A.M. Links: Brussels Attack, Iraq Battles ISIS, Cruz vs. Trump

• 

  @RumskyOfficial/Twitter

  Belgian authorities are reportedly hunting for a second terrorist they believe was involved in the Brussels subway attack.

• "The announcement by the Belgian authorities that they had confiscated more than 30 pounds of the explosive TATP from a dwelling used by the attackers in Brussels was, in some ways, an expected development. But it contained one detail that bomb-disposal technicians and security officials regarded with surprise: the quantity of the particular explosive involved."

• Iraqi forces have launched an offensive to retake Mosul from ISIS.

• Syrian forces are currently battling ISIS for control of the ancient city of Palmyra.

• Ted Cruz vs. Donald Trump: "An increasingly ugly battle that will now likely drag through the final primary in California, if not beyond."

• Donald Trump is currently "the only political entity less popular than Congress and the GOP."

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Comments

[Bee Tagger]

Ted Cruz vs. Donald Trump: "An increasingly ugly battle that will now likely drag through the final primary in California, if not beyond."

Sounds better than what I've heard of Batman v Superman.

[Just say Nikki]

Fisted!

[Fist of Etiquette]

I've decided you people need to learn to comment without me. I won't be around to hold your hands forever, you know.

[Princess Trigger]

Does your home planet need you?

[SugarFree]

Uranus needs him.

[Fist of Etiquette]

YOU ARE NOT A CLASSY COMMENTER.

[invisible furry hand]

All lies. You regenerate every morning at 6am.

[Fist of Etiquette]

But I bore easily. Or maybe am an easy bore.

[gaoxiaen]

And degenerate when the sun sets.

[EMD]

hold your hands

These masturbation euphemisms ... oh, never mind.

[R C Dean]

Get a grip, EMD. Geez.

[Swiss Servator]

So who would be which role?

[Mr Lizard]

Aquaman!

[cavalier973]

Aquaman is awesome

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

Is Bee Tagger a fist sock? Or a Tulpa sock?

Yes.

[Bee Tagger]

If only there was a way to use the word sock in describing how I'd like to punch you right now.

[The Last American Hero]

This is really just an M Night Shyamalan movie where the big twist is that we are all Tulpa socks.

[Col. Chestbridge]

I see sock people.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Hello.

"Belgian authorities are reportedly hunting for a second terrorist they believe was involved in the Brussels subway attack."

What happens if the perp (s) retreat to their Muslim safe spaces?

[Jerryskids]

"Belgian authorities are reportedly hunting for a second terrorist they believe was involved in the Brussels subway attack."

Did they try looking all over the ceiling and the walls?

[UnCivilServant]

Drone strikes

[Zeb]

I'm thinking those spaces have become a bit less safe in the past few days.

[widget]

'Batman v Superman.'

(*snorts line of Peruvian cocaine off a hooker's butt.*)

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Don't you mean call-girl?

[Brett L]

When they're dead they're just hooker, Cyril!

[Lord Humungus]

Alabama bill demands teachers take class on how not to have sex with students in state with highest rate of such trysts

State lawmakers are considering a bill that would require all Alabama teachers to take training on how not to have sex with their students.

In the month since the bill was first introduced, at least one Alabama school worker was either arrested or convicted for having sex with a student each week.

On Monday, Decatur City school teacher Carrie Witt was arrested for having sex with two students, police said.

On March 17, former Pell City teacher Ashli Gilley pleaded guilty to having sex with two students, Al.com reported.

[Jerryskids]

In the month since the bill was first introduced, at least one Alabama school worker was either arrested or convicted for having sex with a student each week.

Let me guess - that student was your mom?

[MSimon]

Will this women raping boys thing never end?

[MSimon]

When I was in HS I was hoping to get raped by my Calculus teacher. Virginia Pratt. Had a nice set of "lungs". Not married. We didn't know about lesbians then. '62.

[Citizen X]

To be fair, it's Alabama - some of those middle and high school students are likely in their 30s and 40s.

[Pope Jimbo]

doh! You beat me to it. Gotta refresh more

[Idle Hands]

yes, no, no, yes.

[Pope Jimbo]

To be fair, most of the students in Bama reach the age of consent while still in the 5th grade.

[Free Society]

Decatur City school teacher Carrie Witt

Would.

Pell City teacher Ashli Gilley

Would not.

[Free Society]

Decatur Police arrested Carrie Cabri Witt, 42, and charged her with two counts of a school employee engaging in a sex act or deviant sexual intercourse with a student under the age of 19 years.

She fucked an 18 year old? Oh the humanity.

[Zeb]

I'm not sure how that's not a private matter between consenting adults. But what do I know?

[Zeb]

What they really need is a class on how not to get caught. I imagine a lot of it has to do with being stupid on social media.

[Bee Tagger]

Donald Trump is currently "the only political entity less popular than Congress and the GOP."

What about the entitea party? We don't hate them anymore?

[Jerryskids]

What's ISIS' poll numbers looking like?

[Idle Hands]

I don't know are we including Daesh, IS and ISIL? Because if you combine all of them maybe they could run against Trump.

[Idle Hands]

they seem to do even more rebranding than Hillary Clinton, of course when you run a crew of blood thirsty assholes it's probably necessary.

[Citizen X]

when you run a crew of blood thirsty assholes it's probably necessary.

Well, that's why Hillary does it...

[Zeb]

Do they keep changing their name? I sort of thought it was just Western journalists and politicians who couldn't make up their minds.

[Lord Humungus]

Charity shop begs women not to return used copies of Fifty Shades of Grey

An Oxfam bookshop in Swansea is inundated with so many copies of the erotic novel ? 'literally hundreds' ? that they've started begging women to stop bringing them in.

The shop now has so many copies of the book, they've built a fort out of them.

Phil Broadhurst, the owner, said his shop had become a 'retirement home' for copies of EL James' book and its sequels.

'We appreciate all the donations,' he said, 'but less Fifty Shades and more Sixties and Seventies vinyl would be good.

'There are a lot of people obsessed by Fifty Shades of Grey. We get people bringing in new copies coming in all the time. Enough is enough.'

[straffinrun]

You'll have to pry mine from my cold dead hands. No, really. Can I get a hand here?

[Hamster of Doom]

Ew.

[Mr Lizard]

Soooo you're a zombie? Huh

[straffinrun]

Don't just stand there, slobber on me.

[lap83]

Used? They should sell them in Japanese vending machines

[Mike Laursen]

What? The bookshop doesn't have a nice fireplace where they could take care of this little problem?

[Zeb]

There was once a used book store in my town. It started off quite well with a good broad selection. But over the years it gradually became overrun with romance novels until that was pretty much all they had.

[B.P.]

"good broad selection"

Sexist.

[EMD]

I'll allow it.

[EMD]

It's called recycling, book store. Look into it.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Syrian forces are currently battling ISIS for control of the ancient city of Palmyra.

My heart's
on fire
for Palmyra.

