Suicide Bombers Target Nigerian Mosque, Merrick Garland Nominated to Supreme Court, Michelle Obama Says She's Not Running for President: P.M. Links

• 

  White House

  Two female suicide bombers detonated themselves at a mosque in Nigeria, killing at least 22.

• President Obama nominated Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court.
• Speaking at SXSW, Michelle Obama said she wasn't going to run for president.
• Apple filed a final brief before going to court next week to fight the FBI over iOS encryption.
• The Federal Highway Administration is forcing Texas and several other states to adopt standard highway letters instead of Clearview, the font they use now.
• The United States says it demands North Korea release an American student sentenced to 15 years hard labor for attempting to steal a propaganda poster.
• Americans abroad can now enjoy products from Cuba without facing a potential 10 year prison sentence.

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

President Obama nominated Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court.

The Senate should boycott. Just like the Oscars, no black candidates.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Hello.

[Crusty Juggler]

Sometimes I'm a strong man
Sometimes cold and scared
And sometimes I cry
But that time I saw you
I knew with you to light my nights
Somehow I'd get by

[But Enough About Me]

D00d.

[Juvenile Bluster]

#SCOTUSsowhite

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

Especially Justice Thomas. If he were really black, he'd vote with the liberal justices.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The United States says it demands North Korea release an American student sentenced to 15 years hard labor for attempting to steal a propaganda poster.

If I was the Norks, I would assume all American tourists were spies. I mean, what other fucking reason is there to visit North Korea?

[Millennial Hipster Vanguard]

Obama is on the job! Poor bastard...

[MetalBard]

That actually makes sense, and is far more rational then the American tourist who decides to just visit the socialist paradise.

[grrizzly]

This country is full of young stupid people.

[MetalBard]

On the bright side it looks like natural selection is going weed a few of them out.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

I'm visiting for their film culture and fine dining.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

I could eat dog or not eat dog all day long.

[gaoxiaen]

Probably not. I don't think I ever saw a dog in a picture from NK.

[yet another dave]

Come for the oppression, stay for the traffic lights

http://www.google.ca/search?q=.....=335&dpr=3

[yet another dave]

Late commenting and commenting on my own comment... could be bad form, not sure. However after my 2nd Rebellion ipa @8%...yet another don't care.

I will say though, when that commie shit hole finally implodes it'll be ripe for the pickins...

[DevilDocNowCiv]

Maybe irrational, but we had dedicated American commies who emigrated to the Soviets during the cold war, and one Bernie Sanders who went to the USSR for his honeymoon. So yes, the far left can be loonie indeed.

[grrizzly]

Lee Harvey Oswald in 1959. Edward Snowden in 2013. It says something either about Russia or about America.

[Shirley Knott]

In neither country in 2013 were conditions much like they were in 1959.

[Pay up, Palin's Buttplug!]

Rex Tugwell, Stuart Chase, and 93 others in 1927?

[Tonio]

From our POV, none. From the POV of a true believer in Juche - who wouldn't? I know some Americans of Korean descent who go there for family/nostalgia reasons, or to try to do missionary work. But for someone named Otto Warmbier, not so much.

I was initially going to write "for the lulz," but that's too horrific even for me.

[MetalBard]

By the way what kind of name is Warmbier? Shouldn't he have renamed it Kaltbeir? or at least Kuhlbeir?

[Tonio]

Dutch, maybe?

[Sonoran Desert Rat]

It's pronounced "Throatwarbler Mangrove".

[Mr. Flanders]

Free healthcare?

[Mickey Rat]

A Bernie Bro taking notes on Utopia?

[Zeb]

I've seen some decent documentaries by people who went there (the Vice one and the one where some people go to do eye surgeries). Even in the highly controlled way that visitors are allowed to see things, it's pretty horrifying. The stuff they aren't allowed to see must be absolutely awful.

I suppose the Norks would consider those people spies too.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

There's one on Netflix that was interesting and horrifying at the same time. The one thing that really stuck out when I was watching was the director said, almost off-handedly, "You look around and you see all these buildings, monuments, everything's in order, but I have no idea where the money is coming from to pay for it."

[Zeb]

I think I saw that one too. What I got from all of it was a great sense of menace and creepiness. The Norks are obviously trying to make things look good to outsiders and doing everything they can to stop them seeing the nastiness. And it's still the most horrifying thing I've ever seen.

[CE]

Collecting propaganda signs. Oh wait....

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

I fully believe Rodman is a CIA asset. What reason is there to think that he detests America? That he isn't debriefing the feds on his plane ride home about all the people he meet in Kim Jun Un's entourage, about what they did and discussed. There is simply no way the CIA isn't involved when a US citizen penetrates deep the most isolated place on earth.

[Trigger Hippie]

"There is simply no way the CIA isn't involved when a US citizen penetrates deep the most isolated place on earth."

These masturbation euphemisms are getting...ah, nevermind.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Federal Highway Administration is forcing Texas and several other states to adopt standard highway letters instead of Clearview, the font they use now.

Comic Sans?

[Rich]

Wingdings?

[Libertarian]

You never disappoint, Rich.

[yet another dave]

"The Federal Highway Administration is forcing Texas and several other states to adopt standard highway letters instead of Clearview, the font they use now."

nothing left to cut

[TheZeitgeist]

Two female suicide bombers detonated themselves at a mosque in Nigeria, killing at least 22.

Thought that was for Fridays only.

[DJF]

They were having a sale on virgins today.

[Anomalous]

Blow-up dolls!

[Notorious UGCC]

I really, really should *not* have laughed at that.

[Yusef Adama]

I did and it felt grrrreat!

[DevilDocNowCiv]

Now the Muslim immigration pause gets a gender neutral screening. The chicks blow up too.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Bitches be crazy.

[W. Chipper Dove]

#TakeBackYourGirls

[Slammer]

Speaking at SXSW, Michelle Obama said she wasn't going to run for president.

At least she didn't flop out her tits.

[Jerryskids]

Did she categorically rule out being drafted at the convention? Wouldn't that be some shit, though? Hillary Clinton being the first vaginal candidate to be denied becoming the first vaginal President by two different Obamas? Both historical and hysterical!

[buybuydandavis]

Me likey!

Hillary's apoplectic rage would lighten my burdens for a thousand years.

[Fist of Etiquette]

...Michelle Obama said she wasn't going to run for president.

Instead she plans to be installed?

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Squat?

[Libertarian]

I wasn't aware that she was invited.

/Rhianna's panties

[Mr Drew]

OT Free Market Economics 101

A few months ago I injured my eye at the gun range. (Details of that available upon request.) I wound up at a local, federally funded hospital and had surgery to remove a near microscopic fragment of brass from inside the globe of my eye.

Total cost for a 12 hour stay including the tests and surgery: $46,000.

Before my follow up a few days later, a minion of the hospital informed me that since I was uninsured, they would refuse to see me for follow up care unless I got insured or applied for Medicaid. Note that while I am not insured I'm hardly indigent.

Here begins my relationship with a privately owned eye clinic. An evil for-profit corporation whom I'm sure heats their building with the husks of orphans whom they have exsanguinated.

