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The NSA Can Collect Your Phone Data Again, Hillary Clinton Emails Released, Oregon Gets Stoned Legally: A.M. Links

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 7.1.2015 9:00 AM

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  • A judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has ruled that in light of the USA Freedom Act's passage, the National Security Agency (NSA) may resume bulk collection of American's telephone records. In May, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had halted the process after finding that the Patriot Act never authorized such activity.
  • The U.S. State Department has released a cache of Hillary Clinton's emails from her time as Secretary. "The emails are chock full of administrative banalities," The Guardian reports, but also "provide an unusually candid glimpse into Clinton day to day." 
  • In Portland, Oregon, thousands flanked the Burnside Bridge around midnight to celebrate the state's legalization of recreational marijuana. 
  • The Obama administration has reached an agreement with Cuba to reopen an American embassy there and reestablish diplomatic ties. 
  • Another historic, predominantly black church near Charleston, S.C., caught fire Tuesday evening, one of six similar incidents in recent weeks. So far, three have been identified as potential arson; the cause of last night's fire is still unclear. 
  • The United Nations says South Sudan army forces have been sexually abusing and sometimes burning alive women and girls in the conflict-torn country. 
  • Cuba has become the first WHO-certified country to thwart mother-to-child transmission of H.I.V. and syphilis. 

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NEXT: Saddest Hillary Clinton Email Revealed in New Data Dump!

Elizabeth Nolan Brown is a senior editor at Reason.

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  1. Fist of Etiquette   10 years ago

    "...provide an unusually candid glimpse into Clinton day to day."

    But were they as entertaining as Palin's?

    1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

      Hello.

      Ahem.

      Don't you all have something to wish me?

      And where's my bum tap?

      1. Juvenile Bluster   10 years ago

        Is this the day I break out the Canada Day t-shirt I bought at a Toronto Old Navy 15 years ago because I was bored?

        1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

          Wear it with pride.

          1. gaijin   10 years ago

            Wear it with pride.

            Is it adorned with a rainbow?

      2. WTF   10 years ago

        You really don't want Fist to tap your bum, I'm thinking.

        1. Fist of Etiquette   10 years ago

          Don't make it weird.

      3. hamilton   10 years ago

        Happy Canada Day! Did you bring us anything? Poutine? Beer? M00se?

      4. Tonio   10 years ago

        Happy Canada Day, Rufus.

  2. Grand Moff Serious Man   10 years ago

    The Obama administration has reached an agreement with Cuba to reopen an American embassy there and reestablish diplomatic ties.

    Hey look, an Obama foreign policy move that isn't a total clusterfuck.

    1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

      /looks at watch.

      There's still time, no?

    2. WTF   10 years ago

      Patience, Obama can fuck up a free lunch.

      1. Monty Crisco   10 years ago

        Or a two-car parade

        1. Chipper Chipping Rodrigue   10 years ago

          Or a wet dream.

      2. Mindyourbusiness   10 years ago

        Ain't no sech animal.

    3. Irish Says Enough Woodchippers   10 years ago

      Okay, who wants to take 2 to 1 odds that the ambassador at that embassy is tortured and killed before the end of Obama's term

      1. Bobarian (Would Chip Her)   10 years ago

        If that were to happen, it would totally be due to a screening of 'Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights'

  3. Lord Humungus   10 years ago

    1,000 people possibly sickened by fecal matter in French mud run

    Mud run participants might have to start worrying about more than sprained ankles or scraped knees after more than 1,000 people became sick to their stomach after participating in an event last week in France.

    The regional health agency in southern France said 1,000 of the 8,400 participants involved in the Levens Mud Day on June 20 reported symptoms of acute gastroenteritis. The agency said the stomach ailments -- mostly diarrhea, vomiting and fever -- were caused by norovirus, a highly infectious disease that causes an inflammation of the stomach or intestines.

    1. Swiss Servator, rudert schwer!   10 years ago

      Sounds more like "dung run".

    2. straffinrun   10 years ago

      Shawshank infection.

    3. Rich   10 years ago

      Marathon.

    4. X[redacted]s   10 years ago

      You know who else caused problems in France?

  4. Fist of Etiquette   10 years ago

    In Portland, Oregon, thousands flanked the Burnside Bridge around midnight to celebrate the state's legalization of recreational marijuana.

    Burnside? That's got to be some kind of drug euphemism.

  5. Lord Humungus   10 years ago

    I Got A Marijuana Prescription And Pot In Minutes Without Leaving My Couch

    Last Friday while sitting in my friend's living room, I was able to get a preview of the company's new app-based feature, which allows users to consult with a doctor via their mobile phones or computers for medical marijuana assessments. Within an hour I used Eaze to video conference with a doctor, receive a marijuana recommendation and purchase an eighth of an ounce of "Sour Diesel" for delivery. The cannabis arrived shortly after the sausage and pepperoni pizza I had ordered to accompany it.

    While diagnosing a patient using an internet video call and delivering marijuana to your front door are not particularly new advents, Eaze is hoping that combining the two will break open the legal U.S. cannabis market that did $2.7 billion in sales last year as estimated by ArcView Market Research, a marijuana investment and advocacy firm. In a time when everything from taxis to groceries have become "on-demand," the San Francisco-based company has raised $12.5 million in funding from investors including DCM Ventures, Snoop Dogg and Fresh VC to streamline the cannabis delivery market and lead the way in the budding weed startup economy.

    1. Bobarian (Would Chip Her)   10 years ago

      Not for nothing, but would anyone ever go to that 'doctor' for real medical advice?

  6. Lee G   10 years ago

    The FISC is not a rubber stamp, no sirree, not at all. I feel totally protected.

  7. Riesen   10 years ago

    Toyota's First Female Executive Resigns After 90 Days

    Toyota Motor Corp.'s first female executive lasted just 90 days in the job, resigning two weeks after a drug-related arrest and dealing a setback to efforts by President Akio Toyoda to diversify its management ranks.

    Julie Hamp, 55, Toyota's chief communications officer and one of the company's highest-ranking non-Japanese executives, gave notice of her resignation Tuesday. Toyota said a day later that it accepted the resignation, citing the concerns and inconvenience raised by her June 18 arrest for allegedly importing prescription painkillers that require prior permission before they can be brought into Japan.

    Oops

    1. Fist of Etiquette   10 years ago

      She should have watched Gung Ho before taking the job.

  8. Fist of Etiquette   10 years ago

    ...in light of the USA Freedom Act's passage, the National Security Agency (NSA) may resume bulk collection of American's telephone records.

    The true reason the act passed.

    1. WTF   10 years ago

      Never mind that the Constitution prohibits general warrants, which is what this bulk collection actually is. Because FYTW.

      1. CatoTheChipper   10 years ago

        Obviously, the FISA court and the NSA believe there is probable cause that each and every American is a subversive and a potential terrorist.

        1. Dweebston   10 years ago

          We should be so lucky.

        2. Hyperbolical (wadair)   10 years ago

          I wonder how much truth there is to your quip. If there is no demonstrated benefit to the WOT, then there must be another reason why they keep this up. Maybe they do see all citizens as potential "terrorists" and subversives. Perhaps they are striving to protest themselves more than the country as a whole.

      2. Pro Libertate   10 years ago

        Noodle on this for a moment: No branch of government, including the courts, has the power to change the Constitution. Not legally. Ambiguities can be interpreted and wholly new situations (which are actually much more rare than you hear) can be fitted into the Constitution.

        Changes can only occur, legally, through amendment.

    2. Rich   10 years ago

      Serious question: Must NSA prove to Congress that no phone records were collected in the interHAHAHAHAHAA!! Damn, couldn't quite get it out!

