A.M. Links: Clinton Email Scandal Grows, Harrison Ford Hospitalized, ISIS Bulldozes Ancient Assyrian City in Iraq

• 

  Credit: White House / Flickr.com

  Actor Harrison Ford has been hospitalized after a vintage plane he was flying crashed in Venice, California.

• A Delta airlines plane skidded off the runway yesterday while landing at New York City's LaGuardia airport due to snowy conditions.

• "A growing controversy over Democrat Hillary Clinton's use of personal email for work while she was U.S. secretary of state could drag on for months, threatening to cloud the expected launch of her 2016 presidential campaign."

• Alexei Navalny, a prominent critic of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, has been released from a Moscow prison after serving 15 days for distributing leaflets advertising an upcoming protest rally.

• Islamic State militants in Iraq have reportedly bulldozed the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud.

• Liberia has released its last Ebola patient from the hospital. No new cases of the disease are currently being documented in that country.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Actor Harrison Ford has been hospitalized after a vintage plane he was flying crashed in Venice, California.

Loa Che needs to do a better job maintaining his aircraft.

[hamilton]

And that's why you can't fuck around trying to make the Kessel run in less than 18 parsecs.

[Jerryskids]

She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

All I know is the creators/writers of House of Cards better be preparing a spectacular downfall of mythical proportions for the homicidal sociopaths Underwood and Doug.

Am I the only one who finds a man who was just made Chief of Staff spends that much time using power in such evil ways a bit much?

[AdamJ]

Such a horrible show. I can't bring myself to start watching season 3. Can't listen to Spacey doing Foghorn Leghorn anymore.

[Idle Hands]

I stopped after season 1, I really don't get the appeal. It was impossible for me to suspend my disbelief of how politically brilliant/conniving they made Underwood and how stupid(well that seemed realistic) the rest of career politicians are. I mean if they were that stupid he should have rose through the ranks faster. I also can't stand Kevin Spacey.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Season 3 was too much.

All that politicking they engage in is exhausting. No matter how much they're against the wall they always manage to find a loop hole. Only narcissists could possibly scheme and scam that much.

Put an end to this already. Preferably with a unexplained, non-sequitur where all three get a bullet to the head by the hand of someone they wronged.

[John Titor]

Watch the British version. I find Urquhart to be a better character.

[Ted S.]

All I know is the creators/writers of House of Cards better be preparing a spectacular downfall of mythical proportions for the homicidal sociopaths Underwood and Doug.

Francis Urquhart was shot dead on the day he was set to achieve the longest tenure as PM, if memory serves. I don't know what the US version is going to do.

Am I the only one who finds a man who was just made Chief of Staff spends that much time using power in such evil ways a bit much?

They're politicians.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Yeah but it's ridiculous. Doug acts like a fucking serial killer.

[Ted S.]

Obama is a serial killer.

[Bill Dalasio]

Francis Urquhart was shot dead on the day he was set to achieve the longest tenure as PM, if memory serves.

Post-war, actually. He beat Thatcher's record.

Of course Urquhart was much smarter than Underwood.

[The Laconic]

Star Trek is great.

[Xeones]

Han shot first.

[Mickey Rat]

He flew a bit too casual.

[Fist of Etiquette]

A Delta airlines plane skidded off the runway yesterday while landing at New York City's LaGuardia airport due to snowy conditions.

Someone heard the pilot yelling about getting the nerfherding snakes off his nerfherding plane.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Hey now. Watch it buddy.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

30) So today I received an email from my employer asking me to fill out a form certifying whether or not I'm disabled. (I'm not, and I've worked there for 15 years and never been asked this before.) This seemed odd, and as I read more of the email, I noticed in the small print this is an exercise required by new federal regulations. I researched a little on the internet and came up with this: click here Yes, the US government is now requiring US firms that have any contracts with them to aim for having at least seven percent of their workforce disabled. Apparently not as a quota, just as a goal?but is there any doubt a firm that doesn't achieve this will soon find itself slapped with lawsuits? And I can't help but think that this will result in a lot of people not previously classified as disabled now being designated that way?all the easier to move them to social security disabled benefits later on.

[sarcasmic]

but is there any doubt a firm that doesn't achieve this will soon find itself slapped with lawsuits?

No, but the competitors who do achieve the goal will likely be given preference when deciding who gets the contract.

[Doctor Whom]

But so what? That power could only ever be used for good.

[Somalian Road Corporation]

Yes, the US government is now requiring US firms that have any contracts with them to aim for having at least seven percent of their workforce disabled.

Equality by literal hatchet, axe and saw?

[This Machine]

Those maples just want more sunlight, man, have a little compassion!

[Charles Easterly]

Nice. A bit rushed, but nice.

[Officer Jim Lahey]

*narrows gaze in the Servator fashion, then applauds in same*

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

Seconded, Officer, seconded.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

Hatchet, axe, and saw? Man, I didn't think of that. I *really* hope my company doesn't plan to "make" us disabled so they can meet the goal.

[Lord Humungus]

just broaden the definition of disabled.

I have an old HS friend who got on disability for anxiety - claiming he can't hold a job because of it.

[Mickey Rat]

See if "alcoholic" qualifies as disabled.

[Jerryskids]

You know, if they defunded OSHA, maybe they could kill cripple two birds with one stone.

[fish]

Equality by literal hatchet, axe and saw?

....yes....Senator Procrustes contribution to the legislation.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

+1 bed to lie in

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

This will manifest as prime contractors looking for sub-contractors who can help them fill the requirement. The primes will include in their bids that they will utilize a higher percentage of disabled labor than their competitors.

More of the same shit.

[Rhywun]

Harrison Bergeron was supposed to satire, wasn't it?

[HeteroPatriarch]

It did.

[Rhywun]

My kingdom for an edit button.

[Pope Jimbo]

Maybe this is the way you get all the bums who got themselves declared disabled once their unemployment bennies ran out back into the work force.

You create a quota for anyone who wants a govt contract. Then those contractors are forced to pay extra $$ to the couch potatoes to get them to re-enter the job market.

[sarcasmic]

Bar of soap 'made from the fat of Jewish Holocaust victims' is removed from eBay after Dutch owner put it up for sale
The listing sought ?199 for the bar of soap reportedly made from 'fat'
It was claimed victims of the Westerbork concentration camp in Holland
The Nazis are believed to have experimented with the soap during the war
SS leader Heinrich Himmler is reported to have stopped the experiments

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....-sale.html
Would a Fight Club joke be in too bad of taste?

[Andrew S.]

I'm sad to admit I thought of the same thing.

[Ted S.]

The first rule of Fight Club jokes is, there are no Fight Club jokes.

[Heroic Mulatto]

I was crushed when I learned that Irish Spring wasn't made from the fat of Irishmen.

[sarcasmic]

The fact that it doesn't smell like cabbage and offal should have been your first clue.

[NebulousFocus]

Leprechaun dung.

