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Sanders' Immigration Record Scrutinized, Roof Charged With Murder, Wikileaks Publishes Saudi Docs: P.M. Links

J.D. Tuccille | 6.19.2015 4:30 PM

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  • U.S. Government

    With the socialist rising as an alternative to Hillary Clinton in the race for the Democratic presidential nod, Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) historical ambivalence about immigration is getting new attention.

  • Dylann Roof has been charged with nine counts of murder for the attack at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
  • Pope Francis gets plenty of mileage for his profoundly silly document embracing environmentalist fears and charging prosperity and the market system with turning the world into "an immense pile of filth." Organized religion is hostile to dynamism and individual choice? I did not know that.
  • Wikileaks has started publishing over 500,000 documents from the Foreign Ministry of Saudi Arabia. Have you ever seen diplomats sweat?
  • U.S. government officials won't be putting New York City's Waldorf-Astoria hotel on the expense account anytime soon, not since it was purchased by a Chinese company. Instead, the president will stay at the Palace Hotel, which is apparently immune to spying.
  • Greeks are siphoning so much of their money from financial institutions in fear of the government making an asset grab that the country's banks are on the verge of collapse.
  • You know those security clearance records at the Office of Personnel Management the Chinese hacked? It turns out they had access for a year.

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J.D. Tuccille is a contributing editor at Reason.

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  1. Fist of Etiquette   10 years ago

    ...Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) historical ambivalence about immigration is getting new attention.

    Marx, what do I do???

    1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

      Hello.

      "Pope Francis gets plenty of mileage for his profoundly silly document embracing environmentalist fears and charging prosperity and the market system with turning the world into "an immense pile of filth."

      What a dope.

      1. Square has no wood chipper   10 years ago

        Someone needs to say it:

        There is no Pope Francis. The actual Pope is sitting in an assisted living facility somewhere drooling on himself.

        1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

          That 'immense pile of filth' did more for poverty and disease than any shit faced, cocksucking, parasitical, violent left-wing commie system could ever do.

          1. Square has no wood chipper   10 years ago

            But poverty and disease is what gets you into Heaven! He's just doing his job. Well, OK, Benedict's job . . .

            1. Mad Scientist   10 years ago

              Don't forget pain. Lots of pain. Just ask Mother Teresa.

          2. Pathogen   10 years ago

            "That 'immense pile of filth' did more for poverty and disease than any shit faced, cocksucking, parasitical, violent left-wing commie system could ever do."

            Or the pontification of clergy, for that matter.. The once mighty economic powerhouse of Argentina turned it's back on that"immense pile of filth", and embraced the rhetorical altruism of the church, and socialism.. and is much cleaner, and stronger for it, regardless of how often they default on their sovereign debts.. I guess.. If only they could have their own "Bolivar revolution", like Venezuela.. The pontiff could beam with pride over that "immense pile of awesome" that is his home nation.. which would still be propped up financially by that 'immense pile of *western capitalist* filth'

        2. db   10 years ago

          HUMPERDIDOO!

      2. Rt. Hon. Judge Woodrow Chipper   10 years ago

        If the POTUS isn't going to be the antipope, then we need to appoint someone else.

      3. 2ndClassProle   10 years ago

        Pope's gotta eat!!

      4. Pathogen   10 years ago

        "charging prosperity and the market system with turning the world into "an immense pile of filth."."

        The long, sordid history of the decadence and excess of both the Vatican, and its bank being an exception, of course..

        1. Professor Woland   10 years ago

          This pope is going to rate with such shining examples as Stephen VI and Martin V. What a joke.

  2. Grand Moff Serious Man   10 years ago

    Dylann Roof has been charged with nine counts of murder for the attack at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.

    But will they charge him with a hate crime?

    1. Fist of Etiquette   10 years ago

      Hate murder, the worst kind of murder.

      1. Judge Chipper   10 years ago

        Lustmord, the best kind of murder. Also an awesome dark ambient artist:

        Heresy

      2. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

        I still think love murder is worse.

        1. Free ?Woodchippers! Society   10 years ago

          But did you see how she was dressed?

        2. Pathogen   10 years ago

          Apathy murder is rather unremarkable.. I'm not sure how I feel about ambivalence murder... the jury's still out on that one..

          1. Crusty Juggler   10 years ago

            Murder murder, that is the worst king of murder.

            1. Pathogen   10 years ago

              It lacks.. imagination..

              1. Crusty Juggler   10 years ago

                I have been shamed.

          2. Lady Dalrymple   10 years ago

            How about disinterested murder? or would that be uninterested murder?

            1. Pathogen   10 years ago

              Meh.. what's the difference.. I could take it, or leave it..

    2. Judge Forrest's Clitdong   10 years ago

      I guess you could say that... (puts on sunglasses)...they hit the roof.

  3. BiMonSciFiCon   10 years ago

    Dylann Roof has been charged with nine counts of murder for the attack at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.

    Why hasn't anyone, other than everyone, had the guts to call him a terrorist? Must be his white privilege.

    1. Juvenile Bluster   10 years ago

      And that doesn't even count the imaginary voices inside the heads of some liberals that denied that he was motivated by racism!

      1. Pathogen   10 years ago

        Yeah, all 2 of them..

