A.M. Links: Democrats Growing Nervous About Hillary, Cruz and Trump Team Up, George W. Bush Visits New Orleans for Katrina Anniversary

• 

  Credit: White House / Flickr.com

  Hillary Clinton's scandal-riddled campaign is starting to make many Democrats feel nervous.

• Ted Cruz and Donald Trump are teaming up for a joint rally against the Iran deal.

• "The National Labor Relations Board, in a long-awaited ruling, made it easier on Thursday for unions to negotiate on behalf of workers at fast-food chains and other companies relying on contractors and franchisees."

• George W. Bush is returning to New Orleans today to mark the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

• Tropical storm Erika is making its way towards the U.S. and could make landfall anywhere from Florida to the Carolinas.

• A border clash between Indian and Pakistani security forces killed at least eight civilians and wounded many more.

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• California Green Job Initiative's Broken Promises Disappointment doesn't stop backers from offering new promises. By Steven Greenhut

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Hillary Clinton's scandal-riddled campaign is starting to make many Democrats feel nervous.

Probably should have been nervous before this.

[Karl Hungus]

Why? She's like Teflon, nothing has ever stuck before. I think that until recently, she simply assumed, rightfully, that the whole email scandal would simply disappear.

[SugarFree]

Plenty sticks to her. She just puts another layer of pantsuit over it.

[Karl Hungus]

Plenty sticks to her. She just puts another layer of pantsuit over it.

I guess that's one explanation for the cankles.

[WTF]

Eeew

[Karl Hungus]

Eeew

It's like a type of gout specific to her, an accretion of scandal that's built up over the years ot the point where it's caused her to visibly thicken.

[WTF]

FAKE. SKANDULZ.

[Fist of Etiquette]

And it would have if not for the enemies made in the Obama administration. It still might. But for a presidential candidate, she had so very much baggage that much of the dirty laundry in it was bound to spill out.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

Even among the most ardent partisan leftists, there are going to start being mass defections from the Clinton camp over this. The mere possibility that a hacker group have her emails, or an Oppo research group has a smoking gun they're waiting to pull out next October has to have them shining in their pants.

They know she has skeletons in her closet (next to the Rose Law Firm files) on this and they know it will destroy their chance to retain the WH and take back the Senate. That's a chance they are becoming less and less willing to take.

[WTF]

has to have them shining in their pants

That's a John-level typo, right there.

[Julio]

She is not going to go quietly. This is her last chance and she knows it.

Anybody who opposes her inside the party is going to suffer for it.

[JWatts]

Exactly. It doesn't matter if Democrats are nervous of Hillary's chances. Their fear of her out ways that anxiety. Hillary Clinton is not going to bow out "gracefully". And she will take a poleaxe to anyone attempting to nudge her out. She doesn't do subtle.

[JWatts]

"out weighs"

[R C Dean]

Depends on what they have on her.

Personally, I'm expecting a sit-down with the capos and consiglieris of the Dem Party, where they tell her she can either retire to Boca, or wind up feeding the fishes, and showing her exactly what they have to feed the US Attorneys.

She'll make an announcement about her health (very plausible, really), and ride off into a bitter, spiteful, extremely well-funded retirement.

[Galactic Chipper Cdr Lytton]

That's been my prediction. Notice how mentions of her health have started to appear in the media. I think it's her own people putting it out there as a face saving measure.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

[Karl Hungus]

Buzz Aldrin working on plan to colonize Mars

http://www.pressherald.com/201.....nize-mars/

I wish I could confront him in person, make him understand he should be working on getting us to the moon first.

Baby steps, Buzz. Baby steps.

[WTF]

Getting us to the moon for real, you mean.

[Swiss Servator, ...hat nichts]

Do we need to send sloopy over to bash his mailbox?

[Lord Humungus]

+1 Buzz Aldrin punch to the face

[Elspeth Flashman]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6N2-tTeY8W8

[sloopyinTEXAS]

I'm just glad he's not working on a plan to find the guy responsible for his correspondence to Armstrong getting marked "Return To Sender: Undeliverable".

[Swiss Servator, ...hat nichts]

+1 Louisville Slugger?

[american socialist]

No one in the government is going to go for this, dumbass. Secret squirrel Leftists in the government are too busy spending our tax dollars on crack-addicted Welfare moms because said Leftists want to enslave Black people by putting them on a librul plantation. There's no money left for buzz aldrin's little space mission. We should leave that project for the most bored billionaire in Silicon Valley to take up-- right after he gets done creating a multi-million dollar app for sharing pictures of your wiener with friends on FB.

[JWatts]

You really should avoid the hard liquor before noon.

[Ska]

Screwdrivers at 9 AM are the key to enjoying a round of golf.

[Citizen X]

Welp, it looks like we finally broke american socialist. I'd feel bad, but it's hard to summon pity for a guy who thinks the USSR gets an unfair rap.

[Number.6]

We?

Let's give credit where it's due. Reality did it.

[See Double You]

Since Sevo hasn't replied yet, I'll fill in: have you paid your mortgage yet, asshole?

[BigT]

Perhaps amsoc's most coherent comment yet?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Ted Cruz and Donald Trump are teaming up for a joint rally against the Iran deal.

The buddy cop film of the summer.

[Number.6]

Himbo & Cash?

[Almanian - Trump's Woodchipper]

Blowhard and Wetback

[wareagle]

are you a wetback for having come in from Canada? By way of Cuba?

[Almanian - Trump's Woodchipper]

Just roll with it, wareagle

[Almanian - Trump's Woodchipper]

Let's assume he came across the Detroit River, or Lake Ontario, mmkay?

[R C Dean]

I thought those were "snowbacks".

On account of the upper Midwest not exactly being a habitable clime.

[JWatts]

Snow melts when you cross into habitable climes, so yes Wetback

[JWatts]

Snow melts when you cross into habitable climes, so yes Wetback

[PM]

Pennsylvania court unseals pornographic emails sent by officials

HARRISBURG, Pa. (Reuters) - Pennsylvania's highest court on Wednesday unsealed a trove of pornographic emails exchanged by state officials years ago that Attorney General Kathleen Kane said her political enemies wanted to suppress and her foes said she was using to intimidate them.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I like to think this is a microcosm of what goes on at the top.

Wow is Kane dirty. Wonder if that transfers into bed as well.

[Root Boy]

Can only hope so.

[R C Dean]

This is a tough one.

Crooked apparatchiks being blackmailed by a crooked apparatchik. Hard to know who to hate more.

[invisible furry hand]

Australia's only libertarian senator on his party's candidates: "our candidates are freaks"

[Raven Nation]

FTA:

In fact, I have a huge admission to make -- our candidates are not at all representative of the general population. Each of them believes that you can run your own life and that you pay too much tax. With views like this, our candidates are freaks.

Hell, if I were still in Oz, I would think about moving to NSW just to vote for this guy.

[*GILMORE*]

Well at least he has a good range of campaign music to choose from

[Fist of Etiquette]

Tropical storm Erika is making its way towards the U.S. and could make landfall anywhere from Florida to the Carolinas.

Finally, Climate Change is living up to the hype.

[Juvenile Bluster]

It's going to be 50 MPH winds and a few inches of rain here it looks like. The wind isn't that bad, and we could use the rain.

[Copernicus would chip]

I heard it's a Class V tropical super-storm.

[Swiss Servator, ...hat nichts]

Category 3 Killstorm?

[JWatts]

No, there aren't any flying Sharks, so it's merely a Category 2 Killstorm

[R C Dean]

Yeah, but with that trajectory, it could pick up some gators.

Crocnado?

[Lord Humungus]

Fake sprouts growing out of your head is now a thing in Beijing

A new statement piece of sorts has hit the streets of Beijing in the form of a small plastic sprout that appears to be growing from the top of wearers' heads.

The clip-on hairpiece comes in a variety of forms, from blossoming flowers to delicate bean sprouts. It's here. It's now. It's everywhere in Beijing, as you can see.

[PM]

Kinda related:

Chinese 'Unicorn Woman' Grows Gigantic Horn In Middle Of Her Head

[Karl Hungus]

Chinese 'Unicorn Woman' Grows Gigantic Horn In Middle Of Her Head

Wish I had one. I would positively strut into the next BronyCon.

[Root Boy]

So, China is becoming Japan?

[Princess Trigger]

GMO foods cause that.

[Swiss Servator, ...hat nichts]

*applause*

[sloopyinTEXAS]

The people at Joseph Enterprises aren't gonna like this one bit!

[Rhywun]

Dudes are doing this too?! WTF

[Fist of Etiquette]

A border clash between Indian and Pakistani security forces killed at least eight civilians and wounded many more.

Good thing these aren't nuclear powers.

[Raven Nation]

A few years back I did a map search to see where this disputed zone is. This may be one of the most pointless border disputes ever.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

Worse that this? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toledo_War

And we all know who won that one...kinda reminds me of the last decade and chance.

[Raven Nation]

Well, that one is certainly up there.

[AlmightyJB]

Beating Michigan is never pointless.

[Timon 19]

Best of all, it was a bloodless victory. Very libertarian. Ohio has better libertarians than Michigan!

[Mickey Rat]

Ohio got Toledo, does that really count as a win?