[Swiss Servator]

*My gaze is narrowed for JB*

[Libertarian]

Just be thankful you weren't born in Elmira. Every time that word exits my mouth, someone sings it back to me.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Oom-poppa-oom-poppa-oom-poppa-mow-mow.

[Lord Humungus]

A trend story about millennials, by The New York Times

Last spring, as Beckett Delaney was hoverboarding to his office in SoHo, his man bun flailing behind him in the wind, he came to an abrupt halt.

"I realized I just couldn't work that day," Delaney recalled recently, in between puffs of an e-cigarette outside the Bushwick Sweetgreen. "Because I hadn't finished binge-watching Master of None."

Delaney's attitude is typical of his youthful cohort. Millennials?the demographic group also known as Generation Y, Generation Me, and Daesh?have found it difficult to balance dueling priorities as they exit their parents' basements and enter the real world.

They have stacked up record student loan debt, and yet spend thousands on frivolous items like Beyonc? concert tickets and groceries; they yearn for more than just a paycheck, and yet continue to be employed in jobs that provide them with paychecks in return for their labor; and they enjoy watching television and movies, but also Vine.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

"Last spring, as Beckett Delaney was hoverboarding to his office in SoHo, his man bun flailing behind him in the wind, he came to an abrupt halt."

This can't be a serious description of someone can it?

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

"I realized I just couldn't work that day," Delaney recalled recently, in between puffs of an e-cigarette outside the Bushwick Sweetgreen. "Because I hadn't finished binge-watching Master of None."

Somewhere a master transgendered villain with an army maniacally giggles.

[Just say Nikki]

...Daesh?

[Private Chipperbot]

I thought that was a name for ISIS???

[SugarFree]

Psst. It's satire.

[Swiss Servator]

What? The Devil you say?!

[Citizen X]

the demographic group also known as Generation Y, Generation Me, and Daesh

Hilarious!

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

When did groceries become frivolous?

[Jerryskids]

According to NPR this morning, Millennials are also the largest group buying new homes. NPR's analysis of this is that Millennials don't know or don't care that their parents got burned in the Big Housing Market Crisis and besides, they have things like on-line mortgage calculators that their parents didn't have in the olden days so they're more savvy home buyers than their parents were way back then.

My only thought was, damn I sure must be getting old, because that Big Housing Market Crisis they're talking about seems like it happened less than 10 years ago and here NPR is informing me that the children of the survivors of the BHMC are already old enough to be buying houses. Is it 2030 already?

[Irish ?s Lauren Southern]

Clearly 27 year olds don't remember the housing crash at all.

[Mr. Flanders]

I'm 25 and have a salary big enough to buy a house. The crash happened during my first year of college. I remember it quite well. Also, citation needed.... everything I've seen has said that millennials are shunning the purchase of houses in favor of the rental market.

[Irish ?s Lauren Southern]

It would make sense that Millennials would be the biggest home buyers though since they don't already have homes.

25-35 year olds are always going to be the biggest home buyers.

[Jerryskids]

Folks in their 20s and early 30s make up the largest segment of home buyers in the nation, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

[Mr. Flanders]

Are we talking about "home buyers", "new home buyers" (buying new homes) or "first-time home buyers" (buying any type of home - but its their first purchase)?

Either way, it makes sense that we'd be the largest customer group... but from what I've heard we are buying at a much lower rate than previous generations when they were our age.

[BigT]

"we are buying at a much lower rate than previous generations when they were our age."

Probably true. But NPR is trying to push its agenda: millennials good and righteous, economy humming along. You can't expect objective analysis.

[Citizen X]

The other day on NPR they had a segment where Obama was giving a speech about how the economy is all better and everyone who wants a job has one and every American is better off now than they were eight years ago. The very next segment was Hillary and then Bernie talking about how the economy is shit and nobody has a job and everything is terrible.

It was pretty funny.

[You Sound Like a Prog (MJG)]

Hey, fellow Millennial. Spare some change?

[Mr. Flanders]

Haha, thing is, I do. I donate to individuals I care about... I donate to GoFundMe pages for getting local bands their first professional recordings. I donate to my local charity group to feed the homeless and provide poor families with Thanksgiving turkeys. I donate my time to help people navigate the health insurance exchanges each year.

Society has been pretty good to me, so I try to give back. I would never force people to do so using the hand of government though.

[Mike Laursen]

Wait, that doesn't fit the narrative!

It's almost like "millenials" have individual personalities, don't all care about the same things, and pursue various paths in life.

[EMD]

I just refinanced, as yes, the market is back. (or maybe it's just another bubble.)

[R C Dean]

Stupidly cheap credit is always a sign of a bubble.

Refi your current balance at lower rates = smart. Refi to take cash out because your "value" has gone up = not smart.

[R C Dean]

they have things like on-line mortgage calculators that their parents didn't have in the olden days so they're more savvy home buyers

Getting your monthly payments on a given mortgage was never hard. That's all the online calculators do, and that's not what makes you a "savvy home buyer".

[Irish ?s Lauren Southern]

"Packard, who co-works at a bespoke underwear startup, and whose hobbies include 7 a.m. dance parties and sexting, said that she values her ability to express herself almost as much as she values her parents' Netflix account."

""Perhaps no one embodies this difference better than Davis Parkworth. The CEO of venture-backed shoelace marketplace Eyelet, Parkworth, 23, oversees an office where employees must give "trigger warnings" before entering the cafeteria, and where the office speaker system plays hits from Adele just as often as new tunes from 13-year-old YouTube a cappella sensation Kurtiz Blorch.""

This is great.

[Lee G]

venture-backed shoelace marketplace

I've got to go get me some of that stupid money.

[widget]

Beckett Delaney

Not news, but it has become very popular among American whites to name their kid after some character in a book or someone vaguely historical they read about when they were teens. I live in a half-white/half-asian town in SoCal. Only the Chinese heathens name their kids after Roman Catholic saints. As is proper!

[Just say Nikki]

It's cute that you think this is a new trend.

[Swiss Servator]

I think, with a little effort, you could sneer just a bit harder, Worstness.

[Citizen X]

Nikki had extra muscles cloned from her own stem cells and implanted into her lips just for more excellent sneering, it is known.

[Just say Nikki]

It's because sneering is actually more socially acceptable than saying, "You make me want to kill myself." It's adaptive.

[widget]

Did "Not news," escape your attention, Nikki?

[You Sound Like a Prog (MJG)]

"Become very popular" suggests it is a new development.

[R C Dean]

Come for stories on police abuse, stay for the linguistic snarking!

[Cdr Lytton]

Or giving kids the the diminutive form of a name. Instead of the proper name and using the diminutive as a nickname.

[Mr. Flanders]

"When it comes down to it, life is really all about finding a hashtag for yourself and sending hilarious emoji on Venmo," Packard said, and then, after a moment of reflection, added: "Lena Dunham."

As a millennial, I laughed really hard at this.

[waffles]

When I look back at my life, I want to know that I slayed

As a skier and out of context I see nothing wrong with this.

