A.M. Links: Clinton Should Have Known Emails Were Classified, Sanders Wants to Abolish Private Prisons, Deez Nuts/Warren G '16?

Pockafwye/Flickr

• This past July was the hottest since scientists started keeping track in 1880.
• "I would have Weed Wednesdays in the White House," said Warren G, who is angling to be the great libertarian politician Deez Nuts' running mate.  
• Reuters has found at least 30 email threads from Hillary Clinton's publicly released cache that include content which U.S. regulations say must be "presumed" classified, even if it's not explicitly marked that way.
• Democratic presidential candidate and Vermont senator Bernie Sanders said that he will introduce legislation to abolish private prisons when Congress reconvenes in September. 
• The Italian town of Spino d'Adda, just south of Milan, will begin requiring street-based sex workers to wear high-visibility, construction-worker-style vests at night; they're also prohibited from wearing mini-skirts. 
• The Justice Department told Techdirt reporter Mike Masnick that the request for a gag order on Reason earlier this summer—the same request obtained by Public Citizen in July—did not exist or could not be found. 
• Michigan lawmakers are striking 70-something stupid laws from the state books, including a prohibition on swearing in front of women and children and a ban on dancing to the "Star-Spangled Banner."
• Politico labor reporter Mike Elk, who was very publicly trying to unionize the publication's staff, has been fired; Politico said it "has nothing to do with his union activities." 
• RIP Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

New at Reason: 

• Brickbat: I Thought Justice Was Blind - Charles Oliver
• The Beginning of the End of Religious Freedom: Compelling bakers to bake cakes part of a broader drive to limit faith-based decisions by private businesses. - David Harsanyi
• New California Law Upholds Public Right to Record: Will major civil liberties measure change the way California police behave? - Steven Greenhut
• Review of American Ultra: Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart in a muddled secret-agent comedy. - Kurt Loder

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

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

This past July was the hottest since scientists started keeping track in 1880.

Finally. Proof.

[Slammer]

PICS OR GTFO

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

'This past July was the hottest since scientists started keeping track in 1880.'

So. We're back to calling it global warming again?

[Lord Humungus]

And yesterday it dropped down to 63 degrees. Two days before it was a high of 88. Now that's climate change just Michigan.

[Illocust]

I was hearing something yesterday about us having a weather station giving nearly two degrees higher temp ratings this summer. Apparently they are refusing to eliminate the results they know to be false. Could one station make a difference?

[WTF]

A two degree error in one station could certainly influence the results when they're talking about fractions of a degree overall.

[Illocust]

Well that explains why they refuse to do anything about the bad data. They are probably holding off until the news cycle is over.

[Corning]

"This past July was the hottest since scientists started keeping track in 1880."

Oh Bullshit

http://www.drroyspencer.com/wp.....015_v6.png

Not even the the hottest of the past 18.80 years.

[Free Society]

I was going to say, at least in North America it's been rather cool summer, if not just on the cool end of normal from where I'm sitting.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Politico said it "has nothing to do with his union activities."

"And our HR department is working diligently to find a reason."

[Illocust]

Apparently, it actually didn't. According to the article his coworkers thought he was shit at his job.

[Raven Nation]

Hah! Good advice to all workers: if you're not the best at your job, don't draw attention to yourself.

[Atanarjuat]

No wonder he liked the idea of being in a union, that would make it harder to fire him for incompetence.

[tarran]

In my experience most guys who want a union are shit at their job. That's why they want a union!

The non union steel mill I worked at had a lot of refugees from unionized steel mills. The USWA kept trying to organize them, and I though the organizers were going to be lynched by the guys they were trying to organize. The refugees liked working some place where they were treated like intelligent human beings, where procedures were easily alterable, and where they weren't kicking a huge portion of their income to plutocrats treating the company like a milk-cow.

[commodious spittoon]

This was after someone leaked his internal emails to the conservative Washington Free Beacon, which speculated about Elk's newsroom absences and the fact that only a handful of his stories ran over the course of the year he'd been at Politico. (Elk wrote a piece about his struggles with PTSD after the suicide of a source in a piece for the Huffington Post earlier this week.)

I have no idea who this man is, but this screams drama queen. Your unnamed source committed suicide and you're suffering emotional trauma for it? Sabrina Erdley would have considered herself enormously lucky.

[Illocust]

Getting PTSD from that is completely believable. Someone with PTSD bring it up in completely unrelated conversations is not.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

The Italian town of Spino d'Adda, just south of Milan, will begin requiring street-based sex workers to wear high-visibility, construction-worker-style vests at night; they're also prohibited from wearing mini-skirts.

Great news if you're Italian and that's your fetish.

[straffinrun]

High visiblity miniskirts would be better.

[PM]

High visiblity miniskirts

Is there some other kind?

[straffinrun]

Think runner lights

[PM]

And it's open source hardware too, bless her soul.

[Slammer]

That skirt is so short you practically see her seoul.

[straffinrun]

She has hope in her seoul. In the tub, she has....

[Lee G]

booooooo

[Swiss Servator, Kaffee bitte!]

*narrows gaze*

[straffinrun]

Guess you should've went with Pusan, Slammer.

[Swiss Servator, Kaffee bitte!]

*narrows gaze again*

[commodious spittoon]

In the post, the woman pointed out that she doesn't like existing LED skirts because they are too frilly and only look good on children and Japanese women.

How can she tell?

[Citizen Nothing]

High-visibility construction-worker/hooker vests. I see a market opportunity.

[Lord Humungus]

Someone is a spoilsport

Detroit-area mayor seeks citywide ban on personal flamethrowers due to safety concerns

The companies, located in the Detroit area and Cleveland, claim their devices can be used for recreation or to control weeds and insect hives, clear snow and ice, clear brush and start a bonfire.

Warren Mayor Jim Fouts calls the proposed uses "pretty specious" and "silly," the Detroit Free Press reported. Fouts wants to ban the storage, use and possession of flamethrowers in Warren because he believes the devices are dangerous and could damage property and cause house fires, injury or death.

"You know something like this will be used by bad people for bad things," Fouts said, adding that he thought it was "unthinkable" such a device would be sold to the general public.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Could flamethrowers do anything but improve Detroit? We could just give one to every resident, wait a couple of weeks, and see what happens.

[commodious spittoon]

Reminds me of my favorite line from 30 Rock: "In other global warming news, a tornado hit downtown Detroit, putting out several fires."

[SugarFree]

Because Devil's Night never happened before personal flamethrowers.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Fire it up! Fire it up! Fire it up!

[Private Chipperbot]

Fouts is a dickbag authoritarian. Thankfully he's stuck in that shitty little city.

[Once More Into the Hopper]

I'm just imagining the fun Florida Man could have with one of these.

[Florida Man]

Well I do have a python hunt coming up in January, hmm...

[Swiss Servator, Kaffee bitte!]

"get yer bbq'd python!"

[Don'tTreadOnMeChipper]

I did the last one. Came up empty handed, but had one hell of a good time.

[Florida Man]

Same here.

[Idle Hands]

Warren Mayor Jim Fouts calls the proposed uses "pretty specious" and "silly," the Detroit Free Press reported.

It's as if this luddite has never seen a single sci-fi movie ever.

[WTF]

"You know something like this will be used by bad people for bad things,"

So could pretty much anything, you petty little tyrant.

[Chinny Chin Chin]

...such as the political power he wields

[Zeb]

I assume these "flamethrowers" are the big torch things you attach to a propane tank. They're not really anything new.

[T]

Nope. Uses an RC fuel pump to spray gasoline. It's an honest to god flamethrower.

[Zeb]

I'll be damned. I like how the company lists "recreation" as one of the uses.

[Idle Hands]

I'm in.

[Idle Hands]

It's "only" $900.

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

I wonder what kind of product liability insurance those guys have to carry ...

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Justice Department told Techdirt reporter Mike Masnick that the request for a gag order on Reason earlier this summer?the same request obtained by Public Citizen in July?did not exist or could not be found.

I knew that Matt Welch character was a liar.

[Aloysious]

It was thrown in a woodchipper.

[PM]

U.S. government, police working on counter-drone system - sources

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As concerns rise about a security menace posed by rogue drone flights, U.S. government agencies are working with state and local police forces to develop high-tech systems to protect vulnerable sites, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Although the research aimed at tracking and disabling drones is at an early stage, there has been at least one field test.

Last New Year's Eve, New York police used a microwave-based system to try to track a commercially available drone at a packed Times Square and send it back to its operator, according to one source involved in the test.