[AlmightyJB]

Well there is Buddy the MJ mascot

http://nbc4i.com/2015/08/27/bu.....of-toledo/

[commodious spittoon]

More pointless than the Pig War?

[Lord Humungus]

Transgender porn quickly growing in popularity

While many Americans might say Caitlyn Jenner's much-watched interview with Diane Sawyer was their introduction to the transgender community, the adult entertainment industry says transgender porn has been a big seller for years?and it's getting bigger.

Transgender porn has been steadily climbing in popularity for years and, with Jenner's emergence and the favorable publicity surrounding her decision, it has grown into a full-fledged phenomenon.

[SugarFree]

Zimmerman/Jenner: The Sex Tape
Fame Whores for America
June 2017

[invisible furry hand]

Zimmerman/Jenner 2016. C'mon America, make this happen!

[sloopyinTEXAS]

Taking bets on who gets indicted first: Jenner or Clinton.

My money is on Jenner.

[Karl Hungus]

Zimmerman/Jenner 2016. C'mon America, make this happen!

I'm betting that'd be the first ticket in the country's history where both candidates have killed someone.

[Tejicano]

I dunno. Given that a number of the first presidents may have participated in the revolution - or other combat prior to that - and a number from that era engaged in duels I would guess that barrier has already been breached.

[R C Dean]

What a fascinating question.

I bet we've had more than a few Presidents who have greased somebody, what with wars and military service and all.

Wouldn't be surprised if some of the tickets from early in our history had two killers on them.

[Swiss Servator, ...hat nichts]

SugarFree post 9:07AM 8.28.15

"Bringing projectile vomiting to America"

[Episteme]

George Zimmerman stars in SHARKNADO 4: FINS UP, DON'T SHOOT! This summer, we take our neighbors back from aquatic fear...

[SugarFree]

He's the only man in America that can save us from sharks in hoodies.

[Swiss Servator, ...hat nichts]

*standing ovation*

[gaijin]

Let's play editor with the headline:

Hillary Clinton's ____-riddled _______ is starting to make many _____ feel nervous

[Restoras]

Hillary Clinton's shanker-riddled corpse is starting to make many undead feel nervous

[Root Boy]

So now this becomes a zombie porn thread, hmm?

[Princess Trigger]

Hitler
Hitler
Hitlers

[Almanian - Trump's Woodchipper]

#WINNING

[Elspeth Flashman]

You know who else had a lot to say about Hitler?

[Swiss Servator, ...hat nichts]

Konrad Kujau?

[Lee G]

Bill Shirer?

[Citizen X]

Mike Godwin?

[invisible furry hand]

Hillary Clinton's herpes-riddled husband is starting to make many young Hildog volunteers feel nervous

[Restoras]

Yeah that's way better than mine.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

VD
husband
Child sex slaves of Jeffrey Epstein

[Copernicus would chip]

Hilary Clinton's yeast-riddled cunt is starting to make many Humas feel nervous.

[0x90]

wood
chipper
nra members

[invisible furry hand]

An excellent idea: Polish voters will be asked whether there should be a presumption in favour of the taxpayer in disputes over the tax law

more

[PM]

Psychiatrist says: F?k happiness and f?k self-esteem

Say you've been to therapy, or bought a self-help book, or thought about doing either of those things. You may be wondering, "Why can't I be happy?" "Why do I have such bad luck?" or "Why is my boss so unfair?"

One shrink has a novel solution: "F?k happy. F?k self-improvement, self-esteem, fairness, helpfulness and everything in between."

[Restoras]

Well, I got divorced and am much happier than I was, even though I'm a lot poorer.

[commodious spittoon]

Sometimes when I'm feeling down I like to take popsicle sticks and glue and I make myself a little bridge to get the fuck over it.

[lap83]

That looks cool, I'll be on the look out for it

[invisible furry hand]

Two Indian sisters have been sentenced to be raped as punishment after their brother ran off with a married woman.

more

[Somalian Road Corporation]

That immediately brings to mind:

A story for which Napier is often noted involved Hindu priests complaining to him about the prohibition of Sati by British authorities. This was the custom of burning a widow alive on the funeral pyre of her husband. As first recounted by his brother William, he replied:

"Be it so. This burning of widows is your custom; prepare the funeral pile. But my nation has also a custom. When men burn women alive we hang them, and confiscate all their property. My carpenters shall therefore erect gibbets on which to hang all concerned when the widow is consumed. Let us all act according to national customs."

--Sir Charles James Napier

Colonialism sure wasn't all bad.

[Irish ?s ESB]

And then all the people in that village starved to death 20 years later during a famine induced by the British Government.

But at least they didn't get burned up.

[commodious spittoon]

Comme ci, comme ?a.

[gaijin]

What the hell? India has a longer way to go than I thought.

[lap83]

But was this sort of thing ever status quo in bygone eras? It goes even beyond cruel and unusual to punish a relative for someone's crime.

[Illocust]

Jesus didn't make his sins of the father argument for no reason. In the past you were absolutely punished for what your relatives did both formally and informally.

[lap83]

I think that verse refers to the ability of the father to mislead the family and influence them negatively. It's not referring to explicit punishment.

[lap83]

There's also this from Ezekial... "The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself"

[Illocust]

That's the one. It's been a while since I read through it.

[ace_m82]

Wow, someone else knows Ezekiel 18!

[WTF]

Where is a General Charles Napier when you need one?

[Number.6]

Here ...

This is the right way to be memorialized....

SFW

[Restoras]

Does Jezebel care?

[WTF]

No, they are too busy worrying about being microagressed by the Male Gaze.

[Restoras]

The more they complain about it, the more I do it.

Also, what about TEH FEMALE GAZE? Do they ever complain about that? I occasionally...very occasionally...ok rarely...OK NEVER...get leered at by women, why is that ok?

[WTF]

Because it only counts if the GAZER is gazing from a position of structural power, like men because TEH PATRIARCHY, but womyns have no structural power so it's not the same.

I wish I was just making that up.

[Root Boy]

Kind of like how the frat at ODU got punished, but a similar sign at a sorority house was uncommented upon.

[Crusty Juggler]

I received a few hipster gazes last night. I felt aggressed, I can tell you that.

[Restoras]

That's what you get for going unshaven for more than two days.

[Crusty Juggler]

This is 100% accurate.

[SugarFree]

Today's Jezebel headlines:

Pamela Anderson Won't Be Wearing MAC Makeup Any Time Soon

Car Thief Leads Cops Through Chase, Then Dances to Future's 'Where Ya At'

48,000 Bread Loaves Recalled Due to Possible Broken Glass Contamination

Woman Killed in Caitlyn Jenner Accident Being Sued for $18.5M

Subway Was Alerted About Jared Fogle Back in 2008

Yes, the Malala Yousafzai Documentary Will Make You Cry

Demi Lovato Denies Flicking Fan's Vagina at Meet-and-Greet (Okay, Demi!)

I admit that I read the last one with anticipation bordering on obsession.

[WTF]

Demi Lovato Denies Flicking Fan's Vagina at Meet-and-Greet

Go on.....

[Trshmnstr doesn't recycle]

See, jazz hands are too triggering because fingers are like little penises. Therefore the only non-triggering way for feminists to greet one another is the clit flick. The evil patriarchy don't have clits so they can't infiltrate the feminists.

[Copernicus would chip]

STEVE SMITH APPLY FOR CITY RAPIST JOB! STEVE SMITH HAVE CV! STEVE SMITH NEED REFERENCES! HELP STEVE SMITH!!

[Swiss Servator, ...hat nichts]

The broken cries of a thousand raped hikers should serve as top notch reference material.

[AlmightyJB]

I think I'm going to call our IT help line and complain about this

[Fist of Etiquette]

...made it easier on Thursday for unions to negotiate on behalf of workers at fast-food chains and other companies relying on contractors and franchisees.

And easier for businesses to make the decision on whether to go to touchscreen ordering.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

Some, but not enough for this to not have a huge impact. It will all but ensure Uber and Lyft are attacked by unions. Same goes for any business operating with subcontractors building parts or assembling components.

I wonder how long it will take for our NLRB to rule that American companies that subcontract out work to foreign entities will have to let a union here negotiate on their behalf in a naked attempt to force them to bring labor back here. Just imagine what your electronics are going to cost if Apple is either forced to pay $35 an hour to some guy in Bumfuck, China or pay some slapdick the same in Cupertino, California to do the work they've been paying $5 a day for (which is the prevailing wage where the work is currently being performed).

I could see them doing it. Protectionism is selling well right now.

[Rhywun]

It will all but ensure Uber and Lyft are attacked by unions.

Hell, fucking them over is probably what's behind this. That, and Obama's narcissistic need to bring the country down with him on his way out.

This is really beyond the pale. A kid with no skills should not have to deal with fucking mobsters just to get his first job.

[Jordan]

I love a good Fed bashing from Mish:

Debt and bubbles go hand in hand.

No matter how big the bubble, no matter how much the resultant income inequality, no matter how ridiculous or nonviable the project, no matter how little the economic benefit, no matter how much government overpays (thanks to inane union work rules and prevailing wage laws), you can always count on Krugman to want more and more and more debt, even though Japan is living proof such policies do not work.

