Justice Thomas Pipes Up in Court, Christie Victorious in Union Pension Fight, Super Tuesday Looms: P.M. Links

• 

  Supreme Court

  In perhaps an unexpected consequence of Justice Antonin Scalia's passing, Justice Clarence Thomas shocked observers by actually asking questions during an oral argument today. He is famously quiet and has not asked a question during oral hearings in 10 years.

• The Supreme Court declined to get involved in the fight between New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and the state's public unions over the governor's decision to skip a massive payment into the state's pension funds.
• Going into Super Tuesday tomorrow, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are dominating the polls for their parties.
• A Navy SEAL who helped rescue an American hostage in Afghanistan received a Medal of Honor today at a White House ceremony.
• The mayor of Philadelphia wants a tax on sugary drinks to help pay for universal pre-kindergarten and for a green jobs plan.
• Company SodaStream has had to lay off a ton of Palestinian workers, its chief executive officer says, because it has been the target of an international boycott against businesses with ties to Israel.
• Japan has indicted three power company executives for negligence for their roles in the Fukushima nuclear power plant meltdown in 2011.
• A nanny in Moscow was arrested after apparently waving around the head of a 4-year-old girl near a subway entrance and yelling that she's a terrorist.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

In perhaps an unexpected consequence of Justice Antonin Scalia's passing, Justice Clarence Thomas shocked observers by actually asking questions during an oral argument today.

Scalia's ghost dropped a nickel in his slot.

[DEG]

Hello Rufus.

Here's what you wanted me to link for Playa.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

I saw that. We tried. /skates away.

[DEG]

Oh well. More French-Canadian women for us.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Actually, I should expand/amend that. Montreal women as a whole are hot.

[DEG]

Yes

[But Enough About Me]

Meh.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

I saw that comment too!

I see everything.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

I've always understood them to pretty well indexed over to the crazy side as well.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Yes - French-Canadians in particular. They can be, erm, demanding.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

She's no Norwegian.

[DEG]

They're all welcome in my harem.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Absolutely.

[Broswater]

Fuck I hate that cunt. Yeah cute I know, but so self aggrandizing, opportunistic and, and worse... representing my riding lol. Listen, she presented herself to be mayor of Montreal, at 31. How much do you have to love yourself to do that!.

That and that cheap worked out faked french accent. I can't stand it. She a lawyer, she had her own PR company, she's been living in Ottawa for a while, I refuse to think her french accent is not forced out. Tells you a lot about the honesty of a person.

Nevertheless..... still would of course... TIWTANLW

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

I know.

I actually wanted her to beat that sniveling, opportunistic Coderre. Mtl is now banning both plastic bags and bottles. Retards.

TRUDEAU DIVERSE.

[Broswater]

Marcel Cot? would have been a great mayor, Coderre was always a bit of a soft Trump, he lost the little respect I had for him when he destroyed that cement block for postal boxes.

It saddening, I was scrolling around the facederp today, and altough everyones agrees we need change, they are always voting for the same 2 parties.Pathetic, but hey, there is still 3 and a half more year of shiny pony, maybe people will learn....

[gaoxiaen]

+1 emergency room visit

[Akira]

"TIWTANLW"

How hard is it to just type stuff out?

[pan fried wylie]

HHIITJTSO?

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Would.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Would.

[PBR Streetgang]

Wood.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Hello.

[Entelechy]

Next thing , he'll be riding behind Justice Ginsburg on an elephant.

http://vvattsupwiththat.blogsp.....cting.html

[tarran]

Oh look everyone!!!!

Dr Sietz of Harvard University posted a link to his parody blog!!!!!

Good job, doc!!!!!!

Your grad students must be very proud of your HTML-fu!

[Los Doyers]

Watts up with all the exclamation points, dude?

[Tonio]

I'm guessing that the exclamations are to parody the breathless tone of the blog in question vvatsupwith that (note the two v's) which is itself a whiny attempt to parody the ever-useful wattsupwiththat blog (spelled with an initial w).

[Los Doyers]

Tonio, don't you make me come in there and manually recalibrate your sarcmeter.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

That sounds gay. Take the deal, Tonio.

[Tonio]

Dammit. You got me good, Los Doyers.

[Tonio]

Dammit. You got me good, Los Doyers.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The mayor of Philadelphia wants a tax on sugary drinks to help pay for universal pre-kindergarten and for a green jobs plan.

Is it 2009 again already?

[DEG]

From the story:

Former Mayor Michael Nutter proposed a 2-cents-per-ounce tax during his administration. Kenney, a city councilman at the time, opposed the idea, and the tax never made it to a council vote.

I chuckled. Flip-flop!

[Certified Public Asshat]

A $2.88 tax on a 12 pack of soda?

[brokencycle]

That's more than I pay for a 12 pack today.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Jesus. Do they not know how prohibition works?

If they tax it by the ounce, I'll just buy the syrup and mix it at home.

[Agammamon]

Then they'll require a vendor's license to get syrup and carbonated water supplies.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

I already have both of those things and no license.

[Agammamon]

Just wait until the commonsense soda dispenser laws are passed.

