Dems Push $12 Minimum Wage, Russian Troops Flank Ukrainian Border Again, Michael Brown's Parents Suing Ferguson: A.M. Links

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  Fibonacci Blue/Flickr

  Congressional Democrats are banding together to push a $12-per-hour federal minimum wage. 

• Michael Brown's parents plan to file a civil lawsuit against the city of Ferguson today.  
• The human-trafficking bill that cleared the Senate yesterday contained an amendment to criminalize classified-ad sites if traffickers post there.  
• Legislation that would force almost all California children to be vaccinated is moving forward in the state legislature.
• Former military general and CIA director David Petraeus is in federal court today over allegations that he leaked state secrets to his mistress/biographer. 
• Republicans won't continue with a bill to block Obama from removing Cuba from the state sponsors of terrorism list.
• A new mass of Russian troops is setting up shop on the Ukrainian border. 
• Rand Paul gets a ringing endorsement from Sen. John McCain: Paul's "the worst possible candidate" on national security, McCain told Fox News yesterday.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Congressional Democrats are banding together to push a $12-per-hour federal minimum wage.

They love going to that well.

[Idle Hands]

Is there anyone who works at any capcity for the Federal Gov. that doesn't already receive that?

[Ted S.]

They get paid relative to minimum wage, so when that goes up, so does their wage?

[Idle Hands]

Pretty much, same with the trade unions.

[Kaptious Kristen]

A GS1 in DC-Baltimore makes between $22k and $28k/year. Not bad for mailroom work, I think.

When I was a summer temp hire with the Air Force in 1991 (my official title was "Clerk"), I made about $8/hour. In 1991.

[Bobarian (sexbot hand model)]

And there are probably somewhere near to zero people working as a GS-1.

I would guesstimate that there is probably nobody in the NCR that worksa less than GS-5, and the average is probably in in the 11/12 range.

[Brett L]

Why stop at $12? Let's have a living wage for the 21st century. $25 seems better.

[Doctor Whom]

When my FB friends trotted out the meme about the minimum wage in Australia, I linked to an article that explained the big exceptions that benefited fast-food restaurants. I got that all-purpose scathing rebuttal known as "La la la, I can't hear you."

[Auric Demonocles]

What has it been, like 4-5 years since the last time they did this?

[gaijin]

$25 seems better

See we should thank them for being so reasonable. Think what they could have done.

/derp

[Injun, as in from India]

Why stop at $12? Let's have a living wage for the 21st century. $25 seems better.

"21 for 21!"

There, I just gave you an awesome slogan for the election.

[WTF]

Fuck that, make it $50, then everyone can be prosperous!

[robc]

Brett: re: last night

Bowling Green, not Knoxville.

Ugh, absolutely not Knoxville.

[Brett L]

Sorry. I don't know Kentucky geography.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

"Congressional Democrats are banding together to push a $12-per-hour federal minimum wage."

Ok, ok, O-KAY!

How about, er, $12?

COME ON! WORK WITH US!

[Gordilocks]

I haven't worked for less than $14/hour since high school.

What are these people doing?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

And when I started my business I didn't get paid for one year, and then paid myself a stipend for a part of the following year. It wasn't until the third year I paid myself a 'living wage'. Each year gets better but I also have to pay myself back which will take a while.

[WTF]

And when your business is established and you are doing well, you will be one of the greedy 1% who is stealing the labor of your oppressed workers, because PRIVILEGE. And you will need to pay more taxes, because you didn't build that.

[Mike Laursen]

He used roads. And mailed letters.

[gaijin]

when I started my business

Rufus, Rufus, Rufus...that business, you didn't build it. Obama said so.

[Elspeth Flashman]

I hear you. That aspect of self employment can be pretty sucky. Occasionally I get a "lump sum" payment from someone at the end of representation, which is so nice. I just have to remember to take it easy when that happens, since slow times come back quickly.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Yeah. Hate those slow months. At least, though, the type of business I'm in is a little more predictable in its revenue stream.

Oh, it happens up here too with the left-wingers. They're on the radio reminding me 'we're all in this together because roads and public education'. Maybe I should ask them to help me out whenever I need a little more from my line of credit, or need to make payroll or pay more on my rent because of an unforeseen problem?

Yeah. I fucking thought so. Go fuck yourselves assholes.

[Gordilocks]

Hey guys, help me cover my truck payments and fuel bills between January and April while I'm working north of 60 in the middle of fucking nowhere.

The left are totally ignorant of what it means to be self employed.

[Elspeth Flashman]

I'm about to take a few former clients to court for non-payment. If everyone paid me what I was owed (these are closed cases) I'd be able to pay all my taxes for the current year, and then some.

[AlmightyJB]

They could probably get away with 10 without doing too much damage but why do that when you can screw the pooch.

[AlmightyJB]

Actually given the way they are printing money 12 by 2020 is probably going to be less than market entry level.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

47) I've long had the idea in the back of my mind that the ultra-low and even negative interest rates many central banks are now offering are actually hurting economic growth rather than helping, because they are distorting normal economic incentives. This article from the Washington Times really lays the idea out well, and makes a very convincing case that easy money damages confidence in the economies and lowers the growth rate in every country where it's applied.

[Brett L]

Yes. The problem is that rising interest rates will destroy a lot of bad money (and some good). This is how the business cycle works. If you don't remember when interest rates on houses were double digits, it will pop about five bubbles. I'm not saying this is bad, but it will hurt nearly everyone who has assets in real estate or stocks. The Fed and ECB are trying like hell to put off the day of reckoning.

[Puddin' Stick]

The Fed and ECB are trying like hell to put off the day of reckoning.

It will come when a Republican is elected President...

[Mike M.]

The horrible winters are what's to blame for the atrocious Obama recovery, according to a lot of the proggies I see these days.

Note that these are the same exact people who simultaneously claim that global warming is about to kill us all.

[WTF]

The horrible winters are caused by global warming!

[Tejicano]

Jeez... Will you guys even read the talking points for once?

When we're talking about the colder-than-normal winters it's "climate change".

When we're talking about the outcome that will kill us all it's " global warming".

We know they're linked somehow but if you mix the terms up it confuses people.

[robc]

Econtak covered this this week. He went the opposite way, demand curve shifted, not supply curve.

[VG Zaytsev]

I've long had the idea in the back of my mind that the ultra-low and even negative interest rates many central banks are now offering are actually hurting economic growth rather than helping, because they are distorting normal economic incentives.

Like demanding that young adults go to school for 4-6 years as a prerequisite for employment by Starbucks?

[Puddin' Stick]

I've long had the idea in the back of my mind that the ultra-low and even negative interest rates many central banks are now offering are actually hurting economic growth rather than helping, because they are distorting normal economic incentives.

You're reinventing Austrian Economics...

[Mike M.]

How's that "global warming" working out for y'all this fine morning, America?

[Just a thought not a sermon]

Yeah, for the mid-Atlantic, global warming apparently means cool, wet summers and cold, snowy winters. Saw an article just the other day on how the past three winters have devastated gardens in Virginia where the owners planted more tropical plants in the 1990s and early 00s.