In the US, the Fed used a housing bubble to bailout a dotcom bubble. And now we have QE-driven stock market and junk bond bubbles to smooth over the housing bubble. Corporations have gone into debt to buy back their own shares at absurd valuations.

Debt has been used to cure debt problems and over again. Apparently the cure is the same as the disease.

[Jordan]

Moar:

Still, one has to wonder "What's really on the Fed's mind?"

I surely doubt it is fear of inflation, at least as they claim to measure it. It's possible they fear bubbles, but I doubt that too. The Fed historically has been blind to bubbles.

Rather, I suspect they have come to the conclusion this recovery is as good as it gets, and if they cannot hike now, they will not be able to.

That may sound lame, but it is exactly how economic clowns think.

Let me phrase it this way: "We need to hike now so we have ammunition to cut when we need to."

Meanwhile, nothing the Fed says at all is believable if for no other reason than historical precedent that proves without a doubt, they clearly have no idea what's really going on, especially at turning points.

They cannot really come out and say "We are clueless bubble blowers", can they?

[Restoras]

Let me phrase it this way: "We need to hike now so we have ammunition to cut when we need to."

I LOL'd at that but it is probably true. Too many academics with no real world experience, or worse, completely despise the idea of a real world.

[R C Dean]

Indeed.

"The only way we can keep the boat afloat is to plug holes. We don't see any holes, so we will drill some, so that we can plug them later to keep the boat afloat."

[gaijin]

Debt has been used to cure debt problems and over again. Apparently the cure is the same as the disease.

And the biggest Debt bubble of all is US Government Debt. When it pops, Government will be the thing we undo together

[Restoras]

Indeed. I'm just terrified what will come next.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

The debt bubble is,already upon us. It's just happening at the local and state level. And it's happening all across the country to little fanfare.

When those municipalities and states, with their unfounded liabilities, propose huge tax hikes that are rejected by the taxpayers, default on their obligations en masse, everything will unravel.

[Restoras]

Crap. I don't have enough ammo or gold yet.

[Trshmnstr doesn't recycle]

This

[Mrs. Lemuel Struthers]

We in New Jersey (with the largest underfunded pension liabilities) have already solved this problem. The guy likely to be our next governor suggested a federal bond to assume the underfunded pension liabilities of states!!

Easy-peasy lemon squeezy!

[WTF]

Yes, because tax payers in Texas should be forced to fund the largesse of New Jersey politicians buying votes with other people's money.

[Mrs. Lemuel Struthers]

GOVERNMENT IS THE THINGS WE DO TOGETHER.

[Restoras]

*refresh, Restoras, refresh...*

[Restoras]

Government is just the things we decide to do together!

[Tejicano]

That makes it sound like consent would be required.

[Root Boy]

It will happen with student loans as well. Though the feds already own all of those, so not exactly the same as me paying for NJ union thugs pensions.

[Swiss Servator, ...hat nichts]

We in New Jersey (with the largest underfunded pension liabilities)

GET IN LINE BEHIND ILLINOIS!!!!

[BearOdinson]

+1,000,000,000,000 dollar coin

[BearOdinson]

+1,000,000,000,000 dollar coin

[Restoras]

Yes, we will need two of them.

[Mrs. Lemuel Struthers]

It is the blind leading the blind.

While I appreciate a good rant, most hard money guys haven't got a clue about the cause/effect.

For anyone who cares: A simple tell is the dollar. If the dollar continues to appreciate there will be chaos in EMs (including China) because dollar funding (liquidity) will be brutal. A secondary signal: the balance sheets of European banks - if they contract - look for more chaos.

[CatoTheChipper]

"We need to hike now"

Fedgov has about 18 trillion reasons why there won't be a hike in interest rates.

[invisible furry hand]

Bert and Ernie in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

[Swiss Servator, ...hat nichts]

Is that available in velvet?

[Citizen X]

Damn, that's up there with the works of Brandon Bird.

[Lord Humungus]

141 counties have more registered voters than eligible live citizens

The letters inform the target counties that it appears they are violating the NVRA because they are not properly maintaining the voter rolls. The NVRA, (also known as Motor Voter) requires state and local election officials to properly maintain voter rolls and ensure that only eligible voters are registered to vote. Having more registrants than eligible citizens alive indicates that election officials have failed to properly maintain voter rolls.

States with counties which received a notice letter are (# of counties): Michigan (24), Kentucky (18), Illinois (17), Indiana (11), Alabama (10), Colorado (10), Texas (9), Nebraska (7), New Mexico (5), South Dakota (5), Kansas (4), Mississippi (4), Louisiana (3), West Virginia (3), Georgia (2), Iowa (2), Montana (2), North Carolina (2), Arizona, Missouri, New York (1 each). Federally produced data show the letter recipients have more registrants than living eligible citizens alive.

[SugarFree]

"The dead have risen and they are voting Republican!"

[Illocust]

How many counties does Michigan even have? That's a ridiculous amount of corruption.

[CampingInYourPark]

It's not necessarily corruption. In many instances, people aren't removed from voter registrations when they die. It's a matter of bureaucratic inefficiency a lot of the time

[WTF]

Although it's been a long-running joke in New Jersey that the dead always vote in Hudson County.

[Restoras]

I haven't lived in Hudson County for 10 years but I am still registered to vote there.

[WTF]

And I am pretty certain you vote Democratic every election since you left.

[Citizen X]

Yeah, usually twice.

[Illocust]

I'm guessing you don't have to reregister every year in Michigan?

[Elspeth Flashman]

Michigan has 83 counties (15 in the UP). And no, you don't have to re-register to vote every year, only if you move.

Not really related: I almost ran as an precinct delegate a few years back, but because of a move I disqualified myself, and made sure I wasn't on the ballot.

[Fist of Etiquette]

George W. Bush is returning to New Orleans today to mark the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

My read on the subject suggests this will be his first visit to NOLA since the disaster he caused.

[Swiss Servator, ...hat nichts]

CHENEY WAS THE ONE WITH THE WEATHER MACHINE!!!!!

[sloopyinTEXAS]

That reminds,me: how high up on the "worst movie ever fucking made" does The Avengers get? The acting was horrid, the plot an embarrassment.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Connery doesn't guarantee gold.

[gaijin]

+1 share of Halliburton

[Lord Humungus]

Deputies interview a dozen girls named 'Destiny' to try and find cliff tagger

In May, someone, perhaps a Treasure Valley student, spray painted "Destiny, Prom?" in the Black Cliffs climbing area outside Boise.

"Whoever did this did a lot of damage aesthetically and culturally," Patrick Orr, spokesman for Ada County Sheriff's Office, said back in May.

Orr told KBOI 2News recently that deputies have been unable to track down the spray-painting suspect.

"Our deputies interviewed over a dozen girls named "Destiny" and checked out other leads but weren't able to track it down," Orr said.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I guess this criminal was...

[dons sunglasses]

...destined to get away.

[Swiss Servator, ...hat nichts]

*flings empty spray paint can*

[Elspeth Flashman]

Do those sunglasses make you impenetrable for narrow gazes?

[Swiss Servator, ...hat nichts]

That is why I threw the paint can.

[DrZaius]

Or they could leave it and let future generations marvel at past cultures.

[Slammer]

Destiny is a fat girl's name.

John, pr0n?

[Lord Humungus]

I was thinking a tired junkie stripper; bags under her eyes, tattoos, and a laugh that sounds like a stuttering moped.

[Rhywun]

"Name's Petunia, hon."

[0x90]

DHS would take that as a terroristic threat, I'd think.

[Lord Humungus]

How Huma Abedin operated at the center of the Clinton universe

New interviews and documents, including the e-mails about the Ireland dinner, provide additional details about some of Abedin's activities during those months and how her overlapping roles make it difficult to determine when she was working for the public and when her work was benefiting a private interest. Now, Abedin's work during that time is becoming a central element in several controversies dogging Clinton's presidential campaign.

Republican lawmakers are demanding documents related to Abedin's special State Department status, questioning whether her outside work created potential conflicts of interest. An agency inspector general says Abedin was overpaid during her maternity leave, a finding that she contests. Conservative activist groups have gone to court seeking access to her e-mails. And she held a private e-mail account on the same server as Clinton, a system whose security is now under review by the FBI.

[Crusty Juggler]

One of my first experiecnes with this site's comments had to do with one commenter going on and on about how beautiful Huma is. She is certainly not unattractive, but I just remember thinking "what a bunch of weirdo-faces."

[lap83]

politicians set a low bar for attractiveness

[R C Dean]

difficult to determine when she was working for the public and when her work was benefiting a private interest.

Oh, please. She was never working for the public, regardless of whether she was on the public payroll.

[Lord Humungus]

Drone rudely interrupts man sunbathing on 200-foot-tall wind turbine

It's 2015, so no matter how much privacy you think you may have, there is always a chance that a drone is lurking nearby, ready to invade your seclusion.

Drone pilot Kevin Miller was capturing some footage of a wind turbine in Rhode Island, when his craft accidentally revealed a man that was attempting to catch some rays on the deck of the turbine, the Daily Mirror reports.

