Biden Allegedly Deciding Candidacy Very Soon, Texas Cancels Contract with Planned Parenthood, CIA Director Maybe Hacked: P.M. Links

• Joe Biden is expected to announce whether he's running for president within 48 hours, and more sources are saying the answer will be yes.

• Texas officials have announced they're canceling the state's Medicaid contracts with Planned Parenthood over the video controversies.
• The U.S. is investigating reports that non-work email accounts of CIA Director John Brennan and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson were hacked.
• The Director of Institute of War and Peace Reporting was found dead in a bathroom at an airport in Instanbul, Turkey. Turkish media seems to be reporting that it was suicide, but some are understandably suspicious. Her predecessor was killed in a car bomb attack in May in Baghdad.
• The controversial Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA), which encourages businesses to share customer data with the government in exchange for some immunity from consumer lawsuits, may reach the Senate floor this week.
• An actor in a gunfight re-enactment in Tombstone, Arizona, was injured when another actor apparently accidentally used live rounds. People are blaming lack of regulation, of course.

New at Reason.com:

• Citigroup Executive Reviews Book on the Federal Reserve
  An executive whose bank faltered while he was highly compensated reviews a book on the Fed for the New York Times.
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• The Media's Narrow Minds
  Journalism full of assumptions that shouldn't be.
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• Brickbat: Freedom of the Press
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  Institute for Justice will help defend innovative education program.
  By Alexis Garcia and Nick Gillespie 

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Comments

[Just say Nikki]

Bill Bratton can see right through you:

In New York City, the police now maintain an unknown number of military-grade vans outfitted with X-ray radiation, enabling cops to look through the walls of buildings or the sides of trucks. The technology was used in Afghanistan before being loosed on U.S. streets. Each X-ray van costs an estimated $729,000 to $825,000.
…
Here are some specific questions that New York City refuses to answer:

How is the NYPD ensuring that innocent New Yorkers are not subject to harmful X-ray radiation?
How long is the NYPD keeping the images that it takes and who can look at them?
Is the NYPD obtaining judicial authorization prior to taking images, and if so, what type of authorization?
Is the technology funded by taxpayer money, and has the use of the vans justified the price tag?

[JW]

THE FIST IS DEAD. LONG LIVE THE FIST.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I’m dubious she typed all that up in less than a minute.

[JW]

NEVER MIND.

[This Machine]

I. NIKKI. AM. THE FIST.

[SimonJester]

Wait, what is Nikki doing with her fist?

[BiMonSciFiCon]

The previous post is under review.

After further review, the ruling by JW is reversed. Nicole failed to quote from the Links and attempt to say something clever, as required by HnR rule #42. Fist is awarded today’s first.

P.S.- The Colts are dumb.

[JW]

HnR Rule 34 overrules your reversing.

Except for the Colts. What a monkeyfucking shitshow.

[Old Man With Candy]

The Colts ceased to exist more than 30 years ago. What you have now is the Evil Irsays, may they forever burn in the deepest pits of Hell.

[Ted S.]

They’re never going to use this to get around the 4th Amendment, are they?

[Mickey Rat]

Does in plain sight only cover the visible spectrum?

[kV]

parallel construction, bitches

[Scott S.]

I’ve already started a blog post on this. I figured I’d mention now so that nobody complains that I don’t give them a hat tip.

[Ted S.]

Way to troll the commentariat!

[Tonio]

^This. Well-done, Shackford.

[Episiarch]

Nicole doesn’t get hat tips, Scott. I assume you know why.

[Los Doyers]

Because she’s the best!

[Episiarch]

The same applies to Doyers, by the way.

[Los Doyers]

THERE CAN ONLY BE TWO.

[waffles]

There can be more than one worst? That’s stupid.

[Episiarch]

I meant the no getting hat tips–obviously Doyers can’t compete with Nicole in this area–but he does try, bless his heart.

[Los Doyers]

GO BROWNS

[SimonJester]

Sure, just remember to wipe.

[Just say Nikki]

Me, complain?

[JW]

Pre-emptive non-hat-tipping?

Cancel my subscription!

[AlmightyJB]

Instead of a hat tip, how about just mentioning she’s the worst. It really can’t be emphasized enough.

[PBR Streetgang]

You got questions, I’ve got answers.

FYTW.

There’s your answers

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

WO!

[Ted S.]

Enjoy your last day without a New Dictators government. 🙁

[Rufus J. Firefly]

/glares intently at nothingness.

[Los Doyers]

I thought the queen chose the prime minister? Or something.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

It’s a rather erotic process…you wouldn’t understand.

[Los Doyers]

Erotic like calling a restroom a “washroom”?! Who does that? Vancouver was such a culture shock.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Oh go cry on the chesterfield you hoser.

[Los Doyers]

YOU’RE GONNA MAKE ME CHUNDER

[Ted S.]

He sits on the chesterfield to watch Curling for Toonies.

[Just say Nikki]

I totally adopted “washroom.” It’s useful.

[Almanian's Rusty Woodchipper]

I thought it was the Duke and Duchess of British Columbia….as is tradition…..

???

[grrizzly]

At least Justin is cute and has great hair.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

/start smashing things.

[Pan Zagloba]

He’s taken, but if you think you can convert him and keep him occupied, you’ll have gratitude of an entire country!

[Ted S.]

You’re electing Justin Bieber PM? :-p

[Cytotoxic]

That would be an improvement.

