McDonald's Raises Hourly Wages, Airbnb Opens in Cuba, How American Jails Got So Bad: A.M. Links

Gerry Balding

• McDonald's will raise the hourly pay rate for employees at non-franchised locations to $1 above the local minimum wage, as well as start offering vacation benefits. 
• Airbnb is now listing more than 1,000 vacation home rentals in Cuba.  
• Another day, another executive order: "I'm for the first time authorizing targeted sanctions against individuals or entities whose actions in cyberspace result in significant threats to the national security, foreign policy, economic health or financial stability of the United States," President Obama announced Wednesday.
• An in-depth look at "the pervasive awfulness" of American jails.
• Arizona's House has passed a bill to allot more than $1 million to a "predictive policing" pilot program. 
• An Arkansas woman now thought to be the world's oldest is asking for Barack Obama to attend her 117th birthday party this July. She invited him last year, but he didn't show up. 

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Comments

[Palins Butplug]

So far this morning I've had 300mg of Zoloft, six shots of Jack, and three Red Bulls, and I am ready to take you Peanuts ON!

[Charles Easterly]

I thought Jack dumped you for another man.

[WTF]

Let us turn the whole country into a socialist fairyland by the joint operation of the army and people!

[Palins Butplug]

Look, moron, I'm a classic liberal, I went to the University of Georgia, and I've got King Crimson blasting on the stereo. So suck it, paleo!

[tarran]

You also forgot your apostrophe....

[WTF]

Are you quitting on me? Well, are you? Then quit, you slimy fucking walrus-looking piece of shit! Get the fuck off of my obstacle! Get the fuck down off of my obstacle! NOW! MOVE IT! Or I'm going to rip your balls off, so you cannot contaminate the rest of the world! I will motivate you, IF IT SHORT-DICKS EVERY CANNIBAL ON THE CONGO!

[wareagle]

what does UGA have to do with classical liberalism, other than ignoring it?

[VicRattlehead]

PB although you are far from classic liberal, your music taste today is impeccable and has put you on the "do not kill" list.
all rise for The Court of the Crimson King!

[The Laconic Esq]

It's not him. I got suckered for a few minutes, too. And was surprised that PB listened to Crim.

Well played, you magnificent bastard, whoever you are.

[Charles Easterly]

I know, Vic.
I also liked the Monty Python quote.

I'm wondering if it's the same person using a new moniker (one without an apostrophe).

[VicRattlehead]

Can we keep the new one and get rid of the old one?

[Charles Easterly]

Wouldn't that be a nice change?

[Don Mynack]

My fave quote about King Crimson from Boz Burrell : "Crystal Ships on silver seas and all the gobshite. Nonsense".

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Argggghh!

Damn you, Fist!

Sigh.

Hello.

[sarcasmic]

Pussy. Get back to use when you've finished both of the bottles.

[Palins Butplug]

My hovercraft is full of eels!

[gaijin]

Agile Cyborg is more poetic

[sarcasmic]

Seriously. Crunch those pills and wash them down with some bourbon.

[Catatafish]

You would drink Jack, you fucking degenerate.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Hey, now!

[Catatafish]

😉

I can't stand Jack but if you really like sour mash whiskeys, the guys at Spec's here in Houston had me try Belle Meade. It's actually really quite good.

[Zeb]

So, you are admitting that you live in your mom's basement?

[gaoxiaen]

I'm closing in on you, but it's Thursday night and I'm doing double shots of Mezcal, so we'll see.

[gaoxiaen]

On an empty stomach.

[Charles Easterly]

Inadvisable.

From what I've read, of course.

[Xeones]

BBUUUUUUUUUUUTTPLUUUUUUUUUUG

[Xeones]

Dammit, i fell for it. CARRY ON

[straffinrun]

Chief suspect number 1. This ain't fooling me.

[robc]

Morning all!

[Fist of Etiquette]

McDonald's will raise the hourly pay rate for employees at non-franchised locations to $1 above the local minimum wage...

The people programming the touchscreen menus probably already make more than minimum.

[Palins Butplug]

Like that's gonna stay the same after Jeb is elected, moron.

[Fist of Etiquette]

You had me at moron.

[Weigel's Cock Ring]

If there's one thing in this world I can't stand, it's parody accounts.

[Almanian!]

Why did I laugh at this? Oh, I think you know why...

[Charles Easterly]

"If there's one thing in this world I can't stand, it's parody accounts."

And Santa Carla vampires?

[Pope Jimbo]

If there is one thing us dyslexics can't understand in this world, it is parody accounts with subtle spelling differences.

[robc]

When you have the original filtered out, its easy to detect.

[Lord Humungus]

so much this.

[gaoxiaen]

Dyslexics of the world, untie.

[straffinrun]

Dyslexia...what kind of an asshole dr. thought that'd be a good name for that condition.

[sthgrau]

If the name helps self-diagnose, maybe it is the best name for it.. kinda like a coffee-table book that turns into a coffee table.

[straffinrun]

Isn't that where the word "Barbarian" came from. Where's HM when you need him?

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

IIRC, barbarian was a Greek term, which they used for foreigners because of how they sounded ... "bar bar" or some gibberish sound that we would say was "blah blah blah"?

[straffinrun]

+1 Conan and the lamentations of his enemy's woman.

[Charles Easterly]

Correct, Switzy. "Greek barbaroi (n.) meant 'all that are not Greek,' but especially the Medes and Persians. Originally not entirely pejorative, its sense darkened after the Persian wars. The Romans (technically themselves barbaroi) took up the word and applied it to tribes or nations which had no Greek or Roman accomplishments."

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=barbarian

[Puddin' Stick]

I'm not HM, but I'll try to help.

late 19th century: coined in German from dys- 'difficult' + Greek lexis 'speech' (apparently by confusion of Greek legein 'to speak' and Latin legere 'to read').

[Xeones]

Did you hear about the dyslexic insomniac agnostic?

He stayed up all night wondering if there was a dog.

[WTF]

Let the strong wind of fish farming blow across the country!

[gaoxiaen]

Pig farming, too.

[Ted S.]

Jeb's gonna raise the minimum wage to whatever programmers make?

[RBS]

Speaking of McDonald's and Cuba:

Well... It's official. I missed it. For years I have desperately wanted to make it to Havana before the Disney Land of capitalist corruption invaded. 5 years ago I wrote an article about the coming doom for the Havana of the Castro era. I'm no fan of Communist regimes, mind you, but to be in Havana before the onslaught, to photograph it's nostalgic wonder before the end that I foretold in Nostradamic apocalyptic style, was a passionate desire for me. And it's gone. The time is past and the red wire has been cut. It's a time bomb of incoming McDonalds franchises. If I don't make it in the next two months and get the photos I want, it's done.

[Jordan]

American socialist?

[Andrew S.]

[Picture of 2 block long line at first McDonalds in Moscow.jpg]

[UnCivilServant]

You mean these:

http://englishrussia.com/2015/.....the-world/

[Ted S.]

The above commenter wants to keep pepole in abject poverty so he can have his "pretty" photos.

Thoroughly evil.

[Charles Easterly]

"Thoroughly evil."

Every once in a while someone like him/her says or writes something that exceeds the depravity I've become used to witnessing.

[RBS]

I was actually pretty shocked when I read it on facebook then saw which "friend" of mine wrote it. He claims to be a christian libertarian.

[robc]

As someone else who claims to be a christian libertarian, I will join in declaring that evil.

[This Machine]

Seconded.

[Monty Crisco]

This is all the American left can muster as an argument - hand wringing over PEOPLE RAISING THEIR STANDARD OF LIVING.

Almost as stupid as dipshit calling himself "classically liberal"...

[LynchPin1477]

I'm no fan of Communist regimes, mind you, but to be in Havana before the onslaught, to photograph it's nostalgic wonder before the end

nos?tal?gia
noun: nostalgia; plural noun: nostalgias

a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations.

*Sigh*. We are surrounded by idiots.

[R C Dean]

I'm no fan of Communist regimes, mind you, but

And here we see "but" performing one of its functions: reversing the meaning of everything that comes before it.

[Idle Hands]

What anevil individual.

[Slammer]

The banality of evil. Probably wistful he never had a chance to photograph Nazi death camps when they were liberated.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Idiot. Only a fucking romantic douchetard would even think this way.

