U.S. Warns China About Using Secret Agents, Obama Preparing for Post-Presidency Narratives, Trump Releases Immigration Policy Paper: A.M. Links

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  The United States has warned China about sending covert agents into the country to track down Chinese fugitives and recover money acquired through official corruption. 

• President Obama is preparing for life after the White House—he and his advisors hope to raise at least $800 million for "post-presidency infrastructure," while Steven Spielberg is helping formulate a "narrative" for Obama after he leaves office. 
• Donald Trump released a policy paper on immigration; among the proposals is a suggestion to pay for a wall by increasing fees for visas and other cross-border activity. Fellow Republican presidential candidate Lindsey Graham says he doesn't understand Trump's rise in the polls but worries about the effect on the GOP. 
• Authorities in Indonesia say they may have spotted debris from a Trigana Air Service flight that crashed over the weekend. 
• A Harvard student lost his internship with Facebook before it even started after exposing a privacy flaw on the social media network's messenger service.
• Pittsburgh Steeler James Harrison said he took his children's participation trophies away from them because he says he wants them to "EARN a real trophy."
• Civil rights leader Julian Bond died this weekend aged 75.

New at Reason.com:

• Brickbat: They Are There to Help By Charles Oliver
• Christie, Paul, and the NSA Fearful, emotional appeals versus the cold light of reality By Steve Chapman
• The Last Consolation of Jefferson Davis A few years ago, Congress pardoned the Confederate president but his statues and namesakes may be starting to come down. By Charles Paul Freund

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Pittsburgh Steeler James Harrison said he took his children’s participation trophies away from them because he says he wants them to “EARN a real trophy.”

Yinz better earn em.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

Just who/what is causing climate change?

http://www.bloomberg.com/graph…..the-world/

[Medical Physics Guy]

The fix is in at the very beginning of the article, since they present rising surface temperatures as a given, but those data have been heavily manipulated

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I thought there was indeed agreement on rising temps and that the crux of the debate focused on what’s causing it?

[UnCivilServant]

Except for all those years when the real temps weren’t rising at all – nearly twenty of them now.

[Auric Demonocles]

20 years isn’t climate! That’s just weather!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Yes, but at one point back in the day.

[Zaytsev]

And no mention of solar activity or other extraterrestrial phenomena.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I think there is one on solar.

[bacon-magic]

UFO!

[CatoTheChipper]

The Koch brothers.

[brady949]

Temps are rising and contrary to what you hear, there isn’t really any serious debate about the causes either. The real debate should be over what to do about it and we aren’t having it.

[WTF]

There’s been no warming since 1998, and the models based on the hypothesis that manmade CO2 was causing the warming have failed, which has falsified that hypothesis, you dishonest corpse-fucker.

[Old Man With Candy]

Just who/what is causing climate change?

Jews.

[Free Society]

The International Meteorologists Conspiracy?:.

[Zaytsev]

Just who/what is causing climate change?

Racist teabagger rethuglikkklans.

Duh.

[JWatts]

“Just who/what is causing climate change?”

The article is making a trivial logical fallacy, by assuming a given set of reasons and then choosing the one that fits. Science doesn’t assume that the answer has to be the one of the 4 you assume it is.

However, it makes an even bigger straw man argument. Many skeptics, such as myself, believe that CO2 is contributing to global warming, but that the projections so far are far higher than the data supports.

And you’ll note the “No, it really is Green house gases” chart clearly shows a diverging trend. Furthermore, you’ll note that in the last year they show CO2 levels, the real temperatures are just barely in the 95% confidence interval.

In addition, they suspiciously stop the CO2 trend in 2004. Why? It’s trivial to get the data all the way up to last year. Indeed, it’s easier to get the CO2 data than the temperature data. I’m suspicious that they didn’t want to show the data going forward. I suspect it’s because the CO2 trend keeps growing while the Observed temperature data is close to Zero grow.

[Old Man With Candy]

The first time EVER that I’ve agreed with anyone from the Stillers.

[Medical Physics Guy]

That’s good. That’s not even tiger parenting. That’ just teaching your kid to value accomplishment.

[SusanM]

Participation awards have been around forever. Why is it now that people are getting bunched up about this?

[Restor-woodchipper-as]

I never got one. If you wanted a trophy you had to earn it.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Uphill both ways.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

You should have participated…splitter!

[Zeb]

Plenty of people have thought that participation trophies were stupid forever too. I don’t think it is new. Though I do think that participation trophies (and worse, not giving better trophies to the actual winners) have been on the rise in the last 20 years or so.

[SusanM]

Meh, I really don’t see it. What I do see is a parent who mistakes “character building” for “being a douchebag” but that’s nothing new. Kidding aside, I see this new found objection as a generation who had it pretty easy overall really straining to find a good “Huh! Kids today!” angle.

[Zeb]

It does appear to be a real trend, whatever you think of it. I don’t think giving kids something for participation is all that terrible. But I think that not keeping score or declaring winners, which also seems to be becoming more of a thing, is terrible.

[LynchPin1477]

I remember people always getting bunched about them.

When I was in kindergarten I participated in a science fair. I did some simple experiment demonstrating electrical polarity with a battery, with help from my Dad. But I remember some older kid, maybe 4th grade or something, built an oscilloscope and did some sort of experiments with it. Even as a kindergartner I could tell it was much better than anything else there. At the end of the day, they announced that everyone was a winner. My five year old self felt bad for that older kid. He deserved recognition.

Are people pushing back against these things more now? Hopefully. The current generation of college students seems to be showing the world what’s wrong with insulating people from disappointment.

[SusanM]

Did you do that thing with a battery and a paper clip?

For the rest, well, maybe that’s a point to consider. I’ve always had a rather “zen” attitude towards competition and achievement, always just worrying about what I’m doing rather than caring about awards, so it could just be that that’s causing me to miss the point of all this.

But I will say that I was in K in the mid-70’s, saw consolation and participation awards and never really recalled anyone older than I getting into any kind of huff.

[LynchPin1477]

I’ve always had a rather “zen” attitude towards competition and achievement, always just worrying about what I’m doing rather than caring about awards

And I think that’s an extremely healthy approach to take. But competition has a way of bringing out the best work from people, and I think excellence should be recognized and celebrated. I don’t think that precludes teaching children to also learn how to value and benefit work without a reward. They aren’t mutually exclusive.

[SusanM]

As long as the competition is to who can achieve the best and not cheat the worst, I agree.

[Almanian - Trump's Woodchipper]

Someone go tell the “climate scientists”, please!

[Zaytsev]

The character building aspect of kids sports is mostly learning how to deal with failure. Which the everyone gets a participation trophy blunts and the more recent don’t keep score at all trend completely kills.

[Azathoth!!]

But I will say that I was in K in the mid-70’s, saw consolation and participation awards and never really recalled anyone older than I getting into any kind of huff.

From this, we can take it that you were never the kid who went the extra mile only to see your extra effort get you nothing.

[Zeb]

It is important for kids to learn that in most cases, there are lots of people who are smarter and better than you are. It’s kind of an important thing to be able to deal with in life.

I always seemed to get stuck on the shitty soccer team as a kid. And got no trophy. Which was fine, because I could see that the other teams were better and deserved to win. I didn’t need the illusion that I was just as good as anyone else to have fun playing. That’s how sports work. If you don’t want an organized competition, don’t join a sports league.

[straffinrun]

The govt gave the ultimate participation trophies in 2008 and 09 with the bailouts. Maybe the meme against them is finally sinking into the public consciousness.

[JWatts]

“Participation awards have been around forever. Why is it now that people are getting bunched up about this?”

A ribbon or paper yes, but I never saw anybody receive a huge trophy like the Ones pictured just for participation.

