Obama Praying for Persecuted Christians, DHS Preparing for Mass Deportations, ISIS Recruiting in Somalia: A.M. Links

• 

  ISIS

  A spring-like storm in the Southeast killed at least seven people and spawned more than a dozen tornadoes.

• President Obama said this Christmas he and his wife were praying for Christians being persecuted in the Middle East.
• The Department of Homeland Security is preparing to execute raids and mass deportations next year.
• The U.S. embassy in China warned Americans living in Beijing of a possible Christmas-time terrorist attack.
• ISIS is looking for recruits in Somalia.
• A fire in a hospital in Saudi Arabia killed at least 30 and injured more than a hundred.

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  Waste, fraud, abuse, and monkeys on hamster wheels.
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• Movie Review: The Hateful Eight
  Quentin Tarantino's long, slow Western is a surprising misfire.
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• Feds Still Owe the $30 Billion Woodrow Wilson Borrowed for WWI
  Who could run a household or a business the way the feds have run the government in the past 100 years?
  By Andrew Napolitano 

Comments

[UnCivilServant]

LATE!

[Swiss Servator]

Too much egg-nog last night, you reckon?

[UnCivilServant]

They skipped the nog and went straight for the booze.

[Swiss Servator]

Sounds like a plan to me!

*chugs brandy*

[straffinrun]

Have you met my dog? Here, Brandy, here boy.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

I had a dog named Brandy.

[GILMORE?]

She's a fine girl

[Crusty Juggler]

Her eyes could steal a sailor from the sea.

[gaoxiaen]

What a good wife you would be,
But alas, there are are laws against bestiality.

[Rich]

*** nogs in agreement ***

[Kristen Bids No Trump]

Speaking of nog...Alton Brown's recipe sounds fucking amazing. I'll just have to remember to make it in June so it'll be ready for Xmas.

[Azathoth!!]

oh, it's REALLY good. Had some last night.

and I've got a jar in my fridge.

[Kristen Bids No Trump]

*shakes fist*

[Swiss Servator]

What did FoE ever do to you?!

[commodious spittoon]

We were early.

[Swiss Servator]

If you are early, you are on time.

If you are on time, you are late.

If you are late...don't even bother.

/staff meeting

[commodious spittoon]

But if I don't show up I can claim illness *and* skip another useless, productivity-sapping staff meeting, right?

[Swiss Servator]

That might work if it isn't a brigade staff meeting....

If it is work, take some PTO and "get better"

*squints suspiciously*

[Bill Dalasio]

For staff meetings, I generally find "don't even bother" is usually the most preferable option.

[Swiss Servator]

The Brigade Commander would like a word with you...

[Bill Dalasio]

What? You mean he didn't know I dialed in?

[Tejicano]

The only staff meetings I am interested in are those where she is applying to join with my staff and then it is highly dependent on the position she is interested in.

[Agammamon]

The XO would like a word with you .

*And* your Department Head.

[Scarecrow & WoodChipper Repair]

*Which* head?

[VicRattlehead]

+ 0700 internet points

[juris imprudent]

And where is Fist now? Some disturbance in the space-time continuum?

[Fist of Etiquette]

I already declared the previous thread AM Links. This is superfluous to say the least.

[Free Society]

The links say 9am, but that can't be right. Someone changed the time clock at Reason HQ.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

NO KIDDING.

NO HELLO. I ALREADY GAVE MY HELLO IN SOME OTHER THREAD.

[Swiss Servator]

The Department of Homeland Security is preparing to execute raids and mass deportations next year.

Of whom? I am beyond skeptical of this one.

[UnCivilServant]

Republicans.

[Swiss Servator]

*stands to applaud*

[Rhywun]

I don't get it. Are we expected to believe we're not doing this already?

[Ms. Eleanor Lavish]

I believe we aren't engaging in mass deportations already.

[Rhywun]

Depends what they mean by "mass" I guess but AFAIK we are always deporting lots of people.

[Overt]

Color me cynical, but it seems quite convenient that in the election year all of a sudden people will be subject to faceless government persecution just in time for a Democrat to promise deliverence.

"Rabban! I want you to squeeze Arakis. Squeeze and squeeze until there is nothing left.

And then I will send you, Feyd. Sweet Feyd."

[Swiss Servator]

+1 Mahdi!

[AFSlade]

+2 Usul, Base of the Pillar

[UnCivilServant]

The U.S. embassy in China warned Americans living in Beijing of a possible Christmas-time terrorist attack.

Die Hard, China Edition?

[NYC2AZ]

That probably would've been better that the last one.

[GamerFromJump]

I'm in Beijing, and the only terrors were sub-freezing temps and Smog of Doom (TM).

[juris imprudent]

At least Swiss can stop rattling that damn cup now.

[Swiss Servator]

Oh sh&t...sorry 'bout that.

*drops cup, grins sheepishly*

[commodious spittoon]

So can Reason now that the donation drive is over.

[Pat (PM)]

Apply cold water to burned area

[Swiss Servator]

ISIS is looking for recruits in Somalia

They would have found plenty, had they not declared themselves a state!!!!!1!1oneoneone!!11eleventy!

[BearOdinson]

Just imagine the recruits they would have if they built any roads in Libertopia!

[VicRattlehead]

+1 No state, No Calliphate

[BearOdinson]

Reason pulled a bait-and-switch this morning as all part of an elaborate plot to screw over Fist.

And frankly, I like the links Pat posted in the hijacked thread off of Sullum's article better anyway!

Merry Christmas, Happy Yule, Happy Chanukkah (even though it's been over for a while), Enjoy your Saturnalia, Happy Festivus, and generically enjoy (or not) your officially recognized Federal Day Off!

[BearOdinson]

Oh and fuck Kwanzaa. Blacks can be Christians, or Jews, or Pagans (I am not very folkish so what the hell!), or Athiests. They don't need a fucking day made up by a communist university professor invented in 1967.

[Old Man With Candy]

Kwanzaa has pretty much faded away. It is not missed.

[Rhywun]

I hadn't thought about it but yes, it does seem to have faded. I used to hear about much more but not lately.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

It hasn't really been a thing since the mid-late 90s.

[Rhywun]

Thank Kwanzaabot for small miracles.

[gaoxiaen]

I thought Kwanzaa and Festivus were pretty much the same thing.

[Pat (PM)]

A communist university professor vaguely connected to the murders of rival black power groups' members, and convicted of torturing and imprisoning two women, at that. Karenga is well and truly a piece of shit.

[Old Man With Candy]

I met the guy once. Yes, as big an asshole as you imagine. He had an all-female entourage clad in faux-African clothing.

[Rich]

Was he brandishing a soldering iron?

[Old Man With Candy]

That would have been perfect.

[GamerFromJump]

So, it's very authentic in African-ness

[Just say Nikki]

What's the date cutoff on that rule? Is Mormonism allowed?

[Pat (PM)]

Do Mormons even have any Mormon-specific holidays? (I really don't know)

[Just say Nikki]

Well someone isn't getting a Pioneer Day gift next year!

[Pat (PM)]

Is that like Rumspringa for Mormon chicks?

[Crusty Juggler]

Someone is going to have to make do with the same temple garment for another year.

[Swiss Servator]

Is that Mormon or Utah-ian?

We left Slat Lake City when I was 5, so I don't remember any of that stuff.

[Old Man With Candy]

Is that Mormon or Utah-ian?

The distinction is subtle.

(I lived there as a young adult, so painfully remember that stuff)

[Just say Nikki]

It's LDS from my understanding. (I.e., Mormon might be a bit too broad.)

[TheZeitgeist]

Pioneer Days is 'officially' about initial settling of Utah Ute genocide/exploitation so it can be a public-sector sanctioned function, have cops and fire engines in the parades, etc. But it is really about the Mormon settling of Utah Ute genocide/exploitation.