Initially, the man didn't seem too pleased about being discovered, and it appears that he even flipped the drone off. But Miller told the Mirror, "Upon landing he saw me bring the drone down and was leaning over the edge. I looked up and wave to him and he waved back."

[Root Boy]

What was funny about that is the turbine wasn't spinning -- Green Power!

[Derpetologist]

Spot the Not: if I only had a brain

1. In 2007, a perfectly healthy 44-year-old man complaining of minor leg weakness baffled doctors in France when a medical exam revealed that most of his brain was missing. Despite the handicap, the married father of two held a full-time job as a civil servant and showed no other signs of his missing body part other than a slightly below average IQ.

2. This Florida man survived a drunk driving accident that left him with a flattened skull. He now refers to himself as Halfy.

3. This railroad worker survived an accident where a metal rod was blasted by an explosion through his eye socket and out the back of his head. The injury greatly affected his personality.

4. Born without a cerebellum. She did not learn to walk until she was 7 and her speech is slurred, but otherwise lives normally. She is married and has a daughter.

5. Lost the ability to form new memories after a car accident on her birthday. Her family pretends it is her birthday everyday.

6. Has severe amnesia from a viral infection. His memory resets every 30 seconds or so. He can still play music although he cannot remember being taught.

fun fact: cerebellum means little brain in Latin. The name comes from its shape.

[Not a Libertarian]

All of these are Drew Barrymore | Adam Sandler comedy movies

[Illocust]

5. was a movie. The real case was a guy, who's favorite uncle has since died. The guy asks about the uncle every day.

[Juvenile Bluster]

#1 is the not, because it's not unique, and most French civil servants are missing their brains.

[WTF]

. Despite the handicap, the married father of two held a full-time job as a civil servant

Well, that makes this one seem plausible.

[WTF]

5 was an Adam Sandler movie.

[Derpetologist]

5 is the Not and it is from a movie. 3 is Phineas Gage and 6 is Clive Wearing. Both their stories are worth reading.

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

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

[Zeb]

I don't know. But it is pretty amazing the kinds of brain injuries people can survive.

[Suthenboy]

"...most of his brain was missing. ...held a full-time job as a civil servant "

This one has to be true.

[R C Dean]

My only knock on that one is using "despite", when they mean "therefor".

[Lord Humungus]

Do Guns Cause Violence?

I'm not the only person to reach the conclusion that the role of guns in violence is rather subtle. One interesting example is the Harvard psychology professor Steven Pinker. He's no fan of the NRA; he's from Canada, for God's sake. But in his book about the decline of violence, The Better Angels of Our Nature, the discussion of "weaponry and disarmament" is practically a footnote ? about one page in an 800-page tome, relegated to a section about the "forces that one might have thought would be important [in major trends in violence] ... but as best as I can tell turned not out to be." He doesn't even bother to "endorse the arguments for or against gun control," and he writes that "human behavior is goal-directed, not stimulus-driven," adding that "anyone who is equipped to hunt, harvest crops, chop firewood, or prepare salad has the means to damage a lot of human flesh." Similarly, in Ghettoside, her interesting exploration of black-on-black crime in LA, the journalist Jill Leovy writes ? in an actual footnote ? that "guns are not a root cause of black homicide." The criminologist Gary Kleck tends to be highly skeptical of claims that guns make a difference, on net, one way or the other.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Guns don't cause crime.

Flags do.

[WTF]

Well that's pretty homophobic. Oh, never mind.

[Mazakon]

NYT: Hitler showed an enthusiastic interest in even the smallest detail of home decor

Hitler preferred subtle earth tones for his homes and offices in Munich, Berlin and the Bavarian Alps. "He was not fond of brown," despite its prevalence on Nazi uniforms, Ms. Troost told an interviewer in the 1970s. She tried to dissuade him from his more extravagant and scary tendencies, but she lost some battles. In his Great Hall overlooking the Alps, he insisted on installing a window 28 feet wide and 12 feet tall that could be cranked and lowered into the floor, creating an intimidating hole in the wall.

You know who else showed an interest in interior decorating?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Hitler?

[Restoras]

Hitler? No, wait a sec...

[John]

George Washington. No kidding. He wrote long letters concerning the interior decoration of Mount Vernon while he was on campaign.

[Restoras]

Hmmm...I wonder if he and A. Hamilton shared campaign tents...or perhaps that pretty young French boy Lafayette?

[Medical Physics Guy]

I just visited Mt Vernon last week.

And it does seem relevant that he and Martha had no children.

[Karl Hungus]

I visited Monticello last month. Beautiful home. Never have been to Mt. Vernon, even though I grew up in Virginia.

[Free Society]

George Washington was prone to shitting the bed. He was fortunate he had Lafayette there to clean it up.

[Karl Hungus]

George Washington was prone to shitting the bed. He was fortunate he had Lafayette there to clean it up.

Three old men are sititing on a park bench, commiserating over their old age.

The first man says, "I wake up at 7 o'clock each morning and stand in front of the toilet for half an hour before the first drop comes out."

The second man pipes up: "I wake up at 7:30 every morning. I sit on the toilet for an hour, grunting and straining, before the first turd hits the water."

After a few moments, the third old man smiles and speaks: "Every morning at 7 o'clock on the dot, I piss like a race horse. At 7:15, I shit like a pig." He then bursts into tears.

The other two look at him incredulously. "What the hell's the matter?" one of them asks, "You've got it made!"

"Yeah," the old man sniffs, "but I don't wake up till eight."

[Free Society]

He'll be here all week, folks. Please tip your waitress.

[Karl Hungus]

All week, my ass! I'm a headliner now - Fridays and Saturdays only from here on out!

[Free Society]

No, you're opening for Dane Cook.

[Karl Hungus]

No, you're opening for Dane Cook.

Actually, that would be a good gig. Opening for him means you're either famous in your own right or you're about to become famous. Hell, I'll take it.

[Citizen X]

And when he steals a bunch of your jokes, you'll KNOW you've made it.

[Free Society]

It also means that when you're no longer opening for him, he starts using your material. Or so they say...

[Tonio]

Martha Stewart?

BTW, clever take on the Godwin Troll game, Mazakon.

[Swiss Servator, ...hat nichts]

"By God, he's managed a complete Reverse-Hitler!"

[juris imprudent]

Is that like the Heimlich Himmler maneuver?

[Swiss Servator, ...hat nichts]

*narrows gaze*

[Free Society]

Hitler literally wrote the book on home decor. See Mein Kampfy Chair

[Tonio]

[Narrows gaze at FS en la mode Suisse]

[Free Society]

*even narrower gaze*

[Almanian - Trump's Woodchipper]

teh Gaiz

[R C Dean]

She tried to dissuade him from his more extravagant and scary tendencies, but she lost some battles.

+1 Auschwitz.

[Lord Humungus]

Liberty-Hating Fascists Arrest American Hero For Disabling Red Light Cameras

Stephen Ruth, a 42-year-old New Yorker, was arrested earlier this week for neutering red camera lights, which act as automated revenue collection agents on behalf of Big Brother.

"In order to do this successfully, you only need a pair of balls and a painter's extension rod," Ruth says in a how-to video he published on YouTube.

Ruth also shared his tips on how easy it is to restore simple American freedoms on his Facebook page. According to Patch.com, a dirty, no-good snitch ratted out the fearless freedom fighter to local police, who then arrested him for the crime of loving liberty:

[John]

That guy is a hero. If people would start doing that the cameras would go away.

[Restoras]

I hate the cop cars with license plate readers. I fantasize about taking a pair of bolt-cutters to the cables.

[John]

I want to take a spray paint can to the lenses of speed cameras

[Copernicus would chip]

Just write "Destiny" on the lens. You're sure to get away with it.

[Almanian - Trump's Woodchipper]

+1 internetz upthread

[Tonio]

Bolt cutters are overkill unless it's a heavily armored cable. Also, cut cables are obvious.

[Restoras]

Yes, cut cables are obvious but I presume not easily replaceable...

[Illocust]

Obvious solution is paintball gun. Faster and less likely to get caught.

[Restoras]

Except, depending on where you live, if someone sees you they are likley to freak out and call the cops about a guy in the street with a scary looking gun. And we all know how that turns out.

True story: I was at my daughter's lacrosse game this past spring and there was a guy there with a camera, a long lens, and a monopod. The whole rig was black. Half way through the game the cops showed up - and started talking to him. Apparently, some fucking dipshit thought the guy had a rifle and called the cops. To their credit, the cops were totally calm and rational about it - they didn't show up in tactical gear or with weapons drawn, they talked to him for a couple minutes and left.

[PM]

When I was about 13 our church group went and played paintball in the state park (perfectly legal). Some fucking retard from a nearby apartment building was watching us through his telescope and called the cops to report that a bunch of people in the park were shooting each other with machine guns (the absence of anyone dying apparently didn't tip him off). The cop that showed up was completely cool about it, but he mentioned to us that they called him out because his car had an AR-15 in the trunk. Today, somebody probably would have gotten shot.

Paintballs are either mineral oil or polyethylene glycol based, btw. They'd wash off in a light drizzle. Although you might be able to take out the plastic lens cover on the camera.

[Restoras]

Church group...paint ball...what denomination did you belong too??