[SIV]

Historian Joel Stoffels also saw an advert last week selling Holocaust items and was shocked. He said: 'I was amazed to see it. All of these objects are supposed to be displayed in a respectable way and now they are being displayed as merchandise.'

The soap isn't made out of people.

[Ted S.]

And yet you can sell Communist stuff.

Totalitarian collectivism is evil regardless of which half of the political spectrum it putatively comes from.

[sarcasmic]

'No dialogue, ever, except Beep Beep': Revealed ? the nine rules that EVERY Road Runner cartoon had to abide by

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....de-by.html
As someone who was raised on these cartoons before they were banned, I found the rules to be quite interesting.

[Andrew S.]

They only paid the voice actor for one beep.

[All-Seeing Monocle]

Some episodes had a very distinct "Meep Meep". Overseas knock-offs?

[sloopyinTEXAS]

Dialogue in cartoons centered on animals never really worked for me*. It's why I never really cared for Bugs Bunny.

*Tom and Jerry episodes where Tom sang or wooed pussy excepted because they're pure awesome. Hell, I can even accept Nibbles talking in the Musketeers episodes because Tom was badass enough to overcome the little shit.

[SIV]

RACIST

[Pro Libertate]

You don't like Bugs Bunny? Jesus, sloopy, how un-American can you be? I'm calling the USPS and NASA and turning you in.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

It insists upon itself.

[WTF]

It "insists" upon itself? What,...what does that even mean?

[Pro Libertate]

It means he doesn't understand American humor. It's a common failing of KGB sleeper agents.

[Lord Humungus]

Bugs Bunny was a childhood "hero" of mine -

smarmy? check.
ready with a wisecrack? check
and a cross-dresser check

[seguin]

Mine was Daffy Duck...which kind of explains some things.

[Pro Libertate]

"Ho, ha ha, guard, turn, parry, dodge, spin, ha, thrust!"

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

+1 bent bill

[Troy muy grande boner]

Pronoun Trouble

[Rhywun]

As someone who was raised on these cartoons before they were banned, I found the rules to be quite interesting.

Me too.

before they were banned

Wait... wut?

[All-Seeing Monocle]

Not literally maybe (as far as I know anyway), but there's no way you could get away with that level of cartoon violence now. Half of them involve characters shooting each other with guns for Pete's sake.

[KDN]

Don't forget about how RAAAAAAACIST they are.

[Rhywun]

there's no way you could get away with that level of cartoon violence now

Oh, no doubt. But I'm pretty sure Cartoon Network is still showing them.

[Fist of Etiquette]

...threatening to cloud the expected launch of her 2016 presidential campaign.

It amazes me this is what's clouding her presidential hopes.

[Charles Easterly]

It's depressing, really.

[Elspeth Flashman]

And not her whole dismal package, exactly.

[Chupacabra]

"her whole dismal package"

** barf **

[Jerryskids]

Far from 'clouding' her candidacy it's clearing the decks. The NYT, as the mouthpiece for the Hillary campaign, is deliberately making sure all these scandals get aired now just so that later when she officially announces her candidacy all of this can get relegated to the 'old news' dustbin and anybody who dares mention any of it can be attacked for dredging up old garbage.

[Rich]

It's a time-honored tactic.

[WTF]

"Move on!"

[Pro Libertate]

That's usually for one, maybe two, scandals. Not twenty. Call me crazy, but I believe a pattern is beginning to emerge.

If you support this woman as a candidate, time to ask yourself why you think corruption and abuse of power are positive attributes for a politician.

[Xeones]

Of course they're positive attributes, Pro L. She's a Democrat.

[CatoTheElder]

To progressives in particular, and Democrats generally, these are indeed positive attributes: she fearlessly does what it takes to accomplish her agenda.

And, if you think otherwise, well, you're a sexist who fears that powerful women your privileged patriarchy.

[kilroy]

And there's this from late in the PM links last night.

[Pro Libertate]

Seriously, does anyone believe that she and her husband aren't horribly corrupt? Even her supporters?

It's so sad that Americans accept this kind of corruption and dishonesty from government officials. Not to mention this idea that the Democrats have no one else to run. Really, out of the hundreds of politicians and tens of millions of legally eligible candidates, they can find no one else? How screwed up is our system when the only possible candidate is one with massive baggage, limited real experience, and a poor track record while in office? Jesus, people.

[WTF]

Because it's okay when our side does it!

[Lord Humungus]

Flashback 1985: Gov't Scientists Predicted NYC Would Resemble Daytona Beach

In 1985, the New York Times reported that '[f]ederal climate experts have suggested that within a century the greenhouse effect could turn New York City into something with the climate of Daytona Beach, Fla."

"Beginning in a decade or two, scientists expect the warming of the atmosphere to melt the polar icecaps, raising the level of the seas, flooding coastal areas, eroding the shores and sending salt water far into fresh-water estuaries," the Times reported. "Storm patterns will change, drying out some areas, swamping others and generally throwing agriculture into turmoil."

[Just a thought not a sermon]

Geez, obviously Superstorm Sandy was just the first stage of this. And there's still 70 years to go. Looks like the NYT prediction is right on target! Get with the program, LH!

[sarcasmic]

Dang you.

[Pro Libertate]

What, you mean all sandy with people driving cars on it?

[Rhywun]

These assholes should also be apologizing for inficting us with a couple generations of cliche-ridden science fiction.

[sarcasmic]

Flight in 2030: Super quiet Progress Eagle concept plane has three decks, generates its own power and a 314-ft wingspan
Futuristic AWWA-QG Progress Eagle concept aircraft was dreamed up by Barcelona-based designer Oscar Vi?als
The aircraft has solar panels on its wings and carries a wind turbine that can generate electricity while it is in flight
The three deck aircraft would have the capacity for more than 800 passengers along with beds and offices for crew
Mr Vi?als claims the aircraft would be 75 per cent quieter than current airliners and produce zero carbon emissions

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sci.....gspan.html

His design uses six hydrogen fuel engines - one to drive a central screw-type engine at the rear to achieve the thrust needed to take off along with five superconductive engines.
Once it reaches the right altitude, however, the central engine turns off and starts to generate electricity from the airflowing through it.

Um, wouldn't the airflow that is generating electricity slow the thing down, or does it operate on the Free-Lunch principle?

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

"Experimental plane crashes - TANSTAAFL blamed!"

[This Machine]

Hey, look, he's an ideas man. Forget this Second Law of Thermowhatever stuff. Isn't it more wonderful to just dream of the fantastic world that awaits us in the future to make this all possible?

[antisocial-ist]

Why dream and just hope for the best? Just have the EU repeal the second law of thermodynamics. Problem solved.

[This Machine]

Ah, a man of action, very pragmatic! You'll go far in this world, kid!

[Brendan]

Who's got time to follow some law invented by a MAN in the 1850s. 19th century laws have no place in a 21st century society.