      1. Fist of Etiquette   10 years ago

        Oversight has more than one meaning.

      2. Free Society   10 years ago

        Even if they were... What are the penalties that a government court would impose on a government criminal? "Don't do that anymore, pretty please."

        If there were real criminal penalties associated with being a government criminal, we'd be freer by a cunt hair.

  9. Riesen   10 years ago

    White House to Allow Photos, Social Media on Public Tours

    The White House says visitors can now take photos or use social media during public tours of the building.

    That announcement comes from Michelle Obama in a video posted on her Instagram account. She's seen ripping in half a sign that's been displayed during tour hours and says "no photos or social media allowed."

    See, they really are the Most Transparent Administration Ever!

    1. Riesen   10 years ago

      SF'ed the link...
      http://www.nytimes.com/aponlin......html?_r=0

    2. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

      'Mommy, why is Obama dressed like Mao?'

  10. Rich   10 years ago

    "The emails are chock full of administrative banalities," The Guardian reports, but also "provide an unusually candid glimpse into Clinton day to day."

    "She's slow, but she makes up for it by being stupid."

  11. Lord Humungus   10 years ago

    Some Chinese Are Taking 22% Margin Loans to Finance Stock Purchases

    Zhang Minmin is one of tens of thousands playing in one of the riskier corners of China's stock market, borrowing money at high interest rates through unregulated online lenders to amplify his bets on potential equity gains.

    "Sometimes when the market is good, I would make profits enough to buy an Audi in just a week or two. However, when the market is down, it's also possible to lose half an Audi very quickly," said Zhang, a 32-year-old who works in the financial industry in Hangzhou, a city near Shanghai.

    As more Chinese jumped into the market in the hope of instant wealth, peer-to-peer websites offering loans for stock investing have mushroomed. They are among a multitude of sources of leverage outside of traditional margin financing that threaten to complicate any efforts to prevent an unruly reversal of China's stock market boom, which is already faltering.

    1. Lee G   10 years ago

      That's not going to end well.

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

        I think I've seen this movie before.

    2. Lee G   10 years ago

      I get my best stock tips from the shoe shine boy.

      1. CatoTheChipper   10 years ago

        I get them direct from my barber. His shoe shine boy is always a day or two behind.

        Of course, the best tips are from cab drivers.

    3. straffinrun   10 years ago

      Rever up!

    4. Mr. Flanders   10 years ago

      That couldn't possibly end poorly, could it?

      1. Lee G   10 years ago

        Now consider the real estate bubble that goes along with that stock market bubble. It's going to be spectacular.

        1. Monty Crisco   10 years ago

          They've always had soft landings before... don't underestimate the ability to cook the books in China, their stranglehold on free reporting, and the average POOR chinaman's willingness to work his ass off for a SHOT at reaching the poverty line in income...

          1. X[redacted]s   10 years ago

            Dude, "chinaman" is NOT the preferred nomenclature.

  12. Bee Tagger   10 years ago

    In Portland, Oregon, thousands flanked the Burnside Bridge

    The police aren't booing, they're saying booornside bridge.

  13. Lord Humungus   10 years ago

    Jonah Goldberg: You can't compromise with culture warriors

    We were also told that the fight for marriage equality had nothing to do with a larger war against organized religion and religious freedom. But we now know that was a lie too. The ACLU has reversed its position on religious freedom laws, in line with the left's scorched-earth attacks on religious institutions and private businesses that won't ? or can't ? embrace the secular fatwa that everyone must celebrate "love" as defined by the left.

    I very much doubt we'll get a constitutional right for teams of people to get "married," but I have every confidence the drumbeat will grow louder. Social justice ? forever ill-defined so as to maximize the power of its champions ? has become not just an industry but also a permanent psychological orientation among journalists, lawyers, educators and other members of the new class of eternal reformers.

    By no means are social justice warriors always wrong. But they are untrustworthy, because they aren't driven by a philosophy so much as an insatiable appetite that cannot take yes for an answer. No cookie will ever satisfy them. Our politics will only get uglier, as those who resist this agenda realize that compromise is just another word for appeasement.

    1. WTF   10 years ago

      But, Chris Christie says this nation was built on compromise!

      1. Swiss Servator, rudert schwer!   10 years ago

        Thank goodness we compromised with King George and avoided any messy stuff!

        1. WTF   10 years ago

          Yeah, but we did compromise with southern states to allow slavery! That truly was an historically ignorant speech.

      2. Ein Barde und ein Holzhacker   10 years ago

        Well we did compromise on that whole slavery thing, and it's not like that came back to bite us later or anything.

    2. Ein Barde und ein Holzhacker   10 years ago

      I think some of commenters here have been saying this for a long time. The SJW crowd are the most intolerant people on Earth.

      1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

        NEVER trust a left-wing SJW when they come to you with 'let us compromise'. EVER.

        Never give a pig an inch.

        Ever.

      2. Monty Crisco   10 years ago

        Just look at gun control. "Why can't you just compromise on common-sense legislation?" We do that, then they completely ignore the result, start FROM IT, and keep asking again, "Why can't you just compromise on MORE "common-sense" legislation?" ad infinitum until they have boiled the frog of your natural rights to death.

        See: Tony

        1. Ein Barde und ein Holzhacker   10 years ago

          At least people seemed to have wised up on this tactic when it comes to gun control, and have drawn a firm line in the sand. I wish they would work harder at reclaiming our rights, as opposed to just preserving whats left though.

          1. Dweebston   10 years ago

            Not only wised up but begun applying it to conservative issues. I don't endorse the pro-life agenda, but it's hilarious to see these religious throwbacks (going by the left's caricature) throwing their own tactics back at them.

        2. Igor   10 years ago

          A bit OT - but fuck it. PSA time. (I thought I'd posted this already, but it looks like it disappeared)

          Join your local gun club.

          Connecticut sucks in so many ways - being a typical pussy, gun-phobic
          state full of telephone sanitizers and simpering NYT-reading pants-wetters. It's also
          densely populated, so the idea of just taking a drive over to some wasteland
          to put a couple hundred rounds downrange is laughable. So I *had* to join a
          gun club.

          So, I turn up to mine last night to christen my new CZ75 Compact and exercise
          my P35; and I end up in a show-and-tell-and-load-and-empty-a-mag session,
          where 5 of us (2 relative newbies included) got to fire a total of 20 or so different
          firearms. It's the *only* sane way to figure out what you'll like and won't like in guns.

          Unlike rentals from stores, the guns are well-maintained and the owners know the good -
          and the bad aspects of the weapon, and in the case of CT, you get more selection than
          simply Glock and Beretta.

          You're shooting yourself in the foot if you don't find a good local club and join it.

          /PSA off

          1. Chipper Chipping Rodrigue   10 years ago

            telephone sanitizers

            Nice reference. I ought to do something like this. I'm a decent shot, but it would be nice to up my game with tips from someone more experienced.

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

        "I think some of commenters here have been saying this for a long time."

        Really? Who?

        1. Ivan Pike   10 years ago

          Really? Who?

          John for one.

        2. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

          It's been a general overall assertion among many.

          I know we've discussed how the anti-smoking campaign was 'supposed' to never extend to private and commercial property and it has - and still expanding.

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

            Just to be fair, I was yanking your chain.

            I have been warning about this stuff all along.

            Now, suddenly, H&R has turned into RedState on this issue. *Everyone* is echoing my points.

            Well, joining at the 11th hour is fine.

            But now what issue can I use to annoy other posters?

            1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

              Shoulda figured your were.

  14. Longtorso, Johnny   10 years ago

    For John:

    Mother-of-two's life is saved by her enormous 38JJ breasts which cushioned the impact when car ploughed into her

    1. Juvenile Bluster   10 years ago

      How painful must it be for her back to lug those things around all day?

