Bernie Sanders Was People's Choice in Dem Debate, Planned Parenthood Won't Take Money for Fetal Tissue, 'Big Pimpin' On Trial: A.M. Links

• Bernie Sanders seems to have won the people's choice vote at last night's Democratic presidential debate, while the chattering classes are calling the thing for Hillary. (But which one will best protect the earth from dragons?) 
• Meanwhile, everyone's pretty certain that Vice President Joe Biden's ship has sailed. 
• Planned Parenthood announced Tuesday that affiliates will no longer accept any compensation for fetal tissue procurement and donation. Republicans must be happy, right? Of course not—Planned Parenthood isn't doing it for the right reasons, House Speaker John Boehner complained. 
• A copyright infringement trial over the Jay Z song "Big Pimpin" opened yesterday. 
• Iranian state TV just broadcast footage of its underground missile silos for the first time. 

New at Reason:

Brickbat: Behind the Badge - By Charles Oliver

Donald Trump Loves Land Grabs: The billionaire developer's broad view of eminent domain is good for him but bad for property rights. - By Jacob Sullum

Censorship in America: Free speech matters. - By John Stossel

The 3 Best and Worst Moments of the First Democratic Debate: Is there hope for liberty lovers among the Democrats? - By Zach Weissmueller and Justin Monticello

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

...everyone's pretty certain that Vice President Joe Biden's ship has sailed.

Everyone is wrong.

[UnCivilServant]

It sank instead.

[straffinrun]

Put y'all back in chains.

[WTF]

"Stand up so everyone can see you!"

[Almanian's Rusty Woodchipper]

*blasts shotgun into the air*

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

[commodious spittoon]

Holla.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Were you asking about Canadian Thanksgiving?

It's basically like the American one but on a much lesser scale; despite being around before U.S. TG.

[Monty Crisco]

You sound like a Korean that claimed they invented sushi.... WHATEVAH!!!

[Crow T. Robot]

"It's basically like the American one but on a much lesser scale"

So no turducken?

[wareagle]

funny thing about conventional wisdom, isn't it. Best thing for Biden's campaign is giving the floor to Hillary and Bernie.

[Trump-o-Matic 5000]

^This. Remember 6 months ago when Hillbot was "inevitable"? Good times.

[Jerryskids]

If you had read the WaPo link, you'd know that the "everybody" being cited is a bunch of Hillary! supporters. Shocking that the debate proves even more the inevitableness of HRH according to them. I think that's also referred to as "wishful thinking" or "whistling past the graveyard". When the people themselves say they felt the Bern, there's still an opening for the VP who's just Biden his time.

[Stilgar]

And if you followed "reporting" of the past few months, you could also see that the WaPo is a paid Hill Shill. They are also a high source in google news. Rinse repeat.

[Lord Humungus]

Inequality in everything: The rich get better breakfast sandwiches, too

"The growth of the more premium part of the market for breakfast sandwiches is something we've been looking at for a while," said James Russo, who is the senior vice president of global consumer insights at Nielsen, a market research firm. "It's really resonating with wealthier consumers."

Over the past five years, high-end and mid-scale restaurants have become particularly fond of adding new fried egg concoctions to their menus, swapping in bitter greens, spicy aiolis, and hard-to-pronounce cheeses. As a result, more than 63 percent of all fine dining establishments and 66 percent of their mid-level counterparts now offer at least one breakfast sandwich, according to data from market research firm Nielsen. That's almost the same menu penetration that breakfast sandwiches enjoy at fast food restaurants, where it's just shy of 70 percent.

[Juvenile Bluster]

We don't need 26 different types of breakfast sandwiches while kids don't have deodorant.

[Certified Public Asshat]

I wonder if in Bernie's world, everyone eats gluten, or gluten-free?

[Princess Trigger]

You stand in the line and get whatever's available prolie - and you like it.

[Citizen X]

+1 moldy potato

[LoneWaco]

Damn U.S. Government? Without our government, you'd be stuck in Siberia now, sucking the juice from a rotten commie potato. Let me tell you something. If the U.S. Government decides to stick a tracking device up your ass...You say, "Thank You...And God bless America!"

[sloopyinTEXAS]

I can't tell if you sound more like Bernie Sanders or Lindsay Graham.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

That was in reply to LoneWhacko.

[Citizen X]

I believe he's quoting Red Foreman on 'That 70s Show.'

[commodious spittoon]

Fixing food inequality, Sanders-style.

[AlmightyJB]

Bacon and Syrup are gluten free so I'm good.

[Juvenile Bluster]

I love that *everything* is getting a gluten free label nowadays. My kid's bubble bath soap says it's gluten free, because apparently you might eat it and want to know that?

[Agammamon]

Don'cha know that gluten is absorbed through tha skin?

[Granny Weatherwax]

To someone who actually can't have gluten, I'm happy that it's become a fad. Back when my cousin and I appeared to be the only people in the world with celiac disease, the majority of shelf space in a grocery store was mostly a waste of time. There's a whole lot more products available then there used to be. And you'd be amazed at the weird ass shit that manufacturers will put wheat into. I still have to microanalyze the labels though, just cause they claim to be gluten free doesn't necessarily mean I can use it.

[Robert]

Damn, didn't think to make that claim!
http://users.bestweb.net/~robgood/lather.html

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

A specter is haunting America; the specter of breakfast sandwiches.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Behold envious progressivism in all its bankrupted glory.

[Zeb]

Gee, imagine that. People with the means and desire to pay more for higher quality things will do so. That's why being rich is desirable and being poor is not.

Inequality certainly can be an indicator of big problems (but also of a growing economy). But this is just getting stupid.

[commodious spittoon]

Inequality certainly can be an indicator of big problems

But not rent-seeking and cronyism. Certainly not that.

[Agammamon]

http://everythingsaproblem.tumblr.com/

C'mon man, you're behind the times - there are fresh new injustices being perpetrated while you wait for the MSM to bring you the 'news'.

[WTF]

That's hilarious.

[CatoTheChipper]

Question: Can a poor, single mother use her EBT to buy an $11.25 upscale-ified McMuffin?

Because, if she can't, that's not fair.

Seriously, EBT-holders can use their government handouts not only to buy food, but also to pay for servants to prepare their food for them at McDonalds. Certainly they should be able to use their cards to enjoy the same level of quality ingredients that greed-heads enjoy.

[Agammamon]

No she can't - and you're right its not fair. That's why we need to stop these other people from asserting their privilege.

Its like kindergarten - you can't have candy if you didn't bring enough for everyone.

[Chip the Chipper]

Holy fuck that site is amazing. I have a deadline today....correction I had a deadline today. That ship has sailed thanks to this.

[Knarf Yenrab!]

When that site was linked over the weekend, it immediately went into my weekly-visit links.

I particularly liked the Coen bros article about how white their movies are, Coen being such a traditional Anglo name and all.

[Mr. Flanders]

Thank you so much for bringing this blog to my attention.

[Illocust]

Seriously? Will these people really only be happy when we all have to buy the same type of everything? Fucking commies.

[WTF]

Nobody needs wasteful choices. Everything will therefore be mandated by Top Men.

[Frank Frankelson]

Its not Comrade Bernie's fault that your counter-revolutionary feet are the wrong size for the People's Shoe!

[Granny Weatherwax]

But you can wait in line for hours for free treatment for your ulcerated blisters.

[Suthenboy]

+1 black pajamas

[Knarf Yenrab!]

Envy is an old and potent political motivator.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

Yes, because there is no such thing as a breakfast sandwich. It's a category of food.

They still can't get a better Coke.

[Jerryskids]

Mexicans are hogging all the better Coke. Those free-market losers use real sugar just because it's cheap instead of importing high fructose freedom syrup from the US where we know enough to tarrify that nasty commie sugar into staying out of the country.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

Good point. The Mexicans are taking all the good Coke, too!

[Agammamon]

And using it for airbags!

[Suthenboy]

So....you get what you pay for?

[commodious spittoon]

Wells's angst was the angst of anyone who feels queasy about the upscalification (yes, that's a made-up word) of anything originally made by and for the working class.

I wonder how this muppet feels about manufacturers downscaling former luxuries like automobiles for mass consumption by the working class.

[crab_apple]

BUTLER! Bring me my monocle and hard-to-pronounce cheese!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Bernie Sanders seems to have won the people's choice vote at last night's Democratic presidential debate, while the chattering classes are calling the thing for Hillary.

The question is, who gets the top of the ticket?

[Citizen X]

Hillary is definitely a top. Bernie seems like more of a power bottom.

[Rich]

*** rising intonation ***

What about "Feel the Bern"?

[Shirley Knott]

Oh, he feels it. Repeatedly.

[straffinrun]

Bernie is the Chaffer, Lincoln the Chaffee.

[commodious spittoon]

*enthusiastic applause*

[SugarFree]

My ancient Honda don't want none
Unless you got Berns, hon

[Citizen X]

Sweet'n'Low, whenever Bernie and Hillary are mentioned at the same time i get the phrase "core you like a Vermont fuckapple" stuck in my head. I am a broken man and it's your fault.

[SugarFree]

#sorrynotsorry

[Citizen X]

I don't have any expectation of an apology. I don't have any expectation about anything anymore. Not even the sweet oblivion at the end of life, for i have read your blog, and i know there are worse things than death.

[Slumbrew]

Paging Barfman...

[gaijin]

I could not watch, but by 'debate' I assume they mean a series of statements from each candidate that went unchallenged?

[Fist of Etiquette]

CNN was fair as they haven't yet decided which of these they want to beat the GOP.

[commodious spittoon]

Democrats don't beat the GOP. Only the GOP beats the GOP.

[PBR Streetgang]

Surprisingly, Anderson Cooper went after each candidate and challenged several answers from each. He did a good job.

[Rich]

Agree. A relatively good moderator.

[BigT]

Yes, Cooper was OK. Except he didn't follow up on the email scandal with: "If the email thing is so unimportant, why is the FBI looking into it?" or "Would you allow your Sec of State (or other Cabinet official) to use a private server?"

