A.M. Links: French Police Kill Suspected Mastermind of Paris Attacks, Russia-France Plan Joint Anti-ISIS Operations, Obama Vows to Veto House Bill on Syrian Refugees

• 

  Credit: Jean Jullien

  French authorities have confirmed that Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the suspected ringleader of the Paris attacks, was killed during Wednesday's raid in Saint Denis.

• Russia and France are planning joint operations against ISIS.

• President Obama has vowed to veto a House bill that would impose new screening requirements on Syrian refugees entering the United States.

• "An independent autopsy shows a Tennessee man died in Mississippi police custody because he was hog-tied for an extended period and not because he took LSD, an attorney for the man's family said Wednesday."

• Owners of New York City taxi medallions have filed suit against the city, claiming NYC ruined their businesses by allowing Uber to enter the marketplace and compete with them.

• Ta-Nehisi Coates has won the National Book Award for nonfiction for his book Between the World and Me.

New at Reason

• Brickbat: The Science Is Settled By Charles Oliver

• Paris, Fear, and Freedom It is in times of fear when we need to be most vigilant about our liberties. By Judge Andrew Napolitano

• How the Federal Government Funds Endless Wars Republicans and Democrats join together to spend more money. By Veronique de Rugy

• Bad Ideas for Combating the Islamic State GOP candidates offer solutions that are redundant, meaningless, or reckless. By Steve Chapman

• Americans Refuse to Understand What Happened in Paris Missing in many media accounts of Paris terrorism was any reference to France's bombing of Syria or that France is Syria's former colonial overlord. By Sheldon Richman

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Russia and France are planning joint operations against ISIS.

First stop: Berlin!

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Hello.

"French authorities have confirmed that Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the suspected ringleader of the Paris attacks, was killed"

Which one is he again? They all look alike.

[Jerryskids]

I'm very surprised they didn't just kill the second-in-command. Those seem to be much easier to get.

But what is this "mastermind" bullshit? He got a handful of retards to go kill some people at some places where there were lots of people using guns and regular old explosives, it's not like he was using sharks with frickin' lasers on their heads or firing particle-beam weapons from his underground moon lair. A moderately intelligent chimpanzee could have masterminded that intricate nefarious scheme in about 20 minutes.

[Apple]

According to a Paris Match reporter on CNN, dude couldn't have been the mastermind, because the plan was too advanced not to have come from the top. Heh.

[Jerryskids]

Well, you're talking about CNN, and I did specify moderately intelligent chimpanzees.

[LouiseGraham]

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[OneOut]

But they had to set their watches together.

[Timrekgrun]

Syncronize Swatches!

[Lee G]

Next they'll be going after Shazam

[Lord Humungus]

Now I can finally jack off:

Embarrassed by Selfie Sticks, A Young Man Invents Extra-Long 'Selfie Arms'

[sloopyinTEXAS]

Finally! Now perverts can use the stall three toilets down to click pics instead of having to sneak in the next one.

[Elspeth Flashman]

You know who else needed extra long arms?

[commodious spittoon]

Vincent Adultman?

[pan fried wylie]

you try puttin in a double at the business factory without em.

[Lord Humungus]

Warty for the reach around? Wait he doesn't give reach arounds... or does he?

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

He reaches around... to tear your dick off.

[Lord Humungus]

'catly

[Crusty Juggler]

Inspector Gadget?

[Rich]

Gerald Bull?

[Ice Nine]

That was great.

[Atanarjuat]

Stretch Armstrong?

[Elspeth Flashman]

Your mom?

[Jimbo]

Foul! No Asking and Answering your own question.

[Jerryskids]

King Edward I?

[bacon-magic]

STEVE SMITH?

[The Shrubber's Woodchipper]

Yeah, that's not embarrassing.

[Fist of Etiquette]

President Obama has vowed to veto a House bill that would impose new screening requirements on Syrian refugees entering the United States.

But what if the screening was to weed out those with rightwing voting tendencies?

[Hamster of Doom]

Common sense voting laws.

[Jerryskids]

If only Congress had the power of the purse or something that outweighed the power of the pen.

[Lord Humungus]

Mother Discovers Venomous 'Erection-Giving' Spider Eggs In Her Iceland Bananas

A mother-of-two was shocked to find venomous spider eggs in bananas she has bought for her children.

Samantha Frampton, 24, found Brazilian Wandering Spider eggs infested in the bananas imported from Colombia - which has a lethal bite that can kill a human in just two hours.

Samantha carefully wrapped the bananas in a plastic bag and left them outside, but is now worried her house may be infested.

The Brazilian Wandering Spider's venom is currently being studied for use in erectile dysfunction treatments - as it can give male victims a painful four-hour erection.

[Monty Crisco]

This is like some article written by Agile Cyborg....

[wareagle]

and like the commercial says, see a physician for an erection lasting more than four hours.

[Rich]

"Bite me!"

[Hamster of Doom]

She put them outside. As opposed to, I dunno, setting the bag on fire. Moving would also be an appropriate option.

[Caput Lupinum]

I doubt spiders native to the tropics will live long if kept outside in Iceland in November; although, living in Iceland, throwing them in an active volcano would be appropriate.

[Hamster of Doom]

There's no call for rationality here.

[Hamster of Doom]

By which to say, I find the latter solution to be easily the most effective measure yet suggested.

[Krabappel]

Agreed. Throw those little fuckers into the caldera of Fjorgabjordajellablarkaflorgen

[dan'o en barrel]

Its unlikely the spiders would survive the ethylene gas anyways. When I worked in produce there was a book's worth of stories about crazy shit in banana boxes- but in each case the critter was dead on arrival.

[Chinny Chin Chin]

Shipping bananas is a complex thing, huh?

Easiest thing in the world is to get an environmentalist to stop eating bananas... simply by explaining the expense in getting them to market.

[Elspeth Flashman]

Headline, to give more clarity should have been" Icelandic mom discovers venomous "erection-giving" spider eggs in her Columbian bananas" because otherwise it sounds as if the bananas were grown in Iceland. /pedantic rant over.

[Citizen X]

Bananas ARE grown in Iceland, in geothermally-heated greenhouses. The lack of sunlight for much of the year is a problem, though.

[Tonio]

Watch yourself, buddy. ENB may be fast, but if Root lands one on you you're going to hurt.

[BigT]

"Bone"-anas?

[Jimbo]

Bone-anus?

[R C Dean]

Why anyone is surprised to find Brazilian Wandering Spiders this far afield, I can't say.

[Jimbo]

I also wonder...

[Fist of Etiquette]

...claiming NYC ruined their businesses by allowing Uber to enter the marketplace and compete with them.

The remedy? Total collapse of the medallion system.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

The cab cartel and the police union run that city. You're more likely to see a law pass making it legal to kill Uber drivers on the spot than you are to see the medallion scheme disappear.

[Juvenile Bluster]

You're more likely to see a law pass making it legal to kill Uber drivers on the spot

They're going to make medallion holders part of the NYPD?

[Rhywun]

The cab cartel and the police union run that city.

I think in the pecking order, these are below the SEIU, the teachers' union, and the health worker union.

[Atanarjuat]

"Gentlemen, we've gotta protect our phoney-baloney jobs!"

[Fist of Etiquette]

Harrumph.

[Crusty Juggler]

Those cab drivers do not want to drive to Queens.

[Whahappan?]

And God-dammit, The Law should prevent anyone else from doing it too!

[R C Dean]

Pretty much. 98% of the laws in this country boil down to "Nobody should be allowed to do what I don't want to do."

[MSimon]

Could they drive to Straights? or maybe Cisburg.

[Lord Humungus]

Obama Vows to Continue to Close Gitmo

Obama said that the rhetoric around Guantanamo "alienates Muslim-Americans" in the same way that the rhetoric around refugees does, and said the detention center "has been an enormous recruitment tool for organizations like ISIL."