      1. Rich   10 years ago

        Hey, the kids are 13 and 8 -- they walk by themselves.

        1. Swiss Servator, rudert schwer!   10 years ago

          *narrows gaze*

    2. Lee G   10 years ago

      Sure it wasn't the enormous gut?

    3. AlmightyJB   10 years ago

      Big breast and straight teeth. She's like a 9 in England.

    4. Bobarian (Would Chip Her)   10 years ago

      That was like the worst lesbian pr0n I've ever seen

  15. Bee Tagger   10 years ago

    "Email bombshells from Hillary's secret account show she didn't know when cabinet meetings were held, was dumbfounded by a fax machine and emailed aides to fetch her iced tea"

    Never has she been so relatable to anyone who has worked in an office and hates getting up to get a drink.

    1. ant1sthenes   10 years ago

      If only the drink was a long island iced tea, I could imagine her as a dumber version of Mallory Archer.

  16. Longtorso, Johnny   10 years ago

    Failing Obamacare Co-Ops Offer Lavish Executive Pay ? And May Violate the Law
    ...Eighteen of the 23 co-ops paid their top executives prodigious salaries ranging from $263,000 to $587,000, according to 2013 IRS tax filings.

    The high take-home pay for the "nonprofit" executives appears to violate both federal law and Obamacare rules prohibiting "excessive executive compensation."...

    1. WTF   10 years ago

      The high take-home pay for the "nonprofit" executives appears to violate both federal law and Obamacare rules prohibiting "excessive executive compensation."...

      It's okay, the courts can just interpret the law to mean "requires excessive executive compensation". Because that is what congress obviously would have intended if they realized how this would all shake out.

      1. Princess Trigger   10 years ago

        Since Congress's intent was to fuel cronies' gains, that seems reasonable.

    2. Sevo   10 years ago

      "And May Violate the Law"

      Roberts will fix that.
      BTW, that link is a PAIN; jumping all over the screen while I shoot down the ads.

  17. Old Man With Gag Order   10 years ago

    Complete bullshit, but The Narrative must survive!

    1. SIV   10 years ago

      On Tuesday, federal officials said a string of five church fires in the South appeared not to be racially motivated or related although some were deemed to be arson.

      You find this buried after a bunch of quotes from the SPLC and others pushing the media's "white racists burn Black churches libel".

      1. Princess Trigger   10 years ago

        50/50 chance it's some SJW ginning up some race-hate.
        "Come see the racism inherent in the system."

        1. Lee G   10 years ago

          Arsonists seem to like the attention to their work. I'd be inclined to look for a run of the mill firebug.

          1. Ein Barde und ein Holzhacker   10 years ago

            Does anyone here understand the psychology of that? I don't really understand it.

          2. Igor   10 years ago

            I suspect it's the same as serial stalkers and the people who drop aces on the dead bodies of their victims.

            People who seek fame and recognition.

            If you're a guy (or gal) that nobody ever notices, who feels like a tiny (irrelevant and invisible) cog in a huge machine, unappreciated and un-cared for, how tempting it might be to have large numbers of people reacting to something you just did.

            "Look, I just mobilized 8 fire and 3 ladder companies, 8 police cruisers and a couple of EMTs, along with WKVQ's helo. Everyone knows about me now!"

            Shit, even I can see the appeal in it. If I was a basement-dwelling introvert, I'm sure the idea might cross *my* mind, but for the fact I'm not actively evil.

            1. Bobarian (Would Chip Her)   10 years ago

              Whadda ya mean, 'if'?

              1. Igor   10 years ago

                Maybe I meant to type "Because", but was dissuaded by Strunk and White telling me I'm not allowed to start a sentence that way ....

            2. Illocust   10 years ago

              Basement-dwelling extrovert is more likely. An introvert is happiest when left alone. An extrovert craves other people. Extroverts with bad social skills are the ones that will pin you down and talk endlessly about that thing you really don't care about. Introverts with bad social skills get the dear in the headlights look when you ask them how their day was.

    2. Azathoth!!   10 years ago

      Well, based on the math that the featured in the other article that says there are around 1780 burnings of religious buildings every year, there are around 5 a day, which means that there are around 70 every two weeks. If that's true, and it's also true that black people are 12% of the population, then 5 over two weeks is exactly proportional.

      This is like that old joke about bosses being alarmed because 40% of all sicktime is taken on Mondays or Fridays.

  18. Lord Humungus   10 years ago

    ouch.

    Kevin Williamson: Ayatollah Roberts and His Sharia Council

    Constitutional torture is an art, and Chief Justice John Roberts has emerged as its Andy Warhol: an impresario who will put his name on anything.

    It is uncomfortable to think about, but our Supreme Court functions in much the same way as Iran's Guardian Council: It is a supralegislative body of purported scholars, distinguished by ceremonial black robes, that imaginatively applies ancient doctrines "conscious of the present needs and the issues of the day," as the ayatollahs over there and over here both put it, deciding ? discovering! ? what is mandatory and what is forbidden as the shifting currents of politics dictate. The main difference is that the Iranians take their sharia rather more seriously than we take our constitutional law: John Roberts's opinion in Burwell wasn't just wrong ? wrong can be forgiven ? it was embarrassing, craven, and intellectually indefensible. Antonin Scalia was right to let him have it with both barrels, but he'd do better to resign from the Supreme Court ? it is difficult to see how an honorable man could be associated with it.

    1. Igor   10 years ago

      I'd like to see Scalia do that.
      I think Clarence Thomas might want to consider it too.

  19. Bee Tagger   10 years ago

    the National Security Agency (NSA) may resume bulk collection of American's telephone records.

    They may legally include this skillset on their resume.

  20. Old Man With Gag Order   10 years ago

    Gonna take a sentimental Journey.

    1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

      Is the part where we all break out in unison singing 'Don't stop believing?"

      1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

        this the

        1. Rich   10 years ago

          That's the nice thing about English, isn't it? Any noun can be verbed.

          1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

            Oh that's rich.

            Rich.

            /Swiss narrow gaze.

          2. X[redacted]s   10 years ago

            But verbing weirds language.

      2. Old Man With Candy   10 years ago

        When you're alone, it ain't easy.

    2. WTF   10 years ago

      Don't stop believing!

      1. Old Man With Candy   10 years ago

        Faithfully.

  21. Longtorso, Johnny   10 years ago

    Why I'm Filing a Civil-Rights Lawsuit: Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm and his agents ransacked my house and ruined my career.
    ...Nothing could have prepared me for waking up to the shouts of men with battering rams announcing that they were about to break down my door on that morning in 2011. It was so unexpected and frightening that I ran down from my bedroom without clothes on. Panicked by the threatened show of force, I was then humiliated as officers outside the window yelled at me to get dressed and open up. I quickly retrieved clothing and dressed as I unlocked the door.

    Agents with weapons drawn swarmed through every part of the house. They barged into the bathroom where my partner was showering. I was told to shut up and sit down. The officers rummaged through drawers, cabinets and closets. Their aggressive assault on my home seemed more appropriate for a dangerous criminal, not a longtime public servant with no criminal history....

    1. Griffin3   10 years ago

      Am I overly sensitive in my reading, or is he/she implying that "a longtime public servant" is better than?

  22. Lord Humungus   10 years ago

    Nuns fight plan to sell Hollywood convent to Katy Perry

    At the center of the dispute is an argument over who has the legal right to sell the spectacular villa-style hilltop spread, which covers several acres and offers million-dollar views of downtown Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Mountains. Legal briefs were flying Friday evening as I wrote this.