[Rhywun]

Yeah, some follow-up on all their horseshit would have been nice, but the debates don't seem to work that way.

[PBR Streetgang]

And he definitely did not pin down Sanders' on "How will you pay for the magic wishlist". But overall he scored a lot of credibility points with me.

[gaijin]

Good to hear.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Bernie Sanders seems to have won the people's choice vote at last night's Democratic presidential debate, while the chattering classes are calling the thing for Hillary. (But which one will best protect the earth from dragons?)

My favorite moment of the debate last night was when Clayton Kershaw pitched 7 dominant innings against the Mets in New York.

That's what everyone's been fussing about, right?

[Just say Nikki]

Sorry, I couldn't hear you over the sound of partying in Wrigleyville.

[Idle Hands]

yea I'm all in for the cubs.

[Idle Hands]

I hope a giant meteorite hits dodger stadium for game 5, I hate both those teams.

[Lord Humungus]

Leonardo DiCaprio to produce Volkswagen scandal film

His production company Appian Way and Paramount Pictures have bought the rights to an as-yet-unwritten book about the scandal, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

It is not known whether DiCaprio will star in the film.

Last month the German car manufacturer admitted 11 million of its diesel vehicles worldwide are fitted with software that beat emission tests.

*snore*

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

I'm sure we can trust Leo to accurately and fairly illustrate the perverse incentives for cheating that ridiculous government emissions standards create.

[Slammer]

You know who else was into film and propaganda?

[Rhywun]

Michael Moore?

[WTF]

Robert Redford?

[Mongo]

Remy?

[PBR Streetgang]

Leni Reifenstahl?

[Tonio]

"Riefenstahl," but still...

+1 Triumph of the Will

[PBR Streetgang]

That's what I get for trying to spell her name without looking it up.

[Homple]

Sergei Eisenstein?

[BigT]

James Cameron?

[Tonio]

Well-done Rhywun, PBR and Homple.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Once again, left-wing morons make mountains out of mole hills. I mean, really?

Who gives a shit?

DISCLAIMER: I leased a VW Golf sportswagon TDI and not much worried. But they should lower my payments out of, I don't know, respect?

[Zeb]

They made the cars run better and more efficiently, but with a little more NOX emissions. I think they only thing you have to worry about is someone forcing you to make your car run less well.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Exactly. My brother in law suggested I shut up and do....nothing. The car runs smoothly for a diesel engine. And diesel is good, right?

Di Caprio can go fuck himself.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

That is, do nothing until told to. You don't want them tinkering around in there.

[Zeb]

Diesel is good for you bank account.

Someone was telling me the other day that when you see a big truck putting out a big mess of black smoke, they are probably putting out as much NOX as a small TDI does in it's whole lifetime in 30 seconds. So even if you do care about that, you shouldn't care about it.

It was a dumb thing for VW to do, but it really is a tiny thing.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Yup.

[Idle Hands]

How does he sleep at night?

[LynchPin1477]

On top of a bed of money, with many beautiful ladies?

[WTF]

I wonder what the carbon footprint is for that thing?

[CatoTheChipper]

If you have to ask, you're not an environmentalist.

[LynchPin1477]

The wife and I just bought a new VW Golf. We got an insanely good deal. VW committed fraud but their misstep is our gain. I was more than happy to cash in.

And it's a really nice and well-rated car.

[some guy]

He's just really desperate for an Oscar.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Republicans must be happy, right?

I'm pretty sure the money wasn't really the issue with the tissue.

[some guy]

Of course not?Planned Parenthood isn't doing it for the right reasons

But we can totally legislate morality.

[Lord Humungus]

Man hospitalized trying to remove hemorrhoids with toy sword, and that's not even the worst part

When faced with a medical issue in an embarrassing part of the body, it's only natural to be reluctant to go to the hospital. Take hemorrhoids for example; it's hard having to confess your painful blood-filled piles to a receptionist and medical staff, least of all show them to the doc. And after all, time heals all wounds, doesn't it?

Not for a 54-year-old man working in Hangzhou City, China, who had been experiencing hemorrhoidal pain for about 10 years. But rather than go to a hospital, he decided to take matters into his own hands and remove the hemorrhoids himself? using a small toy sword.

The following is a cautionary tale urging everyone to seek professional medical help whenever they feel something is wrong. Trust me, you don't want to end up like this guy did.

[straffinrun]

Yellin will use this as excuse #243 to not raise rates.

[some guy]

This is why we need single payer.

[Lord Humungus]

Man hit by 16-pound pine cone in S.F. park files $5 million suit

A tourist visiting the Bay Area for Fleet Week last year was doing nothing more than reading and napping under a tree in a federal waterfront park in San Francisco when a 16-pound pine cone fell on him and crushed his skull, his lawyer said Monday.

Now, Sean Mace, a U.S. Navy veteran, is suing the U.S. government, the National Park Service, the Department of the Interior and San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park where he was injured for $5 million in the hopes of changing policies so that no one else falls victim to the same type of bizarre incident.

[Rich]

the hopes of changing policies

Eliminating trees in national parks?

[UnCivilServant]

Eliminating people from national parks.

[SIV]

There's nothing bizarre about getting hit with a pine cone when you sit under a tree full of them.

[Rhywun]

What the hell are they feeding that thing? I've never seen a pine cone that weighs more than a few ounces.

[Zeb]

There are some pretty big ones out west. 16 lbs does seem like a lot, though.

[SugarFree]

Does he not have standing to sue the manufacturer?

[commodious spittoon]

+1 common-sense pine cone law

[Rhywun]

From the article: "commonly known as bunya pines or false monkey puzzle trees"

Oh, so weird-ass western flora. The cones look like freakin' watermelons.

As an easterner unused to such things, I would hesitate to spend any time under a western tree without doing some research first.

[The Shrubber's Woodchipper]

Why am I not surprised? Its an Australian plant and can kill you:

Araucaria bidwillii, the bunya pine, is a large evergreen coniferous tree in the plant family Araucariaceae. It is found naturally in south-east Queensland Australia and two small disjunct populations in north eastern Queensland's World Heritage listed Wet Tropics. There are many fine old planted specimens in New South Wales, and around the Perth, Western Australia metropolitan area. They can grow up to 30?45 m.

[SugarFree]

But the cones make giant edible pine nuts. MEGA PESTO!

[Rhywun]

Seems like most of the flora in that region is imported?

[UnCivilServant]

It's a desert. It's only green because of human efforts. Of course the plants are imported.

[UnCivilServant]

*Sorry forgot to notice that it was the Bay area, which does get more rain than most of costal california.

So that tree is an invasive species and we need to start destroying them in the name of ecology!

[Rhywun]

I read somewhere that the western half of SF was covered in sand before the Euros arrived, so yeah I think large parts of NoCal were/are desert too.

[some guy]

It was probably soaking wet. They can hold a lot of moisture.

[PBR Streetgang]

I swear this guy was a plaintiff in a Personal Injury case I worked on years ago.

[SugarFree]

"It's gonna be YUUUGE! YUUUGE! I swear! But it might take a minute!" Donald rasped. His hair smirked at his limp penis.

"It's fine," Hillary said. "It happens to all guys. Just hurry up. I can only act like this is a faggoty-ass pancake breakfast for so long before the Benghazi Committee will add it to the agenda." She toyed with Donald's ball cap, twirling it around her finger.

"I think I'm going to be sick," the hat moaned.

"I guarantee you won't be the first thing that's ever thrown up in this chick's lap," Donald's hair said.

"Am I at least doing a good job, Mommy?" Donald asked. "Am I distracting them like you and Daddy told me too?"

"Yes, Donny. You're doing a very good job of being a dumbass," Hillary told him. "And you're going to be 'yuge,' I promise." She threw the hat down and parted her vast thicket of pubic hair. Her labia parted with the sad grumble of old Velcro and her gnarled clitoris emerged. "Does this help? Are you getting hard, Donny?"

"I'll get hard for you, Mommy. Donny will get YUUUGE for Mommy!"

"This is disgusting," his hair said.

"It really is," said the hat from the floor. "At least I'm half under the bed. All I have to see is her horrible thighs. They're quivering, dude. Quivering."

"I really hope he doesn't go down on her," the hair said. "It smells like a litter box down there."

[SugarFree]

"I'm trying to CONCENTRATE!" Donald yelled at them both.

"I know you are," Hillary said. "Mommy is very proud of you." She lifted her legs for him and farted like a startled trumpet.

"OH GOD, YES!" Donald gurgled and sucked in the miasma.

"What in the name of all holy fuck does this old whore eat?" Donald's hair managed.

"Huma," the hat chortled. "And whatever rancid cockcheese Michelle leaves all over Barry."

"Oh, fuck. Don't make me laugh," the hair choked out. "It's so thick up here I swear I can taste it."

"You don't have a tongue," the hat said.

"You think that matters? You get up here and soak in the hot garbage coming out of her horrid nethers for a while."

"Please be quiet," Donald whispered.

"What was that?" Hillary asked, looking up from her phone.

"Nothing, Mommy," Donald said. He began to twirl his flaccid tycoon like a lasso, hoping to rouse it from its frightened slumber.

[gaijin]

farted like a startled trumpet.

Brilliant...simply brilliant.

[SatanicBunniesOfDeath]

Dude, you should write a novel about this. It's going to be more accurate than anything in that memoir she had some one else write for her.

[SugarFree]

It's hard to do in the long form without becoming repetitive. After a while the reader just goes numb.

[Princess Trigger]

Call it "Hard Choices" something like that.
Needs something about HARD.

[Lord Humungus]

Can we elect the hat and hair instead?

[SugarFree]

Neither are 35.

[Frank Frankelson]

.. and neither are likely to be natural born citizens either.

[Zeb]

The animated hair and hat is a particularly nice touch.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

He had me at, "His hair smirked at his limp penis."

[WTF]

Her labia parted with the sad grumble of old Velcro and her gnarled clitoris emerged.

Poetry.

