Obama Addresses Nation on San Bernardino Shooting, DOJ to Investigate Chicago PD, Authorities Say They've Arrested Variety Jones: A.M. Links

• 

  White House

  President Obama gave his first address from the Oval Office since 2010, addressing the terrorist attack in San Bernardino, saying there were three things Congress could do to address the threat posed by ISIS: increase gun control measures, stronger screenings for non-visa entries, and a vote to authorize the use of military force.

• The Department of Justice will investigate the Chicago Police Department for potential civil rights violations after the attorney general of Illinois asked them to do so last week.
• Authorities in London charged 29-year-old Muhaydin Mire in relation to a stabbing attack at a subway station, and say the city remains on high alert with further terrorist attacks "highly likely."
• The Front National won big in regional elections in France, with President Francois Hollande's Socialists finishing in third.
• Authorities in Thailand have arrested a man they believe to be Variety Jones, Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht's closest mentor and advisor.
• The opposition party in Venezuela is poised to win control of the National Assembly.

New at Reason.com:

• Brickbat: Our Sharia Is Different from Their Sharia By Charles Oliver
• Beware Simplistic Solutions to Mass Shootings Tougher gun controls didn't help in California. By Steve Chapman
• Heroin and Prohibition Are a Lethal Combination How the government promotes deaths from drug poisoning. By Jacob Sullum
• When Courts Compete for 'Business,' Liberty Wins Those who insist that market anarchism cannot work because it lacks a monopolistic court of final jurisdiction are wrong. By Sheldon Richman
• Restrictions on Adult Alcohol Access Don't Make Us Safer Data show rules don't appear to reduce violent crime, binge drinking, or drunken driving. By Baylen Linnekin

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

President Obama gave his first address from the Oval Office since 2010...

The most pointless 10 minutes of his presidency.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Good morning.

2 more weeks of work until I go away for Christmas. I can survive until then. Maybe?

[Certified Public Asshat]

I thought you were Jewish?

[Juvenile Bluster]

I am, wife isn't, we go visit her family for Christmas.

[Certified Public Asshat]

Ah.

*keeps eyes on JB*

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Where to you get to go?

Disclosure: My wife just tanked a trip to the Grand Hyatt Kauai next week. Doesn't want to be away from the kids for that long. Yes, I'm in a foul mood.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Sorry, where do you get to go? Do people in Florida go somewhere cold for the winter?

[Heedless]

Florida Man generally spends the winter in jail or in the burn ward.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Hello.

[Crusty Juggler]

The beer summit may have been more pointless.

[Restoras]

But at least there was beer.

[Idle Hands]

I think the beer summit showed the world that this man could never be taken seriously. His favorite beer is red stripe. I mean come on.

[Idle Hands]

that actually tells you everything you need to know about the guy. Romney probably would have won if that had been the central issue of his campaign.

[grrizzly]

Romney is a Mormon, so -- no.

[Idle Hands]

you can get a better buzz from 2% milk than you can from red stripe

[Citizen X]

It is known that Romney prefers the "flavor" of skim milk.

[Idle Hands]

Skim milk, the Michelob ultra of milk.

[Marshall Gill]

So Michelob ultra is a pale copy of the thing it is supposed to "ultra"? Whole milk or gtfo.

[Zeb]

Which probably means he doesn't like beer much. Or he likes the bottles with the weird short necks.

Fro what I hear, he prefers to guzzle martinis.

[Idle Hands]

Of course he doesn't like beer that much if all he drinks is red stripe.

[Citizen X]

I tried Red Stripe once, and i cannot for the life of me remember what it tasted like. It may not have even HAD a flavor.

[Zeb]

I'm sure it's fine on a hot day in Jamaica as a cheap pils. But for what you pay for it here, there are plenty of better options.

[Notorious UGCC]

Beer conducted to better relations among people.

Ever heard of the Beer Hall Peace Conference in Munich?

I*think* it was a peace conference. I don't quite remember.

[Mickey Rat]

I don't think it was successful. Lowenbrau may not be conducive to peace.

[BigT]

Beer Hall Putsch. (or Hitler-Ludendorff-Putsch, was a failed coup attempt by the Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler )

[EMD]

Thanks, Non-Satire Man!

[Rich]

Watch what he *does*.

[expat]

Oh, I am sure if you looked hard enough you could find a better example...

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Considering his entire presidency has as many points as a bowling ball, that is a bold (but accurate) statement.

[Lord Humungus]

Car turns driver in for hit-and-run
Vehicle emergency system called police dispatch after crash

Around the same time, police dispatch got an automated call from a vehicle emergency system stating the owner of a Ford vehicle was involved in a crash and to press zero to speak with the occupants of the vehicle.

The person in the vehicle, Cathy Bernstein, told dispatch there had been no accident, that someone pulled out in front of her and that she was going home. She said she had not been drinking and didn't know why her vehicle had called for help.

Police went to Bernsteins's home on Northwest Foxworth Avenue and saw that her vehicle had extensive front-end damage and silver paint from Preston's vehicle on it. Bernstein's airbag had also been deployed.

bitch ratted me out!

[DJF]

Next they will have cars testifying in court.

[Illocust]

As long as this is an advertised feature, I'm game. Pisses me off when asshole try to pretend they didn't hit you.

[Cyto]

And yet when I called police after a hit and run accident, they told me to wait around for an officer to file a report. Despite the fact that I had the license plate number for them, a location within a couple of blocks of the police station and the vehicle in sight, they declined to come get the guy. So I waited around for an hour and then called back.... they closed out the call for unknown reasons. But they told me I could swing by and pick up a form to file a report for insurance purposes.

[Illocust]

Last time some chick tried to pass me on the right on a one way road, the cops told me that they don't come out for accidents on non-major roads or highways. Part of the reason I like the idea of witnesses that aren't to lazy to record the event.

[PM]

Damn you.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Man, was she wasted.

[Lord Humungus]

CT man says he took human remains for religious reasons

Police say a Connecticut man accused of stealing skeletal remains from a Massachusetts cemetery told them he took the bones for religious reasons.

Hartford police say they recovered the remains of five bodies after going to the home of 32-year-old Amador Medina on Friday. Investigators believe the remains were taken from Hope Cemetery in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Medina was taken into custody and charged as a fugitive from justice from Massachusetts. The Telegram & Gazette in Worcester reports Medina is also charged with disinterment of bodies.

[SugarFree]

Religious reasons. He definitely wasn't pleasuring himself anally with a tibia.

[Swiss Servator]

I sense a strange and terrible writing, about to burst forth on these pages...

[Old Man With Candy]

What is your preferred bone for this?

[Swiss Servator]

STOP ENCOURAGING HIM!

[Just say Nikki]

Femur.

[commodious spittoon]

Femur? I barely knew 'er!

[SugarFree]

Episiarch always goes with the lower jaw. I had to give it altogether after I started to shit crooked.

[Crusty Juggler]

I prefer the clavicle.

[Citizen X]

No love for ulnae? What about ribs?

[bacon-magic]

Skull...and crossbones?

[Unicorn Abattoir]

The spinal column.

[BigT]

Pubis, anyone?

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Department of Justice will investigate the Chicago Police Department for potential civil rights violations after the attorney general of Illinois asked them to do so last week.

At the end of it, Lynch will make sure no Windy City Muslims are subjected to free speech.

[straffinrun]

No Mooslim ever called me a Cishet White Patriach.

[Lord Humungus]

say what?

Indigenous Leaders In Paris Issue Declaration Calling For The End Of Fossil Fuel Extraction

The sound of drums and chanting rang across the Bassin de la Villette ? Paris' largest artifical lake ? on Sunday as representatives from indigenous tribes stretching from the Arctic to the Amazon demonstrated against the extraction of fossil fuels and the omission of indigenous' rights from an international climate treaty. A group of about 25 activists gathered in canoes and kayaks on the lake, displaying flags emblazoned with traditional symbols, while others joined from above, hanging banners off of a nearby bridge.

Following the demonstration on the water, six indigenous leaders spoke about their desires for a climate agreement that respects their territorial rights and traditional lands. Together, the leaders released three declarations: one signifying the creation of a coalition between all indigenous women of America, one asking that sacred Amazon forests be legally protected, and one asking for an end of fossil fuel extraction and subsidies.

[Medical Physics Guy]

"Representatives from" or "representatives of"? The former would actually have to be from the place. The latter could be privileged Oberlin students claiming to give voice to the voiceless.

[Zeb]

I'd imagine they were from the places. There are plenty of indigenous activists.

I'm inclined to think that the activists probably don't speak for all of their fellow compatriots in this. I'd bet that if the indigenous people had good property rights and truly governed themselves they would be exploiting plenty of these resources themselves.

[pan fried wylie]

It's not "extraction" when they do it, it's The Earth Mother Providing Her Bounty.

[BearOdinson]

All the Indian tribes want is for Americans to live as beautifully and fully as those Indians who live on reservations. Government taking care of the people!!

[Illocust]

I gotta ask. If my family has been in a country for more than seven generations, why am I not indigenous? I've got no claim to any other land at this point, even if you could track back all the different areas my family has ancestors in.

[Zeb]

Because the whole thing is irrelevant. No one has a legitimate claim on anything simply because their ancestors once used or controlled it.

