A.M. Links: Clinton Scandals Grow, Fatal Police Shooting Sparks Protests in Wisconsin, Chad and Niger Fight Boko Haram

• 

  Credit: White House / Flickr.com

  The Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation is under fire for accepting millions of dollars in donations from countries with abysmal records on sex discrimination and women's rights, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, and Algeria.

• Thousands crowded Selma, Alabama's Edmund Pettus Bridge yesterday to mark the 50th anniversary of the famous "Bloody Sunday" civil rights march in which police attacked peaceful activists.

• According to President Barack Obama, he first learned about the scandal surrounding Hillary Clinton's use of private emails for government business "the same time everybody else learned it through news reports."

• Protesters have taken to the streets in Madison, Wisconsin, after a white police officer shot and killed an unarmed black 19 year old.

• The University of Oklahoma has shut down a fraternity after a video surfaced showing fraternity members participating in a racist chant.

• Military forces from Chad and Niger have opened a new front in Nigeria against the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

I say we boycott the internet until everyone's individual demands are met. WHO'S WITH ME?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello!

"The Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation is under fire for accepting millions of dollars in donations from countries with abysmal records on sex discrimination and women's rights, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, and Algeria."

FAKE.....FOUNDATION!!!!!!

[Jerryskids]

The Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation is under fire...

RTFA!!!

It's made abuntantly clear that the foundation is under fire from right-wingers, the GOP and Hillary's political enemies. Every single criticism they bring up they make sure to mention that that's who is doing the criticizing. More clearing of the decks for the NYT - this is a fake scandal and will be an OLD fake scandal in a month so let us hear no more about it.

[Sevo]

"right-wingers, the GOP and Hillary's political enemies."
Could this be the fabled "Vast, Right Wing Conspiracy"?

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Note to interns: Serif fonts are more readable.

[Ted S.]

On the printed page, maybe. On the internet some of the serif fonts (the whole Times family) seem less readable.

[invisible furry hand]

Also, the serifs take longer to download on Ted S' steam-powered differential engine

[Jordan]

That got a hearty chuckle from me.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Roboto works well. I'm hating this Arial or whatever it is.

[Ted S.]

My browser was showing Verdana before the change, and is still showing Verdana, albeit at a larger size.

[Hyperion]

Takes a peek at the style....

font-family: 'Helvetica','helvetica',sans-serif;

Verdana would be nice.

[Rhywun]

I hate Arial too - since I'm already using Stylish I am now motivated to change it to something else. Actually Verdana does look pretty good.

[Ted S.]

Roboto works well.

Domo arigato.

[hamilton]

I just have my orphans color in little serifs and draw in ligatures.

[Bobarian (hyphenated-american)]

Doesn't that make a mess of your screen?

[pan fried wylie]

I thought everybody printed out HnR threads. Yeah, morning links takes a few reams, with all the refreshes, but it's worth it.

[trshmnster the terrible]

Doesn't that make a mess of your screen?

Hamilton has the orphans recreate the comments (with serif) on an etch a sketch (ala Buddy the Elf)

[hamilton]

Precisely this. I don't look at screens; the glare through my monocle is too intense.

[Cdr Lytton]

It's not the monocle that's glaring, that's the natural libertarian facial expression.

Good day sir!

[Jumbie]

I have my orphans act out the comments. The little fellow who does Shriek has such a lovely vibrato that it almost makes his drivel pleasant. I've ordered the cook to give him an extra piece of potato in his gruel so he can keep his strength up.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

I shot the serif, but I did not shoot the Calibri.

[Elspeth Flashman]

I am with you. My demands are simple: Wine freely flowing, and no need to work.

[Dweebston]

The whines flow freely, and to judge by the uninterrupted string of comments by regulars here, there's no work to be done.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation is under fire for accepting millions of dollars in donations from countries with abysmal records on sex discrimination and women's rights...

The money is still green. (Or whatever silly Monopoly money color they have over there.)

[Fist of Etiquette]

...he first learned about the scandal surrounding Hillary Clinton's use of private emails for government business "the same time everybody else learned it through news reports."

He really should have someone on staff to brief him on things rather than just switch on MSNBC.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Wait, I take that back. If he found out about it at all, his TV wasn't on MSNBC.

[Bones]

Um, while she was Secretary of State, does he expect us to believe they never corresponded via email? He had to know she wasn't using the correct email address.

Or, he's completely clueless to anything and everything going on in his administration and doesn't actually govern at all. Oh yeah...

[Palin's Buttplug]

Presidents don't use email.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Administration staffers, on the other hand...

[Dweebston]

Nobody on his staff, then? Nobody thought to ask why Clinton's official communiques had a rather different domain?

[Injun, as in from India]

Presidents don't use email.

Really?

America's tech-savvy crackberry addict president doesn't use email.

Didn't the left use this to bash McCain in 2008 as an old white guy who was a prehistoric dinosaur as far as things like email were concerned?

[pan fried wylie]

Supposing first off that he ever personally put eyes on an Outlook window, I'm sure her contact would've been in there as "Hill Dawg ".

I read the part in the carrots. You read the part in the carrots. 99.9999999% of users DO NOT read the part in the carrots.

"I GOT MAIL FROM HILL DAWG! Brendan, show me how to open my inbox again."

[pan fried wylie]

derp, "Hill Dawg <[e-mail] ..... posting software will not accept the greaterthan entity, whatever, you know what i'm talking about if you've used outlook before.

[kbolino]

It's caret, not carrot, and that just refers to ^; the less-than and greater-than signs used as parentheses are typically called "angle brackets".

/typography nazi

[pan fried wylie]

< and |

[Dweebston]

Nobody expects the typographical disquisition.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

*narrows gaze*

[Derpetologist]

The thousand-yard squint. A guy gets it after he's been in the derp for too long. It's like you've really seen...beyond. I got it. All derpetologists got it. You'll have it, too.

[tarran]

It wouldn't surprise me if the president doesn't use email.

The sheer volume of communication that is part of that job means that the communication needs to be very carefully organizes to keep it from overwhelming the guy.

If I were in the office, I'd actually ditch the email. A stack of papers would come in, and a stack of papers would go out. Any emails would be handled by a secretary.

Otherwise, my inbox would consist of to queues requiring my attention.

[Ted S.]

True. But top to bottom the White House would have known that Hillary was using something other than her State Department email.

[tarran]

Absolutely.

This fiasco is yet another example of how awful Barack Obama is.

Sure, he might not have known, but his chief of staff did. And the chief of staff was aware that Hillary was violating the spirit if not the letter of the law. The chief of staff should have brought the matter up to Obama, and either Hillary would be fired, resign, or start using the state department email system.

Now, odds are, the chief of staff didn't bring this up, because he didn't give a shit, and he knew his boss didn't give a shit. Perhaps they even hoped to use it to sandbag Hillary if they needed to end her career.

Obama is hoping we will think he was merely incompetent. It's quite possible that he was being malicious.

[Ted S.]

Obama is incompetent and malicious, of course.

[Heedless]

1 small quibble: they couldn't fire Hilary, nor could they credibly threaten to do so. this wasn't your usual administrative hire, this was a way to buy off the Clintons who, at least in the early years, were arguably more influential among the Democratic Party movers and shakers then Obama was.

[tarran]

Presidents *can* fire secretaries of state who have lost their confidence.

But I do agree with your assertion that Obama is an incompetent leader.

[A Frayed Knot]

Agreed, but wasn't there a whole story on whether or not Obama had to give up his blackberry when he assumed office? And they found a way for him to keep it?

Was he only using it for BBM?

[Bones]

Secretary of State might be one of the emails I let through. SecDef as well. And my buddy who runs my fantasy league.

[Lord Humungus]

Photo on Vogue editor's Instagram deleted amid criticism

A photo of what appeared to be a homeless person reading a copy of Vogue has been deleted from the Instagram account of the style editor who posted it amid criticism that it showed how "out of touch" she is.

Vogue style editor-at-large Elisabeth von Thurn und Taxis, a member of German royalty who has been with the magazine since 2012, posted the photo Saturday from Paris, where she is covering fashion week.

"Paris is full of surprises....and @voguemagazine readers even in unexpected corners!" the caption read.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

"a member of German royalty "

You know who else was a member of German royalty? (which she really isn't...silly CNN, their is not German monarchy anymore)

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

*there*

EDIT BUTTON!!!

[gaoxiaen]

Ludwig von Mises?

[mauricegirodias]

That chick who was married to the guy from Starship Troopers?

[Charles Easterly]

"You know who else was a member of German royalty?"

Adolf Elizabeth Hitler?
(He was descended from a long line of English queens)

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Alaric I?

[Rhywun]

their is not German monarchy anymore

Oh, but there are still royals. Only they have nothing to do now except roll around in their billions.

[Ted S.]

I'm surprised this is considered out of touch for the sort of people who read Vogue.

[KDN]

Apparently the world is not yet ready for Derel?cte.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

According to President Barack Obama, he first learned about the scandal surrounding Hillary Clinton's use of private emails for government business "the same time everybody else learned it through news reports."

Incompetent, willingly ignorant or just lying?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Yes.

[Cyto]

We are still missing the real punch line. According to Obama, as President of the United States he never sent or received any email from his Secretary of State during the course of her tenure at that post. This from "Mr. Blackberry". The tech-savvy president who wouldn't give up his Blackberry when he took office.

He never once got an email from someone purporting to be the Secretary of State, but not coming from the state department's email domain? C'mon, man.... really? Four years she's in a top cabinet position and they never exchanged emails? Not even "hey, what are you guys wearing to the state dinner for that guy from Nairobi?" Nothing at all?

His chief of staff never noticed? National Security Advisor? Nobody?

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

Uh... BOOOOSH!

/derp

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hilary: "hey, what are you guys wearing to the state dinner for that guy from Nairobi?"

Obama: THIS!

Hilary: Ewwww! Okay, I'll wear THIS!

Obama (drops Blackberry): Fuck. I totally asked for that.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

STOP INSPIRING SUGARFREE!!!!!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

What's amazing is how often he says he learns about stuff in the news as if this is supposed to keep him detached from what goes on in his OWN bleeping administration.

Even a child knows you can't keep using the same excuse lest you lose credibility.