[Swiss Servator, Kaffee bitte!]

New York police used a microwave-based system to try to track a commercially available drone at a packed Times Square and send it back to its operator, according to one source involved in the test.

With a citation attached.

[WTF]

As concerns rise about a security menace posed by rogue drone flights, U.S. government agencies are working with state and local police forces to develop high-tech systems to protect vulnerable sites,

Can't have the proles knowing what they're up to.

[Lord Humungus]

How Google Could Rig the 2016 Election
Google has the ability to drive millions of votes to a candidate with no one the wiser.

Research I have been directing in recent years suggests that Google, Inc., has amassed far more power to control elections?indeed, to control a wide variety of opinions and beliefs?than any company in history has ever had. Google's search algorithm can easily shift the voting preferences of undecided voters by 20 percent or more?up to 80 percent in some demographic groups?with virtually no one knowing they are being manipulated, according to experiments I conducted recently with Ronald E. Robertson.

Given that many elections are won by small margins, this gives Google the power, right now, to flip upwards of 25 percent of the national elections worldwide. In the United States, half of our presidential elections have been won by margins under 7.6 percent, and the 2012 election was won by a margin of only 3.9 percent?well within Google's control.

[Citizen Nothing]

So how is Larry Page different from William Randolph Hearst?

[Medical Physics Guy]

This. I bet a similar complaint has been heard in every election since the 1700s.

[Brochettaward]

People have a right to unbiased Google results! A fundamental, uninalienable right! Google didn't build that algorithm!

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

We need the government to start regulating this! Surely they can be trusted to do it correctly.

[CampingInYourPark]

Google's search algorithm can easily shift the voting preferences of undecided voters by 20 percent or more

But can it bend spoons?

[Idle Hands]

What spoons?

[LynchPin1477]

I'm guessing the mechanism is pushing up search results that are favorable to one candidate or the other?

I can actually see that being plausible.

[Brochettaward]

I'm guessing that they just want to regulate Google. Google neutrality. The progressives have been trying to put the strangle hold on the unfettered internet for at least a decade and a half now.

[Overt]

I'm guessing that they just want to regulate Google

This. Google and all of Silicon Valley used to be reliable Democrat stooges. However, that was when Bush was in charge. Now these bastions of liberal elites- sourced from Berkley and its likes- have seen what happens when the Tyrant du Jour has a D next to their name. They are being pilloried by marxists in San Francisco because they are rich. The NSA is targeting their babies- the systems most have spent entire careers building.

I've watched the internal email lists at companies like Google, and there has been a major shift in sentiment. They are still hopelessly liberal, but they also HATE central control and inefficient bureaucracy. Rather than being soldiers of the Democratic party, these technocrats see themselves as its natural leaders. They want to run the show, and ideological questions that leave some politician in control of their lives are viewed with more and more skepticism.

Power brokers and activists outside Silicon Valley saw the mini-revolt that occurred with the Snowden leaks. They are now moving to keep these valuable dogs on a leash. This is the first shot across the bow.

[Medical Physics Guy]

They are still hopelessly liberal, but they also HATE central control and inefficient bureaucracy.

Libertarian moment!

[WTF]

Although I would guess the effect pales in comparison to the influence of the mainstream media.

[LynchPin1477]

I don't think it's a separate influence. Google *could* show stories from regular media outlets that are favorable to one candidate or less favorable to another.

I'm not saying that they do. But they could. And I could see lots of people, especially younger voters, getting information on a candidate by typing their name into Google and clicking on the first few links, or simply using Google News instead of seeking out specific websites.

[The Last American Hero]

Given that the reporter has never heard of the electoral college, I'm throwing a yellow flag on shit reporting.

[Rt. Hon. Judge Woodrow Chipper]

That's what I came to say. A better reporter would write something about why delegates don't split their votes anymore.

[Not a Libertarian]

As Google would/could only "rig" the election towards progressive candidates, I don't see why Poltico would be complaining.

I think Google employees gave financial support in roughly a 10-1(!) ratio to progressive candidates in the last several cycles.

[Overt]

See my comments above. Google and other tech companies are in liberal enclaves like San Francisco/the Bay Area. However, they are very anti-authoritarian. Look at trends like DevOps and Google's internal structure- very flat (not a huge chain of managers, directors, VPs, SVPs, etc but rather 5 or fewer levels). They still want to control everyone's life, but they believe they can do it in a grass roots, decentralized manner- much like Communism was supposed to be.

While they share many prog values, the technocrats in Silicon Valley have way different methods. Those methods are very destabilizing to establishment democrats. They are a growing power within the party, and that worries members of the Democrat political class. Their lapdogs in traditional media are eager to put techies in their place. Those academics and journalists have long been disrupted by the tech revolution and thus have found common cause with the oligarchs in the party who want to pull all the strings.

[Mike M.]

Google and other tech companies are in liberal enclaves like San Francisco/the Bay Area. However, they are very anti-authoritarian.

Yeah, right. That's why they help mine data and spy on us for the government and are building Terminator-style killer robots.

Google is one of the most pro big government, authoritarian companies on the planet. Anyone who thinks otherwise is insane.

[Overt]

This is completely untrue. When the Snowden revelations came out, they lost their collective shit there. They mine data for customers, not for the government. And when the government comes demanding customer information they fight every single instance to the best of their ability. They were the first to post data on government demands of data, specifically to show how the power is being abused, and they are constantly lobbying for legislation that shortens the non-disclosure times imposed by the government.

Go look at Reason-friendly organizations like EFF, and you will find that the majority of its membership are from the Googles, Facebooks and Yahoos of the world.

As I noted above, they are still unabashedly liberal. But they are the kind of liberal Democrats have come to fear.

[Somalian Road Corporation]

EFF has done a lot of good work... but then there's so-called "net neutrality".

[Frank Frankelson]

To be fair, they are located in the bay area, where the choices are limited to progressive and progressive.

[Lord Humungus]

The Self-Driving Tesla Model S: Autopilot And 'Summoning' In Focus

Autopilot version one hardware: The current autopilot version-one hardware consists of a forward radar, a forward camera, and 360-degree ultrasonics that go out to about 5 meters or roughly 16 feet around the car, according to Musk, speaking At the 2015 Tesla annual shareholder meeting in June. Musk elaborated on that a bit this month during the company's second-quarter earnings conference call. "The?highway autopilot essentially is using a combination of the forward camera, forward radar, the sight ultrasonics, and then the GPS navigation system. So it integrates those four systems in order to do auto steer on the highway," he said.

Summoning: Press the summon button "and your car will come and find you," Musk told reporters back in March. "Press that button again and it will put the car in your garage," he added. Musk also mentioned at the June shareholder meeting that autopilot version one allows "cool features like?being able to summon the car on private property." Your smartphone (or possibly a wearable like a smart watch) would control the summoning function.

[expat]

To the Batmobile!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

So, is Tesla for the person with disposable income who wants to be vainly seen on the cutting edge of environmentalism?

[Zeb]

From what I've heard, they are pretty fun to drive too. But I'm sure the core market is as you describe.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Democratic presidential candidate and Vermont senator Bernie Sanders said that he will introduce legislation to abolish private prisons when Congress reconvenes in September.

The criminal justice system doesn't need its choice of so many different prison facilities.

[Lord Humungus]

single-payer prison

[Princess Trigger]

You know who else was sorry he privatized the camps?

[Swiss Servator, Kaffee bitte!]

Lord Baden-Powell?

[WTF]

Are private prisons somehow measurably worse than the state and federal prisons? If not, what is the problem he thinks he is addressing by abolishing them? The private prisons didn't actually arrest and convict the inmates, after all.

[Atanarjuat]

No, but they can lobby for longer sentences and whatnot. Just like a public prison's correction officer's union...

[commodious spittoon]

Signaling. Also, this specious nonsense about private prisons preventing criminal law reforms, which is totally more effective than defense attorneys or police unions or prison guard unions or municipalities agitating against even token reforms.

[Somalian Road Corporation]

Agreed. I find that the same people who work themselves into a lather over private prisons are completely incapable of seeing how prison guard unions create exactly the same set of incentives they claim to find unacceptable.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

If there's a judge accepting contributions or straight payola for sending people to prison that would otherwise not go, there could be a problem.

I find it telling that Sanders goes after the private actors en masse rather than the corrupt pubsec actors individually, however.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

A lot of these idiots don't realize that private prisons only came to be when judges started ordering the feds to do something about massive overcrowding and abuse. I'm not a fan of the current system of contracting out prisons, but abolishing them won't accomplish much, if anything. It will likely lead to either more overcrowding, or releasing more prisoners.

