Hillary Clinton Is Sorry, Seattle Teachers on Strike, Paul and Cruz on Trump: A.M. Links

• 

  Rand Paul Facebook

  Hillary Clinton is sorry about that whole email thing. It was a "mistake," she said.

• Support for the Iran deal is extremely low among the American people.
• Seattle teachers go on strike, disrupting the first day of school.
• Long live the already long-lived queen.
• Ted Cruz angling to to succeed Trump after the Donald burns out.
• Mike Ditka likes Trump.
• Rand Paul says he will support whoever wins the Republican nomination, even if it's Trump. But it better not be Trump, he said.

New at Reason.com:

Brickbat: I Paid the Debt I Owed Them By Charles Oliver

Kim Davis Has No Right to Impose Her View of Marriage on Others The defiant clerk's defenders dangerously blur the distinction between private action and state action. By Jacob Sullum

It's Time to Cut the Red Tape! Rolling back the bureaucracy and regulations should be a signature campaign issue, but it's not. By John Stossel

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Hillary Clinton is sorry about that whole email thing. It was a “mistake,” she said.

If Hillary gets in, Obama’s gonna find out payback’s a bitch. With cankles.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

‘ello.

“Seattle teachers go on strike, disrupting the first day of school.”

Same thing here. And honestly, I think they have a point. What the government wants to do is not for the children.

[Auric Demonocles]

Still, it’s pretty poor form to strike on your first day of work, after months of paid vacation.

[Certified Public Asshat]

SOME OF THOSE TEACHERS WORK OVER THE SUMMER.

Just throwing in some standard talking points to keep things fresh.

[gaijin]

and many of them spend their own money on school supplies for their students! Pencils are expensive doncha know.

[Certified Public Asshat]

I think my favorite teacher meme is the number of hours they work per day. 8-10, 10-12, 20 hours!

Except, it has been studied, and the average teacher works less than the average professional does.

[WTF]

Yup, I used to be a teacher, and the hours were not long, especially compared to a typical professional in the private sector.

[Crusty Juggler]

If you count the number of hours a teacher spends grading papers, slaving over an assignment they forced upon their students, the number of hours they work could be endless.

[R C Dean]

If you count the number of hours a teacher spends grading papers, . . .

So, its gonna be calculus, since you are using imaginary numbers?

[RBS]

I’d like to see the actual amount of time working instead of the total amount of time spent in the school building.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Believe me, it goes beyond the walls.

It’s nuts how much comes home.

[RBS]

Ok, but why should any of the rest of us who work 10+ hours a day give a shit?

[Certified Public Asshat]

Believe me, it goes beyond the walls.

It’s nuts how much comes home.

That was my point. For good teachers, maybe, but taken as a whole, this is not true.

[Griffin3]

The required supply basket for Santa Rosa County schools is pushing $90, these days, for each student. And this is a well-paid school district.

[SFC B]

Seriously? Fuck. I’m going to have to be dropping $100+ for supplies in 5 years when Skippy goes to school.

[R C Dean]

Psht. Give him a $20 switchblade, and tell him to forage.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Well some do!

And when they don’t do summer school or whatever they don’t get paid 100% of their salary – more like 60%. Up here anyway.

[Marshall Gill]

when they don’t do summer school or whatever they don’t get paid 100% of their salary – more like 60%. Up here anyway.

You sure about that? Here in OK, the base “salary” does not include working summers. They recently went to “year round” school, which is nothing of the sort. All it did was increase the week long breaks into two week long breaks. Now one of the “vacation” weeks can be spent “catching up” and teachers who “work” during this period receive more pay than their “salary” indicates.

The scare quotes necessary to write a post about public indoctrination are exhausting.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Yes. My wife is a teacher. Works eight hours a day too!

And why should teacher’s pay for student supplies? Why is that the teachers job to pay out of pocket? I used to get reimbursed for all sorts of things when I worked in financial services.

That shit adds up! But my wife is the sort of person who does it anyway within reason.

[Rhywun]

They want a 10.5% raise over two years. Must be nice to have other people’s money to work with.

[WTF]

They need that 5.25% raise per year. For the kids.

[CatoTheChipper]

For their kids, maybe. Tuition at private school is expensive.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Perhaps, but what the government wants to do here will have an immediate negative impact on students. Teachers are in a certain mode now with class sizes and dealing with autistic cases – they were just getting the hang of it and now the government wants to tear that down and reverse everything because of costs.

Their pressure tactics are pretty limited.

[Tonio]

Hate to ruin a good zinger, but in all fairness it’s not actually a paid vacation. Teachers have the option to have part of their pay deferred so they get paid year-round, but can also opt to get their full paychecks and only get paid during the schoolyear.

It really wouldn’t do them any good to strike during the summer, of course. Standard libertarian disclaimer: government employees should not be unionized.

[Rhywun]

If they’re working on a yearly salary, there is no difference.

[Florida Man]

It’s a 10 month contract.

[Auric Demonocles]

Yeah, they really like to play both sides. “We only get paid X a year!” Then “It’s not a vacation, we don’t get paid during the summer” If the second is true, you need to prorate your pay when you’re claiming a low yearly salary.

[Free Society]

But they deserve a living wage! Don’t you know that if you hire someone, for any job whatsoever, they deserve living wage for that job?

You can’t live on $30,000 per year with benefits, retirement and 3 months vacation.

[Rhywun]

Most teachers make wayyyy more than that these days.

[Free Society]

I was trying to be conservative. Even the low ball number is far more than the teachers who comprise our atrocious education system, are actually worth.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

That they do. I know here they pretty much max out at about 78k. Administration make more – 80-100k. I know a couple. They have little or no life. 7am to 7pm constantly.

It’s not an easy life. I have no idea where this thing they have it easy comes from.

[Free Society]

Well they’re school teachers, they have cushy little public sector union protected jobs that they notoriously fail at in districts all around the land.That’s where one might get the notion.

[Rhywun]

I was lucky to have mostly good-to-great teachers, but this was at smartypants schools in the 80s. The norms probably got worse teachers and of course the unions fight tooth and nail any attempt to judge their performance so good teachers are basically screwed.

[Crusty Juggler]

They have it easy because, at least in the area where I live (the Hudson Valley in New York), teachers are bulletproof and cannot be fired once they reach tenure. I think the average salary is 80,000. A friend recently became the principal of a middle school in a small town in this area, and he is making $125,000, but he does not get summers off, and he works normal people hours.

[Idle Hands]

have the option to have part of their pay deferred so they get paid year-round

So we have teachers that don’t understand the time value of money teaching our children, that actually explains quite a bit.

[Just say Nikki]

I bet most of them have too much withheld for income tax as well.

[Idle Hands]

It’s okay because they augment their income when the Gov. sends them a nice check every year after they mail in their return.

[Tonio]

Why yes, yes it does.

The really smart teachers don’t take the deferred salary and either have summer jobs lined up or save for those three months.

[Auric Demonocles]

You mean in the same way that my company defers some of my pay 49 weeks a year to pay me the other 3 weeks?

[Florida Man]

Except they are rehired every year after the 10 month contract, it’s not a continuous job, at least in FL.

[Tonio]

Not quite the same unless your office is closed those three weeks.

[Jerryskids]

What the government wants to do is not for the children

When you say ‘the government’, are you talking about the teachers or the school system or just the whole of government in general?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

The Minister of Education in this case. They’re inconsistent and change the law every time a new one comes in. I’m not even a teacher and I find it annoying. Imagine having to change the way you work every so often and with students/education it’s a little trickier.

I don’t agree with the cutting of extra-curricular activities though.

[Jerryskids]

I don’t know how it works where you are, but the educational system here is most definitely extremely consistent in their inconsistency. They talk about how broke the system is and come up with a sure-fire 100% guaranteed 5-year plan to fix it by doing something completely different than just shoveling more money at the schools (although shoveling more money at the schools is always a part of the plan). Precisely 5 years later they talk about how broke the system is and come up with a sure-fire 100% guaranteed 5-year plan to fix it by doing something completely different than just shoveling more money at the schools (although shoveling more money at the schools is always a part of the plan). Then 5 years later, they talk about how broke the system is and come up with a sure-fire 100% guaranteed 5-year plan to fix it by doing something completely different than just shoveling more money at the schools (although shoveling more money at the schools is always a part of the plan).

[Marshall Gill]

Tell me they don’t really call them “5 Year Plans”. Please.

[Jerryskids]

No, the plans are always coming from some blue-ribbon panel of educational experts so it’s “A 5-Year Framework For Developing A Holistic Paradigm Of Educational Investment Incorporating Normative Transubstational Hueristics and….” and then your head hits the table and you wake back up and can’t remember what the hell you were reading.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Yeah. Similar up here too.

Problem is the Minister of Education never has an education background and literally has no clue what the heck they’re doing except to follow the party policy usually tied to budgets.

Just the Minister of Health usually has no background in medicine (though our current provincial minister is a doctor) and our Premier is one too. Imagine that. A doctor is running Quebec!

[Old Man With Candy]

“I take responsibility.”

Seriously, what the fuck does that mean?

Oh, right.

[Fist of Etiquette]

That’s all she had to say in the first place. Now everyone can move on.

[Tonio]

Finally, someone who gets it.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

She said her sorry. Geez. What do you Teathuglicans want?

[Old Man With Candy]

Better grammar?

[R C Dean]

What do you Teathuglicans want?

An indictment would be nice.

[WTF]

It means “I am mouthing the correct words, but still refusing to accept any actual consequences for my actions”.

[commodious spittoon]

She accepted the consequences! She had to apologize, didn’t she?

[Tejicano]

Sounds to me like she’s saying “What do I have to say to make this stop?”

[Jerryskids]

Did she say she ‘takes’ responsibility or she ‘accepts’ responsibility? ‘Accepts’ implies that something is being thrust upon you that you don’t really deserve but that you are too gracious to refuse, ‘take’ implies that there’s some general milling about looking at the dog turd in the middle of the floor and everybody’s waiting to see who’s going to clean it up because ‘it ain’t my job’. In either case, it’s implying that the responsibility is not really yours to begin with but somehow you seem to have aquired possession of it. If you’re really responsible, you neither take nor accept responsibility, you’re just responsible. “I am responsible”.