There's something off about this dude.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

Well it works, frankly. Press doesn't call him on it, and "he won".

[Restoras]

^Basically this. Plus his raging narcissistic personality disorder.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

He must end every cabinet meeting or debate with "Yes. I see your point. BUT. I was elected. TWICE! Nyeh, nyeh, nyeh!"

[Pope Jimbo]

It is hard to get help for that narcissistic personality disorder when you are surrounded by sycophants.

"Hey, what did the voters think about my claim that I read about it in the papers?"

"Totally believed it Bossman!"

"Yeah, you have them eating out of the palm of your hand!!!"

[Libertarian]

I think it has been proven, in the sphere of American politics, that "credibility" doesn't really matter.

[MJGreen]

It works, and he hasn't trotted it out for several months now. I briefly forgot it was his thing!

[expat]

Yes, yes, and yes

[Drake]

Maybe we should pick Presidents from the pool of people who have managed people at least once before sometime in his/her lives?

[Bee Tagger]

According to President Barack Obama, he first learned about the scandal surrounding Hillary Clinton's use of private emails for government business "the same time everybody else learned it through news reports."

He totally stole my joke.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

The Lightworker likes to get out in front of humor at this expense.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

*his* dammit! EDIT BUTTON and COFFEE!

[gaoxiaen]

Agreed.

[Libertarian]

Okay, but not that stupid Swiss coffee that comes in little plastic cups that you have to stick into a machine.

[Pope Jimbo]

I'd rather have the Swiss Miss, than Swiss coffee.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

+1 blonde with chocolate?

[Pope Jimbo]

You can skip the chocolate. But yeah...

[Ted S.]

I'd rather have the Swiss Miss,

Martina Hingis is now 34.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

That photo is begging for an alt-text contest.

[pan fried wylie]

"Jay Chandrasekhar enojys a deep whiff of some balls."

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

Our new HQ will have pod coffee machines. I think I *narrowed gaze* for a full 24 hours on hearing that.

[invisible furry hand]

You really must have terrible crow's feet with all that squinting

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

And a couple years in the desert... I might end up looking like Clint Eastwood.

[invisible furry hand]

Unfortunately for your strategy, you have to start by looking like him

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

I look more like Christopher Reeves. My platoon nicknamed me Clark Kent at Basic Training...I wanted to kill the guy that came up with that - I was just waiting for a Drill Sargent to come by and say "OK Superman, give me 5000 push ups!"

[straffinrun]

He also learned about himself learning about it in the newspapers.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

Whoa... its newspapers all the way down!

[Pope Jimbo]

The sad part of your joke is that if they find a smoking gun e-mail in Lerner's records, that will really be his response.

"Mr. President, what do you say to the fact that Trey Gowdy's committee has released an email that shows you and Lois Lerner explicitly talked about using the IRS to target conservative groups?"

"I just read about my actions in today's newspaper. Gosh darn it if I really did do something bad like that, I want to learn about it so I can take the appropriate actions."

Then you will have to endure the multiple postings online from progs who believe that he really did only learn of his own actions by reading the news.

[WTF]

Then you will have to endure the multiple postings online from progs who believe that he really did only learn of his own actions by reading the news.

And pointing out that BOOOOOSH! once sent an email to the IRS commissioner about some unimportant issue, but it's totally equivalent because BOOOOSH!!!!11!!!!

[Bardas Phocas]

Sort of a 'Scanner Darkly' version of 'House of Cards'?
Who is the REAL president?
Who is the Real FLOTUS?
What's in these pills?

[Cyto]

Ice T Stole My Joke!

[Lord Humungus]

Silence is hurting Clinton, Dem says

Hillary Clinton is hurting herself by not publicly addressing the concern about revelations that she used a private email service during her time as secretary of State, said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).

"What I would like is for her to come forward and say just what the situation is," said Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, during an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press."

...snip...

"As I understand it, the regulations were unclear and there's no specific law," she said.

Feinstein pointed to a law signed by President Obama in November that required government officials to forward any business emails from a personal account to a government account within 20 days.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

When you've lost Feinstein...

[VG Zaytsev]

Frankenstein just wants Hillary to come out a coo some nonsense, then she'll fall right back in line.

[Cyto]

This is the Clinton gambit. It requires that you have the media on your side, but it works 100% of the time.

When you are caught on something, your spokespeople go out and say that this is old news and has been completely covered. Nothing to see here.

A week or two later when some new fact comes up, they repeat the "Old news, this has been addressed" mantra. After a few cycles, it all goes away because everyone knows that it has already been addressed.

The Clintons are already on it. Chelsea just assured us that the issue has been addressed. Playbook in hand, they'll weather the storm.

Unless the big donors find another horse to bet on. Then she'll be hung out to dry just like she was in 2008.

[sarcasmic]

Put CCTV in EVERY home: Householders should help us trap burglars, says Scotland Yard chief
Bernard Hogan Howe said people installed their CCTV cameras too high
This meant only the tops of the criminals' heads were caught on film
Families should install their own cameras to help catch burglars, he said
The Met chief said Britain needed more cameras to help fight crime

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....olice.html
Oh, those enlightened Europeans! We need to be more like them!
/progderp

[Ted S.]

It's not as if the cops are going to help catch burglars.

[Jordan]

He's hoping to catch homeowners who defend themselves from criminals.

[Matrix]

^ This!

[gaoxiaen]

I. for one, welcome our CCTV overlords. Except when my married FB comes to my apartment.

[straffinrun]

People want bodycams for cops. I'm thinking of starting collarcams for dogs. When he dies for sniffing an asshole, I want to get a badge number.

[Brett L]

SCORPION STARE must achieve.999 saturation in order for any humans to survive CASE NIGHTMARE GREEN. It's all right there in the Laundry Files from Charlie Stross.

[sarcasmic]

Guess who wins: Desperate weasel tries to fight off hungry heron
An aggressive weasel bit off more than it can chew when it took on a heron, clinging on to the large bird's beak
The annoyed bird scooped up the small mammal and flew it to a nearby river, dunking it underwater to drown it
After ensuring its dinner was dead, heron gulped the weasel down in one go, bird watcher Jonathan Forgham said
Pictures come just days after a photograph of a weasel hanging onto a flying woodpecker went viral on the internet

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....-bird.html
And here I thought all they ate was fish.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

It was a spite eating.

[Jordan]

Related:

Deer Have Been Eating Birds For Years... They Will Eat Us Next

[sarcasmic]

I saw that. Mildly disturbing.

[gaoxiaen]

It was a woodpecker. Save the trees.

[Pope Jimbo]

When will the Americans (the great Heron) decide enough is enough and drown our own political weasels?

[Brett L]

Must we eat them, too? I don't think any oven short of a crematorium can make politico flesh safe for human consumption.

[invisible furry hand]

Bringing new meaning to the phrase 'terrorist organisation', IS have made headlines for their ruthless efficiency. By drawing inspiration from the teachings of many of the world's leading businesses, the Islamic State has become an absolute masterclass in corporate execution.

more

[VG Zaytsev]

LOL

Yeah, the Islamic State is not only not Islamic, but it's the final stage of kkkapitalism. God Damn those Kochs!!11!

[Ted S.]

Islamic State hacks Icelandic Saga Museum website

Those fucking imperialist Icelanders brought it upon themselves.

[invisible furry hand]

Thanks for the pointer to an awesome website, including this cracker:

Blind Photography Competition Launched

Inbred Vikings really do rock

[Ted S.]

I've been linking to that website quite a bit.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

BLOWBACK!!!!!

[Homple]

"...IS have made headlines for their ruthless efficiency...."

But do they have an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope?

[sarcasmic]

Inside the world of America's most famous pimp: BunnyRanch brothel owner's 'love story' memoir reveals how his lust for women started with a kiss from Marilyn Monroe
Dennis Hof, 68, who owns Moonlite BunnyRanch in Lyon County, Nevada, is releasing memoir titled The Art of the Pimp on March 17
Brothel is featured on HBO's late-night reality show CatHouse
He created a brothel where women could set their own prices and deals, but still split earnings with the house
Memoir features first-hand accounts of relationships from ex-girlfriends
A psychotherapist calls him a narcissist with 'no empathy', who's 'clueless about his lover's hurts and fears or his part in creating them'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....onroe.html
No empathy? Must be a libertarian.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Wow. Ron Jeremy looks like the walking dead.

[Drake]

When hasn't he?

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

I saw him in person 20 years ago in LA. He didn't look too bad then. Although the people he was hanging with resembled heroin addicts.

[Charles Easterly]

"Must be a libertarian."

The employees actually supported Ron Paul's presidential campaign: http://articles.latimes.com/20.....s-20120201

"The working girls at the notorious brothel near Carson City are, in their words, 'pimpin' for Paul.' One of the women, 25-year-old Cami Parker, told Times reporter Maria La Ganga that she likes Paul's positions on individual liberties and states' rights and drops 10% of her weekly earnings into a Paul campaign donation box in the brothel's parlor."

[Bobarian (hyphenated-american)]

A psychotherapist calls him a narcissist with 'no empathy', who's 'clueless about his lover's hurts and fears or his part in creating them'

But enough about the president...

[Fist of Etiquette]

The University of Oklahoma has shut down a fraternity after a video surfaced showing fraternity members participating in a racist chant.

If you can't be racist in Oklahoma, where can you be racist?

[gaijin]

The White House?

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

+1 Nation of Cowards?

[gaoxiaen]

NAACP meetings? Or Stormfront. I get them confused sometimes. Especially after a half a bottle of tequila.

[Beautiful Bean Footage]

The yin and the yang

[straffinrun]

+1 Zabuton

[Marshall Gill]

If you can't be racist in Oklahoma, where can you be racist?

This is going to turn out to be a hoax. While not an impossibility, and I haven't seen the video, it fits the victim narrative a bit too well. Since the accused are a fraternity, and everyone knows that frats' racism is only exceeded by their rapeyness I am expecting this to turn out to be fake.

[WTF]

The articles say that the members were chanting something racist, but they decline to say what it was. I thought that was a little odd.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Too triggering

[Bo Cara Esq.]

"the students are heard chanting, "There will never be a ni**** in SAE. You can hang him from a tree, but he can never sign with me."