[Teaching Student]

But but but, drought in California!!!!!111!!!

[Gene]

Snow flurries with expected lows in the mid 20s tomorrow, one of my peach trees is in mid bloom, so much for fruit this year on that one.

[gaijin]

That's just WEATHER!!!

/climateharpy

[The DerpRider]

Snow for the 2nd day in a row in the mitten. Getting lake effect again now that the water is open.

[sarcasmic]

They must have had a tough life! From Kate Moss to Brad Pitt, the celebrities who have aged BADLY over the past decade revealed

Some are child actors, others are former Hollywood heartthrobs
Can be attributed to poor lifestyles, career lows, or shattered relationships
Ren?e Zellweger caused controversy with her dramatically altered face

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/fem.....ealed.html
Meg Ryan looks like a clown.

[Idle Hands]

I always expected Spears to morph into Joba the hutt by now. She doesn't look bad at all.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Some of those people don't look bad.

[Lord Humungus]

People age? Who knew?

[Kaptious Kristen]

Is Jeff Goldblum on there? Because he looks like a wrinkled old weiner college prof in those apartments.com commercials (and sounds like it, too).

What happened to the Jurassic Park Jeff?

[Elspeth Flashman]

I always thought he was weird looking. Good body, but weird face.

[Kaptious Kristen]

He had a certain je ne sais quoi that I liked (up until now)

[Elspeth Flashman]

I can imagine he's charming.

[Bobarian (sexbot hand model)]

What happened to the Jurassic Park Jeff?

He got old? That movie is old enough to buy alcohol.

The little girl is now ~35.

[sarcasmic]

Models strip off and pose seductively with a BEAR for bizarre anti-hunting campaign (so why did one of the women decide to wear a fur coat?)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....-coat.html

[Idle Hands]

It's ironic?

[Ted S.]

They posed with 10,000 spoons when all you need for hunting is a knife?

[Private FUQ]

well played my good sir

/Alanis

[Swiss Servator, faul B??gg!]

jesse says "what a waste of a perfectly good bear"?

[Tonio]

What am I, chopped liver? You're killing me, bro.

[Swiss Servator, faul B??gg!]

I didn't know you were a bear fan!

[Swiss Servator, faul B??gg!]

Tonio, click my handle and when you get to the article, check out the fourth photo - that is for you and jesse both.

[BigT]

Better than a damned groundhog.

With his head packed full of fireworks, the idea is that once set alight, the faster the snowman burns and his head falls off, the better the Summer will be. This year he took 20 minutes and 39 seconds which suggests a rather gloomy Summer ahead!

With excellent photos. Thanks, SwissCheese

[Tonio]

Thanks! Heh.

[Ted S.]

Sarcasmic, lighting the Jesse signal.

[robc]

Ted S, 1 minute late, as always.

[invisible furry hand]

The hamsters powering his Commodore 64 had a smoko

[Lord Humungus]

Commodore 64? I'm thinking more VAX terminal with a punchcard reader.

[Atanarjuat]

"Smoko" (also "smoke-o" or "smoke-oh") is a term used in Australian English, New Zealand English and Falkland Islands English for a short, often informal, cigarette break taken during work or military duty, although the term can also be used to describe any short break such as a rest or a coffee/tea break.

Any day you learn Aussie slang is a good day.

[Ted S.]

I figured it was the same thing as a fag break.

[Swiss Servator, faul B??gg!]

"could y' ignite me fag, please"

[Enough About Palin]

What a beautiful animal.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Legislation that would force almost all California children to be vaccinated is moving forward in the state legislature.

Keep your laws off their bodies.

[Swiss Servator, faul B??gg!]

Hollywood hardest hit?

[Private FUQ]

LibertyMike has a stroke

[invisible furry hand]

Funnily enough, anti-vaxxers here have used the rape analogy too. But - and here's the kicker - all that is being proposed in Australia is that you don't get middle-class welfare if you don't vaccinate. That's forcible?

[This Machine]

Not giving is taking!

[Swiss Servator, faul B??gg!]

+1 Tony

[Lord Humungus]

Dog driving tractor causes motorway tailbacks

Drivers in Scotland had a ruff journey this work to morning when a dog drove a tractor onto the M74 motorway near Abington in South Lanarkshire.

The bizarre incident was reported by Traffic Scotland who tweeted: "M74 (N) J13-RTC due to dog taking control of tractor... nope, not joking. Farmer and police at scene, vehicle in central res."

It was reported that the dog had leaned on the controls of the tractor, taking it from a field on to the road.

[Swiss Servator, faul B??gg!]

"HAHAHAHA - heard your own sheep you kilted bastard, I am driving outta here!"

/Rex

[This Machine]

Um, sir, I think you mean "herd"...

/former XO

[Charles Easterly]

Rex was tired of counting the bleating sheep.

[Swiss Servator, faul B??gg!]

Damme! You are both right!

[sarcasmic]

Marijuana users may have 'false memories': Brain scans reveal how cannabis smokers can live in their own reality

Brains scans showed cannabis users have a less active hippocampus
This is the area that is associated with storing and retrieving memories
Memory problems persisted months after someone stopped smoking

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sci.....ality.html
Come on! There's no truth to that! My memory is, uh, what were we talking about?

[Rich]

Marijuana users may have 'false memories'

*** glares at Hillary Clinton, Brian Williams, Eric Holder, etc. ***

[Ted S.]

*** glares at Martha Coakley, may she burn in hell ***

[lap83]

Yeah, I was going to say this is a human thing, not a pot smoker thing. Although pot might make it worse.

[sarcasmic]

Is this the apocalypse, ask locals: Hundreds evacuated as Chilean volcano erupts for first time in 40 years and sends huge plume of ash into the sky

Volcano erupted without warning at around 6pm local time with 1,500 people forced to leave their homes
Residents described people crying in the streets as they fled in the aftermath of the 'apocalypse-like' eruption
It is the first time the volcano has been active since 1972, and the first major eruption there since 1961
The plume of ash and smoke blanketed the sky and was visible in towns up to 100 miles away in Argentina

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....Chile.html
Amazing pictures.

[Catatafish]

Holy crap. Those night time pictures are incredible.

[Brett L]

Global cooling imminent.

[Tonio]

And the enviros will suddenly "discover" (invent) a hitherto unknown gaiaian self-defense mechanism such that when Mother Gaia senses things are getting too warm for her children she lights off some volcano action to make things right again. But there are limits to her mercy, you rat-bagging tea-fuckers.

[Swiss Servator, faul B??gg!]

Maybe we need to fling some "climate deniers" into said volcano?!!

/derp

[Kaptious Kristen]

Yeah, but then they would just come back as Scientologists.

[Swiss Servator, faul B??gg!]

Zing!

[Brett L]

Its called negative feedback and a feature of every stable system.

[Charles Easterly]

I think at least one of the pictures has been photoshopped (the one labelled "An electrical storm lights up the night sky as a huge column of ash and lava shoots out of the volcano. The eruption sparked a red alert in the port city of Puerto Montt").

If you check the right side of the flames there seems to be a face looking at an angle toward the lower left corner of the picture.