[Cytotoxic]

The NDP is NOT winning.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

No but the party to the left of it will!

[AlmightyJB]

I’m guessing they’re mostly used for voyeurism

[R C Dean]

How is the NYPD ensuring that innocent New Yorkers are not subject to harmful X-ray radiation?

They aren’t. By definition, these things crank out radiation sufficient to image through walls.

How long is the NYPD keeping the images that it takes and who can look at them?

As long as they want, and whoever we choose to show them to.

Is the NYPD obtaining judicial authorization prior to taking images, and if so, what type of authorization?

No.

Is the technology funded by taxpayer money, and has the use of the vans justified the price tag?

Who the fuck else is going to pay for it? And, the vans have apparently produced exactly zero evidence, as none has been referred to in, or admitted into, court proceedings.

[db]

It doesn’t take a deluded paranoid to understand that none of what these vans discover will ever be used in court directly. What the vans do is find out where to focus a “conventional investigation” — you know, the parallel construction kind that finds a lawful way to “discover” the evidence that has already been unlawfully discovered by the unwarranted use of the vans.

[gaoxiaen]

No wonder they banned lead-based paint.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The U.S. is investigating reports that non-work email accounts of CIA Director John Brennan and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson were hacked.

What difference at this point blah blah.

[Libertymike]

Hopefully, that which was hacked could be put to good uses, woodchipping or otherwise.

[Galactic Chipper Cdr Lytton]

That turd Chertoff was on CNN bragging that he didn’t use email at all during his time.

[Libertymike]

You have just defamed Turds everywhere.

[Just say Nikki]

Jay Carney* totally destroys the New York Times:

“Nearly every person I worked with, I saw cry at their desk.”
If you read the recent New York Times article about Amazon’s culture, you remember that quote. Attributed to Bo Olson, the image of countless employees crying at their desks set the tone for a front-page story that other media outlets described as “scathing,” “blistering,” “brutal” and “harsh.” Olson’s words were so key to the narrative the Times wished to construct that they splashed them in large type just below the headline.

Here’s what the story didn’t tell you about Mr. Olson: his brief tenure at Amazon ended after an investigation revealed he had attempted to defraud vendors and conceal it by falsifying business records. When confronted with the evidence, he admitted it and resigned immediately.

Why weren’t readers given that information? The Times boasts that the two reporters with bylines on the story, Jodi Kantor and David Streitfeld, spent six months working on it.

Dean Baquet says it ain’t no thang.

*Yes, that Jay Carney. I know.

[JW]

When you have walking pond scum questioning your motives and competency, you might want to take an introspective peek.

[Episiarch]

I really don’t think the ability to do that is in their wheelhouse.

[Paul.]

Look, narrative-building requires careful massaging of facts, story lines, and careful, very careful editing.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Baquet is some kind of special scum.

[C. Anacreon]

No relation to former Bond girl Carole Baquet, I assume?

[Libertymike]

Nor to Sir Timothy Havelock, her father.

[GILMORE?]

Carney =

“Here’s what the story didn’t tell you about Mr. Olson: his brief tenure at Amazon ended after an investigation revealed he had attempted to defraud vendors and conceal it by falsifying business records. When confronted with the evidence, he admitted it and resigned immediately.”

Baquet =

“But he said he was never confronted with allegations of personally fraudulent conduct or falsifying records, nor did he admit to that. If there were criminal charges against him, or some formal accusation of wrongdoing, we would certainly consider that. If we had known his status was contested, we would have said so.'”

I haven’t bothered to go through the story and both responses, but it strikes me that the PR war here is being waged by 2 equally scummy people who are more interested in achieving rhetorical victory than any quest for “Truth”

[BiMonSciFiCon]

Texas officials have announced they’re canceling the state’s Medicaid contracts with Planned Parenthood over the video controversies.

It was okay because they were still in the first trimester of the contract.

[C. Anacreon]

How long have you been waiting to use that one?

[Libertymike]

Since its conception.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

About 40 weeks.

[db]

I expect that Planned Parenthood will end up having to split into separate organizations to handle its abortion businesses separately from the other women’s health activities. They’ll understand that the parts are worth more than the whole.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

Paging our resident squinter.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Joe Biden is expected to announce whether he’s running for president within 48 hours…

Let’s just see if his chances are as dead as the post-debate people claimed.

[SimonJester]

I have said from the beginning that Joe Biden is the great white hope. He is delectable but has the cash and connections to beat the snot out of Hillbillary and Old Man Socialist. I want him to run and throw massive amounts of money at the campaign. It’ll be fun to watch.

[Knarf Yenrab!]

He is delectable

Go on…

[kibby]

I sincerely hope not. Uncle Joe in a debate would make life worth living.

[Robert]

I expect that within a fortnight after his anmt, 2/3 of Hillary’s support in the polls will flow to him. Probably half of Sanders’s too. He doesn’t have to debate. He just provides an opp’ty for Democrats to breathe a big sigh of relief.

[Knarf Yenrab!]

Your use of the adjective dead only months removed from the heartrending loss of Biden’s beloved son is deeply problematic. You owe the entire Democratic Party an apology.

And to anyone who thinks that his son won’t be the centerpiece of Biden’s campaign owing to the fact that this would be incredibly, transparently tacky, I invite you to watch and learn a thing or two about populist politics.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

An actor in a gunfight re-enactment in Tombstone, Arizona, was injured when another actor apparently accidentally used live rounds. People are blaming lack of regulation, of course.