[BigT]

In HS kids earned a letter by playing in a min number of quarters of varsity football or soccer, usually about half of all qtrs.

[Jerryskids]

Holy shit – Considering what Adrian got for leaving welts by hitting his kid, what’s the emotional scarring by crippling their self-esteem going to cost Harrison? Life plus cancer?

[commodious spittoon]

It’s worse than crippling his children’s self-esteem: he took a stand against the culture of anti-masculinity they’re trying to inculcate. The former is a venial sin, like Adrian’s. He would eventually be forgiven after enough public penance. The latter is a mortal sin.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

81) I’ve noticed lately a slew of articles in the NYT, Washington Post, etc., on the rape tactics of ISIS, how they use captured women as sex slaves and justify it with their twisted theology. Sounds horrible, no doubt those guys suck. But all these articles appearing around the same time make me feel like we’re being groomed for further military action in ISIS territory. Riling people up with all the worst examples of the extreme brutality of ISIS, perhaps even exaggerating or sensationalizing the stories. What do y’all think? Are all these articles appearing now because this information is coming to light now? Or is this a coordinated media effort? Sigh; I didn’t used to be this cynical about the world?.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Yet, I just read an article in The Daily Beast claiming the U.S. military is too stretched to engage Putin. Is the U.S. military stretched?

[Adans smith]

In my mind,Europe,Japan and South Korea can and should defend their own countries.The US navy is larger than the other 10 largest ,the Afgans should be left to their own devices,and as for the middle east.Let them fight it out.With luck ISIS will attack Israel and they will find out what war really is all about.

[DJF]

Is that the correct spelling for your name, I want to make sure I write it correctly as my write in vote for President.

[Adans smith]

Yep a play on Adam Smith,

[BigT]

Adarn Smith looks even closer

[Catatafish & Woodchips]

I would submit that when you are potentially going to waste a trillion dollars on a sub-standard air platform like the Joint Strike Fighter, you aren’t stretched. You’re fucking stupid.

[JWatts]

“going to waste a trillion dollars on a sub-standard air platform like the Joint Strike Fighter”

I see comments like that fairly often, but I’m unconvinced the JSF is actually a sub-standard platform. I also saw a lot of comments about the F-22 being a boondoggle, but it’s performance record seems pretty impressive.

Personally, I would rather air force to have spent most of the money on drones. And it wouldn’t surprise me if the JSF is the last purely manned “fighter” aircraft ever. However, political realities being what they are, with the multiple country aspect, the manned pilots need a job, the conservativism of the military, the “I need pork for my district” angle, etc, I don’t see it going down any other way.

[brady949]

We probably are too stretched to engage Putin. Of course, since we aren’t going to, it’s kind of a moot point.

[Old Man With Candy]

Remember the babies taken out of their incubators in Saddam-era Iraq, then left on the floor to die?

Yeah, like that.

[SugarFree]

What do y’all think?

Never ascribe to malevolence that which is better attributed to laziness. Nothing much is going on, and rape is a hot topic right now, so they all run the same story.

Besides, it’s not like they are going to dig into Hillary or Trump, right?

[Fist of Etiquette]

You’re a fool. History will look at you and say, “This man was a fool.”

[SugarFree]

I will marry history for one day and rape it.

[Swiss Servator, zum Haus]

Stop it, dammit!

*reaches for Tylenol bottle*

[LynchPin1477]

I think you’re seeing evidence of group think and intellectual incest within the media.

[lap83]

” I’ve noticed lately a slew of articles in the NYT, Washington Post, etc., on the rape tactics of ISIS, how they use captured women as sex slaves and justify it with their twisted theology. Sounds horrible, no doubt those guys suck. But all these articles appearing around the same time make me feel like we’re being groomed for further military action in ISIS territory.”

Do you also think they’re grooming us for military action against universities by listing those rape statistics? If so, I’d like to subscribe to your newsletter.

[Jerryskids]

lap, they’re grooming us for military action against the rapists. The universities are the good guys.

[Fist of Etiquette]

President Obama is preparing for life after the White House…

He’s been practicing his golf swing for the past seven years.

[JWatts]

That’s the first thing I thought.

[Tejicano]

More like 15 to 20 years…

[Lord Humungus]

Dear Prudence: Help! My brother lost a testicle and now won’t stop punching me in the balls

My older, late-20s brother is a good-looking, athletic man who’s good with the ladies and professionally successful, which has allowed him to develop a bro-ish cocky attitude over the years. He is also an adrenaline junkie, and about a year and a half ago he suffered a serious mountain biking accident that led to losing a testicle and affected his ability to sustain an erection for a few months. Even though he healed up just fine with no impact to his testosterone level or his ability to reproduce, he has become significantly more insecure and aggressively jealous of me because, I believe, he sees me, his younger brother whom he grew up teasing, as now being more of a man than he is. At first the jealousy remained verbal when he would make snide remarks about my ability to satisfy my girlfriend. But recently, he’s adopted the practice of hitting me in the nuts by surprise whenever we’re together and then saying things like how I should be able to take it if I were a real man.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Ow! My balls!

[Rich]

Sheesh, if he can sustain an erection for a few months it would seem the ladies would love him.

[straffinrun]

Bastard.

[straffinrun]

He couldn’t sustain an erection for a few months?

[Auric Demonocles]

If you a real man, getting hit in the balls is incapacitating.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

He is also an adrenaline junkie, and about a year and a half ago he suffered a serious mountain biking accident that led to losing a testicle and affected his ability to sustain an erection for a few months.

Ha ha!

[Just a thought not a sermon]

“while Steven Spielberg is helping formulate a “narrative” for Obama after he leaves office”

Would this be a minority report?

[DJF]

Does it involve the President making friends with aliens or finding lost treasure or recounting the experience of landing on Normandy beaches?

[CatoTheChipper]

Barack Obama’s campaign was based on the premise of Yes We Can. “Yes we can to justice and equality. Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity. Yes we can heal this nation. Yes we can repair this world. Yes we can.”

Because of his wise leadership, “generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on earth.”

As he promised, Mr. Obama has fundamentally transformed America. Following the worst economic situation since the Great Depression, the economy is strong and unemployment is down. America is now respected around the world. Blah, blah, blah, etc.

[BigT]

So you are suggesting the title be: “Haha!, We Really Fooled You!”

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

I suspect it will have something to do with a crystal skull, or a robot kid.

Or Barack is really grown-up Peter Pan?

[Adans smith]

He’ll need a CPA to manage all the speaking fee dollars and the pension he’ll recieve.

[Chinny Chin Chin]

Obama is already the best accountant he knows

[Mike Laursen]

OK, but I still think Chris Pratt would make a better Indy.

[Fist of Etiquette]

A Harvard student lost his internship with Facebook before it even started after exposing a privacy flaw on the social media network’s messenger service.

Seems like bad PR in the making, but what do I know.

[UnCivilServant]

What was the internship in? I certainly wouldn’t hire a tech person from Harvard (or anyone from Harvard, that place is a cesspit of anti-thought).

[Auric Demonocles]

Apparently it’s not cyber-security.

[kbolino]

I certainly wouldn’t hire a tech person from Harvard (or anyone from Harvard, that place is a cesspit of anti-thought).

While perhaps good advice, it would be a little strange (although funny!) for a company founded by Harvard students based upon software they wrote while attending Harvard, to reject someone because he came from Harvard.

[UnCivilServant]

“Of course we won’t hire from Harvard. We’ve been there and seen for ourselves how worthless their education is.”

[Lord Humungus]

Yosemite campground shut because of plague-infected squirrels

A second Yosemite National Park campground will be shut down for five days after a pair of dead squirrels were found to be infected with the plague, park and California public health officials said on Friday.

