A.M. Links: Indiana Religious Freedom Law Under Fire, NSA Gate Crashers Stole SUV, Deadline Looms for Iran Deal

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  The Indianapolis Star has published a front-page editorial calling on Gov. Mike Pence to "fix" the state's controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

• The deadline for reaching a nuclear deal with Iran is fast approaching.

• The two men who rammed the gate outside the National Security Agency at Fort Meade yesterday stole the SUV they were driving from a nearby motel.

• Aaron Schock's resignation from Congress takes effect today.

• "A far-left Turkish group took an Istanbul prosecutor hostage on Tuesday and threatened to kill him, prompting special forces officers to enter the courthouse and police to evacuate the building."

• The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is producing some unpleasant surprises this tax season.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Indianapolis Star has published a front-page editorial calling on Gov. Mike Pence to "fix" the state's controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Let's go after freedom of association in general while we're at it.

[Tonio]

This is going to be an educational moment for many segments in society. Some will profit from the lessons learned; others, not so much.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

Is this Agile?

http://coolopolis.blogspot.ca/.....-icon.html

[Catatafish]

Ha! The similarities in writing style are eerie.

[sarcasmic]

1,000-year-old onion and garlic eye remedy kills MRSA

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-eng.....e-32117815

Scientists recreated a 9th Century Anglo-Saxon remedy using onion, garlic and part of a cow's stomach.
They were "astonished" to find it almost completely wiped out methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, otherwise known as MRSA.

[Bam!]

"Almost completely" eh?

[Tonio]

Not sure you're ever going to get a 100% kill rate with anything that doesn't also damage tissue.

[Monty Crisco]

PURIFY WITH FLAME!!!

[NidhoggRocketman]

+1 Protectorate of Menoth

[gaijin]

The FDA must get out in front of this and pass regulations to prevent the development of Anglo-Saxon-remedy resistant (ASRR) superbugs from overuse of garlic and onion.

[Beautiful Bean Footage]

The FDA can have my garlic and onion when they pry them from my cold dead fingers...

[WTF]

Probably the sulfur in the onions and garlic. Seems like a throwback to the old Sulfa drugs.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

What's the delivery system?

[Tonio]

I think this was a petri dish proof-of-concept.

[DEG]

The researchers have also been working with infected mice.

[R C Dean]

Infected mice? That's an odd delivery system.

[straffinrun]

The Anglo Saxons still waiting for FDA approval?

[Ted S.]

1,000-year-old onion and garlic eye remedy kills MRSA

Sounds more like a Newsmax headline.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

+1 Weird Trick

[sarcasmic]

Last night was a real buzz! The shocking drinking game seeing a surge in Mexican bars - where party-goers are electrocuted until they scream
'Toques' - touch in Spanish - sees people electrocute themselves for fun
Drinkers compete to see who can cope with the highest voltage
The average people can withstand is 70 to 85 volts, but can reach 120 volts
Game so popular it is played at political dinners, weddings - and funerals
MailOnline sent their reporter down to give it a go - with electrifying results

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

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Human body begins to conduct around 50 volts. I'm assuming that they're not grabbing the leads in each hand.

[Tonio]

One would hope. Presume these things are designed so as to prevent them being able to do that since it's a huge safety and liability risk.

[sarcasmic]

Dude, it's Mexico. I don't think they have to worry much about safety and liability.

[Juice]

Land of the free.

[Free Society]

MailOnline sent their reporter down to give it a go - with electrifying results

Obligatory pun.

[R C Dean]

I'd give that a try, if I was confident in the device. Plus tequila.

I have a weird electricity thing. For many years, no computer I worked with regularly would last more than a year or so. I did a test at an aquarium a couple times, comparing your electrical field to an electric eel: I was off the charts both times.

[WTF]

Here are some entitled deadbeat assholes.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

Good luck with those annihilated credit ratings, you whining children.

[Tonio]

Yeah, even if they somehow manage to get those debts forgiven, or for others to pay them off, their credit ratings will be screwed.

[Catatafish]

But they'll always have their modeling careers to fall back on...

[Tonio]

The article didn't say anything about that. Making museum/film quality models is good work; they should be fine.

[lap83]

There are some skinny people in the back, but the view is blocked.

[Tonio]

But still no lookers. Ima thinking a lifetime of foodserv work, living with relatives in exchange for part-time nanny duties, etc.

[lap83]

Yeah, People that probably shouldn't have gone to college, basically. Nothing wrong with food service, but you should know what you're capable of before you spend $100,000 of someone else's money to get there.

[kinnath]

http://www.despair.com/mistakes.html

Mistakes: It could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning to others.

[Monty Crisco]

Man, that albino overgrown grub with the glasses is truly a fixer-upper....
Or maybe just a flusher-downer...

[Pope Jimbo]

The good news is that it sure doesn't look like their debt burden has caused them to miss any meals.

[CatoTheElder]

This is what happens when the government guarantees repayment of a loan.

The lender loses interest in the probability of repayment, and focuses on increasing the volume of loans. And, of course, it would be illegal discrimination to refuse to loan money to this bunch of losers since the government guaranteed the loan.

The fact is that the problem that this group of losers faces is indeed the consequence of the lenders' negligence in evaluating their credit quality. Absent government guarantees, there is no way that a lender whose only interest was in maximizing return on investment would have lent serious money to a dimwitted kid who could only get into 3rd rate college, or even a bright kid who majored in Latino transgender studies at a top tier university.

Once again the root cause of the problem is government interference in market processes, and once again idiot progressives hurt the people they say they want to help.

[The Laconic Esq]

Doesn't the term "strike" presuppose some kind of employment?

Jesus. How do you manage to rack up $100k of debt at something called "WyoTech"?

the troubled Corinthian Colleges, Inc., which operated Everest College, Heald College and WyoTech and Hollywood Upstairs Medical College.

[a better weapon]

I can empathize slightly with the sense of futility in having that much debt, but my wife and I, having graduated and realized that we were fucking adults and made a contract, both worked and dedicated all of her paycheck (and a little of mine) to the loans.

The more responsible thing would have been to live on her salary and use mine for repayment, but I think we struck a nice balance between being responsible enough to get most of it paid down to this point, while also being irresponsible enough to enjoy our youth.

These people piss me off. They didn't even fucking try to pay it off or make good on their contract. Without people like this, my interest rates would be lower, but nooooo, I've gotta subsidize their tantrum.

[sarcasmic]

Massive bull statue showing a little TOO much gets neutered after town complains
Restaurateur Stephen Ward removed over-sized genitalia after locals complained and tried to revoke his business license
The genitalia was on a massive bull atop his restaurant's storefront sign
Ward said that he did not remove the genitals because of complaints but because he thought the bull looked better without it
He said that locals in Hurricane City have never liked him
Ward said he bought the bull 'as-is' and that it has been great for business

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....ature.html
Does this mean Rocky Mountain Oysters are off the menu?

[Catatafish]

"Ward said that he did not remove the genitals because of complaints but because he thought the bull looked better without it."

Not too far afield from the viewpoint of the modern feminist movement.

[gaijin]

+2 ow my balls

[Elspeth Flashman]

There's a botanical garden where I live that has a giant horse statue. It's really impressive, but the horse's parts are a bit TMI.

[sarcasmic]

Hung like a horse?

[sarcasmic]

REVEALED: How a staggering 40% of Millennials in the US believe that homosexual relationships are 'immoral'
A further 33 per cent believe abortion should be legal in most cases
Two-thirds said they believe schools need to offer more sexual education classes
71 per cent of millennials, people aged between 18 and 35, still believe in marriage

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/fem.....moral.html
Reason should do a poll.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

The Millenials are quite under-polled 'round these here parts, ain't they?