[Old Man With Candy]

She said “I take responsibility.”

[Raven Nation]

Well, Janet Reno took responsibility for Waco and looked what happ…oh, right.

[Free Society]

She’s in jail right? RIGHT?

[Free Society]

It means either “I take qualified immunity” or “I take any amount of responsibility that doesn’t result in prosecution or damage to my naked ambition.”

[Idle Hands]

IF she get’s indicted the followed by a Joe Biden presidential announcement, the following caterwauling will make the last 8 years of Obama almost worth the heartburn.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

You had me at ‘Hillary Clinton is sorry’.

A sorry sack of shit.

[Suthenboy]

Watching this whole debacle is amazing. Imagine if this incompetent bitch wins the election. She will do for Obumbles what Obumbles did for Jimmy.

Holeeeey shit.

[PM]

Implant ‘traps’ spreading cancer cells

A small sponge-like implant that can mop up cancer cells as they move through the body has been developed by US researchers.

So far tested in mice, it is hoped the device could act as an early warning system in patients, alerting doctors to cancer spread.

The implant also seemed to stop rogue cancer cells reaching other areas where new tumours could grow.

The findings appear in Nature Communications .

Cancer Research UK said nine in 10 cancer deaths were caused by the disease spreading to other areas of the body.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

It seems like I’ve been reading a lot about innovative new cancer treatments lately. Not all of them will pan out, but hopefully at least a couple of them will.

[Zeb]

Too bad the FDA will make sure we don’t see them in wide use for some years.

[commodious spittoon]

Just be happy with your terminal illness, peasant. Who knows what those treatments could cause.

[Lee G]

“Cancer checks in, but it doesn’t check out.”

[Tonio]

Ha!

[Swiss Servator]

Nicely done.

[R C Dean]

The Hotel Cancerfornia?

[R C Dean]

Cancer Research UK said nine in 10 cancer deaths were caused by the disease spreading to other areas of the body.

Especially when the NHS won’t authorize any treatment until after the cancer has hit Stage 4 and you are a dead serf walking.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Ted Cruz angling to to succeed Trump after the Donald burns out.

Ted Cruz? The Latino from Canada?

[gaijin]

habla canuck usted?

[Citizen X]

Como estas, eh?

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Take off, ju pinche hoser!

[Trump-o-Matic 5000]

Takin’ ar jobs!

[PM]

Many animals can become mentally ill

To our eyes, many animals seem to suffer from forms of mental illness. Whether they are pets, or animals kept in ill-managed zoos and circuses, they can become excessively sad, anxious, or even traumatised.

We have tended to think of psychological illnesses as a uniquely human trait. But that may be wrong. There is growing evidence that many animals can suffer from mental health disorders similar to those seen in humans.

I’ve always suspected my cat may be a sociopath.

[expat]

Sociopathic Cat = Redundant!!

[Zeb]

I’m pretty sure one of our cats has OCD.

[Lee G]

My cat is just an asshole

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

One of our dogs has OCD.

He will jump up 3 times looking, before actually jumping onto the couch.

[R C Dean]

There’s your problem:

You let your dogs on the furniture. That draws Extreme Retribution* in the Dean house.

*A harsh word, followed by treats and skritches until the dog stops pouting.

[invisible furry hand]

I knew someone who had two cats. One had dominance issues, and the other was on valium.

The owner was also mad, needless to say.

[commodious spittoon]

Would squirrel Prozac make the server problems go away?

[Rhywun]

One of my cats is definitely “traumatized”. She is scared of everything, including the other one who is a sociopath.

[Lord Humungus]

In March one of my cats unexpectedly died – basically a heart attack. I put it down to stress caused by the other cat. The two were always at war with each other – neither giving up ground. It never got violent but there was a constant battle of nerves.

[PM]

That’s horrible 🙁

[Lord Humungus]

I’ve had cats die – but usually from old age issues like cancer, diabetes, etc

But to have a seemingly healthy 6yo cat just die out of the blue, especially since she was at the vets the previous day, was heart-wrenching. After I dug the hole, I was crying like a little kid when I tucked her inside of a towel with a favorite toy mouse.

[Lord Humungus]

‘I’m pretty disgusted – but I still love him’ says wife of horse sex pervert

His wife Sarah said today that while she is “pretty disgusted” by what Blackman did, she still loves him adding: “I can’t turn that off overnight”

She told The Sun she is not sure whether they will remain together.

Mrs Blackman said she wasn’t sure why her husband had come to commit his vile crime, but revealed that in the recent months “things had changed.”

[Pope Jimbo]

Well if they do get divorced, I’m sure Sara Jessica Parker will be there to snap him up. They’d be perfect for each other.

Hopefully, though, they do patch things up. Maybe they could renew their vows to show the world that they are still Mare-ied.

[Lee G]

nay

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Ohhh Wilbur!

[invisible furry hand]

Stop horsing around. These jokes make me bridle.

[Tejicano]

Sounds like she’s saddled with him.

[gaijin]

Unless it spurs her to take action.

[Jerryskids]

Hay, are you trying to stirrup some trouble here?

[Crusty Juggler]

He is her mane man.

[Citizen X]

Hay now, at this point y’all’s puns are just beating a dead horse.

[FreeToFear]

More like beating off a dead horse…

[straffinrun]

The horse fisterer.

[Jimbo]

Mrs Blackman will have a lot of men jockeying for position if she ends up back on the mareket.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Dammit Soave!

Anyways, I’ll repost in here. Take a gander at this man, who may be the King of all hipster douchebags. Arrested for attacking a car while riding the wrong way down a street during a critical mass ride.

Bonus: That “Stop Staples” shirt… apparently, it’s a union movement whining about Staples because they’re daring to provide post office services more convenient than the post office, at a lower cost.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

Nobody should have a ‘stache like that unless they’re pitching for the Oakland A’s.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Rollie Fingers was cool enough to pull that kind of thing off. This asshole? No.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

False! The other way to wear that ‘stache is with a bald head and a leopard print over the shoulder thing, while lifting round dumbells.

Working in the circus is a plus.

[Pope Jimbo]

WTF is wrong with the people who think that Critical Mass events are productive?

I love riding my bike and in the summer I try to add a good bit of bike commuting to the mix. Yeah there are some asshole drivers out there, but do you really think that the way to win them over is to fuck up everybody’s commute?

[Tonio]

^This. It’s not about change, it’s about teh feelz, and intimidation.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Half these people, I notice, can’t even ride a bike properly. They can barely stay balanced.

I ride mine in the farm fields behind my house. No one gets in my way. I don’t need assholes like this guy blocking me from riding at 30-34 km/hr.

[Overt]

I had a conversation with a critical mass sympathizer who gave me the line,”all they are asking is to get the same rights as a car driver”

I said,”Yeah right. I’ll give you the same respect when you start obeying the same laws. That means no popping up on the sidewalk when the road gets tough; no running red lights, signaling for lane changes all the time, etc”

In fact, in some cities it is illegal to shoot between cars- you are expected to stay in the lane. As soon as the bike riders consistently follow all the laws, I’ll be an ardent supporter.

[Tonio]

I’ll give you the same respect when you start obeying the same laws.

Good for you. They hate that, of course. The whole point is they want special privileges at the expense of the driving, road-tax paying public.

[onelasttime]

As if motorists as a group obey the laws? Scofflaw and careless motorists behavior is worse because they’re shooting a two-ton bullet through public space. And the user fees motorists pay that are referred to as “taxes” don’t come close to paying for our state-mandated auto-centric infrastructure and land use.

I say all this as someone who his a motorist and does not own a bicycle. I’ve spend enough time in different forms of transportation to have a little more perspective than the average person.

[Raven Nation]

So, I just now learned about Critical Mass Rides (thanks HnR commentariat). Apart from the other comments here, they also have some historical problems. From the Wikipedia page:

It has been described as a “monthly protest by cyclists reclaiming the streets”.

Yeah, because streets were originally built for bicycles.

[Swiss Servator]

They should be trampled by horses.

[l0b0t]

Yeah, because streets were originally built for bicycles.

Actually, they were. Because of the constant refrain of “MUH ROADZ” from Whig/Progressive chums on DerpBook et al. I’ve done a fair bit of research on the history of roads in the US. It was the bicycle lobby that initially barbered for paved government roads and in 1905 NJ capitulated and created the very 1st DOT. By 1915, NJ was leading the nation in government created paved roads. Prior to that, ALL roads in the US with the exception of a couple of Post Roads were privately financed and constructed. The FedGov didn’t get involved in road building (apart from the Post Roads) until the 1957 creation of the Eisenhower Interstate System. Cars use them but bikes led the way.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Wow.

“Ian Hespelt, 39, remains in San Francisco County Jail on suspicion of four felony charges, including assault with a deadly weapon, stemming from the Aug. 28 attack in which he allegedly pounded and shattered a Zipcar driver’s window with a metal U-lock.”

39? Get a life guy.

“Ian Hespelt, who has a distinctive handlebar mustache, was arrested Saturday night outside AT&T Park, where Billy Joel was performing.”

What song was playing while he committed his douchey crime?

Also.

What’s their problem with Staples?

[Juvenile Bluster]

Said it above. Apparently the unions are pissed off that Staples is offering post office services cheaper/more convenient than the actual post offices.

Here’s a link to a union site that talks about it, wherein said douchebag is quoted.

[Tonio]

Nice.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

“The whole thing is from one perspective saying he’s to blame,” she said Tuesday. “This would have never happened if the driver didn’t do what she did.”

“HE A GOOD BOY THAT DIN DO NUFFIN–HE WAS GOIN TO COLLEGE, TURNIN HIS LIFE AROUND! “

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Oh, this is just precious:

He works at the Macy’s store in San Francisco’s Union Square

At 39 years old, you should be in your prime earning years, not folding clothes or spritzing perfume at a damn department store. Dude probably still lives with his mother.

“I said the real favor, follow my advice and fire your fucking ass because a loser is a loser.”