[AlexInCT]

I think the laws applicable here, when discussing lift, are Bernoulli's principle, the Coanda effect, and Newton's 3rd law of motion, right?

[sloopyinTEXAS]

I'm sure it's just a concept, but I don't see where they're claiming the turbine will generate enough electricity to power the entire machine but can supplement the same way a Prius motor does.

By the way, I bought a Prius last week. Thought I should start doing my part.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

I really bought it because my mileage reimbursement means it will both pay for itself, the Navigator, our insurance, fuel and leave another $4-500 a month on top of it vs what I was getting back for the Navigator at 14 MPG.

I'm what I hope is not a rarity: a self-serving Prius driver.

[sarcasmic]

Excuses, excuses...

[sloopyinTEXAS]

Seriously, it's not. I did the math. It was done exclusively to maximize my ROI. And at 5k miles a month, there was no better alternative.

[WTF]

How Pious.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

Sorry, Sloopy, the "You can't hug a child with nuclear arms" bumper sticker gave you away!

[Pro Libertate]

I always figured you for a giant truck driver. You know, the kind that you can drive over Priuses with.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

I have a Navigator, but they expanded my AOR so that it goes from Fort Worth to El Paso to Brownsville so it became pointless to drive all those miles and only net an extra $500 a month on fuel. With this one, I pay for all my cars, don't eat up the value of the gator with the mileage and leave Banjos something bigger to drive with all those kids...and give her car to my oldest since she needs a car. All the while paying for all of them with the mileage money from the Prius plus mire money back at the end of the month.

Math bought it, not some faux outrage about Gaia.

Also, Gadsden Flag will be applied when I get home today.

[sarcasmic]

I bet if you go to Whole Foods some progressive Samaritan will try to remove the sticker, thinking it was an act of vandalism.

[CatoTheElder]

Only if Sloopy in in Austin. Dallas has its share of the lunatic left, but Whole Foods shoppers here skew Republican.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

I'm in Austin today. Back to Fort Worth (the ghetto of the metroplex) this afternoon.

We may end up moving to Austin though. Since they added south Texas to my AOR, I may not have a choice.

[Pro Libertate]

The Gadsden flag may cause a total annihilation of the car and the flag.

I was in LA last week and saw my first Tesla dealership. Issues with their business model aside, that's my idea of an electric car. Vrrooom!

[tarran]

'The most relevant aspects about this "Super Jet" would have a closer relation with quantum mechanics, we can simplify the airplane concept like a "Mega" energy's particle with special specifications more orthodox than we can found in today's physics.'

This is insane.... if your design depends on discovering a heretofore unknown particle to power the engines, it's not a serious exercise.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

Serious question: most tech advances have been linear by improving current tech and creating new tech and then replacing the existing. Has anybody done anything revolutionary like this from working backward, which is what this guy seems to be doing?

[tarran]

I think it's highly unlikely that it happens at all.

People daydream like this all the time, and one only needs to look at old issues of popular dynamics to see oodles of examples (eg steam powered farming robots!).

But, when it comes time to create a prototype - even a revolutionary one - the inventor is trying to keep costs low, and maximize the chances of success. So, for example, rather than inventing a new vehicle completely, he sticks his engine and drive train on a horse drawn carriage. It cuts costs, speeds up development time, and reduces the engineering headaches that one faces.

The inventor might be inspired by the impractical, revolutionary daydream designs - but in the end - to be successful - he really has to incorporate practical, pre-existing, tried-and-true things.

[CatoTheElder]

Might as well have said that it was powered by a warp drive.

[R C Dean]

The aircraft has solar panels on its wings

Jeebus on a crutch. You're running who knows how many massive turbines cranking out who knows how much horsepower, which can easily produce orders of magnitude more power than a few solar panels. What a stupid, pointless, really, superstitious thing to stick on an airplane. The extra weight they add probably more than negates the power they produce.

[CatoTheElder]

Here is the key quote:

Mr Vi?als said: 'The Progress Eagle is based in the technology beyond 2030 with ideas from quantum mechanics."

In other words, he's looking forward to repeal of the laws of thermodynamics that apply at macro scale. The 2nd Law makes perpetual motion a non-starter. If the US Congress were to repeal the 2nd Law, and mandate that aircraft that need only comply with quantum laws of thermodynamics, the aerospace industry would develop something like the Progress Eagle. It's time for the bitter clingers to make way for Hope'n'Change.

[sarcasmic]

Flashback 1985: Gov't Scientists Predicted NYC Would Resemble Daytona Beach

http://dailycaller.com/2015/03.....l-warming/
But, but, but Tony says all their predictions have come true! Unpossible!

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

LH beat you to it by *this* much.

[Idle Hands]

that website is like one giant spam email.

[sarcasmic]

Lots of ads? Honest question. I use Adblock Plus so I don't see them.

[Idle Hands]

So many it makes me feel like a communist.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

Taboola gone wild.

[Enough About Palin]

I won't go to that site anymore. It's just too fucked up with shit.

[gaijin]

A growing controversy over Democrat Hillary Clinton's use of personal email for work...

A vast controversy...it's like there is some sort of conspiracy against her or something

[Charles Easterly]

I blame cis-gendered mansplaining 100%.

[Lord Humungus]

EU discontent over French budget deal's 'political bazaar'

France, Germany and the European Commission believe leaving Paris unpunished for persistently failing to curb its budget deficit was a wise compromise that bolsters the euro.

But it takes little effort to find EU officials who say it sends a signal to governments and investors that rules set to hold the common currency together are bankrupt. That, they fear, may make it harder for the euro to weather a future crisis.

"The rules are hardly comprehensible," Jens Weidmann, head of the German central bank, said last week. "And the implementation is like some political bazaar."

[straffinrun]

"We will stop distorting the market when market recovers from us distorting the market".

-Central Bankers everywhere.

[This Machine]

The rules are hardly comprehensible

Bug working as intended.

[Fist of Etiquette]

...after serving 15 days for distributing leaflets advertising an upcoming protest rally.

He should try handing out information on jury nullification in front of a US court or the Constitution on a US campus.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

Why do you want him dead?

[Charles Easterly]

Double -Plus Nice.

[sarcasmic]

What did 19th century beer taste of? Green leaves, apples and roses: Chemists analyse flavours of beer found in 1840 shipwreck
Two bottled beers were recovered from a shipwreck in 2010
Schooner was found off the coast of the ?land Islands, Finland
Initial taste tests said beers were 'vinegary, goaty and tasted of sour milk'
This was caused by bacteria that had grown in the bottles over the years
But chemical analysis of the samples revealed specific flavours
These include 'green leaf' flavours, sweet apple and rose compounds
This makes them similar to modern lagers and ales rather than stouts

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sci.....wreck.html

[sarcasmic]

Um, stouts are ale.

[robc]

In the UK they distinguish beer from ale. And Stout falls on the beer side.

[sarcasmic]

Even though it's the same yeast? That doesn't make sense. Oh well.

