Texas Abortion Law Upheld, Christie Wins N.J. Pension Fight, Hunger Games Trailer Out: P.M. Links

• 

  Credit: Gage Skidmore / photo on flickr

  A U.S. appeals court has upheld Texas' restrictive abortion law, which requires abortion clinics to have hospital-grade facilities.

• New Jersey's Supreme Court is siding with Gov. Chris Christie in his decision to slash payments to state employees' pension funds in his budget. The Court said that the state must meet its pension obligations, but also determined that a recent budget agreement wasn't an enforceable contract the judiciary could require the state to keep.
• Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert has pleaded not guilty of paying hush money to cover up an alleged past sex abuse scandal.
• A federal judge has ordered the last of the "Angola 3," Albert Woodfox, to be freed from prison, but Louisiana prosecutors are fighting the demand.
• Egypt has sentenced 11 men to death over soccer riots that killed more than 70 in 2012.
• Now that Ireland has legalized gay marriage recognition, some folks there have their eyes on loosening the country's very restrictive abortion laws.
• The Hunger Games is finally coming to an end. The first trailer for the final movie, Mockingjay—Part 2, is out:

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Egypt has sentenced 11 men to death over soccer riots that killed more than 70 in 2012.

Are any of them named Bladder?

[Slammer]

One whole side. Weird.

[Rich]

That’s “Blatter”. Don’t want to piss off make anyone else upset.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

There’s just too much to digest.

[Almanian [REDACTED]]

Try the poutine – it digests rather easily

[Rufus J. Firefly]

The fries are often too greasy, the gravy has too much sodium and I’m lactose intolerant.

It’s a trifecta of evil for me.

[Andrew S.]

Even the DOJ can’t stop fisty from having the #1 comment.

[RAHeinlein]

It’s typically amusing that FOE is always first – today, it is reassuring…

[Fist of Etiquette]

You know who else kept reliably on schedule?

[RAHeinlein]

The guy who created Metamucil?

[jesse.in.mb]

Vegans?

[fleshy wavefunction]

The Obamacare implementation team?

[X[redacted]s]

American Pharaoh?

[Pan Zagloba]

Brigadoon?

[Trouser-Pod]

Aye!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Andrew!

7:01!

RESPECT IT.

Refer to it as The Derpartment of Joostice. That way you trick them.

[Chilled Speech]

Help me out. What’s at 7:01? When first mention was made?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I’ve already said too much.

[Chilled Speech]

I bet you like shitty Italian pizza too, don’t you Rufus?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Especially made by immigrant Arabs at two for one joints.

[Chilled Speech]

You got me.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

701? the size of the 2-stroke in my jet ski

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I bet you’ve been dying to tell us all you have jet skis.

Honestly, who needs a 2-stroke jet ski?

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

It is the easiest little engine to work on (other than the tight quarters in the hull). I love 2 strokes.

[Injun, as in from India]

New Jersey’s Supreme Court is siding with Gov. Chris Christie in his decision to slash payments to state employees’ pension funds in his budget.

There is still hope and change!

FULL DISCLOSURE: As an obnoxious asshat who represents the blowhard stupidity of Reason magazine’s commenting peanut gallery, I hereby declare that my comments are typical internet bluster and hyperbole, hardly valuable to public discourse, and must not be construed as “true threats” in “interstate or foreign commerce” in violation of federal statute 18 U.S. Code ? 875. Any precious snowflake or federal judge offended by my worthless comments should see a plastic surgeon to graft thicker skin, or wait and pray for stem cell therapy innovations to grow said thicker skin. Because the word “trigger” is a part of the phrase “Trigger Warning” and may trigger a repressed fear of firearms in some people, no trigger warnings shall precede my comments.

[Almanian [REDACTED]]

raaaaaacist!!!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Now that Ireland has legalized gay marriage recognition, some folks there have their eyes on loosening the country’s very restrictive abortion laws.

It logically follows.

[X[redacted]s]

Well, otherwise they’d be breeding like rabbits!

[Injun, as in from India]

Now that Ireland has legalized gay marriage recognition, some folks there have their eyes on loosening the country’s very restrictive abortion laws.

Wendy Davis is on top of it.

FULL DISCLOSURE: As an obnoxious asshat who represents the blowhard stupidity of Reason magazine’s commenting peanut gallery, I hereby declare that my comments are typical internet bluster and hyperbole, hardly valuable to public discourse, and must not be construed as “true threats” in “interstate or foreign commerce” in violation of federal statute 18 U.S. Code ? 875. Any precious snowflake or federal judge offended by my worthless comments should see a plastic surgeon to graft thicker skin, or wait and pray for stem cell therapy innovations to grow said thicker skin. Because the word “trigger” is a part of the phrase “Trigger Warning” and may trigger a repressed fear of firearms in some people, no trigger warnings shall precede my comments.

[The DerpRider]

I think you should randomly change one word in your disclosure each time you post. Just to confuse ’em.

[Clich? Bandit]

Well, I leave for a few months and all Hell breaks loose. I know Warty wasn’t named but I am not convinced. To echo others, any support the Agg and Ryhwun need I am there. Nick, I am sure, is doing the best he can at this time and I will be donating to Reason a little more. (Also IJ if they jump on the help Reason.com bandwagon).

I was MIA due to a new addition, a boy, in March. THANKS FOR NOT MISSING ME YOU BLOWHARD STUPIDOS! I am doing my best to spread liberty by breeding?so it is just me and Sloopy I guess (although he is outpacing me exponentially).

I was thinking of having another Denver H+R Meetup before but now I think we REALLY need one. I think each city should have one to honor Je Suis Reason.

I also would like to point out that if they (tin foil hat clearly not working) are going to be going after commenters then I am going to refrain in perpetuity from further comments. While this may seem like surrender I see it as protest (and a little self preservation). Reason will still get my eyeballs and money. Having fought for over a dozens years, in my own way, for liberty I am now fully discouraged. I think we may have crossed the Rubicon. It saddens me greatly.

