University Spends $65,000 to Hear from Chelsea Clinton (Mom Was Too Pricey), Chris Christie Is Running for Prez, Greece Is Up To Something: P.M. Links

• 

  Fortune Magazine

  The University of Missouri at Kansas City needed a speaker for a campus gala, and immediately thought of Hillary Clinton. But her speaking fee is $275,000, and that's a lot of dough, so administrators went with the next best thing: Chelsea Clinton, who only charges a paltry $65,000.

• Chris Christie is running for president. But everyone is running for president, man.
• Greece, WTF?
• ICYMI: The next crazy campus censorship story.
• The American Law Institute wants to bring some of those *great* campus anti-rape policies to plain old law enforcement.
• Watch Reason TV's interview with Title IX Inquisition survivor Laura Kipnis.
• Did you know you get an extra second today?

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and don't forget to sign up for Reason's daily updates for more content.

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Chris Christie is running for president.

He's not running anywhere.

[Rich]

Hey, he announced in a *gym*.

[The DerpRider]

He'd be a slow zombie in a fast zombie movie.

[Krokko]

I think he'd be a slow zombie in a slow zombie movie.

[TwB]

One things for sure, Christie won't be building bridges w/ his political friends anytime soon.

[Fist of Etiquette]

"Hey, Fatty! I've got a movie for ya: A Fridge Too Far! "

[TwB]

I laughed. Thank you.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Mr. Christie, if you'd just quiet down, I'd be happy to treat you to a garbage bag full of popcorn.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

+1 Simpsons quote

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

"But her speaking fee is $275,000, and that's a lot of dough, so administrators went with the next best thing: Chelsea Clinton, who only charges a paltry $65,000."

Seriously. What can she possibly have to fucken say of any value? I wouldn't even bother attending.

But I'm a jerk that way.

[Hamster of Doom]

The hubris is just astonishing.

[WoodchipperPatriarch]

I agree. How dare you not attend the Crown Princess' speech?

[Ted S.]

You're a jerk in a lot of ways. :-p

(Well, most of us who post here are.)

[AlmightyJB]

"(Well, most of us who post here are.)"

I am OUTRAGED at your...oh wait jerks yeah ok nevermind. Carry on.

[BigT]

Chelsea Clinton plans to discuss the intricacies of setting up an independent email server, and how best to erase electronic data.

[commodious spittoon]

Pfft, that sort of detail work is for basement-dwelling tech dweebs. Chelsea will stick to the important points she learned at her mother's knee, like how to master that casual smirk while lying on camera or in front of Congress.

[PapayaSF]

Also: "How to Get Ahead Through Marriage."

[commodious spittoon]

What, and let your share of the tuition hike that paid for her speaking fee go to waste?

[Speaker]

I don't think you pay them to listen to their words. You pay them so you have access to try to get favors from them if they stay in power. This University couldn't afford Gold Level Access so they went to bronze. They'll still get something from the Clinton regime if they make it in, just not as much as if they paid the full tribute.

[Root Boy]

They better have gotten something. She got 65 large and the U got something like 33K for ticket sales - Chumps!

[Anomalous]

They may as well just throw that money into a woodchipper.

[MoriahJovan]

UMKC is an urban commuter school with a good law school, medical school, dental school, business school, and pharmacy school. Their STEM programs are chock full of foreign students. They have a shit-ton of night and weekend classes for working-type folk. They have more multi-level parking garages than dorms.

Trust me, nobody goes there to do anything but get the lambskin and they're mostly all older than Chelsea anyway. I doubt Hillary could draw any kind of crowd at all because the majority of the student body is busy surviving and trying to better their lives.

[MoriahJovan]

Oh that was last year. I'm an alumna with privileges (kinda like friends with benefits), and I never heard about it.

Those notices would have gone to the society matrons and Junior League.

[Vapourwear]

"Alumnus"

[Vapourwear]

Or.. Are you a gasp. Female libertarian?!

[Anomalous]

They don't exist.

[RAHeinlein]

Obviously, they do - I've seen some talking about BJ's recently....

[MoriahJovan]

I should probably put "XX" after my name as a matter of courtesy.

[AlmightyJB]

I'd go with XXX

[MoriahJovan]

I'd rather not have an extra chromosome, but your generous advice is noted and appreciated.

[Rhywun]

Aw, who knows what kind of cool superpowers that could give you?

[MoriahJovan]

Do I get to pick?

[Rhywun]

Um... no. That's not how it works, toots.

[MoriahJovan]

I'll not risk it, then. /coward

[Pro Libertate]

I am in awe of the stupidity of America right now. Who fucking pays someone with nothing to say anything to speak? I mean, maybe if she were famous for doing something herself, but being the scion of scumbag politicians is valuable how?

Oh, I get it. Pay for play.

[John C. Randolph]

These "speaking fees" are nothing but speculative bribes payed in advance on the chance that Hillary's going to get elected.

-jcr

[Fist of Etiquette]

Did you know you get an extra second today?

Yeah but in the fall you just have to turn your clock ahead a second so why bother.

[Wasteland Wanderer]

LEAP SECONDS DO NOT WORK THAT WAY! /Morbo

[Almanian - Wood Chipper-ish]

YOU FALL BACK, FIST - SO YOU GET ANOTHER SECOND, YOU DODO!

GET IT RIGHT!

[Injun, Wood Chipper Vindaloo]

Chris Christie is running for president. But everyone is running for president, man.

And he huffs and puffs.

Should have hit the treadmill before running for President.

[KDN]

He did. Ok, so he took the lazy way and got a lap band, but at least he made an effort. As fat as he is right now he used to be even fatter.