[gaoxiaen]

Frivolous groceries?

[Mr. Flanders]

Its obviously satire about the way NYT writes about millennials.

[Zeb]

That is definitely a joke.

[You Sound Like a Prog (MJG)]

Millennials?the demographic group also known as Generation Y, Generation Me, and Daesh

Hehe, nice.

[EMD]

FAKE.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

"Stuck on a plane at YYZ. Waiting for the fuel man to fill this jet. I hope the de-icing don't take too long. Or you guys will have to read more lyrics to this song."

[Zeb]

There are no lyrics to YYZ.

[Citizen X]

Eugene hasn't made it in here yet? I hope he's ok.

[Lord Humungus]

The GOP's French Revolution
Cruz plays Robespierre, Trump plays Napoleon.

The defining media narrative about 2016 has missed what's been happening within the GOP. The real fight on the right isn't between outsiders and "the establishment." Instead, the divide is between two factions of conservatives that emerged in the government shutdown fight over Obamacare in 2013: an American Revolutionary wing of the Tea Party and a French Revolutionary wing of the Tea Party.

These factions differ deeply on what it means to be "anti-establishment." The Americans believe our Constitution is based on a skepticism and mistrust of federal power. Our institutions, therefore, must continually be co-opted, subverted and renewed for the cause of liberty. The French, on the other hand, believe the only reliable reform is to burn everything to the ground.

The Americans favor persuasion, and tolerate incremental change and principled compromise. The French favor purges, and demand instant gratification and purity. The Americans believe the proper responses to anger are empathy, policy solutions and servant leadership. The French believe anger should be amplified, fomented and used to annihilate weak and impure opponents

[MSimon]

Servant leadership? From the current political class?

You're shitting me.

[Shirley Knott]

Which one is which? Given that both Robespierre and Napoleon were French, and that neither betrays the slightest hint of interest in 'subverting institutions and power for the cause of liberty', it's kind of hard to see the point here.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Napoleon's nation-state was France, but his blood was wop.

[Lee G]

I thought the Jacobins and the Girondins were battling it out in the DNC.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

So does that make Hillary Marie Antoinette?

[spqr2008]

Does that mean I get cake!

[R C Dean]

No, I think Hillary has her Napoleonic side:

"Sometimes, you have to kill an ambassador to encourage the others." Very Napoleonic.

[Pan Zagloba]

Sigh, that is absolutely not Napoleonic. It's Voltaire taking a piss out of British Admiralty for shooting an admiral who didn't offer battle in sufficiently vigorous manner. Which, Royal Navy was legendary for taking on short odds and winning, so possibly effective.

Napoleon wasn't Darth Vader when it came to HR - in fact, a large part of his success was due to promoting capable generals who could be counted on to do things right without needing handholding.

[Jerryskids]

I prefer to think of it as Cruz is Count Chocula and Trump is Frankenberry. Both of them are devoid of nutritional substance and made of nasty stuff you'd prefer not to think of putting in your mouth, both can be bought for a few bucks, both look good sealed in a box or drowned in a bowl of milk, both may look and taste good if you swallow them but you know they're just quickly going to turn into shit, both spout stupid slogans to get you to buy them, but one's a slightly scary looking brown guy and the other seems like he was assembled by an amoral scientist. And they hope the superficial difference is enough to get you to overlook the fact that they're both manufactured by the same damn company, and that company doesn't give a damn which one of them you buy because they're making money either way.

[Heroic Mulatto]

BRAVO! BRAVO!

[CLAPPING INTENSIFIES GROWING INTO A THUNDEROUS APPLAUSE]

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Nice.

[Swiss Servator]

So is Bernie "Booberry"?

[straffinrun]

Grape Nuts?

[Citizen X]

Bernie is something nasty and pseudo-European, like a Muesli knockoff in one of those bottom-shelf bags.

[Lee G]

Banana Nut Republic Cheerios

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

All I know is that Hillary is Cuntberry.

[straffinrun]

Cankleberries and Cream.

[Catatafish & Woodchips]

That is just well done.

[DrZaius]

Take a victory lap, you deserve it.

[bacon-magic]

Awesome.

[You Sound Like a Prog (MJG)]

*applauds with one hand, copies and pastes with the other*

[Citizen X]

These masturbation euphemisms are getting pretty abstract.

[R C Dean]

Get a grip already, Citizen X!

[Trigger Hippie]

http://www.kansascity.com/news.....87177.html

Test your meth for hep!
If your stupid enough to fall for this you probably don't need to be walking around amongst the general public anyway.

[Juvenile Bluster]

That does encompass most meth users though.

[Lord Humungus]

New Zealand to keep flag

New Zealand's flag will not change, a referendum has decided.

The existing national flag won 56.6 per cent of the vote, compared to 43.2 per cent for the silver fern flag.

The total number of votes received was 2,124,507 - a turnout of 67.3 per cent.

[invisible furry hand]

It would have changed if this excellent option had been the only alternative

[Citizen X]

"I believe my design is so powerful it does not need to be discussed."

[Swiss Servator]

OK, I think I would have voted for that one...

[Lord Humungus]

+1 *pew, pew*

[Swiss Servator]

The Silver Fern can remain proudly displayed on the All Blacks jersey!

[invisible furry hand]

Here's a one-armed axeman who's competing in woodchopping at the 2016 Sydney Royal Easter Show

[Citizen X]

Donald Trump is currently "the only political entity less popular than Congress and the GOP."

You know who else was an unpopular political entity?

[Fist of Etiquette]

CBS' Madam Secretary?

[Swiss Servator]

The CSA?

[Overt]

Well they deserve to be unpopular for sending nothing but god damn kale every week.

[Drake]

Yet the GOP continues to win governorships and legislatures. Almost makes you doubt the polls.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Collectively, the GOP sucks. Individually, voters crave a cold-hearted Republican to lower taxes, brutalize criminals, and rule them like a king.

[Swiss Servator]

Go on...

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

Barack H. Obama?

[straffinrun]

Ann Archy?

[Lord Humungus]

North Korea Proves Your White Male Privilege Is Not Universal

As shocked as I am by the sentence handed down to Warmbier, I am even more shocked that a grown man, an American citizen, would not only voluntarily enter North Korea but also commit what's been described a "college-style prank." That kind of reckless gall is an unfortunate side effect of being socialized first as a white boy, and then as a white man in this country. Every economic, academic, legal and social system in this country has for more than three centuries functioned with the implicit purpose of ensuring that white men are the primary benefactors of all privilege. The kind of arrogance bred by that kind of conditioning is pathogenic, causing its host to develop a subconscious yet no less obnoxious perception that the rules do not apply to him, or at least that their application is negotiable.

...

Yeah, I'm willing to bet my last dollar that he was aware of the political climate in that country, but privilege is a hell of a drug. The high of privilege told him that North Korea's history of making examples out of American citizens who dare challenge their rigid legal system in any way was no match for his alabaster American privilege./blockquote

[Lee G]

I was willing to bet that was Salon, but I was wrong.