[Slumbrew]

Yeah, that's where I had to punch out - really shouldn't have even started while eating breakfast.

[commodious spittoon]

*clapping intensifies*

[BakedPenguin]

Brilliant.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Dude, I'm eating breakfast!

[Raven Nation]

I've always assumed that any SugarFree post carries an implicit trigger warning at the beginning.

[SugarFree]

Blame Nikki. She asked for this.

[Citizen X]

Isn't blaming Nikki the default here at Hit&Run;?

[SugarFree]

Yes, but she really is to blame this time. Her and her vile crony Episiarch.

[Slammer]

That better be a premium breakfast while a poor person is going without today.

[Slumbrew]

Gah, same. Jesus.

[Fist of Etiquette]

"This is disgusting," his hair said.

Agreed.

[Aloysious]

...her vast thicket of pubic hair.

yeah. I'm done.

[Crusty Juggler]

That was the sexiest part.

[Fist of Etiquette]

That's why he finished early.

[Lord Humungus]

Democratic Debate 2015: Hillary Clinton's 'Enemies' In Pharmaceutical and Insurance Industries Have Supported Her Campaigns, Foundation

In an exchange toward the end of the Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas on Tuesday, the candidates were asked who their biggest enemies had been over the course of their careers. Clinton responded by saying, "In addition to the NRA, the health insurance companies, the drug companies, the Iranians -- probably the Republicans."

It is true that the National Rifle Association and the Republicans have been Clinton's nemeses, and she has been involved in tense negotiations about international policy toward Iran. But health insurance companies and drug companies have been some of her biggest financial supporters.

In 2008, Clinton was the among the three biggest recipients of campaign cash from pharmaceutical-related companies, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics. In all, the watchdog group reports that she raised $738,000 from employees of pharmaceutical manufacturers and companies classified as "Pharmaceuticals /Health Products." The center reports that Clinton also raised more than $1.2 million from the insurance industry -- which includes health insurers.

[Lord Humungus]

Michael Barone: First thoughts on the first Democratic debate

...a viewer from Mars might be surprised to learn that a Democrat has been president for the last seven years. The picture painted of a country in distress, in which ordinary people no longer have a chance to rise, overwhelmed the sometimes ritualistic and/or grudging praise for Barack Obama and administration. This, together with recent polling, suggests that Democrats' chance for winning a third consecutive presidential election is somewhere below rather than above the 50 percent that the smart poll analyst Nate Silver has been advancing.

Bottom line. The chances that Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic nominee have increased. The chances that the Democrats will win the presidency again have not.

[WTF]

a viewer from Mars might be surprised to learn that a Democrat has been president for the last seven years.

We just need to Democrat harder!

[Free Society]

Well things aren't going well despite a wonderful Obama administration and several years of a Democratic supermajority because of Republican obstructionists. They were just so obstructive because of the Koch brothers and Citizens United and stuff.

[Citizen X]

a viewer from Mars

Matt Damon?

[Slammer]

Two die in Mexico car crash after air bag replaced with cocaine packages

Police in northern Mexico say two people have died in the crash of a car whose air bag had been replaced with bricks of cocaine.

The passenger-side air bag compartment was apparently being used to smuggle 55lb (25 kilos) of cocaine. The driver's air bag apparently did deploy.

Federal police said they recovered 23 packages of the drug from the car after it crashed in the town of San Fernando in the northern border state of Tamaulipas.

Emergency personnel took the two occupants of the car to a hospital, where they died of their injuries.

[Slumbrew]

That is hilarious. You'd have to have a heart of stone not to find that funny (assuming they knew).

[Agammamon]

Its kinda funny even if they didn't.

CARLOS! Where the fuck is the coke you promised?

Well man, funny story . . .

[Lord Humungus]

Restaurant offers partial ownership in 30-pound burrito 'challenge'

Don Chingon, which opened its doors in Brooklyn's Park Slope neighborhood in August, said "The Grand Chingon Challenge" asks customers to down a 30-pound burrito composed of steak, chicken, pork, rice, beans and salsa.

Customers taking on the challenge must also drink a margarita spiked with ghost pepper.

The restaurant said the challenge costs $150 to take on, and customers must finish the meal within one hour and they will be disqualified if they discharge any bodily fluids -- which means no bathroom breaks or runny eyes and noses from the spicy beverage.

[Rich]

no runny eyes and noses

Brutal.

[LynchPin1477]

30 lbs in one hour? I'm going with "not physically possible".

[Agammamon]

I think that's where the 'buy-in' part comes into play. Its not just you.

[Juvenile Bluster]

It's not. There's no way on earth this could be done.

[Mickey Rat]

I suppose death is a disqualifying occurrence?

[Free Society]

Even a person with a huge tolerance for Ghost Peppers, like myself, will still have watery eyes if the dosage is high enough.

[Lord Humungus]

Thai Beauty Queen To Dress Like Rickshaw At Miss Universe Pageant

The smoke-belching, ear-splitting, undisciplined rickshaws known as tuk-tuks are part of the chaos on Bangkok's clogged streets.

Soon however, the tuk-tuk will stroll down a more refined runway, when Miss Thailand pays homage to her country at the Miss Universe 2015 pageant dressed as the iconic motorized rickshaw. Her outfit comes complete with headlights and handlebars.

The "Tuk Tuk Thailand" dress will be worn by Aniporn Chalermburanawong in the "national costume" round at the pageant in December in the United States. It was the winning design from 356 entries in a contest held by Miss Universe Thailand.

Gives you something to hold on to! /Lord Flashheart

[Slumbrew]

Woof!

[CatoTheChipper]

I imagine that quite a few guys would like to ride in her tuk-tuk.

[SugarFree]

The "Straight" Men Who Want To Sex Up On Penises In A Dress

With bonus "I'll call you want ever I want" action in the comments.

[Juvenile Bluster]

I think I've been told before that straight guys who wouldn't have sex with a trans woman are anti-trans, or something.

[SugarFree]

That was the Jezebel consensus on the matter.

[Idle Hands]

That is an interesting take. I guess all the women who didn't want to have sex with me were actually lesbians.

[Crusty Juggler]

Or bitches.

[Idle Hands]

manhating-lesbian-feminist bitches.

[Crusty Juggler]

Exactly! All women who refuse to sleep with me are that.

[Citizen X]

There's no sex like trans-sex!

[Rich]

Morris, who compares trans women to Ferraris and says trans women are easier to have sex with than cisgender women.

They're so grateful?

[Idle Hands]

or he's only half gay.

[Agammamon]

Gee, straight men who are attracted to something that looks vaguely feminine and is both easier to get into bed and out of consideration for a 'serious relationship'?

Color me surprised.

Next they'll post a shocking expose about the sex lives of young homosexual men.

[Tonio]

...and guaranteed to not get pregnant.

[Idle Hands]

the comments are fantastic:

prodiGal
10/13/15 6:17pm
Do you think it's possible that someone could have a preference for trans women in a way that's not fetishizing/creepy? Like, that's just what floats their boat?

Luke Plunkett wanks to concept art
10/13/15 6:29pm
I've wondered about that, and I really doubt it to be honest. I can't think of a reason why you would want to specifically date a trans woman unless it's A) for her physical characteristics or B) based on the idea that we're categorically different in personality, temperament, etc. - which is not true, as we're as diverse a group as any other subgroup of women.

[Idle Hands]

The second comment is from someone who claims to be trans.

[Certified Public Asshat]

I am enjoying the section of the comments where they are arguing why "cis" terms are necessary.

One guy questioned why people can refer to him as cisgender if he doesn't see himself that way (just straight male) and he is attacked for asking the question.

[Trump-o-Matic 5000]

Well, that cis-shitlord clearly deserves it for not checking his privilege /derp

[Fist of Etiquette]

"All you've had is men before treating you like a piece of meat, basically, and it's not nice," she said.

[Illocust]

The comments I swear. There is a group going off about how chubby chasers and guys attracted to trans women are predators. Apparently having a fetish and seeking a partner that can fulfill that fetish makes you a creep. Jezzies are broken people. They all need therapy with non-feminist to get over their issues. Especially the ones that seem to equate 'attracted to me' with being a bad person.

[commodious spittoon]

In fairness, anyone attracted to a jezzie is a bad person. At the very least they're enabling the poor girl's delusions, at worst actively feeding them.

[Trump-o-Matic 5000]

Following that line of reasoning to its logical conclusion, one must either (1) have sex indiscriminately without any preference or regard for personality, gender, appearance, or any other basis by which normal human beings select their partners, or (2) refrain from all sex whatsoever, lest you trigger/fetishize/rape/predatorize someone.

[Illocust]

Thus the broken comment. I first heard the comment in relation to women who always seem to crush on gay guys, but 'if the only men you find non-threatening and attractive are the ones who have zero interest in sleeping with you there is something wrong with you not men'.

[Pope Jimbo]

You were born a man? I thought you said you were from Iran!!!!

[Pope Jimbo]

Oops forgot the link.

https://youtu.be/g2KsZHRrFpU?t=106

[Suthenboy]

Ugh.

If it has a penis it isnt a woman, it is a man. If you are male and want to have sex with a man you aren't straight.

Demoralization is the manifestation of Einstein's contrast of stupidity and genius.

[straffinrun]

What if the penis self identifies as a large clitoris?

[WTF]

Like Hillary's clitdong? Coring Bernie Sander's ass like a Vermont fuckapple?

[Tonio]

What if the person has both? Rare, but still a thing?

[watches in bemusement as Suthen's devolves into spluttering apoplexy.]

And, the icing on the cake is that it's a naturally-occurring phenom, iow godidit.

[Agammamon]

Doesn't mean you're not not straight either.

[Warty]

I like the "you don't need to tell a dude you have a penis if you're just having casual sex with him" comment. I mean...if a tree falls in a forest and gets blown by a tranny and no one hears, is it still gay?

[Citizen X]

Only if there's a reacharound involved.