[Ivan Pike]

If you check the right side of the flames there seems to be a face looking at an angle toward the lower left corner of the picture.

That's Gaia.

[WTF]

Or.......SATAN!?

[sarcasmic]

Giving US gangster rappers a run for their money: Libyan MC records music video among Benghazi warzone as bombs drop around him and fighters fire machine guns

Calling himself 'Volcano' rapper is a 31-year-old from war-torn Benghazi
He is seen standing in front of weapons of war and burning buildings
He poses with fighters and even carries a massive assault rifle himself
Video shows Volcano performing on Benghazi's rubble-strewn streets

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....eguns.html
Didn't listen to the song. Is the guy any good?

[Surly Chef]

It's not bad, but it sounds a fairly dated and generic. Fairly polished production though, for being in a war zone.

[SugarFree]

Benghazi isn't a war zone. Stop listening to rightwingnut radio, peanuts!

[invisible furry hand]

Liar! The rivers of chocolate in Benghazi are Hershey's

[WTF]

What difference at this point does it make?

[Ted S.]

His rap video is what led to the assault on the US consulate!

[Catatafish]

"Republicans won't continue with a bill to block Obama from removing Cuba from the state sponsors of terrorism list."

Here comes the breathless and sweaty Rubio filibuster.

[Brett L]

Why? Nobody except old Cubans care. He's going to the mat for a political minority in his home state. I guess Rubio knows he'll still be a Senator in 2017.

[Catatafish]

That's what makes his reaction the other month when this ball got rolling all the more perplexing. I thought the Cuban voting bloc was no longer reliably GOP based on age alone as well.

[Brett L]

Yeah. The 20-35 year old 2nd and 3rd generation Cubans just roll their eyes when papa or abuelo start in on how they are going to go back after the Castros. They'd rather go visit now.

[Auric Demonocles]

Rand Paul gets a ringing endorsement from Sen. John McCain: Paul's "the worst possible candidate" on national security, McCain told Fox News yesterday.

But how is he on alt-text?

[Injun, as in from India]

Applying Ben Franklin's logic on security versus liberty, if Paul is the worst on security, he is the best on liberty.

[Lord Humungus]

Exclusive: Clinton charities will refile tax returns, audit for other errors

Hillary Clinton's family's charities are refiling at least five annual tax returns after a Reuters review found errors in how they reported donations from governments, and said they may audit other Clinton Foundation returns in case of other errors.

The foundation and its list of donors have been under intense scrutiny in recent weeks. Republican critics say the foundation makes Clinton, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016, vulnerable to undue influence. Her campaign team calls these claims "absurd conspiracy theories."

The charities' errors generally take the form of under-reporting or over-reporting, by millions of dollars, donations from foreign governments, or in other instances omitting to break out government donations entirely when reporting revenue, the charities confirmed to Reuters.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

A more obvious scam they had running you can't get. But hey.

Like right-wingers made her husband do rapey things, they made them basically launder cash.

[Catatafish]

Let me guess. They "over-reported" donations from countries that rank highly on human rights and "under-reported" donations from countries that sit on the U.N. Commission on Human Rights.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I have a friend who insists the Clintons are small potatoes next to Nixon's corruption.

Thoughts?

[Swiss Servator, faul B??gg!]

Ask for examples.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

He just answers with a silly 'I saw him live and in his eyes' crap. No matter what I send him he just smugly bats it away. I've learned to dislike the guy.

[Catatafish]

While I disagree I'm still dumbfounded that someone would be like "meh, she's corrupt but I'll vote for her BECAUSE SOME OTHER ASSHOLE BEFORE HER WAS MORE CORRUPT."

*facepalm*

[Tonio]

^This.

[Kaptious Kristen]

Not only "before her", but 40 fucking years before her. Jeezus. People are ridiculous.

[WTF]

Aside from the fact that Nixon was practically a choirboy compared to what these fuckers are doing today.

[SugarFree]

The left have been bitching about 18 minutes of missing tape for 40 years, but 25,000 missing emails from a private server is yawn.

[Pro Libertate]

And Nixon was operating in an era where we still had limits on federal government and ethics actually occasionally mattered. His own party forced him out--is that even conceivable today?

[SugarFree]

No way. The Dems knew that Clinton was tearing them apart and they still went to the mattresses with him.

[Swiss Servator, faul B??gg!]

You did a deed there...and saw it I did.

[WTF]

Nope, which is why corruption has become so rampant and unapologetic. It all went to shit as soon as the TEAMs decided they would never hold one of their own accountable, no matter what they did.

[Pro Libertate]

Of course, the rest of us sit around, doing nothing, allowing it to happen. Let no one ever say that we fought all the way to prevent tyranny when it finally comes in full-blown form.

[WTF]

Well, there aren't enough people willing to shoot them to make any difference, and the TEAMS have the voting system locked down between the two of them.

[gaijin]

"absurd conspiracy theories."

Yes, but are they vast and right-winged? Broken record still broken.

[WTF]

FAKE SKANDUL!!111!!!

[Enough About Palin]

On Morning Joe this morning, Howard Dean kept repeating that the Clintons did not receive any benefits from their charity. What a lying piece of shit.

[sarcasmic]

Is this the most disgusting beauty trend yet? Salons in New York are using FORESKIN in their facials... and fans say treatment gives them 'Beyonce level confidence'

Dubbed a HydraFacial, the treatment is currently available in New York
Key ingredient is stem cells from an infant's foreskin
Beauty writer who had it said her skin glowed like J-Lo's

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/fem.....dence.html
Paging SugarFree...

[Just a thought not a sermon]

Is glowing skin a sign of health?

[Catatafish]

The ladies of Fukushima are pleased by this announcement.

[BuSab Agent]

When I'm happy I glow yellow, when I'm sad I glow blue.

[SugarFree]

No wonder Jezebel thinks slicing up baby boys is no big deal.

[WTF]

Imagine their reaction if men were somehow using severed labia cosmetically.

[lap83]

That's old news. Everyone knows that the Koch brothers profit off of severed labia skin care and that's why Teathuglican women are prettier.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

A real man uses severed labia in place of chewing gum.

[Xeones]

An even real-er man doesn't sever it first. LADIES

[Mickey Rat]

I am skeptocal that stem cells works like that. Just
another wierd vrskm of snake oil.

[sarcasmic]

Women at war: From tackling ISIS to fighting in the Ukraine, photographs offer fascinating look at the female soldiers on the front line around the world

Pictures show women serving with armed forces around the world including in Pakistan, Jordan and North Korea
They include images of pro-Russian rebels in Donetsk, Ukraine, and US soldiers serving in southern Afghanistan
One shows North Korean soldiers on patrol near the Chinese border and another shows fighters in Aleppo, Syria

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....world.html
The heels seem a bit impractical.

[Idle Hands]

There is something really hot about that IDF chick.

[Spoonman.]

Yes there is.

[Catatafish]

Looking at the first picture and I'm struck by three things: 1) their uniforms are spotless, 2) the second in from the right has AWFUL muzzle discipline, 3) they are called the "Voice of Rights" brigade (sigh).

[Marshall Gill]

"Soldiers" in platform shoes?