[PM]

Technically it was a Foursquare Pentecostal church, but the actual teaching and sermonizing was practically Unitarian. It was a large congregation (3-4k) and brought in a lot of money for the Foursquare organization, or else they'd probably have severed ties.

A lot of the local churches did paintball outings though. Next to birthdays, bachelor parties, and corporate "team building", church groups are a major revenue source for a lot of paintball fields.

[PM]

Correction: to be pedantic, they're water based. They're thickened with oil or PEG. The dyes are washable. In any case, not well suited to the task.

[Illocust]

Well, I live in Texas. With the amount of rain we get they might as well be permanent.

[Illocust]

My college had a Humans vs Zombies group. We ran around with nerf guns and bandannas around our arms. One group of our players got the cops called on them because someone thought the kids in preppy outfits were part of a gang. Hell one time I had to cops show up because I was pacing outside with my nerf gun waiting for the sun to come up (for reference I'm a utterly unintimidating cripple girl and my nerf gun was bright orange and blue).

[invisible furry hand]

it's the utterly unintimidating cripple girl with a bright orange and blue nerf gun that you have to watch out for

[Number.6]

Was your wheelchair painted camo?

[invisible furry hand]

Were there spikes on the wheels?

[Illocust]

No, but my leg brace was.

[PM]

Did the Nerf gun hold more than 7 foam darts? Did it have a shoulder thing that goes up?

[Illocust]

Actually one of the guys that played had a barrel attachment that would feed his gun over a hundred darts (It jammed all the time, but it was really cool when it worked). A couple others had battery powered guns so they could dual wield.

[PM]

Well, that's just awesome. Nerf guns and playing with Legos again are about the only two reasons I'd ever consider having children.

[tarran]

Stepping on Legos while padding around in bare feet is a lot more painful when one is an adult.

[Illocust]

Nerf guns are so much more fun as an adult. You can buy the coolest ones, and you have the knowledge and resources to modify them so they shoot better. There are whole forums dedicated to modding nerf guns.

[Restoras]

I got my son the belt-fed nerf machine gun. Freaking thing is awesome.

[Illocust]

There is apparently a machine nerf gun. It's got a crank, its belt fed, and its set up on a tri-pod. I've always wanted to buy one and test it out.

[Number.6]

And when you're done, donate it to the local Montessori School.
http://bearingarms.com/uploads.....e-Ones.jpg

[Idle Hands]

nerd.

[Illocust]

Dude, nerf gun wars. Who doesn't like running around and shooting your friends.

It was actually pretty hilarious how serious people got. Whatever color the bandanas were we'd have our player flinching at the sight of it for weeks afterwards.

[Restoras]

Who doesn't like running around and shooting your friends

You know who else liked to shoot his friends?

[Illocust]

Stalin?

[PM]

Full disclosure, I actually used to play tournament paintball and currently make money selling parts for a line of paintball guns for which I'm something of a guru. Nobody is more aware than me to what an absurd level you can elevate silly childhood games.

[Illocust]

You are now my favorite Reason regular. I bow down to your superior life choices. Way to live the dream.

[Lord at War]

Who doesn't like running around and shooting your friends.

Roman candle fights!

[Trshmnstr doesn't recycle]

I got written up in the dorm my freshman year for being in the same room as a nerf gun. The RA who wrote me up was one of the Humans v. Zombies leaders the next year and had nerf gun fights on his floor.

And people wonder why I turned libertarian in college

[Zeb]

Today, somebody probably would have gotten shot.

I think you'd still have to have some bad luck for that to happen. Depends where you are, I guess. Not all cops are completely without imagination and kids shooting each other with machine guns is pretty clearly not something that is not happening.

Where I live, the police get the occasional call for "shots fired", which is invariably someone legally shooting in their back yard. They have to respond, I guess, but no one gets shot. I've talked to at least one cop who wishes they could just tell the people who call that shooting is legal and unless someone is being reckless, stop wasting our time.

I don't trust any cop, but they aren't all always in violent asshole mode.

[Tonio]

^This.

Also, back in the 1970's they used to market grips for cameras equipped with long lenses; those grips were essentially the stock and forelimb of a rifle with a platform for the camera with a shutter release cable mounted where the trigger would normally be.

[Karl Hungus]

They're actually still made to this day:

http://www.amazon.com/Stedi-St.....B004816LZA

[Karl Hungus]

True story: I was at my daughter's lacrosse game this past spring and there was a guy there with a camera, a long lens, and a monopod. The whole rig was black.

I'm the guy at airshows with the SLR camera and long telephoto lens. I had a cop approach me one time, but that was only because he wanted ot see what kind of shots I was getting with that lens.

[R C Dean]

The genius of what he did is he doesn't actually damage the camera. He's not carrying or using anything even arguably illegal (guns, spray paint, etc.).

He seems pretty hardcore. I hope he takes it to a jury, and walks.

[John]

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-.....dorses-her

Turns out Fiorina was a good CEO and was the victim of a dysfunctional board. At least according to an actual board member who voted to fire her and now admits it was a mistake. But I am sure the lefty nerds at slashdot know better.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Good Lord, this again? Her tenure as CEO was during a tumultuous for the industry and stock market.

Lefties who go after business people are assholes because they have no clue what it's all about. They just project and say stupid things.

[Free Society]

Lefties who go after business people are assholes because they have no clue what it's all about. They just project and say stupid things.

It's just delicious to see socialists talk about minimum wage, living wage, pay gaps, moar regulationz blah blah blah, and then go on to impugn the acumen of a highly successful business woman.

[Tejicano]

Well duh... The more successful and highly paid women there are the sooner that pay gap disappears. That would be one fewer thing they can bitch about.

[defsoad]

Of course, these same people will reflexively scream, "BOOOOOOOOOOOSH" if anyone ever criticizes Obama.

[lap83]

"Turns out Fiorina was a good CEO and was the victim of a dysfunctional board."

Some people seem to have this idea that if you were let go from a job it must mean you were an incompetent failure. As if people magically become 100% objective when making hiring/firing decisions.

[Root Boy]

Well, Obama was never fired!!!??

Of course he's never had a job (except a business research job for a few months that he puffs about in his book).

[Just say Nikki]

Emily Bazelon straight up lies in the NYT about a rape case and I do mean straight up:

The case is a difficult one, still on trial and hotly contested, dealing with terrible allegations of rape at the private prep school, St. Paul's. The alleged victim says she was raped by a senior. The senior denies they engaged in sex. Bazelon will have none of it.

The dispute is a familiar-enough scenario for a rape case. But the fact that it has gone to court is also relatively unusual for a reason that may seem surprising: Labrie's guilt or innocence hinges on the question of consent. This is much less common than you might assume ? in fact, in many states, Labrie probably would not face felony charges of sexual assault at all. (Emphasis added.)

This premise, upon which the balance of her commentary relies, is not merely wrong, but a deliberate distortion, a lie if you will. As already noted, consent has nothing whatsoever to do with anything in this trial. He testified that he did not have sex with her, consent or not.

[John]

Baylzon is a man hating fanatic. It is horrifying to think that women has sons. Imagine growing up knowing your mother hates your guys because you were born the wrong sex.

[Karl Hungus]

Imagine growing up knowing your mother hates your guys because you were born the wrong sex.

Easily remedied!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....tment.html

[Irish ?s ESB]

But this message often doesn't line up with legal reality. A majority of states still erect a far higher barrier to prosecution and conviction by relying "on the concept of force in defining rape," as the Northwestern University law professor Deborah Tuerkheimer writes in a forthcoming article in The Emory Law Journal.

What state requires force for it to be rape? Is there any state where if you have sex with someone who is unconscious it's not rape? Plus there's statutory rape, so if someone below a certain age has sex with you, you're guilty of rape despite not having used anything describable as force.

So this is also a lie, correct?

[John]

All states. Force is an element of rape. It only has to be a modicum of force but it must be present. Bayzelon wants to change that because without force being required, men can be convicted of rape in cases where the woman consented by her actions but later regretted it.

[Irish ?s ESB]

So if you have sex with a woman who is unconscious, do they consider that to be the use of force?

BTW, I saw a video from Youtube idiot Laci Green where she said if you're too drunk to drive you're too drunk to consent.

That's right - at a .08 BAC you're a rape victim if you have sex. I've been raped so many times that it's amazing I can live with the trauma.

So if a 120 lb woman has three beers and you have sex with her, you're a fucking rapist.

[John]

Yes. Even a modicum will suffice. The force of pulling her legs apart counts. The term is "done with some force".

And yes these people are evil. They want to destroy due process and make you guilty by what political class you are.

[PM]

I've been raped so many times that it's amazing I can live with the trauma.

Dude, check your privilege. Men can no more be raped than black people can be racist.

[Irish ?s ESB]

I've mentioned this before, but at a college block party a friend of friend came up behind me, reached around and grabbed my junk.

I have never thought I was a serious victim, since she was just a drunk weirdo doing drunk weirdo things. If I were a feminist and she had been a man, I would be writing online thinkpieces for Jezebel to this day about how violated I was, how this shows the dangers of toxic masculinity, and how he almost ruined me for men.