[cavalier973]

You know who else used to be even fatter?

[Rhywun]

Jared?

[Migrant Log Chipper]

Chelsea Clinton, though there's that freshman 20 in play.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The American Law Institute wants to bring some of those *great* campus anti-rape policies to plain old law enforcement.

That way it will seem like universities actually are preparing students for the real world.

[Root Boy]

I read they also want to make touching a chick in a hijab on the shoulder assault since moslem women aren't supposed to be touched by dudes.

Some religions more equal than others.

[Injun, Wood Chipper Vindaloo]

Greece, WTF?

Please, please, please. If you loan me more money just this one time, I promise I won't buy drugs ever again.

[Juvenile Bluster]

"Please! The IMF is going to break my thumbs!"

[Florida Man]

*takes $20 out of pocket*

Hey, wait a minute...

[grrizzly]

Obama says markets have 'properly factored in' Greece risks

Better to Remain Silent and Be Thought a Fool than to Speak and Remove All Doubt (Obama's finance entry)

[Lee G]

I called Obama's hot stock tip line, but all they recommend is United Health Group.

[TwB]

So Obama has already told Yellen what to do (well, not that he didn't already). Nice.

[Juice]

And what about Puerto Rican risks? I doubt those have been "factored in."

[Hamster of Doom]

It's much more akin to, "Send me a million dollars, pro-lifers, or I'm having an abortion."

[wef]

It's all about creditor bailouts. Tsipras and Varoufakis know at least a little practical game theory, know that the eurosociopaths are always tempted to spend other peoples' money either directly or better via the inflation tax and always obsessed with the rituals of process, and know that Italy and Spain are trembling in anticipation - and so the Greek mafiosi are squeezing what more they can out of the euro dons.

[Injun, Wood Chipper Vindaloo]

You scream, I scream, We scream for Ice Cream!

BLM: Say, maybe our demand that Burning Man supply us with on-demand ice cream was a little much

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is asking Burning Man organizers to build a separate compound with amenities such as flushing toilets, washers and dryers, and 24-hour access to ice cream for government officials staying in Black Rock City.

[TwB]

It's Burning Man, not fucking Lollapalooza. Kind of hard to keep blowing sand out of those ice cream cones, too.

[Rich]

"Peppermint crunch, you got it."

[Hamster of Doom]

It's like they think they're Mariah Carey or some shit.

[ant1sthenes]

In anticipation of a Chris Christie presidency?

[Juvenile Bluster]

Via twitter, a reminder that Salon was once sane.

[kinnath]

The was a time when I enjoyed Salon.

[hamilton]

Agree. Heck, I used to read Wonkette. A decade ago.

There was a brief point in time where Glenn Greenwald was the most sane voice at Salon. Then he left.

[kinnath]

Patrick Smith (Ask the Pilot). A sportswriter whose name I can't remember. Jake Tapper was sane to start with. Andrew Leonard wrote exclusively about new tech and was actually interesting.

They went to shit during the Bush years and have become nothing by professional trolls working on behalf of the Democratic party.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Chelsea Clinton, who only charges a paltry $65,000.

What kind of access could that possibly get you?

[Injun, Wood Chipper Vindaloo]

Trade sex for money, and you're a wh0re.

Trade sex for influence, and you're a politician!

What happens when you are born with a silver spoon up your a$$ - Chelsea Clinton's $1,083-Per-Minute University Appearance

From the WaPo article linked to in the above article:

They also show the meticulous efforts by Chelsea Clinton's image-makers to exert tight control over the visit, ranging from close editing of marketing materials and the introductory remarks of a high school student to limits on the amount of time she spent on campus.

Chelsea Clinton, who at the time was just shy of her 34th birthday, commanded a higher fee than other prominent women speakers...

[Hamster of Doom]

"Let them eat cake."

[Rufus J. Firefly]

You know, I've always wondered why the type of cake has never been specified.

[jesse.in.mb]

Because every English speaker knows what cake is, but "Let them eat brioche, which is a reach bread popular in France that requires eggs and butter in addition to flour, two ingredients which would be hard to come by for a people who couldn't even find flour to make basic bread" is unwieldy?

[Pan Zagloba]

And wasn't there something about "bread prices were fixed below profit, so bakers only made to quota, while brioche was always available"?

Can't be arsed to look it up because butter chicken makes me sleepy.

[jesse.in.mb]

I wouldn't be surprised. Although you might be thinking of the dicking around with grain prices at the time, which seems to have been a more direct cause of unrest.

The quote is bullshit though. It was pulled from an earlier quote and attributed to Marie Antoinette much later.

[Mr. Paulbotto]

Mmmm, butter chicken

[jesse.in.mb]

wh0re

Is that a thing now? I disapprove of it if it's a thing.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Suggesting the daughter of a former president is acting like a whore gets you flagged for subpoena, so you gotta be sly.

[Old Man With Gag Order]

She didn't charge me, so I'm gonna say no, not a whore.

[Migrant Log Chipper]

She's certainly not a whore in the literal sense and this bunch of idiots deem her anecdotes worth 65 grand does raise a question or three.

What, exactly, has Chelsea done in her life other than be born to a couple of dysfunctional parents. Nothing, as far as I can see .

She's not as ugly as she was as a kid back in the day, but it's irrelevant.

That a university would pay tribute to the Clintons sort of sums it up, even when it is a school struggling pays this dough to a person that has nothing to offer other than her parents.

Chelsea is Amy Carter on steroids. though to be fair Amy was a kid.

Pretty amazing.