[Mustang]

This is the second such story that I've seen. I really like the part where they think that he deserves to be in a labor camp because he's a white male.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

"That kind of reckless gall is an unfortunate side effect of being socialized first as a white boy, and then as a white man in this country"

Or just being a regular everyday moron who probably is a regular reader of the Huffington Post.

[Rhywun]

From "La Sha"'s blurb: "I'm a writer and blogger committed to using my writing to deconstruct oppressive ideologies and systems, especially racism."

Following by a long list of racist posts.

[EMD]

"using my writing to deconstruct oppressive ideologies and systems, especially racism."

Good luck with that.

[Irish ?s Lauren Southern]

That is one of the most horrifyingly immoral articles I've ever read.

"When you can watch a white man who entered a theatre and killed a dozen people come out unscathed, you start to believe you're invincible. When you see a white man taken to Burger King in a bulletproof vest after he killed nine people in a church, you learn that the world will always protect you."

I'm sorry, I was under the impression that James Holmes is spending the rest of his life in prison and Dylan Roof is going to get the death penalty. Neither of those things classify as 'unscathed.' I'm also a big fan of the way these idiots cherry pick to fit their narrative, so they conveniently leave out the fact that the DC snipers were also given bulletproof vests or that Kelly Thomas was beaten to death despite the fact that white privilege should have made this impossible.

This guy is so fucking stupid I'm surprised he can write complete sentences.

[Irish ?s Lauren Southern]

Also, if every time a white person does something stupid it's because of white privilege, why do non-white people do stupid things?

[Lee G]

How racist of you to ask that question.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

You did see who was asking, right?

[Heroic Mulatto]

why do non-white people do stupid things?

Colonialism.

[Swiss Servator]

Neocolonialism!

[invisible furry hand]

Cis-colonialism

[BigT]

Trans colonism

[EMD]

Ewwww.

[Idle Hands]

you don't even look that far:

That kind of reckless gall is an unfortunate side effect of being socialized first as a white boy, and then as a white man in this country. Every economic, academic, legal and social system in this country has for more than three centuries functioned with the implicit purpose of ensuring that white men are the primary benefactors of all privilege.

this guy probably lives in a white padded room as he seems to never have seen graffiti.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Did you read the comments?

Arkham is not big enough.

[Irish ?s Lauren Southern]

I did.

"Excellent. You nailed what I've been unable to put into words since I saw him on TV sobbing to the court. And now the State Department is supposed to come to his rescue?"

YEAH, FUCK YOU, YOU DESERVE 15 YEARS OF HARD LABOR FOR MAKING KIM JONG UN HAVE SAD FEELINGS, WHITE BOY

And then this happened, which gave me some hope:

"Kabba Sankoh ? Aberdeen Township, New Jersey
Chase Campbell Next, you will travel to Iran and see what awaits you there! Your white privilege here in the US will not follow you there.
Like ? Reply ? 10 ? 12 hrs

Rob Shelton ? Driver at Bisman Transit
Kabba Sankoh your Irianian privilege is non existent even in Iran, that's why you're in New Jersey."

GET SOME, KABBA, ROB JUST FUCKED YOU UP

[R C Dean]

When you can watch a white man who entered a theatre and killed a dozen people come out unscathed, you start to believe you're invincible.

Presumably, this is a reference to the Aurora shooting. The shooter was immediately arrested and eventually sentenced to life without parole, which doesn't seem very privilegey to me.

[Catatafish & Woodchips]

Well, I suppose it shouldn't surprise anyone that their preferred solution to "white privilege" is a brutally oppressive communist totalitarian dictatorship.

They're subtle like that.

[Suthenboy]

"Every economic, academic, legal and social system in this country has for more than three centuries functioned with the implicit purpose of ensuring that white men are the primary benefactors of all privilege. "

So says the college educated black girl who is no doubt well paid to write propaganda for a major publication. I wonder if these people are oblivious to reality or just strait up lying.

[ant1sthenes]

If they actually believed that for any reason other than sneering, there might be hope for them yet.

[Domestic Dissident]

Poor Obama couldn't arrange for his girls to meet Lionel Messi on his lavish taxpayer-funded family vacation junket. So, so sad.

[Rhywun]

Lionel was busy getting some more tatts.

[Domestic Dissident]

I would love to believe that this wasn't the entire reason he scheduled a trip there costing God only knows how many millions of taxpayer dollars: just so that his precious little girls could maybe meet Lionel Messi.

But there's nothing I would put past this creep.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Not to say nothing, but why would Messi leave Spain in the middle of a Liga and Champions League campaign to meet the President's fricken daughters? Go to Spain, since you're not paying for it, if you want to meet him.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Oh, right. Because he probably isn't aware this is the most difficult part of the schedule for soccer players and probably expects them to come anyway.

[Rhywun]

It's an international weekend coming up - Messi should be in Argentina now.

[Domestic Dissident]

This is how jackasses who believe that they're royalty think: everyone else in the world should just drop whatever it is that they're doing and come running when they say so.

[Lord Humungus]

the secret to art world success is being a narcissist, says study

A new paper from finance professor Yi Zhou, published in the European Journal of Finance, provides evidence that the economic success of an artist is related to his or her level of narcissism. Using data from artinfo.com, Zhou found a correlation between the market performance of artworks and the egos of the artists. Some of the criteria for artistic success is recognition from the art world elite, quantity of group and solo exhibitions, and the amount of museum and gallery holdings of the work of a specific artist. The criteria for narcissism, on the other hand, is signature size (linked to self-regard), number of self-portraits, and frequency of the word "I" when giving interviews.

bonus selfie booty pic.

[Trigger Hippie]

White girl ass, meh.

[Citizen X]

She got a little bit of junk in her trunk.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Latina ass, actually.

[Trigger Hippie]

That's has to be the whitest Latin ass I've ever seen!

[Trigger Hippie]

*That

[Heroic Mulatto]

Of course, she's Argentinian.

[Lord Humungus]

Don't cry for me... ah, never mind.

[straffinrun]

Magellan would've made port in that tierra del fuego.

[Marshall Gill]

So a white hispanic?

[Lee G]

If you don't believe your own bullshit, nobody else will either.

[Lord Humungus]

old story. I was visiting my best friend, who was going to Vanderbilt in Nashville. We stopped at a coffee shop before heading back to his apartment for the night. There's a bunch of art work on the wall.

Friend points to a large oil painting. "What do you think of that?"

Me: "It sucks. I certainly wouldn't want that piece of shit hanging on my wall."

Two tables over, a guy stands up, glares at me, pounds the table with his fists, and storms out of the shop.

Friend: That was the artist.

Later I was expecting a shotgun blast as I exited...

[SugarFree]

I did that once, only it was the lead actress in a play I didn't like. She started crying. After she left, my professor lean over and said, "You know, I directed that."

