? to suppress emotional discord and encourage false cheer ? is at play in Coca-Cola's campaign. While a cute ASCII icon could certainly temporarily cheer you up (slash distract you from the many wrongs of society!), it does nothing to dismantle the often-oppressive power structures and problematic beliefs that exacerbate the righteous anger and debilitating depression many people feel. In fact, it simply serves as a dangerous distraction from them, one that allows those power structures and twisted beliefs to continue on without being called out.

The horror.

You can be mean to Coke. You can be mean to Gawker. Big brands can take it, and may often deserve it. But don't be mean to regular people.

Cool. So I can be mean to skepchick and feministfrequency? I thought that was harassment.

[Irish]

"While a cute ASCII icon could certainly temporarily cheer you up (slash distract you from the many wrongs of society!), it does nothing to dismantle the often-oppressive power structures and problematic beliefs that exacerbate the righteous anger and debilitating depression many people feel."

You can't ever be happy, even momentarily, so long as there is any ongoing social ill on the planet.

Maybe that righteous anger and depression the people at Skepchick think they're feeling is actually just misery caused by their pathetic lives.

[Irish]

"The GOP is doing everything it can to delay the FCC's approval of net neutrality rules, "or make the move as politically painful as possible," Politico reports."

The GOP does something useful. This must be a sign of the apocalypse.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Here's some sickening derp, titled an Ode to Obamacare. Notice how it engages in exactly the same kind of attacks on the average citizens involved in the lawsuit as that which enraged the left when the shoe was on other feet.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02.....egion&_r=0

[Drax the Destroyer]

Anybody word-fapping over this abomination should be lumped into the same group of progressives that supported eugenics and prohibition. Monstrous fucks.

[Lord Humungus]

US budget deficit running 6.2 percent higher than last year

The federal government ran a bigger deficit in January, pushing the imbalance so far this budget year up 6.2 percent from the same period a year ago.

The Treasury Department said Wednesday the deficit for January stood at $17.5 billion compared to $10.3 billion a year ago. For the first four months of the budget year that began in October, the deficit widened to $194.2 billion from $182.8 billion during the same period last year.

[Ted S.]

It's all the fault of the BOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH stimulus!

[Auric Demonocles]

But but but... Obama cut the deficit in half!

[The Late P Brooks]

"the goal for each participant is personal transformation: to leave the class? more aware of injustices and better equipped with tools to disrupt personal, institutional, and worldwide systems of oppression."

Self-debasement 406: college credit for telling somebody what he wants to hear lying.

"Thank you, Master. I am now free of my chains."

[UnCivilServant]

Self-debasement 406: college credit for telling somebody what he wants to hear lying.

To be fair, that was all of my non-technical courses in college.

[Rich]

Shock poll: Warren leads Clinton in Iowa, N.H.

YouGov poll of likely Democratic voters for MoveOn.org and Democracy for America also found that 79 percent want Warren and majorities support her anti-Wall Street positions.

Looks like Hillary's losing her base.

[sarcasmic]

John said that's un-possible.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Might want to look again

http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....y-clinton/

[Rich]

This post initially said that MoveOn didn't disclose that no positive information was shared about the other candidates. However, it does make this clear in its memo ... on Page 6.

Ah-HA!

[Drax the Destroyer]

If Warren wins can I stop pretending I feel bad for what happened to the Injuns well before I was born, let alone could vote?

[Bo Cara Esq.]

You can feel 1/32ths less bad.

[Drax the Destroyer]

That almost help as much as the Celexa I'm taking and my new smug-hipster-commie-fascist "revolutionary" attitude about taking said Celexa!

[Drax the Destroyer]

helps*

[John]

That is a sign of how desperate the Democrats are. They have no viable candidate other than Hillary. A large portion of the party hates Hillary and the Clintons. Yet, they have no champion. 2014 ended the careers of both O'Mally and Devell Patrick, who were the most obvious people to challenge Hillary. On top of the Cuomo is now likely to be indicted and is an unpopular governor in his own state anyway.

The Democrats have been beaten so badly at the state level and at the Congressional level they don't have any candidates under the age of 65 or with any kind of a resume. Warren, Hillary, Biden and now apparently Jerry Brown are it. Brown is in his 70s. Biden is a gaffe machine. Because they have been so decimated at the state level, they don't have a successful, unknown centrist seeming governor like Cater or a Clinton to fall back on. If Hillary's health goes south and she can't run, they are fucked.

[Virginian]

Look for Mark Warner to try something, paired with an appropriately oppressed VP.

