Scalia Dead, Record Year for Civilian Casualties in Afghanistan, Grammy's Tonight: A.M. Links

• 

  The Onion

  Justice Antonin Scalia died over the weekend.

• 2015 was a record year for civilian casualties in Afghanistan, just as the last six years were.
• The Northeastern United States got record-breaking cold weather for Valentine's Day.
• Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert began his 19-month jail sentence today.
• The former defense minister of Somalia was killed in a car bombing.
• The Grammys are tonight. Expect someone from the cultural elite to lecture you about something.

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Links on Presidents Day? I guess you really can't spell treason without reason.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Hello.

Scalia is dead?!?

How come no one told me?

[Swiss Servator]

We were waiting for the Cleveland Browns to form a pall bearer group first.

I hear Lou Reed is performing at the memorial service!

[Free Society]

I heard Lou Reed is going to be the next SCOTUS appointee.

[Sevo]

You heard wrong; it's Abe Vigoda.

[Cdr Lytton]

The Golden Girls: How on TV show turned a generation of justices into originalists.

[Cdr Lytton]

*one* TV show

[Juvenile Bluster]

Good morning.

Took a week off Reason due to being on vacation. Not going back and reading archives. Anything interesting happen?

[Irish ?s ESB]

Scalia joined Lou Reed in the great Libertarian Moment in the sky.

[Free Society]

well done

[Rich]

It turns out we are *all* Tulpa.

[Crusty Juggler]

Shut up, Tulpa!

[Rich]

😎

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

But seriously, Rich is Tulpa.

[Rich]

It's Tulpas all the way down!

[Citizen X]

Shut up, Weigel!

[Meow-shawn!]

You really are the Scalia of HnR comedy

[Trigger Warning]

I want him to nominate Holder, so we can watch him get grilled about F&F, and then confirmed anyway. Because the GOP are feckless, craven retards.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Justice Antonin Scalia died over the weekend.

Scalia's legacy will be his unfortunate timing.

[Hamster of Doom]

It's pure applesauce.

[coloraDOOM]

Hamster, thanks for the breakfast suggestion. It was great there.

[BearOdinson]

You think Fish is playing Scalia on Broadway in heaven?

[Fist of Etiquette]

The former defense minister of Somalia was killed in a car bombing.

Everyone together now: A car? What was it driving on?

[Hamster of Doom]

Fertilizer mix and a timer, apparently.

[Hyperbolical]

Well, if it weren't for roads he might still be alive. There's that.

[Steve G]

Three wheels and a deep dish pizza pan.
...Oh wait, you meant the *other* meme

[Chipper Morning Wood]

An old animal trail.

Seriously, though. I wish Reason would send a reporter to Somalia. Any takers?

[Lord Humungus]

Horny Elephant Goes on Car Crushing Rampage After Getting Rejected by Female Elephant

On Friday, a wild elephant made his way out of a nature reserve in southern China and headed for the highway. He had some cars to crush.

Officials from the Xishuangbanna prefecture say that the elephant had been in competition with another male elephant over the affections of a lady elephant, and was ultimately her second choice suitor. This left him moody and irritable with some tensions that needed to be released, if you know what I mean.

Smashing a car is almost like having an orgasm, and it tempers the sting of rejection slightly. But remember?a mangled wreck won't hold you close at night.

[straffinrun]

BTW, where's John been?

[Swiss Servator]

*narrows gaze and begins polite applause, simultaneously*

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

*nods head knowingly, with devilish smile*

[Atanarjuat]

Humans, on the other hand, just go online and read PUA blogs when that happens.

[Brett L]

I guess if you're old enough to remember the pre-porn days, you remember casual bar fights. "I'm George Washington Hayduke, and I hear y'all are a bunch of free-lovin' hippies."

[BearOdinson]

Hey, if I didn't have fingers and opposable thumbs, I probably would destroy some cars as well!

[Zeb]

You'd think they could get something going with their trunks and 6' dongs.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

The former defense minister of Somalia was killed in a car bombing.

He wouldn't have gotten very far anyways with the lack of roadz and all.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Northeastern United States got record-breaking cold weather for Valentine's Day.

Climate Change is the ultimate cockblock. Or is it the ultimate wingman?

[BearOdinson]

So was this weather or climate? Does this contradict the AGW "hypothesis" because of cold? Or does it support it because "extreme" cold?

[Free Society]

If it contradicts, it's weather. If it supports, then it's climate.

[Atanarjuat]

I think they just don't talk about climate change during cold weather, kind of like how war deaths were such a hot topic up until Jan 2009.

[BearOdinson]

No shit! When was the last time the MSM reported about deaths in Afghanistan? Syria and Iraq are ok because it was all Bush's fault.

[Zeb]

This joke gets funnier every time.

[Anomalous]

Damn shrinkage.

[Lord Humungus]

Wife Battered Husband After She Found Dildo Among His Belongings, Cops Charge

As detailed in court records, the 48-year-old Chao and Joshua Sinclair, who have been married for just over a year, were driving to a new residence in Sarasota when Gao confronted Sinclair about the sex toy she discovered.

In a police statement, Sinclair wrote that Gao became furious upon learning from him that "a dildo she found was actually for me to use."

An argument between the couple then allegedly turned physical. Sinclair charged that Gao--who was driving at the time--began to "beat and slap and pinch my face with her hand repeatedly" for about 30 minutes. The attack ended, Sinclair said, when the duo arrived at their new home (from which he dialed police).

[Rich]

Now, *that* is distracted driving.

[Pope Jimbo]

Since he is a victim of spousal abuse, I wonder if they will let him into a shelter?

I'd recommend the Tempura House. It is a shelter for lightly battered women...

[Lord Humungus]

boo

[Free Society]

*golf clap*

[Chipper Morning Wood]

I raughed

[EMD]

Reason comments are the online equivalent of Mos Eisley, and I'm okay with that.

[Anomalous]

Does this violate the penal code in that state?

[Fist of Etiquette]

On a personal note, I don't want to inflame jealousies in my fellow commenters but you should know that I'm imbibing cool, refreshing water from a black, Reason-branded bottle that I received through the post as a reward I can only assume for making awesome so many threads.

[Swiss Servator]

Water?!

[Fist of Etiquette]

If you had read the warning label that came with it you would see that water is the only thing it's rated to carry.

[straffinrun]

Or maybe a little vinegar solution.

[Princess Trigger]

I read that long-ass, warning note and a part of my soul died.
There is no libertarian moment.

[Fist of Etiquette]

"DO NOT INSERT ANY BODY PARTS OR FOREIGN OBJECTS INTO BOTTLE, SERIOUS INJURY MAY OCCUR"

It warns nothing of the reverse, though.

[Pope Jimbo]

I keep communion Jameson in mine. For emergencies and such.

[Elspeth Flashman]

Is this different from every-day Jameson?

[Pope Jimbo]

It is way different. It is transmuted into the blood of Jesus O'Paddy when you drink it.

[Elspeth Flashman]

Nice, I'm jealous.

[Pope Jimbo]

For 10% of your gross (not net), you can join my church and partake in such glories.

[Elspeth Flashman]

Sheesh, don't you have a friendly - or free-"get to know you" sample?

[Pope Jimbo]

That is the problem with trying to convert our Hebrew brothers. You are so cheap....

[EMD]

Mexican-Irishman?

[straffinrun]

Does it have a nozzle?

[Fist of Etiquette]

The warning label says you're not allowed to douche with it; I already checked.

[Cdr Lytton]

Check again. I think it actually says you're not allowed to be a douche while drinking from it.

[Fist of Etiquette]

While drinking from a libertarian magazine water bottle? I don't see how that would be possible.

[Crusty Juggler]

"Tis best to weigh the enemy more mighty than he seems."

[Anomalous]

Is that a quote from George McClellan?

[Idle Hands]

Reason-branded bottle that I received through the post as a reward I can only assume for making awesome so many threads.

I never pictured you as somebody who dresses sharply.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I'm always in my finest Sunday-go-to-meeting bib overalls.

[MSimon]

Try just the bib.

[Rich]

You mean, it's not a black, Reason-branded dildo?

[Pope Jimbo]

Do I need to stop this moving truck and slap you up?

/Florida Woman

[Fist of Etiquette]

Apparently I'm not a First Prize commenter.

[Elspeth Flashman]

Limited time only, click here to stop the annoying pop ups . . .

[bacon-magic]

Flint water?

[Mike Laursen]

Do you also tell all your co-workers when you get a bonus?

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Stephen Fry abruptly quits Twitter after backlash to joke

Bafta show host Stephen Fry appears to have deleted his Twitter profile in the wake of his controversial comments during Sunday night's show.

Fry faced strong criticism online for comparing costume designer Jenny Beavan to a "bag lady" when she picked up her Bafta for Mad Max.

Twitter users demanded Fry apologise for his comments over her clothes.

But Fry, a prolific Twitter user, said online afterwards Beavan was "a dear friend" who had "got" the joke.

The comedian and broadcaster underlined the point by posting a photo of the pair at the Bafta after-party.

He wrote: "Jenny Baglady Beavan and Stephen Outrageous Misogynist Swine Fry at the after party."

But on Monday morning, Fry appeared to have removed himself from the site.

Fry has been presenting the show for 11 years and audiences have become used to his cutting wit in the course of his role, often involving risque quips about many of the stars involved.

Add another scalp to the Twitter SJW lodge wall.

[Swiss Servator]

And Twitter takes another small step toward irrelevancy...

[Brett L]

If Twitter were Xeno's Tortoise, it would be moving microns further towards irrelevance anyhow.

[Steevie]

it can't happen fast enough.