[invisible furry hand]

Many years ago when I was leaving a corporate Christmas party, some guys in the lift asked me what I'd thought of the band that had played at the party. Bog standard indie bullshit, I replied. Yes, it was the band.

[Suthenboy]

I doubt that was the first time you made someone cry. I know it wasn't the last.

[Marshall Gill]

I am not sure of the guys name but this happened to me once in a bar with the guitarist of Alice in Chains. I was wearing an Ozzy concert t-shirt and the guy asked me about the opening act at that concert, which was AiC. I told him "they suck, I only went to see Ozzy". At the time, I didn't realize to whom I was speaking. In retrospect it was one of my best moments, ever.

[lap83]

My old painting instructor once asked our class, "why are there so many huge paintings in museums?" After a bunch of thoughtful, wrong answers he said "ego and they can charge more"

[Doctor Whom]

OT: The NYT acknowledges "government failure" in the Flint disaster. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03.....risis.html

Of course, some of the commenters blame markets and corporations.

[Citizen X]

Of course, some of the commenters blame markets and corporations.

Hell yeah it's the free market's fault, for not being involved at all!

[Lord Humungus]

'I Love Trannies': Boxer Yusaf Mack Fights for His Attraction to Trans Women

He's never been interested in men, per se, but Yusaf says that the body of a trans woman?from her tits, to her hips, and, yes, her dick?is beautiful to him. Despite his attempt to keep this affection concealed, his best-kept secret became national news in October of 2015 when it was exposed that Yusaf had performed in a gay porn film. Though he's not into men, Yusaf is sexually open-minded. He told me that he needed the money and would have performed in any sort of porn for the $4,500 the film earned him.

On a day like any other, in October of 2015, Yusaf arrived at his grandma's bar in Philadelphia, as he had many times over the years. But, unlike during all his prior visits, he quickly realized that his family and friends were looking at him differently this time. Someone took him aside and explained that the media was reporting on a gay porn film in which he was, apparently, one of the performers. Unable to deny that he was indeed in the video, Yusaf admitted that he intended to shoot a porn film but claimed that, prior to shooting, he was led to believe it would be heterosexual. He alleged that he was drugged upon arrival at the porn company's studio and was thus unconscious as the "straight" porn turned gay without his consent.

[invisible furry hand]

Though he's not into men

Yes he is. He's into men with tits.

[Citizen X]

There's no sex like trans-sex, i guess.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

You "guess"?

[Juvenile Bluster]

I mean, not like I've ever clicked on "categories" on Pornhub or anything, but I do wonder how many clicks they get on the shemale category. Probably more than I'd think.

[Idle Hands]

it's a category for a reason. There is an ass for every seat.

[straffinrun]

I like how they have FB likes on those sites (or so I've heard).

[Citizen X]

I enjoy when Facebook friends accidentally click 'like' without realizing it.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Seriously, people. Incognito mode! It solves these problems!

Though it has been funny the couple of times old high school friends have done that.

[MSimon]

I like trans trans lesbian sex.

You know.

Guys fucking girls.

[Lord Humungus]

I would expect nothing less from a cis-shitlord liek you.

[Rhywun]

He alleged that he was drugged upon arrival at the porn company's studio and was thus unconscious as the "straight" porn turned gay without his consent.

Uh huh.

Dude, it's perfectly fine to be straight and admit you do gay porn. You wouldn't be the only one - by far.

[Heroic Mulatto]

To his credit, Mack is proudly Out and about these days.

[Rhywun]

Ah, OK. I didn't read the whole thing.

[Heroic Mulatto]

It's actually kind of sad. His youngest daughter disowned him saying that "he should kill himself".

[Rhywun]

Family are the worst.

[straffinrun]

My sister came out and the other 4 siblings all disowned her. I told her I was there for her and give them time. She actually defriended me on FB for criticizing Bernie. The other siblings have all come around, but she still won't reply to me.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Shit...wow.

[Jerryskids]

I remember when my brother "came out". We all tried to keep a straight face because he seemed so serious about this "big announcement" but behind his back we were all laughing our asses off because of course we had all known since he was about 5 that he was queer as a three-dollar bill and nobody really gave a shit if he was gay or not.

[Suthenboy]

"I remember when my brother "came out". We all tried to keep a straight face because he seemed so serious about this "big announcement" but behind his back we were all laughing our asses off because of course we had all known since he was about 5 that he was queer as a three-dollar bill and nobody really gave a shit if he was gay or not."

Been there. Raised a kid who was friends with my son and I knew he was queer the minute I laid eyes on him when he was 7. I raised him like my own son because his family was beyond fucked up. He made the big announcement when he was 19. It was really difficult to act surprised.

[straffinrun]

It almost seemed like she didn't want me to say, "I don't care", which is what I said. That wasn't enough. I had to buy into her entire political philosophy or else I wasn't being sincere. She's nutty, but still family.

[Lee G]

How tolerant of her.

[Suthenboy]

Holy shit, really? Politics over family? Communism really is a cult.

[Idle Hands]

I don't think he's all that straight though.

[gaoxiaen]

Men that have sex with men are not straight. Thought I'd point that out.

[Rhywun]

Men that primarily have sex with men are not straight.

FTFY.

[invisible furry hand]

The Guardian reaches a new level of Guardianness:

Why it's OK to be a leftie and give to charity

[Citizen X]

That is the Guardianest thing the Guardian has ever Guardianed.

[Rhywun]

Linked: "The UK has passed a bill that enshrines in law its commitment to spend 0.7% of its gross national income (GNI) on aid every year, making it the first G7 country to meet the UN's 45-year-old aid spending target."

It's like their genetically disposed to passing the most awful legislation ever. "Throw our money out the window? Sounds great!"

Dumbasses.

[Marshall Gill]

"Enshrines in Law" is not the same as "allocates funds for" by a long shot.

[R C Dean]

Eh. Needs more of the typos that are the Grauniad's signature.

[Idle Hands]

I didn't even know this was a thing among "lefties", I thought they were into the whole charity thing. I mean this line of thinking makes sense as they believe everyone should be forced at gun point to give their money to other people. Nikki can you mansplain this to me what is the neoliberal blog-o-sphere's position on this? Is this a common position?

[Idle Hands]

I'm finding conflicting(shocker) studies on the interwebs but is seems to be have more to do with your religous beliefs.. Here and here.

[Free Society]

That second link is from "philanthropy.com" which I can only assume is run by a team of social workers. Here's another gem: "Last month another multimillionaire took out a full-page ad in the national edition of The New York Times to oppose President Obama's tax proposals and said that "I realize paying taxes is a form of charitable giving in a sense." Affirming such conservative and libertarian thinking, a Cato Institute official also declared that "taxes are a form of charity.""

That's "conservative and libertarian" thinking? That taxes are charity? And I realize the author might very well have heard that nonsense coming out of the Cato institute. They're Chicago school pseudo libertarians, so one can expect that.