[BearOdinson]

Interesting point. I don't believe they have any separate major holidays (AFAIK they celebrate Christmas and Easter in a similar fashion to many other Christians).While I have many Mormon friends, their theology, as well as some of their practices are whack! But hey, I am sure the concept of Valhalla and a one-eyed wanderer being the king of Asgard prob seems weird to a lot of people. But at least I can drink coffee and watch porn!!

[Free Society]

I've got no problem with Indo-European paganism. I'm an atheist so I don't believe that mythology, but I sort of identify with it culturally, it being the practiced belief system of most of my ancestors for at least the last 5,000 years. So while I don't think bringing a Christmas tree into my home really sustains my family with it's lifeforce, I think it's pretty cool that I can continue a (non-barbaric) tradition of my Northern European ancestors going back millennia.

[Robert]

Sat. I learned that Yule was originally celebrated around what's now about the middle of Jan. That put it close to imbolc, but they didn't necessarily try to separate their holidays by a long time.

[kevrob]

My folks are Irish, not Norse nor German, but I revere the prophets of the Aesir, even if they were a couple of New York Jews .

I will visit my mother and sisters tomorrow, exchange gifts and feast. There is always the possibility of withering death stares when I remain silent when prayers are said over the food.

Kevin R

[WTF]

Made up by a convicted violent felon to deliberately create division between blacks and whites. What a piece of shit.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

You know who else was a convicted felon that created division?

[Crusty Juggler]

Martha Stewart?

[juris imprudent]

Ted Streleski?

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Some really old egyptian dude?

[Unicorn Abattoir]

Hillary Clin....Oh, too early on this one.

[tarran]

Jeffrey Epstein?

[gaoxiaen]

Richard Nixon? (He accepted a pardon)

[lap83]

Where would the black community BE without the helping hand of communist university elites?!!?1

[tarran]

Much better off?

[lap83]

Ok fine, but what about the commie university professors then?!? They would be scrounging around in the gutters trying to find a diseased squirrel or something to help.

[lap83]

*reduced to

[Heroic Mulatto]

Blacks can be Christians, or Jews, or Pagans (I am not very folkish so what the hell!), or Athiests.

Brother Malcolm would like to have a word with you.

[Swiss Servator]

Edmund Blackadder, Esq.: Shall I begin the Christmas story?

George, the Prince Regent: Absolutely, as long as it's not that terribly depressing one about the chap who gets born on Christmas Day, shoots his mouth off about everything under the sun, and then comes a cropper with a couple of rum coves on top of a hill in Johnny Arab land.

Edmund Blackadder, Esq.: You mean *Jesus,* Sire...?

George, the Prince Regent: Yes, that's the fellow! Keep him out of it. He always spoils the X-mas atmos!

[commodious spittoon]

Well... hell, a Blackadder special I've never seen. Thanks, Swiss!

[Swiss Servator]

Oh man, are you in for a treat!

[Galactic Chipper Cdr Lytton]

+1 Nicola Bryant shrieking

[Limpee Wiltstock]

Put the Satan back in Saturnalia!

[straffinrun]

I get to the platform and one train is late so I run to the other platform and see the first train pulling up on the other side. I rush back and that train has left and now the other train on the other platform is just leaving. All that tonight and then I come here and AM lynx makes me do it all over again.

[UnCivilServant]

Trains? What are you?

[straffinrun]

Thin. *Laughs at car culture*

[Rhywun]

That doesn't work for everybody.

[Tejicano]

Straffinrun actually posts here via a time machine from early 20th century England. Trains are just part of the scenery for him.

[straffinrun]

All my Chikan buddies came up with the nickname straffinrun. It's a badge of honor.

[straffinrun]

Merry Christmas, BTW, Tejicano.

[Tejicano]

Meri kurisumasu to you as well!

[Tejicano]

I just finished wrapping the presents and decided to enjoy a holiday nightcap before retiring for the evening.

[straffinrun]

Hoists a happoshu in cheers. (Yeah, happoshu, I know).

[Pat (PM)]

He lives in the fictional world of Atlas Shrugged. I won't tell you which character he plays.

[straffinrun]

Cytotoxic?

[Pat (PM)]

Nah, he lives in the fictional world of Don Quixote.

[Pat (PM)]

Or maybe Don Knotts...

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Representing the windmill guild?

[gaoxiaen]

Is he Donkey or Oatey?

[kevrob]

I'll be taking the train to Manhattan tomorrow. Drive in on a holiday? Screw that noise.

Kevin R

[Kristen Bids No Trump]

DOJ suspends asset forfeiture profit-sharing program.

Police Chiefs across the country throw themselves on the ground, kicking & screaming.

[straffinrun]

When they say "tribal law enforcement agencies", they aren't talking about native americans, are they?

[Kristen Bids No Trump]

Pretty sure they are - so they can say the DOJ is RAYCIS!!

[straffinrun]

Since they all seem "tribal", this war on cops is genocide.

[Juvenile Bluster]

The National Sheriffs Association haz a sad.

[Raven Nation]

Popehat's response:

"Maybe you could just rifle through the pockets of the people you shoot."

[gaoxiaen]

They already do that to pay their bar tab.

[CatoTheChipper]

The capo di capi has run into some budgetary problems, and has decided not to spread the proceeds from his criminal scams and capers to the underbosses.

It's only natural that the underbosses are upset that they won't be getting their traditional piece of the action.

The same would be true in any criminal organization.

[Old Man With Candy]

President Obama said this Christmas he and his wife were praying for Christians being persecuted in the Middle East.

And then he ordered more bombing.

[BearOdinson]

I am not saying we should just send troops. But the fact is lefty presidents love to do stuff that makes them feel like they are fighting, without actually accomplishing anything. In Viet Nam it was Johnson and body counts. Clinton it was cruise missiles and bombing Serbs. Obama its drone strikes, Puff taking a hospital, and bombing indiscriminately.
If ISIS is worth fighting, then put together a fucking strategy, define what victory looks like, ally with everyone who is willing to also fight them, and do whatever it takes.
Or stop wasting millions of dollars in dropping bombs that are prob killing as many women and children as fighters.

[Tejicano]

From the people I've met in the military I would say that Clinton probably sent more black ops teams into more countries than Reagan ever considered.

[Swiss Servator]

And a fat lot of good it did...

[Tejicano]

I'm not pretending that D-labled CinC's do anything better with the military they have at their disposal. I'm just underlining the point made above that they seem to play with that toy more than most R-labled CinC's do.

[Swiss Servator]

Oh, aye.

Just bitterly remembering my time in Bosnia.

[BearOdinson]

That may be. But Reagan increased the number of billets for Special Forces and Navy SEALs than there were under Carter. And Reagan had to be much more circumspect about sending SF teams due to Cold War. They were also big on training for scenarios involving the Soviet Union. Clinton didn't have to worry about that. However, he seriously reduced the training budget and number of billets in SF and SEALs.
And, wars are not won by SF. They are an important piece, but are far more important in assymetrical warfare, counter-terrorist, and recon roles.

[Tejicano]

Yeah, one of the most "active" black-ops guys I know from that period was neither Q-qualified nor Delta. It seems the Army found use - during the Clinton administration - for a number of people who didn't take up positions slotted for the few who had been expressly trained for that work.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Modern presidents (save for maybe Reagan) seem to be completely limited in their thinking to operational levels of warfare and can't extrapolate to the strategic level. And because the brass tends to act more like corporate-style board members rather than warriors, they're incapable of providing these guys (most of whom never saw combat) with an idea of the big picture when it comes to using the blunt instrument known as the US military.

[gaoxiaen]

I was in the military when Reagan was President and everyone knew the big picture. Get ready to fight World War II again.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

I think Bush, the elder, did an excellent job of melding operational and strategic objectives. He actually applied the lessons learned during Vietnam and it worked. He set achievable strategic objectives, defined what victory was, had an exit strategy and then let the military execute with very little intervention.