    2. ant1sthenes   10 years ago

      You snark (I think), but there's no good reason not to consider him a terrorist, given what seems to be a political agenda to his mass murder.

  4. Fist of Etiquette   10 years ago

    Wikileaks has started publishing over 500,000 documents from the Foreign Ministry of Saudi Arabia.

    They should have stored them on Hillary's server.

    1. Tonio the Plant Fiber Shredder   10 years ago

      Oh, you...

    2. Aresen   10 years ago

      I predict heads will roll over this.

  5. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

    In case you guys didn't already hear, Sloopy and Banjos had their baby.

    1. Tonio the Plant Fiber Shredder   10 years ago

      W00t!

    2. Juvenile Bluster   10 years ago

      Hooray Sloopy & Co.!

    3. tarran   10 years ago

      Congrats banjos and sloopy!

      1. Bobarian (Would Chip Her)   10 years ago

        Congrats Banjos, anyway; she did all the hard work!

    4. Fist of Etiquette   10 years ago

      As someone whose birthday is too close to Christmas, I approve of this birth date.

      1. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

        Are you a victim of combination gift giving?

        1. Fist of Etiquette   10 years ago

          Luckily it's not that close, but close enough that the gifts as a child could be scaled back because we just had Christmas. Plus, nothing to look forward to the rest of the year.

          1. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

            The year that ends a week later?

            1. Fist of Etiquette   10 years ago

              Yes, everyone uses the western calendar. RACIST.

      2. Ted S.   10 years ago

        June 14 is a better birth date.

        1. Bobarian (Would Chip Her)   10 years ago

          Flag Day, Army B-Day, Birth of Bourbon?

          1. Ted S.   10 years ago

            Burl Ives' and Ted S.' birthdays.

    5. EDG chippin' WUD   10 years ago

      She's a cutie.

    6. Ted S.   10 years ago

      Technically, only Banjos had it. Sloopy stood around and told Banjos to breathe while she screamed back at him.

      1. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

        He took a lot of pictures. I've seen Banjos' insides.

        1. Crusty Juggler   10 years ago

          pic...uhhh, actually I will pass on this one.

      2. Lady Dalrymple   10 years ago

        I hate when men say things like: "We're pregnant."

        No, you are not pregnant. She is pregnant with your child.

        1. Crusty Juggler   10 years ago

          Men are the worst.

          1. Lady Dalrymple   10 years ago

            Nikki is the worst. Men are second worstest.

          2. Hamster of Doom   10 years ago

            Nothing a little duct tape over the mouth won't cure.

          3. Aloysious   10 years ago

            Men are the worst.

            Show us your moobs!

        2. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

          I have actually only heard women say "we're pregnant".

          No man would be stupid enough to say that without permission.

          1. Square has no wood chipper   10 years ago

            ^ This. I always took it as a way for the women to remind the men that they are involved in the situation, too, not that men are trying to take credit for their participation. I imagine that men who try to initiate the practice without prior consent often get smacked.

          2. Crusty Juggler   10 years ago

            I am not married and I have never had a pregnant lady, but I know plenty of men who are stupid enough to say that (and probably have).

            1. Lady Dalrymple   10 years ago

              I am not married and I have never had a pregnant lady

              It might be the crusty thing not working. Consider a luffa.

              1. Crusty Juggler   10 years ago

                You make it seem like I want to be married and knock up a lady. I shall stick to being the Big Jug, thank you.

                1. Lady Dalrymple   10 years ago

                  In that case:

                  For you: http://www.empr.com/news/first.....le/370816/

              2. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

                You like hairless men who use luffas? I'm really not your type.

                No topless Caribbean for you!

                1. Lady Dalrymple   10 years ago

                  WHAT YOU YOU GOT AGAINST SMOOTH SKIN??

                  1. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

                    On you? Nothing at all. But I can sand a fiberglass boat my perm stubble, and that's the way I like it.

                    1. Lady Dalrymple   10 years ago

                      But I can sand a fiberglass boat my perm stubble, and that's the way I like it.

                      Consider yourself doxed

                      I see why Tulpa admires you so.

                    2. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

                      That's not that far off, except for blue eyes, and I don't get as much sun as I used to.

                      Tulsa likes me because he needs a beach volleyball partner,

          3. Lady Dalrymple   10 years ago

            I've heard dudes say it, but it was probably compelled by their female.

            1. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

              I would never say that, even if the Mrs. tried to force me.

          4. Brian   10 years ago

            I had a man give me shit for saying that my wife was pregnant.

            He told me that I was supposed to say that we were pregnant.

            I told him to fuck off, and stop forcing me to live in his fantasy world.

            1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

              Where do you people live to meet such people?

              1. JeSuisRaison, moulin ? bois   10 years ago

                Not sure where Brian's at, but I can say from experience that Minnesota is an endless fount of them...

                1. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

                  This woodchipper thing is so confusing. What was your old handle, and what part of MN?

        3. lap83   10 years ago

          "She is pregnant with your child"

          Problematic! She is choosing to carry her parasite to term, at which point it becomes his and he has to buy it things until it decides it was actually supposed to be a different race and was probably adopted

        4. Mickey Rat   10 years ago

          Somebody has to Construction Manage.