After all, where in the Constitution does it say you have the right to carbonated beverages?

[CE]

At least he's named Nutter.

[PBR Streetgang]

So all the soda purchases will now be made west of City Line Avenue in the suburbs?

[Fairbanks]

Well at least it's for green jobs. That always turns out well....

[BiMonSciFiCon]

In perhaps an unexpected consequence of Justice Antonin Scalia's passing, Justice Clarence Thomas shocked observers by actually asking questions during an oral argument today. He is famously quiet and has not asked a question during oral hearings in 10 years.

See! This is proof that Thomas is just [insert racist progressive talking point here]."

[Irish ?s ESB]

I was just coming here to say that!

[Scarecrow & WoodChipper Repair]

Black as a ghost!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Going into Super Tuesday tomorrow, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are dominating the polls for their parties.

So I hope you're happy with yourself, America.

[Tonio]

Don't make it any worse than it has to be, Fist.

[JW]

You made your democracy, now lie in it.

[Los Doyers]

BUT WE ARE A REPUBLIC

[CE]

With an (almost) democratically elected president...

[Los Doyers]

The Founding Fathers did say that if you like your republic, you can keep it. Or something.

[Brett L]

Not after the 17th Amendment.

[This Machine]

Gettin' it good and hard.

[But Enough About Me]

10 GET IT
20 GOOD, HARD
30 GO TO 10

[DEG]

Nigeria had something left to cut

Warning: Auto-play video.

Nigeria has removed 23,846 employees from the government payroll, after an official audit revealed they don't exist.

Cutting out these "ghost workers" will reduce the government's monthly wage bill by 2.3 billion naira ($11.5 million), Nigeria's finance ministry said in a statement.

The anti-corruption audit uses bank verification numbers to crack down on public salary fraud. Auditors have so far checked roughly one third of Nigeria's 1.2 million government employees. They have discovered that 7.6% of them either don't exist or receive multiple salaries under different names.

[Dr. Fronkensteen]

How many need to have money deposited into my bank account?

[SusanM]

Did they get Prince Noku Bonbokubu?

[Medical Physics Guy]

If they ran this audit at the FedGov, what % would they discover? I'll bet 5% "ghost workers" at a minimum.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

The ghost workers mostly show up at work.

[Agammamon]

That's the difference between the US and other countries - even European ones.

*Our* workers show up and do nothing to collect their paychecks.

[PapayaSF]

Actually, some don't have to show up often: I believe we pay some public union employees to do nothing but union business.

[Akira]

I work at a state prison (through a healthcare contracting company) and yes, there is a "labor relations officer" employed there.

And attendance seems to be optional among most employees.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

2.3 billion naira??? That sounds like a lot of money!!!

[Brett L]

I'll sell you a $1 trillion platinum coin with Obama on the front and FYTW on the back for that.

[Hamster of Doom]

Japan has indicted three power company executives for negligence for their roles in the Fukushima nuclear power plant meltdown in 2011.

Is that all?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Shouldn't the tsunami shoulder some of that?

[colorblindkid]

If only Captain Hindsight was there!

[But Enough About Me]

Not to mention his sidekick, Estimate Boy.

[Private Chipperbot]

How dare they not stand up to a tsunami yelling 'Stop!"

[Scarecrow & WoodChipper Repair]

+1 Canute

[Tonio]

IIRC, there were issues with the site and the design of the plant. Too close to the ocean. The backup generators which were supposed to cool the core in the event of a shutdown were located underground, which is kind of a design flaw anyway, but particularly near the ocean.

[Private Chipperbot]

Serious question. Where else would you put them? Above ground you're dealing with high water, wind, earthquake. You certainly wouldn't put them in a tower for the same reason.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

With a tsunami threat, NOT UNDERGROUND NEAR THE COAST. Ideally, at least 3 different locations for redundancy.

This will all be moot for new nuclear power plants anyway. They can self cool through draft alone in the event of a total outage.

Too bad we haven't built any of them yet.

[Agammamon]

You could put the back up generators in *China* for all the good it would do you. If the generator housing flooded, then moving the generators still leave the local power distribution house and the transmission lines exposed.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

They're a bit more resistant to water. Salt water? No. So properly insulate.

The meltdown could have been prevented in a number of ways. It wasn't.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

The site was designed by a GE holding company.

[Brett L]

GE Ukraine?

[NotAnotherSkippy]

The plant was hit with an earthquake more than 30 times greater than it was designed for and survived. The backup diesel generators only had a 3m (IIRC) flood wall and the tsunami was considerably higher than that. They should have been built in enclosed bunkers to resist flooding. Even with all of that battery backup continued to operate the pumps for over 8 hours. The company and the government were unable to ship in new generators with the proper plugs (plugs!!) in that time and the cores melted down into containment. The "meltdown" that everyone saw on tv was the hydrogen gas evolved from the Zirconia encapsulation and the elevated temps.

And even with all of these no one was killed by the plant itself.

[Hamster of Doom]

And everyone goes to the serious answer. Of course they do.