The decision to perpetuate the No Fly Zones was, however, a mistake.

I think there is definitely a benefit in selecting presidents having some military experience. If not, they need to surround themselves with reliable advisors and then actually listen to them. I suspect that's not currently happening.

[MacDaddy81]

I think a Starship Troopers scenario is the best idea.

[Rhywun]

Somebody linked an article the other day detailing how the military is working behind Obama's back to implement its own - opposing - policies. It's way too TL;DR for me but the impression I got from what I read was "massive clusterfuck".

[Bill Dalasio]

You know, I have this wild idea. How about we don't fight any wars unless we absolutely have to and unless we have a really clear goal in mind of what we're trying to accomplish by fighting. And when we have those, let's fight to win. I know, I know, crazy talk.

[straffinrun]

No, let's keeping bombing like Sissy Spastic during a mental breakdown. They won't know how to handle the crazy bitch.

[Old Man With Candy]

How about we don't fight any wars unless we absolutely have to and unless we have a really clear goal in mind of what we're trying to accomplish by fighting.

Yes, that will happen as soon as the unicorns are finished shitting gold bars on my front lawn.

[UnCivilServant]

Dude, if your unicorns are excreting bars, you've got to change their diet. It's supposed to come out as nuggets - it causes less stress on their digestive tract and lets them live longer, producing more gold.

[Swiss Servator]

*eagerly seizes pooper scooper and bucket*

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Spoiler alert:

It just looks like gold, much like rabbit poop looks like cocoa puffs.

[Swiss Servator]

Dammit!

*hangs head*

[gaoxiaen]

But you can polish those turds.

[Tejicano]

I have been highly tempted, when hearing some-obviously-non-military POS talking about how we should get involved in yet another third world shit storm, to ask him "who is this 'we'? You got a mouse in your pocket?" while I present him with my military ID.

[gaoxiaen]

Sorry. I meant *you*.

[Chinny Chin Chin]

I eagerly await the same mocking that Repubs received when they said they were praying for victims of the San Bernardino shooting.

[Crusty Juggler]

Thoughts and prayers are restricted for Christians only, like God intended. That dirty, Muslim, Kenyan Barack Obama is up to something..

[Rhywun]

Yeah, this sounds a little tone-deaf to me too.

[Jerryskids]

President Obama said this Christmas he and his wife were praying for Christians being persecuted in the Middle East.

My kids are praying for a pony for Christmas. What sort of sick bastard prays for Christians being persecuted for Christmas?

[tarran]

Maybe he is counting on the fact that praying doesn't work anymore?

[Mazakon]

Rolling Stone Asks Judge to Dismiss Case Against Them

Attorneys representing Rolling Stone magazine on Wednesday filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought over a since-retracted article that alleged a sexual assault at a University of Virginia frat house.

The motion seeks to dismiss a suit brought by three graduates of the university who claim the article resulted in them being identified in online posts as the attackers detailed in the story and damaged their reputations.

The magazine's attorneys argued in court documents that the article, titled "A Rape on Campus: A Brutal Assault and Struggle for Justice at UVA," didn't identify anyone portrayed in the alleged assault by name or describe them physically, and that they can't claim to have been identified just by their affiliation with the frat.

[Juvenile Bluster]

"Sure, we put all that identifying information in there, but we never said their names!"

[SIV]

"Grab its motherfucking leg"

[Bill Dalasio]

I hope that's what the jury says at the end of this lawsuit.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

NOAA Fiddles With Climate Data To Erase The 15-Year Global Warming 'Hiatus'
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists have found a solution to the 15-year "pause" in global warming: They "adjusted" the hiatus in warming out of the temperature record.

New climate data by NOAA scientists doubles the warming trend since the late 1990s by adjusting pre-hiatus temperatures downward and inflating temperatures in more recent years.

"Newly corrected and updated global surface temperature data from NOAA's [National Centers for Environmental Information] do not support the notion of a global warming 'hiatus,'" wrote NOAA scientists in their study presenting newly adjusted climate data....

[BearOdinson]

I fucking love this. And then Tony et al. will argue that manipulating data is just science.

If the data weren't good, why are they only "adjusting" it now? What new information did they learn? It is generally accepted practice to throw out the highest and lowest data points (assuming there is even enough data to work with). And, it would also probably be acceptable to determine if a particular data set was always different from the mean by a set amount to adjust that one, as long as it was done consistently.
But I mean this doesn't even pass the smell test.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

...To increase the rate in warming, NOAA scientists put more weight on certain ocean buoy arrays, adjusted ship-based temperature readings upward, and slightly raised land-based temperatures as well....

[Suthenboy]

Which troll was mocking me last week when I said that no govt agency under Obumbles can be trusted about anything they say regarding global warming?

For that matter, none of the warmistas can be trusted, govt or not. Fucking liars all.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

So what changed to justify the adjustment?

Other than the data not matching the prediction?

[Crusty Juggler]

For all of you thinking about portraying Santa this Christmas, remember the lesson Gremlins taught us.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Ranking the Presidential Candidates: Is "The Donald" an Alpha and Jim Webb a Low Delta?

[Bill Dalasio]

That's got to be one of the most fucking retarded assessments I've ever read in my life.

Donald Trump, a rich kid who inherited his daddy's money, considers having gone to military school his armed forces experience and plays the businessman on television (he would have been richer if he'd stuck his inheritance in an index fund) is an alpha. And Jim Webb, an Annapolis grad who opted for the Marines and won the Navy Cross, a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts is a "low delta" (whatever the fuck that is).

[cavalier973]

You're such a Gamma, Bill.

[DEG]

Clever, hiding Vox Day by linking to PJ Media.

[Crusty Juggler]

Johnny Longtorso is Vox Day, got it. I still want to know which one of you is Kurt Russell.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Is The USA Wasting $172M Of Taxpayer Money On Penis Pumps?

[Pat (PM)]

The answer is "no". Money spent on penis pumps is never a waste.

[BearOdinson]

This kind of thing is my bag, baby!

[commodious spittoon]

Then you're using it wrong!

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

No wonder I keep passing out...

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Shocking footage from Israeli Jewish wedding shows guests celebrating the death of a Palestinian baby burned alive in an arson attack

[straffinrun]

I'm not clicking that. And if a manger is involved, you're going to hell.

[BearOdinson]

So the difference is, this behavior is the norm for Palestinian Arabs. I have NEVER heard of ANYTHING even remotely like this (and I know am rather knowledgable about this stuff). In addition, the Israeli govt goes after Jews who do shit like this.

[Free Society]

Even though something like 35% of Palestinians polled, supported the murder of an entire Jewish family including children ranging in age from 6 months to 11 years. Never heard about that one, had to seek that piece of data myself.

[Suthenboy]

What Bear said.

[Heroic Mulatto]

It is a bit "man bites dog", and running articles like this on Christmas is a hoary Pallywood tradition at least 2 decades old. Nevertheless, the behavior of the wedding party is disgusting. There is no apologia for that and should be condemned as strongly as the Thuggee-like death cult that dominates the Palestinian narrative.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Man who beheaded his boss and pinned his severed head to a fence before trying to blow up his workplace in 'jihadist' attack hangs himself in French prison

[Longtorso, Johnny]

ROADZ!!!!!

Islamic nation of Somalia follows Sultan of Brunei's example and bans Christmas celebrations because 'they are contrary to our culture'

[Swiss Servator]

Jihad on Christmas!!!!

[commodious spittoon]

You're just filled with Christmas cheer today, aren't you.

[Rich]

Clinton aide key focus in FBI server investigation

[The FBI] does not want to appear to be interfering with "the country's political process" [and] "frustration" is mounting in the pace of the investigation into Clinton's emails.