[Free Society]

We don't take kindly to your type of polls roun' here. *narrows lazy eyed gaze*

[Pope Jimbo]

Because no one has the guts to ask them the hard hitting questions. They just dance around the stuff they really want to ask them.

MAN UP!

I'm sick of all this poll dancing.

[Marshall Gill]

Not only have they not asked the tough questions, but they didn't post them on youtube afterwards, either.

[Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns]

A further 33 per cent believe abortion should be legal in most cases

I think it's funny how different the media's claims about certain issues are from reality. If you look at the American media, you'd think abortion was popular with like 80% of the population and it was only a lunatic fringe who disagreed.

[gaijin]

Exactly this...It's like they don't pay attention to the statistics they report in headlines...33% in favor means two-thirds don;t express that opinion...you'd think the headline would be what the vast majority thinks.

[Auric Demonocles]

Well, you can't very well expect them to say "67% believe abortion should be illegal in some cases", now can you?

[Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns]

I wasn't specifically talking about the Mail, I'm talking generally about the fact that opposition to abortion among politicians is always treated as some 'extremist' position when a large portion of the public agrees with them.

Wendy Davis' views on abortion are vastly more extreme than the views held by most Republican politicians.

[Auric Demonocles]

You need to get your meter checked.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

You can't because it's not true. If you click on the link to the actual poll results you'd see that 55% supported abortion in most or all cases, 42% opposed abortion in most or all cases.

[Azathoth!!]

35% said morally wrong. 21% said morally acceptable and 39% said depends on the situation.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

33% said they support available in most cases, 22 said in all cases. Conversely 27% said illegal in most cases, 15 said illegal in all.

[Paulpemb]

So in other words, 75% of those polled support having some restrictions on abortion.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Haha, yeah that's one way to phrase it. Another would be that 85% think abortion should be available in some cases.

[Bobarian (sexbot hand model)]

Death of mother and incestual rape are 'some cases' in that statement.

[Lord Humungus]

Woman accused of stabbing Akron boyfriend because he ate all their salsa

Jefferson complained about 5:30 p.m. to her 61-year-old boyfriend that he was eating all of their salsa, police reports say.

She yelled and jammed a pen into the left side of the man's pelvis. She then knocked over his TV. The man jumped up and caught the TV before it hit the ground, police reports say.

While the man was catching the TV, Jefferson grabbed a small kitchen knife and stabbed the man in the left side of his stomach, according to police. Jefferson drove away, but police eventually caught up with her on Interstate 77 near U.S 224.

[WTF]

Cleveland woman?

[Ted S.]

Mrs. Warty?

[Timon 19]

Akron's a whole other sort of special. Populated by descendents of West Virginians who ran out of gas before making it to the steel mills in Cleveland.

[Catatafish]

What kind of tv? Is it okay?!

[Timon 19]

Interesting. She ended up near my neighborhood (but it's hard to get to it from either highway). I'm guessing she came from the immediate north, where most of the stabbings happen.

[Bee Tagger]

Aaron Schock's resignation from Congress takes effect today.

Like wearing slippers on carpet in the winter, this is all very surprising.

[sarcasmic]

Brothers who let off firecrackers at their joint wedding face the death penalty under terrorism charges in Pakistan because their celebrations scared locals
The newly-wed siblings went 'too far' at their joint ceremony, say police
Throwing firecrackers and fireworks is customary at Pakistani weddings
Police accused of misusing anti-terrorism legislation by campaigners

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

[Tonio]

Wait, Pakistan has gay marriage?

[SugarFree]

No, there were both married to a marijuana cigarette.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The same cigarette??? I know we're not supposed to judge other cultures but I mean really.

[Free Society]

It's a slippery slope. First gay marriage then animist marriage.

[Elspeth Flashman]

and incestuous gay marriage as well.

[Tonio]

Well, at least they won't be producing any kids!

[WTF]

The FOP from the USA are taking notes.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

They had best stay away from Afghan weddings....we had a local guy get treated by our medics when he got hurt flinging a bag of old Russian bomblets he had gathered up. "Look, fireworks" *BOOM*.

I wonder how you say "Darwin Award wannabe" in Dari?

[Monty Crisco]

Add "-let" to anything and it sounds fun. Don't like being cut do you? But you like cutlets!

No one wants to be hung from the gibbet. but we all like giblet gravy.

Why WOULDN'T you think "bomblets" are fun?!? Like Chiclets!!

[db]

Wouldn't that be a gibbetlet?

... db outlet

[SRVolunteer]

Chicks are more fun than Chiclets.

/just sayin'

[Elspeth Flashman]

cocklet? asslet? I think this might not always hold true, your theory of adding -let to nouns to make them more fun.

[Monty Crisco]

"Cocklet" DOESN'T sound like fun to you?!?!? It rhymes with "chocolate" for fuck's sake!!!!

[Brett L]

Rebranding your micropenis as a cocklet just might work. 😉

[Monty Crisco]

Been doin it for YEARS....

[R C Dean]

I wonder how you say "Darwin Award wannabe" in Dari?

Dari speaker?

[db]

Also, Turkish blackout.

[Tonio]

You mean Turkish news media is blacking out (aka embargoing) that story about the leftists?

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

Maybe he was referring to a strong tobacco blend? A powerful opium? A terrifyingly dark coffee?

[db]

I loved Turkish coffee. I'd really like to go back to Istanbul someday, but I don't think I will until they resolve this tragic political/religious strife.going on over there.

[Enough About Palin]

"I loved Turkish coffee."

^^THIS^^ Been drinking it every morning for nearly forty years. Everything else is shit-water.

[Ted S.]

They short-circuited the entire electric grid playing that drinking game.

[sarcasmic]

So THAT'S what your tattoos will look like when you're old! Pensioners show off skin covered in ink... but have no regrets over their body art
A collection of photos displays what extreme tattoos look like in later life
The images see elderly men and women strip down to show off their ink
The designs are similar to those favoured by the modern-day hipster

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/fem.....y-art.html

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

NOT. GOING. TO. CLICK.

[Crusty Juggler]

You are missing out...I believe the medical term for that link is boneriffic.

[Monty Crisco]

Hate to say this, but there was something alluring about the granny in a thong side-shot...

[Crusty Juggler]

Great minds think alike.

[Monty Crisco]

Word.

[kinnath]

Yup. I wouldn't mind my wife looking like that when she hits the 60s.

[Pope Jimbo]

Yup, that is why I renew my subscription to Granny Gash each year like clockwork...

[straffinrun]

You got me back with that one. *snort*

[Juice]

A lot of those tattoos didn't look that old. The tats in the last pic looked pretty old and runny though.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The deadline for reaching a nuclear deal with Iran is fast approaching.

Is this like one of those 24 deadlines for action that President Palmer inexplicably faced every season?

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

*golf clap*

[sarcasmic]

'Legendary' burlesque dancers who enticed audiences with strip shows in the mid-1900s prove they can still strike a pose (and some are now in their NINETIES)
These ex-burlesque dancers, some of whom are aged over 90, were captured by photographer Marie Baronnet
Some are pictured flashing their flesh in sensual bodies; others are seen donning eccentric gowns and jackets
The women enticed audiences at burlesque theaters with glamorous strip shows during the 1950s, 60s and 70s
They are described by Ms Baronnet as 'dominating characters of the quintessential American art of strip tease'
They feature in photographer's book, Legends: The Living Art of Risque; all photos taken in pensioners' homes

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....ETIES.html
That's just wrong.

[Crusty Juggler]

Best link ever.