We’re long overdue for some common sense acting reform.

[Ted S.]

Anything that gets rid of The Method.

[Ted S.]

I wonder if they interviewed Jon-Erik Hexum for their story.

[SimonJester]

#Blacktorlivesmatter

[Knarf Yenrab!]

As every schoolchild knows, “regulations” come at no price and are universally positive.

In this case, sensible regulation would consist of outlawing reenactments that glorify gun violence. Just imagine what productive things these yokels could be (put to work) doing if we just outlawed all the stupid shit they actually want to do!

[Paul.]

Oh hey, since Reason has narrowed it story arc to Who’s-tweeting-what and campus sex scandals, I thought I’d link to an interesting economics story. You know, for those of you who are interested:

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/19…..-over.html

Evidence is mounting that the jobs recovery’s best days are in the rear view mirror.

Recent Labor Department indicators show that the employment market is tightening, with both fewer job openings and workers willing to leave their current jobs for better environs.

The Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey, released last week, adds to signs that the market is maturing, and signals to Wall Street that hopes for future blockbuster nonfarm payrolls reports should be tempered.

Which means the Fed is totally going to raise interest rates to cool off this overheated economy.

[Ted S.]

If you’re worried about what H&R is or isn’t covering, wait until they poll millennials.

[Tonio]

Bitter, party of two. Bitter…

[Almanian's Rusty Woodchipper]

meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeOW!

[Fist of Etiquette]

The controversial Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA), which encourages businesses to share customer data with the government in exchange for some immunity from consumer lawsuits, may reach the Senate floor this week.

Where is the class action attorney lobby when you need it?

[BiMonSciFiCon]

The controversial Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA), which encourages businesses to share customer data with the government in exchange for some immunity from consumer lawsuits, may reach the Senate floor this week.

We have to violate your freedoms in order to keep you free. It makes sense if you think about it. Jsut roll with it.

[Rhywun]

“It now appears GOP leaders may turn to CISA after wrapping discussion on the sanctuary cities bill, which would prohibit federal funding for American cities such as San Francisco that do not prosecute undocumented immigrants.”

“If we don’t get what we want on this, we’ll fuck Americans over on this other thing instead.”

[Tonio]

If you like your freedoms, you can keep your freedoms.

[Derpetologist]

That time the US Navy used potatoes to sink a Japanese sub

[Brett L]

“You arrogant ass! You’ve killed us!”

[Episiarch]

That captain was played by Stellan Skarsgard, if you didn’t know.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

For some reason I watched the bonus features on the “Age of Ultron” DVD. He’s got some pretty funny outtakes.

The rest of it was generally a waste of time.

[Brett L]

So I was clicking around the proposed Obama budget and noticed that “Net Interest” is now larger than all military supply costs, larger than the military payroll, and larger than any single broad welfare category. But surely, that $283B won’t be a problem. Let’s keep borrowing more!

It’s ludicrous. Imagine if they had to pay real interest on that. It would be $600B. No wonder they won’t let interest rates rise.

[Ra's al Gore]

So all it takes is Greek style passive aggressive foot dragging on the part of the population, and the whole thing will come crashing down? Good thing everyone considers the govt to be so bound by its own laws and all. People questioning the legitimacy of the whole thing could get problematic.

[Ted S.]

That’s been a looming issue since the Clinton administration, if memory serves.

[PBR Streetgang]

Medicare + SS = $1.5T. Wow, the elderly taking up,what, 45% or the entire budget?

[Brett L]

Death Panels will save the budget! Just stop replacing hips.

[JW]

BERNIE WILL SAVE US.

[Ra's al Gore]

Bernie will cause interest rates to rise a few ticks w/ all his new spending and economy (and thus tax base) destroying tax hikes.

[kibby]

But can he do it before the death panel condemns him??

[C. Anacreon]

Death Panels will save the budget! Just stop replacing hips.

I just saw in one of our online medical journals today that a 112-year-old man in Britain got a hip replacement today, courtesy of NHS. The journal was asking us docs if we thought that was a ‘sound idea’. I didn’t click through to see the results of the poll and comments; depending on which medical site, the derp can sometimes resemble Jezebel.

But yeah, if you are doing $100,000 procedures on a guy who’s already over 25 years past 85, you might want to consider the cost/benefit equation a little more often if you are trillions in debt.

[C. Anacreon]

Death Panels will save the budget! Just stop replacing hips.

I just saw in one of our online medical journals today that a 112-year-old man in Britain got a hip replacement today, courtesy of NHS. The journal was asking us docs if we thought that was a ‘sound idea’. I didn’t click through to see the results of the poll and comments; depending on which medical site, the derp can sometimes resemble Jezebel.

But yeah, if you are doing $100,000 procedures on a guy who’s already over 25 years past 85, you might want to consider the cost/benefit equation a little more often if you are trillions in debt.

[C. Anacreon]

Damned hotel lobby computers!

By the way, hello to everyone at H&R from scenic Birmingham, Alabama, I’m here for a 24-hour business trip.

This city is really all you’ve imagined and more.

[Crusty Juggler]

It is sticky and people talk about football with funny accents?

[C. Anacreon]

Correct. Also, the hotel I’m in is completely full because it’s Talladega week!