With all due respect, the pace *is* "the country's political process".

[Sevo]

Do tin-pot dictators thinks any one is fooled?

"Thai junta hits new heights of self-promotion"
[...]
"No one ever accused Thailand's ruling military junta of underselling itself. But it has touched new heights of self-promotion with a poll that claims a 99 per cent approval rating for its work, as it prepares to usher in its second new year in charge of the politically turbulent Southeast Asian kingdom."
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4823.....z3vFdWISqj

The thug polled his immediate family, got 75% and rounded up, right?

[UnCivilServant]

Shot those who said they didn't approve.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

99 per cent approval rating

Ever notice how authoritarian nutjobs always claim "99%" support? This, "the 1%" from the progtards, etc...

[NYC2AZ]

I had a girl in my PoliSci class make a serious argument in favor of instituting North Korean style communism in the US based on an article (title?) she read regarding the Korean people being 100% in favor of the Kim regime. It was long enough ago where most of the class snickered and laughed at her. One audible comment mentioned how she should kill herself because she was stealing oxygen from the rest of the class. Now a days, after watching what's happening at Mizzou, Yale, etc, I fear the class would erupt into applause.

[DEG]

Cars for sale at the Scottsdale Auction

[Longtorso, Johnny]

The Twelve Days of Feminist Christmas

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Paul Ryan's Christmas Warning: American Companies Will Shut Down Without More Foreign Workers

[Pat (PM)]

Yes, you can avoid stupid family arguments this holiday

(CNN)Ah, the holidays. A time to be with family. A time to fall into epic arguments about politics with people you can't believe are actually related to you.

Americans in recent decades have become ideologically self-sorting. More of us now live, work and socialize with people who share our political worldviews. There is a raw tribalism in political culture today that transcends elections. Which means that the holidays are one of the few remaining occasions when we are forced to confront and accommodate people who don't think like we do.

As many of us prepare for the possibility of stormy civic squabbles this season, it's worth asking what we can do differently, not to avoid arguments altogether but to have less stupid ones. Perhaps even to have constructive ones.

Just consult your handy talking points guide from Thanksgiving.

[Rhywun]

Americans in recent decades have become ideologically self-sorting

Horseshit, when Americans are more mobile than ever.

[Muzzled Woodchipper]

Americans in recent decades have become ideologically self-sorting. More of us now live, work and socialize with people who share our political worldviews. There is a raw tribalism in political culture today that transcends elections. Which means that the holidays are one of the few remaining occasions when we are forced to confront and accommodate people who don't think like we do.

Only if you fall in the left/right spectrum.

As a libertarian, I've never had the opportunity to mix only with those who agree with my worldview.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Is the Republican Party Over?

Far from over

[Longtorso, Johnny]

better video

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Robert Tepper - No Easy Way out

[Rich]

As the Obamas prepare to celebrate Christmas on Friday in Hawaii, the president said in the statement that he and his wife Michelle are "ever-mindful" that "many of our fellow Christians do not enjoy do not enjoy that right"

*** facepalm ***

[UnCivilServant]

I read that as "We like to lord it over those lesser beings who only exist to make us feel superior. Including our bodyguards."

[straffinrun]

Everyone should have the right to celebrate Christmas in Hawaii. #FeeltheBern2016

[Swiss Servator]

to celebrate Christmas in Hawaii?!

[Crusty Juggler]

to celebrate Christmas in Hawaii?!

Celebrating here: Inside the Obamas' luxurious $3,500 a night holiday home boasting five bedrooms, six bathrooms, and an Asian koi pond

No one seems to care, but those are not good optics.

[Rhywun]

Does it have a screening room for the bombing runs?

[Suthenboy]

From a guy who spews drivel about 'inequality'...

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

HOW MUCH LUXURY IS ENOUGH? I MEAN AT SOME POINT I DO THINK YOU HAVE TOO MUCH LUXURY.

[Rhywun]

Who needs 6 different bathrooms?

[gaoxiaen]

Hey, I can go fishing in the back yard. Fire up the barbecue!

[lafe.long]

Pocatello, Idaho: Cafeteria Worker Reportedly Fired for Giving 12-Year-Old Girl Free Lunch

Dalene Bowden, who worked at Irving Middle School, was fired after giving away a $1.70 lunch last week to a student who said she was hungry and had no money, the Idaho State Journal reports.

TANSTAAFL!

[Pat (PM)]

The student wasn't part of the NSLP, so she was basically stealing from an army of federal bureaucrats and depriving us all of the multiplier effect on that $1.70. They should have suspended the student as well.

[RAHeinlein]

Where does this fall on the continuum of government workers doing (or not doing) their job?

[Atanarjuat]

Government workers are typically expected to be cruel and heartless and mindlessly stick to the rules, especially when they screw over people who aren't connected. She wouldn't have lasted long anyway.

[Tejicano]

I can only hope that whoever it was who reported this "transgression" to the authorities will someday, in the very near future, experience an eventually fatal incident with a woodchipper.

[lap83]

While it's irritating to think how easily the worker was fired compared to how hard it is to fire teachers, the ethical thing to do is to pay for the kids lunch. $1.70, come on.

[Robert]

You think it cost them $1.70 to give her lunch? Like there was no food left over, so they had to deprive some paying student of lunch to feed her? Come on, yourself, that lunch was effectively costless.

[Rhywun]

I remember when HS lunch was like $1.50 and that was 30 years ago. I bet it costs considerably more than $1.70 these days if you include overhead.

[Crusty Juggler]

Dear Residents of Whoville

Fairly amusing list of the Grinch's social demands.

I am not a Grinch. That's your word. I am a proud warrior prince.

Warning: article includes photo of petrifying live action Grinch.

[AlmightyJB]

That was funny

[lafe.long]

Rob Zombie: Filmmaker's New Movie Receives NC-17 Rating From Motion Picture Association of America

Rob sez:

Well, after two tries through the MPAA our rating on 31 remains NC-17. Maybe three is the charm to get an R rating. Why R you ask? Well, because your local theater will not show an NC-17. Even though you are a fucking adult... things much be censored for your enjoyment.

[Tejicano]

Once upon a time, just after I had finished USMC boot camp - but was still 17 - I went to a theater to watch Midway which was rated R for language and violence. After showing my military ID to the girl selling tickets, and being rejected due to my age, I told her "I just graduated from Marine boot camp. If I see any violence or hear anything I'm not prepared for I will let you know" . She sold me a ticket without further comment.

[AFSlade]

Yut.

[Crusty Juggler]

A late Christmas gift to yourself: You can now buy a civilian squad automatic weapon

[Agammamon]

Unfortunately you *can't*. Its just a semi-auto replica of the M249.

Its basically a bigger, heavier AR-15.

[AlmightyJB]

If you're going to go for bigger and heavier may as well go 20mm Vulcan. How much fun would that be?

http://www.anzioironworks.com/.....-RIFLE.htm

[Root Boy]

That is nice. I recently saw a semi-auto version of the MG42 (think it's a Yugo knockoff in 8 mm) for sale.

That would scare the shit out of your proggie and/or soccer mom friends, plus make a nice above the mantle show piece.

[Galactic Chipper Cdr Lytton]

I've always wanted a semi M60 to bring back "happy" memories. Used to be about $10K. Still have my wrench packed away somewhere.

As for the above, no paratrooper version with the sliding buttstock? Disappoint. I bet 5.56 mags still jam in that thing.

[AlmightyJB]

That's a helluva rate of fire on the full auto MG42. Talk about fun.

[lafe.long]

Free Basics: Reliance Communications Says It Has Agreed to Halt Facebook's Free Internet Service

Reliance said it agreed to a request from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India to stop the service Wednesday. An unnamed source told Times of India the request related to differential pricing.