[Catatafish]

Honestly, I don't know why I clicked on that. It's like when my brother and I lived together in our twenties and he would yell out from the bathroom, "Dude! You have GOT to come smell this!"

And I did.

[sarcasmic]

Plus-size writer who overcame an eating disorder sheds her clothes for body image campaign
Marie Southard Ospina is one of several people taking part in a video campaign titled The What's Underneath Project
The campaign is aimed at changing the way in which society views body image in relation to fashion and style

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/fem.....paign.html
John will be in his bunk.

[WTF]

Overcame an eating disorder? She still has an eating disorder.

[Ted S.]

I wonder what they would think if a bunch of men did such a video campaign.

[Bee Tagger]

calling on Gov. Mike Pence to "fix" the state's controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Governors are like presidents of the states and by that I mean kings.

[Tonio]

Technically the states are sovereign entities, so yes.

[Fist of Etiquette]

State legislatures might take issue.

[Lord Humungus]

Guano War II

Ergo, biologically engineered avian crap-bombs from Canada descend upon Washington.

Go ahead and draw up that treason indictment: I am siding with the enemy on this one. I

f there is to be a plague of goose poop befouling an American city, it really could not happen to a more fitting municipality than our hideous national capital, and especially to the gallery of architectural malpractice and monumental grotesquery that is the National Mall, that eternal testament to the unfinished work of Major General Robert Ross, who had the good taste to put Washington to the torch but who tragically failed to salt the earth on his way out. General Ross later helped to establish what would become a proud American tradition: getting shot to death in Baltimore. His body was pickled in rum before being returned to Nova Scotia, an excellent end to a life well-lived.

[Citizen Nothing]

There's some delightful reading to be found in the National Review.

[Monty Crisco]

Totes agree. But Kevin Williamson garners a lot of irrational hatred around these here parts...

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is producing some unpleasant surprises this tax season.

Not the first, not the last.

[gaijin]

unpleasant...but were they 'unexpected'?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Depends who you are.

[Trigger Hippie]

My unpleasant surprise was owing $1200 to the IRS this go around.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Labour candidate for MP: Free speech is a privilege, not a right

He also reported a newspaper critic of his to the police for "inciting racial hatred".

[Monty Crisco]

This isn't even news from Airstrip One - it's STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE.

Why would we be surprised?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Aaron Schock's resignation from Congress takes effect today.

Someone's going to inherit an awesome office.

[Tonio]

Except they'll probably redecorate it to avoid looking overdone; the irony being that it would be cheaper for the taxpayers to leave it the way it is. Also, will serve as part of the government excess exhibit one saner minds prevail.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I blame the Downtown family.

[Lord Humungus]

'Disturbing' reports of civilian casualties in Yemen, Red Cross says

Intense fighting in Yemen has brought "disturbing reports of civilian casualties," the International Committee of the Red Cross said Tuesday after nearly a week of Saudi-led airstrikes against rebels in the Middle Eastern country.

The ICRC said levels of fighting were especially high in and near the southern port city of Aden. The organization said it was focused on getting medical supplies into Yemen and helping to ensure hospitals stayed open.

"Every effort must be made to protect civilian life and property from attacks," the ICRC said.

[WTF]

Josh Earnest still won't back down from calling Obama's Yemen policy a success.

[Crusty Juggler]

Obama's Yemen policy was to help contribute to Yemen becoming a flaming shitshow, so Earnest was right.

[straffinrun]

We've had enough of those pleasant reports of civilian casualties. Finally a disturbing one.

[Lord Humungus]

EUROPE: 19 economists call on the ECB to make 'QE for the people' in a letter to the Financial Times

Rather than being injected into the financial markets, the new money created by eurozone central banks could be used to finance government spending (such as investing in much needed infrastructure projects); alternatively each eurozone citizen could be given ?175 per month, for 19 months, which they could use to pay down existing debts or spend as they please. By directly boosting spending and employment, either approach would be far more effective than the ECB's plans for conventional QE.

[gaijin]

Shorter version: "What we did did not work, so let's do more of it only with different people'

[Monty Crisco]

Shorter version of the shorter version: the first rule of progressives.

[Ted S.]

How is creating an inflationary time bomb "for the people"?

[Brett L]

This sounds like my plan from the original American QE to send everyone who filed a tax return the previous year a check for $12000. If you're going to spend the money, give it to everyone. $12000 would have straightened out a lot of potential foreclosure proceedings and for once, rewarded the responsible and the irresponsible. SLD, all Central Bank monetary "management" is doomed to fail, but why should the banks be the only winners once the decision to inflate the economy by $1T, give the money directly to all of the individuals.

[R C Dean]

Rather than being injected into the financial markets, the new money created by eurozone central banks could be used to finance government spending

Well, let's see. That QE is funded by the issuance of debt. To money center banks. Which use it as tier 1 capital. Where it supports the creation of more debt issued by the bank.

Which is issued to the financial markets or used to finance deals in the financial markets.

So, yeah, its actually impossible to do QE without injecting it into the financial markets.

[Rich]

New spa-like abortion clinic is part of a trend to de-stigmatize the procedure

At Carafem, staff members plan to greet clients with warm teas, comfortable robes and a matter-of-fact attitude.

*And* AYCE deep-dish pizza!

[db]

If you decide not to abort, they'll give you a voucher for a free circumcision at the birthing center next door.

[Auric Demonocles]

And days old links.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

*narrows gaze*

[Lord Humungus]

Even With Free Money, Merkel Still Reluctant to Spend

"In German, debt is the same word as guilt," former Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said in an interview. The word is "Schuld."

Monti is among the critics who say Chancellor Angela Merkel's unwillingness to pull out the credit card is holding back the euro-area economy and making it harder to overcome the financial-crisis aftermath. By sitting on the fiscal sidelines even with a budget surplus, Berlin has put virtually the entire response to the threat of deflation on the European Central Bank.

The latest reason to raise eyebrows at the intransigence is that Germany now pays just 0.2 percent to borrow for a decade. It would charge its lenders -- through negative interest rates - - to get cash for as long as five years.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Needs more Schuldenfrei

[Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns]

Isn't Germany's unemployment rate about 4.7%?

It's the lowest rate they've had since before unification.

It seems like Germany's unwillingness to go into debt is working out pretty well for them.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I have to wonder about Germany's unemployment rate given their reputed expansive social welfare systems.

[Auric Demonocles]

Notice he said it's bad for the "euro-area economy" not the German economy.

[Free Society]

The German's are total dick's for not pissing their money away into the welfare state economies of failing neighbors.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

The internet is turning on Trevor Noah

Messi gets the ball and the real players try foul him, but Messi doesn't go down easy, just like jewish chicks. #ElClasico

? Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) January 25, 2012

That's not good progressive humor?

[Crusty Juggler]

He is a monster!

[Catatafish]

Well, progressives do hate the truth...

[Ted S.]

So the moral of this story is that progressives prefer Arjen Robben?

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

*pulls Dutch jersey out of closet, begins humming the Wilhelmus*

[Monty Crisco]

That guy is such a FLOPPING PUSSY!!!
I loathe him...

[Brett L]

So he's implying that most strikers go down easier than Catholic girls?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Yeah, I saw that. Hilarious. In a loser way.

[The Laconic Esq]

What's especially horrible about Trevor Noah isn't the content of his jokes. It's that they're aggressively unfunny.

[Juice]

It reminds me of Dane Cook. Ok, he's a LITTLE funnier than Dane Cook. Oh, Carlos Mencia is a better analogy.

[The Laconic Esq]

If Carlos Mencia were an anti-Semite.

[Catatafish]

And every Trevor Noah joke was blatantly stolen.