[Roger the Shrubber]

I think Rosie O'Donnell, when confronted with the fact that evil conservatives donated more to charities than enlightened liberals, explained that she expected the government to provide for charity and pass the bill onto her through taxation.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Hence, celebrity progressives are the worst.

[Stormy Dragon]

Conservatives only donate more if you count money donated to churches, the vast majority of which is returned to the donors in the form of member services.

If someone hires a psychologist so they can get counseling, that's not charity.
If someone hires a pastor so they can get counseling, that's charity.

If someone joins a country club so they can play on the amateur softball team, that's not charity.
If someone joins a church so they can play on the amateur softball team, that's charity.

If someone rents a public venue so they can gamble on bingo, that's not charity.
If someone builds a church social hall so they can gamble on bingo, that's charity.

If you look at spending on actual charity work, which is a tiny portion of most church's budgets, conservatives donate the same as liberals, they've just figured out how to launder a lot of their personal expenses into tax deductions through their church.

[Tornado16nb]

That is a cool story but i think you are ignoring that churches do more than what you mentioned. I am not sure most of the budget is going to social halls for bingo or amateur softball teams or pastor counseling.

[Stormy Dragon]

The average church spends 80% of its budget on facilities, personnel, and administration costs.

[Tornado16nb]

Ok and your point is? Why is that number important? These things need to be paid for.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

His point is that the government should run all churches.

[Tornado16nb]

Your original assertion is that folks donate so they can launder the money back to themselves. This post contradicts it.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

That is some Tony level derp there, boy...

[bacon-magic]

Your argument is not even worth a rebuttal. Pitiful.

[bacon-magic]

*replying to Stormy

[Suthenboy]

I am an athiest. I give nothing to churches unless it is a drive for a specific case. I donate to Shriners, St. Judes, two medical research funds, Salvation Army every year. This year I also donated money to a guy whose house burned down, a guy whose daughter was injured in a car wreck, a woman whose husband drowned in the flood, and bought blankets and a thousand cans of food for the flood victims here in my parish.

What have you done for your fellow man Stormy? Also, fuck Rosie Odonnell with a machete, the selfish bitch. I have never seen a greedy capitalist or libertarian or free market advocate as selfish as even the average lefty. They really are the worst kinds of people.

[Stormy Dragon]

Most of my giving is for either cancer research (mostly the Roswell Park Alliance Foundation and Elora's HOPE) and education charities (mostly the college of engineering at my alma mater) and then another chunk to the United Way (which probably isn't the most efficient, but with so many worthwhile charities out there, it's a good way of hitting a lot of different local and regional charities without having to personal review them all) and then various smaller ad hoc efforts through work.

My point is not that giving to real charities is bad, but rather that most churches aren't really all that charitable. I get annoyed by soc cons who's charity is limited to sending money to a church that's little more than a non-profit country club talking about how generous they are.

[R C Dean]

Conservatives only donate more if you count money donated to churches, the vast majority of which is returned to the donors in the form of member services.

That assumes nearly all members donate about the same amount, and receive about the same services. I'm pretty sure neither of those is true. As with many organizations, some people give a disproportionate amount, and some take disproportionate services. Cross-subsidies are still subsidies are still donations.

[An Innocent Man]

A few years ago I was visiting a friend in Brooklyn and picked up one of those weekly, freely community news rags. There was an article in it written by alderman, or whatever they call them, complaint that people were taking it upon themselves to clean up local parks and playgrounds. His reasoning was that they were taking work from city employees, and that if they kept it up the city wouldn't see a need to keep funding cleanup crews.

[An Innocent Man]

Also, fucking no-edit button.

[Rhywun]

Easier than complaining about city workers not doing their fucking jobs. Who knows what they'd do to him or his family if he hid.

[Rhywun]

*did

[Just say Nikki]

I didn't even know this was a thing among "lefties", I thought they were into the whole charity thing. I mean this line of thinking makes sense as they believe everyone should be forced at gun point to give their money to other people.

I think you pretty much answered this for yourself.

[Suthenboy]

"I thought they were into the whole charity thing."

Clearly you haven't seen the comparisons between R's and D's on their charitable giving. The richest lefties that whine about empathy for the poor and unfortunate give squat of their own money. They want to give yours.

Hell, I give more than Barack Obumbles and Joe Biden combined. How much do the Koch brothers give?

Just typing that out made me angry. I would love to punch those fuckers in the mouth.

[Lord at War]

Clearly you haven't seen the comparisons between R's and D's on their charitable giving.

Leftists will protest against charitable contributions.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

" leonzos
10s ago
1 2

How odd that a right wing newspaper should be writing about lefties. "

Huh? Wha? I always thought it was left-wing.

[invisible furry hand]

Well it's right-wing compared to some of its readers

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

"pitfitter GaucheAver
24 Mar 2016 13:15
0 1

I know 2 lefties (and they're proud to be called that) who don't give a bolt to any charities, don't leave tips for anything or anyone, and don't volunteer. All under the heading that "the government should do that"."

That's precisely how they think. Fucking deadbeats.

I also notice that progressives create all these 'free shit' institutions and when they actually get around to examining the results never take responsibility choosing instead to blame 'capitalism' and 'austerity' and 'right-wingers' and so on.

[Lee G]

Individual acts of generosity by well-off people may not be your idea of progress.

I'm afraid of what they would consider progress.

[Citizen X]

The blade of grass that grows tallest gets cut down. Also, everybody will be named Beverly.

[gaoxiaen]

It's just a dagger of oppression.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBHicyqMML4

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

You have to ask?

Death and gulags.

[Marshall Gill]

No one reads Adam Smith. Want to make your neighbors richer? Employ them.

[Rhywun]

More than half of British adults either volunteer or make a regular donation to charity.

How gauche.

[Jerryskids]

You know, I just assumed that "leftie" meant "left-handed" and it didn't surprise me a bit to realize I wasn't surprised by the assumption that somewhere there's a group of people who are so identity-politicized that they think left-handers are every bit as oppressed a race as vegans or bicycle owners or Sidney Sheldon fans.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Vegans are not a race, they are a species.

Whose only purpose is to serve as food when times get tight.

[Citizen X]

Have you seen a vegan? They're nothing but bones, no meat at all.

I mean, maybe you could make broth.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Those are free range vegans. When you pen em up, they put on weight and get even more docile.

[Citizen X]

Yeah, but who wants to deal with that much whining in an enclosed space? Also, if you want to fatten them up, you have to feed them fair-trade avocados and walnuts and such, and that costs.

[R C Dean]

Indeed. As my hunting buddy says:

"Vegetables are not food. Vegetables are what food eats."

[Pope Jimbo]

Tundra, I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you were not one of the 20 people a day who rode the new special suburb to suburb route?

There were 10 buses in the morning and 10 buses in the evening and they had 20 riders total per day.

The reporter didn't add how much we wasted on this stupid boondoggle. He did though faithfully parrot the govt's assurances that this wasn't some colossal fuck up that would have gotten anyone associated with it fired in the private sector. No, he wrote all about how they just need to tweak it a bit and then they can start running it again.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

20?