Fucking net neutrality idiots. This is where it leads.

[Jerryskids]

Isn't this the same crap as Sprint being investigated for their offering the "All-In" plan where Netflix and Hulu and stuff isn't counted against your data cap on the grounds that offering free streaming on some apps is a restraint-of-trade against the apps they don't offer for free? Like if McDonald's offered free hamburgers Wendy's can sue because McDonald's is killing their business.

[Krombopulos Carl]

Fucking net neutrality idiots. This is where it leads.

Not sure "idiots" is the best word in this context. This is not an unintended consequence; many/most net neutrality advocates are explicitly against so-called zero rating.

Like if McDonald's offered free hamburgers Wendy's can sue because McDonald's is killing their business.

A better analogy is that is a grocery store offering Aquafina for free while still charging for Dasani.

And while I'm sure someone, somewhere has argued that services not subject to zero rating should be able to sue under restraint of trade law, in general that is not what net neutrality advocates I've read are saying; they "merely" say it should be banned.

[Free Society]

Yuletide greetings to you and your families, commentariat.

[straffinrun]

Merry Christmas, FS.

[Pat (PM)]

Merry Christmas ya filthy animal... and a Happy New Year!

[lafe.long]

Nintendo News: Company Wins Patent Suit on Mii Characters

RecogniCorp sued Nintendo, claiming that its Mii characters violated a patent relating to storage of police sketch-artist data, news outlets report. A judge ruled Monday that the patent was invalid.

[straffinrun]

And now Christmas is dead! In Venzuela. "We were rich and didn't even know it."

[commodious spittoon]

There's only so much schadenfreude I can stomach before feeling a little bad for Venezuelans, and I topped out a couple years ago. But not so my willingness to see these stories rolled up and used to thwack the Penns and Stones and amsocs of the world.

[straffinrun]

Schadenfreude is definitely a guilt pleasure. I prefer to hope that that they would learn that price controls and massive wealth redistribution ALWAYS fail. Then again, maybe my hope is just schadenfreude by another name.

[Kristen Bids No Trump]

"We were rich and we didn't even know it," said Belisario.

Most people come to this realization after a few years of commie-ism.

[Suthenboy]

"We were rich and didn't even know it."

No you weren't you stupid bitch. You just ran out of other people's money.

[Wizard with a Woodchipper]

LIBERTARIAN MOMENT! or WAR ON CHRISTMAS!

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-35167726

Somalia's government has banned the celebration of Christmas, warning that such Christian festivities could threaten the nation's Muslim faith.

[cavalier973]

I bet Muslim festivities threaten the Muslim faith more.

[Notorious UGCC]

OK, being as I'm a member of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, I'm going to rattle the tin cup again for the relief of the poor in Ukraine.

If enough people respond, I won't post any weekend links involving circumcision, deep dish pizza, the Civil War, or Abraham Lincoln.

[Notorious UGCC]

Let's try that link again

[Notorious UGCC]

http://www.cnewa.org/donations.....Q&pageno=1

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Links on Christmas Eve. Now that's what I expect for my money. Keep up the good work Ebenezer Gillespie.

[Warty]

And only a minimal amount of whining about mud people, women, and white nationalism from the low foreheads. It's a good day so far.

[Old Man With Candy]

They are busy today following the discovery of the news that they could count to twelve if they took both shoes off.

So, it's been a while. How's the dungeon business going?

[Warty]

Merry.

[GILMORE?]

"only a minimal amount of whining about mud people, women, and white nationalism"

OH SO I GUESS YOU THINK OBAMA PRAYIN FOR THE CHRISTIANS MAKES UP FOR ALL HISSA LEAVING THEMS TO DIE AT THE HANDS OF THE HEATHENS BECAUSE OF ALL OF HIS BEST-FRIENDS UP IN MUSLIM TOWN YOU TRAITOR I HOPE YOU GET A FANCY JAR OF YOUR OWN FARTS TO SNIFF AND JESUS MAKES YOUR CHILDEN ALL GAYS

[Francisco d'Anconia]

That's better!

[Ken Shultz]

Wow.

[Swiss Servator]

*standing ovation and garlands thrown*

[AlmightyJB]

Merry Christmas Ed

[commodious spittoon]

Nothing says Christmas eve like chest day and cardio while watching American Dad at the gym.

[commodious spittoon]

It's the one with the antichrist toddler, so it's especially festive.

[Atanarjuat]

Mark Steyn is guest hosting for Rush Limbaugh (no yokel). Apparently this guy is claiming to be offended by Trump's remarks about Hillary and is also an Obama speechwriter. Steyn's line was "a picture is worth a thousand words, unless they were written by John Favreau".

[Atanarjuat]

Er, Jon.

[Ken Shultz]

"President Obama said this Christmas he and his wife were praying for Christians being persecuted in the Middle East."

If that lyin' Kenyan bastard prayed for anybody, he was facing Mecca when he did it.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

'President Obama said this Christmas he and his wife were praying for Christians being persecuted in the Middle East.'

I bet they are.

[Crusty Juggler]

In today's LOLwinter file: I just went for a slow, meandering, four-mile jog along the serene banks of the Hudson River to sweat out last night's bad decisions.

Is this what Arizona is like?

[RAHeinlein]

People stop taking you seriously once they know you're a jogger...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bHwN6dvjQA

[Crusty Juggler]

No one takes me seriously, RA. It is part of my charm lure essence appeal.

[Sonoran Desert Rat]

Not really. If you have dark skin we would stop you every hundred yards or so to check your papers.

[Rich]

The DNI emails about Benghazi are heavily redacted and appear to contain little new information.

No shit?

[Sevo]

Holy cow! The NYT prints something worthwhile:

"Imagining a World Without Growth"
[...]
"Zero growth gave us Genghis Khan and the Middle Ages, conquest and subjugation. It fostered an order in which the only mechanism to get ahead was to plunder one's neighbor. Economic growth opened up a much better alternative: trade."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12......html?_r=0

It's a debunking of the watermelons' hopes of a zero-growth economy, and a no-foolin' one.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Except that the Pax Mongolica saw trade in Eurasia reach unseen heights along the Silk Road. Such trade also led to the exchange of ideas; particularly the introduction of paper currency, banking, and insurance from Asia to Europe. Mongolian law also introduced the ideas of religious freedom and professionalization.

Fuck this guy and his lazy characterizations.

[Sevo]

I don't think that invalidates his point.
But I'd sure like some references; Hansen's "Silk Road" is about all I've read on it.

[Heroic Mulatto]

But I'd sure like some references; Hansen's "Silk Road" is about all I've read on i

I recommend anything by Weatherford, particularly Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World.

I would argue that it is clear the reason the Mongols expanded so aggressively was that they were basically mercantilists. The reason they sought control of the Silk Road was precisely because there was trade occurring on it.

[Swiss Servator]

The "value subtracted" tax.

[Sevo]

On the wish list.

[commodious spittoon]

Up until they nabbed that Ulbricht guy, sure.

[GILMORE?]

Fuckin Mongorians

[Raven Nation]

Not to mention that most of the European concepts of a modern economy grew out of the Middle Ages that he disparages. His overall point is valid, but you're right on his generalizations.

[Sevo]

Raven Nation|12.24.15 @ 1:59PM|#
"Not to mention that most of the European concepts of a modern economy grew out of the Middle Ages that he disparages"

Suggest "The Edge of the World: A Cultural History of the North Sea and the Transformation of Europe", Pye. A lot of progress occurred on the fringes which influenced the center more than I had understood.

[Heroic Mulatto]

The Edge of the World: A Cultural History of the North Sea and the Transformation of Europe

I would say that in the same way as the Mongols, the Vikings don't get a fair shake in the popular imagination.

[Limpee Wiltstock]

Their influence on European cultural development was outrageously disproportionate. There's a ton of social innovations that became central to modern Europe that sprung up directly out of customs introduced by the Danelaw.