*throws hands in the air*

This is why we can't have nice seppuku jokes.

[Los Doyers]

DAMN YOU REFRESH

[Los Doyers]

Time for seppuku by radiation poisoning.

[Agammamon]

OK, let me get this straight.

Fukushima was hit by a tidal wave *and* an earthquake. And the 'meltdown' wasn't anything of the sort. How do you prevent that from happening *after the design phase*. There's absolutely no possible procedure you could do fast enough once the event is happening.

And that design phase? You know the part where government regulators go over the plan to ensure that the proposed design meets safety standards? Yeah, when are some of *those* guys going to get indicted for approving a design that had 'major flaws' that were only apparent *after* a tidal wave and earthquake 1-2 punch?

[PapayaSF]

And then Angela Merkel, in a panic, decided that Germany should shut down their nuclear power plants, even though Germany is not at risk of tsunamis. She's the worst leader of Germany since 1945.

[Agammamon]

Add in her admission that she has no 'plan B' if this thing with the Muslim refugees goes south and the . . . I don't even know what to call it - where their own local politicians are telling Germans to 'cover up' in response to things like the Cologne New years incident.

I mean, I'm about a pro-free-immigration you can get but this is exactly how you *don't* handle a problem immigrant population.

[Akira]

But government regulators are selfless public servants who glided down from heaven on silken wings in order to make our lives better. They had good intentions.

The corporate nukyular executives were after profits, which means they had bad intentions.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

Unless he's secretly a psychic medium channeling Scalia's ghost.

I think this is pretty reasonable imho. Occam's Razor and what not.

[Jerry on the rocks]

10 years we had to wait before Di Caprio finally got his statue, so now Thomas is finally free to speak again.

[CE]

Or Scalia used to ask all the questions he was thinking about, and now he has to ask them himself.

[colorblindkid]

That makes too much sense. The amount of hatred towards Clarence Thomas by the left can only be explained due to his race. Goddamn Uncle Tom.

[Fist of Etiquette]

A nanny in Moscow was arrested after apparently waving around the head of a 4-year-old girl near a subway entrance and yelling that she's a terrorist.

Nanny 9/11. There, I said it so the New York Post doesn't have to.

[Pope Jimbo]

It could have been worse. She could have left the head in the back seat of her car unattended while she went into a store to run some errands.

[C. Anacreon]

Thread winner

[CZmacure]

Plus infinity.

[Domestic Dissident]

Where's my Hat Tip?

[Scarecrow & WoodChipper Repair]

She had to doff its hat to pick it up by its hair.

[PapayaSF]

Clearly Muslim assimilation is happening in Russia.

[ant1sthenes]

Apparently even when they go postal for ordinary reasons of insanity and family trouble, they still have to put that uniquely Muslim spin on it.

[DEG]

Zimbabwe's nine currencies

Warning: Auto-play video

Managing your money in one currency is tricky enough for most people. Imagine having to keep track of nine.

That's a hard fact of life for many of Zimbabwe's businesses, who have been forced into the role of foreign exchange dealers after the country's dollar collapsed and was withdrawn from circulation.

They'll trade in the U.S. dollar, Australian dollar, South African rand, Botswana pula, euro, British pound, Japanese yen, Chinese yuan and Indian rupee.

[jesse.in.mb]

No bitcoin?

[Medical Physics Guy]

Mugabe has ensured an intertubes-free utopia for most of his residence.

But this has got me thinking -- what the 3rd world needs is Yunus-style microcredit valued in bitcoin. If this isn't already out there.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

A nanny in Moscow was arrested after apparently waving around the head of a 4-year-old girl near a subway entrance and yelling that she's a terrorist.

Why isn't the media reporting this incident of WHITE MALE CHRISTIAN terrorism. Just another example of racism in action.

[Dr. Fronkensteen]

Because it was a workplace dispute between a 4 year old and her nanny.

[Tonio]

Because no gunz were involved. They only mention that the perp was a white, male, hetero (you left that one out), christian when it's a gun crime.

[DJF]

The Russian cops were pretty calm since they did not shoot her when she was yelling she had a bomb and waving around a childs head. Maybe they need to train US cops?

[jesse.in.mb]

Or increase our cops' vodka ration for the work week.

[Los Doyers]

And turn them all into commies? How un-American.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

The bomb was in the head.

[DEG]

Bugatti unveils the Chiron

The new model will have 1,500 HP to work with, which is 300 HP more than the record-winning Veyron. The Chiron's top speed remains to be seen, but it'll be capped at 420 km/h (260 mph) for road use.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Top Gear said it had a top speed of 261 MPH.

At about 2.6m USD, it's another car for people with more money than sense.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

Personally I think this is great. Rich people + insanely fast cars = more estate tax revenue. Thanks, Bugatti, for having some sense of fiscal responsibility.

[Medical Physics Guy]

Oh right, I'm sure they keep their savings onshore.

[DJF]

I wonder how many of the owners will get it anywhere close to its top speed?

That is any of the owners that live.

[Zeb]

Not many. It's very difficult to find a long, smooth, straight road without traffic that it would even be possible on.