[Fist of Etiquette]

But Fry, a prolific Twitter user, said online afterwards Beavan was "a dear friend" who had "got" the joke.

HOW DOES THAT MATTER?

[Sal Paradise]

Bent noses matter!

[SusanM]

Not sure about that. Fry is legendarily hypersensitive to any criticism.

[Rich]

Indeed, he's suing you as we speak.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

What's so bad about that?

For once I'd like someone rather than delete their account to tell everyone to fuck off.

[BearOdinson]

Just goes to show that many of the these so-called "brave" comedians are only brave when they face off against people they are ideologically opposed to (and who they know won't blow them up). But accidentally tick off the SJW crowd and they just run away.

[Zeb]

Or it could be that he's just sick of their shit. I thin he was very popular on Twit-face, so it could have been a big "fuck you" to the humorless twats. Sort of like Seinfeld or Chris Rock refusing to do college campuses.

[EMD]

But he's gay!

It's ouroboroses all the way down.

[Lord Humungus]

Anti-migrant force builds in Europe, hurting Merkel's quest

Orban's plan will feature prominently Monday at a meeting in Prague of leaders from four nations in an informal gathering known as the Visegrad group: Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Visegrad group, formed 25 years ago to further the nations' European integration, is marking that anniversary Monday. Still, it has only recently found a common purpose in its unified opposition to accepting any significant number of migrants.

This determination has emboldened the group, one of the new mini-blocs emerging lately in Europe due to the continent's chaotic, inadequate response to its largest migration crisis since World War II. The Visegrad group is also becoming a force that threatens the plans of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who wants to resettle newcomers across the continent while also slowing down the influx.

"The plan to build a new "European defense line" along the border of Bulgaria and Macedonia with Greece is a major foreign policy initiative for the Visegrad Four and an attempt to re-establish itself as a notable political force within the EU," said Vit Dostal, an analyst with the Association for International Affairs, a Prague-based think tank.

[Atanarjuat]

At least they choose a bunch of appropriately ominous-sounding names for future history students to have to remember.

[Suthenboy]

It isnt going to end well. Every Euro blog I see is filled with comments demanding the heads of the people who let this happen. Merkel is going to end up with her very own lamp post.

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

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

It's incredible. What were they thinking?

First five minutes are about Merkel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pnANQl4WJw

[CatoTheChipper]

The clip that portrayed Merkel's overt displeasure at being handed a German flag was particularly weird.

There is something wrong with that woman, and with Germans who are happy to be invaded by millions of Muslims with no German language skills, little education, no job skills, no German cultural affinity, no family ties in Germany, and a hankering for sharia.

[Brett L]

Intolerance is like facism, always descending on the US and landing on Europe. Although, I think this is more the Moorish Invasion than the Vandals protest march through Rome.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Protest march through Rome?

[Brett L]

The Sack of Rome was a pretty desultory affair. The Vandals were pissed that the didn't get their promised subsidy for a few years, wandered down to Rome, took what they thought was fair, and fucked off to the Wast. All without ever really having a pitched battle. Had the Romans just given them treasure and free passage away from the hostile tribes pressing them from the East, Rome might not have been sacked. So yeah, it was basically a protest march.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Yeh, there was definitely some of that but the overall 'invasion' wasn't just a protest march.

The interesting thing about the invasions though was that the Germans wanted to be a part of Roman civilization. Lombardia is a clear example of this desire to be Romanized.

[Free Society]

With the exception of England and some parts of Northern Italy, the Romance languages won out over Germanic languages in the invaded and colonized portions of the former Roman Empire. There was more prestige associated with Romance languages, since Latin was the language of diplomacy, liturgy and commerce.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

They weren't stupid. And this is why after the fall of Rome the conquering of Italy (well, its regions/kingdoms/city-states etc.) was usually less about geo-politics and more about gaining prestige - a trophy to add to the case. From Charlemagne on. You add Italy, you add civilization.

[Free Society]

From Odoacer on, you add Italy and you add at least a thin veneer of civilization.

[Pope Jimbo]

What do you think it was smart guy? A Slut Walk?

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

With MATTRESSES!

[Mr Lizard]

Damnit I need to go buy some wall space, and a large refrigerated trailer in Germany.

[MSimon]

Merkel is going to end up with her very own lamp post.

That is not very economical.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Did someone else have a difficult time accessing LH's link?

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

In the video I linked, she claims they 'have to go back after the war ends'. And as Levant points out it's a rather astonishing claim given the Mid-East is in perpetual war so what end is she talking about?

The other part is her arrogance. Where does she come off dictating where these migrants are resettled?

What a mess. Maybe Greece was irresponsible with their money, but Germany is doing its own bit of irresponsibility which is potentially as damaging.

[Free Society]

Maybe Greece was irresponsible with their money, but Germany is doing its own bit of irresponsibility which is potentially as damaging.

Levant makes a good case that German leftoids and mainstream culture is a suicide cult. The most irresponsible thing is that they are determined to destroy all the European cultures, races and nations while they're at it. It's like reverse Hitler.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

That's why I laugh about how they claim Greece can 'sink' Europe.

Germany can sink Europe through its aggressive banks and this shit.

[BearOdinson]

Germans (particularly the leftist and kulturekrieg types) learned some lessons from Hitler and WWII. Unfortunately, they learned all to many of the wrong ones. Rather than learning to fight against evil, they learned that to fight IS evil. And that there is much to be proud of in German history and culture, as well as other parts of Europe.

[Free Society]

I have more German pride in my pinkie toe than your average German voter these days.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

I'm not German but I'm a student of history and it pains me to see this happen to such a great country.

[Citizen X]

You know who else had German pride?

[Free Society]

Hans Herman Hoppe?

[EMD]

Gay Hitler?

[CatoTheChipper]

+1 Oswald Spengler

[Adans smith]

The ME is in the middle of a 30 years war,gonna be awhile.

[R C Dean]

The ME is in the middle of a 30900 years war, gonna be awhile.

[Pay up, Palin's Buttplug!]

"Keep [the] Ottoman Empire as an umbrella over the Middle East. If you don't, I say 100 years, you say 200 years: [There will be] no peace in the Middle East." ? Damat Ferid Pasha, former Ottoman Prime Minister, at the Paris Peace Conference, 1919

[Rich]

2015 was a record year for civilian casualties in Afghanistan, just as the last six years were.

How's it stack up compare to Chicago, one wonders?

*** googles it ***

[Rich]

About four times worse in Afghanistan, where -- I am not making this up -- Women and children were especially hard hit.

[R C Dean]

Because the menfolk are mostly in Germany?

[coloraDOOM]

Well that and they're labeled combatants.

[Libertarian]

Time for my favorite Hillary quote:

Women have always been the primary victims of war. Women lose their husbands, their fathers, their sons in combat.

[Rich]

My (current) "favorite":

"We cannot let a minority of people ? and it's, that's what it is, it is a minority of people ? hold a viewpoint that terrorizes the majority of people."

Evil?

[Akira]

... Which is why it's so mind-boggling that she's a vicious warhawk. Does she hate women or something?

[d3x / dt3]

That's easy: yes. She hates everyone!

[Lord Humungus]

Spanish civil servant off work unnoticed for six years

A Spanish civil servant who failed to turn up for work for "at least" six years has been caught after becoming eligible for a long service award.

Joaquin Garcia, 69, was fined ?27,000 (?21,000; $30,000) after the award brought his long absence to light.

Mr Garcia, whose job was to supervise the building of a waste water treatment plant, has since retired.

He denies the allegations and his lawyer says he has gone into hiding after suffering a media "lynching".

Mr Garcia said he had been a victim of political bullying in the job and moved to a post where there was no work to do.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Meh, close enough for government work.

[straffinrun]

Hire him for Flint.

[BearOdinson]

If we could all the govt bureaucrats $30k a year to do nothing, that would be bargain!!

[Brett L]

I had a job like that. I quit it for one where they cared if I came to work after six weeks of doing nothing.

[BearOdinson]

Exactly. That is why I think we should support a pool of say 100,000 govt jobs that pay $40k a year, but are forbidden from doing any work (they can fuck off on the internet as long as they want). For only $4B a year, we could save ourselves billions of dollars in regulatory burden and mischief. In addition, weeding those people out of the workforce who would rather literally do nothing all day than work.

[thom]

They would just unionize and demand $60k but only be required to do half as much Web surfing.

[JWatts]

Plus health care and pensions of course. It's just minimum human decency.

[Free Society]

Well he's got a point. Would the media be lynching an indolent welfare dependent with the same level of outrage? But I guess welfare leeches are socially acceptable, whereas useless civil servants shatter the lefty fantasy about what government is.

[EMD]

whereas useless civil servants shatter the lefty fantasy about what government is.

I doubt this is really true.

[Adans smith]

If half the federal work fore took six years off it would be a good thing.

[R C Dean]

Mr Garcia said he had been a victim of political bullying in the job and moved to a post where there was no work to do.

That's his defense?

[Libertarian]

Well................I think his supervisor should share just a bit of responsibility, no?

[EMD]

Victim blamer!!!!@111112!!!!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Expect someone from the cultural elite to lecture you about something.

Probably a lecture about not watching the Grammys.

[Swiss Servator]

Does the lecture still count if I don't watch?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Only if a tree falls silently upon me as it's given.

[Libertarian]

I, for one, will boycott tonight's broadcast. In solidarity.

[Lord Humungus]

Oil extends rally on prospects OPEC could act to counter low prices

Oil prices rose on Monday, extending a rally triggered last week by speculation that OPEC might agree to cut production to reduce a supply glut that has pushed prices to the lowest in over a decade.