[CatoTheChipper]

Had to Google what a “Critical Mass” biking event is. From what I could gather, it is the means whereby a bunch of assholes on bicycles ruin the early weekend of people who actually work for a living.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

87) You know what must be terrible? Living in a world where you don’t trust your neighbor. Where you believe the only thing keeping your neighbor from shooting you is his access to guns. Where the only thing keeping him from molesting your children is his access to them as they play in the yard unsupervised. Where the only thing keeping him from starving to death is welfare payments. Where the only thing keeping him from addiction is drug prohibition. A world where your neighbor’s diet, finances, children, and entertainment must all be constantly scrutinized to prevent him from behavior that would threaten you and your home and family if he had the chance.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Where the heck do you live?

[An Innocent Man]

Apparently, the USA.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

Here are some good shots of my house.

[CatoTheChipper]

You’re dead?

[Citizen X]

Next door to Tony, apparently.

[Illocust]

I don’t know. It might also make people feel important. Most peoples neighbors don’t giving a flying fuck about them unless they are making noise, and for some people it is better to be hated than ignored.

[expat]

Well put. I am afraid we are indeed living in that world …. which I guess is your point!

[Trump-o-Matic 5000]

I trust no one!

[gaijin]

Who said it?

“You want everybody educated to their potential. You want people to reach their potential. That still won’t work for some people in a highly developed market system…There’s just some people don’t fit well into a highly skilled market-based economy.

They’re perfectly decent citizens. We’ll send them off to Afghanistan, but they are not going to command a big price.”
.
.
.

The Oracle of Area Code 402

[Illocust]

Someone in the past from Britain.

[straffinrun]

Lord H?

[gaijin]

yes, but later

[Agile Cyborg]

To add a smidgen of flavor: signing up for years of dodging subsonic projectiles, possible capture and torture, potential beheading, and the maiming roadside explosion while scarcely paid for it and then treated like a boil afterward isn’t necessarily the mark of intelligence.

It’s a wonder a single individual gives his or life to this thing when all the points are pondered and the array is analyzed. Zero intention here to implicitly offend solid-thinking individuals in the military in these threads. I just cannot comprehend what war voted on by the barbarians lording over this country is worth dying for.

[Monty Crisco]

Well, cyborg, the benefits are generally not monetary and many of us are proud of our service. I don’t believe in a lot of what we are doing since going over to both places, but it was my being there that informed that, not a newspaper article.
Joining the army led to my current profession, gave me a GI Bill to better myself for no cost, and also taught me Chinese.
STill the best decision I ever made.

[bacon-magic]

Good answer, although AC does not appear to look for answers to his questions on here, he finds that in hallucinogens.

[commodious spittoon]

Buttplug must be proud.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

We’ll send them off to Afghanistan

I assume this person means the military? Warren Buffet, right?

Currently, we won’t let people without some potential join the military. The Army recruits primarily from the upper 50%. People like our own Derpetologist.

More than 60% have to come from the top of the bell curve, and basically nobody from below the 25th %ile. The people he’s talking about can only go to Afghanistan if they join Al Quaeda and buy a ticket.

[Brett L]

Here is a person educated well beyond their potential. Maybe we should stop short when in doubt.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Support for the Iran deal is extremely low among the American people.

But support for Dance Moms at an all time high!

[Jerryskids]

I am hoping that the low support actually means something. Since nobody really knows what the hell the Iran deal really is, are they maybe just going off the idea that secretive deals involving governments are more likely than not bad deals? That if the government’s doing something they don’t want you to know about it probably ain’t planning a surprise birthday party involving cake and ice cream and pony rides? We really need more of the default setting on government action being ‘probably a bad idea’.

[Suthenboy]

“Since nobody really knows what the hell the Iran deal really is, are they maybe just going off the idea that secretive deals involving governments are more likely than not bad deals?”

Unpossible.

[Lord Humungus]

Hillary Clinton’s secret weapon in campaign finance reform: Shame

Hillary Rodham Clinton knows her plan to stop big businesses from secretly funneling tranches of cash into politics may not fly with the Supreme Court and Congress, so she has a backup plan: publicly shame the companies.

Clinton is embracing one of the few effective tactics for loosening the grip on big money in politics. The plan she announced Tuesday to force publicly traded companies to disclose all political giving comes as a growing chorus of academics and activists are finding new ways to expose companies that hide their political maneuvering.

Many major companies are responding by coming clean. They are getting out of the game of giving so-called dark money, or funding from nonprofit groups that aren’t required to disclose the sources of their money. In many cases, the donations became a public relations nuisance and even a corporate liability.

shame, shame, shame

[Old Man With Candy]

Note that she is silent about union bribery… uhhhh…. contributions. That has nothing to do with the fact that they are Team Blue’s major contributors. No sir, nothing at all.

[Free Society]

How many of those companies have given to the Clinton Foundation? Will she shame George Soros for giving so much money to Democrats? Money in politics is bad when the other team gets it.

[Tonio]

So, she’s going to poison the well, as it were. Yeah, everyone on both sides of the aisle is going to hate her for stopping the flow of money.

[Anomalous]

Shame doesn’t affect her.

[Trump-o-Matic 5000]

I’m pretty sure that’s unconstitutional as well. The option of anonymity has long been recognized as a core part of free speech.

[Jerryskids]

Clinton is embracing one of the few effective tactics for loosening the grip on big money in politics.

How stupid do you have to be to actually believe Clinton’s criticism of money in politics is anything other than criticizing money in politics that doesn’t get funneled past Clinton? If you’ve never heard of the Clinton Foundation and have no idea what it is, you’re too stupid to be writing anything anybody with a lick of sense should waste any time reading.

[Lord Humungus]

Shocking number of college graduates are idiots when it comes to the Constitution

According to the study, nearly 10% of college graduates think Judith Sheindlin ? commonly known as Judge Judy ? is on the Supreme Court; one-third of college graduates can’t identify the Bill of Rights as a name given to a group of Constitutional amendments; and 32% believe that Representative John Boehner is the current president of the U.S. Senate. Shockingly, 46% of college grads don’t know the election cycle ? six years for senators, two years for representatives.

Wonder why?

Only 18% of America’s colleges and universities require students to take a course in American history or government.

[PM]

Feature, not a bug.

[Old Man With Candy]

nearly 10% of college graduates think Judith Sheindlin ? commonly known as Judge Judy ? is on the Supreme Court

Want to bet that when broken down by major, the percentages are skewed by people in (fill in the blank) Studies?

[Free Society]

one-third of college graduates can’t identify the Bill of Rights as a name given to a group of Constitutional amendments;

Great band name though.

[Zeb]

How the crap do you not know that stuff before college? It’s basic middle-school civics stuff.

[Tonio]

That, too.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

If you didn’t learn it the first time, there’s probably a good chance you won’t learn it any other time.

[Just say Nikki]

Only 18% of America’s colleges and universities require students to take a course in American history or government.

Who has time for that when you have to churn out all those certifications?

I mean, you know that’s also part of why college graduates are so retarded, right? Because we’ve turned them into high school graduates.

[Tonio]

HS graduates should know those things, too. And used to, back in my day…

[Tejicano]

I can’t remember if I was ever assigned to read the Constitution. I only remember that I did read it in the 8th grade and was totally blown away by how well everything seemed to be covered – balancing the powers against each other. I had a firm appreciation for the Bill of Rights and the freedoms they affirmed.

[Trump-o-Matic 5000]

I’ve definitely read it, but I won’t lie, I can’t remember whether it was even assigned in law school. Not that anyone in Congress or on the Supreme Court pays attention to it, anyway….

[Auric Demonocles]

My undergrad did not have a US history requirement either. We did have a non-US/European history requirement though. For diversity.

[Zeb]

My school had very vague requirements that you take a couple of courses in history or social sciences (and 2 other very broad categories). So I did some European history since I had lots of US history in high school.

[BigT]

Poor schooling these days.

I took:
Grammar school:
US History
Ohio History

High school:
US History
Ancient & Medieval history
Modern European history

College:
US history
History of Science

All private schools, obviously.

[LynchPin1477]

Most of those stats don’t concern me. The typical person doesn’t need to know the names of all the SC Justices or Boehner’s job title.

I’m far, far more disappointed that people don’t seem to understand why the Constitution and the spirit it embodies is important.

I’ve said this before, but not one single time throughout all my years of formal schooling did I have a class that actually read the text of the Constitution or Declaration. That includes a political philosophy class in college. That is shameful.

[Lord Humungus]

I was raised in a fairly boring suburb but my High school history and government teachers were a stickler for this stuff. This was the 80s – have things changed that much?

[Rhywun]

Yup, we had it too, also in the 80s.

[LynchPin1477]

I graduated HS in 2002. I had one American history course. We definitely never actually read the Constitution, or even the Bill of Rights. I’m sure we discussed them in some general sense.

I never had a real civics course. I don’t think I ever read the actual Constitution until I bought my own copy during college (or maybe it was even grad school). I was surprised at how short and simple it was, and how most of it focused on procedural and structural stuff. I now read it, the Declaration, and Articles of Confederation every July 4 just to refresh my memory. But never once did I read these things in school.

[Lord Humungus]

One my classes we had to memorize the entire Gettysburg address – and then recite it, one at a time, in front of the teacher.

And my HS history teacher loved to talk about the Puritans. We spends weeks and weeks on them. He was, of course, a Christian conservative which wasn’t rare in that neck of the woods.

[Just say Nikki]

I never had a real civics course.

When I was in HS, only morons took civics. If you weren’t in the track to take AP US History, you took government and economics instead. And the AP track was NOT hard to get into.

[The Last American Hero]

Me too.

[The Last American Hero]

Lord H, that is.

[Restoras]

My son was in seventh grade last year and they covered a lot of this. However, I think it needs to be repeated, or built upon in high school – a lot of the concepts are a bit challenging, though to be honest I think a part of that challenge is the complete lack of context surrounding the origins and intentions of the founders.

[DaveSs]

My US History course did not cover the Constitution, but I did have a ‘Government and Geography’ class as a Freshman where we spent about a month just on the Constitution.

Mid 90s, small town

Before he was a teacher, the guy who taught both classes was an enlisted man on a carrier and he loved to tell sea stories which made for a fairly entertaining class.

[Anomalous]

Maybe it’s that I’m an old fart, but in high school I knew all this.

[CatoTheChipper]

Wonder why? Only 18% of America’s colleges and universities require students to take a course in American history or government.

I thought one was supposed to learn that stuff by, what, 6th grade. If today’s “college graduates” are really so stupid that they think Judge Judy is on the Supreme Court, a remedial course in college isn’t going to fix it.