    At least two of the last five living sisters of the Immaculate Heart insist the property is theirs, and only they can sell it. So they did, for roughly $15.5 million, quickly signing the property over two weeks ago to local restaurateur Dana Hollister, before the archdiocese could complete its deal with Katy Perry.

    1. Monty Crisco   10 years ago

      Nice fucking place. House of God fit for a god, I suppose....

      1. Monty Crisco   10 years ago

        And why does a NUNNERY have a fucking SWIMMING POOL?!?!?

        1. Lee G   10 years ago

          Gotta make it comfortable for visitors like Naomi Klein.

        2. Ivan Pike   10 years ago

          And why does a NUNNERY have a fucking SWIMMING POOL?!?!?

          It isn't a swimming pool, it it a baptismal pool. A really big one.

          1. straffinrun   10 years ago

            You've never read Penthouse letters, have you.

            1. Ivan Pike   10 years ago

              You've never read Penthouse letters, have you.

              No.

          2. hamilton   10 years ago

            With lanes. and a diving board cantilevered altar

        3. SugarFree   10 years ago

          Get thee to a nunnery: why wouldst thou be a
          breeder of swimmers?

          1. Swiss Servator, rudert schwer!   10 years ago

            *sustained applause*

  23. Longtorso, Johnny   10 years ago

    'Did they get me?': Docs reveal long-time John Doe spying operation
    MADISON, Wis. ? Democrat Milwaukee County prosecutors tapped the email and text communications of conservative activists as part of a five-year probe aimed at bringing down Republican Gov. Scott Walker, affidavits reviewed by Wisconsin Watchdog reveal.

    One target of the spying operation told Wisconsin Watchdog the methods used to keep tabs on Wisconsin residents were like those of the National Security Agency's domestic spying program.

    "It was actually worse because (Milwaukee County prosecutors) were taking the body of emails and looking at actual data," said the source, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution from the prosecutors....

    1. WTF   10 years ago

      This shit will never be the story and scandal it should be, because the perpetrators are Democrats.

      1. Lee G   10 years ago

        There should be massive criminal penalties for this type of behavior. It's a complete and total abuse of power.

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

          Strictly speaking, I believe there *are* criminal penalties.

          Oh, you mean the penalties won't be invoked in the case of these particular perps? I suspect you're right.

      2. Lee G   10 years ago

        The prosecutors' illegal coordination idea has been roundly rejected by multiple courts, and the state Supreme Court is expected soon to decide whether the stalled investigation must be shut down for good.

        What the hell? It's patently illegal, why isn't there a criminal case being built?

        1. WTF   10 years ago

          Because it's being done by the prosecutors, so who is going to build a case against them?

          1. Lee G   10 years ago

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

    2. Swiss Servator, rudert schwer!   10 years ago

      PHAKE SKANDULL!

    3. ant1sthenes   10 years ago

      I have to say, it will be lulz-worthy if Walker wins the White House and these assholes end up facing a federal prosecutor at his request. Finally, an AUSA will be worth something.

      1. spqr2008   10 years ago

        This is one of the reasons I'd prefer Walker over Cruz and any of the others except Rand Paul.

  24. Lord Humungus   10 years ago

    Ignored by govts, Haryana villagers crowdfund Rs 1cr bridge

    The Sirsa villagers had not heard of Manjhi, but knew one thing - they did not want to wait for Superman to emerge one day and end their woes. Work on the bridge started in April 2014. Today, it is near completion and the 25-member committee which is supervising the construction has requested local saint, Mahant Brahm Dass, to inaugurate it.

    Once completed, the bridge will be a lifeline for 1.25 lakh people as it will cut the distance from their villages to Sirsa town by at least 30km. They will also get easier access to markets in Punjab for their farm produce.

    "We have no place for politicians or bureaucrats in our list of invitees for the bridge's inauguration," says Hardev Singh of Panihari village. "For us, a labourer who contributed Rs 500 and a widow who contributed her pension of Rs 1,000 are more important than those who fooled us for more than three decades.''

    1. Swiss Servator, rudert schwer!   10 years ago

      uh, ROADZ?!

    2. Injun, Wood Chipper Vindaloo   10 years ago

      1 crore is 10 million rupees.

      That's a lot of money for villagers.

  25. Fist of Etiquette   10 years ago

    So far, three have been identified as potential arson; the cause of last night's fire is still unclear.

    The culture war has entered its Dresden phase?

    1. ant1sthenes   10 years ago

      You're calling black people Nazis, huh?

      1. Fist of Etiquette   10 years ago

        You know who else got called a Nazi?

        1. Protagoronus   10 years ago

          The Malibu Police Chief

        2. Teaching Student   10 years ago

          Us?

  26. Longtorso, Johnny   10 years ago

    Why the TSA posted a photo of a passenger's cash-filled luggage on Twitter
    ...The photo, from the Richmond airport, shows a passenger's luggage containing $75,000 in cash. Farbstein asks, "Is this how you'd transport it?" Most people would not, but there is nothing illegal about simply checking a bag containing $75,000, or carrying it with you on the plane. Passengers aren't under any obligation to report large sums of cash unless they're traveling internationally, though the TSA recommends that passengers consider asking for a private screening....

    ...In this case, the cash was seized by a federal agency, most likely the Drug Enforcement Administration, according to Richmond airport spokesman Troy Bell. "I don't believe the person was issued a summons or a citation," he said. "The traveler was allowed to continue on his way."...

    1. Lee G   10 years ago

      They allowed him to leave his money with them for safe-keeping, how considerate!

      1. Monty Crisco   10 years ago

        Legalized theft. HOW DO WE JUST LET THIS PASS IN OUR GOVERNMENT?!?!? Fuck's sake, if this were the 1700's there would be a fucking revolution because not even a tyrant - or the "kings men" would act THIS egregiously...if they knew it would get out...

        1. Ein Barde und ein Holzhacker   10 years ago

          How many people carry that kind of cash with them though. We tolerate this kind of tyranny because it only effects a handful of people.

          1. Lee G   10 years ago

            Europeans carry a lot of cash because of the outrageous taxes, as do Israelis.

          2. Monty Crisco   10 years ago

            Our forefathers rebelled over taxes that amounted to pennies per item, and two centuries later we fork over 40 percent of our income and call it "fair." The excise taxes and import duties that financed Washington for more than a century were not sustainable. A new tax system was needed. But in the century that followed its adoption, it changed the American people themselves.
            Americans today are taxed at levels most of our forebears would have considered unthinkable. By our own nation's historical standards, we are outrageously, insanely overtaxed. And yet we shrug our shoulders and say, well, at least we're not France.
            By the way, France's top marginal tax rate is 40 percent. President Obama plans to raise our top marginal rate to 39 percent.
            Read more at http://spectator.org/articles/.....party-time

    2. Suthenboy   10 years ago

      "This is all legal under the laws governing civil asset forfeiture, "

      No. No, it is not.

  27. Lord Humungus   10 years ago

    Deflating news: Festival fowl is foiled

    After three frenzied days of working to repair and reinflate the world's largest known rubber ducky for the Tall Ships Festival, crews gave up on her Sunday, saying it was time to send the badly wounded waterfowl to the "duck doctor."

    Mama Duck's entourage dashed revelers' hopes for resuscitation just hours before Sunday's fireworks extravaganza on the Delaware River waterfront in Camden and Philadelphia.

    The 61-foot-tall nylon creation was to have been a major draw to the four-day festival but suffered grave wounds on Day 1 and was nowhere to be seen for most of the weekend.

  28. Grand Moff Serious Man   10 years ago

    FitBit disproves rape claim

    Police officers acting on a 9-1-1 dispatch found overturned furniture inside an East Lampeter Township home on March 10.

