A.M. Links: Sidney Blumenthal Subpoenaed, David Letterman Retires, Senate to Vote on USA Freedom Act

• 

  Credit: White House / Flickr.com

  Congressional investigators have subpoenaed Hillary Clinton adviser Sidney Blumenthal, insisting that he testify next month before the House committee investigating the 2012 Benghazi attack.

• The Senate will vote this week on the USA Freedom Act.

• Islamic State fighters have gained partial control of the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria.

• "North Korea said Wednesday that it has the ability to miniaturize nuclear weapons, a key step toward building nuclear missiles."

• Inside the Texas biker gang wars.

• Late Show host David Letterman is retiring tonight.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Congressional investigators have subpoenaed Hillary Clinton adviser Sidney Blumenthal...

He's going to make them pay him for his testimony.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello?

David who?

Oh, the guy who made endless Sarah Palin jokes.

Meh.

Call me when Lou Reed dies.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

/LOOKS STRAIGHT AT ALAMANIAN.

[Swiss Servator, Quelle frisch]

Howdy, Rufus...I believe you were saying something about Anaheim and pounding yesterday...?

*arches eyebrow*

[Rufus J. Firefly]

They did - physically. Stoner on two players in ONE play! Perry dicking around with Hossa. Anaheim is vicious.

But like I said, the Blackhawks were likely to adjust and manage because they're winners.

My point is Anaheim will bruise them win or lose.

[Swiss Servator, Quelle frisch]

If they want to give up two power play goals per game - I will applaud.

The Hawks see this every year with the Blues being in division...nothing new. "Hawks outhit, opponent outscored"

[gaijin]

And what about that crazy SOB Shaw's disallowed 'header' goal in 2nd OT?! That guy is killing it for the Hawks right now.

[Swiss Servator, Quelle frisch]

That was a funny non-goal. Even Shaw knew it wouldn't count and admitted he was trying to influence the refs by making a huge show of celebrating. heh.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Great team. No doubt about it.

The Blues. Sheesh and yeesh.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Oh, the guy who made endless Sarah Palin jokes.

So?

[WTF]

Dreams are a great thing, but you know something? They take a lot of energy. But that's OK. There's a job waiting for you down the block from your house that doesn't require a thought in your head or a hope in your heart. So come on down and work for the artificial flower factory. Why fight it? OK? Thank you.

[Xeones]

BBBUUUUUTTTPPPLLLUUUUUUUUUG

[Swiss Servator, Quelle frisch]

"Late Show host David Letterman is retiring tonight."

Who?

[EDG reppin' LBC]

He's super important. He hosted a TV show in the 1980's.

[Libertarian]

Good god, I thought his last show was a month ago. They've been talking about it for a lot longer than that.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Dave ridiculed our "leaders" - from Bill Clinton's zipper problem to W's stupidity. You have to like him for that.

[gaijin]

and then 6 years ago, he decided it was easier to kiss our leader's @ss.

[Bobarian (sexbot hand model)]

This^^ but probably started shark jumping on politics about 10 yrs ago.

[straffinrun]

A 14 year old being raped was funny. You guys only complained cuz ARod is black.

[Palin's Buttplug]

"Obama said they've had some glitches with the Affordable Care website. I'll tell you something. If you order a pair of pants online and they send you the wrong color, that's a glitch. This is like a Carnival cruise, for God's sake! Today Obama was in so much trouble he called Hillary Clinton and he said, 'Could you start early?'" ?

David Letterman

[WTF]

Sure you wanna keep playing, shreek? The game's always between you and getting called a cunt. That dropped eye of yours looks like the hood on a cunt to me, shreek. When you talk, your mouth looks like a cunt moving.

[Palin's Buttplug]

just say LEAVE TEAM RED ALONE!

[WTF]

Were you born a fat, slimy, scumbag puke piece o' shit, or did you have to work on it?

[Xeones]

BBBBUUUUUUTTTPPPPPLLLUUUUUUUUUGG

[Xeones]

BBUUUUUTTTPPPLLLLLUUUUUUUGG

[Xeones]

BBBUUUUUTTTPPPLLUUUUUUUG

[Red Rocks Rockin]

You know, the guy who got his ass kicked by Leno in the ratings for 20 years.

[Slammer]

Inside the Texas biker gang wars.

Pee Wee Herman body cam

[Swiss Servator, Quelle frisch]

+1 I say let him go!

[Florida Man]

Tequila!!!

[UnCivilServant]

Late Show host David Letterman is retiring tonight.

Why? Being dead for the past two decades hasn't prevented him from being painfully unfunny on camera.

[Crusty Juggler]

But what was in Sandy Berger's pants?

[Bee Tagger]

Inside the Texas biker gang wars.

Are they a bunch of California transplants? Rick Perry could base an entire election on that.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Senate will vote this week on the USA Freedom Act.

"Wait a minute, I wanna tack on a rider to that bill: 30 million dollars of taxpayer money to support the perverted arts."

[UnCivilServant]

What about my $55million grant for literary exporation of bureaucracy?

[Tonio]

I didn't know bureaucrats were particularly prone to clogged pores.

[UnCivilServant]

This is why we need the money, to replace all the missing letters and hire staf to put them where they belong!

[Tonio]

Well-plyed.

[Bobarian (sexbot hand model)]

exporation?

Is that 'expiration' or 'exploration'?