"We can keep the American people safe while shutting down that operation." The population has been "reduced drastically," with the bulk of transfers happening in the Bush administration.

"We have reduced that population further, and I expect that early by next year we may even have fewer than a hundred people at Guantanamo."

[sloopyinTEXAS]

Sweet! Maybe we'll get around to actually trying those people after more than a decade, too.

Unfortunately nobody thought to ask that follow-up.

[Rich]

"I expect that early by next year we may even have fewer than a hundred people at Guantanamo."

Hey, and some economists expect that the Fed may raise interest rates in December.

[Jerryskids]

"I expect that early by next year we may even have fewer than a hundred people at Guantanamo."

The detainees are hunger-striking again?

[R C Dean]

"You want to starve yourself? OK. We'll just leave your meals here: Eat them or not. Up to you."

[Crusty Juggler]

When President Obama makes a promise, President Obama keeps a promise. That is fact.

[expat]

Only the bad ones. He seems particularly bad a keeping the good ones.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Has he made any good promises?

[Doctor Whom]

If you like your plan, you can keep your plan, period.

[Doctor Whom]

Also, he will get us out of Afghanistan by 2014.

[Citizen X]

Don't forget "the most transparent administration ever."

[wareagle]

it is curious that the acts of radical Muslims never seen to "alienate Muslim-Americans." Why is that.

[Zeb]

Probably largely because the radical Muslims aren't the government of their home country.

[some guy]

Wait. Obama promised to close Gitmo immediately upon entering office. Since we know Obama doesn't lie, Gitmo must already be closed and reality is lying.

[Chinny Chin Chin]

Obama said... the detention center "has been an enormous recruitment tool for organizations like ISIL."

Will he venture to guess the number of terrorists who have enlisted as a result of his inability to keep his campaign promise?

[Fist of Etiquette]

"An independent autopsy shows a Tennessee man died in Mississippi police custody because he was hog-tied for an extended period and not because he took LSD, an attorney for the man's family said Wednesday."

Who are you going to believe? Some lawyer with his own agenda or trained law enforcement officers with nothing to gain by lying? Also, drugs.

[Elspeth Flashman]

You working for the defense team there? Nice argument.

[R C Dean]

Seeing as there is no possible way that anyone can be poisoned by LSD, this seems pretty self-evident.

[BigT]

"Seeing as there is no possible way that anyone can be poisoned by LSD"

Is this true? I'm not familiar with overdoses of acid. I thought mental breakdowns were common, possibly leading to irrational risk taking. Nothing more?

[Citizen X]

Use of LSD has been linked to an increased likelihood of thinking the Grateful Dead are good. Sounds pretty dangerous to me.

[R C Dean]

I'm reading "died because he took LSD" to be a claim that he was poisoned by LSD. They may mean something else.

However, mental breakdowns and irrational risk taking on LSD are '60s-era urban myths.

He died because the police killed him. Period.

[Heedless]

Unless the manufacturer screwed up the chemistry, the main risk of taking LSD is that you will become extremely tiresome.

[OneOut]

"
mental breakdowns and irrational risk taking on LSD are '60s-era urban myths."

They may be myths of the 60s but I have first hand experience that they are not myths of the 70s.

My brother had a complete mental breakdown while experiencing a "bad" trip. He took a tab at the end of a workday only to be told shortly after that they were working overtime that day in a pipe fabrication shop. I will skip the details of what followed immediately after but after a trip to the emergency room he was hospitalized for 30 days. He came out of the hospital a shell of himself mentally, emotionally, and even physically. He improved some over the years but has never returned to his former self.

[Illocust]

"Owners of New York City taxi medallions have filed suit against the city, claiming NYC ruined their businesses by allowing Uber to enter the marketplace and compete with them."

Interesting that they think they have a better chance of beating the city in court than Uber. I'm guessing the city won't fight back because it's not their money. While Uber would drag them kicking and screaming through the spotlight to be pilloried by the public.

[Tonio]

The taxi drivers will probably prevail at the local level, but will be interesting to see what happens if this goes to an upstate court, or the feds.

[Mickey Rat]

I am thinking that suing the city is actually apporopriate as the medallions were an agreement with the city which has violated it or defrauded the medallion holders by having no power to enforce it.

[Lord Humungus]

NBC Poll: Americans Support Sending More Ground Troops to Fight Islamic State

Roughly two-thirds of the country (65 percent) want more troops on the ground in Iraq and Syria to combat IS, which took responsibility for the attacks in Paris, France, last week that killed more than 120 people. When broken down by political party, a majority of Republicans, Democrats, and two-thirds of independents agree on sending more troops to combat the terrorist group.

President Obama had previously said that putting troops on the ground would be a mistake and stood by his current strategy on fighting IS.

Since the spring a majority of Americans, 53 percent, feel the the United State government is not doing enough to eradicate the threat of terrorism, which is up from 37 percent in April. Meet the Press Daily's Chuck Todd said that the number was not surprising given the amount of coverage of the recent Paris terrorist attacks.

[Illocust]

Haven't we just been getting through articles about how polling is incredibly unreliable in the modern era?

[VG Zaytsev]

What do millenial say about it?

[Tonio]

And didn't another recent national poll indicate that like 61% were against US BOTG?

[Jerryskids]

How many polled would support sending troops to Elbonia or Narnia in the name of fighting terrorism do you suppose?

[Jimbo]

Dilbert approves this message!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Has anyone told them about the "nuking from orbit" gambit?

[Idle Hands]

I know this is an emotional moment for all of us. I know that. But let's not make snap judgments, please. This is clearly an important religion we're dealing with and I don't think that you or I, or *anybody*, has the right to arbitrarily exterminate them.

[Free Society]

Nor an obligation to pretend that this important religion isn't an ideological stain on humanity.

[ant1sthenes]

There is a substantial dollar value attached to ISIS.

[VG Zaytsev]

Exterminating the religion does not mean exterminating all of the people that nominally follow it.

[Free Society]

I think marginalizing the religion is the way to go. It should be made abundantly clear that using Islam as your operating system for politics, economics and every imaginable facet of life, makes you incompatible with the rest of the world. The most successful Muslims should be the ones whom are furthest away from the fundamentals of Islam.

[Tonio]

Good luck with that, Freebie.

[Free Society]

What luck is needed? You just don't tolerate those undeserving of tolerance. The most insurmountable aspect of this approach is getting western multiculturalists to abandon their fairy tale version of Islam and the increasing severity of Islamic radicalism will do that for us.

[Mr. Flanders]

Sounds like the same tactics used by the progressive P.C. crowd. Don't tolerate those that are undeserving of tolerance.... based on my subjective view which is obviously correct. :/

[Free Society]

You have it exactly backwards. The progressive PC crowd do tolerate those undeserving of tolerance. The left is well known for it's hypocrisy of claiming to stand for the rights of marginalized groups to the point where the left whitewashes and makes excuses for radical Muslims while those very same radical Muslims would be ruthlessly slaughtering all the marginalized groups were they in a position to do so.

[Mr. Flanders]

I don't see much tolerance from the P.C. crowd at all. They are completely intolerant of all opposing viewpoints that are not pure. They even go so far as to disinvite speakers that, for the most part, are allies of the P.C. movement on all but one or two points. Na, they're completely intolerant in the name of tolerance, just like what Free Society was suggesting that people should react to people that are believers of Islam.

[some guy]

Americans appear to be unique among mammals in that they respond positively to negative reinforcement. There's a dissertation for you.

[OneOut]

That may or may not be surprising but what is not surprising is that Hilliary just got her warboner on.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/19/.....is-speech/

Now many of you cynics here probably think that there is a connection between this new poll and Hilliary's new position on the issue but all of her supporters know that is not true.

They also know that Wall Street and Mega Banks campaign donation and speaking fees do not influence he positions on the issues either. Those donations are simply their belated way of saying thanks because she helped them rebuild after 9/11 14 years ago.