[PM]

Related

(I guess now I've kind of outed myself as listening to twee synthpop)

[Karl Hungus]

(I guess now I've kind of outed myself as listening to twee synthpop)

Me too. It's mostly Alt Nation that I listen to these days.

And I had no idea she was so cute.

[Citizen X]

And I had no idea she was so cute.

She has just the best accent. Something about Scottish girls, damn.

Also, she apparently has a law degree.

[PM]

Also, she apparently has a law degree.

Don't get too excited, she followed it up with a Master's in Journalism.

[Citizen X]

If listening to CHVRCHES is wrong, i don't wanna be right.

[Free Society]

One time I broke up with a girlfriend and at a party while I was inebriated she climbed atop me despite my protests. I literally meant it when I said no. But I thought it'd be easier to just bang her than to experience her drunk emotional response. And it was! I got raped worse than Jackie.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

Do s she make,the distinction for the man as well? Because if he has three beers and so does the woman, who,is the rapist? What,if the woman initiates the act by missing the guy? She initiated the interaction, therefore she's the rapist, right?

Don't these,imbeciles,think,anything through,before they spout their,idiocy? They may as well be trying to explain the history of ketchup.

[Just say Nikki]

It would surprise me if it was not a lie. However, most states seem to have moved away from the crime of "rape" anyway, and have charges relating only to sexual assault of various kinds. And, yes, there's always statutory.

[John]

No they have not. Sexual assault idoes not involve intercourse. In cases where there is penetration rape still applies and is prosecuted. And rape at common law requires some force. Requiring force is how the law makes the government prove the victim didn't consent and avoids the trap I describe above.

[Just say Nikki]

You're wrong in IL.

[Zeb]

It's my understanding that most states don't call it "rape" in the actual law.

[See Double You]

In Montana, we have sexual assualt and sexual intercourse without consent, with the latter merely requiring some kind of penetration.

[SugarFree]

There is a point that the article you linked and Bazelon both don't tackle: Consent really doesn't matter in this case because even if the girl was a "yes means yes" eager participant, Lebrie would still be guilty of statutory rape. He cannot stipulate that sex occurred and argue over consent due to her age.

[Just say Nikki]

Excellent point. Since she was 15 at the time of the alleged incident, there's no consent-related defense possible.

[See Double You]

I don't know what the law is in that state, but in some states there is an affirmative defense based on belief that the victim was of age. The statutes normally set a limit on age differences, though: the defense is not available if, say, the defendant is more than five years older than the victim, or if the victim is younger than 13.

See, e.g., ? 45-5-511(1), Montana Code Annotated:

(1) When criminality depends on the victim being less than 16 years old, it is a defense for the offender to prove that the offender reasonably believed the child to be above that age. The belief may not be considered reasonable if the child is less than 14 years old.

[John]

True. But her goal is to shift the burden of proof onto the defendants. Eliminate force as an element and make consent an affirmative defense, meaning the defense has to prove it by a preponderance of the evidence. That would make any man liable to be convicted of rape on the word of any woman unless he can prove she consented. That would be game set and match for the presumption of innocence, which is that evil bitch's goal.

[Zeb]

Not sure how old he was at the time of the alleged incident, but in NH if the age difference is 3 years or less and the younger person is over 13, it's not statutory rape. So if he was 18, which i think he was, it might not have been.

[Just say Nikki]

He was 18, but NH doesn't have any factors about age differences that would make it not statutory rape. 15 can't consent, ever.

[Zeb]

Here's the law: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.u.....2-A-3.htm. If you are within 4 years and everyone is over 13, it's not statutory rape.

[John]

And their goal is to destroy due process in the courts. They are totalitarian Marxists. Campuses are just the stalking horse.

[Jordan]

Love SimpleJustice. Here's one about a Title IX bureaucrat's pathetic attempt to shift blame away from the OCR for the current campus rape hysteria:

When one addresses "safety," it gives the impression of protection from unusual physical harm. Students can fall down and scrape their knee, and short of bubble wrapping the sidewalks, it's rather hard to prevent. But when "safety" and "well-being," both warm, fuzzy and vague, encompass everything from hurt feelz to micro-aggressions, the breadth of this obligation becomes clear. The hole in this perceived duty becomes big enough to drive a Mack truck through, as it covers anything anyone might "feel," no matter how ridiculous. Because feelz.

This is what the article is about, an apologia for OCR's ramming the preponderance of the evidence standard down academia's throat upon the basis that it's not criminal. A theory that only a prosecutor could espouse with a straight face.

Losing years of tuition, years of studies, held out publicly as a rapist, tainted by notation on a transcript that will follow him for life and preclude all future opportunities except truck driver, this isn't criminal. What's the big deal about ruining a kid's life if someone's safety well-being feelings are at stake?

[Mazakon]

Professor Writes "Black Lives Matter" textbook

Over the past few years, reports of police brutality against black Americans?and the resulting Black Lives Matter movement?have galvanized different people in different ways.

For American Studies professor Duchess Harris, that meant writing a textbook aimed at middle and high schoolers.

[Fist of Etiquette]

For American Studies professor Duchess Harris, that meant writing a textbook aimed at middle and high schoolers.

That meant making money off the movement?

[Tonio]

Meh. She could have e-published but I don't know if school systems will adopt e-texts since poor kids don't have computers or teh internetz. Plus, we, here, rarely criticize libertarian authors for trying to make a buck off of our movement.

[PM]

Yes, but we're child-slaving anarchist oil profiteers, so it's expected of us.

[See Double You]

Plus, we, here, rarely criticize libertarian authors for trying to make a buck off of our movement.

I disagree with the comparison you're trying to make. Libertarians believe the profit motive is not only fine, but a good thing, so long as the actions involved do not violate the NAP or defraud others.* Progressives, OTOH, hate the profit motive. Harris is selling out the "movement" by ostensibly seeking to profit from it.

*I would include fraud as within the ambit of the NAP, but others disagree.

[PM]

This was an interesting bit of trivia I didn't know until recently:

Familiar Talk on Women, From an Unfamiliar Trump

The outspoken scion of the New York real estate developer Fred C. Trump stood on stage in Washington one day in 1992 and told a mostly female crowd of law enforcement agents to lighten up when it came to sexual harassment.
...

The aversion to political correctness and the dispensing of unorthodox advice were straight from the playbook of Donald J. Trump, the Republican presidential candidate who has made a business, and now the beginnings of a political career, out of over-the-top oratory. But these particular Trumpisms came instead from his older sister, Maryanne Trump Barry.

A senior judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit who was appointed to the bench by Ronald Reagan and promoted by Bill Clinton, Ms. Barry, 78, would perhaps be the ideal person to argue in her brother's defense as he faces familiar accusations of misogyny, if she would speak publicly.

[Lord Humungus]

Make salad great again: Why the recent salad backlash completely misses the point

Ladies and gentlemen, we've been trolled. Or at least I was, temporarily, when I came across this incendiary headline in the Washington Post: "Why salad is so overrated." In one masterfully headlined column, food and science writer Tamar Haspel attempts to convince us that everything we've ever been told about mixing cut-up foodstuff into a bowl of greens is a lie. And she very nearly succeeds, until you realize that the entire argument was written by a person who has no idea what salad is ? or at least, what salad can be.

The problem comes down to this: Haspel is working from an incredibly limited definition of "salad," one which suffers, paradoxically, from both a failure of the imagination on the one end and an overactive imagination on the other.

Salon.

[Irish ?s ESB]

Ladies and gentlemen, we've been trolled. Or at least I was, temporarily, when I came across this incendiary headline in the Washington Post: "Why salad is so overrated."

Incendiary headline. About salads.

[Mazakon]

Next incendiary headline: It's not ketchup, it's catsup.

[PM]

Fer chrissakes, don't light the Bo signal.

[WTF]

"To make mayonnaise, you have to break some eggs."

[Root Boy]

First World problems.

[Tonio]

Obligatory: "You can't make friends with salad."

[Citizen X]

I'm hungry for a nicoise now.

[Zeb]

Some of my best friends are salad.

[BearOdinson]

Vegetables aren't food. Vegetables are what food eat.

[Bee Tagger]

Ted Cruz and Donald Trump are teaming up for a joint rally against the Iran deal.

Twitter explodes.

[Julio]

Attention whores of a feather flock together.

[Irish ?s ESB]

Fellow Reasonoids: I come bearing gifts.

I was reading Ann Coulter's shitty book on immigration (which my dad owns for some inexplicable reason, given that he hates Ann Coulter), flipped to a random page, and found that Ann Coulter actually quotes Eric DONDERROOOOOOOOO.

Proof./

Dondero was throwing a hissy fit because a random immigrant (legal immigrant, btw - not an illegal) molested a five year old child and it wasn't national news. According to Dondero, this is because the immigrant didn't 'fit the narrative.'

Of course, hundreds of child molesters are arrested every year, and virtually none of them make national headlines unless there's some other aspect that makes the crime noteworthy. But to Coulter/DONDEROOOOOOOO this is evidence of a vast conspiracy to protect immigrant child rapists from public scrutiny.

[Swiss Servator, ...hat nichts]

"American Rotherham"

[Citizen X]

DONDERRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[See Double You]

It's so much worse when an immigrant does it, Irish. How do you not understand this?