Cause I could get behind one of those.

[UnCivilServant]

It's supposed to be exploration. But funding for that comment was below required levels for quality Control to be properly exercised. Now if we got that grant...

[Swiss Servator, Quelle frisch]

Wow, SugarFree get $30M to write more?!

[UnCivilServant]

No, he gets $10 of that. the other $29,999,990 goes to producing porn in various media.

[SugarFree]

I'll continue on for a mere 3 million.

[UnCivilServant]

You mean we get spared if we don't pay you? Win-win!

[SugarFree]

Or 3 million to stop. Either way.

[Andrew S.]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Democracy doesn't work.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The following people are gay...

[Xeones]

Hitler?

[Lord Humungus]

Brittnneyyyyyy....

White America's Waco insanity: The shocking realities it ignores about racism & violence
The response to the Twin Peaks shootout says everything you need to know about how white privilege really works

White people, even well-meaning and thoughtful ones, have the privilege of looking at deadly acts of mass violence of this sort as isolated local incidents, particular to one community. They do not look at such incidents as indicative of anything having to do with race or racism. But everything from the difference in law enforcement response to media response tells us what we need to know about how white privilege allows acts of violence by white people to be judged by entirely different standards than those of any other group. If a Black motorcycle gang had engaged in a shootout in a parking lot, any honest white person will admit that the conversation would have sounded incredibly different.

Frequently in conversations that I have observed or participated in with white people about race, the claim is levied that it is Black people "who make everything about race." But this incident in Waco gives lie to that claim. It turns out that when white privilege is in clear operation, white people are invested in making sure that we don't see race in operation.

[WTF]

The Shame of Rutgers strikes again.

[WTF]

And it seems to me, SHE is the one trying to make this about race. Christ, what an idiot.

[KDN]

So a black person making this incident about race proves that it is not black people who make everything about race.

Seems legit.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"the claim is levied that it is Black people "who make everything about race.""

The author sure rebutted that assumption!

I had thought that all these biker gangs were just midlife-crisis-having people annoying the neighbors, like the bikers in SouthPark. But now it turns out they're murderers, of course I realize it's a problem.

What does the author think, white people just sip on their mint juleps and say, "oh, well, honkies will be honkies?"

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

*sips mint julep*

Just some crazy peckerwoods on motorcycles.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Gee, and here I thought it was about gang violence and tribal behavior. Guess you do learn something every day.

[gaijin]

I saw a picture of the mugshots of the bikers arrested...they look a lot like I imagine Texas does...which is to say anyone not obviously black must be white.

[Crusty Juggler]

I did only see one "ss" tattoo.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Saddest mohawk ever

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Who knew Jesus was a gangbanger?

[gaijin]

Hey Zeus...Or one of the ZZ Top guys from the Rio Grande Mud era.

[Xeones]

Our Lord and Savior's eyes are awfully close together.

[Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns]

In fairness, sometimes it's not black people who make everything about race.

Sometimes it's Bo. Or Sally Kohn.

[Bee Tagger]

The Senate will vote this week on the USA Freedom Act.

Freedom's just another word for a No vote will make you lose.

[Slammer]

NYPD narcotics cops ordered to stop arresting suspects over 40

The city's narcotics cops are being told to stop arresting suspects over the age of 40 ? a major strategy shift designed to target younger dealers, who are more likely to carry guns and use them, The Post has learned.
"A previous topic of discussion has been the need to target violent offenders who are 18 to 40 years of age. It has been well established that the individuals in this age demographic are responsible for the majority of violent crime," McCarthy wrote. But, he added, a review of arrest records made by narcotics cops "revealed a lack of commitment to this effort."
As a result, commanders will have to file weekly reports to McCarthy listing every arrest of a person over 40, and supervisors in the field will have to immediately notify their captain and get permission to bust any drug suspect that age.

"You're telling us not to lock these people up," one of the officers said. "However, the people over 40, they could be your burglars, they could be responsible for car break-ins, they could be responsible for robberies."
A police source said, "This came from above him. It's amazing, but if you're over 40, go out and start selling drugs because you get a freebie."

Bolding mine. Even when they do something smart they're assholes.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hm. I've been thinking of a career move.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

It's a trick - don't fall for it! They're setting up a geriatric wing in Riker's Island as we speak.

[Bobarian (sexbot hand model)]

The good news? The ass pounding prison rape will be less frequent and A LOT less energetic on that wing.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

It will be once the ACLU sues to get them free Viagra.

[Libertarian]

Wow, AARP is even more powerful than I had feared.

[Fist of Etiquette]

North Korea said Wednesday that it has the ability to miniaturize nuclear weapons...

Just in time for Marvel's Ant-Man.

[Florida Man]

I like Paul Rudd, but that preview looks terrible.

[Bobarian (sexbot hand model)]

I thought it looked good, but Paul Rudd is too old for that part.

[Libertarian]

ability to miniaturize nuclear weapons...

Is this a hint that Team America II is in the works?

[Lord Humungus]

'Home-brewed morphine' made possible

Scientists have figured out how to brew morphine using the same kit used to make beer at home.

They have genetically modified yeast to perform the complicated chemistry needed to convert sugar to morphine.

The findings, published in Nature Chemical Biology, raise promise for medicine but also concerns about "home-brewed" illegal drugs.

Experts have called for tight control of organisms genetically modified to produce narcotics.