I go for the follow up visits.
-Visit with a full eye exam preformed by a Fellow: $50
-Emergency clinic visit with full eye exam preformed by a Fellow $75
-Follow up surgery with 2 surgeons, anesthesiologist, nurses, surgical suite AND follow up visits: $2,300

Now I totally get that this is not a 1/1 comparison. The private clinic did not do a CT scan for example. But OMG, they did nearly the same surgical procedure for literally 5% of the first hospital bill. And they offered to let me pay 50% down and the balance over 90 days at no interest, which made me laugh.

This, my friends is the power of a competitive marketplace. Better services, cheaper. All because of that disgusting profit motive.

[You Sound Like a Prog (MJG)]

But it's not faaaaaaiiiiiiirrrrrrrr

[Crusty Juggler]

Requesting the deets, yo.

[You Sound Like a Prog (MJG)]

Short version: It was another metaphor for masturbation.

[Citizen X]

It's abstract masturbation metaphors all the way down.

[some guy]

Okay, what did I miss? This has been going on all day...

[Crusty Juggler]

And yet you know how to play the game.

[Citizen X]

"Play the game" is a euphemism for "masturbate," by the way.

[Farm to Toilet]

euphemism rhymes with jisim.

[Restoras]

+1 Dirk Diggler

[Col. Chestbridge]

Given how many socks there are here, it's only natural that there would be so many euphemisms.

[Citizen X]

And you know what those socks are used for...

[blighted non millenial]

Did you just euphemism in your sock?

[blighted non millenial]

Doh!

[Mr Drew]

I'm a competitive shooter. Every Friday, rain or shine. I reload on a Dillon 650. I had a malfunction of some kind while reloading and had to take all of the shells off the press, clear the malfunction and then (seemingly while my head was up my ass) replaced the partially assembled shells back on the press.

It appears that I must have gotten the shells out of order when I did that. I wound up with a cartridge with a double charge of powder. I use such a fast and compact powder (Vihtavuori N310) that the extra was probably not obvious but it was still a stupid move.

While at the range and while shooting around a barricade, that cartridge came up and when fired the brass separated violently (meaning it broke apart like a tiny grenade) and ejected lots of hot, burny stuff and tiny brass fragments out of the back of the pistol (1911). A tiny piece of brass got under my glasses, I think because of the odd angle and I wasn't using glasses with enough of a "tear-drop" shape.

Embarrassing, painful, expensive, huge hassle. I'm still shooting with my left eye while all this gets fixed and hearing about it constantly at the range. My buddies when the detonation happens and I'm standing there with blood on my face "Is the gun broken?"

[Rich]

Whoa. Count your blessings, Mr Drew.

[Mr Drew]

Amen. What I've heard from the surgeon repeatedly: "In the context of what happened, you are the luckiest son of a bitch alive".

[You Sound Like a Prog (MJG)]

Damn. A collection of unfortunate circumstances. Hope it heals up all good.

[Restoras]

So, powder question. I've been told that .40 SW uses a faster burning powder than .45 ACP and 9mm and that accounts for the snappy recoil that a lot of people don't like. I'm still a pistol shooting novice so have no idea if that is true - can you shed any light on that? And, can you get .40 SW ammunition with different powder and less associated recoil?

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

I'm no expert, but .40 s&w is supposed to be a higher-pressure, high velocity round by design. .45 is a notoriously slow round. All of this is why some people are agin' carrying a .40 for self defense.

[Mr Drew]

Full disclosure. I loathe the .40 calibre round. I consider it a bastard; the worst of both worlds, rather than the best.

Part of the reason a .45 feels better is that it is a low-pressure cartridge. The 9mm because it is such a lighter bullet. Different manufacturers will have different "feels" to them. Look at the stats on the box and try ones with lower muzzle velocity. It won't be perfect, but it's a place to start. Cartridge manufacturers keep their powder blends private so you can't do too much homework, but just have to try them out.

My recommendation: If you can't or don't want to go .45 because of weight, limited capacity or whatever, go 9mm. Hornady Critical Defense 9mm ammo will out or equally perform with just about any .40 round. There is no advantage to sticking with the .40 that I can see. Practice often wit the cheapest ammo your gun will digest reliably, then load the good stuff when you are carrying or putting the gun in the nightstand.

Find a gun range (I prefer outdoor) and go to matches. My Friday steel match is open to the public and costs $5 to shoot. Gun people are generous. Ask someone about their gun and the answer is always "wanna try it?"

[Restoras]

Thanks Mr Drew. I do have a Remington 1911 and a Sig 227 in .45 ACP and I am better with those than my Sig 226 .40. I did just get a HK P30 in .40 and the recoil is noticeably less than in my Sig 226. Being a NY resident makes it very difficult to try different manufacturers so I am still casting about for the guns best for me. Thanks for your input!

[Suthenboy]

" I wound up with a cartridge with a double charge of powder. I use such a fast and compact powder (Vihtavuori N310) that the extra was probably not obvious but it was still a stupid move."

My ass bit a hole in my chair when I read that.

I am making 38's this morning using Bullseye. I gave up on the multi-stage presses years ago and bought a Forster single stage. I fell in love. If you are retired and have the time its not bad, and the precision you can get with it is awesome. After charging all of my cases they are set out on a table in a loading block and I stand over them with a flashlight and peer into every one of them. A double charge or a no-charge will jump right out at you. I have never had either, but they both scare the hell out of me.

Actually I have been loading for 40 years and never had a mishap, not one. Once an acquaintance loaded up some 10mms and used the powder he had left in the hopper from a previous session. He discovered that he was mistaken about the kind of powder. I put the powder container next to the powder hopper and leave it there until I take the powder out so that I will always know what is in it.

*He thought it was Unique but it turned out to be Bullseye. If the 1911 had had wooden grips it would have splintered into his hand. The grip panels were rubber, lucky bastard.

[Mr Drew]

Ironically some months ago I removed the powder-check die in favor of a bullet feeder on station 4.

I recognize my own limitations so only use one calibre and one powder on that press. I have heard a mixed up powder story like that from more than one shooter.

How did your big-ass pistol cartridge project work out? I remember that you were loading....454 magnum? Some crazy sounding thing.

When I load for my Beowulf, I use a single stage press and a lot of caution.

[Suthenboy]

It was 45 Winchester Magnum and they are great. I love 'em. I shoot them in an old three-screw Ruger SA. It is one of the easiest pistols I have to shoot accurately. It would be a good hunting gun/cartridge combo.

It is a novelty. The brass is difficult to find, expensive, and the ballistics almost identical to the 44 mag. It is fun but pointless.

[Mr Drew]

It is fun but pointless.

I have a saiga 12 gauge with a 20 round drum with the same characteristics.

It's awkward, hard to load and unless I'm actually in "last-stand" mode against the minions of statism, just a toy. But FUN!

[Suthenboy]

I don't have a drum for mine, I have eight 10 round mags in a bandoleer.

Mine is a picky eater. It loves 3" stuff but the 2-3/4 doesnt feed well, so I just loaded up on the 3" mag stuff...00's, #4b, and slugs. I am about to start loading my own, 68 cal. round balls. I will try some steel ball bearings and cast lead.

Lots of fun.