If there is an alternate “Fire Drill Meeting Point” please let me know as I would love to keep reading and being a part of the Blowhard Brigade.

And now for a final clich?, at least for now, regarding comments:

Molan Labe, BITCHES!

[Slammer]

Congrats! (on the boy)

[Almanian [REDACTED]]

So does this mean we won’t see you at Friday Funnies this week?

Congrats on the new one 🙂 Daughter #2 (well, and her husband, too) provided us with a grandkid a year ago, So – same thing. EXCEPT WE GET TO GIVE HER BACK WHEN THE VISIT’S OVER!

Have fun – they grow up so fucking fast!

[HeteroPatriarch]

You’ve been gone? I had a boy on March 23 and barely missed a week of work, and only about 2 days of commenting.

[Lady Bertrum]

I guess it’s a good thing you don’t type with your vulva.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Do we know that for sure?

[Rich]

We missed you, but didn’t want to make your absence suspiciously conspicuous.

Seriously, congrats and keep on keeping on!

[Fist of Etiquette]

I was MIA due to a new addition, a boy, in March.

What’s his screen name? I’m asking for a friend.

[SIV]

In South Africa?

[Clich? Bandit]

STEVE SMITH Jr.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Where is my foreskin?

[Fist of Etiquette]

YOU PEOPLE WENT IN AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT DIRECTION THAN I INTENDED.

[Clich? Bandit]

At least we aren’t in Sync.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Nick said the same thing.

[Warty]

DON’T MENTION THE WAR

[Almanian [REDACTED]]

*affixes Swiss Servator-esque gaze*

[Warty]

Also, congratulations,

Also, I’m also mentally bidding our beloved H&R goodbye also. I doubt it will survive as we know it. Also.

[Clich? Bandit]

Yup, I fear we are witnessing the beginning of the end. I actually will miss it, even our trolls.
Hell I miss Joe and LoneDipshit

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

Joe’s still here man.

But seriously, if Reason commenting ends. Is there a realistic alternative?

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Who knows. But there has to be some money in it. These clicks aren’t free.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

We’ll all meet back at popehat and come to a consensus?

[iCarl]

Did you see my request that you email me last night?

[iCarl]

(Joe)

[Jumbie]

I read that as ‘Is there a realistic afterlife?’ and it totally made sense…

[db]

Maybe

[Puddin' Stick]

Oh, someone will set up a website with a link to each H&R article and independent discussion.

Hopefully the website will be based in a country without an extradition treaty with the US and that generally ignores legal requests from US DAs.

[NebulousFocus]

Everyone has Tor, correct?

[Slammer]

+1 Chaucer

“There is an end to everything, to good things as well.”

[Warty]

When the cities are on fire
With the burning flesh of men
Just remember
That death is not the end

[DEG]

Congratulations on your son!

[Tonio the Redactionary]

Congrats, Clich? Bandit on the new young ‘un.

Yes, Alma, spoil-and-return is teh best. Enjoy.

Standing with Aggie, Alan, Croaker, Buster, Rhywun (why you have such a non-deconstructible name, bro?) and Product.

[Old Man With Candy]

When do I get a crack at him?

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

The Hunger Games is finally coming to an end. The first trailer for the final movie, Mockingjay?Part 2, is out:

Meh, Part 1 sucked. But I do wonder how many people watch these movies and see the parallels between the our ever growing state and their “capital”?

[Catatafish]

Part 1 was the necessary build up to make the conclusion worthwhile (assuming, as Lady B says, it stays true to the book).

And just read a little of Donald Sutherland’s comments to see how logically twisted these people can get to avoid the parallels you reference, Joe.

[Rasilio]

Oh please god no do not stay true to that book.

I loved the first Hunger games book and liked the second but the 3rd was one of the worst pieces of garbage ever written.

Nothing anyone does makes sense, none of their actions are even in character and frankly you could leave Katniss out of the whole damn book for as much of a role as she plays.

If there was ever a case where deviating from the written version was a good idea this was it

[VG Zaytsev]

Nah, the themes of the 3rd book were power corrupting and war driving the good to become the mirror of their enemies.

Good themes, even if not particularly well developed.

[BardMetal]

I have a feeling a lot of people don’t see the state as the “capital”, but rather the evil 1%. Never underestimate the power of stupid.

[Pan Zagloba]

Yes.

“Capitol” clearly stands for Tea Partiers and 1%.

Everyone else is various Occupy, non-profit, government, union etc. members.

Pretty self-evident, really.

[Chilled Speech]

The capitol in Hunger Games is evil, just like like capitalism. Coincidence? I think not. If we want to avoid the dytopian fate of the Hunger Games series, we need to hand the state more power. And fast.

[Not an Economist]

But I do wonder how many people watch these movies and see the parallels between the our ever growing state and their “capital”?

In my opinion the books do a better job of this.

[Lady Bertrum]

Libertarians should like the ending to The Hunger Games if the movie stays true to the book.

[Almanian [REDACTED]]

That chick is really a boy? Frodo gives the ring to Bilbo to take back to Mordor? Harry Potter’s gay?

Don’t leave me hangin’!!

[RBS]

Don’t leave me hangin’!!

Tell it to the doctor, son.

[The DerpRider]

Just make sure not to comment on it…

[BardMetal]

So she gets naked?

[SIV]

She’s flying down the dragstrip in a ’55 Chevy big block when the sound drops, the frame freezes and melts from the heat of the projector?

[Almanian [REDACTED]]

+ two lanes

[Injun, as in from India]

Interesting and useful links for all of you:

The Electronic Frontier Foundation on the importance of anonymous speech online.