      3. Pathogen   10 years ago

        "Technically, only Banjos had it. Sloopy stood around and told Banjos to breathe while she screamed back at him."

        I'm sure he probably held her hair back every morning during the morning sickness ritual.. That's a form of compassionate contribution..

    7. Grand Moff Serious Man   10 years ago

      I'll reiterate my suggestion that the baby have Juneteenth somewhere in her name. Unfortunately they aren't auctioning off naming rights for this one.

      1. Fist of Etiquette   10 years ago

        I suggest they name it after one of the characters from Frozen, before they're all gone.

      2. Apatheist ?_??   10 years ago

        Are you saying that the baby is trans-racial?

      3. Old Man With Gag Order   10 years ago

        I gave them a suggestion which sloopy liked. We'll see if that sticks...

    8. Pro Libertate   10 years ago

      Congratulations!

    9. db   10 years ago

      FOR GREAT JUSTICE

    10. Chip Dalasio   10 years ago

      Congratulations to them!

  6. Grand Moff Serious Man   10 years ago

    You know those security clearance records at the Office of Personnel Management the Chinese hacked? It turns out they had access for a year.

    Just wait til President Obama reads about this in the paper! Heads will roll receive a strongly worded memo.

    1. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

      What are you doing posting? Go to sleep.

  7. Tonio the Plant Fiber Shredder   10 years ago

    Church in Israel attacked, Jewish extremists suspected.

    1. Juvenile Bluster   10 years ago

      Extremists of any religious (or non-religious) stripe are insane.

      (I fully expect my brother-in-law to do this to a mosque some day).

      1. Tonio the Plant Fiber Shredder   10 years ago

        Yeah, I'm waiting for someone to use the t-word on this one, but not holding my breath.

        1. Crusty Juggler   10 years ago

          Tarantella?

        2. Judge Chipper   10 years ago

          Ticklefight?

        3. EDG chippin' WUD   10 years ago

          Titmouse?

        4. lap83   10 years ago

          tourists?

        5. Almanian - Wood Chipper-ish   10 years ago

          Twizzler?

        6. Mad Scientist   10 years ago

          Turbo entabulator?

      2. gaoxiaen   10 years ago

        Are you trying to get him SWATted?

  8. MJGreen - Docile Citizen   10 years ago

    HAVE YOU READ THE ENCYCLICAL, JD!??

    Thought not.

    1. Tonio the Plant Fiber Shredder   10 years ago

      Just because he's of Italian ancestry doesn't mean he reads Latin, MJG.

      1. Hey Nikki!   10 years ago

        Or Italian.

        1. Tonio the Plant Fiber Shredder   10 years ago

          That, too, Nicole. But IIRC the official church documents are still done in Latin. I do believe they publish their own official translations in other languages, but the Latin version is the definitive one.

          1. grrizzly   10 years ago

            Not everyone in Vatican is fluent in Latin. I recall that some of the cardinals present during Benedict XVI's resignation announcement didn't understand what he said.

            1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

              /soft whispers.

              "What the fuck did he say? What's that gibberish he's speaking? Where are my pants?'

              "Pipe down, Pepe. He's speaking Cattolichese!"

          2. Hey Nikki!   10 years ago

            If that is true, the Latin version is not available at all and was not among the eight languages released by the Vatican. (I don't know if it's true.)

            1. grrizzly   10 years ago

              Yep, the Latin version is nowhere to be found.

    2. MJGreen - Docile Citizen   10 years ago

      Also, it's not surprising that 110% of the "libertarians" here have no problem with South Carolina's flag. I looked all over the comments for that True Detective review and saw no denunciations of the flag or of slavery. Typical.

      (I'm never around for the AM Links, so I try to make up for it here)

      1. Tonio the Plant Fiber Shredder   10 years ago

        [golf clap]

  9. Fist of Etiquette   10 years ago

    You know those security clearance records at the Office of Personnel Management the Chinese hacked? It turns out they had access for a year.

    They should have stored them on Lois Lerner's hard drive.

  10. Rich   10 years ago

    Next week's "news": "You know those security clearance records at the Office of Personnel Management the Chinese hacked? It turns out they installed the software system used to store them."

  11. Florida Man   10 years ago

    Thanks for the timely links too chilly.
    *stares at ENB*

    1. Crusty Juggler   10 years ago

      And fun alt text.

    2. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

      Was there an incident this morning?

      1. Juvenile Bluster   10 years ago

        Mourning lynx were two minutes late. Mass panic ensued.

        1. Florida Man   10 years ago

          I honestly believed the Lynx was going to show and I got scared.

  12. Hey Nikki!   10 years ago

    Down the rabbit hole: witness open-source developers argue about transphobia outside the workplace making them feel unsafe at work.

    1. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

      It's a shame to see people with actual marketable skills waste their time on that nonsense.

      1. Bobarian (Would Chip Her)   10 years ago

        HOLEE!! SHIT!!!

        That is not a rabbit hole; that is a singularity.

    2. Mickey Rat   10 years ago

      Apparrently there a bunch of Gyp Rosettis on one side of that argument "Everyone's a person, right? How else are you supposd to take it, but personally?"

      What a bunch of hothouse flowers.

  13. Rich   10 years ago

    Next month''s "news": "You know those security clearance records at the Office of Personnel Management the Chinese hacked? It turns out they were running the company that did the background checks."