When I went to Havana I was utterly depressed by the ravages of communism.

To suggest it will lose something is retarded. It's already a shit hole, asshole.

[RBS]

Yeah, I spent several weeks in Cuba after I graduated high school. A few things really stick out in my memory: my godfather's best friend not being allowed in the hotel because it was for tourists only, armed guards patrolling the beaches, dilapidated buildings. I did really enjoy staying with my godfather's friend's family in Santa Clara though.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I had similar impressions.

Locals weren't allowed on the beaches. It sickened me to watch all these Westerners roam around freely but Cubans were prevented from mingling with us. I thought to myself, why in the world would I support this evil regime when I can laze around any beach elsewhere?

I befriended a guy. He was educated in Russia as an electrical engineer yet he was languishing handing out towels to jack offs like me for a buck a day. I got my first lick of the spy-state when he'd look over his shoulders and watch what he said because 'they look' as he told me.

I also went into a 'pharmacy' in Cuba. Only problem was there was very little medicine. The medical system POS North American leftists like Moore praise so highly. How you can't come away with thinking that progs are anything but EVIL is beyond me since they see nothing wrong in watching Cubans live in abject poverty with no freedom whatsoever.

That's why these little shits like this photo guy piss me off. They romanticize evil.

I swear...it burns me up just typing this.

[Charles Easterly]

"I did really enjoy staying with my godfather's friend's family in Santa Clara though."

I'm unfamiliar with most of Cuba, so when I first read this I thought you were referencing The Lost Boys (which I did earlier up-thread).

[Puddin' Stick]

Santa Carla

[Charles Easterly]

Thanks.

[Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns]

Who wrote that? Was it on Facebook?

[RBS]

Facebook.

[Suthenboy]

Pure evil. As banal as it is, that is what undiluted evil looks like.

[gaoxiaen]

*its

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I really hope McDon...I can't go on.

Palin going first really destabilized my morning.

[Almanian!]

Good mornin, Rufus!

*wraps Rufus' shoulders in a warm blanket and hands him mug of hot cocoa*

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

Be Kind To Canadians Day?

[UnCivilServant]

Early April is generally when you have to thaw our your Canukistanis anyway. Otherwise they might not thaw in time for the brief summer period of activity.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Thanks guys.

Now I really feel bad about yesterday.

[Charles Easterly]

Rufus, just remember what we've heard (and continue to hear) from others:

Nobody likes us.
Everybody hates us.
We're gonna lose.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Ok.

[Charles Easterly]

Here is the link I mentioned yesterday.
I thought it was a video but it's just a picture with a caption. You may have already seen it: "The Most Canadian Photo Ever" http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org.....r-bc-rcmp/

[RealCrankyYankee]

Note the "non-franchised" part--which means only 90,000 of the 750,000 employees.

[Zeb]

How many people does McDonalds pay the minimum wage? It's been a few years since I've known anyone who worked there, but it seemed like the starting wage was generally above the state minimum. That might have been before the most recent federal increase.

[Lord Humungus]

Drunk man performs CPR on rubber dinghy

Police officers discovered the 22-year-old in a shipyard in Brittany, northern France, giving the dinghy mouth to mouth and heart massage.

The would-be-hero believed that the dinghy was a dying person, as reported by The Telegraph, and had even called the emergency services asking for an ambulance to rush to the scene.

He told officers that the "victim" was not responding and needed to be saved, adding that he had been carrying out cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to revive him.

[gaijin]

at least he wasn't trying to have sex with it!

[Old Man With Candy]

The news story is unclear on that point.

[VicRattlehead]

Did he drink with Agile Cyborg?

[Fist of Etiquette]

"I'm for the first time authorizing targeted sanctions against individuals or entities whose actions in cyberspace result in significant threats to the national security, foreign policy, economic health or financial stability of the United States," President Obama announced Wednesday.

Those actions include bloggers who criticize and those targeted sanctions include drone strikes.

[Almanian!]

*looks around nervously - regrets posting right after Fist*

[gaoxiaen]

Is that why those American jets laded here in Taiwan? *shudder*

[gaoxiaen]

*landed That mezcal is really kicking in. I'll be incoherent soon. Please forgive me. Or not. I really don't give a fuck.

[Palins Butplug]

Yeah, like you ratfuckers don't remember that W used to do the exact same thing...

[WTF]

BUSHPIGS!!!11!!!CHRISTFAGS!!!1!!!!

[Almanian!]

+8%

[invisible furry hand]

I'm not a ratfucker. We're just good friends.

[The DerpRider]

Everybody's hugging...

[Monty Crisco]

Carry that chocolate nixon water, dipshit.

ALL CLASSICAL LIBERALS ARE DOING IT!!!

[Puddin' Stick]

Are you saying that Obama didn't bring us hope and change?

[Charles Easterly]

There's an odd buzzing over my house.
I'll be right back.

I just looked out the window and

[UnCivilServant]

I thought he said he was going to impose sanctions on the Obama, Reid and Clinton families.

[Suthenboy]

"....sanctions against individuals or entities whose actions in cyberspace..."

Actions that are speech. Fascists truly do hate Liberty.

Introducing government into an industry that has flourished precisely because there was no government involved is very likely the mythical peak derp. Doing it while an idiot, tin-pot wannabe is in power is planting a flag on peak derp.

[Zeb]

I'm not going to leap to any conclusions just yet. There are some things you can do that aren't speech. And some kinds of speech (e.g. criminal conspiracies, fraud) are legitimately (maybe) considered criminal.

[Almanian!]

authorizing targeted sanctions against individuals

FINALLY! Drones at home on the American continent!

Change We Can Believe In! #YesWeCan!!

[Monty Crisco]

Remember - Bush did it first. So it is okay.

That is all.

[Lord Humungus]

J. Paul Getty Grandson Dead from Trauma
Ex-Girlfriend Detained

The grandson of J. Paul Getty was found dead Tuesday and TMZ has learned his ex-girlfriend is currently being detained as a possible witness/suspect. Cops tell us they are handling this as a death "under suspicious circumstances."

We're told he suffered a traumatic injury to the rectal area and paramedics found significant bleeding.

Andrew Getty was found in the bathroom of his L.A. home at around 2 PM. Law enforcement sources tell us the ex-GF called 911 to report cardiac arrest.

Our sources say Andrew and his ex-girlfriend have a storied history with the LAPD. Cops have been to his residence 31 times, mostly for domestic disturbances. Our sources say they have both frequently been under the influence of drugs during the police visits.

[Almanian!]

"Traumatic injury to the rectal area" is SUCH a pain in the.....

You all can complete the sentence.

[Palins Butplug]

Quit reading my mind, ratfucker!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

...in the elbow?

[Almanian!]

HITLER! The answer to these questions is always HITLER, Rufus!

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

Hitler's Elbow?

[Agammamon]

Wrecked 'im? damn near killed him!

[Rich]

Ripped from the headlines!

[gaijin]

It was the step daughter...she killed him because he abused her mother.

[Slammer]

Boot up your ass, it's the American way

[Atlas Slugged]

If it were Australia, Phil Hartman could negotiate it down to a wingtip.

[John]

Living your entire life where money is no object and you can indulge yourself in any vice, usually doesn't work out too well.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

It certainly seems to be that way.

[Pope Jimbo]

Maybe, but is sucks to be in the control group.

[John]

Yes it does.

[Pope Jimbo]

Seriously, it would be great to have a life of luxury, but I can see where it could gnaw at a kid who was ambitious.

No matter how well you did, you would always wonder if you only did it because Grandpa was a billionaire.

[Lord Humungus]

I would have done the International Jewel Thief route - not for the money, but for the kicks.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

+1 Pink Panther

[bodenlosen Schweinerei]

but for the kicks.

Is that you, Steve Alaimo?

[Zeb]

Either that or we only hear about the ones who fuck up badly.

[RBS]

A million to one shot...

[Rhywun]

ASSMAN

[gaoxiaen]

I thought it was a dildo, but it was a harpoon. Sorry.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

I should not have laughed so much at that, I suspect.

[Rich]

"I'm for the first time authorizing targeted sanctions against individuals or entities whose actions in cyberspace result in significant threats to the national security, foreign policy, economic health or financial stability of the United States,"

Well, there goes the Federal Reserve website.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

He really is a second-rate, progressive evil hack this guy.