Brent crude futures LCOc1, the global benchmark, were up 46 cents at $33.82 a barrel at 1232 GMT. U.S. futures CLc1 traded at $30.02 a barrel, up 58 cents on Friday's close. Trade is likely to be thinner than usual on Monday due to the U.S. Presidents Day holiday.

"Some traders still think about the chances of an OPEC plus Russia (production) cut and close their short positions," said Frank Klumpp, oil analyst at Stuttgart-based Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg.

[Jerryskids]

However, many analysts, including the International Energy Agency, are still sceptical OPEC will cut a deal with other producers to reign in ballooning output.

Aside from the annoying reign/rein confusion, it's strange to see rising prices and decreased production treated as a good thing.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

What, Kanye being $53 million in debt is not worthy of an AM link?

[Rich]

Ima let you finish, Rufus.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

He's a loser.

Is that a good finish?

[Idle Hands]

Kim and Kanye's divorce is going to make for interesting tv.

[Lord Humungus]

Then I can make my move... Kim... oh beautiful Kim...

[Atanarjuat]

All of her parts are off-the-shelf and could be installed in a woman with a much better personality, if that's your thing.

[Lord Humungus]

I just want to bounce on her behind like a trampoline. Is there something wrong with that?

[Atanarjuat]

Not at all.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

You're not Crusty...

[d3x / dt3]

Wait - is he Tulpa too?

[Lord Humungus]

of course not *looks nervously around the room*

[Atanarjuat]

Finally, he appears to show a real qualification for his presidential ambitions. Well, besides having a huge ego.

[Cyto]

Step 1: Convince someone to lend you 53 million dollars.....

Step 2: Spend 53 Million dollars

Step 3: ????

Step 4: Profit!

[Libertarian]

And he's asking Zuckerberg, et al, for millions more to support his rapping artistry.

[Brett L]

He really is the black Trump.

[MSimon]

Spades or Clubs?

[Swiss Servator]

*narrows gaze*

[Mazakon]

NSCC instructor frustrated with 'entitled' students

High school students are being "coddled" on assignment deadlines, according to one instructor at Nova Scotia Community College.

Steffie Hawrylak-Young has taught communications at NSCC for almost 30 years. In the last decade, she says, there has been a shift in how her students adjust to college learning ? and it's not good.

A provincial government survey indicates she is not alone in her frustration.

"A lot of our young students are very entitled," Hawrylak-Young told CBC News. "They have probably been used to getting a badge for every single little thing that they do, and they're very disappointed when they're being critiqued.

[Hyperbolical]

They're also communications majors. An area of study unlikely to attract many students accustomed to criticism and hard work.

[MSimon]

Well at least they started out with high self esteem.

[EMD]

This is why I harass the shit out of my own kids.

[Lord Humungus]

You know who else was a student in Germany...

Why American Students Are Flocking to Germany ? and Staying

The number of Americans studying in Germany has risen sharply, recent figures show, driven in part by the low cost of higher education compared to the United States.

More than 10,000 U.S. students are presently enrolled in the country's higher education programs, according to data from the Institute for International Education. It's an increase of almost 9 percent compared to the previous academic year, and 25 percent more than in 2008-2009.

Natasha Turner, 25, from Rochester, New York, came to Germany on an exchange program three years ago but decided to stay when she realized how "cheap it was to study here."

[Swiss Servator]

The M?rzforderungener?

[Adans smith]

Ah,wait,I know this.

[Libertarian]

American college students? Suddenly, the raping immigrant story in Germany makes since to me now. "ONE IN FIVE!"

[Illocust]

"Because seemingly every time Macklemore does anything, and is inevitably criticized for it, he makes many nonwhites question whether white people who "get it" really exist. He pops up, and suddenly, white people who have carefully crafted that image of "I'm white?ugh, white people are the worst, right??but trust me, I get it" are exposed. So of course some of Macklemore's biggest critics are the white people often referred to as woke."

The aside about white people that build their image around understanding 'white privilege' and not being like all those other white people is interesting, but everything else is just head bangingly stupid. The author can't wrap his head around the idea that most people don't care about his personal pet issue 99% of the time and that's okay.

Mostly, though, I think this narrative is a tactical misstep on activists parts. If white progressives aren't given a path to being one of the good ones, they aren't going to support your cause. Half the point of being a prog on most college campuses is being superior to the rubes. Telling them that even at their most enlightened you still consider them on the same level as said rubes is not going to go over well.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/bro.....urden.html

[Idle Hands]

I hate macklemore's music.

[Illocust]

I like the choruses in his music. The main parts of the song just break the flow of it. Thankfully his marketing department seems to have realized this and released instrumental versions with the choruses intact.

[MSimon]

I like Paul Kantners singing.

[MSimon]

And Lou Reed's attitude.

[Atanarjuat]

Half the point of being a prog on most college campuses is being superior to the rubes.

A bit of honesty.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Telling them that even at their most enlightened you still consider them on the same level as said rubes is not going to go over well

I think you underestimate how much these types hate themselves for being born with white skin.

[Free Society]

They then set about degrading and destroying social institutions built by whites. I truly believe the unspoken aim of these people is to have whites be colonized, marginalized and removed from the gene pool.

[Citizen X]

You know who else was afraid for the future of the 'whites'?

[Free Society]

Irish?

[Sapient Mulch]

Egg Beaters?

[Swiss Servator]

Chess Grandmasters?

[Mindyourbusiness]

Commercial laundries?

[MSimon]

Self hating Jews is a precedent.

[GILMORE?]

"Millenials are Boring" = Film at 11

[Pay up, Palin's Buttplug!]

Half the point of being a prog on most college campuses is being superior to the rubes.

Or, politics as a positional good.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Graphic. Be forewarned. Hillary c. 1969. Don't tell me I didn't warn you. Ready? Take a deep breath. Ok, now click!

http://www.vintag.es/2012/10/o.....-1969.html

[Suthenboy]

Good God, she had cankels even then.

[Rich]

And pantsuits.

[straffinrun]

She looks like Sanders.

[Some Engineer]

Yeah, the Colonel.

[Elspeth Flashman]

Tha hand gestures make me think she's saying "it was really this big," so I lol'd.

[Granny Weatherwax]

omg. She looks like Laci Green. /vomits

[Zeb]

What the hell is she doing with her hands?

[Crusty Juggler]

Angrily gesticulating about being rejected from the Marines.

[Swiss Servator]

+1 Semper Fi

[Juice]

What did Bill see in her?

[Crusty Juggler]

The knowledge that he could chase as many women as he wanted, and not only would she not leave him, she would help smear the ones the who went public to protect his career. Also, Bill never even had to sleep with her. He left that to his buddy Webb Hubbell.

[Rich]

"Always marry an ugly girl.
That's the only kind.
She'll never, ever leave you;
but if she does you won't mind."

[Granny Weatherwax]

I always thought Bill was her beard.

[What's that smell?]

opportunity

[BigT]

What did Bill see in her?

his dick

[Mike Laursen]

Yikes! I was only nine years old at the time, but I think I had the same pants.

[Lord Humungus]

Japan economy shrinks more than expected, highlights lack of policy options

Japan's economy shrank more than expected in the final quarter of last year as consumer spending and exports slumped, adding to headaches for policymakers already wary of damage the financial market rout could inflict on a fragile recovery.

Gross domestic product contracted by an annualized 1.4 percent in October-December, bigger than a market forecast for a 1.2 percent decline and matching a fall marked in the second quarter of last year, Cabinet Office data showed on Monday. It followed a revised 1.3 percent increase in the previous quarter.

The data underscores the challenges premier Shinzo Abe faces in dragging the world's third-largest economy out of stagnation, as exports to emerging markets fail to gain enough momentum to make up for soft domestic demand.

welcome to our future...

[straffinrun]

Abenomics and now negative interest rates. Shocker.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Remember when we were all supposed to be speaking Japanese? Ah, good times.

THEY WERE BUYING AND GOBBLING EVERYTHING UP LIKE GODZILLA.

And then...poof.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

I guess Back to the Future Part II ended up being just a little off the mark.

[Brett L]

The American Way: Sell foreigners assets at their peak for strong dollars, buy them at their low for weak dollars.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Canadians do the opposite. When the Habs went up for sale in the 1990s NO Canadian stepped forward to purchase the greatest hockey brand in the world. It was a no-brainer yet they dicked around trying to form consortiums and blah, blah. Meanwhile, an American out of nowhere scooped them up at a low bargain, built them up and then sold at a peak to...Canadians.

Dumbasses.

[Juice]

Isn't this more of a consequence of Japan's demographic shrinkage? I think if we're going to have a nice leveling off of global population we're going to have to stop expecting economic "growth." We're going to have to have some different metrics for economic "success."

[CatoTheChipper]

Per capita GDP?

However, since the G part of Y=C+I+G is pretty much a waste, I think (C+I)/population is a better metric.

[JWatts]

Yes, the obvious metric that counts is per capita GDP.

[Emmerson Biggins]

Numerator should be C+I-G

[Lord Humungus]

Australian police seize $900 million in methylamphetamine

Australian law enforcement agencies discovered 1.26 billion Australian dollars ($900 million) worth of methylamphetamine hidden in imported boxes of silicon bra inserts and art supplies in the country's largest haul of the illicit drug in its liquid form, officials said Monday.

Four Hong Kong passport holders were arrested in Sydney last month over the import from China of 720 liters (190 gallons) of the drug, commonly known in Australia as ice, police said in a statement.

The liquid could have made about 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds) of high-grade crystal meth, Australian Federal Police Commander Chris Sheehan said.

Officials also seized 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of the crystalized form of the drug.

[Swiss Servator]

Somewhere Florida Man sighs...