[MJGreen]

Some comedians do really great work on Twitter. Why this guy bothers is baffling to me, because his tweets are so, so lame.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Indiana woman convicted of both fetal homicide and child neglect sentenced to 20 years

http://www.pri.org/stories/201.....iscarriage

[Lord Humungus]

Foreclosure to Home Free, as 5-Year Clock Expires

In September, Susan Rodolfi celebrated an unusual anniversary: five years of missed mortgage payments.

She is like a ghost of the housing market's painful past, one of thousands of Americans who have skipped years of mortgage payments and are still living in their homes.

Now a legal quirk could bring a surreal ending to her foreclosure case and many others around the country: They may get to keep their homes without ever having to pay another dime.

The reason, lawyers for homeowners argue, is that the cases have dragged on too long.

[Drake]

Dammit! I didn't have to pay something like $120k over the past 5 years?

I her dog is a bullmastiff. I have a female mastiff exactly the same color but bigger.

[Auric Demonocles]

Makes total sense. Steal from the bank long enough and clearly they shouldn't be able to get it back.

[R C Dean]

Well, that statute of limitations is easy to put a stop to, if you're a bank.

Just file the foreclosure action.

If they don't, there's probably a good reason. Like they botched the paperwork. Because the paperwork is botched on millions of these defaulted mortgages.

If they botched the paperwork, fuck 'em. As between a bank participating in a massive mortgage scam and the homeowner, I pick the homeowner.

[Dark Lord of the Cis]

Jesus tap dancing Christ. Even the sports radio shows are going on about RFRA this morning. Please tell me we are at least close to peak derp.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Sorry, that's a no

[Auric Demonocles]

I cannot understand why people are obsessed with giving people they think are bigots more money.

[straffinrun]

When you're forcing someone to do it I wouldn't use "give". How fun is to make people do shit? "Get me a beer. Do it!"

[Lord Humungus]

A few days old but... *Gallic shrug*

Need a job? Berlin's looking for a 'Brothel Tester'

A German social network for sex workers is looking for a "brothel tester" to check the quality of the service, standards of cleanliness and safe sex practices of brothels in Berlin.

Website Kaufmich.com (which translates as "Buying Me"), a social media platform for prostitutes, clients, brothels and companies specializing in the sex industry, is seeking a university-educated man or woman to join the company's "Quality Team," Kaufmich.com told CNBC.

The website's advert says that the candidate will have to test the service, cleanliness and compliance with safe sex practices in various brothels by taking a proactive approach to their work -- that is, by having sex with various women.

[Catatafish]

Do they have good medical?

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

UK candidate on why he reported columnist to police

I'm a strong champion of free speech, but when irresponsible comments by someone who hasn't even got a tenuous grasp of what she's talking about starts to manifest itself in hateful intolerance, which puts people in danger, then we have a problem. And that's why we need to talk about Katie.

Last week she attacked me on Twitter for attending a small ceremony to mark National Pakistan Day. I attend lots of events likes these, whether it be to mark St Patricks Day or remember the Ukrainian Holodomor. Some of the same people who attended the Pakistan flag raising will also be at the Saint George's Day English flag raising ceremony next month. This is the nature of representing a diverse community, but we've been doing this for years and had no complaints.

[snip]

There are several reasons why I've asked Greater Manchester Police to look into whether Katie is guilty of inciting racial hatred, not least because I don't want the safety of innocent people compromised in our town. But I also don't want three years of hard work undone after we've achieved so much in terms of confronting the heinous crime of child grooming.

[snip]

Words have consequences. And sooner or later these consequences are going to catch up with Hopkins.

[Tonio]

Yep, they are punishing any unapproved speech about Rotherham.

[Monty Crisco]

Well, what do you want, Moff?!?! She ATTACKED him! Of course he is going to report her to the police!

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

What a spineless sack of shit.

[Tonio]

Whatever you do, don't read the whining self-justification in the article. Just. Don't.

It is totally clear that the politicians are scared shitless of offending the Pakistani immigrant community, and have done a deal to keep the non-immigrants quiet about this. All he's doing is guaranteeing votes for the far-right parties in the next election.

[straffinrun]

UPAK vs UKIP.

[Tonio]

No, I was thinking more BNP, EDL, those sort of people. You know, the ideological children of Sir Oswald Moseley.

[straffinrun]

Unfolding straight out of Road to Serfdom.

[The DerpRider]

Pakistani immigrant community

Ahem. Asian community.

[R C Dean]

Right now, the Brits are in a race to see who gets to put the boot in who.

Labor wants the Pakis to put the boot in Anglos.

Sooner or later, the Anglos are going to start putting the boot in Pakis.

Its going to be massively ugly. Worse than now. Good job, cynical multi-culti borough-packing scum.

[Lord Humungus]

Barney Frank drops a bombshell
Ever wonder why we waited six years to get a decent economic recovery? This new revelation will disgust you

So why has a critical revelation from Frank's book, one that implicates the most powerful Democrat in the nation, been entirely expunged from the record? The media has thus far focused on Frank's wrestling with being a closeted gay congressman, or his comment that Joe Biden "can't keep his mouth shut or his hands to himself." But nobody has focused on Frank's allegation that Barack Obama refused to extract foreclosure relief from the nation's largest banks, as a condition for their receipt of hundreds of billions of dollars in bailout money.

The anecdote comes on page 295 of "Frank," a title that the former chair of the House Financial Services Committee holds true to throughout the book. The TARP legislation included specific instructions to use a section of the funds to prevent foreclosures. Without that language, TARP would not have passed; Democratic lawmakers who helped defeat TARP on its first vote cited the foreclosure mitigation piece as key to their eventual reconsideration.

[Drake]

There was a time that Frank was closeted? Was it like Liberace or Lindsey Graham - where nobody was surprised when he came out?

[straffinrun]

Frank wasn't born, he clawed his way out of a manhole.

[Rich]

The two men who rammed the gate outside the National Security Agency

Emphasis added. Apparently they did not self-identify as *terrorists*, but ....

[widget]

NUS passed a motion forbidding gay men from emulating "the mannerisms, language (particularly AAVE- African American Vernacular English) and phrases that can be attributed to black women.

http://www.queerty.com/gay-men.....s-20150326

[Monty Crisco]

What. The. Everliving. Fuck?

[Crusty Juggler]

You have to stop acting like you are large and in charge.

[Monty Crisco]

So, Chris Christie hardest hit?!?!

[WTF]

"Oh no you di'int!"

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Shakespeare hardest hit.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Oh, it gets better:

"A second motion passed was the banning gay men from dressing in drag as it could be offensive to trans women. (Queer students who want to cross-dress in their everyday lives as a mode of self-expression, however, are exempt from this rule, NUS said.)

"Lastly, the group announced on Twitter this week: "Some delegates are requesting that we move to jazz hands rather than clapping as it's triggering anxiety. Please be mindful!""

[R C Dean]

Exactly what is the difference between "gay men dressing in drag" and "queer students who want to cross-dress in their every day lives", por favor?

[Lord Humungus]

I'm going to spank you now
We'd never be perfect together unless I looked into her eyes and told this innocent woman I had a spanking fetish

We were in bed, still in those heady, lust-filled days of a new relationship. I really liked her, suspected that I might even love her, which meant I had to tell her the truth about myself. She sat up to listen, and I trailed my fingers over her thigh, eyes down, nervous as a teenager. I was 30 years old and for the first time in my life I was going to tell a girlfriend that I wanted to spank her. No, not wanted to, needed to. And I knew that telling her might mean the immediate death of our relationship, but I also knew we'd never be perfect together unless I looked into her pretty blue eyes and told this sweet, innocent, beautiful woman that I had a spanking fetish.