[Monty Crisco]

Bush was the FIRST second-rate, progressive evil hack, so it's okay.

[gaoxiaen]

Which Bush?

[Charles Easterly]

Bush "The Lesser".

[Old Man With Candy]

Bush "The Lesser".

Ambiguous.

[invisible furry hand]

How about calling one "Merkin"?

[Charles Easterly]

Oh my.

Then I suppose "W" will have to do.

[Fist of Etiquette]

An in-depth look at "the pervasive awfulness" of American jails.

We really should invest in cleaning them up, as we all know virtually everything is a crime now.

[Slammer]

"I'm for the first time authorizing targeted sanctions against individuals or entities whose actions in cyberspace...

We. Are. Fucked.

[Rich]

Is it too late to declare libertarianism a religion?

[Marshall Gill]

Pray to the Harry Browne? Works for me.

[Zeb]

Seriously. Who the fuck says "cyberspace"?

[Lord Humungus]

Gallup: Mood-Altering Drug Use Highest in West Virginia, Lowest in Alaska

West Virginians are most likely to report near-daily use of drugs or medications that alter their mood or help them relax, followed by residents of Rhode Island. Southern states make up six of the top 10 highest drug use states, while Alaskans, Wyomingites and Californians are least likely to say they use such drugs almost every day.

These data are based on interviews with at least 450 residents of each state from January to December 2014, as part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. While the question specifically refers to drugs that "affect your mood or help you relax," the interpretation of that description is left up to respondents and could include prescription drugs, recreational drugs, alcohol or nicotine.

More than one in five residents of Kentucky, Alabama, Louisiana, South Carolina, Mississippi and Missouri report using a drug or medicated substance to alter their mood or relax on a near-daily basis. Indiana and Oregon round out the top 10.

[Zeb]

Alaska, huh? When I visited there it seemed like everyone smoked a lot of weed. My sample may have been skewed. Or the question was too vague.

[Agammamon]

They didn't smoke weed 'to alter their mood'.

They smoked weed because, fuck, its Alaska - what else are you going to to between polar bear assaults?

[Puddin' Stick]

Club baby seals.

[gaoxiaen]

I get a feeling that I should have been there yesterday, because I passed out yesterday afternoon..

[Lord Humungus]

Tensions with Warren camp could loom over Clinton campaign

Hillary Clinton is expected to launch her White House bid later this month, while Elizabeth Warren, the senator known for her fiery anti-Wall Street rhetoric, repeated this week that she is not seeking the Democratic nomination.

But she and her supporters have vowed to make sure that populist economic ideas feature prominently on Clinton's agenda should the former secretary of state be the party's nominee.

Warren's backers are already fanning out in the early-voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire to push Clinton to shift toward economic populism and away from the pro-business policies of her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

If Hilary started the 'birther' question, will she go after Warren about her Native credentials?

That would be classic.

[Tonio]

It's been obvious for months that she's going to "reluctantly" enter the race just to keep Clinton from moving too far to the center during the primary.

[Pro Libertate]

Good. Let's get it out in the open. If, as I suspect, we're not that far gone yet, the Democrats will take an even bigger bath in 2016. Maybe enough to moderate their total insanity.

If we are that far gone yet, I'd rather get it over with so we can begin working on rebuilding the nation after the next disaster.

[This Machine]

My thoughts exactly, Pro L. If it's going to be shitty, might as well just take the medicine all at once instead of making a miserable drawn-out mess of it.

[Tonio]

I used to think that, but I'm afraid that if Warren gets the nomination and faces a weak opponent that the gender vote could push her to a win.

[Pro Libertate]

We're well and truly fucked if that idiot can win a general election. I'm pretty dubious she could even win the nomination, but maybe I'm wrong again. I've underestimated the stupid before.

[invisible furry hand]

Public school builds a cage for an autistic student. It's his sanctuary, says the principal

[Idle Hands]

Is it wrong that I laughed at that headline?

[The DerpRider]

Do they hook him to a clothesline when he's on the playground?

[Charles Easterly]

"Why was I not made of stone - like thee?"

One of the best ending lines of any story, in my opinion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3kTApLhQpA

[Palins Butplug]

God this takes me back to my days in grammar school. Delaware girls are the best, amirite?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Dunno. Go ask Obama for what to think on the matter.

[Pro Libertate]

Okay, who is this?

[Old Man With Candy]

I'll guess SugarFree.

[SugarFree]

Why am I always to blame?

[Charles Easterly]

Well SugerFree, I must admit that after a while I thought you were behind the "Alyssa" posts (this was a few weeks ago, if memory serves).

Perhaps it's because we know you're inventive and a certain kind of creative.

[Beautiful Bean Footage]

I'm guessing Episiarch

[Old Man With Candy]

He's still fast asleep in a puddle of his own vomit.

[Agammamon]

Its Episiarch *unconsciousness*, freed from the hobbles of the waking mind.

[Almanian!]

I know my Lab loves his crate. Seems legit...

[Idle Hands]

I've never had a dog that enjoyed crating.

[Almanian!]

All of ours but one love their crates. The one was a rescue dog, and I think she must have been in one too long. The others? It's their safe spot! They love it.

[Florida Man]

Sometimes I can't find my dog, then I hear him snoring in his crate.

[kinnath]

Dogs are den animals. They like having a space that is just big enough to stand up in, turn around in, and lay stretched out it. Properly trained, a dog will spend its whole life treating a crate like its very own den. The only problem is getting puppies past the "I don't want to be alone" stage.

[Juice]

That's a dog thing, not just a puppy thing. Dogs don't like to be alone, usually. I wouldn't leave a puppy alone just to teach it to be alone.

[Agammamon]

All the dogs I've lived with loved *sleeping* in the crate (even with the door closed). Not too keen on it at any other time though.

[Rich]

Ms Joseph noted that schools regularly employed withdrawal spaces in order to manage behaviour among students with special needs.

Ah, HA!!

[Charles Easterly]

I just read the article and although the student apparently wasn't kept in a cage but only put inside it on certain occasions, this is still disgusting.

[Idle Hands]

Mad Max Fury Road. Wasn't on board before, now I'm completely on.

[Almanian!]

If it's all the same to you, I'll drive that tankah....

[Andrew S.]

I'm not sure a trailer has ever done more to take me from "meh" to OMG HYPED

[The DerpRider]

I cannot wait. I introduced my 10 year old daughter to the other movies and she is fired up for this.

[The DerpRider]

Although I think I'll probably need to see it first.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Finally, a return to the Road Warrior style.

[Catatafish]

There's a...thickening.

[Free Society]

God damn it Shia Lebdouche is in this. What a waste.

[kilroy]

I kept thinking Borderlands.

[Catatafish]

*nodding*

Midget killing is therapeutic.

[Fist of Etiquette]

An Arkansas woman now thought to be the world's oldest is asking for Barack Obama to attend her 117th birthday party this July.

Sure. That will be $1,000 a plate.

[Rich]

"I just wanted to see for myself if you really was a macaroon."

[Lord Humungus]

'World's largest' sperm bank relocates near UCF

Cryos International, which calls itself the world's largest international sperm bank, has relocated its U.S. main office and inventory from New York to Orlando.

According to a news release, the company expects the move to Orlando will increase the amount of donors and international exposure -- due to the region's 60 million tourists and visitors each year, and the fact that University of Central Florida is among the largest universities in the nation.

Cryos is definitely targeting college students, a spokesman for the company, Jim Londeree, said. Its new location is near UCF and Central Florida Research Park.

[Almanian!]

Oh, cum on!

[Idle Hands]

It's definitely going to sperm a great deal of debate.

[invisible furry hand]

A major move like that shows a lot of spunk. They've probably spent everything and shot their load

[Almanian!]

ifh = #WINNING

[Lord Humungus]

I larfed.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

*opera applause*

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Florida, hot and sticky.

[Catatafish]

"There are questions regarding exactly who provided the seed money for such an operation."

[Florida Man]

Thank you so much for this post. I don't know when, but I'm going to throw this little fact in during a formal dinner conversation.

[Almanian!]

Florida Man to the rescue!!

/Black Oak Arkansas

[Florida Man]

Another fun fact: UCF has the highest number of sugar babies seeking sugar daddies.

[Slammer]

UCF=Unlimited Choad Facility?

[Rich]

That move took real spunk.

[Rich]

Note to self: Refresh before commenting.