[BearOdinson]

Finally, someone getting serious about getting those damned drugs off the street!

What do you mean, this won't stop ANYONE from getting meth?
/*Brain explodes from all the cognitive dissonance*/

[Agammamon]

Yeah, $10 mil of meth, $890 mil of filler and packaging material measured by weight at the same value as pure meth.

[Notorious UGCC]

That's not as good as the old headline, "police discover crack in Australia."

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

How Bernie Sanders Lost Me, and Hillary Clinton Won Me Over

Economic inequality is at the top of the list of issues I care about. I basically spend my life trying to work it into discussions of every other issue, because I usually think it belongs there. I had a lot of training on that front: When I once described having fled a shoe store after two salespeople began arguing, in front of me, over which of them had approached me first and should get my business, my father said "that's what decades of stagnating wages will get you." So a presidential candidate who wanted to talk seriously about inequality? Great!

Except ? somehow Sanders has lost me on even that. I simultaneously want a more serious and nuanced class analysis?something deeper than the talking points, more flexibly targeted to specific questions rather than broad strokes?and more willingness to depart from the talking points, to acknowledge that sometimes you really can't turn a question to your subject of choice...A president has to be willing to take on issues they don't necessarily care the most about, able to become an expert on anything, able to pivot and start to care. I need more than "trust me," and I don't see Sanders failing to give me that, I see him refusing to do so. That's not confidence-inspiring.

[Idle Hands]

The comments are fantastic.

[Frankjasper1]

Haha can you summarize? Diane (paul) had said yesterday he was staking hillary winning the nomination...i was wondering why he thought that. I thought the bern was trending up.

[Idle Hands]

just glorious prog infighting.

[d3x / dt3]

I was hoping for more "I'm more progressive than you" and less arguing about the definition of "polemic."

WTF?

[commodious spittoon]

(Intellectual) cripple fight!

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

I'm now of the opinion Sanders is indeed better than Hillary. She comes with way to much baggage and is essentially a lying criminal. At least one can hope Sanders will be kept in check by the system and I doubt he's endowed with the same type of corrupt machine the Clintons come with. Hillary is an incompetent hack and is baaaddd news.

[Rich]

"But she's *our* lying criminal and incompetent hack!"

[Zeb]

I think you are probably right. Hillary would be a lot more capable of making her terrible ideas come to be.
I could also imagine Sanders being cussed and principled enough to have some restraint in use of executive power (of course that is just pure speculation).

[Pay up, Palin's Buttplug!]

Sanders will be cussed and principled enough to protect military contractors.

[R C Dean]

She comes with way to much baggage

Much of it being held for delivery, I fear, by the Russians, Chinese, who knows who else.

Setting aside everything else, the risk that her email was being harvested, and that it contains info that would utterly destroy her, is way too high to put her in the White House.

[thom]

At this point the best outcome is that the status quo holds for four years and a Democrat is in office so that the negative effects of Obamas shitty policies aren't blamed on a Republican successor. To that end I'm all in on Hillary. All in.

[Hyperbolical]

Your strategy sounds good until one considers that Hillary (or Bernie) will pile on even more bad policies that a subsequent republican would be blamed for.

Unfortunately, the writing of current and historical affairs will be dominated by reporters and historians that lean left and are sympathetic to democratic policies, anyway.

[Pay up, Palin's Buttplug!]

I agree? the economy looks shaky right now and electing a Republican during a downturn would allow the Democrats to continue to claim that all economic problems are the result of Republicans.

Of course, the Democrats will blame the current downturn on a Republican Congress.

[BigT]

Mrs clinton, do you intend to use a private email server if you are elected President, and if not, why not? Would you allow others to use a private server? Why not?

[Hamster of Doom]

A president has to be willing to take on issues they don't necessarily care the most about, able to become an expert on anything, able to pivot and start to care. I need more than "trust me," and I don't see Sanders failing to give me that, I see him refusing to do so.

Late at night, she tosses and turns, and she dreams of what she needs.

[BearOdinson]

No that is what happens when a couple of idiots decide selling shoes is way to prosperity.

Aside: In my Strengths of Materials class in engineering school, my professor was Korean with a strong accent. After one exam in which none of us did very well he came in and said

"This a worst test I ever see. If you no study harder, you all end up a selling womens shoe!"

[Rich]

I think I know that guy.

Did he start the semester with:

"This a very difficult class. Few people get 'A'. *Many* people do not. HAHAHAHAHAHAA!!"

[Brett L]

I had that guy but he was an American teaching Statics. "I take off one point for each mistake. Problems with a repeated mistake may earn negative credit."

[waffles]

I think all Static professors have to ramp up the difficulty somehow. When the entire class is "the sum of the forces and moments equals zero" you tend to get creative.

[Old Mexican Mighty Aggressor]

Except ? somehow Sanders has lost me on even that. I simultaneously want a more serious and nuanced class analysis

You dolt. People don't want nuanced analysis. They want revolution and they want it now.

Either it is going to be the deportation of 11 million undesirable peoples.... I mean, "illegal immigrants", or free shit for everybody. Who wants nuanced anything?

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

"The former defense minister of Somalia was killed in a car bombing."

Car bombing? How 90s and Martin Scorsese.

[Juice]

Defense what now? Minister? Like in a government?

[Lord Humungus]

A Match Made in Heaven: The Tinder for People Who Work with Death

The kind of stuff Valentine does and likes to think and talk about isn't exactly first-date conversation fodder?unless that date is someone in a similar field. That's where her website, Dead-Meet.com, comes in. "When I was working in mortuaries, I noticed that many people who worked in the same industry seemed to get together quite naturally," she says. "Funeral directors were dating pathology technicians; embalmers were dating mortuary managers." Pairing up with someone else who already knows and understands what sort of challenges one faces in a job in the death industry?and isn't put off by them?guarantees a level of camaraderie and intimacy. But it also tends to be a pretty small group to pick from?basically, everyone already knows each other.

"I wondered how people could find others in their industry but slightly further afield, even if it was for just a chat and not necessarily romance," Valentine says. "That was when I came up with Dead Meet. I really thought somebody MUST have created a similar site before, but they hadn't!"

[Rich]

"Dead Meet" -- Genius!

[db]

You don't have to be lonely
At MorticiansOnly Dot Com

[Swiss Servator]

Burma Shave

[KDN]

This is how caste systems develop.

[Homple]

+1 Mr. Joyboy

[Lord Humungus]

Box Office: Michael Moore's 'Where to Invade Next' Marks Career Low

Michael Moore's Where to Invade Next wasn't greeted by a victory march at the box office, where its per-theater average ranked below those of the filmmaker's previous offerings.

Where to Invade ? Moore's first film in six years ? opened to an estimated $933,240 from 308 theaters for the three-day holiday weekend. That puts the per-location average at $3,030, the worst of the filmmaker's documentary career behind the $4,452 theater average of The Big One, which opened to $146,909 from 33 theaters in 1998. And it's also behind the $3,810 average of his one feature, Canadian Bacon, which debuted to $53,345 from 14 theaters in 1995.

For the four-day holiday, Where to Invade looks to earn $1 million for a location average of $3,256.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

His shtick went out of style in 2007.

[Frankjasper1]

Yep. I think that is why he has been spouting off recently. He is losing the limelight and that scares him.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Shrill level must increase. Maybe he and Olbermann can get together and make a movie.

Olbermann gets points though for going after possibly the most immature, moronic, vapid wanna-be sports expert writer in North America. Jack Todd, who made it a career of making stupendously stupid analogies and comments, once tweeted sports analytic guys are like ISIS and O'man took him to task. He responded in his usual arrogant and childish manner (I've never seen him write a proper level-headed professional response) by calling O'man a 'fraud'.

The Montreal Gazette under Cowan and HockeyInsideOut are clowns for keeping this moron on the payroll as far as I'm concerned and never read or watch them for that single reason he's that banal.

+1 Keith for that.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Oh. And thanks for nothing America. He's a draft dodger from Nebraska who managed to find a job in sports writing.

[BearOdinson]

As much as Olbermann is a shrill idiot when it comes to politics, I found his sports commentary actually quite humorous. I really wish he would stick to that.

[BigT]

KO is an iconoclast. In sports that works because we all have a certain disdain for those rich narcissistic spoiled brats. In politics we only hate half of the cast.

[EMD]

His baseball blog was very good. I don't know if he still does it for MLB.

[Agammamon]

Somebody should ask Moore why he moved out of Flint if he loves the working man so much. Why he started his film festival in another (prosperous) city when Flint was in financial troubles. How hard his accountants work to minimize his tax bill. Why he doesn't cut the IRS a separate check to pay his fair share. How many cheezeburgers he eats a day because, my god, *I'm fat and lazy* and still don't tip the scales like that.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Dude, if Cuba's health system is so great...you know the rest.

[Libertarian]

"tip the scales"

I see that. What you did.

[Free Society]

Should have waited for a Republican to be president, then suddenly the left cares about whomever gets invaded.

[Juice]

Maybe because it wasn't promoted? I never heard of it.

[Swiss Servator]

No use throwing good money after bad...

[Lord Humungus]

Damascus says believes some Turkish forces entered Syria

The Syrian government says Turkish forces were believed to be among 100 gunmen it said entered Syria on Saturday accompanied by 12 pick-up trucks mounted with heavy machine guns, in an ongoing supply operation to insurgents fighting Damascus.

"The operation of supplying ammunition and weapons is continuing via the Bab al-Salama crossing to the Syrian area of Azaz," the Syrian foreign ministry said in a letter to the U.N. Security Council published by state news agency SANA.