    A knife and bottle of vodka also were found at the home where a woman claimed she was raped by a stranger at midnight.

    Further investigating - including a review of a Fitbit activity tracker - showed the scene was staged and 43-year-old Jeannine Risley knowingly filed a false report, police allege.

    Risley is now headed to trial on three misdemeanor counts for prompting the emergency response and manhunt for an intruder that allegedly never was.

    [snip]

    Officers who responded on March 10 were told a man in his 30's, wearing boots, came into the home and assaulted the woman before raping her, according to the affidavit.
    Risley said she was asleep and awoke around midnight to the man on top of her.

    However, a Fitbit device Risley was wearing told a different story, the affidavit shows.
    The device, which monitors a person's activity and sleep, showed Risley was awake and walking around at the time she claimed she was sleeping.

    Also, snow on the ground revealed no bootprints or any signs of anyone walking outside the home, according to the affidavit. The hard-surface floor in the bedroom also showed no evidence of bootprints.

    1. WTF   10 years ago

      We need to teach women not to lie about rape.

  29. Lord Humungus   10 years ago

    Merman colour is the next big thing in men's hair

    Goodbye lumbersexuality.

    The new big trend for men? Merman hair.

    Yep, men are hopping on the colourful hair bandwagon, following in our mermaid and sand art inspired hair footsteps by dyeing their hair magical shades of turquoise, lilac, and sea blue.

    Obviously, calling it mermaid hair isn't quite manly enough, so now, Instagram is all about the #merman hashtag, with dudes all over the world sharing photos of their majestically coloured 'dos.

    1. Lee G   10 years ago

      That screams self-absorbed idiot

    2. Rich   10 years ago

      Alternative name for this trend: peacock hair.

      Or "pencildick hair"?

    3. Ein Barde und ein Holzhacker   10 years ago

      Seriously could anyone even imagine this generation trying to fight off the Nazis?

      1. Swiss Servator, rudert schwer!   10 years ago

        Um...nein.

    4. egould310 reppin' LBC   10 years ago

      Pretty gay.

    5. SugarFree   10 years ago

      Eight gay guys doing something is not a trend.

      1. Ein Barde und ein Holzhacker   10 years ago

        I bet they used to watch the Golden Girls.

      2. straffinrun   10 years ago

        Futsol.

    6. straffinrun   10 years ago

      Merman hair? I gotta be me?

    7. Lee G   10 years ago

      Finally saw a Merman

    8. ant1sthenes   10 years ago

      Apparently lots of people follow HM's book recommendations.

  30. Lord Humungus   10 years ago

    Greek Pension Rationing Begins; Poll Shows Tsipras Backed

    "People are just completely fed up," said Andrea Montanino, a former IMF executive board member who now heads the global economics program at the Atlantic Council in Washington.

    The first poll before a snap referendum Sunday indicated most people back Tsipras. The survey, in Efimerida ton Syntakton newspaper, showed 54 percent would vote "no" -- rejecting austerity in exchange for aid -- and 33 percent would vote "yes" -- accepting austerity as the price of staying in the euro. The poll was conducted by ProRata, which surveyed 1,200 people June 28-29 with a margin of error of 2.8 percent.

    1. Juvenile Bluster   10 years ago

      I'd be excited about the potential of a really cheap trip to Greece once they go back on the drachma and their economy collapses (I mean, even more than it has already), but that place is going to be ugly for a while.

      1. egould310 reppin' LBC   10 years ago

        I'm not sure it will get that ugly. Remember, the government is broke. But the individual Greeks will still go on about their day to day lives. People will still buy and sell goods. It could thrive without the heavy chains of government dragging on it.

        1. Irish Says Enough Woodchippers   10 years ago

          Yeah, that's not true. Greece is completely dependent upon government employment because they have virtually no private sector anymore. Any attempt to scale back government benefits will cause massive rioting.

          1. egould310 reppin' LBC   10 years ago

            So you think people will just start rioting as opposed to going about the daily matters of buying food, laundering clothes, getting the cat vaccinated, getting an oil change, etc.? The government spigot has been turned off, and I'd like to think that civilized people can adjust and cooperate. Government is not society.

            1. Igor   10 years ago

              *Simply* start rioting? Probably not. Not as an organic, spontaneous event.

              There will be plenty of rabble-rousing and eventually, there will be well-coordinated 'unrelated outbreaks' of vandalism and mayhem by the European chapter of the eternally disaffected 'anarchist' movement.

              I certainly wouldn't take a vacation in Greece at the moment.

            2. Irish Says Enough Woodchippers   10 years ago

              " The government spigot has been turned off, and I'd like to think that civilized people can adjust and cooperate. Government is not society."

              I know that, but the Greeks have already rioted on multiple occasions because of budget cuts. I'm basing my opinion on the behavior of the Greek public over the last 7 years.

    2. Suthenboy   10 years ago

      "People are just completely fed up,"

      With what? Reality?

  31. Lord Humungus   10 years ago

    PSL woman nabbed in nipple stabbing

    Gale Higley's son told Port St. Lucie police June 11 that he came home from a bar and discovered Higley made a lot of unnecessary purchases at Walmart and spent a bunch of money.

    He said they argued over her "spending habits," and that his mother stabbed his left nipple with a pencil and slapped his face.

    Police noticed a small mark on the nipple in question.

  32. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

    I musta missed the memo - no one tells me anything - but what happened to Brickbat?

    1. Swiss Servator, rudert schwer!   10 years ago

      http://reason.com/blog/2015/07.....-last-drop

      1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

        Thanks. Maybe I should dig deeper. Usually it's still on the main page by the time I turn the lap top on.

        Never assume.

        1. Swiss Servator, rudert schwer!   10 years ago

          I don't blame you - it usually isn't worth digging to find...

        2. Swiss Servator, rudert schwer!   10 years ago

          Oh, and Happy Canadanian Day! I shall sing O Canada and wave my small Maple Leaf flag here at the office (I put it on a cubicle when our Canadian colleague comes down from Toronto).

          1. Monty Crisco   10 years ago

            Just like Tony Kornholer!! That guy should live under a bridge and scare billy goats...

          2. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

            You care!

            /wipes tear. Looks at the rest of the crew here menacingly.

            1. egould310 reppin' LBC   10 years ago

              These days, I find it difficult to get excited for our Independence Day. I just can't muster any excitement for Canada Day.

              Happy Canada Day. Meh.

            2. Swiss Servator, rudert schwer!   10 years ago

              I'll put on my HMCS Haida T-Shirt when I get home.

              http://www.hmcshaida.com/

              1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

                Didn't know that. Cool.

                Fun fact in get to know Rufus: While in Whistler back in the 90s our hosts prepared us salmon steaks using a recipe by the Haida. It was delicious - and I'm not a big fish guy.

            3. The Shrubber's Woodchipper   10 years ago

              Canada Day - The day Great Britain said to itself, 'Canada?......Fuck it'

              1. X[redacted]s   10 years ago

                You know how Canada got its name, right? They decided to have a guy reach into a bag and pull out letters at random: "C, eh? N, eh? D, eh?"

  33. Tonio   10 years ago

    Hey, someone posted some facederp this morning from voxpolitics claiming that Germany owes Greece like 11 billion. Can someone explain this or provide a link to a debunking article?

    Also, I keep hearing claims that the EU is not going to foreclose on this, that they're just trying to get a better deal. Wishful thinking or real?

    Thanks in advance, peeps.

    1. Ein Barde und ein Holzhacker   10 years ago

      Can't Germany just annex Greece already and sell off their assets?

      1. hamilton   10 years ago

        They tried that already.

    2. Lee G   10 years ago

      I believe that's the old Greek loan made to the Nazis that they're referring to.