Online Guide to Practical Privacy Tools, from the Electronic Privacy Information Center

Online Anonymous: The Ultimate Guide on Internet Anonymity and Privacy

My favorite scene from “12 Angry Men”, on the topic of “true threats”

FULL DISCLOSURE: As an obnoxious asshat who represents the blowhard stupidity of Reason magazine’s commenting peanut gallery, I hereby declare that my comments are typical internet bluster and hyperbole, hardly valuable to public discourse, and must not be construed as “true threats” in “interstate or foreign commerce” in violation of federal statute 18 U.S. Code ? 875. Any precious snowflake or federal judge offended by my worthless comments should see a plastic surgeon to graft thicker skin, or wait and pray for stem cell therapy innovations to grow said thicker skin. Because the word “trigger” is a part of the phrase “Trigger Warning” and may trigger a repressed fear of firearms in some people, no trigger warnings shall precede my comments.

[Chilled Speech]

As someone who came perilously close to being savaged by the federal government, I feel triggered by your comments. I feelz like the internet needs a safe space where I can browse without being triggered by the punitive threats of warlords in a far away city.

[Ted S.]

When did H&R start allowing posters to put more than two links into a comment?

[Rich]

Gotta take the good with the bad, I suppose.

[RBS]

So we’ll get an edit button soon?

[Rich]

We’re closer to having an edit button than we have ever been.

[SIV]

Fuck “edit buttons” I want me some marquee and blink tags.

[The DerpRider]

Yesterday at 7:01pm?

[The DerpRider]

Yesterday at 7:01pm?

[Fist of Etiquette]

…a recent budget agreement wasn’t an enforceable contract the judiciary could require the state to keep.

I made the same claim to Discover Card, but my judiciary didn’t come to the same conclusion.

[jesse.in.mb]

Egypt has sentenced 11 men to death over soccer riots that killed more than 70 in 2012.

What is it with soccer and violent death?

[Injun, as in from India]

+1 Andres Escobar

FULL DISCLOSURE: As an obnoxious asshat who represents the blowhard stupidity of Reason magazine’s commenting peanut gallery, I hereby declare that my comments are typical internet bluster and hyperbole, hardly valuable to public discourse, and must not be construed as “true threats” in “interstate or foreign commerce” in violation of federal statute 18 U.S. Code ? 875. Any precious snowflake or federal judge offended by my worthless comments should see a plastic surgeon to graft thicker skin, or wait and pray for stem cell therapy innovations to grow said thicker skin. Because the word “trigger” is a part of the phrase “Trigger Warning” and may trigger a repressed fear of firearms in some people, no trigger warnings shall precede my comments.

[Fist of Etiquette]

It’s too boring without it.

[Rich]

It’s to make up for the dearth of sudden death.

JUST WORD-PLAY!

[Injun, as in from India]

Hello!

Do the Executive Branch actions discussed in the below article violate the rights of Americans, especially ones who are not federal judges? Will the DOJ spend its limited resources pursuing the Executive Branch for such a flagrant violation of the US Constitution, with the same enthusiasm that it pursues online commenters with?

Obama lawyers asked secret court to ignore public court’s decision on spying

FULL DISCLOSURE: As an obnoxious asshat who represents the blowhard stupidity of Reason magazine’s commenting peanut gallery, I hereby declare that my comments are typical internet bluster and hyperbole, hardly valuable to public discourse, and must not be construed as “true threats” in “interstate or foreign commerce” in violation of federal statute 18 U.S. Code ? 875. Any precious snowflake offended by my worthless comments should see a plastic surgeon to graft thicker skin, or wait and pray for stem cell therapy innovations to grow said thicker skin. Because the word “trigger” is a part of the phrase “Trigger Warning” and may trigger a repressed fear of firearms in some people, no trigger warnings shall precede my comments.

[Chilled Speech]

I take no stance on any of the aforementioned issues of public importance. Lest my head be mounted atop a spike.

[AlmightyJB]

My real name is Hillary Clinton.

[Chilled Speech]

Excellent. Now threaten someone important, preferably one that wears a costume.

[Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns]

Elizabeth Stoker Breunig wants you to know the Pope is not communist, it’s just that sometimes Christianity is indistinguishable from communism.

“For starters, those probing whether or not Pope Francis is himself a communist, socialist, or Marxist (these terms are interchangeable on the right) are not really interested in discovering what Francis’ own personal politics are. After all, that information is readily available. As longtime Vatican reporter John L. Allen wrote last week in a Crux essay on Francis’ forthcoming encyclical, “If you asked, [Francis would] probably tell you he comes out of the moderate wing of Argentina’s Peronist movement.””

Don’t worry, he’s not a commie – he’s just a fucking Peronist. We know how great that economic plan worked out.

[Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns]

” In fact, much of the philosophical underpinning of contemporary pro-capitalist arguments arose in direct opposition to traditional Christian teaching on property ownership. As Cambridge professor Peter Garnsey points out in his book Thinking About Property, Enlightenment luminary John Locke makes a fine test case: By claiming that virtually unlimited individual accumulation of private property was a natural right, Locke contradicted centuries of Christian writing on the nature and purpose of property, which identified it as a provisional and highly contingent civil right.”

And in so doing he improved human well-being more in 400 years than the Church had in 1600. Locke 1, Catholic Church 0

[Injun, as in from India]

It’s fun to see the left bring back Christianity when it suits them after tossing them out when they didn’t need them.

FULL DISCLOSURE: As an obnoxious asshat who represents the blowhard stupidity of Reason magazine’s commenting peanut gallery, I hereby declare that my comments are typical internet bluster and hyperbole, hardly valuable to public discourse, and must not be construed as “true threats” in “interstate or foreign commerce” in violation of federal statute 18 U.S. Code ? 875. Any precious snowflake or federal judge offended by my worthless comments should see a plastic surgeon to graft thicker skin, or wait and pray for stem cell therapy innovations to grow said thicker skin. Because the word “trigger” is a part of the phrase “Trigger Warning” and may trigger a repressed fear of firearms in some people, no trigger warnings shall precede my comments.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Too late!