[robc]

Its not about yeast. Originally it was about hopping.

[robc]

If you go back to 16th century or something, beer was hopped and ale wasn't.

[sarcasmic]

Guess I need to brush up on my brewing history.

[kinnath]

That's my understanding of the late middle ages as well.

[sarcasmic]

That's my understanding of the late middle ages as well.

I knew that hops came to the party late in the game, but I didn't know that hopped and non-hopped brews existed side by side. Though it makes sense.

[Somalian Road Corporation]

They still do, with the various gruit craft beers available now.

[kinnath]

I have a friend that is deep into this history. Unhopped ales were basically liquid bread. They were sold within a week (or less) of fermentation. They were basic sustenance. Hopped beers could be and were stored for very long times (up to a couple of years) in barrels.

[robc]

Speaking of yeast and beer history, lager yeast is very new. Not in a sense of being used in beer, but in existence.

Its a hybrid yeast of ale yeast and something else. For a long time, the something else wasnt known. But a few years ago it was discovered (high probability) in South America.

Apparently it hitchhiked to europe on some spanish galleons or something and made its way to northern europe where it latched onto ale yeast to form a big honking hybrid yeast that works well at low temps.

[sarcasmic]

Cool robc, didn't know that.

[kilroy]

GMO!!!

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

FRANKENBEER!

[robc]

And they get mad at Americans for being more clear, since they use beer both as a subcategory and as the overarching drink.

[Lord Humungus]

Islamic State torches oil field near Tikrit as militia advance

Islamic State militants have set fire to oil wells northeast of the city of Tikrit to obstruct an assault by Shi'ite militiamen and Iraqi soldiers trying to drive them from the Sunni Muslim city and surrounding towns, a witness said.

The witness and a military source said Islamic State fighters ignited the fire at the Ajil oil field to shield themselves from attack by Iraqi military helicopters.

The offensive is the biggest Iraqi forces have yet mounted against IS, which has declared an Islamic caliphate on captured territory in Iraq and Syria and spread fear across the region by slaughtering Arab and Western hostages and killing or kidnapping members of religious minorities like Yazidis and Christians.

[R C Dean]

Shi'ite militiamen

This is a lie on par with calling the invaders in the Ukraine "separatists". It conveniently elides the fact that the effective part of the Ukrainian "rebellion" is Russian Army, just as the effective part of the "Shi'ite militias" are Iranian Quds fighters.

What we used to call "terrorists."

[Bill Dalasio]

What we used to call "terrorists."

But, you see, back then, they were the bad guys. Now, they're the good guys, who are fighting ISIS, who are now the bad guys. They used to be the good guys, fighting the Assad regime, who were, and still are, the bad guys. The Assad regime had made some peace overtures to Israel, who are definitely the good guys, who are warning us about making a deal with the Iranians, who of course are the bad guys, the sponsors of the Quds fighters, the good guys.

[invisible furry hand]

In a bid to make some extra cash, a Darwin man had his grandmother's body exhumed and cremated so he could sell her burial plot to a desperate dying punter.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

Whoa. That is....different. I can say I learned a new level of loathsome ingenuity today.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

I'm reminded of the cemetery owner who kept reusing the same vault over and over again. Bury 'em, dig 'em up, reuse vault, profit!

[straffinrun]

Hope he got affirmative consent for that.

[Ted S.]

There's a reason I want to be cremated and have my ashes scattered after I die. Of course, my wish to have them scattered along the hiking trails I likie probably violates all sorts of state laws. 🙁

[This Machine]

No bullshit, a local man died not too long ago, and his request was to be cremated, packed into fireworks, and turned into a kickass show. Like not just a couple of the shitty buy-1-get-3-free types of rockets, but like a serious 4th of July spectacular. You could see it from my folks' house, it was that awesome.

[Pope Jimbo]

Only one way to go:

http://www.myholysmoke.com/

[Rufus J. Firefly]

How would they know?

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING!

[Xeones]

So make sure the executor of your estate knows to keep it on the down low. Can't get in trouble if they don't get caught.

[dantheserene]

A friend of mine tried to go through the hoops necessary to spread a friend's ashed on Skyline Drive. After a couple forms, he gave up and just scattered them the next time he went for a hike.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Islamic State militants in Iraq have reportedly bulldozed the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud.

"It tells me that head-chopping morons like yourselves should try reading history instead of destroying it!"

[BuSab Agent]

There's precedent:

"US forces under the command of General James T. Conway of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force were criticized for building the military base "Camp Alpha", with a helipad and other facilities on ancient Babylonian ruins following the Iraq War. US forces have occupied the site for some time and have caused irreparable damage to the archaeological record. In a report of the British Museum's Near East department, Dr. John Curtis described how parts of the archaeological site were levelled to create a landing area for helicopters, and parking lots for heavy vehicles. Curtis wrote that the occupation forces:

caused substantial damage to the Ishtar Gate, one of the most famous monuments from antiquity [...] US military vehicles crushed 2,600-year-old brick pavements, archaeological fragments were scattered across the site, more than 12 trenches were driven into ancient deposits and military earth-moving projects contaminated the site for future generations of scientists"

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

That is odd, we were so very careful around the Ziggurat of Ur.

[invisible furry hand]

An awesome Scottish teacher struck off after repeatedly swearing at his students said he is a victim of political correctness.

The teacher, Michael Rankin, who taught at Ardrossan Academy in Ayrshire, called students "f**king idiots", "wankers", "fat bastard", "fat c**t", "specky" and "dafty".

[Just a thought not a sermon]

I had a teacher in HS who thought he would be cool by throwing the occasional f-bomb in class. He was not, it made the students extremely uncomfortable, and contributed not the slightest bit to either learning or class discipline. It's not a matter of political correctness, it's a matter of acting like a professional.

[Elspeth Flashman]

Oddly enough, one of the pastors at my church decided to lecture us 7 & 8th graders at a school mass once about profanity. And he did it by using profanity. I was never so scared in my life.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

We had a Catholic priest in high school who would swear during sermon once calling us 'horny pricks'. The more he did the more we'd laugh the more he'd get angry and before you knew it all hell broke loose in the Chapel.

[Lord Humungus]

Saudi Court Sentences Gang Rape Victim to 200 Lashes And Custodial Sentence

The victim of a violent gang rape has been sentenced by a Saudi Arabian court to 200 lashes and six months in jail for the crimes of speaking to the press and indecency.

According to Sharia Law, a Saudi Arabian woman must be accompanied by a male guardian at all times in public, something the 19 year old victim did not obey when she went to meet a friend, according to website Live Buddhism.

While in a car with a student friend, retrieving a picture, two men got into the vehicle and drove them to a secluded area. She said she was raped there by seven men, three of whom also attacked her friend.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

But American universities are full of rape kultur!

[Andrew S.]

Our Saudi allies!

[Heroic Mulatto]

If you read the article, you learn her friend, who was also raped, was a dude.