[Marshall Gill]

The article I read earlier claimed that they were chanting something like "No niggers at (name of fraternity)"

The picture, I didn't see an actual video, showed a group of people holding hands with their backs to the camera. The national frat president, of course, suspended the fraternity without further evidence.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

The video uncut:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RA_CTHZn0Xg

[Marshall Gill]

It looks pretty damning. I am not defending the actions in the video by any means, even though I would defend their right to be racists.

Of course, someone took and released the video. Clearly everyone on the bus did not approve.

[RBS]

Here

[WTF]

Okay, that's pretty bad. I was wondering if it was just another case of PC hyper-sensitivity run amok.

[RBS]

Here

[WTF]

The fraternity was doubleplusungoodthinkful.

[Chinny Chin Chin]

UO has a chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, a traditionally black fraterity that dates back to 1903. There could be some interesting tension at the next Greek Council meeting.

If Spike Lee ever wanted to do a gritty reboot of "Revenge of the Nerds", his story is unfolding right now...

[Lord Humungus]

Republicans Warn Iran -- and Obama -- That Deal Won't Last

A group of 47 Republican senators has written an open letter to Iran's leaders warning them that any nuclear deal they sign with President Barack Obama's administration won't last after Obama leaves office.

Organized by freshman Senator Tom Cotton and signed by the chamber's entire party leadership as well as potential 2016 presidential contenders Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, the letter is meant not just to discourage the Iranian regime from signing a deal but also to pressure the White House into giving Congress some authority over the process.

[Pro Libertate]

Well, the Senate does retain the authority to ratify or not ratify treaties.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

-1 pen and phone!

[sarcasmic]

'Give it to your woman, it's her job': Clothing company slammed for sexist washing instructions on their sports shirts
Indonesian company under fire for offensive washing instructions
'Give this to your woman, it's her job' message of football shirt reads
Salvo Sports forced to apologise after widespread social media backlash
Comes after FFA says it is investigating 'sexist abuse' in Matildas match
British soldiers reportedly shouted 'unacceptable' comments at players

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....hirts.html
Haaaaaaa ha ha ha ha ha!
Seriously though, I prefer to do my own laundry. The wife dries everything on low and then leaves the stuff in the dryer overnight. Ruins my cottons.

[antisocial-ist]

My wife manages to shrink all my t-shirts. But its still better than me doing the laundry. I once caught a washing machine on fire.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Same here. It got to the point I'd put on expensive pull overs or Polos and I'd look like Lurch.

I've since asked her to air dry everything.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

"I once caught a washing machine on fire."

Wait....what?!

[invisible furry hand]

Part of the job as a member of the Jim Rose Circus Sideshow

[antisocial-ist]

As it turns out, there's a maximum amount of material you can put into a washing machine. Apparently 5 pairs of my jeans was above that limit and put too much strain on the motor. When I went to check on my clothes, the machine had smoke coming out of it.

[straffinrun]

Was that before or after Colorado legalized? I mean, really, mundane tasks do pass much faster that way.

[Spoonman.]

5 pairs of jeans? That washing machine had one foot in the dump.

[SugarFree]

Wait....what?!

Ahem,

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

WHHHHYYYYY DID I CLICK THAT?!?!?!?!

[Ted S.]

If you'd hovered over the link, you would have known it was a gif substituting for video, and thus to be avoided.

[Charles Easterly]

If you'd read who posted it, you would have known it was to be avoided.

I write this after having walked into SugarFree's web yet again.

[straffinrun]

Narrowed gaze?

[SugarFree]

Ah, c'mon... Humping Robot is only a danger to unwilling washing machines.

[Dweebston]

Jukeboxes, too

[gaoxiaen]

+ 1 pair of yoga pants

[Libertarian]

And just how many times did your wife do this before you insisted on doing your own clothes? Ha! You got pawned.

[RBS]

I prefer to do mine too, for the same reasons. My wife has no problem letting dry clothes sit in the dryer for a week.

[Marshall Gill]

Bizarre. I thought only chicks cared so much about clothes. As long as the laundry doesn't stink, who cares?

[sarcasmic]

I don't exactly like it when the fly on my jeans has a permanent wrinkle, showing the zipper all the time. Or one of my button up shirts with a wrinkle on the front where the button holes are, looking like it's got a half inch of fabric folded forward. Or collars that won't fold right. If she's going to fuck up my cottons, then I'll just wash them myself.

[RBS]

^This

[trshmnster the terrible]

This is why I take my button downs to the dry cleaner. My wife likes to leave the dry clothes in the dryer until she has time to fold them. I can't iron worth a shit, so I always look like cap until I can get the clothes to the cleaner again.

Are there any alternatives? I've heard some good things about steamers, but I haven't taken the plunge. How do everybody's orphans properly crease their button downs?

[sarcasmic]

Just stay cool! Teens float away into Lake Michigan on a tiny iceberg
Two teenage boys were standing at the edge of the beach near Racine Zoo when the ice they were stood on broke free
Three divers in scuba gear were dispatched to rescue the teens after the piece of ice started floating out into Lake Michigan
The firefighter helped pushed the piece of ice back to shire and then put a ladder down for the two to climb back to safety

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....-away.html
Whatever happened to throwing them a rope?

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

Well, he did have to push the all the way to the Shire...

The firefighter helped pushed the piece of ice back to shire

[sarcasmic]

All they wanted was a beer at The Prancing Pony!

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

Sorry, no water service to Bree.

[Ted S.]

I thought all the icebergs melted because of Glowball Warmening or something.

[Restoras]

No, the polar bears ate all the ice that's why they are starving now.

[Bee Tagger]

The Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation is under fire for accepting millions of dollars in donations

I guess she was right when she said the media would move on from the email thing.

[sarcasmic]

Veteran police officer who shot unarmed black teen in Wisconsin killed another suspect who was holding a pellet gun in 2007
Matt Kenny, 45, shot and killed Tony Robinson, 19, on Friday evening
Eight years ago he was cleared of wrongdoing following a shooting
Killed a suspect in what was described as a 'suicide by cop-type' situation
Has been with the Madison Police Department for 12 years
Police Chief Mike Koval says he wants to avoid Ferguson 'missteps'
Court documents have revealed Robinson had arrests to his name

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....-2007.html
He's killed two people? He must be the envy of his department.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

Bragging Rights!

[WTF]

Did the cop get home safely? Because that's all that really matters.

[gaoxiaen]

Police officer perk.

[Charles Easterly]

This case seems different than most of the police/law enforcement murders that we've been reading about here at Reason. My comments from another post earlier:

This case does not evoke too much sympathy from me, although I certainly regret that the young man was killed. The officer who shot him suffered a head injury from their altercation. Here are some snippets:

"Police responding to the scene Friday night were told by dispatchers that the 19-year-old [Tony Robinson] had hit one of his friends...."

"They were later told also told the suspect had tried to strangle another patron at a gas station...."

Tony Robinson had pled guilty to (and had been convicted of) armed robbery.

Again, I regret that the young man is dead but the available information doesn't paint a positive image. His erratic behavior (jumping in and out of traffic and assaulting others) requires explanation.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new.....-1.2141789

[sarcasmic]

The officer who shot him suffered a head injury from their altercation.

I've seen too many exaggerated claims of injury from the police to believe anything they say. It could have been anything from a tiny scratch to a concussion, but until I see proof I figure the cop is full of shit.

[Charles Easterly]

The young man's behavior toward others that night lended credence to the officer's claim (for me ), but your point is well taken.

[SugarFree]

Darren Wilson had a crushed orbital socket and Garner threw a cop through a plate glass window.

[Charles Easterly]

Eric Garner was murdered, plain and simple. Mr. Robinson's case seems very different to me, although I remain doubtful that lethal force was necessary.

[SugarFree]

All I'm getting at is that the police lie, constantly and almost compulsively. They are caught lying all the time. They even continue to lie when the video evidence clearly contradicts them--like in the Rice case.

Since I doubt there's going to be video, they are going to walk away, leaving another dead body behind.

[Charles Easterly]

Good points, all.

[Xeones]

Tamir Rice once ate a dude.

[Marshall Gill]

Simply another reason to hold the police responsible when they improperly use force. If this is a case of appropriate self-defense then it is clouded by the other times **cough** Eric Gardner **cough** when it clearly is not.

[Enough About Palin]

"Again, I regret that the young man is dead but the available information doesn't paint a positive image."

Which is why Sharpton will focus on this while ignoring that Rice kid.

[Ted S.]

You do realize this story was mentioned in the Mourning Lynx?

[sarcasmic]

Only the protests were mentioned, not the fact that he's killed before.

[Restoras]

I'm really disappointed with all of you. I went on vacation for 10 days and did not come back to a libertarian paradise. What the hell have you been up to?

[sarcasmic]

My office is empty. Seems the time change was too much for them.

[Brett L]

Rainout on the jobsite. I've got about an hour's worth of work to finish before 5:00 pm CDT. and limited Internet.

[Bobarian (hyphenated-american)]

I had 20" of global warming all over my driveway last week; it prevented me from getting out and sparking the revolution.

Maybe next week, if I feel up to it.

[straffinrun]

Check you browser history. BTW, don't put your spare key in such an obvious spot.

[sarcasmic]

Virginia man and women both suffer gunshot wounds when her Glock goes off accidentally in her purse
Unidentified pair where sitting in a parked car when the gun discharged
Man was shot in the hand while the bullet went through both the woman's legs
No charges have been filed as police investigate the incident

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....purse.html
I've got an idea! Let's take a firearm with no safety and put it in a bag with lots of stuff to bump into it! What's the worst that could happen!

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Glocks belong in holsters. Idiots.

-1 Plaxico

[Bobarian (hyphenated-american)]

Plaxico shot himself with a FN 5.7, I thought.

Also Glocks are supposed to be really hard to accidentally discharge?

It won't fire unless you pull the trigger.

[Bobarian (hyphenated-american)]

Sorry, it was Chris Johnson that had the 5.7.

[straffinrun]

Man was shot in the hand while the bullet went through both the woman's legs

I hope he wasn't caught red handed.

[sarcasmic]

She's Fearless now! Taylor Swift 'insures her famously toned legs for $40million'... as she steps out in tiny miniskirt

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....llion.html

[Fist of Etiquette]

I remember when you could get a pair of replacement legs plus an arm and an eye for a fraction of that.