[X[redacted]s]

I still think picking a commie Pope was brilliant PR on the Catholic Church’s part. It sure got all those leftists to forget about the whole decades of child abuse thing in a hurry.

[Hey Nikki!]

Personally I just think it’s nice of her to explain why Christianity is shit.

[Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns]

I think it’s funny that a supposedly ‘progressive’ Elizabeth Stoker Breunig yearns to return to a conception of property that went out of style in 1670.

[X[redacted]s]

Hey, the ‘progressive’ candidate for President in this country is an elderly white man whose ideology hasn’t been updated since like 1850.

[MJGreen]

By claiming that virtually unlimited individual accumulation of private property was a natural right

Which Locke did not do. The biggest problem with Locke is that he did not do that.

[Mike M.]

What does Popehat have to say about this?

[BardMetal]

I’m no theologian, but I don’t remember Jesus forcing people at gun point to give up all their worldly goods to the state, so I don’t see how it’s in anyway similar to communism.

[Hey Nikki!]

Nah, Jesus used hell instead of cops to keep people in line.

[Enough About Palin]

If my bible memory serves, after the rich man elected not to sell all he had, giving the procedes to the poor, Jesus had the Romans kill the guy. I think that’s how that went; though it’s been awhile.

[Catatafish]

That’s…a new one to me.

[jesse.in.mb]

Ananias and Sapphira? They sold their property and gave the proceeds to the church but said they were giving all the proceeds to the church and withheld some for themselves. I think it’s generally interpreted as a story about lying to God although there isn’t a point where he explicitly says “this is all of it” in the text.

Anyway, God struck him and his wife dead for it. And Peter tells the wife she’s about to die.

[Enough About Palin]

It was snark. The rich guy walked away and nothing else happened.

[jesse.in.mb]

Right, Jesus just struck down fig trees with the wrath of God, Peter took out people who didn’t hand over the proceeds from their property.

[NotAnotherSkippy]

Well he was the first pope…

[Notorious G.K.C.]

I hope no-one will take Elizabeth Stoker-Bruening’s account of Christianity as infallible.

[Warty]

(these terms are interchangeable on the right)

I love her little sneers. They’re adorable.

[Pro Libertate]

Oddly, Christianity is not an economic system.

[rts]

One of Vancouver’s wealthiest neighbourhoods could be protected from density, development

The City of Vancouver plans to protect a Shaughnessy neighbourhood from density and re-development with a new heritage conservation district designation.

The Mayor is still scratching his head over how come house prices are so high in Vancouver. Must be the shadowy “foreing buyers”… must be.

[Mike M.]

It won’t be pretty when that Canadian real estate bubble finally collapses.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Yeah. What gives? When I visited Vancouver I could never quite get the gist of that town.

North Vancouver is basically the town I grew up in. Yet, the property values are astounding.

[rts]

Wade into this derp, if you dare: Generation Squeeze

Government interference, high taxes, etc., are squeezing the under-40s… so of course we need MOAR GOVERNMENT INTERFERENCE AND TAXES.

[Rich]

Join us, and we’ll make sure all Canadians have a chance to leave as much as we inherited.

Hmm. Would you rephrase that?

[Cytotoxic]

Vancouver is an overrated expensive hipster hive that young people from the country and especially neighboring towns think they just have to go to after university because…you just have to. Then they figure out that it sucks.

[VG Zaytsev]

So, kinda like NYC?

[Pan Zagloba]

Of course, making it Heritage means that none of those nasty foreign people can go buy houses up there, and none of the filthy equestrians* and New Men can insert themselves either. Thus our patricians can continue living in their Progressive Elysium.

*Jupiter knows plebeians are not gonna be able to afford a broom closet in the area

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Wow. Not many comments in the last day or so. Almost chilling, one might say.

[Andrew S.]

Wait a minute. That may be interpreted as wanting to put the body of certain individuals into a chiller. TRUE THREATS! TRUE THREATS!

[Chilled Speech]

I consider myself stupid for still posting here or anywhere, albeit under a different handle… Can you taste the freedom?

[Fist of Etiquette]

A U.S. appeals court has upheld Texas’ restrictive abortion law, which requires abortion clinics to have hospital-grade facilities.

It looks like the paramount “women’s health concerns” cuts both ways.

[Injun, as in from India]

If any of your “progressive” friends share the Rubio NY Times hit piece on Derpbook, share this in return. Not that I like neocon surveillance-stater Rubio, but the progs need to be reminded of their own huge blind spots. Yay for partisanship.

Rubio’s finances look pretty decent compared to Obama’s from 2007

FULL DISCLOSURE: As an obnoxious asshat who represents the blowhard stupidity of Reason magazine’s commenting peanut gallery, I hereby declare that my comments are typical internet bluster and hyperbole, hardly valuable to public discourse, and must not be construed as “true threats” in “interstate or foreign commerce” in violation of federal statute 18 U.S. Code ? 875. Any precious snowflake or federal judge offended by my worthless comments should see a plastic surgeon to graft thicker skin, or wait and pray for stem cell therapy innovations to grow said thicker skin. Because the word “trigger” is a part of the phrase “Trigger Warning” and may trigger a repressed fear of firearms in some people, no trigger warnings shall precede my comments.

[Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns]

The correct answer is who gives a shit what a candidate does with their own money. The argument I’ve heard is ‘well, if they’re not responsible with their money, they won’t be responsible with yours!’ but that hardly follows.

[Hey Nikki!]

Even if it did, what would make that unusual? I thought it was a job requirement.

[The Last American Hero]

and when they say that, you tell them “Google Thomas Jefferson, fucking dumbass” and drop the mic.

[Alton Knutson]

[Almanian [REDACTED]]

{REDACTED]

[Almanian [REDACTED]]

DON’T TALK ABOUT THE WAR!!!

[HeteroPatriarch]

What war?