So the Saudis lead us on sexual assault gender equality, at least.

[Free Society]

oh Islam, you so silly.

[Pope Jimbo]

They probably figured that if the friend hadn't already raped the unaccompanied woman with him, he was a total homo.

So to teach the homo a lesson for being a deviant, they homo raped him.

[Xeones]

Yo, fuck Wahhabism.

[Jordan]

Elementary School Dumps Homework and Tells Kids to Play Instead

Finally, some common sense in education. I don't think I had homework until 6th grade, and even then it was very rare.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

outraging parents who say they may pull their kids out of the school.

Jesus, fuck these parents.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

"They've decided that giving homework to younger ages [elementary school students] isn't viable. I don't necessarily agree. I think they should have homework ? some of it is about discipline. I want [my daughter] to have fun, but I also want her to be working towards a goal."

Here's an idea, spend time with your daughter and teach her some things that are important to you.

Or, let her develop her own interests and help her learn more about them.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

That sounds too much like work!

/derpy parent

[Ted S.]

Home-school the little bastard.

[Pope Jimbo]

We played tons and tons of cards with our kids to teach them addition. It was how my dad taught me how to add as a kid.

We play Casino. You have to be able to add cards on the table in order to pick them up. (If you have a 10, you can pick up 7's and 3's).

Worked great for them. It also taught them a bit of probability and card counting helped their attention skills.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassino_(card_game)

[Andrew S.]

One of the charter schools we looked at had a no homework policy. Ended up going with a different charter for another reason (reason being that the charter we chose goes from K-12), but i absolutely loved the idea.

[Rich]

threatening to cloud the expected launch of her 2016 presidential campaign.

Good.

Will submit some other stuff when I figure out how.

*** considers joining Fist's boycott ***

[Fist of Etiquette]

I've resigned myself to this. For now.

[invisible furry hand]

You want to read all of this - trust me

Historic piece of furniture used by world's first dick joke correspondent for sale

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

His previous job descriptions was gold, I tell you, gold!

[Fist of Etiquette]

No new cases of the disease are currently being documented in that country.

Read Liberia's lips... No. New. Cases.

[Jordan]

Republicans' "Internet Freedom Act" would wipe out net neutrality

The Stupid Party being unstupid for once.

[Ted S.]

Just you wait. Some idiot will attach an amendment to undo Obama's executive actions on immigration or something.

[Lord Humungus]

Jonah Goldberg: The E-Mail Scandal Won't Doom Hillary

This points to another reason why I think Clinton will survive this mess. If there's a damning e-mail out there, it's been deleted, and the relevant hard drive would be harder to find than Jimmy Hoffa's body.

So critics are probably left with the task of proving a negative. The real significance of this moment ? and a partial explanation of the media firestorm over it ? is that time is running out to stop the Clinton freight train.

Nothing in this story is surprising: not the desire for secrecy, nor the flouting of legal norms, nor the cynical attempts to shoot the messengers ? and certainly not the staggering hypocrisy. (In 2007, then-senator Clinton denounced the Bush White House's far more defensible use of "secret" Republican National Committee e-mail addresses for campaign business as proof that "our Constitution is being shredded.") It's all vintage Clinton.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

The one way it can derail her is if she's criminally charged or if she's censured with a lot of Dem support in the vote. Otherwise, she'll claim incompetence instead of malice as her defense and the Dems will gleefully pull the lever for a self-admitted incompetent when it comes to basic security.

[WTF]

The one way it can derail her is if she's criminally charged or if she's censured with a lot of Dem support in the vote.

Since the chances of that happening are slim and none, she will not be derailed.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

If her criminality becomes obvious, you'll see a bunch of them stop defending her. And if a censure vote comes up, they'll have to make a stand one way or the other. I think you'd see several vote to censure.

[WTF]

Stop defending her? Yes, but they will never actually hold one of their own to account with a vote or anything substantial.

[Pope Jimbo]

The one thing that the Clintons have figured out is that if you just put your head down and endure, all the shit will pass. No one will actually send out goons to evict you from the premises.

[WTF]

Especially when a Democrat has control of the DOJ for next couple of years.

[The Laconic]

Scott Walker dodged a question about evolution. I just thought I should bring that up.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

And he has no degree!!!!!

[Gordilocks]

Your Friday *serious* NutPunch. This may have been shared here previously this week, but I haven't been able to lurk as much as usual.

I dare that dickhead Dunphy to comment on this with something, anything, resembling his usual fellating of his brethren.

[Charles Easterly]

Florida Highway Patrol Officer Tasers Old Man With His Hands in the Air

http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com.....the_ai.php

Another dare.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Ahem. I put that up earlier this week. Thank you.

/Bows. Spits on ground.

[invisible furry hand]

Bring me the finger of Jerry Garcia

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

*roots around for silver platter*

[Elspeth Flashman]

It's only $5000! Act now!

[Rich]

You call *that* "preserved"?

$75, tops!

[Lord Humungus]

Why on earth is everyone moving to Texas?

Newly released census data shows the five fastest-growing cities in the country, and the results might surprise you. Houston, Austin and San Antonio have experienced a dramatic upswing in population, despite the Lone Star state's national reputation as a land of crazy people and even crazier legislators.

Vocativ breaks down the the data and finds that while New York took the top spot in population growth ? with a whopping 230,704 new residents in a three year period ? Houston and Austin both beat Los Angeles, with 96,463 and 95,010 new residents respectively. San Antonio came in close in fifth place with 81,612.

So what is it that's drawing new residents to Texas, despite conservative new laws and a rejection of government-funded infrastructure? Austin's reputation as an oasis in the cultural desert of Texas most likely led to its 12 per cent population increase. And even though Beyonc? was snubbed for Best Album at the Grammy Awards this year, her shout outs to Houston could be a boon for the city.

DERRRPPP

[Just a thought not a sermon]

The results may surprise you! If you're a moron!

[gaijin]

And even though Beyonc? was snubbed for Best Album at the Grammy Awards this year, her shout outs to Houston could be a boon for the city.

W...T...F?

[Rich]

And ... they could *not*.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

And even though Beyonc? was snubbed for Best Album at the Grammy Awards this year, her shout outs to Houston could be a boon for the city.

No way someone wrote that.

And yet, there it is.

[Irish]

I like that Texas is a cultural desert despite being like 30% Hispanic - a fact which, by Salon logic, means Texas should be super, duper cultural due to its immense diversity.

Why is Salon being so offensive to Mexican culture? They are negating the noble history of Hispanic peoples!

Also, you have to be a fucking idiot to think Texas of all places is a cultural desert. Houston has one of the best medical research facilities on the planet so they're hardly a state of backwoods hicks and Texas culture is undoubtedly one of the most distinctive and recognizable. If you mention Texas in Europe they immediately start thinking of cowboy boots and barbecue. Texas is the rare regional culture that is known of outside of its country of origin.