[sarcasmic]

+1 Lee Majors

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

+$6,000,000

[gaijin]

I thought you could get a bionic woman for only $0.70 on the dollar?

[sarcasmic]

+$4,200,000

[Fist of Etiquette]

The cost of a bionic rib.

[R C Dean]

Yeah, that's just the capital for acquisition.

Maintenance is where you really go broke.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Not sure why someone with a ton of money isn't self insured on their own legs.

[Heedless]

More publicity this way. Not that I'm complaining. Those are some very nice legs.

[sarcasmic]

How to lure a guy in 10 seconds! Kate Hudson dons cleavage-baring tank top and Daisy Dukes for sunny LA outing

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....uting.html
What in the hell was Bellamy thinking?

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Hudson strikes me as certifiably insane. She's left a swath of destructed relationships behind her.

[sarcasmic]

True, but damn she's fine.

[DJK]

Meh. The anorexic look doesn't do it for me.

[sarcasmic]

Kate Hudson is hardly anorexic looking.

[Ted S.]

Ralph Bellamy was always losing the girl to the leading man.

[sarcasmic]

Two Utah police officers suspended for allowing bikini-clad women to fire high-powered weapons while posing for risqu? 'Hot Shots' calender at a National Guard base
Rob Wilkinson, a Utah Highway Patrol sergeant, and Justin Hansen, a State Bureau of Investigation agent were both disciplined for their actions
Allowed the risqu? video to be shot at Camp Williams National Guard base
Were spotted wearing camouflage uniforms identifying them as police
Superiors were unaware of their involvement until news reports surfaced

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....-base.html
Now if they'd simply shot the women they wouldn't be in any trouble.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

WHERE THE HELL WAS THIS WHEN I WAS IN THE GUARD?!?!?!

[tarran]

The fun stuff happens when the officers are not around, lt col killjoy.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

I was enlisted first!

[Drake]

In November, four Utah National Guard soldiers were disciplined for their unauthorized involvement...

Were they suspended for a month?

[tarran]

That's what... four hours of drill?

[Drake]

Or none...

[Cdr Lytton]

+1 UTA.

[Lord Humungus]

Creditors Reject Greece's Reform Proposals

Greece's provisional agreement with creditors to avert a default started to crack as European officials said the country's latest proposals fell far short of what was put forward two weeks ago and Greek ministers floated the prospect of a referendum if their reforms are rejected.

The measures Greece's government sent to euro-region finance ministers last Friday, including the idea of hiring non-professional tax collectors, is "far" from complete and the country probably won't receive an aid disbursement this month, Eurogroup Chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Sunday.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Greece has no leverage; economically or sympathetically.

[Restoras]

Certainly true sympathetically, but they do seem to have some economically since Europe seems unwilling to boot them from the Euro.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

....yet.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Fair enough. But what might that be?

I know they fear a tiny economy with little industry could conceivably shock the Euro but sometimes I wonder if it could.

[Restoras]

I think it has more to do with saving face than anything else. Like our idiot politicians, bureaucrats and other assorted Top. Men. they can't admit when they fucked up, because that would mean 1) well what else have you fucked up that no one knows about yet, 2) if you fucked up in the past who's to say you won't fuck up in the future, and 3) that all leads to a complete breakdown of their 'intellectual' authority.

[gaoxiaen]

Except for moral hazard. All the PIGS will expect this now.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I can't stand that neo-con term PIGS.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

Isn't it PIIGS? Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain? Sounds like Austria may be joining soon...

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Sometimes they include Italy and Ireland but to me personally, Italy or even France or Austria are NOT Portugal, Spain or Greece.

[R C Dean]

Greece's leverage is of the MAD variety.

A credit default of sovereign Euro bonds right now would probably be worse (potentially much worse) than the housing collapse that set off the Long Recession.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

"What are we going to say in 10 years when we see all these kids whose IQs are 5 and 10 points lower than they would have been?" he asked. "I couldn't feel more strongly about it, and my girlfriend says it's no different than alcohol. It is different than alcohol. This is one of the stupider things that's happening across our country."

Now, I've read stuff over the years that make this claim but seeing it comes from Bloomberg makes me wonder if not uneasy.

[Jerryskids]

What are we going to say in 10 years when we see all these kids whose IQs are 5 and 10 points lower than they would have been?

"You've suffered a debilitating brain injury, now you're a Bloomberg."

[Lord Humungus]

Site running slow for anyone else?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

A little.

[gaijin]

Servers are still on Standard time?

[Lord Humungus]

hmm... must be our engineering staff doing the CAD files downloads again.

[SugarFree]

Protesters have taken to the streets in Madison, Wisconsin, after a white police officer shot and killed an unarmed black 19 year old.

He wasn't a perfect Negro, therefore it's OK he was shot.

[Lord Humungus]

Tesla shedding jobs in China as sales target missed

High-end electric vehicle maker Tesla Motors Inc on Monday said it is cutting jobs in China under a restructuring plan launched earlier this year, after missing a sales target in the world's biggest car market.

Tesla declined to specify how many jobs would be cut, and did not comment on a report in the Economic Observer newspaper last week that it was eliminating 30 percent of its staff or about 180 of its 600 employees in China.

Some positions are being eliminated while others are added, but overall headcount has gone down in a restructuring drive that was announced earlier this year, Tesla spokesman Gary Tao said. The staffing changes are already nearly complete, he said.

[Steve G]

"Hello Congress? Yes, it's Tesla calling..."

[Palin's Buttplug]

Good Morning Peanuts!

Former Mossad Chief: Netanyahu Lied to Congress

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/n.....o-congress

We knew Bibi the Rat wants the US to go to war for him. Now we know he will lie to do it.

[WTF]

First off, the retarded don't rule the night. They don't rule it. Nobody does. And they don't run in packs. And while they may not be as strong as apes, 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.

[Drake]

You are supposed to repeat the talking points here - not just link them.

Don't be a lazy troll.

[The Left Never Changes]

... Bibi the Rat...

Nazi Approved Art:

Nazi filmmakers also turned their cameras on their victims, methodically reducing the popular perception of Jews to that of vermin, fit only for extermination. The Nazi propaganda film, Der ewige Jude (The Eternal Jew), followed maps showing the migrations of Jews with scenes of teaming rats. The film's narration drives home the association:

"[The Jews] followed the culture-bearing and creative waves of German colonization of the East, until finally they found a gigantic new untapped reservoir of space in Poland and Eastern Europe . . . they spread from Eastern Europe like an irresistible tide, flooding the towns and nations. . . . Wherever rats appear they bring ruin, by destroying mankind's goods and foodstuffs. They are cunning, cowardly, and cruel, and are found mostly in large packs. Among the animals, they represent the rudiment of an insidious and underground destruction--just like the Jews among human beings."

[Marshall Gill]

What, your first experience with the shrieking imbeciles racism? It's choice of the word "rat" was not an accident.

[Don Mynack]

American Conservative has been ripping Bibi a new one, too.

http://www.theamericanconserva.....son-detre/

[gaijin]

From this morning's links, I'd say, America has clearly become one big racist, sexist fraternity of trigger happy policemen...fundamentally transformed we are indeed!

[Lord Humungus]

Paul Krugman warns the Fed not to 'yank away the punch bowl'
Amid talk of hiking interest rates, economist sounds a note of caution

All eyes are on Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen following Friday's jobs report, which found that the U.S. added 295,000 jobs in February, bringing the unemployment rate down to 5.5 percent. With the economy moving closer to what the Fed considers full employment, observers of the central bank expect it to begin raising interest rates in the coming months, so as to stave off the threat of inflation. But in his New York Times column today, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman sounds a note of caution, arguing that Fed policymakers should wait before they "yank away the punch bowl."

Take one of the more disappointing statistics in Friday's report. While the 295,000 jobs added beat economists' forecasts, wages barely budged, rising just 0.1 percent in February and two percent over the year. "[I]f the job market really were tight, wages would be rising quickly," raising the risk of inflation, Krugman notes, "whereas they are in fact going nowhere."

[Restoras]

If we just did the opposite of everything this clown says, we'd have no unemployment, no deficit, and no national debt. So, yank away.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Relentless U.S. dollar rally continues to clobber oil and gold

http://peterckenny.tumblr.com/.....to-clobber

score

The Fed 9
Goldbugs 1

[Jordan]

The Fed 9
Goldbugs 1

Yeah, the Fed wins the bubble blowing contest, hands down.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

No no! The troll is right - he said gold would be $600 an oz by now. Surely he is right! http://goldprice.org/gold-price.html

He shorted it to that level 6 months ago and is rich!!!!!

[SugarFree]

"Hey!" Krugman yelled. "I was just being a turd in that punchbowl! Give it back!"

[mauricegirodias]

But, while the economy has stabilized for guys (depending on shale layoffs and such), something like 1.5 million have "left" the workforce in the past year. I expected that to be bigger news, but all I see is something about "aged out."

Um.

[Knarf Yenrab!]

bringing the unemployment rate down to 5.5 percent

If you can just discourage the rest of those damn people who keep looking for jobs, we can get that number down to WW2 levels again. Full employment by discouraging the hell out of unemployed American laborers--it's the 21st-century American way.

I suppose it's a credit to the last couple of administrations that they haven't just hired the unemployed to stay home and watch tv. We have not yet gone full Roosevelt.

"[I]f the job market really were tight, wages would be rising quickly," raising the risk of inflation, Krugman notes, "whereas they are in fact going nowhere."

Krugman is treading precariously close to the truth here. Better write another column about the morality of a living/minimum/whatever wage to convince people of your commitment to worker solidarity, if not the micro textbook bearing your name, Paul.

[Lord Humungus]

Racial Groundhog Day: How the right foreignized the first black president ? again

If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, while expecting a different result, then Republicanism of late might be less politics, and more pathology.

Some six years in office, two presidential elections, countless impeachment attempts, litigated birth certificates, and a heavy dose of Donald Trump paranoia later, and here we go again: the racial "othering" of Obama as a president non grata is making a clear comeback in the American (and international) zeitgeist. Not that it ever really went away.