[Chilled Speech]

You’re learning.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Shhhh. Right.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJA30w1TAXc

[db]

+ 1 nickel

[HeteroPatriarch]

The Hunger Games is finally coming to an end. The first trailer for the final movie, Mockingjay?Part 2, is out:

Wasn’t Jennifer Lawrence supposed to look like a teenager when this started?

[Almanian [REDACTED]]

+ Old Man With Candy

[HeteroPatriarch]

Meh. I prefer grown-up girls anyway, I’m just saying, this is not a teenager, this is a full-grown woman.

http://www.santabanta.com/imag…..nce/27325/

[Pan Zagloba]

Well, given that she was physically wrong for the role from the start (oh my god, we are starving, but I have all these curves somehow), may as well go full on. And I thought she was pretty good in her portrayal of someone starting in a shitty situation, then getting worse from there. Didn’t see the third one, so not sure what her character’s age is supposed to be now, though.

OT: Did you enjoy Monster Hunter?

[Not an Economist]

The Katniss in the book was said to be small but athletic. Peeta was medium height but very broad and thick from lifting all those bags of flour. Gale was tall and good looking.

Liam Hemsworth was the only actor of the love triangle who looked like the book character.

Although Jennifer and Josh both seemed to do a good job of playing the attitude of the character as described in the book.

[Rasilio]

Each book was roughly a year and she was 17 in the first book so at this point she would be around 20

[Ted S.]

Hollywood has long had significantly older people play teens/college students.

Mary Pickford was in her mid-30s when she played 18 in Sparrows.

Julie Harris was Oscar-nominated at 26 for playing a 12-year-old in Member of the Wedding

[Injun, as in from India]

Well worth the read:

Kevin Williamson on Lee Siegel’s over-entitled choice to default on student loans

Yes, your feminist slam-poetry collective is very, very impressive ? but even T. S. Eliot went to the office six days a week when literary life wasn’t paying the bills.

FULL DISCLOSURE: As an obnoxious asshat who represents the blowhard stupidity of Reason magazine’s commenting peanut gallery, I hereby declare that my comments are typical internet bluster and hyperbole, hardly valuable to public discourse, and must not be construed as “true threats” in “interstate or foreign commerce” in violation of federal statute 18 U.S. Code ? 875. Any precious snowflake or federal judge offended by my worthless comments should see a plastic surgeon to graft thicker skin, or wait and pray for stem cell therapy innovations to grow said thicker skin. Because the word “trigger” is a part of the phrase “Trigger Warning” and may trigger a repressed fear of firearms in some people, no trigger warnings shall precede my comments.

[Almanian [REDACTED]]

Yeah, I linked Siegel’s derpfest here the other day (BEFORE THE FEDS STARTED LOOKING TO LOCK UP REASONOIDS).

Thanks for the counterpunch from the ever-angry KW!

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert has pleaded not guilty of paying hush money to cover up an alleged past sex abuse scandal.

Er, shouldn’t he be tried for the sex abuse crimes? I don’t think it should be illegal to pay off a blackmailer.

Unless the statute of limitations has expired for what he allegedly did?

[Hey Nikki!]

It has.

[Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns]

So let me see if I have this right: The US government can’t get him for the actual crime he committed so they’re going after him for this structuring horseshit as if taking money from your own account in increments not approved of by the state is somehow immoral.

Furthermore, the person he victimized was willing to keep quiet in exchange for cash, right? So by getting involved in this blackmail plot, the federal government is actually denying the victim compensation since the victim is no longer getting paid.

Also, isn’t blackmail illegal? So is the government going to go after an alleged abuse victim for blackmail now, or do even they realize how that would look?

[RBS]

If I remember, the victim is actually dead and it’s the victim’s sister leading the charge now.

[Hey Nikki!]

You have that all correct, Irish.

It is possible the extortionist will be prosecuted.

RBS is wrong, though. The extortionist is alive and well and cooperating with the FBI since at least December 2014. There are multiple “victims,” at least one of whom is dead.

[paranoid android]

Also, isn’t blackmail illegal? So is the government going to go after an alleged abuse victim for blackmail now, or do even they realize how that would look?

Do we know that it was actually the victim or someone close to them doing the blackmailing, and not, say, a federal agent?

[Hey Nikki!]

Folks have said the fact that the extortionist is referred to in the indictment as “Individual A” suggest it is the victim of a sex crime. But that’s obviously not dispositive.

[Lady Bertrum]

Do we have some type of legal fund set up yet?

Waiting to contribute..

[Catatafish]

Agreed.

[RAHeinlein]

I was just going to ask you the same – saw your post yesterday.

I’m in for contributions.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

ditto

[JW]

I’m in.

[HeteroPatriarch]

I understand liability avoidance and all, but I have to say, I am disappointed with Reason’s response to the thing we’re not supposed to be talking about. I would’ve expected them to publish everything from this blatant government shakedown, which I assume they would’ve done if Postrel was still in charge.

[Almanian [REDACTED]]

I know right? For a magazine called “Reason”….

DON’T TALK ABOUT THE WAR! FOR GOD’S SAKE, MAN!

[Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns]

It’s very possible they were hit with some kind of gag order.

[BardMetal]

If that is the case would Reason in anyway be held accountable for what random assholes like us post on their site?

[Andrew S.]

I’d be surprised if the gag order didn’t come with a “don’t let anyone else on your site talk about this, or else” added to the end of it.

[Old Man With Candy]

If that is the case would Reason in anyway be held accountable for what random assholes like us post on their site?

Yes.

[Pan Zagloba]

Dunno, maybe Postrel would be all like “Take down a few of those monsters? Where do I sign?!”

[NotAnotherSkippy]

Don’t worry. I’m sure Ron Wyden will come to the rescue soon. He Gets It(tm).

[Slammer]

Via Balko

Summertime! Lemonade stand shutdowns!

Perkins said he went to the city offices to buy a $150 peddler’s permit, but learned the girls also needed a health department permit.