[John]

Warner is not in office right now. And the kind of people who like Warren would hate him. Warner's problem is that he is a total empty suit. He didn't do jack shit as a Senator other than cast the deciding vote for Obamacare. I don't know where he gets the backing. Who supports Warner other than people who are not Democrats and would like to see them nominate someone who is at least sane?

Warner is the kind of guy who would appeal to white working class and they are not welcome in the Democratic Party anymore.

[Virginian]

Warner is not in office right now.

Warner is the senior Senator from Virginia. You're probably thinking of Jim Webb.

[John]

That is right. I am thinking of Webb. Warner barely beat Cuccini or whatever his name is. Warner is even more of an empty suit than Webb.

He would be a better nominee than Warren or Biden for sure. But I can't see there being enough people left in the Democratic Party who would support him for him to win the primary.

[Virginian]

Warner barely beat Cuccini or whatever his name is. Warner is even more of an empty suit than Webb.

No, Warner is a Senator, has been for some time now. I think he's on his second term. The Cooch was our AG, and ran for governor against the current occupant, Scumbag Terry.

I find it depressing. Our first two governors after independence were Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson. James Monroe was also a governor of Virginia. The current occupant is a truly loathsome piece of shit.

[John]

Warner beat Gillespie, who was also a deeply flawed candidate no one gave much of a chance.

[Pro Libertate]

I actually thought Warner would be a good candidate years ago (for the Democrats, I mean, not for me). He's not totally a leftist hack, so he could appeal somewhat to the middle, but he also has been a good party boy, so he wouldn't piss off too many Democrats.

This idea that no one is going to take on Clinton is a little silly. While I think most Democratic leaders expect a GOP win and don't want to waste the effort, that's not true of all of them. They'll start popping up more obviously as we close in. There are potential candidates who are known, but the media is in PRETEND IT'S ONLY HILLARY MODE.

[John]

I am sure someone will Pro, but the question is who. The Democrats don't have a lot of alternatives. The only reason Warren is even being taken seriously is because the rest of the options are so bad.

To take on Hillary, you have to have some name recognition and some backers. I can't think of anyone that has that. It really may be that Hillary runs virtually unopposed in the primaries. It might not work out that way, but it wouldn't shock me.

[Pope Jimbo]

I'm sure Tundra and I would agree that we would love to see a Draft Mark Dayton movement.

He is a blue governor. He won his last election.

Sure he mumbles like he is still an addict and is dumber than a box of rocks, but please, please, please take him off our hands.

[Pro Libertate]

The list of Democrats who have indicated interest in 2016 is actually pretty long. Not that you would know that from the media coverage. Holy shit are they in the bag.

[R C Dean]

Warner ain't running for Prez as a Dem. He's a white male. End of story.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

It's a push poll by MoveOn, nothing to get exercised about.

[Matrix]

Driver in high speed chase that ends in crash picked the wrong van to run into

Watch both videos, and pay attention to the kid in white. It's hilarious. I think he beats Lebron James for worst flopper.

[Palin's Buttplug]

This is sure to piss wingnuts off - Apple to invest $850 more million in solar:

Now Cook is putting his prodigious sums of money where his mouth is, proclaiming the "biggest, boldest and most ambitious project ever," an $850 million agreement to buy solar power from First Solar, the biggest U.S. developer of solar farms. The deal will supply enough electricity to power all of Apple's California stores, offices, headquarters and a data center, Cook said Tuesday at the Goldman Sachs technology conference in San Francisco.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/.....c2d2947827

[Ted S.]

If they want to throw their money away, that's their prerogative.

[sarcasmic]

Why would that piss anyone off, unless they're doing it for tax breaks or something like that?

[Palin's Buttplug]

Apple is helping legitimize green energy and AGW effects.

[sarcasmic]

There's nothing wrong with "green" energy as long as taxpayers aren't forced to subsidize it. If it's economical then go for it. Same with AGW. Believe what you want to believe. I don't care. Just don't use government to force your religion onto me.

[Drax the Destroyer]

If it's economical then go for it.

And if it's not economical but you DO go for it, be ready to reap the whirlwind of debt and bankruptcy.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

There is probably about a 30% tax credit involved.

[Juice]

They will get massive tax credits.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Apple has a new solar farm, and greens hate it

[Rufus J. Firefly]

What's the problem? As long as it's their money, spend away.

[Elspeth Flashman]

It's fraud to claim you can "convert" homosexuals, says judge.

"It is a misrepresentation in violation of the Consumer Fraud Act, in advertising or selling conversion therapy services to describe homosexuality, not as being a normal variation of human sexuality, but as being a mental illness, disease (or) disorder," wrote Superior Court Judge Peter Bariso Jr.