[Mr Drew]

A bandolier of shotgun magazines! I think a photo is now required. I love it.

Have you changed the gas plug? I switched mine to one with 4 gas levels and now can shoot anything from military double aught to birdshot with just a twist of the wrist. I think it was $35.

*Nothing is this post is a euphemism for masturbation. I hope this meme dies soon.

[spqr2008]

Stupid question, but couldn't you just take a dowel that fits into the casing, mark it where the appropriate level of powder is, then drop it in? Or is that what the check die is for?

[Zeb]

How much do you suppose you save reloading (over, say, buying 1000 rounds of fairly inexpensive ammo at a go)? The initial investment has scared me off, but I've been shooting a lot lately and thinking about it again. Mostly .308 and 9 mm.

[Mr Drew]

Generally, and this is a fairly broad generalization, you save about 50% loading yourself.

The real benefit is the customization. Powder type and weight, bullet type and weight, overall length and degree of crimp, these are all variables that one can use to customize the "perfect" load for oneself.

[Suthenboy]

The savings are very substantial.

Hell, Lee makes these: http://leeprecision.com/lee-loader-9mm-luger.html

I started loading with one of those when I was 10 years old.

If you load more than a hundred rounds per week you will want a press. If you are gonna do that , get a good press, it is worth the investment.

http://www.forsterproducts.com.....ing-press/

The Dillon multi-stage presses like Mr. Drew uses are the best of the lot. The rest are a pain in the ass.

Get the Lee Dies, they are the least expensive and easily the best.

As for priming tools I don't like any of them. I have never had one I really liked except the original Lee hand press. Unfortunately it is no longer made. The Lee or the Forster table top priming tool would be my recommendation.

I warn you, once you start reloading and see how much more you can afford to shoot you will be hooked. Also, loading itself can become nearly as much fun as shooting. It can be an expensive hobby.

[Zeb]

Thanks for the info.

[Mr Drew]

I agree with Suthen. While I have a Dillon press, I use Lee dies in it.

The Dillon "No BS" lifetime guarantee is the best I've ever seen. I once lost a small part while fiddling with it. It didn't break, I dropped it and couldn't find it. I called them for a replacement and they refused to charge me and had it to me in two days.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Yeh but did you get real care like you would on the government side?!?!?!

This story strikes me as unpossible.

[Mr Drew]

I did not get "real care like you would on the government side?!?!?!"
At the private clinic the staff was friendly, helpful and timely. The facility was clean and well maintained.
So, no, not the same level of care at all.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

So. Universal care it is!

/prog.

[Juvenile Bluster]

A few months ago I injured my eye at the gun range. (Details of that available upon request.) I wound up at a local, federally funded hospital and had surgery to remove a near microscopic fragment of brass from inside the globe of my eye.

You can't say that and not assume people will want details. C'mon now.

[some guy]

(Details of that available upon request.)

I officially request the details.

[TheZeitgeist]

Here begins my relationship with a privately owned eye clinic....
...Better services, cheaper. All because of that disgusting profit motive.

PROG: Issue detected. Need to ban private clinics.

MINION: We'll do it via board certs, licensing, and turn up shark attack machine.

Year or so later

PROG: Issue detected. Need to ban overseas travel for medical services.

MINION: I'm thinking eighty foot wall, just huge wall, on southern border. We'll get Koches to pay for it...

[Suthenboy]

Yeah? How many bureaucrats are supported by that stingy for profit clinic? How many jobs? Huh, Mr. Smart guy?

*Get protective eyewear. Yes, please give details.

[HeteroPatriarch]

Protective eyewear isn't perfect. You can't really use lab goggles shooting, they fog like a motherfucker. I learned that from experience. I also learned that it is only worthwhile to reload shotgun shells, because scatterguns don't care how much excess powder you put in a shell as long as it's a high brass shell. For pistols and long guns I prefer the safety and consistency of machine-loaded ammo, but then I don't shoot competitively either.

[You Sound Like a Prog (MJG)]

Speaking at SXSW, Michelle Obama said she wasn't going to run for president.

"You lie!"

[The Last American Hero]

She said she needs more time to brush up on Space Chess and Light Speed Engine Repair.

[HeteroPatriarch]

How can she brush up when everybody just lets her win?

[Rich]

The assault occurred just a month after a speech by Nigeria's president, Muhammudu Buhari, declaring that Boko Haram had been "technically" defeated.

I suppose that's why they use "technicals".

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

He's using "defeated" in the same sense that Obama does. You, like how "Al'Qaida is on the run" and "ISIS is contained."

[Medical Physics Guy]

"Mission accomplished!"

[Aloysious]

Major Kasich backer embroiled in sex-slave suit

The super-PAC backing John Kasich's candidacy said Tuesday it will turn over a $250,000 contribution from embattled Silicon Valley investor Michael Goguen to nonprofit groups fighting human trafficking ? as a result of allegations in a lawsuit that he "sexually abused" a woman for 13 years, including subjecting her to "countless hours of forced sodomy."

I will not take advantage of this horrible story to make a tasteless joke.

[Mr Drew]

"countless hours of forced sodomy." is a truly horrible phrase.

[Rich]

But a nice album name.

[Crusty Juggler]

Depends on which side you are on.

[PBR Streetgang]

That album is all "B" sides...

[Shirley Knott]

Banal?

[Rich]

Groovy!

[yet another dave]

I was under the impression this is still alleged, has that changed... otherwise it just sounds like a real life version of 50 shades and this is just a contract dispute

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

No one alleges sodomy.

[Tonio]

But if you had, what tasteless joke would you have made?

[You Sound Like a Prog (MJG)]

I once short a sodomist in my pajamas. How he got into my pajamas, I'll never know, but he deserved to die.

[You Sound Like a Prog (MJG)]

Short? SHORT?

GODDAMNIT

[Citizen X]

Short in your pajamas? Don't worry, plenty of ladies are ok with that.

[Citizen X]

Unless you have a bad personality. You post here, so you might be out of luck.

[You Sound Like a Prog (MJG)]

I've even tried negging, but haven't been able to close the deal.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Don't worry, plenty of ladies are ok with that.

MYTH!

[Aloysious]

But if you had, what tasteless joke would you have made?

It would have involved Warty and/or STEVE SMITH.

[MetalBard]

He really should have hired a lawyer to look over his affirmative consent contract.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Awful.

Didn't the Clintons hang out with a child molester?

[Juvenile Bluster]

Bill?

No, wait, he sticks to sexually assaulting adults. Allegedly, of course.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Both of them.

Jeffrey Epstein.

Allegedly, of course.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

Yeah, but that's different. Bill is a doubleplusgoodfulthinker, so it doesn't matter what he actually does

[CatoTheChipper]

No. Bill is a member of the Inner Party and he can do no wrong.

If you think that anything Bill does is wrong, you are guilty of crimethink and it's Room 101 for you.

[Jerry on the rocks]

Good luck explaining this one to your daughter, Kasich. Has she seen the anti-trump ad yet?

[Mr Drew]

Speaking at SXSW, Michelle Obama said she wasn't going to run for president.

The fact of this announcement has me worried about the possibility of the opposite.