[sarcasmic]

'I love showing off my body': Size 22 supermodel Tess Holliday on how she's changing the face of fashion... and why bigger woman SHOULDN'T cover up

Tess Holliday is first size 22 woman to be signed to a modelling agency
29-year-old from LA has hundreds of thousands of followers around globe
She talks to FEMAIL about being bullied, loving curves and Katie Hopkins

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/fem.....woman.html
Paging all you chubby chasers! You know who you are!

[Drake]

Bleck! Those are some of the fattest arms I've ever seen.

[Swiss Servator, faul B??gg!]

I didn't click yesterday, and I shan't click today...

[Drake]

Just picture an NFL Nose Tackle wearing a dress.

[Ted S.]

Michael Sam is turned on....

[Ted S.]

If any of us guys said we love showing off our bodies, these FEMAIL writers would be apoplectic.

[Rhywun]

'I love showing off my body'

Then why are you covering up in tatts?

[Fist of Etiquette]

...Paul's "the worst possible candidate" on national security, McCain told Fox News yesterday.

Take it from a candidate who was pretty bad on almost everything.

[Auric Demonocles]

Suspending his campaign was such a bizarre move.

[invisible furry hand]

Al-Taqwa College principal says he does not believe excessive running causes girls to lose their virginity

[Brett L]

In fact, being able to run farther and faster than their uncles is probably virginity preserving.

[invisible furry hand]

Jinn converts to Islam on Twitter

[Swiss Servator, faul B??gg!]

I know at least one Egyptian who is nodding vigorously in agreement that this was true.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

+3 wishes

[Fist of Etiquette]

Former military general and CIA director David Petraeus is in federal court today over allegations that he leaked state secrets to his mistress/biographer.

I take it he didn't support the Iran deal.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Petraeus could have been President at one point. I hope that was one very attractive biographer.

[Idle Hands]

Beaty is in the eye of the beholder.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Better-looking than James Boswell.

[Bobarian (sexbot hand model)]

She had a very attractive build. Petraus was notorious for running with his staff officers and conducting business on those runs. She was able to keep up on those trips, making her a very accomplished runner.

[invisible furry hand]

Just a delightful headline:

Former MP Peter Dowling's wife forgives him for 'penis in wine glass' photo

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Slates token conservative speaks sense on minimum wage:

"Why beat your head against the wall when you can just go with the flow and embrace a very popular idea? I can think of only one good reason: that increasing the minimum wage so dramatically will damage the economic prospects of millions of vulnerable people. My view is that the labor market is changing in ways that make huge minimum wage hikes, like the one backed by the Fight for 15 movement, very dangerous."
http://www.slate.com/articles/....._hurt.html

[Injun, as in from India]

+1 Automated Burger Machine

[Pro Libertate]

You know, if robots become more involved in the workforce, making burgers, sweeping floors, etc., wouldn't that displace not only teenaged workers but also illegal immigrants? I have this sudden vision of the GOP become very pro-robot.

[Injun, as in from India]

I have this sudden vision of the GOP become very pro-robot.

I, for one, welcome our new category of...

...Roomba Republicans?

[Pro Libertate]

Yes, that will work. Or Gort GOP.

[Trouser-Pod]

Klaatu Barada Nixon?

[Drake]

Cash Flowed to Clinton Foundation - as Russians bought up Uranium mines. Reported in the NYTimes of all places.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04.....99669&_r=0

[Lord Humungus]

Scott Walker, forever tarnished: Republican governors have tanked the GOP brand

What do Scott Walker, Chris Christie and Bobby Jindal all have in common? They're all sitting governors who'd like to be president, sure. But what else?

How about being embarrassingly bad at job creation? That's right. From January 2011 through January 2015, Louisiana under Jindal ranked 32nd in job creation with 5.4 percent growth over four years. Wisconsin under Walker ranked 35th, with 4.85 percent growth. New Jersey under Christie ranked 40th, with 4.15 percent growth. This compares with a national average of 8.21 percent.

Even Ohio's John Kasich, who's worked more with Democrats?most notably by agreeing to Medicaid expansion under Obamacare?and thus tarnished his brand with conservative purists while puffing himself up with Beltway pundits ? only ranked 23rd. He's still under the national average, with Ohio's 6.23 percent growth. Ohio has yet to get back to 2007 employment levels, "The nation and the majority of other states reached this benchmark in 2014," said researcher Hannah Halbert, in a statement from Policy Matters Ohio.

[Drake]

Is this Salon's endorsement of Rick Perry? Or maybe they are hinting that the whole economy sucks?

[John]

Everything they say is a lie. So, it means that Walker and Jindal must be really good governors.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I thought you said evaluating claims by their source alone is ad hominen John?

[John]

Ad hominem is attacking the source as a way to refute the argument. Here I am just attacking the source. The claim "they must be really good governors" is a snarky remark to make the larger point that Salon lies about everything. I am not engaging in Ad hominem. I am attacking Salon.

I can only give you so many lessons in basic logic before at some point a few of them start to stick. Right? At some point you have to be a little trainable. Just a little.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Funny, I've made this argument to you numerous times when the principals were different. Lol

[Bo Cara Esq.]

One instance I definitely recall was a Heritage Foundation study about health premiums. I said that since Demint took over no one should see anything they say as anything other than partisanship. You screamed ad hominen and I politely made the exact argument you just made to me. Lol.

[John]

No you haven't. If you have, provide a link. I wish you had, since it would show that you are trainable. I am, however, not optimistic about that.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Let's make a bet big mouth. I provide the link and you leave H&R for a month. I don't and I do the same.

Man enough to stick by your memory? I am.

[Swiss Servator, faul B??gg!]

Oooh, he is getting all tuff now!

[Lord Humungus]

You bench, bro?

[Catatafish]

Dammit! Forgot to hit refresh.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Party line responses can't be repeated too much, it's ok.

[Drake]

It is the logical conclusion if your premise is that a Governor alone can make a state grow. (Unless you write for Salon, then there is no such thing as logical or conclusion)

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Wisconsin has a GOP legislature. I'd guess same is true for LA.

[Rhywun]

So what? They are going to magically reverse decades of shitty leftist policies in one term?

[Doctor Whom]

Since when are Salon writers at all capable of thinking through the implications of their babbling?

[Catatafish]

I'm assuming that since the author is basing everything on this metric, he or she will be enthusiastically endorsing Rick Perry?

[Doctor Whom]

Or opposing NJ's high taxes?

[WTF]

As well as opposing New Jersey's absurd level of government regulation and draconian gun laws?

[Idle Hands]

I was pretty disappointed with Scott Walkers recent flip-flop on immigration. Not too disappointed, as politicians have a warped view of economics that mirrors the people whose vote they are trying to capture, but disappointed none the less.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Honestly, from a libertarian point of view I don't see much difference from those who want to stop 'legal and illegal' freedom of movement and those who want to fight the latter alone.

[Idle Hands]

I fall into the kill the welfare state first and then let unfettered immigration rule. But I also believe that only people who own property should be able to vote so maybe I'm just a racist teabagger at heart.