*** tips hat to ifh ***

[Pro Libertate]

I smell the machinations of the Mouse.

[Catatafish]

It's not just Walt's head that's on ice anymore...

[straffinrun]

They better keep an extra eye out for embezzlement.

[straffinrun]

Then again, if he is caught embezzling they'd shrug it off and say, "Get a load of this guy."

[invisible furry hand]

It would be easy to spot a guy leaving work with a load of old socks and tissues

[straffinrun]

Or mumbles his "goooobai"

[Almanian!]

Look at the shrieking! So desperate for something to respond and care it exists. I haz a sad 🙁 Can't even get a response from 8% of the commentariat.

Anyhoo....back in real life...

[Palins Butplug]

Do you want to come back to my place, bouncy bouncy? I got Gentle Giant on vinyl. You can strike me about the head and buttocks, like my mother used to.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Imitation is sincere flattery!

[Palins Butplug]

Ahoy, mateys! Do not let yeselves be taken by yon imposter Butplug. I be the real McCoy!

[Lord Humungus]

Finally a sensible platform for troubled times.

[Pro Libertate]

Oh, yeah? Prove it with a Trolloff.

[Florida Man]

Can we get David Bowie to judge it?

[Pro Libertate]

I'm sure he would help out.

[gaoxiaen]

Donald Trump would be better. He could award you his coonskin toupee.

[Xeones]

BUUUUUUUUUUUUUTTPLUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGG

[invisible furry hand]

Never, Ever Interrupt Mating Giant Tortoises

[Dweebston]

Couldn't watch the video from my device, but if it's not set to the Benny Hill theme I has a disappoint.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Scientists Say New Study Is A 'Death Blow' To Global Warming Hysteria
...A study by scientists at Germany's Max Planck Institute for Meteorology found that man-made aerosols had a much smaller cooling effect on the atmosphere during the 20th Century than was previously thought. Why is this big news? It means increases in carbon dioxide emissions likely cause less warming than most climate models suggest....

...The Max Planck study suggests "that aerosol radiative forcing is less negative and more certain than is commonly believed." In layman's terms, aerosols are offsetting less global warming than was previously thought. And if aerosols aren't causing as much cooling, it must mean carbon dioxide must be causing less warming than climate models predict.

"Going forward we should expect less warming from future greenhouse gas emissions than climate models are projecting," write climate scientists Pat Michaels and Chip Knappenberger with the libertarian Cato Institute, adding that this study could be a "death blow" to global warming hysteria....

[Longtorso, Johnny]

...The IPCC's latest assessment put climate sensitivity between 1.5 and 4.5 degrees Celsius. The IPCC says that despite "the large uncertainty range, there is a high confidence that aerosols have offset a substantial portion of [greenhouse gas] global mean forcing."

Basically, the IPCC says aerosols deflect a lot of warming ? the opposite of the Max Planck study's finding....

[gaijin]

Research from the Max Planck Institute you say? Why would we believe anything about climate coming from an institute named after a physicist?!

[tarran]

Aerosols are the huge fudge factor.

Basically, most climate models have a set of equations that describe the behavior of the atmosphere that describe 5 to n physical processes (it varies from model to model). The coefficients in these equations are modified to hindcast the past x years, and then the model is set loose to predict the future.

The coefficients for aerosols' cooling effects tend to vary dramatically from model to model since they are great for forcing the temperature curve to follow any arbitrary line, and the aerosol content of the atmosphere isn't the product of any internal feedbacks, but essentially arises from human or volcanic sources.

The direct measurement of the actual effect that aerosols have inevitably was going to falsify the majority of models because there is little agreement between them as to the effect of aerosols.

OF course, falsified models never die, they just keep getting reused; it's the IPCC way!

[some guy]

How to fit an elephant ... with only four parameters.

[straffinrun]

How do you fit an elephant into a safeway bag? Take the "f" out of "safe" and also out of "way".

[Charles Easterly]

Nice, straffinrun.

Reminds me of a drive-through joke I heard that went something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzDaygiHM80

[Catatafish]

Wait a minute. Wasn't it 30 years ago when "aerosols" were pointed at as the culprit behind the ozone layer being destroyed in record time and oh my god we're all going to end up like a bucket of KFC if we don't stop? I seem to remember that being drilled into my head in elementary school.

[WTF]

That was specifically CFCs.

[Catatafish]

Ah. These crises. They all seem to blend together.

[straffinrun]

Y2CFKYC... for me, too.

[gaoxiaen]

No. we were all going to end up as Eskimo Pies.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

The more fossil fuels the longer we live, the better our economies thrive, the more people are pulled out of poverty.

Those who oppose it on ideological grounds are the true deniers of science and human reason.

[LynchPin1477]

My immediate question is this: If these results are incorporated into the climate models, how well do they match observations?

[UnCivilServant]

With or without doctored temperature data?

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

An Arkansas woman now thought to be the world's oldest is asking for Barack Obama to attend her 117th birthday party this July. She invited him last year, but he didn't show up.

I bet you Obama is a re-gifter.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

You didn't gift that.

[gaijin]

Well he certainly regifts everyone'e tax dollars.

[Lord Humungus]

Helen Mirren says what many women and men know: Sex after 60 is hotter than ever
The actress says sex was "empty" in her youth, but at 69, it's sizzling -- and experts say she isn't alone

It isn't the first time I've encountered the idea. My grandma Esther once casually told me, "Sex only gets better into your 80s." After the death of my grandpa Chester ? yes, they had rhyming names ? she once remarked tearfully, "He was the most amazing lover." It was nothing short of mind-blowing: People still have sex at that age? By now, I've fully accepted that ? I look forward to it, in fact. But does it really get better? One study has suggested it's true, at least for women: Researchers surveyed more than 1,000 older ladies and found that "sexual satisfaction increased with age." Other research has found that many seniors still enjoy sex and have regular orgasms.

[Free Society]

Well if you look at Helen Mirren when she was young, you'd see that she was only moderately attractive. She seems to have gotten much hotter with age. A strange happening...

[Lord Humungus]

Dozens of dumped greyhound carcasses found in 'abhorrent' scene in Australia

Australian authorities are vowing a crackdown on the greyhound racing industry after at least 55 dog carcasses were found dumped in Queensland bush.

At a press conference Thursday, Queensland Police Minister Jo-Ann Miller described the discovery, which followed a tip-off from a member of the public, as sickening.

"What I believe has happened here has been the mass murder of 55 greyhounds outside of Bundaberg," she said.

[Catatafish]

That's. Fucking. Horrible.

[invisible furry hand]

The greyhound racing industry here is pretty ruthless. Top trainers have been secretly filmed illegally using live bait, and the culling of dogs happens on a large scale. It seems even more horrid because they're such gorgeous silly dogs

[Pro Libertate]

Australia, where death is so near that killing is a casual thing.

[Lord Humungus]

I once went to a hippie farmhouse where the owners had two greyhound dogs. We all walked out to the creek in the back... watching those dogs run was amazing. So fast... so beautiful to see.

[Rich]

Why Americans should consider O'Malley for president

As a result of his success and persona, people in Iowa are now likening O'Malley to JFK.

"MOM".

[Palins Butplug]

Listen, moron, you know damn well it's going to be Hillary and Jeb, and I know you'll all be voting for one of 'em.

[Antilles]

Nope! If that's the choice, I'll sit it out or vote Libertarian (just like I did for the non-choice in 2000).

[Ted S.]

I'd like a president who will finally move us past the Kennedys and all the Camelot garbage.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Arizona's House has passed a bill to allot more than $1 million to a "predictive policing" pilot program.

I am intrigued and would like to sign up for their pre-cog training program.

[UnCivilServant]

The deadline was yesterday. If you were an actual precog, you'd have known beforehand and gotten your application in on time.

[gaijin]

+1 day

[Lord Humungus]

Boomer parents destroyed us: I needed rules and boundaries, not parents who want to be friends

If it feels good, do it: a rallying cry of the '60s and the root of a lot of really awful parenting. Jackson may have been admirably comfortable with his body, but like many children of hippie parents, he was in the dark about some very basic social rules, such as the one that says don't jack off in public.