[Bee Tagger]

Hillary Clinton's scandal-riddled campaign is starting to make many Democrats feel nervous.

They must have emailed her at some point.

[Atanarjuat]

Trump hints at executing Snowden

"This guy is a bad guy," Trump said. "You know there is still a thing called execution. You really have thousands of people with access to the kind of material like this. We're not going to have a country any longer."

[Mazakon]

Apparently the Snowden hate is one of the things Trump is actually genuine about. There was news about him last year calling for Snowden's trial.

[Root Boy]

He also called Bergdahl a traitor which pissed off his lawyer -- much more legit than Snowden hate but Trump likes to drum up Obama-like fervor.

[John Titor]

You know there is still a thing called execution.

There's also this thing called the Righteous Assassination of Tyrants, which should probably be a topic brought up if Trump somehow manages to get into a position of political power.

[R C Dean]

Trump is fundamentally a child, an arrested development case. He seems to have learned almost nothing in his life, is vastly self-absorbed, reacts impulsively and emotionally to everything, etc.

What we call "management material".

[Mazakon]

Charles C.W. Cooke: Gun Control Activists, Call for What You Really Want

[Idle Hands]

If they were honest with what there endgame was they would lose half their momentum. At least I hope they would.

[Irish ?s ESB]

They don't have momentum. They've lost the issue, which is why they fly into hysterics about it so frequently.

[Julio]

As we've discovered in Colorado, once they get the law they want it is written in stone, even if they lose the legislature and the people of the state hate the law. Whereas those opposing the law have to fight every frickin year for all eternity.

[Irish ?s ESB]

As we've discovered in Colorado, once they get the law they want it is written in stone, even if they lose the legislature and the people of the state hate the law. Whereas those opposing the law have to fight every frickin year for all eternity.

Then why have American gun laws become looser in the last 15 years? In 1986, assault weapons were banned and there was virtually no legal carry anywhere.

Here's a time lapse graph of what states had what kind of carry over time. Legal carry has improved drastically in 30 years.

[sarcasmic]

Maine just passed a Constitutional Carry law. So effective some time in October, you don't need permission to carry. I'll still take a class before I do though.

[Restoras]

How bad are the winters in Maine?

[sarcasmic]

They suck balls. Last New Years it was zero degrees and I had four foot snowbanks on the sides of my driveway. By the middle of February the snowbanks were approaching seven feet. Then when it all melts it's nothing but mud for a month. As I drive to work the sun comes up, and as I drive home it goes down. At least it's only six months of the year (that was sarcasm, it's really only four).

[Restoras]

Thanks, sarc. Last winter was particularly brutal for New England in terms of snow though I know the cold is brutal. How have other recent winters been for snow?

[some guy]

They suck balls

Are you near the coast or more inland? Does it even matter?

[Zeb]

I love winters like that myself. Though when you run out of places to put snow, it starts to get a little old. And i only had 3 feet or so of snow on the ground.

[Free Society]

Remarkably mild.

[Tejicano]

Actually, assault weapons were not banned at the federal level in any way until the import ban in 1989. Even that was bypassed in a number of ways.

It's funny that semi-auto versions of military long arms were not nearly as popular back then. Hollywood movies and then the internet really fed that market - lots of people just thought they weren't legal. Before the 1986 ban on further machine-gun registration semi-auto rifles were usually more expensive than their registered, full-auto counterparts.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

What I find curious is it's been suggested on the left the 2A be amended or even repealed correct? That would, I reckon, entail confiscating, what, 300 million guns? But at the same time they say amending the 14A (regarding deporting 11 million illegals) is not practical.

[Restoras]

Since firearms are property it might also run afoul of of the fourth amendment, so that might have to go to.

[Julio]

Repealing the 2nd amendment wouldn't mean gun control was enacted.

[sarcasmic]

They'll never repeal the 2A. They'll just keep infringing on the right to keep and bear arms until it is effectively illegal.

[Zaytsev]

The argument around the 14th amendment is about the citizenship of children born to non legal residents going forward. It is not about stipping citizenship from anyone that currently has it or about mass deportation.

[simplybe]

Can someone please tell me why people have a need to be led. We have city, county, state and federal governments all of which are to varying degrees are corrupt yet we keep electing and paying them instead of throwing in jail.

[Tonio]

That's the conundrum. Whether it's a genetic predisposition, or learned, or more likely a combination of the two, most people do. We, here, for the most part, don't. My personal suspicion is that the same mindset that allows one to continue to believe in religion as an adult is closely linked to the worship of human authority.

[Restoras]

the same mindset that allows one to continue to believe in religion as an adult is closely linked to the worship of human authority

Dude, that's bang on. Well said.

[Tonio]

Thanks.

[Swiss Servator, ...hat nichts]

Yup. Religion and statism...same thing!

[Root Boy]

Yes, crappy analogy

[sarcasmic]

Lead, follow, or get out of the way.

*gets out of the way*

[some guy]

Congratulations! You just identified yourself as a dangerous subversive and an easy target for persecution. That last option isn't really an option.

[PM]

+1 If you're not with us, you're against us.

[Lord Humungus]

Nate Silver: Donald Trump Is Running A Perpetual Attention Machine

What's interesting is how Trump seemed to go out of his way after the debate to ensure that he'd remain the center of attention, with his tirade against Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly (a feud that he's since resurrected). That tended to drown out most of the coverage of whether, say, Fiorina or Kasich had gained momentum after the debate, perhaps preventing them from having the sort of feedback loop of favorable attention that can sometimes trigger surges in the polls.

I don't know whether this was a deliberate strategy on Trump's behalf. But if so, it's pretty brilliant. Trump is perhaps the world's greatest troll, someone who is amazingly skilled at disrupting the conversation by any means necessary, including by drawing negative, tsk-tsking attention to himself. In the current, "free-for-all" phase of the campaign ? when there are 17 candidates and you need only 20 percent or so of the vote to have the plurality in GOP polls ? this may be a smart approach. If your goal is to stay at the center of attention rather than necessarily to win the nomination, it's worth making one friend for every three enemies, provided that those friends tell some pollster that they'd hypothetically vote for you.

Is it sustainable? In the long run, probably not.

[Julio]

He would not be able to command this much attention without the media's complicity. Giving him attention at the expense of the other GOP candidates serves the interests of the Left (and the establishment GOP to a lesser extent).

[Sevo]

I'm not implying a conspiracy, but given the largely lefty-leaning press, I'm sure he's seen as an archetype of the GOP and gets play for that.
More considered statements and positions from the non-clown candidates don't get that sort of attention because they don't re-enforce that stereotype.

[Sevo]

Oops.
Yeah, what you said more economically.

[Zaytsev]

Giving him attention at the expense of the other GOP candidates serves the interests of the Left (and the establishment GOP to a lesser extent).

Except that the establishment candidates have been sinking the fastest and the outsiders have been gaining.

[Lord Humungus]

Tweet

We would say stuff like, 'The reporter's out in the field.' And he would look at us and say, "What are you saying, cotton fields? That's racist," Fair recounted.

"We'd be like, 'What? We all know what that means, but he took it as cotton fields, and therefore we're all racists."

"This guy was a nightmare," Fair said. "Management's worst nightmare."

Flanagan assumed everything was a jab at his race, even when a manager brought in watermelon for all employees.

[SugarFree]

"Flanagan even declared that ?7-Eleven was racist because it sold watermelon-flavored Slurpees."

[Somalian Road Corporation]

OK, so I thought you might have added that in jest so I clicked on the link, but, nope. Real as raindrops.

[Lord Humungus]

I should have added that bit but I got tired of manually typing the text from the embedded photo.

[SugarFree]

Yeah, I should have said it was from the the article.

Imagine what he would have done if he had been kicked off the Napa wine train...

[Swiss Servator, ...hat nichts]

"The Napa Wine Train Massacre"

[R C Dean]

Or, if he was the shooter, the "Nappy-Headed Wine Train Massacre".

[Tonio]

Yep, clearly a nutjob. It will be interesting to see how the proggies, who have wholesale rejected insanity (at least for white males) as the cause for shootings.

[Antilles]

Mmmm...a watermelon Slurpee sounds so good right now. Wait, was that racist?

[R C Dean]

Hit it up with some vodka, my friend.

[Illocust]

Yep, the guy was straight up delusional. He should have never been hired, much less kept his job as long as he did.

[Illocust]

Hey, maybe people can use this as an excuse to start firing the overly sensitive. Taking offense where a reasonable person would find none could be seen as red flag for workplace violence now.

[Tonio]

Nope, not until they get rid of (at least the psychiatric diagnosis parts) of ADA.

[SugarFree]

It seems like he had these problems at more than a few jobs, but kept getting new ones. I wonder if the former employers were afraid to say anything due to lawsuits.

[Illocust]

I'm pretty sure all big companies won't do more than confirm you worked for them now days. Anything else has to much potential for lawsuit for a company of decent size.

[Tonio]

^This. Also, sometimes they are willing to give good or neutral references to move the problem along to someone else. If the person remains unemployed he'll focus on his last job; if he gets a new job he will focus on that situation.

[Tonio]

The Americans with Disabilities Act makes it more difficult to fire these people.

[Number.6]

Just makes HR departments that much more cautious during hiring.