[Idle Hands]

The anarchist in me believes that the unfettered immigration would overall be good as it would eventually cripple the system, but than historically that has nearly never ended well.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I don't believe in conditioning the exercise of fundamental human rights on such things. I'll fight to end the welfare state and to allow freedom of movement.

[Idle Hands]

That's completely fine point of view.

[Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns]

"Wisconsin under Walker ranked 35th, with 4.85 percent growth."

Exhibit A in how to lie with statistics.

Wisconsin has consistently had an unemployment rate a full percentage point below the national average ever since the economic crisis. Because Wisconsin has had lower unemployment than most states, it's difficult for them to attain the degree of job growth you see in, for example, California where unemployment was vastly higher. If you're starting from a baseline of low unemployment (at least compared to other states) you have less of a capacity to create more jobs due to the fact that more people are already working.

If you want to know how dumb these sorts of statistics are look at this graph. Louisiana's unemployment rate is actually exactly where it was 3 years ago yet they're ranked 32nd in job growth. Wisconsin's unemployment is 2.5% lower than 3 years ago and they rank 35th.

That's why pure percentage changes in jobs are a poor metric of economic success.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Interesting. What does this logic say about Tx?

[Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns]

Well, Texas has low unemployment in addition to rapid job growth. Texas actually has an unemployment rate lower than Wisconsin at 4.4%. This is despite the fact that Texas has had gargantuan immigration over that period of time, so they have a low unemployment rate despite integrating lots of predominantly low education into their work force.

Texas is the real deal because all their economic indicators show this to be true, including wage growth. It's just that total job growth as a percentage of labor force is a dumb metric if it's taken in a vacuum rather than in context.

[Private FUQ]

I just moved from San Antonio and Texas just never stops growing. San Antonio is a constant construction zone. It doesn't take much education to work at those well paying construction jobs. BTW, Texas is actually the place the open borders people should point to when they want to show growth with a constant influx of immigrants. If the welfare state could be rolled back it would boom even more.

[Injun, as in from India]

The other thing about Wisconsin is that it is just barely starting to recover from decades of "progressive" damage. Wait another 2 decades to see real results, assuming the progressives don't start doing their damage again.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has a solution to end the contentious debate over soon-to-expire surveillance powers granted to the government under the Patriot Act. A new bill, co-sponsored by McConnell and Republican Richard Burr of North Carolina, and dropped on the Senate out of the blue Tuesday night, would put the matter to bed by locking in a controversial bulk data collection program, completely unchanged, for the next five years.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the....._data.html

[Lord Humungus]

already covered yesterday: http://reason.com/blog/2015/04.....-life-from

[Rich]

Mrs. Clinton has a long record of supporting minimum-wage increases, but her recently begun presidential campaign has preferred to ease into revealing the details of her policy positions, the minimum wage included.

Emphasis added. Why bother "revealing" *anything*? It won't change any minds about her at all!

[Lord Humungus]

The More Sex You Have, The More Money You Earn

What if I told you that if you're having sex twice a week, you're also likely to be earning 4.5% more than people who aren't for some reason?

That reason, found a study from Britain's Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, just might be because folks who are 'fulfilled' at home tend to be more successful at work. Yes yes, let's all make our tawdry jokes and then read the interesting quote from the professional below.

"Maslow's Need Hierarchy Theory claims that the happier and more fulfilled individuals are in their lives, the more productive and successful they will be in their work, translating to higher wages," stated study lead, Dr. Nick Drydakis. "The theory concludes that people need to love and be loved, sexually and non-sexually, by others. In the absence of these elements, people may become susceptible to loneliness, social anxiety and depression ? all factors that can affect their working life."

[Rich]

The More Sex You Have, The More Money You Earn

My neighbor's hairdresser's daughter made $7853 just last month ?.

[Auric Demonocles]

Have they considered alternate theories? I just thought of two:

1. They have the causality backwards. People with more money get laid more.

2. The causality for both of these is actually linked to a third variable: they're just better people.

[Rasilio]

3) People with higher testosterone levels are more aggressive in salary negotiations and have a higher sex drive

[Auric Demonocles]

That seems like the same as #2...

[lap83]

The first theory sounded plausible, but the second I can't believe. It would mean we should all aspire to be Bill Clinton.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

The more Van Goghs you own, the wealthier you are.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I blame the person in front of the car. Just get out of the mo-fu way. You never know what's going on in another car so why be a dick about it? I especially hate clueless assholes (especially old people) doing 60 km/hr in a 100 zone in the PASSING lane refusing to shift lane.

http://bit.ly/1blpIbO

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Yeah. This is a bit macabre...people who died just after being photographed:

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

[Kaptious Kristen]

That fucking narrator. Jeezus.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Discussion of Bllomberg's poll of attitudes on Israel

"Last week, Bloomberg Politics released a survey of American attitudes toward Israel. The poll, according to Bloomberg, found a "deep partisan split." Two-thirds of Republicans said they were more sympathetic to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu than to President Obama. When Republicans were asked about U.S.?Israel relations, 30 percent favored this statement: 'Israel is an ally but we should pursue America's interests when we disagree with them.' Sixty-seven percent supported this option instead: 'Israel is an important ally, the only democracy in the region, and we should support it even if our interests diverge.'"

...It would be even more convenient if the poll stood alone. But it doesn't. Surveys by Gallup, the Pew Research Center, and ABC News and the Washington Post have yielded similar results."

http://www.slate.com/articles/....._anti.html

[Derpetologist]

Spot the Not: The Koch Brothers

1. I believe that cronyism is nothing more than welfare for the rich and powerful, and should be abolished.

2. I was gaga about dinosaurs as a kid.

3. 'The Nutcracker' is the ballet that keeps on giving.

4. I think to balance the budget, probably every federal department has to take cuts in my opinion.

5. People should only profit to the extent they make other peoples lives better.

6. Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.

[Swiss Servator, faul B??gg!]

5

[gaijin]

#6

[Derpetologist]

Winner! 6 is from Cesar Chavez.

Your prize: http://www.teamjimmyjoe.com/wp.....chKill.jpg

[gaijin]

Sweet!

[WTF]

5

[lap83]

5 actually makes sense. He's probably referring to the fact that the product you sell should improve their life, not that there should be some moral litmus test for business owners designed by government.

[lap83]

It especially makes sense in the context of the cronyist quote. It's possible to sell a crappy product and be propped up artificially so you profit anyway.

[Lord Humungus]

The National Review's police-state hypocrisy: Ferguson protesters deserved it, but Scott Walker probe crosses the line

That original 2011 report also named a few others who were in the cross hairs of this John Doe investigation, whose home computers had been confiscated in similar raids. It's unknown if the National Review's pseudonymous victims are the same ones, or if they are yet other examples. As it happens, the two named in the original news report were also Walker administration officials. As the probe went on it became clear that yet other members of his staff had been granted immunity from prosecution at around the same time as Archer's raid took place so it's possible they had provided information that led to these subpoenas.

The upshot is that the melodramatic National Review story leaves out the significant detail that these were government employees suspected of corruption.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I don't read Salon. Is it a spin piece trying to justify what happened in Wisconsin?