[AlmightyJB]

First Wookie President

[mad.casual]

No! No fucking medal!

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

You fucked up the one link I actually wanted to click on.

[The Late P Brooks]

President Obama nominated Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court.

A

white

man.

Nice troll.

[grrizzly]

At least he's a Jew, so diversity.

[You Sound Like a Prog (MJG)]

Say the whole word.

[Millennial Hipster Vanguard]

A Jewish?

[EMD]

Jewbastard?

I kid, I kid.

[MetalBard]

That was a hard J I just heard.

[Zeb]

Yeah, Jews have been terribly underrepresented on the SC.

[Rich]

Trump starts with Hillary

[Tonio]

Uh-oh, bad move. You know how she gets.

[Slammer]

Hillary starts back

[Rich]

I don't get it.

[Slammer]

I'll explain it when I'm done puking

[Rich]

*** sighs ***

What I mean is -- there's nothing to see at your link.

[Slammer]

This work?

[Rich]

*** gack *** choke ***

Yes.

[Trshmnstr, terror of the trash]

Dammit, why did i click the link?

[Old Man With Candy]

Was she in Austin recently?

[EMD]

You have to admit that's probably better than she really looks.

[HeteroPatriarch]

You just made the list, Slammer.

[Slammer]

The tits aren't THAT bad.

[Rich]

Paging Crusty ....

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Trump is a bullying asshole with a spotty business record.

[fish]

Yeah but he's not Jeb! and isn't that what counts?!

[The Late P Brooks]

The United States says it demands North Korea release an American student sentenced to 15 years hard labor for attempting to steal a propaganda poster.

The fucking dummy should have just taken a photo and had cafepress run off a few thousand.

[waffles]

No good. Millennials love authenticity.

[MetalBard]

As is cruel as 15 years is, I'm having a really hard time feeling sorry for someone this fucking stupid.

[Millennial Hipster Vanguard]

The nation's supreme court convicted Warmbier, from Wyoming, Ohio, of subversion and sentenced him in a one-hour trial.

JB and I keep telling you guys, all the really stupid people are in Ohio.

[MetalBard]

Well Warty is still here...

[Millennial Hipster Vanguard]

I thought he moved?

[MetalBard]

Where Florida? I didn't know he reach retirement age already.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Did he register?

[CE]

How does stealing a sign end up in the Supreme Court?

[Millennial Hipster Vanguard]

I have no idea how the NK justice system works. I assumed Supreme Court was like supreme leader or something.

[Suthenboy]

It is simple really. They let Americans into the country, gin up some bullshit charge and arrest them then the ultrasupersupreme court is responsible for holding them as political leve...I mean, trying, sentencing and incarcerating them for their crimes.

[Zeb]

Does it matter? It's not like it was a real trial.

[Tonio]

^This. But we know he won't serve that, and will get far better treatment than a Nork citizen would. I give him one year, tops, before the US Department of State ransoms him with bribes or concessions.

[Lee G]

Bingo. He's a walking talking trading chit.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Plus he'll get free healthcare.

/Eleanor Clift

[Rhywun]

Yeah, there's probably another famine around the corner that needs attention.

[some guy]

Or just noted that it would make an awesome souvenir as he slipped something of value to his handler. (I was going to say "money" or "cigarettes", but who knows what passes for real currency over there...)

[Citizen X]

Food, mostly.

[HeteroPatriarch]

Corn?

[Rich]

Comey Da Man

[dajjal]

Comey's trying to gin up more crime by inciting to violence with 'drug addiction' and 'violent extremism'. What a scuz. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he gummed up the works here on Clinton just to get his boy Trump in control and start up some new witch hunts. Because wasting the time of hundreds of agents to review her email server for over a year just wasn't enough.

[OneOut]

You and I have a lot in common.

When I'm trolling I just keep on and on until I get a bite.

I'm a real fisherman though and you're just an internet troll.

[dajjal]

Muslims are killing each other! Needz moar bomz!

[Aloysious]

Russia flies out almost half Syria strike force: Reuters analysis

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Just under half of Russia's fixed-wing strike force based in Syria has flown out of the country in the past two days, according to a Reuters calculation which suggests the Kremlin is accelerating its partial withdrawal.

President Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered the bulk of the Russian military contingent in Syria to be pulled out after five months of air strikes, saying the Kremlin had achieved most of its objectives.

The precise number of planes Russia kept at its Hmeymim base in Syria's Latakia province is secret. But analysis of satellite imagery, air strikes and defense ministry statements suggested it had about 36 fixed-wing military jets there.

At least 15 of those planes have flown out in the past two days, a Reuters analysis of state television footage shows, including Su-24, Su-25, Su-30 and Su-34 jets.

Mission accomplished?

[blighted non millenial]

Rebels getting manpads, maybe.. they shot down a Syrian jet, admittedly an older variety, the other day.

[Crusty Juggler]

The that Putin used the Syrian conflict as a way to market his weapons, which are all for sale, seems plausible.

[Crusty Juggler]

theory.

[Sidd Finch v2.01]

http://freebeacon.com/blog/rus.....-the-west/

And which would be seriously endangered by a limited Russian withdrawal?

1.) Preserve a functioning Syrian rump-state that is friendly to Russian interests. (If this state is controlled by Assad, great. If not, so be it.) This preservation ensures, among other subsidiary goals, the preservation of the Russian naval base at Tartus and thus Russia's ability to project military power in the Mediterranean.

2.) Weaken the diplomatic isolation that the Russian invasion of Ukraine had brought about, and generally redirect the international conversation away from Ukraine.

3.) Establish Russia as major player in the Middle East for the first time in many decades?and, implicitly, reduce the level of American and NATO influence there.

4.)Gain leverage over Europe by assuming a critical role at the very source of the refugee crisis.

5.)Strengthen an emerging strategic alliance with Iran.

I think the answer is, quite clearly, "none."

[Rich]

From today's Federal Reserve press release:

Inflation picked up in recent months; however, it continued to run below the Committee's 2 percent longer-run objective .... Consistent with its statutory mandate, the Committee seeks to foster ... price stability.

With all due respect, W.T.F? How can 2% inflation be consistent with price stability? Sheesh, 200% inflation is just as "stable".

[Brett L]

Eh. By the prevailing theories, economic growth causes net inflation. Admittedly, inflation can come from other places, but the wage growth of a healthy economy should drive some prices up. So 2% annual inflation is something that businesses and individuals can cope with but more than that is probably causing more pain than the growth is alleviating. If everybody got a 4% raise next year, we would expect prices to rise, thus some inflation can be from "good" problems, like a tight labor market -- I'm not saying I totally agree, but there's a marked difference in something that your budget can absorb if you only get a raise every other year and a scenario where making the same wage you were making six months ago leaves you unable to buy food.

[Mazakon]

Kasich Won't Attend Debate If Trump Doesn't

"If [Trump] changes his mind," a campaign strategist said, "we will be there."

So if Trump doesn't show, depending on what Fox chooses, it could be a townhall or a free 2-hour press conference for Cruz.

[grrizzly]

Fox News cancels GOP debate after Donald Trump pulls out

[Mazakon]

Scratch that, it's cancelled.