Let me clarify something: I'm not "into" spanking the way you might be "into" Celine Dion or "The Bourne Identity." Spanking is a part of my psyche, an essential element of my sexuality. It's not like slavering over cheerleaders, or fantasizing about sex on the beach at sunset. When I was a kid I used to look up the word "spanking" in the dictionary, and I got a visceral thrill when I saw a spanking scene on "Little House on the Prairie" or "I Love Lucy."

[Crusty Juggler]

I mean, who hasn't slavered over a cheerleader.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

No, not wanted to, needed to.

There's something about higher brain functions that can go seriously awry.

[VicRattlehead]

psssht! youre pussy footing around a spanking fetish?

try asking a woman about consentual non-consent, watersports, and whipping you fucking prude ass vanilla bitch

[Crusty Juggler]

+1 tarp.

[AlgerHiss]

Little Timmy Cook ought to stick to making his cute gadgets and stay out of adult issues like freedom and liberty.

As for Little Angie Hicks, she should go and figure out how to make a profit. Her "list", in 18 years, has never made money. (Probably the real reason she stopped construction on that building is there's no money.)

Odd, too, is how the bacon, lettuce and tomato crowd never harangues any islam/muslim business/group. Why is that?

[Tonio]

Wow, all the trolls are going off the rails, recently.

[straffinrun]

Is that what that is? I though it was like triple whammy sarc or something.

[Lord Humungus]

Nearly 40 percent of millennials think teen sex and homosexuality are morally wrong
A new report finds today's 20-somethings have some startlingly conservative views on sexuality

For all the talk of millennials being diverse and open-minded, one would think that few of today's 20-somethings would believe sex outside of a committed relationship is immoral. And yet. A broad survey by the Public Religion Research Institute finds that many millennials actually have surprisingly conservative views on sex and sexuality, with nearly 40 percent of young people polled saying they believe sex acts between people of the same gender or between teenagers are wrong.

According to the study, which polled 2300 Americans between the ages of 18 and 35, 37 percent of participants expressed concerns about the morality of sex between people who were not in (and had no plans to be in) a committed relationship. Stunningly, 38 percent believe homosexual intercourse is always morally wrong, despite the fact that millennials seem to be well aware of the social stigma this attitude creates. Nearly half of respondents said transgender people face significant stigma in their communities, and 29 percent said they believe gay and lesbian people are also targeted.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

A progressive is someone who finds these results "startling[]"

[Rich]

Despite deforestation, the world is getting greener

adding nearly 4 billion tonnes of carbon to plants above ground in the decade since 2003

No *wonder* they want a carbon tax!

[Brett L]

Its interesting that the fixation is reported in net and the emission is reported in gross. For instance, if wood pulp has been approximately the same amount of biomass in that time in North America and Europe, that's counted in the emissions but not the fixation.

[R C Dean]

Yeah, a lot of that new growth must be cherry trees. Because somebody sure seems to be cherry-picking.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Meet Trevor Noah. The man who will make us all laugh.

http://bit.ly/1BHxm6a

http://dailym.ai/19wHZSB

[Crusty Juggler]

He is going to take all you rethukkkigans a notch or two. And apparently some Jews...and lesbians...but definitely you rethuglitards, too.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

ahem

[gaijin]

Black people cannot be racist man!

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

The New York Times: When Clinton signed Federal RFRA we had no idea Christians would use it or gay marriage would become a thing

Of course it was a great idea until those damn conservatives and Christians started advocating for their own freedoms!

[Tonio]

Bullshit. On the NYT claims, that is. Particularly the first part.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I think given the context a lot of people who advocated didn't think of it protecting public 'religous exercise' like refusing service on religious grounds. They were thinking of more private and 'explicitly' religious exercise, like religious rituals and such.

[Tonio]

IIRC, it was about allowing Muslim prisoners to grow beards, Native Americans access to sites on public land which are sacred to them, etc. Something, something, foreseeable consequences...

[Bill Dalasio]

And I'm sure the guys who passed the First Amendment weren't thinking Hustler or Satanism. So what? Either you believe in a principle or you don't.

[Bill Dalasio]

Oh, and need I add, I think its' fairly reasonable to assume the authors of the 14th Amendment weren't thinking ghey marriage.

[Hey Nikki!]

Jeez, Serious, doesn't Cooke get a hat tip?

[Lord Humungus]

#freethenipple: why did it attract a 72% male audience?
It is a phenomenon. It's hashtag activism at its most contagious. It has become the equality movement's most viral voice in its scream for censorship change. But who is listening?

However, few features have garnered the reaction that last week's news story on Iceland #freeingthenipple en masse did. Both on social media and our website's comments sections, wave after wave of tit trolls crashed into the mass of supportive well wishers. A battle of misogynistic comments and collective calls-for-change ensued. Days later as the arguments continue to rage, we decided to investigate the #freethenipple audience and were a bit shocked to learn that only 29% were female.

Warning: Two Nipples of the female variety are pictured

[Crusty Juggler]

She looks like every girl I slept with in college (their eyes were closed for a reason, people).

[Lord Humungus]

Your ugly mug?

[Crusty Juggler]

That is what I was inferring yes, but you did not have to go out there and just say it. Sheesh. Someone put their meanie pants on today.

[SugarFree]

His penis is a basilisk.

[Auric Demonocles]

I notice the Star is silent on the alt-text.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

Hopefully it is a shocked and dismayed silence.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Arizona bans women from purchasing health insurance plans that include abortion on the federal exchange

Arizona's Republican governor, Doug Ducey, said on Monday he has signed into law a controversial measure blocking women from buying insurance that includes abortion coverage through the federal healthcare exchange.

The fiercely debated bill also requires doctors to tell women they could possibly reverse the effects of a drug-induced abortion, a claim that critics have called "junk science."

The measure cleared the Republican-controlled state legislature last week, largely along party lines.

"The American people overwhelmingly oppose taxpayer funding of abortions, and it's no different in Arizona, where we have long-standing policy against subsidizing them with public dollars," Ducey said in a statement after signing the measure on Monday. "This legislation provides clarity to state law."

I'm sure ENB will be on this later.

[Crusty Juggler]

abortion and gays until 2016! ALL THE TIME! Pick a side! No, "I don't really give a shit" is not a side! Also, abortion and gays only applies to the United States and no other countries.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

But...but...what about Messicans and weed?!

[Lord Humungus]

+1 Ass Sex

[Rich]

Man Killed by Falling Headstone While Decorating Family Grave

each spring when the ground begins to thaw, some of the bases tilt and the stones on top can slip. "I've come over and saw six stones fall from the winter."

BAN THEM!

[Lord Humungus]

I see the mother-in-law finally got the last word in.

[R C Dean]

[rises to applaud furiously]

[Bill Dalasio]

I posted two questions on DerpBook:

* Should there be a law requiring gay people to make purchases from Chick-fil-A?
* Should a group of fratboys be able to demand service at a lesbian bar?

I'll let people know if I get any responses.

[Monty Crisco]

I'm pretty sure gay bars take everybody. Harder to find a more tolerant place than a gay bar.
Dunno about strict "lesbian bars".... would love to hear.

[sarcasmic]

Me and my wife (girlfriend at the time) went to a gay bar a few times with this gay friend of ours. We got some seriously dirty looks, though they did accept our money.

[Monty Crisco]

Shit every time I've been to a gay bar with my girlfriend it has been nothing but a blast.
But I am a good dancer and don't mind dancing with anyone, so there's that...

[Elspeth Flashman]

I have heard that gay bars in the day time is a place for married people having affairs to meet.