[Swiss Servator, Quelle frisch]

Experts have called for tight control of organisms genetically modified to produce narcotics.

"Life finds a way"

[Florida Man]

Your missing about 5 uh's.

[Dark Lord of the Cis]

Frankendrugs?

[Bee Tagger]

Scientists have figured out how to brew morphine using the same kit used to make beer at home.

A better way of scaring people would be to call it a 3D alcohol printer.

[Florida Man]

Also it's not like growing poppies is hard.

[sarcasmic]

True, but it does draw attention when you have a lot of them.

[UnCivilServant]

"Honest officer, these are for export to the UK to wear around the start of November."

[Swiss Servator, Quelle frisch]

That reminds me of stopping by an Afghan villages and looking over at some poppy being grown behind some mud walls... then looking at the village elder and him just giving an expressive shrug. I just laughed and moved on.

[Florida Man]

I think there was an article on reason about how you can grow poppies if you don't know they are poppies or something dumb like that.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"concerns about "home-brewed" illegal drugs"

Yeah, we don't have them now, but might in the future.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

"Experts", i.e. government stooges

[Libertarian]

"Experts have called for tight control of organisms genetically modified to produce narcotics."

LEAVE FLORIDA CRACKERS ALONE!!!

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

I larfed

[Longtorso, Johnny]

More Countries Caught Manipulating Their Climate Data
...In his latest article, Sterling wrote that Switzerland's weather bureau adjusted its raw temperature data so that "the temperatures reported were consistently higher than those actually recorded." For example, the cities of Sion and Zurich saw "a doubling of the temperature trend" after such adjustments were made....

...The Swiss affair, however, is not the first instance of data "homogenization" catalogued by scientists and researchers who are skeptical of man-made global warming. In January, skeptic blogger Paul Homewood documented how NASA has "homogenized" temperature data across Paraguay to create a warming trend that doesn't exist in the raw data....

...Before that, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (ABM) was forced to admit it adjusts temperatures recorded at all weather stations across the country. Aussie journalists had been critical of ABM for being secretive about its data adjustments....

..."Downward homogenizations in recent years were rare. In some areas, downward temperature trends measured over time showed a significantly increased temperature trend after homogenization," he added. "The difference between actually measured temperatures and homogenized temperatures topped 4 degrees Celsius over certain periods at some measuring stations."...

[Swiss Servator, Quelle frisch]

*look of horror crosses face*

[Lord Humungus]

"The Swiss Affair?"

Swiss Servator is at the coffee bar, busy drinking his hot cocoa. A shadow blots out the sun, causing him to look over his shoulder. It's Warty.

[Bobarian (sexbot hand model)]

An Affair to Remember Supress?

[Swiss Servator, Quelle frisch]

Affair? More like DOOM!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

http://www.bbc.com/news/scienc.....t-16861468

/scratches head. I dunno. Seems to me these alarmist scientists deserve to be muzzled.

Not very libertarian of me, I know.

[WTF]

The science is settled! What are you going to believe, the word of politically-motivated 'scientists', or the notoriously unreliable actual data? CLIMATE DENIERS!!11!!!!

[Derpetologist]

Spot the Not: lame dictators

1. Gained power in a coup at age 25. Ousted 4 years later. Moved in with his mom.

2. Cult of personality included a comic book which portrayed him as super strong and invulnerable.

3. Spent the last two years of his life thinking he was still in power even though he had already been replaced.

4. Ousted because his sons were hated: one was a cocaine addict and the other was a flamboyant homosexual.

5. Wrote poems and romance novels; married his cousin.

6. Claimed to be the messiah and the inventor of french fries.

[tarran]

4 is my guess.

[Ted S.]

I'd have guessed 4 was Saddam Hussein. He did have multiple wacky sons.

[tarran]

Yes, but they didn't lead to his ousting.

The guy to watch out for is the son who is still alive. He should be 25 or so today, I think.

[Swiss Servator, Quelle frisch]

6

[Brett L]

Pretty sure that's Kim Jong Il

[Swiss Servator, Quelle frisch]

I guess that is a safe bet with any of those Nork guys...

[robc]

5. All sound legit.

[WTF]

3

[KDN]

5 seems like it would be uncommon behavior in the Middle East.

[Ted S.]

I'd have guessed 5 was a European monarch from a few centuries ago.

[Jerryskids]

Or Edgar Allan Poe. And you know what his law said....

[Notorious G.K.C.]

1

[db]

2 was Billy Ray Cyrus.

[Bobarian (sexbot hand model)]

I thought 1 was the MySpace guy.

[straffinrun]

Dictator invents French fries that are phallic. Yeah, I'm going with 6.

[Derpetologist]

6 is the Not. Kim Jong Il claimed to be the inventor of the hamburger among other things.

The others in order are Valentine Strasser, Gnassingb? Eyad?ma, Antonio Salzar, Alfredo Stroessner, and Saddam Hussein.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Airing the depth of troubles at Fannie Mae
In 2004, before Fannie Mae pushed into riskier loans, the Department of Housing and Urban Development suggested the definitions were becoming fuzzy.

"As the GSE's become more comfortable with subprime lending, the line between what today is considered a subprime loan versus a prime loan will likely deteriorate, making expansion by the GSE's look more like an increase in the prime market," the housing department said in a November 2004 report.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

#Ferguson Protesters Protest Not Getting Their Checks For Protesting?