[Lord Humungus]

I just got back from a two day trip to Texas. My appreciation for Hispanic gals went up a notch.

[R C Dean]

Its a mixed bag, but the right hand tail of that bell curve can be, err, distracting.

[Illocust]

Yep, and that culture is only made more unique and strong by the pride its residents take in it. You ask a Texan outside of the US where they are from and there more likely to answer Texas than America.

Liking your culture goes a long way to preserving said culture.

[Irish]

When progressives talk about culture they mean 'a culture of which I approve.' Therefore, if you have a very distinct, vibrant and internationally recognizable culture but it's one that progressives disapprove of for whatever reason, they will unilaterally declare you a cultural desert.

Basically, the only cultures progressives recognize are a) New York hipster culture or b) the culture of non-white groups that are nebulously exotic, but preferably exotic in a way that's non-threatening to pampered and myopic white people.

[Irish]

"So what is it that's drawing new residents to Texas, despite conservative new laws and a rejection of government-funded infrastructure?"

It's funny when progressives answer their own question without realizing it. It couldn't be that the free market laws and loose fracking laws are the REASON people are moving to Texas. That would be impossible since only socialism can make people happy.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

As Taranto likes to say, "Fox Butterfield, is that you?"

[Heedless]

It's an availability heuristic. The things that she remembers are the things that are important. And since the things that she remembers are the things that she cares about (the sum total of which apeparently fits comfortably between the covers of People Magazine). She's wondering why people might move to Houston, and the only positive reference she can come up with is from Beyonce, their Beyonce must be responsible.

[Jordan]

Hall & Oates sue makers of Haulin' Oats granola

Where once they offered the world an Abandoned Luncheonette, Hall & Oates are now trying to close down the breakfast bar, too. The pop-soul duo are suing the Brooklyn-based "artisanal granola" company Early Bird ? maker of "wholesome and nourishing small batch granola" ? over its Haulin' Oats range.

As a result of the case, Guardian music has scrapped its own plans to launch a range of breakfast foods, including Kornflakes and Wheatusabix.

Okay, regarding the joke at the end, Kornflakes I get, but wtf is Wheatusabix a reference to?

[Somalian Road Corporation]

Weetabix, a UK cereal.

[Xeones]

And Wheatus, a terrible band.

[Somalian Road Corporation]

I have to confess that after watching Generation Kill that Teenage Dirtbag got stuck in my head for a while.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

They'll sing in their defense, 'I can't go for that, no can do.' More effective than 'your kiss is on my list' I reckon.

[Xeones]

Everybody should call [phone] immediately. It's pretty important.

[invisible furry hand]

Renaissance art work or hip-hop artiste?

[Lord Humungus]

Kevin Williamson: Don't They Ever Get Tired Of It?

Jon Stewart is of course the court jester for Democrats, so it is no surprise to find him riding to the defense of Hillary Clinton on the matter of her campaign of secrecy. David Brock likewise has been humiliating himself in public trying to ward off criticism of Herself.

I wonder: Don't they ever get tired of it? It is one thing to be a partisan or an ideologue, but this goes well beyond that. There is something in the Democratic soul that revels in servility. I keep thinking of Nina Burleigh, who covered Bill Clinton for Time and famously remarked about him: "I think American women should be lining up with their presidential kneepads on to show their gratitude." Think of those celebrities back in 2008 literally singing hymns to Barack Obama, chanting his name like Hare Krishnas chanting the Maha Mantra.

Can't we get these Democrats some tambourines, at least?

[Somalian Road Corporation]

I didn't know Jon Stewart rallied to her defense, but I'm going to click on that article's link to the Stewart video and I wager that I will find a more-or-less word for word version of the babbling excuses and equivocations that were on my Facebook last night.

Let's see if I'm right!

(And to think there was a time when I actually looked forward to the Daily Show.)

[Somalian Road Corporation]

OK, I was wrong and that wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, but it's still not the kind of thing that you'd think was funny unless you're the proverbial choir getting preached to.

Also, Marie Harf again. This time trying to conflate turning over 55k emails with turning over all relevant emails. She's fucking terrible at her job; you'd think that they could find some people who could sling bullshit like that and the ISIS jobs program with more finesse.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

55k pages, not emails. There's a big difference. 55k pages could mean as few as 10k emails with forwards and replies keeping the original as part of the new message.

And I probably get 30 work emails a day on average, meaning that would be a year's worth of emails for me. And I'm not the fucking SoS. There's no way this is much more than a small percentage of her unofficial/official correspondence thT she was required by law to have preserved on a .gov server.

[Idle Hands]

Marie Harf is like quintessential person in college that thought they were smart and talked like it and noone around her had the balls to inform her she was in fact a dumb-ass. At least she looks better than Jen Psaki , I mean when your whole job is to talk in front of cameras you would think someone would tell you to get a decent haircut.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

Hey now, MH was "pretty good" at political science (according to MH). I'm not sure what it means to be "pretty good" at political science. PS classes were among my easiest classes in college.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

Great, Like I want to hear Shriek clanging a set of tambourines and chanting "Ready for Hillary OMMMM"

[JMC1607]

Don't they ever get tired of it?

....no. What else would they possibly do?

[Idle Hands]

Is Kevin Williams is like the incredible hulk of writers. He writes like a hysterical Jack Nicholson.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

An angrier, more bitter Mark Steyn?

[Irish]

Mark Steyn is vastly better than Williamson. Steyn is an actual writer who is capable of writing in many different styles and has a good understanding of Western history and global events.

Williamson rants about Lena Dunham.

There's not much of a comparison.

[Rhywun]

Don't They Ever Get Tired Of It?

Why would they? Their TEAM has an unbreakable coalition that has been running roughshod over the country for decades. You don't stay in power by cannibalizing each other.

[Lord Humungus]

How Cutlery Affects Our Sense of Taste

I reach for a spoon and plunge it into some yoghurt. The resulting mouthful tastes a bit fizzy, as if the yoghurt's gone off ? the trademark tangy tingle of zinc. A second spoon gives a salty metallic kick ? the steel ? while chrome makes no difference at all. Sadly, there is no magnesium spoon; if you ever put an old school pencil sharpener on your tongue, during an idle moment in maths class, you'll know that it gives even more of a thrill than popping candy. (Or was that just me?)

In a blind tasting, Laughlin's guinea pigs found that copper and zinc were the sourest, while the spoon to end all spoons was, of course, made of gold. "Mango sorbet with a gold spoon is just heaven," she sighs. "Mango never tasted so mangoey." But too bad if you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth: in the blind tasting, it came out near the bottom.

[sarcasmic]

I recall watching some program about some company that makes ice cream, and their professional taster used a gold spoon.

[Jerryskids]

Odd, I just recently watched one of the How It's Made shows with a taste-tester who used a plastic spoon for that reason.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

I use depleted uranium flatware, m'self.

[sarcasmic]

I think I was watching Unwrapped, or maybe it was Modern Marvels. Don't remember.