The closure of Tuolumne Meadows Campground comes a week after a child who camped elsewhere in Yosemite, one of America’s top tourist destinations, was taken to hospital with the disease.

The case marked the first time a human was known to be infected with the centuries-old scourge, which is carried by rodents and the fleas that live on them, in California since 2006.

[Medical Physics Guy]

Send in Caddyshack-era Bill Murray

[Elspeth Flashman]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbQgaHZOFZ0

Here you go.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Just keep them away from the Reason server room. The regular squirrels are bad enough. I don’t want to think of how bad posting would be if we had plague-infested squirrels.

[Auric Demonocles]

I’m actually going to be camping in Tuolumne Meadows campground the day after it opens back up.

[Swiss Servator, zum Haus]

Bubonic Meadows?

[bacon-magic]

Narrows gaze…and looks at the tree line.

[That's A Bingo!]

Rats were the cause of the bubonic plague, but that’s some time ago. I propose to you, any disease a rat could spread, a squirrel could equally carry. Would you agree? Yet I assume you don’t share the same animosity with squirrels that you do with rats, do you? But they’re both rodents, are they not? And except for the tail, they even rather look alike, don’t they?

[Medical Physics Guy]

Is this the Socratic method or sumthin

[Jerryskids]

Squirrels are bushy-tailed rats, pigeons are rats with wings, deer are rats with hooves. Kill as many as you want of all of them, I say.

[Medical Physics Guy]

Don’t forget the seagulls. In the UK urban populations are growing at 20% a year. Total nightmare.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Not for nothing, but we’re eating squirrel stew in the office today.

Squirrel is stringy, and tastes better than racoon.

[bacon-magic]

Better fried.

[Tejicano]

Fact : it wasn’t actually the rats. It was the fleas living on the rats which transmit the disease to humans.

So it works the same way with squirrels.

[Galactic Chipper Cdr Lytton]

The case marked the first time a human was known to be infected with the centuries-old scourge … in California since 2006

And infects about a dozen people every year nationwide and is easily treated with modern antibiotics.

[Rich]

Steven Spielberg is helping formulate a “narrative” for Obama after he leaves office.

Oh, FFS! Spielberg should help formulate a “narrative” for *Hillary*.

[Zaytsev]

Heroic SoS realizes that the Ruskies and Chinese are hacking government systems and changing the data therein to nefarious ends. So she secretly backs up all the government systems to servers in her basement to protect the chilruns.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

She then sells the data to the highest contributor to her campaign fund?

[Fist of Etiquette]

The United States has warned China about sending covert agents into the country to track down Chinese fugitives…

Trump’s wall will take care of it.

[sarcasmic]

Bikini-clad Chanelle Hayes displays fuller figure as she feasts on snacks by the pool… after revealing she’s struggling to control her overeating

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs…..ating.html
John pron!

[Old Man With Candy]

The look on her face in a few of those pix reminded me of my first wife when I’d ask for a BJ.

[sarcasmic]

Q) What’s the difference between a wife and a job?

A) After a couple years the job still sucks.

[Old Man With Candy]

My current wife must be mythical. Libertarian and gives all the head I want. “Keeps you away from the children, so it’s worth it.”

[SugarFree]

Fuller? Fuller than what? A dumptruck full of pudding?

[Swiss Servator, zum Haus]

Dude, it still hurts to laugh – stop that!

[SugarFree]

Sorry, dude. You still on the groovy meds?

[Swiss Servator, zum Haus]

Nope – back at work, Day 1. Tylenol is as hard as I can go.

At least my Swiss Masters put an extra scrap of cloth on my bench by my oar!

*resumes rowing*

[Rich]

That ice-cream-cone pic is ultra attractive.

[Monty Crisco]

Yeah, she is some sort of keeper.
Lovin’ the ORWELLIAN levels of euphemism… “Fuller figure”… guess that is one word for more rolls than a fucking bread factory…

[Free Society]

Mid article fashion ad: “Make a splash in this fatty’s neoprene Bikini!”

[Lord Humungus]

Mot?rhead frontman Lemmy has switched from whiskey to vodka for health reasons
“I am still indestructible,” he insists

Lemmy, the grizzled perpetual badass who fronts metal icons Mot?rhead, has seen healthier days. His band was forced to cancel a few shows earlier this year when the nearly 70-year-old rocker was stricken with gastric distress and dehydration, and he now walks with a the aid of a stick because “my legs are fucked.” He also suffers from diabetes, but he’s found an interesting way to combat the illness; instead of his usual Jack Daniels and coke, Lemmy has switched to vodka and orange juice in order to stay healthy.

“I like orange juice better,” he told The Guardian in a recent interview. “So, Coca-Cola can fuck off.”

[Rich]

“I like orange juice better,” he told The Guardian in a recent interview. “So, Coca-Cola can fuck off.”

“I don’t like things that suck. I like things that are cool!”

[Just a thought not a sermon]

Lemmy is like Harrison Bergeron. His unhealthiness is the only reason he hasn’t exerted his dominance over the rest of mankind. If we take away the shackles of alcohol and Coca-Cola it will be only a matter of weeks until he’s in charge.

[Elspeth Flashman]

I think of Lemmy as being like Death on this episode of Regular Show, somehow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAi49_4eKQs

[sarcasmic]

I’ve seen him on That Metal Show a couple times. He’s quite the character.

[Zeb]

Lemmy is awesome. I highly recommend the documentary someone made about him called “Lemmy”.

[sarcasmic]

One of the episodes of That Metal Show had Lemmy and Marilyn Manson together. Manson was getting drunk on absinthe and asking Lemmy questions like “Which album got the most sex done to you?” Lemmy was not impressed. It was pretty funny.

[Florida Man]

Who would win in a wrestling match, Lemmy or God?

[commodious spittoon]

In other words, if you’re a life-long drinker you’ve nothing to worry about so long as your mixer is sugar-free.

[Jerryskids]

If you think you’ve got nothing to worry about if your drink mixer is sugar-free, maybe you need to take a closer look at that ‘swizzle stick’ he’s using. (And OJ I suspect has as much sugar as Coke, the guy needs to switch to straight shots or G&T or something if he wants less sugar.)

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

If your mixer is “SugarFree”, you’re looking at a black-out followed by a short hard life in Warty’s dungeon.

[Jordan]

The United States has warned China about sending covert agents into the country to track down Chinese fugitives and recover money acquired through official corruption.

That’s some serious Chutzpah coming from the country which kidnaps citizens off of other countries’ streets and expects foreign banks to enforce their tax laws.

[DJF]

The administration supports Open Borders for corrupt Communists and their stolen money.

[Adans smith]

And has FBI and DEA spread all over the world.Then their’s the CIA and black sites,dumb asses.

[Jerryskids]

Maybe China should stop sending covert agents and just send drones. I’ve heard that’s perfectly legal.

[Jerryskids]

(And let’s admit it, we all want to hear China say they aporogize for the corraterar damage.)

[Rhywun]

“Ha ha! Silly American say ‘ma’ with falling tone instead of rising!!”

[R C Dean]

If the pic is anything to go by, I’m up for “investigation” by a Chinese agent any time.

[sarcasmic]

Give us a twirl! Victoria Justice wows in teal fringed dress as she spins around on the red carpet at Teen Choice Awards

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs…..wards.html
Dang…

[Rufus J. Firefly]

“President Obama is preparing for life after the White House?he and his advisors hope to raise at least $800 million for “post-presidency infrastructure,” while Steven Spielberg is helping formulate a “narrative” for Obama after he leaves office.”

O.M.G. The hubris on this clown.

This won’t end well.

Right?