[Florida Man]

Anything you want baby.
*scratches neck furiously*

[Lee G]

And who the hell cares what Chelsea has to say? Unless she's going to offer dirt on her mother, she has nothing to relate of any import.

[Hamster of Doom]

She could talk about how hard it is to get into "good" private kindergartens, convince the help to sign non-disclosures, how fast babies grow out of Oscar de la Renta. You know, all the stuff today's woman really aspires to be concerned about.

[PapayaSF]

"Notes on Being the Daughter of a Sexual Predator."

[Old Man With Gag Order]

My daughter already wrote that one. Try again.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

But it's fifty extra for anal?

[Injun, Wood Chipper Vindaloo]

From the cowardly bastards at the New York Times who want to keep the 1st amendment for themselves, and demand limiting it to groups of people who are not a newspaper company.

New York Times bans Charlie Hebdo cartoons, but runs 'condom pope' image

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"The newspaper's executive editor, Dean Baquet, said in public statements at the time that the French satirical magazine's cartoons were simply too offensive for publication.

""Was it hard to deny our readers these images? Absolutely. But we still have standards, and they involve not running offensive material," Baquet told the Washington Examiner in January."

I didn't know "not running offensive material" was a euphemism for "not getting blown up."

[waffles]

How far can Chris Christie even run? 500 yards? Think he could complete a marathon if his life depended on it?

[Protagoronus]

How many days does he get?

[Derpetologist]

This video is a few years old, yet still relevant on the Euro debt crisis:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOzR3UAyXao

[A special place in JW's Hell]

Correct.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Not entirely.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-15748696

[Clich? Bandit]

The front fell off.

[TwB]

Funny, and horrifically accurate.

[WoodchipperPatriarch]

The University of Missouri at Kansas City needed a speaker for a campus gala, and immediately thought of Hillary Clinton. But her speaking fee is $275,000, and that's a lot of dough, so administrators went with the next best thing: Chelsea Clinton, who only charges a paltry $65,000.

Obviously they want to benefit from all of her vast experience and accomplishments.

[Lee G]

It's disturbing.

[GILMORE, LVL20 Blowhard]

Its certainly not a hedge to potentially curry favor with the next president. Nope. Paying exorbitant sums to the children of presidential candidates? its totally normal.

[lap83]

It's not even motivational.

"Hi guys! I'm here to talk about how nice it is to be born into the lap of privilege. Good luck out there!"

[Rich]

The schedule she negotiated called for her to speak for 10 minutes, participate in a 20-minute, moderated question-and-answer session and spend a half-hour posing for pictures with VIPs offstage.

How much for *naked* pictures?

[WoodchipperPatriarch]

Really? Why?

[Rich]

Please. Some of those VIPs are *hot*.

[Marshall Gill]

For a second there I thought Crusty Juggler had hacked your nick.

[GILMORE, LVL20 Blowhard]

South Carolina = Reasoned Debate Continues

[Injun, Wood Chipper Vindaloo]

No, b****. Libertarianism is not libertinism. Libertarians support freedom for everyone, including libertines. It is your hedonism and libertinism which leads you to polyamory, not libertarianism.

Polyamory Is Next, And I'm One Reason Why - Here's how libertarianism has led me and my partner into polyamory, and why America will have to grapple with this issue next.

[Citizen Nothing]

NTTAWWT

[Hey Nikki!]

Actually, I think what led her to polyamory was getting accidentally knocked up by a guy she didn't care about that much, and deciding to keep him and the baby.

[WoodchipperPatriarch]

What movie was that?

[Lady Dalrymple]

I'm in favor of legalized polyamory as long as fedoras are outlawed.

[Hamster of Doom]

Trilbies are not fedoras, no matter what those hipsters think.

[Lady Dalrymple]

middle aged guy in hat = bald spot

Just own it, bald dudes.

[Root Boy]

#2 on the Wahl clippers this morning.

[AlmightyJB]

How about this?

http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z.....746368.jpg

[Irish Says Enough Woodchippers]

I love that they posted that at a Christian right-wing site like The Federalist. The comments over there must be hilarious.

[Hamster of Doom]

Listen To Me Talk About Myself, Throw A Tantrum, Concede That I'm Obnoxious, And Then Explain Why I'm Always Right.

It's amazing she has one man, I doubt she truly has many, many others lining up out the door.

[Ted S.]

Maybe she's that easy.

(TIWTANFL)

[Irish Says Enough Woodchippers]

Well, I personally would absolutely have sex with her, but maybe that's just me.

Also, according to her bio she runs a food truck. How has Elizabeth Nolan Brown not profiled her yet?

[Hamster of Doom]

Because ENB has far too much taste and couth?

[lap83]

Her thoughts in that picture, "Have I sunk so low that I would do it with a bear? Yes. Yes, I think so"

[Crusty Juggler]

She has a blog post stating that she doesn't care for casual sex. So, she wants what she wants and that is that (which, of course, is fine). I do not understand why she feels she is interesting.

[Irish Says Enough Woodchippers]

Because she's a pretty attractive millenial who thinks everyone is interested in the state of her vagina and who she allows to enter it?

[Injun, Wood Chipper Vindaloo]

White Reasonoids! Heroic Mulatto, Old Mexican and Injun are waiting to get massacred! What are you waiting for?

Professor: White People Are Conditioned to Commit Mass Murder Like in Charleston

[GILMORE, LVL20 Blowhard]

I confess, i have long wanted to kill you all

[Pan Zagloba]

I like you, Gilmore. I'm going to kill you last.