[Raven Nation]

Thanks.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Indeed. I'm not saying trade doesn't make the world a better, more peaceful place. However, the world wasn't huddled shivering in caves before Adam Smith either. The depiction of Mongols as brutes comes more from Prussian gelbe Gefahr (how ironic!) than any historical reality. The Mongols certainly treated their vassals better than the Romans did!

[Ken Shultz]

Maybe the baby boomer liberals are finally getting scared of the monsters they've created.

Maybe this is like Nixon in China. Only a rabid anti-communist could cut a deal with the communists. Maybe the only people who can reach the SJWs, BLMs, OWSs, and environmental XYZs are like a former member of the NYT's Editorial Board.

The steady state economy people really are advocating authoritarianism. I'm not sure how much of an argument libertarians can have with those who deny that valuing other people and their right to make choices for themselves is what it means to be ethical.

"The first institution is to correct inequality by putting minimum and maximum limits on incomes, maximum limits on wealth, and then redistribute accordingly.

The second institution is to stabilise the population by issuing transferable reproduction licenses to all fertile women at a level corresponding with the general replacement fertility in society.

The third institution is to stabilise the level of capital by issuing and selling depletion quotas that put quantitative restrictions on the flow of resources in the economy. Quotas effectively minimise the throughput of resources necessary to maintain any given level of capital (as opposed to taxes, that merely alter the prevailing price structure).

http://tinyurl.com/q4juon7

I wish they were kidding.

If policing reproduction didn't make the population drop quickly enough, well, these are people without scruples.

[sarcasmic]

The first institution is to correct inequality by putting minimum and maximum limits on incomes, maximum limits on wealth, and then redistribute accordingly.

My father supports this concept of a maximum income and a tax on wealth. Basically a 100% tax on income above some arbitrary amount. I tried to give a hypothetical example of say a surgeon who makes an assload of money per operation. Say by June he reaches his maximum income. What incentive will he have to do any more operations for the rest of the year? He'd be a dumbass to not take the rest of the year off and go have fun in the sun. But my father seems to feel that the guy will keep working out of the goodness of his greedy capitalist heart, though he knows that he won't see one red cent for his trouble. Can't reason someone out of a belief that they didn't reason themselves into.

[Sevo]

"What incentive will he have to do any more operations for the rest of the year? He'd be a dumbass to not take the rest of the year off and go have fun in the sun."

Can't cite the source right now, but it was a book on various economic systems, and it leaned left. But even they admitted having problems with MDs in Denmark staying home to paint the house instead of treating patients.

[sarcasmic]

Enslave them for the greater good.

[Suthenboy]

I think Belgium (?) has already taken that route.

[Ken Shultz]

I think the problem stems from people getting distracted by the money.

That restriction isn't really on money. It's a restriction on people.

Legitimacy is all about the means of justifying the use of government force.

People don't feel like they need to justify using government force against money. Because money isn't people, they try to dodge the whole question of legitimacy by making it about inanimate objects.

Maybe we should stop calling it the "War on Drugs". It's a war on people.

Teh Korporatens R'nt teh Peoplz!

But you can't arbitrarily do things to shareholder's property without doing something to shareholders. You can't arbitrarily use government force against marijuana without using force against pot smokers, too, and you can't use government force to limit people's incomes without using force against the people who earn those incomes.

If it's all about dehumanization, that is the shittiest way possible of trying to legitimize government force.

And it is all about the same question: By what means do you justify the government using the threat of violence to inflict your will on other people?

As a small state libertarian, I believe that we all have an obligation to respect each other's rights--and I think the government can legitimately use force to protect our rights from foreign threats and criminals.

Tony and the segregationists think our rights are a popularity contest.

Fuck Tony and the segregationists he rode in on.

[Rhywun]

It's time to finally put a stop to monetary violence.

[Ms. Eleanor Lavish]

This maybe the case for some wealthy people but for most it isn't.

Money is a secondary consideration - purely a means of keeping score - for many very wealthy people.

[Limpee Wiltstock]

It doesn't seem to me that there ever was such a thing as a zero-growth ?conomy till maybe some planned ?conomies in modern totalitarian hellholes. In fact, I think the idea is kind of nonsensical. It's something the flipping Marxists imagine in their stupid brains and then everyone else plays along like it actually makes sense and might be a true analog of something that could exist in reality. It's like people arguing over psychiatric "diagnoses" or the rights of "society".

[GamerFromJump]

Remember when there was a big kerfluffle because Sam Harris said there were some ideas so dangerous to humanity that it might be acceptable to shoot people for them.

He was right, and the italicized are those.

[Sevo]

South America runs out of China's money:

"South American left in retreat as economic crisis deepens"
[...]
"Now that the Asian giant is struggling, prices for the region's copper, soy beans and oil have plummeted along with its currencies, taking with them the aspirations of millions of families that rose into the middle class on the back of the economic boom."
http://www.newsadvance.com/new.....a6423.html

The concept of *producing* something of value doesn't seem to take root down south.

[Suthenboy]

You can't have anything or raise yourself up in any way down there. If you do it will be taken from you or your head will be cut off.

[Root Boy]

See Argentina and Venezuela for examples.

[Cytotoxic]

Cutting Immigration Myths Down to Size

http://www.cato.org/publicatio.....-down-size

Myth number four: Immigrants impose a financial burden on taxpayers. ...because immigrants tend to come to the United States during the start of their working years ?between the ages of 18 and 35 ? they make very large net contributions to the two largest income transfer programs: Social Security and Medicare. When the payroll tax contributions of immigrants are taken into account, the Urban Institute found that the foreign born constitute a net fiscal windfall to the public sector of some $20 billion a year.

Myth number five: Immigrants depress the wages and working conditions of American citizens. New widely cited research purportedly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics declares that immigrants are responsible for "about 50 percent of the decline in real wages for the lowest-skilled workers." Yet this "study" was never sanctioned or endorsed by the BLS. It is also contradicted by virtually all other studies on the subject. According to economist George Borjas, who is often cited by the opponents of immigration: "The methodological arsenal of modern econometrics cannot detect a single shred of evidence that immigrants have a sizeable adverse impact on the earnings and employment opportunities of natives." For example, in the 1980s the U.S. accepted 7 million new immigrants, but unemployment fell sharply and family incomes rose.

[Cytotoxic]

I had to cut some out because of the character limit.

[sarcasmic]

Nativists like John fail to understand that immigrants create demand. They buy stuff. And they need to work in order to have money to buy that stuff. In a consumption driven economy, they increase consumption. That's not a bad thing. Not only that, but immigrants buy stuff that natives do not supply. So these immigrants create demand that other immigrants are more than happy to supply. That's why you see Asian and Arab markets run by Asians and Arabs. All of that grows the economy, while giving natives more things to buy. It's a win-win.

[Heroic Mulatto]

No one needs more than 12 types of banh mi.

[kbolino]

I'm tired of the immigration arguments. A substantial number of arguers don't want to admit that there are risks to permissive immigration laws, and an equal number don't want to let go of their quasi-socialist economic fallacies. There's only so many times you can watch disingenuous asshats talk past each other before you lose interest in the topic altogether.

[sarcasmic]

Those who focus on the risks often ignore the rewards.

[GILMORE?]

Another way of looking at it....is that, *regardless of which view is actually "Correct" =

i.e. - is immigration a net boon to the US, and claims about economic/criminal impact are not just false - the reverse is true....?
- OR -
Is immigration a net drain on economic resources & productivity, and a major driver of crime, etc?

that, regardless of which of the above is actually "more true" or "closer to the truth"...
...that the truth of the context is that its not really that big a fucking deal

Immigration is basically the "Global Warming" (or Gun Control) of the Right. They want to turn it into the great fucking Issue of Our Lifetimes, as though its consequences are so immediate and pressing and significant.