[Slammer]

#cutthecheck

[gaijin]

#checktheirpriviledge

[Chinny Chin Chin]

#don'tmowastrotruf

[Derpetologist]

Spot the Not: movie taglines

1. He would not take "maybe" for an answer.

2. Unwittingly, he trained a dolphin to kill the President of the United States.

3. Science Created Him. Now Chuck Norris Must Destroy Him.

4. Not to be confused with King Kong.

5. EX-COP. EX-CIA. EX-PLOSIVE.

6. Titans will clash

[Swiss Servator, Quelle frisch]

3

[Bobarian (sexbot hand model)]

You really haven't seen "Silent Rage"?

Imma say 1

[Monty Crisco]

Thank you, Bob. I was going to correct him as well.
Imma say 2.

[robc]

4

[WTF]

3

[Monty Crisco]

SILENT RAGE, MUTHAFUCKA!!!

[KDN]

2. Too unwieldy.

[WTF]

I think I remember that movie, though.

[Ted S.]

Day of the Dolphin with George C. Scott.

[Libertarian]

faaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

paaaaaaaaaaaa

[WTF]

That's the one!

[Notorious G.K.C.]

6

[Florida Man]

2

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

1. "Would" makes no sense in a movie tagline unless it's used in a question.

[db]

1

[Andrew S.]

3

[Elspeth Flashman]

4

[Derpetologist]

1 is the Not.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

There's a war on cash
...Peter Bofinger is a member of the German Council of Economic Experts ? the "Five Sages on the Economy" ? which in its official function advises the government and parliament on economic policy issues. These folks are taken seriously....

...And then he added the real reason for abolishing cash in such a coordinated, wide-ranging manner:

"It would be easier for central banks to impose their monetary policies. At this time, they cannot push interest rates appreciably below zero because the savers would hoard cash. If there is no cash, the zero bound is eliminated."...

[Rufus J. Firefly]

We were just talking about this last night.

Part of the reason people seem to be struggling, and this is just my impression, is the loss of flexibility cash provided. My father has never owned a credit card preferring to do his business all in cash over the years. He was able to leverage that into a small fortune. Not bad for a guy who came from another country with limited education; but he sure could read the crap out of Dante in the original vernacular. All self-taught.

Credit, while useful, can easily turn you into a slave.

[robc]

The borrower is slave to the lender.

Someone should write that down or something.

[Tonio]

And there will always be cash money as long as there is gold and silver.

[robc]

Executive order 6102.

[The Last American Hero]

+1 pen and +1 phone

[straffinrun]

It seems a waste to make bullets out of either gold or silver.

[Rasilio]

You probably don't even need gold and silver.

If the government confiscated all of that someone would come up with a solution to power the black market

[Mickey Rat]

Mr. Bofinger, he loves only Bo...?

[Lord Humungus]

For Many American States, It's Like the Recession Never Ended

A majority of states are making cuts, tapping reserves or facing shortfalls despite an improving national economy and stock markets at record levels, according to Standard & Poors and the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government. State revenue hasn't rebounded to a prerecession peak adjusted for inflation, and other factors are putting pressure on budgets.

Alaska, Oklahoma and energy-producing states saw receipts fall with global oil prices. Kansas overestimated revenue after tax cuts, while New Jersey faces a shortfall thanks to unfunded pensions. Even some Republican governors have championed tax increases to avoid further diminishing services curtailed during the 18-month recession, the deepest downturn since the Great Depression.

[UnCivilServant]

The ressession has never ended. It started back in the 1990s and kept going.

[Rasilio]

This.

All of the economic distortions we see today can be directly tied to the feds cutting interest rates in 1991

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae Ex-CEOs Sued for Understating Loans
Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Daniel Mudd, the former chief executive officer of Fannie Mae, and Richard Syron, ex-CEO of Freddie Mac, were sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for understating by hundreds of billions of dollars the subprime loans held by the firms.

The lawsuits filed today in Manhattan federal court were followed by an SEC statement that it had entered into "non-prosecution agreements" with each company. Fannie Mae, the government-sponsored enterprise which issues almost half of all mortgage-backed securities, and Freddie Mac, the McLean, Virginia-based mortgage-finance company, had "agreed to accept responsibility" for their conduct, the SEC said.
The agency said in the lawsuits that Syron, Mudd and other executives understated exposure to subprime mortgage loans. From 2007 to 2008, Freddie Mac executives said the company's exposure was from $2 billion to $6 billion when it was actually as high as $244 billion, according to one SEC complaint.

From 2006 to 2008, Washington-based Fannie Mae executives said the firm's exposure to subprime mortgage and reduced-documentation loans was about $4.8 billion when it was almost 10 times greater, according to the regulator....

[The Last American Hero]

but but but Shreek has assured us this really had nothing to do with the bubble.

[Bee Tagger]

Islamic State fighters have gained partial control of the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria.

Have they commissioned the Oak Ridge Boys to write a song about it?

[Swiss Servator, Quelle frisch]

*narrows gaze*

[Bee Tagger]

Good, someone is at least as awful as me.

[expat]

Ah oom boppa, oom boppa, oom boppa mau mau

[This Machine]

GIDDYUP

[Derpetologist]

Spot the Not: renamed foods

1. napoleons in Germany renamed "Kaiser cakes"

2. danishes in Iran renamed "roses of the Prophet Muhammad"

3. sauerkraut in US renamed "liberty cabbage"

4. hamburger in the US renamed "liberty steak"

5. Turkish Delight on Cyprus renamed "Cyprus delight"

6. french bread in New Zealand renamed "kiwi bread"

[UnCivilServant]

6.