(didn’t know this when we scheduled)

[blighted non millenial]

You MUST go to Kool Korner Sandwiches. Best Cuban sammiches ever. If Mr. Ramirez is there tell him Ga Tech sends it’s regards.

[crab_apple]

To be fair, he has been on the waiting list for 30 years.

But seriously, that is surprising. Anecdotally, I’ve heard that American doctors will rarely recommend joint replacement surgery much past 80 because they are difficult to recover from once you are that old.

[crab_apple]

“To be fair, he has been on the waiting list for 30 years.”

That was a joke BTW.

[chipper me timbers]

Death Panels will save the budget! Just stop replacing hips.

You think this is a caricature, but I’ve heard real living human beings state this exact sentiment in all seriousness.

[PBR Streetgang]

Logan’s Run? I’m just sayin’.

[waffles]

I’m on board. There was nothing merciful or good about the expensive surgeries my grandfather had near the end of his life. He would have been better served by scenic drive to visit his family and old farmhouse followed by a pleasant but lethal cocktail of narcotics. Instead he was tortured by invasive surgery and drugs with nasty side effects turning him into a vegetable. Alzheimer’s is a bitch. I won’t let my parents suffer like that.

[PBR Streetgang]

If I ever develop Alzheimers, I hope someone loves me enough to do what you propose. should have been done for your grandfather. Seriously.

[waffles]

We did a lethal injection for our golden retriever once she had developed a large tumor. It’s pathetic that we treat our pets better than our elders. I fear death far less than I fear prolonged suffering in a diminished state.

[kibby]

There is nothing more depressing than the moments of lucidity people with dementia have–when they realize what a burden they are & that there’s absolutely nothing they can do about it.

Ugh. Heartbreaking.

[Lord at War]

kibby-

^This.

I remember the last time I saw my maternal grandmother. The first hour, she was “there”- we shared some memories and stories. After that, the fear in her eyes because she didn’t know anyone there was absolutely heartbreaking.

[Tonio]

And the reason you can’t give grandma the same good ending you gave fido is because of socons, most particularly the pro-lifers. Remember that. Ever heard of an animal welfare person telling you you shouldn’t euthanize? Nope, didn’t think so.

[Old Man With Candy]

My wife and I have this agreement. And alibis lined up.

[Tonio]

Good luck with that. Because all it takes is one disgruntled relative and one grandstanding prosecutor with aspirations to higher office (sorry for being redundant) to make that difficult.

Kevorkian should have walked out as a hero. Shameful what they did to him.

[Crusty Juggler]

Alzheimer’s is a bitch. I won’t let my parents suffer like that.

It is a bitch, and because my parents made it possible for me to spend a good amount of time with my grandfather who was afflicted (often alone while driving on long trips), I will let them suffer a little.

[Paul.]

It’s ludicrous. Imagine if they had to pay real interest on that. It would be $600B. No wonder they won’t let interest rates rise.

Yep, a rise in interest rates could cause leviathan to consume itself.

The theory, of course is that the Fed will also (and they know) that they won’t.

[creech]

Bah, the feds could pay this interest easily if minimum wage was raised to $50 per hour; just think how much income tax revenue would be generated! If they had the courage to raise wages to $100 per hour, the national debt could be eliminated. If they wanted to be truly generous
(but can’t because of Koch controlled Republicans) the wage would go up to $1,000 an hour and we could all live in Malibu or Nantucket.

[PBR Streetgang]

You got my vote.

[Aloysious]

The Director of Institute of War and Peace Reporting was found dead in a bathroom…

Who did it? The Bilderbergers? The Illuminati? The Council on Foreign Relations? The vast right wing conspiracy? Joe Biden?

[Ted S.]

Charlotte Corday.

[creech]

You know who else was found dead in a bathroom? (Not Hitler by the way)

[PBR Streetgang]

Vincent Vega?

[Almanian's Rusty Woodchipper]

Gen. Jack D. Ripper?

[Crusty Juggler]

You beat me to it.

[Almanian's Rusty Woodchipper]

Hitler?

[gaijin]

he was taken from us while straining at stool

[gaoxiaen]

Lenny Bruce, but he enjoyed it.

[Lord at War]

C’mon people…

Elvis has left the building!

[Duke]

Real WaPo comments to Texas cutting Medicaid ties w/ PP:

Dem-A-Dog
3:19 PM CDT
Texas is the third world. If they just went ahead and seceded from the United States, I doubt anybody would try to stop them.

[Brett L]

Haha. Stay in DC, please.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I know a couple of die in the wool liberal Quebecers who accepted jobs in Texas and lived there for a over a year. One stayed as a nurse and has no plans to come back and the other is hoping to return. They thoroughly appreciate Texas.

That says a lot in my view.

[DEG]

I liked every one of my trips to Texas. It’s highest on my list of places to move to once it’s time to leave New England.

[DesigNate]

It’s always time to leave New England.

[R C Dean]

If Texas seceded, I suspect their biggest immigration problem wouldn’t be on their southern border.

It would be all the others.

[creech]

Yeah, there’s plenty of cheap vacant housing out Odessa/Midland way.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

Damn Californians are takin’ er jerbs!

[LoneWaco]

hottest real estate market in the country. and not artificially hot due to building restrictions like some places.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

Sheesh. Alabama or Mississippi? OK, the hyperbole makes sense. But Texas? How delusional do you have to be?

NASA is there, for fuck’s sake. How many third world countries built rocket ships that went to the moon?