For its initial ugly encore, there was, of course, Rudy Giuliani and Scott Walker. A curiously desperate double act ? it must be said ? of dog-whistling prejudice, with the narrative prowess of a broken record, and the racial sensitivities of that curmudgeon in the corner who insists, "I'm not a racist, but?"

[Raven Nation]

Well, there's definitely some pathology...

[VG Zaytsev]

countless impeachment attempts,

I must have missed all of them.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

"countless impeachment attempts"

In their fevered imaginations, maybe?

[gaijin]

countless impeachment attempts,

uh, what did I miss?

[gaijin]

I blame the new format for my lack of refresh before post 😉

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

I am just slow.

[Bobarian (hyphenated-american)]

Well, to be fair... You can't count them can you?

[gaoxiaen]

Rudy Ghouliani? Pathology amps go up to 11. Donald Trump- minus 1 dead mammal on top of his head.

[Knarf Yenrab!]

Giuliani, Walker and their ilk should be ashamed of their quiet but legitimizing indulgence in the excesses of racial animus aimed at Obama, which history will judge as a phenomenon of unparalleled political malice.

Mmm hmm. Meanwhile murdering American teenagers sans due process and standing atop the bodies of a bunch of murdered children to force autocratic gun-grabbing legislation down people's throats is just the height of political charity. I've seen an awful lot of "unparalleled political malice" since 1993 or so, and the birther attacks don't rate as Grade D material by the lofty standards of the past three presidents and Harry F. Reid.

Poor Martin. Some souls are just too sensitive for the filthy, zero-sum game of politics.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Scott Walker Flip Flops Again: Ethanol Edition

"Only weeks after taking this key state in the presidential race by surprise, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker defended his front-runner status in Iowa by pledging to support a federal ethanol mandate, shifting his position on renewable fuels at a Republican roundup on farm issues....In the moderated discussion with ethanol magnate Bruce Rastetter, Walker dropped his previous flat opposition to ethanol mandates, offering a new stance that's well-suited to a state covered in cornfields. Walker signaled that he favors keeping the mandate for now and phasing it outin the future ? without saying over what period."

http://www.jsonline.com/news/s.....73391.html

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Well now we know he's definitely running for President.

[sarcasmic]

A politician is telling his audience what they want to hear? I... I'm shocked!

[VG Zaytsev]

That's only valid when it's a demoturd telling an audience about new giveaways.

/ botard

[Bo Cara Esq.]

So you're agreeing he's just like a common Democrat pol? With friends like these...

[VG Zaytsev]

Meh, electoral politicking sucks. Success requires some things like this, not running a seminar or 'come to Jesus' preaching.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Keep making those excuses, I have a feeling you're going to need the practice.

[Restoras]

So, you're saying that successful politicians don't say things to people that they want to hear? An interesting theory.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

And how do we usually respond to that, Restoras? With applause or derision?

[Restoras]

Derision, of course, as well as scorn. I understand he fails your Purity Test and that's fine, but whom would you prefer?

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I don't have any 'purity test' that Walker fails, I find him to be pretty craven. He won't answer questions that are tricky for him or he just flip flops and tells the audience he's currently trying to impress what they want to hear. I just find it amusing how so many lovestruck conservatives around here feel the desperate need to turn his weaknesses into saving graces.

As to who I would prefer, it's Paul obviously.

[Restoras]

Paul fails the Purity Test as well so I guess you just have a bee in your bonnet over his refusal to play the media game by the media rules. I do find that a bit ironic - wouldn't an appropriately libertarian candidate be a bit iconoclastic when it comes to dealing with the rigidly left-wing media? Isn't it just a little bit refreshing?

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Restoras, you should read what I write not what's in your head. I don't apply an absolutist 'purity test' for national politicians, if I did I could not support Paul, but I do. At that level you have to ask if someone is just closer to your ideal than anyone else, and Paul is imo. I disagree with Paul on issues that are nearly fundamental to me (immigration and abortion for example), but he carries a libertarian message so well in other areas he's clearly my preferred candidate.

And look at the difference between Paul and Walker. Paul does not shy away from making a case for positions that are very tricky given the traditional GOP bases (criminal justice reform, disenfranchisement reform, drug war reform), and he does so in a way that brings that base closer to libertarianism. Walker runs and hides from such situations.

[Restoras]

So, it's ok for you to support someone despite lapses in libertarian stances, but not ok for others to support someone else for different libertarian lapses?

Sure, you can point to those differences and there may be some validity but Paul doesn't have a prayer in securing the nomination as preferable as he may be as the most libertarian candidate, at least in your view. Walker does have a chance and is far more libertarian than any of the establishment candidates.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

"So, it's ok for you to support someone despite lapses in libertarian stances, but not ok for others to support someone else for different libertarian lapses?"

Where have I said that?

I give people who comment on a libertarian discussion board more heck than I give a national politician running for a major party nomination when it comes to libertarian principles, if that is what you're getting at.

More to the point, I don't just admire politicians on a 'ends justify the means' measurement. I think the means can often say something about the person's overall character. I don't want an empty suit that happens to expediently have taken positions I like for now. I think Walker is close to that.

[Enough About Palin]

"Restoras, you should read what I write"

No one should read what you write.

[gaoxiaen]

Charles Manson?

[sarcasmic]

Don't feed the troll retard.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

As this guy keeps letting his admirers around here down it's going to be great.

[VG Zaytsev]

How's he letting his admirers down?

To the extent that anyone here admires him in the first place, it's because he reigned in the the public sector unions in his state, so some degree. And hope that he will do the same to the federal bureaucracy.

Which would require that he actually get elected. If saying nice things about Ethanol does that then he's not letting his admirers down at all.

As previously noted, you don't win any office by running an economics seminar, or preaching the nap to the heathens.

[Restoras]

He fails the Purity Test so there is nothing left to do except watch all of us wail in grief, since we have all apparently rallied to his banner.

[tarran]

*My* attitude towards politics is like that of a Ukranian peasant watching the smoke from an armored column rolling into town ~1940.

Will it be Hitler to save us from Stalin? Or Stalin to save us from Hitler?

Farm your fields, care for your family, hope to avoid the bastards' bullets.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

"you don't win any office by running an economics seminar"

I'll remind you of your excuses when we inevitably catch some weaselly prog cravenly pandering soon.

[VG Zaytsev]

Craven pandering is the foundation of progs electoral strategy. One that has worked spectacularly well over the last eighty years.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

You seem envious of the progs campaigns. Again, the ends justify the means for you. I get it.

[Idle Hands]

Bo, if he was only able to end federal public sector unions in his presidency, that alone would make him the best president we've had in 16 years.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Means and ends, huh?

[VG Zaytsev]

Means and ends, huh?

First, I want to point out your mendacity as you never say something like this about a proglodyte politician.

Secondly, so what. Electoral politics isn't religion. God cares what your motives are, I don't.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

"as you never say something like this about a proglodyte politician."

Whatever helps you sleep at night.

[VG Zaytsev]

Yep.

Plus there's the fact that he did what he promised to do, wrt the public sector unions in WI, in the face or horrendous opposition.

That alone makes him a better potential president than anyone else running in either party.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

How have Paul or Cruz not done what they promised to do?

[VG Zaytsev]

Has either held an executive office where they had the opportunity to do something big? Has either had thousands of union thugs literally throwing shit at them for doing what they promised? Credible death threats? Recall campaigns?

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Like most lovestruck fans you're greatly exaggerating the virtues of the object of your affections. He had one party control and took out a long time enemy of his party, making himself a hero to his base, which, btw, enabled him to outraise and spend his opponents in the next two elections. It's not quite the heroism you imagine.

But more to the point, Paul and Cruz are federal Senators, it's silly to hold it against them that they haven't done much at the executive level seeing as how that's not where they operate at. They've lived up to their promises at the level at which they operate at. And they do this without all the craven pandering.

[Idle Hands]

"And they do this without all the craven pandering."
What fantasy world are you living in?

Rand Paul:
http://www.politico.com/story/.....09746.html

Ted Cruz:
http://www.forwardprogressives.....ia-threat/

[tarran]

If the U.S. were to be saved as a republic, the first necessary step would be to rein in the civil service, which is pretty much running roughshod over the citizenry.

At this point I don't think it's likely to happen; the civil service has a huge advantage over the politicians; politicians can be fired at the next election, civil servants have a job effectively for life. A civil servant can sabotage a politician by deed, can fuel career ending propaganda against him without too much trouble.

It would take someone tough as nails and very adept at running an organization that is rebelling against him to tame the civil service. Walker could be such a guy. He probably isn't, but he could be. Every other prospective candidate is definitely *not* such a guy.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I think the idea that the problem is the 'civil service' is greatly exaggerated, and even if it were not the proposed cure of targeting pubsec unions strikes me as not effective. I live in a state where pubsec workers cannot organize and collectively bargain and guess what, they have about all the same perks as exist in other states where they can. Pubsec workers are just like every other group that lives on the public teat, they organize and fight to get the fattest nipple. But they are one of many groups that do this and they are not even the most effective (by far the most effective group is the military and veterans, both of whom don't organize in unions to operate effectively).

[KDN]

It appears to me that you believe curbing spending is more important than curbing regulation. That's not a stance I agree with. I also think you're overlooking how the the civil service in its current form and the increased spending that it drives at the federal level are immune to cuts in a way that the defense sector simply isn't.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

"It appears to me that you believe curbing spending is more important than curbing regulation. "

Not really. The groups I'm thinking of are just as likely to ask for certain pet regulations as they are spending.

[tarran]

It appears to me that you believe curbing spending is more important than curbing regulation.

I don't see where you get that. I think both are important, and I agree with you that regulation drives much of spending.

In the end, the current spending regime is utterly unsustainable. Even in a free economy there wouldn't be enough surplus wealth creation to pay for it. The heavily regulated economy we have now is even less able to support the parasite than a hypothetical free one.

Since the civil service benefits from the spending, getting the government to go into the black would require breaking their backs.

[KDN]

I don't see where you get that.

The knock against defense interests. As a discrete entity they are responsible for more spending, but said spending doesn't typically come with the same non-monetary costs that spending driven by civil service initiatives does.