[Catatafish & Woodchips]

You beat me to it, Injun. I had that link all copied and everything.

P.S. I'M COMING FOR YOU IN ALL MY WHITENESS.

[Lee G]

Assistant professor of sociology

'Nuff said

[John]

If you honestly thought that, you would think you would keep quiet about it and not fuck with them lest they turn their conditioning on you. Funny how Islam is the religion of peace yet everyone is terrified of criticizing it and American white people are the most psychotic and dangerous people on earth yet the subject of constant and vicious criticism.

[Chip Morningwood Esq]

yep. everyday is Everyone Draw a White Guy Day with these guys.

[Heroic Mulatto]

See?!? This is why I prep! AND YOU ALL CALLED ME CRAZY!

[Hamster of Doom]

I didn't. I agree with you.

[jesse.in.mb]

"called me crazy" makes it sound past tense

[Heroic Mulatto]

Fair enough.

[ant1sthenes]

You're going to mass murder yourself, apparently, and that sounds pretty crazy to me.

[Derpetologist]

Those guys with machetes in Rwanda were actually in black-face. Most people don't know it though.

[touches nose knowingly]

[Irish Says Enough Woodchippers]

Don't even get me started on when the Greeks decided to murder a bunch of Armenians but called themselves the Young Turks so no one would know it was them.

[bacon-magic]

Cambodia? That was all CIA man. *hits bong

[hamilton]

Shit I THOUGHT THIS WAS A SAFE SPACE. Now we have to clear out all you crackers. Well, actually, leave the women.

[Hamster of Doom]

What women?

[The DerpRider]

Still only going to leave you with one. No poly for you!

[Catatafish & Woodchips]

Do you mind if we dance with your dates?

[Hamster of Doom]

We're libertarians. You're supposed to ask the dates and tell him to go fuck himself.

[Catatafish & Woodchips]

I thought as libertarians we were so unaccustomed to females being in our presence that the mere thought of speaking to one directly causes us to slip into a drooling catatonic state...

[OldMexican]

*waits for thinkpieces about how more mental health services could prevent white people from acting how they're conditioned to act ? Ida B. Robinson

I imagine that blacks and other minorities are thus conditioned to act like victims, because if they're massacred is because they did not fight back, correct? Isn't that what can be gathered from her proposition?

[GILMORE, LVL20 Blowhard]

Obama, unhappy with labor participation rate, encourages business to increase hiring by reducing.... oh, forget it

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Was 'profits' the word you were looking for? How about 'hours'? Or maybe 'current workers into their component parts'?

[Derpetologist]

Most libertarian want ad ever?

Men wanted for hazardous journey, small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful, honour and recognition in case of success

http://www.antarctic-circle.org/advert.htm

[WoodchipperPatriarch]

Nothing with superfluous U's can be the most libertarian anything ever.

[Florida Man]

Damnit! I was interested in the offer, only to find I'd missed my time.

[TwB]

So, playing football in the CFL then?

[Derpetologist]

Minus the honor and recognition, this could be any job posting in Alaska or Cleveland.

[Timon 19]

I was going to be offended on behalf of all of northeast Ohio, but I can't really argue.

Except that halfway decent wages go a very, very long way.

[SusanM]

Is this a job ad for Hillary's next gynecologist?

[PapayaSF]

Zing!

[Injun, Wood Chipper Vindaloo]

Everytime a Salon writer farts and releases methane into the atmosphere, God eliminates a species from the planet.

#MassExtinction #GlobalWarming #HumanityIsACurseOnThePlanet

Those 4th of July fireworks spectaculars are causing huge spikes in dangerous air pollution

[Stormy Dragon]

Well, I'm sure this will help resolve the controversy:

KKK plans Confederate flag rally outside South Carolina statehouse

[Rich]

James Spears, the Great Titan of the Loyal White Knights, told South Carolina station WHNS that he expects the pro-flag rally to be peaceful. "It should be a peaceful rally," Spears said. "We usually have pretty peaceful rallies. I mean, to me, it should be a peaceful rally. Like I said, it's for the Confederate flag."

"It'll be *damn* peaceful, unless some uppity agitators show up."

[The DerpRider]

They sure do have interesting titles.

[Trouser-Pod (The blowhard)]

If it turns out to not be peaceful, will James Spears have to chuck his other plans?

/ducks and runs

[John]

Considering that most of them work for the FBI as informants, is it fair to call this a false flag operation?

[bacon-magic]

False flag - Confederate flag...I see what you did there.

[Irish Says Enough Woodchippers]

There are only an estimated 8000 Klansmen left in America, so of course they have to interject themselves into this clusterfuck.

[John]

I bet at least four thousand of them are on some kind of law enforcement payroll as informants.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

The other 4K are actual police officers...

/rimshot

[gaoxiaen]

If it weren't for informers, CPUSA wouldn't be able to keep the lights on.

[Florida Man]

There are only an estimated 8000 Klansmen left in America...

Now you look like one of those people that raises money for endangered species. Look everyone, Irish wants to save the Klan.

[Lady Dalrymple]

Banning, even unofficially, any symbol is always going to lead to it being adopted, and more importantly co-opted, by assholes.

So the proggies win. A flag with a connection to racism but also associated with a wider history get's turned into a flat-out hateful symbol.

[Cytotoxic]

That 'wider history' was always one of slavery, evil, and racism.

[Marshall Gill]

So identical to most of "human history".

[Stormy Dragon]

It's always been connected to racism. First the civil war, then groups like the KKK, and finally its adoption by segregationist governments as an explict "FU" to their black citizens. It wasn't co-opted by assholes, it was the asshole's project from its inception.