I would say that cultures are indigenous, not individuals. But that's just my definition. I think a meaningful distinction can be made between cultures that have existed in a place for so long that there is no reliable historical account of how they came to be there and those that can historically trace their origins. I think that pretty well separates indigenous and non-indigenous cultures as they are usually talked about today.

[Rhywun]

As long as there is a "meaningful" distinction, it's going to be endless grievances and performance art. When does it end? Does it end?

[Zeb]

Well, "meaningful" in an anthropological sense.

As long as there is an audience for the grievances, I don't think it ends. The audience is mostly rich white people who think that the undeveloped world should be a museum.

[Marshall Gill]

No one has a legitimate claim on anything simply because their ancestors once used or controlled it.

Property rights and inheritance have no place in Libertopia!

[Illocust]

He said simply because an ancestor once used it or controlled it. An ancestor that sold a piece of property to a neighbor once used or controlled the property, that doesn't mean I have a claim to it.

[Zeb]

Yes, thank you. Of course I think there are property rights and a right to leave your assets to your heirs.

[Zeb]

Try reading all of the words in that sentence.

[Hamster of Doom]

As an indigenous woman of America by any definition, I think it will turn out that one's level of base tan is yuuuugely vital for inclusion. Can't think why they forgot to mention it.

[The Last American Hero]

Nonsense, it's all about having the right policy position.

\Elizabeth Warren

[Tonio]

Somebody wants a payoff!

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

gathered in canoes and kayaks on the lake, displaying flags emblazoned with traditional symbols, while others joined from above, hanging banners off of a nearby bridge.

Sounds like gamboling.

[Crusty Juggler]

Almost related: an actual movie title: Guns, Girls and Gambling

[Tonio]

Were those authentic indigenous-style boats made out of bark, wood, animal hides and bones?

[The Last American Hero]

No, and they didn't cross the Atlantic Kon-Tiki style either.

[pogi chips for liberty]

Pretty ballsy putting boats in the water considering what the French did to the Greenpeace flagship back in the 80's.

[pogi chips for liberty]

Pretty ballsy putting boats in the water considering what the French did to the Greenpeace flagship back in the 80's.

[EMD]

Pretty boatsy putting balls in the flagship considering what Greenpeace did to the 80s water back in the French.

[EMD]

Banner Pollution.

[SugarFree]

Did nobody think to mine the lake?

[PM]

Councilwoman rescinds resignation over 'Christmas' tree

ROSELLE PARK, N.J. (AP) ? A New Jersey councilwoman who quit after colleagues voted to add the word "Christmas" to the name of the town's tree-lighting ceremony has rescinded her resignation.

Minutes after the Roselle Park council approved the change Thursday night, Charlene Storey walked out of the meeting. She submitted a resignation letter, saying the borough's decision to change the ceremony's name from a "tree lighting" to a "Christmas tree lighting" favors one religion and "cuts non-Christians out of the loop."

According to NJ.com (http://bit.ly/1PLxONo ), Mayor Carl Hokanson reached out to Storey. He says the outcome was Storey rescinding her resignation and the creation of a committee on diversity that she will lead.

[Rich]

a committee on diversity

"Your tax dollars at work!"

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

"Your tax dollars at work being spent!"

/FTFY

[Rhywun]

I hope for the town's sake she's getting a nice salary bump. That's important work.

[Jimbo]

She's actually getting paid in "Diversity Dollars."
For example:
A Womyn Dollar is worth 72 cents of a US Dollar
A Minority Dollar - Black Edition - is worth 3/5's of a US Dollar
A Minority Dollar - Wetback Edition - is worth...well, it changes a lot.
An Indigenous Dollar is mainly used for show, since it doesn't really have any value

[BearOdinson]

As a non-Christian, it doesn't threaten me in the least bit for a town to have a Christmas tree lighting ceremony. I know very often the local Chabad (Orthodox group that does lots of outreach to Jews) will have a menorah lighting ceremony with various government officials. I think we could have other religious groups do the same. Government officials do things to at Ramadan, and depending on the electorate even Chinese New Year and other Buddhist type things.
It is NOT establishing government religion to take part in a ceremony that the vast majority of Americans celebrate.

[Just say Nikki]

And what do nonreligious people get out of it except wasted tax dollars?

[BearOdinson]

So you would be against ANY holiday celebrations of any kind? They would ALL be wastes of taxpayer dollars. If so that is certainly a consistent argument. However, is this really the way to trim back government spending?

[Just say Nikki]

So you would be against ANY holiday celebrations of any kind?

Of course. They're retarded.

Besides, this particular dunce didn't object to a "tree lighting ceremony" just a "Christmas tree lighting ceremony". So in this case, it really has nothing to do with protecting the taxpayers.

I'm not responding to her, but to you.

[Old Man With Candy]

So you would be against ANY holiday celebrations of any kind?

If they're on the taxpayer's dime, yep, so would I.

[Medical Physics Guy]

Half an hour spent at a tree lighting is half an hour the muni employees are not plundering something.

[commodious spittoon]

Bump it up to an entire day spent in reverent obeisance to the Lord her savior etc. etc. and we may actually have an improvement.

[BearOdinson]

Besides, this particular dunce didn't object to a "tree lighting ceremony" just a "Christmas tree lighting ceremony". So in this case, it really has nothing to do with protecting the taxpayers.

[Notorious UGCC]

There could be an atheist ceremony, too, they could wear colanders on their heads and sing praises to FSM, or if they're non-libertarians (as most of them are) they can chant praises of the government. City officials should like that.

[VG Zaytsev]

Like Christmas has anything to do with Christ for the overwhelming majority of people in this country.

[Rhywun]

And what do nonreligious people get out of it except wasted tax dollars?

What a Debbie downer.

I'm not religious but I enjoy the lights they display up and down my commercial drag every year. I think the business pay for it but there might be some tax component - nevertheless it's like at the bottom of things I wish my taxes weren't paying for.

[lap83]

Yeah, also if you don't celebrate the day it's no different than having a potted plant in the lobby...which also doesn't seem worth getting up in arms about in the grand scheme of things

[Illocust]

I agree with your main point but just a small nitpick. Plants actually have benefits to employee physical and mental health, which can increase productivity. There was a mini revolt in my office recently when some of our administrators tried to ban plants in the office.

[commodious spittoon]

Solid reason to ban plants from government buildings. And bring back brutalism while we're at it.

[Rhywun]

And bring back brutalism while we're at it.

I love brutalism. It is exactly what a government building should look like.

[Slumbrew]

'I love brutalism. It is exactly what a government building should look like.'

Boston City Hall has you covered

[Rhywun]

Yep - that's pretty much the canonical example. It's even more... disquieting in person.

[Slumbrew]

I chatted with someone who worked in Boston City Hall & it's as terrible to work you'd expect. A concrete box in winter with late-60's era heating...

[lap83]

Wouldn't a real Christmas tree would have the same benefit?

[lap83]

*-would

[BigT]

Plants actually have benefits to employee physical and mental health, which can increase productivity.

Many of those plants are plastic, emitting plasticizers and trace monomers. So, no.

But all sorts of decorations can lift one's spirits - plants, lights, burning crosses.

[Just say Nikki]

Yeah, also if you don't celebrate the day it's no different than having a potted plant in the lobby...which also doesn't seem worth getting up in arms about in the grand scheme of things

Um, no, it isn't. It's a symbol of a moral system I consider monstrous.

[Free Society]

The Christmas tree is a symbol of what now?

[PM]

It's a symbol of a moral system I consider monstrous.

Germanic mythology?

[Rasilio]

Germanic Paganism? The Roman Saturnalia? The Cult of Mythras?

I mean lets face it, outside of some of the songs there isn't a single thing Christian about how Christmas is celebrated in this country

[Ms. Eleanor Lavish]

When it's cold and dark by 4pm the light add a little cheer to a depressing time of year. I have a Jewish neighbor who decorates his yard with blue and silver lights every year. It's nice.

[Ceci n'est pas un woodchipper]

As a non-religious person (to wit, an atheist) I like to look at pretty lights and I think evergreens are nice. And they smell good. If the worst waste of tax dollars our government commits is to put up decorations for religio-cultural events I might be more inclined to ask pointed questions. As it stands, my city spent two months repaving my recently-paved road (and preventing us from parking on it), and they stopped doing leaf vacuuming everywhere but at the local public housing developments, so even at the local level I've got bigger fish to fry. Personally, I find that more insulting than the sponsoring of decorations for religious holidays for systems to which I don't subscribe.

[Illocust]

It's kind of stupid to call it a tree lighting. There aren't multiple major holidays celebrated with Christmas trees.

[PM]

The forthcoming diversity committee will be investigating this appropriation of Germanic pagan culture.

[BearOdinson]

You are damn right!

Hail Odin!

[Free Society]

'Round these parts, we hail Woden! *spits*

[pogi chips for liberty]

*narrows eye*

[Cyto]

Although it would be cool to have a ceremony where giant conifers were actually set on fire.

[Rasilio]

Not if you were standing down wind, that tar smoke is acrid as hell

[Zeb]

It's a fucking Christmas tree and everyone knows that whether the word "Christmas" is used or not.

[Citizen X]

I knew a Jewish kid in high school whose family put up a "Hanukkah bush" every December...

[Illocust]

Wait, did you live in Texas? I had a friend who when he was in high school had an uncle convince him that their was a Hanukkah Bush.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Will you all quit it with 'bush' because I'm not thinking straight. I'm going into very dark places.