      1. Swiss Servator, rudert schwer!   10 years ago

        I KNOW NOTHING OF THAT, NOR WHERE THE ASSETS ENDED UP! WHY ARE YOU ALL LOOKING AT ME THAT WAY?!?!?!

        1. Lee G   10 years ago

          I think we should bury Germany in reparations payments. It worked the first time.

    3. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

      I believe it's for war reparations.

      http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31849430

  34. LynchPin1477   10 years ago

    A judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has ruled that in light of the USA Freedom Act's passage, the National Security Agency (NSA) may resume bulk collection of American's telephone records

    Sorry, serious question.

    Wasn't stopping bulk data collection the explicit reason given for passing the USA Freedom Act ??

    1. Rich   10 years ago

      Perhaps. But what was the *intent*?

    2. Je suis Woodchipper   10 years ago

      Freedom Act allows a 180 day extension so NSA can transition to other tactics. Also, FISC judge wrote that the FISC is not subject to the 2nd Circuit which is pure balls.

  35. Grand Moff Serious Man   10 years ago

    South Park will keep going until cancelled, per Trey and Matt

    A fter 257 episodes, South Park shows no signs of coming to an end, especially if creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have anything to say about it.

    Speaking on IGN's Podcast Unlocked, the comic writers said they will only stop making the show if Comedy Central pulls the plug.

    "Every season, about three shows in, we say this should be the last season. Then we go away for a couple months and we're like, 'That was pretty good, let's do it again'," said Parker.

    When asked how he imagines the show will end, he said: "I think it's gonna end with a fizzle for sure. We're gonna go, 'F**k this, man' and walk away."

    Stone added: "Some sort of a whimper. Drop the mic, get sued, [or] get thrown off cable television."

    Parker continued: "We've thought that for 18 years, 'They're gonna cancel us for sure'. We're waiting to get canceled for 18 f**king years."

    Confirming that South Park will be back next year, Stone said: "We won't stop until we get canceled. We're renewing. They have to f**king cancel us, goddammit!"

    Stone and Parker recently announced plans to release a video game follow-up to The Stick of Truth titled The Fractured But Whole.

    They haven't had nearly as huge a decline in quality as The Simpsons, so I'm okay with this.

    1. Ska   10 years ago

      Also, Stick of Truth was a pretty damn good game.

      1. Matrix   10 years ago

        It was really good. Better than any of the shovelware shit that was the previous South Park games.

        I am hoping that Fractured But Whole will be just as good or better.

    2. LynchPin1477   10 years ago

      Yeah, I'd say Simpsons was better at its peak (though not by much), but South Park has managed to stay very good for much longer than the Simpsons.

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

      So, they're going the way of the Simpsons and S&L?

      [ducks]

  36. Lord Humungus   10 years ago

    The end of industry
    The impending closure of Britain's last deep coal mines is a moment for reflection and awe

    Under the terms of a government bail-out deal with UKCoal, a property and mining firm, its two collieries in Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire will close next month and in November. That should leave Hatfield, which is owned by its employees, as Britain's last pit; under the terms of a similar deal, it is due to close in August 2016. But this now looks optimistic, owing to a sudden crash in the global coal price, coinciding with a rise in an environmental levy Britain charges coal-fired power generators. Besides Hatfield's ancient winding wheel, in place since the pit was opened in 1916, a vast mountain of unsold coal is rising. Unable to shift it at the global price, which is much less than its production cost, the mine is in a desperate way. Failing an unlikely injection of public money, which its directors were in London pleading for this week, probably in vain, it could close within weeks.

  37. Rich   10 years ago

    After 'gratifying' week, Obama sees long to-do list in time left

    "The list is long and my instructions to my team and my instructions to myself have always been that we are going to squeeze every last ounce of progress that we can make"

    "OK, Team, squeeze every last ounce of progress that we can make!"

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

      "Hey, that's not progress, that's my wallet!"

      "Yeah, whatever."

  38. Once More Into the Hopper   10 years ago

    Former fake-ass Indian (no, not Lizzie Warren, but a Florida Man) killed in gumbo recipe dispute.

    Prosecutors unsure of what charges to fil

    1. Rich   10 years ago

      gumbo recipe dispute

      Nice band name.

    2. Mr. Paulbotto   10 years ago

      Prosecutors unsure of what charges to fil?

      Paging Switzy, Switzy, your assistance is needed at the red phone...

    3. Lee G   10 years ago

      What you did there.....

    4. Swiss Servator, rudert schwer!   10 years ago

      *fierce scowl*

      Sorry, a narrowed gaze just isn't enough for that one.

    5. Swiss Servator, rudert schwer!   10 years ago

      *fierce scowl*

      Sorry, a narrowed gaze just isn't enough for that one.

      1. Swiss Servator, rudert schwer!   10 years ago

        And twice at that!

        /squirrelz

  39. Chipper Chipping Rodrigue   10 years ago

    The United Nations says South Sudan army forces have been sexually abusing and sometimes burning alive women and girls in the conflict-torn country.

    Meanwhile, American feminists valiantly fight against men who rudely encroach upon their subway seats and for the right of college coeds to not have to hear naughty words.

    1. Swiss Servator, rudert schwer!   10 years ago

      Priorities, man, priorities!

    2. Ein Barde und ein Holzhacker   10 years ago

      You know if these feminists were serious about fighting injustice against women, they would arm up, form their own amazon brigade and go out and kick ISIS's ass.

      I guess it's more important to fight against comments that make them feel uncomfortable, plus they don't have to touch one of those icky guns, which are just tools of the Patriarchy.

      1. Chipper Chipping Rodrigue   10 years ago

        I'm not going that far. They could raise money for the cause, if they cared. Or even just mention it once in a while.

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

        I'd watch that movie.

        1. Ein Barde und ein Holzhacker   10 years ago

          You just want to watch the scene where they torture a confession out of someone.

          1. Bobarian (Would Chip Her)   10 years ago

            "But first the spankings! And then the oral sex!"

  40. Grand Moff Serious Man   10 years ago

    North Carolina man who flies Nazi flag says he just likes flags

    A North Carolina man who has been flying a Nazi flag outside his home says he's not a racist. He just likes flags.

    Kings Mountain resident John Brown told local NBC station WCNC that he plans to take down the swastika, but said he doesn't think the flag is offensive and part of the reason he's removing it is that the flag is too worn out and no longer fit to fly.

    Some neighbors told WCNC that Brown is just a war buff who watches World War II flicks and likes to listen to German music from the era.

    Others, however, are offended by the Nazi symbol of hate flying high in their neighborhood.

    "It stands out like a sore thumb," neighbor Chris Curry told the station. "We're in a good neighborhood, we don't need this."

    In 2012, the same NBC station visited Brown when he was flying a Nazi S.S. flag.

    "What's wrong with it?" he said at the time. "It is a Nazi S.S. flag, but that's not what it stands for. It don't mean hells-bells or nothing. It is two lightning bolts. It stands for 44. It's in the Bible."

    He said he will replace the Nazi flag in a few days with an American flag or a state flag, but told WCNC he'd fly a pirate flag if he had one.

    I love this guy. Perfectly exposes the utter inanity of people who complain about pieces of fabric.

    1. Swiss Servator, rudert schwer!   10 years ago

      I'd send him a skull and crossbones flag if I had one.

      1. Monty Crisco   10 years ago

        I got one. Model of Stede Bonnet's flag. Fucking awesome. That dude was the Forrest Gump of pirates...

    2. Ein Barde und ein Holzhacker   10 years ago

      Got to like someone who just likes fucking with people. Now I want to get one of those old Nordic flags with the raven on it.

    3. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

      Would be awesome if a bunch of people spontaneously flew controversial flags on their properties to make a point.