It says a lot about the south that given centuries of history, that's the only symbol they could think of to be "proud" about.

[Lady Dalrymple]

Yes, it is associated with the War of Southern Aggression and slavery. And, to a certain extent, it is a racist symbol. That's why I supported Haley's decision to removed from state buildings. But this move to ban it in other non-state contexts just provides assholes with more emotional fire-power. Why draw attention to it? Why empower them?

[Stormy Dragon]

I'm not in favor of a ban either. But it's sort of the right wing version of a Che Guevera shirt. The flag's fans deserve to be mercilessly mocked at every oppurtunity.

[Cytotoxic]

it's sort of the right wing version of a Che Guevera shirt. The flag's fans deserve to be mercilessly mocked at every oppurtunity.

Excellent.

[ant1sthenes]

Not really. Che was a dude -- if he was a dick, he was a dick. The CSA was a polity, which however shitty it may have been, got invaded, and a lot of people that lived there died in a vain attempt to stop the invasion, as people do.

For a better analogy -- the USSR might have been a piece of shit slave state that made Johnny Reb look like pikers, but I can't argue with Russians using its flag to honor the soldiers that died in WW2 (especially the ones that died defending their own homeland from Nazis), or to remember the war itself. At the same time, I can absolutely despise anyone who would use it to support the ideological underpinnings of the state that those soldiers served.

[Unreconstructed (Sans Flag)]

War of Southern Aggression

I think you use "Aggression" differently than I do. *checks map* Yeah, aggressive wars are usually fought (from the beginning!) on the aggressor's territory. Looking at a list of Civil War battles which you can order by date, the only battles in Union territory (and that's open to interpretation) in '61 & '62 were in Missouri and West Virginia, both areas that had...mixed opinions, to say the least.

[Cytotoxic]

You don't know what aggression is.

[Unreconstructed (Sans Flag)]

Really? Invading someone's territory isn't aggression? Refusing to remove your troops from land that doesn't belong to you (because it's part of a group that *left* your association) isn't a form of aggression?

[Stormy Dragon]

If your neighbors decide that the neighborhood is "seceding" and demand that, as an outsider, you vacate your home immediately, is your failure to do so an act of aggression against them?

Why then is the US government's refusal to abandon forts it had built an act of aggression against the CSA just because the CSA decided it wanted to own them instead?

[Unreconstructed (Sans Flag)]

If you consider (as I believe it should be) the U.S. government to be the governing body of a (voluntary) union of states (in the traditional sense of the word), then the instant one of those states chooses to leave said union, having U.S. troops in that state's territory is an aggression.

Not to mention the fact that Fort Sumter just so happened to control the harbor...so you wouldn't think I was being aggressive if I sat at the end of your driveway with a loaded weapon and pointed it at people coming in or out?

[Cytotoxic]

The USG exists in large part to protect our rights from aggression by state governments and foreign governments. The Confederacy was the former. Its existence was an act of aggression.

[Lady Dalrymple]

And.....he take the bait. It never fails.

[Unreconstructed (Sans Flag)]

There are points about that war I won't argue...but there are some that I think *should* be, in the name of historical accuracy.

[Cytotoxic]

"Historical accuracy" being your euphemism for 'revisionism and neo-confederate apologia'.

[Azathoth!!]

All the battles were in Union territory. The southern insurrection failed.

[Hamster of Doom]

"Only". Bless your little heart.

[Lady Dalrymple]

I agree with you here. The modern south has a lot to be proud of. Black Americans have been moving north to south in a new migration. They're doing that because they're finding more economic opportunity in the South. The business climate is just better in many places down South.

[Stormy Dragon]

So why not make a flag for that?

[Mr. Paulbotto]

So why not make a flag for that?

The Gadsden flag.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Already been done.

[Lady Dalrymple]

We were talking symbols not necessarily flags.

I have a suggestion. Mercedes Benz of North America recently decided to relocate their corporate headquarters from Jersey to Georgia.

How about the South adopt this as their symbol:

http://www.hdwallpaperspulse.c.....-logo.html

[Rich]

'Trans and queer' illegals hold 'die-in' at White House

Hmm. That makes 'em pretty easy to round up for trans-port.

[GILMORE, LVL20 Blowhard]

(groans of pain)

[Ted S.]

I think you mean *narrows gaze*

[bacon-magic]

Look at the tits on her...uh uh you mean she's a he?!? *widens gaze /derp beat cop

[Rhywun]

Just curious but... where do illegals pick up "western" agit-prop like "die-ins"? Most of the ones I see are too busy working.

[Injun, Wood Chipper Vindaloo]

Okay, proggies. If owning guns increases your risk for suicide, explain this news from a civilized European country.

Healthy 24-year-old granted right to die in Belgium

[Hey Nikki!]

Did some progressive from outside your imagination claim guns were the only thing that ever influenced people to kill themselves? Because I don't think the ones I have been reading have anything to explain here.

[Irish Says Enough Woodchippers]

Well, they claim guns cause suicide which is kind of contradicted by Europe/East Asia having far higher suicide rates than we do.

[Hey Nikki!]

In the US there is plenty of evidence that people do change their suicide-related tendencies because of gun possession. Why wouldn't they? It's perfectly reasonable. The correct response to the talking point is to tell gun control proponents that someone else's decision to end his own life is none of their fucking business.

[Hamster of Doom]

On the positive, gun-owning people who want to kill themselves is a self-correcting problem.