The truth is that net immigration has decreased - particularly from Mexico - almost every year for the last decade

And even the worst-case projections of their role in the economy is "mixed". And we face far greater threat to "western civilization" from a legion of moronic white college kids

The US is not fucking sweden, and i'm sick of hearing all these Alt-Rightist diaper-wearers moaning about how there's a fucking cultural genocide in the works. The Taco Trucks are not going to undermine Western Civilization, and there's no Muslim Rape Epidemic. And Steve Sailer is an asshat.

*i just threw that last one in because, meh, he is.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

They want to turn it into the great fucking Issue of Our Lifetimes, as though its consequences are so immediate and pressing and significant.

I'm pro freedom of movement, philosophically speaking. I acknowledge an issue with offering immigrants welfare. I'm guessing it's a slight net positive, with current policies in place. But truth be told, immigration is barely a blip on my RADAR when compared to other issues. I agree with you, it's certainly not the boogeyman Republicans make it out to be. It's misdirection and scapegoating for political gain.

[GILMORE?]

"It's misdirection and scapegoating for political gain."

Right = just like "Climate Change" and Gun Control...

... both issues that Lefty polls use to rile up their base, and think that there's some magical Legislative-solution-to.... which they know (or should) in the end will be barely-affected (if at all) by anything they do... and which conveniently distracts the public away from more-important and obvious things they SHOULD be doing (FY cut spending) and gives them room to get on with paying off constituents.

[Root Boy]

The studies don't seem to distinguish between illegals and legals and illegals seem to be the most low skilled and most likely to use social services (and schools). But,that said, while it may be scapegoating for political gain (not for the supposed establishment Repubs), I think it's pretty undeniable that more hispanic citizens will eventually turn places like Texas blue.

Fun times ahead.

[GILMORE?]

" I think it's pretty undeniable that more hispanic citizens will eventually turn places like Texas blue."

Because everyone votes the way their parents did.

[Cytotoxic]

"I think it's pretty undeniable that more hispanic citizens will eventually turn places like Texas blue."

Actually it's 100% deniable because there's not a shred of evidence that it's true.

[Pat (PM)]

After reaching a record high in 2012, identification with the Democratic Party among Latino registered voters has returned to 2010 levels. According to the survey, 63% of Latino registered voters today say they identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party. Meanwhile, the share of Latino registered voters who identify with or lean toward the Republican Party has increased over the last few years, reaching 27% today, up from 20% in 2011.

I mean, just because Hispanic voters register and vote Democratic 2 to 1 over Republican doesn't mean they're going to change the political process at all in the states where they will be the majority in less than 10 years.

[kbolino]

There is so much narrative-building going on that I can't begin to get a handle on what is actually happening. I don't live in Sweden, I don't know what Sweden is like, I can't begin to know whether or not there's a Muslim-perpetrated "rape epidemic" there. Half the people who claim there is would in any other context be decrying the incorrect use of the word "epidemic", for Christ's sake. And there's that whole longstanding discussion about what "rape" means in Sweden, and whether or not there was a native Swedish-perpetrated "rape epidemic" (cf. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series) already taking place.

All of this is against a backdrop of many of our own major cities being utter shitholes with very serious problems but consisting mostly of people whose grandparents' grandparents were born on US soil. Then I keep hearing praise of the same "European culture" that produced fascism and socialism while drawing the rest of the world into not one but two horrendously destructive wars. Meanwhile we are being led by liars and charlatans elected by the very same people who are somehow going to "come to their senses" and "do the right thing".

A calm and sober discussion is basically out of the picture, with sniping, hysterics, and hypocritical-cum-sanctimonious bluster having ruled the day.

[Ms. Eleanor Lavish]

There's so much self-satisfied moral preening and/or self-indulgent panic surrounding immigration it's impossible for me to tip-toe through the derp.

The only people more annoying then those pants shitter are those who can only see immigration through a romanticized historic lens - as if circumstances and context never change. I'd really like to see or read an honest discussion of the pros and cons of immigration but that just doesn't happen here at reason or even in the comments because nearly everyone is so invested in their own team their impervious to conversation.

I have no idea who Steve Sailor is or what "alt-right" means.

[kbolino]

If Reason doesn't want to get rid of their more obnoxious idiot writers, they should at least hire some saner voices to balance them out.

[Ms. Eleanor Lavish]

Meh. people are lazy and stupid. It takes a lot of effort to research a topic completely, read many and varied sources, think deeply on it, question your own position and principles. And do that on a continuing basis.

Better to adopt a position consistent with your in group, read material that supports the same position and then pontificate on what fucking idiots the other team is all while earning a living as a writer and thinker.

[Lord Rollingpin]

'It takes a lot of effort to research a topic completely, read many and varied sources,...'
That! When you need to bang out four or five articles a day, there isn't the time or money to cover the research. Back in the days when newspapers were a license to print money they could afford specialist journalists, today not so much. It's not just Reason, it's pretty much all the national press.

[Suthenboy]

It certainly has been a big win for most european countries.

[Cytotoxic]

It certainly has.

[Cytotoxic]

Further, demand does not create prosperity. It's the other way around.

[Not okay]

Why don't places with the highest populations have the largest per capita wealth?

[Cytotoxic]

Non-sequitor.

[Not okay]

Hardly, your link claimed with more immigrants incomes grew. Someone else added that immigrants create demand.

Either there is something about the particular immigrants the US is getting to make incomes grow or simple growth in population increases incomes. Or incomes would have risen anyway.

If it's that US immigrants only increase income because they're special then we need to know what's special about them. If it's just that more people equals more demand then we know they're wrong. Plenty of places have tons of people and are still poor.

[Lord at War]

because immigrants tend to come to the United States during the start of their working years ?between the ages of 18 and 35 ? they make very large net contributions to the two largest income transfer programs: Social Security and Medicare.

Hooray! More people whose money we can steal.

[Atanarjuat]

What would the mourning lynx be without a Daily Mail story...

Saudi authorities close down shop selling traditional camel urine drinks? after discovering the owner had been filling the bottles with his own bodily waste

Apparently if Mohammed sez to drink camel piss, that's good enough for the Saudis.

[__Warren__]

The Religion of Pees!

[Muzzled Woodchipper]

Winner winner chicken dinner.

[__Warren__]

But yet no narrowed gaze from the Helvetian Hussar!

[Swiss Servator]

*narrows gaze*

I was INFANTRY, dammit!

[__Warren__]

Helvetian Hobelar?

[DEG]

I guess everyone at reason went home already.

PARTY TIME!

[See Double You]

Merry Fucking Night Before Christmas, Reasonoids!

[Sanjuro Tsubaki]

ISIS is looking for recruits in Somalia....and Minnesota, no doubt...

[AlmightyJB]

And Columbus

[Fist of Etiquette]

What a gyp.

Merry Federal Day, everyone.

[Rhywun]

Aw, maybe they're just late again. Keep the hope alive.

[Juvenile Bluster]

What a gyp.

Racist.

Happy Federal Holiday to all. May your Federal Holiday be as free from government interference as possible.

Next year in Jerusalem Somalia!

[paranoid android]

I say we boycott the P.M. links until they put up P.M. links!

WHO'S WITH ME?

[Juvenile Bluster]

We're not gonna protest.

[Mr Lizard]

The scourge of Canadian mall violence continues

http://abcnews.go.com/US/repor.....d=35946172

[Juvenile Bluster]

North Carolina's in Canada now? Cool.

[Mr Lizard]

*rubs forehead*

Let's try this again: Canadian perpetrated violence, Or Rampaging Mondays

[Galactic Chipper Cdr Lytton]

36-50 or fight!

[Rhywun]

O Canada

[Jerry on the rocks]

Armed with what, a candy cane?