[Illocust]

It's really only a big deal on these sites because the radfems have gotten really into rape by deception in the last couple years. You've got some of them earnestly arguing that a guy lying about being a doctor to his one night stand is raping her. With concepts like that flying around it become really hard to say that a trans person doesn't have to disclose before sex or making out happens.

That being said. Yeah, decent people tell their potential partners deals breakers for sex before things get to sex. You've got an STD doesn't matter if its controlled you disclose. You're cheating on a significant other you disclose. You're like me and have medical issues that screw with sex you disclose. You're trans you disclose. Be fucking upfront.

[Warty]

You have sexlexia?

[Illocust]

Can't view Youtube at work. I had spinal surgery when I was young. It clipped all the nerves that relay pleasure from all the fun spots to my brain. Everything works just fine otherwise, I just figure guys would like to know ahead of time.

[Warty]

So you do have sexlexia. Well, that blows.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Really?
So if I do that thing that I'm really good at, nothing will happen?

[Illocust]

Depends what you mean by nothing will happen? The damage was only to my spine, so everything is functional. Lubrication and all that jazz isn't an issue (thank god, I think I'd become a justifiable axe murderer if any more problems were added on top). I'm just partially numb. I can't feel hot or cold for the most part either, that's just not as relevant as the pleasure nerves not getting their signal through.

[Agammamon]

Mouth's a mouth.

[Mickey Rat]

Apparently such people do not believe rape by fraud is a legitimate concept.

[Trump-o-Matic 5000]

Only if a non-trans man does it.

[Lord Humungus]

Islamic State battles insurgents near Aleppo as army prepares assault

Islamic State militants battled rival insurgent groups on Wednesday north of the city of Aleppo, where officials say the Syrian army is preparing an offensive of its own backed by Iranian soldiers and Russian jets.

A rebel fighter and a group monitoring the war said Islamic State fighters took control of part of the towns of Ahras and Tel Jabin, about 12 km (8 miles) north of Aleppo, before being pushed back.

Gains by Islamic State north of Aleppo will threaten the supply lines of rival rebels inside the city, which is divided between insurgents and government forces. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the road used by Aleppo residents heading north to the Turkish border remained closed on Wednesday.

[Just say Nikki]

Shouts Out to Chicagoland

Former regular and current friend-of-H&R generic Brand has organized a meetup!

Don't worry, a consensus was reached about time and location. We have no dictators here!!

Roll up to Hopleaf in Andersonville on October 18 at 12:30pm. That's this Sunday, people! Come see us! Come see the extensive beer list! You are invited to

Bring whomever you'd like. I assure you I can hold conversations that aren't political in nature if you're nervous about bringing significant others or friends to a first-time meeting of internet commenters (and as I typed that out I'm realizing how difficult it will be to sell this to non-Commentariat persons).

It's true, though. He can. And so can I!

[SugarFree]

The Hopleaf is an awesome place to eat and drink.

Don't worry, though. I won't be there. Fraidy-cats.

[straffinrun]

What about your thicket of pubic hair? Can he make it?

[SugarFree]

It's a six-hour drive and his license is suspended anyway.

[straffinrun]

That's nasty if he can reach the pedals. Hope it was a convertible.

[Citizen X]

Look, it's not Sweet'n'Low's fault that he has to take his pants off if he wants to feel the wind in his hair while driving.

[Monty Crisco]

"And so can I!"

*citation needed*

[The Late P Brooks]

Everyone is wrong.

This is my default position.

[Rich]

Scientists claim they can change your belief on immigrants and God ? with MAGNETS

SEE?!

*** adjusts tinfoil hat ***

[Juvenile Bluster]

How the f--- do they work?

[Rich]

Better than Americans at many jobs!

[Agammamon]

Aluminum is barely affected by magnetic fields - they go right through it.

That's why the government has disseminated disinformation to make people think tin foil will protect them.

[Rich]

Ah, but I coat *mine* with chemtrail fallout.

[Agammamon]

And so another one is claimed.

[Citizen X]

http://aggro-gator.com/images/.....m26089.jpg

[Lord Humungus]

Libertarian superstar Ayn Rand defended Native American genocide: "Racism didn't exist in this country until the liberals brought it up"

Ayn Rand is the patron saint of the libertarian Right. Her writings are quoted in a quasi-religious manner by American reactionaries, cited like Biblical codices that offer profound answers to all of life's complex problems (namely, just "Free the Market"). Yet, despite her impeccable libertarian bona fides, Rand defended the colonization and genocide of what she called the "savage" Native Americans ? one of the most authoritarian campaigns of death and suffering ever orchestrated.

"Any white person who brings the elements of civilization had the right to take over this continent," Ayn Rand proclaimed, "and it is great that some people did, and discovered here what they couldn't do anywhere else in the world and what the Indians, if there are any racist Indians today, do not believe to this day: respect for individual rights."

Rand made these remarks before the graduating class of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on March 6, 1974, in a little-known Q&A session. Rand's comments in this obscure Q&A are appearing in full for the first time, here in Salon.

[Raven Nation]

Well that's it. I'm now convinced to give up libertarianism and embrace the warmth of progressivism which contains no such secrets or beliefs in its past.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Especially progressive hero Woodrow Wilson. If only we could be more like him.

[Raven Nation]

He's my favorite. *sigh*

[Rufus J. Firefly]

" Ben Norton
@BenjaminNorton

(?? ?????? / ?? ?????) Journalist. Politics Staff Writer at @Salon (http://www.salon.com/writer/ben_norton/ ?). Musician."

You can just see the plans for a gulag in his eyes.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Again. Why do they insist on misrepresenting and conflating objectivism and libertarian principles?

I think it's because they're lazy, not too bright and just plain like to make things fit their moronic narratives.

[Zeb]

It's much easier to hate Rand than someone who just thinks people should be left alone to do what they want.

[gaijin]

It's much easier to hate Rand

Plus she is dead. So no worry about her challenging their view of what she said or meant.

[commodious spittoon]

What's Leonard Peikoff, chopped liver?

[PM]

I'm pretty sure Rand thought people should be left alone to do what they want as well. She just also had strong (and unorthodox) views on what constituted good moral behavior and convinced a few people to agree with her.

[Zeb]

She may not have wanted laws that would conflict with libertarianism, but she certainly had some strong ideas about how people should behave and live their lives. The distinction for me is that libertarianism doesn't give a shit what you do with your freedom, but you should have it anyway.

[PM]

You can hold almost any moral viewpoint and still be a libertarian as long as you're okay with not forcing other people to comply with it. Amorality and libertarianism are not the same thing (in fact, they're not even compatible; it may distress you to learn that the NAP itself is a moral position). Where libertarianism is mostly a political philosophy with a minimalist moral code, Objectivism is a more holistic personal philosophy with a correspondingly more complex moral code. You can hate Objectivism or love it, but a libertarian political structure is the only one with which it is compatible. Her protestations to the contrary notwithstanding, Rand was a libertarian of one sort or another.

[Zeb]

Yeah, that's pretty much what I was trying to say.

Not sure why you think that the fact that libertarianism has a moral basis would distress me.

[PM]

Not sure why you think that the fact that libertarianism has a moral basis would distress me.

You seemed to be saying that her moralism excluded Rand from the libertarian club. We're all moralists. Libertarianism is not sufficient in and of itself to stand in for personal morality (which is a feature, not a bug). The only difference between Rand and any idiot with an opinion on right and wrong is that she was evangelical about her beliefs and found herself an audience.

[CatoTheChipper]

Rand instructed Rothbard to divorce his Christian wife. She couldn't tolerate mystics, or anybody would tolerate mystics.

[PM]

Yes, and Rothbard told her to stick it up her ass, and everybody lived happily ever after. She didn't sic the government on him, and I've never read anything that would indicate she would have ever advocated doing so even in a theoretical Objectivist States of America. It's not any different than Catholics or Mormons or Jews or Muslims forbidding interfaith marriage among their practitioners, or the Shriners making their members wear those stupid hats. Libertarianism can encompass all of that because those organizations are private and voluntary.

[Tonio]

^This. Also, Rand is the most famous name associated with libertarianism. You will also notice how Rand is blamed for things that other people did before she was born, but nary a peep out of progs about how Marx was responsible for Stalin.

[Tonio]

(Not that Marx was, but by their reasoning he should be.)

[Zeb]

Aargh. Libertarianism and Objectivism are not the same thing.

[Suthenboy]

"Ayn Rand is the patron saint of the libertarian Right. "

Ya' know, when you start lying right out of the gate.....oh. It is Salon.

Fuck you, Ben Norton. Fuck you very much.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

"Any white person who brings the elements of civilization had the right to take over this continent," Ayn Rand proclaimed, "and it is great that some people did, and discovered here what they couldn't do anywhere else in the world and what the Indians, if there are any racist Indians today, do not believe to this day: respect for individual rights."

Wow... this actually sounds better than the snippet I usually see on how Rand supported Native American genocide.

You've just slightly lessened my dislike for Ayn Rand, Salon!

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

So has it occurred to the punditry that maybe Hillary "won" last night's debate because she was debating awful opponents?

Really, she only had one opponent and he could only get off a few zingers about how awesome Europe is compared to America. I don't think she'd do as well against a polished Republican like Rubio or Rand.

[Zeb]

I heard a few clips from the debate this morning. Pure idiocy all around. The only marginally intelligent comment was Sanders pointing out that rural voters have a rather different view on gun control. But otherwise all I heard was some economic idiocy from Sanders about "casino capitalism" giving all the wealth to rich people (no you fucking moron, capitalism is why poor people today in the US live a life of luxury compared to almost everyone in history) and stupid empty gun-control nonsense from the rest of them.

[sarcasmic]

no you fucking moron, capitalism is why poor people today in the US live a life of luxury compared to almost everyone in history

Oh yeah? Well what about all this inequality? The poor would be so much richer if all that wealth at the top was distributed fairly throughout society! You do realize that you lick the capitalist boot that holds you down, don't you? Why do you defend your oppressors? You would be so much richer if the rich were torn down and their wealth was spread out through society! Stop thinking rationally and give into your emotions! Feel the envy! Feel the hatred! Give in to your anger! Direct it at those rich people instead of the government that wants to help you! With every passing moment you make yourself more a progressive!