[Swiss Servator, Quelle frisch]

6

[WTF]

6

[Notorious G.K.C.]

5

I've heard of 3 and 4 during WWI

[Bobarian (sexbot hand model)]

You're older that I would have guessed.

[robc]

6. Nz hasn't been at war with France, AFAIK.

[Swiss Servator, Quelle frisch]

Rugby World Cup...

[Derpetologist]

5 tried and 5 failed. The Not is #1. Kiwi bread became a thing when kiwis got mad about the frogs testing nukes near them.

[Lord Humungus]

Police put two goats in back of cruiser for trespassing, owners sought

One goat was found swimming laps in someone's pool while the other was exploring the yard of a house about three kilometres away, according to NECN.

"Both goats have been detained and are held pending identification," police said via social media.

At least one of the animals was taken to the Animal Rescue League of New Hampshire, which is seeking the public's help in finding the owner.

"People of Merrimack: Count your goats!" the rescue service announced on Facebook.

[Slammer]

Lucky they weren't dogs...#goatprivilege

[Bobarian (sexbot hand model)]

Species-ist!

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"baaah, baaah, it's a set-up, I'm just a scapegoat!"

[db]

Someone perfected their art in Goat Simulator and decided to go real-world, I see.

[Jerryskids]

Since when the hell have they had kilometres in New Hampshire?

[Derpetologist]

Spot the Not: renamed towns & proposed renames

1. Pile of Bones renamed White Plains

2. Fishkill renamed to Fishsave

3. Swastika renamed to Windsor

4. Camp Kill the Jews renamed to Camp Hill of Jews

5. Berlin (the one in Canada) renamed Kitchener

6. Stalinabad renamed Dushanbe

[Ted S.]

2 and 6 are real.

[Ted S.]

I should add that 2 was only proposed (by the evil people of PETA), not renamed. The -kill comes from a Dutch word for creek, if memory serves. On this side of the Hudson we've got Catskill and Sawkill, among others.

[Crusty Juggler]

And Wallkill and Fishkill and Platekill and Beaverkill

[Rhywun]

And my favorite, Kill van Kull.

[Restoras, BHS]

Correct, Ted S.

I am willing to bet the assclowns that propose these renamings are completely clueless to NY's Dutch heritage.

[Slammer]

How about Whorekill/Hoerenkill (Harlot's Creek) in Delaware?

[Bobarian (sexbot hand model)]

When they're dead they're just hookers, Figgis.

[Gordilocks]

There is a Swastika in Northern Ontario, and 5, Berlin, was renamed Kitchener.

[WTF]

1

[Swiss Servator, Quelle frisch]

3

[Rhywun]

I think I have heard 5. 1 and 3 sound fake to me but 3 more so.

3.

[Derpetologist]

1 is the Not. Pile of Bones was renamed Regina.

[Mickey Rat]

It just a slight eating disorder.

[Ted S.]

Ah, those wacky Icelanders:

Did drunk MP vomit on fellow passengers?

There's no debate that the man threw up; the question is whether he was drunk or just airsick:

The member of Al?ingi has told reporters that he was suffering from a stomach upset, but both DV and N?t?minn quote other passengers on the plane who claim he was extremely drunk.

Tinna Margr?t J?hannsd?ttir told V?sir that she was among the passengers who ?smundur threw up over. She says he vomited over several rows of seats and over lots of people?adding that there was no doubt the MP was intoxicated. He could not stand up straight, had to lean on a pillar at passport control and was escorted the whole way by flight attendants, she says. "It was no stomach upset. That is just rubbish."

[EDG reppin' LBC]

You can't really dust for vomit.

[Bobarian (sexbot hand model)]

Maybe of you let it dry for a while?

[Lord Humungus]

Republicans' Early Views of GOP Field More Positive Than in 2012, 2008 Campaigns

Nearly six-in-ten (57%) Republican and Republican-leaning registered voters say they have an excellent or good impression of their party's presidential candidates. That compares with 54% of Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters who have positive impressions of the Democratic Party's candidates.

Republicans are more positive about the GOP field than they were at nearly comparable points in the past two presidential campaigns. In May 2011, 44% of Republicans viewed the field of GOP candidates as excellent or good. In September 2007, 50% gave the presidential candidates positive marks.

[Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns]

Well, when you have 327 candidates, it's not hard to find one you like.

[expat]

they ARE all politicians .. are you sure about that statement

[The Last American Hero]

The Dems have more than one candidate?

[Illocust]

That's what I was thinking. Seriously, until Hillary decides to step down or Warren enters the field there is only one candidate.

[Jerryskids]

54% of them have a positive opinion about Hillary.
.
54% of them have a positive opinion about Hillary!!!
.
54% OF THEM HAVE A POSITIVE OPINION ABOUT HILLARY.
.
54% of them have a positive opinion about Hillary.
.
I'm 100% positive I don't want to live on this planet any more.

[JMC1607]

Say what you will about Letterman (lord knows I will agree with you for the most part) but the McDonald's drive thru bit still cracks me up all these years later.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtPGdOs7zOM

[Bobarian (sexbot hand model)]

Absolutely, David Letterman used to be funny, relevant, and topical.