SUCCESS!

[Pope Jimbo]

If I had only known about this. We could have held our long threatened HyR meetup on one of them.

We could have rolled a keg on and I'm guessing the bureaucrats would have allowed it they were so desperate for riders.

[Fist of Etiquette]

"An increasingly ugly battle that will now likely drag through the final primary in California, if not beyond."

There are Republican voters left in the Golden State?

[MSimon]

Orange County is a hot bed of libertarianism. No joke.

[Certified Public Asshat]

Teh 1%.

[Los Doyers]

San Diego

[Lord Humungus]

(Florida) Woman runs over boyfriend outside topless spot

Police said the confrontation took place about 1 a.m. Saturday when Hope drove up to Pin Ups to confront her live-in boyfriend for 'being at the establishment.' Hope spotted the man and an argument took place outside, with Hope either slapping or punching the man in the face in an incident captured mostly on surveillance cameras. Officers said the pair continued to struggle off camera when Hope got into a Toyota and backed out of the parking space before suddenly halting.

Police said Hope then aimed the vehicle at the man and struck him, causing him to spill up on the hood of the car and headlong into the windshield. Hope then struck two other vehicles as she attempted to leave the parking lot. Police have not yet released the video. Officers also later found several tablets of Xanax in her car, reports show.

[Citizen X]

Officers also later found several tablets of Xanax in her car, reports show.

Well she obviously wasn't under the influence of Xanax.

[Lee G]

Ain't that the truth. My one experience with it would suggest that the last thing it does is make you give a shit.

[Citizen X]

I've taken it a few times. It's an excellent way to quit worrying and just go to sleep.

[Lee G]

I took a full dose before my vasectomy. By the time the nurse came in, they could have banded me like a steer and I probably wouldn't have minded.

[Citizen X]

Xanax before surgery, fentanyl after, and you got yourself a fun couple of days.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Well she obviously wasn't under the influence of Xanax

We are talking about Florida Woman here.

Much like the bear tranqs that FM climbs into trees for, FW uses the xanax for when meth spiders start eating her skin.

If it weren't for the xanax, she'd have torn off her boyfriend's head and shoved it up his rectum.

He got off easy.

[Swiss Servator]

It constipates you?

*ducks*

[Lee G]

It might, but you won't care.

[Citizen X]

"I haven't crapped in three days. Whatever. I'm gonna take a nap."

[straffinrun]

You should sleep on it.

[Brett L]

Learned that trick from Texas Woman. There was a rash if these about 10 years ago. The worst was the chick who ran over her husband, backed up and parked the tire on his head. She had his (but not her) daughter in the car.

[Unreconstructed (Sans Flag)]

I thought the one down here by me was worse - she circled the lot and ran over him 2 or 3 times. Granted, I don't think a child was in the car with her, but still...

[Fist of Etiquette]

Donald Trump is currently "the only political entity less popular than Congress and the GOP."

Just wait until he is the GOP.

[Lord Humungus]

Prairie Dogs Are Serial Killers That Murder Their Competition

On the hardscrabble lands of the American West, blood is spilled by the most innocent-looking of outlaws?the white-tailed prairie dog.

These social rodents, native to Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and Montana, ruthlessly bite and thrash Wyoming ground squirrels to death, leaving their bloody bodies to rot, a new study says.

The killers' offspring then live longer, healthier lives?probably because their parents bumped off their competition for food.

It's the first time that a herbivorous mammal has been seen killing competitors without eating them, suggesting that a plant-based diet doesn't preclude mammals from having a taste for bloodsport.

[MSimon]

Maybe if they were smoking the plants instead of eating them.

[Overt]

I've seen other documentaries that suggest that the prairie dogs also war with each other. However they determine their tribes, they have been known to bury "others" alive in their holes.

[Elspeth Flashman]

You know who else killed their competition?

[Citizen X]

The ancient Israelites?

[Swiss Servator]

Billy Cole?

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Hillary Clinton?

[Jerryskids]

I read that thing and I still can't figure out how the hell nobody's ever noticed this behavior before. My guess is that this behavior never existed before - until Global Warming. (You gotta say that last part in the spooky voice.)

[Lord Humungus]

It's bag checks all the way down...

Passengers could face bag checks on the doors and 'profilers' hiding among the crowds after Brussels terror attack in terminal kills 14

The Brussels terror attacks on an airport terminal have created new security problems, with no obvious solutions, aviation experts said today.

Today's two blasts at Zaventem Airport took place in a check-in area, before airline passengers are routinely screened - leading to calls for improved safety measures such as more surveillance on travellers, including profiling, and additional security checks.

But experts warned that further measures would come at a financial cost, and could actually increase risk by creating more areas where large numbers of people would be gathered together.

[MSimon]

They are adopting Israeli style airport checks. After reviling Israeli "apartheid" for decades.

Too funny.

[Domestic Dissident]

In a way, it almost feels strangely karmic that the leftists' Europeans beloved Mooslims are now killing them.

Who knows, maybe these morons will eventually learn something.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Today's two blasts at Zaventem Airport took place in a check-in area, before airline passengers are routinely screened - leading to calls for improved safety measures such as more surveillance on travellers, including profiling, and additional security checks.

But experts warned that further measures would come at a financial cost, and could actually increase risk by creating more areas where large numbers of people would be gathered together.

Which leads to checks before you get to the airport. Which leads to traffic jams, which increases risk...

...until you're checked before you leave your home for the airport.

[Mustang]

Security expert Philip Baum, author of Violence in the Skies: A History of Aircraft Hijacking and Bombing, also suggested that passengers could be more closely surveyed using profiling techniques.

'It's about identifying whether people have negative intent, whether that's a pilot or a passenger' he told MailOnline. 'It's already used by customs officers at airports - they don't screen everyone, they look at people and decide who they are going to focus on. Everyday they find people doing something wrong.

'And we shouldn't just be doing this at airports, it should be happening in shopping centres, sports arenas and theatre districts. It's the identification of suspicious activity.

Ah yes, there it is.

[Rhywun]

They could come up with a catchy name for it - I think "stop 'n' frisk" is available.

[Troy muy grande boner]

You people still don't get it. Many who despise Trump are still going to vote for him. Consider Trump the little mans Fuck You That's Why.

[MSimon]

Trump! Because FYTW

[sarcasmic]

It's a vote against Hillary.

[MSimon]

The cronies actually. But Hillary fits too.

[Elspeth Flashman]

I'm interested to see what the party response to the voters will be when the convention happens.

[Just say Nikki]

Consider Trump the little mans Fuck You That's Why.

That's exactly what I consider him. Some of us remember "fuck yo that's why" is wrong no matter who says it.

[BigT]

Wrong, as usual. Gay guy orders a cake in a fundie bakery. "No sir, FYTW!" Perfectly ok, but rude.

It's only wrong for the govt to say FYTW.