[Akira]

"Those donations are simply their belated way of saying thanks because she helped them rebuild after 9/11 14 years ago."

I mean, for god's sake, this brave woman was personally laying a foundation for the new stock exchange while under sniper fire!

[SIV]

Hey, GOP Fearmongers: Not One Terrorist Act by Refugees in U.S.

Think reason will ever get around to issuing a retraction?

[Juvenile Bluster]

There's something that's made that untrue?

[wareagle]

the Tsarnaev boys were children of refugees. And it's a convenient rhetorical tactic to get around the Hasan-from-Fort-Hood type individuals.

[R C Dean]

Technically, I believe the Tsarnaev boys were refugees themselves.

And, no, if there is a distinction between "asylees" and "refugees" its not one that makes a difference.

[MSimon]

"asylers"

[Hamster of Doom]

They're going to eat our braaaaains.

[SugarFree]

Are you being triggered by Reason? Do you need a safe space?

[SIV]

Are the voices in your head calling you a cosmotarian again?

[SugarFree]

You're the one whining, AM Winston.

Everyone agreed on the Yik Yak thread that people reading stuff they don't agree with just so they can be outraged by it are idiots. Thanks for offering such dramatic proof of that point.

[SIV]

You're the biggest whiner on this blog's comments.

[SugarFree]

I see your defensive projection is coming along nicely.

[SIV]

Show us on the doll where the Christfag touched you

[Palin's Buttplug]

Fuck the GOP and every TEAM RED! asshole that posts here.

[Free Society]

You're so wise and your words so measured.

[Citizen Nothing]

Strangely, I agree with the Plug on this one. Blind hog, acorn, etc.

[R C Dean]

He's halfway there.

[BiPolarMoment]

He has an acorn?

[Atanarjuat]

How long have Syrian refugees been here? (Too lazy to click for myself)

[Citizen X]

The Doumar family's been here in Norfolk since they fled the Ottomans about 130 years ago. One of them's a federal judge, and his uncle invented the ice cream cone.

[Lee G]

I always knew you were a better class of car thief X

[Citizen X]

Norfolk is the Florida of Virginia.

[PBR Streetgang]

A pretty good federal judge too. Had no idea his uncle invented the ice cream cone, cool!

[Lee G]

Are you an eastern va resident as well?

[Tonio]

I'm not PBR (obviously), but I am close by. Meetup sometime?

[PBR Streetgang]

I used to be. Grew up in Petersburg and lived in Chesterfield until 2 years ago. You?

[BigT]

Steve Jobs' bio father was a Syrian immigrant.

[Citizen X]

Sufjan al-Jobsi?

[Hamster of Doom]

Is this an argument for, or against?

[spqr2008]

Against, obvii. TEAM ANDROID FUR THE WINZZZZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Krokko]

Major asshole who started a huge cult? They're gonna need a better example...

[Fist of Etiquette]

...Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the suspected ringleader of the Paris attacks, was killed during Wednesday's raid in Saint Denis.

How's come America only ever gets the second-in-command?

[Crusty Juggler]

America goes for number two because we're the shit.

[Citizen Nothing]

The Prisoner taught me that we should take out number six, just to be sure.

[Jimbo]

Don't Forget: #2 is first place for losers

[Rich]

Univ. of Vermont holds privilege retreat for students who 'self-identify as white'

the University of Vermont offered the retreat at no cost to its privileged white students, covering all expenses including meals.

Mighty white of the University!

[Brett L]

No Jews or Irish, though, right?

[Auric Demonocles]

I'll tell you from experience, my best friend notwithstanding, there aren't many Jews to worry about at UVM.

[SugarFree]

Can you imagine the self-loathing you would have to possess to voluntarily put yourself through this?

[Rich]

Lighten up, SF. Perhaps some folks are just white-curious.

[Lee G]

It is pretty awesome to be white. Why just the other day I used my privilege to subjugate some uppity minorities, and I wasn't even trying!

[Auric Demonocles]

I recently used my whiteness to get October sun induced skin damage....

[Auric Demonocles]

What if you're just really into white chicks?

[Auric Demonocles]

On further reflection, it's UVM so it's pretty hard to not find white chicks. So maybe you're really into white chicks with emotional problems?

[SugarFree]

Having a race preference in dating is racism. Having a size preference is sizeism. Having a gender preference is homophobia. Having a genital preference is transphobia.

[Idle Hands]

what if you prefer a sex position?

[SugarFree]

Unless you're being pegged, its homophobia.

[Auric Demonocles]

Wait, but aren't I also oppressing her and reinforcing my privilege if I bang a black chick?

[SugarFree]

Anything you like is problematic.
Anything you don't like is problematic.
Anything you have no strong feelings on one way or another is problematic.

[Jordan]

Those free meals though...

[SugarFree]

Only white people food, so they don't feel uncomfortable. Ham and mayo buffet. Pumpkin spice lattes.

[Auric Demonocles]

It's UVM, so they'll definitely have some granola, vegan shit, and maple syrup.

[SugarFree]

Ugh. I hate maple everything. Keep your disgusting tree menses.

[Auric Demonocles]

Have you considered properly digesting sugar?

[SugarFree]

Mr. Poops Funny is coming after me? Really?

[Auric Demonocles]

It's Poops-A-Lot, not Poops Funny.

[Rich]

vegan shit

Nice oxymoron.

[Auric Demonocles]

The dining hall had vegan cookies. They bounced surprisingly well for "food" items.

[R C Dean]

I was thinking more "redundant" than "oxymoron".

[Citizen X]

"Now. Who wants a glass of milk?"

[Krabappel]

Ugh is there at least some Sriracha? Maybe you could sneak a bottle in.

[Bill Dalasio]

the University of Vermont offered the retreat at no cost to its privileged white students, covering all expenses including meals.

It would be genuinely funny if they held the retreat at a 5-star resort. In between the pate and caviar plate with champagne and the hot air balloon excursion, they have a serious, heartfelt, five minute discussion about the injustice endemic to the system. Now, come on, Heather, they're serving Johnny Walker Blue over in the ski lift pavilion.

[Brett L]

Is that not what they are doing? I don't see them funding voluntary minority empowerment seminars.

[Bill Dalasio]

Well, my hope is that a student found a nice way to scam the social justice cadres in the college administration into buying them a vacation.

[Auric Demonocles]

Someone didn't RTFA...

The University of Vermont does host a retreat for "women of color" as well but it focuses on building leadership rather than confronting one's own privileges.

That appears to be the only other retreat, but there is definitely a lot seminar/talks/on campus events.

[Rich]

You know who else focused on building leadership rather than confronting one's own privileges?

[EMD]

Connie Mack?

[Citizen X]

Bernie Sanders?

[EMD]

I bet The Women of Color retreat is at the Red Roof Inn downtown.

[wareagle]

you mean it's not genuinely funny on its face?

[Idle Hands]

I would feel compelled to go only to leave after five minutes in absolute disgust.

[Auric Demonocles]

When I was there, the racial/social justice idiocy was still pretty minor, but you could tell it was gaining traction. One of the biggest reasons I decided not to be an RA was the new requirement to promote events for this kind of thing (though nothing to the extent of this retreat).

[EMD]

Privilege leads to ... privilege.

[Lord Humungus]

My Grandma, the Sex Worker
When Dad told me that my grandmother used to be a prostitute, I didn't know whether to believe him. Seven years later, I phoned up Grandma to ask.

"This was the 50s in Venezuela and, even now, it's still a very conservative, overly religious, misogynist society. Men ruled Venezuela now and they continue to rule it today," Grandma told me. Prostitution has always been rife in Venezuela?so much so that it is entirely legal. How could a country that has always recognized prostitution as a serious profession attach such a social stigma to it? "Sex has always existed?everyone did a lot of things behind closed doors. It wasn't an open society. Prostitution has existed since the beginning of time."