[Citizen X]

I've never even been to Texas, but then "Hanukkah bush" isn't that complicated of a concept to invent.

[VG Zaytsev]

Did it burn for eight straight days?

[Free Society]

People can call it a yule tree if they want. I'm entirely nonreligious and I celebrate Christmas every year. Just like my ancestors have celebrated the same winter solstice festival, by another name, for thousands of years. I find the Christmas tree tradition be delightful and pretty neat to know that my ancestors of northern Europe were also, in all likelihood, putting up a tree in their home as well.

[Zeb]

Same here. The Christmas tree is my favorite part. It's just the thing to brighten up the darkest, coldest part of the year.

So many people celebrate Christmas in an almost entirely secular way that it's silly to act like a Christmas tree is some religious imposition on people.

[gaoxiaen]

We put a pentagram on top. What more could you want?

[Zeb]

I have also been know to top my tree with a pentagram.

[EMD]

Does she know "the loop" isn't all it's cracked up to be?

[Fist of Etiquette]

...and say the city remains on high alert with further terrorist attacks "highly likely."

Time to smash some more newspaper hard drives.

[PM]

Car's automated assistance snitched on hit-and-run suspect

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla., Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Police in Florida said a hit-and-run suspect was arrested after she was ratted out by an unusual informant: her own car.

Port St. Lucie police said motorist Anna Preston was taken to a hospital with back injuries Monday afternoon after she was rear-ended by a black vehicle that left the scene without stopping and a call came in about the same time from the automated emergency assistance system installed in a Ford vehicle.

The automated call said the Ford had been involved in a crash and a dispatcher pressed 0 to speak with the vehicle's occupant, who claimed there hadn't been an accident. The occupant, Cathy Bernstein, told the dispatcher she hadn't been drinking and did not know why the emergency assistance system had activated.

Police visited Bernstein's home, where they discovered her vehicle had extensive front-end damage, a deployed airbag and the remnants of silver paint that matched Preston's car.

[Old Man With Candy]

Dude, you've been Humungused.

[Elspeth Flashman]

+1 just walk away

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Front National won big in regional elections in France, with President Francois Hollande's Socialists finishing in third.

Reality always eventually bites socialists in the ass.

[SugarFree]

Slap the Enlightened/American/True America/Real American/Napoleon Bonaparte will be overjoyed that fascists are on the rise.

[Napoleon Bonaparte]

Don't worry - I'm sure you'll be just the cutest little lampshade.

[Ms. Eleanor Lavish]

The Front National is socialist - in fact, national socialist.

[PM]

Coca-Cola Pulls Offensive Ad, but the Damage Is Already Done

In an ad distributed by Coca-Cola Mexico, pretty, young white people do their holiday good deed by bringing bottles of soda to a remote village and build a wooden Christmas tree in the town square. The "Open Your Heart" advertisement has been called anything but, as indigenous rights' groups said the campaign promoted colonialism rather than unity.

"This type of publicity is an act of discrimination and racism," Elvira Pablo, an indigenous lawyer, said at a press conference in Mexico City on Wednesday. "It is a comment on our type of life and an attempt to put a culture of consumerism in its place."

[RBS]

a culture of consumerism

The actual problem.

[RBS]

*From the POV of the "indigenous right's groups."

[CatoTheChipper]

PC has infected Mexico, and Coca Cola's marketers didn't know it.

[dan'o en barrel]

Yea, I spend about a third of my time in Mexico and they're down there too. So are Jehovah's Witness (in fucking droves!)

[BakedPenguin]

The professionally offended are so tedious.

[Zeb]

Oh, for fuck's sake. This is Mexico, not the heart of the Amazon. People in a village like that know what Coke is and probably wouldn't mind a treat for Christmas.

[Citizen X]

Plus, they get the GOOD Coke, with the real cane sugar instead of corn syrup.

[Rasilio]

yeah, I don't care what anyone says, soda made with cane sugar tastes better

[Notorious UGCC]

Look, pretty young white women can come to *my* village anytime.

[Lord Humungus]

Poll: Most Americans Say Send Ground Troops to Fight ISIS

For the first time in CNN/ORC polling, a majority of Americans (53%) say the U.S. should send ground troops to Iraq or Syria to fight ISIS. At the same time, 6-in-10 disapprove of the President's handling of terrorism and 68% say America's military response to the terrorist group thus far has not been aggressive enough.

Overall, 60% say the U.S. military action against ISIS forces in Iraq and Syria is going badly, that's actually an improvement since October, when 67% said things were going poorly.

War Boner 9.2 - the beginning, again.

[gaijin]

"Poll: Most Americans Say Send Ground Troops to Fight ISIS"

We've always been at war with Iraq Iran Libya Syria Ourselves

[Rich]

Just in time to draft our daughters!

[BearOdinson]

I would support it but only if the following conditions were met:

1) What does victory look like?

2) Are we supporting the Assad regime? Are we supporting non-Islamist rebels (ha ha ha ha ha!!!)

2)a) If we are supporting Assad with the Russians, what concessions could we get out of him?
2)b) What other countries are involved? What will their roles be.

3) What would be the status of forces in Iraq?

4) (Though we don't have any control over this until Jan 2017) NOT WITH THIS GROUP OF RETARDS IN CHARGE!!

[Lee G]

1) Probably something like this

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Since nobody has a fucking clue as to the answer to #1, or to 1)a. "What national interests are being served?", there is no fucking way we should put troops on the ground.

[ant1sthenes]

Pointless. ISIS is just part of the problem, the crux of it is the Muslim Brotherhood and its web of affiliates. Until they're dealt with, the problem of islamic supremacism isn't going away.

[gaijin]

and a vote to authorize the use of military force..

Does this mean he acknowledges he does not have authority for what he is already doing?

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

It would also mean that he'd have to acknowledge that congress actually serves a purpose.

[R C Dean]

It does? Since when?

[PM]

Finland testing a basic income to replace their current welfare system

As it struggles with unabated unemployment and zero economic growth, Finland wants to try replacing its bureaucratic welfare system with a much more simple one: a monthly payment of ?800, or $870, to every citizen, with no strings attached.

The Finnish government says it wants to launch a "universal basic income experiment" in 2017 to test the feasibility of this program, which would replace the country's current benefits system.[...]

A basic income would encourage more people to work, the thinking goes, as opposed to disincentivizing them under the current system by taking away their benefits when they start to earn an income.

They managed to squeeze a throwaway nod to Friedman (though not Hayek) in there at least.

[Rich]

FTS! It takes at least $2500/month to make a living wage!

[Medical Physics Guy]

Guaranteed income as a means to lower unemployment. I think they are teaching something different in Macroeconomics these days.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Yeh. How would that work exactly?

[CatoTheChipper]

If one is not looking for a job, he's not counted as being unemployed. A guaranteed income, therefore, would reduced unemployment.

That is not to say that it would increase employment. No doubt there would be fewer people who would seek work if they could get money for nothing.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Convenient that.

We have good news and we have bad news. The good news is we have 1.2% unemployment! Yay!

The bad news is our GDP is below zero! Hiss! Boo!

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

In Finland's case, I believe everyone is already getting (defacto) guaranteed income that is taken away when you get employment.

It sounds as if this gives everyone a lower level of guaranteed income that does not go away with employment.

[Overt]

The reasoning does have some macroeconomic merit.

Consider that if you are on welfare, you already have a disincentive to work. As long as you are going to have welfare, you are going to have that problem.

However, the problem with most traditional welfare is the instant you start to work, you start losing benefits. Thus you can sit on your ass and earn $100, or you can go work for 10 hours and earn $100. This keeps people with marginal earning ability from even doing a little work (or if they do the work, it is off-books and untaxed).

On the other hand, many people would like to earn a bit more than the $100. So by guaranteeing this money stays, the disincentive is gone. Again this is all assuming there is going to be welfare.

[Zeb]

The idea is that since the benefit doesn't go away when you get a job, it would provide less incentive not to work than welfare that goes away when you get a job. I think that makes sense. I'd take it over complicated, bureaucratic welfare systems any day.

[R C Dean]

Yeah, this here.

If you simply must give people money for doing nothing, this is the better way.

[Illocust]

It's a good idea in their situation, but it is going to backfire. All that bureaucracy is a jobs program. If they go through with this plan they'll suddenly have a ton of unemployed bureaucrats.

[Lee G]

I'm not seeing a downside to that.

[Illocust]

If they aren't busy filling out meaningless forms they are busy trying to run other people's lives. Their only skills are self-righteousness and making politicians feel good about themselves, do you really think them having free time and bruised egos is going to end well?

[Zeb]

Sounds a lot like the argument that we can't legalize drugs because all the drug cartel nasties would have to find some other way to be violent criminals.

[R C Dean]

they'll suddenly have a ton of unemployed bureaucrats

Who will cost less in direct expenditures as basic income recipients than pubsec employees.

[dan'o en barrel]

I'm sure they'd find a way to make the handout process as complicated as possible to retain those jobs. One bureaucrat per 4 checks written out or something like that

[dan'o en barrel]

I'm sure they'd find a way to make the handout process as complicated as possible to retain those jobs. One bureaucrat per 4 checks written out or something like that

[Jordan]

A basic income without a welfare system will last about 5 minutes until the first sob story of a single mom who blew her check on alcohol and can't afford diapers for her 5 children surfaces.