[Pan Zagloba]

Not that unlike in US, in civilized country she asks for permission and is then given. None of this private initiative bullshit, abetted by guns! If suicide wasn't right for her, she'd have been turned down and nothing would have happened.

[John C. Randolph]

Well, who are we to judge the burden of being Belgian?

-jcr

[GILMORE, LVL20 Blowhard]

Japan = Suddenly wondering if moving their nuclear power plants on top of a volcano was a good idea

[jesse.in.mb]

Vitaly Milonov strikes again.

Lawmaker Vitaly Milonov said he would formally request Russia's telecoms oversight agency to shut down Facebook which has introduced a function allowing users to decorate their profiles with the rainbow flag of the gay rights movement.

This is, incidentally the same guy who doesn't want topless Russians anywhere.

[GILMORE, LVL20 Blowhard]

"I'd like to book a flight from Malaysia to Indonesia.... wait, you know what? I'll just shoot myself, its cheaper"

[TwB]

I think the Bermuda Triangle has officially moved from the Caribbean to the Java Sea.

[GILMORE, LVL20 Blowhard]

Egypt = What this country needs is more *official* beheadings

"Egypt's president told mourners on Tuesday at the funeral of the country's top prosecutor, killed by a car bomb, that he would unveil tough new security policies in the coming days, vowing that death sentences would be carried out.

Monday's killing of public prosecutor Hisham Barakat, the most senior Egyptian official to die in such an attack in years, cast doubt on Egypt's ability to contain an Islamist insurgency that is picking increasingly high-profile targets.

In his address at the funeral, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said: "The hand of justice is tied by laws ... We will not wait for that. We will not sit for five or 10 years putting on trial the people who kill us.""

[Derpetologist]

Spot the Not: Gun Grabbers

1. We have federal regulations and state laws that prohibit hunting ducks with more than three rounds. And yet it's legal to hunt humans with 15-round, 30-round, even 150-round magazines.

2. The Second Amendment comes from the right to protect themselves from slave revolts, and from uprisings by Native Americans. A revolt from people who were stolen from their land or revolt from people whose land was stolen from, that's what the genesis of the Second Amendment is.

3. No other civilized country allows its citizens to own or carry automatic assault rifles- weapons of war whose only purpose is to kill as quickly as possible.

4. The Second Amendment only protects the people who want all the guns they can have. The rest of us, we've got no Second Amendment. What are we supposed to do?

5. Banning guns addresses a fundamental right of all Americans to feel safe.

6. I wish that there were more stringent laws to make guns sold anywhere that they're legal harder to get.

[GILMORE, LVL20 Blowhard]

5 is the not. they don't say "ban".

[Derpetologist]

[game show buzzer]

http://www.brainyquote.com/quo.....75407.html

[GILMORE, LVL20 Blowhard]

....

....

I was contemplating for a second how she is still head of the Senate Intelligence Committee

[Derpetologist]

Derpy's Law states the actual effect of a govt committee or department is the opposite of its name:

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

[Florida Man]

4

[Hamster of Doom]

2. Not enough propaganda.

[bacon-magic]

2

[Derpetologist]

And the Not is #3. Since there is no winner, your punishment is to watch this video:

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

[GILMORE, LVL20 Blowhard]

I haven't seen the "shoulder thing that goes up" line in a while... and tucker carlson's, "No, its not." is pretty epic in its depressed contempt.

The depressing part is not just that people make laws about subjects that they don't understand.... its that they're not even embarrassed or ashamed that they are doing so.

That Mike Bloomberg can still think crimes are committed with fully automatic weapons... or at least mendaciously assert that fact, knowing that his soccer-mom audience will swallow it.... and not feel bad being corrected *(repeatedly) about the facts, is a sign of what level the issue is operating on.

As many people have said - when you have to lie about something to make your point, its usually a sign that you might not have the best case. This doesn't seem to phase these people in the slightest.

[gaoxiaen]

3

[Heroic Mulatto]

An interesting (to me, at least) paper that looked at attitudes and outcomes in adult foreign language study as they pertain to homework. Chang et al. (2014) found that while positive attitudes towards getting homework was were positively correlated to positive outcomes in foreign language study (higher grades and higher scores on the Defense Language Proficiency Tests, etc.), the amount of time spent on doing homework was negatively correlated to positive outcomes.

[Hey Nikki!]

Cool, thanks for posting.

[Heroic Mulatto]

You're welcome. I think the finding makes sense. Adults know better what they need to focus on, so individually-directed private study is more effective than one-size fits all homework that may or may not target the skills that particular individual needs to improve.

[Cytotoxic]

Maybe those who are no good are just taking a lot longer to get the assignment done.

[Heroic Mulatto]

They address that point on pages 13-14 of the article.

[Cytotoxic]

I posted this before but I think it is important enough for PM Links: China targets counterweight in gold trade with yuan fix

http://www.reuters.com/article.....UN20150630

[Cytotoxic]

Vietnam will be lifting all caps on foreign ownership of most sectors (except for banking) starting in September. They are also buying Russian submarines.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1f44.....z3ea2ajneQ

http://www.nasdaq.com/article/.....e-cm492009

I am rather optimistic about SEA. As long as they don't blow each other up I think they could tear it up.

[Mazakon]

Chris Christie is running for president. But everyone is running for president, man.

So by that phrasing, I assume you're running Robby?

[Hamster of Doom]

I might vote for Welch, especially with the new fauxhawk. Hawt.

[GILMORE, LVL20 Blowhard]

" the new fauxhawk"

....

...

what?

[Hamster of Doom]

Watch the vid.