To many, then and now, prostitution was seen as a way to have a better life. "Caracas was a prostitution hot spot?all the Americans went there to see us. It was almost like a novelty. We weren't even called hookers; we were called 'appointments' in appointment-only brothels. There were two tiers of prostitution: women like us, and women who were on the street. We were high-end, so the money was very good." She was making between 85 and 95 bol?vares fuertes a night, which was the equivalent of about $421 at the time? a small fortune.

[Illocust]

Smart woman. Like how she points out the difference between street level and brothels. There is a world of difference between the girl who has to wave down clients and the one who has clients come to her.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

Did she know how to warm a sausage?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qNyTPUTfmkc

[SugarFree]

Ta-Nehisi Coates has won the National Book Award for nonfiction for his book Between the World and Me.

Unleashing a wave of more terrible writers on the world.

[Crusty Juggler]

SugarFree continues the Plundering.

[some guy]

There are probably awards for making people vomit in their mouths, but the National Book Award isn't one of them.

[SugarFree]

I can only do so much with my white body.

[Free Society]

I assume that it's mostly limited to oppressing the nearest brown person.

[SugarFree]

I rent their lungs with my tear gas, apparently.

[Rich]

Just wondering ... Does his wife get to call him "Ta-Ta"?

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Thus reaffirming my suspicion and dislike for awards.

Not the jealous sort, I've seen too many jerk-offs honored it has left me jaded. Sure, why not?!

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

True story. Ole Rufus was a pretty damn good soccer player until the ACL tears started coming. I got my share of scoring titles and MVP's. One year, at a tournament, I basically took on Erin Mills, Ont. by myself in a 2-0 loss. When it came to handing out the award at the end of the game the coach came up to me and said, 'You were by far the most talented player on the pitch and fully deserve MVP honors...BUT, we're giving it to that little guy who played his heart out.' That guy was a close friend of mine and he did play really well. I was happy for the guy but still...I lost out on a FREE MEAL!

[Free Society]

You were by far the most talented player on the pitch and fully deserve MVP honors

That's should have been the end of the story. But instead you got Rudy-ed.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Rudy was more inspirational. I was just a sore-loser.

[EMD]

Does anyone really care about The National Book Award?

[Lord Humungus]

Nation's largest insurer may exit Obamacare due to losses

UnitedHealth Group, the largest insurance company in the U.S., on Thursday slashed its earnings outlook, citing "detoriation" in Obamacare, and told investors it may exit the program's exchanges.

"In recent weeks, growth expectations for individual exchange participation have tempered industrywide, co-operatives have failed, and market data has signaled higher risks and more difficulties while our own claims experience has deteriorated," Stephen J. Hemsley, chief executive officer of UnitedHealth Group, explained in a press release.

The release added that, "UnitedHealthcare has pulled back on its marketing efforts for individual exchange products in 2016. The Company is evaluating the viability of the insurance exchange product segment and will determine during the first half of 2016 to what extent it can continue to serve the public exchange markets in 2017."

bailouts here we come...

[Brett L]

I thought those exchanges were guaranteed cost plus.

[Mrs. Lemuel Struthers]

Damn you, Humungus.

[Lord Humungus]

Don't worry, people like you better.

[Mrs. Lemuel Struthers]

That's a pretty low bar. 🙂

[Spoonman.]

This is a signal to extend the risk-reduction programs beyond 2017.

[Lee G]

And United is one of the worst payers.

[robc]

Assurant is leaving health insurance biz at end of 2015.

[Derpetologist]

I think everyone could use some cheering up. Introducing Colonel-in-Chief Sir Nils Olav. He is a king penguin who is the commander of the Norwegian Royal Guard. He wears a little arm band and inspects the troops.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

And then we wonder why the terrorists are emboldened and embiggened.

[EMD]

You don't think that penguin wouldn't kill a terrorist if he could?

[Monty Crisco]

I have found that a noble spirit embiggens the smallest man...

[Lord Humungus]

Aww...Shreek is out of a job:

NIH to retire all research chimpanzees
Fifty animals held in "reserve" by the US government will be sent to sanctuaries.

In a 16 November e-mail to the agency's administrators, NIH director Francis Collins announced that the 50 NIH-owned animals that remain available for research will be sent to sanctuaries. The agency will also develop a plan for phasing out NIH support for the remaining chimps that are supported by, but not owned by, the NIH.

"I think this is the natural next step of what has been a very thoughtful five-year process of trying to come to terms with the benefits and risks of trying to perform research with these very special animals," Collins said in an interview with Nature. "We reached a point where in that five years the need for research has essentially shrunk to zero. "

Many advocates of animal research are unhappy with the plan. "Given NIH's primary mission to protect public health, it seems surprising," says Frankie Trull, president of the Foundation for Biomedical Research in Washington DC.

[Mrs. Lemuel Struthers]

28 days later..

[Krabappel]

"Given NIH's primary mission to protect public health"

Citation needed.

[R C Dean]

I think they mis-spelled "nominal".

[BigT]

All these chimps on Soc Sec will tank our future. Put the lil monkeys to work. Comfort animals in children's wards, GOP campaign advisers, HnR trolls.

[Lord Humungus]

South Side woman launches 'sex strike' to end violence

CHICAGO - No justice, no sex. A South Side woman thinks sex is the solution to Chicago's violence problem. She is reportedly launching an online petition for a "sex strike."

April Lawson hopes women will sign up for her cause on Change.org and agree to abstinence until the men of their communities put down their guns.

The idea of a "sex strike" is the premise behind Spike Lee's soon-to-be released movie "Chiraq."

Lawson said she was inspired to start the petition because she is tired of the violence in the city and thinks "you have to hit people where it hurts."

You're doing it wrong...

[Atanarjuat]

Actually I think it could work, but you have to have unanimity with these things, and getting all of the hood rats on board seems unlikely.

Also trigger warning, she's not nearly as hot as the women in the Spike Lee promo they show at first, and may in fact be a long-haired man.

[Mickey Rat]

So the guy(s) she is having sex with are vioent criminals?

[BigT]

Novel approach...not.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysistrata

[PBR Streetgang]

Now that is thinking outside of the box.

[Mrs. Lemuel Struthers]

Nation's largest insurer may exit Obamacare due to losses

UnitedHealth Group, the largest insurance company in the U.S., on Thursday slashed its earnings outlook, citing new problems related to Obamacare, and told investors it may exit the program's exchanges.

If UnitedHealth and other insurers decide to exit, remaining insurers will be forced to take on even more high-risk enrollees, prompting them to either raise rates further or exit themselves. That in turn would deprive individuals of choices and remove competition, a key purpose of the exchanges.

Thanks for the death spiral, Obama.

[Idle Hands]

Can you imagine what will happen in 2016 when their is a republican in the whitehouse? All the sudden there will be a million homeless people, mideast is a dumster fire, The affordable care act needs to fixed, economy sucks articles that people have been sitting on for eight years.

[Auric Demonocles]

It will just be the Republican's fault for sabotaging Obamacare so thoroughly that it retroactively caused the decay.

[sarcasmic]

Greedy corporations only care about profits, not people. This is why we need single payer. Duh.

[Monty Crisco]

The problem is that people are already making this article seriously, and no one of ANY prominence is trying to rebut it...

[Idle Hands]

Quarter of men believe they have 'man periods':

A quarter of British men believe that they experience a monthly 'man period', according to new research.

As part of a study of 2,412 people (50pc men and 50pc women), male participants were asked if they frequently suffered the same common side effects of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) that women experience during their menstrual cycle, including tiredness, cramps and increased sensitivity.

And whilst 26 per cent of men revealed that they did experience these feelings on a regular basis, perhaps a more shocking statistic is that 58pc of their female partners believed them.

Furthermore, all female respondents whose partners claimed to experience 'man periods' were asked whether or not they offered any special support to their partners during these times, and 43 pc admitted that they did.