[SFC B]

Not bothered by some of the detail things; I couldn’t name all current Supreme Court Justices without taking a few minutes to really think it over. And if a random survey taker asked me in passing what Boehner’s role in the Senate was I’d probably flub it if I didn’t think the question over.

Not knowing the stuff that doesn’t change though is disgraceful. And not just not knowing it, but they probably can’t articulate a reason why the various elections are on different such cycles. And not being able to define or identify the BoR is even worse.

We are so fucked.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Ted Cruz angling to to succeed Trump after the Donald burns out.

Let me tell you a story about man named Ted
Pandering politician, barely kept his family fed
Then one day he was shooting up some news
And up through the ground came a bubbling Cruz

(Stolen from Popehat)

[Juvenile Bluster]

NYPD officers fire 84 shots at target. They hit him once.

Four New York City police officers recklessly fired a hail of 84 bullets on a populated city street and endangering the neighborhood ? and 83 of them missed.

Early Friday morning, Jerrol Harris, 27, had allegedly broken into a vehicle when he was caught by the Bushwick man who owned it around 1:15 a.m. As Harris fled, he allegedly shot the owner of the vehicle in the arm.

The injured man then chased Harris until he found police, who tracked Harris down about eight blocks away, with help from the fact that he was wearing noticeable bright red pants.
Police say when Harris saw the officers, he ducked behind a car and fired upon them with a 40-caliber Taurus Millennium pistol, hitting an unmarked police vehicle.

.@CommissBratton briefed at scene of early AM shooting, suspect fired several times at NYPD. http://t.co/o7Fhe9TpTY pic.twitter.com/VTREnujrD0
? NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) September 4, 2015

Four officers then fired back 52 rounds ? and they all missed. Harris fled again, until he was found by two more officers.

Harris allegedly shot at the duo, who then returned 16 rounds each at Harris.

[Restoras]

I believe NYPD cops only have to qualify once per year, and only at a paper target in a well lit shooting range. So, not surprised.

[Crusty Juggler]

They all emptied their magazines (or banana clips, if you will) and hit nothing! Where did the shots go?

[Free Society]

I believe they emptied their banana hammocks too.

[PM]

At least they managed not to hit any innocent bystanders this time. Of course, that would have been the perp’s fault anyway.

[Free Society]

The suspect had a Taurus Millennium pistol? Sounds like he’s the victim in all of this.

[Crusty Juggler]

I have a hipster doofus friend who lives in Bushwick, and I was going to text him and make sure he was not the person who was shot, but then I remembered that there was a 90% chance I would get a hipster doofusy response, and I just can’t take that risk.

[Rhywun]

Bushwick

It is amazing what some people will put up with just to live on the L line, a one-seat ride from the holy grail that is Williamsburg.

[Just say Nikki]

That’s…what I was going to say.

Bushwick: don’t do it.

[Crusty Juggler]

He bought a place a few years ago and the value of his property has skyrocketed since then, so at this point it was a good investment. There is a lot of money going into the city and surrounding areas.

Bushwick is so dirty, though.

[Rhywun]

Bushwick is so dirty, though.

Not to mention crime-ridden.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

Live in Bushwick, so that you could ride the terrible L train to get to… Williamsburg.

I don’t get it either.

[Citizen X]

I used to think it was unrealistic that the stormtroopers in Star Wars could never hit who they were aiming at…

[Fist of Etiquette]

Rand Paul says he will support whoever wins the Republican nomination, even if it’s Trump. But it better not be Trump, he said.

The AM Links were late because Rico was struggling to achieve that 50% Trump Link Ratio. (No link on Hillary’s email mea culpa.)

[Robby Soave]

Correct. And fixed.

[Bee Tagger]

Mike Ditka likes Trump.

You know who else tried being political and part of ESPN’s NFL coverage?

[Crusty Juggler]

Tom Brady?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Unlike MLB and the NHL, the NFL doesn’t allow any of its teams to be housed outside the country.

[Jerryskids]

Obligatory mention of the fact that when Walter Payton had the only chance he would ever have to score a Superbowl touchdown, Mike Ditka gave the ball to a fat clown instead just for laughs. Why am I not surprised that asshole likes assholes?

[Lord Humungus]

Some People Just Don’t Fit In The Economy Buffett Explains: “We’ll Send Them Off To Afghanistan”

“You want everybody educated to their potential. You want people to reach their potential. That still won’t work for some people in a highly developed market system.

I mean if this were a sports-based system, you could give me a PhD in football, and I could practice eight hours a day, and I might be able to carry the water from, not onto the field, but from the locker room to the bench. There’s just some people don’t fit well into a highly skilled market-based economy.

They’re perfectly decent citizens. We’ll send them off to Afghanistan, but they are not going to command a big price.”

[gaijin]

uh, 9:12AM. 🙂

[Lord Humungus]

thanks for telling me the time. What next, the temperature?

[gaijin]

I posted the same thing (above) at 9:12….when it was 61 degrees outside. What was the temp when you posted?

[Lord Humungus]

64. The last gasp of hot weather has passed. Though we are supposed to have a high of 77 today.

[PM]

Pastor outed on Ashley Madison commits suicide

John Gibson was a pastor and seminary professor. When he wasn’t teaching at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, one of his favorite pastimes was fixing cars.

He was married with two children. His daughter, Callie, was teaching in front of 250 college students when she got the call. Her father had killed himself.

It was August 24, six days after hackers exposed the names of millions of people who had signed up for Ashley Madison, the notorious site for those seeking affairs. Gibson’s name was on the list.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

Man, he could easily have said somebody registered using his email as a hoax or something.

[Zeb]

I’m thinking underlying psychological issues were involved.

[Free Society]

The real shame of it is, he probably didn’t communicate with an actual female user even one single time on that site.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

So he’s definitely going to hell, then.

[Je suis Woodchipper]

He guns were illegal, then he would not have killed himself.

/derp

[Crusty Juggler]

Soave is Trumptacular.

[Bee Tagger]

Hillary Clinton is sorry about that whole email thing. It was a “mistake,” she said.

Tip: don’t drink and email. It leads to a lot of apologies.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Long live the already long-lived queen.

Yeah, but how many Spanish Armadas has she destroyed? Point: Good Queen Bess.

[Swiss Servator]

Sweeping the Dons from the sea ain’t what it used to be.

[invisible furry hand]

She sank the Belgrano which led to the Argentinian navy staying in port through the Falklands War. Does that count?

[Tonio]

I just had a vision of Mecha-QE2 rising from the Atlantic and personally smashing that ship.

[commodious spittoon]

I just had a vision of Paul Krugman piloting an ambulatory money-printing machine.

[commodious spittoon]

I just had a vision of Paul Krugman piloting an ambulatory money-printing machine.

[Tonio]

More like, Point: Storm. If the fleet hadn’t been decimated by that storm we’d be speaking Spanish.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

Does she have an era named after her? Does her husband have the honor of a kind of genital mutilation named after him?

[Jerryskids]

Does her husband have the honor of a kind of genital mutilation named after him?

WTF? Queen Elizabeth was married to Sir Cumcision? How come nobody tells me these things?

[R C Dean]

Winner.

[Lord Humungus]

Homeopathy conference ends in chaos after delegates take hallucinogenic drug

An alternative medicine conference has ended in chaos in Germany after dozens of delegates took a LSD-like drug and started suffering from hallucinations.

Broadcaster NDR described the 29 men and women “staggering around, rolling in a meadow, talking gibberish and suffering severe cramps”.

The group of “Heilpraktikers” was discovered at the hotel where they held their conference in the town of Handeloh, south of Hamburg, on Friday.

That’s how I react after reading some SugarFree prose.

[Illocust]

Isn’t a big part of homeopathy supposed to be watering whatever you are taking down?

[R C Dean]

THAT JUST MAKES IT STRONGER!

[Auric Demonocles]

I’m back, despite California’s best efforts. It’s been so long I even had to log in. My review of this trip: 1) I was in a National Lampoon movie. 2) The JMT is overrated, especially when it’s covered in smoke.

[gaijin]

What is JMT?

[Crusty Juggler]

John Muir Trail. Gosh, someone is not a hippie…

[gaijin]

Thanks…and no, but sometimes I smell like one

[Just a thought not a sermon]

Your name is starting to make sense, considering most hippies I’ve met have semed pretty crusty.

[Crusty Juggler]

The only crusty features I possess are: the corners of my sleepy eyes, my cantankerous soul, and the socks I keep under my bed.

[gaijin]

the socks I keep under my bed

eeewwww

[Crusty Juggler]

What was your role in the movie?

I have heard so many good things about the JMT, but I guess if the half of the west coast is on fire that would put a damper on the trip.

[Auric Demonocles]

Clark Griswold (though without children).

[PM]

You got to skinny dip with Christie Brinkley and you bore us with tales of some trail?

[Lord Humungus]

USA Today reporter covering Scott Walker’s campaign signed petition to recall him

Madeleine Behr is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Madison, and she wrote for a number of publications before joining Gannett earlier this year.

Her first story for the Post-Crescent appeared online on July 2, and since then she’s published 35 stories, including four that focus on Walker’s presidential bid, and others that cover the political aspirations and maneuvers of high profile Democratic candidates.

In 2012, then-Post-Crescent publisher Genia Lovett disclosed that 25 Gannett journalists, including nine at the Post-Crescent, signed Walker recall petitions, but none of them were assigned to the political beat. “It was wrong, and those who signed were in breach of Gannett’s Principles of Ethical Conduct for Newsrooms,” Lovett wrote.

[Illocust]

Seriously people? Is it that hard to find someone close to neutral to cover a candidate? At least pick someone who knows how to keep their mouth shut and evidence of their bias under wraps.

[PM]

Nobody reads newspapers anymore anyway, why bother.

[WTF]

I’d rather they be open about it than hide their biases while pretending to be neutral.

[Je suis Woodchipper]

Fine. What she should have done is declared in her story that she signed a petition to recall Scott Walker.

I prefer my journalistic bias like I prefer my racism: explicit, overt, and transparent

All journalists have biases. State your bias. Write your piece. Allow the reader to filter/interpret as necessary.

To pretend there are magical writers who have no bias within a subject that interests them enough to seek a career covering it is naive.