[Adans smith]

Let’s hope he doesn’t steal the silverware on the way out like someone else.

[Tejicano]

Oh, yeah. Like he hasn’t already replaced it all with stainless flatware from Walmart.

[brady949]

Will President Clinton II: Electric Boogaloo bring the silverware back with her?

[Adans smith]

Let’s hope he doesn’t steal the silverware on the way out like someone else.

[Swiss Servator, zum Haus]

Dang, the Clintons took both sets?!

[Rich]

And all the “W” keys, IIRC.

[That's A Bingo!]

Perpetual campaign. It doesn’t even end when they leave office.

[UnCivilServant]

They need to be entombed in their library promptly upon leaving office.

[Swiss Servator, zum Haus]

+1 tomb at Ur

[Jerryskids]

Along with all their retainers and sycophants and lap dogs.

[Big Chief]

In that case we’d have to replace about 90% of the press corp.

[Tejicano]

I’m not seeing a down side with that…

[John]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fin…..ntrol.html

Can we start calling him Barrack H. Hoover now? One of the cheap shots Republicans have always taken at Obama was how cheap oil and gas was in the summer of 08 versus after Obama took office. The reason for that was in part because all commodities were crashing in 08 as a precursor to the financial collapse. Well, commodities are crashing again. That combined with the inevitable implosion of the Chinese economy makes me think that history is repeating itself.

[Jordan]

“What bubble?”

– Every central bank clown, ever

[John]

“If you just print enough money, no one ever has to be poor and there never has to be a recession. We have conquered not only the business cycle but also the old canard that there is no such thing as a free lunch, all through the amazing power of maths.”

[straffinrun]

They have conquered the business cycle. Cycle implies it goes back up at some point.

[Lord Humungus]

Donald Trump, zingers and all, emerges as sharp H-1B critic

“This is exactly the plan America needs,” said Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala), the chair of the Senate’s Immigration subcommittee, said in a statement Sunday regarding Trump’s overall immigration policy proposal. “Not only would the plan outlined in this paper work, but more quickly than many realize.”

The key things Trump is proposing for the H-1B visa include, first, an increase in the prevailing wage, making it more expensive to use H-1B workers. Many visa holders are paid the lowest prevailing wage level set for entry-level positions. Trump doesn’t spell out his specific action plan, but some have argued for eliminating lower prevailing-wage levels altogether.

“Raising the prevailing wage paid to H-1Bs will force companies to give these coveted entry-level jobs to the existing domestic pool of unemployed native and immigrant workers in the U.S., instead of flying in cheaper workers from overseas,” wrote Trump.

[See Double You]

Nativist.

[Fist of Etiquette]

…pay for a wall by increasing fees for visas and other cross-border activity.

The high cost to come here legally isn’t part of the incentive to come across the border illegally.

[Lord Humungus]

Officer Beaten by a Convicted Felon Hesitated for Fear of Being Called Racist: Welcome to Post-Ferguson Policing

A police officer in Birmingham, Ala., was beaten unconscious by a suspect during a traffic stop last week because the officer did not want to be pilloried in the media as a racist for using force against a black man.

Last Friday, a Birmingham plainclothes detective pulled over a car being driven erratically. The officer, who has chosen to remain anonymous to protect his family, told the driver to stay in the car while he called for backup. Instead, according to CNN, the driver got out and became belligerent, angrily and repeatedly asking why he’d been stopped. The driver, a 34-year-old convicted felon, allegedly grabbed the detective’s gun and pistol-whipped him with it until the detective lost consciousness. The felon, Janard Cunningham, reportedly fled the scene but was later apprehended. His record includes convictions for robbery and assault, among other crimes, and an attempted-murder charge, according to ABC 3340 and WVTM 13.

[Jordan]

Scott Greenfield already eviscerated this stupid argument. Ken White at Popehat too.

[Je suis Woodchipper]

The conclusions:

Yes, if police can’t possibly be sufficiently well-trained, sufficiently smart, sufficiently brave to make good choices, Patterico’s trade-offs will happen. But the innocent non-cop didn’t have a choice in the matter. She didn’t ask to be wrongfully stopped. She didn’t ask to have a cop misinterpret her innocent movement, her exercise of constitutional rights, her skin color, to feed into a cop’s bad choice. She didn’t ask to die, and she wants to get home for dinner just as much as the cop does.

If there have to be trade-offs, then there is no question who prevails. There is no “officer safety” exception to the Constitution, and along with the authority to use a gun comes the responsibility of making smart choices. The people win.

[Jerryskids]

Jerryskids August 16, 2015 at 9:22 pm
While it is terrible for the cop who got pistol-whipped by a member of the public, I feel as a member of the public that I should assure the police that this was just an isolated incident involving one bad apple and we shall see to it that this gentleman is given a severe written reprimand and a couple of weeks of paid leave followed by a six-hour refresher course on the policies and procedures followed here in the general public. Now let us put this tragic incident behind us and hear no more about it.

[Juvenile Bluster]

I blame anti-cop libertarians.

[SugarFree]

Cool story, Birmingham plainclothes twat.

[Swiss Servator, zum Haus]

No, no! They need to beat innocents and no knock raid non violent folks into submission or Teh Bad Guyz will hurt our HEROES!

[Je suis Woodchipper]

Popehat:

Here the typical subtext is closer to plain text: reporting on, scrutinizing, and criticizing officer use of force puts officers in danger by making them hesitate and second-guess themselves.

This is monstrous gibberish.

A cop made a bad use of force call. Thank God he lived. But a bad use of force call is not a good argument for less scrutiny of use of force. “I have trouble making decisions because of fear of how I will be treated in the media” does not convey “I’m capable of good judgment about the use of force, so you should trust me more.”

[Swiss Servator, zum Haus]

^THIS^

[robc]

I think an easier argument is that its part of the job to sometimes die. You need to be 100% sure you are right before using lethal force, and that often means letting the bad guys get in the first shot.

[Free Society]

And there are those who would shoot first at a toddler with a gun and call it a good shoot. My take is, that part of the job is to accept more risk to your life than a normal person necessarily does. As opposed to part of the job being a right to protect yourself at all costs and then justifying it with a retelling your emotional state days after the encounter.

[R C Dean]

The officer, who has chosen to remain anonymous to protect his family,

Nope. Not allowed. If you are an agent of the state, you cannot be anonymous. No secret police, thanks.

[LynchPin1477]

Pittsburgh Steeler James Harrison said he took his children’s participation trophies away from them because he says he wants them to “EARN a real trophy.”

Has he played for Cleveland, he would have probably been desperate enough to keep those trophies for himself.

[John]

Pittsburgh mostly. So, he is familiar with the idea that just showing up is not good enough.

[LynchPin1477]

I know, that should have said “Had”. I’m a Steelers fan.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Fuck that wife-beating overrated piece of shit. Fuck him hard.

(even if he’s right here)

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Read that yesterday. I agree with him in principle but I’m not gonna go off on it. The kid is five years-old.

[Adans smith]

As a life long Brown’s fan,I am not offended,at all.

[UnCivilServant]

To the one or two who care – my estimate that I might be able to make more than the list price of one of my books trhough borrows proved correct. KU shares for July clocked in at $0.0057 per normalized page (one normalized page is about half a paperback page) or $4.40 for Lucid blue, which retails for $3.99.

So those of you who borrowed July and later – keep doing so. It’s the guys who borrowed June and earlier who cost me money.

People who wrote ‘scamphlets’ (short works scraped from the internet to rake in borrows and game the system) are hopping mad over on the KDP community, but the actual authors are jubilant. (We checked their actual work product before making that declaration).

Have I said that I like doing business with Amazon?

[Jay Dubya]

what on earth are you talking about?