  14. Juvenile Bluster   10 years ago

    Via the always great parody account @Salondotcom, the real Salon, summed up in one image.

    1. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

      Those are both real tweets from Salon?

      *facepalm*

      1. Juvenile Bluster   10 years ago

        Both are real tweets from Salon. One from the day after the Boston bombing, one from yesterday.

        1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

          Consistency is for losers.

    2. Pro Libertate   10 years ago

      Of course. When everything is viewed through a political lens, that's the kind of distortion they perceive.

  15. Rt. Hon. Judge Woodrow Chipper   10 years ago

    that the country's banks are on the verge of collapse.

    One week sooner than otherwise. Yawn.

  16. Rich   10 years ago

    Next year's "news": "You know those security clearance records at the Office of Personnel Management the Chinese hacked? It turns out they never did it, and that it was all a 'computer glitch.'"

  17. Jordan   10 years ago

    U.S. government officials won't be putting New York City's Waldorf-Astoria hotel on the expense account anytime soon, not since it was purchased by a Chinese company. Instead, the president will stay at the Palace Hotel, which is apparently immune to spying.

    Why the hell were they staying there in the first place? You wanna stay in a luxury hotel, then cough up your own damn money. Holiday Inn Express is good enough.

    1. Juvenile Bluster   10 years ago

      New commercial... President Obama, before Congress: "I have absolutely no clue what I'm doing. But I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night!"

  18. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

    "Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) historical ambivalence about immigration is getting new attention."

    Free Summer Gulags and Camps for New Americans in Grand Forks was a bad but well-intentioned idea at the time.

    1. Brochettaward   10 years ago

      An old socialist like Bernie Sanders is going to have plenty of wrong think positions.

  19. Grand Moff Serious Man   10 years ago

    Kangaroos are left-handed

    Handedness (the preference for using one hand over the other for nearly all tasks) likely emerged in humans soon after we began to walk upright. And for years scientists have thought this trait belongs almost exclusively to bipedal primates, given it's never before been observed in quadruped creatures.

    Now they've found that red and eastern gray kangaroos appear to exhibit even truer handedness than humans?and they prefer the left to the right, researchers from Russia report this week in the journal Current Biology.

    As the study observes, "This result challenges the notion that in mammals the emergence of strong 'true' handedness is a unique feature of primate evolution." The lead researcher speculates that handedness also emerged in these marsupials when they began to walk on two instead of four legs.

    Another reason why kangaroos are awesome.

    1. tarran   10 years ago

      Jesus christ!

      I've had two right pawed dogs and one left pawed. You'd think that this would be pretty settled science by now. 😉

      1. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

        Some of it is. Like chickens always approaching each other from the right. Or is it roosters? *shrugs*

    2. grrizzly   10 years ago

      Who else but Russian researchers would know so much about kangaroos? Siberia is choke full of marsupials.

      1. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

        The Russians did some great research on foxes and heredity in Siberia. I assume the foxes were already there...

    3. Rt. Hon. Judge Woodrow Chipper   10 years ago

      They're only left-handed because they're from Australia - God's Prison.

    4. EDG chippin' WUD   10 years ago

      Nice. Teach a kangaroo to throw a strike and it could probably get at least a minor league contract. If he can throw with some heat, it'll get a shot at the majors.

      1. Grand Moff Serious Man   10 years ago

        They also have the southpaw advantage in boxing.

      2. JeSuisRaison, moulin ? bois   10 years ago

        Nice. Teach a kangaroo to throw a strike and it could probably get at least a minor league contract. If he can throw with some heat, it'll get a shot at the majors.

        I'm blaming you when the inevitable children's movie comes out...

  20. Brochettaward   10 years ago

    Leftists have no intelligible position on immigration. They are economic protectionists. Shipping jobs overseas to poor brown people or Asians is bad, but importing them and giving them jobs is ok. They lie and say that immigrants are low-skilled and no threat to American jobs. They are all frauds on the issue.

    1. Tonio the Plant Fiber Shredder   10 years ago

      What about their intentions?

  21. MJGreen - Docile Citizen   10 years ago

    On a more serious note: has anyone spotted any good deals in the Steam summer sale? I've seen a deal for Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, but I feel like Borderlands 2 was enough for me. Am I hugely mistaken about that? Nothing else has caught my eye, but I've only remembered to check every couple days.

    1. Aloysious   10 years ago

      Borderlands the Pre-Sequal was fun, to a point. But then, I burned myself out on Borderlands 2.

      Would say buy it, but only if it is half off, or something like that.

    2. Juvenile Bluster   10 years ago

      Yeah, this hasn't been a great sale for me. Fallout 3/New Vegas are on good sales right now if you've never played them for whatever reason.

      1. Pathogen   10 years ago

        4 is alleged to include 3, when it goes on sale.. in Nov..

  22. Notorious G.K.C.   10 years ago

    OK, I haven't finished the encyclical, but I suspect I've read more than other commenters, so let me make the following points:

    1) The encyclical is *not* a libertarian document.

    2) The encyclical is *not* a libertarian document.