[invisible furry hand]

The loaded hoo-ha (SFW)

I wonder what would constitute an assault hoo-ha

[PM]

Only if the hoo-ha holds more than 7 rounds.

[Irish ?s ESB]

“Is that a gun in your vagina or are you just happy to see me?”

[Lord Humungus]

Citigroup Sees 55% Risk of a Global Recession Made in China

Citigroup Inc. is sounding the alarm bells for the world economy.

In an analysis published late on Tuesday, the New York-based bank’s chief economist, Willem Buiter, said there is a 55 percent chance of some form of global recession in the next couple of years, most likely one of moderate depth and length.

Unlike the U.S.-driven international slumps of the past two decades, this one will be generated by sliding demand from emerging markets, especially China, which has surged in size to become the world’s No. 2 economy.

[Matrix]

Can we blame this recession on Obama like the progs blamed the last one on Bush?

[WTF]

No, it’s still all because BOOOOSH!!11!!! drove the economy onto a ditch so badly even Obama can’t get it going.

[Illocust]

No no no, it republican obstructionist fault. They refused to pass all of Obama’s bills with a rubber stamp and doomed the economy.

[CatoTheChipper]

Of course everything is the GOP’s fault.

If only the Republicans would not have obstructed Obama’s plans for card check, a $15/hr minimum wage, universal child care, paid time-off for maternity/paternity, stalking, vacations, sick time, etc., etc., unleashing the EPA, FCC, IRS, and other regulators to do what they really want, and so much stimulus that even Krugman would say “Enough!”, imagine how wonderful things would be.

[Idle Hands]

Anybody watch some of the more interesting couple of innings of the 2015 baseball season last night? Why I even bother expending energy supporting DC sports teams, I couldn’t possibly explain.

[Citizen X]

Since when do “interesting” and “baseball” belong in the same sentence? Unless there’s a “not” in there too.

[Crusty Juggler]

Baseball is the thinking man’s game. I guess you are not a thinking sort of man, person who hates thinking.

[Citizen X]

I love thinking. Thinking is where i’m a viking. It is objective fact that baseball is boring.

[Jerryskids]

Baseball is the thinking man’s game.

I like it when I’m just sitting and thinking, thinking and sitting. And then I wake up feeling refreshed.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Being a DC sports fan is its own punishment.

I hope Daniel Snyder lives to be 150.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

I was driving home and listening to the game on the radio. The score was 7-1 and going into the seventh inning. I thought they had it in the bag and then I wake up this morning… WTF?

[Idle Hands]

It was one of the more epic meltdowns I’ve ever seen up 7-1 with two outs in the seventh only to lose 8-7 with storen throwing 22 pitches with only 7 for strikes.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

Moving Storen from the 9th inning will prove to be the worst mistake the Nats have made this season.

[Idle Hands]

Meh, about the only arm worth a shit down the stretch has been Paps of course that could be due to how fresh he been from lack of use.

[Lord Humungus]

ah no…

[Certified Public Asshat]

At least we have the Ravens in Baltimore…

But, watching the Orioles collapse has been tough, since they are not going to resign any of the following most likely: Chen, Wieters, Parra, Davis, O’Day. Our short window of winning is already over.

[Restoras]

How’s the farm system? Dan Duquette was responsible for a lot of the talent the Red Sox rode to victory in ’04.

[Certified Public Asshat]

Not good, although their triple A affiliate did really well this year.

[Bee Tagger]

But I will still pledge to support the nominee because I think Hillary Clinton is the worst person on the planet to run the country.

I get the sentiment, but am I the only one who thinks phrases like “worst person on the planet” and other similarly hyperbolic statements make candidates sound like 12 year-olds?

[invisible furry hand]

Agreed, it is a bit puerile. Unless you’re talking about Nikki, of course

[Just say Nikki]

That’s different.

[Zeb]

Yeah. Stick to “worst person running”. I can think of a few worse people on the planet.

[PM]

You know who else was the worst person on the planet…

[Swiss Servator]

Nicole?

[Crusty Juggler]

Adam Levine?

[Suthenboy]

“I get the sentiment, but am I the only one who thinks phrases like “worst person on the planet” and other similarly hyperbolic statements make candidates sound like 12 year-olds?”

Hyperbolic? In this case Bee Tagger, I think he is factually correct.

[CatoTheChipper]

I used to think that Hillary has no redeemable qualities, but then I read the first comment on this article. (Something about payback being a bitch in a pantsuit, or something like that.)

The prospect of Hillary getting revenge on Obama for what he has done to her would not make her success worthwhile, but it would be entertaining. Make no mistake: There is no love lost between Hillary and Obama and Hillary would not be under investigation by the FBI right now if Obama did not want it that way.

[Lord Humungus]

Global stocks rally as investors scent fresh stimulus

Global shares rose on Wednesday, led by an 8 percent surge in Japanese stocks, helping lift the dollar as the prospect of more stimulus from China soothed investors rattled by recent market turmoil.

The charge into stocks pushed yields on low-risk government bonds higher, though a sale of German 10-year debt attracted bids worth less than the amount on offer. The U.S. Treasury is scheduled to auction $21 billion of 10-year paper later.

Oil prices stabilized but concerns about oversupply remained.

all for a taste of that sweet, sweet candy

[Lord Humungus]

The Relationship Between Poverty and Unwed Births

In 2014, 40.6 percent of all children in the United States were born to unmarried mothers. That includes close to 72 percent of black children, 53 percent of Hispanic children, and 29 percent of white children. If we can find any sliver of good news in those dispiriting numbers, it is that black non-marital births plateaued about 1994 and moved up “only” 2 percentage points since that time. Optimists might also be able to spy a microscopic decline in the rate for all groups since 2009.

There is one other small piece of good news: The full impact of unwed birth is finally being widely recognized. After a long period of denial, social scientists began to reach a consensus in the late 1990s that the children of single mothers were doing worse than the children of married mothers on just about every measure they studied: school achievement, poverty, emotional well-being, drug use, delinquency, and graduation rates. Not everyone has been convinced, but the disadvantage that attends growing up with a single mother is no longer controversial or hidden.

[Illocust]

72 percent of black children are born out of wedlock? Dear god. Maybe a charity for getting black girls UIs should be set up. Seriously, that is an outrageously high rate.

[gaijin]

Maybe a charity for getting black girls UIs should be set up.

Didn;t Margaret Sanger try that?

[Illocust]

That’s the person who started Planned Parenthood right?

[PM]

Yeah.

[Illocust]

If I’m right planned parenthood only provides condoms, birth control pills, and abortions. All of those either require maintenance on a daily or sex incidence basis or are just a bandaid after the fact. UI’s are five to six years of no thought birth control. It nills the chance of forgetting to use birth control in that period, and it puts a time/procedure barrier up for spur of the moment “I love him!” pregnancies.

[Just say Nikki]

Planned Parenthood will also insert an IUD. They provide a range of women’s health services. You could go there every year as your regular OB/GYN.

[Citizen X]

IUDs are awesome, but it depends on what state you’re in – some states, for instance, will only allow IUDs for women who have already given birth at least once. It’s pretty retarded.

[PM]

I’m not sure if Planned Parenthood does implanted birth control or not, but I believe the point was to have a laugh about Margaret Sanger wanting to use eugenics to target black people for population reduction. Your overanalysis has ruined the joke, and now you’re in contention with Nicole for the title of The Worst.

[Crusty Juggler]

Planned Parenthood does a lot of good work in general when it comes to women’s health. I do not feel sympathy for them because they made themselves, in many ways, the public face of abortion, but they do provide many good services.

[R C Dean]

Planned Parenthood does a lot of good work in general when it comes to women’s health.

Probably. But, as the recent flap over mammography shows, they are very adept at taking credit for good work done by others, so I really have no idea how much non-abortion women’s health work they actually do.

[Illocust]

Is that the flap were they used their pressure network to stop a donor from switching to supporting other groups that do mammography, or is there another one I’m not aware of.

[Restoras]

Yes but we only know that becuz BEN CARSON!!! herpy derp.

[Free Society]

The black family used to have lower rates of illegitimacy than whites, until the welfare state came along. I wonder if there’s any connection between tax payers being forced to pay single moms to be single moms, and the increased numbers of single mothers…

[WTF]

Isn’t there something about if you subsidize something, you tend to get more of it?

[Free Society]

I believe I read that in People Magazine, yes.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

The black family used to have lower rates of illegitimacy than whites, until the welfare state came along.

That’s inaccurate.

“From 1950 to 1997, the proportion of births to unmarried white women (non-Hispanic) increased almost twelvefold, from 2 percent to 22 percent. The African American proportion increased fourfold, from 18 percent to a striking 69 percent.”

From the Hoover Institution’s study, “African-American Marriage Patterns.”

Illegitimacy rates were historically tied to poverty; that’s still a factor, but the current cultural indifference to out-of-wedlock births also plays a role. Regardless, it should be pretty fucking obvious to any researcher that a two-parent household is going to be far more stable on the whole than a single-parent home, no matter how much welfare is provided.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Also, I’m not sure where the Hoover Institute got their 2.2 percent number, but officially, the Census documents that white premarital birth rates were less than 7 percent from the 1930s all the way up through the early 60s; by contrast, black premarital birth rates ranged from 27.5 percent to 40.9 percent over the same period.

Report can be found in their 1999 report, “Trends in Premarital Childbearing.”

With that said plus what I wrote above, I do agree that the Great Society contributed to the explosion in unwed births after 1965. It arguably even contributed to the growing cultural indifference towards out-of-wedlock births, since single mothers could access WIC and other programs, and thus made the presence of fathers seemingly irrelevant.

[Irish ?s ESB]

I read an article by Matt Breunig (trying to keep tabs on my competition) where he was claiming there had been an increase in extreme poverty in the US because of Clinton’s welfare reforms in the mid 1990’s. Basically his argument was ‘in 1996 there was less extreme poverty than in 2011 and in 1996 welfare reform happened, therefore these are connected.’