[SugarFree]

Your mom.

[UnCivilServant]

Amazon has a service for borrowing eBooks called ‘Kindle Unlimited’ as incentive for participating (and exclusivity to Amazon), they pay content creators based upon how much their work is borrowed. Before it was a lopsided method which pinged a share whenever the reader hit 10% of your product. A short work could trigger a borrow just by being opened, so some people started churning out a lot of short works with a mind to trick subscribers into borrowing it and getting their share of the payout. This caused the individual value of the shares to erode (the payout is the fund divided by shares). This skewed the products available and lowered customer satisfaction, threatening subscriber rates. To encourage actual books, Amazon changed the share calculation to pages read (information which gets synced whenever the kindle phones home anyway) This means that works that are both longer and read all the way to the end are more valuable to the authors than the short works which had been gold mines before. My work tends to be long and people who start reading have a tendency to finish reading.

[UnCivilServant]

Of course, the people who were scamming Amazon through gaming the system and not producing content that the readers want (all they needed was to trick a subscriber into opening their ‘book’ under the old system) are the one screaming their heads off.

There’s a forum over on Amazon for KDP creators where they’ve been trying to rally real authors to petition Amazon for a change to the old way. When we looked at the portfolio of work for these ‘Authors’, we knew why they were so upset. It was nothing anyone in their right mind would buy, and was tailor-made for scamming the KU fund. Those of us who wrote real books have not been suckered in, because these screeching eels were the very same people who made the payouts under the old system dip so low it was becoming uneconomical to participate.

[commodious spittoon]

I’m not sure what you’re trying to sell here, but it sounds an awful lot like you’re suggesting that Amazon made a business decision that adversely affected their customers and retailers, and then made another decision that may have corrected their mistake. But that’s ludicrous, because there weren’t any laws passed. So how can anything have been fixed?

[JWatts]

“But that’s ludicrous, because there weren’t any laws passed. So how can anything have been fixed?”

Executive Order. Duh!

[UnCivilServant]

I’m not sure what you’re trying to sell here

I’m trying to sell books.

buy borrow my books!

[Jerryskids]

This is one of those things I’m interested to hear about even if I don’t Amazon or Kindle. Amazing that Amazon can introduce a new concept, scammers figure out how to scam it, Amazon figures out how to block the scammers, and neither Amazon nor the scammers are spending a lot of money lobbying Congress to pass a law. (As far as I know.) And all of this is Amazon just being greedy and trying to make a buck but the free market steers their greed into creating a whole new world of opportunity for both writers and readers. If only everybody else was greedy like Amazon.

[Lord Humungus]

Millennials Are Developing Parents’ Taste for Jaguars, Cadillacs

Millennials are developing a taste for expensive — and even luxury — automobiles and taking out cheap leases so they can afford them.

Lexus, Jaguar, Cadillac and Acura are among the top 10 brands leased by millennial buyers, along with other pricey cars like Subaru, Mini and Buick, according to Edmunds.com, an auto pricing website. The 18- to 34-year-old group leases 60 percent of their luxury cars compared with about 50 percent for other buyers, Edmunds says.

The leasing data is more evidence that American millennials — aka Generation Y — like cars after all, defying predictions that they’d shun driving for public transportation or Uber. They are now the second-largest group of new car buyers, after their boomer parents, and will buy or lease almost 2 million vehicles this year.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

That’s why they need a fair, living wage.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

Apparently they also like the single most expensive and uneconomic way of having a car.

[gaijin]

Millennials are developing a taste for expensive — and even luxury — automobiles and taking out cheap leases so they can afford them.

If only they would develop a taste for working jobs that could pay for them.

#GetOffMyLawn

[Jordan]

Auto subprime loans also happen to be in massive bubble right now. Thanks, Fed!

Also, why in the name of all that is holy would somebody pay through the nose for a Detroit shitbox (Cadillac)?

[Restor-woodchipper-as]

So, when the bubble pops I’ll be able to get an F-type cheap? Can’t wait!

[UnCivilServant]

Nope – the government “fix” will mandate they be crushed as part of the bailout.

[Zeb]

Bling.

[John]

That is the first good thing I have heard about the generation. They are apparently not all Prius driving or mass trasit loving hipsters. There might be a little hope for them yet.

[Auric Demonocles]

This millennial views cars as a convenient way to get to point B.

[kinnath]

Since when is Subaru a luxury car?

[Zeb]

Maybe 4 or 5 years. Maybe luxury isn’t exactly the word, but they have gotten way fancier and elaborate. Luxury cars for people who want to look like they drive a simple practical car.
I don’t like it. They are supposed to be simple, well built cars.

[kinnath]

I don’t see it. I was looking at new Subaru pricing last fall, and they are still the most affordable all-wheel drive vehicles on the market.

[Just say Nikki]

Yeah, but folks like this aren’t comparing them to other AWD cars, they’re comparing them to Hyundais and Kias and shit.

[Zeb]

And I am comparing them to older Subarus. I think they peaked in around 1992.

[LynchPin1477]

Yeah I just bought a Subaru Forester because it was one of the most affordable cars in that class of vehicle.

[Just say Nikki]

It was specifically referred to as an “other pricey car,” i.e., not luxury.

[kinnath]

See above. They ain’t that pricey compared to any other new vehicle.

But they do market very hard to “green” buyers.

[Zeb]

Which is funny. They are hardly high fuel economy cars.

I kept seeing the “pzev” thing on newer Subarus and looked into what it means. “Partial zero emission vehicle” is what it stands for. Which apparently just means no evaporative emissions from the fuel tank. Amazing the shit people will go for.

[kinnath]

They are hardly high fuel economy cars.

That is very true. We have an 09 Forrester. It gets about 24 mpg in every day driving (at 2/3rds highway miles). Which is far from great.

But it will plow through 6 inches of new snow every bit as well as my new Xterra.

[Zeb]

They are still excellent cars. But I still say that the 1992 Legacy sedan I used to have (and which lasted until 2010) was far better in the snow than the newer AWD cars they have now. Though the newer ones are probably better if you hit a patch of ice at highway speeds or something like that.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Fellow Republican presidential candidate Lindsey Graham says he doesn’t understand Trump’s rise in the polls…

It helps not being Lindey Graham.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Meh. Close enough.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

So. I was playing chess (on those outdoor boards with the big pieces) while on vacation with my daughter. The conversation, soon in, took a problematic turn.

Rufus’s daughter: Daddy?
Rufus: Speak child.
Daughter: Who’s Ron Jeremy?

Rufus freezes.

Daughter: Is he, like, an actor?
Rufus: You misused your Rook. It doesn’t move diagonally…

[Rich]

Daughter: Never mind. I’m Googling it.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

King: Knight jumps queen!
King: Bishop jumps queen!
King: Pawns jump queen!
King: Gangbang!
Bearnaise: Isn’t the queen a good sport?

[Old Man With Candy]

So, spill the beans. What’s her favorite opening?

/the jokes write themselves

[Just a thought not a sermon]

I saw an RJ film one time where he played a ship’s captain who specialized in seducing the wives of the owners of the other boats in the marina. Another of the characters described RJ as “crafty, nasty, and hairy,” a line that’s always stuck with me. True story.

[Mike M.]

You should have just said Stan Van Gundy’s twin brother.

[Lord Humungus]

Vox: These graphics show just how much of an insane outlier the US is on guns

Despite signs of decline in gun ownership, the US still has a huge number of private guns. In 2012, Americans owned an estimated 270 million guns, almost 42 percent of the total number of civilian-owned guns on the entire planet:

In developed countries, there is a strong correlation between the number of guns and incidences of gun violence. In 2012, the US, which has the most guns per capita, also had the most firearm-related homicides of developed countries. Japan, which has the lowest rate of gun ownership, had the least:

spot the Vox.