[blighted non millenial]

Hate to break it to you but Alabama gets some of that sweet, sweet NASA money too.

[DEG]

Hipsters discover boarding houses

Entrepreneur Brad Hargreaves is testing that out with his new co-living startup, Common.

By partnering with real estate developers to purchase whole buildings, Common will be able to offer more affordable rent and flexible leases. It’ll also save members the hassle of relying on Craigslist to find roommates.

Common’s first location, which opened to residents on Sunday, is a brownstone in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

Inside, there are 19 bedrooms spread across suites on four floors. Each floor has its own communal area and kitchen, and the basement boasts a sprawling dining room table where Sunday night dinners will be held.

[Ted S.]

Boarding houses shouldn’t have been made illegal by zoning laws.

[Ted S.]

Enjoy this blast from the past.

[Rhywun]

Are they? I haven’t actually thought about it since I moved to NYC – mostly because there is no way in hell I would choose to live that way here. I have lived in a boarding house in Buffalo, though. It was pretty much what you would expect: nobody was there by choice.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Boarding houses existing again would be a very good thing for all the “housing shortage” stories.

[Paul.]

Obligatory.

AMHERST, MA?The filthy, disorganized apartment shared by three members of the Amherst College Marxist Society is a microcosm of why the social and economic utopia described in the writings of Karl Marx will never come to fruition, sources reported Monday.
[…]
Upon moving in together at the beginning of the fall 2001 semester, Dorff, Josh Foyle, and Tom Eaves sat down and devised an egalitarian system for harmonious living. Each individual roommate would be assigned a task, which he would be required to carry out on a predetermined day of the week. A bulletin board in the kitchen was chosen as the spot for household announcements, and to track reimbursements for common goods like toothpaste and toilet paper.

“We were creating an exciting new model for living,” said Dorff, stubbing his cigarette into an ashtray that had not been emptied in six days. “It was like we were dismantling the apparatus of the state right within our own living space.”

[Rhywun]

This reads like a straight-news follow up of what “Common” will be in six months.

[DEG]

I love that Onion post.

[Tonio]

Not technically a boarding house since the “board” part (of the traditional advert for “room and board”) refers to meals provided by the landlord. This is more a reinvention of the slum tenement or the soviet apartment building. Now, this sort of thing, rental units without kitchens, are illegal in many places because of proggies who demanded that each poor family have their very own kitchen and bathroom. Just like the tiny house movement, it’s hipsters vs proggies. I’ll make some popcorn.

[Tonio]

Shorter: Rooming house not boarding house. Though I’m not sure if rooming houses had kitchen facilities which could be used by the tenants.

[DEG]

Yes, you’re right. I used boarding house because that came immediately to mind when I read the article.

[C. Anacreon]

Barney Fife (the Don Knotts deputy character on the old Andy Griffith show) lived in a boarding house on the show, so didn’t have a kitchen. They played this for laughs a few times, as he had smuggled in a hot plate and tried to make coffee without the landlord noticing, but she was all over him. It was intentionally part of showing what a pathetic life he had.

Seems like Common applicants might want to watch an episode prior to plunking down the security deposit.

[Rhywun]

the “board” part (of the traditional advert for “room and board”) refers to meals provided by the landlord

Oh. Then I have lived in a rooming house before. It sucked.

Anyway can you imagine the kind of insufferable twats that make it through the interview process at “Common”? It’s like Big Brother except you pay them and they don’t tell you about the hidden cameras.

[Paul.]

Anyway can you imagine the kind of insufferable twats that make it through the interview process at “Common”?

All they’ll have is each other.

[Crusty Juggler]

I just like the fact that they are willing to share a common bathroom just to live in Brooklyn.

[The Last American Hero]

Tiny Houses – trailer park living for hipsters.

[lap83]

“the dream of the 1890s is alive in Portland Brooklyn”

[Duke]

And…

LiberalDem
3:02 PM CDT
Just keep Texas far far from California and I’ll be happy. They can ban oxygen there for all I care…they’ve already banned brain cells.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Those Californians have such a nice way with metaphors.

[Ted S.]

These are also the people who claim to be more tolerant than everyone else.

[Almanian's Rusty Woodchipper]

Well, with that super-magnet attraction Cali continues to have – drawing in all kinds of high-income newcomers, their tax base is going to EXPLODE!

Texas will be so jelly!

[Crusty Juggler]

Californians are known flip-flop aficionados. There may be a connection…

[This Machine]

Ah yes, which is why Californians are fleeing their state in droves for… Texas.

[Almanian's Rusty Woodchipper]

Wait – WHAT??!!! I had not heard of this!

/Jerry Brown

[Duke]

And..

amcvt6
3:28 PM CDT
when they give the world an enema, it will be in Texas. The a$$&ole; of the world. trying to keep there woman barefoot and pregnant.

[DEG]

I thought Biloxi was where the enema bag went?

[Duke]

Biloxi is actually pretty nice. I live less than an hour away. Far nicer place than what I’ve seen of New Jersey and other similar uppity places.

[DEG]

I’ve never been to Biloxi, I’m going by second hand sources. A couple of former coworkers spent time in Biloxi while in the military and hated it.

[LoneWaco]

Biloxi is a shit hole. so probably nicer than NJ.

[db]

I like the Biloxi area a lot.

[AlmightyJB]

My Aunt and Uncle have a place down there. He has money. They’re not going to be hanging in a shit hole.