[Irish ?s ESB]

The Universal Basic Income they're proposing is only $10,368 a year, despite Finland's higher cost of living. I saw a left-wing site (can't remember which one) claiming Finland had a plan to 'end poverty' unlike we dastardly Americans, but it seems to me that anyone relying on the UBI is still going to be well below the American poverty line.

Leftists didn't actually look at the proposal. What a shock.

[BearOdinson]

Its like when Friedman and those of us who follow the Austrian School (or University of Chicago school) of economics say out of frustration "Well at least if you just gave people a check, it would be better than the welfare system." Only they took it seriously!

[Zeb]

Well, since the American poverty standards aren't based on actual living conditions but on where a person is in the distribution of incomes, it's kind of bullshit anyway.

[The Last American Hero]

Impossible!

Every other week, I am told that education is the key to economic success, and we need to have our education system look more like Finlands. Maybe the Fins should add an econ unit to their vaunted school system.

[PM]

The U.S. 'Right' to Own Guns Came With the 'Right' to Own Slaves

The grim history of gun violence in the United States goes way back, aided and abetted by the same monstrous reasoning that once defended slavery.

[Idle Hands]

The US 'Right' to Own Regulate Guns Came With the 'Right" to Own Slaves.

[sarcasmic]

Never mind that some of the first gun control laws were aimed at disarming freed slaves.

[Medical Physics Guy]

Taking the longer view, historically gun control laws are overwhelmingly for subjugating the citizenry.

[Irish ?s ESB]

Weird. I don't recall the BOR guaranteeing a right to slaves. Which amendment is that part of?

[BearOdinson]

Not only that, but it is patently obvious that most of the framers knew that slavery wouldn't last forever. And in fact the majority (but by no means all) knew that slavery was inconsistent with the principles of the Constitution. But they had to compromise, hence the 3/5s. That is why the institution of slavery isn't discussed.

[Irish ?s ESB]

And these people also conveniently forget all the people who supported the right to bear arms throughout history who were liberals.

"That rifle hanging on the wall of the working-class flat or labourer's cottage is the symbol of democracy.
It is our job to see that it stays there." - Notorious slave hunter George Orwell

[CatoTheChipper]

Unfortunately, the BOR was unnecessary to guarantee property rights in slaves, because it was already in the text of the Constitution. (Article IV Section 2)

[BearOdinson]

However, the clause was specifically revised from:
"legally held to service or labour in one state"
to:
"No person held to service or labour in one state, under the laws thereof," so it couldn't be read that slavery was legally sanctioned by the Federal government. Rather only the states legally recognized slavery. At least, that was the idea.

It is just so damn frustrating that no-nothing leftists copmlain about our founders and slavery without actually reading the speeches and the Federalist papers and the Consitutional debates and realize how many of them were so torn over slavery and what a Gordian knot it was.

[Marshall Gill]

It would be nice if there was some kind of directions book for the Constitution. Something to tell us what it is supposed to mean.

What is this Federalist Papers of which you speak?

[straffinrun]

The U.S. Government's right to own guns came with the right to own slaves.

[CatoTheChipper]

Frederick Douglass would disagree:

"A man's rights rest in three boxes: the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box."

"A good revolver, a steady hand and a determination to shoot down any man attempting to kidnap?. Every slave hunter who meets a bloody death in his infernal business is an argument in favor of the manhood of our race."

[EMD]

+infinity

Freddy D should be on the $20 bill already.

[Zeb]

So, I just skimmed a bit, but the thesis seems to be that since when the country was founded people were allowed to own guns and to own slaves. Therefore those two things must be connected somehow.

[PM]

You got it. The title could just as easily be "The U.S. 'Right' to Free Speech Came With the 'Right' to Own Slaves" or "The U.S. 'Right" to Be Free from Unreasonable Search and Seizure Came With the "Right" to Own Slaves".

[Je suis Woodchipper]

this is the latest tiresome effort to curtail self-defense. smear gun rights by associating its American roots with slavery. i'm seeing several variations of it pop up all over the place. the argument is an exaggeration in the extreme.

much is based on this research project from 1998.

which is soundly refuted here.

[Lord Humungus]

Distracted driver hit and killed bicyclist on Florida highway while receiving oral sex

An inattentive driver receiving oral sex from a female passenger he met at a bar struck and killed a bicyclist along a Florida highway Saturday night, authorities said.

The suspect, Randy Joe Allen, 54, kept driving after encountering a "bump" along U.S. 92 in Auburndale and told the woman he hit a stop sign, according to Polk County Sheriff's Office investigators.

A witness saw the fatal wreck and followed Allen to call in his license plate to 911 dispatchers. The witness returned to the site of the alleged hit-and-run and found the bicyclist had died.

[Pope Jimbo]

Before I pass judgement I want to know what the cyclist was wearing.

I have run into so many of the hipster cyclists here who bike at night with no lights, no reflectors and wearing dark clothing, that I am stunned more of them haven't been run over.

My son almost hit one while backing out of our driveway a month or so ago and got into a spirited debate with the guy about whether he was a huge ass hole or the biggest fucking asshole who ever lived. I was proud of the boy.

[Tonio]

And helmets, never forget to ask if the cyclist was wearing a helmet.

[Pope Jimbo]

The only time I wear my helmet is when I am going to ride in the dark. It has a big blinky red light on it.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

What about the chick giving oral sex? Did she have her helmet on?

[Rasilio]

Doesn't the guy usually wear the helmet in that situation?

[Cyto]

Down here in south Florida we have a plethora of rock-bottom 12-steppers who have relocated here to do their (often court-ordered) rehab. Since they've usually lost their license, they have to bike everywhere. We also had a local group of churches provide bicycles to the homeless. So now we have swarms of middle-aged men in dirty clothes biking to-and-fro at all hours. So far I haven't seen any of them get into a violent confrontation with a car, but it isn't for a lack of trying.

One of the big safety issues with the bikers here is their tendency to ride on the sidewalk (due to the bike-unfriendly nature of most roads). With relatively heavy in-town traffic it is pretty common to have a bike sneak up on you from the wrong direction on a sidewalk as you are trying to pull out from a side street with limited visibility.

[Pope Jimbo]

Yeah, I wonder how many of the stats for drunk driving deaths include poor guys who had a beer on the way home who ended up hitting some fool on a bike who was breaking all the road rules. But since they had some alcohol in their system it goes down as a death caused by drunk driving, when it should have gone down as a simple gene cleansing.

[Gray Ghost]

Yeah, I wonder how many of the stats for drunk driving deaths include poor guys who had a beer on the way home who ended up hitting some fool on a bike who was breaking all the road rules. But since they had some alcohol in their system it goes down as a death caused by drunk driving, when it should have gone down as a simple gene cleansing.

Donte Stallworth, is that you? I kid, I kid; FWIW, I pretty much agree with you. In Stallworth's case, if the guy hadn't jaywalked across the causeway to try and catch his bus, he wouldn't have been hit. Not like Stallworth was driving erratically or way too fast.

There but for the grace of God...

[Tonio]

In many places it's illegal to ride bikes on the sidewalk unless one is 12 or under. For just that reason.

[VG Zaytsev]

My niece hit and killed a bicyclist about six months ago. She was driving down a busy 4 lane street with moderate traffic when the cyclist made a sharp left turn, from the curb to cut across those 4 lanes, that were all occupied and directly in front of her car with room for her to stop, despite slamming on the brakes. Put a huge dent in the hood of her Camry, smashed the windshield and bounced him off the pavement - with no helmet.

[Je suis Woodchipper]

shit. i hope your niece has a speedy psychological recovery. cyclist's family taking her to court?

[Rich]

"Randy Joe." Heh.

[Swiss Servator]

The opposition party in Venezuela is poised to win control of the National Assembly.

Tony and amsoc hardest hit?

[Restoras]

Big Toilet Paper is buying the election.

[SugarFree]

Don't forget poor joe.

[Swiss Servator]

Ah, I did at that. He is definitely hardest hit.

[Lord Humungus]

It was a low blow

[Citizen X]

It would have to be.

[Old Man With Candy]

So was the guy in Florida who hit the bicyclist.

[Bee Tagger]

The Front National won big in regional elections in France, with President Francois Hollande's Socialists finishing in third.

So does that mean the Socialists drop out of the Championship league?

[Swiss Servator]

"Relegated to local elections only"

[Fist of Etiquette]

Authorities in Thailand have arrested a man they believe to be, Variety Jones, Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht's closest mentor and [adviser].

The war on unmolested commerce marches on.

[Lord Humungus]

NATO says won't send ground troops to fight IS

"The United States has a limited number of special forces. In the foreground, however, is strengthening local forces. This is not easy, but it's the only option," he added

Stoltenberg stressed that the conflict was not a war between the West and the Islamic world, but rather against "extremism and terrorism".

"Muslims are on the front line in this war. Most victims are Muslims, and most of those who fight against the IS are Muslims. We can not carry on this struggle for them," he said.

Stoltenberg pointed out that NATO would help Turkey improve its air defenses after Turkey shot down a Russian military jet last month. The alliance will adopt a package of measures for Turkey before Christmas, he added.

[Rich]

Authorities in London charged 29-year-old Muhaydin Mire in relation to a stabbing attack at a subway station

"He's no Muslim!"