[Pope Jimbo]

"for that reason."

Huh? Because the bastard from the show sarcs talking about stole their gold spoon? And now all they can afford is a second hand plastic spoon?

[Jerryskids]

"for that reason" being "how cutlery affects our sense of taste" - gold or plastic doesn't. IIRC, it was the one about caviar and they mention that caviar is traditionally eaten with a mother-of-pearl or gold spoon to avoid having the caviar tainted by a metallic spoon taste but that a cheap plastic spoon is just as inert as an expensive gold one. (This would be the same caviar they show being packed into a tin can, BTW. Tin cans apparently somehow don't affect the taste of the caviar the way a tin spoon would.)

[Jordan]

John Thacker mentioned this the other day:

DID BUSH'S BROADBAND DEREGULATION UPEND HIS OWN NSA WIRETAPPING?

In other words, it seems entirely plausible that the Bush administration's deregulation of cable broadband service accidentally led to a secret court refusing to approve a sizable chunk of the NSA's wiretapping activities. That ruling then precipitated a dramatic political battle full of overblown claims of threats to America and eventually resulted in the passage of a measure expanding the NSA's ability to intercept communications inside the United States.

So net neutrality makes it easier for the NSA to continue its surveillance dragnet.

[Idle Hands]

Has the left figured out if Bush was the most inept or cunningly evil president ever yet?

[Xeones]

Both. His bottomless stupidity was all part of the plot.

[wadair]

So net neutrality makes it easier for the NSA to continue its surveillance dragnet.

This is my assertion. There is certainly more to NN than what is claimed.

[R C Dean]

Of course it does.

To "monitor" "compliance" with NN rules, all the ISPs will have to open up their networks to the government and to search and seizures under "administrative" subpoenas that aren't, and don't need to be, approved by a judge.

Since NN will regulate based on the content of traffic, the government will have to monitor content to ensure compliance.

[Ted S.]

Liberia has released its last Ebola patient from the hospital. No new cases of the disease are currently being documented in that country.

All the cases are in the US now because we didn't seal the border.

[Lord Humungus]

Americans Not In The Labor Force Rise To Record 98.9 Million As Participation Rate Declines Again

For those (very few now, with even the Fed admitting the unemployment rate has become a meaningless, anachronistic relic) still wondering why the unemployment rate dropped once again, sliding from 5.7% to 5.5%, the reason is that while the number of unemployed Americans dropped by 274K thousand while those employed rose by 96K, the underlying math is that the civilian labor force dropped from 157,180 to 157,002 (following the major revisions posted last month), while the people not in the labor force rose by 354,000 in February, rising to a record 92,898,000 (people who currently want a job rose to 6,538K) matching the all time high number of Americans not in the labor force.

End result: the labor force participation rate dropped once more, declining to only 62.8%, which as the chart below shows is just off the lowest print recorded since 1978.

[Jordan]

RECOVERY SUMMER, BABY!

[Jordan]

GREEN SHOOTS!

US factory orders fall for sixth straight month

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

The scaleback in oil drilling is going to create at least a temporary downturn in equipment manufacturing. Let alone Europe's ongoing issues.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Those fucking students, infants, and retirees! How dare they not work?

[Andrew S.]

Is that the new talking point? I thought the talking point was that the number was pointless, because the unemployment numbers have always excluded those people.

By the way, none of those groups are included in that number. But I'm sure you knew that.

[Jordan]

2.2 Million Go On Disability Since Mid-2010

The number of workers receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) jumped 22 percent to 8.7 million in April from 7.1 million in December 2007, Social Security data show. That helps explain as much as one quarter of the decline in the U.S. labor-force participation rate during the period, according to economists at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley

And infants, students, and retirees are not counted in the participation rate, you mendacious cunt.

[Sevo]

Palin's Buttplug|3.6.15 @ 9:30AM|#
'Boy, that Obo ass tasty!'
Got it, turd.

[Irish]

This is the dumbest talking point I've ever heard. America's birth rate is near all time lows so there aren't a shitload of infants dragging the rate down, and the growth rate of students and retirees has not been nearly sufficient to cause the decline in LFP that we've seen.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

You do what you can to defend the Lightworker and get Ready for Hillary.

[BigT]

"Get Ready for Hillary"

doesn't quite have the right ring to it...

hmmmm...

try: Re-load for Hillary

[Jordan]

It doesn't even matter since none of those are even counted in the labor force.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

The LFP of people over 55 has been going up since 2003, you moron.

Infants aren't counted in the LFP, you moron.

[Lord Humungus]

Apple Will Replace AT&T in the Dow Jones Industrial Average

The change is expected to take place after the market close on March 18. The change will be effective with the opening of trading on Thursday, March 19. The index change was prompted by Visa 4-for-1 stock split which is scheduled to be effective at the same time.

"The DJIA is price weighted so extremely high stock prices tend to distort the index while very low stock prices have little impact," said David Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices in a press release. "Apple's split brought the stock price down closer to the median price in the DJIA. The Visa split will reduce the technology weight in the DJIA and make room for Apple. Among the current DJIA constituents, AT&T has one of the lowest prices."

[Palin's Buttplug]

Oh shit. DIAmonds will be shorted since Apple is overweight and at an all time high. Great arbitrage opp.

[Rich]

Neighbors Outraged Over 'White History Month' Sign

Curtis, a bi-racial neighbor, said he couldn't believe what he was seeing. He confronted the owner, Jim Boggess. "He didn't have a clue why I was offended and then why other people would be upset about it neither," he said.

Sorry, Curtis -- neither do I.

[sarcasmic]

But, but, but... Every month is white history month! White people wrote the history! Cultural bias is everywhere! Aaauuugghhh!

[Heroic Mulatto]

Way to bury the lede...

The 'white' had a cross. It was a cross 't,' which is used by the Ku Klux Klan as a symbol, right," said Bhakti Curtis.

Now, Mr. Curtis may suffer from paradolia; however, it doesn't beggar belief that someone with such a false sense of martyrdom that they feel it necessary to whine about "why is there no White History Month?" would make the letter "T" resemble something that would tweak the nose of those whom he imagines slighted him.

[Rich]

Uh, huh. And was it "white" or "WHItE"?

[Illocust]

That or they draw all their T's like crosses. I always find it weird when some does a 't' like the reason font does it.

[Agile Cyborg]

Snowmobile eats a Russian and other Russians can't fucking stop laughing and neither the fuck can I.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

*Insert Yakov joke here*

[Elspeth Flashman]

A man who says his face, neck and arms were burned after he bent over a "sizzling skillet" at an Applebee's Neighborhood Grill and Bar in New Jersey to pray had hoped to collect damages.

http://www.abajournal.com/news....._to_prayin

But the court said "no."

[Jerryskids]

God answered the guy's prayers - He said "No".

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

Maybe the burns were foreshadowing?

*tries to look innocent*

[Rich]

Anyone else having trouble with "50 word limit" bullshit?