I love dancing at gay bars & haven't been in a while. My best friend (female) has been recently and says she got dirty looks for being there, and not being "into" ladies (but how can anyone tell? She could've been, just not wearing a big belt, 40 lbs overweight, and wearing flannel).

[Tonio]

Well, you can only imagine the puffy outrage should some straight person, particularly a religious one, be discriminated against. Also, there are a lot of "tourists" in gay bars - straight people who go there to gawk, be edgy, whatever. Acceptance varies widely.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

I had a girlfriend 20 years ago who thought that the local gay bar would be the best place to break up. As it was, it was on Gay Pride day and I got sucker kissed twice by a couple of regulars after the deed was done.

[Tonio]

Those can go either way. I remember being hassled in one when I was in college. They really hate straight boys or straight couples trying to pick up lesbians (yes, that's apparently a thing).

[Crusty Juggler]

Please go on, slowly...

[Tonio]

Well, I was in DC with some lesbian friends on a college road trip and they took me into this dyke bar (their description) and I was at the urinal in the mens room doing what one does there and this big woman came in and asked what I was doing. After deciding that stating the obvious would only anger her further, I explained that I was gay, there with women friends, etc. She found that explanation barely acceptable and I high-tailed it back to my friends.

Now, you may ask what she was doing in the Men's room. In gay-gay bars, at least back in the day, you used whichever restroom was closest or had the shortest line and nobody cared. I was playing by straight peoples restroom rules there, not knowing the deal.

[UnCivilServant]

1: Only if it's formulated as a penaltax for not buying Chick-Fil-A

2: They can make all the demands they want, but they'd have to arrive in sufficient numbers to fight off the regular clientele.

[Bill Dalasio]

Dammit, these were questions for DerpBook. They weren't meant to generate principled responses!

[Bo Cara Esq.]

And this guy accuses other people of being trolls? Sheesh.

[Monty Crisco]

Jesus, spare me the fake piety, dickweed.

[Tonio]

Srsly, Bo? Go over to the SoCon bench and have Eddie give you some pointers on making the piety at least semi-believable.

[Bill Dalasio]

How am I a troll for commenting on my own DerpBook account?

Words, including the word "troll" have meanings. You're going to have to learn that if you want to be a lawyer.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

*Leaves before Bo dissects the word troll*

[Bo Cara Esq.]

You clearly are hoping to rile people up by the posting (it's not like your post isn't going to show up on others Facebook pages).

[Bill Dalasio]

it's not like your post isn't going to show up on others Facebook pages

And there's something particular about those people. Wait. What is it? Oh, yeah, they agreed to see messages from me. Trolling is not saying things that are controversial.

[VicRattlehead]

Yes Bo, Trolling is the art of posting inflammatory shit with which reasonable person wouldn't give a shit about, but for some reason your intended target holds as a sacred cow.
for example i would go to salon and post "I think gay marriage should be banned" and watch them all freak out
christians for michelle bachman is a great example of a troll page
but the premise is to pretend to hold a belief that you dont hold for the express purpose of generating outrage and mayhem.

[DEG]

I tried something similar in the days when I still had a Derpbook account.

Initially I got crickets. Then I got something along the lines of "Laws prohibiting discrimination exist for a reason!" and a variation on "I don't have time to write an essay explaining it".

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

5 Radically Progressive Ideas Hillary Clinton Should Run On

1. A Student Debt Jubilee--forgive all the student loans!

2. An Alaska-style Citizen Dividend--and here I thought this was to encourage people to actually live in Alaska, not as a form of welfare

3. Mandatory Vacations, Paid Sick Leave and Family Leave--All your children are belong to us

4. True Universal Pre-K and Child Care--it takes a village, evidence to the contrary be damned

5. A $15 Minimum Wage--working wonders in San Francisco and Seattle.

[Rich]

You know what would be *really* radical for Hillary?

Coming clean about the emails.

[Tonio]

Mmmmm...sounds more like a Warren platform. Could be a clever attempt by a Warrenista to show how Clinton isn't progressive like their woman.

[Andrew S.]

help me i read the comments and my brain escaped out my ear to get away from the derp what should i do

[Elspeth Flashman]

You should get a job working from home! I did, it's easy. You'd be surprised to learn how easy it is. Click here for more details.

[straffinrun]

My Brazilian cut only left a few ingrown hairs.

[Bam!]

So Europe, basically.

[Trigger Hippie]

"Only bold action ? action that sends an unmistakable message to the world that our state will not tolerate discrimination against any of its citizens ? will be enough to reverse the damage."

Yes, the bold action of infringing upon a person's religious veiws and refusing to allow free association is not tolerating discrimination.

Derp.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

TRIGGER WARNING: Auto-Play

Mike Pence promises to "fix this now" and "clarify" state RFRA to bar discrimination

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, whose state is under fire over the passage of a religious freedom law that critics say could allow businesses to discriminate based on sexual orientation, told Fox News on Tuesday that he and legislative leaders plan to clarify the policy in the coming days.

"I abhor discrimination," the Republican governor told Fox News.

Pence said he stands by the law and there was never any intent to create a "license to discriminate."

But, acknowledging the furor over the policy, he said: "We'll clarify that in the days ahead, and we'll fix this and move forward."

The governor's statements put him in line with Indiana legislative leaders, who on Monday said they would look at clarifying the law to make clear it does not permit discrimination against gays and lesbians. The effort is the latest attempt to quell a firestorm that has led two governors to ban publicly funded travel to the Hoosier State and threatens to overshadow this weekend's NCAA men's basketball Final Four, which will be held in Indianapolis.

Well he caved fast.

[UnCivilServant]

They should Fix it by doubling down on a true right to not associate.

[R C Dean]

These idiot politicians don't understand how this works.

If he had just said "We're not going to do anything for now. Its a new law, although just like laws in other states that haven't caused any problems for gay people. Let's see how it goes, and if we see in the real world that its causing problems, we'll see what we can do to solve those problems."

The this would all die down. By showing weakness, he's just encouraging the jackals.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

WAR ON WOMEN: Hollywood mogul and Democratic super-donor Harvey Weinstein facing sexual assault investigation

Harvey Weinstein has found himself in the center of a sexual assault investigation.

The NYPD is looking into claims made by a young woman that the entertainment mogul, 63, sexually abused her in New York City on Friday, an NYPD spokesperson confirmed to PEOPLE.

"There is a current investigation for an alleged sexual abuse committed by Mr. Weinstein," Sgt. Lee Jones told PEOPLE. No arrests have been made at this time.

The 22-year-old Italian woman, who remains unidentified, told police that Weinstein touched her sexually at the Tribeca Film Center, the Daily News reported Monday.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

22-year-old Italian woman

At least the man has taste.

[Crusty Juggler]

Bella ragazza!

[UnCivilServant]

Italian women have a short shelf life. Too many morph into old Sicilian women...

[Tonio]

I think you're on to something. Maybe the infamous babushka gene is universal!

[UnCivilServant]

Babushka Smash!

[Ted S.]

Rufus is disappointed.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Meh. Not in the North or Central.

His take holds for certain parts of the South.

[Free Society]

Cancer Patients Cured With Polio Virus in Duke University Trial

Gromeier explains that the polio treatment removes the shield human cancers put up against the immune system, which then allows the body's own immune system to start killing the cancer. "All human cancers, they develop...protective measures that make them invisible to the immune system and this is precisely what we try to reverse with our virus," he says. "We are actually removing this protective shield...enabling the immune system to come in and attack."

[Tonio]

See, all those anti-vaxxers were onto something!