Dinosaurs used to walk the earth, as well.

[Lord Humungus]

Gallup: Record-High 60% of Americans Support Same-Sex Marriage

The record high in support comes roughly one month before the Supreme Court is to issue a ruling on the constitutionality of same-sex marriage. Americans, at this point, are not highly familiar with the case, with 42% following it closely -- well below the average 60% for news issues Gallup has measured over the past two decades. Attention to the case is similar among supporters and opponents of gay marriage.

Though same-sex marriage continues to be politically divisive, support for its legal status has reached new highs among Americans of all political stripes -- with Democrats at 76% support, independents at 64% and Republicans at 37%.

[Lord Humungus]

The Civil War never ended: Baltimore, Ferguson and the ghosts of the neo-Confederate South

One need look no further than the U.S. Supreme Court docket for evidence of the Civil War in our contemporary lives. In March, the court heard a case regarding a request by the Sons of Confederate Veterans for a special Texas license plate featuring a Confederate battle flag.

In 2010, the Virginia public school system introduced a 4th grade textbook with bogus claims about thousands of loyal slaves fighting on the side of the Confederacy. The source? The Sons of Confederate Veterans.

Such disinformation is part of a broader neo-Confederate movement to deny that slavery was a major factor in the conflict?and to bury the history of African-Americans' active role in their own emancipation.

[Andrew S.]

Pretty easy to recognize a Salon article even without mousing over the link. Do they write anything other than "Anyone who has a non-progressive political thought is evil" articles nowadays?

[Doctor Whom]

That's derptacular even for Salon. Maryland's standard-issue (not optional, like the proposed SCV tags) license plates commemorate the War of 1812.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

The only neo-Confederate thing in Maryland is the state song, which actually commemorates a riot in Baltimore:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....9030100010

[Beautiful Bean Footage]

And is set to the tune of Oh Tannenbaum...

[Florida Man]

*reloads cap and ball revolver from this morning*

The south will rise again!!!

*fires cap and ball revolver into air*

[Bobarian (sexbot hand model)]

Normal morning routine, I take it?

After coffee and a bump of meth, just to get ya going, amirite!

[Slammer]

Fights Break Out Over $30 Hot Dog Price at Stand Near Ground Zero: Officials

Warning: autoplay

[Ted S.]

Isn't a $30 hot dog cheap for NYC?

[WTF]

No. It is exorbitant even for Manhattan.

[Mickey Rat]

Don't buy a hot dog there?

[Lord Humungus]

3 Gun Owners File Lawsuit Against D.C. Over Concealed Carry Laws

Attorney Alan Gura represents the three gun owners who filed a lawsuit against D.C.

"You certainly don't need a 'good reason' to be able to carry a gun for self defense which is a fundamental right," Gura says.

A federal judge agreed with Gura and granted an injunction blocking police from requiring residents to show a "good reason" when applying for a concealed carry permit.

[WTF]

Too bad New Jersey is still allowed to get away with the same bullshit.

[Restoras, BHS]

NY too.

I wonder though, will these victories eventually be applied to the states that are working the hardest to eliminate 2A rights?

[WTF]

I don't know, the SCOTUS let stand the lower court ruling in Drake that said New Jersey's refusal to allow its citizens to bear arms does not burden the right to bear arms. So the Nazgul seem to be fine with allowing contradictory rulings to stand in different circuits.

[Tonio]

This was covered yesterday, but it is a victory and bears repeating.

[straffinrun]

Why do I need to conceal carry? Funny you ask...

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Derpity derpity derp:

Patriots Should Suffer Same Punishment As Stricken Black Little League Champs

Black Talk Radio Accuses Tom Brady Of 'White Privilege' [AUDIO]

[Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns]

Does the person who wrote that first article think there aren't any black players on the Patriots?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

The sporting pages say they use the flattest balls of all

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoqg15tCyiA

[Libertarian]

+1 AC/DC

[Lord Humungus]

Bill allowing beer bikes advances in California Legislature

The Senate on Monday unanimously passed the bill by Sen. Richard Pan, a Sacramento Democrat. SB530 would create a vehicle safety standard for a growing new crop of bike buses that allow up to 15 people to pedal at slow speeds.

Beer bikes have been popping up in Sacramento and San Diego as a riding tour, often with stops at bars and restaurants.

Pan says current state law does not include a definition for this type of vehicle, creating legal uncertainties.

The legislation would let local governments decide if alcohol can be served on board.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

I see these in my neighborhood often. I figured they violated open container laws. And all the participants could be field tested for DWI. Doesn't matter if it's a bike.

True story: I was in traffic school with a dude who got a DUI while operating a skateboard. Fuckin' California...

[Lord Humungus]

We have one downtown - called the Pub Peddler - that can be rented for events. My wife got to go on a pub cruise on it, getting quite the workout while also getting loaded.

[Derpetologist]

While hunting for derp on Everyday Feminism, I saw an ad for a thing called a Lunapad: "reusable alternatives to disposable pads & tampons".

Well, it looks like Sugarfree now has some competition for creating monstrously vile things.

[Florida Man]

I just got it. Luna. Monthly.

[Tonio]

Yes. Women typically menstrate on a 28-day cycle, which is also the duration of the lunar cycle.

[gaijin]

Roll Crimson Tide!

[Tonio]

Ha!