    [I repeated that twice so I wouldn't have to have a multi-post argument along the lines of "you called the Pope a libertarian!" "No, I didn't!" "Yes you did, liar!" But who am I kidding, I could repeat it 1,000 times and still get the same reaction]

    3) The encyclical raises some perfectly legitimate issues - like air pollution, and the poisoning of water supplies.

    4) The encyclical also says climate change is a threat - but if a faithful Catholic, on researching the issue impartially, concludes that the science shows no threat, (s)he is entitled to say so.

    5) The problems identified in the encyclical are problems, generally speaking, under libertarian standards (eg, externalities caused by pollution, air pollution, polluted water supplies) but

    6) the encyclical is not a libertarian document

    7) Still, many of the problems the Pope identified could be, and should be, dealt with through market-based, property-rights based reforms (common-law liability, cleanup of the water, or if manmade climate change is real, mitigating the effects), but

    8) the encyclical is not a libertarian document and

    9) the encyclical is not a libertarian document.

    1. Brochettaward   10 years ago

      So your Pope is a commie? Your spiritual leader is a commie in a ridiculous hat?

      1. Notorious G.K.C.   10 years ago

        Enough with that hat speech.

        1. Notorious G.K.C.   10 years ago

          I said the encyclical is not a libertarian document.

          Is "communist" the opposite of "libertarian?" In which case, why doesn't libertarianism have 98% support in this country?

          1. Brochettaward   10 years ago

            Well, according to Michael Hihn, most Americans are Nolan Chart libertarians who reject the label because of anti-gubmint extremists like myself.

            Ok, maybe he's just a socialist. His solutions are what matters, not the problems he identifies. You can be an eco-warrior libertarian. You can't be a libertarian if you are advocating for a completely new approach to property rights (read - revoking property rights for the collective) and massive wealth redistribution. Whatever term you use, he's definitely a collectivist.

            So, perhaps he's not a full Marxist because no Catholic could be full Marxist. His solutions to these problems are still ass backwards, and he's still the head of your church.

            I get that Catholics don't have to follow the Pope on all secular matters, but I don't see any reasonable argument that the guy completely wrong on those is going to be right on the spiritual, either.

            Catholicism has always seemed like mass marketed Christianity to me.

            1. Brochettaward   10 years ago

              To the last part, I mean dumbed down to be consumed by a mass audience.

              1. Lady Dalrymple   10 years ago

                dumbed down to be consumed by a mass audience.

                That's what the priests are for.

                #martinluther

            2. Notorious G.K.C.   10 years ago

              "I get that Catholics don't have to follow the Pope on all secular matters"

              If he cites secular science, then his conclusions are as good as the science he cites.

              Of course, if human beings *are* warming the planet, threatening floods and other disasters, *then* our responsibility to the Earth, under both the natural law and theology, would require that we take some drastic action. But if everything's OK and the climate science is wrong, no worries, the *doctrinal* part of that if-then statement hasn't been refuted.

              1. Brochettaward   10 years ago

                Ok, but he's still using his position as the head of the church as a bully pulpit. I get your point - you don't have to follow him. But even if humans were damaging the Earth to the extent he claims, you are saying doctrine would mandate 'drastic' actions? He specifically advocated for government action which, from my vantage point, would be fruitless if not disastrous in its own right.

                1. Notorious G.K.C.   10 years ago

                  "I get your point - you don't have to follow him."

                  No, I said that if he relies on scientific sources I get to investigate the accuracy of those sources.

                  If he says that a devastating manmade climate crisis entails a responsibility for drastic action, I'm pretty much bound by that.

                  "even if humans were damaging the Earth to the extent he claims, you are saying doctrine would mandate 'drastic' actions?"

                  If manmade climate change is threatening coastal towns with flooding, endangering resources on which the poor depend for survival, etc? Gosh yes, if human beings are causing such problems, human beings should do something to mitigate the damage. It's not about the property rights of polluters, if the pollutants they generate are threatening to put whole cities underwater - what vision of property rights extends *that* far?

                  As I said, if there isn't a crisis, there's no need for drastic measures. So no worries, I suppose.

                  1. Notorious G.K.C.   10 years ago

                    "If he says that a devastating manmade climate crisis entails a responsibility for drastic action, I'm pretty much bound by that."

                    In other words, I'm bound by the if-then statement, while free to investigate the premise of the if-then statement.

                  2. Free ?Woodchippers! Society   10 years ago

                    It's not about the property rights of polluters, if the pollutants they generate are threatening to put whole cities underwater - what vision of property rights extends *that* far?

                    The regular one. You demonstrate the harm and the response against the polluter would be forthcoming and in proportion to the harm. If the harm were real and demonstrable, the only way a polluter could get around an injunction and/or hefty lawsuit would be to have some statutory shield provided by the state. The state is after all, the largest polluting entity and the least accountable one at that.

                    1. Notorious G.K.C.   10 years ago

                      I don't think you were disagreeing with me there. Were you?

              2. Old Man With Gag Order   10 years ago

                If he cites cherry-picks secular science, then his conclusions are as good as the science he cites.cherry picks.

                FIFY, mackerel snapper!

            3. John Titor   10 years ago

              So, perhaps he's not a full Marxist because no Catholic could be full Marxist.

              No, they just call it liberation theology instead.

      2. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

        Yeah well....Luther was a nut who would have been denied a gun permit!