It said the pick-up trucks were "accompanied by around 100 gunmen some of whom are believed to be Turkish forces and Turkish mercenaries".

[Illocust]

So I watched Deadpool this weekend. Go see it. It's comedic timing was perfect. The cast and writers understood what everyone loves about Deadpool and gave it to the audience. None of the cursing, nudity, or gore felt forced. It was all there because the story called for it, and felt natural for the environment presented. Now go buy yourself a ticket.

[Idle Hands]

Is John Kasich a fan?

[Illocust]

Don't know, but Francis hated it.

[MSimon]

What do talking mules know?

[Some Engineer]

Oh, he's gonna spell it out for you.

[Suthenboy]

I wanted to see that but was forced to go see Star Wars.

It was bad to the point of making me feel embarrassed to be in the theater.

[Illocust]

I've been wondering about that. People's expectations were so low after the last three and their desire to love the movie so high, I thought it might take a while to get an honest review of that movie. I'll probably never see the thing. I'm not a huge star wars fan, and the best I've heard is it's a good action flick which are a dime a dozen.

[BearOdinson]

Yeah, when I saw Ep VII, I had mixed feelings. Thank the gods it wasn't as tedious as the prequels, but wow was it unoriginal. I thought that the new actors did a pretty good job, though. Better the energetic overacting (like Carrie and Mark in Ep IV) rather than the fucking wooden statues that Portman and Christensen were. I am willing to suspend my overall negativity to see what they set up for Ep VIII. It could be that we had to go through familiar territory to get to something cool in 8 and 9. Or it could be that Abrams is the hack that some people seem to think he is.

[EMD]

Daisy Ridley was really good. I thought Adam Driver did a decent job. I liked it (nostalgia and all) but it was just a set up for Ep VIII.

[Agammamon]

http://io9.gizmodo.com/everyth.....1751756919

THEY SUCKED UP A WHOLE STAR AND SHOT IT AT ANOTHER PLANET!!!!

[JWatts]

The went through 9 different things that were wrong and didn't get the really big one!
Rey was a complete Mary Sue.

To be fair, I failed to notice this at first, until the next day when somebody pointed it out. I immediately said I didn't think so. Then realized the next day that they were right.

[Suthenboy]

It was a complete ripoff, a remake of the original. Skywalker plays Obi Wan, some chick plays Skywalker, Solo plays Solo, there is a wookie, Solo's son plays Vader, the stormtroopers still can't hit shit....blah blah blah. I sat through it barely moving and never changed expression. The instant the credits started rolling I made no comment on the movie, stood up and asked my wife where she wanted to go eat.

I want my money back.

[Elspeth Flashman]

That's a really good summary. I went to see it with my sister, my kid & her kids. I was surprised by how much of a re-hash it was, and then how people (who I thought were smart) were saying it was so good. But a friend of my kid's said the same thing - that it was a Rubik's cube of the original. Sigh. I also though the last 10 minutes were a complete waste of time. We know Luke will be found, save that for the next movie.

[Suthenboy]

They even flew through the guts of a death star to blow it up. Since this death star was many times larger than the first one it was a totally original element.

*Eyeroll*

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

J.J. Abrams is a complete hack who has never had an original idea in his career. Everything he's ever done has been aping Spielberg or Lucas.

I thought at the very least he could subvert some conventions of Star Wars to put his own twist on it but no, he just straight-up spent 2.5 hours winking at the audience and brandishing his geek creds for the fanboys.

Maybe the sequels and spin-offs will be better when given to other directors who have incentive to be unique and make a name for themselves.

[lap83]

Yeah he sucks. But most moviegoers don't want originality, so we'll be stuck with him for awhile.

[Pay up, Palin's Buttplug!]

Solo plays Solo

Disagree? Solo plays OB-1 Kenobi's role ? Kenobi disabled the tractor beam while Solo disables shields but both confront the big villain in the movie.

And it all felt like? set up for episodes 8 and 9.

[toolkien]

I thought it was alright. I'd much rather have had a rehash (reboot?) of IV-VI as a launch pad for something decent that anything like the prequels. I didn't have preconceived notions and I just wanted to be entertained. Life's a stressful pain in the ass most of the time, and one thing the movie did was turn off my stress-pump - which has been not so easy to do the last decade or so. I went along for a reasonably brainless ride and got my money's worth.

Because, to be truthful, the whole Star Wars thing has always been thin sword and sorcery - Tolkien-lite, IMO. And the prequels were an attempt at the depth of something like Dune, but never came off. And Lucas couldn't direct an actor to save his life. Abrams may be a hack-master with plots, but, outside of Ren, there was little emoting instead of acting. And Lucas' dialog can be so toe curling.

The movie was entertaining for a couple of hours, and I am interested in where it can go from here, so I can't complain.

As an aside, it's sounds like there was a lot of stuff edited out to make a 2:15 cut that could have given the thing some uniqueness of its own.

[Faber]

I would say its a decent movie, but it did not blow me away the way movies like the original star wars, avengers, or watchmen did.

[Lord Humungus]

Poll: South Carolina still solidly for Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton

For Trump voters, who have been relatively steadfast in their support over the last few months, the percentage who say they've firmly decided on Trump has increased. Trump's lead among evangelicals is up from January, and he has widened his lead among conservatives, too.

In a contest marked by divisions among so-called "insiders" and "outsiders," South Carolina Republicans show a strong preference for campaigns running as the latter, and this poll helps illustrate why. By four to one, South Carolina Republicans describe the "establishment" as a bad thing, and few describe it as a group that knows how to get things done.

On the metric of being "prepared" to be president, Trump and Cruz do well, and Jeb Bush and John Kasich do relatively well, but Marco Rubio trails in this regard, suggesting that last week's debate in New Hampshire may have had an impact.

[Cyto]

Wait, evangelicals are falling for Donald "Two Corinthians" Trump?

So these two Corinthians walk into a bar....

[straffinrun]

...and Ricardo Montalban upholsters them.

[R C Dean]

+ 1 leather fetish.

[Suthenboy]

That's rich.

[Crusty Juggler]

That's rich

No, Rich is Tulpa.

[Rich]

"I like what you've done to my joke!"

[Lord Humungus]

It's Only Reckless Partisanship When the Other Guys Do It, Huh?

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell should just give this speech:

We should not confirm any Obama nominee to the Supreme Court except in extraordinary circumstances. They must prove by actions not words that they are in the mainstream rather than we have to prove that they are not . . .

This is just a prologue considering the constitutional harm and dramatic departures that are in store if those few are joined by one more ideological ally. We have to, in my judgment, stick by the precepts that I've elaborated. I will do everything in my power to prevent one more ideological ally from joining Sotomayor and Kagan on the court.

That, of course, is a speech from Chuck Schumer from June 2007, with "Bush" replaced with "Obama" and "Roberts and Alito" changed to "Sotomayor and Kagan." Watch the video; the audience at the American Constitutional Society gave it roaring applause at the end.

[Idle Hands]

it's so different now that the right people are in charge.

[Rich]

Schumer is such a weasel.

[BigT]

Why, oh why would you defame weasels? They really get a bad rap.

[Roger the Shrubber]

There wasn't even a vacancy to be filled and there were 17 months remaining in GWB's term. Why would he even feel the need to bring it up?

[Catatafish & Woodchips]

I think it was solely based upon the fact that he'd already appointed two fairly young and very conservative justices. Plus, the left has been terrified about RBG leaving the court for years.

[Rich]

Guevara acknowledged that she pronounced Scalia dead by phone, without seeing his body. Instead, she spoke to law enforcement officials at the scene ? who assured her "there were no signs of foul play" ? and Scalia's physician

*Obviously* "natural causes".

[Crusty Juggler]

If you can't trust law enforcement on the scene, who can you trust?

[straffinrun]

Wayne LaPierre?

[Akira]

Hitler?

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

I've reached my quota for the month with WaPo. Can you guys be aware and make the necessary adjustments to enhance my reading experience?

Thanks!

[Brett L]

Just use private/incognito mode. It goes right around the limit.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

How do I do that?

[Caput Lupinum]

In Firefox, click open the menu and select "New Private Window". If you're using Chrome, open the menu and select "New Incognito Window".

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Thanks.

That simple huh.

[Crusty Juggler]

Rufus, I applaud you for not being embarrassed as you should have been about asking.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

I'm shameless.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Or you could just right click the link and select Open link in Private Window/Open link in Incognito Window, depending on what browser you're using.

[Illocust]

The ranch he was at was in the middle of bumbfuck nowhere. The normal county person in charge was on vacation so she couldn't do it. The person in a county next door that was supposed to take over for her was at a conference in D.C.. They wrangled up another person in another county to finally make the pronouncement over the phone. Scalia had been cold to the touch since he was found and it took them three to six hours to get ahold of the guy that could make the call. It is legal in Texas to do this.

It really wasn't a conspiracy despite how the summaries look.

[R C Dean]

So naive, illocust.

You think its just a big fat coincidence that the usual person, AND the backup, were scheduled to be out of jurisdiction at the same time?

[seats tinfoil hat securely on noggin.]

[Brett L]

People with county sinecures? Yeah. Statistically, its always a good time to go on vacation as the county coroner in some of those West Texas counties.

[SusanM]

If you're using Firefox, hit X before the page finishes loading.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

The worst Scalia piece you'll read today in a major American newspaper

Scalia believed that the Constitution can and should be read only in the precise way that the men who wrote it and its existing amendments intended. To him, an understanding of rights, justice and equality that, initially, failed to bar slavery and that made no effort to require states to give the poor, women or people of color the vote or, for the last group, federally guaranteed unconditional birthright citizenship was more than sufficient, once a few amendments had been made. Nor did it seem to matter that the Constitution, a document shaping the nation's legal and cultural life, had been drafted by an all-white collection of men who provided carefully for their own rights. The Constitution's real protections, prohibitions and provisions have all been explicitly identified.