[Beautiful Bean Footage]

BUCK FAMA

[Tonio]

The notion of reusable menstrual products is not new. Before disposable pads and tampons women used menstrual diapers. These were often home-made from scrap cloth, hence the origin of the phrase "on the rag."

And whatever you do, don't search for "menstrual cup."

[gaijin]

"menstrual cup."

Can two women share one of these?

[Swiss Servator, Quelle frisch]

GAH!!!!!!!!

[Tonio]

[golf clap]

[db]

I have an acquaintance who uses these and some sort of reusable tampon. Why she thought it was a good idea to tell me and try to explain their use to me, I have no idea.

[Tonio]

Is she the crunchy sort? Those people are always smug evangelists for anything they do that saves even a scrap of paper.

Oh, and whatever you do, don't ask about the resources it takes to purify the water used to do that extra laundry. And don't do laundry at her house.

[straffinrun]

Those "disposable" ones can be used if you just flip them over. Then again, my wife is a penny pincher.

[Jerryskids]

You can get even more use out of them if you flip them both front-to-back and end-to-end. But I must say you sound pretty damn cynical if you refer to your wife as "The Disposable One".

[Lord Humungus]

Greece cannot make June 5 IMF payment without deal - lawmaker

Talks with the European Union and International Monetary Fund lenders have dragged on for the past four months. A successful conclusion would release around 7.2 billion euros in aid, but talks have stumbled over pension and labour reform proposed by the creditors and resisted by Athens.

"There is no money for the foreign (lenders) when they have not given us any funds for a year," Filis said. "We don't have it to make the payment and this is part of the discussion."

He said the government would make sure that it has money to pay pensions and wages before servicing debt repayments to the IMF.

"If you give me a bunch of money, I'll pay some of it back."

[UnCivilServant]

If Greece defaults, do the creditors get to repo the country? Or do they have a big bankruptsy auction of the pieces?

[Crusty Juggler]

I would pay up to double-digits for Yanni.

[Doctor Whom]

That might be problematic, since the best bits are in the British Museum.

[Dark Lord of the Cis]

Got your eye on anything in particular?

[UnCivilServant]

Naw, since you can't get Greeks to work for themselves, it'd be too much effort to get them to work for me.

[Swiss Servator, Quelle frisch]

Rhodes

[UnCivilServant]

I hear if you melt down all the green Rhodians, you'll have enough material to remake the Colossus.

[Swiss Servator, Quelle frisch]

I'd remake the Colossus as a giant Warty.

[Swiss Servator, Quelle frisch]

I'd remake the Colossus as a giant Warty.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Just make sure you grab the dishes before they start throwing them

[Illocust]

I'm in Texas, and some local reporter have been hunting down friends and landlords of the bikers who died. At least one of them was only in a biking club that the police say are affiliated with the Cossacks (how do you get affiliated with a gang without being a member?). Has anyone else heard anything similar to this?

[Illocust]

Also, has anyone noticed that all these bikers have day jobs? Seriously, it took me by suprise.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Obviously drinking and riding ain't paying the bills

[Crusty Juggler]

Someone posted this link earlier. I am not sure exactly what to believe other than the inclusion of which gangs were present.

I would doubt that they all showed up for some good old-fashioned murder, though.

[WTF]

When one of the combatants produced a gun the Swat team opened fire with automatic weapons. Multiple sources have told The Aging Rebel that all of the dead were killed by police.

Certainly puts a different spin on things if true.

[Restoras, BHS]

Wouldn't surprise me. Pigs need to go home safe at night regardless of anyone else's rights.

[tarran]

4 of the corpses were inside the restaurant. That suggests that they were killed inside the restaurant. I expect that they were killed by other bikers.

[Brett L]

There are plenty of independent and semi-independent clubs. The Libertopians may be their own MC but can also ride with the Cossacks. That's how they got the "9 gangs" involved. It is probably a protection racket.

[Tonio]

And, of course the police always like to inflate things to make themselves look more heroic.

[Tonio]

My understanding is that some non-outlaw bike clubs are affiliates of the outlaw gangs (the clubs are affiliates, not the individual members). Those affiliates can serve as auxiliaries or recruiting channels. Also, sometimes distribution channels for "Amway" products.

[Mazakon]

Twitter makes Capehart question his "support" for the 1st Amendment.

Article: Obama Joins Twitter, Racism Quickly Follows

Still is odd how someone thinks a person who already tweets under an account "joins Twitter".

[Libertarian]

I read somewhere that this is the THIRD time he's joined.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Is this like Voyager leaving the solar system?

Which certain elected officials should do also.

[Xeones]

Certain = All (past, current, and aspiring future)

[Ted S.]

Speed cameras are only used for safety. They would never be used for revenue generation, no sirree.

More than $150,000 in Ngauranga Gorge speed camera fines cancelled

Police have had to cancel more than $150,000 in speeding fines, after a daylight saving error in one of Wellington's new hi-tech cameras went unnoticed for over a month.

[...]

But the Ngauranga one turned out to be not so clever after all. It is now subject to human monitoring every day after it switched time to mark the end of daylight saving ? and then switched back again the next day.

Police were not aware of the error, but drivers began to notice the wrong time-stamps on their speeding tickets.

[...]

Police discovered the camera had updated itself, as it was supposed to do, when daylight saving ended on April 5. But the next day it reset itself to the original time.