[John]

Because the only form of violence is firearm related homicides. And of course every population is exactly the same in the developed world. God those people are fucking stupid.

[Auric Demonocles]

In developed countries, there is a strong correlation between the number of guns and incidences of gun violence.

The fact that they thing this is surprising is literally retarded. (The fact that they think that people should be punished for what other people might do is merely evil.)

[Zeb]

And that doesn’t even get to the stupidity of wanting to be disarmed. The part that amazes me is how readily and often enthusiastically people in other countries have allowed themselves to be disarmed.

[Tejicano]

Explain the example of Switzerland.

[LynchPin1477]

Americans owned an estimated 270 million guns, almost 42 percent of the total number of civilian-owned guns on the entire planet

There is still hope for this country.

[Je suis Woodchipper]

and it’s valued at $1B according to NBCUniversal. fucking morons.

[Fist of Etiquette]

And that’s just Rosie O’Donnell’s bodyguards.

[CJR]

Those “…signs of a decline in gun ownership,” are lefty wish-fulfillment, nothing more.

[Monty Crisco]

“Americans owned an estimated 270 million guns, almost 42 percent of the total number of civilian-owned guns on the entire planet:”

*wipes tear away at the pride he feels*

Let’s not stop til it is 90%!!!! I’m doin my part!!

“In developed countries, there is a strong correlation between the number of guns and incidences of gun violence. In 2012, the US, which has the most guns per capita, also had the most firearm-related homicides of developed countries. Japan, which has the lowest rate of gun ownership, had the least:”

That’s some mighty good sciencin’ right there.

Hope Tony can come along and add to it!!!

[Zeb]

Yeah, we fucking rule.

[Free Society]

In developed countries, there is a strong correlation between the number of guns and incidences of gun violence.

Found it. Similar to the correlation found in island countries between water and drowning deaths.

[R C Dean]

I dunno. If I was living in a country with a noticable level of gun violence, I’d probably want a gun myself.

Oh, wait: I do, and I do!

Fecking idjits.

[Free Society]

“Level of gun violence” isn’t a very informative metric since it’s relative to levels in places that have no guns. The “level of violence” is what you should look at. A country with more cars on the road will have more traffic fatalities than one with fewer. That’s logical, it doesn’t mean the one with fewer fatalities has better drivers or that they wouldn’t be better off if they themselves had more cars.

[Jordan]

Prepare to watch Prog heads explode: Oath Keepers to Arm 50 Black Protesters in Ferguson with AR-15’s

[Je suis Woodchipper]

Q: will they be loaded?

I imagine they’ll have a van at the start of the march distributing the rifles to 50 pre-screened candidates, then collect them at the end of the march. Simple.

This is awesome and the mask will slip from their elected stooges scrambling to shut this down.

[Lord Humungus]

Man kicked out by wife after tattooing six-and-a half inch penis on his thigh

A man previously dubbed the ‘world’s most annoying husband’ has been kicked out by his long-suffering wife after he tattooed a gigantic penis on his own leg.

Stuart Valentino, 34, inked the six-and-a-half inch phallus on his left thigh ? so the end pokes out of his boxer shorts.

But the questionable tattoo is the latest in a long series of pranks that wife Samantha has endured ? and she has now given him the boot from their family home in Southsea.

The father-of-four said: ‘My wife hates it. In retrospect, I’m not surprised, it really is the stupidest thing I’ve ever done.

[LynchPin1477]

gigantic penis…six-and-a-half inch

He thinks 6.5 in is gigantic…I’m starting to think there might be another reason why his wife kicked him out.

[Old Man With Candy]

England.

[Swiss Servator, zum Haus]

OMWC is hereby nominated for this year’s “Most Devastating One Word Post” award.

[lap83]

In fairness, any tattoo penis that can be seen without the aid of a microscope is too big

[Elspeth Flashman]

I know, right?

[Zeb]

If you imagine that it is attached in the normal location inside his shorts and that it is just dangling, it’s pretty huge.

[Rich]

‘I have a constant reminder poking out of my shorts every day of how stupid I’ve been.’

Well, at least you still have both testicles.

[LynchPin1477]

At a dinner this year at Spruce, a restaurant in the Presidio Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, Mr. Obama urged technology executives to focus their philanthropic efforts on helping government become more efficient, giving some the impression that the topic would most likely be a theme of his agenda after leaving office.

Because the best way to make government more efficient is to give it even more money!

That NYT piece is barf-worthy.

[LynchPin1477]

In their conversations with Mr. Obama and his advisers, people from Silicon Valley and Hollywood are pressing for a heavy reliance on cutting-edge technology in the library that would help spread the story of Mr. Obama’s presidency across the globe. Ideally, one adviser said, a person in Kenya could put on a pair of virtual reality goggles and be transported to Mr. Obama’s 2008 speech on race in Philadelphia.

That’s nice and all, I guess, but maybe that kid from Kenya would be better off if his government wasn’t corrupt and he had could eventually open a business.

Nah, what am I saying. The real path to prosperity is a proper memorization of the words of the President.

[Auric Demonocles]

There’s no way that money could be spent differently to benefit someone in Kenya more than getting to see Obama give a speech.

[Rich]

Apollo 14 astronaut claims peace-loving aliens prevented ‘nuclear war’ on Earth

“They told me UFOs were frequently seen overhead and often disabled their missiles,” he added. “Other officers from bases on the Pacific coast told me their (test) missiles were frequently shot down by alien spacecraft.”

“And Hillary told me they wiped here server.”

[Rich]

*her*

[gaijin]

Ideally, one adviser said, a person in Kenya could put on a pair of virtual reality goggles and be transported to Mr. Obama’s 2008 speech on race in Philadelphia.

Who needs dogs when Kenyan’s could have this kind of nourishment for their minds?

[R C Dean]

Jeebus. That’s the highest and best use they can think of for virtual reality?

These people are brain-damaged.

[Jerryskids]

I don’t know – seeing President Obama might be rather educational for that kid. For one, it would teach him where Nigerians got the idea that Americans are the most gullible people on the planet.

[Lord Humungus]

As invasive pythons perk up in the heat, state asks for snake-spotting help

“Burmese pythons are tropical reptiles, so they’re more active in the warm weather and high humidity,” said Liz Barraco, a spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. “They need that heat and that sun to be able to move around and raise their body temperature.”

Barraco said that by August, most python nests have hatched, so females are on the move and famished.

That’s bad news for the small livestock of Miami-Dade County.

On Thursday, the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Venom Response Team was called out to a Redland farm near Southwest 208th Avenue and Southwest 307th Street where a python had eaten one goat and killed another the night before. The consumed goat was “about the size of an average pit bull,” said Lt. Scott Mullin.

[John]

I keep telling Pro, they will never be able to control that army they are building.

[Auric Demonocles]

When you’ve got as much time as Pro Lib, never isn’t that long.

[sarcasmic]

Officer, do you mean a chihuahua pit bull or a mastiff pit bull?

[UnCivilServant]

It was a Hellspawn Mastiff Pit Bull, I’m sure of it. It was spitting flames and everything.

[Jerryskids]

Jesus Christ, that’s the size comparison they gotta use?
“How fast was the snake moving, Officer?”
“Oh, about as fast as a furtive movement toward the waistband, I’d say.”

[R C Dean]

Snake medicine:

http://bondarms.com/bond-arms-…..ke-slayer/

I don’t go into the desert without one. If I lived in Florida, I would keep one handy.

[Lord Humungus]

OT: I have moved all the junk from my old place to the new.

But the floor refinishing guys are still at work on the upstairs bedrooms, so last night, after returning from the northern compound, we had to camp out in the living room.