[dschwar]

Anyone with enough money to buy one should also be able to rent out a speedway to satisfy their need for speed.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

My minivan goes faster than that.

[Zeb]

I think they got the super sport version of the Veyron going a bit faster than that.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

French car maker.

Italian at its root and essence.

[DEG]

And owned by Volkswagen.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

It's a crime against humanity Bugatti by happenstance ended up in France. CRIME!

That's okay. Audi owns Ducati and I believe Lamborghini. A German is CEO of Maserati. I once read an interesting article about his reign. Germans realize you ain't gonna mess with how they do things and respect the Italian 'architectural and engineering' mind. They basically leave them alone; not to mention for some strange reason Germans and Italians get on very well when it comes to stuff like this.

[DEG]

They basically leave them alone; not to mention for some strange reason Germans and Italians get on very well when it comes to stuff like this.

Strange. Very strange.

[Medical Physics Guy]

Italians do have a tradition of unbelivably exquisite craftsmanship in many very competitive areas -- Brioni suits, Fazioli pianos, Barolo wines, and of course Italian cars. Probably it's somewhat geographical.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

I know. And far more than you just mentioned.

I explore this facet of Italy on my own time and I'm constantly impressed.

The perception is that Italy is about the arts (including culinary heritage) but they're equally if not more technological/engineering/mathematically minded.

[PapayaSF]

I think it also has to do with economic policy: family firms avoid many of the pitfalls of being a public corporation in Italy.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

BINGO.

They never quite could understand the tenet of relinquishing their businesses to shareholders. That's why their stock market is smallish. It's still predominantly a small-business economy.

Hence, Berretta, Campagnolo, Missionis, motorcycles, bicycle and sporting manufacturers, etc. are still often in family hands. They've held out longer than the UK, France and Germany on that front.

But economic realities may change this.

[Pan Zagloba]

Germans and Italians get on very well when it comes to stuff like this

Something something, Rommel and bersaglieri...

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Actually, there's history there that goes back to the Germanic tribes and Rome. There was always a mutual intrigue. Today, Germans are educated and actually take the time to understand Italian ways meanwhile, for their part, Italians -knowing history of such things - respect and admire Germans - even Northern Europeans particularly where it comes to civil order and governance. They want that for Italy but know it's a pipe dream.

I'm gonna stop here lest I mess this little story up since it deserves more time.

[CE]

You know who else conquered France and told Italy what to do?

[Pan Zagloba]

Gaius Julius Caesar?

[grrizzly]

Hitler. What did I win?

[Los Doyers]

A nice hot shower.

[Zeb]

And owned and deigned by Germans.

Which is really probably the best combo.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

That's a lot of hit points.

[Riven]

I lol'd

[PapayaSF]

Still not as cool looking as this one.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Supreme Court declined to get involved in the fight between New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and the state's public unions...

They couldn't figure out how to make them both lose?

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Going into Super Tuesday tomorrow, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are dominating the polls for their parties.

I suspect that Hillary is not only dominating in the polls, but dominating in SuperDelegates. Sanders, we hardly knew ye.

[Sevo]

"...Super Tuesday Looms..."

Does the NFL know about this?

[Private Chipperbot]

Their attorneys are furiously drafting cease and desist letters.

[Scarecrow & WoodChipper Repair]

+ 760 mph

[BiMonSciFiCon]

Going into Super Tuesday tomorrow, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are dominating the polls for their parties.

One of Cruz/Rubio needs to drop out after Tuesday. They're both young enough- they can give it another shot in 4-8 (though who knows if other candidates will be better options by then (Rand 2.0?? Haha jk.)).

The RNC needs to make this happen.

[Private Chipperbot]

Rubio drops out, runs as VP with Trump. Trump introduces him as the guy who holds his dick because Trump's hands are too small.

[WoodchipperPatriarch]

Is that why? I thought it was because Rubio is a natural power bottom and Trump is too insecure to be anything but a cialis-engorged top BUT DON'T YOU DARE CALL HIM GAY!

[Jerry on the rocks]

Rubio seems to be running for president of some 3rd rate fraternity now.

[Brett L]

The Animal House speech is better than his stump speech.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

I imagine the problem is largely that the RNC doesn't want Cruz either, and Cruz won't drop out for the sake of the RNC.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

A Moscow nanny has been arrested after waving the dismembered head of a toddler around a subway station on Monday.

Jesus fucking christ.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

I made a joke earlier, but jfc that's horrific. What kind of person does that?

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Crazy people.

[jesse.in.mb]

So...Russians?

[DJF]

No she is Gyulchekhra Bobokulova from Uzbekistan

[jesse.in.mb]

Awww, I like Uzbeks. There was a surprisingly good Uzbek restaurant in the Korean town I lived in the family that owned it was delightful and they had broad range of Baltika beers...

[Just say Nikki]

Close. Uzbeks.

[grrizzly]

Russian federal migration service spokeswoman Olga Kirillova told Interfax that Bobokulova was working as a nanny illegally, without a worker's permit, though she had registered with a migration office and was in the country legally.