[Wasteland Wanderer]

Reminder: Voting for Popehat's Censorious Asshat of the Year Award is still open. Our favorite US Attorneys, Preet "Wood" Bharara and Niketh "Chipper" Velamoor are on the list of nominees, but are still in second place, though only by about 20 votes.

The way the system is set up, you have about three or four votes; it will only take five or six people to put Preet and Niketh over the top. O vote early, and vote often.

[AlmightyJB]

Still 20

[AlmightyJB]

Getting further behind

[AlmightyJB]

5 more to take the lead

[SusanM]

(with apologies to the BBC)

I wonder if I might crave your momentary indulgence in order to discharge a by no means disagreeable obligation which has, over the years, become more or less established practice in government service as we approach the terminal period of the year ? calendar, of course, not financial ? in fact, not to put too fine a point on it, Week Fifty-One ? and submit to you, with all appropriate deference, for your consideration at a convenient juncture, a sincere and sanguine expectation ? indeed confidence ? indeed one might go so far as to say hope ? that the aforementioned period may be, at the end of the day, when all relevant factors have been taken into consideration, susceptible to being deemed to be such as to merit a final verdict of having been by no means unsatisfactory in its overall outcome and, in the final analysis, to give grounds for being judged, on mature reflection, to have been conducive to generating a degree of gratification which will be seen in retrospect to have been significantly higher than the general average.

[Ms. Eleanor Lavish]

And a Merry Christmas to you as well.

[Suthenboy]

Ernest Hemingway?

[Rhywun]

It's very Dickensian.

[AlmightyJB]

Yeah, hope you get laid too. Merry Christmas

[Libertarian]

God bless the USA. Where ALL the schools are above average.

--- H. Clinton

[SIV]

I guess we have to wait for Federal Holiday to get the flurry of Jacob Sullum posts. As one of the few actual libertarians at Reason he doesn't celebrate Federal Holiday.

[simplybe]

Merry Christmas to the Reason staff and thank you one and all.

[straffinrun]

Enjoy your bird today, boys. And don't forget to chew.

[Old.Mexican]

Have a Merry Christmas!

[Galactic Chipper Cdr Lytton]

A.M. lynx only? 59 minute rule for reason staff today? Total bait and switch just after the webathon too.

Anyhow, Merry Christmas everyone!

[Quincy.]

Happy.

[Crusty Juggler]

clap along if you feel like a room without a roof.

[Quincy.]

Tacky.

[Quincy.]

But seriously, *hugs*. Happy Federal Holiday. *big smoochy kiss*

[Crusty Juggler]

Huggles right back at you

[sarcasmic]

There once was a man from...

[Quincy.]

...Bethlehem.

[Jerryskids]

Never forget.

And Merry Christmas to all y'all.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Merry X-Mas, You princes of Maine, you kings of New England!

[Sevo]

The holidays are a time of great cheer and renewel.
To those who have no desire to run my life, I hope your last year was prosperous, healthy and enjoyable, and may the next be better yet.

[SIV]

Merry Christmas you Godless cosmotarian fucks!

[Hyperion]

Merry Christmas you rat fucking anarchist!

[SIV]

Damn straight!

[SIV]

Merry Christmas you Godless cosmotarian fucks!

[SIV]

Jesus is the reason for the season!

(Coming from a confirmed agnostic)

[Nativist, Racist & Xenophobe]

Happy Christmas! Equality Is Over (If You Want It)

[JoWaDat889]

Obama is the man and he is just cool liek that.

http://www.GoneAnon.tk

[JoWaDat889]

Come on man that makes a lot of sense dude.

http://www.GoneAnon.tk

[Crusty Juggler]

*Forwarding to my mother to shame her for all of those disappointing Christmas'.*

[Rich]

"Mommy!"

[Heroic Mulatto]

DO NOT WANT!

[Ken Shultz]

So someone finally found the proverbial hooker with a heart of gold?

How much does she make per shoot? A thousand bucks?

All year? How many shoots did she do since last Christmas?

How much does an Xbox, a tablet, and a BB-8 toy cost anyway? Less than a thousand bucks, right?

What'd she do with the rest of the money? Give it to an orphanage?

I don't think so.

That's not the proverbial hooker/porn star/stripper with a heart of gold. I'm not sure where the real one is.

But if she's anywhere, we should probably look for her in Vegas.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Good for her.

[Rhywun]

I like how she's getting scorn for doing porn but not for raising a spoiled brat.

*head-desk*

[GILMORE?]

Have you VISITED any of these pornhouses you speak of? I see an empty place at this table. I see a dildo without an owner, carefully preserved. If these shadows remain unaltered by the future, the child will go without his XBONE.

[Limpee Wiltstock]

I'd imagine she spent the rest of it on the drugs necessary to keep working.

Like pretty much everyone else does at whatever jobs they do for a living.

At least she's able to end up with some profits at the end. A lot of folks I know do jobs that seems a lot less demanding and they end up having to spend so much on drugs so they can keep getting to work that they are actually taking a loss for working.

[JeremyR]

From the article, "the young mom now gets paid $743 per scene"

Which seems low until you look at her picture. She's presumably not doing any sort of high quality porn...

[Swiss Servator]

You are killing it today!

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Buon Natale!

E Buon Natale a tutti.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Meh, kid wants a bike. He wasn't asking for a Porsche.

Mom did porn got a better job to buy son's Christmas presents

I don't see the problem.

[lap83]

Agreed. Also, "devastated"? Seriously, you think that is a sane reaction to your kid not having the most expensive toys?

[Suthenboy]

Notice how those certain that global warming is a certainty always qualify their predictions of doom with a 'may'.
They never mention that none of these things are actually occurring or that none of the past predictions have come to pass.

[Rhywun]

I didn't have a lot growing up but my mom was past her prime porn years when I was that age; when I behaved like that kid I got the speech about "starving kids in Africa" or something. What happened to that?

[Francisco d'Anconia]

So, do you think this is a story about a spoiled child or is it a story designed to slut shame a woman who wants more for her kid?

[Limpee Wiltstock]

When my parents gae me gifts during Xmas time when I was a child, I actually found it sort of confusing and rather disturbing. In fact, I spent a lot of the time puking I was so freaked out. I had enough trouble just trying to figure why they wasted so much money on me normally. For some time, I was convinced it must be because they intended to butcher me when I got up to size. I knew for sure I wasn't a profitable investment otherwise. For some reason, it never seemed credible that people would invest so much in tending their children if they didn't have a fair expectation of a solid return at some point. If anything, the situation, generally, has got even more unintelligible to me over the years. It's like some kind of bad habit that gets past on from generation to generation, each one sinking even deeper into it.

[Root Boy]

Normal people should focus on the $2K in toys she bought her spoiled crotch fruit, but I'm sure social me-me-media will talk about how terrible it is to resort to porn to provide the basics for her kids. Income inequality type stuff.

[Rhywun]

I couldn't care less about the porn. But I know MSM and what they will focus on.

[GILMORE?]

Today is the day that I kill it for your sins.

[Root Boy]

That's why they post the cheescake shot of her - it's titillating and gets clicks.

[Limpee Wiltstock]

And probably a job that does a lot more public good than most the fucking jobs these other dumb bitches who can't get their acts together enough to do porno and get paid for it do. At least she's not doing actual harm, like for instance she would be if she was working as a physician's assistant or fucking people over at the DMV all day.

[SIV]

Amen

[Lord Rollingpin]

No need, I have an under the table deal with Lucifer.

[Lord Rollingpin]

' I knew for sure I wasn't a profitable investment otherwise.'
Now he tells me. I stocked up on orphans hoping to ride the organ boom, then cheap Chinese eyes and kidneys crashed the market...sob.

[AlexInCT]

Grazie mille e lo steso per lei!