Growing up with no boundaries will do that to you. In their effort to raise children without inhibitions, my parents and their peers eschewed the teachings of Benjamin Spock and went for a more anarchic, Fellini-esque parenting approach. Sometimes this meant noodle dancing to Ravi Shankar into the wee hours of a school night, or spending whole days swimming naked and gorging on blackberries. But there was a dark side to this intoxicating rejection of rules and boundaries. With everyone embracing spontaneity and the mandates of the id, there was no one left to assume the adult role. People like my parents may have had the best of intentions, but in a wide-eyed quest for social change, they became children. And their actual children suffered as a result.

[Timon 19]

Fellaini-esque? You mean giant, Belgian, and with an afro?

[Lord Humungus]

Reckoning Arrives for Cash-Strapped Oil Firms Amid Bank Squeeze

Lenders are preparing to cut the credit lines to a group of junk-rated shale oil companies by as much as 30 percent in the coming days, dealing another blow as they struggle with a slump in crude prices, according to people familiar with the matter.

Sabine Oil & Gas Corp. became one of the first companies to warn investors that it faces a cash shortage from a reduced credit line, saying Tuesday that it raises "substantial doubt" about the company's ability to continue as a going concern. About 10 firms are having trouble finding backup financing, said the people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because the information hasn't been announced.

[Lord Humungus]

Officials: Al Qaeda fighters free 270 from Yemeni prison

Al Qaeda fighters attacked a prison in the coastal Yemeni city of Al Mukallah early Thursday, freeing at least 270 prisoners, a third of whom have al Qaeda links, a senior Defense Ministry official has told CNN.

Khaled Batarfi, a senior al Qaeda figure, was among the escapees, officials said.

Dozens of attackers took control of government buildings, including the city's Central Prison, Central Bank and radio station during the assault early Thursday, according to officials.

[Mike M.]

"Arab Spring".

[WTF]

Yemen is one of the Obama administrations greatest successes.

[Suthenboy]

Right up there with Libya.

[straffinrun]

Central Bank? What are they gonna do? Cut interest rates? Even a terrorist wouldn't do something so destructive.

[Puddin' Stick]

Cut interest rates to 0.

Remember that interest is haraam.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Good Morning Peanuts!

I am the real buttplug. The once and future buttplug.

The buttplug beyond which there are no other buttplugs!

I bring the facts and you can't take it!

[Palins Butplug]

Drop your panties, Sir William, I cannot wait 'til lunchtime!

[Monty Crisco]

MY NIPPLES EXPLODE WITH DELIGHT!!!!

[Palins Butplug]

Stop reading my mind, ratfucker!

[Xeones]

BUUUUUUUUUUTTPLUUUUUUUUUUUG

[Lord Humungus]

Obama Told Iran Nuclear Negotiators to Disregard Deadline in 11th Hour

Mr. Obama, according to two people familiar with the discussion, told Mr. Kerry and Mr. Moniz to ignore the deadline, make it clear that the president was ready to walk away and leave all sanctions on Iran in place, and see if that would change the dynamic.

It is still not clear if the last-minute change in tactics will succeed in convincing the Iranians that the Obama administration does not want the accord more than they do, or yield a different result.

But it was an example of the negotiating gamesmanship that has taken over the talks here. Mr. Kerry has kept his plane warmed up. Foreign ministers who came to sign an accord have returned home for other duties. France's top diplomat, Laurent Fabius, tieless, came up in the elevator on Wednesday night musing to his aides that he had been there just a day before.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Nuanced, smart policy.

[Pro Libertate]

Here's the problem. Obama obviously has it in his head that his legacy needs some great settlement with Iran. And the Iranians know this. He's going to walk away giving them nukes and with a Mercedes that he paid too much for.

Negotiating 101: Always be willing to walk away from a bad deal.

[Suthenboy]

Funny how no one fears Obumbles except for American citizens.

[Lord Humungus]

Woman choked with bra defends herself with ceramic chicken

Patricia Leece, 61, of Lexington, said she opened her door early Monday because she thought the banging and shouting was her granddaughter, but she instead found stranger Ashley Sies, 31.

The homeowner told police Sies pushed her way into the house and wrapped a bra around Leece's neck.

"She choked me down and we fought for a good 15 to 20 minutes. Finally I saw one of my (ceramic) chickens on the floor so I picked it up and started bashing her on the head with it," Leece told WKYT-TV.

[Andrew S.]

Kentucky? I would've guessed Mississippi.

[Monty Crisco]

Sounded like Florida to me....

[UnCivilServant]

Florida would have been a live chicken.

[Monty Crisco]

Touche

[Rich]

Best headline of the day!

[SugarFree]

Look out, Florida!

[Catatafish]

They were clearly Cats fans. Filthy animals.

[Puddin' Stick]

Did Sies talk her bra off to strangle Leece???

[Jordan]

An in-depth look at "the pervasive awfulness" of American jails.

This sort of thing is why I would much rather get the death penalty than life in prison. Not that I actually favor the death penalty, although prisoner's ought to be able to choose suicide.

[Jordan]

Delete that extraneous apostrophe.

[Palins Butplug]

I hear ya, buddy. No extraneous apostrophes is the way to go!

[Drake]

"I'm for the first time authorizing targeted sanctions against individuals or entities

So, the Constitutional Scholar will be issuing Letters of Marque?

[Drake]

Or Bills Bills of Attainder?

[Lord Humungus]

GOP's fear of doctors: Why it's hell bent on defaming ? and censoring ? them

The right is upset (as usual) over the fact that on Monday,the Supreme Court declined to hear a case that would have potentially dismantled Obamacare's "death panel." There is no such thing as a "death panel" but that hasn't stopped numerous pro-life groups and conservative grifter organizations from insisting that the Independent Payment Advisory Board is designed to force the elderly on to the ice floe in order to save money. (Why they should care about this when they seem to be determined to force the elderly into private health care that would certainly shove the sickest and oldest over a cliff at the earliest opportunity, remains a mystery) In any case, they were thwarted in this particular case but it's likely only the first of many attempts. This is one of the fundamental fears of Obamacare: government price controls leading inevitably to euthanasia.

The euthanasia bit came from that avatar of the right-wing id, Sarah Palin who claimed that what was merely encouraging doctors to discuss end-of-life planning with their patients was actually a slippery slope to soylent green.

[Pro Libertate]

Oh, yeah? Who wants to ruin the profession?

[Ted S.]

The euthanasia bit came from that avatar of the right-wing id, Sarah Palin

It's the Salon writers and their monsters from the id again.

[Suthenboy]

"Why they should care about this when they seem to be determined to force the elderly into private health care that would certainly shove the sickest and oldest over a cliff at the earliest opportunity, remains a mystery"

It is a mystery why conservatives are not behaving in a manner consistent with the left's parody of conservatives? Holy shit, that is one hell of a case of cognitive dissonance.

[R C Dean]

Sarah Palin who claimed that what was merely encouraging doctors to discuss end-of-life planning with their patients was actually a slippery slope to soylent green.

She wasn't talking about end of life planning, so much as she was talking about the unaccountable panels of agency appointees who would determine what care could be provided (or not provided) at the end of life, as necessary to control costs.

[Monty Crisco]

Salon? Intellectually dishonest? Not arguing in good faith?!?!!?

Get me my fainting couch and clutching pearls, STAT!!!

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Quinnipiac poll has Rand Paul tied statistically tied with Hillary in Pennsylvania

Meaningless poll is meaningless but apparently her favorability ratings are down across the board.

[John]

The meaningful polls are the ones that show Hilary's favorable ratings have tanked. Head to head polls mean nothing at this point. But polls about the favorability ratings of a candidate as well known as Hilary are very meaningful and they are not good news for her.

[Jordan]

A glimmer of economic sanity in Iceland:

Iceland Ponders Radical Money Plan Including Elimination of Fractional Reserve Lending and Deposit Insurance

I have long railed against fractional reserve lending, duration mismatches (e.g. banks issuing 2-year CDs and lending money for 15-year mortgages), bank's ability to lend money into existence, and deposit insurance.

Fractional reserve lending allows banks to lend out a near infinite amount of credit with essentially no backing. Money inevitably creates asset bubbles, but as long as the bubbles are expanding it appears the system is solvent.

Money that depositors believe is available on demand in their checking accounts is not actually present at all. And banks are not required to hold any reserves on savings accounts at all.

Deposit insurance is the epitome of moral hazard. It guarantees money will flow to banks offering the highest yield. Of course, banks offering the highest yields on deposits need to take the highest risks to be able to pay that interest. Depositors do not care because the deposits are insured.