[lap83]

much better to be jobless and pregnant

[DEG]

Richard Branson calls for worldwide drug decriminalization

Billionaire businessman Richard Branson is calling on governments around the world to decriminalize drug use and possession, saying the war on drugs has failed to reduce either supply or demand.

The self-made mogul argued in a statement that governments have wasted billions chasing the “illusion” of a drug-free world, while failing to take control of the global trade from criminal organizations.

[Cytotoxic]

Libertarian Moment?

[Derpetologist]

Possible alias of Warty Hugeman?

In AD 235 a giant became the most powerful man in the Roman Empire. Maximinus of Thrace (Bulgaria) was a simple shepherd when his impressive size and strength attracted the attention of the Roman emperor in AD 202. Maximinus wrestled 16 of the emperor’s burliest soldiers. Then, only slightly winded, he raced the emperor’s horse and went on to overcome 7 more hefty legionnaires. The Thracian colossus was inducted into the army on the spot. Maximinus rose through the ranks, proving himself such a beloved leader that he was given supreme command of the imperial army. In AD 235 the army and the Senate proclaimed him Emperor of Rome.

Ancient Roman writers claimed that Maximinus Thrax stood over 8 feet tall. His sandals were said to be twice the size of regular army issue. He wore his wife’s bracelet as a thumb ring. It was said he devoured 40 pounds of meat and 18 bottles of wine at each meal. They claimed he crushed rocks in his fists, out-pulled a team of horses, and knocked out a mule with one punch.

http://www.wondersandmarvels.c…..minus.html

[PBR Streetgang]

Is this Kim Jong Il?

[DEG]

No, he didn’t hit a hole in one in golf.

[Almanian's Rusty Woodchipper]

Um, hello – THIRTEEN holes in one, the first time he ever played! Get it right.

/Beloved Leader

[gaoxiaen]

He was really pissed off about the other five holes.

[Juvenile Bluster]

and knocked out a mule with one punch.

Unfortunately for the Romans, he was defeated by the inventor of the Candygram.

[Duke]

Obligatory:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8ciVBQixpU

[Pan Zagloba]

Truly he was a pawn in game of Life.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

The Mongo of ancient times!

[Robert]

Putin?

[Rhywun]

Yeah but how much could he squat, brah?

[OldMexican]

The Director of Institute of War and Peace Reporting was found dead in a bathroom at an airport in Instanbul, Turkey.

She reportedly killed herself by letting a very heavy book fall on her head….

An actor in a gunfight re-enactment in Tombstone, Arizona, was injured when another actor apparently accidentally used live rounds. People are blaming lack of regulation, of course.

“The other actor could’ve checked his gun in order to assure a safe operation.”
“You just want to blame the victim here! Guards! GUARDS!”

[Mr Lizard]

Rahm Emanuel solves mystery of the war on cops:

http://www.eurweb.com/2015/10/…..inst-cops/

[This Machine]

An actor in a gunfight re-enactment in Tombstone, Arizona, was injured when another actor apparently accidentally used live rounds. People are blaming lack of regulation, of course.

This is pants-on-head retarded. If you can’t tell the difference between live rounds and blanks when you’re loading the damn weapon, you’re too stupid to be within six feet of a gun. That’s not a regulation problem, that’s just an idiot problem. And if you have to have someone else inspect your weapon prior to its use because you can’t tell the difference, and that person doesn’t do it, you’re a double-idiot for using it anyway.

[GILMORE?]

go ahead, skin that Smoke Wagon and see what happens!

[Robert]

What if you’re an actor who never handles live rounds intentionally? & you’re not the prop master.

[Wasteland Wanderer]

You’re still an idiot, because they’re very, very easy to tell apart, and if you’re going to be handling them you should take a minute to learn the difference.

[Robert]

What if he never handles the ammo, period? Somebody just supplies him a loaded gun.

[Wasteland Wanderer]

…still an idiot. Is gun, is dangerous. If you’re going to be handling a functioning gun, you need to learn how to handle it safely. If you’re shooting blanks out of a functional gun, it behooves you to double check and make sure that the gun is actually loaded with freaking blanks.

[lap83]

Man Chokes Woman on Southwest Airlines Jet for Reclining Her Seat, Witnesses Say

http://news.yahoo.com/man-chok…..02368.html

[That's A Bingo!]

Ban men?

[Crusty Juggler]

Ban men?

That is so stupid.

The obvious solution is to ban women from flying, unless they are visually appealing stewardess’.

[DEG]

The obvious solution is to ban women from flying, unless they are visually appealing stewardess’

“Obvious” until folks start fighting over what “visually appealing” means.

[lap83]

ban seats and replace them with floor pillows

[DEG]

RyanAir proposed standing room only

[Paul.]

And this is a ‘related’ article: Woman Removes Blindfold After Sex, Discovers Her Boyfriend Is Actually Female Friend

[lap83]

not sure what the similarity is, women being surprised?

[DEG]

Kinky sex acts.

[Mr Lizard]

Where did this whole chair etiquette thing come from. I have been flying for 20 years, and never heard a word about reclining. You just did it period, you didn’t think twice about the creature behind you.

[Almanian's Rusty Woodchipper]

*notes that Mr. Lizard obviously never sat behind a Komodo Dragon on a flight from the US to Japan*

[lap83]

You see…humans have these things called kneecaps…and it doesn’t feel nice when they’re crushed. Most people can refrain from going into a rage over it though. Maybe she also spilled his ginger ale.