[Medical Physics Guy]

That was awesome. But sadly, that was just one guy.

[Tonio]

See, gun laws work!

[MSimon]

"He's no Muslim!"

He could be Syrian.

[Lord Humungus]

Journalist recounts the moment a new Ford Everest SUV catches fire on a test drive

I've been driving press test vehicles for 35 years now, but none of that prepared me for this type of meltdown.

It all happened so quickly. One second the Ford Everest conked out and next thing flames were shooting out from the bonnet.

I instinctively bolted, grabbing some personal effects on the way and moving to what I thought was safety. Then the explosions started and flaming shrapnel began firing out of the wreck. I took shelter behind a tree.

The journalist in me decided to get some pics in the bag ? from a safe distance. I'll leave dodging the shrapnel to the war correspondents, thanks.

[DJF]

Sounds like someone did not tighten up the fuel line connections

[Lee G]

I had a CJ7 pop a hole in the fuel line and spray gasoline directly on the exhaust manifold one time. Boy, was I surprised when I popped the hood while it was still running.

[PM]

Sure, everybody wants heat, nobody wants fire...

[Swiss Servator]

Build a man a fire, he is warm for the day. Set a man on fire, he is warm for the rest of his life.

[TO in TX]

*Narrows gaze*

[Akira]

Sounds like a matter for the courts

[Lord Humungus]

Obama urges tech, law enforcement to address social media used for plots

In coming days, the White House will talk to companies in the tech sector about developing a "clearer understanding of when we believe social media is being used actively and operationally to promote terrorism," said the official, speaking on background.

President Barack Obama sees the need for the sector to work with law enforcement when the use of social media "crosses the line" from expressing views "into active terrorist plotting," the official said.

"That is a deeply concerning line that we believe has to be addressed. There are cases where we believe that individuals should not have access to social media for that purpose," the official said.

[gaijin]

crosses the line from expressing views into active terrorist plotting,

A line clearly demarcated for all to see I am sure.

[Rich]

"There are cases where we believe that individuals should not have access to social media for [active terrorist plotting]," the official said.

What are the telephone and snail-mail, chopped liver?

[Hamster of Doom]

Next.

[Hyperbolical (wadair)]

Ban social media!

[BearOdinson]

So NSA wire tapping and metadata collection worked so well, that they need to monitor Facebook for terror plots.

[Lord Humungus]

Navy vet ends 2,552-mile swim down Mississippi River to honor fallen

He had started June 6 at Itasca State Park, splashing down the Mississippi in a 2,552-mile paddle honoring families who have lost loved ones to war.

"Those families paid a huge sacrifice," Ring said June 9 when he visited Neilson Place in Bemidji. "We have the duty to honor those families and the ones that have fallen for us."

His swim started on D-Day and was scheduled to end on Veterans Day. Fatigue and a shoulder injury slowed his pace.

He averaged about seven hours in the water per day, swimming about 14 miles.

In the evenings, he dripped out of the river and spent nights in towns and cities along the banks, meeting some of the families for whom he swam.

[Drake]

Eritrean refugees pissed off at their free lodging in a scenic Swiss guesthouse. I'm guessing the lack of white women and nightclubs is what irritate the ingrates.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=30b_1449245039

[Gray Ghost]

What are they refugees from? Eritrea's civil war with Ethiopia ended in the 90s, and their last bit of fighting with Ethiopia ended around 2001. True, the country's a one dictator shithole with next to no human rights for the opposition, but does that count?

[Drake]

Racist!!

Points finger and makes Invasion of the Body Snatchers sound.

[Gray Ghost]

That Donald Sutherland gif is a good one, isn't it?

If we're going to say that every one from a country with some civil disorder, or that has a dictator running the place, is a refugee, then there'll be more refugees than not in this world. Jeez, is there a single country in the Sahel or south that isn't a basket case like Eritrea?

[BigT]

If we're going to say that every one from a country with some civil disorder, or that has a dictator running the place, is a refugee

...

...then Americans shedding their US passports should get refuge around the world.

[Just say Nikki]

True, the country's a one dictator shithole with next to no human rights for the opposition, but does that count?

Is that a serious question?

[Gray Ghost]

Yes, Nikki, unless you want to claim that pretty much every country's citizens in sub-Saharan Africa are entitled to refugee status.

Which is O.K., I suppose, but prepare yourself for a whole lot of people asking you for asylum. Eritrea's better off than, say, the Congo, which still has a nasty war going on in the Great Lakes region. Totally different situation in a country like Eritrea than what's facing Syrian refugees. The death toll in a place like Goma, in the eastern Congo, makes Raqqa look like Detroit.

Are we going to let in everyone from the Congo who makes it to these shores?

[Medical Physics Guy]

but prepare yourself for a whole lot of people asking you for asylum

Yeah like 20 million right off the bat, and a billion after that. That's what Europe's pretty much gearing up to deal with one way or another.

[Free Society]

Everything that's good about Europe will only get better once you import the sum total of the world's poverty stricken and low IQ populations. All immigration is always good at all times and all places for everyone, AND NO ONE is allowed to oppose it, ever. Or they're a yokel or something.

[Just say Nikki]

This is how the UN defines refugees: "A refugee is someone who has fled from his or her home country and cannot return because he or she has a well-founded fear of persecution based on religion, race, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group."

If you actually believed the only refugees are fleeing from war, you would appear to be using a definition basically no one else ever has.

[Free Society]

A refugee is someone who has fled from his or her home country and cannot return because he or she has a well-founded fear of persecution based on religion, race, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group

How many countries are there between Eritrea and Switzerland again?

Apparently, if your society is decent enough that people generally don't fear that they'll be "[persecuted] based on religion, race, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group" then every population in the world has an unrestricted right to move to your country and go wherever they want and get some welfare bennies while they're at it.

[Just say Nikki]

How many countries are there between Eritrea and Switzerland again?

Does that question bear on the know-nothingism that would compel someone to ask whether it were even possible to be a refugee from a dictatorship not at war?

[Free Society]

Does that question bear on the know-nothingism that would compel someone to ask whether it were even possible to be a refugee from a dictatorship not at war?

The answer is approximately five, plus some international waters. So presumably they'd face the same persecution in every other conceivable country between Eritrea and Switzerland? Is that it Nikki?

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

All I know is if you want to judge a man look at his shoes and all I saw were Nikes and other brand names.

I always thought refugees came in potato bags and with nasty coughs.

[Illocust]

Clothes are essentially free in a lot of Africa. There are tons of organizations dedicated to taking first world clothing that didn't sell and either giving it away for free or selling it for pennies in third world countries.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

You won't let me have my moment of pseudo-xenophobia will you?

[Drake]

"...or they have really shitty cell service and are expected to work for a living."

The guys in the video keeps looking at his cool mobile phone in disappointment.

[Gray Ghost]

So everyone who lives under a dictatorship, and who isn't part of the in-group and could potentially claim persecution, is potentially a refugee. Got it.

That's absolutely insane. You are describing a significant plurality of the world's population. I expect that definition from someone like the UNHCR, where the larger they frame the problem, the more resources they expect to command, but not as a basis for the rest of us to decide who to let into the country on humanitarian grounds.

And 'know-nothingism? Ridiculous. Is there a social justice hobby horse you won't ride lately?

[Free Society]

So everyone who lives under a dictatorship, and who isn't part of the in-group and could potentially claim persecution, is potentially a refugee. live at tax payer expense and import his entire clan to do so as well.

I don't see how that sort of system could end badly.

And 'know-nothingism? Ridiculous. Is there a social justice hobby horse you won't ride lately?

She's better than you with her 'know somethingism'. Her intellect is vast and capable of seeing the big picture where yours cannot, for she is an egalitarian and you, sir, are yokel scum.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

That was awesome. Especially when flustered he switched to Italian.

Other than that, yeh, that won't end well if this is their mindset.

The anchorwoman is hot.

[R C Dean]

What struck me was that every single "refugee" was a healthy young male.

[Free Society]

You doubt his refugee cred? KNOW NOTHINGISM PEDDLER!!!

[Lord Humungus]

Man crawls under Cracker Barrel bathroom stall seeking sex with woman

Police are trying to identify a man who crawled under a bathroom stall at a Cracker Barrel in Boynton Beach and told a 79-year-old woman that he wanted to have sex with her.

Boynton Beach police spokeswoman Stephanie Slater said the woman told police she was using the bathroom Tuesday afternoon when the man crawled under the stall and told her that he wanted to have sex with her.

She said he cursed at her, so she screamed for help and the man walked out of the bathroom.

Slater described the man as being "scruffy looking" and wearing a white T-shirt, shorts and a hat.

[Crusty Juggler]

He is using my move!

[Swiss Servator]

I larfed.

[straffinrun]

Thought you did that at In n Out Burger.

[Swiss Servator]

Cracker Barrel, if he is on the road.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

In n Out BUrger

[Rich]

described the man as being "scruffy looking"

Right.

[Elspeth Flashman]

But that could describe 99.999% of the Cracker Barrel customers under a certain age.

[Mickey Rat]

Did she see any e idence of him herding nerfs?

[Rich]

First stalking; now stalling.

[RBS]

Scruffy's work here is done.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

79? Too young for my taste.

[Pope Jimbo]

Those limbo dancers get all the action!

[Tonio]

Surely this is the fault of the transgendered.