[PM]

Caitlyn Jenner could face misdemeanor manslaughter charge in car crash

Los Angeles (CNN)The police investigation into a deadly four-car accident involving Caitlyn Jenner is finished and the results could lead to a misdemeanor manslaughter charge against the reality television star, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's detective said Thursday.

"Jenner's case is going to go to the district attorney next week to see if it is worthy of a misdemeanor violation for involuntary manslaughter," Det. Richard Curry said.

[SugarFree]

I hear someone named Bruce caused that crash. Why isn't he being charged?

[tarran]

Not Bruce. BRUCE! Different legal entity.

[KDN]

The AP article contains an explanatory sentence. CNN assumes their readers haven't been living under a rock.

[Spoonman.]

Wasn't there a bad DS9 episode about this?

[Florida Man]

Wait, there is misdemeanor manslaughter?

Also PM I got the Pyrat XO and I heartily approve. The flavor profile is similar to Ron Zacapa. You should try it. They are within a dolar of each other in price.

[PM]

Nice. My ISP decided to take a shit while I was composing my reply, but I will definitely grab a bottle of the Ron Zacapa on my next run.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I don't think this will impact the idiotic Caitlyn is a hero narrative.

[Lord Humungus]

Swedish beaver knocks out power for thousands

"The little rascal. It is really something that should not be able to happen," Peter Stedt, a spokesperson for Swedish energy giant Vattenfall, told The Local when the source of the problem was revealed on Wednesday.

Workers had already been busy clearing trees and branches in the area after an inspection of the 40-metre wide power line corridor in 2013 showed that they were at risk of falling on the wires ? but the beaver got there first.

"Yes, but he felled in the wrong direction, so we're going to have to have a word with him," joked Stedt.

[straffinrun]

They should tear him new asshole for that.

[Swiss Servator, Kaffee bitte!]

Swedish energy giant

Is there such a thing?

[Dark Lord of the wood chipper]

Ymir?

[Swiss Servator, Kaffee bitte!]

*applause*

[Not a Libertarian]

Not that this gay man here knows anything about it

But I hear that Swedish Beaver is a powerful thing.

[KDN]

Spino d'Adda is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Cremona in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 25 kilometres (16 mi) southeast of Milan and about 50 kilometres (31 mi) northwest of Cremona. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 6,368 and an area of 19.9 square kilometres (7.7 sq mi).

The three prostitutes working the streets are absolutely furious over these new, heavy-handed regulations.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

'...Politico said it "has nothing to do with his union activities."

Caught having sex with the maid, huh.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

Was that wrong?

[Pan Zagloba]

Only if neither he nor maid were French.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Michigan lawmakers are striking 70-something stupid laws from the state books...

And combining them into one giant comprehensive stupid law.

[Lord Humungus]

Local woman purchases car, finds four urns inside

Davidson said the 1997 SUV was packed with junk, which she wasn't allowed to go through before she purchased the car. The Bonney Lake woman paid about $700 for the vehicle at Pro-Tow in Auburn, and then took it home to check the condition.

"To find clothes or junk and trash is one thing, but to find somebody's urn and family members -- it was a little bit different," she said

Davidson found four urns buried under old photo albums, social security documents, a journal, and more. Three of the urns appear to contain human remains; the fourth, labeled 'Cha-Cha,' looks like it holds a pet, she said.

[Fist of Etiquette]

...which she wasn't allowed to go through before she purchased the car.

Good idea. I'm sure the cops would only partially ruin your life if you got stopped on the way home with a newly-purchased vehicle packed with drugs that you didn't know were there.

[Zeb]

But if you went through it first, you probably wouldn't be able to keep the drugs, so it's a tough call.

[Derpetologist]

Spot the Not: the oldest trick in the book

1. This Muslim king released flaming birds into an enemy city to destroy it.

2. This Viking warrior released flaming birds into an enemy city to destroy it.

3. This queen released flaming birds into an enemy city to destroy it.

4. This Mongol released flaming birds and cats into an enemy city to destroy it.

5. This country considered releasing bats with firebombs to burn enemy cities.

6. This Chinese general released flaming oxen into an enemy city to burn it.

[tarran]

2. Not metal enough for the Vikings.

[straffinrun]

2. Herschel Walker was a cowboy, not a bird.

[Swiss Servator, Kaffee bitte!]

I remember reading about 4...so I will have to join with the others in 2.

[Dark Lord of the wood chipper]

I remember reading about 2. I'm gonna say 4, I think the Mongols thing was to throw diseased corpses into cities.

[The Shrubber's Woodchipper]

From Dan Carlin's Hardcore History on the Mongols, they would cut the fat from dead bodies, ignite it, and throw it into the walled cities, burning the thatched roofs.

[Derpetologist]

I will have to cut this one short. 1 is the Not. The rest in order are Harald Hardrada, Olga of Kiev, Genghis Khan, the US, and Tian Dan. Hannibal also used the flaming oxen trick.

More on the bat bomb: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat_bomb

In 6, I mistakenly said he used the oxen to take a city. Actually, he used them to defend a city.

[commodious spittoon]

You're not double-dipping with #3, are you? Because it wasn't a city the first time around.

[commodious spittoon]

Refresh, refresh.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

"The Italian town of Spino d'Adda, just south of Milan, will begin requiring street-based sex workers to wear high-visibility, construction-worker-style vests at night; they're also prohibited from wearing mini-skirts."

On the plus side, they'll be able to wave through traffic at construction sites.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Feminists slut-shame woman in Planned Parenthood videos, disclose details of her sex interests

The article has since been deleted but basically the people Rh Reality Check cannot comprehend a person having an interest in kink and also opposing Planned Parenthood's fetal organ harvesting.

[Irish ?s ESB]

RH Reality Check is a terrible website. They're also the ones who said you shouldn't call American Christians the Christian Taliban because it's offensive to Muslims.

I saw it on posters last summer at the Texas capitol, during protests against the state's omnibus anti-abortion law: "TEXAS TALIBAN." I've heard pundits and preachers on cable news, decrying the "American Taliban" that wants to take away birth control and abortion access.

These phrases aren't clever, and they aren't insightful. They're racist, and they're Islamophobic, and people?especially white people?who work in social justice movements and who do advocacy for women's rights need to stop using them yesterday.

[Irish ?s ESB]

They're also paranoid, delusional nutcases on the order of the Jade Helm conspiracy theorists.

Imagine that a little-known but increasingly powerful group of ideologues had hatched a plan to transform the United States into a Christian theocracy harkening back to the Dark Ages of Europe, a time when society was governed by the laws and officials of the Catholic Church.

Suppose further that this plan had a scary simple strategy: Recruit bright, young law students; put them through an intensive indoctrination program; place them in plum internships across the country; and watch as they swim upstream until they reach the top of the legal system, where they can create, enforce, and interpret laws according to a legal philosophy infused with fundamentalist Christian theology.

It's about the Blackstone legal fellowship, which is a Christian organization that has 1300 alumni since 2000. So they have under 100 alumni annually and they're returning us to Dark Age Europe.

[John]

If you can't get an abortion and let pp part out your dead baby, you have no sexual freedom. They engage in some solid reasoning there.

[Notorious UGCC]

"a Christian theocracy harkening back to the Dark Ages of Europe, a time when society was governed by the laws and officials of the Catholic Church."

Ooh, I like it! Tell me more...

/sarc

[John]

There are no pictures. What does she look like? Is she cute and freaky?

[commodious spittoon]

Cute and freckly would be good, too.

[Once More Into the Hopper]

Florida Woman jailed for Disorderly Intoxication Flashes Judge at Bond Hearing

Bond was set at $100, so I guess he saw the light(s)

[Fist of Etiquette]

...which U.S. regulations say must be "presumed" classified, even if it's not explicitly marked that way.

Depends on what your definition of the word "presumed" is.

[Atanarjuat]

Clinton is probably happy we're talking about when some email was classified, instead of how she was selling everything not nailed down to foreign interests.

[KerryW]

A Secretary of State must know that they will receive some info that would be considered classified, so if you use a private server you know there will be classified info on it. To claim there wasn't (or to say that it wasn't marked as classified) is beyond stupid.

[Lord Humungus]

Democratic Blues
Barack Obama will leave his party in its worst shape since the Great Depression?even if Hillary wins.