A former boss of mine once cautioned me to be very, very careful recruiting a PA in New York City, and to avoid certain ethnicities. Fate intervened, so *I* didn't need to make a hard choice during recruitment, but a colleague "chose poorly" and recruited one of the perpetually aggrieved and it cost something like $90k to get rid of her.

[Tonio]

Yeah, and if you put yourself in the position of avoiding certain ethnicities (or whatever), then you get screwed another way.

[Number.6]

Precisely. My solution was to avoid recruiting anyone for the role, thereby exacerbating the high unemployment rate in the city.

Recruitment is simply minefields all the way down.

[Root Boy]

There is a good chart out there that shows the % of disabled people employed has gone down since the ADA was passed. Don't know how good the correlation is, but I bet that is part of the reason.

[R C Dean]

Of course it is:

Hard to fire, hard to hire.

[Illocust]

Doesn't that only apply if he's been diagnosed? If you fire someone because their externalizing blame increases chances of them committing violence against coworkers, that's not saying their disabled.

[Tonio]

"Your honor, it was clearly obvious that my client was mentally ill..."

[Lord Humungus]

hmm... link didn't work for me - extra characters added - but this should: Link

[CampingInYourPark]

"Bill Clinton Sought State Department OK For Paid Speeches Related to North Korea, Congo, New E-mails Show"

Still, the exchanges open a rare window on the private communications between aides to the former president, the Clinton Foundation, and Secretary Clinton's State Department during the four-year period that Hillary Clinton served as the nation's top diplomat. Those relationships and communications have drawn political scrutiny in recent months, with Republicans pouncing on episodes of potential conflicts of interests.

Bill Clinton delivered 215 speeches totaling over $48 million in the four years Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State.

http://tinyurl.com/qaajfyw

[CampingInYourPark]

This being on "Good Morning America" means a bad morning for Clinton

[Sevo]

Reading the linked article sure makes it seem like the Ds really aren't concerned that the harpy destroyed evidence and mis-handled secret com, just that they're worried the rest of us might be to the extent of denying them the WH.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Oh Sevo. What do you care about yoga emails?

[Root Boy]

Maybe he's hoping for the pics to come out of Hilldog in yoga pants.

[Sevo]

Fortunately, I can stop myself from visualizing that...

[Lord Humungus]

Moody neurotics are more likely to be creative geniuses, study says

If you are a tense and moody neurotic, take heart ? you could also be a creative genius, as a new study backs up the belief that neurotic misery and imagination go hand in hand.

It could explain why so many original thinkers, such as the famously neurotic artist Vincent van Gogh, the film-maker Woody Allen or scientist Sir Isaac Newton, suffered for their art. What such individuals have in common is a brain more sensitive to perceived threats than those of other people. And that "panic button" tendency is closely linked to an overactive, threat-generating imagination, say psychologists.

The personality expert Dr Adam Perkins, from King's College London, said: "We're still a long way off from fully explaining neuroticism ...?but we hope our new theory will help people make sense of their own experiences, and show that although being highly neurotic is by definition unpleasant, it also has creative benefits.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Meh. Par for the course in my family.

My sisters are pretty much that and my wife (who can actually determine this) and I consider them to be creative geniuses.

But it comes with a lot of dark holes.

[Lord Humungus]

Astronomical or more sexual?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I'm not biting.

Actually it's a combo of music/writing/art.

[PM]

Agile Cyborg could persuasively and poetically elucidate that there is, in fact, no difference.

[juris imprudent]

I'm off for Burning Man, sees ya'll in a little over a week.

Almanian, since you aren't up for a whole week in the desert, check out Lakes of Fire - regional event in Michigan. I haven't been yet but have heard many good things. The regionals are pretty cool usually, and only a long weekend.

[Crusty Juggler]

I'm off for Burning Man

Pics? Thanks in advance. Have fun.

[Root Boy]

Some news from Canada:

I heard Canada does not like the term Melting Pot

Seems like we're exporting USDA enforcers to Canada now

[Free Society]

1) Why are tax payer subsidies going to Muslim exclusive housing?

2) Why does this dude want to live with a bunch of Muslims?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

No. We like the term 'multi-culturalism' because superior.

[Root Boy]

I heard the term tapestry or something like that from my Canuk friends.

[Free Society]

Like a Persian rug? That's racist.

[Root Boy]

I now think it was mosaic -- racist Greeks?

[Free Society]

They're just brown enough for that to work, I think.

[Rhywun]

I just learned from that article that Muslims are more sacred than gays.

[John Titor]

We like the term 'multi-culturalism' because superior.

Well that, and even attempting a 'melting pot' would require doing things like, say, getting rid of bilingualism laws in provinces where it's bloody pointless. You're better off knowing Mandarin in Toronto than French.

[Rhywun]

Yes, "melting pot" implies assimilation. We don't push that any more in America, either.

[John Titor]

Well assimilation has never been a major goal in French-English Canada relations. The modern Canadian nation-state was founded as a consocialized state between English and French elites.

[Rhywun]

Yeah but back when you started letting in lots of non-English and non-French you were probably aiming for "melting pot" more than "multi-culti", right?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I just watched that syrup video. Holy shit what a bunch of evil motherfuckers.

[Root Boy]

Like the raisin thieves in the US. I thought it was only our stupid gov doing shit like this.

[Rhywun]

OK, it has to be said: maple-flavored everything is absolutely disgusting. Sorry, Canada.

[Swiss Servator, ...hat nichts]

*Flings pancake at Rhywun*

[Irish ?s ESB]

New York Times discovers many psychological studies are actually bullshit. Once again, on the rare occasion the NYT is right, Irish got there years ahead of them.

[Illocust]

Slate was talking about that yesterday. Doubtful anything will come from it though. Progs require to much bullshit science to support their world view to support reform.

[lap83]

"Irish got there years ahead of them."

Yes, most of us knew that in elementary school too 😉

[Irish ?s ESB]

The women of H&R are such bullies. Between you and Lady Bertrum, I am a sad, sad sex bear.

[AlmightyJB]

I eould be sad too if I was green and had no genitalia.

[PM]

Didn't hurt Kermit the Frog any.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Terrible news. The Popehat guys are killing the North Korea parody account.

[*GILMORE*]

Whatever happened to the promised Ken white v SJW debate about free speech?

[SIV]

I suspect it will be back once it's forgotten to be a parody

[Karl Hungus]

The inoffensive everyday phrases used by reporter Alison Parker that earned her a death sentence because Flanagan deemed them 'racist'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....acist.html

[Lord Humungus]

+1 Watermelon Slurpee

[commodious spittoon]

using terms like 'swinging' by an address or going out into the 'field' while she was an intern at WDBJ.

...You know, maybe it's not indefensible to suggest microaggression culture now has a body count.

[lap83]

But much like murderous "communist" regimes, he wasn't practicing real microaggression outrage. Real microaggression culture would result in only peace and love and rainbows for all eternity.

[commodious spittoon]

Exactly. He should have started a wordpress account and blogged about it, or written guest editorials for Slate. Ten Reasons Why Modern Newsrooms are Terribly, Horribly Racist.

[Root Boy]

Weigel is stealing Reason commenters in joke:

Tweet

[PM]

You know who else stole other people's culture...

[AlmightyJB]

I got some technical error trying to open. What does it say?

[PM]

daveweigel added,

You know who else made some questionable claims about Germany?

Karen Tumulty @ktumulty
Why you shouldn't retweet Sanders's claim that Hitler 'won an election' http://wpo.st/X-OX0 via @glennkesslerwp

[Crusty Juggler]

Oh fuck you.

[Crusty Juggler]

Follow

daveweigelVerified account
?@daveweigel daveweigel retweeted Karen Tumulty

You know who else made some questionable claims about Germany?

Is beloved commenter Mike M. on the right track? Weigel is one of us?

[AlmightyJB]

Well he used to be a staffer so wouldn't be surprising.

[Root Boy]

And it was a good use of the joke in a tweet

[Fist of Etiquette]

He has Ziggy bed sheets.

[PM]

The pig says "My wife is a slut"...

[lap83]

+1 complaint department

[SIV]

Microaggressions kill:

"We would say stuff like, 'The reporter's out in the field.' And he would look at us and say, 'What are you saying, cotton fields? That's racist,'

Flanagan was also upset 7-11 was selling watermelon-flavored Slurpees.

The SJW contributing factor is undeniably strong.

[commodious spittoon]

Unfortunately, if you read the comments it's the fault of firearm retailers for not being psychics.

And criminal background checks for not turning up non-criminal incidents.

[SIV]

I should,ve scrolled up

[Free Society]

There's no question that SJW ideology is going to result in this shit. If you fabricate victimhood, you'll soon be faced with people with fabricated greivances seeking false justice.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Read. My. Lips.

No. New. Posts.

[Crusty Juggler]

Me-ow.

[Warty]

Getting pumped for the season. FOOOTBALLLLLLLLLLLLL

[Root Boy]

I thought that link would be to the Hank William Jr song, but heard that is illegal now.

Browns going to be any good this year?

[Warty]

Nope. But they should be fun, like last year. It's all I ask for.

[Root Boy]

Spoken like a true fan, not fair weather.