When asked how they had done so, the most commonly cited ways were "try and cheer him up" (44 pc) and "walk around on egg shells" (39 pc). Of those who didn't believe their partners, 33 pc admitted to telling their partner to "man up".

[Crusty Juggler]

You know, I do just want to be held sometimes, especially on my heavy flow days.

[Mrs. Lemuel Struthers]

I believe we call this variation in human emotion, but then I could be wrong because I may be bleeding from my eyes and such.

[Citizen X]

Bleeding from your eyes, bleeding from your... wherever.

[Idle Hands]

I blame Chipotle.

[Mr. Flanders]

+1 Eric Cartman

[Lee G]

I weep for my species.

[Rich]

You'll feel better in a few days.

[Lee G]

*grabs bottle of midol*

[Suthenboy]

And thus the pussification of the west is complete.

No wonder the barbarians are pouring in to rape, loot, murder and plunder. They face no resistance.

[Monty Crisco]

I wonder if this ever happened with another civilization?

[Slammer]

It's ok, they can carry manpons in their manpurses (satchels/handbags)

[EMD]

Remember when Britain ruled the world?

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Any man that has ever lived with a woman has suffered from PMS.

Women have PMS; men suffer.

[R C Dean]

male participants were asked if they frequently suffered the same common side effects of premenstrual syndrome

Everyone within range of a PMSing female suffers the side effects of PMS.

[BigT]

And their cycles oddly correspond to the football on the telly. A great scam! We Americans have a lot to learn.

Andy Capp!

[Juvenile Bluster]

This whole NRA/"Terrorists with guns" thing has made me realize that the left thinks that all Muslims are terrorists just like the right does. But they can't *say* that.

[SugarFree]

I doubt that. This is just them arguing in bad faith for gun control. If they had their way, only white male cis-het shitlords would be on that list.

[R C Dean]

No question. Still, it does open up some amusing conversational options.

[Lord Humungus]

Tinder CEO boasts about sexual acts ahead of IPO

Sean Rad, the CEO of Match's high-profile mobile dating app Tinder, is interviewed in a Nov. 18 article in the online and print news service, the Evening Standard. There are few details about the company itself, but Rad goes into great detail about his own sexual accomplishments. That includes his loss of virginity at the age of 17 and the number of women he's had sexual relations with (20).

His sexual encounters include, according to the article cited in a filing from the Securities and Exchange Commission, Alexa Dell of the family connected to the Texas computing company.

Rad boasts of his allure, explaining that a "supermodel, someone really, really famous" has been "begging" to have sexual relations with him, according to the article.

[Auric Demonocles]

That includes his loss of virginity at the age of 17 and the number of women he's had sexual relations with (20).

Neither of those is impressive, particularly if you're trying to have casual sex instead of relationships.

[Citizen X]

Yeah. Dude hasn't even caught up to George Costanza yet.

[Just say Nikki]

It's funny, if you read the whole story, he's sort of "bragging" about being a nice guy who doesn't fuck every girl, and billing Tinder as a way to find love, not just sex.

[Rhywun]

WOULDN'T

[Auric Demonocles]

I know a lot of people on Tinder, and have done a ton of online dating myself (including my last 2 girlfriends). I don't know anyone using Tinder who also thinks it's for relationships. The consensus seems pretty strongly in favor Tinder being hook-ups only.

[Idle Hands]

Tinder is a honeypot for relationships or seems to be for my friends.

[Crusty Juggler]

Psssh I was like, born without my virginity, and I have nailed, like lots of chicks.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

a "supermodel, someone really, really famous" has been "begging"

Was her name Caitlyn?

[R C Dean]

Not clear on why this needs to be filed with the SEC, but sure, whatev.

[Citizen X]

"My business is giving ladies the business, and business is booming. So much so that i have to file with the government."

"We don't really have a form for that, sir."

[Lord Humungus]

Dems asking if oil giants worked together against climate change

Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., and Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., first sent the letter to House members Oct. 29. A source with knowledge of the letter said it has been circulated for weeks trying to find more signatories, but only 18 lawmakers were willing to sign up.

Jack D'Annibale, spokesman for Lieu, confirmed the letter and said the process of collecting signatures is continuing.

The letter seeks answers from the top executives at British Petroleum, Shell, Peabody Energy, ConocoPhillips, Chevron and ExxonMobil about possible collusion to hide climate change research. Citing the Union of Concerned Scientists, the letter accuses the companies of working together to deceive the public.

[Ivan Pike]

Tobacco settlement, part Duh.

I guess if you find a strategy that works, you go with it.

[Steve G]

test

[Jordan]

Hey, remember that time Italy tossed geologists in jail for failing to spot an earthquake and everybody mocked them mercilessly? We should definitely aspire to that.

/Democrats

[Longtorso, Johnny]

This keeps getting tossed about, as if Jewish terrorist groups were killing civilians, and claiming credit (i.e. it actually happened and wasn't just Nazi propoganda) just before WWII.

What Americans thought of Jewish refugees on the eve of World War II
The results of the poll illustrated above by the useful Twitter account @HistOpinion were published in the pages of Fortune magazine in July 1938. Fewer than 5 percent of Americans surveyed at the time believed that the United States should raise its immigration quotas or encourage political refugees fleeing fascist states in Europe ? the vast majority of whom were Jewish ? to voyage across the Atlantic. Two-thirds of the respondents agreed with the proposition that "we should try to keep them out."...

[Longtorso, Johnny]

That, and the nonzero chance that Syria will round up and systematically gas all Syrians.

[MSimon]

Anti Jewish sentiment in America peaked in 1944. Then Eisenhower gave our troops and German troops mandatory inspections of the camps.

Now a days Jew haters congregate at Zero Hedge.

[Auric Demonocles]

Hi everyone. I posted this last night, but I wanted to make sure that the early risers got a chance to see it.

One of the many reasons I haven't been around as much lately is that I've started training for a half marathon. I'm doing a run to raise money for the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation (long time commenters may remember that I've had UC for almost 14 years, including years of medication and 2 surgeries). If you're willing to donate to this cause, I would really appreciate it, and my fundraising page is here.

I also wanted to thank everyone from the PM Links. It was a great response!

Maybe someday I'll run a half-marathon for alt-text awareness.

[Crusty Juggler]

someday I'll run a half-marathon for alt-text awareness.

You would have to promise to donate the money to a cosmotarian cause.

[Citizen X]

Funding sex changes for transgender Syrian children?

[Auric Demonocles]

The cosmotarians can promote whatever they want in the alt-text.

[Private Chipperbot]

And wet his pants during the race...

[Elspeth Flashman]

Good luck! I hope you have a fantastic race & great results.

[Krabappel]

They should call it the Shitty Panties Half Marathon.

[MSimon]

Crohn's? Cannabis.

[dan'o en barrel]

Crohn's is some serious shit (pun intended.) It does have one positive side effect: My mother in law sometimes balks at the 1 hour drive to our house to visit, though it backfires when she does make the trek because she often occupies our guest room for the whole weekend to delay her return.

Interestingly enough, she has had much greater relief taking an herbal supplement she buys at whole foods-- significantly better results than she's had even from methotrexate, a gnarly bio-agent with severe side effects and super high cost.

In all seriousness, thanks for what you're doing. I've always believed that Libertarianism promotes real altruism- a non coerced choice of an individual to give of his/her time and/or treasure to help others. Its impact is far greater than paying taxes for the giver and receiver both.

[Rich]

TSA Investigation Finds 73 Workers on U.S. Terrorism Watch List

TSA acknowledged that these individuals were cleared for access to secure airport areas despite representing a potential transportation security threat.

However, TSA noted in its defense that *everyone* represents a potential transportation security threat.

[Idle Hands]

I don't know if this has been posted here but poop swastika may be real.