A Nixon appointment brought Scalia into the fold of the federal government -- a fact worth noting when contemplating Scalia's reputation as an enemy of civil rights. Nixon has his own complex civil rights legacy. But he and his political advisers devised and implemented the by now well-documented collection of political tactics that sought to engage white voters and win elections by stoking racial animus and anxieties.

[Rich]

I challenge anyone to read that second sentence only once.

[Crusty Juggler]

Stop trying to give people aneurysms, Rich.

[Irish ?s ESB]

I've noticed the leftists who write for WaPo tend to have a tough time making coherent arguments. It's hard to read something comprehensible from Will or Krauthammer then go somewhere else on the site and run into the rambling insanity of an EJ Dionne.

[Suthenboy]

Leftists arent interested in coherent arguments. They inflame passions. They appeal to envy, tribalism, and greed. None of that requires reasoned argument or coherence; in fact, just the opposite.

[Akira]

I've noticed that too, and my hypothesis is that they're not actually reading the articles, but just skimming through. All that matters is that they see the right words.

"The Constitution... Justice... Equality... Women and people of color... YEA! I agree!!!"

[Rich]

That's a pretty good hypothesis, *PhD Candidate* Akira.

[Elspeth Flashman]

My legal writing teacher had a 25-word limit per sentence, no matter what. I think that's a good rule of thumb. The other thing was: Keep the main verb and noun close to the front of the sentence! (which is what that second sentence fails to do!) Otherwise, people have to keep searching around for the sentence's true meaning.
/end of rant.

[Irish ?s ESB]

"My legal writing teacher had a 25-word limit per sentence, no matter what. "

It's a great rule of thumb for learning legal writing. Very few writers are capable of writing really long, expansive sentences while having the meaning remain clear.

[R C Dean]

One of my profs made a big deal out of learning how to "chain" shorter sentences together, rather than write one long sentence.

[Elspeth Flashman]

Yeah, I noticed that in a few samples she gave us she'd be longer than 25 words . . . but it was rare. And they were typically strung sentences like : "blah blah subject verb is something, but blah blah distinction from that which is the point of this brief"

[d3x / dt3]

It's probably because of your racism, though.

[toolkien]

Brevity and clarity is for pussies-

James Joyce

[SugarFree]

I challenge anyone to read that second sentence only once.

Smart writing confuses me.
I want to sound smart when writing.
Therefore, I shall write as confusingly as possible.

[Emmerson Biggins]

Even better: zero times. The first sentence already had my USRDA of derp.

[Irish ?s ESB]

"To him, an understanding of rights, justice and equality that, initially, failed to bar slavery and that made no effort to require states to give the poor, women or people of color the vote or, for the last group, federally guaranteed unconditional birthright citizenship was more than sufficient, once a few amendments had been made."

This is ridiculously stupid. All those issues were rectified with amendments. His point was that you can amend the constitution (which we did to rectify these problems) but that you actually have to obey what the constitution says as a judge.

How scandalous.

[Free Society]

It's more reasonable that we make up our own meaning to constitutional provisions. That way, we effectively have no limitations on government m'kay?

[Suthenboy]

How can progressives make progress and do big things if their power is limited?

Why do you hate progress? I bet you throw darts at babies in your spare time.

[d3x / dt3]

He pays his orphans to throw the darts while he watches.

[Free Society]

Only at kittens, I'm not a monster.

[EMD]

I bet you throw darts at babies in your spare time.

No. I would never do that. I throw babies at darts.

Dodge Darts.

[Catatafish & Woodchips]

Nothing pisses off a progressive more than reminding them of the amendment process. A woman in my jurisprudence class years ago actually - to her credit - admitted that "but that is so hard to do."

I responded with a deadpan "Wow, you must really care about this a lot."

[Irish ?s ESB]

Remember: Obamacare is set law that is not to be questioned but the Constitution is a living document that means absolutely nothing and can be interpreted in a manner completely contrary to what it actually says.

[Rich]

Beautiful.

[CatoTheChipper]

Truth be told, however, Obama interprets ObamaCare as he damn well pleases. Employer mandate. Cadillac plan taxes. Religious exemptions. State marketplaces. Penaltaxes. Whatev'. Obama does what he wants.

[Jerryskids]

That's exactly it. One side wants the law to be whatever we need it to be to get what we want, the other wants the law to be a set of rules laid down beforehand so we're all playing the same game. Fairness for the first is equal outcomes, fairness for the second equal opportunity. The issue with the first is that you can't know what's fair until after the game is played, so how can the law provide any guidance as to what's allowed and what isn't? To the first group that's a feature, to the second group a bug. It's one of those "Let's flip a coin - heads I win, tails we'll go best two-out-of-three" deals.

[Mindyourbusiness]

The issue with the first is that you can't know what's fair until after the game is played, so how can the law provide any guidance as to what's allowed and what isn't?

Ex.: "We'll have to pass it to know what's in it."

I still want to hurl.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Small minds, middling minds.

[Old Mexican Mighty Aggressor]

Nor did it seem to matter that the Constitution, a document shaping the nation's legal and cultural life, had been drafted by an all-white collection of men who provided carefully for their own rights.

I knew there had to be a point somewhere in the middle of all that rambling. You see, the Constitution is racist, so whoever holds the Constitution as the law of the land is for slavery or something.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Sports Illustrated makes history by putting plus-size bikini model on cover!

All the history-making and downright exciting body-positive news surrounding the 2016 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue culminated in one major moment Saturday night when the brand made Ashley Graham one of its three cover stars.

Sporting a purple-and-orange bikini and beachy hair, Graham oozes sex appeal and confidence in the sultry image captured by photographer James Macari. The 28-year-old model took to Instagram to express her heartfelt gratitude for landing the groundbreaking cover:

For the first time in over 50 years, the highly anticipated annual issue features three women, representing three different body types. Graham joins American model Hailey Clauson and UFC fighter Ronda Rousey.

At least she's well-proportioned. But without the photo touching she's just not that attractive period.

[Illocust]

Her stomach looks deformed. Whatever they did in photo shop to get rid of the lines that natural occur at that weight makes her look like she pregnant with an alien baby. All swollen stomach in a non-natural shape.

[Drake]

Yep - kept the tits big and tried to make it look like she has a waist. Better than a flatso I suppose.

[straffinrun]

Surprised Greenpeace didn't try to roll her back in.

[Lord Humungus]

*gurgh*

[Warty]

Fat girls are in the zeitgeist. We live in weird times.

[Certified Public Asshat]

Where's John? If he is all about Ashley Graham, then I think he deserves his fatty lover reputation.

[Crusty Juggler]

You guys are crazy. Ashley Graham never looks bad.

[Certified Public Asshat]

She's pretty for a big girl?

[Crusty Juggler]

She is pretty in general! I think the "plus-sized" model trend is stupid and forced, but it is not like she is obese or something. She is bigger and has huge breasts - it is not that bad.

[Swiss Servator]

Huge tracts of land?

[d3x / dt3]

"Wot, the curtains?!"

[Citizen X]

"But Mother-!"
"I'm your father."
"But Father-!"

[lap83]

Crusty, you have to pretend you could bed 15 Ashley Grahams a week if you felt like it. Otherwise you won't be cool and popular, get with the program.

[EMD]

Rubens was not available for comment.

[Certified Public Asshat]

Call me crazy, but out of those three covers I am still picking the one with Hailey Clauson on it.

[Idle Hands]

thats cause she's hot.

[GILMORE?]

Wow. Just, wow.

[Atanarjuat]

She's a thick girl. I wouldn't kick her out of bed.

Much more distressing is Sports Illustrated Swimsuit's tendency to Photoshop out the girls' nipples.

[Drake]

Actress who filed false rape charges in London has been outed. Now her claims are even more laughable.

http://www.donotlink.com/framed?852989

[DEG]

Gas hogs?

According to the government, the Hyundai is capable of 25 MPG in city driving and 33 MPG on the highway, or 29 MPG on average. It may well be capable of that. But it actually delivered 20.7 MPG during my week-long test drive.

Which is still good for a sporty car.

But it's not all that much better than what my 40-year-old old muscle car can manage. Especially when you take into account that the Trans-Am's engine is literally five times the size and doesn't have the electro-tech advantages of such things as direct injection and variable valve timing ? both of which the Hyundai (like most modern cars) does have.

And the Pontiac ? when new ? did not have an overdrive top gear to cut engine RPMs at cruising speed. It came with a four-speed. The Hyundai has a six speed.

Yet the ancient Indian still averages about 16 MPG (the same-year Firebird Formula with the smaller 350 cubic inch V8 and a two-barrel carburetor and a three-speed automatic averaged 21).

[Agammamon]

Yet the ancient Indian still averages about 16 MPG

But it's not all that much better than what my 40-year-old old muscle car can manage

But it actually delivered 20.7 MPG

Yeah, its about 25% more efficient - I would say that a 25% efficiency gain is *significantly* better than what your 40 year old muscle car can manage.

[DEG]

He expected more, as he mentions a few times in the article.

[Agammamon]

Sure - but on what basis? Its basically someone who doesn't know what they're talking about lamenting the fact that personal jet pack development isn't coming along as quickly as they think it should.

[Drake]

Stupid article.

1. He admits he drives like a maniac, so of course his gas mileage sucks. I've owned turbo charged cars. Standing on the gas and making the boost dial climb is great fun - doing it regularly is a conscious decision to burn more gas.
2. That Trans Am has far less emissions controls choking the engine.
3. The Pontiac also has far less safety stuff weighing it down. While it's a lot heavier, I'd rather be in the Hyundai if I had to be in a crash.