Taken as a whole, these six years have been almost historically awful for Democrats. You have to go back to the Great Depression and the Watergate years to find so dramatic a reversal of fortunes for a party. And this time, there's neither a Great Depression nor a criminal conspiracy in the White House to explain what has happened.

Some of the party's national erosion may well have been inevitable. The transformation of the South from a one-party Democratic region to a (virtual) one-party Republican region accounts for some of the losses to the Democratic ranks. That 2010 election gave Republicans in nine states control over redistricting, which gave them more seats in the U.S. House and state legislatures four years later. And the dramatic fallout in support from white working-class voters can be explained, in some progressives' eyes, by a failure to address the plight of what was once the party's base.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Their best hope is for a Republican to get in. Each administration is swinging the pendulum swiftly back the other party's way.

[Illocust]

So we are just ignoring Obamacare in this analysis.

[Brochettaward]

Yet Moody's has already predicted a Democratic victory based on this sterling economic recovery. I would really like to see the metrics they use.

[John]

The metric is what predictions keep the Obama DOJ from indicting them.

[straffinrun]

And the dramatic fallout in support from white working-class voters

Keeping people from entering the work force in the first place can reverse that.

[forcipule]

It's due to overreach. The last four periods where a party has controlled the House, Senate, and presidency were 4, 2, 5, and 2 years long. (Dems in 1977-81, 1993-95, and 2009-11, Repubs in 2002-07 [special election caused the off-year switch]) The Republicans' fall from their high water mark of control after the 2004 elections to utter irrelevance after the 2008 elections was just as dramatic.

[Lord Humungus]

When the Democrats got all three - senate/house/prez - in 2008, they went batshit crazy with legislation. They could have had a longer run if they had throttled back a bit. But as you said - overreach. When Obamacare passed it seemed - I imagine - completely out-of-step with what the electorate wanted, some type of "answer" to the recession.

[The Last American Hero]

Based on the articles I read in 2007, they explained that the country was now facing a permanent Democratic majority, since Team Red was just a bunch of old white guys. Kind of like the articles I read in 2005 telling us about the permanent Team Red majority that was unbreakable - until 2006. I also love the gerrymandering bit - because that never occurred until 2010, except it's been an issue since before the Constitution was even written.

[Lord at War]

Not to mention the biggest gerrymandering is due to the Voter Rights Act- that mandates "minority- majority" districts so that we have some black congresspeople- Republicans love that shit.

[commodious spittoon]

And the dramatic fallout in support from white working-class voters can be explained, in some progressives' eyes, by a failure to address the plight of what was once the party's base.

Or maybe it's the constant, bitchy recriminations for racial and sexual and classist grievances?

[Idle Hands]

Democratic presidential candidate and Vermont senator Bernie Sanders said that he will introduce legislation to abolish private prisons when Congress reconvenes in September.

If you think prison is expensive now, wait till it's free.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Haven't read: Scientists who found gluten sensitivity evidence have now shown it doesn't exist.

http://www.sciencealert.com/sc.....mitstart=1

[Idle Hands]

Shocking development.

[commodious spittoon]

Gluten is a big industry: 30 percent of people want to eat less gluten. Sales of gluten-free products are estimated to hit $US15 billion by 2016.

Although experts estimate that only 1 percent of Americans - about 3 million people - actually suffer from celiac disease, 18 percent of adults now buy gluten-free foods.

That's the shocker.

[Lord Humungus]

Feds Hide Fiscal Details About Vast Operation To Resettle Illegal Alien Minors

For instance, New York's Hempstead School District, which is a 96 percent black and Hispanic district, had about 6,700 students dispersed amongst its 10 schools and usually receives an average of a couple hundred new students every year. "However, last summer's enrollment skyrocketed to about 1,500 new kids ? most of them undocumented immigrants." Fox News Latino writes, "The crush of new enrollees left the district scrambling, forcing it to dip into its emergency reserves to shell out more than $6 million to hire more English as a Second Language teachers and additional staff to alleviate overcrowded classrooms. Still, it has not been enough. The average classroom in the district now has about 40 to 50 children and [as one teacher explained is] posing a safety issue? 'You have to understand,' [one teacher said], 'many of the children are not even proficient in their native language, Spanish, and now we have to teach them how to speak English. That can be very difficult.'"

[John]

But Obama is not open borders. No one is open borders.

[tarran]

John, no matter how desperately and frequently you repeat your lies, you will never convince more than a handful of the most deluded that they are truth.

But do keep trying. It's doing *wonders* for your reputation.

[John]

Obama is secretly resetting tens of thousands of aliens but is not open borders. You can define any term to absurdity, which is what you are doing here. No one is really open borders just like no one is really no true Scottsman. That is all you are doing here. That and yelling invective, like every open borders advocate does.

[tarran]

No John, I've been pointing out with sitations all the untruths you have been declaiming,

You can call that invective if you want. And, afterr having your face rubbed in it, the fact you keep putting out those turds makes it willfull.

Making you a liar.

Obama wants to expand the welfare rolls by importing a population that will be structurally unemployable.

He is not attempting to change the rules that keep out skilled people. He is not relaxing them by dictatorial fiat.

By your metric, Obama is a Reagan supporter. After all there is more overlap between Obama's policies and Reagan's as there are between Obama's policies and opening the borders.

Keep trying!

Your reputation is getting more enhanced by the day!

You might even get it to Dondero levels by January at this rate!

[The Last American Hero]

Hey now, call a man dishonest, call him a Reagan supporter if you must, but that Dondero comment is over the line pal.

[Lord Humungus]

insert obligatory DONDERO and exclamation point here

[Swiss Servator, Kaffee bitte!]

DONDEROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[John]

You are just redefining the term "open borders" to cut out anyone you don't like. You can define the term however you like. It is a relative term. I just find your definition to be ridiculous.

[KDN]

Warren G, who is angling to be the great libertarian politician Deez Nuts' running mate.

His only hit, Regulate, is actually a parable about involving oneself with the state. Nate Dogg represents the coming of anarchist revolution, whereby the people "regulate" the state instead of vice versa.

[Crusty Juggler]

Mount up

[Lord Humungus]

Paul Krugman laughs at Rand Paul for unintentionally hilarious condemnation of 180 years of economic growth
The United States has been hounded by "fiscal scolds" like Paul for too long

New York Times columnist Paul Krugman took time in his Friday column to argue against the notion that public debt has a negative impact on national economies.

Responding to an unintentionally funny statement by Rand Paul ? "The last time the United States was debt-free was 1835? ? Krugman wondered how it's possible that Paul believes America's economy has been sputtering for the past 180 years. "Is the point simply that public debt isn't as bad as legend has it?" he asked. "Or can government debt actually be a good thing?"

He answers that question by noting that public debt typically pays for "useful things," like infrastructure, which is something that the United States should be investing in given historically low interest rates.

[Idle Hands]

ROADZZZ!!!

[Juvenile Bluster]

Krugman's involved in years-long performance art to see how far he can go until somebody realizes he's trolling, right?

[SugarFree]

Krugman's laugh must be an ugly thing, like a baboon fucking a jackal.

[Swiss Servator, Kaffee bitte!]

I larfed....and it only hurt a little.

[Brochettaward]

Krugman ignores that most of the top men he worships admit that debt acts as a drag on future growth. Especially when it gets to the level it currently sits at.

[Medical Physics Guy]

Only Krugman and ilk could possibly believe that government debt policy is the prime driver of America's economy for the last 150 years. It might just as easily have been sandbagging other more powerful growth processes during that time. Perhaps without the debt we'd be in hypergrowth right now.

[Brochettaward]

One could very easily chart economic growth to debt to see if there is any correlation. I have a feeling after that Krugman would want to get nuanced and deal with particulars.

[Medical Physics Guy]

Maybe there is a correlation, I just think it is no more likely to be causative than a million other correlations. But Krugman cannot imagine economic success without aggressive government involvement.

[Brochettaward]

There isn't a correlation.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Would Krooooogman laugh at Obama for all the stupid shit he says?

[Irish ?s ESB]

That is an immensely stupid argument. America has seen high amounts of economic growth because of capitalism, just like every other capitalist country. If debt were a driver of economic growth, then you would expect countries with higher spending to be doing better than countries with less spending, which is not the case.

[tarran]

The people who think Krugman is insightful tend not to be the sharpest knives in the toolshed.

[WTF]

You mean, Greece doesn't have a booming economy, driven by their enormous debt?!

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

Japan has had 30 years of fantastic growth, all thanks to listening to Krugman!