[Hyperbolical (wadair)]

Slater described the man as being "scruffy looking" and wearing a white T-shirt, shorts and a hat

Watch out for those Nerf Herders.

[Medical Physics Guy]

Brown University Professor Denounces McCarthy Witch Hunts

"I badly misread the situation," he said. "The lack of respect for the president, the provost, and the people trying to do what they can here, I'm sort of stunned by it. I thought the draft plan would quell the anger, and it's sort of like they doubled-down."

This is my shocked face.

[Illocust]

Nice article. I've found that liberals of the older generations who aren't in academia, really don't realize how insane younger proggies are. I've tried to explain it to them in the past, and all I've gotten in response is that they've never seen someone say that. This whole nonsense with the schools is really pulling back the curtains and exposing the rot to people who aren't in their twenties.

[Free Society]

You'd think that civil rights era liberals would be outraged at what college students are protesting as "racial injustice" these days. But it fits their narrative and they realize that every generation of up-and-coming Marxists need to be able to claim they vanquished some great injustice, even if it isn't real.

[BigT]

every generation of up-and-coming Marxists need to be able to claim they vanquished some great injustice, even if it isn't real.

THIS, 1000 times THIS. They need this to justify their miserable lives without having to work at something constructive.

[Medical Physics Guy]

It is really a dystopia. And I think it is just getting started. The professors midwifed it, the administration thrived on it, and the structures are not in place to stop it getting worse.

[R C Dean]

Its worse than that:

Every single internal incentive in these proggied-up universities favors the lunatics.

[Free Society]

Diversity means ten thousand lunatics chanting anti-racist slogans at strawmen and demanding free college.

[Akira]

Demanding free college while simultaneously demanding an expansion of "diversity initiatives" and other expensive crap.

[Lord Humungus]

Glenn Greenwald ?@ggreenwald 1h1 hour ago
People are put on the no-fly list a) in secret, b) with no notice or explanation, and c) no due process or recourse. Who would favor this??

[Crusty Juggler]

This guy

[Pope Jimbo]

This is what I came here to comment on this morning. Why isn't Obama's proposal to use the no-fly list as a gun control tool front page news?

Yeah, using a secret list that only the govt can look at or edit is a great idea. I anticipate that one of the benefits (at least according to Biden) is that Amtrak ridership will soar as 75% of the population is put on the no-fly list.

[Tonio]

Why do you think they'll be allowed on the train. Sure, it's hard to use the train as a weapon, but if all you're concerned with is body count then blowing up or derailing a train can kill a lot of people.

[straffinrun]

I'm sure Amtrak would be able to blow up a train in a tunnel all by itself. *Allahu Ayn Rand*

[Pope Jimbo]

Given Amtrak's ridership levels, I'm sure they'd be happy with anyone showing up.

[Akira]

"Yeah, using a secret list that only the govt can look at or edit is a great idea."

Of course. It's a great idea now that the Obama administration controls that list. Remember how all the lefties were enraged about that list when Bush was in office? They weren't really against the existence of that list; they just wanted to be in control of it - the story of every invasive government program.

[SugarFree]

I'm sure it is very favored by the people that want "anti-government" types put on the list.

[Citizen X]

Oh, like the DHS?

[Idle Hands]

I have a feeling that the no flylist would expand by an additional 300,000,000 if that proposal was enacted.

[Gray Ghost]

What Greenwald said. If they're so dangerous that they can't fly, why the hell aren't they in jail or deported? If what they've done isn't bad enough for either of those, then leave them the hell alone.

[Tonio]

^This. But also remember that when they're given due process that the government might have to reveal how it came by that information.

[Hamster of Doom]

There is a non-zero chance that there are people out there, actively arguing to strip rights from the horrible!frightening!terrorists! on The List, who fail to realize they mean themselves.

Cruel irony.

[Lee G]

Tim Kaine went on record for it this weekend.

[Crusty Juggler]

Hit-And-Run Driver's Car Calls Police

A woman who fled the scene of a crash thought she had got away with it - until her car called the police

[Swiss Servator]

*Looks up at the rest of the comments, narrows gaze*

[Lord Humungus]

something something hit and run

[Citizen X]

...drink?

[gaijin]

OT: The avg donation to the Webathon appears to be about $149 (125K/837 contributors). Down from last week's estimate of $200? Wonder if Reason is competing for dollars with NRA (new memberships in face of Obama rhetoric)?

[gaoxiaen]

The problem is they're competing with Santa Claus. Fourth of July (no heating bills) would probably be better.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

My AC bill in July is a lot worse than my heating bill in December.

[Private Chipperbot]

And MST3K kickstarter...

[pogi chips for liberty]

As long as they bring back Joel.

[Rasilio]

Memorial Day would probably be best.

Northern states haven't needed to heat the house for a few weeks at least and haven't needed to generate much heat for a couple of months but it hasn't got so warm that Air Conditioning bills have started rising yet. The kids are still in school so people aren't blowing money on Summer Vacations yet

[Slumbrew]

I gave a g-note; I thought I was among top-hatted, monocled peers here. Harrumpf.

Highly-unlikely I'll schlep down to D.C. for "a private lunch... with a Reason editor" - I should re-gift that to the most horrific commentator here, as voted by the rest of you.

Also, I'll shortly be able to build a small bunker with hardcovers of 'Overruled' - already have 2, they're threatening me with a third.

[Lord Humungus]

Vox: Political identity is fair game for hatred: how Republicans and Democrats discriminate

The results showed, as you might expect, that Democrats exhibit an automatic bias against Republicans, and vice versa. What was surprising was that the bias partisans exhibited for their out-group exceeded the bias white participants showed for black people, or that black participants showed for white people. According to the test, Americans are more automatically partisan than they are automatically racist. (If you want to know your own results on the racism test, you can take a version meant to test racial bias here.)

This was, to Westwood, a bit of a shock. "To be honest, I didn't expect this to work at all," he says. "The common story is most Americans don't care about politics, they don't understand politics, they don't understand policy. So you wouldn't expect Americans to have strong preferences. That's where I started."

Together, the two experiments suggest that partisanship now extends beyond politics ? it's becoming a fundamental identity in American life, and may well lead to discrimination in completely apolitical contexts.

[Just say Nikki]

"The common story is most Americans don't care about politics, they don't understand politics, they don't understand policy. So you wouldn't expect Americans to have strong preferences."

They do, however, understand TEAM.

[Idle Hands]

Your team sucks.

[Idle Hands]

My team rocks.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

My team doesn't have any other members but me.

And I hate everyone not on my team.

[EMD]

I am a one-man revolution and everyone is the enemy.

[Mickey Rat]

The research era s appear to be flabbergasted that political identity matters more than racial identity. They may not have really examined the depth of understanding of politics by the participants.

[Illocust]

I thought a study to show this had been done years ago. Maybe it was just blindingly obvious, so I just assumed someone had proven it. Still it will be a nice stick to beat people with. I'm glad this guy did it.

[John]

Together, the two experiments suggest that partisanship now extends beyond politics ? it's becoming a fundamental identity in American life, and may well lead to discrimination in completely apolitical contexts.

The people who have spent fifty years preaching "the personal is political" have nothing to do with that I am sure.

[Lee G]

Personally, I despise the "politics as sport" crowd.

[Krabappel]

Absolutely. It's not a fucking football game.

[Akira]

But the average mainstream political debate has about as much substance as an OSU vs Michigan debate.

(hint: none)

[Lord Humungus]

Trump turns to general election mode
On the campaign trail, the billionaire is showing less interest in his Republican rivals and more in Hillary Clinton and November 2016.

With new polls reaffirming his dominance and Ben Carson's decline, Trump is showing less interest in recent days in his Republican rivals and more in general election strategy and Hillary Clinton's personal life.

Trump added to the picture of a man apart from the field by holding rallies in northwest Iowa and eastern Iowa on Saturday, skipping the Cedar Rapids GOP cattle call where five other Republicans ? including Carson and Ted Cruz ? took turns speaking on a single stage at an event hosted by the Koch Brothers-backed FreedomWorks.

Asked at his first stop in Spencer in northwest Iowa to respond to allies of Jeb Bush who have labeled him a "fascist," Trump, who usually relishes the opportunity to counterattack against those who criticize him, shrugged. "He's desperate. You know Jeb is desperate right now. He's doing very badly, and he's a desperate person."

[Lord Humungus]

How Certain Are We About the Shooters' Lack of Overseas Connections?

President Obama, last night: "So far, we have no evidence that the killers were directed by a terrorist organization overseas, or that they were part of a broader conspiracy here at home."

Yeah, you probably should have waited before emphasizing that point, Mr. President:

The investigation into Wednesday's terror attack in San Bernardino, Calif. has guided federal investigators in the direction of terror suspects in the Middle East who may have made contact with gunmen Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik, Fox News has learned. A high-level intelligence source told Fox News late Sunday that investigators are pursuing several lines of inquiry that ties Farook and Malik to the Middle East, including the possibility that the two's deadly rampage had been financed from overseas.

[Gray Ghost]

They were certain enough to release the shooters' house from their control, as well as leaving their shot-up vehicle alone in the street for a day and a half, instead of towing it to an impound yard.

Chain of custody? What chain of custody?

[Free Society]

You'd think that a terrorism investigation would prompt some professionalism to go above and beyond what is necessary to get all the facts. But this was originally a work place violence investigation. Plus all the higher-ups in the DoJ got real sad when they found out it wasn't a white male shooter.