[C. Anacreon]

I have to fly Southwest for short commuter flights fairly often, and on those 1-1.5 hour trips there seems to be an unwritten rule that everyone abides by, no reclining. Southwest’s seat setup makes it very uncomfortable if the seat ahead of you reclines. I’m guessing on flights that aren’t so business-traveler oriented there is not as much of the no-recline courtesy, as people on these flights don’t travel enough to know better — and bingo, there’s your source of these fights.

[gaoxiaen]

You’re supposed to do that in the bathroom.

[GILMORE?]

“Joe Biden is expected to announce whether he’s running for president within 48 hours, and more sources are saying the answer will be yes.”

THE TEASER-TRAILER FOR THE PREVIEW OF THE PREQUEL IS ALMOST READY FOR A DEMO VERSION!!

[GILMORE?]

iow, “let me know when Joe does something”, and until then STFU. this has been a link-item every week for 3 months.

[Paul.]

Just like the dinner hack that has Millennials ditching takeout?

[lap83]

I’ve seen that too. I think “dinner hack” is how the hip millennials say “cooking”

[Paul.]

The Director of Institute of War and Peace Reporting was found dead in a bathroom at an airport in Instanbul, Turkey. Turkish media seems to be reporting that it was suicide, but some are understandably suspicious. Her predecessor was killed in a car bomb attack in May in Baghdad.

I imagine they are suspicious, considering they probably considered the car bomb a suicide as well.

“He shot himself seven times with a bolt-action rifle!”

[Old Man With Candy]

I’m really having trouble working up a lot of sympathy for yet one more do-gooder who gets herself killed trying to do good in the shithole called the Middle East.

Pro tip: there’s no good to be done there.

[gaoxiaen]

It happens. One of my high school teachers accidentally shot his wife twice with a single-shot target pistol. For some reason the jury didn’t believe him.

[GILMORE?]

“Instanbul, Turkey”

Not Outstantinople

[Derpetologist]

There is a town in Turkey called Batman.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman,_Turkey

[Aloysious]

This popped up on my Facederp feed.

“…the people who believe themselves to be white are obsessed with the politics of personal exoneration.” Ta-N. Coates, Between the World and Me, p. 97

[Ted S.]

So nobody is actually white? That would imply there can’t be any anti-black racism.

[Aloysious]

I have no idea what that even means. At least it wasn’t something retarded by Harvey Jackins.

Sample:One possible definition of contradiction is “any action which illuminates the pattern as being a pattern, as being non-reality.” In other words, that “a contradiction exposes the pattern’s insidious claim to be reality, or to be present-time reality.”
The Longer View, p. 87 Harvey Jackins

Relatives. Bah.

[Derpetologist]

+1 counterpoint the surrealism of the underlying metaphor

[This Machine]

Wow. Such insight. What penetrating observation.

Forget Between the World and Me, I’ll get more personal enrichment from listening to Between the Buried and Me.

[Notorious UGCC]

3/4 of the time, when someone accuses someone else of obsession, it’s pure projection.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

“…as my stronger, more masculine black classmates shoved my head in the toilet and pulled my underwear out of my pants, I worried that I’d never be able to read another Marvel comic again and suddenly understood how the destruction of Black Bodies was all Whitey’s fault.”

[Notorious UGCC]

“Texas officials have announced they’re canceling the state’s Medicaid contracts with Planned Parenthood over the video controversies.”

And Richard Nixon resigned over a tape recorder controversy.

The controversy is over PP’s sale of baby parts. The video contains key evidence, just like the Nixon tapes contained key evidence.

[Derpetologist]

Random thought: I oppose the death penalty in part because I know innocent people have been put to death. For a similar reason, I oppose long prison sentences. I think the max should be 10 years. I think a good compromise would be to get rid of things like parole and time off for good behavior and cap sentences at 10 years.

[lap83]

Even murderers?

[Derpetologist]

The average time served for homicide is 71 months according to this:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/…..match.html

[Derpetologist]

The above is a quiz. Try to guess the sentence lengths and click the button at the bottom for the answers.

[The Last American Hero]

Actually much higher if you exclude cops that get paid vacations after killing somebody.

[lap83]

I assume you don’t believe that recidivism is a problem, in which case, why put murderers away at all?

[lap83]

It’s the trolley problem, are more innocent people being killed when the guilty are not in prison or are more innocent people being killed when innocents are behind bars. That’s the solution, not coming up with an arbitrary number that represents a compromise but doesn’t reflect the reason for doing it in the first place. Btw, I don’t know the definite answer to that trade-off, but I think it’s at least the right question.

[Derpetologist]

Another way to put the question is: how long do you need to keep a murderer in prison to deter future murders?

I don’t know the answer to that. I suspect there are diminishing returns at some point. A better way to deter murder would be to catch more murderers. In the US, about 1/3 of homicides go unsolved.

[Derpetologist]

Recidivism is a huge problem. Most people don’t want to lock up a 17 year old for 10 years for burglary, yet that might reduce crime in the long run.

[Old Man With Candy]

So basically, I can get out of alimony in exchange for 6 years of free shelter and shitty food? Hmmmm….

[Derpetologist]

I think the reason the average is only 6 years is because of the light sentences given for manslaughter and lower degrees of murder. Those crimes are more common. Almost every state requires a life sentence for first degree murder.

link

[Old Man With Candy]

Well, fuck, I thought I finally found a loophole.