[Idle Hands]

on a related note remember Keely? Apparently her father is a millionaire and is a faculty member at faculty member at SAIC in chicago where I kid you not "is part of the Multicultural Affairs Committee and the Connectivity Committee of the DAG, and is one of two faculty advisors for the League of Extraordinary Genders. Mullen identifies as trans-feminine and "gender-mobile," prefers "they/them" pronouns, and works to be an ear and an advocate for the wide diversity of student identities at SAIC."

[OneOut]

apple...tree

[Suthenboy]

Fuckin' liars. The photo just came out because it took them this long to find someone willing to stage it, someone to get their hands dirty, so to speak.

[bacon-magic]

You don't seriously believe that SJW's and their ilk would lie??? How dare you sir! /useful idiot

[EMD]

So?

[Idle Hands]

Umm....

[Lord Humungus]

The conservative media's effort to discredit Black Lives Matter, one activist at a time

Black Lives Matter activist Shaun King is back in conservative media crosshairs. And with him, apparently, is the entire Black Lives Matter movement.

The Daily Caller reported late Monday that charities through which King raised money for anti-police-brutality efforts were never registered as nonprofits.

It was a legitimate watchdog story (people gave money expecting action and didn't get any), though it wasn't exactly a stunner. King, whose true racial identity was probed in August (a la Rachel Dolezal), admitted earlier this month that he got ahead of himself when he planned to form a national organization called Justice Together that would have chapters in all 50 states and on more than 300 college campuses. He said in a Nov. 7 Facebook post that he would scale down to a single pilot program in Georgia.

[wareagle]

black lives does a good job of discrediting itself. The Dartmouth library incident is one example.

[MSimon]

Only Black civilians are allowed to kill Black civilians. Because Black lives don't matter to Blacks.

[Monty Crisco]

I wonder if the BLM movement CARES that its main guy is white. Seems like that would matter, a la Dolenzal...

[Brett L]

I can't find the article on my phone, but I saw where ULA exited bidding on satellite launches because they don't have non-Russian engines and even if they did, the bidding package made cost a larger component of the decision criteria and they can't compete on cost with SpaceX.

So... We've been bidding these on what? Also mentioned was that SpaceX had to sue the Air Force to be designated a qualified bidder. Even I was stunned at the outright graft of the previous system. Hopefully other companies will get themselves qualified so SpaceX can't become the new guaranteed corporate welfare queen.

[Atanarjuat]

so SpaceX can't become the new guaranteed corporate welfare queen

All part of Tony Stark's evil plan. At least they'll be a (initially) cheaper corporate welfare queen.

[Free Society]

Ta-Nehisi Coates has won the National Book Award for nonfiction for his book Between the World and Me.

"nonfiction"

[commodious spittoon]

No, it seems perfectly likely that he hinges his worldview entirely on a few anecdotes about white people being rude.

[sarcasmic]

D.C. police framed man imprisoned 27 years for 1981 murder, U.S. jury finds

Will the cops see the inside of a prison cell? Of course not. But the taxpayers are gonna get reamed.

[Juvenile Bluster]

By law, jurors face no limit on how much money they can award Gates in compensatory damages. The dollar figure will be set as the civil trial continues before Chief Judge Richard W. Roberts of U.S. District Court.

The possibility of a sizable sum for Gates clearly weighed on District attorneys who addressed the jury.

"We know that given the verdict Mr. Gates is entitled to compensation, but we ask in reaching your decision that you continue to exercise common sense in determining damages that are rationally related," said Joseph A. Gonzalez of the D.C. Attorney General's office, which represented the detectives.

Bankrupt the damn city.

[SIV]

Here's one of the cops who framed him:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ron-taylor-169a0b72

[BigT]

In the kingdom of the blind the one eyed man is king.

(He's head of Stevie Wonder's security)

[Lord Humungus]

Paul on Syrian Refugees: Can We Afford to Put the World's Poor on Welfare?

He has put forth legislation that would suspend the issuance of visas to people from countries with a high risk of terrorism.

In the senator's view, refugees shouldn't be entitled to government benefits amid high unemployment in his home state and while many veterans are "having trouble surviving" on their disability payments.

"[Disabled veterans] don't understand why we're going to take in the world's poor and put them on our welfare programs," Paul added.

"Those who want to come here don't have a right to come to America. You don't have a right to be an American citizen."

[Rich]

"Those who want to come here don't have a right to come to America. You don't have a right to be an American citizen."

Whoa. Guess he can "suspend" his campaign.

[wareagle]

wait...you mean libertarians are not a groupthink monolith? I am shocked.....

[ant1sthenes]

Given that most of our civilization's enemies are supported by plunder of some sort or another (aside from the trust fund babies), I'd say we can't afford it in more than just the financial sense.

[Free Society]

"Those who want to come here don't have a right to come to America. You don't have a right to be an American citizen."

Well... you don't. Immigration is a contractual right, not a natural right.

[BigT]

No open borders for Rand.

[bacon-magic]

But, but...OPEN BOARDERZ! /you know who

[Derpetologist]

I do not think the world would have an a problem with Muslim violence if Muslims took the Amish approach. There are plenty of religions and tribes with odd customs that live in peace because they keep their craziness to themselves.

Unfortunately, killing people who leave or mock Islam is one of their practices. How can there be peace?

Countries like Japan and Britain that have been on the receiving end of total war seem are more peaceful afterwards. I really hope it does not come to that with the Muslim world.

[Jordan]

Exactly how many terrorist attacks have there been in the West over the past few decades? Talking about total war in that context just makes you sound like a nutjob.

[wareagle]

is there a certain number that has to be reached before one can say the radical wing of Islam is a problem? And it's not just the West. These folks have, for decades if not centuries, committed atrocities across the Middle East. When your response to cartoons is homicide, it's hard to consider you civilized. At some point, the Muslim nations will either have to confront the radicals or become like them.

[Jordan]

There is a difference between being a problem and being a problem that necessitates mass murder as a response.

[Free Society]

At some point, the Muslim nations will either have to confront the radicals or become like them.

Muslim nations are predominantly radical. The actual terrorists themselves are the tiny minority, but their social support structures span huge proportions of those societies.

[OneOut]

That is because they are not radicals within their societies.

They are the most devout to the basic tenent of their religion/legal/political system which is the world wide expansion submission to Islam.

[OneOut]

submission to Islam through violence

[Derpetologist]

The US made total war on Japan over an attack that killed about as many as the 9/11 attacks.

[Jordan]

Yes, we were attacked by the country of Japan. Al Qaeda is not the Middle East or all Muslims.

[Derpetologist]

True, however, a large portion of the world's Muslims sympathize with the cause of jihad.

My thinking is: don't occupy, don't nation-build, don't fight insurgencies. Wait until the jihadis form an army, like ISIS. Then, attack ruthlessly. Repeat as often as necessary.

I don't think there is any solution to terrorism. It works because it is small scale. I think blasphemy is the best response though. It would be great if after every terrorist attack, the world was flooded with pictures of Mohamed in bed with a pig. Or even just show a short biography of Mohamed so everyone knows what scumbag he was.

[bacon-magic]

+72 virgins for you

[spqr2008]

We could always do what the U.S. is alleged to have done when fighting Moro rebels in the Philippines, and dip all the ammo in bacon grease or lard.

[R C Dean]

Yes, we were attacked by the country of Japan.

ISIS claims to be a nation-state. Does that help?

[Jordan]

Does it help justify carpet bombing the Middle East? No.

[R C Dean]

Howsabout carpet-bombing ISIS territory?

[bacon-magic]

You do know they don't actually have flying carpets, right?

[MSimon]

No help is necessary.

[BigT]

Carpet bombing kills too many innocents.

We should supply intelligence (like sat and drone pics) and specialized weapons (night vision, comm equip) to friendly groups defending themselves (Kurds etc), and drone kill selected leadership or collections of fighters. And station a hospital ship nearby to treat casualties.