[Ted S.]

The quoted bit sure reads like it.

[Derpetologist]

Spot the Not: Robert Heinlein

1. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire.

2. An armed society is a polite society.

3. Government is actually the worst failure of civilized man. There has never been a really good one, and even those that are most tolerable are arbitrary, cruel, grasping, and unintelligent.

4. Being intelligent is not a felony. But most societies evaluate it as at least a misdemeanor.

5. Men rarely (if ever) manage to dream up a god superior to themselves. Most gods have the manners and morals of a spoiled child.

6. The whole principle [of censorship] is wrong. It's like demanding that grown men live on skim milk because the baby can't have steak.

[Brett L]

1 sounds like something he said but in different words. 2 and 5 are definitely his.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

I'm going to go with #3. Most of these I specifically remember reading. I suppose #3 sounds like it could be Jubal in SiaSL, but I don't remember it specifically. I don't remember #6 either, but it sounds very Heinlein-ish.

[Brett L]

3 is a good guess I don't remember that one either.

[Rasilio]

I think all of the quotes listed are actually spoken by Lazarus Long and were contained in The Notebook of Lazarus Long

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Any excuse to read great quotes by Heinlein is appreciated.

[Swiss Servator, faul B??gg!]

4

[SugarFree]

3. That's Mencken.

[tarran]

I've read all but 3 (God! I am such a fucking nerd!)

So ima gonna say 3

[Rasilio]

#3

That is not really something he would say

[WTF]

3

[Derpetologist]

3 is the Not; prize for the winners:

http://fb-troublemakers.com/wp.....igns-2.jpg

[Kaptious Kristen]

What's the deal with Heinlein being besties with L Ron Hubbard?

[Derpetologist]

They were both sci-fi authors. Fun fact: LRH has the record for most books ever published.

[Kaptious Kristen]

I know they were colleagues. I'm not best friends with my colleagues. Hubbard was clearly nucking futs. Maybe Heinlein was just amused by him.

[Cdr Lytton]

Most of the SF authors of that day were pretty closely knit, particularly compared to non-writing professions.

[Cdr Lytton]

Also, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_bet

[Brett L]

They hung out together in WWII. Also, LRH was on at least two destroyers that were crippled. As far as RAH was concerned, that made him a manly man worthy of respect.

[Tonio]

I'm not sure they were besties, but I haven't read the biography. I know that at the time there was a small group of top sci-fi authors and that LRH and RAH were both part of that so they certainly were colocated at the VIP rooms at the conventions. Apocryphally, LRH invented scientology on a bar bet with RAH, and claimed he could gin up a successful religion.

[Lord Humungus]

Census: Record 51 million immigrants in 8 years, will account for 82% of U.S. growth

Legal and illegal immigrants will hit a record high of 51 million in just eight years and eventually account for an astounding 82 percent of all population growth in America, according to new U.S. Census figures.

A report from the Center for Immigration Studies that analyzed the statistics said that by 2023, one in seven U.S. residents will be an immigrant, rising to one in five by 2060 when the immigrant population totals 78 million.

[Lord Humungus]

Squirrels blamed for 3-day power outage at Richmond's Fay Towers

The Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority said the outage happened started Sunday with a damaged electrical line.

"It was actually a family of squirrels that chewed and got through the plastic," said Carol Jones Gilbert, acting COO, RRHA.

The actions of those squirrels triggered an emergency generator to power lights in the common areas, hallways and elevators. The end result ? residents, including those with medical or emergency needs, were left in the dark.

[PBR Streetgang]

RVA always on the short end of a siege

[Derpetologist]

Spot the Not: Adam Smith

1. Mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent.

2. It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.

3. What is prudence in the conduct of every private family, can scarce be folly in that of a great kingdom.

4. Little else is requisite to carry a state to the highest degree of opulence from the lowest barbarism, but peace, easy taxes, and a tolerable administration of justice: all the rest being brought about by the natural course of things.

5. It is not very unreasonable that the rich should contribute to the public expense, not only in proportion to their revenue, but something more than in that proportion.

6. Millions for defense, but not one penny for tribute.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

I'm going to go with #6, on the basis that Smith would be more likely to have spoken of tens of thousands than millions.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

6

[Bo Cara Esq.]

That was said by a US rep opposing a bribe demand by the Barbary a Pirates iirc

[Swiss Servator, faul B??gg!]

6

[Andrew S.]

Six.

[Monty Crisco]

Imma say 6...

[tarran]

Very much 6.

[WTF]

6

[Derpetologist]

6 is the Not; prize for the winners:

http://platedlizard.blogspot.c.....ising.html

[Lord Humungus]

China Manufacturing Gauge Drops to Lowest Level in 12 Months

A Chinese manufacturing gauge fell to a 12-month low in April, suggesting government efforts to cushion a slowdown are yet to revive the nation's factories.

The preliminary Purchasing Managers' Index from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics was at 49.2, missing the median estimate of 49.6 in a Bloomberg survey, which was also March's final reading. Numbers below 50 indicate contraction.

The first reading of the economy's health in April may deepen concern over a slowdown after first-quarter data showed the weakest economic expansion since 2009. Policy makers have stepped up efforts to halt the slide, cutting banks' reserve requirements by 1 percentage point this week.

[John]

The Chinese economy is like Wiley Coyote after he walks off a cliff and hangs in mid air until he realizes he is standing in mid air. The entire economy is floating on nothing, even more so than the US economy. It is just a matter of when not if the whole thing crashes.

[Brett L]

I agree. They are about to get fucked by their own bad debt tsunami. Which is why I still don't understand Ali Baba. No fucking way would I believe their books.

[gaijin]

Gangster GOvernment: IRS declares war on taxpayers

IRS Intentionally Makes Tax Season Painful This Year

close review of the agency's spending shows the IRS deliberately cut $134 million in funding for customer service to pay for other activities....including prioritizing employee bonuses and union activity

[Ted S.]

Because Fuck You, That's Why.

[Rich]

Because in places like this, folks don't have time, we don't have time -- you do not have time to deny the effects of climate change. Folks are already busy dealing with it. And nowhere is it going to have a bigger impact than here in south Florida. No place else. It has to be paying closer attention to this and acknowledging it, and understanding that if we take action now we can do something about it.

Our Fearless Leader -- Great Orator, or Greatest Orator Ever?

[Derpetologist]

I think the only reason he gets hailed as a great speaker is because he has a good voice. A truly great speech sounds good even if you just read it.

Behold:

1. My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.

2. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender

3. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

Whereas Obama:

We need to internalize this idea of excellence. Not many folks spend a lot of time trying to be excellent.

[Rhywun]

I automatically tune out any politician who uses the word "folks".

[Ted S.]

Because in places like this, folks don't have time, we don't have time -- you do not have time to deny the effects of climate change.

We don't have time to "deny" it because all our time is taken up complying with government regulations.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

I can only wonder what would happen to a "civilian" if they tried to talk to somebody at a bar, and when rebuffed they went to their car and got a gun and handcuffs then came back and violently assaulted the other person (all while being intoxicated) on video.

http://www.wistv.com/story/286.....ted-arrest

I'm sure they'd get more than 8 days served and a BW3's ban.