      Oh, would I then love to hear the cries of 'can't we be civil to one another' from the assholes on the left.

    4. Azathoth!!   10 years ago

      We fly the Jolly Roger sometimes, and the Gadsden flag, and a banner featuring the Eye of Sauron, and a Klingon flag, and several others. Some that are kinda questionable.

      We get odd looks sometimes, but no one's ever complained.

  41. KeithC   10 years ago

    Reasoners -- any book recommendations related to the Yugoslav Wars of the 90s? The BBC had an excellent multi-part series on it which piqued my interest.

    1. Swiss Servator, rudert schwer!   10 years ago

      ANYTHING but Wesley Clark's self serving crap.

      1. Ein Barde und ein Holzhacker   10 years ago

        Wesley Clark that shithead. He almost started WWIII by ordering British troops to fire at Russian troops that were guarding an airfield in Yugoslavia. Thankfully the British troops told Clark to go fuck himself.

        Wouldn't that have been just great, another fucking world war triggered by some nonsense in the Balkans.

        1. John   10 years ago

          The entire Kosovo War was idiotic and destructive. We destroyed all of the good will we had with the Russians in order to stop a genocide that wasn't occurring and allow the Kosovars to commit actual genocide. And we also set the precedent that it was okay to forcibly break off ethnic enclaves from sovereign nations. We did the exact same thing to Serbia that Russia did to Georgia and is now doing to Ukraine.

          Oh and the war was a no shit illegal war under both international and domestic law. Somehow the people who think the Iraq invasion that was authorized by Congress and in support of a UNSC is the most horrible illegal war ever are not bothered by Kosovo, a war that was launched with either of those things.

          1. Bobarian (Would Chip Her)   10 years ago

            It was also the one bullet in the gun that was NATO.

            We misused the NATO treaty to bomb civilians and take some heat off of a blow-job and lies investigation.

    2. Lee G   10 years ago

      I'd read up on Tito first, but this book is a good primer, if a little bit exaggerated.

      http://www.amazon.com/Balkan-G.....0312424930

    3. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

      You mean the soccer battles, right?

      1. KeithC   10 years ago

        Heh - I actually thought of mentioning Jonathan Wilson and his book 'Behind the Curtain' but figured no one would get the reference. He actually does a nice job intertwining Partisan and Red Star Belgrade's roles in the conflict.

    4. Chipper Chipping Rodrigue   10 years ago

      Not really what you asked for, but Black Lamb and Grey Falcon is a great older book about the region. Originally recommended to me by Hn'R regular John.

      What was the BBC doc called?

      1. KeithC   10 years ago

        Thanks for the recommendation (same to you, Lee -- much appreciated).

        I think the name of the documentary is The Death of Yugoslavia. The whole of it is up on youtube in six parts, if you're interested.

        1. Lee G   10 years ago

          The Death of Yugoslavia - that's funny. Yugoslavia wasthe Iraq of the Balkans, guaranteed to come apart at the seams once the strongman was removed.

    5. Galactic Chipper Cdr Lytton   10 years ago

      IFOR on IFOR. It's out of print now but it does a good job of capturing the swath of the peacekeeping forces after the Dayton Accords through individual profiles I think. Lots of pictures. I picked it up at the Ft Lewis PX expecting to get hit by the Bosnia rotation (the big thing of the late 90's) but got to play in the sand instead.

  42. EdWuncler   10 years ago

    Yesterday I was walking around downtown Chicago before going to class and I saw one of those canvassers who raises money for gay rights and I of course avoided her. But it got me to really thinking. The Supreme Court decided that gay marriage is the law across the country so technically their objectives have been met, so why in the fuck is she on the street asking for money for a cause that has been successful? These organizations though won't disband because there is much power and money in greivence mongering.

    1. John   10 years ago

      Because they have no goals other than feeling smug and destroying the other. They are never going to stop. Anyone who thinks this case settles things or will lead to anything but oppression and nastiness is delusional. They are eventually going to come for all of us. When you draw the line and stand up and fight is not a question of if but only when you finally realize they are never going to stop.

      1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

        Aren't they going after Churches who won't abide by the law?

        That didn't take long.

        Awful.

        1. sarcasmic   10 years ago

          Reminds me of here in Maine when they got sexual orientation listed as a protected class, and the whole time mocked anyone who said it was a first step towards redefining marriage. Before the ink was dry they were suing to redefine marriage on the basis that it was discriminating against a protected class. They're calculated liars. They won't stop until everyone who believes marriage is something between a man and a woman is sued, imprisoned, or killed.

          1. Ein Barde und ein Holzhacker   10 years ago

            "They won't stop until everyone who believes marriage is something between a man and a woman is sued, imprisoned, or killed."

            Sadly I don't think this in an exaggeration. The left are fascists. They hide behind words like "tolerance" and "Coexist" to hide what they really are.

            1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

              That's the key to unlocking their conniving schemes. Understanding the lingo and jargon.

              1. sarcasmic   10 years ago

                I assume that when they put emotion to a word, then they mean the opposite of what the word means.

                For example "tolerance" to them means "we will not tolerate anyone who disagrees with us, because disagreement is intolerant and tolerant people do not tolerate intolerance."

                Same with "Coexist." They don't have to coexist with anyone who disagrees with them.

                1. Monty Crisco   10 years ago

                  Listen, and understand. That gun-grabber is out there. It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are disarmed and helpless against the government.

        2. Rhywun   10 years ago

          Aren't they going after Churches who won't abide by the law?

          Churches can already refuse to marry anyone on any grounds they wish. Stop it with the ridiculous FUD already.

          1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

            Sigh. I wish.

    2. Swiss Servator, rudert schwer!   10 years ago

      See also, The March of Dimes. They won...and then morphed into ... ObamaCare fellators/"advocacy" and such.

    3. sarcasmic   10 years ago

      so why in the fuck is she on the street asking for money for a cause that has been successful?

      Successful? Hardly. The lawsuits have only begun.

      1. WTF   10 years ago

        There are lots of bakers that need to be sued into baking gay marriage cakes and lots of churches that need to be sued into performing gay weddings. John is right, they will never stop.

        1. Ein Barde und ein Holzhacker   10 years ago

          Maybe leftist vandals will start burning a few churches that refuse gay weddings. Wouldn't that be ironic.

        2. Igor   10 years ago

          There's a business opportunity here.

          You're a baker who doesn't want to cater a gay wedding - but you're at risk of being busted for exercising your right to non-association. What do you do?

          Develop a reputation for turning down clients for a bizarre array of capricious and arbitrary reasons!

          Contact Igor Inc.

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          Don't let those scolds close you down, call us today, on 1-800-BEA-BIGOT.

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

      Did H&R become SoCon Central all of a sudden?

      1. Lord Humungus   10 years ago

        Didn't you get the memo?

        *lashes whip at orphan child for failing to deliver the message*

      2. ant1sthenes   10 years ago

        We start getting conservative sounding when the left gets too powerful and derpy, and liberal sounding when the right gets too powerful and derpy.

        We're agents of political homeostasis.

        "The essence of balance is detachment. To embrace a cause, to grow fond or spiteful, is to lose one's balance, after which, no action can be trusted. Our burden is not for the dependent of spirit."

        1. Azathoth!!   10 years ago

          You start espousing liberty when the left gets too loud and powerful and you stop espousing liberty when the right gets too loud and powerful?

          You need to look long and hard at that so you can understand that old adage about things that are not expressly right wing.

  43. Certified Public Asshat   10 years ago

    Study: Fireworks cause a toxic brew of unhealthy air

    he exploding fireworks unleash tiny particles ? about 1/30th the diameter of a typical human hair ? that can affect health because they travel deep into a person's respiratory tract, entering the lungs.