I recall a study done a few years ago trying to figure out the GDP multiplier amongst various types of government spending and finding that defense spending's was the highest and that the only instance where said multiplier was over 1 came from defense spending in economies that have microscopic defense sectors to begin with. That jives with what I'm getting at: all spending is bad, but defense spending is less bad.

Note that this is an explanation, not an argument. I agree with your overall assessment.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

It's an interesting idea, fair enough.

[straffinrun]

Or a Greece fire.

[Idle Hands]

He's just like any common Democratic, Republican, Green Party, Communist, Socialist, Labour, Conservative, Liberal pol, full of shit. He's just a smaller pile of shit compared to say a Hillary as he actually has reformed one decent sized aspect of the leviathan in a pretty blue state staving off total bankruptcy.

[John]

Ted Cruz went after ethenol. Note, Bo doesn't mention that or give Cruz any credit for it. Instead he concern trolls the popular Republican de jour.

God his act is tiresome.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I gave Cruz praise the other day over his marijuana good sense. He's coming around rather nicely.

But yes, I did focus on the current hearthrob.

[Idle Hands]

Fuck Ethanol.

[gaoxiaen]

Don't be silly. Ethanol is my drug of choice.

[Bobarian (hyphenated-american)]

+90 proof.

Stop wasting ethanol.

[Lord Humungus]

My husband, the woman: The private anguish of having a spouse in transition

I was shocked. I never knew he'd questioned his gender. In all the years I'd known him, there were no clues. Never a single sign anything was amiss. In retrospect, I'm glad he at least had the courage to tell me. I've read stories about women who came upon size 12 women's shoes and makeup kits while unpacking a suitcase after a business trip.

After that night, things changed rapidly around our house. There was a blond wig in his closet. He began buying dresses and matching leggings. Shoes came in the mail, usually in the form of four-inch patent leather platform heels. He purchased a waist cincher and began to talk about waist training. My husband worked from home when he wasn't traveling, so he had the house to himself for hours every day. I began to notice foundation spilled in his sink, pink nail polish and lipstick in his nightstand. It quickly became clear what was going on when I wasn't home. Vestiges of eyeliner on his face during dinner proved me right. Shortly before his Facebook page disappeared (and very much without warning), he made a general announcement to the world he was transgender. I soon received a friend request from a woman who looked vaguely like the man I married.

[SugarFree]

Shut up, you transphobic bitch!

[invisible furry hand]

Shoes came in the mail, usually in the form of four-inch patent leather platform heels

Bitch can't accessorise for shit

[straffinrun]

It quickly became clear what was going on when I wasn't home.

Yeah, you're husband is fucking the neighbor's wife and you're an idiot.

[Rhywun]

In all the years I'd known him, there were no clues.

Sounds like Salon is making up shit that never happened again.

[Raven Nation]

Thirty causes shitstorm in Nebraska:

http://tinyurl.com/mpxevl5

[invisible furry hand]

Please take your auto-correct out behind the shed and shoot it.

A t-shirt from a popular Omaha bar worn at a Creighton basketball game this weekend has caused outrage in the community.

The shirt reads: "We are not responsible for lost or stolen virginity."

[Raven Nation]

Oops sorry about that.

Also, more embarrassment for England I see.

[invisible furry hand]

Don't apologise - it's the patriarchy's fault.

Re England, it's now just pathetic. It is the one-legged man at an arse-kicking competition:

In losing to every Test-playing side in Pool A - their only win has come against Scotland - England have put in their worst showing since a first-round exit on home soil in 1999.

[Ted S.]

They're playing cricket. That alone is an embarrassment.

[gaoxiaen]

Cretin?

[SugarFree]

New Mexico high school student body votes to hold Nazi-themed prom.

[SugarFree]

Oops. I mixed up my murderous ideologies.

New Mexico high school student body votes to hold Communism-themed prom.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

Ha ha ha...

GULAG for you!

[perlhaqr]

"Attendees will be required to stand in line for 15 hours prior to admittance to the facility. There will be no food served. Anyone who appears to not be having a good time will be locked in the freezer until their attitude improves."

[Restoras]

The only difference is the preferred color for uniforms.

[invisible furry hand]

The comrade who digs the most coal in the preceding 24 hours will be hailed as Hero of the Revolutionary Peoples' Prom

[Idle Hands]

The Great Terror should be required High School reading.

[Heedless]

Or Koba the Dread.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Well, proms are held in the Springtime.

[Charles Easterly]

Nice.

[sarcasmic]

Nazi porn?

[gaijin]

Zis es nazi porn joo are lookeeng for?

[Charles Easterly]

That was good for a laugh.

It reminded me of a joke Buddy Hackett told. He was atop a ski slope with these two big German guys who asked him "Joo ski?"

"No." Buddy responded, "Jew no ski."

[Lord Humungus]

Over the weekend I had an idea of a TV show where Hitler and Goebbels start a detective agency, ala Sherlock Holmes and Watson.

Everything, of course, is the fault of the Jews. Okay, it would work better as a comedy skit.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Cottonwood Classical Preparatory School

It's a joke. Classical schools aren't big on the Marx and the students probably understand Karl better than your average OWS marcher.

[SugarFree]

I'm sure Prince Harry thought it was a joke to wear a Nazi arm band to a dress-up party, but people have been giving him shit for it for years now.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

They should elect Prom Commissars and have after-prom celebrations of the 5-Year graduation plans

[SugarFree]

Or they could just starve the entire senior class.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Or the student body president should purge the lesser officers at midnight.

[SugarFree]

I will immediately begin Photoshopping kulaks from the yearbook!

[Warty]

We have always been rivals with Eastasia High!

[WTF]

Nazis are the bad mass-murdering socialists. Commies are the good mass-murdering socialists.

[VG Zaytsev]

They mostly killed the right people, the greedy ones, that needed killing.

/ prog

[WTF]

Yeah, the kulaks, wreckers, and hoarders never rest!

[gaoxiaen]

+1 Spirit of St. Louis

[Steve G]

Funny WWII-related story. My innocent 8 yr old was playing with a group of kids this weekend that normally includes one kid of African descent. My son, fresh from watching Pearl Harbor was leading the kids in pretending to be on a WWII ship in Hawaii and remarks something to the effect of, 'we need so-and-so to be our black cook'... you know since Cuba Gooding Jr plays the heroic and somewhat historically accurate black cook. Shocked gasps all around by the parents who were within ear-shot. So I guess his mother and I are the racist parents now. Out of the mouths of babes.

[invisible furry hand]

Boss forces junior employee to give him access to ex-employee's private Facebook, takes screenshot and sends it to employment agencies urging them not to give her work. What was the screenshot of? A cake saying "FU [ex-employer's name].

So basically she was stalked and smeared by her ex-boss.

New Zealanders are fucked up

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

I'd make that boss a tackling dummy at the next All Blacks practice...

[Steve G]

Boss forces junior employee to give him...

I thought this would end differently

[perlhaqr]

O/T: 'Free Range' Parents Found Responsible for Child Neglect After Allowing Kids to Walk Home Alone

"In Silver Spring, leaving anyone under age 18 unsupervised constitutes neglect."

http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyl.....d=29363859

[Jordan]

How can you be off-topic in the morning links?

[Bobarian (hyphenated-american)]

Well, you could read some SF fiction and be off everything for a good while?

[Andrew S.]

You can't be off topic in the Mourning Lynx, though you will be docked for not realizing that Reason's been on top of this story for months, and has had multiple posts about it.

[Pope Jimbo]

I think a crowd funding campaign is in order.

I'm willing to kick in some money to hire some PI's to stake out the homes of various cops, DA's and Child Services homes. Any time any kid was left alone for any reason, pics would be taken and complaints registered.

If they are going to claim that leaving anyone under 18 unsupervised, make them play by the same rules.

[Cdr Lytton]

Turnabout is never fair (to them).

http://www.wweek.com/portland/.....bish_.html

[Bo Cara Esq.]

The Feminization of SoCons: SoCon anti-porn organization Morality in Media to change its name to National Center on Sexual Exploitation

"to better describe our scope and mission to expose the seamless connection between all forms of sexual exploitation...All individuals have a right to be free from the effects of pornography and all other forms of sexual exploitation."

http://moralityinmedia.org/

[sarcasmic]

I haven't seen a peep about Kennedy since she got her own show. Has she been officially shunned?

[Restoras]

Reason staff is jealous.

[SugarFree]

She's been working on a time machine that will take her back to 1992 so she could make Alternative Nation suck even more.

[WTF]

Don't talk about Kennedy!

[Lord Humungus]

Some more Krugman:

Pepperoni Turns Partisan

And they (The Republicans) are, in particular, the party of Big Pizza.

No, really. A recent Bloomberg report noted that major pizza companies have become intensely, aggressively partisan. Pizza Hut gives a remarkable 99 percent of its money to Republicans. Other industry players serve Democrats a somewhat larger slice of the pie (sorry, couldn't help myself), but, over all, the politics of pizza these days resemble those of, say, coal or tobacco. And pizza partisanship tells you a lot about what is happening to
American politics as a whole.

Why should pizza, of all things, be a divisive issue? The immediate answer is that it has been caught up in the nutrition wars. America's body politic has gotten a lot heavier over the past half-century, and, while there is dispute about the causes, an unhealthy diet ? fast food in particular ? is surely a prime suspect. As Bloomberg notes, some parts of the food industry have responded to pressure from government agencies and food activists by trying to offer healthier options, but the pizza sector has chosen instead to take a stand for the right to add extra cheese.

[VG Zaytsev]

IOW the democrats' turn to nannyism is scaring people that provide products that people want.

And this is supposed to be bad for the republicans or say something bad about them, or something.

[VG Zaytsev]

Those goddamn dirty republicans want to let you buy what you want, instead of forcing you to get what WE know is best for you.

[Free Society]

The dirty republicans are accepting bribes from people who want to defend against the onslaught of progressive politics. How dare they!

[SugarFree]

"No, no, no! You are crony capitalizing all wrong! Bad Pizza Hut! Bad!" screamed Krugman. He was so upset he ordered double creme brie and a blumpkin from room service.

[WTF]

Kudos for using "double cream brie" and "blumpkin" in one sentence.