A friend used to have a '76 Trans Am with the 400 4-brl. It was a monster and great fun. But also a crude hog compared to modern cars.

[DEG]

That Trans Am has far less emissions controls choking the engine.

So the Trans Am would have a worse MPG rating (or horsepower rating) if it had the same controls, or the Hyundai would have better ratings. The latter of which he mentions at the end of the article.

The Pontiac also has far less safety stuff weighing it down. While it's a lot heavier, I'd rather be in the Hyundai if I had to be in a crash.

A common theme throughout this guys article's is that this is a choice that the government has taken away from the consumer, which he touches on at the end. You want a safer car. That's nice. What about folks that don't care and instead want something else out of their car? Tough shit.

[Drake]

I kind of want a Cobra, but I know they are death-traps.

[DEG]

I would like one too.

[d3x / dt3]

Venomous snakes are always unsafe to keep. You guys be careful!

[Suthenboy]

I have a 2007, four door Jeep Wrangler. It takes about 5 gallons for me to drive from home to Grapeland, Tx. That is 209 miles = about 40 mpg.

There is very little stopping, mostly cruising between 55 and 75 mph.

[R C Dean]

My FJ Cruiser is relatively lightly modified (cold air intake, rechipped, catback exhaust) and gets 20ish on the highway. It could probably do better except it has the aerodynamics of a cinder block.

Mrs. Dean's FJ is much more heavily modified (supercharger, etc. etc.) and rocks along with almost twice the stock horsepower. I've never done the math on its MPG, because I alternate between not caring and complete apathy on the topic.

[d3x / dt3]

As a Jeep owner, I'm calling bullshit on the 40mpg claim. Were you driving downhill, fleeing a hurricane?

[Suthenboy]

It doesnt get anything near that driving around here.

I am just telling you what the math is. Colfax, La to Grapeland, Tx = 209 miles. Most of the trip is cruise control at either 55 ( in La ) and cruise control at 70 - 75 (Tx). My 20 gallon tank has 13- 15 gallons in it when I arrive.

Honestly it puzzles me why that is when I get closer to 18-20 mpg everywhere else. Cruise control? Steady speed?

[d3x / dt3]

Marfa lights?

[Suthenboy]

Ever take your jeep on a long trip mostly highway driving? Do you have cruise control?

[d3x / dt3]

I try not to, but yes. And yes to cruise control. I still only get like 20-ish.

And the whole burning oil thing is beginning to get on my nerves. I apparently should have waited for the Pentastar version.

[Lord Humungus]

I once managed to pull 29mpg out of a 4.6L / 4-speed auto Grand Marquis that weighed in at 3900pds (not including three people and a whole bunch of luggage). That was, of course, all highway.

My wife's Mini Cooper S gets mediocre gas mileage with a supercharged 1.6L and 6-speed. She's lucky to get 20-22 mixed which my old Volvo 850 GLT (god I'm a glutton for punishment) with a 4-speed and turbo could accomplish. With the Mini we are lucky to hit 28mpg if we're doing all highway. Closer to 25-26 on average. And the car only ways ~2600pds without passengers.

Of course a lot of that has to do with gearing. The Marquis had 2.73 rear gears and ran at low RPMs at highway speed.

The Mini, on the other hand, buzzes along at 3200rpm which is where the supercharger really starts huffing. No reason to downshift out of 6th since you're sitting on the torquey part of the powerband.

[DEG]

I once managed to pull 29mpg out of a 4.6L / 4-speed auto Grand Marquis that weighed in at 3900pds (not including three people and a whole bunch of luggage). That was, of course, all highway.

Damn. I think the best I got out of my Crown Victoria (same engine and transmission) was 27 MPG. All highway with the cruise control on.

[Lord Humungus]

Mostly downhill? I was driving through Ohio. *rimshot*

[DEG]

Eastern shore of Maryland while driving down to North Carolina. Just as flat as parts of Ohio.

[Lord Humungus]

Did you have the optional 3.08s or the slow-jo 2.73s? Could be the difference. Or a few mph either way.

[DEG]

I had the handling and performance package. I forget what gears Ford used in that package. The car is gone, so I can't go find a tag and look up the numbers. I found conflicting information through Google.

[DEG]

Ahh, I found a reference which looks reputable that mine had 3.27 gears in that year.

[Lord Humungus]

there we go... wish the Marquis has 3.27s since it was a dog off the line. Plenty of long legs on the highway though.

[Brett L]

I bought a used 2013 Ford Expedition 3 weeks ago. I get 18 (mostly highway) MPG driving in Houston. I could easily get 20.7 on a real highway trip.

[Florida Man]

I have a busy morning so I'm just going to say this, I loved the Dead Pool movie. Also hope everyone had a nice Valentine's Day.

[Agammamon]

I loved the Dead Pool movie . . .

Well, its better than Magnum Force, that's for sure.

[BearOdinson]

A man's got to know his limitations

[Domestic Dissident]

For the life of me, I could never figure out what he saw in Sondra Locke. Even in her prime, she was butt ugly.

[d3x / dt3]

She always looks like she needs rescuing.

[Suthenboy]

Yep, and as usual the hero ends up being the one in need of rescuing.

[Agammamon]

Well, she could do this thing with her mouth . . .

[Crusty Juggler]

Really? My response: "Right turn, Clyde."

[Idle Hands]

Every which way but loose Clint Eastwood's best movie. there I said it.

[Don Escaped Texas]

Josey Wales: funniest thing I ever saw

[Brett L]

You could believe she'd been raped and was taking her vengeance.

[Illocust]

Deadpool opening weekend sales beat The Force Awakens opening weekend sales in Russia. I've got this kind of petty dream that Deadpool will end up with more total box office sales than the latest Star Wars movie (It already beat Revenge of the Sith).

[lap83]

Does it have to be Ryan Reynolds? I just can't get over that part.

[Illocust]

He gets the character. He plays Deadpool like the fun comedic sociopath he is supposed to be, and honestly his voice for him will be my soundtrack while reading the comics from this point out.

[Ken Shultz]

You know how in Egypt, the army stepped in and relieved the Muslim Brotherhood of power? And it was a really popular move. That kind of thing used to happen in Turkey, too. When the government looked like it was about to become insufficiently secular, the army would take over the government for a while.

I can see how something like that might not be entirely awful--if the alternative were the government becoming too progressive. I've argued for a long time that political legitimacy comes from respecting people's rights--not from winning popularity contests. If the alternative were a progressive government that was entirely devoted to violating our rights, a pro-Constitutional rights coup might not be the worst thing that could happen.

Note, I'm not talking about fascism here; I'm talking about the solution to fascism. A fascist state might ride in on a wave of popularity--under the guise of a progressive. You'd like to think there would be a revolt against that, but I'd also like to think that our generals wouldn't stand by and do nothing.

They're sworn to defend the Constitution against all threats both foreign and domestic, and if the real threat were a progressive government, I think our American military leaders would care as much about the American people and our rights as Egyptian and Turkish generals care about theirs. And, anyway, I guess find that thought reassuring.

[Drake]

Look how many Senior Officers have been drummed out in the past 7 years. People who take that oath seriously don't get stars these days.

[Suthenboy]

^This.

Ken: Obumbles is not oblivious to that.

[Ken Shultz]

I think a lot of them would take their oath a lot more seriously if the threat were more serious.

[Suthenboy]

We hope.

I think the rank and file will find rounding up Americans a difficult thing to bring themselves to. Top Brass? Not so much.

[Drake]

Socialism keeps working great in Venezuela. We should try it here.

http://www.breitbart.com/natio.....t-of-food/

[Free Society]

Most recently, Maduro blamed American officials for allegedly prompting a violent supermarket riot in which the fight for bags of flour left one dead.

Sounds legit. Because starving people won't fight to the death over food unless first instigated by the American capitalist pigs.

[Agammamon]

Well, to be fair - if America weren't going around flaunting the fact that you don't *have* to fight to the death for a bag of flour these people wouldn't know how bad they have it and would be more complacent and accepting of the government's edicts.

[Suthenboy]

It is like watching a bad play you have seen before.

No toilet paper. No food. Rationing. Riots. Blaming wreckers. Top Men ensconced in palaces.

It's all there.

Maybe they will get it right next time.

[Drake]

Maybe they we will get it right next time. Seems like it's our turn to give it a try. What's the worst that could happen?

[Ken Shultz]

Another reassuring thought?

Ted Cruz is on the Senate judiciary committee.

Anybody Obama nominates to fill Scalia's seat on the Court has to make it past Ted Cruz in an election year.

Ted Cruz should start putting that at the top of every one of his ads. When Obama nominates a Supreme Court justice, Ted Cruz is gonna go all Donald Trump on his ass.

[Catatafish & Woodchips]

The real upshot for him is he also gets tons of earned media during those hearings.

[Ken Shultz]

That's right. But those hearings may not happen before Super Tuesday.

He needs to start crowing to Republican primary voters about the position he's in right fucking now.

[Ken Shultz]

One last reassuring thought . . .

There could be another meteor strike, like the one that struck the Yucatan and killed the dinosaurs.

Humanity would be devastated, and we'd have to learn to live in darkness for a while. I'm sure some would succumb to cannibalism, technology would be lost, no rule of law, etc.

But on the bright side, we wouldn't have to live under a progressive Supreme Court, and, yeah, I find that reassuring in certain ways.

[Pope Jimbo]

Ken, I think you need to get yourself to a cuddle party.