[Juice]

It's pretty amazing. I'd also look into telomerase inhibitors that have cured a few people with myeloid fibrosis and other blood/bone cancers. They were tantamount to a bone marrow transplant in a bottle. Cancer research is getting really exciting lately.

[Matrix]

Isn't this how I Am Legend started?

[The DerpRider]

Possibly. I'd like to complain about how it ended...

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Glowing tampons used to detect sewage leaks

Optical brighteners work because they are extremely sticky. Long after your clothes come out of the washer, the optical brighteners are stuck onto the fabric. The compounds build up with each washing, making your colors pop. And OBs will grab onto cotton in a stream or sewer, making it glow brilliantly under UV light.

Preliminary lab tests by the researchers confirmed that tampons quickly picked up optical brighteners at very low concentrations. Once they had their proof of concept, the scientists moved out into the field.

Tampons were placed in 16 surface water sewers, using the handy attached string to secure them to bamboo poles. After 3 days the tampons were retrieved and tested under UV light. And indeed, they did successfully detect grey water contamination, and determination of a positive and negative result was pretty clear. The total cost of sampling? An estimated 20 pence/tampon (30 cents in US Dollars), including the cost of the black light.

Note this only applies to sewage leaks. If your wife or girlfriend's tampons glow you might want to by lead pajamas.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Sanity remains in Chicago, Rahm Emmanuel increases lead to significant margin over Chuy Garcia

Mayor Rahm Emanuel has increased his lead over challenger Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, a new poll shows.

In the survey, conducted for the Chicago Tribune, Emanuel was the choice of 58 percent, with Garcia backed by 30 percent and 9 percent undecided.

The poll of 724 registered voters, conducted March 25 through March 29, has a margin of error of 3.7 percentage points.

Emanuel's margin increased by 7 percentage points from the last Tribune survey. In that previous poll, taken March 6-11, the mayor was preferred by 51 percent, compared to 37 percent for Garcia.

[Drake]

Remind me why people choose to live there.

[UnCivilServant]

The roads are too congested to escape.

[Rich]

Because you can vote for Jesus or Emanuel?

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Jesus: God saves

Emmanuel: God with us

Voters: God help us

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

*applause*

[The Laconic Esq]

Because I make a shit-ton of money here and I need to stay close to my invalid mother.

Also, the lake. And summer.

[R C Dean]

Yeah, like most big cities, Chicago can be a pretty cool place to live if you have money.

[UnCivilServant]

Sanity would be a mass vote for "None of the Above" or a write-in landslide for someone who isn't a massive stain on humanity.

[Hey Nikki!]

Sanity would be not going to the polls.

[Peachy rex]

That's my plan - I'm going to do something worthwhile instead, like go to work.

[Andrew S.]

You know things are awful when Rahm Emmanuel is clearly the "best" choice.

[DEG]

Workd's worst commutes. Los Angeles makes the list.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Phoenix is pretty god-awful as well.

[DEG]

Same with Boston. When I was looking into moving to Seattle and Austin, I drove in rush hour traffic in both. I felt like I was back in Boston.

[R C Dean]

At least Phoenix has first-world roads.

The roads in Tucson are on par with what I drove on in Panama.

[Drake]

Driving into New York City is incredibly bad. I've done it a few times and have neighbors who do it every day. Soul-crushing.

[DEG]

Elizabeth Warren tells Wall Street "Bring it on!".

She also claims she's not going to run for president.

As a bonus:

The stakes for Warren may be higher if Sen. Charles Schumer, a Democrat from New York with close ties to business, becomes the Senate Democratic leader after Sen. Harry Reid retires in 2016. Schumer is widely viewed as the top candidate for the leadership post.

Schumer and Warren would likely clash on financial regulation, and he might push her to soften her tone in order to help fundraising. If the banks didn't contribute, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee could lose up to $15,000 per bank a year -- and possibly more if individual bankers stopped donating as well. Warren is already trying to fight back by asking supporters for donations in a blog post Friday.

[Tonio]

Her claims of not wanting to run are as believable as those of George Romney, back in the day. She will "reluctantly" decide to run "to keep the platform from being controlled by Wall Street."

Small possibility that she could be bought off with Treasury or SCOTUS appointments, but the Clintons tend not to like to be forced in that way.

[DEG]

How the world's most profitable subway system makes money.

But the company's real profits are derived from a lesser-known side of the business: property development. Some 50 major properties across Hong Kong are owned, developed or managed by MTR, including two of the city's tallest skyscrapers.

"Sometimes critics say it's a property development firm doing a side business of rail," said Tim Hau, a professor at University of Hong Kong's School of Economics and Finance.

Here's how it works: MTR enjoys a special relationship with the Hong Kong government, which is also its majority shareholder. The government provides land -- at no cost -- for use by the train operator, and MTR is then allowed to develop the areas above and around its stations.

[Monty Crisco]

So, not really a "private sector" endeavor after all.... just more goddamn rent-seeking. AND IN HONG KONG, of all places.

Fuck.

[Peachy rex]

Hong Kong isn't quite what it used to be since the reds took over.

[Juice]

This arrangement sounds like classic Hong Kong though. The one major thing that isn't free market in HK is land ownership. I think this is understandable in that there isn't a whole lot of viable land to go around there.

[R C Dean]

Seems to me like something in short supply is exactly what needs strong property rights.

[Hey Nikki!]

Your inability to write in Standard English is making me uncomfortable.

[Crusty Juggler]

That was amazing and I just hope it was a parody.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

To begin, when students claim a lecture or event is "uncomfortable," it's not because the chair cushion is sagging. Nor is it because we simply don't like the ideas being touted before us. It is because the speakers promoting these ideas do not display an effort to be inclusive in their thoughts.

A speaker's language may not recognize the differences in gender identity or expression, and thus speak in ways that exclude and marginalize certain groups. Their arguments may not acknowledge the position of power they inherently have when making certain claims. The solutions they offer to whatever discussion at hand many not consider the long history of injustice performed against people of color.

What.

An.

Idiot.

[db]

My discomfort with your ideas sets the limits of what is acceptable for you to say, and how you.may frame your discussion.

They really are trying to rewrite the rules of discourse, for therein lies the power to control it.

[SugarFree]

The key to sounding smart when you write is to be smart.

[R C Dean]

And, as ever, the immortal Josie Wales provides guidance:

"A man's got to know his limitations."

People who sound like idiots when they write are generally over-reaching themselves.

[The Male Gaze?]

This is awesomely hilarious about the Indiana RFRA:

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/201.....-cannabis/

[Sevo]

Whoa! Someone in Berkeley decided incentives work on other than smokers!

"Berkeley's sensible approach to housing demand: secondary units"
[...]
"While Oakland and San Francisco talk new housing projects to meet growing demand, Berkeley is taking a different approach: It wants to relax restrictions on homeowners to allow them to build second units ? better known as in-law units."
(paywall, don't bother with http://www.sfchronicle.com/bay.....168720.php )
Suffice to say, they are relaxing size requirements, parking restrictions, room counts, and a whole lot more!
Maybe we need to get hold of the Berkeley's water supply for the SF Supervisors.

[Brett L]

I was expecting a link to The Onion. That read like a parody where Berkeley did something reasonable and realistic.

[Sevo]

Even the columnist in the dead-tree version seemed confused.

[CatoTheElder]

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is producing some unpleasant surprises this tax season.

This should not be a surprise: PPACA was enacted years ago. Its effects upon taxation were in black-and-white, even if it was unclear whether the penalty provision was a fine or a tax. PPACA's tax consequences should have been well known, but the media just was not interested.