[Free Society]

An article I read yesterday seemed to include a proposal that a key part of "eliminating fractional reserve lending" from commercial banks will be to create a central bank that will simply monopolize this shady practice.

[R C Dean]

At least with fractional reserve accounting limited to one institution, you get away from the domino effect.

If every bank can do this, then bank 1 takes a deposit, leverages it to, say, 9x, which is then put in circulation and winds up in another bank as a deposit, leveraged to 9x, etc.

[Free Society]

Centralization of theft only leads to more theft. You would now have one institution that does so with total impunity and secrecy. That doesn't stop a domino effect, it casts a net around the whole finance market and when a big centralized failure occurs, it will drag the whole economy down. A banking cartel has never addressed any problem that it wasn't culpable for to begin with.

[Juice]

Very interesting. I'll keep my eye on this.

[Almanian!]

I can't tell if BP is 8% more annoying with the apostrophe or without. I really need to get Reasonable. When I'm less lazy and can be bothered,...

Fuck all of you!! Off tae hike the Smokey Mountains again! Went to the Grand Old Opry Tuesday - way better than I expected it to be. Now we're back in East Tennessee for some mountains.

If you're lucky, I'll break a leg and die. Do ya feel lucky today, punk? Well - do ya?

[Lord Humungus]

Who played at the GOO?

[Palins Butplug]

I feel lucky, I got Curved Air turned up so loud the neighbors are beating on the wall and you ratfuckers are eating out of my hand today!

[straffinrun]

If this is Buttplug's joke, I'd hand it to him. Being a parody of a parody of a par0dy of himself. Not bad.

[bodenlosen Schweinerei]

Things I learned from East Tennessee:

Just because you suck cock doesn't mean you're queer; it just means you're a cocksucker.

Say, JW, you gettin' a little porky, aintcha?
Naw, after midnight it all turns to cock anyway.

[John]

I was thinking about the case of the teenagers who made the sex tape being charged as pornographers. There are all of these frankly creepy facebook memes out there which all go something like "why do we use animals for medical research when we have pedophiles we could use instead". While child molestation is a horrible crime, it is not the only horrible crime or even the most horrible crime. If I had to choose, I would rather have been molested as a child than murdered. Yet, there are no facebook memes that say "why do we use animals for medical research when we could use serial killers or people who rape and murder little old ladies instead". We seem to have developed this unhealthy obsession with child sexuality and pedophilia. I don't really understand it to be honest. And that obsession comes out in things like the teenager case Reason linked to yesterday. Why have we gone so insane over children and sex? I am honestly dumbfounded trying to figure out why.

[sarcasmic]

It started with the Puritans, and it never went away.

[gaijin]

Theory: 'We' have fewer children and later in life and so they are more precious...cultures that have babies early and often value the life differently...because they can always make more (see: Chicago and murder rate in select neighborhoods).

[gaijin]

which on second reading I should calrify "and so 'children' our infantilized until an age that, in prior times, they would have been married and having their own kids"

[LynchPin1477]

Children are generally viewed as being innocent and pure.

Sexuality is generally viewed (at least in Western culture) to be, at the very least, a path towards impurity, if not debasing in and of itself. I think this has to do with the strength of sexual urges and their perceived (and often real) ability to override our better judgement. It probably also has a lot to do jealousy and the ability of sexual competition to ignite destructive violence in society. But I'm mostly talking out of my ass here, so who knows.

But there is no denying that the West has generally looked down on sex. Children must protected from its dangerous influence, let they lose their almost mythical purity and innocence.

[John]

That is all true. What makes this obsession so weird is that we are the most sex obsessed society since Rome. Everything is sexualized. And yet, we are less able to come to terms with children and sex today than we were a hundred years ago when we were much more puritanical about sex in general. It seems the more permissive we get about sex and pornography the more insane we go about children and sex.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Projecting our own insecurities onto them.

[tarran]

I argue that this is part of what I argue is the cultural breakdown regarding the concept of adulthood.

The customs that if followed blindly resulted in a child being transformed into an adult are being discarded. Parents often want to be their children's friends.

My experience is that there are a lot of parents who don't want their children to change and thus lose their children's bond with them. Sex is powerful. Our sexual partner usually becomes the most important person in our lives. And thus sex occludes the parent child relationship.

[John]

We have pushed the age of adulthood to insane levels. Worse, we have created this seemingly endless adolescence which is nothing but a grey area between childhood and adulthood. That grey area certainly exists. But it only exists for a few years at most. We have made it exist for a decade or more.

[LynchPin1477]

We are sex obsessed, but I don't think we have really come to terms with it. Sex is out there, but it is rarely celebrated, and even when it is, that is usually only within the confines of marriage and never actually discussed in detail in the open.

And even though sexuality is less of a taboo, overall we are still very prudish. Sanctioned nude beaches are still pretty rare. God forbid you show a nipple on anything other than the pay channels. Show a penis on TV or the movies is still almost unheard of. And actual sex, even if it is between two loving and committed adults, is still something that you can't show in the light of day. Hell, most porn doesn't even depict that.

[John]

I think a big part of it is that we have yet to come to terms with the existence of effective birth control. Before birth control it was easy to treat sex as something special and often sacred. Every time you had it, there was a possibility you were creating a new life. Before birth control sex was inevitably linked with children and thus was easy to see as something very different and special. After birth control, it is not linked with children unless you want it to be. Sure, it can be risky with diseases and birth control failures and such. But lots of activities are risky. Deprived of the main reason that sex was ever special, I think society has groped to find new reasons. And mostly they are made up fairy tales about "soul mates" and "love and romance". Since those things are mostly fantasy, they have proven to be poor substitutes. So we live in this grey area where we have this cultural memory and maybe instinct to make sex special but because of birth control no longer have the rational reason to justify why it is. This dichotomy is producing a lot of the strange contrasts in our society regarding sex.

[Free Society]

And actual sex, even if it is between two loving and committed adults, is still something that you can't show in the light of day. Hell, most porn doesn't even depict that.

I for one, wouldn't want it to. But there's loads of porn for women that does just that and they're welcome to it...

[John]

I am with Free Society. The point of porn, if there is one, is fantasy. You don't want it to be realistic.

[Catatafish]

Not to take away from the horrors of child abuse but I think the government and media have a vested interest in infantilization. For the media, it sells. For the government? Shit, keeping us all believing we are children is their entire business model.

[John]

Yes. Also I think it is a symptom of our continued inability to make fine distinctions. Not all "child sex abuse" cases are the same. Some are unimaginably horrible. Some are frankly not particularly horrible at all. I have known several people who had affairs with adults while they were in their early to mid teens. I certainly don't condone such things. The fact is however none of these "victims" seemed to be any worse for wear or regret the experience. Whatever you think of those sorts of cases, they are of an utterly different kind than cases where children are forcibly raped or molested at very young ages. Since we can't make fine distinctions anymore, we treat both of them the same. Yet, people do realize they are different and just can't accept it or face that reality. One of the ways they avoid doing so I think is over compensating and obsessing over the horrible nature of the crime.

[Antilles]

Child molestation is the WORST crime there is! How can there be any doubt? A killer's victim is dead and no longer suffers. But children who are molested often have their lives derailed and destroyed and often suffer their entire lives. I oppose the death penalty in almost all instances, but I'd be willing to make an exception for child molesters.

[Cdr Lytton]

Oh yay. One day after April Fools and Mary is off her meds again.

[John]

Where is she posting?

[Cdr Lytton]

Apostrophe less PB. I'm fairly certain she was sniffing around last night with her 'I'm a long time reason lurker who came back after a break and you all are insane' schtick that got a lot of people to interact with her.

[Mike M.]

Would you be referring to Mary Stack of 8113 Sun Meadows Court, Fort Worth, Texas 76123, phone number 817-263-4116?

[Palins Butplug]

Wrong again, moron!

[kinnath]

well, if Mary has to fuck with someone, der butt plug is a good place to start.

[John]

Just ignore her. She will eventually out herself or do something to get banned. She can't help herself. It is part of being crazy.

[Tonio]

Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns|4.1.15 @ 10:45AM|#

Tonio, this subject has driven you insane.

None of us thought this was popular, we supported it because it was the right thing to do. You don't support it because you're gay and are allowing your sexual orientation to overwhelm your principles.