Chief Carter and Overton City Secretary Rachel Gafford declined to talk with the newspaper on camera, but said laws were laws.

Carter said last month a title company set up a tent in Overton, attempting to offer car title loans, and he had to run them off for soliciting without a license.

“We can’t run one off and then let someone else do it,” he said.

Carter also said he had safety concerns, since the stand was set up in the “middle of the street” off of Farm-to-Market Road 850. However, he confirmed Garden Club, where the stand was set up, is a deadend culdesac.

Carter said he and Ms. Gafford decided they would waive the peddler’s license fee for the Green sisters but said they believed the girls would need a health department permit to sell the goods.

When asked if the sisters could give free lemonade away at a booth in their font yard and accept donations, Carter replied, “I don’t guess that would be illegal.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

They didn’t bust up the joint and rough up the kid ‘in case’ and ‘to protect people’?

With it would come one thousand conservatives collectively cumming on each other with deafening moans of silky obedience!

[Catatafish]

“Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert has pleaded not guilty of paying hush money to cover up an alleged past sex abuse scandal.”

So if Hastert is a kiddie-toucher I’m all in favor of the [metaphorical please don’t subpoena me] belt sander to the nuts and lemon juice treatment. But is anyone else remotely bothered that he’s essentially facing a federal beef simply because he withdrew his own money from the fucking bank?

[Rich]

Sure.

And here is another take on it.

[Enough About Palin]

What’s greater than a dog, huh?

Service dog throws self in bus’ path to protect blind owner

BREWSTER, N.Y. (AP) ? A service dog threw himself in front of a mini school bus to try to protect his blind owner and stayed by her side as emergency responders tended to the injured pair, authorities said.

Both Figo, the golden retriever, and his owner, Audrey Stone, were on the mend Tuesday, a day after the collision with the mini school bus in Brewster.

Police photos of Monday’s crash showed fur stuck to the bus’ front wheel, according to the Journal News (http://lohud.us/1drjicn ).

“The dog took a lot of the blow,” Brewster Police Chief John Del Gardo said. “And he did not want to leave her side. He stood right with her. He was there to save her.”

Paul Schwartz, who manages a gas station at the intersection, ran over to help.

“The dog didn’t want to leave her side,” Schwartz said. “He was flopping over to her, and she didn’t want him to get away from her, either. She kept screaming” Figo’s name, said Schwartz. “We kept telling her he was fine.”

“He let us wrap up his leg without any problem. He wasn’t barking or crying or yelping. But he kept pulling toward her,” Schwartz said.

The dog wasn’t allowed in the ambulance; he was taken to the veterinarian in a fire vehicle. Figo and Stone were both visibly upset by the separation, Schwartz said.

http://www.twincities.com/nati…..tect-blind

[Lady Bertrum]

One of my dogs enjoys murdering various woodland creatures (woodchucks, squirrels, chipmunks, skunks) and leaving them on my porch. We bury them but he digs them up again and parades proudly around the yard like some kind of crazy Mayan priest.

So, how do I get him to stop?

[AlmightyJB]

Dammit Lady, I’m a blowhard not a dog whisperer!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

What’s the term for ‘dog serial killer’?

[AlmightyJB]

Dog

[Pan Zagloba]

Bad Dog!

[tarran]

1) Get a cat. The cat will slaughter the woodland creatures more efficiently than the dog, and eventually the land will be denuded of the woodland creatures….

2) Dispose of the animals in a more determined manner. Either bury them deeper, or farther away from the home. Whatever you do, do not mail them to the office of a federal judge or a U.S. attorney lest they construe it as some sort of threat. I also discourage the use of a catapult to fling the remains into a neighbor’s yard.

3) Overfeed the dog… fat dogs tend to hunt more poorly.

4) Move to a suburb with lots of cats.

[Pro Libertate]

Well, that may be overstating the killing capacity of cats. There are any number of feral critters that will destroy cats with a swipe of the paw. Unless you’re talking bobcats.

We do a lot of cat fostering, and an interesting observation is that you often see feral cats and racoons living together in harmony. I find that odd for some reason.

[GILMORE]

“how do I get him to stop?”

Well, first you’re going to need a real Mayan Priest….

[lap83]

Trade him in for a non-sporting dog?

[SIV]

If it’s a terrier you don’t want it to stop. That’s their purpose in life.

[AlmightyJB]

Dog’s are some of the best people I know.

[Rich]

Obama lawyers asked secret court to ignore public court’s decision on spying

“Was she asking for it?
Was she asking nice?
Yeah, she was asking for it
Did she ask you twice?”

[Andrew S.]

WaPo: Freedom means giving government more power to protect us from the evil rich people.

At the start of World War II, Roosevelt rallied Americans to the noble cause of the “four freedoms” ? freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want and freedom from fear (which he translated as, among other things, global disarmament). These were the basis of the Economic Bill of Rights that Roosevelt detailed in his 1944 State of the Union address, arguing that “true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence.”

Over the last several decades, the conservative era launched by Reagan has promoted a far more limited definition of freedom. For conservatives, freedom is centered in markets, free from government interference. The entrepreneur, not the citizen, is the central actor. Government is the threat; the best thing it can do is to get out of the way. With the glaring exceptions of global intervention and the bloated military, conservatives argue that freedom entails privatization, deregulation, limiting government’s reach and capacity.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

“true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence”

I suppose if you live in a world where words do not have any set meaning, this could be true.

[paranoid android]

“true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence”

Remember all that economic security and independence he gave to Americans of Japanese heritage?

[BardMetal]

What the hell is freedom from want and freedom from fear? I want a new AK47 is the government supposed to supply me with one? And freedom from fear? Does that mean we have to burn every copy of those Friday the 13th movies, because that shit scared the shit out of me when I was a little kid.

[Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns]

FDR had a great skill that enamors progressives to this day – the ability to say things that make no fucking sense but which sound good and fill your heart with joy provided you are a moron.