It never occurred to him that a) huge Hispanic immigration from really poor countries in those 15 years meant tons of poor people were moving into the country, b) 2011 was just after the Great Recession so it may have just had higher rates of poverty due to the economic collapse, and c) illegitimacy rates have increased like 20% since 1996. The reason that’s important is because extreme poverty is measured by the amount of money a family makes per person. As a result, illegitimacy results in more poverty because you only have one wage earner. So if you have one wage earner out of 4 people, you’re more likely to be poor than having 2 wage earners out of 5 people.

For some reason Breunig didn’t take any of those points into consideration.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

In the 20th century and beyond ‘extreme’ poverty has been on the decline across the globe as poorer nations develop as well as new technologies in health and medicine.

This is a fact.

All people like this guy have is to prey on the coincidental gaps of temporary setbacks to which they can yell ‘ See!? We’re poorer!’

[Just say Nikki]

If you expect him to say anything remotely negative about people who have kids, ever, under any circumstances…you’re looking in the wrong place.

[Irish ?s ESB]

Matt Breunig actually is not very religious. He never writes about the subject and seems to be pretty atheistic.

So he isn’t likely to have the Catholic view of children his wife has. The reason he’ll never criticize people for huge illegitimacy rates is because Matt Breunig thinks nothing is ever the individual’s fault and if something goes wrong it’s because the collective has failed you.

[Galactic Chipper Cdr Lytton]

I was curious if Matt was raised as a Catholic (which would explain his coolness towards religion and ESB’s conversion) but all I found was this:

http://theweek.com/articles/44…..ut-wedding

She throws herself into her conversion and wears it on her sleeve constantly, but eschews having a traditional Catholic wedding and instead has two separate ceremonies without friends and family. Strange strange girl.

[Irish ?s ESB]

ESB was very religious already, she just wasn’t a Catholic. She went and studied religion at Cambridge BEFORE her conversion, so I don’t think the conversion has anything to do with her husband. ESB actually seems to be a very disturbed individual since she can’t stop switching religions. Apparently she was raised Methodist, became a Quaker for awhile (who the fuck converts to Quakerism?), and then became a Catholic.

I know way too much about these people. They’re just so horrible that I can’t look away.

[LynchPin1477]

I wonder if the numbers change significantly if you distinguish between unmarried but in a committed, long term relationship, or at least with a partner in the picture, and parents that really are raising a child without a partner.

One of my best friends has two kids and is in a long-term, committed relationship, but not married. I suspect that most out-of-wedlock births are not of this nature, but some might be.

[Irish ?s ESB]

“I wonder if the numbers change significantly if you distinguish between unmarried but in a committed, long term relationship, or at least with a partner in the picture, and parents that really are raising a child without a partner.”

I don’t know if these numbers exist in America, but I read an interesting article on the subject about Sweden. This guy is a swede who destroyed one of Krugman’s arguments about Sweden. Krug was trying to argue that Sweden has way higher illegitimacy rates than America but less poverty in those families, therefore it must be because of more welfare. The writer points out that illegitimacy in Sweden is different than in America because the overwhelming number of Swedes who aren’t married but have children are co-habituating. Only 10% of Swedish children are born to parents who aren’t living together. Children who are born to Swedish mothers who aren’t living with the father have way worse outcomes than children who are born to unmarried couples that are living together.

[Free Society]

There’s a small industry in Sweden of locals refuting the utopian models of their country drawn up by “social democrats” abroad who would have us believe that Sweden is an enchanted land of social justice fairies and peaceful Muslim gnomes, welfare checks rain down from Valhalla, the cars are fueled by good intentions and the rivers saturate their fertile lands with pure egalitarianism.

[Tonio]

Yes, of course they do. But those are a small percentage of overall births to unmarried women. Also, would be interested to know if the survey counts widows as married or single; specifically thinking widows of servicemembers here.

[Irish ?s ESB]

It wouldn’t because they’re talking about illegitimacy, not single mothers. Widows didn’t have illegitimate children, they had children in wedlock and then their husband died.

[Tonio]

Again, it’s not clear whether they count widows as married or single; unless there is a separate breakout category for “widow” then those people are shoehorned into either “single” or “married”. Also, not terribly uncommon for servicemembers to die leaving behind a pregnant wife given that prime service years overlap with prime childbearing years.

[Rasilio]

Technically it is not the wedding that matters but just the kids being actively raised by 2 parents who live together.

3 of my 4 kids were “unwed” births but their mother and I are still together 15 years later (and we actually got married 11 years ago)

[CatoTheChipper]

The full impact of unwed birth is finally being widely recognized.

Unfortunately, a very large fraction of intellectuals and pundits still argue that the solution to this “full impact” is to spend more federal money.

[Jerryskids]

And no mention of the Moynihan Report, issued 50 year ago, that said one of the worst of the problems within the black community was the lack of a traditional nuclear family. Almost as if men and women play different roles within a family and a society and it’s a really bad idea to have one of the elements missing.

In this situation, the Negro family made but little progress toward the middle-class pattern of the present time. Margaret Mead has pointed out that while “In every known human society, everywhere in the world, the young male learns that when he grows up one of the things which he must do in order to be a full member of society is to provide food for some female and her young.” This pattern is not immutable, however: it can be broken, even though it has always eventually reasserted itself.

[Jerryskids]

“Within the family, each new generation of young males learn the appropriate nurturing behavior and superimpose upon their biologically given maleness this learned parental role. When the family breaks down — as it does under slavery, under certain forms of indentured labor and serfdom, in periods of extreme social unrest during wars, revolutions, famines, and epidemics, or in periods of abrupt transition from one type of economy to another — this delicate line of transmission is broken. Men may founder badly in these periods, during which the primary unit may again become mother and child, the biologically given, and the special conditions under which man has held his social traditions in trust are violated and distorted.”

[Jerryskids]

“Within the family, each new generation of young males learn the appropriate nurturing behavior and superimpose upon their biologically given maleness this learned parental role. When the family breaks down — as it does under slavery, under certain forms of indentured labor and serfdom, in periods of extreme social unrest during wars, revolutions, famines, and epidemics, or in periods of abrupt transition from one type of economy to another — this delicate line of transmission is broken. Men may founder badly in these periods, during which the primary unit may again become mother and child, the biologically given, and the special conditions under which man has held his social traditions in trust are violated and distorted.”

[sarcasmic]

Woman warns police about the loaded gun hidden inside her genitalia after being busted in major meth haul

Ashley Cecilia Castaneda, 31, arrested on drug charges in Waco, Texas
She was found in a car with 29.5 grams of methamphetamine
The driver, Gabriel Garcia, 30, had 2.5 grams of the drug under his seat
Castaneda told officers she had a loaded pistol hidden in her vagina
After a search, police found .22 caliber Smith and Wesson pistol

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new…..-haul.html

[invisible furry hand]

ahem…

[CatoTheChipper]

“Major meth haul” = 31 grams ?????

[Lord Humungus]

‘uuuuuge

Huge Surprise: Criminals Tend to Get Their Guns Illegally

Our respondents (adult offenders living in Chicago or nearby) obtain most of their guns from their social network of personal connection. Rarely is the proximate source either direct purchase from a gun store, or theft. Only about 60% of guns in the possession of respondents were obtained by purchase or trade. Other common arrangements include sharing guns and holding guns for others.

[PM]

“Run rises in east, footage at 11”

[PM]

*Sun. Goddammit.

[Tejicano]

What? Criminals are somehow connected to illegal behavior? I’m going to need some proof before I can understand how they could be related.

[invisible furry hand]

Wheelchair-bound mother got tired of waiting for council to provide disabled parking bay outside her daughter’s school – so she spray painted one herself

more

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Jet catches fire at Las Vegas airport

Smoke billowed from the British Air Boeing 777-200 as it taxied into position for takeoff. Flames shot out from its left engine. A shroud of black smoke seemed to engulf the aircraft. People watching the scene from inside Las Vegas’s McCarran International Airport were horrified.

“Oh, my God,” Reggie B?gm?ncher said as he looked at out the window at the fire, according to the AP. B?gm?ncher, who was waiting at a gate for different flight, said “everyone ran to the windows and people were standing on their chairs, looking out, holding their breath with their hands over their mouths.”

No cause has been determined so far for the fire in the plane’s engine. But it could have been a disaster indeed had not the London-bound plane’s crew and passengers made a hasty and efficient exit down the inflatable evacuation chutes and had firefighters been any less quick in dousing the flames.

As it turned out, the fire and smoke did not penetrate the cabin. Chris Jones a spokesman for the airport told the Associated Press that all 159 passengers and 13 crew members aboard flight 2276 headed for London’s Gatwick Airport made it off the plane.

[Old Man With Candy]

Apparently, what happens in Vegas REALLY stays in Vegas.

[PM]

It was a British jet, they’re not used to the heat out here.

[invisible furry hand]

Reggie B?gm?ncher said…

B?gm?ncher would be an awesome band name

[Swiss Servator]

Curse you!

[Jerryskids]

No cause has been determined so far for the fire in the plane’s engine.

Is there a line on what the cause will be determined to be? Did any of the passengers have a heavy wager down on the over for when the flight would take off?

[The Late P Brooks]

“I’m sorry you pathetic losers can’t just let go of this completely innocuous matter and allow the nation to embrace me as their true natural leader. There- happy now?”

[Lord Humungus]

The media will never quit warmongering: How a refugee crisis became another excuse for militarism

The West is funding rebels in Syria and bombing ISIS targets right this second, though the lack of success in dislodging both Assad and ISIS should tell people something. No matter. There will always be those who want more. Take the Sun newspaper in Britain, which, in a notably revolting gesture, put a picture of Aylan Kurdi?the little boy whose death shocked the world?on its front page next to a graphic urging the UK to “bomb Syria now.” “For Aylan,” the paper urged.

Closer to home, the response has been somewhat more muted?perhaps since the US is already bombing Syria. Nevertheless, some people are trying. CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, for instance, told John Kerry last week that “a huge and important strategy session in Aspen, Colorado, recently concluded that the only way to defeat ISIS is through a ground force.” Then there’s the Washington Post, whose editorial board called on Congress to authorize the war against ISIS in Syria so that the U.S. could expand the scope of that war. (The paper’s Fred Hiatt and Michael Gerson also each published columns castigating President Obama for not more aggressively intervening militarily in Syria.)

[Drake]

Was reading this article today and noticed that Germany is about to hit 6 million Muslims.

http://www.mideastoutpost.com/…..-kern.html

Not an auspicious number.