"Rather than engage the overwhelming public rejection of this, and the implicit failure of libertarianism to win the hearts and minds of the public, you double down on the idiocy and keep wondering why people don't like libertarians more."

What idiocy is that, Tonio? Supporting something unpopular because you think it's right and because you believe in religious liberty as well as every other kind of liberty?

Where I come from, that's called having a spine rather than pathetically caving to the mob.

Tonio|4.1.15 @ 11:33AM|#

You don't support it because you're gay and are allowing your sexual orientation to overwhelm your principles.

I don't? Where did I write that? Show me.

Seriously. Show me where I fucking wrote that. You're projecting.

I put it to you, Sir, that you are the one who is emotionally affected by this, having been driven into tantrum mode by an unpleasant truth.

[Pro Libertate]

What is your position on all of this? The RFRA issue is mostly a red herring, but I do think people should be able to be assholes if they want to be, up to and including denying service to people for whatever reason, even when dealing with protected classes. It's a tremendous slippery slope, too, as people can be denied service for all sorts of reasons.

I'd rather let society and the markets sort out something like this than to get the government involved. I fear this whole issue is going to ramp up litigation.

[kinnath]

Integrity is about applying your principles equally in all cases. You have no integrity if you are not willing to defend assholes being assholes while those assholes are following the principles you believe in.

[Tonio]

I support freedom of association. Something which seems lost on Irish, and I dislike having others mischaracterize my positions.

[Pro Libertate]

Me, too. Mo' better freedom for everyone.

[Puddin' Stick]

If just one person refuses to do business with me, I have lost my right to participate in commerce!

/Tony

[Catatafish]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....-teaching/

[Catatafish]

I wonder whether there will be any mass protests by the members of the Black Students Union to reform the faculty to better represent the nation's demographics?

[WTF]

No, because "white privilege".

[Catatafish]

"White Privilege" is like using Walter Peyton in Tecmo-Bowl. It beats everything.

[Monty Crisco]

Bo Jackson, dude. Bo Jackson.

[Mike M.]

U.S. private payrolls, factory data point to weak first quarter growth.

U.S. private employers added the smallest number of workers in more than a year in March and factory activity hit a near two-year low, fresh signs that economic growth slowed significantly in the first quarter.

[Drake]

While I don't think the economy is all that healthy, hard to gauge the 1st quarter. Everyone doing business in the northeast lost a lot of days due to weather.

[Palin's Buttplug]

+189,000 private sector jobs added.

Impeach!

[WTF]

What you've just said... is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever seen. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having seen it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul...

[Puddin' Stick]

+1

[Xeones]

BUUUUUUUTTPLUUUUUUUUUG

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Labor force participation rate bouncing along just under 63% for the last year.

IOW, job growth not keeping up with increases in labor force.

[Derpetologist]

Spot the Not: Jimmy Carter

1. If you want to change the way people respond to you, change the way you respond to people.

2. I could've been re-elected if I'd taken military action against Iran, shown that I was strong and resolute and, um, manly and so forth.

3. I see nothing wrong with ethnic purity being maintained.

4. Whatever starts in California unfortunately has an inclination to spread.

5. I can't deny I'm a better ex-president than I was a president.

6. I guess my biggest failure was not getting reelected.

[This Machine]

Number 4, final answer.

[WTF]

4

[SusanM]

2

[Tonio]

So many tough choices. Ima going with #2. I suspect that #3 (if real) was something he said before, or in the very early days of, his political career.

[Catatafish]

3

[robc]

4

[The DerpRider]

4

[Derpetologist]

And the Not is #1- Timothy Leary said that.

Carter said #3 in 1976.

http://www.npr.org/templates/s.....d=89684578

It was April 1976, and Jimmy Carter had just done an interview with the New York Daily News in which he said he saw "nothing wrong with ethnic purity" being maintained in urban neighborhoods. For good measure, he also said he would not "force racial integration of a neighborhood by government action." The reaction in the next few days was furious. His fellow Democratic candidates attacked him for playing racial politics.

[Tonio]

Damn.

[Derpetologist]

Spot the Not: Rush Limbaugh

1. Look it, let me put it to you this way: the NFL all too often looks like a game between the Bloods and the Crips without any weapons. There, I said it.

2. I will never apologize for America. God Almighty made our nation. By defending its existence, we are defending His work.

3. Too many whites are getting away with drug use. Too many whites are getting away with drug sales. The answer is to go out and find the ones who are getting away with it, convict them and send them up the river, too.

4. You know I have always tried to be honest with you and open about my life, so I need to tell you that part of what you have heard and read is correct. I am addicted to prescription pain medication.

5. From this day forward, somebody propose it, liberals should not be allowed to buy guns. It's just that simple. Liberals should have their speech controlled and not be allowed to buy guns.

6. Feminism was established so as to allow unattractive women access to the mainstream of society.

[This Machine]

Number 2.

[Idle Hands]

Two.

[WTF]

1

[Catatafish]

6 - too truthful

[Rufus J. Firefly]

2.

[Derpetologist]

#2 is the Not. That one is a joint work by me and a a certain Bavarian corporal.

Prize for the winners.

[Slammer]

This is cool. What happens when you pour lava onto ice?

[straffinrun]

One more illegal can enter the country?

[R C Dean]

Why? ICE isn't stopping any now.

[Derpetologist]

Good news for Reasonoids under the age of 40: you can still join the French Foreign Legion.

[This Machine]

Badass! Thought about doing this once upon a time when I was younger and in ridiculously good shape. Now I'm getting too accustomed to desk job stuff. Still, good to know the option is out there.

[Catatafish]

My window is closing.

[Agammamon]

Just, you know, *lie* about your age.

[John]

http://www.nationalreview.com/.....tid=903320

Kevin Williamson really nails the Indiana thing. Here is a great quote.

Adlai Stevenson famously offered this definition: "A free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular." We do not live in that society.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Matt Walsh can be a little hysterical sometimes, but his recent article was pretty good too:

It's Legal to Kill Babies, But Let's Worry About a Gay Person's Right to Cake

He can't resist sneaking pro-life arguments in, but he compares the outrage in Indiana to the story in Colorado where that crazy woman cut a baby out of her mother killing it, but won't receive a murder charge.

[WTF]

They all want cake.

[Free Society]

Pretty good write up all in all. And it's not even about a gay person's right to cake. It's about a gay person's right to enslave a cake maker.

[Zeb]

I'd say it's mostly about prosecuting thoughtcrime. I can't imagine anyone genuinely wanting a person who thinks their lifestyle is wicked to cater their wedding or whatever.

It's a whole lot of noise about nothing.

[Free Society]

Sure it's thought crime to go after someone because you don't like their reasoning for denying a service, but the crux of the issue is free association rights, the denial of which amounts to a form of limited slavery.

[Derpetologist]

The left's golden age was in the protest movements of the 60s. They are forever trying to relive their best years, much like the ex-quarterback who keeps visiting his high school years after graduating.

The gay cake crusade is their latest effort to keep the magic alive.

[Monty Crisco]

Wiliamson is stridently anti-abortion because he was adopted and is happy that he wasn't aborted. Say what you will. he definitely has a stake in the argument...

[Certified Public Asskicker]

I'm anti-abortion too, and my article was Walsh, not Williamson.

[Lucky Jack]

So here's what's happening in my neck of the woods

http://wgntv.com/2015/04/01/te.....ice-chase/

"The teen made national headlines in 2013 after he was initially declined a heart transplant due to a history of "non-compliance."

"They said they don't have any evidence that he would take his medicine or that he would go to his follow-ups," Melencia Hamilton, Anthony's mother, told WSBTV in 2013.

The family's plea to media outlets led to the hospital quickly overturning its decision, however, and Stokes was put on the list.

Stokes said in 2013 that getting the heart transplant he desperately needed would help him straighten out his life, "[so] I can live a second chance. Get a second chance and do things I want to do," Stokes said."

Apparently, the things he wanted to do included shooting at an old lady during a home invasion and running over a pedestrian in a stolen car.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Er...