But the wood floors are looking better. Here is a before and after of the worst room, which had carpet padding glued and stapled down:

Before

After

It still needs a final polish – which is supposed to happen this morning.

[UnCivilServant]

They covered up that floor?

[Lord Humungus]

hey man, it was like *takes a puff* the 70s.

[UnCivilServant]

What was it about that decade that murdered good taste so badly?

[Lord Humungus]

I blame the cocaine. ?

[Zeb]

Oh, people started putting stuff over nice hardwood floors long before the 70s. From the 30s to 60s lots of beautiful wood floors got covered with linoleum.

[commodious spittoon]

I heaped a ton of scorn on the poor old lady (already dead, thankfully) who previously owned the house we moved into. At some point her family covered over beautiful hardwood with a ghastly plush pea-green carpet. But really, in the end, it’s like a generation of Americans left a nice little nest-egg untouched for their children to find. I’m just surprised her kids never thought to dig it out before selling the place.

[Old Man With Candy]

Nice job. Are you putting in acoustical treatment…?

[Lord Humungus]

nah – the design of this house leaves me no man cave spaces. Heck I’m going to have to work out in the garage, or else ditch my workbench and (horrors) get a gym membership. I’ve managed to secure the smallest bedroom as a hobby room – that I will have to share with my wife.

So I can get some work done on my latest projects, but I won’t have the listening space like I used to. That means no more UREI 813A speakers, funky turntables, or non-caged tube amplifiers. 🙁

[Old Man With Candy]

Well, you can always stash your stuff at my place… I’ll take real good care of it. Promise.

[Lord Humungus]

gee thanks, wally!

[R C Dean]

That looks first rate. I like the narrow boards.

Be grateful they covered it up. It was protected from a generation or two of abuse.

[Lord Humungus]

The GOP’s apocalyptic Obama fantasies: Why Cruz & Walker’s economic fear-mongering makes literally zero sense

Part of the disconnect has to do with the White House’s ongoing inability to get the word out about how vastly improved the economy has been since the deepest recession since the Great Depression, which Obama and the Democrats were almost entirely responsible for ameliorating. However, the most obvious reason for the public’s lack of understanding about our current state of economic stability and steady growth has to do with the only thing the Republicans are capable of successfully doing these days, which is marketing their bumper sticker slogans and engaging in coordinated disinformation campaigns.

For instance, the GOP disinformation machine is the primary reason why 53 percent of Americans view Obamacare unfavorably even though, (1) it only impacts a very small percentage of Americans, 70 percent of whom love Obamacare, and (2) most Americans actually support the individual aspects of Obamacare by near-supermajority margins. (This is especially true in Mitch McConnell’s Kentucky.)

Fox News Channel and AM talk radio for the win.

TW: SaLoN

[Juvenile Bluster]

Salon articles are easy to spot, because the derp starts in the headline.

[John]

See my link to the Telegraph article above. Who knows who is right. But, I think the Telegraph is more likely correct than Salon. If so, what will the hacks at Salon do then? Blame Republicans for their evil austerity no doubt. But that is going to be a tough sell to anyone but the real braid dead believers.

[Auric Demonocles]

[Obamacare] only impacts a very small percentage of Americans, 70 percent of whom love Obamacare

Are they defining “impacts” as “gives benefits to”?

[Irish ?s ESB]

If they’re saying it ‘only impacts a very small percentage of Americans,’ they must not be counting all the people who already had insurance and have seen their premiums jump.

So if you just discount all the people who have been hurt by Obamacare, the rest are in favor of it.

[Auric Demonocles]

Breaking: people given free stuff at others’ expense are in favor of program.

[LynchPin1477]

If it only impacts a very small percentage of Americans, why the hell does it cost so much?

[UnCivilServant]

You see, it all hinges upon you you define “impact”. It can only be used in a doubleplusgood manner, so anyone who claims a ‘negative’ impact is ungoodthoughtful and must report to miniluv for consultation.

[LynchPin1477]

Part of the disconnect has to do with the White House’s ongoing inability to get the word out about how vastly improved the economy has been since the deepest recession since the Great Depression

If the vastly improved economy was actually making life easier for people, they wouldn’t need a clever marketing campaign from the White House.

It’s one thing to say that you need to explain the details of some policy proposal. It’s another to say that you need to educate people about why their economic situation doesn’t suck.

[Auric Demonocles]

If you have given up looking for work, clearly you’re doing well?

[Free Society]

which Obama and the Democrats were almost entirely responsible for ameliorating

“Ameliorating” mans that they were mitigating damage, not intensifying it. You’d think this author would know what words mean.

However, the most obvious reason for the public’s lack of understanding about our current state of economic stability and steady growth has to do with the only thing the Republicans are capable of successfully doing these days, which is marketing their bumper sticker slogans and engaging in coordinated disinformation campaigns.

Yes the only the the Republicans are capable of is convincing people of misinformation, what with all of their allies in the media and academia and whatnot helping them constantly despite any evidence. Yeah that’s the ticket…

[JWatts]

The article is red meat to the true believers. It doesn’t have to pass any reality check.

[R C Dean]

[Obamacare] only impacts a very small percentage of Americans,

I love the way they have to minimize OCare now. Remember when it was a big fucking deal? Now its just this little program that only affects a few people. Not even worth the effort to reform . . .

[Lord Humungus]

My home on the Island of Daydreaming Girls ? with Michael Fassbender, Marlon Brando, and Tom Hardy at my side
Romantic fantasy was a shelter from childhood abuse. Have my crushes kept me from intimacy — or expanded my world?

Romantic fantasy has been more than a hiding place, it’s been a burrow: a snug, dry space where I could dream away peacefully, a place where James Dean or Matt Damon would never let me down. I tell a friend that I’d do better in the Hunger Games than on Match.com, and the joke is barbed with truth. I spent my teen years pining after the smart, artsy boys who liked my drawings, but weren’t quite enlightened enough to fancy me over the thinner girls; and my 20s playing sexual bumper cars with a handful of one-night-stands and guys who, like, “just weren’t into labels.” As a thirtysomething, I’ve built a (relatively) calm, solitary life: I go to a day job, then I come home and I write; I spend my weekends with friends. Every so often, I attempt an online dating profile?which soon becomes like the gym in late February, a dead zone haunted by the ghosts of good intentions.

[Rich]

it’s been a burrow: a snug, dry space

Phrasing?

[lap83]

The comments on that article are much too kind. If she wants a relationship she needs to make it happen fast before she’s middle-aged and not with the expectation that he’ll look like anything like Michael Fassbender.

[But Enough About Me]

Good Lord. This woman’s a witling.

[Ken Shultz]

From the link:

“The real push for donations, foundation officials said, will come after Mr. Obama leaves the White House.”

As a taxpayer, I can’t tell you how reassuring that is, but I’m not sure “foundation officials” understand how influence peddling really works. You’re supposed to have someone in the wings that might have some real influence to sell. If Michelle isn’t threatening to run for the White House, then why would people put money on that square?

At this point, you’d have thought Michelle would already be establishing residency in New York State or Massachusetts, although if she still has Illinois residency, that may do just as well. The problem with Illinois is that the corruption is so rife, you can’t sit in any elected official’s chair without exposing yourself to some kind of corruption charge.

Does Obama really think people are going to give him $800 million just because?

[UnCivilServant]

Does Obama really think people are going to give him $800 million just because?

Why not? They handed him the presedency just because.

[Ken Shultz]

No, they expected to get something out of it.

[Ken Shultz]

From elsewhere in the article from the same link:

“Supporters have urged Mr. Obama to avoid the mistake made by Bill Clinton, whose associates raised just enough money to build his library in Little Rock, Ark., forcing Mr. Clinton to pursue high-dollar donors for years to come.”