[Atanarjuat]

Even without a trigger warning, I just assume all your links are to painful Salon derp now.

[Lord Humungus]

only two of them. Guess which ones.

[The Last American Hero]

Hey, you've got a mortgage and a car loan and are doing OK, so it should be no problem maxing out your credit cards, taking out a second mortgage, and paying a visit to the payday loan place too.

/Nobel fucking prize winner?

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

Isn't it pretty much settled now by real, professional economists that too much debt WILL slow growth? Fuckin' Krugman. What a sad, partisan man.

[Rt. Hon. Judge Woodrow Chipper]

Even the things Krugman calls infrastructure were mostly built privately originally. Private firms took on debt to build stuff, went broke, and were bailed out and dissolved by government.

This is true of just about every mass transit system in American cities and many bridges. Of course, most of the reason the private transit companies went broke was government regulation of service and prices. Government operates these things even worse than their previous private operators, but the ability to steal and counterfeit money covers up some of the government incompetence.

[PM]

North Korea orders troops on war footing after exchanging fire with South

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered his frontline troops to be on a war footing, after an exchange of fire with the South across their heavily fortified border, state media report.

The KCNA report said Mr Kim declared a "semi-state of war" at an emergency meeting late Thursday.

It threatened action unless Seoul ends its anti-Pyongyang border broadcasts.

The North often uses fierce rhetoric when tensions rise and it has made similar declarations before.

[Rasilio]

Haven't they been in a semi state of war for like 60 years now?

Also Kim has got to realize that the only thing stopping Seoul from just crushing his puny ass even without US help is China right?

[sloopyinTEXAS]

Any Nork offensive will end at the first grocery store.

[Pan Zagloba]

It's more likely that it'll become a berserk, murderous rampage at the first grocery store. Red Army soldier's interviews about their reaction when they entered East Prussia and actually saw what Germany was like are harrowing read. And that was after only 25 years of Communist rule, with difference in wealth levels being lower than the one between North and South.

[Rasilio]

Yeah because based on the Korean Gorcery store near here (H-Mart) traffic will be so bad that they'll be stuck in gridlock.

Imagine a store a little larger than your average groceery store, now give it the same size parking lot that your average CVS has and fill that parking lot with 90% Korean drivers and the remainder being white upper middle class Soccer moms in huge ass SUV's

[Lord Humungus]

Republicans for Bernie Sanders: Why the democratic socialist is sweeping his home state
Ann Coulter is convinced Bernie is more of a lock to win the presidency than Hillary. She may be right

Ann Coulter knows who she wants to be the Democratic nominee for president, and who that person is, well, it may surprise you.

She wants Hillary Clinton to be the nominee, and thinks that if Bernie gets the nod, he'll beat whoever the Republicans come up with to run against him.

You won't hear me say this often, but Ann Coulter is right.

If Bernie Sanders ends up being the Democratic nominee for president, and it looks more and more every day like he will be, his Republican opponent is going to have a very hard time beating him.

And that's because of all the Democratic candidates running, Bernie Sanders has the best chance of capturing Republican votes.

[John]

If the Republicans run some douche bag crony hell bent on amnesty, Sanders will win. No matter how hard reason lies to itself, open borders is a loser position.

[Idle Hands]

Immigration depending on what poll you look at is between the 4-6 most important issue for people.

[John]

Does not matter. It commands more single issue voters who will change sides based on it. I bet gun rights isn't high on the list with but good luck running on gun control.

[Idle Hands]

That is pure speculation on your part. The issue of "Immigration reform" seems to mean alot of things to alot of different people.

[John]

Since we haven't had the election, sure it is. But everything is speculation at this point. The point is that it is not unreasonable speculation and Coulter isn't a troll for saying it.

[Idle Hands]

In other words the socialist will not win and this is further evidence of the caliber of troll that Ann Coulter is.

[John]

Sanders would get 90% plus of the Democratic vote and likely a third of the Republican voters who are single issue immigration voters. That is not an implausible scenario at all.

[Idle Hands]

Once again I have to disagree with you, your projecting that immigration will be THE key issue of an election that is 1 year away. disregarding the electorates feelings on the issue itself which is varied, a million things could happen between now and than up to and including Iran testing a bomb or another recession.

[John]

I think for a percentage of the electorate it will be. And those people will vote on that issue alone. They won't care that Sanders is a socialist because they figure the republicans will sell them out anyway.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

The "key issues" won't be determined until the primary season ends and the general begins. Only then will the MSM be able,to,determine what it wants,to,be the key issues in order to assist their Team. If it's Hillary, the key issues become "equality for women" and foreign policy experience (since she'll supposedly have more). If it's Bernie, the key issues become income inequality and CEO compensation.

This is basic stuff, people. It's been done every cycle since probably 1992. It's just that the Team Red candidate has overcome it twice.*

*Unless you are an idiot that believes the Supreme Court handed Bush one election and let him steal another one.

[Dallas H.]

^THIS!

[The Last American Hero]

Horse shit. When Bernie presents his pinko bonifides in the debate and advocates for single payer, he will have handed Team Red the win.

[Not a Libertarian]

I think that you are assuming that Democratic voters would not vote for Sanders in their normal Presidential year intensity and under-assuming the attraction that Sanders might hold to a good percentage of Independent voters.

Single Payer and other socialist ideas are certainly closer to the mainstream voters than they were 20 years ago.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Women Rangers Should Be Able to Lead the Way

Tomorrow, two women will boldly go where no woman has ever gone before -- across the stage at Fort Benning, Georgia, the first in history to graduate from the grueling and prestigious Army Ranger School. This will be an historic day for women, particularly for women in the military. These two women have proved what many of us have argued for years -- that if given the chance, there are women who can hold their own with the most elite warriors in our military, and that all the barriers to women achieving their full potential in the military should come down.

Yeahhhhh, noooooo. While I think they should be allowed to try to become an actual Ranger, the fact is if 75% of the men in their graduating class can't hack it the chance these two women can are basically nil. Graduating Ranger school doesn't make you a Ranger, it means you're qualified to attempt to join the actual Ranger outfit.

And of course if we are going to lift the restrictions on combat roles, all women at 18 should be required to register for the Selective Service like the guys.

[Derpetologist]

"And of course if we are going to lift the restrictions on combat roles, all women at 18 should be required to register for the Selective Service like the guys."

Shouldn't women be registered already since most military jobs are open to them?

I would love to hear a feminist explain why women should be allowed in combat but not subject to a possible draft.

[John]

If we ever have a real war with mass casualties again, our population would not recover because so many of our young woman would be dead.

[Irish ?s ESB]

Yes, but that argument wouldn't fly with feminists since what, do you think women just exist to make babies, cishetero patriarch shitlord?

[Zeb]

I kind of have to agree with them there (as long as there is no draft). If women choose to be soldiers rather than mothers, that's no one else's business. We don't collectively own women's reproductive potential.

[John]

Sure we can do that. But understand your country pretty much cease to exist a generation or two after the first war where there is real casualties.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

It takes two generations. Ask England to look at their national identity and native reproductive levels two to three generations after WW2.

But be sure to ask them in Arabic and Hundi if you're in London.

[Zeb]

Well, let's hope we don't get into a war with mass casualties, then.

[LynchPin1477]

We could always just allow more immigrants in 🙂

[Joshua]

Then it doesn't deserve to exist.

[Rasilio]

No definitely not just to make babies.

I mean there is blowjobs too

[Swiss Servator, Kaffee bitte!]

I name thee the Male Nicole....worst...

[lap83]

That's why we have to elect Hillary, we need a compassionate woman president who will make wars a thing of the past! (I can't even type that with a straight face)

[Doctor Whom]

Someone actually told me that since Selective Service is a responsibility rather than a right, it doesn't come within the concept of equal rights. No, really.

[Zeb]

I would actually agree with that, as far as it goes. It does come within the concept of equality under the law, though.

[Illocust]

None of this would be a problem if they would just hold women to the same standards as men. Eventually you'll get some testosterone fueled freak of nature with an XX chromosome that can hack it with the boys without special treatment required. She can be your poster girl and practically no one will complain because she earned it. They've got numbers and time on their side, it's stupid to be taking short cuts like they are.

[Somalian Road Corporation]

Holding them to the same standards is sexist and bigoted if the results don't produce a population-proportional field of candidates.

Spend some time around the crazier Millenials and you'll run into people who have been so conditioned into thinking that "everyone is equal in absolutely every way" that simple statements of fact such as "men are generally physically stronger than women" drives them into an apoplectic fit of denial.