[Andrew S.]

I'll bet you that if that hadn't been a soldier, he wouldn't have even gotten that much.

[Drake]

Too bad she wasn't with a group of soldiers - who would have just beaten the fuck out of him.

[Matrix]

So kidnapping (handcuffing someone) and beating them are only minor offenses when you're an off-duty pig?

[Lord Humungus]

One two more days and I'm flying off to South Carolina.... and of course my ears decides to clog up right now so I can barely hear. Can't wait to get up at high altitude.

[sarcasmic]

Bring some gum.

[Ted S.]

and of course my ears decides to clog up right now so I can barely hear.

On the bright side, you don't have to listen to your wife's nagging. 😉

[The DerpRider]

Enjoy the warm weather and 2 inches of pollen.

[Kaptious Kristen]

My laptop, which is indoors and a good 10 feet away from my screen door, was covered in pollen yesterday.

[John]

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/J.....city-video

This is just rage inducing.

[Rich]

"Too often we see an officer who may or may not understand the law arrest somebody for having an illegal knife that isn't illegal."

OK ?..

[John]

You can beat the crime but you can't beat the ride. Cops have no incentive to care if any of their arrests result in convictions. They are rated by the number of arrests and are never held accountable for making a wrong arrest. So, they don't know the law because they don't care what the law is. That is not their problem.

[Rich]

they don't know the law because they don't care what the law is. That is not their problem.

One might reasonably ask: How can a *Law Enforcement* Officer not know the law?

[kbolino]

Easy. What's the consequence to a cop for not knowing the law?

[robc]

And since when did ignorance of the law become an excuse?

[Ted S.]

Since Heien v. North Carolina.

[John]

You would think one might ask that. The unions however seem to have kept anyone from doing that.

[sarcasmic]

Their job is not to enforce the law. That's a myth. Their job is force people to comply, regardless of if any laws have been broken. They don't give a shit about the law. Only that they are obeyed.

[Andrew S.]

I'm sitting in the dealership waiting for them to finish with my car (free oil change). Being forced to watch CNN. They had a story about how the Baltimore police union is whining about how "unfair" it is that everyone is "rushing to judgment", and about how it's a "lynch mob" that wants to throw the police officers in question immediately, which is a violation of their due process rights.

Of course, if these were non-officers who had severed a man's spine mysteriously and killed him, you can be damn sure there'd be enough probable cause to throw them in jail, probably without bond.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Yesterday CNN had some asshole on to defend the US Marshall that snatched that woman's phone in LA. According to him we shouldn't be so judging of the marshall since they're not used to operating in public and is focused on apprehending dangerious criminals, so the fear of getting shot must keep them on edge.

[Swiss Servator, faul B??gg!]

"That iPhone could have been loaded!!!!!"

[Kaptious Kristen]

...with dick pics!!"

[Rich]

FOR THE PILGRIM WHO HAS NEARLY EVERYTHING: FIRST 'HALAL' SEX SHOP TO OPEN IN MECCA

"The image of women in the kitchen with burqa is not a true picture?"

So, they *don't* wear burqa in the kitchen?

[Injun, as in from India]

The human-trafficking bill that cleared the Senate yesterday contained an amendment to criminalize classified-ad sites if traffickers post there.

How the heck are monocle-wearing libertarians supposed to get their h00kers now?

[Andrew S.]

Wait for our child slaves to grow up. Duh.

[Rasilio]

Hold on, you mean we are supposed to wait for them to grow up?

No one told me that

[sloopyinTEXAS]

Need to,increase your blood pressure? Read this fucking shit.

Trigger warning: Chicago police getting away (literally) with murder.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/.....tml#page=1

I believe in the rule of law. Having said that, I hope his victim's family exact justice.

[Andrew S.]

"I need you to know that my family and I have also suffered greatly during the past three years, and we will continue to suffer," Servin said. "This is something that I will live with for the rest of my life. My job is to save lives and protect people, and from an early age I knew I would be a policeman. And that's why I became a policeman so this is a bigger tragedy."

"Any reasonable person, any police officer especially, would've reacted in the exact same manner that I reacted," he said. "And I'm glad to be alive. I saved my life that night. I'm glad that I'm not a police death statistic. Antonio Cross is a would-be cop killer, and that's all I have to say."

He went home safely that night. That's all that matters.

Fuck this shit. Fuck it so hard.

[Andrew S.]

Also: Given Anita Alvarez's history, I have no doubt that she intentionally threw this case. She is by far the worst prosecutor in the country.

[Auric Demonocles]

Well, you won't find many reasonable cops. You'll just find cowards instead.

"It's important that [Servin] try to get his life back together," Angelo said. "I don't know why it happened that way ... that the state's attorney's office decided to change Dante from victim to offender. It makes no sense to me."

Because he fucking shot someone to death, without positively identifying a target, because he's scared to death of a goddamn cell phone?

[Monty Crisco]

"That's because Illinois law says that intentionally firing a gun at someone on the street "is an act that is so dangerous it is beyond reckless," Porter wrote. "It is intentional and the crime, if any there be, is first-degree murder."

Only in Illinois could this be considered "sound reasoning"...

[Roger the Shrubber]

"Any reasonable person, any police officer especially, would've reacted in the exact same manner that I reacted," he said. "And I'm glad to be alive. I saved my life that night. I'm glad that I'm not a police death statistic. Antonio Cross is a would-be cop killer, and that's all I have to say."

Does anyone know anything more about this case? Nothing in the article indicates that there is any reason why he should have been 'in fear of his life.' Calling his victim a 'would-be cop killer' is especially outrageous given that he was unarmed.

[Rich]

Damn. Can't they at least *deem* it manslaughter?

[Auric Demonocles]

Judge Dennis Porter ruled that prosecutors failed to prove that Dante Servin acted recklessly, saying that Illinois courts have consistently held that anytime an individual points a gun at an intended victim and shoots, it is an intentional act, not a reckless one. He all but said prosecutors should have charged Servin with murder, not involuntary manslaughter.

What the fuck? So because the prosecutor undercharged him, he gets nothing?

[Roger the Shrubber]

Rage inducing. The judge gave a directed verdict, not chancing a decision by the jury. Given his reasoning, he should have issued a mistrial and ordered the prosecutor to return with murder charges. But, obviously, seeking justice in this case was not his priority.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

The union's take (FTA):

While Servin still technically faces potential disciplinary action by the Independent Police Review Authority, Dean Angelo, president of the union representing Chicago police officers, said the process to return Servin to active duty would immediately begin. He has been on paid desk duty since he was charged.

"It's important that he try to get his life back together," Angelo said. "I don't know why it happened that way ... that the state's attorney's office decided to change Dante from victim to offender. It makes no sense to me."

This cocksucker is calling the man who shot into a crowd over his shoulder with deaths involved a "victim" because he wears a costume. I hope he also dies in a fire.

[Auric Demonocles]

I'm sure he would also question the charging of a "civilian" who shot over his shoulder and killed a cop because someone in his group had a cell phone...