[Agammamon]

Sarcasmic would rather the poor were poor provided the rich were less rich.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnOGaQX04Cs

[sarcasmic]

Well, yeah! It's better to be equally poor than to be unequally rich! Because feelz!

[Zeb]

All of my hatred is used up on presidential candidates at the moment, sorry.

[sarcasmic]

Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump,
Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump,
Trump-a-da-dump, da-dummmp!

[Citizen X]

I know what you mean. We're STILL more than a year away from this fucking election and i'm already burned out.

[Rhywun]

Bern said something cogent about our criminal justice system ruining the lives of non-violent innocents before launching again into something delusional about "income inequality".

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

It's technology that makes us rich, and government infrastructure, not capitalism!

If it weren't for capitalism, everyone would own a house, two cars, etc. We can obviously make these things, and it's only because the capitalists suck up all the money that we don't have them!

[Suthenboy]

I am betting Fiorina would mop the floor with The Hildebeast. That would be the most lop-sided presidential debate in history. Not only that but it would be hilarious to see the contortions the progs would tie themselves in to explain why Hillary's pussy is deserving and Fiorina's doesn't count.

[WTF]

Fiorina is not an authentic woman because she fired people.

[CatoTheChipper]

So what? Hillary has killed people.

[Tonio]

I can only imagine the SugarFree version of that...encounter.

[Drake]

Bernie Sanders won the people's choice vote.

Now he's going to drive the brad new Peoples' truck over the Peoples' bridge to distribute the Peoples' pamphlets until he runs out of the Peoples' gas.

[Frank Frankelson]

Brad as in hardware or George Takei's husband?

[Drake]

Commie officer talking to Tom Tuttle.

[Lord Humungus]

The horrifying lesson of Tamir Rice: White America will use "objectivity" to justify the murder of black children

But the "reasonable man" standard is not a race-neutral (or a gender-neutral) standard within the law. It is what a putatively "reasonable," white, middle-class, able-bodied, heterosexual, property-owning, cisgender man would assume about the actions of people in his surroundings. The reasonable man standard is not an objective standard. It is based entirely on the subject position of the aforementioned white male character. And if the consequence of believing in concepts of objectivity and reason are that we must consider the killing of Tamir Rice to be legally justified, then our reasons are not reason enough.

It is entirely unreasonable for a young boy, someone's child, to end up dead at the hands of law enforcement when he did not objectively pose a threat. He was a child playing with a toy. In a park. That is what children do. There was nothing unreasonable about his activities. He was playing with a gun openly in an open-carry state. He was playing with his gun in a gun-driven national culture that does not think the killings of innocent college students or little children warrant more robust gun control laws.

[Agammamon]

Wow, he misses the point.

Its not that the 'reasonable man' standard is bad - its that grand juries continually apply it *incorrectly* because they are rarely ever afforded full access to the known facts of the case.

[Slumbrew]

Also, fuck his collective guilt - plenty of Americans who are White think this is bullshit as well. Maybe he meant "the Kings Men". Wait, no - they don't need to justify their actions.

[Rhywun]

Yeah, "white America". Fuck you, Salon.

[Free Society]

I think the biggest point that he misses is that a child was killed, not that it was a black child. That's the biggest point that most people miss.

[Mickey Rat]

And that it what is reasonable to police, because apparently police are trained to use mortal violence anyone who looks like they might possibly be pulling a real gun in their presence on sight.

[CatoTheChipper]

Those 'No More Hesitation' targets are working.

[Monty Crisco]

Why do I feel like that if it had been a white child playing with a toy in a park (Salon is CORRECT on that point - never thought I would type that!), then Salon wouldn't GIVE A HOT SHIT about this incident.

It is not government immunity or state-sanctioned murder or police lawlessness - it is about race-baiting. Salon WANTS an all-powerful state!

[Tonio]

They would have justified it on the grounds that white kids have access to real guns, and Dylann Roof and Adam Lanza.

[Suthenboy]

There is so much wrong there I don't even know where to start. Every single premise is 180 degrees from good sense and truth.

[Rhywun]

Kind of like last night's debate.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

But the "reasonable man" standard is not a race-neutral (or a gender-neutral) standard within the law. It is what a putatively "reasonable," white, middle-class, able-bodied, heterosexual, property-owning, cisgender man would assume about the actions of people in his surroundings.

LOL

[CatoTheChipper]

"There was nothing unreasonable about his activities. He was playing with a gun openly in an open-carry state."

This is the most insane argument against the police that I've heard. If the kid was, in fact, playing with a gun, that would serve to justify the cop's perception of both immanent personal and public danger.

Actually, Tamir Rice's activities were unreasonable, though it probably was not his fault. Unless he broke off the orange tip himself, it was his parent's fault. Any parent who allows his kid to play with an airsoft gun that is a replica of an actual firearm in an uncontrolled environment is objectively irresponsible. My teenaged kid ordered an airsoft AK-47 replica. Other than the fact that it was about 3" shorter than the real thing, it was a strikingly good replica and easily misidentified from a distance. There was no way I'd let him go about the neighborhood with that thing, even if it had an orange tip.

The unreasonableness of Tamir Rice's activities do not justify the cops' over-reaction, precipitous violence, unprofessional conduct, and callous indifference to the kid's bleeding out.

[Gray Ghost]

My teenaged kid ordered an airsoft AK-47 replica. Other than the fact that it was about 3" shorter than the real thing, it was a strikingly good replica and easily misidentified from a distance. There was no way I'd let him go about the neighborhood with that thing, even if it had an orange tip.

Tell him to really, really be careful, Cato. To somewhat answer Monty's question above, how much did Salon complain when Andy Lopez got shot by police in Sonoma, CA, while he was holding an airsoft AK? Picture of Mr. Lopez here, and we can argue how 'white' he was.

No charges for the cop, FWIW. No video that I'm aware of that shows the shooting, but IMHO, many similar facts to the Rice shooting.

[Timon 19]

Shit, Ohio's open-carry? I live here and I didn't know that. Literally the only people I can recall ever seeing carry openly are police in uniform and some security guards in uniform. And I know people who shoot a lot.

So, I guess the "gun culture" encouraged by the open-carry laws isn't so apparent, eh?

[Bee Tagger]

Bernie Sanders seems to have won the people's choice vote at last night's Democratic presidential debate

Is that like winning a Golden Globe?

[Juvenile Bluster]

Nickelodeon's Teen Choice Awards. It's right after "hottest boy band member".

[Bee Tagger]

Attorney Pete Ross accused Carter of lacing vulgar lyrics over Hamdi's beautiful melody without receiving the proper permission.

Lace is the most vulgar of fabrics, I find.

[Agammamon]

Christ, its like that abominable Jay-zee . . . whatever he did to this song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJztXj2GPfk

All he did was lace vulgar lyrics over the original song - lyrics that don't even mesh with the song's (or video's) theme.

[Mazakon]

Clinton and Sanders: Both Love It, Both Don't Understand It

For those of you who are keeping score, the Heritage Foundation, which literally keeps score, rates Denmark's economy as slightly more free ? slightly more capitalistic ? than that of the United States. Denmark is in a rough spot just lately, but it has been undergoing a series of deep and intelligent reforms to its welfare state (as have many of the other Northern European countries) to counteract the ill effects of earlier excesses.

Its corporate-income tax is much lower than that of the United States. Its regulatory environment is in many ways more free. It is very free-trade oriented.

[Agammamon]

They do know that 'more free' doesn't mean 'more capitalistic', right? It means more 'free market' in which capitalism is only one of several ways that people can pool resources towards a common goal.

[Rich]

In more news of interest to Agile Cyborg:

Human brain may be designed to give us hallucinations, scientists say

They also suggest these symptoms and experiences do not reflect a 'broken' brain but rather one that is striving ? in a very natural way ? to make sense of incoming data that are ambiguous."

[Notorious UGCC]

The radioactive lemurs who always give me advice agree with this.

[Suthenboy]

Uh...designed?

No.

Yes, the human brain is wired to make sense of incoming data, but when the sensory input is improperly interpreted you have faulty wiring.

[Free Society]

The highest paid acting professional in the world, Jennifer Lawrence is done trying to be likable. She's trying to get equal pay instead.

Jennifer Lawrence is sick of trying to make you like her if it means she won't get equal treatment

In a powerful essay for Lenny Letter, a new email newsletter from Lena Dunham and Girls producer Jenni Konner, Lawrence writes about how frustrated she was to learn that her male American Hustle co-stars were making more than her. But Lawrence doesn't just rail against Sony; she rails against the systemic sexism that made her afraid to speak up in the first place:

"When the Sony hack happened and I found out how much less I was being paid than the lucky people with dicks, I didn't get mad at Sony. I got mad at myself. I failed as a negotiator because I gave up early. I didn't want to keep fighting over millions of dollars that, frankly, due to two franchises, I don't need.

...But if I'm honest with myself, I would be lying if I didn't say there was an element of wanting to be liked that influenced my decision to close the deal without a real fight. I didn't want to seem "difficult" or "spoiled." At the time, that seemed like a fine idea, until I saw the payroll on the Internet and realized every man I was working with definitely didn't worry about being "difficult" or "spoiled.""

[Free Society]

he goes on to detail how her need to be "likable" taps into years of social conditioning for women, who are often punished for being more aggressive in work situations ? especially when it comes to negotiating for higher pay:

"A few weeks ago at work, I spoke my mind and gave my opinion in a clear and no-bullshit way; no aggression, just blunt. The man I was working with (actually, he was working for me) said, "Whoa! We're all on the same team here!" As if I was yelling at him. I was so shocked because nothing that I said was personal, offensive, or, to be honest, wrong. All I hear and see all day are men speaking their opinions, and I give mine in the same exact manner, and you would have thought I had said something offensive."

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I see.

FS, pass the fucken salt. I won't ask again.

[Free Society]

You're so aggressive, man. I ought to pay you more.