[Irish ?s ESB]

I think they've changed it by now, but on the wikipedia page for sexual dimorphism there used to be a subsection clearly written by a radfem that claimed male advantages in upper body strength are a social construct and linked to random articles in feminist journals as 'proof.'

[WTF]

Sure, that's why sports are segregated between men and women. Because the differences are just social constructs.

[Free Society]

I for one would be happy to see the WNBA and the NBA merge into a single organization. Taking feminism to it's logical conclusion, since women are so equal, perhaps even superior, they should have no trouble competing with men in professional sports.

[Somalian Road Corporation]

You jest but I've actually heard that argued earnestly quite a lot as of late.

I have a friend who is a 5'1" maybe 95 lbs. girl who seriously believes that because she's been taking self-defense classes that she's going to be able to easily overpower some guy more than twice her size with ill intent ("I'll just kick him in the balls"). Shockingly, she's a big Joss Whedon fan.

Normally in these cases I try to advocate getting a gun, but she said straight-out that she'd be concerned with herself using it irresponsibly, so, yeah, I hope she's lucky enough that she never gets a hard reality check.

[The Shrubber's Woodchipper]

My mother relates a story of taking a self-defense class as a young woman. At the third class the instructor told them that they were foolish if they thought that they would be able to physically resist a man twice their size without a weapon, no matter what they learned of 'self defense.'

[Number.6]

but she said straight-out that she'd be concerned with herself using it irresponsibly,

That was the point where you should have stuck the boot in and agreed that Americans with PMS are a danger to society.

[Pan Zagloba]

It's not just millenials. In Theodore Darlymple's Life at the bottom, which is a collection of essays from 90s, there's a scene where he's talking to a woman who is being abused by her boyfriend. He mentions that, yes, it is the boyfriend's fault, since he's stronger than her and is able to hurt her. Her response: "That's a bit sexist, isn't it?"

[John]

Ranger school is much harder than Marine infantry training. No woman has graduated from Marine infantry training. They all have washed out. These women can't hack it. They just lowered the standards for them.

[Irish ?s ESB]

They apparently failed twice before passing, which makes me think they desperately wanted two women to pass, so they let them pass knowing full well they wouldn't be allowed in combat anyway so there was no harm.

[John]

They get to wear a cool patch that everyone knows they didn't earn.

[Illocust]

The time they passed was because a general got invited as a guest to judge. They also received several month of training ahead of time to prep them for the school.

[Florida Man]

I don't understand the women who would do this. Why do you want to be part of a sham?

[WTF]

Maybe because they get TV interviews and all kinds of acclaim and celebrity?

[The Last American Hero]

To sell the movie rights for the biopic, like they did for Demi Moore: Navy Seal.

[Illocust]

People are good at justify things to themselves. They get rewards and everyone around them talking about how amazing they are. Takes a lot of spine to turn away from that.

[Florida Man]

Maybe it's just me, but it would be harder to go along with the lie than walk away from the ill gotten gains. I wonder how many women turned them down.

[Illocust]

One of the twenty that was deemed good enough for a redo quit.

And I would say spine. I imagine telling the general that you won't go along with his PR effort because you didn't earn it takes spine. Anyone that would do that probably wouldn't end up in the position in the first place though.

[Private Chipperbot]

Ranger tab = promotion to general officer at some point.

[Crusty Juggler]

Isn't that right? Having the tab on their shoulder helps with promotions, which is one of the main complaints women in the military have, that since they are not allowed into infantry units they are not promoted to high positions?

[Free Society]

I don't understand the women who would do this. Why do you want to be part of a sham?

In other news, a Florida Man engages in a war on women trying to engage in war with men. More on this as the story develops.

[Galactic Chipper Cdr Lytton]

I, for one, am looking forward to next year's Best Ranger competition. These two are going to enter as a buddy team together, right ?

[Crusty Juggler]

There are already cultural support teams of women that work with special operations forces

"There are women who have served as attachments to SEAL platoons and Green Beret ODAs [operational detachments] and Marine Corps teams ? very small levels ? and they are forward with a dozen or 15 people and two of them might be women.

[Derpetologist]

Tales from the Derp

A US soldier was in the top turret of a humvee. He was supposed to be wearing goggles, but was not. Some distance away, a bomb exploded and sent sand into his eyes. He washed out the sand when he got back to base. He had no injury to his eyes or anything else. He was later awarded the Purple Heart.

Some soldiers were riding in a humvee when a bomb exploded in front of the them. The explosion was far enough away that no one in the humvee was hurt. To determine whether anyone in the humvee was eligible for the Combat Action Ribbon, some Army investigators measured the distance from the edge of the crater to where the humvee had been when the bomb exploded. They determined that the soldiers riding in the front seat were eligible for the Combat Action Ribbon but the ones in the back seat were not.

[PM]

He was later awarded the Purple Heart.

He'll probably end up qualifying for disability while some poor motherfucker missing a leg from the knee down doesn't.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

The aliens are gonna strike soon.

[Swiss Servator, Kaffee bitte!]

First time we got rocketed in Afghanistan - we had all the f'ing badge and medal hunters trying to figure out if we could all get the Combat Action Badge... after 11 more months of fucking 107 mm and 122mm rockets, RPGs, grenades, and assholes with AKs...people stopped worrying about that shit.

[l0b0t]

I was in Panama with the 7th ID (Light) for Operation Just Cause. I was air defense (16R/S Vulcan Cannon/Stinger Missile). We used our Vulcans quite a bit (we even sank a PT boat that was attacking us from the canal) but we were also made to do quite a bit of plain old infantry work. After the event, everyone was awarded the CIB. About a month after we got back to Ft. Ord, some officer at DoD decided that only those who held 11 series MOS were eligible for the CIB so all of ours were rescinded. A surprising number of infantrymen from 9th Rgt. (Manchu) refused theirs out of solidarity. On a somewhat related note, tomorrow is the 20th anniversary of my ETS.

[The Last American Hero]

I assume the guy with the mud on his glasses turned down the ribbon, right?

[Lord Humungus]

Are Republicans For Freedom Or White Identity Politics?

Dismiss Donald Trump if you will, but tonight in Alabama he is expected to draw 35,000 people. Try to do that with any other presidential candidate. The phenomenon is real, and the danger Trump presents for the Republican Party is real. Even without winning the GOP nomination, which is still a remote possibility at best, his statements have tapped into a widespread anger that has the potential to transform the Republican Party in significant ways. Ultimately, Trump presents a choice for the Republican Party about which path to follow: a path toward a coalition that is broad, classically liberal, and consistent with the party's history, or a path toward a coalition that is reduced to the narrow interests of identity politics for white people.

For decades, Republicans have held to the idea that they are unified by a fusionist ideological coalition with a shared belief in limited government, while the Democratic Party was animated by identity politics for the various member groups of its coalition. This belief has been bolstered in the era of President Obama, which has seen the Democratic Party stress identity politics narratives about the war on this or that group of Americans, even as they adopted a more corporatist attitude toward Wall Street and big business.

[Lee G]

It's identity politics all the way down.

[Juvenile Bluster]

From the headline, I was sure that would be Salon.

[Medical Physics Guy]

Nah. Salon wouldn't even consider the possibility that Republicans could be for freedom.

[Brochettaward]

Identity politics have gone mainstream, and even subconsciously the mouthbreathing base of the Republican party has internalized that message to some extent.

I'm still not convinced that Trump isn't some sort of Manchurian candidate.

[Swiss Servator, Kaffee bitte!]

I'm still not convinced that Trump isn't some sort of Manchurian candidate.

He's a seekret Chinaman?!

[Slammer]

Dude, "Chinaman" is not the preferred nomenclature.

[Swiss Servator, Kaffee bitte!]

He is a seekret Great East Asia Co-Prosperity Spherian?

[Chinny Chin Chin]

For decades, Republicans have held to the idea that they are unified by a fusionist ideological coalition with a shared belief in limited government

So they're delusional, at best.

[Free Society]

Well there is a correlation between white populations and support for classical liberalism and limited government...

[Lee G]

We're a huge minority.

[Free Society]

I just assumed it was because of the international white people conspiracy

[Lord Humungus]

*sshhhhh*

[Rhywun]

identity politics for white people

I know Trumpism will be labeled this way by Team Salon, but haven't they noticed that some of the loudest anti-immigrant people are not white?

[Number.6]

Two words to explain it.