That's what happens when you let nannies work illegally.

[Tonio]

Thanks for your joke. Srsly. Helps deal with the horror.

Pure fucking unexcusable evil.

[DJF]

She was yelling "Allahu Akbar"

[BiMonSciFiCon]

just like a typical white christian cishet male (h/t tonio).

[Tonio]

Damn, I left out cisnormative. Sorry.

[R C Dean]

Her motive, naturally, remains a complete mystery.

Actually, in her case I think "bugfuck nuts" is all the motive there is.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

I had a close friend who had 2 of her kids killed by the nanny. Psychotic break. She walked in on the nanny slitting her baby's throat.

Of course, in retrospect, all of the signs were there for weeks, but still.

[DEG]

Horrid.

[DEG]

Going into Super Tuesday tomorrow, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are dominating the polls for their parties.

Hillary Clinton and domination. Hasn't SugarFree covered that already?

[Tonio]

Also, Spy Magazine back during her husband's first term as POTUS.

[PapayaSF]

Here you go.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Something to do with mutton flaps... the I black out.

[SugarFree]

Mammoth flaps?

[Catatafish & Woodchips]

Please...no...

(whimpers mewlingly)

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

TheN I black out.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

I did misread parties as panties, which briefly conjured a lovely image.

[jesse.in.mb]

Company SodaStream has had to lay off a ton of Palestinian workers, its chief executive officer says, because it has been the target of an international boycott against businesses with ties to Israel.

Oops.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Funny that.

[Juvenile Bluster]

"I blame Jews. Er, Zionists! Zionists! Yeah, that's the ticket" - The BDS movement.

[Pan Zagloba]

It's hilarious (though not the the people fired).

"We gave them an opportunity to work," he told Israel's Channel 2 TV, calling Palestinians the main victims of the boycott movement. But he also criticized the Israeli government for not granting them work permits.

In all, about 500 Palestinians lost their jobs after the factory moved last year amid a high-profile boycott campaign known as BDS ? an acronym for boycott, divestment and sanctions.

Basically they had a factory on West Bank, BDS crowd got screechy so they moved it to Israel. They couldn't get work permits for their old workers, so they'll have to hire inside Israel.
Best part is that this is exactly what PA wants - now these people are going to go on the dole, and that means local PA headman gets to control them.

[JeremyR]

So basically what the Left wants to happen everywhere

[Irish ?s ESB]

So after pro-Hillary black and Hispanic democrats destroy the White Progressive dream of a glorious Bernietopia, am I going to get to hear white liberals talk about how black people voted against their self-interest or is that sort of condescension reserved only for poor white people?

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

What do you think?

[Tonio]

It's called false consciousness, and it's used on anyone who doesn't vote for them who they feel should have.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

DON'T B'LEVE THE HYPE!

[CatoTheChipper]

That sort of condescension is reserved for anyone who doesn't vote for the Democratic Party establishment.

It is not really ideological, but rather partisan.

[PBR Streetgang]

Sanders himself has you covered. After losing in SC he flew to Minnesota and said:
"There's no way we're going to lose Minnesota. I can see that," he said. "You are just too smart."

[Irish ?s ESB]

LOL. If that were a Republican, we'd get to hear for the next three weeks how that's a racist dog whistle.

Hell, we still might. David Brock is in Hillary's corner and there's no level he won't stoop to.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

"I hate democracy! I'm a terrorist!" she yelled before being tackled by police, according to TV Rain."

Russia is a democracy?

The poor child. Sickening.

[Mazakon]

Company SodaStream has had to lay off a ton of Palestinian workers, its chief executive officer says, because it has been the target of an international boycott against businesses with ties to Israel.

I quite like a few of their flavours, but the lemonade one takes a double dose to get any real flavour.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Going into Super Tuesday tomorrow, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are dominating the polls for their parties.

This election should be an absolute gimme for Team Red, and they're going to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. I know they're Team Stupid, but they're truly living up to that name.

[Irish ?s ESB]

I know. When Hillary crushes Trump, the Trumpster tears will be pretty glorious though.

[lap83]

You will cry too, with joy at our first female president. Then she will wipe every tear from our eyes and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. (...is the kind of thing you will probably notice on that day more than trumpsters crying...just sayin)

[Irish ?s ESB]

The only person who gets to wipe away my tears is Molly Soda and I will not cheat on my darling princess with that harlot Hillary.

[Riven]

... Are you spying on me? A couple Jehova's basically said exactly that to me not twenty minutes ago--except they were talking about the one true god, of course.

Then again, I'm sure some people do consider Hillary the one true god, too.

[CatoTheChipper]

I doubt that anybody thinks of Hillary as the one true goddess. Her followers worship the State as their god, and revere Hillary is its anointed prophet.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

If Hilly crushes Trump, he'll say he wanted it to happen like this... because EGO.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

I know. When Hillary crushes Trump, the Trumpster tears will be pretty glorious though.

A Hillary presidency will generate plenty of tears all around.

[Banjos]

Am I the only person who thinks Trump can take Hillary? Voter turnout for democrats is down 30% from '08. Republican's voter turnout is up over 25% from '12. There's no enthusiasm for Hillary.