He also found there is no factual basis for advertising a claimed success rate for such therapy and, in another ruling last week, barred testimony by defense witnesses who planned to describe homosexuality as an illness.

Link: http://www.abajournal.com/news....._curable_m

[Coeus]

It's fraud to claim you can "convert" homosexuals, says judge.

Bullshit. I know a guy who turned a previously lifelong lesbian. On a side note, he also bagged that playboy model I keep striking out with that goes to a bar we frequent. Dude has mad skills.

[John]

It is less likely with gay men, but there seem to at least a few married straight women who had g/fs when they were single. I am not talking about played around with their roommate or did a few things with some girl to make their boyfriend happy. I mean real lesbian relationships. People are not ruled by their sexuality and their sexuality can change.

[sarcasmic]

Are you saying that you could consider sucking a dick?

[Coeus]

I've considered it a few times. I'm just not quite flexible enough to reach it.

[Virginian]

I'm just not quite flexible enough to reach it.

#smalldickproblems

[Coeus]

We all have our cross to bear.

[Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!]

I laughed.

[John]

No. I am just saying the people who would are not necessarily wedded to always doing so.

[sarcasmic]

A gay friend of mine tried going straight once, but didn't know the woman had a boyfriend until the guy buried his Les Paul in the back yard. We're talking Gibson here, not Epiphone. A couple thousand dollar instrument. He never went straight again after that.

[John]

That is horrible. And the boyfriend was a dick. Him and your friend had the same problem and it wasn't each other. Even if it were, no reason to destroy something like that.

[KLafayette]

There's no "conversion" -- John's right on this one, sexuality is a spectrum, and a fluid one for some people. I'm pretty much exclusively attracted to women and have dated women for most of my life, but I've spent the last couple years in a hetero relationship with a guy. I wasn't "turned," I just don't care what's between your legs as long as you fit my aesthetic preferences.

[Coeus]

So he looks like a woman? Or did your aesthetic preferences change?

[KLafayette]

Nope, he looks like a dude. One who takes impeccable care of himself, which seems to be quite rare as far as I can tell. But I guess the easiest way I can relate what I'm getting at is that my standards for men versus those for women have always been very disparate -- a man's gotta be an 11, but I'll take a chick who's a 5 (girls just tend to have more features I can "weight" more positively -- e.g. tits, better asses, etc).

[Coeus]

So you prefer women, but he's so good looking that your head "turned" towards him?

Look, I agree with the sexuality as a spectrum argument. I've argued it plenty of times here on H&R. I just don't think that "turned" is invalid phrase when you're talking about someone switching a lifelong sexual preference.

[KLafayette]

Fair enough. I'll fess up to letting my experiences with men who've claimed they'd be able to turn me color my reaction to your phrasing. The idea of "turning/conversion" always gets an eye roll out of me because it implies OMG YOUR COCK IS SO UNIQUELY AMAZING THAT I WILL RENOUNCE MY NAIVE SAPPHIC WAYS -- it's just laughably patronizing. But yeah, I get what you're saying.

[Coeus]

OMG YOUR COCK IS SO UNIQUELY AMAZING THAT I WILL RENOUNCE MY NAIVE SAPPHIC WAYS

Ironically, women have told me that the guy I was referring to isn't that well hung. Something he freely admits to. He's just a wallstreet-level closer. But for vaginas (actually, perhaps opener would be more appropriate here).

[Matrix]

So if telling lies or unsubstantiated claims is illegal in advertising, why isn't it illegal for politicians to lie about legislation?

See every fucking Democrat and Obamacare.

[sarcasmic]

Principals trump principles.

[Virginian]

http://www.jammiewf.com/2015/l.....tea-party/

I'm still kind of staggered by their dishonesty.

[Virginian]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....paign=1490

It's beginning. It's happening. They told me I was crazy.

[Juice]

Hope she had robot insurance.

[SugarFree]

The on-going saga of Tracy Moore's crumbling marriage:

Your Relationship Is Only As Good as the Lies Holding it Together

[Virginian]

Goddamn I usually don't read these Jez links, so I didn't know until now just how bad those crazy bitches are at actually writing.

They need editors. They all need a veteran editor equipped with some form of a stun gun to enforce good writing on them.

[The Late P Brooks]

This is sure to piss wingnuts off - Apple to invest $850 more million in solar:

Private investment in R&D is a good thing. Special tax advantages or other forms of governmental thumb-on-the-scale fiddling for those investments are not.

hth

[Pro Libertate]

I couldn't be more in favor of more energy options. I think it's mildly embarrassing that we still have to burn shit to power most things. What will the aliens think when they finally visit?

What I don't like is government getting involved in energy R&D or the industry itself. Just stay the fuck out of the market, thanks.