[R C Dean]

As near as I can tell, none of the evidence in the apartment or the car will be admissable at this point.

Such a colossal fuckup, in direct contravention of how the cops always, always, act, makes you wonder if it was intentional.

[Free Society]

Since they evidence is tainted, we'll never be able to know for sure whether this had anything to do with Islam.

[PM]

Or if, say, the FBI provided these two with material support, directly or indirectly, as part of some kind of undercover operation that got a little out of hand.

[Free Society]

Federal employees would never do that! And if they did, they would never let it get out of control! And if it did get out of control, they would never cover up their malfeasance! And if they did cover up their malfeasance, they would never be allowed to simply get away with it! And if they did get away with it, they would never do it again!

So what's really bothering you? Probably your unfounded cynicism.

[John]

Since when does drone striking someone in Pakistan or Yemen require admissible evidence?

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Since when does drone striking someone in Pakistan or Yemen require admissible any kind of evidence?

[Private Chipperbot]

Or how he had over $60 in his bank account on his salary or the recent wire transfers to same said account...

[BigT]

none of the evidence in the apartment or the car will be admissable

Newsflash = those two ain't going to trial

No chain of custody needed for terrorist hunting or intelligence gathering.

[Mickey Rat]

I think the administration only cares if it was plausibly true the moment he said it. There are not many in the media who will hold Obama's feet to the fire over "trivia".

[SugarFree]

How did I miss this story?

Tennessee woman with loaded gun hidden in vagina pleads guilty

Also, Crusty Juggler would.

[RBS]

I don't know. I think it's just because she was high," he said.

[MSimon]

I posed this in a thread at least a week ago maybe several weeks ago. Beats getting shot by a bra.

[SugarFree]

It was fully loaded, like a steakhouse potato.

[RBS]

With cheese and sour cream?

[SugarFree]

And assault bacon.

[AlmightyJB]

"The gun show, which doubled as a peep show"

Nice:)

[AlmightyJB]

She should have said "I forgot that was in there"

[Rich]

Was it also cocked?

[Tonio]

[narrows gaze]

[Swiss Servator]

*joins Tonio*

[gaijin]

^hah!

[Elspeth Flashman]

She should've pleaded "no contest" and made the judge read the stuff from the police report to establish it. That's always worth a laugh or two in court. Plus, if she was high, she'd have had no clear memory of the events in question, so the no contest plea would make sense.

[straffinrun]

Johnny Cochran defending her would make for some courtroom theater. "If doesn't fit, you must acquit."

[Elspeth Flashman]

A friend of mine was defending a dude (for disorderly conduct and public nudity) who flashed himself at fellow residents in an apartment complex. He was drunk, accidentally locked himself out of the apartment, and grabbed his flesh wand as another tenant passed by, offering her "some of this." The client's story was that his pajama bottoms were too loose. . . and they fell off. But it was still fun to hear the judge read the police report aloud.

[Crusty Juggler]

Crusty Juggler would.

become her pen pal.

[Citizen X]

Gonna work your way up to the conjugal visit, huh?

[Swiss Servator]

Nice. *slow clap*

[Rasilio]

But would he make her remove the gun first?

[sarcasmic]

The Department of Justice will investigate the Chicago Police Department for potential civil rights violations...

Not for systemic corruption and abuse of power. Nope. Instead going to investigate to see if they abuse their power against blacks more than against whites, with the solution of course being to abuse their power against more white people in the name of equality.

[Free Society]

Abuse of power and police forces functioning as criminal gangs is not the issue. The only issue is white people and their deplorable racism.

[Free Society]

egalitarianism really is a social disease.

[sarcasmic]

Proponents of forced-equality complain about how capitalism is "a race to the bottom," when in fact it is the policies that they favor that forces society to its lowest common denominator.

[Free Society]

Exactly. Capitalism is the very opposite, is a very decentralized race to the top. Meanwhile, regardless of which flavor of leftism you prefer, they're forcing society to subsidize the production of bad things that unsurprisingly multiply in the face of leftoid policies. Single moms, shitty schools, indigence, stupid people... I could go on for a while but we all know the spiel.

[sarcasmic]

You mean when you punish wealth creation and reward wealth destruction, you get less wealth creation and more wealth destruction? But, but, but that's not the intention!

*paves another lane on the road to hell*

[ant1sthenes]

Maybe they can add a quota of unarmed white people to shoot.

[Irish ?s ESB]

What are the odds Maduro tries to stage a coup following these election results?

[Idle Hands]

45%? He isn't Chavez.

[Medical Physics Guy]

He can play some mean bongos however.

[Tonio]

I would say that depends on the military and which side they can best work with.

[Free Society]

Soldiers like to wipe their ass with something other than leaves I assume.

[MSimon]

The Pakistan connection.

Huma Abedin is from Pakistan. One of the San Bernardino shooters Tashfeen Malik was born in Pakistan. Her husband, the other shooter, Syed Rizwan Farook's parents were born in Pakistan.

Obama, Hillary, and the Muslim Brotherhood connection

[Gray Ghost]

Is there a better cite for the proposal that the name 'Tashfeen Malik' is also the name of a legendary Muslim general during the wars to conquer what would become Moorish lands in Spain, than the Freepers and such? I mean, if so, it's hilarious---"What's the craziest, most jihadi name we can think of to have her petition to come to the U.S? Nah, the stupid Americans won't have a clue, and it'll be funny."

But I'm not finding any decent history cites to support that theory.

[Hamster of Doom]

That was my first thought as well. Shit, if true, plus-one Agi Hammerthief to them.

[ant1sthenes]

Most Americans still don't know that 9/11 was the date of the battle of Vienna, the date of the biggest setback in the Islamic conquest of the West to date.

[Just say Nikki]

Huma Abedin is from Pakistan.

I guess that depends on what the meaning of "is" is.

[Rhywun]

Blocked here. Is that the one that states that the wife has a fake (man's) name?

[R C Dean]

Not just a man's name. A man's name that is a hero for radical jihadis.

[Medical Physics Guy]

Huma Abedin is from Pakistan.

Come on dude. So is that actor on Silicon Valley. What's his role in all this.

[MSimon]

What is his connection to Hillary's vagina?

[Restoras]

Her taint?

[Krabappel]

The snuke?

[Ms. Eleanor Lavish]

My dentist's parents are from Pakistan. Now I need to have my filings checked for mind control devices.

[Citizen X]

The Manchurian Commenter

[greasonable]

Is it safe?!?!

[Lord Humungus]

Happy Pearl Harbor Day!

[straffinrun]

What's that? I gotta stop buying my calendars here in Japan.

[Pope Jimbo]

Make sure you don't buy them at cpan.org either. They celebrate Perl Harbor on a whole nuther day.

[Swiss Servator]

What?

[Pope Jimbo]

Don't bother your pretty little head trying to grok my clever nerd humor. Just narrow your gaze and move on Swiss.

[Pope Jimbo]

During the Vikings fiasco yesterday John Lynch was announcing and when they briefly cut away to show how the halftime show was being hosted at Pearl Harbor next to the Missouri, he said something like "I'm so proud to be associated with an organization like the NFL that is dedicated to honoring the services."

My son laughed and wondered aloud how much the DoD was paying the NFL for the promo this time. I am so happy that he is listening to me at times (even if the little smart ass does roll his eyes a bit too much for my taste).

[Crusty Juggler]

The NFL is shameless. They would get so much better press if they just cut large checks to breast cancer charities and charities to help assist soldiers.

[straffinrun]

Considering the way the Vikings played, that was a fitting halftime choice.

[Pope Jimbo]

No way. The Vikes weren't surprised by the Seahawks. It isn't like they were out on the practice field in shorts and helmets when all of a sudden the Seahawks defense came rushing out of the bushes and destroyed Teddy Bridgewater.

No, a more fitting half time show would have been from Vichy. A complete and cowardly collapse.

[Mickey Rat]

Having no defensive backs hurt a bit.

[Free Society]

The opposition party in Venezuela is poised to win control of the National Assembly.

"What can't be forgiven is that a government that tries a radical transformation of the Venezuelan economy and society is committing errors that help the attacks of those who want to retake power," said Victor Alvarez, a leftist economist and government minister under Ch?vez who is critical of Maduro's administration. "They didn't correct a series of decisions that remained from the Ch?vez years and committed additional errors that have aggravated all of these problems."

The wrong top men. What Venezuela needs is more "leftist economics" but without mistakes and stuff. Forming an opinion as a leftoid is so fucking easy.

[Swiss Servator]

"They didn't correct a series of decisions that remained from the Ch?vez years and committed additional errors that have aggravated all of these problems."

They remained leftists.

[Free Society]

They don't even blame the Chavista's central planners, they blame 'mistakes'. If an entire economic and social system is collapsing, then obviously there are no systemic problems, just little mistakes here and there that we can fix with more socialism.

[gaoxiaen]

He thinks the people are happy to get a newspaper because they want to read what he said.

[Lord Humungus]

Meanwhile in...

Iceland is throwing a massive party inside a glacier before it melts forever

The Langj?kull glacier in Iceland is the second largest glacier in Europe. It's also melting at an accelerated rate according to a 2015 peer-reviewed scientific journal by the American Geophysical Union. So in June 2016, ravers, a sound system and Europe's best underground DJs will be packing inside Iceland's biggest glacier to get plastered and sloppily slide on an ice floor that is 200 metres thick.