[Free Society]

Al Qaeda is not the Middle East or all Muslims.

And the government of Japan is not Japan or all Japanese. Mr Korematsu might have agreed with me on that.

However, Al Qaeda has lots of support from Muslims all around the world despite being a "non-state" actor.

Pew Research (2013): Only 57% of Muslims worldwide disapprove of al-Qaeda. Only 51% disapprove of the Taliban. 13% support both groups and 1 in 4 refuse to say.
http://www.pewglobal.org/2013/.....st-groups/

Pew Research (2011): 1 in 10 native-born Muslim-Americans have a favorable view of al-Qaeda.
http://people-press.org/2011/0.....extremism/

[Jordan]

And the government of Japan is not Japan or all Japanese. Mr Korematsu might have agreed with me on that.

Congratulations. You've articulated a problem with nation states.

[MSimon]

Well OK. We just kill the responsible Japanese. The other are collateral damage.

Or we can take them to court. Once we get an extradition treaty.

[sarcasmic]

Total war is how you convince another government to tell its uniformed fighters to stop fighting. That doesn't apply to terrorism. At least not in my mind.

[MSimon]

If we are going to go to war with a pretend nation we should only have a pretend war. Now if only we could convince ISIS to play that game.

[Free Society]

Countries like Japan and Britain that have been on the receiving end of total war seem are more peaceful afterwards. I really hope it does not come to that with the Muslim world.

Islamic ideology seems to thrive in the midst of calamity and then grows stronger even as they count the dead.

[MSimon]

They have not counted high enough. I suggest remedial math. More bombs.

[Rich]

Speaking of white privilege:

Why Every Actress on The Hollywood Reporter Roundtable Cover Is White

Yet even for me, a white man, it was impossible to ignore the fact that every one of these women is white ? whether old or young, English, Australian or American. That was appalling.

[Idle Hands]

Because the black actresses have better agents?

[SugarFree]

Two And A Half Hot Girls, this Fall on Fox

[Idle Hands]

That could work if they featured a coke whore living with molly ringwald.

[Auric Demonocles]

I'm going to need a bit more description on what a "half hot girl" is... Are we talking about a hot midget? Half of a body of a hot girl? An average looking ("half hot") girl?

[Auric Demonocles]

Maybe some kind of Two-Face situation?

[SugarFree]

Carey Mulligan only gets a half. Sometimes she's hot and sometimes she looks like she's got a fatal blood disorder.

[Auric Demonocles]

Ah, in that case, this show has promise.

[EMD]

I think she's as cute as a button.

[Suthenboy]

Appaling...it was appalling. A word that has no meaning.

[commodious spittoon]

On the heels of prohibiting civil asset forfeitures earlier this year, a pair of New Mexico senators sue the city of Albuquerque over its continued drunk driving seizures. Not so fast, says the city:

"Unless the Legislature or a court says very clearly that we're not allowed to do it, then were going to do everything we can to protect our city from repeat DWI offenders," Hernandez said. "As long as we are legally able to do this, we will maintain the program, because we think it's a way to keep our community safe and is legally allowed."

Apparently protecting your city against DWI offenders doesn't include first convicting them of DWI.

[Lord Humungus]

Trump rises after Paris attacks

Donald Trump has gained political strength since the Paris terrorist attacks last Friday, according to most of the polls released in the aftermath.

Trump's gains show him once again confounding Beltway wisdom, where the widespread view was that such a grave event would lead voters to look toward White House candidates who are purportedly more mature and sophisticated than the erstwhile star of "The Apprentice."

Instead, it seems that Republican voters have found themselves drawn to Trump's emphatic rhetoric.

"You have voters who are saying loudly and clearly that they want a strong leader to run our country, and that leader is Mr. Trump," the business mogul's campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, told The Hill. "Some of the other candidates didn't have that vision. ... They have not had the foresight to predict these problems."

[Idle Hands]

Grassley, Reid battle over mysterious leak on Huma Abedin:

For months, Grassley has maintained that questions remain about Abedin's work as a "special government employee," a status that freed her to work simultaneously at the State Department and as an outside consultant.
Grassley has also scrutinized Abedin's time sheets, concerned that she was possibly overpaid by the federal government while she was on maternity leave.

The Iowa senator has publicly said he has a "confidential source" helping his investigation of Abedin.

Democrats claim they know who that source is and are accusing the State Department Office of Inspector General (OIG) of leaking information to Grassley about Abedin. They say the source is Emilia DiSanto, a former Grassley aide who is now deputy director of the State Department OIG.

Democrats are pissed because a OIG aid is leaking information from a stonewalled investigation showing instances of public corruption and fraud? No kidding.

[SugarFree]

Look... either Hillary gets her a little somethin' somethin' or she gets even worse than she is now. Leave Huma alone. Or else.

[R C Dean]

Is an OIG sharing info with Congress even a leak? Or is this more like a whistleblower?

[Idle Hands]

Grassley, Reid battle over mysterious leak on Huma Abedin:

For months, Grassley has maintained that questions remain about Abedin's work as a "special government employee," a status that freed her to work simultaneously at the State Department and as an outside consultant.
Grassley has also scrutinized Abedin's time sheets, concerned that she was possibly overpaid by the federal government while she was on maternity leave.

The Iowa senator has publicly said he has a "confidential source" helping his investigation of Abedin.

Democrats claim they know who that source is and are accusing the State Department Office of Inspector General (OIG) of leaking information to Grassley about Abedin. They say the source is Emilia DiSanto, a former Grassley aide who is now deputy director of the State Department OIG.

Democrats are pissed because a OIG aid is leaking information from a stonewalled investigation showing instances of public corruption and fraud? No kidding.

[Citizen X]

You know who else took a leak on Huma Abedin?

[Idle Hands]

A. Weiner?

[Matrix]

Maybe this will melt all your cold, apathetic hearts!

8 Year old boy with Leukemia finds the love of his life

[Lord Humungus]

ha!

[Rhywun]

Actually, I find everyone around him pretending he's "in love" with a 7-year-old girl to be kind of stomach-churning.

[R C Dean]

Well, there's one cold, apathetic heart that remains unmelted.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go kick an orphan.

[Matrix]

I'm not allowed to go to Paris, now

Seems like every time they ban something, I want to do it... even though I never had the desire to do so prior to the bans.

[Lord Humungus]

The Obama Administration Stopped Processing Iraq Refugee Requests For 6 Months In 2011

Although the Obama administration currently refuses to temporarily pause its Syrian refugee resettlement program in the United States, the State Department in 2011 stopped processing Iraq refugee requests for six months after the Federal Bureau of Investigation uncovered evidence that several dozen terrorists from Iraq had infiltrated the United States via the refugee program.

[Lord Humungus]

An intelligence tip initially led the FBI to Waad Ramadan Alwan, 32, in 2009. The Iraqi had claimed to be a refugee who faced persecution back home ? a story that shattered when the FBI found his fingerprints on a cordless phone base that U.S. soldiers dug up in a gravel pile south of Bayji, Iraq on Sept. 1, 2005. The phone base had been wired to unexploded bombs buried in a nearby road.

An ABC News investigation of the flawed U.S. refugee screening system, which was overhauled two years ago, showed that Alwan was mistakenly allowed into the U.S. and resettled in the leafy southern town of Bowling Green, Kentucky, a city of 60,000 which is home to Western Kentucky University and near the Army's Fort Knox and Fort Campbell. Alwan and another Iraqi refugee, Mohanad Shareef Hammadi, 26, were resettled in Bowling Green even though both had been detained during the war by Iraqi authorities, according to federal prosecutors.

[John]

And just think a self professed Libertarian publication that in every other context operates on the nearly always solid assumption that the government will fuck up anything it tries to do is now totally certain that the government can screen 100,000 or more Syrian refugees and ensure none of them are members of ISIS.