[Derpetologist]

In California, first degree murder has a mandatory sentence of 25 years. If it is a hate crime murder, the mandatory sentence is life without parole or death.

“Stand back! Not only is this man a murderer, he’s also a RACIST!”

[crowd gasps and shudders]

[Cytotoxic]

No that is too low a cap. Serial killers should be kept behind bars.

[Apatheist ?_??]

Serial killers wouldn’t be a problem if they served each murder consecutively rather than concurrently.

Not agreeing or disagreeing with the 10 year time.

[Robert]

I’d cap it at 90 days. If that’s not long enough to cool off, then death.

[Paul.]

Mayor Dusty Escapule says an inspector checks weapons used in the skits to make sure blanks are loaded. But the actor who shot two people during a skit Sunday showed up late and his gun wasn’t inspected.

So they have regulations, they just didn’t follow them.

[Notorious UGCC]

Look, all you need is a new regulation requiring people to obey the old regulation.

[Almanian's Rusty Woodchipper]

Those responsible for sacking those who failed to enforce the regulations have, themselves, been sacked.

[Cytotoxic]

So fellow Canucks do you think Trudeau will be a better PM than Mulcair would have been?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I don’t give a shit.

[Cytotoxic]

It’s about to shit on you! And me!

[gaoxiaen]

Just keep sending us your bacon and poutine.

[Pan Zagloba]

Trudeau will be better only in as much as adults in his party will distract him with shiny things if he tries doing half the shit he’s promising. Either way, we’re getting a good fucking for next two electoral cycles at least.

[Derpetologist]

The time Hillary Clinton realized that Mexicans are people

You know, when I was about 10 or 11 years old, I signed up at my church ? in the suburb of Chicago where I lived, the Methodist Church ? to babysit on Saturdays for the children of Mexican migrant farm workers. And one of our mothers ? there were a group of four or so of us who had done this ? one of our mothers would drive us out and stay with us, because we were so young, while the older children went into the fields with their parents.

And we would take care of the little children. We would play games with them, we’d read to them, we’d try to get them to take a nap ? not easy.

And we would wait for the parents and siblings to come back.

I remember like it was yesterday. The first time at the end of this long dirt road, the old ramshackle bus that transported the family members to the fields came back around 6 o’clock. The children we were babysitting could not contain themselves, they were so excited. And they immediately burst free from us and began running down that road.

And as their mothers and their fathers and their uncles and their aunts and their big brothers and their big sisters got out of that bus, those children were lifted up and embraced by people who were tired, who’d worked all day, but who loved their children so much.

I was just a child myself. But I watched and I thought, They’re just like us.

[Derpetologist]

source

[Derpetologist]

A mom takes her autistic son to a movie.

The first preview started with eardrum-breaking volume. “I want to go home!” Max shrieked as he folded over his ears. I leaned in quickly, knowing the drill. “It’s ok Max. Our movie will start in a minute. This will stop.” Just as Max was about to completely unravel, our great green friend appeared like an angel on the screen, but with the potential for warts. It was Kermit, as big as a house. Max’s face relaxed, “The Muppet movie!” Max cried out in a jubilant voice that carried unfortunately well with the fine acoustics of the theater. “And Fozzy Bear!” Max laughed nearly slapping his knee. It was apparent that, despite their best efforts, these felt puppets were not bringing joy to the rest of the audience. I leaned into Max and pointed to our movie theater rules. “Whisper voice,” I reminded him.

I presume the mom has tried to discipline him in the past to no avail. He can talk so, he must have near normal intelligence. Is he disabled are just rude and annoying?

[Derpetologist]

*or just…

[Notorious UGCC]

She’s Chuck Colson’s daughter. She wrote a book.

I haven’t read the book, but I would expect that the kid has some kind of disability.

[Notorious UGCC]

Hmmm…seems he’s had problems his whole life…he was 19 when the book was published, and it started when he was a baby.

[Tonio]

He can talk so, he must have near normal intelligence.

Depends on what you mean by “near normal.”

And language production does not equal maturity or self-control Remember that normal humans start talking at around age one year. Sounds like we’re talking about a person with a mental age of about 3-4 and probably an equivalent emotional age.

[In League with the Dark Ones]

People are blaming lack of regulation, of course.

It doesn’t matter how much time you spend complying with regulation, how much it costs, or whatever stunt you have to pull, if it doesn’t produce the desired results, it’s “unregulated”.

A couple weeks ago, people were complaining about how prescription drugs are “unregulated”.

Never mind the 2.5B USD cost of complying with regulation.

[waffles]

It’s a conflict between Catholicism and modern medicine. Just because we can prolong life does not mean we should. But then suicide or murder is a cardinal sin. When medicine was poor and life was short this was not an issue. Native American culture had it right. The elderly should inform our culture and teach their experience, not burden us with debt and guilt.

I suspect this will be an increasingly high profile issue as more and more people experience the horror firsthand.

[Tonio]

^This. Euthanizing families will stay in the closet for a while longer because of fear of prosecution or infamy. The more we publicly tell busybodies of all stripes to STFU and MYOB the better things get for everyone.

[Tonio]

Yes, but the pro-life socons and the state go very well together on this issue. The state can only get away with this because of the socons, and the fear of everyone else of being accused of killing grandma.

[gaoxiaen]

+10 wives