Also, FDR’s idea of global disarmament is really brilliant given that he himself led us into a (obviously necessary) war less than a decade letter. It sure would have been great if FDR had talked Great Britain into completely disarming and they’d never bothered to build the Spitfire!

There’s no greater evidence of FDR’s gross incompetence than the fact that he was talking about the west engaging in disarmament right when Hitler was ramping up arms production.

[Rich]

the ability to say things that make no fucking sense but which sound good and fill your heart with joy provided you are a moron.

Martin O’Malley also has this “skill”.

[Greg]

I would say that Oprah does as well

[GILMORE]

“BardMetal|2015/06/09 17:03:04|#5355443

~new~

What the hell is freedom from want and freedom from fear? “

Read “The Euphio Question“

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want and freedom from fear

Freedom of speech: unless you want to distribute an anti-Hillary documentary.

Freedom of religion: unless you don’t want to bake a cake for a gay wedding

Freedom from want: comes with terms and conditions that government will decide later

Freedom from fear: what if you fear an unrestrained government that thinks up is down and slavery is freedom?

[Pro Libertate]

Freedom should be the default state of man, with exceptions to that default few and very far between.

[MJGreen]

“Freedom from want” is particularly heinous, considering what his goons did as part of the New Deal.

[Migrant Log Picker]

Katrina, the idiot savant of the progiverse.

[Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns]

Lindy West is butt hurt because Jerry Seinfeld criticized progressive college students.

And ooooooh, how butthurt!

“Harmless jokesters and joy-bringers are literally being figuratively strangled by the long, thin goblin-fingers of “political correctness” (which is a fancy term for “not treating people who are already treated like garbage like garbage”), even though all they were trying to do was just say anything they want to, the way they always have, without ever being questioned or criticised by known killjoys such as “people of colour” and “women”, and with zero regard for the institutionally oppressed groups upon whose backs their industry has been stepping for generations in the service of shallow, straight white dude “catharsis”.”

She is such a bad writer. I want to make a fat joke, but her writing is so terrible it renders all other jokes meaningless.

“It’s so-called political correctness that gave me the courage and the vocabulary to demand better than that from the community I love. Yes, this cultural evolution is bumpy, but what Seinfeld and some other comedians see as a threat, I see as doors being thrown open to more and more voices.”

If more of those voices sound like Lindy West, I think keeping them silenced was the proper decision.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

I like how ever single writer and “comedian” stepping up to attack Seinfeld is just proving his point.

Good for him for speaking out. That’s gold, Jerry! Gold!

[Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns]

And she quotes Lee Alexander saying the outright dumbest thing I’ve ever read:

“Video-game critic Leigh Alexander, who is perpetually besieged by male gamers for daring to critique a pastime that is hers as much as theirs, wrote a beautiful meditation on her weariness: “My partner is in games, and his friends, and my guy friends, and they run like founts of tireless enthusiasm and dry humour. I know sometimes my ready temper and my cynicism and the stupid social media rants I can’t always manage to stuff down are tiring for them. I want to tell them: It will never be for me like it is for you. This will only ever be joy, for you.””

What. Does this woman think men are never sad or unhappy about anything? This is the dumbest, most asinine sentiment imaginable, so of course Lindy “I haven’t been able to see my feet since the 2nd grade” West thinks it’s evidence of serious wisdom.

[Pan Zagloba]

Leigh Alexander is Amanda Marcotte of gaming world. With one big difference – she got let go from a major site she was writing for.

[MJGreen]

“It will never be for me like it is for you. This will only ever be joy, for you.”

And that’s your own fault, Leigh.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Exactly.

Which dumbass, pathetic loser comedians are attacking him?

THESE PEOPLE ARE MAKING ME THIRSTY!

[Enough About Palin]

+ 1 Ovaltine

[Catatafish]

I honestly don’t understand how you do it, Irish. It’s like you’re the Dread Pirate Roberts of the derp-world and have built up a tolerance to Iocaine.

[GILMORE]

” Harmless jokesters and joy-bringers are literally being figuratively strangled”

What?

[Rich]

That reminds me. Some NY LEO in a press conference about the prison break said the escapees “could be literally anywhere”.

Yep, they could be on fucking *Pluto*.

[GILMORE]

Of all the words to become widely misused, Literally is literally the worst.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

You literally fuckin’ said it, man.

[MJGreen]

They could be back in their jail cell!

[GILMORE]

“The suspects were described as ‘atomic particles, average build, possibly charged'”

[MJGreen]

She really wrote “literally being figuratively strangled”?

What is wrong with you, woman?

[lap83]

That is painfully bad writing. Also, either she doesn’t have an editor or the editor hates her and wants her to fail.

[GILMORE]

That sentence would get an 8th grader pulled aside and given a lecture on why “internal contradictions” are a sign of Lazy-meeting-stupid.

[Libertarian]

I read her differently. I think she’s just trying to being funny.

[Slammer]

Matt Welch retweeted
Eric Dondero R. ?@DonderolibtR 49m49 minutes ago
@MattWelch @robbysoave To my Twitter followers, others please note Matt Welch DOES NOT represent views of all libertarians. Just LEFT librts

[Andrew S.]

I just came back here to post that!

Donerdo brings me back. A definite first ballot member of the Reason Troll Hall of Fame.

[GILMORE]

technically not a “troll” so much as someone who seemed to labor under the delusion that there’s a huge silent constituency of “Big Government Libertarians” that were unfairly unrepresented by the cabal of Cocktail-Sipping Elitist Intellectual Cosmotarians @ Reason

[Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns]

DONDERRRRROOOOOOOOOO

[GILMORE]

Omg he has a Battleship firing a broadside as his twitter picture

Needs moar Eagle Tears

[Ted S.]

A google search suggests that the topic we’re not supposed to talk about here has reached Forbes and the WSJ.

[Jerry on the sea]

Barbra Streisand?