[Raven Nation]

Dog whistle to Krugman's kill the rich fans

[gaoxiaen]

I guess that you consider pepperoni a non-entity. Fuck you.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

This is almost incredible if it were not coming from Krugman. So some producers make a product which is then attacked by one of our big two political parties. The producers decide that they'd like to keep making the product available and they start supporting the other side, the one that isn't directly targeting what they do. And this is, of course, illustrative of something wrong with them and the party that is not targeting them rather than the other way around. Really, it's almost incredible.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I mean, I imagine abortion providers, feeling targeted by Republicans, probably nearly exclusively turn to supporting Democrats. In Krugman's logic that says something bad about the providers and the Democrats.

[Warty]

How To Deadlift

Jelly of the swarthy one's stache.

[Lord Humungus]

I'm back on the weightlifting wagon. After a year off I'm amazed how weak I am... and I'm also surprised how quickly it starts to come back.

[Steve G]

Gotta love Rip

[GILMORE]

How isn't the problem as much as "why" for most people

[Lord Humungus]

Russia's anti-American fever goes beyond the Soviet era's

Thought the Soviet Union was anti-American? Try today's Russia.

After a year in which furious rhetoric has been pumped across Russian airwaves, anger toward the United States is at its worst since opinion polls began tracking it. From ordinary street vendors all the way up to the Kremlin, a wave of anti-U.S. bile has swept the country, surpassing any time since the Stalin era, observers say.

The indignation peaked after the assassination of Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov, as conspiracy theories started to swirl ? just a few hours after he was killed ? that his death was a CIA plot to discredit Russia. (On Sunday, Russia charged two men from Chechnya, and detained three others, in connection with Nemtsov's killing.)

[John]

More rewards for all of t hat smart diplomacy of Obama's.

[WTF]

Hillary's "reset" button worked wonders.

[John]

Most of it is driven by government propaganda. Putin sees Obama as the week narcissistic chump he is and sees no down side to confronting him and demonizing him as an enemy. A Russian Premier who actually feared and respected an American leader would be loath to stir his population up to demand a confrontation he doesn't want.

This is another example of how weakness makes the world more not less dangerous.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

That's silly. It's not like we were popular with Putin or Russians when W was in charge. Events like Georgia and Crimea have brought us into more direct conflict with Russia and, predictably, they dislike has found itself manifested a lot more. The only way that wouldn't have happened would have been for us to do whatever Russia says.

[John]

It is not silly at all. And we are much less popular today than we were when Bush was in power. The reason for that is the government anti-American propaganda is much more forceful and prevalent today than it was. Putin does that by design. Having an outside enemy makes sense to him. Obama is weak and makes up for it by being stupid and provocative. He makes the perfect designated outside enemy.

It is funny to hear you call something silly when you are the least serious and silliest person on here. You simply cannot accept how the world actually works or that Obama and his approach to foreign policy has real negative consequences and not just bad luck or things really caused by BUSH!!

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I like how often the answers to your claims are made by yourself in the same comment in which you made them.

"The reason for that is the government anti-American propaganda is much more forceful and prevalent today than it was. Putin does that by design. Having an outside enemy makes sense to him."

So the explanation is right there. In the middle of a severe economic downturn and sanctions Putin has worked harder to demonize America and it's worked. That doesn't have anything to say about Obama being 'weak' in his responses to Putin. You'd just like to see a more bellicose foreign policy and, being a partisan, you think Obama doesn't live up to that. Of course, what did Bush do differently when the Georgia thing went down that makes his response 'strong'? Nothing.

[John]

So the explanation is right there. In the middle of a severe economic downturn and sanctions Putin has worked harder to demonize America and it's worked.

And he does that because he has absolutely no fear of or respect for Obama and sees no downside to doing it. If the US had a President who commanded more respect and was seen as less weak, Putin would not risk stirring his population to demand a conflict he didn't want. He only does it now because he is fine with a conflict with the US because he knows Obama is so weak.

You just restated my argument and make my point. Thanks.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I'll repeat my question since you dodged it: "Of course, what did Bush do differently when the Georgia thing went down that makes his response 'strong'? "

[Bo Cara Esq.]

If anything, Putin has ramped up the anti-US propaganda because Obama's response to Ukraine has been 'tougher'* on him and his nation than Bush's response to Georgia was.

* In no small part because of Russia's different economic issues at the two times

[gaoxiaen]

Whatever. There are good things about Russia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jrQfrcaaV4

[Free Society]

Russia has the hottest women in the world, hands down.

[AlgerHiss]

The Clinton Foundation?sister organization to The Human Fund.

Funded by H. E. Pennypacker and managed by Dr. Martin Van Nostrand.

[John]

http://www.mlive.com/news/sagi.....me_in.html

Objecting to transvestites in the women's locker room gets woman kicked out of planet fitness. They can run their business however they want of course. I can't imagine any woman in her right mind wanting to be a member there now.

[Derpetologist]

Planet Fitness- where terminally insecure people eat bagels and pretend to exercise.

[John]

I can't see how the women could see losing her membership as anything but good. She clearly doesn't want to share a locker room with a tranny and they clearly aren't going to do anything. She probably had a contractual obligation to remain a member for so long and she is now out of that and free to join another gym.

I doubt she will be the only woman to take that option.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I'd like to think we could all get over such silliness and have changing rooms like they did in Star Ship Troopers.

[John]

Why don't go around and start taking your clothes off in front of random women. Good luck with that. There is nothing silly about human nature. The only silly thing is idiots who think it can be changed or ignored.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

"There is nothing silly about human nature."

History is littered with conventional people thinking their conventions are 'human nature' and then decades later having to realize they were conventions after all.

[John]

If you think people being modest about being naked around the other sex is just a convention and nothing to do with human nature, you might actually be the aspy people keep saying you are. Seriously, do you get out at all?

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Ha, it's because I'm not hung up on such sexual conventions John.

There are lots of people and cultures that do not have the modesty about being naked around the other sex that middle class America has. I think it's you that might want to 'get out more.' It might even be fun for you if you can get around your prudery.

[straffinrun]

You can tell the judge, "But I'm not the one hung up on sexual conventions. She is!".

Go ahead, Bo, wip out your willy in public.

[Free Society]

If you think people being modest about being naked around the other sex is just a convention and nothing to do with human nature, you might actually be the aspy people keep saying you are.

Modesty of dress is a facet of culture. The Amazon or African tribesmen were not wearing blue jeans when they made first contact with more civilized groups. It's fair to say that modesty of dress is a sign of a more civilized culture, but not an innate feature of human interaction.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

"It's fair to say that modesty of dress is a sign of a more civilized culture"

Ridiculous.

[Free Society]

Is it?

[Carl ?s the level]

No contract, $10/mo.

And FWIW, for the handful of months I used them I didn't witness any retardation, pizza, or bagels, and there were plenty of hot cardio bunnies.

[gaoxiaen]

I, for one, welcome our new naked overlords (especially if they have big tits).

[Warty]

Dumbbells only go to 60 pounds there and any effective exercise is banned. They did her a favor by kicking her out.

[tarran]

Planet fitness is a judgement-free zone, John!!!!!

She was judging!

[SusanM]

According to the folks around here, Planet Fitness has a right of association which allows them to set whatever rules they want. Somehow, I think you'd remember that if it had been the tranny whose membership was terminated.

[John]

Susan, which part of " They can run their business however they want of course" in my original post did you find so difficult to understand?\

Seriously, are you illiterate or do you just pretend people make the arguments you wish they would make rather than what they do?

I said upfront they had a right to do this. Why did you ignore that? So either apologize for making the utterly untrue accusation that I don't think have a right to run their business as they should or go fuck yourself. Seriously, go fuck yourself because you clearly are not honest enough to have a discussion about this subject. You discuss an issue with someone who want honestly portray your position.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

What a friendly person you are in responding to those who disagree with you, John.

[John]

She wasn't disagreeing with me. She was accusing me of being a hypocrite and having a view that I don't old and said up front I didn't.

Are you illiterate as well? Why do you have such a hard time following these arguments?

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Does it not occur to you that given the rant that followed it many took your second sentence as just thrown out there to cya on a libertarian board?

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Somehow I imagine if Susan had said "Conservative Christian baker turns away customer wanting a pro-SSM cake. Of course the baker has a right to run his business however he wants, but what an out of touch bigot he is" you'd have said 'well, that's an entirely appropriate response!' In fact I know you might not, because I saw you climb all over Scott Shackford for saying something almost just like that once.

[SusanM]

So, if they do, then what's the problem? Best guess is that you want to come across as all high-minded and still work up a "homofascists are taking over" narrative. Which, given your characterization of a private business making private hiring/firing decisions as "evil librul thoughtcrime punishment" (re: Mozilla) is hardly an unwarranted - if possibly inaccurate - conclusion.

[VG Zaytsev]

So, if they do, then what's the problem?

They can run their business as idiotically and offensively as they want and we are free to ridicule them for doing so.

That's how freedom works.

Not by cowering in fear of every social fad.

[John]

The problem with it is that it is idiotic and the women have every right to complain. They can do it and other people can object to it. That is how freedom works.

[BigT]

Just because someone has the right to do something does not make it the right thing to do. But if you do it, you must live with the consequences.

[Homple]

I'm so old that I remember when a tranny was something you operated with a Hurst Shifter.

[Rhywun]

Way to misrepresent the issue by pretending that "transsexual" = "transvestite".

[John]

They are all transvestite. I don't recognize the term transsexual. That is a bullshit junk science term that tries to provide medical garb to people's kinks.

[Rhywun]

Well, I can see there's no point in carrying on this argument. The science is settled!

[Derpetologist]

Internet was out for a few days. During one of my forays into meatspace, I went to a motivational talk by Craig Dietz, who was born without arms or legs and competes in triathlons among other sports. He worked as a lawyer for the city of Philadelphia. A woman once sued the city for an injury on city property. Something fell on her foot and part of a toe had to be amputated. At the deposition, Craig had to ask her a standard question: how has this injury profoundly affected your life? After a moment of embarrassed silence, the woman said "well...it's really not that bad."

He had many interesting stories about Halloween pranks, hunting, and bowling. He even did some twirling tricks with his reaching stick.