False
Consciousness

[Lord Humungus]

This isn't Salon but The Federalist

[Rhywun]

I know, I was just using Salon as a handy way to label leftists.

[Jordan]

Another EPA disaster, this time in rural Georgia

In Greensboro, EPA-funded contractors grading a toxic 19th-century cotton mill site struck a water main, sending the deadly sediment into a nearby creek. Though that accident took place five months ago, the hazard continues as heavy storms ? one hit the area Tuesday ? wash more soil into the creek.

"Clearly, the site is a major hazardous chemical waste dump, which contains many of the most dangerous chemical pollutants regulated by the EPA," Lewis wrote in a 2014 affidavit for a court case filed by local residents that failed to prevent the EPA project: creating a low-income housing development.

The EPA did not respond to a request for comment. The agency has offered conflicting statements about its involvement in the project, alternating between knowing nothing, providing only data and guidance, and acknowledging, finally, that it funded cleanup and development at the site through a grant to the state.

TOP. MEN.

[Ivan Pike]

The biggest issue with this isn't that someone hit a water main, but that the EPA is issuing grants for housing units, and one on highly contaminated ground at that. I'm sure that living there would be very healthy for homeless, indigent, and mentally ill people.

[Lee G]

That's right up there with them giving permission to build homes on top of a fly ash dump site in Chesapeake VA. Homes with wells.

[Free Society]

I love the environment so much that I want a sinister bureaucracy to monopolize it's protection, because they'll do a good job and stuff.

[Lord Humungus]

nothing another round of QE won't fix:

Global Stocks Fall Further on China Worries
Signs of a sharp slowdown in the world's second-largest economy worry investors

Signs of a sharp slowdown in the world's second-largest economy have unnerved investors since Beijing surprised markets last week by devaluing its currency. Shares in the U.S., Asia and Europe have tumbled along with commodity prices as investors worry about waning Chinese demand.

On Friday, an early gauge of China's factory activity fell to a six-and-a-half year low in August, heaping further pressure on stocks and commodities after Thursday's global selloff.

"It becomes ever more evident that China's economy is cooling off," said Jeroen Blokland, a portfolio manager at Robeco, which manages $307 billion of assets.

[Swiss Servator, Kaffee bitte!]

Great, now you have just summoned shriek for a round of coke fueled rambles this weekend...

[straffinrun]

Damnit! We were just about to raise the FF rate, too. Oh well, time to test the zero bound.

[LynchPin1477]

Democratic presidential candidate and Vermont senator Bernie Sanders said that he will introduce legislation to abolish private prisons when Congress reconvenes in September.

Just how private are private prisons? Regardless, it's not like they are out there passing laws and arresting people.

But I'll grant that it can create some pretty perverse incentives. I have no real problem with this.

[Jordan]

The progressive obsession with private prisons is idiotic. They seem to believe that they are the sole reason the system is fucked up, while private prisons only house about 5.5% of prisoners (stat courtesy of our beloved Lucy).

[John]

True. But private prisons still suck.

[Jordan]

I don't feel strongly one way or the other on them. I see no convincing evidence that they are worse than public prisons.

[Free Society]

Because bureaucracies are so good at running things?

[Zeb]

The problem as i see it is in creating economic incentives to imprison more people. Though private prisons are a lot lower on the list of things to worry about than the bad laws that put too many people in prison in the first place.

[Free Society]

Bureaucracies have even more perverse incentives in my opinion. It is certainly unjust that there are economic incentives at play, but that's more to do with the draconian judicial and legislative system than profit motive itself. The profit motive would be a non-issue in a rational justice system.

I think it's less likely that a judge will react to the perverse incentives of a private prison than he will to the perverse incentives offered by a prison bureaucracy.

[Doctor Whom]

Since they don't dare question the omnibenevolence of government absent narrow exceptions, they have to vent their rage on something that is at least nominally private.

[Lee G]

Those prison guard unions are totes awesome.

[Zeb]

I do recall a time when a lot of the left was down on prison guard unions. Around when CA passed their 3 strikes law, I think.

[Robert]

Remember when Reason lauded prison privatiz'n?

[Kristen Bids No Trump]

So last night I get a knock on my door at 9pm. Naturally, I don't answer.

After a few minutes (when the dog stopped yapping), I open the door and a package had been left by some libertarian organization.

Don't you think an organization for libertarians ought to know better than to knock on someone's door unexpectedly at 9pm?

Also, it was addressed to "Mr. [My Name]".

[Lord Humungus]

Maybe they know something that we don't.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Well. They are *libertarian*.

[Kristen Bids No Trump]

Point is, poor little fucker they sent to deliver the thing (and probably give some kind of spiel in the event any libertarian would answer an unexpected 9pm knock) could have got hisself killed.

[LynchPin1477]

If someone knocked on my door at 9:00 pm I'd think they maybe need help. But I never lock my doors, so maybe it's more a function of where I live.

[Ivan Pike]

If someone knocked on my door at 9:00 pm I'd think they maybe need help.

This, or maybe the local wildlife. They don't knock though, just push against it.

[Atanarjuat]

It's still daylight here at 9, in the summertime. I'd assume it was my neighbor who was out for a walk and decided to stop by and chat.

[bacon-magic]

You sir, have obviously been lying to your neighbors about your libertarianess.

[Kristen Bids No Trump]

Here in the big city, we lock our doors and nobody "stops by" without a text or call first.

[Tonio]

KK, this sounds extremely suspicious. My first thought was that someone was doing the physical equivalent of penetration testing, ie skulking about your perimeter to see what the reaction would be. The phrase used in crime drama is casing the joint but I don't know if that's the actual term or a fictional term.

Was this a legit libertarian organization to whom you've donated? If so, have you contacted them to see if the package was legit?

Be safe.

(Started this several minutes ago and posted this without checking for other similar responses.)

[Brochettaward]

The DOJ put the Reason gag order through a woodchipper, apparently.

[Slammer]

Outcry as Netflix excludes hundreds of workers from paid baby leave

Netflix has been criticised for excluding employees in its DVD-by-mail service from a benefit that gives up to a year of paid baby leave to workers in its more prestigious online division.

Netflix has about 450 temporary, part and full-time employees in its steadily shrinking but still profitable DVD mail-order business.

The protesting groups contend Netflix is unfairly favouring the mostly highly paid computer programmers and other technology specialists working in its internet video service over the lower-paid employees who sort through discs and stuff envelopes in the distribution centres that receive and send DVDs.

People still get the DVDs by mail?

[Lord Humungus]

I finally dropped by DVD subscription - only three weeks ago.

*sheepish smile*

[Juvenile Bluster]

So this is your fault?

[Lord Humungus]

Probably.

[Brochettaward]

Not after the protesters get their way.

They are basically asking Netflix to shift money from the more profitable part of their business to the less profitable to provide these benefits. That this probably means the 450 employees there will largely be out of jobs if their already probably small profit margins evaporate doesn't register with them.

But also, fuck Netflix. They completely exploited and channeled proggie stupidity to drum up support for Net Neutrality. They were the cool company people liked going against the evil behemoth people hated. Let them get a taste of their own medicine.

[Irish ?s ESB]

People still get the DVDs by mail?

Most of the best movies aren't streaming. I got Whiplash the other week and I've gotten other good movies through their mail service because Netflix streaming is mostly only good for T.V. shows since most of the movies are shit.

[Idle Hands]

How did you feel about it, I thought is was rather good. Everyone except Paul Riser was a dick in it though.

[Irish ?s ESB]

It was 1000x better than Birdman and it's a total joke that Birdman won best picture.

[Idle Hands]

I was looking for a reason to not see Birdman, thank you for giving me one.

[Dallas H.]

Loved Whiplash, but got to disagree with your police work there. Birdman was spectacular and pushing the bounds of cinema. Whiplash was a super sturdy, well made, and enjoyable piece of work but didn't attempt to do anything new.

[Citizen Nothing]

Didn't see Whiplash. Just saw Birdman and was really disappointed. The script came off as a cheap Charlie Kaufman wanna-be.

[Private Chipperbot]

Use Showbox or Movie HD for anything you want to see that Netflix isn't streaming. A VPN service with Netflix is great as well. I search for a movie, find what region it's in, and switch my location to watch.

[Rasilio]

"The protesting groups contend Netflix is unfairly favouring the mostly highly paid computer programmers and other technology specialists working in its internet video service over the lower-paid employees who sort through discs and stuff envelopes in the distribution centres that receive and send DVDs."

Um, yeah, which group is easier and cheaper to replace? Which group provides more value to the company?