...

Iceland is under particular threat when it comes to climate change.

Since the 1980s Iceland's temperature has been steadily increasing according to records. At most the ice cave of Langj?kull has a lifespan of 10 to 15 years. The small volcanic island is also perched at the mouth of the rapidly melting Greenland Ice Sheet. More arctic landmass has been lost in the last two decades than over the previous 10 millennia. Within the last 200 years, the Industrial and Second Industrial revolutions have increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by 40 percent and methane by a factor of three according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

[Drake]

Are they sure that thousand of warm bodies partying in the glacier isn't melting it?

[John]

Iceland getting warmer is global warming. The entire continent of Antarctica getting colder is just weather.

[MSimon]

More arctic landmass has been lost in the last two decades

Any one know where the dirt and rocks are going?

[Enough About Palin]

72 DHS Employees on Terrorist Watch List

[Crusty Juggler]

I know he was not solely responsible for it's creation, but Bush really created a disaster with DHS.

[Lee G]

Bureaucracy, it's a beautiful thing

[John]

It just shows the absurdity of watch lists. Are they terrorists or are they not? If they are, why are they not dead or in jail? If they are not, why are they on a list?

[John]

http://freebeacon.com/national.....al-mosque/

Democrats attend prayer service at radical mosque. This is literally like Republicans attending a KKK rally after the Charleston shooting.

[Drake]

And they'll be surprised when the 2016 election is a landslide - particularly in Congress.

[John]

They have lost their minds. Before they were just retarded. Now they are insane.

[lap83]

"and I pray that the terrorists kill us last, amen"

[MSimon]

"That Democrats in the name of tolerance and diversity are mainstreaming extremists like this is inherently damaging to the Muslim community," Poole said. "These same folks just yesterday wanted to take away the Second Amendment rights of those on the terror watch list, and now they want to embrace a mosque that we know from FOIAs was on the terror watch list. Unbelievable."

[Drake]

When I first read that Tet, Take Two: Islam's 2016 European Offensive essay, the whole "International Socialism has aligned itself with Islam against Nationalism" sounded like crazy conspiracy theory stuff.

Everything that has happened over the past week has supported that theory perfectly.

[John]

Remember, the communists and fascists were allies right up until June 1941.

[Drake]

Yep - I'm starting to feel like Poland 1939.

[Slammer]

Ralph Peters just called Obama a pussy. On the tv. Heh.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

While right in this case, Ralph Peters is a war-mongering dick.

[John]

http://dailycaller.com/2015/12.....it-coming/

I am pretty sure Linda Stasi has locked down the award for most offensive newspaper editorial written this century.

[Sevo]

Posted last night, John, and no one is disagreeing.

[Zeb]

Yeah, that was seriously fucked up. The guy was kind of a dick and had some offensive views, so he wasn't an innocent victim? Wow.

[John]

He had it coming Zeb. The hard left will happily go along with the radical Muslims if they think it will get them power.

[Drake]

They had argued over whether or not Islam is "the religion of peace" - so Farook killed him. Not sure who wins the argument.

http://www.inquisitr.com/26089.....mic-beard/

For people like Stasi and John Kerry who don't believe in free speech, once you say something offensive, we are just debating the penalties.

[Illocust]

Her editorial makes sense when you consider where she's coming from. She's absolutely convinced that her opposition is filled with people that want to murder minorities, and that the only reason they don't is because of the protective arms of the government. In her eyes the only difference between the killer and the victim is opportunity. She truly believes that the victim would have shot up a mosque given half a chance. It's not an uncommon opinion, as can be seen from all the people absolutely convinced that a right wing extremist shot up the disability center in the early hours of the attack.

[John]

So you are telling me she is a delusional paranoid? I can't argue with you but I don't think that helps her case any.

[Illocust]

When the guy in the tinfoil hat screams on the corner about the Jews conspiring with the lizard people, is he being offensive or just out of touch with reality? Giving her power or taking her arguments seriously can cause harm, but she's delusional and out of touch and should be treated publicly as so.

[robc]

Are you suggesting the jews *arent* conspiring with the lizard people?

[Citizen X]

Jim Norton's reply was surprisingly tasteful and restrained.

[Sevo]

SF gov't SHOCKED that the supposed surplus is erased by pension costs:

"Skyrocketing pension costs putting S.F. in the red"
[...]
"Even with a booming economy and millions of dollars in new money coming in, San Francisco is facing a projected $99 million budget deficit next fiscal year."
http://www.sfchronicle.com/bay.....ate-result

Paywalled, but it's the same bunch of lies moonbeam uses to declare a CA surplus; don't count some of the stuff you owe.

[John]

http://www.independent.co.uk/n.....62996.html

Man shouting "I want to join Allah" tries to force his way into the cockpit of a Lufthansa flight. Stupid pants shitters on the plane got all panicky and stopped him. Don't they know Muslims are peaceful?

[Zeb]

I know you like needling people, but maybe that joke is getting a little stale.

[MSimon]

First surrender then peace. Or first surrender. Then they kill you. Then peace. Depends if you are Shia or Sunni. And which particular sect. Do not adhere to the incorrect doctrine.

[John]

If you don't like the joke, go talk to the people who call anyone who thinks we might have a problem or that it might be a bad idea to import a few hundred thousand Syrian refugees 'pants shitters". Why did those people on that plane think the guy meant any harm? It is not like he had actually tried to fly the plane into a building. Maybe he just wanted to see the view and feel closer to Allah?

[Zeb]

There is some difference between someone actually trying to force their way into a cockpit and thousands of people, among whom there are some people who might some day do bad things. No one anywhere is claming that no Muslims ever do violent things or that Islamic terrorism isn't a big problem. It is shameful how many people are shying away from any criticism of Islam. There are clearly big problems. But people believing that no Muslim anywhere has any bad intent is an absurd caricature.

[R C Dean]

John isn't the one driving that joke into the ground.

[Zeb]

I just think it's more useful to argue against the arguments that people actually make rather than against a caricature of an extreme position that doesn't really exist. Presumably John's comment is directed more to the people here who aren't so worried about the refugees/whatever. I don't think anyone here is under any illusion that Islam is a "religion of peace" or that there are plenty of people willing to kill and die in the name of that religion.

[Lee G]

He was retained in the business class section of the plane by passengers including the Serbian national handball team and held under "guard".

The Serbian handball team? Imagine the bitch-slapping that he got from those guys.

[John]

That is really funny. I doubt the Serbs were very sympathetic.

[Citizen X]

Jesus. Do NOT mess with Serbs. Their fellow Slavs from Russia may have no fucks to give, but Serbs as a people have somehow passed into a realm where there are negative fucks. When a Serb is in a place the total amount of fucks that can possibly be given in that place actually decreases.

[John]

The problem with screwing with a Serb is that they as a people take pride in losing and holding a grudge for centuries over it. So even if you kick their ass, it does not good. Just leave them the fuck alone. I still can't believe we bombed them to save the Albanian mafia.

[Citizen X]

Serbian culture is probably best summed up in a common saying there: "At least the neighbor's cow died too."

Serbs are hella fun to drink with, though.

[Lee G]

I was at a Serbian wedding reception one time (in Serbia). It was..... an experience.

[Citizen X]

Congratulations on continuing to exist, dude.

[Lee G]

I saw more drunken brawls at that wedding reception than during my entire college experience.

[Citizen X]

George R. R. Martin based the Dothraki nuptials in A Game of Thrones on a Serbian wedding he attended once. He had to tone down the violence.

[John]

I worked with a guy whose father was Serbian and Mother Croatian. I asked him if there was gun fire at his parents' wedding. He said no but did not view it as an unreasonable question.

[PM]

George R. R. Martin based the Dothraki nuptials in A Game of Thrones on a Serbian wedding he attended once.

You're thinking of a Serbian film he once watched...

[Ken Shultz]

"President Obama gave his first address from the Oval Office since 2010, addressing the terrorist attack in San Bernardino, saying there were three things Congress could do to address the threat posed by ISIS: increase gun control measures, stronger screenings for non-visa entries, and a vote to authorize the use of military force."

It isn't surprising that Obama doesn't want to let this crisis go to waste. And it isn't surprising that the things he wants to do in the wake of the San Bernardino shooting are the same things he wanted to do before the shooting. Oh, none of the things he's proposing would have been effective in preventing the San Bernardino shooting, and that isn't surprising either.

Note that the "stronger screenings for non-visa entries" is something he wanted to do anyway. It's a weak substitute for banning immigration from countries where both terrorism and anti-Americanism is rife. He thinks if he throws the American people a meaningless bone on that, maybe we'll stop demanding something substantial.

[John]

And that they will finally blame the next attack on gun owners rather than on him for failing to do anything about the threat.

[Ken Shultz]

Absolutely. It's classic, "You never want to let a crisis go to waste, and what I mean by that it is that it let's you do things you couldn't have done otherwise".

Many of the people who are buying gun control as a solution to San Bernardino are the same people who resent Bush for invading Iraq as a bogus reaction to 9/11 and a bullshit solution to terrorism.

And that level of horseshit is compounded by Obama suggesting that Congress giving him an authorization in Syria will prevent further terrorist attacks like the one in San Bernardino, too.