[John]

I saw that. That is an awfully tough case. I understand the concerns of giving a heart to a seemingly career criminal. And sure enough that is what he turned out to be. The problem is once you start handing out organs based on who you think is the better citizen, what starts with denying the hart to the gang banger ends with denying organs to anyone society doesn't lilke

[Free Society]

what starts with denying the hart to the gang banger ends with denying organs to anyone society doesn't lilke

Donors should be able to give to whomever they want with whatever stipulations they want, including money etc. The present system essentially cedes that decision making to hospital bureaucrats.

[John]

That I agree with. The fact is that bureaucrats do it now. As long as that is true, I don't wan them denying people on moral grounds. You are right, the better way is to leave it up to the donor or donor's family.

[Free Society]

Well just because bureaucrats have quite nearly monopolized the decision-making, doesn't mean there shouldn't be some form of discrimination.

I disagree with the government monopolization of roads which creates all sorts of problems for promoting justice in rule-making for the road's use, but that doesn't mean that under the circumstances of a monopoly, there shouldn't be at least some rules.

[Free Society]

what starts with denying the hart to the gang banger ends with denying organs to anyone society doesn't lilke

Donors should be able to give to whomever they want with whatever stipulations they want, including money etc. The present system essentially cedes that decision making to hospital bureaucrats.

[Lucky Jack]

The "non-compliance" is about the likelihood of the patient to keep up with the drug regimen, show up at follow-up appointments, avoid drug/alcohol abuse that would stress the system, etc.
There aren't enough organs to go around, and it's a waste of resources to give a new liver to an alcoholic.

Notice the only one claiming it's about criminality and racism is the family. The doctors can't refute it as they are prevented by HIPAA from revealing the information they used to reach their decision. The ensuing controversy and media shitstom got him bumped to the front of the line, ahead of more responsible aplicants.

The rumors making the rounds in the medical community down here are that this was actually the little shit's second transplant, and his failure to follow instructions previosly was both the reason it was failing and why he was deemed non-compliant.
But that's sealed away in medical records, so I'm sure we'll never know.

[Free Society]

The ensuing controversy and media shitstom got him bumped to the front of the line, ahead of more responsible aplicants.

Which is despicable that the race card trumps the ability of better candidates to get the organ.

[R C Dean]

They didn't want to deny because he was a crook.

They wanted to deny because he wouldn't do the work to keep the transplant from failing. That's a 100% standard and legitimate reason.

Was it a pretext in his case? Impossible to say. Its certainly plausible that he would be noncompliant.

[invisible furry hand]

OK, so the kid died following a carjacking and high-speed police chase. One for the MDs here: Can his new transplant heart be recycled (assuming he was a donor himself, it could be harvested etc)? Or are two owners the maximum?

[tarran]

I doubt it: the heart has to be harvested promptly, be undamaged and certain drugs can't be present in the system at the time of death.

My guess is that one or more of these conditions weren't met. If he split the telephone pole in twain, his rib cage was crushed.

[invisible furry hand]

Thanks, but I said "assuming it could be harvested etc", which would include all those conditions. The question is whether there is a bar on the reuse, assuming all other conditions are met

[Lucky Jack]

http://i.imgur.com/OAuQDnt.jpg

[Free Society]

Another day, another executive order: "I'm for the first time authorizing targeted sanctions against individuals or entities whose actions in cyberspace result in significant threats to the national security, foreign policy, economic health or financial stability of the United States,"

Great. An executive order that will be used to persecute individuals not convicted of any crime. I know the US is degenerating regardless of the office holder, but Obama is dumping gas on the fire. Justice in the United States is dead.

[This Machine]

NOTHING CAN SAVE YOU
JUSTICE IS LOST
JUSTICE IS RAPED
JUSTICE IS GONE

PULLING YOUR STRINGS
JUSTICE IS DONE

[Catatafish]

Thank you for that. I'm long overdue to listen to that entire album.

[Drake]

Their best.

[Drake]

Bills of Attainder are specifically prohibited by the Constitution, but that won't stop him.

[Free Society]

Bills of Attainder are specifically prohibited by the Constitution, but that won't stop him.

Well then we're in luck because the Constitution prohibits congress from passing those bills, it doesn't say anything about the president not being allowed to unilaterally kill or sanction anyone he feels like for any reason. It's not like there's a clause about powers being expressly delegated or anything...

[Puddin' Stick]

And the inevitable: "John Roberts has made his decision; now let him enforce it!"

[Suthenboy]

What sanctions? What is a significant threat? Who makes that determination?

Looks like a blank check for arbitrary persecution to me. Who would have guessed Mr. Bananarepublicdictator would do something like this? I mean, this is a complete surprise to me.

[Mike M.]

Al-Shabab militants (Islamic terrorists) kill 15 people, take hostages on university campus in Kenya.

Masked al-Shabab militants stormed dormitories at Garissa University College in northeastern Kenya early on Thursday, shooting indiscriminately, killing and wounding scores of people, and taking Christians hostage.

Students, most of whom live on campus in dormitories, were sleeping or showering when armed fighters broke in firing their weapons at those who fled around 5:30 a.m.

"If you were a Christian you were shot on the spot," said Collins Wetangula, a student who was in a dormitory when gunmen burst in, opening doors and asking if students were Muslim or Christian, according to the Associated Press. "With each blast of the gun I thought I was going to die."

If they keep this shit up, we could end up with not one, but two major regional religious wars on our hands.

[Pope Jimbo]

So, I'm ready to start an armed insurrection here in Sunny Minnesoda.

A big local story is that Total Wines (the Walmart of liquor stores) has sent a cease and desist letter to multiple municipal liquor stores because it alleges they are colluding against them by coordinating pricing.

http://www.bizjournals.com/twi.....rs-of.html

Fuck the MN Municipal Beverage Assoc. and the MN Licensed Beverage Assoc. in the fucking neck! It isn't enough that they continue to prevent me from buying booze on a Sunday. No, they have to try to keep me from having access to cheap booze too.

[John]

That is pretty rich coming from Total Wine. Their entire business model is based on low margin bulk sales. That is of course perfectly fine for them to do. All the smaller stores are doing by coordinating prices is trying to join together to cancel out Total Wine's price advantage. Again, something they have every right to do. Total Wine is just asking the state of Minnesota to intervene and use the force of law to ensure they maintain their competitive advantage. Fuck them with a chainsaw.

[Pope Jimbo]

I think it is fantastic that they have a business model that gets me the most hooch for low cost. Even better if it forces their competitors to do the same.

Like Tundra says, the problem is when you have to compete against city liquor stores who don't have to worry about going out of business. Especially when the city liquor stores collude.

[R C Dean]

I'm with his Popitude on this one. Big fan. Their online ordering and pickup system has done more to damage my liver than four years of college in an Animal House frat.

[Puddin' Stick]

BevMo has the same thing?

Total Wine moved in here to compete with BevMo? I wonder if Total Wine can compete with BevMo 5? wine sales. 😀

This is going to be great for the customer.

Now? if one of them will stock Berliner Wei?e.

I might have to check on my day off tomorrow.

[Derpetologist]

If you charge more than others, that's gouging.
If you charge less, that's dumping.
If you charge the same, that's colluding.

If you drive over the speed limit, that's speeding.
If you drive under, that's impeding traffic.
If you drive exactly the speed limit, that's suspicious.

[All-Seeing Monocle]

I think he's got it!

/Professor Higgins

[adolphowisner]

I started with my online business I earn $58 every 15 minutes. It sounds unbelievable but you wont forgive yourself if you don't check it out.
? ? ? ? LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY ? ? ? ? ?

??????? http://www.jobsfish.com

[Catatafish]

And if you think that was a coincidence I have a bridge to sell you.

[robc]

"Fortunate timing"

[Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns]

Who cares about a presidential candidate destroying information when Indiana passed a law that legalized anti-gay lynching?

[robc]

What fishy said 8 minutes before me.

[John]

Yeah. It is amazing how obvious and craven they are.

[Pope Jimbo]

I have never even heard of Total Wines before I read that this morning, but fuck.....

By the way, this story made me think that I won't be buying at our local Haskell's

Owner Jay Nelson, a franchisee for the Minneapolis-based liquor store company, said he feels wronged by Burnsville's mayor and City Council for approving too many new liquor stores in a small area around Burnsville Center.

http://www.bizjournals.com/twi.....-wine.html

Fuck this guy in the neck too for complaining that the govt didn't do enough to protect his store from competition.

[John]

City owned? I missed that part. Then fuck the city owned stores. They shouldn't even exist.