FWIW, I'm using Firefox.

[Rich]

*50 character*

*** gets coffee ***

[Andrew S.]

That's always been something when posting here. No more than 50 characters in a single "word". It's why you have to put links in HTML tags (or tinyurl them).

[Rich]

I was tagging it. Didn't seem to be the problem. It was as if the verbiage contained hidden characters.

[Lord Humungus]

not yet.

[Lord Humungus]

Britain's Premier 'Magic Mushroom Explorer' Says Shrooms Could Change the World

Simon's many experiences of tripping out in nature have led him to develop the paradigm of "natural intelligence," which he calls the "gift" he received from his research. He believes that evolution is a naturally intelligent process that "constructs naturally intelligent systems of bio-logic."

"I think nature, as a self-organizing system, is an unconscious intelligence that is becoming conscious through nervous systems and particularly through the human cortex," he says. "Nothing is smarter than life itself. Our technology pales in the face of the technology of life. Think about DNA, for instance?it is a digital code, which means that digital information processing is actually billions of years old. Evolution through natural selection is the way this smart code-driven organic technology continually hones itself. And it is only possible because life is written into nature, akin to an embedded potential that was always waiting to emerge."

duude

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

+2 Rainbows

[Rich]

Meh. Deepak Chopra got it first.

[This Machine]

Party sure Agile Cyborg arrived at this conclusion a few weeks ago.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

Heh. Nice.

[R C Dean]

If he hasn't read Terence McKenna, he should.

Because this is pretty much McKenna's thesis.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I've noticed leftists are downplaying the Hilary email scandal claiming the right are terrified of her.

Sad they are spinning a clear cut case of breaking a law.

[Rich]

The private server stuff was a bridge too far.

[Palin's Buttplug]

In other wingnut theory leftists are behind the E-mail scandal because they want the Squaw to be the nominee.

Which wingnut theory to believe?

[Sevo]

I bleeve turd licks Obo ass.

[WTF]

That's not just a theory.

[Somalian Road Corporation]

The argument I've been hearing is that until Bush and Cheney are prosecuted for breaking the law, it's not fair to punish any Democrats for doing it.

[Rich]

http://www.politico.com/story/.....15818.html

The fight over Hillary Clinton's private email system is moving to the courts as a conservative legal activist presses for contempt proceedings against the former secretary of state and one of her top aides.

The department said previously that Clinton sent copies of 55,000 pages of emails to the agency in December in response to a request sent to several former secretaries that they submit any work-related emails still held on personal accounts.

Also, WTF, Reason?

Sorry, that shit ain't gonna fly no more.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Lesson for newbies on Peanut behavior.

Bash progs all you want - it is a sport here. But never ever bash conservatism!

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Yeah, we love Jeb and Cheney. They're heroes.

Fuck off.

[Andrew S.]

And that's not to say how much we loved George W Bush. Why, look at Reason pre-2009. We absolutely loved the President and the federal government!

[Somalian Road Corporation]

The amusing thing about this is that I not infrequently run into people claiming with utter sincerity "you guys never complained when Bush was President, you just hate Obama!" with the occasional direct accusation of racism added.

[sarcasmic]

Yeah. Because libertarians didn't complain about the Patriot Act, the TSA, drone warfare, CIA rendition, TARP, prisoner abuse...

[Pro Libertate]

Libertarianism is. . .never having to say you're sorry.

[sarcasmic]

Retard.

[Xeones]

Buttplug is off its meds again this morning, i see.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

DEMOCRATS ARE IN POWER.

Hence, they get more of the hate.

And justifiably so.

What an utter foreign policy mess Obama is. Intelligent my ass.

[Idle Hands]

Not the best source, but:

Hillary Rodham Clinton's brother, Tony Rodham, sat on the board of a self-described mining company that in 2012 received one of only two "gold exploitation permits" from the Haitian government?the first issued in over 50 years.
VCS's coveted gold mining exploitation permit was apparently such a sweetheart deal that it outraged the Haitian senate, since royalties to be paid to the Haitian government were only 2.5%, a sum mining experts say is at least half the standard rate. Moreover, the mining project in Morne Bossa came with a generous ability to renew the project for up to 25 years. Nevertheless, the fledgling company proudly touted its luck in landing the deal.

[Lord Humungus]

Nebraska police find pot inside container labeled 'Not Weed'

A man in Lincoln, Nebraska, has been cited for possessing pot inside a container that had been slapped with a label reading: "Not Weed."

The Lincoln Journal Star reports that Lancaster County deputies stopped the man's vehicle around 9 p.m. Saturday. Officers found the plastic sour cream container during a search of his car, and the driver acknowledged that the pot belonged to him.

Mr. Clever is clever

[Rich]

"You could *not* put your weed in there!"

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

*enthusiastic applause*

[Lord Humungus]

Shock Poll: Half The Uninsured Want ObamaCare Repealed

More remarkable still is the fact that the uninsured are the most hostile to ObamaCare. The poll found that 50% of this group wants ObamaCare repealed (compared with 42% overall).

A mere 14% of the uninsured rate the law as a success, while 49% say it's been a failure. And 60% say it's either raised premiums or hasn't made a difference.

These findings call into question a central premise of ObamaCare ? namely that there were tens of millions of Americans who desperately wanted health insurance but were either denied coverage or couldn't afford it, and so needed this law. Clearly that's not the case for many uninsured.

Shocking? Who doesn't like being forced to buy something?

[Irish]

I like that things get called 'shocking' when libertarians predicted them from the start.

Apparently that which shocks leftists is objectively shocking since no one conceivably could have seen through their bullshit.

[Idle Hands]

Some people really can't comprehend that not everyone wants to live the way they do.

[sarcasmic]

Oh, they comprehend it alright. They comprehend that these people are stupid and ignorant, and in desperate need of enlightened government officials to force them to live correctly.

[R C Dean]

"Wants" has nothing to do with it.

They don't care if you want to live the way they do.

That's why they use the government. Its not about wants, either. Its about compliance, dominance, control, and the use violence to ensure that you do what you're told regardless of whether you "want" to.

[This Machine]

Those ungrateful plebs just don't know what's good for them!

[monikajulina]

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[Pope Jimbo]

Tundra, I think we should get this for Sloopy.

http://www.cafepress.com/mf/36.....=420152812

He may not appreciate it, but I'm guessing it would trigger all sorts of MN prog snow birds.

[seguin]

In Texas, that's not anything unusual. I see that stuff fairly often at Whole Foods. Sprouts OTOH...

[Pope Jimbo]

I have an acquaintance who spent years suffering because his leg was caught in a snowmobile track as a kid and chewed up badly.

About 4 years ago he finally had the leg (below the knee) amputated and is now using a prosthetic.

According to him it was a great choice. The new prosthetic works way better than his old gimped up leg. He also says that there has been so much improvements in prosthetics due to the wars that what he has now is way better than it would have been when he was first injured.