[GILMORE, LVL20 Blowhard]

Silly Hamster, that's Matt's version of the very-popular Hitler-Jungend coiffure

[Rhywun]

The fade around the sides and back makes all the difference. One cut is suitable for newsheads and synth-pop band members, the other for tatted-up douchbags.

[GILMORE, LVL20 Blowhard]

Indeed. If you let the bangs go too far, you're in Flock of Seagulls territory. Matt keeps that shit tight Third Reich style.

[Rhywun]

It's a good look - I ran with it for awhile before I went full-on gray. Calling it a faux-hawk... I just can't even.

[Mazakon]

Ben Rhodes: Iran deal will likely improve Iran's behaviour

[Sevo]

That NYT piece is a bit misleading according to more recent updates.
It's obvious the Greek gov't miscalculated support for the proposed referendum; 17K showed up yesterday to support the gov't position, ~40K showed up today in a rain storm to oppose it, and now for all the talk about "DEMOCRACY!", the gov't may pull the plug on it.
And the gov't is also now walking back its stands on debt forgiveness and "austerity" measures; Tsipras bluffed, and he's been called. But it looks like too little, too late; once it defaults, any new package is likely to require even more stringent conditions.
And it's also obvious that no one in the EU trusts Tsipras one bit; the new conditions are likely to require iron-clad guarantees.
http://www.theguardian.com/bus.....or-tsipras
and
http://www.theatlantic.com/bus.....og/397229/

[Pan Zagloba]

Weird, I figured that was his intent.

Step 1: be a dick
Step 2: call referendum
Step 3: lose
Step 4: resign and now nothing is your fault

Also acceptable to the EU, as after resigning they can foist another super expert technocrat megacapable smart accredited government on them, and carry on for another 3-4 years.

[Jerry on the sea]

Except the Greeks might just vote for Syriza again in the subsequent election, no doubt expecting a different result this time. Insanity!

[Pan Zagloba]

That's what technocratic caretakers are for. All efficiency of government, none of the dumb electioneering stuff. You just appoint the Smart People and you are off to glorious future!

[Cytotoxic]

These guys at MIT claimed they have a prototype for 'homomorphic encryption' that basically means encrypted clouds....or something. It sounds good, and that's never let me down before.

http://www.wired.com/2015/06/m.....pted-data/

[hamilton]

Well if gay people can get married it was only a matter of time before they demanded access to decent crypto.

[Pan Zagloba]

With all the social media, it's hard to keep it on down low without it.

Or, er, so I'm told...

[Stormy Dragon]

Right now, if A and B are in an encrypted database and you want to know A + B = C, you have to unencrypt A and B, do the math, and then reencrypt C, requiring the database server to have the crypto keys on hand.

Homomorphic encryption would allow you to take the encrypted values of A and B and then apply a function that gives you the encrypted value of C without having to know the underlying values or the encryption keys involved.

Since most systems no longer need access to the keys, the system is less suceptible to hacking.

[Jerry on the sea]

My gut feeling says homomorphic encryption is a weaker system, because encrypted values A and B will be more correlated.

[Stormy Dragon]

Probably, but data breaches are almost always the results of the keys being compromised rather than the encryption being broken. So slightly weaker encryption is worth it to greatly reduce the risk of the keys being compromised.

[Paul.]

This. Modern encryption is nigh unbreakable which is why the endpoints are attacked. Don't waste time on the stream.

[Paul.]

Homomorphic encryption

You always have to make it about gay marriage, don't you?

[Igor]

It's not actually gay. It's just gay-shaped.

[lafe.long]

Ten Commandments monument must be removed from grounds of state Capitol, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled Tuesday

In a 7-2 opinion the Supreme Court found the placement of the monument on the grounds of the state Capitol violate Article 2, Section 5, of the Oklahoma Constitution which prohibits the use of public money or property to directly or indirectly benefit a "church denomination or system of religion."

[Irish Says Enough Woodchippers]

I look forward to the angry Breitbart.com articles about how those damn atheists are destroying America again.

[Cytotoxic]

HomoMuslexican Atheists.

[Lee G]

Were the dissenters Scalia and Alito or Scalia and Thomas?

[Irish Says Enough Woodchippers]

Oklahoma Supreme Court.

[Lee G]

tl; dr

[Cytotoxic]

Damn right.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

Sixty-five thousand dollars... you could hire a solid comedian for 20 bucks and have a more entertaining time at the gala. Then pocket the rest of the money as faculty bonuses.

[Hamster of Doom]

Who wants to buy influence from a comedian?

[Pan Zagloba]

Putin trolls West, Part I Don't Even Know

Russia examines legality of recognition of Baltic States independence

[GILMORE, LVL20 Blowhard]

The "no takebacks" rule does not apply in foreign relations. You can always take-back. Its just a matter of whether anyone else plans to say boo about it.

On a totally (sort of*) unrelated matter = Booo to Reason PM links yesterday for failing to note this: "Come to Taiwan's Most Popular Water Park! Hopefully you wont be Burned Alive"

(*i decided to go see how current Chinese-Taiwan relations were doing)

[commodious spittoon]

A fire... at a Sea Park. It's a very weird place to go on fire!

[Stormy Dragon]

Oh shit, the baboons and the wolves are teaming up against us:

Monkeys' cosy alliance with wolves looks like domestication

[AlmightyJB]

I welcome our monkey/wolf overlords

[Mazakon]

Radley Balko (h/t) discovers that TSA agents take photos of travellers' luggage

[tarran]

A female acquaintance who does a lot of business traveling won't pack her underwear in her checked in bags but her carry-on.