[You Sound Like a Prog (MJG)]

To be replaced by a 2-hour press conference for Trump.

[CE]

Or 4 hour coverage of a Trump rally.

[Jerryskids]

FOX is just going to show 2 hours of CNN?

[Crusty Juggler]

The debate was canceled.

[Medical Physics Guy]

A contrarian theory on John Kasich.

He is staying in the race to peel off blue collar voters from Trump and keep Trump below 50%. Then, at the convention he throws all his delegates to Cruz, saving the GOP from the Trumpistas.

He retires a hero in the annals of GOP history.

This theory is somewhat undermined by everything Kasich has ever said, which suggest him to be a narcissistic, clueless douchenozzle.

[Mazakon]

Yeah, that's been the overall theme I've heard about him.

[Jerryskids]

Kasich is the only establishment GOP candidate left. He's trusting that Trump and Cruz will tie up the convention and he'll get the nod as the engineered compromise candidate.

[HeteroPatriarch]

Was the debate cancelled?

[Mazakon]

Boehner backs Ryan for President come Convention, calls Cruz "lucifer"

"If we don't have a nominee who can win on the first ballot, I'm for none of the above," Boehner said at the Futures Industry Association conference here. "They all had a chance to win. None of them won. So I'm for none of the above. I'm for Paul Ryan to be our nominee."

[AlmightyJB]

This is going to get really ugly as if it wasn't already

[Rich]

Sounds like Boehner's in need of some restraint.

[CE]

Has anyone seen Cruz and Lucifer at the same time?

[DenverJ]

Oh my god! They're the same person!

[Jerryskids]

Boehner making the brave play for backing up Cruz's anti-establishment cred? Didn't know that bastard had it in him - I'm impressed. Cruz already got Dole and McCain vouching for his bona fides, if he could get Mitt to run an attack ad he'd really be cooking. Too bad Graham stabbed him in the back by saying something bad about him, but who really cares what Lindsey thinks?

[ant1sthenes]

So, after the election, Cruz is going to go around solving mysteries?

[Slammer]

Cardinals taking allegations of anti-gay comments 'very seriously'

Tyler Dunnington, who is gay, told Outsports.com he did not come out while he was pitching for the Cardinals in rookie and Class A baseball in 2014 but eventually left baseball after overhearing derogatory comments from teammates.

"I experienced both coaches and players make remarks on killing gay people during my time in baseball, and each comment felt like a knife to my heart. I was miserable in a sport that used to give me life, and ultimately I decided I needed to hang up my cleats for my own sanity."

The Cardinals said they will look into Dunnington's allegations and work with MLB ambassador for inclusion Billy Bean, a former major league player who came out as gay after his playing days were over. No active major leaguer has ever publicly come out of the closet.

[Crusty Juggler]

Billy Bean is pretty good at dealing with these issues, as his response to the dimwitted Daniel Murphy illustrates.

[KDN]

While I default to the assumption that this sort of thing is just a convenient excuse for a player that simply can't hack it, this actually might have legs. Dunnington was old for his level, but he did put up passable stats for an organizational bullpen arm. Those type of guys usually hang around the minors for 4-5 seasons before realizing the truth and giving up.

[Aloysious]

Kerry to miss deadline for decision on whether IS atrocities are genocide: U.S. official

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will not have a decision on whether atrocities committed by Islamic State constitute genocide by a March 17 deadline set by Congress, but he should have a decision soon, the State Department said on Wednesday.

"We are informing Congress today that we're not going to make that deadline," State Department spokesman Mark Toner told a news briefing.

"We certainly respect the deadlines that Congress lays down on specific reports, or in this case decisions about genocide," he said. "However, we also take the process very seriously. And so if we need additional time ... in order to reach a more fact-based, evidence-based decision, we're going to ... ask for extra time."

John 'Useless' Kerry living down to expectations. Again.

[TheZeitgeist]

I'll take useless all day. Beware someone clever and competent with Kerry's ambitions and ethics.

[DenverJ]

The name you're looking for is "Bill Clinton".

[Rich]

"But, Mr. Secretary, aren't deadlines part of the process?"

[Free Society]

Pass a law saying the US is obliged to intercede militarily when a genocide happens, and next thing you know genocides are hard to spot.

[MSimon]

Is it any of our business?

[blighted non millenial]

Whether it is or not, shouldn't have a law that say we have to intervene militarily if it is a genocide. We should at least be able to be truthful about it even if we have no intention of doing jack shit.

[Free Society]

It takes a humanitarian and moral issue and transforms it a matter of politics.

[Jerry on the rocks]

Venezuela to Shut Down for a Week to Cope With Electricity Crisis.

[Irish Breaks Up W/ ESB]

This is impossible. In the article I posted below, Everyday Feminism assured me regulations have no negative impact on the economy in any way.

[Aloysious]

The ruling socialists have blamed the shortage on the El Nino weather phenomena and "sabotage" by their political foes, while critics cite a lack of maintenance and poor planning.

Socialists, subscribing to the 'Not My Fault' ideology, fail again. There's a surprise.

[TheZeitgeist]

Also would explain why Venezuela's oil output has been going down with the price. Sabotage.

[Free Society]

Socialists, subscribing to the 'Not My Fault' ideology, fail again. There's a surprise.

Even the opposition in that country aren't much better by any indications I've seen. They're socialists themselves and their point of contention with Maduro's government is that they are the wrong Top Men. Notice that they blame their economic woes on the government's poor planning, not the fact that they're planning at all.

[Irish Breaks Up W/ ESB]

Well, it would be hard to plan worse than the current government, so they'd probably still be better than Maduro's Morons.

[Medical Physics Guy]

Yeah but all the electricity is free so...

[Doctor Whom]

President Nicolas Maduro gave everyone an extra three days off work next week, extending the two-day Easter holiday, according to a statement in the Official Gazette published late Tuesday.

He is a friend of the workers.

[Aloysious]

Algerian named as dead Brussels gunman, manhunt goes on

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgian prosecutors on Wednesday named a 35-year-old Algerian as the man shot dead by police on Tuesday during a police raid on a Brussels apartment in the hunt for clues to bloody attacks in Paris last November.

Police found an Islamic State flag in the apartment used by Mohamed Belkaid and two others suspected of being with him after officers were met with a barrage of automatic weapons fire as they arrived to search the flat.

Belkaid, who was living in Belgium illegally and had a police record for theft but was not on security watchlists, was killed by a special forces sniper after a three-hour siege. A manhunt for the two other suspects continued on Wednesday.

The government held its alert status steady at Level Three, one step below the maximum.

The prosecutors said a radical Islamic text was found next to Belkaid's body and a cache of ammunition was also discovered. It was not clear if he had any links to the Paris suspects.

[Medical Physics Guy]

Police found an Islamic State flag in the apartment used by Mohamed Belkaid and two others suspected of being with him after officers were met with a barrage of automatic weapons fire as they arrived to search the flat.

Circumstantial evidence. Whatever happened to due process.

[Free Society]

It got shouted down for being racist.

[Irish Breaks Up W/ ESB]

Everyday Feminism explains Reaganomics.