During one of his swimming races, he finished ahead of many others. The announcer assumed he would come in last, so when the last swimmer was coming in, he said "quick everyone, Craig Dietz is about to finish! Go watch the incredible Craig Dietz finish the race!" When a normal looking guy came out of the water, there was a collective "huh?" from the crowd.

[John]

How the hell does a guy without arms and legs do triathlons? How does that work? Does he peddle with his teeth? Inch along the running course like an inch worm?

[tarran]

Platters from the Comella's restaurant chain and jet propulsion?

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I had John's question too.

[Derpetologist]

He swims by lying on his back and flexing his torso. I don't know how or if he does the running or the biking. I think he just does the swimming part for his triathlon team.

[All-Seeing Monocle]

"Forays into Meatspace" would be a great subtitle for your memoirs.

[gaoxiaen]

They're Made Out of Meat!

http://www.mit.edu/people/dpol.....gMeat.html

[straffinrun]

Just read the Burwell case article. Good comments, Derp.

[Free Society]

Protesters have taken to the streets in Madison, Wisconsin, after a white police officer shot and killed an unarmed black 19 year old.

That's becoming quite the meme for people with no rational sense of justice to protest about.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Yeah, people should just be totally OK with unarmed teenagers being killed. I think pretty much every great action film has a scene where the hero shoots an unarmed young man and the crow just erupts into wild applause.

[Free Society]

I think pretty much every great action film has a scene where the hero shoots an unarmed young man and the crow just erupts into wild applause.

Wrong narrative Bo. It's not an unarmed young man that was shot, it was an "unarmed black man" that got shot. That difference is crucial for the furtherance of this SJW meme.

If justice were really the issue, instead of "social justice" they'd be protesting the literally thousands of better examples of police brutality that happen every year. Instead they focus of pieces of shit like Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin because those two guys met all of their social justice prerequisites.

If justice were the issue, it'd be "unarmed person" not "unarmed black person".

[Free Society]

It's so entirely about race and so not about police brutality, that the fact you don't see it tells me how invested you are in the narrative.

[BigT]

Yes, and Sharpton et al intentionally focus on the ambiguous cases because they know that rational people will say "Wait, get the facts" which they can paint as racist, while they scream 'Racist' 'unarmed black man' 'teenager' and put up photos of the man when he was a kid. It's pure race-baiting.

[SugarFree]

Oakley, Michigan, a small town with a population of 290, has 150 reserve police officers.

A lawsuit has raised questions over why a village with little crime and fewer than 300 residents needs a reserve police force of that size. More questions center on how well reserve officers are trained and whether many of them actually help police the community ? even though they are issued a badge and allowed to carry a gun.

Dozens of the Oakley reserve officers are among people who have made donations totaling almost $200,000 to the village in the last several years.

Oakley Police Chief Rob Reznick, 55, a former Flint narcotics officer who is at the center of the lawsuit and controversy, said he has done nothing wrong. The donations, he said, went straight to the village for good causes, including: flooring, refrigerators and stoves at village buildings; a playscape at a local park; stun guns; a golf cart; a police car and more for the police department.

Reznick had fought efforts by a local bar and others under the Freedom of Information Act to obtain lists of donors and reserve officers. The lists were released last week by the village following a lengthy legal fight with the Family Tavern in Oakley, which sued after what it claimed was harassment by the local police.

[John]

I assume they don't get any pay for being a reserve police officer. If they don't, that sounds like a good way for a small town to fund its police force. Just let anyone willing to donate to the town fund carry a badge. A police force open to anyone willing to pay a fee quickly becomes a posse comitatus. I will take that over a "professional" police force of unaccountable armed bullies and sociopaths any day.

I bet the average person in that town has more judgement and does a better job being a cop than 90% of the trained LEOs in the country. Maybe I am missing something, but I don't see this as being a bad thing at all.

[tarran]

John,

The problem is that the reserve force is unaccountable.

These aren't regular citizens enforcing the law like described in Peele's Principles. Rather these are guys who while not being paid have the badges and the immunity that comes with carrying badges; and when cops start harassing a business, they often get away with it.

This is probably like Sons of Anarchy, where a bar owner has disrespected a member of the gang, and the rest of the gang is taking their time to torment the guy until he leaves town with no fear of repercussions.

[John]

The problem is that the reserve force is unaccountable.

I am going to refrain from commenting on that statement and let you reconsider its significance. Really? Tarran? Is that your final answer here?

If they have in fact turned into a gang used to terrorize the town, then that is of course a big problem. It is of course the same problem faced by pretty much every town in America with a police force. The only difference here seems to be that this town doesn't have to pay for the privilege of having a gang terrorize its citizens.

There is a another difference as well. If I am the subject of such harassment, I can go down and get my own badge and my own immunity and fight back. I can't do that with a normal police force. I am still not seeing the problem here.

[tarran]

I am going to refrain from commenting on that statement and let you reconsider its significance. Really? Tarran? Is that your final answer here?

I suppose you think I've made some comment that exposes a fatal flaw in anarchism, but that's not the case.

State laws make police unaccountable. Period. My brother's law firm is getting into civil rights work and sometimes I help them out with analyzing discovery materials, so I've had a taste of the sewer.

One would have to be daft to argue that the special privileges granted by governments to its agents, the repression that is used to maintain those privileges, and the crimes that the agents commit with impunity are an indictment of anarchy, since it would be like arguing that the crimes of the mafia are an indictment of the bourgeoise.

[tarran]

Btw, my earlier response was not an attack on your comment about the Posse Comitatus being superior to professional police. I think such a system, provided the immunity given to badge wielders was abandoned (or very heavily curtailed) *would* be superior.

I was merely arguing that in this case it was a mischaracterization of the nature of that particular town's police force.

[John]

I am anything but an anarchist Tarran. And yes, police should be accountable. The reality is, however, they are not.

My point here is not to say this arrangement is ideal. In an ideal world, you have a small, well trained, professional and accountable police force. Sadly, that situation is virtually nonexistent in this country. As a result, I don't see how this arrangement is any worse than what normally goes on and it might in fact be better by virtue of it being so much cheaper and at least giving people the ability to fight back by getting their own badges.

You are correct that this arrangement is hardly ideal. The fact that it might actually be an improvement over what we have is not an endorsement of anarchism but a comment on just how bad things in this country have gotten.

[tarran]

As a result, I don't see how this arrangement is any worse than what normally goes on and it might in fact be better by virtue of it being so much cheaper and at least giving people the ability to fight back by getting their own badges.

I suspect that in the case of this town, the badges aren't given out to *anyone* who meets an objective criteria in a blind way, but based on the subjective judgement of the issuing authority (the chief, the mayor or whomever), and basically only friends get it.,,, kind of like concealed carry permits in California.

So, it could be worse in that there are a larger number of unaccountable bullies running around there.

I agree that your idea is a better one; for example, if a badge cost $1,000 dollars, was organized and operated much like a county's volunteer fire department, it would almost certainly result in much less abuse, fewer arrests, and more appropriate, judicious responses to crimes and disputes.

[SugarFree]

I don't know that it's bad, per se, just sort of weird.

That the police is harassing the bar is bad, but they could do that without the reserve officers.

[John]

That is just it. If I were the bar owner, I would get my own badge and harass back.

[tarran]

That is just it. If I were the bar owner, I would get my own badge and harass back.

It doesn't work that way.

How does one get the badge? One has to have the approval of the guys who approved your harassers' badges.

If they hate you, you aren't getting into the club.

[John]

They have to live by their won rules. You could sue them and force them to give you a badge unless there was something in the rules that disqualified you beyond "we hate this guy".

Beyond that, I am still not seeing how that is any different than any other police force in this country.

[tarran]

The number of cops per capita is much higher.... That makes my skin crawl.

[gaoxiaen]

I'd volunteer for that. I could shoot cops and hide behind sovereign immunity.

[RBS]

Wasn't there a Stallone movie about this?

[Drake]

I don't know Michigan gun laws. Is this a way to get an unrestricted carry permit?

[sarcasmic]

My town as a population of almost five thousand, and exactly zero police officers.

[tarran]

And no free supply of gravel!

[Steve G]

Instant protected class!

[Sevo]

"Merkel deputy: Flogging case strains Saudi-German relations"
http://www.apnewsarchive.com/2.....db488f4a7e

"? 86a StGB Use of Symbols of Unconstitutional Organizations
(1) Whoever:
1. domestically distributes or publicly uses, in a meeting or in writings (? 11 subsection (3)) disseminated by him, symbols of one of the parties or organizations indicated in ? 86 subsection (1), nos. 1, 2 and 4; or
2. produces, stocks, imports or exports objects which depict or contain such symbols for distribution or use domestically or abroad, in the manner indicated in number 1,

shall be punished with imprisonment for not more than three years or a fine."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.....ection_86a

I guess the lashes were too much

[John]

The nature of the "offense" here is a real problem. I am frankly not seeing where anyone has a right to complain about the flogging, however. I can't see how locking someone up in a cage for years of their life and marking them a criminal is any more humane than flogging. In fact, I think in most cases its less humane.

Would you rather take a 1000 lashes or three years in prison? I would take the lashes and it wouldn't be a hard decision.

[Drake]

Depends what you are lashing me with. 1000 lashes with a cat o' nine tails is a death sentence.

[tarran]

1000 lashes with anything stiffer than well cooked spaghetti is a fucking death sentence.

[John]

Fair enough. If the lashing is a death sentence, then that is different but also not what I am talking about. I mean real corporal punishment not death masquerading as such.

[maryjaneromeo]

My best friend's mother-in-law makes $85 /hour on the internet . She has been out of work for 5 months but last month her pay was $16453 just working on the internet for a few hours.
Visit this website ??????????????? http://www.jobsfish.com

[Entropy Void]

Moneyshot: Earnest was also asked why there are large gaps in the email records sent by Clinton to the State Department, including a gap during a Clinton trip to the Middle East during which she was photographed using her Blackberry phone.

"Maybe she was using her Blackberry to read the news ? or tweeting," Earnest said.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

-1 Silver Fern

[invisible furry hand]

A genteel version of basketball for young ladies. I've always thought of it as a game for girls who don't want to admit they're really sporty and competitive. A friend of mine plays netball with other 40-something ladies. And they are absolutely fucking vicious.

[Restoras]

Or just about every female.