[Almanian [REDACTED]]

It’s metastacized into Mecha-Barbra Streisand

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Did they have the decency to insult us?

I mean, piling on is what they do, right?

[grrizzly]

From the WSJ comments:

Reason is an awesome magazine/site and their writers and articles are a welcome breath of fresh air in this era of hyper-partisan, hack journalism.

That said, the comment sections on their site are often shockingly vicious. The red-meat SoCons who comment on the WSJ site are grade school amateurs by comparison.

I think it was a compliment.

[jesse.in.mb]

amateurs by comparison

I see an implication of professionalism there.

[grrizzly]

Time to unionize?

[jesse.in.mb]

My answer is entirely contingent on whether I’ll be getting a cut of the filthy union dues lucre.

[Pan Zagloba]

I think you have enough seniority for it.

[GILMORE]

Maybe i’ve been using this magazine as my daily conversation-platform for too long now… but….

…wtf, are these people just such complete pussies? What is so “ragingly offensive” here? they seem to be going a tad overboard.

I see far more ridiculous “Mob Hate” on boards that are more ideologically-homogenous…. like any Raw Story, Marcotte piece.

Also, i think Taki-mag outdoes Reason by adding just a dash of Immigrantphobia and Gaybashing. otherwise we can totally kick their ass.

[SIV]

I never read the comments at Taki’s.

[GILMORE]

I’ll save you the trouble = they say the stuff that would make Gavin McInnes blush and apologize for

i’ve never seen the term “Jewpoligizers” used in a non-joking context before.

(*i’ve never seen it used in a joking context either, but it sure is funny)

[jesse.in.mb]

Yeah, I’ve been trying to figure out how Reason gets singled out as having THE WORST commenters (besides Nikki, who is, of course the worst), didn’t the entire gawker universe have to put their comments on lockdown because of their comments being flooded with rape gifs recently? I feel like even our trolls are tamer than that.

[Warty]

I think it’s because we have the best combination of erudition and dick jokes. The combination grates on some. *coughPOSTRELcough*

[Crusty Juggler]

I do not have to be drunk to sound like a teenage boy, thank you very much.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

I read that as a compliment.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I’ll take it!

[Crusty Juggler]

Shockingly vicious and worse than youtube. You people!!

[Medical Physics Guy]

also Wired, WaPo…

[Slammer]

Steyn mentioned “it” today filling in for El Rushbo

[RAHeinlein]

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2015/…..oad-judge/

[Rufus J. Firefly]

We should bring our vicious wit to WSJ and other places and just go trolling mad.

[MJGreen]

It’s bullshit to report on this story and not include Rhyun’s comment. A reader doesn’t get a clear idea of how baseless the accusation is if they don’t see that.

[CatoTheElder]

The WSJ article is okay, but the Forbes article is surprisingly bad. The Forbes writer seems to be just cribbing the subpoena.

[Juice]

A U.S. appeals court has upheld Texas’ restrictive abortion law, which requires abortion clinics to have hospital-grade facilities.

Do you want some quack doing unregulated abortions in an alley?

[lap83]

Abortions should be legal because it’s safer, but not as safe as hospitals because choice.

[AlmightyJB]

Als, don’t talk about guns

http://hotair.com/archives/201…..ed-speech/

[Andrew S.]

I thought we could talk about guns, just not with dirty furriners. So we should be fine, so long as we kick Rufus out.*

* This is internet hyperbole, and does not constitute a true threat against Rufus, who is a true credit to America’s hat.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I can out American many Americans any day (except on Tuesdays. For some reason I tend to under perform on Tuesdays) to boot!

[Rich]

So, a boot any day, eh?

[Pan Zagloba]

thought we could talk about guns, just not with dirty furriners.

You know, I’m down with it. When you people start blathering about guns you have/are buying, it feels like being a poor kid when everyone is talking about new sneakers they have.

[OldMexican]

Now that Ireland has legalized gay marriage recognition, some folks there have their eyes on loosening the country’s very restrictive abortion laws.

Because you can get the folks who see marriage as a net positive to come on board to letting people kill their babies.

That’ll work.

[Slammer]

Lindsey Graham would have a ‘rotating First Lady’

I think he meant ‘queen’

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Or a harem?

[The Last American Hero]

Maybe a first Lady-Boy?

[Mickey Rat]

Maybe he would put Sofia Vergara on a turntable in the Blue Room.

[Pro Libertate]

Strippers? Wow, didn’t see that coming.

[Pan Zagloba]

I see a collaboration possibility with Miss America contest here….

[Andrew S.]

Virginia Postrel, noted fan of Reason commenters, has posted an article about something we’re not allowed to talk about over on Bloomberg View.

[Rich]

Thanks. Hope her essay does some good.

[Crusty Juggler]

Thanks for linking that.

She did call us “puerile” which I of course have not contributed to at all, in any way, but at least it is accurate.

[Crusty Juggler]

Postrel’s story is worth the click just to read the first comment.

[jesse.in.mb]

Is there more than one comment right now?

The shamelessness of copying another user’s handle down to the accent and punctuation and then using it on different sites while complaining about “some of Reason’s more unhinged squatters” is either insanely un-self-aware or brilliantly meta. I’m not sure which.

[Raven Nation]

A comment was just posted by someone using the Playa Manhattan handle.

Also, Lady Bertrum got a nice compliment from VP.

[db]

That seems rather out of character for PM.

[Crusty Juggler]

I believe Mary is using his name.

[db]

Yes, I recall this now

[jesse.in.mb]

It’s definitely one of “Reason’s more unhinged squatters” spoofing his handle.

[db]

That is rather delicious

[db]

jeez

[HeteroPatriarch]

Union labor.

[HeteroPatriarch]

Wow, less than 300 comments on a links thread on a non-holiday weekday. The chilling effect seems to have happened quickly.

[Migrant Log Picker]

Nah, it’s summer, some of us are playing golf or going fishing.