That meant the time-stamps on 1778 photos of speeding vehicles snapped between April 5 and May 8, amounting to fines of $151,880, were wrong by one hour.

[Lord Humungus]

Coach Harbaugh to meet with Muslim students upset he defended 'American Sniper'

When news of the meeting first spread to the campus community at large Tuesday morning via an email to several Middle Eastern, North African, Muslim and South Asian student groups, it was relayed that student organizers expected the coach to say he was sorry for offending them.

...snip...

Those emailed the invitation include members of Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, as well as Muslim, Hindu, Persian, Malaysian, Lebanese, Pakistani and Arab students.

Fitzgerald told The College Fix via email that "Coach Jim Harbaugh agreed to meet with U-M students only to hear their concerns."

"This private dialogue was scheduled several weeks ago," Fitzgerald added. "The student organizer mischaracterized the purpose of the meeting in her email to other students. Our understanding is that the student has sent a clarifying email. There will be no apology [from Harbaugh]."

[Brett L]

I hope someone records Harbaugh telling them to grow the fuck up

[Jerryskids]

Clint Eastwood (pbuh) created "American Sniper" and you just expect me to sit idly by while you blaspheme His Holy Works? Death to the infidels!

[Lord Humungus]

This Is What Crony Capitalism Looks Like: Boeing Is Threatening to Move Abroad if It Doesn't Get to Keep Its Ex-Im Subsidies

The threats come as a new push is being made in Congress to find ways of wresting reauthorisation of the bank from a committee controlled by one of the agency's fiercest opponents.

Scott Scherer, Boeing's head of regulatory strategy at Boeing Capital, said the aerospace and defense group would "not sit idly by" if the ExIm Bank's mandate was not renewed by the end of June. "Boeing is not going to let itself be hurt by the lack of an ExIm Bank," he said in an interview with the Financial Times. "If it means sourcing ? to other countries who will support us we may have to look at that. Other countries have more aggressive export policies. We will find an alternative."

[Swiss Servator, Quelle frisch]

Bye. Do write when you get to your new home.

[Matrix]

Diversity officer "could" be fired for saying on official tweet #KillAllWhiteMen

But Ms Mustafa later defended her actions by saying it is not possible for her to be racist because she is an "ethnic minority woman" who can not "stand to gain from inequality".

[double ham fisted]

Except, you know, for the job she has because of inequality.

[straffinrun]

Simba was a white man?

[lafe.long]

Midland pastor resigns after gay news site posts screenshots from his smartphone

Makela was the subject of a story on the gay news website Queerty that showed screenshots of messages Makela posted to the mobile app Grindr ? a male location-based social network. Grindr uses a mobile device's location-based services to show other posters closest to the user, according to its website.

[DEG]

CNN.com posted this surprisingly good article about the Texas hunter hunting a black rhino in Namibia.

[cfskyrim]

I disagree that it was a good article. It still carried heavy bias of anti-hunting and the dumbass they were interviewing in the video clip was strongly anti-hunting.

It's funny that these dumbasses always say, "There's other ways to do this" but they never offer anything up.

Meanwhile, here in the US we are experiencing record highs of deer, elk, ducks, turkey, hogs, etc. All animals that are heavily hunted. Every agency that actually actively participates in their conservation say that hunting is extremely important to their survival. The only ones that disagree are the "animal lovers" that do absolutely jack shit to help and just sit around and bitch incessantly.

[DEG]

TripAdvisor's list of America's best BBQ.

I have a few places to try out.

[DEG]

New rape study claims 1 in 5 freshman women at a private college in upstate New York were raped.

They were recruited to take part in a survey about women's health and answered questions on a range of issues including alcohol consumption, suicidal ideations and sexual behavior. They recorded their responses before they started their first year and at the end of the fall, spring and summer during their freshman year.

Ahh... self-reported. So the women involved can say anything.

The study did not include the behavior of fondling or touching and did not include cases that involved an individual overwhelming a woman with arguments for sex or continually pressing for sex.

The definition in this study solely included cases involving the threat of force or the use of force, or incapacitation so that a woman could not resist or consent, said Carey, the lead author.

Though the study was done at only one school and does not necessarily signal what's happening at colleges across the country, Carey says the body of evidence suggests a similar pattern on most campuses.

And a tiny sample size.

[Bobarian (sexbot hand model)]

Limitations include reliance on self-report and sampling from a single campus.

The only campus mentioned in the article is Brown, but doesn't mean it was there.

Something stinks here, more than sampling and self-reporting.

[lafe.long]

Simon Pegg: "Nerd culture is the product of a late capitalist conspiracy, designed to infantalize the consumer as a means of non-aggressive control."

I like Simon's work, but I don't totally buy his theory. Interesting read, though:

The children of the 70s and 80s were the first generation, for whom it wasn't imperative to 'grow up' immediately after leaving school. Why this happened is a whole other sociological discussion: a rise in the student population, progress in gender equality, the absence of world war; all these things and more contributed to this social evolution.

[Xeones]

Nerd culture is actually one of the less-harmful byproducts of an early-Progressive Era conspiracy known as "compulsory education," designed to infantilize the consumer as a means of non-aggressive control.

[The Late P Brooks]

North Korea said Wednesday that it has the ability to miniaturize nuclear weapons

They have my permission to test them in Washington, DC.

[Tonio]

Obviously sabotaged by the Koch brothers, and other enemies of all that's good and right.