Yeah, Bill Clinton and the Clinton Foundation are still pursuing high dollar donors, e.g., the governments of Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Algeria, because they’re concerned about the Clinton Library getting up and running the way it should?

How stupid would you have to be to believe this? Either the New York Times’ reporters and editors are the most naive people on the planet, or they’re selling premium grade horse pucky in their newspaper.

[John]

The Clintons were forced to pursue great wealth because their donors didn’t immediately give it to them. That is a curious statement from a leftist newspaper.

[Ken Shultz]

Yeah, the Kuwaitis, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Algeria, those governments aren’t covering their bases to buy influence in a possible Hillary Administration. No siree!

It’s all about the library. Those governments need the Clinton Presidential Library to be successful–for obvious reasons.

[Zaytsev]

How much of the $150 billion that Obama is giving Iran is going to be donated to his ‘foundation’.

I’m guessing at least a billion.

[Rasilio]

My Little Pony: Friendship is Freedom

http://thefederalist.com/2015/…..not-magic/

I’m not really sure how they manage it but in an entertainment industry filled to the brim with SJW’s they keep managing to produce good pieces of libertarian propaganda

[Monty Crisco]

SHOULD I BECOME A BRONY?!?!?!?!

[Rasilio]

Probably couldn’t hurt

[Galactic Chipper Cdr Lytton]

The United States has warned China about sending covert agents into the country to track down Chinese fugitives and recover money acquired through official corruption.

Extraterritorial recovery of assets from ex-pats… where have I heard that one before?

[Ken Shultz]

The article they linked is a gold mine of information:

“The $1 billion ? double what George W. Bush raised for his library and its various programs ? would be used for what one adviser called a “digital-first” presidential library loaded with modern technologies, and to establish a foundation with a worldwide reach.”

A digital-first presidential library?

I hope he’s not using the same people who rolled out the ObamaCare exchanges. Otherwise, millions and millions of Americans will have delayed access to all that important and useful information that the Obama Library is sure to bring to enrich the lives of average Americans. Once the “digital-first” Obama Library is up and running, we’re all gonna wonder how we ever lived without it!

[R C Dean]

I hope he’s not using the same people who rolled out the ObamaCare exchanges.

Oh, c’mon. You really hope that’s exactly who he hires.

[chipper me timbers]

We already have a ‘digital first’ presidential library on Obama. It’s called Google.

Presidential library. What a joke.

[Lord Humungus]

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos Defends Workplace in Response to Article

Amazon said late Sunday that it would not tolerate the “shockingly callous management practices” that were described in an article in the New York Times over the weekend. Jeff Bezos, the retail giant’s founder and chief executive, said he did not recognize the workplace portrayed in the article and urged any employees who knew of “stories like those reported” to contact him directly.

“Even if it’s rare or isolated, our tolerance for any such lack of empathy needs to be zero,” Mr. Bezos said in an email circulated to all the retailer’s employees.

The article gave accounts of workers who suffered from cancer, miscarriages and other personal crises who said they had been evaluated unfairly or edged out rather than given time to recover in Amazon’s intense and fast-paced workplace.

[Galactic Chipper Cdr Lytton]

in the New York Times

NYT writers are slipping. They used to refer to it as The Times, as if there was only one such named paper.

[Tejicano]

Makes me wonder if he a) is still waiting for employees to come forward and “contact him directly” (ie: he doesn’t give a fuck whatsoever), or b) he immediately scheduled a meeting with his HR directors because, well, I dunno, managing that shit to meet his expectations is the ONLY thing they are paid to do.

[Auric Demonocles]

We’ve started discussing another Boston area meetup. This has prompted me to wonder: are the LA reasonoids interested in a meetup around Labor Day? I’m going to be in the area for several days between finishing my hike and flying back.

[Ken Shultz]

Rand Paul should announce that if he’s elected President, he will forgo a library after he leaves office and donate all his crap to the Smithsonian instead.

[commodious spittoon]

Will that include piles of unopened letters from Ron?

[That's A Bingo!]

Donald Trump should announce that after he serves two terms, he’ll buy Hawaii and turn it into his presidential library.

[straffinrun]

The way to save Greece is to go solar. Even if they got it up and going, within a decade they’d probably be in debt to the sun anyways.
http://www.cnbc.com/2015/08/13…..solar.html

[UnCivilServant]

We got this newfangled solar plant. It turns sunlight into cellulose, which we thermally transform into electricity via hydrolic processes…

What do you mean we’re just burning trees?

[straffinrun]

Yeah, we’re hoping He’ll give us the next set of commandments. 11. Thou shalt not be austere.

[straffinrun]

Only this month, Greece signed a memorandum of understanding with Venezuela

What could possibly go wrong?

[SugarFree]

This makes sense. Greece can export the drachma to be used as toilet paper.

[R C Dean]

Win-win!

I like it.

[SugarFree]

This exists: Gluten-Free Singles: Enjoy Life with a GF Partner

[commodious spittoon]

Never having to hear about a date’s gluten “intolerance” is a definite win for the rest of humanity.

[UnCivilServant]

“Are we talking celiac disease or are you just fashionably intolerant?”

[Auric Demonocles]

I would estimate that about 20-30% of my online dates were avoiding gluten. Surprisingly, I think there was 5 who actually had Celiac (more common than I thought, or perhaps some demographic correlation with my preference for pale/redheads?).

[Swiss Servator, zum Haus]

^THIS, THIS, A THOUSAND TIMES THIS^

[Fist of Etiquette]

But what if my semen is full of gluten?

[UnCivilServant]

Then you’re a mutant or a pervert and don’t deserve human companionship.

[straffinrun]

Means your mom isn’t gluten free.

[SugarFree]

His semen is very doughy.

[Auric Demonocles]

Considering my experience with vegans, I think you’d be ok.

[R C Dean]

I dunno – gluten + yeast?

[Lord Humungus]

My brother found his wife via a vegetarian singles ad… I suppose if you were a Gluten-Free fanatic… er… ah…

[Galactic Chipper Cdr Lytton]

My wife has been doing GF. On the plus side, we’ve spent less money on dining out lately.

[Jerryskids]

Wait, your wife’s been doing your GF and there’s less eating out? That don’t make sense.

[R C Dean]

GF = girlfriend?

I mean, good on ya, Commander. I would not have seen the upside in saving money on dining out, though.

[R C Dean]

Enjoy Life with a GF Partner

Well, which is it?

[commodious spittoon]

The United States has warned China about sending covert agents into the country to track down Chinese fugitives and recover money acquired through official corruption.

But the mail-order Chinese bride thing is on the up and up, right?

[Lord Humungus]

“Come see me later, I show you good time!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP9ShgxE2_A

[commodious spittoon]

“Good at meeting you.”

[straffinrun]

I’ve never seen that show before. Thanks.

[straffinrun]

I take that “Thanks” back. Hey, that show was funny. Think I’ll check out another clip.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vhU6YbyPHw

[Lord Humungus]

What you don’t like a big gay man wearing a fat naked woman bodysuit?

[commodious spittoon]

“…Oh.”

[CatoTheChipper]

” Mr. Spielberg was focused on helping to develop a “narrative” for Mr. Obama in the years after he leaves office.”

Wow. A Spielberg narrative will certainly boost Mr. Obama’s authenticity.

[R C Dean]

Mr. Spielberg was focused on helping to develop a “narrative” for Mr. Obama

I vote we be all multi-cultural and take a cue from the Chinese.

Let’s have a narrative where he is pursued around the globe by vengeful federal agents seizing his assets and trying to extradite him back to the US for trial.