[Derpetologist]

It's common to compare jihadis to disgruntled losers who go on killing sprees. However, every culture has disgruntled losers and the rates of terrorism and killing sprees are not uniform. Hell, I'd say a large portion of all people have disgruntled losers at least temporarily.

What you need for terrorism is a culture that celebrates martyrdom. In the US, spree killers have the incentive of knowing they will become infamous if they kill enough. With Muslim militants, they know they will be called a martyr and have been told they will go to heaven.

People respond to incentives.

[Suthenboy]

Even imaginary ones. Sad.

[John]

It occurred to me running this morning that the reason why so many otherwise reasonable Libertarians believe such retarded things about Muslim terrorism is because a Libertarian society has no way to deal with such people. Libertarians operate on the assumption that people either want to respect the rights of others or can be deterred from trying otherwise by the threat of self defense or government action. Religious fanatics are not interested in this world. And they view it as their duty to make the world conform to God's will. So not only are they going to want to restrict the rights of others but also the threat of death or imprisonment isn't going to deter them. So a true Libertarian society is defenseless against a large population of such people. The only way for a free society to deal with such people is to either not let them in in the first place or actively oppress and remove them from society if they are already there. Neither of those things can be done consistent with Libertarian principles.

[chipper me timbers]

"Libertarian society has no way to deal with such people. "

So wrong. The question of self defense is literally the first question libertarians must answer to people who can't understand how anything can work outside of government. Ok maybe ROADZZZ but next protection. There are literally thousands of quotes, essays and even full length treatises on how it works to keep yourself protected in a free society. WTF

[John]

I fully understand self defense. But self defense only works if people are deterred by the threat of it. If a group of people in your society are happy to die, self defense is worthless. The point of self defense is not to have to use it. Moreover, self defense doesn't work if you don't know who is attacking you until they do so. My action will beat your reaction every time. Arm yourself with anything you like and unless you are psychic or willing to shoot anyone who gets near you, it won't do you a damn bit of good when faced with someone who doesn't identify themselves and isn't deterred by the threat of death or jail.

You are providing a perfect example of what I am talking about. Your entire post is just an expression that it is impossible that someone could not be reasoned with or deterred. Sorry, some people can't. And having a large number of such people makes having a free society impossible.

[John]

Libertarians can't accept that reality because accepting it means there are limitations to their ideology. So instead they just deny the reality exists. These people are not unreasonable says the Libertarian. They are not motivated by religion. They don't want to cleanse the world in the image of some God. They are motivated by the same things I would be motivated by. They are attacking us because we attacked them or because they don't see any economic opportunity or (the latest idiocy) because we won't take them as refugees. To anyone who understands reality, these claims are insane. They are however, totally rational if you are operating under the delusion that there cannot be such a thing as someone who can't be reasoned with or bargained with or deterred.

[sarcasmic]

John - strawman slayer extraordinaire!

[John]

How so? If that is not your position, then tell what is. And even if it is not, good for you but explain to me how this isn't the position of people like Chapman and Special Ed and Richman.

[sarcasmic]

Dude, there's no point. When you get obtuse like this, I can tell you all day what my position is and you'll tell me I'm wrong. I've done this rodeo before and I don't have the energy to do it today.

[John]

If it is not your position, great. And yes I don't mean every Libertarian. My apologies for making that clear. I mean the species of Libertarian who never seems to be able to take these people at their word. That is who I am talking about and there are plenty of them. If you are not one of them, good.

And I don't see anything obtuse about my post.

[sarcasmic]

Basically everything you said that came after "Libertarians believe" is just plain wrong. For example libertarians quite often talk of how you can't reason someone out of a position they didn't reason themselves into. I'll just leave it at that.

[John]

Sure they do. But when it comes to actually dealing with the implications of that, they completely forget that fact. And the best example of that is how they constantly grope for what they consider reasonable explanations for the motivations of terrorists rather than taking the terrorists at their word.

[MSimon]

I once had a group e-mail discussion with Ta-Nehisi Coates. He understood economics perfectly when it came to Prohibition. I asked him why he didn't apply that understanding everywhere else.

Silence.

Of course Republicans are just the opposite. They can apply economics everywhere except prohibition.

It is a wonder.

[John]

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

Remember terrorists are motivated by poverty and lack of economic opportunity and revenge for how we are bombing them.

The son of an enterprising Moroccan, who had bought a dirt-cheap house in the canal-side slums and turned its front-parlour into a thriving secondhand clothes shop, Abdelhamid Abaaoud was sharp and engaging, and his flint-black eyes flashed with zest.

Yesterday, ruefully recalling how the youthful 'Hamid' had become an emblem of his immigrant community's aspirations, one Serbian neighbour said he always called him 'captain' ? an image enhanced by his jaunty peaked hat.

After drifting into petty crime and serving a prison sentence, he brought disgrace and heartbreak on his family by journeying to Syria to join Islamic State.

Worse, he spirited his 13-year-old brother, Younes, away with him to become the jihadists' youngest known recruit. When she learned what he had done, his mother, Badi, 64, sank into a depression and fell ill. Racked with shame, she has since returned to live in Morocco.

[Rhywun]

*swoon*

[John]

Maybe Rolling Stone will put this guy on their cover.

[R C Dean]

Flashing flint-black eyes? Jaunty peaked cap? Bleargh.

Now, the emblem of his community's aspirations? Somehow, I'm afraid that might just be true.

[John]

Mommy look at the poisonous viper I found in the backyard. Isn't he adorable? Can we keep him?

Is pretty much the mentality of those idiots.

[sarcasmic]

No laughing matter: Hillary Clinton campaign 'demands comedy club takes down video mocking her marriage, Monica Lewinsky and pantsuits

Laugh Factory boss says Clinton aide demanded he take down a video
Jamie Masada also claims campaign asked for phone numbers of comics
Video shows 5 comedians mocking the Democratic presidential contender
They joke about her relationship with Bill Clinton, the Monica Lewinsky scandal and the former Secretary of State going through the menopause

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

Tolerant people do not tolerate intolerant jokes.

[R C Dean]

Unfortunately, the Laugh Factory's cojones do not extend to naming names. They won't say who called them from the Clinton campaign.

[John]

It is totally different when we do it. Didn't you know that? If some evil Republican had pulled this, it would be a threat to our way of life. But Hillary doing it is totally different.

[sarcasmic]

If a Republican did that then they would be intolerant. When a Democrat does it they're fighting intolerance.

[chipper me timbers]

She *is* the very reason we have the Citizens United case.

[Lord Humungus]

and just think of 4 or even 8 years of this...

[R C Dean]

A thin-skinned, vindictive President who will not hesitate to use xir minions to go after uppity proles who don't lick xir boots?

I don't have to imagine that, Humungus.

[MSimon]

Is that all?

[Notorious UGCC]

Have they got confirmation for the story yet?

[Notorious UGCC]

I mean, it seems so totally over the top, so perfect an summary of all that's wrong with Hillary, that for that reason alone it should be double-checked.

Maybe it's true and maybe it ain't, but get multiple sources before running with it.

[R C Dean]

Very true.

The fact that they won't give the name of the apparatchik who called justifies skepticism here. Could be that they are ball-less pussies, could be that they are making it up, could be that this is a false flag (although that probably gives the Repubs waaay too much credit).

[Notorious UGCC]

"...Jamie Masada needs to tell us who this unnamed "prominent Clinton staffer" is. If he won't, then forget him. He's just some comedy-club owner trying to drum up publicity."

[MSimon]

NU,

Bad publicity for Hillary and publicity for a joke factory.

Good all around.

[Notorious UGCC]

Although this doesn't prove anything one way or another, Mr. Masada takes himself very, very seriously.

He kind of reminds me of the "as a comic" guy on the old SCTV episodes.

[Notorious UGCC]

No, he's better, because Masada puts his money where his mouth is and tries to help the community.

Of course he's a leftist, it's a guild requirement where he lives.