I am not a tax professional, but have been a self-preparer for decades, and have an active interest in optimizing tax matters that apply to me. Working through the mechanics of the Obama/Pelosi/Reid insurance subsidy scheme, I discovered that it had created an astronomical marginal tax rate that affected anybody whose income was in the range of 3.5 to 5 times poverty line. A little bit of overtime, and those below 400% of poverty line could get hard with a marginal tax rate in the hundreds of thousand percent (in my own case, a geezer not quite old enough for Medicare, the marginal rate is around 450,000%).

I would explain this to people, but they simply would not believe it. The media just was not interested in reporting unfavorable news about ObamaCare. The incurious remained ignorant and simply could not believe the apparent absurdities of its tax consequences. (I say "apparent" because I'm not all sure that they were not intentional.)

[straffinrun]

They'll figure it out, eventually. I've tried explaining how the CPI numbers have been manipulated over the years to hide the real rise in prices. Get nothing. Then when people I know that depend on COLA increases based on the rate of inflation start taking a closer look bc it's in their best interest, a little flicker in that bulb above their heads.

[CatoTheElder]

Well, they might figure it out. I know a lot of people who just give their W-2 and 1099s to preparers and don't have a clue about the 1040 when they sign it. And there are a bunch of people who are happy when they get a tax refund from excess withholdings.

[R C Dean]

I think the surprise is that Obama didn't postpone it unilaterally again.

But they shouldn't have been surprised. He's not running for anything, so why should he pander to the little people who don't have anything to give him anymore?

[Sevo]

And you'll be surprised to note that some vicious hoarder wasn't forced to give up his money for what the gov't thinks is a good cause:
"USC brain research institute gets $50-million gift"
[...]
"Silicon Valley venture capitalist who is a USC alumnus and his wife are donating $50 million to a USC brain research institute in hopes of treating such disorders as Alzheimer's disease, autism and traumatic brain injuries, university officials announced."
http://www.latimes.com/local/e.....story.html

That's the gov't's money their giving away there, just ask Tony!

[UnCivilServant]

How much of that funding is going to get siphoned off to finance bullshit academia parasites?

[Sevo]

Not as much as if it went through 5 gov't agencies first!

[John]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03.....share&_r=0

I have long form New York Times kick in the nuts. Good for the Times for running this article. It is, however, vomit inducing. The prisons in this country are a national disgrace.

[Andrew S.]

Many did not want to talk about it. Under their union contract, corrections officers are obligated to answer questions only from their employers and have the right to refuse to talk to outside police agencies.

Why on EARTH does that exist, other than to make it clear that there's absolutely no consequence for their actions?

[John]

That is exactly why it exists. Like I said, that whole article is one continuous kick in the nuts.

[Andrew S.]

Yeah, reading further, it definitely was.

Looked it up (since I noticed the article was a month old), and all 3 COs involved ended up pleading guilty. It's the standard cop deal:

In a last-minute deal struck just before trial was to begin in the village of Warsaw, Sgt. Warner and officers Keith Swack, 40, and Matthew Rademacher, 32, agreed to quit their jobs at the maximum security prison in exchange for an agreement that they will have to serve no jail time. The men will be permanently barred from working for the state's corrections department, officials said, but the agreement does not affect their pensions, which they will receive when eligible.

[Coeus]

White men should never hold elected positions in British universities again

University is supposed to be amazing, a transformative experience which is informed by student unions across the country. Yet people don't give a toss about their student unions, no one cares about the NUS, and activism is dying at all but a few hardcore universities. This generation of students has been pissed on by the government and fees, and privatisation, and all anyone seems to want to do is roll over and let it happen.
Do you know why this is? It's because our universities and student unions are too similar to our government; they are too stunted by white men. White men might want to appropriate injustice as theirs, desperate for something to struggle against, but it's a hobby they'll pick up and drop as soon as the first comfortable finance job beckons them over.
We need to ban white men and their activism dilettantism from student unions. We need powerful women and minority ethnic people to bring their passion back to the heart of student politics. Being a student union president should no longer be a place for privileged whiteboys to swing their dicks around before graduating into a world that is in no way affected by what they claim to fight for.

[Coeus]

the best part:

White men have had the last several millennia in charge, and it's been a s***show from start to finish. A new generation of powerful women and minority ethnic people is ready to lead and change. It is time for you to bow down.

[John]

If at some point in the future white men become a small minority in a place like the UK, how would they not end up being put into ovens? This people are full on barking mad.

[Coeus]

This people are full on barking mad.

You don't know the half of it. Half of the people who talk like this are white men themselves. It's become some sort of bizarre social signaling. Uncle Ruckus on a scale larger than ever previously imaginable.

[John]

That the most disturbing part. And I swear half of them would happily go to the gas chamber if they were told to do so.

[Free Society]

The last couple millennia have only seen the human condition improve EXPONENTIALLY (and with all caps too). But this article has to be satire. It's too stupid not to be satire and it seems to have been written anonymously.

[This Machine]

It is time for you to bow down.

Huh. So they just came right out and said it, just like that? These loons don't want, and have never wanted, serious equality. All they're after is naked power.

[Sevo]

And if you like squaw Hunts at Whole Foods, you'll love some dumb-ass bastard running for pres who makes no bones about taking your livelihood:

"Socialist Senator to Run for President in 2016"
[...]
"Senator Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) isn't quite buying the Democrats' hype over Hillary Clinton, and would be ready to throw his hat into the ring. While he did not directly cite Clinton, he emphasized the importance of a candidate's policies rather than "simply taking huge campaign contributions from the wealthy and powerful."

http://drhotze.com/2013/12/soc.....UAelr5R.99

[Monty Crisco]

I love that dude. At least he owns his economic illiteracy!!

[Sevo]

Just so long as he doesn't make US own it.

[Coeus]

Justice is served, but more so after lunch: how food-breaks sway the decisions of judges

There's an old trope that says justice is "what the judge ate for breakfast". It was coined by Jerome Frank, himself a judge, and it's a powerful symbol of the legal realism movement.

......

The graph above is almost the visual embodiment of Frank's catchphrase. It's the work of Shai Danziger from Ben Gurion University of the Negev, and summarises the results of 1,112 parole board hearings in Israeli prisons, over a ten month period. The vertical axis is the proportion of cases where the judges granted parole. The horizontal axis shows the order in which the cases were heard during the day. And the dotted lines, they represent the points where the judges went away for a morning snack and their lunch break.

The graph is dramatic. It shows that the odds that prisoners will be successfully paroled start off fairly high at around 65% and quickly plummet to nothing over a few hours (although, see footnote). After the judges have returned from their breaks, the odds abruptly climb back up to 65%, before resuming their downward slide. A prisoner's fate could hinge upon the point in the day when their case is heard.

[Matrix]

Kit Harington does not like being overly sexualized by the press, and Jezzies tell him to shut up.

Male privilege or something... Stop trying to impose your Patriarchy, Kit!

[Peachy rex]

I occasionally read a fashion blog (I just go there for the half-undressed starlets, honest), and it's striking - though not surprising in the least - how the gay guy/lefty middle-aged women demographic that dominates the comment threads unabashedly objectifies male models & celebrities. (And is also extremely catty about the half-undressed starlets, of course.)

[Drake]

You know nothing...

[The Laconic Esq]

He is dreamy though.

On a related topic, the actress who plays Missandei is really growing on me. She's always been cute as a button, but since her nude scene in season 4, I've had... more elaborate thoughts.

[Andrew S.]

Sure, Comedy Central picked a person of color to host the Daily Show, BUT IT'S A MAN!. It's positively awful!

[The Laconic Esq]

You know who would be good? Lindy West.

[adolphowisner]

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