[R C Dean]

Germany is about to hit 6 million Muslims

I think you mis-spelled “host”.

Although, if the Euros don’t smarten up pretty quick., I think there’s going to be a lot more hitting soon.

[PM]

Florida Man Arrested For Allegedly Masturbating At Burger King

A Florida man faces indecent exposure charges after allegedly exposing his hot dog at the Home of the Whopper.

Jefferson King, 33, was arrested Thursday after a customer at a West Palm Beach Burger King reportedly saw him playing with his sex organ at a seat near the restrooms.

The woman told police when she asked King what he was doing, he replied, “What? I’m playing with my penis!” according to WPBF.com.

[Old Man With Candy]

Florida.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

“The woman told police when she asked King what he was doing, he replied, “What? I’m playing with my penis!”

“Was that wrong? Should I not have done that? Because if anyone had said anything to me at all when I first started here that that sort of thing was frowned upon, you know, ’cause I’ve been in a lot of restaurants and I tell you people do that all the time.”

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

He thought he could have it his way.

[sarcasmic]

Extra mayo, hold the lettuce.

[gaijin]

2 all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun…

Florida man putting the ‘special’ in sauce

[sloopyinTEXAS]

Their burgers taste off. Their fries are terrible. About the only saving grace is the Big Fish. But even that is a second-tier sammich now that Carl’s Jr/Hardee’s has that delicious battered cod sandwich.

BK should just shut their doors, or become a sort of adult-only fast food hangout where this man’s behavior is the norm. They’d probably get more market share that way.

[sarcasmic]

I like BK once in a while. If you like fast food fish sandwiches, try the one at Arby’s. I’m not sure if it was a limited time deal, but I tried it last year. It was surprisingly good.

[Anomalous]

I got your Whopper right here!

[BigT]

That’s a Whopper Jr.

[lap83]

The last time I went to BK was probably 10 years ago. I tried to buy a coffee but their register was down and neither the clerk nor the manager knew how to calculate tax, and when I tried to help them they wouldn’t listen. Most decently run sales establishments make basic math skills a requirement to run a cash register, much less manage people.

[Lord Humungus]

Every inspiring story about climate change I hope to read
Republicans might not recognize climate change, but the rest of the world does. Here’s what I’m looking forward to

But not only is climate change still happening, things often seem to be getting worse. The West Antarctic ice sheet may have entered a period of unstoppable collapse, 2015 is expected to be the hottest year on record “by a mile” and every Republican running for president is dead-set on driving us further into climate crisis. Even if we were to completely stop burning fossil fuels today, cold turkey ? and, unfortunately, I don’t foresee that one coming ? climate change would still be happening, and would keep going for quite a while.

The only difference is, I will no longer be writing about it. I’m moving on and, at least for the near future, am stepping away from the climate beat. And while a small, evil part of me will miss being Salon’s resident buzzkill, a much bigger part regrets, immensely, the fact that I won’t be around to report on the good news that is sure to accompany the bad. The world, at long last, is beginning to recognize climate change as the crisis it is, and is slowly, but surely, beginning to do something about it. It’s not enough ? and it may never be enough ? but looking ahead, there’s a lot that can still go right.

[Tonio]

Perhaps an early bellwether. It will be interesting to see the various excuses people use to jump of the CAGW bandwagon in the coming years. Suspect that as the hoax becomes exposed and accepted that many will simply stop writing about this and hope that the public forgets. Looking forward to seeing these folks unemployable standing at intersections panhandling with signs that say “Global Warming Dupe, Please (for)Give.”

[Illocust]

Nah they’ll help each other out. People like this guy who got out early, will help his buddies that get out late find a job at their new workplaces.

[Tonio]

I’m hoping for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission where you get immunity if you testify and don’t withhold anything. The fun really begins when subsequent testimony by people lower down the food chain reveal witholding by the Top Men…. I don’t expect this to actually happen, but I can still hope.

[Griffin3]

Working on “The ICE AGE is COMING!!!1!” articles …

[Matrix]

so by admitting that even stopping burning fossil fuels completely today would not be stopping climate change, then WTF is their campaign about? Just acknowledging that it exists and there is NOTHING we can do to stop it?

[Tonio]

In all fairness, if they were right about this (and that’s a big IF) any significant reduction would reduce the effect.

What they’re really trying to do is buy themselves an out. They (the actual scientists) know the climate isn’t going to go out of control, but they need significant reductions so they can claim that those reductions stopped things from getting worse.

[Jerryskids]

Raising awareness of the issue solved the problem. That’s why you see so many people involved in rallies and petitions and Facebook campaigns and the like to raise awareness of an issue rather than actually doing anything about the problem – they seriously believe that the power of positive thinking can change reality. If enough people think real hard about the problem, if they are sincere enough and believe with all their heart, the problem goes away.

Although I do admit to a little amusement at seeing the most liberal people claiming that the way the world was in 1842 is exactly the way God intended it to be and we need to roll back the changes we’ve made since then.

[Suthenboy]

I want to see these fuckers do the walk of shame Lena Headey style, but I suppose I will have to settle for this. Dammit.

[Derpetologist]

Spot the Not: determined missionaries

1. First Protestant missionary in China. Spent 27 years in China, translated the Bible into Chinese, and wrote an English-Chinese dictionary.

2. Spent 8 years in South America. Starved to death on a remote island after being stranded without supplies.

3. Spent almost 40 years trying to convert a babarian tribe. He was killed by bandits. During the attack, he shielded himself with a book. The damaged book became a holy relic.

4. Although he spent over 20 years in Africa and was often called “Africa’s greatest missionary”, he only converted 1 African.

5. Traveled 6,000 miles by foot to preach Christianity in Mongolia. He was boiled alive shortly after he arrived. The chieftain who put him to death later converted.

6. Orphaned at 14, then infected with tuberculosis which killed him 7 years later. Spent the last 3 years of his life preaching to Native Americans. Traveled over 3000 miles on horseback as a missionary.

[Illocust]

I think number 2. It is so mundane compared to the others.

[robc]

#4.

[PM]

I’mma guess 6

[Swiss Servator]

5

[Illocust]

So now all we need is a 1 and a 3 and we’ll have guessed the whole gambit.

[Juvenile Bluster]

I’ll break with the everyone guessing something different and guess #2.

[Raven Nation]

6. is David Brainerd. I think 1 is Hudson Taylor

[Derpetologist]

5 is the Not. That is the fictional missionary from the Simpsons who said: “I introduced Christianity to Mongolia. It didn’t take, but it was worth a try.”

The rest in order are: Robert Morrison, Allen Francis Gardiner, Saint Boniface, David Livingston (of “Dr Livingston, I presume?”), and David Brainerd.

Your prize is the story of Sadhu Sundar Singh, a Sikh who became a famous Christian missionary. At first, he hated Christians- he once bought a Bible and burned it one page at a time. When his mother died, he became suicidal, but a vision of Jesus convinced him to change his ways.

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

The story of Jim Eliot is interesting too. He was killed by tribesmen during a trip to preach to an isolate tribe in Ecuador. His killers later converted.

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

[Swiss Servator]

B?gm?ncher…?

Wasn’t that some German thrash metal band from the late 1990s?

[Lord Humungus]

Barbershop Fined For Refusing To Cut Woman’s Hair

Now, the business is at the center of a heated debate after owner John Interval was fined $750 for refusing to cut a woman’s hair.

She filed an action with the state’s Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs.

That agency imposed the fine for gender discrimination after a state investigator visited the business and interviewed Interval.

“I didn’t really consider it so much a discrimination thing as ? it’s a barbershop? for guys,” Interval said.

Interval says he wasn’t aware he was legally compelled to service both men and women. But he plans on paying the fine because he respects the law.

[Idle Hands]

all he had to say was he had an appointment.

[PM]

But he plans on paying the fine because he respects the law.

Some people are slow learners.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Yes, but some people just don’t want trouble. Problem is, trouble will find you if it wants to. And when it does, they find despite having been good citizens minding their business, the law is sometimes not on their side.

Fuck that idiot bitch. She’s the trouble-maker in this.

[PM]

I’m all for him paying the fine because he wants to keep out of trouble, I just don’t understand how he managed to retain any respect for the law after the process.

[Tonio]

Maybe he just said that. Disappointing but understandable.

[PM]

True. And if he’s just lying to keep a low profile, I wouldn’t be disappointed in him. I just hope he doesn’t actually have any respect for the law.

[WTF]

He should have told her he doesn’t really know how to style women’s hair, and then if she insisted give her a hideous fucking haircut. Hey, he warned her!

[sarcasmic]

That sounds like a good way to have his license revoked.

[WTF]

Why? He never does women’s hair, so he doesn’t have experience at it, and he warned her that was the case. It’s not his fault she insisted that he try it anyway.

[sarcasmic]

Why? Fuck you, that’s why. You should know that by now.

[sarcasmic]

What else is he supposed to say? If he says the law is bullshit then he’s just asking for some watchful code enforcer to stand in the corner of his shop and issue citations until he’s out of business.

[PM]

True, but I mean he had the option to just pay the fine, plead ignorance, and remain silent as well. If he’s just placating the busybodies by sucking up to them, then like I said above, I have 100% respect for that. Just so long as he doesn’t honestly have any respect for the law after this.

[Zeb]

But he plans on paying the fine because he respects the law.

People are weird.

[WTF]

Next the government will be telling the deli guy what kind of sandwiches he has to serve,

[Crusty Juggler]

Oh no, not another mayonnaise thread.

[WTF]

Mayonnaise can contain tomatoes, or anything else for that matter, because things change.
/Bo

[Notorious UGCC]

I once (long story) found myself at a hair salon where all the staff and customers were black ladies. When I asked for a haircut, they said, “so-and-so will do it; she used to work at Great Clips.” I think the idea was that so-and-so was the only one with experience cutting white-people hair. She did a fine job.

I suppose I could have sued if they’d turned me down, though I wouldn’t have – I mean, it’s not as if I couldn’t have found a barber who cut white-people hair.

Based on the various “civil rights” dogmas of today, did they even have the right to have just one white-hair person (assuming that was the case)?