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrupulosity

    2. Hey Nikki!   10 years ago

      It's also anti-technocratic. I read several pages of it when it was leaked. It seemed kind of boring to me, tbh. And so florid.

      1. Irish Says Enough Woodchippers   10 years ago

        "And so florid."

        Ahem. Our mascot, Elizabeth Stoker Breunig, referred to it as 'highly poetic.' Furthermore:

        "Laudato is, at last, much more about ecology than it is about the environment specifically. Its moral vision unifies seemingly disparate realms of life with its ecological frame, which obliterates the possibility of splitting its moral observations into the relevant and irrelevant."

        Given the consistent quality of her writing, who are you to disagree with ESB's idea of poetery?

  23. Grand Moff Serious Man   10 years ago

    Pretty good analysis of Rand Paul's tax plan: Essentially a VAT while low earners pay nothing

    Paul wants to replace the individual and corporate income tax, the payroll tax, the estate tax, and federal excise taxes with what he calls a flat 14.5 percent levy on all personal income and business activity.

    But it isn't quite that: His business levy is really a Value-Added Tax so wages would be taxed at both the individual and business level at a combined rate of about 27 percent. In effect, Paul would replace today's dedicated Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes with a new tax, but one that does not directly fund the big federal retirement programs.

    On the individual side, Paul would keep deductions for mortgage interest and charitable giving, exempt from tax the first $50,000 of income for a family of four, and retain the Earned Income Tax Credit and child credit for low- and moderate-income working families. (The Tax Foundation assumes that Paul would also keep tax preferences for retirement savings and employer sponsored health insurance). As a result, the effective tax rate for many households would be lower?and in many cases significantly lower?than 14.5 percent.

    1. Antilles   10 years ago

      Don't care for any tax plan that lets low-income people off the hook. Especially since they rely so heavily on those social programs funded by our tax dollars.

    2. Hey Nikki!   10 years ago

      and retain the Earned Income Tax Credit and child credit for low- and moderate-income working families.

      Ugh. Well fuck him then. Fuck your child tax credit right in the ass. Way to engineer society, Rand.

      1. Apatheist ?_??   10 years ago

        As an answer to both you and Antilles, I'm not going to complain about a tax cut and vast simplification of the tax code just because low-income people will get an even bigger tax cut. I mean there really shouldn't be a mortgage deduction as well because that is engineering. But this would be massively better than our current situation.

        Plus, I'm not a fan of any income tax at all.

        1. Antilles   10 years ago

          One of my biggest issues with income tax is that it considers our time to be of little or no value. Unlike us, businesses don't pay tax on every dollar they earn--they only pay on their net profit after taking generous deductions that we individuals aren't allowed to use. For that reason I'm starting to lean toward a national sales tax instead of income tax. But none of that pre-bate bullshit. Everyone should pay the tax from the poorest homeless person to the richest billionaire. Of course, that would be far too 'fair' for the Proggies...

    3. Juice   10 years ago

      A flat tax is retarded. A national sales tax is retarded. A tax on personal income is immoral.

      But, it's not going away, so I say the best thing is a 50 thousand dollar standard deduction, NO OTHER DEDUCTIONS, and a progressive income tax with three tax brackets. 50 - 100 thousand is 10%. 100 - 200 thousand is 15%. 200 thousand up is 20%. Done. Simple.

      1. Antilles   10 years ago

        The only fair income tax system would be a REGRESSIVE one. Other than a standard deduction (tied to the value of a year of minimum wage--whenever there's an increase in the minimum wage we get a tax cut!) all other deductions and credits should be eliminated. Income from 0-25,000 would be taxed at 25%, 25-75,000 at 15%, 75-150,000 at 10% and anything over $150,000 would be tax free. This would provide a real incentive to get to the higher income levels and would also make low income people pay for the services and entitlements that those of us with ambition are currently forced to pay for.

        1. kbolino   10 years ago

          It seems to me that it would make just as much sense to eliminate the income tax altogether and bill for most government services with fees. If the idea is that people have a certain inherent cost to society which does not scale with income, then a lower effective tax rate will follow naturally from a fee-based system.

  24. Grand Moff Serious Man   10 years ago

    So I'm currently laid out at home after having four wisdom teeth extracted this morning. Anyone know any good soft-food recipes I can eat while I recuperate?

    So far I just have applesauce and protein shakes.

    1. Lady Dalrymple   10 years ago

      yogurt
      soup
      scrabbled egg
      banana

    2. Florida Man   10 years ago

      Just have someone "baby bird" you. Then you can eat whatever you want.

      1. Tonio the Plant Fiber Shredder   10 years ago

        Or just grind it up in a blender.

        1. Florida Man   10 years ago

          Somebody doesn't care about their carbon foot print.

        2. Riven   10 years ago

          Spoil sport.

    3. Tonio the Plant Fiber Shredder   10 years ago

      Ouch, buddy. Do remember to sleep sitting up so you don't get dry socket. Srsly.

      Fruit smoothies (fruit, yogurt, wheat germ). Anything that can be swallowed without chewing.

      1. Grand Moff Serious Man   10 years ago

        Yes, the blender will definitely be put to use this weekend. I've read up about all the precautionary measures to take for dry socket, but I'm sure i"ll still be super paranoid about it once the clots form.