[Auric Demonocles]

We should look into harvesting the energy of falling rocks.

[Pro Libertate]

Yes, kinetic energy, how do we capture it?

Why can't I power my city with lightning? We get enough of it.

[Auric Demonocles]

If get the rocks to fall very precisely, they could turn a generator!

[Pro Libertate]

Yes, yes, like a water wheel. But with a steady stream of rocks! Brilliant!

[Coeus]

The real reason the 3 muslim students were killed over a parking spot. Richard Dawkins.

On the one hand, it is easy to say that this appears to be about a parking spot only, with nothing to do with religion or race. But on the other hand, it's difficult to imagine what would drive someone to murder three people over something so stupid, unless the murderer for some reason did not see his victims as full humans deserving of the right to life. And if you have paid any attention to the current state of capital-A-Atheism, you would have to see the growing problem with the continued dehumanization of Muslims, women, and other marginalized groups by community leaders like Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Lawrence Krauss, the organizations that support them with awards and speaking engagements, and the mass of young and angry atheists on sites like Reddit.

What do they have in common? They all make more at speaking gigs than her. Murderous villains.

[Virginian]

the mass of young and angry atheists on sites like Reddit.

lol Reddit is a seething hotbed of atheist extremism.

[Coeus]

Too many of them disagree with critical theory. Therefore they're dangerous.

[Virginian]

Do they? From what I've seen on Reddit it is full of cringing bitchboys who eagerly slurp at every statist meme that comes along. They hate capitalism, buy in to the most ludicrous climate change dogma, are now eagerly clamoring for a government controlled Internet, and in general are loyal foot soldiers of Obama. Or would be if they ever left the basement.

[Coeus]

Even one is too many.

[Warty]

They hate Lawrence Krauss now? Hilarious.

[Pro Libertate]

Why? He's just some physicist/science popularizer, right? What did he do?

[Coeus]

He's white with a penis and doesn't apologize for it constantly.

[John]

Live by the sword and die by it. I have no doubt that if the guy has been a Christian, Dawkins, Harris and Krauss would be blaming organized religion and the platform given to religious leaders.

So, I don't really have any sympathy here. Unless Dawkins and company want to stop blaming their enemies for any psychotic who listens to them, they can live with the blame for the psychotics who listen to them.

[Coeus]

they can live with the blame for the psychotics who listen to them.

When have any of them ever advocated shooting muslim students over parking spaces?

[John]

Never. But religious leaders don't either. They would blame the religious leaders for spreading religion which some psychotic took too seriously and acted on. In the same way, they can be blamed for some psychotic listening to them say how religion is an evil force and going and acting on it.

[Coeus]

But religious leaders don't either.

David Leach, publisher of Prayer & Action News, a magazine that opines that the killing of abortion providers would be justifiable homicide, told reporters that he and Roeder had met once in the late 1990s and that Roeder at that time had authored contributions to Leach's publication

There's a christian one. Do I really need to look up the easily accessible multitude of ones made by Imam's?

[John]

And how many people have acted on that like one guy ever?

And again, if he is responsible for the one abortion murder, then Dawkins is responsible for this.

[The Late P Brooks]

I usually don't read these Jez links, so I didn't know until now just how bad those crazy bitches are at actually writing.

It's Jezebel; owned and operated by Gawker. What the fuck did you expect? Stop putting your hand on the hot stove, Homer.

[The Late P Brooks]

No offense, but I don't want gay marriage. I mean, me personally. They can keep it and give me the cash equivalent instead.

The payout, in net present value terms, is negligible. Have some of this cake, instead.

[WTF]

They all want cake.

[Auric Demonocles]

Did the alt-text test positive for Down syndrome?

[Sevo]

"Obama 'bringing sexy back' to recharged Bay Area Dems"
According to the local cheerleading rag http://www.sfchronicle.com/nat.....ate-result

And I guess this is the reason:
"The Obama administration announced that American intelligence agencies will begin tracking and targeting "wildlife traffickers" in an effort to stop the selling of ivory, rhinoceros horns, etc., which President Obama has called "an international crisis."

Yep, his focus on the important things is what's got him buffed again!

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[sarcasmic]

I wonder which one smells worse...

[WTF]

Now that's a Tuna Taco.

[Swiss Servator, ... Switzy!]

OK, sarc wins.

[sarcasmic]

I thought Apple was already the proggie brand of choice.

[Pope Jimbo]

I first read this argument in one of Peter Hathaway Capstick's books. I can't remember which one though, and I don't dare go look because I can never put his books down.

A safari is definitely on my bucket list. I have a friend who has gone on two of them and loved them.