She says that three trips in a row, she arrived at her destination to find that someone opened her bag and stole her underwear at Boston Logan.

[OldMexican]

Re: Tarran,

She says that three trips in a row, she arrived at her destination to find that someone opened her bag and stole her underwear at Boston Logan.

Must've been some sexy underwear.

I was wondering who would want to use used women's underwear, and then I remembered...

[Crusty Juggler]

I was wondering who would want to use used women's underwear

To each our own.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

Good TV news:

Chances are still good that Hannibal will be picked up. The studio has asked Fuller to draw up a proposal for season four.

BoJack Horseman season 2 trailer. Two weeks!

[Catatafish & Woodchips]

Interesting that the 10 episode season Fuller was contemplating seems to fit with the model of Netflix, Amazon and premium channels. Thanks for sharing.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

Ten episodes would probably be for the best anyway. Season 2 could have used one less episode of Will seeing the stag-man and wondering if he's turned into Hannibal.

[John]

http://www.realclearpolitics.c.....27177.html

Democrats worried about broken promises depressing turn out. These are the wages of relying on the free shit brigade for votes. No amount of free shit will ever satisfy them. So, eventually they are going to get discouraged and stop voting.

[TwB]

What if Hillary just started throwing money out into the small crowds who show up to hear her speak? Do you think that would help get her point across? It worked for the Joker in Batman, right?

[John]

It would only work for a while. The mobs would just keep demanding more money until even Hillary couldn't shake down enough people to satiate them.

[Paul.]

She's not president yet, so it would have to be her money.

Now, once elected, then she can start throwing your money to the crowds.

[Catatafish & Woodchips]

The reason it made sense for The Joker is because he had ever intention of gassing them all to death. He only had to spend the money once.

[Paul.]

I don't get it. Politics aside, what advice or pearls is Chelsea Clinton going to drop over the course of an hour long talk that's worth $65,000?

[GILMORE, LVL20 Blowhard]

"Tip to graduates = If you want to advance in life? Bribe politicians. If anyone wants to leave me their card I can pass it to someone who knows someone"

[Paul.]

Angela Merkel of Germany said earlier in the day that no deal with Mr. Tsipras's government could be negotiated until after a Greek referendum scheduled for Sunday. Greek voters will be asked to accept or reject an offer made last week by the country's creditors.

Greece: Oh, you were serious about that?

[OldMexican]

The American Law Institute wants to bring some of those *great* campus anti-rape policies to plain old law enforcement.

Because why wait for due process when you can just cut to the chase and castrate all men?

[John C. Randolph]

My speaking fee is now nine hundred grand, because I REALLY don't want to speak to the kinds of idiots who pay astronomical speaking fees.

-jcr

[Free Society]

The American Law Institute wants to bring some of those *great* campus anti-rape policies to plain old law enforcement.

And here I thought statutory law just couldn't get any worse. /sarc

[Chip Morningwood Esq]

she's never going to look better

[John]

Jesus that is a depressing thought. What a homely woman.

[Crusty Juggler]

Agree to disagree.

[John]

Damn you really will go for anything.

[Almanian - Wood Chipper-ish]

I'd do it.

[AlmightyJB]

I'd do it.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"Mom was too pricey"

...is a phrase I've never heard about *yo* mama!

[Heroic Mulatto]

Buzzfeed makes the worst porn ever.

[Old Man With Gag Order]

Dude, you should see the unedited version. YOW.

[Jerryskids]

If Hillary charges 275k to speak, how much would she charge to shut the fuck up? Can we get a kickstarter going on this?

[Juvenile Bluster]

FISA Court: USA Freedom Act? 2nd Circuit ruling bulk metadata collection illegal? Fuck it, the government says they want to resume bulk data collection, and they can go right ahead and do it.

Quelle surprise.

[paranoid android]

Man, for fuck's sake. Just drag them all out to the hottest place by the woodchipper, already.

[Cytotoxic]

Every single story at the top of the page is about Chris Christie...

[CatoTheChipper]

I'm sure that they counting on the SCOTUS to rule that the expiration date on Section 215 was a typo or something.

[Cytotoxic]

Greece has missed its payment to the IMF.

http://www.businessinsider.com.....ent-2015-6

[Old Man With Gag Order]

All this shit is small potatoes. The really BIG news of the day: They're coming out with Top Gun 2!

[AlmightyJB]

Negative, Ghost Rider

[lap83]

+1 the pattern is full

[Hamster of Doom]

Huh. The only reason men commit is our raging hotness used as a trap.

Turns out I've been doing it wrong all along. Go figure.

[ant1sthenes]

Unilateral remarriage is not a parallel to gay marriage, because one party to an existing contract is renegotiating the terms without the consent of the other. So, IOW, only 2/3 adults are consenting. The equivalent to gay marriage would be a marriage where both partners agree to allow a third.

[Hamster of Doom]

It can only go up from here, buddy!

[Pope Jimbo]

Are you saying Mrs. Tundra needs a Fistful of Trillion Dollar Coins?

Make sure she doesn't try to slip you any Canadian coins though.

[Lady Dalrymple]

You still have stiff competition.

[Derpetologist]

They know the word, but not what it means:

https://youtu.be/Mxtu228bYFw?t=2m50s

[Pope Jimbo]

Times were tough so Mrs. Tundra told Tundra that he'd have to go peddle his ass down to make some quick cash.

Tundra dutifully went out in his sexiest parka and Sorel boots. Later he comes staggering in and gives Mrs. Tundra $120 and a quarter.

"A quarter? Who the fuck gave you a quarter?" said Mrs. Tundra.

"Everybody" said Tundra