        1. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

          I made 8 quarts of heavy chicken broth earlier this week. I would deliver some if you were still local.

      2. Enough About Woodchippers   10 years ago

        I mistakenly had Kung Pow Chicken the day after mine were pulled. Really stupid.

    4. Aloysious   10 years ago

      Almond milk + frozen banana (or blue berries or strawberries or whatever) + Carnation malted milk powder = smoothie.

      Tastes like an old fashioned milk shake.

    5. Warty   10 years ago

      Pureed chicken breasts and mashed potatoes is acceptable. Make sure to salt it. Under no circumstances should you attempt to eat pureed lasagna. Ask me how I know.

      1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

        How do you know?

        1. Warty   10 years ago

          GODDAMMIT ROOFIES

      2. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

        Chicken breast is worthless. I wouldn't turn down a chicken thigh milkshake though.

    6. EDG chippin' WUD   10 years ago

      Guacamole
      Melted cheese
      Corn tortillas soaked in salsa/taco sauce
      Queso fresco
      Spanish rice

      Hope you feel better soon.

      1. Grand Moff Serious Man   10 years ago

        Goddam, that sounds outstanding. I'll ask my girlfriend to make that for me on Sunday. Thanks for the tip.

      2. Brett L   10 years ago

        Top with a fried egg.

    7. Warty   10 years ago

      Did the teeth come out clean or did they have to saw?

      1. Grand Moff Serious Man   10 years ago

        Based on the tiny bits of wisdom tooth that are in the bag I took home with me, it would appear they needed to saw the bottom ones out.

        But my bleeding has at last slowed considerably in the last few hours.

      2. lap83   10 years ago

        Ew, so glad I'm one of the lucky mutants without wisdom teeth

        1. EDG chippin' WUD   10 years ago

          Me too. My wife as well.

        2. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

          You have them. They're just not erupted.

    8. Warty   10 years ago

      I once read an old book by a dentist who went on mission trips and found that the savages who ate their "natural" diet had room in their jaws for their wisdom teeth. HIs hypothesis was that they did more hard chewing than Westerners do and that made their jaws bigger. I wish I could find the book.

      1. Not an Economist   10 years ago

        I had room in my mouth for my wisdom teeth. I only had to have 8 teeth pulled to make it happen.

    9. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

      Beef jerky, pistachios, and Haribo sugarless gummy bears.

  25. Cytotoxic   10 years ago

    I just wanted to give props to the US Armed Forces for another successful strike against AQAP. We are all safer and freer for their efforts.

    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33143259

    1. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

      Are you trying to rehabilitate your image or something?

      1. Cytotoxic   10 years ago

        No. There's no need for any rehab.

  26. Ice Nine   10 years ago

    Really glad you linked those Saudi documents 'cause now it is obvious why the Saudis would be sweating.

  27. Grand Moff Serious Man   10 years ago

    Obama: Confederate battle flag belongs in a museum, not out in public

    The White House said Friday that President Barack Obama thinks the Confederate flag that currently flies outside the South Carolina statehouse belongs in a museum, according to Reuters.

    Debate over the flag was reignited after nine people were shot and killed in a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday.

    The flag, which flies next to the statehouse at the Confederate Soldier's Monument, is not only protected by law, but also protected by a padlock that keeps it in place. The flag is not on a pulley system, so it can't be lowered to half-staff.

    On Friday, NAACP President Cornell Brooks called for the flag to come down. Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) disagreed, saying removing the flag "should not be the immediate solution."

    South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) said she thinks "the state will start talking about that again" but declined to say if she thought it should come down. She's previously said she doesn't think the flag needs to be removed, but noted it's a "sensitive issue."

    I've always been partial to the Bonnie Blue Flag myself.

    1. Crusty Juggler   10 years ago

      I am for keeping the flag up just because Bo wants to take it down. I think that is good logic.

      1. Brochettaward   10 years ago

        Well, the idea that the Confederation flag had anything to do with this shooting is offensively stupid.

        1. Crusty Juggler   10 years ago

          Yes. The fact that the flag is an issue so soon after the shooting is sickening.

    2. Notorious G.K.C.   10 years ago

      I can see banning the Rhodesian flag (/sarc), but the Confederate flag?

      1. Notorious G.K.C.   10 years ago

        I mean, call it offensive, but don't blame it for the shootings.

        1. Antilles   10 years ago

          Don't you see, this happened because of that flag, guns, and white supremacy! That inbred hick with the bowl cut had almost nothing to do with it. He's a victim too! At least that's my conclusion after reading so much Proggie rage...

    3. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

      It has been said many times, many ways of the general stupidity of the average Huff commenter and they didn't disappoint in the comments thread.

    4. kbolino   10 years ago

      The White House said Friday that President Barack Obama thinks the Confederate flag that currently flies outside the South Carolina statehouse belongs in a museum, according to Reuters.

      I give it 5 years tops before it has to be removed from the museum, too.

  28. Warty   10 years ago

    I've been trancing out to this for the past 5 days or so while I've been working 14 hour days. It does the job.

    1. Crusty Juggler   10 years ago

      That is okay. This is what keeps me going during those long days.