Most of it's the usual strawmen. HURR DURR, HOW CAN MAKING THE RICH RICHER HELP THE POOR (completely ignoring that supply-side economics also entails lower taxes on poor people).

At one point they claim regulation has no impact on economic performance at all, which raises the question as to why the Soviet Union's economy collapsed. Bad luck?

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

Wall Street banks and Citizens United, I think.

[Medical Physics Guy]

The wrong fur hats.

[Irish Breaks Up W/ ESB]

Also, what would Everyday Feminism say regarding the claim that strict abortion clinic regulations have driven clinics out of business and prevented new openings?

"Clinic directors say the political climate has made it almost impossible to open clinics. "You'd think, This is crazy," says Amy Hagstrom Miller, founder and chief executive officer of Whole Woman's Health, which has acquired or opened clinics in five states since 2003. She's the plaintiff in the coming Supreme Court case over abortion laws that have shuttered two of her five Texas locations. Arguments begin on March 2. The extra costs she and other providers face are at the heart of the case: The decision will largely come down to whether the justices think the laws have made it too expensive for clinics to operate?and to what extent that burdens patients. Says Hagstrom Miller: "This is probably the most difficult business you could ever run.""

So you have abortionists arguing that the costs imposed on them by state regulations are driving them out of business and it's Everyday Feminism's position that...what? They're all dirty right-wing libertarian liars?

[Doctor Whom]

It's all about intent. The economic spirits scrutinize intent before deciding how to react.

[KDN]

It's not JUST abortion clinic regulations. Clinics are also being driven out of business by Planned Parenthood acting like any other monopolist.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/ab.....1456961653

[yet another dave]

When you attempt to libertysplain over regulation to them, their faces go blank. They're perfectly fine with using regs to destroy business' that they personally disagree with.

[Doctor Whom]

She describes herself as "overemotional," so at least one thing she writes is accurate.

[Irish Breaks Up W/ ESB]

I'd also like to ask her what her opinion is on Asian women having their businesses forcefully shut down because some of her workers don't have massage licenses.

Note: In some states practicing massage without a license is a felony. Thankfully these women were in a state where it's just a 'gross misdemeanor' so they were 'only' hit with a $250 fine.

[lap83]

I love that site, they make feminism seem so down to earth and accessible! Also, relevant to my daily needs, like I can just add "smashing the patriarchy" to my grocery list.

[Old Man With Candy]

Get the chocolate one. You know I like that flavor.

[lap83]

That's not cultural appropriation?

[DenverJ]

Hitler?

[You Sound Like a Prog (MJG)]

So what's the consensus on the GOP's refusal to hold hearings? The Senate is in charge of its own procedures and can do whatever it wants, right? And what they're really saying is they won't hold hearings until the election is decided, which is also kosher.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

Completely and unquestionably within their purview, contrary to what the progtard media will tell you over the next few days.

[Rich]

Yep. They are "doing their job".

[You Sound Like a Prog (MJG)]

I've been comparing it to a pocket veto. They are "required" to evaluate and vote on the nominee as much as the pres is "required" to sign or veto legislation. Both parties can just ignore the nomination/bill if they feel like it, and allow it to die through non-consent.

[paranoid android]

I know that's more or less the way things actually work, but I'll admit the pocket veto kind of bothers me, because what is the point of the Constitution outlining a procedure for the President to veto a bill and Congress to have the opportunity to override the veto if the whole process can be circumvented by doing nothing at all?

[Rich]

Something something slowly but finely.

[MSimon]

"Doing nothing" is a desired goal. By design. Prevents "democracy" i.e. mob rule.

[creech]

You can bet your ass that if the GOP lose the presidency in Nov. and the Senate too, then any attempt by the rump GOP to confirm Garland will suddenly be met with wails from the Dems to "let the new president do it."

[You Sound Like a Prog (MJG)]

It is an interesting question: if Clinton is a lock, or is elected, will Obama withdraw Garland's name and put up someone more extreme? Would he cede the seat to Clinton? Or would he allow the Republican Senate to approve the nomination, so that he gets credit for replacing Scalia's seat with a progressive?

Plus, Garland looks exactly like the kind of shitbird that Hillary would nominate anyway. Would she replace his nomination with someone more exciting to her base?

[CE]

The Senate is abdicating their responsibility to confirm or reject a nominee to a vacant Supreme Court seat. Just vote the guy down and force Obama to select a more moderate choice. It's not like Hillary will give them a better nominee.

[GILMORE?]

Americans abroad can now enjoy products from Cuba without facing a potential 10 year prison sentence.

I presume there will be a mini explosion in the proliferation of all the "fake" (hondura/dominincan) cohibas, R&J's, Punch, etc. as everyone rushes to dump their inventory before the real-stuff actually starts getting distributed.

Speaking of which, i will bet there's definitely some scumbaggery going on (*or has already happened) setting up who is going to have exclusive rights to distributing those brands. The only thing more profitable than smuggling an "illegal" product for the elites to enjoy is getting a politician to help you secure a business deal before anyone else gets a chance at it.

[EMD]

Can't wait to get my hands on that new Cuban smartphone!

[Tuan Jim]

When we were in Panama a few years ago, there were vendors who could get you cases of the "authentic" material - label-free, etc - and all my compatriots who partook of them, swore by them - very affordable as well - compared to what the more traditional tobacconists were selling (Dominicans, etc). I'm sure a few dozen cases (at least) made it back untouched by customs.

[GILMORE?]

The United States says it demands North Korea release an American student sentenced to 15 years hard labor for attempting to steal a propaganda poster.

because its worked so well with the nukes and stuff.

[Hank Phillips]

This bears out the Freakonomics prediction-by-induction that banning abortion engenders a crime wave later on down the line. Abortion has been strictly banned in Nigeria by "both sides" of its Christian-Mohammedan population for long enough. The crime wave has kicked in with a bang, I'd say.

[Notorious UGCC]

Is this a joke?

[GILMORE?]

This bears out the Freakonomics prediction-by-induction that banning abortion engenders a crime wave later on down the line.

I presume this IS a joke, because that's not actually what the book suggested at all. They suggested that the sharp drop in crime in the early 1990s was *aided* by the introduction of legal abortions in the 1970s, and consequently reduced the birth rate among the most at-risk populations.

No one has ever made the argument 'in reverse'.... suggesting that 'preventing abortion' means more crime.

Or rather, at least the Freakonomics authors never made such a thing. It sounds like some 'social-darwinist' bastardization of their argument.

[Irish Breaks Up W/ ESB]

But it's the logical implication of their argument. If abortion causes crime to drop, then banning abortion where abortion previously existed should cause crime to increase.

[Notorious UGCC]

Of course, legalizing abortion "reduces crime" in that what used to be criminal is now legal.

So by that logic, if the homicide rate is too high, legalize more homicides until the level is acceptable.

[Irish Breaks Up W/ ESB]

I'm not making the argument, Eddie. I'm saying that was their argument.

And they actually agree with you because if I recall they mention that they're making no moral judgment on abortion itself, so if you're going to argue it's murder then obviously there'd be more murders because of the abortion. All they were saying is that they think crime outside the womb drops as a result of abortion because people who would have been born into bad families are less likely to be born.