[Crusty Juggler]

I think he will no doubt defeat her. I think there is a large contingent of GOP voters who will vote against Hillary no matter who her opponent is.

[lap83]

No. But we're the minority here

[Calidissident]

There will be a lot of enthusiasm to vote against Trump. Republican turnout is high, but that doesn't mean all the people against Trump in the party would be enthusiastic to go vote for him in November.

I think he has a shot, but barring an economic collapse or a major terrorist attack, it's not a very good one IMO.

[Medical Physics Guy]

Apparently Trump's strongest base is working class white Democrats. I think it's hard to predict how that is going to play out.

[Cytotoxic]

Not well. Those people aren't the future of America.

[Calidissident]

What is that based on? Trump connecting with working class Republicans doesn't mean it will translate with Democrats.

[PapayaSF]

Poll: 20% of Dems would defect for Trump

Amid Trump surge, nearly 20,000 Mass. voters quit Democratic party

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Trump has the support of a lot of public employees. A LOT. The unions might endorse Hillary, but a lot of their members don't.

[PapayaSF]

Trump also has a lot of support in New York and Massachusetts. Democrats in both states are worried.

[PapayaSF]

I'm with Banjos and the others. Trump beats Hillary.

[R C Dean]

I think he has a good shot against Hillary.

The X factors are bigger than usual in that matchup, though. Who the fuck knows what Donald will say next/ Who knows when her obvious health issues will catch up to her/can no longer be hidden from the lickspittle press? Etc.

[Banjos]

I agree. The election is 8 months away. A lot can happen between now and then.

[PapayaSF]

The press was forbidden from filming her board a plane recently. Perhaps because she needs help walking up stairs? I wonder if we have an FDR thing going on here.

[coloraDOOM]

As much as I want them to both loose, I think this is accurate. I think the dems are more likely to actually split. There's a good number who truly believe in Sanders. The Republicans do not seem to split, but instead disenfranchise a few percent at a time.

[Gray Ghost]

No Banjos, you're not. The last H2H polls by state that I saw at RCP had Trump losing Michigan to Hillary by 8 (no surprise there, though Rubio beats her by 2?!), but beating her in Florida, Ohio, and NC by 2. Give FL, OH, NC to the Republicans and I think this is over. I haven't seen PA's polls in awhile, but the last ones I saw had guys like Jeb barely beating Hillary, and I think the Donald could do at least as well.

Margin of error, but still. No one should be confident in a victory.

She's a horrible candidate, and the sooner the DNC figures this out and figures out they don't need to fear the wrath of Hillary, the better for them. Christ, you'd think Mark Warner would be mopping the floor with her, never mind Biden or Warren. Then again, Webb couldn't get anything going this time around, so who knows?

[Calidissident]

NC went Republican in 2012. Even if the GOP flipped Ohio and Florida, they would need more in order to win.

[Gray Ghost]

Agreed, Cali, which is why I brought up PA, despite their poll being so long ago. Assuming Hillary's downward trending support continued from the pro-Jeb result in October of last year, I think it's reasonable to assume that PA will break slightly for the GOP. (The coal miners at least should, or have they forgotten just how badly Obama---and falling NG prices---screwed them)

CO breaks for the GOP last I checked, and by quite a large margin. I'm willing to believe enough illegals have entered NV to give them to the Dems. And VA, oddly, is breaking Dem, although I think reminding VA voters of just how spectacularly bad Hil is on guns will flip that back.

That said, I think if the GOP gets FL, OH, NC, they'll end up winning. But you're right that they need more to mathematically win.

[Cytotoxic]

You would be in a sane commentariat, because the polling data and COMMON FUCKING SENSE are quite clear: Trump will get mauled by Hillary and doubly so if conservatives have the sense to run a third party or the Dems have the sense to nominate someone else or both.

If you, for one second, thought or think Trump stands any sort of chance in the general then you are laughably, hopelessly out of touch with the real world and modern culture.

[Mr Drew]

Hmm, I may bookmark this comment for later use

[Gray Ghost]

Papaya's got a---so far as I know---open $100 bet that Trump'll beat Hillary. I don't remember whether Papaya wanted odds, or if he was just fucking with Cytotoxic, or what, but hell, that looks like easy money if you think Trump's going to crater spectacularly.

I happen to think Trump'll beat Hil about as bad as W beat Kerry. Which is to say, not very, but a win's a win.

[PapayaSF]

I've offered to bet Cytotoxic $100, I've offered to bet $20, I've offered to bet giving up my screen name against his total exile from H&R. Hey, Trump cannot possibly win, so there's no risk for him, right? But he chickens out, the same way he runs when he rudely demands proof of something, I post a link, and then he's never seen in the thread again.