    2. Judge Chipper   10 years ago

      Don't generally like black metal, but this isn't bad. Ever heard this:

      Lustmord - Heresy

      1. Judge Chipper   10 years ago

        Fuck!

        Lustmord - Heresy

      2. Juice   10 years ago

        What do you think black metal is? That's not black metal.

      3. Warty   10 years ago

        I had heard of Lustmord but never listened to them. I love evil ambient music when I'm in the right mood.

  29. EdWuncler   10 years ago

    Sometimes, I want to fucking shut off Facebook. The insane bullshit that I'm seeing today makes me incredibly depressed.

    1. Cytotoxic   10 years ago

      The proggies love FB, and the more proggie they are the more they post. So take heart that you are seeing the worst and not seeing the better.

      1. EdWuncler   10 years ago

        I got reamed for saying that the guy was a racist asshole who wanted to kill black people. And that was that.

        People started calling me simplistic.

        1. Antilles   10 years ago

          More precisely, he's a dead-eyed sociopath who realized his insignificance and wanted to become famous. And now the news media and Proggie websites have granted his wish.

        2. Irish Says Enough Woodchippers   10 years ago

          "People started calling me simplistic."

          Um...what's the more complicated explanation for why white supremacists would want to kill black people? Is there some deeper explanation I'm missing?

          Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar and sometimes white supremacists want to kill black people because they're horrible racists.

    2. db   10 years ago

      So stop looking at it. I did two years ago, and haven't missed it at all.

      1. Crusty Juggler   10 years ago

        Excuse me, if I stop looking at it I will not be able to stalk some people and judge others.

      2. Lady Dalrymple   10 years ago

        Reasons to give up facebook:

        1. You don't have to 'like' or 'friend' people you don't like or want to be friends with.

        2. see above

        3. see above.

        1. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

          Then how do you suggest that we exchange nudes?

          1. Lady Dalrymple   10 years ago

            You go first and I'll get right back to you.

            1. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

              You seem trustworthy.

    3. Warty   10 years ago

      Facebook is for grandmothers.

  30. buybuydandavis   10 years ago

    "Organized religion is hostile to dynamism and individual choice?"

    Catholics think we're all filthy sinners who should be living lives of self abgenation?

    Who knew?

    1. Notorious G.K.C.   10 years ago

      No, it says "Concern for the environment thus needs to be joined to a sincere love for our fellow
      human beings and an unwavering commitment to resolving the problems of society."

    2. Mickey Rat   10 years ago

      How long has it taken atheists to live down the Communist Manifesto, as long as we are painting with broad brushes?

  31. Juice   10 years ago

    "an immense pile of filth."

    You mean like in medieval plague times with rotting corpses lining the streets covered in feces and urine? That kind of filth pile?

    1. Notorious G.K.C.   10 years ago

      In the part I've read so far, he doesn't endorse medieval sanitary practices.

      What the Popes *did* do during the plague was defend the Jews against charges of polluting the wells.

      1. Notorious G.K.C.   10 years ago

        To put it another way, the Popes rejected environmental alarmism.

    2. Pathogen   10 years ago

      "You mean like in medieval plague times with rotting corpses lining the streets covered in feces and urine? That kind of filth pile?"

      Ahh.. the church's golden age. It's all been downhill from there..

      1. Notorious G.K.C.   10 years ago

        Defending the Jews from enraged paranoid mobs was a nice thing to do.

        1. Cytotoxic   10 years ago

          Following further attacks, the bull was reaffirmed by many popes including Alexander III, Celestine III (1191-1198), Innocent III (1199), Honorius III (1216), Gregory IX (1235), Innocent IV (1246), Alexander IV (1255), Urban IV (1262), Gregory X (1272 & 1274), Nicholas III, Martin IV (1281), Honorius IV (1285-1287), Nicholas IV (1288-92), Clement VI (1348), Urban V (1365), Boniface IX (1389), Martin V (1422), and Nicholas V (1447).[8][9] The bull forbade Christians, on pain of excommunication, from forcing Jews to convert, from harming them, from taking their property, from disturbing the celebration of their festivals, and from interfering with their cemeteries. After then, the doctrine was maintained in form only, with many anti-Jewish measures being enacted and certain Popes, including Paul IV oppressed the Jews.

          1. Notorious G.K.C.   10 years ago

            As I said, the Popes acted to stop the well-poisoning reports.

            1. Notorious G.K.C.   10 years ago

              Ah, yes, "While a "persecuting spirit" often existed among the general population through the Middle Ages, Jewish communities often had to turn to the Holy See for protection."

              Popular paranoia and hatred toward middleman minorities isn't uniquely Christian - Thomas Sowell reviews some fairly nasty examples of such prejudice outside the Christian/Jewish context.

              I grant that there was a lot of anti-Jewish religious polemic, and discrimination. But when it came to mob violence, it was in defiance of the Church.

              1. Old Man With Gag Order   10 years ago

                Yes, the official church violence was much more effective than the disorganized mob.

  32. Jerry on the sea   10 years ago

    Charlie Rose shares a stage with Putin.

  33. jessa   10 years ago

    Work At Home 100% FREE Opportunity. You will never be asked a single penny. Make at Least $50 Per Day Guaranteed!
    Its FREE! Apply Here A LINK: == http://www.worktoday7.com

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