It becomes perfectly fair once you take all the factors into account.

You want a good paying job with great benefits, learn a fucking skill that is in demand and provides lots of value to the employer and you'll get one. In the mean time understand that it is YOUR fault that you are working at a $13 an hour dead end job that requires no real skills beyond the ability to show up on time and stuff envelopes all day.

[Zeb]

I do because it wouldn't really cost me less to change to a streaming only plan. And I'm glad of it now since I am currently without home internet.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

Are they arguing that temporary and part-time workers should get a year-long paid leave?

[Rhywun]

People still get the DVDs by mail?

I just bought my first DVD player. (Because I got sick of watching them on my computer.) Anyhow I think "streaming" is for suckers & I want to own my movies, not rent them.

[TwB]

Aqua Teen Hunger Force was a wacky show, which I enjoyed at the beginning, but I haven't watched it in years. And their movie was just awful, except for the opening part, which was done by the band Mastodon. Enjoy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53s13hXBX8w

[Brochettaward]

My mind went number 23 minutes into the movie. I came to in a darkened theater stuck to the floor.

It's not made for a medium beyond about 15 minutes.

[Jordan]

Your mind went "W"?

[Juvenile Bluster]

No, his mind went Jim Carrey.

[Jordan]

Oh wait. Letters and numbers aren't the same thing.

[Atanarjuat]

My mind went number 23

#1: pee
#2: poo
#23: lymphatic fluid?

[Swiss Servator, Kaffee bitte!]

Michael Jordan.

[LynchPin1477]

I still watch an episode online from time to time. It can be really funny.

[Rhywun]

Never saw it. I can only take so much Adult Swim and the one I like is Venture Bros.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

The movie definitely loses steam, but that opening song was worth the $10.

[Free Society]

Michigan lawmakers are striking 70-something stupid laws from the state books, including a prohibition on swearing in front of women and children and a ban on dancing to the "Star-Spangled Banner."

Low hanging fruit.

Democratic presidential candidate and Vermont senator Bernie Sanders said that he will introduce legislation to abolish private prisons when Congress reconvenes in September.

Low hanging hologram of a fruit.

[Lord Humungus]

De Blasio Open to Ending Times Square Pedestrian Plaza to Fight Off Naked Women

Mayor Bill de Blasio is considering a controversial idea to tackle the controversial issue of bare breasts in Times Square?opening up the area's pedestrian plaza to car traffic again.

The mayor?who has launched a task force headed by Police Commissioner Bill Bratton and City Planning Commissioner Carl Weisbrod to determine how to ban body-paint-wearing ladies and costume characters from soliciting cash?said he was open to ending pedestrian plazas in the busy district. It's an idea floated by Mr. Bratton, who believes it could make it more difficult for the "entertainers" to ply their trades.

"Commissioner Bratton and I have talked about that option. That will be considered by the task force," Mr. de Blasio said during an unrelated press conference in the Rockaways. "Now, that's a big endeavor and like every option, the option comes with pros and cons. So we're going to argue about what those pros and cons would be."

[Idle Hands]

Boooooo!

[Idle Hands]

Boooooo!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Forget that. Did you read the Ben & Jerry's article below it?

Da fuck is wrong with those two?

Are their brains made of ice-cream?

[Aloysious]

Possibly linked to earlier, I'm just not aware if it has:

Bernie Sanders Lands a Sweet Endorsement From Ben & Jerry's Co-Founder

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics.....d=32841897

[The Last American Hero]

Hey Bernie, who the fuck needs 400 fucking flavors of ice cream? Ben and Jerry should make 2 or three and use the rest of the money to feed hungry kids.

[LoneWaco]

He spent much of his time railing against the "millionaire class," which he claimed was destroying the country.

"We are going to end their greed, whether they like it or not," Sanders said to applause.

Ben & Jerry's became famous for its employee-friendly structure ? until 1995, no manager made more than five times the salary of an entry-level employee. That policy ended when Cohen stepped down as CEO.

the five times rule went out the window when he was looking at that pile of corporate buyout cash. that was his money. no sharing on the day that counted.

[Atanarjuat]

How do I get a job as a body painter?

[Lord Humungus]

In NYC it takes 90 days of training and $120K to get your body painting license. /a fact that I just made up

[Free Society]

But I think there's a real chance that it's true.

[Zeb]

Nah, it's only $15k.

[Rhywun]

I wonder what's really going on here. Because the stated facts make absolutely no sense. Despite its extremely pedestrian-unfriendly past, there was never a time when Times Square didn't have room for hucksters and con-artists. Opening Broadway to cars isn't going to change anything - but it might satisfy the limousine set.

[Sevo]

"Reuters has found at least 30 email threads from Hillary Clinton's publicly released cache that include content which U.S. regulations say must be "presumed" classified, even if it's not explicitly marked that way."

Next, that harpie tells us they weren't classified-classified, since we're not sure what the meaning of "is" is.

[John]

Warty and Steve Smith were not fans.

http://www.nationalreview.com/.....DvSOqdZ.01

[Crusty Juggler]

When you're havin' a good night And things are goin' well But you don't know where it's goin' It's sometimes hard to tell So if you think it's goin' somewhere And you might go all the way There's something you gotta ask for There's something you need to say! You gotta get ? consent! If you think you're gonna do it, you need consent. Consent ? whoa consent If you're waitin' to go further you need consent Consent ? whoa consent So if you're hangin' with your girl You think you might go for a whirl All you've got to do . . . is get consent! Consent . . . whoa consent . . ." "Consent is unmistakable . . . it's often verbal . . . it's uncoerced . . . it's freely given . . . and if you've got those things together, that's consent! Consent . . . whoa consent!"

How did they get late 1980s Will Smith to write this for them?

[Crusty Juggler]

Act II: "Look her in the eyes and try not to swear, but always remember not to cum in her hair."

[Lord Humungus]

You can't rape, you can't vape
This is the twenty-first centuryyyyy!
where white men still cause trouble
along the ol' Mississippi....

[Lord Humungus]

I'm so glad that I won't be returning to college. But a re-education camp? Perhaps.

[Crusty Juggler]

If you hear her shout, pull-out
If you hear her moan, remove your bone
If you see her cringe, extricate your fleshy man-hinge
But if you see her smile, remember to don't stop and keep going the extra mile.

[simplybe]

Private prisons should be abolished. The Bernie Sanders talks the more I want to become a Democrat. Stop putting people in prison for victimless crimes and start start executing repeat offenders of real crimes including Police

[Galactic Chipper Cdr Lytton]

Warren G, who is angling to be the great libertarian politician Deez Nuts' running mate

Warren G would be the worst libertarian presidential/VP candidate since Bob Barr. He's a total supporter of the regulatory state, using naked force to preserve it. Fuck off slaver! Not to mention his buddy Nate calls it a clip. I hear they eat deep dish pizza too.

[SugarFree]

It believe it's pronounced "Sample size bias."

[LynchPin1477]

When it get's really hot in the summer or winter, it's weather. When it get's really cold in the summer or winter, it's climate.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Well, 130 years out of the 6000 the earth has existed is a decent percentage,right?

::hides::

[Lee G]

I believe it's called historical temperature adjustments

[SugarFree]

Good point.

[feeds pet T. Rex a coconut]

[Medical Physics Guy]

I'm not buying until I can summon a Type VI demon.

[Swiss Servator, Kaffee bitte!]

You inhuman bastard! You know the T-Rex is coconut intolerant!!!11!111one!

[Lord Humungus]

Marc Bolan?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-G7-yLFmCQ

[Swiss Servator, Kaffee bitte!]

How are you going to drive if Ndulu is gnawing your tires off?

[Marshall Gill]

He wasn't talking about a real T-rex and a real coconut and you don't even want to know to what he was referring, you just don't.

[Private Chipperbot]

I think maybe opposite.

[Florida Man]

There is no spoon.

[Idle Hands]

Coke Koch spoons, naturally.

FTFY

[commodious spittoon]

Gag me with a Koch er, spoon.

[commodious spittoon]

Because actress is too dignified.

[Crusty Juggler]

I have met Kayla Kupcakes, and she was a sweet lady.

[Not a Libertarian]

I am nearly blinded by her elegance

[Swiss Servator, Kaffee bitte!]

Thinks it over...

*shudders*

[SugarFree]

(Just as a note, creationists argue that T. Rex used their giant steak-knife teeth to eat coconuts, because before The Fall all animals were vegetarians.)

[Crusty Juggler]

She carries herself with a subtle grace.