[GILMORE?]

did you actually read the book?

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

That's not the argument Levitt made in his book. His argument was that abortion was one [of four] conditions that brought a downward trend in violent crime.

Levitt has largely been debunked for his methodology... reasons that go far beyond any partisan thoughts on abortion.

Also, the freakonomists' theory about the psychological causes of crime comes right out of "Gee, Officer Krupke" when a gang member says of his parents, "They didn't wanna have me, but somehow I was had. Leapin' lizards! That's why I'm so bad!" And it is now as plausible. Though unwanted children may grow up to commit more crimes, it is more likely that women in crime-prone environments have more unwanted children than that unwantedness causes criminal behavior directly. In the studies that pit the effects of parenting against the effects of the children's peer environment, holding genes constant, the peer environment almost always wins.

http://uncertaintyblog.com/201.....nt-page-1/

[Irish Breaks Up W/ ESB]

Yes, I think Levitt was wrong.

"That's not the argument Levitt made in his book. His argument was that abortion was one [of four] conditions that brought a downward trend in violent crime."

Okay, but one of the four was abortion. And he's written several articles outside Freakonomics specifically about this subject.

And my point still stands. If legal abortion causes a downward trend in crime, then outlawing abortion in a place where it was previously legal should cause an upward trend in crime by having the opposite effect. If unwanted kids to poor parents are more likely to be criminals (as Levitt posited) then outlawing abortion will cause there to be more such unwanted kids to poor parents which will cause there to be more criminals.

How could it not do so based on Levitt's arguments?

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Irish, sorry, I was responding to Notorious, not you. I was essentially agreeing with you. Are we friends again?

[GILMORE?]

But it's the logical implication of their argument. If abortion causes crime to drop, then banning abortion where abortion previously existed should cause crime to increase.

Not at all. Logical, that is.

because the argument was never that ""abortion causes crime to drop""

it was simply positing that the rate of change already extant - "a shift from growth to decline" - was *accelerated* by a coincident self-selection for abortion amongst the population most likely to commit crimes

there's no case being made that mere absence or presence of abortion in a general population is any factor in growth or decline of crime.

needless to say - their argument has been undermined in detail by the fact that there *was no* actual real increase in the number of abortions being utilized amongst the poorest urban populations, nor any real dramatic change to birth rates. but that's sort of besides the point.

[Irish Breaks Up W/ ESB]

"there's no case being made that mere absence or presence of abortion in a general population is any factor in growth or decline of crime."

That's just completely false. If abortion impacts the birth rates of those most likely to commit crime, which causes crime rates to drop, then if you ban abortion in a country where abortion previously existed *the people most likely to have criminal children will have more kids and the crime rate will go up.*

You can't argue that having legal abortion causes crime to drop by self-selecting people who would otherwise be criminals without acknowledging that if this is true the exact opposite has to be true - that you'd have more of those criminals being born without abortion and crime would go up.

"there's no case being made that mere absence or presence of abortion in a general population is any factor in growth or decline of crime."

The argument is that the poor are more likely to have abortions and are more likely to have criminal children so crime drops. Therefore, if you outlaw abortion, those same people are more likely to have kids who are proportionately more likely to be criminals. How does it not follow that banning abortion makes crime go up based on their argument?

[GILMORE?]

which causes crime rates to drop

See, but i just explained that no one was attributing a "Cause-Effect" relationship there.

[GILMORE?]

Also, did you actually read the book?

it seems like you're arguing about something that wasn't ever proposed.

your inverse thing also - even as a hypothetical - doesn't strike me as 'logical' anymore than the argument that, "penicillin kills bacteria - ergo, an absence of penicillin *causes* bacteria" is logical.

isnt' that called the fallacy of the antecedent or something?

[GILMORE?]

Trump = Sends a Message to the United Kingdom

[GILMORE?]

Most retarded take-away on the fact that "Money in Politics" isn't actually driving candidates successes =

Republican money class fears stigma of becoming Trump donors

[HeteroPatriarch]

More like they're sending Trump a message: "Gee, Don, we really wanted to support you, but we were afraid the media would be mean to us." They're trying to appease the piece of shit so he doesn't tell his followers to eat them.

[GILMORE?]

or maybe the media is sending trump donors a message = don't donate to him or we WILL demonize you.

[GILMORE?]

D.C. boards buses, bikes, even skateboards in subway shutdown

Another reason progs love mass-transit = So easily politicized. Hello, Paris on the Potomac!

[Rich]

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority shut down the 119-mile (230-km) system serving the U.S. capital and its Maryland and Virginia suburbs

"WMATA wichew?"

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

It's easier to get a constituency to approve "more" when they're trapped along "transportation corridors".

[Free Society]

Two female suicide bombers detonated themselves at a mosque in Nigeria, killing at least 22.

Nothing to do with Islam. Nothing to do with Muslims. They just happened to be Muslims, no connection here whatsoever. Anyone who thinks Islam has anything to do with it is a racist or something something.

[Rich]

They were obviously sex-trafficked into doing it.

[lap83]

Blowback for the war on women

[Crusty Juggler]

yet another out-of-control masturbation euphemism.

[lap83]

This is why libertarian women never come around here....

[bacon-magic]

You can come if you want to...

[Crusty Juggler]

enough with the euphemisms! control yourself.

[Trshmnstr, terror of the trash]

Just think about your grandma in spandex... you should be able to hold it in after that mental image.

[DenverJ]

Yeah, this is why.

[GILMORE?]

No yummy sweet tears. Yet.

[The Late P Brooks]

Democracy: foiled by the 22nd Amendment

Obama hangs over every moment of the 2016 race. It would make a lot more sense for him to directly face his critics on the left (Bernie Sanders) and right (every Republican) rather than do so indirectly through the proxy of Hillary Clinton. If the voters are persuaded to take the country in a different direction, then so be it. But it's strange to have his legacy held partially hostage to controversies over email server management and a 1994 crime bill he had nothing to do with.

The problem, of course, is that a third Obama term would be unconstitutional. The 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, prohibits presidents from serving more than two terms. But though it can't be repealed in time for the 2016 election, term limits clearly have to go. We should return to the democratic practice that served our country well for 150 years: Let the parties nominate whom they like, and let the voters choose their favorite.

Matty haz a sad.

[Jerry on the rocks]

More banana republic news from Latin America. Facing graft charges, Brazil's Lula joins government in crisis:

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff named her predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva her chief of staff Wednesday, sparing him possible arrest for corruption as she seeks to fend off the crisis rocking Latin America's biggest country.

[Libertarian]

Will Brazil be where the Olympics finally implode?

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

It's really not nice to pick on people with mental disabilities.

[Mickey Rat]

For all those years, no president ever ran for his own 3rd term until FDR decided he was indispensable despite his incompetent policies.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

Well, Obama is at least as amazing as FDR. Greatest president or greatestest president ever?

[CE]

Can't the Republicans nominate Obama at the convention?

[This Machine]

But it's strange to have his legacy held partially hostage to controversies over email server management and a 1994 crime bill he had nothing to do with.

Oh man. His legacy is in danger, guys! We need to give him a third term to ensure that he really solidifies his place in the annals of American history!