[Rhywun]

the lucky people with dicks

I know nothing about this woman but yeah, she definitely seems unlikeable.

[Slumbrew]

She meant as opposed to people with blond hair, facial symmetry and large breasts. No luck involved there.

[Crusty Juggler]

A story on how she was discovered

Long before her face was plastered over every bus stop in America, "The Hunger Games" star Jennifer Lawrence was just a 14-year-old girl from Louisville, Ky., on vacation in New York City with her mother.

In Union Square, she had a brush with destiny. Or more accurately, a talent scout.

"It wasn't creepy, he didn't ask to take me anywhere, he just wanted to take a picture,"

Lawrence, now 21, told the Daily News. "And then all these agencies started calling and then we just kind of went (to do cold readings) out of boredom.

Imagine where she would be if she had a man-tackle swinging between her long legs!

[lap83]

She looked very talented, obviously, why else would he take her picture?

[Suthenboy]

So they didn't pay her more not because she doesn't have a dick but because she doesn't have any balls.

Got it.

[Agammamon]

Good. Its about time she grew up. You're in *negotiations* hon, you're not expected to be 'likable'. Save that for the fans.

[SugarFree]

It makes a certain sense. After her looks go, she's going to need someone to keep going to her movies. And Melissa McCarthy and Rebel Wilson have proved that you can look like 10 pounds of shit stuffed into a 5 pound bag and still get flabby asses in the seats for the worse movies ever if you keep your Jezebel bona fides up to date.

[Agammamon]

Just what's sad about the situation is that she doesn't *blame herself*. She was 'conditioned'. And those other people were 'lucky'.

Nothing at all about how it was *her* signature on the contract - she *chose* to accept those offers.

[lap83]

I don't think the looks of movie stars are as important to most moviegoers, even non-Jezebelians, as they are to most movie execs. But they're the ones who decide how much stars get paid and once her looks start to slide, she won't have the same ability to negotiate.

[Slumbrew]

Given her current trajectory, she's going to be a total nightmare once she goes full Anna Nicole Smith, looks-wise. I predict great rage and lots of talk about how hollywood is afraid of strong women or some such bullshit.

[Rich]

the lucky people with dicks

Nice band name.

[Crusty Juggler]

I hope that Jennifer Lawrence is someday blessed with advantages that few others have.

[Monty Crisco]

I find it interesting that the people that viewed the pictures of her hacked from the cloud are what she considers guilty of "sex crimes" , but that she felt it was fine to avail herself of private information belonging to Sony that was ALSO HACKED.

Double standard much?

[Crusty Juggler]

She needs to have that mansplained to her.

[Free Society]

I thought that was interesting as well. It was perfectly fine for her to view her co-workers private contract information that was hacked, but looking at her hacked nude photos is basically rape.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

Sony reply (in 5-6 years): best of luck with that soft core porn career, hon. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a full day of interviewing 18-20 year old hot chicks withhold enough acting ability and other assets we need to fill theaters. Toodle-do.

[PM]

Nevermind the fact that she was 15 years younger than her youngest male co-star in American Hustle and had less than a handful of major studio credits. Oh, and one of her male costars is a fucking Oscar winner. To say nothing of subjective talent and suitability to the role. Musta been sexism.

[Knarf Yenrab!]

I didn't want to seem "difficult" or "spoiled."

Mission accomplished!

[Notorious UGCC]

"Planned Parenthood announced Tuesday that affiliates will no longer accept any compensation for fetal tissue procurement and donation."

Remember when Planned Parenthood's sale of baby parts was a phony issue cooked up by anti-choice extremists with videos which didn't really mean what they seemed to mean, and how getting compensated for baby parts was perfectly routine and legitimate?

It seems that PP has dropped that line of argument, leaving its media defenders in the lurch.

The development of their talking points is: "(a) We're not doing it, (b) it's a perfectly acceptable practice, and (c) we're not going to do it anymore."

Yeah, they've totally established their credibility, and there's *totally* no need to investigate their behavior!

[Just say Nikki]

Because people never bitch about legal shit long enough to make companies stop doing it.

[Notorious UGCC]

We won't know how legal or appropriate it was until they do an investigation.

[Notorious UGCC]

The investigation will also presumably focus on whether PP's behavior *ought* to be legal, assuming for the sake of argument that it is.

[SugarFree]

You get what you want and you still bitch about it. Maybe there is no reason to ever give you want you want, you whiny little bitch.

[Notorious UGCC]

I'm responding to the "nothing to see here, you can cancel the hearings" argument.

Thank you for your concern.

[Notorious UGCC]

And we're told that the practices they just cancelled are totally legal. If that's true, Congress may want to look into tightening the laws.

And they may also want to investigate whether PP should be getting federal funds.

You're whistling in the dark if you think prolifers got everything they want and can now go home.

[Just say Nikki]

And we're told that the practices they just cancelled are totally legal. If that's true, Congress may want to look into tightening the laws.

Why? Because pathetic people bitch and moan about them?

Well, you just admitted you're never going to stop bitching and moaning, so why bother?

Some people think this is evidence they should be loosened, you know. So no one has to worry about whether there was "profit" involved and they can just sell tissue like they should be able to.

[PM]

Just wait until Nikki finds out they were charging different prices for black fetal parts...

[Zeb]

And maybe allow people to sell their own tissues as well.

There is a thriving market in body parts that everyone except the actual person whose parts they are (or their heirs) can cash in on.

[Notorious UGCC]

"Well, you just admitted you're never going to stop bitching and moaning, so why bother?"

I didn't admit that I was bitching and moaning. SugarFree admitted it on my behalf.

I'm doing the same thing you are - discussing PP's sale of fetal parts and the public-policy implications.

I'm *trying* to discuss it without using terms like "whiny little bitch," but I can't make any promises.

[american socialist]

It's illegal to sell fetal body parts? That's a pity. They go into the incinerator instead?

If Carly Fiorina wants to see a gruesome video she should carry her camera into any cancer hospital and roll film on the suffering of cancer survivors that fetal tissue research could do something to alleviate.

[BigT]

It's illegal to sell fetal body parts? That's a pity.

Selling YOUR OWN body parts, who cares. Selling someone else's body parts is criminal.

[Zeb]

But the law says basically the opposite of that.

[Tonio]

Ok, if you want to play it that way, fine. The "baby" is incapable of giving consent and the mother does that on its behalf.

[Zeb]

Why does anyone give a shit about this? Tax money funding PP is not good. And being honest is good. But I still don't care at all about this supposed controversy.

[Suthenboy]

"A swarm of marauding dragons with the capacity to shoot flames a thousand feet or more could destroy life on this planet as we know it," Carson told Fox News. "And yet not a single one of these Democrats has apparently given any thought to such a threat."

While the Republican Presidential candidate acknowledged that the Democrats in Las Vegas tangled over such issues as guns, Syria, and income inequality, he said, "I did not hear the word 'dragon' once."

Sanders, my ass. Ben Carson wins the debate, hands down.

[UnCivilServant]

Sanders didn't say that, it was a satirical article.

[UnCivilServant]

Carson did say it either.

[UnCivilServant]

*didn't

*BLEEEEEEEP*

I want an edit button now.

[CatoTheChipper]

It used to be easy to distinguish between real news and satire.

[BigT]

Link to a tape of that, please. Otherwise I can't imagine anyone saying that.

[UnCivilServant]

From the end of the article:

Carson said that, of all of the men and women running for President, he was best prepared to protect the United States from dragons. "This is the problem that keeps me up at night," he said.

Get news satire from The Borowitz Report delivered to your inbox.

[Suthenboy]

Oh FFS.

I missed that.

Still, fire breathing dragons are as much a threat as AGW, do-nothing gun control, and income inequality. I thought it was a good line. He didn't say it but he should have.

[Notorious UGCC]

The first link should be this onethis one.

[The Late P Brooks]

"When the Sony hack happened and I found out how much less I was being paid than the lucky people with dicks, I didn't get mad at Sony. I got mad at myself. I failed as a negotiator because I gave up early. I didn't want to keep fighting over millions of dollars that, frankly, due to two franchises, I don't need.

Sounds like somebody needs a new agent.

[Agammamon]

That should have been the first thing she 'negotiated' when she found out. "I left *how much* on the table? You're fired.'

[Suthenboy]

I wonder how many roles she will get after this.

I am sure the offers are rolling in.

[SugarFree]

She'll do fine. What are they going to do, hire that dippy hippie from Divergent? The one that thinks a "sunshine bath" is all the hygiene she needs?

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

This is why these complaints make no sense for actors. Lawrence didn't sit down with studio execs and hash out a contract; her agent did. If men are more aggressive negotiators than women, just get a male agent, and what's the problem?

[sloopyinTEXAS]

Planned Parenthood announced Tuesday that affiliates will no longer accept any compensation for fetal tissue procurement and donation. Republicans must be happy, right? Of course not?Planned Parenthood isn't doing it for the right reasons, House Speaker John Boehner complained.

I wonder when was the last time reason wrote an article that bitched about Planned Parenthood getting taxpayer money? I wonder how many articles they've written since then that decry the right complaining about the "services" they offer.

Priorities. Priorities.

[Zeb]

How many different ways can you say "eliminate funding to Planned Parenthood"? I would think on a libertarian site that goes without saying.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

It's certainly gone without saying here for a while.

[Tonio]

Eddie, RC and the other Socons have been all over that.

[Just say Nikki]

Are we eliminating all Medicaid spending, or just choosing who can take Medicaid patients based on the other services they offer?

Because I've got some providers I'd cut out if we're picking winners and losers.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

But if we're stuck with "choosing" and not cutting it all, which is preferred by most libertarians, shouldn't we choose one outlet that a good half of America doesn't want it going to and give it to other women's health care providers that don't carry the same controversy and political baggage?

Especially if the funds from the fedgov don't go to abortion services, as PP claims?

[Just say Nikki]

But if we're stuck with "choosing" and not cutting it all, which is preferred by most libertarians, shouldn't we choose one outlet that a good half of America doesn't want it going to and give it to other women's health care providers that don't carry the same controversy and political baggage?