[Lord Humungus]

Heh – I was in Ann Arbor a few months ago. I was walking along and there was a salon with two rather attractive black women in short dresses standing outside. I went by and looked inside, and saw the other stylist was also a black woman. The salon was geared toward “sexy women cutting men’s hair”. My hair was in desperate need of a cut but I decided against this salon because I feared them cutting “white people hair” – especially since I was sporting a rather trashy mullet at the time.

My fears were probably unfounded…

[Matrix]

Jezebel readers think this barbershop is awful, but they vehemently defend women’s only gyms in the same sentence. They don’t see it as hypocritical in anyway what-so-ever.

link

[Tonio]

That’s different. [rising intonation]

[Mickey Rat]

They get around the cognitive dissonance by the concept of “privilege”. People with privilege should not have their own places, while the oppressed cannot be denied their own places.

Of course, given that women are more privileged than transexuals, businesses catering to women only clientele are not going to be able to maintain that status for much longer.

[Illocust]

Oh no, in this case they are claiming safety. They are just so attractive that they can’t work out in mixed gender gyms without men groping them!

Seriously, how can anyone take these people seriously.

[Mickey Rat]

You have to wonder what the woman’s motivation was. It is a shop set up to accommodate men’s hair. They don’t have equipment for women’s styling and I expect there was a salon within walking distance.

[Jerryskids]

Surely to god there’s some holy book somewhere that sayeth verily it is an abomination unto the lord for a man to cutteth a womans hair. He couldn’t get his face plastered all over the news for sticking up for his religious beliefs?

[Lord Humungus]

Marine Corps’ women-in-combat experiment gets mixed results

Over the past nine months, the Marine Corps tested a gender-integrated task force in both Twentynine Palms, Calif. and Camp Lejeune, N.C. in an attempt to gauge what the Corps might look like with women in combat roles.

According to a recent report in the Marine Corps Times, only a small number of women were left by the experiment’s conclusion ? two of the roughly two dozen who started ? mostly in part because of the physical and mental stress that comes with combat roles. Both the men and women in the task force also reported a breakdown in unit cohesion with some voicing a perceived unequal treatment from their peers.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

“Hey Vazquez, you ever get mistaken for a man?”

“No, do you?”

[Tonio]

“Hey Vazquez, you ever get mistaken for a man in the shower?”

[Swiss Servator]

Mixed?!

“two of the roughly two dozen who started ”

I wouldn’t call 92% attrition “mixed” more like “wiped out”.

[Galactic Chipper Cdr Lytton]

“Look to your left, look to your right. Now the front and back, all the diagonals. Everyone in your file. None of you will be here by the end of graduation.”

[LynchPin1477]

I have no problem with women in combat roles, but the standards absolutely have to be the same, full stop. That will mean a smaller percentage of women that can cut it than men. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

[Tonio]

Tell that to the equality of outcome people.

[CatoTheChipper]

The fraction of women who have what it takes to be a Marine is approximately the same as the fraction of women who make the cut in the NFL. Okay, the NFL is more selective than the Marines. Perhaps, it would be more accurate to say the fraction of women who make the cut on a second-tier college football team.

[WTF]

And even then if unit cohesion suffers it’s still a bad idea.

[lap83]

*cue salivating of evil feminists at all of the fresh rape accusations*

[Tonio]

Yeah, you’re cowering in a foxhole with a female servicemember and there’s no way not to have body contact…

[Drake]

I will file this under “No Shit”.

Glaringly obvious when I was first in during the 80’s.

[Galactic Chipper Cdr Lytton]

Ditto no shit.

some voicing a perceived unequal treatment from their peers

Serving in an infantry company years ago with occasional women in close proximity (truck drivers, cadets, etc.), they ended up getting lots of attention. The best of the lot were professional and did their job. Most batted their eyes and got the guys to do their work for them.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Smithsonian Crowd-Sources Project to Help Restore Original Enterprise Model From Star Trek

The Smithsonian is restoring the original studio model of the Enterprise used on the “Star Trek” TV series — and the institution is calling on fans of the show for help.

The National Air and Space Museum said the model of the starship has had eight major renovations since it was built in 1964, and is looking for images that can help them restore it to how it appeared in 1967, during and after the famous “Trouble With Tribbles” episode.

But don’t start sending in screengrabs — the Smithsonian doesn’t need those. They’re looking specifically for “firsthand, original images or film of the ship under construction, during filming or on public display at any time before 1976.”

Given that many Trekkies — or Trekkers, as some prefer — have meticulous knowledge and extensive memorabilia related to the show, it seems likely that some fans will have just what the museum is looking for.

“Hailing frequencies are open to the public at [e-mail],” the museum wrote in a news release.

[Lord Humungus]

NERDS!!!! /Ogre

[Bill Dalasio]

I support Rand.

But, damned if even he can get me to vote for Donald Trump. Supporting Trump would pretty much betray the very reason I support Paul.

[Lord Humungus]

I’ve disappointed by Paul – not sure to blame this on the crowded field; it’s hard to get his voice heard when Trump is taking up the room, or bad campaigning in general. Of course there is still a long winter in front of us… and winter is coming.

[Tonio]

He keeps trying to make nice with the socons, but they just aren’t that into him. While there are way more socons than (small ell) libertarians, he can only win so much of the socon vote. Yet every time he signals the socons it alienates people who might actually vote for him.

[Free Society]

By what standard is this a crowded field? I don’t recall a non-incumbent election cycle when there weren’t numerous candidates vying for the GOP nomination. I guess it’s crowded by the standards of the Democrat political machine’s nomination process.

[Lord Humungus]

the standard of my imagination? At least it “seems” more crowded than the last 2-3 elections. Of course I blessedly didn’t pay much attention to elections at all until 2004.

[Illocust]

I think it is the lack of play by the party chosen candidate. Normally the guy the party top men want to win takes up most the media space, Romney for example. This time, though, Jeb can’t get anyone to actually support him, so suddenly there is this big gap in media coverage to be filled up with candidates that would normally get no screen time.

[Free Society]

I think they almost always have 10+ “notable” candidates at this point in the cycle. Now how competitive those candidates are relative to each other certainly varies. This field of candidates seem to be less competitive as compared to 2012 campaign, when at this point in the nomination process the polls were swinging between Perry and Romney and the occasional third wheel gaining some popularity, whereas now it’s just Trump Fest 2016.

[sarcasmic]

Rand is a politician.

*shrugs*

[Rhywun]

This story has it all.

The city’s Board of Health will vote today on whether or not to add salt-warning labels to chain restaurant menus. The measure would require a black and white salt shaker logo on restaurant menu items that have more than the recommended daily sodium limit of 2,300 milligrams.

I block videos but I think this one has a video bonus that includes the usual “man on the street” mindless agreement that I saw on the TV earlier.

[Illocust]

So now we know which menu items to buy? Seriously, despite their attempts to make salt this evil thing, too many people adore it. I know my mother would buy nothing but those items if they labeled ’em.

[Rhywun]

As long as they shame the relatively lower-income people who rely on chain restaurant food, their job is done. Doesn’t matter that it’s quack science.

[The Late P Brooks]

he plans on paying the fine ransom because he respects the law fears the police.

[Rhywun]

More LIVING WAGE!!11! derp.

Rents have gotten so out of reach for the poorest New Yorkers, those making minimum wage can’t afford the median rent in any city neighborhood

[Just say Nikki]

Why would the poorest people ever be able to afford median rents?

Have these people even asked themselves that?

[Warty]

Statistics is literally murder. Jesus, you’re dumb.

[Irish ?s ESB]

Look, Nicole, if we raised everyone’s wages it’s not like the cost of those rents would just increase further due to increased demand, thus resulting in poor people not being able to afford the median rents no matter how much they’re paid due to the issues of relative wealth.

Heartless bitch.

[commodious spittoon]

They’re hoping their readers don’t.

[Tonio]

And part of being poor is that you may not be able to afford a place of your own. But try telling that to a proggie.

[Rhywun]

part of being poor is that you may not be able to afford a place of your own

This used to be blindingly obvious to any newcomer to the city. It took me seven years to afford a place on my own.

But I guess it makes people feel better to play the victim – thanks, SJW’s!

[Restoras]

Even when I could afford a place on my own I still had roommates. It was odd having a roommate at 30 but it left a lot more disposable income for other things.

[Rhywun]

It was odd having a roommate at 30

In NYC it’s odd to NOT have a roommate at 30.

And with rents going thru the roof lately I might have to find one again *shudder*. Or move to a shithole like Bushwick – oh, wait a minute, I can’t afford it there anymore.

[CatoTheChipper]

As Barbie said, “Math is hard.”

But this article is retarded.

[Warty]

Oh look at that, there’s a new Iron Maiden record. It seems exactly as you’d expect after listening to it for a couple minutes. Good.

[invisible furry hand]

In this crazy mixed-up world, at least there are some things one can rely upon

Slightly related news: Anvil is trying to crowd-source its new album

[The Late P Brooks]

Rents have gotten so out of reach for the poorest New Yorkers, those making minimum wage can’t afford the median rent in any city neighborhood

Its a good thing they have rent control.

[Free Society]

A natural and undistorted real estate market would tend to encourage people to live where they could actually afford to live. But we can’t allow that because gentrification of blighted areas is bad or something. Progressives are so dense.

[Galactic Chipper Cdr Lytton]

The morning fluff shows are full of the United CEO and two others getting axed over a federal investigation.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/…..tion-probe

Angle on the stories is United bribed the Port Authority chair.

Port Authority Chairman David Samson surprised the group with a request of his own. He complained that he and his wife had grown weary of the trip to their weekend home in Aiken, South Carolina, because the best flight out of Newark was to Charlotte, North Carolina, 150 miles away. Until 2009, Continental had run direct service from Newark to Columbia, South Carolina, 100 miles closer.
In a tone described by one observer as “playful, but not joking,” Samson asked: Could United revive that route? An awkward silence fell over the table.
Though the United CEO didn’t agree to the request at the dinner, according to the accounts of some who attended, the airline ultimately added the money-losing route that became known as “the chairman’s flight.” Now federal prosecutors are looking into whether its genesis crossed the line from legitimate bargaining into illegal activity.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey is investigating whether United employees made improper attempts to influence Samson at the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, according to people familiar with the investigation.

Sounds more like extortion by the Port Authority chair to me.