[Mazakon]

Farrakhan Joins List of Extremists Supporting Trump

in Part 2 of his ser?mon yes?ter?day, Far?rakhan stated that Trump "is the only mem?ber who has stood in front of Jew?ish com?mu?nity, and said I don't want your money. Any time a man can say to those who con?trol the pol?i?tics of Amer?ica, 'I don't want your money,' that means you can't con?trol me. And they can?not afford to give up con?trol of the pres?i?dents of the United States." How?ever, Far?rakhan also dis?tanced him?self from a full endorse?ment of Trump stat?ing, "Not that I'm for Mr. Trump, but I like what I'm look?ing at."

[Tonio]

Horseshoe!

[__Warren__]

One con man recognizes another.

[CatoTheChipper]

Grand Dragon David Duke and the Reverend Louis Farrakhan seem to be angling for appointments to the US Civil Rights Commission in the Trump Administration, or something. Or, maybe they know that their endorsements hurt Trump. Who knows how these people think?

[GILMORE?]

Syrian "Cease-Fire" Proceeding Much as Expected

"The HNC said the cessation of hostilities was broken by the Syrian government 15 times on the first day, and that there were further violations by Russia and Hezbollah, both allies of President Bashar al-Assad.
...
Colonel Fares al-Bayoush, head of a Free Syrian Army group called the Northern Division, told Reuters: "The air strikes are heavy today, especially by Russian planes.""

Because who is monitoring and enforcing any penalties for violations? the whole thing is a sham to make the West look like its "doing something" while events on the ground play out.

[Gray Ghost]

Gilmore, were you SecState, what would you recommend the U.S. do?

[colorblindkid]

Dear lord the racist Clarence Thomas comments from the left are filling up the internet. Like half of them are legitimately racist, compared to what they usually judge to be racist.

[Deep Lurker]

They're also trying to bury what Clarence Thomas asked: "Can you give me another area where a misdemeanor violation suspends a constitutional right?" And further questions along those lines

Seem like good questions to me. Also seem like questions that the lawyer - and many others - would have preferred to remain unasked. My guess is that Thomas asked those questions because the issue was avoided in the briefs.

Finally, I'm not sure how much effect Scalia's death had here. Is it the sort of thing Scalia would have asked?

[GILMORE?]

Who Do You Blame in a Self-Driving Car-Crash?

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Google self driving car has been involved in 19 accidents. But they were all everyone else's fault.

Ask me what I would think of getting in a car with someone who told me as they sat behind the wheel. "I've been in 19 accidents, but don't worry, none of them were my fault."

[lap83]

I've noticed that pattern too. On the flip side, my dad has been in one accident that I know of, about 15 years ago, and readily admits it was his fault. Basically, there are people who learn from their mistakes and people who don't.

[PapayaSF]

Mostly they've been a matter of the Google car following the law, and other drivers not expecting that. E.g. the Google car comes to a complete stop at a stop sign, and gets rear-ended.

[Mr Drew]

Huh? Are you under the impression that there is ONE Google car driving itself around?

[PapayaSF]

Me? No, I know there's more than one. I mean "a" Google car.

[GILMORE?]

"A nanny in Moscow was arrested after apparently waving around the head of a 4-year-old girl near a subway entrance and yelling that she's a terrorist."

pppt, Amateur

"Dorvilier... held on $500,000 bail,...was accused of dousing the baby with a flammable liquid before setting her alight and leaving her burning in the middle of the road"

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Man, if there's one thing I don't need, it's more links to stories of this kind of crap.

[GILMORE?]

TYPICAL ANTI-CHOICE EXTREMIST!

[creech]

"The mayor of Philadelphia wants a tax on sugary drinks to help pay for universal pre-kindergarten and for a green jobs plan."

No, as soon as it was pointed out to him that this tax would disproportionally hurt poor folks, Mayor Kenny decided the revenue would be raised by a $2 tax on froufrou drinks, a 10% tax on all restaurants tabs over $100, an amusement tax of $5 per ticket on all orchestra, opera, art gallery admissions, and live theater productions, and fining anyone caught wearing their pajamas in public $150. As the revenue will be going to universal pre-kindergarten (i.e. pissed away like the money spent on K-12 "education") there will be no blow-back from cosmos because "It's for the childrunz."

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

"They'll stop now that Bloomberg failed..."

[Banjos]

" and fining anyone caught wearing their pajamas in public $150"

Is that even legal?

[Los Doyers]

Fining people for wearing UGG boots is both legal and blatantly constitutional.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

You don't like the apple bottom jeans, the boots with the fur???

[GILMORE?]

Moron says = "America Has Strong Socialist Roots.... Because Eugene Debs or Something"

[EdWuncler]

I already have friends who are huge Bernie fans preparing to shill for Clinton despite her representing everything they claim to hate. It's fun to see and it's even more fun to call them out for their lack of principles.

[Winston]

I'm disappointed that during 2014 we didn't a Sheldon Richman article on how much he loved Eugene Debs.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Am I allowed to laugh at the people who would say something like that but liken speech they don't like to "fire in a crowded theater"? Because I'm sure there's a not-insignificant overlap.

[GILMORE?]

Unions Versus Tesla = Crony vs. Crony

"Hundreds of union construction workers walked off the job at Tesla Motors' battery manufacturing plant in northern Nevada on Monday to protest what union organizers say is the increased hiring of out-of-state workers for less pay.