[sloopyinTEXAS]

By the way, this is the same city that has paid over a half a billion dollars in the last decade to settle wrongful death and abuse claims. Yet this is the first officer in over two decades charged in the death of a "civilian".

I don't know how anybody could voluntarily live in a city with such an overt two-tiered justice system. I know some of you here do, but there is no way in hell I'd subject my family or myself to that. No fucking way.

[Rhywun]

Is it really so better anywhere else? Honest question. I see this stuff all over the country.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

I honestly believe it is better for "civilians" in inverse correlation to the strength of the police union or existence of one.

Cops get canned in Texas for getting a DUI. When they're arrested for it. This fuckhole has been getting paid up to his manslaughter (should have been murder according to the judge) trial that just ended for, at a minimum, doing something so profoundly stupid that he should be drummed out of the police force with a huge parade where he is gradually stripped of his uniform by other officers and paraded naked to the city gates. Instead his union rep is saying how he will immediately start the process of getting him back on duty.

Yes, it's better elsewhere. It's not perfect but infinitely better elsewhere.

[Derpetologist]

No spot the not here, just a bunch of Obama quotes I found amusing:

1. No party has a monopoly on wisdom. No democracy works without compromise.

2. I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. I am not in favor of gay marriage.

What a great bit of wisdom this is:

3. I don't oppose all wars. What I am opposed to is a dumb war.

4. It was not a religion that attacked us that September day. It was al-Qaeda.

5. What do you think a stimulus is? It's spending - that's the whole point! Seriously.

6. I think when you spread the wealth around it's good for everybody.

[Injun, as in from India]

I would guess #5.

The doubt that the left understands that its policies are about spending. They just assume it is all magic.

[Derpetologist]

All are real quotes. No game here.

[Elspeth Flashman]

Top. Men.

[BigT]

I guess Number 6. Even Obama is not stupid enough to say that.

Oh wait...

[Idle Hands]

So the guy who is writing the newest Clinton book is an awesome troll:

The past week can't have been very pleasant for Peter Schweizer. On Sunday, the New York Times revealed that his forthcoming book, Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How and Why Foreign Governments and Businesses Helped Make Bill and Hillary Rich, was roiling the political world?"the most anticipated and feared book of a presidential cycle still in its infancy," as the Times put it.

That landed Schweizer squarely in the crosshairs of the Clinton team and allied liberal groups, which have launched a campaign to discredit Schweizer as "disreputable" and blinded by partisan animosity. Anyone familiar with Schweizer's work knows better: he wrote a well-regarded book about the Bush dynasty and another, detailing insider trading in Congress, that led to a new law, the bipartisan STOCK Act of 2012, which aims to curb these abuses.

That hasn't quieted the left-wing clamor that Schweizer is simply out to get Hillary Clinton. But maybe this will: Schweizer is working on a similar investigation of Jeb Bush's finances that he expects to publish this summer.

[Andrew S.]

They'll agree with the Jeb book while still claiming he's biased against Hillary.

[Injun, as in from India]

If this was the Soviet Union, he would have been praised for criticizing Trotsky and then promptly shot for criticizing Stalin.

[Swiss Servator, faul B??gg!]

If he takes both those knuckleheads out, I think we should carry him in a sedan chair along a parade route.

[Lord Humungus]

+1 ticker tape

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

For over a thousand years, Roman conquerors returning from the wars enjoyed the honor of a triumph ? a tumultuous parade. In the procession came trumpeters and musicians and strange animals from the conquered territories, together with carts laden with treasure and captured armaments. The conqueror rode in a triumphal chariot, the dazed prisoners walking in chains before him. Sometimes his children, robed in white, stood with him in the chariot, or rode the trace horses. A slave stood behind the conqueror, holding a golden crown, and whispering in his ear a warning ? that all glory is fleeting.

So this, including having Jeb and Hillary and their respective staffs walking before him in chains.

[Drake]

As I linked above - the NY Times will look particularly hypocritical when the criticize the book since they published a big piece on the Clinton money scams and conflict of interests today.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04.....99669&_r=0

[Sudden]

How this woman is still considered the frontrunner is beyond my belief?

[BigT]

She is both first and last, as the only announced candidate.

[Kaptious Kristen]

Well, since you have to pick on side or the other, the Clintonistas can't possible comprehend someone who hates them all.

[CampingInYourPark]

As the Russians gradually assumed control of Uranium One in three separate transactions from 2009 to 2013, Canadian records show, a flow of cash made its way to the Clinton Foundation. Uranium One's chairman used his family foundation to make four donations totaling $2.35 million. Those contributions were not publicly disclosed by the Clintons, despite an agreement Mrs. Clinton had struck with the Obama White House to publicly identify all donors. Other people with ties to the company made donations as well.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04......html?_r=0

[Matrix]

The ACLU wants Catholic groups to provide abortions to illegal immigrants, because those groups are receiving federal funds to take care of people.

Seriously... This is f'ed up.

[sarcasmic]

This is why charities should never accept government money. Once they do, then the government essentially runs the charity. After all, they didn't build that.

[Derpetologist]

I thought there was a law prohibiting federal funding for abortion:

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

[Matrix]

Perhaps the ACLU expects them to provide their own funds to do the abortion, sorta like how Planned Parenthood allegedly uses their own funding outside of federal funds to pay for abortions.

[lap83]

The ACLU wants Catholic groups to provide abortions to illegal immigrants, because those groups are receiving federal funds to take care of people.

Nothing follows from anything in that line of reasoning.

PETA wants the Boy Scouts to go fight for Hamas because their motto is Be Prepared.

[lap83]

*the scouts motto, but it could very well be Hamas' motto too.

[Kaptious Kristen]

So my dad and I had the pleasure of experiencing the Wasatch's worst ski season ever. Greatest snow on earth, my left ass cheek.

Colorado in 2016!!

[Rhywun]

"If the private sector doesn't get there [in reducing emissions], we'll mandate it [composting], because it's about the survival of the earth," he said.

You can't even parody Deblasio any more.

[Matrix]

Why not the USG? It's the single largest polluter in the US by far (actually the world). And how do we slow down emissions from 3rd world countries and countries like China? What about governments? Why are

[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

[Idle Hands]

As my dad always said:

"It's not so surprising that they(politicians) are willing to sell the country out, what's amazing is for how little."

[Idle Hands]

As my dad always said:

"It's not so surprising that they(politicians) are willing to sell the country out, what's amazing is for how little."

[Sudden]

I was flabergasted that that story wasn't the lead in morning links. This is outright treason.

[Sudden]

In a statement, Brian Fallon, a spokesman for Mrs. Clinton's presidential campaign, said no one "has ever produced a shred of evidence supporting the theory that Hillary Clinton ever took action as secretary of state to support the interests of donors to the Clinton Foundation."

Hmmm.... I wonder why it would be so challenging to produce evidence supporting such a theory. Perhaps we could just go through her emails?

[Puddin' Stick]

Small price to pay for keeping the FSB copy of her emails secret.

[Auric Demonocles]

This might be as stupid as the concept of standing for constitutional suits.

[WTF]

Those 30,000 deleted emails? They were just personal, nothing to see here, move along!