Fucking pajama boys flock up in winter, I guess.

[Free Society]

WaPo says Republicans will lose big if they don't get in line behind Obama and confirm his SCOTUS nominee. Why you ask? Because it will prove how racist the Republicans are when Obama plays another race card.

Assuming the president picks a Hispanic, African American or Asian American ? bonus points if she's a woman ? this could be exactly what Democrats need to re-activate the Obama coalition that fueled his victories in 2008 and 2012. Even if he does not go with a minority candidate, the cases on the docket will galvanize voters who are traditionally less likely to turn out.

The scary part is that the GOP establishment loves to take electoral advice from their ostensible adversaries.

[Frankjasper1]

Is this an example of concern trolling?

[d3x / dt3]

Textbook.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Because I'm sure that if there'd been an opening in 2008 and Bush had nominated, say, Janice Rogers Brown, she would've been immediately approved, right?

As an aside, here's a 2005 speech from Senator Obama opposing the nomination of Judge Brown to the DC Circuit.

[Free Society]

Justice Brown has also gone out of her way to use her position in the courts to advocate for increased protections for property owners.

Clearly, he thought she was the wrong kind of brown.

[Suthenboy]

There is some jaw-dropping projection in that speech. Christ.

[R C Dean]

That's why the Senate needs to make it perfectly clear before anyone is nominated that they will not approve. Period.

And they need to get their asses back to DC immediately to get back in session to prevent a recess appointment.

If they let Obama have a SCOTUS appointment of any kind, it will be an electoral holocaust for sitting Senators and the GOP establishment.

[d3x / dt3]

I know many will disagree, but:

There's no way Obama is both stupid and ballsy enough to attempt a recess appointment to the Supreme Court.

[R C Dean]

There's no way Obama is both stupid and ballsy enough to ___________________

I honestly can't think of anything to finish this sentence with.

I absolutely believe that if the Senate stays out for a couple of months, say, he will do a recess appointment to SCOTUS.

[Emmerson Biggins]

I think they should just make it clear they will only approve somebody who can actually read the constitution. And just keep rejecting them over and over while bashing the crap out of them.

But there may be too many weak-kneed R's outside the committee to take unnecessary risks. So maybe you are right.

[Hyperbolical]

How many potential voter pay attention to the SCOTUS docket? Not many, I expect. The only problem for republicans is that the MSM will spin this to their disfavor no matter who the nominee(s) is. They might as well go for obstruction because they will be accused of it unless they cave in the first day of questioning.

[R C Dean]

How many potential voter pay attention to the SCOTUS docket?

A big fight in the middle of the campaign will be unusual, to say the least. And I think many Repubs will view it as the last chance of the current GOP to prove they are worth keeping around.

[GILMORE?]

Christ, the post right above me? (sigh). i quit

[Free Society]

ha ha we even quoted the same money shot

[Lord Humungus]

money shot

go on...

[Frankjasper1]

Yea not buying this part:

"could be exactly what Democrats need to re-activate the Obama coalition that fueled his victories in 2008 and 2012."

They aren't running Obama again.

[GILMORE?]

Identity Politics FTW: "Republicans Can Not Obstruct a SC Nominee as Long as They Are Seen as Racist For Doing So"

Assuming the president picks a Hispanic, African American or Asian American ? bonus points if she's a woman ? this could be exactly what Democrats need to re-activate the Obama coalition that fueled his victories in 2008 and 2012.

What follows is the simulation of "tactical analysis" of the potential cost/benefits of GOP playing hardball over the SC nominee. The author seems to think the GOP would pay dearly for standing in the way of social progress.

I couldn't even read the whole thing, its so petty and dumb

[Ken Shultz]

"Assuming the president picks a Hispanic, African American or Asian American ? bonus points if she's a woman ? this could be exactly what Democrats need"

Does the Washington Post have any idea how racist they sound?

Did you know that Hispanics, blacks, and Asians could be smart enough to sit on the Supreme Court? Well they can!

Bur if it wasn't for Barack Obama nominating Hispanics, blacks, and Asians, how would anyone know how smart they can be?

[Ken Shultz]

Women, too!

Did you know women can be smart?

Well they can be.

But if it wasn't for Barack Obama's nominations, how would anybody know?

[GILMORE?]

There is an element of mask-slippage (if there's any pretense of a mask anymore at all) in the argument that

"We Democrats Must USE These Minorities For All They're Worth!! They're No Good Just Sitting Around Doing Nothing! Ostentatiously celebrating our elevated social conscience is all we have!!"

[CatoTheChipper]

WaPo is particularly unoriginal in saying "bonus points if she's a woman". Female SCOTUS justices are so 20th Century that a female appointment would merit zero bonus points.

To get bonus points, Obama should appoint a gay married Asian man.

[Catatafish & Woodchips]

Quite a lot of people seem to forget about the "consent" part in the Senate's role of "advise and consent." Slow play the process out but I think the "conservatives" have a much better shot at ginning up more voters out of this is they actually DO have hearings eventually. Just ask the really hot-button questions and focus them to decisions already handed down. That makes it much more difficult for a nominee to play the "it's inappropriate for me to pre-judge/I don't have the facts in front of me" card. You could make a lot of hay out of simply asking "what is your legal opinion of Citizens United/Heller/etc. and would you have voted in the majority?"

[Irish ?s ESB]

This is yet another example of what we need to call the Pundit's Fallacy - the idea that voters (most of whom pay virtually no attention to politics) care about the same stuff as Washington insiders care about.

Most voters don't care enough about Supreme Court nomination fights for this to get them to turn out or to change their vote. In addition, the type of people who are unlikely to vote self-select for people not interested in politics, so they're even less likely than the public at large to care.

This is the same idiocy that led pundits in 2013 to declare that the government shutdown would kill the Republicans in an election that was a full year away, as if anyone would even be thinking about the shutdown 11 months later when they showed up to vote.

[Illocust]

I think it is mostly pressure tactics. They want to believe the things they care about will sway the votes. They've found that repeating this enough times will result in others believing and the idea never gets put to the test.

[Frankjasper1]

Yep making themselves feel more important than they really are.

[Illocust]

Articles like this are an advantage to the republicans in the senate. When this author tries to pull a race card at the later date they can legitimately point back to this article and show that he doesn't give a damn about qualifications. It won't sway the authors mind but it will dampen the race fire and boost their base.

Really the best thing they could do is repeat that while Obama's job is to nominate candidates it is their job to actually choose the winner. Liken it to the elections. Obama is acting as a primary deciding who is in the running and the Senate is the final election deciding who actually gets the job. It's not a perfect analogy, but it should work well enough to get the concept across. Also, it will help them pressure him into giving them multiple options.

[R C Dean]

I like the idea of picking up on the first half of "advice and consent": the Senate sends the Prez a short list of acceptable nominees. Nobody who will get a hearing unless they are on the list.

[Hyperbolical]

If what the democrats did to Clarence Thomas wasn't racist or sexist, then it should be difficult (in light of that confirmation fiasco) to paint the republicans as such. But the MSM isn't consistent with their accusations.

[Sevo]

"The Grammys are tonight. Expect someone from the cultural elite to lecture you about something."

I lose track of the various self-congratulatory h'wood sales meetings, but Ed's right about the lectures. Even if "cultural elite" needs a sarc warning.

[Suthenboy]

"Even if "cultural elite" needs a sarc warning."

That anyone considers what used to be called 'show people' the cultural elite is laughable to me. Most of them, underneath the glitter, are pure trash. There are a few that are class acts, but most of them wake up regularly hung over and coked out in a trash filled room with passed out hookers and a great dane.

[Suthenboy]

I forgot...the braying donkey is usually what wakes them.

[Granny Weatherwax]

In Elizabethan England, singers and actors were in the same social class as hookers, with the hookers just a tad more respectable.

[JoWaDat889]

Oh wow should be interesting to see what happens.

http://www.Anon-Net.tk

[ammytaytor02]

til I saw the receipt that said $6460 , I did not believe ...that...my mother in law woz like they say actualy earning money in their spare time from their computer. . there aunt started doing this for under thirteen months and recently cleard the depts on there mini mansion and bourt a great Aston Martin DB5 . go to this website...

Clik this link in Your Browser

+++++++++ http://www.Wage90.com

[lukashik]

The technology is so developed that we can watch videos, live streaming, TV serials and any of our missed programs within our mobiles and PCs. Showbox
All we need is a mobile or PC with a very good internet connection. There are many applications by which we can enjoy videos, our missed programs, live streaming etc.

[DEG]

Damn

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

So much to agree with here Tunds.

[DEG]

The fixation with MPG kind of baffles me.

TOP.MEN said it is important, therefore it is important.

I had a 1985 Honda CRX that got close to 50mpg on the road. I sure wouldn't want to have gotten hot in it though.

My dad had a Geo Metro that got the same mileage. This place had (and might still have) a three wheeled car from the 1910s or 1920s that got 50 MPG.

[d3x / dt3]

It's a number that can be fixated upon as a "my car is that much better/worse than yours". I suspect that it's a justification for the desire to get a new car.

Fuel costs nothing, relatively speaking. The dust-to-dust cost of a Hummer (the VEHICLE, that is) is less than that of a Prius.

[Trshmnstr, terror of the trash]

When I got my '15 Fusion, I looked at the cost to get the hybrid v. the v6... I paid about $6k extra for the hybrid model, and it gets me 42mpg combined. I'll run this car into the ground, so I'm sure I'll eclipse $6k in savings less than 1/3 of the way through the car's life. The big thing I don't like is that it has very little giddy up when I have to mash the pedal. It's better than my old car, but there is no pride in beating a 2000 Taurus.