Approximately 350 plumbers, carpenters, electricians, painters and others walked away from the construction site Monday along U.S. Interstate 80 about 25 miles east of Reno, said Russell James, District 16 business development specialist for the Building and Construction Trades Council of Northern Nevada.

More than 100 picketed outside the main gate against what they say is an unfair labor practice that undermines promises to hire mostly Nevada workers in exchange for more than $1 billion in state tax breaks, James said.

"It's corporate welfare at its worst," he told The Associated Press."

We want Union Welfare! Not Corporate Welfare! MOAR POLITICAL CONTROLS

[EdWuncler]

I had a friend in Chicago who was opening his business in Wicker Park and he used non union labor for the construction. The union guys obviously got angry and tried to talk to the owner a couple of times. When the owner told them to fuck off, the union members decided to take matters into their own hands and scare the non union laborers off. The owner had no choice but to hire union laborers because no one else wanted to go through being intimidated by the union.

[PapayaSF]

My mother once got a wrong number call, and the woman on the other end began threatening her for some union-related thing: violating a strike of something. Mom ended up berating her for doing such a terrible thing, and the woman caller ended up embarrassed and contrite.

[Medical Physics Guy]

Hottest new package for Linux users: thefuck.

[Medical Physics Guy]

And while I'm geeking out, I found this great list of indicator applets today.

[Homple]

"...written in Vala ..."

Anybody know how many programming languages there are these days?

[Brett L]

At least one for every pretentious asshole who finished a CS degree.

[Rich]

a tax on sugary drinks to help pay for universal pre-kindergarten

"Now, children, drink all your orange juice and then we'll take our naps."

[Loki]

JeremyJustice Thomas spoke in class court today...

[ant1sthenes]

"Clearly I remember picking on the boy"

Boy? Racist.

[Winston]

So if we are in the Libertarian Moment then how come the cities aren't being run by libertarians? They should be filled with gay atheist pro-abortion, weed smoking Mexican yutes and the Republicans are pretty powerless in most of them so why not? You know bottom-up and everything and dealing with practical politics. So why not?

[Jerryskids]

While the decision is a victory for Christie, the retirement system is still facing an $83 billion shortfall. Democrats who control the legislature are pushing for a ballot measure that would require the state to pay what it owes each year to end a bipartisan tradition of shortchanging pensions. Christie has called the measure a "road to ruin."

I don't know who to cheer for here. The Dems who suddenly get the fiscally-sound religion when it comes to paying debts owed to pubsec unions or the fat bastard who admits out loud the state is technically bankrupt if you actually try to force it to pay what it's promised to pay. But this financial shitshow is coming soon to a state near you - and to a country near you too if you live near the US. Sooner or later the bills come due.

[EdWuncler]

We're basically at that crossroads in Illinois. Governor Rauner has rejected every budget bill the Democrats has sent them and even stipulated that he won't sign a damn thing until there are some reforms with regards to union negotiations and taxation. The State's been without a budget since July of 2015. I think the Governor is a shifty guy but it's great to finally see someone tell the Dems in Springfield to fuck off considering it's almost 98.9 percent their fault that the state is in such bad shape.

[EdWuncler]

It's like that in Illinois also. The Governor has basically told Madigan and Cullerton to fuck off until they accept his union and tax reforms. The Democrats and the public sector unions in Springfield are incredulous because this is probably the first time someone told them to fuck and don't really care about the consequences.

[Winston]

Interesting that on the weekend there was a whole discussion about how the Berniebots want Sweden not Cuba yet today we have an article showing that Sanders was a big fan of Cuba which is exactly what leads to such hostility towards socialists!

[lafe.long]

Radford, Virginia: Photographer Says Secret Service Agent Choked Him at Donald Trump Rally

"I stepped 18 inches out of the pen and he grabbed me by the neck and started choking me and then he slammed me to the ground," Time magazine photographer Chris Morris said Monday.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

Melissa Click approves.

[Homple]

I approve. We need our chatters and scribblers to experience government first hand.

[Akira]

+1 muscle

[PapayaSF]

Pro-tip: Do not lay your hands on Secret Service agents.

[Brett L]

Cause we all know they don't tip for the happy ending.

[commodious spittoon]

In perhaps an unexpected consequence of Justice Antonin Scalia's passing, Justice Clarence Thomas shocked observers by actually asking questions during an oral argument today.

If you don't speak up during oral, you don't get to bitch if you can't get off.

[AlmightyJB]

You don't need to ask questions when you know everything. It actually sounds like when he did ask questions he was being facetious.

[PBR Streetgang]

Well, smarter than those rubes in South Carolina who voted for Hillary at least.

[Pope Jimbo]

*can't tear eyes off Gov. Mumbles to look at Senator Stuart Smalley*

No, we deserve every dumb Norwegian joke thrown our way for the idiots we elect.

[The Knuckle]

Word

[Pan Zagloba]

Wouldn't Sanders fit well in that lineup?

[The Knuckle]

I wonder how we have ever gotten a republican governor

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

She was trying to save her kid.