[DenverJ]

I feel his policies in my annals

[The Late P Brooks]

Vox [the web site] sucks.

Vox sucks, too.

[GILMORE?]

What they do this time?

[GILMORE?]

Oh. I see.

While i agree vox sux, i pin that one entirely on Matty

[GILMORE?]

"PLEASE, PLEASE EAT OUR BURRITO"!

I cannot explain how much their slow death pleases me.

[lap83]

I received one of those....and gave it to a friend. Just no.

[Rich]

Some friend!

[lap83]

Hey if she wants free ecoli it's none of my business

[GILMORE?]

I presume its just me, but every time i see the word "ecoli" on a page, i feel like doing this

[GILMORE?]

I'm tempted to go into a Chipotle with a friend, say loudly to them, "SEE! THERES NOTHING TO BE WORRIED ABOUT! ITS TOTALLY FINE?!""... take a bite, then dramatically fall on the floor and have a violent epileptic seizure while the other one shrieks in terror.

[lap83]

If you do, be sure to record it

[coloraDOOM]

Do it. You almost have to, now that you told all of us.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

I didn't even know there was a Chipotle in my neighborhood. I walked by it and there were two people inside. Counting the girl behind the counter.

[Cyto]

Why were they counting the girl? And how could you tell that this is what they were doing? How long does it take to count to one? Inquiring minds want to know.

[B.P.]

Yeah, hey guys. Remember how you were bragging about taking all of the antibiotics out of your meat? Can you put them back in now?

[GILMORE?]

The United States says it demands North Korea release an American student sentenced to 15 years hard labor for attempting to steal a propaganda poster.

Otto Frederick Warmbier is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I've ever known in my life.

That said, i wouldn't mind if you kept him on ice for a minute.

[But Enough About Me]

Americans abroad can now enjoy products from Cuba without facing a potential 10 year prison sentence.

Speaking as a Canadian who's been there, there are only two products of Cuba worth enjoying ? rum and cigars. Coming back from Cuba the last time, it was hilarious to watch the CBSA (Canada Border Services Agency) agents ask people on the flight if they had anything to declare, and whether there was more than $800.00 worth of stuff. By the time they got to me and Mrs. Me, they didn't even bother.

$800.00 worth of rum and cigars at Cubanos' prices would have required my own freakin' aircraft. (Unless you bought 'em at the turista shops, in which case you get what you deserve.)

[The Late P Brooks]

Vox's site is a vast unsorted jumble of stories I don't want to read. I had never even seen the Vox home page until I went hunting for that, "Obama's so adorable! Why can't we keep him?"*

*said in the voice of a whiny foot-stamping child.

[The Late P Brooks]

take a bite, then dramatically fall on the floor

You need one of those friends who can puke on command.

[Sidd Finch v2.01]

Florida Woman Is Fighting To Keep Her Fully Trained Gator Named Rambo Who Rides Four Wheelers

[Notorious UGCC]

Trump voter, I'm guessing.

[GILMORE?]

It is moment like this that i am proudest to be an American

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

She's single-handedly making America great again.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

I don't use the word "hero" very often, but that woman is the greatest hero in American history.

[This Machine]

First, the Florida Fish and Wildlife officials acting like they're a real governing body who have actual power is laughable. We are laughing at you. Mary Thorn is laughing at you. Rambo is laughing at you. The whole damn world is laughing at you. I bet they don't even have badges. Not to mention you don't tell Rambo where he can and can't live. Rambo tells you where he can and can't live. Look at him on that four wheeler. That's a bad dude. He'll live wherever he damn well pleases.

God bless America.

[HeteroPatriarch]

I want video of the gator riding a 4 wheeler, not just a still of him propped up on one.

[HeteroPatriarch]

I want video of the gator riding a 4 wheeler, not just a still of him propped up on one.

[Tuan Jim]

Yeah, all the youtube videos of him just show a bunch of stills.

[MSimon]

Neil Bush, Jeb's brother, joins Ted Cruz's finance team

A CNN story.

[The Late P Brooks]

Fabulous

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents have connected a rifle recovered at a hideout of Mexican drug kingpin Joaqu?n "El Chapo" Guzm?n with a flawed U.S. operation that allowed illegally purchased guns to flow into the hands of narcotics traffickers, the Justice Department confirmed.

In a written response to a congressional request, Assistant Attorney General Peter J. Kadzik wrote that a .50-caliber rifle found at the Los Mochis residence Guzm?n used shortly before his capture was found to be associated with the "Fast and Furious" operation in which ATF agents did not immediately arrest illegal gun buyers and sellers so they could track the flow of the weapons to Mexican drug traffickers.

Get Eric Holder on the line.

[GILMORE?]

a .50-caliber rifle

fortunately its killing power was strictly limited by the fact that it had no pistol grip, barrel shroud, bayonet lug, or folding stock, and a mere-10rd magazine.

[Sidd Finch v2.01]

Frum has a pretty good explanation of the youknowwho phenomenon.

https://youtu.be/bFEn0umfF00?t=3m19s

[CE]

Stopped calendar, right once a year.

[GILMORE?]

faces like Frum's always remind me = "ugly people find one another attractive"

[MSimon]

Joel Klein before him is more in line with this explanation. It is psychological.

Donald Trump - Con Man

It is the general abandonment by both parties of the common man that set the stage.

Fanfare for the Common Man

[The Late P Brooks]

"ATF and the Department deeply regret that firearms associated with Operation Fast and Furious have been used by criminals in the commission of violent crimes, particularly crimes resulting in the death of civilians and law enforcement officers," Kadzik wrote. "ATF accepts full responsibility for the flawed execution of Fast and Furious, and will continue to support Mexican law enforcement in efforts to recover and identify associated firearms."

OH, I get it; Holder's in a Mexican jail awaiting trial, right?

RIGHT?

[Libertarian]

"...particularly crimes resulting in the death of civilians and law enforcement officers,"

Particularly? Besides civilians and LEOs, who else is there?

[The Late P Brooks]

I gots ta know- does Florida Woman's four-wheeler-riding gator wear some sort of amusing headgear?

[B.P.]

From the picture provided, the gator appears to wear jeans.

[Libertarian]

"Americans abroad can now enjoy products from Cuba without facing a potential 10 year prison sentence."

Even though I'm a libertarian, I've always been in favor of burning Cuba's tobacco crops -- one leaf at a time.

[Stilgar]

Apparently Clearview is not always the clearest. http://www.popularmechanics.co.....hased-out/

[Rhywun]

I think the money explanation makes more sense. The new font is obviously more legible.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Huh, from looking at the article, Clearview is clearly the clearest. Imagine someone without 20/20 vision looking at that Gothic 'a' from a distance.

[sarathomas1102]

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[nicolemiller1236]

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[tarran]

Was he?

What I read said Bill was a frequent passenger on the jet when it flew to places like Africa. Did he join Randy Andy on the island itself?

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

That and be careful what you put in your reloads.

[Mr Drew]

Well, sure, being careful and smart would have avoided the whole issue. Easy for a careful smart person to say, but what about me and my limits? YOU ARE MICRO-AGGRESSING MY INFIRMITY!1!