    The tiny particles are known as "particulate matter" and include dust, dirt, soot, smoke and liquid droplets and are measured in micrometers, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. A micrometer is one-millionth of a meter.

    The fine particulate matter in this study ? which was led by scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ? were 2.5 micrometers in size.

    1. John   10 years ago

      Everything that is fun and someone might enjoy that doesn't involve sodomy or abortion must be prohibited.

      1. Ein Barde und ein Holzhacker   10 years ago

        It's just typical leftwing Puritanism. If only they realized just how much in common they have with the old school Socons they love to hate so much...

  44. John   10 years ago

    So I about choked on my coffee this morning when I saw Doherety's "no the logic same sex marriage doesn't apply to carry permits". Thanks Brian. We kind of knew that. We knew the only rights that matter in this society are gay rights. My right to keep and bear arms and defend myself is just one of those icky rights for icky people who live in icky places Doherety would never go. It is not the same as the right to government sanction of your ass sex. That is a real fundamental right. Someone facing decades in prison for making the mistake of crossing the border into New Jersey or flying through JFK with a legally owned gun is just not a real constitutional issue. Gays having to get a power of attorney or write a will in contrast is some serious business and the logic saying they shouldn't have to and have a right to government sanction of their lifestyle could never apply to some icky gun owner facing prison for leaving his designated enclave.

    Can reason live down to the cosmotarian stereotype anymore than it does?

    1. Ivan Pike   10 years ago

      Can reason live down to the cosmotarian stereotype anymore than it does?

      John, did you read the piece? He doesn't come off as bad as you make him sound.

      1. Monty Crisco   10 years ago

        I gotta agree with Ivan but John's screed was fun as hell though for the sheer snarkiness of it...

      2. John   10 years ago

        Yes he does. He admits that he would like it to but ultimately thinks the logic doesn't apply. It sure as hell does. If the court is now in the business of using the equal protection clause to make sure states respect whatever rights the Court deems fundamental, then it sure as hell out to ensure the states protect gun rights.

        Doherety is okay with gun rights but he seems to not think it is on the same level as the all important gay marriage rights.

        1. Ein Barde und ein Holzhacker   10 years ago

          Well gun rights are listed in some icky document written by white slaveowners like 50 years ago or something. Gay rights, or marriage on the other hand are not mentioned in that document at all. Sounds like equal protection would apply to gun rights more then this nonsense.

        2. sarcasmic   10 years ago

          How the hell are these people supposed to keep their gay friends if they don't go full retard in support of same sex marriage?

        3. Irish Says Enough Woodchippers   10 years ago

          John, that's not what Doherty was arguing. He made no statements about whether or not he'd prefer gun reciprocity (and he clearly would support that given his other posts), he simply argued that the court decision as written doesn't support the idea of gun reciprocity.

    2. Je suis Woodchipper   10 years ago

      The current makeup of the Supes have viewed 2A with something near strict scrutiny. I'd like to see Gura argue national reciprocity just to force Roberts to be on the wrong end of a 5-4. That fucking piece of shit.

    3. ant1sthenes   10 years ago

      Doherty was just speculating about what the court would do, not what it should do.

      1. Monty Crisco   10 years ago

        Listen, and understand. That gun-grabber is out there. It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are disarmed and helpless against the government.

  45. Injun, Wood Chipper Vindaloo   10 years ago

    Cuba has become the first WHO-certified country to thwart mother-to-child transmission of H.I.V. and syphilis.

    See! Communism works!

    Never mind that Cubans have to stand in line for 2 hours for commie ice cream.

    /progderp

    1. John   10 years ago

      Couldn't we stop the transmission of HIV without all of the enslavement? Was enslaving the entire country necessary for the research?

      1. Lee G   10 years ago

        If it saves one child...

      2. Injun, Wood Chipper Vindaloo   10 years ago

        It is a shame that in this country, we have 23 brands of ice cream stocked in grocery stores while children get HIV and syphilis from their mothers.

        - Bernie Sanders

        1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

          What's Bernie's stance on double-flavored soft ice-cream (creme molle as we call it 'round here)?

          I mean, I kinda like the contrast chocolate-vanilla gives but also mint and chocolate.

          1. The Shrubber's Woodchipper   10 years ago

            soft serve ice cream : ice cream :: deep dish pizza : pizza

  46. Injun, Wood Chipper Vindaloo   10 years ago

    Survey says: 35 percent of Americans would expatriate

    More than half of millennials, a whopping 55 percent, said that they would consider leaving the U.S. for foreign shores. Among them, 43 percent of men and 38 percent of women noted that a higher salary would be a factor in their relocation decision.

    1. Ein Barde und ein Holzhacker   10 years ago

      Well we spent decades in the country destroying the value of American citizenship. It's no surprise that so many would be willing to trade it away for something else.

    2. Lee G   10 years ago

      Yeah, but where would the Millennials go? I'm guessing they're not looking to go somewhere with less government intrusion.

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

      There's only one problem for the would-be expatriates:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11aUKrc_b9c

    4. Lord Humungus   10 years ago

      If I could find a place that was more in line with my er, beliefs, I would gladly go there. But where?

      *looks up to the stars*

      1. Ein Barde und ein Holzhacker   10 years ago

        Centuries ago people looked across the sea. It took awhile but eventually we fucked that all up.

    5. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

      What are the odds, on average, of getting a higher salary abroad? I guess if they go to a place with a low cost of living it may make sense but I have a hard time believing Europe can compete with the U.S. (or even Canada) when it comes to wages relative to cost of living. I could be wrong.

      1. Irish Says Enough Woodchippers   10 years ago

        You're right. Europe doesn't come close to America in wages vs. cost of living.

        1. DEG   10 years ago

          For some parts of Europe and some companies, it's worse than you think.

          An anecdote:

          At a previous job, we had a guy in Brussels. Everyone else in my immediate group was in either New Hampshire or Seattle. He wanted to move to the US. The company sponsored him and his family for all the appropriate visas. Before he left for the US, he burned all of his vacation time. He had a lot more vacation time then we in the States got.

          At a group meeting while this guy was on vacation, a few of my colleagues said that they would love to have the amount of vacation time the guy from Brussels got. Our boss, who was an immigrant to the US, told us that the guy from Brussels gets more vacation time but gets paid on a lower pay scale than the folks in the US. They get less money and pay higher taxes and have a higher cost of living.

          The guy moving to the US from Brussels simply got his pay converted into US dollars, which after taxes and cost of living gave him a significant raise in take-home pay.

      2. Igor   10 years ago

        It all comes down to how much discretionary spending money you have after the basics are met. Europe *can* compete quite well with North America in certain industries - if by industry you mean government bureaucracy, politics and other criminal endeavours.

        If you're a software engineer, you can do OK, along with other industries where (in the US) you'd be competing with H1-B holders. Finance (at lower-middle management level) in the UK is pretty well paid comparative to the US.

        So the 'odds' are quite dependent on what you do for a living, but given the kind of people we are, your average European nation wouldn't be one we'd want to live in anyway.

    6. Irish Says Enough Woodchippers   10 years ago

      "Among them, 43 percent of men and 38 percent of women noted that a higher salary would be a factor in their relocation decision."

      Well, given that there are like 7 countries on Earth with higher average salaries than America, I don't think you're going to find many high salary nations to relocate to.

  47. DEG   10 years ago

    $40 million car collection up for auction in Denmark.

  48. adolphowisner   10 years ago

    I started with my online business I earn $58 every 15 minutes. It sounds unbelievable but you wont forgive yourself if you don't check it out.
    For information check this site. ????? http://www.workweb40.com

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