We're not stuck with choosing. I prefer a neutral rule. If some people get a carve-out to get their hate on, I want one to get my hate on. That's worse than a neutral rule.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

So rather than give funds to another party that performs the same services without controversy, we should continue sending them to a controversial provider that half of America abhors? And the reason is "because fuck you!"?

[Just say Nikki]

Does it only count as "controversy" if half of America comes down on one side, half on the other?

[sloopyinTEXAS]

Are you honestly saying Planned Parenthood is not controversial when compared to other providers of the same services that Medicare covers?

[Zeb]

It isn't exactly the most low hanging fruit, except for the abortion controversy attached to it. I guess what you are saying is that if a bunch of tax money is to be spent on medical services, there is no good reason to single out PP for special cuts. Which I suppose I agree with. I'm not clamoring for PP specifically to be defunded. But it does pretty much go without saying that the obvious libertarian position is that we shouldn't be paying for any of this involuntarily.

[PM]

Good thing Planned Parenthood only accepts federal money through Medicaid.

I know, I know. Rounding errors.

[Just say Nikki]

I'm 100% okay with all other cuts to their federal funding. I'm 100% not okay with carving them out as an exception to Medicaid. Unless I can also carve out funding from anyone who delivers babies.

[Free Society]

The more I read your posts, the more I've come to realize that it's probably best that you're gung-ho about not reproducing.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

I wonder if they can take time out of their busy schedule finding the silver linings in the Democrat candidates or finding every problem from the GOP candidates to discuss something as fucked up as this: http://www.nydailynews.com/new.....-1.2390117

I doubt it.

[Notorious UGCC]

"McCaughey, who was a lieutenant at the time of the incident, pleaded guilty and agreed to the docking of 30 vacation days as his penalty"

Yeah, let that be a lesson to you!

Don't do the crime if you can't do the, ah, unpaid 30 days leave.

[Juvenile Bluster]

It's not even 30 days of unpaid leave. It's just docking 30 days of accrued vacation time, and he probably has a lot more than that.

[sarcasmic]

You can be assured of that. In government-land, vacation time is looked upon as a investment that goes up in value. Those hours are accrued at one hourly rate, and then cashed in at a higher hourly rate. That's one reason why private employers only allow employees to carry over so many hours. They don't want you to cash them in at two or three times what you were getting paid when you earned them. Government doesn't care since it's not their money, so they allow employees to accrue thousands of hours of vacation, which they cash out at their highest rate of pay.

[Ivan Pike]

Government doesn't care since it's not their money, so they allow employees to accrue thousands of hours of vacation, which they cash out at their highest rate of pay.

Federal government can only carry forward 240 hours vacation. After that you lose it.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

That doesn't apply to military leave, does it? Serious question.

[Ivan Pike]

From

http://www.army.mil/article/95....._extended/

it says max of 75 days.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

Thanks. I wasn't sure what their policy was. I had just heard the rumors of guys banking 6 months of leave and riding it their last year into retirement.

[sarcasmic]

Cops aren't federal employees.

[Ivan Pike]

Cops aren't federal employees.

Some are, but I was replying to where you said 'government employees' and 'government-land.' I don't mind people complaining about government, but I do wish they would be accurate in their complaints.

If it was an exaggeration, I should know from the name 🙂

[Tonio]

Most aren't, but...FBI, US Marshals, Secret Service, BATF, DEA, National Park Police, Capitol Police, etc.

[sarcasmic]

And "thousands" was an exaggeration.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

Not necessarily an exaggeration. One of my daughters teachers this year just took the whole school year off as paid vacation while she teaches at another school so her average salary for this year, which is weighted, is dramatically higher so her retirement checks are larger when she calls it quits in June.

[Ivan Pike]

Not necessarily an exaggeration. One of my daughters teachers this year just took the whole school year off as paid vacation while she teaches at another school so her average salary for this year, which is weighted, is dramatically higher so her retirement checks are larger when she calls it quits in June.

They can do that? That is crazy.

[Zeb]

So teachers get additional paid vacation in addition to the scheduled vacations now?
My mom was a teacher and had some personal days and sick time, but never vacations outside of the 3 weeks during the school year and 2 months of summer, which seems like plenty.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

Your mom was exploited by the corporations that stopped the unions from representing her and getting a fair amount of cash action through the year, which the fat cats all take at their leisure.
-NEA toadie

[Zaytsev]

Look you monster, docking 30 days of vacation time is a horrible punishment as it means that he'll have to work an extra MONTH the year that he retires.

[Agammamon]

*sigh* Except for the military.

Can only bank 60 days,without a lot of paperwork filed to show cause as to why you couldn't take leave - including multiple denied leave requests. Simply failing to request leave even when your operational schedule blatantly can't accommodate it is not enough.

At the end of each fiscal year, anything over 60 is lopped off - no renumeration at all.

And at the end of your service, you can only *sell back *60 days total of accumulated leave in a whole career (20-30 years).

Through some careful planning I was able to take my last three months in the service on vacation.

[Peachy rex]

My old man was in the foreign service, and it was something similar to that - sick leave accumulated, but vacation days were mostly use it or lose it. (Not that using them was much of an issue, mind, since the various agencies that employ FS officers are pretty serious about making you go back to the States on a regular basis. It's fine for the Peace Corps to go native, but diplomats aren't supposed to...)

[Rhywun]

Notice that he has since been promoted.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

FTA: "Pointing a gun at two young boys, who had done nothing other than play tag on their own street, was a reckless use of force that traumatized them and created an extremely dangerous situation," said CCRB executive director Mina Malik.

The sentence followed more than two hours of haggling as McCaughey tried to reduce the loss of time to 18 vacation days. The Captains Endowment Association charged the ruling exposed the CCRB's "bias."

"It also reveals their true bias against anyone wearing a uniform and their need for public floggings at the expense of due process of rights of officers," said union head Roy Richter.

After his "trial"* for pulling a gun on two kids playing tag the cop and his union rep have the audacity to complain about the harshness of his sentence...a loss of 30 paid vacation days.

*if you want to call proceedings in a court the general public has no access to and zero oversight for a "trial". How's that for equal protection?

[sloopyinTEXAS]

The cocksucker has the audacity to bitch about a lack of due process...when his client got to negotiate his sentence at the kangaroo court that flies in the face of any objective standard of equal protection.

What heady times it must be for public union employees. Heady times.

[Aloysious]

It's all part of 'serving' and 'protecting'.

Who and what is being served and protected might not be the same as is advertised.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

Some departments have dropped the serve and protect motto and gone with something a little more honest:

http://files.shroomery.org/fil....._on_it.jpg

[WTF]

Yeah, I wonder what a non-cop CCW holder would have gotten for this.

[Rhywun]

Looks like the Daily News is taking the opposite approach of the Post in stories like this. The Post would have got on its knees for this brave hero fighting off these two thugs.

[Lord Humungus]

Jim Webb, American Hero
He's everything voters pretend to want in a politician -- but don't.

When Democratic Party presidential hopefuls were asked by CNN's Anderson Cooper to list enemies they had made during their careers that they were most proud of, the only candidate who didn't include any fellow Americans was Jim Webb. Webb?who, it should be noted, didn't exactly answer the question?explained that it was an enemy soldier who once threw a grenade and wounded him; a soldier who was no longer around. Jim Webb killed a commie because Jim Webb loves America.

Many liberals on social media found this revelation sorta creepy. Yet there was probably a time when liberal voters would have been impressed by someone who had served his country so valiantly. They might have seen promise in a candidate whose populist sensibilities could speak convincingly to the working class and to Southerners, and whose appeal was propelled by both idealism and realism. Webb might have been formidable Democrat presidential candidate 15 years ago. Twenty-five years ago he might have been a star. Today? He's a man completely out of touch with the philosophical temperament of his party.

[PM]

Yet there was probably a time when liberal voters would have been impressed by someone who had served his country so valiantly

It certainly wasn't during the late 60's and early 70's when Jim Webb was shooting commies in Vietnam.

[WTF]

It would have been when John Kerry was running for President.

[WTF]

The left understands that the true enemies are their political opponents.

[Je suis Woodchipper]

How would Webb do if he ran as a Republican?

[Gray Ghost]

How would Webb do if he ran as a Republican?

When I took one of those 'I Stand With' political candidate matching quizzes, it put Krispy Kreme and Webb fairly close together. Aside, did you know that Roseanne Barr is running as a candidate? Yes, that Roseanne.

I'd think Webb'd fit in with the GOP slate about as well as he does with the Dems.

[Lord Humungus]

White House: `Strong Indications' Iran Missile Test Violated U.N. Resolution

The White House said Tuesday that the U.S. has "strong indications" that Iran violated United Nations Security Council resolutions with its ballistic missile test over the weekend.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said, however, the move wouldn't complicate efforts to implement the nuclear deal with Iran, whose parliament approved that agreement on Tuesday by a vote of 161-59.

"This is altogether separate from the nuclear agreement that Iran reached with the rest of the world," Mr. Earnest said. "In contrast to the repeated violations of the U.N. Security Council resolution that pertains to their ballistic missile activities, we've seen that Iran over the last couple of years has demonstrated a track record of abiding by the commitments that they made in the context of the nuclear talks."

[SugarFree]

"Past behavior is never, ever indicative of future behavior," Earnest said, pausing to snicker behind his hand.

[Almanian's Rusty Woodchipper]

If I get any more shocks like this today, my heart may stop beating. SHOCKED I am.

SHOCKED.

[WTF]

So, they've already violated the nuclear agreement. Release their $150 billion!!
Best. Negotiator. EVAR!!111!!!!

[Gray Ghost]

Fuck it, this board ate another comment from me. Short version of what I wrote is:

The Sec. Council resolution the Iranians violated is 1929, enacted in 2010. Look to paragraph 9 for the ban on ballistic missile development. Emad is an out-and-out breach of the resolution, and, IMHO, with its MaRV and increased range over that of the Shahab-3 IRBM, a gun pointed at the Russians.

They aren't even waiting for the ink to dry on the nuke deal before telling everyone in the UN that they got played.

[Lord Humungus]

Obama lied, my health plan died?twice!

We liked our high-deductible preferred provider organization plan that allowed us to choose from a wide range of doctors. But Obamacare wouldn't let us keep it. Reluctantly, and after great bureaucratic difficulty, my hubby and I enrolled in an individual market plan with Rocky Mountain Health, which offered a much narrower provider network than the Anthem PPO plan we had before the feds snuffed it out.

Thanks to "reform," our two kids' dental care was no longer covered, and we had our post-Obamacare insurance turned down at an urgent care clinic ? something that had never happened before.

This summer came another bombshell.

In August, we were informed of the "discontinuation of your Rocky Mountain Individual and Family plan effective December 31, 2015."

[Je suis Woodchipper]

it's a market failure when people vote for more govt.

[Matrix]

omelet, eggs...

[american socialist]

That debate made me want to look at Clinton's email and whether her aide bought her a turkey or chicken sandwich from Whole Foods on October 21, 2011. National security demands that we know the answer!

[PM]

I mean, really, we should just purge the server of her emails. I know how much you like purges.

[SugarFree]

"Purge? You mean like with a cloth?"

[Agammamon]

No - those are for the waterboardings.

[Almanian's Rusty Woodchipper]

No, she's gone through The Change, so no need for that any more....

[SugarFree]

Yes, but it wasn't the type of Change you are thinking of...

[PM]

Just so long as it was change we can believe in.

[american socialist]

You see what I mean, BigT? People on this political comment board will talk about a women's menopause before they talk about politics. So, yeah, I think people talk about this email FAKE SKANDLE because of their political leanings and not out of any concern with good or competent government.

[Warty]

I know, right comrade? This government couldn't even manage to starve a million enemies of the state to death in concentration camps.

[american socialist]

"I know, right comrade? This government couldn't even manage to starve a million enemies of the state to death in concentration camps."

I was told by right-wingers in jan. 2009 that Obama was going to take away White people's guns. I became hopeful. But after 7 long years nothing has happened. I'll be very upset if Obama's goon squad doesn't start executing gun owners and raping their wives muy pronto.

[OldMexican]

Re: american Stultified,

I was told by right-wingers in jan. 2009 that Obama was going to take away White people's guns.

Yeah. The guy can't do anything right. Even that.

Shame.

[OldMexican]

Re: american Stultified,

I became hopeful. But after 7 long years nothing has happened. I'll be very upset if Obama's goon squad doesn't start executing gun owners and raping their wives muy pronto.

He had only one job. One job!

Maybe the problem is that Marxians simply raised the bar too high. After all, there is just so much a lying and lazy demagogue who overpromised and underperforms can accomplish.

[PM]

We do it for your benefit. Whenever the discussion turns to politics your genocide apologia comes out and it's unseemly.

[The Shrubber's Woodchipper]

I think people talk about this email FAKE SKANDLE because of their political leanings and not out of any concern with good or competent government.

Of course, AM. People concerned about the protection of classified materials are unconcerned about good or competent government.

[BigT]

That debate made me want to look at Clinton's email and whether her aide bought her a turkey or chicken sandwich from Whole Foods on October 21, 2011. National security demands that we know the answer!

Are you implying that Madame Secretary was so incompetent, so unreliable, so out of the loop that she wasn't conducting any State Dept business or contacting other government officials during her entire 4-year tenure as SoS? We don't believe she was quite that aloof from her work. After all, she visited so many countries. Was she simply on shopping and sightseeing trips? I am shocked that you think so little of that poor woman.

[Lord Humungus]

Obviously sexist... and probably racist too.

Or else he thinks that government employees don't actually do any work - which may be closer to the truth.

[american socialist]

Don't care. For people so blas? about American politics and whose belief in the incompetence of government officials is central to your belief system you sure do have high standards on this bit of micro-minutiae.

[PM]

Don't care.

WDATPDIM, amirite?

[Citizen X]

And for someone whose belief system requires politicians to possess near-godlike competence and wisdom you sure do have low standards when it comes to the most basic informational hygiene. Fuck along now.

[The Late P Brooks]

a putatively "reasonable," white, middle-class, able-bodied, heterosexual, property-owning, cisgender man

Those guys are worse tan firebreathing dragons.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Accidentally posted this in the wrong thread, but...

In Finland, if you see someone selling cheap pizza, call the police.

Police in Finland are asking the public to report establishments offering cheap pizzas, as part of efforts to root out tax-dodgers.

The new campaign, which is being publicised on police social media accounts, asks people to inform officers if they spot a pizza on sale for under six euros (?4.50), national broadcaster Yle reports. "Unless a pizza is on temporary sale there is no way a legitimate establishment can offer pizza for less than six euros," Det Insp Minna Immonen of the Uusimaa police department is quoted as saying. Police are trying to crack down on the "grey economy", which costs the country millions of euros in lost tax revenue each year. They also want people to make sure they get a receipt for their pizzas, regardless of value.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Finns commenting on social media have reacted to the campaign with a mixture of bemusement and disbelief. "This pizza-receipt hunting is ridiculous," writes one user on the Economic Crime Investigators' Facebook page. "Shouldn't they concentrate those limited police investigative resources where real problems are?" Others are sceptical that the campaign will have any effect, with many blaming Finland's relatively high tax rates for the problem. "As long as the state 'steals' legitimately with high taxation, then companies will also steal from the government," says one user. Another complains that people are being used as "spies for the criminal investigators", writing: "Isn't it the police's responsibility to investigate this?"

That's more libertarian than anything I see from Americans on articles about taxation!

[sarcasmic]

I've noticed some small stores around here charge a different amount when you pay with debit vs cash. Then I figured it out. It's the sales tax. So I started going to those stores with cash in my pocket to avoid the tax.

[Agammamon]

Its likely not the sales tax - card processors charge fees and if you use cash the store will often cut that fee out of the total.

Or, as my local store does, add a surcharge in for using a card.

*Technically* this is a violation of the contract they signed with the processor - supposed to charge the same for cash as card, but I won't tell if you don't.

[sarcasmic]

I see sales tax added to the price on the receipt when I pay with a card. So it's not like the sales tax is baked into the cash price. The only ones who charge for card processing is the town when I forget to bring my checkbook when it's time to pay excise tax on the car.

[Agammamon]

Sales tax is usually added in automatically by the register. The dude at the store I frequent deliberately cuts it out for some of the stuff I buy often.

[Peachy rex]

I frequently don't pay sales tax at one of the little convenience stores I go to - good thing too, since the local tax on convenience store stuff (you know, anything that tastes good on account of sugar & fat) is pretty stiff.

[SusanM]

Now someone's gonna get choked to death over a pizza.

[Stilgar]

Was I the only one who thought Hillary had botox or some other procedure? I have to say I am impressed that her handlers could knock so many years off.

Hillary also has a finger pointing problem. Noticed quite a few times where she caught herself and pulled the index finger back in.

[SugarFree]

No, she was hideously smooth. They probably rigged up some sort of Spanx for her neck and Botoxed her from the hairline down. I bet she has more botulism floating around in her system than a 20-pound can of mushrooms in an abandoned nuclear fallout shelter.

[Almanian's Rusty Woodchipper]

You've been peeking in Warty's cellar again....

[Citizen X]

So bathing in the blood of virgins works? Up yours, Istv?n Magyari!

[Agammamon]

She's way beyond botox. I'm pretty sure its the result of some horrible Frankensteinian experiment with fetal tissue that hasn't *gasp* been approved for the public by the FDA.

[CatoTheChipper]

re "Best and Worst" of Dem debate:

#1 Bestest: Hillary's assertion that her intervention in Libya is an example of "smart power at its best."

It's Bestest because it basically unmasked her as an deranged warmonger who has no concern about the dead bodies and chaos she leaves behind. I suppose, though, that makes it the Worstest as well.

BTW, thanks for the ReasonTV synopsis of that snoozefest. I could only take about 15 minutes of it. Its vacuousness was so complete that the live tweeting of both Reason and Trump couldn't make it worth watching.

[Pope Jimbo]

I don't know. My favorite was when Hillary told how she dodged sniper fire to go down to Wall Street to tell them to "Cut it out".

Fuck I still get shivers down my spine thinking about her bravery.

[Agammamon]

And how she went back the next day and they had closed shop and ran away.

[DEG]

The other day while poking around OKCupid, I ran search for women interested in Libertarians/Libertarianism/etc.

A woman came up whose profile said, "No conservatives or libertarians! Get lost fascists! Bernie Sanders 2016!".

[SusanM]

Some people just want to watch the world Bern

[Citizen X]

+5 year plan

[Crusty Juggler]

She seems like my kind of gal.

[Knarf Yenrab!]

Dimwitted, impetuous girls usually make for an interesting week or two.

[Agammamon]

But there are so many you never have to go a week without a new one.

[sarcasmic]

Liberty is tyranny!

[Je suis Woodchipper]

perfect. go on a few dates. hit it. then "come out" and let her do all the work of breaking up.

[DEG]

She's somewhere in the Midwest, sorry, I can't remember where but not Illinois. I'm in New England.

[Zaytsev]

Bernie Sanders talks like English is his second language - what's his first, Russian?

[Citizen X]

Newspeak.

[PM]

Jive.

[Drake]

Rodent

[SugarFree]

It's the Vermont version of redneck.

[Rhywun]

I found out he is from Brooklyn. Which is exactly what he sounds like.

[Notorious UGCC]

Will he sleep before he gets there?

[sarcasmic]

Ayuh.

[The Late P Brooks]

I just assumed Hillary's team brought in Industrial Light and Magic to do her makeup for the debate. Now they need to figure out what to do about that shrill harridan "command voice" issue.

[Citizen X]

There's only so much you can do to humanize a Deep One.

[Matrix]

Social Justice RPG

[commodious spittoon]

"Depression Quest"?