[Jordan]

Evidently, someone here in NC looked at the state ledger and decided they needed to put some more in the black column, citizens be damned:

RALEIGH, NC (WCMH) ? Police won't bother you if you're only going 1mph over the speed limit, right? Apparently that's not the case in North Carolina.

The state is launching a campaign titled 'Obey the Sign or Pay the Fine' that targets all speeders, not just those that are traveling above a 10mph perceived buffer zone above the posted limit.

Beginning Thursday, law enforcement says they will target and ticket anyone driving above the posted speed limit, even if it is just by a little bit.

I guess Governor McRory has decided he doesn't want to be re-elected either. I saw a shit ton of cops on my commute. Still didn't slow down.

[Citizen X]

I can't wait til my next Outer Banks vacation. Of course, on 158 on a summer weekend you're lucky if you ever get above 20 mph...

[Lee G]

What month do honor the annual Hampton Roads to OBX migration?

[Lee G]

do you

[Citizen X]

August, usually. Get my kid all sunburned and then send her back to school.

[Lee G]

I know you're just trying to feed her to the sharks.

[Citizen X]

She knows better than to go in the water at typical shark feeding times.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Are most cars' speedometers even calibrated well enough where you'd know you're going exactly 65 MPH and not 66 or 67?

[MSimon]

Surprisingly yes. Although it is not guaranteed. Tire size and wear has the most effect on calibration.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Maybe, but the next time I rent a car in Raleigh and drive west on the 40/85 corridor, I'm not exactly going to be trusting that I'm going exactly the speed limit.

[Lord Humungus]

My old BMW ran high - apparently it's a BMW thing - where 75 was actually more like 72ish. Probably saved me a few tickets.

My old Toyota T100 was even worse. Going "75" on the highway and I was getting passed by everyone. Checked on an app my actual speed was 68.

[Idle Hands]

what a bunch of douchenozzles. Still not as bad as DC where they are seriously planning to lower the speed limits and put in thousands of new speed cameras with the stated goal of having end traffic deaths.

[Idle Hands]

*having endending.

[Idle Hands]

between this and the bogus parking tickets, nobody will ever travel there. This of course isn't a bug.

[Idle Hands]

Parking tickets are about the only thing the district does that remotely efficiently

[Mustang]

This will not work. The radar/LIDAR have a margin of error of +/- 2-3 MPH. They teach this in the certification classes so that law enforcement are aware and can conduct traffic enforcement accordingly.

[Jordan]

It will work in that the State gets money regardless once a ticket is issued. Either you pay the ticket, or you get it dismissed at trial and pay the court costs. Like I said, it's a blatant money grab.

[Mustang]

Yeah, I forgot about the court costs. Fuck these guys.

[bacon-magic]

I was vacationing at the Lake of the Ozarks(flyover Florida for us rednecks) and would all night fish down on the dock. A Kansas City Kansas cop used to fish next to me, get really drunk and tell me all kinds of stories(I was 16 at the time, a real eye opener). I got some very useful information on how not to get arrested, one tidbit was that he and most of the others on the force gave a 7-10 mile per hour leeway on tickets. Unless you were an asshole. The more you know. *cues star rainbow thingy from way back

[Pope Jimbo]

Probably a fake but accurate story, but it still made me laugh.

http://cheezburger.com/759045/.....life-worse

A mom gets all over some guys in the army because her son isn't allowed to wear a combat patch and it makes him feel left out.

[Hamster of Doom]

Scroll, y'all. It keeps getting better and better.

[invisible furry hand]

"These are my awards Mother - from Army"

[Swiss Servator]

You can't fool me, that came from Duffleblog! Right?

[InterDimentionalSpacePyrate]

I don't know Army speak, but a pizza party does not sound good.

[Princess Trigger]

That poor boy.
He is so fucked.

[invisible furry hand]

Ah, shit:

Johan Cruyff dead: Dutch football legend dies of cancer aged 68

[Juvenile Bluster]

Cruyff was a badass. Refused to play for Real Madrid, instead going to Barca, because he wouldn't play for a Spanish club under Franco (wanted to play for a Catalan club instead). While he was there, he named his son Jordi, even though that was illegal. Refused to play in the 1978 World Cup because of the Argentinian dictatorship.

[Juvenile Bluster]

The Brooklyn DA is recommending that Peter Liang serve no jail time for killing Akai Gurley

Anyone who's surprised, raise your hand.

[Lee G]

There is no evidence, however, that he intended to kill or injure Akai Gurley.

Mens rea, it's just for cops

[some guy]

In sentencing a defendant, the facts of the crime and the particular characteristics of that person must be considered. Mr. Liang has no prior criminal history and poses no future threat to public safety. Because his incarceration is not necessary to protect the public, and due to the unique circumstances of this case, a prison sentence is not warranted.

I actually agree with this. Now that he's not a cop anymore, he probably poses no risk to anyone. Other than himself, of course. He wasn't a cop for very long, so he may still have a conscience that's hard to live with...

Too bad this logic doesn't get applied more widely, though.

[sarcasmic]

After he shot the guy the first thing he did was call his union rep. No first aid, no calling an ambulance. Nope. The only thing he cared about was keeping his job.

So no, he has no conscience at all. If he ever did he never would have been hired.

[Drake]

University of Missouri sees 25% enrollment drop, $32M budget deficit.

http://www.washingtontimes.com.....-drop-32m/

[Swiss Servator]

"Can I get some muscle dollars over here?"

[MSimon]

Is it possible the SJWs are not as popular as they once were?

[widget]

Ron Unz is running for the CA senate seat to be vacated by retiring Barbara Boxer. Unz is an iconoclast and has zero chance of winning let alone being nominated by the Stupid Party.

Universities have accumulated $multi-billion nest eggs while charging a king's ransom for tuition. The University of California, a public school, was the largest donor to Barack Obama's presidential political campaigns. Harvard has something on the order of $20 billion store up.

Unz thinks college should be free, but not in the way the Bern thinks so.

[Drake]

The only school I know of that runs completely on endowment and alumni donations is the Web Institute of Technology. Helps that they are highly specialized and launch their grads on extremely lucrative careers.

http://www.webb.edu/

[Brett L]

Even better, Connecticut wants to tax all universities in the state with more than $1B in their endowment fund, which is Yale. I say go for it. I won't give to Texas for that reason. They have plenty of money. They could pay the student share of tuition for years without affecting their ability to build capital improvements. Also, while I had high hopes for McRaven, the leadership continues to be a bunch of assholes determined to expand administrative positions to the detriment of actual scholarship.

[Brett L]

Caveat. I don't want them to pay or further subsidize tuition, but the point is that their revenue stream from non-state appropriated monies is tiny next to their endowment. They should get rid of lab fees, though.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

http://money.cnn.com/2016/03/1.....uk-budget/

I love these 'what the industry doesn't want you to know' pieces.

Notice the little slip up at around 1:40-45 mark when the lady says 'you're allowed'.

Nah. Not paternalistic control freaks. Nah.

[Hamster of Doom]

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver called the step "a profound move that will ripple around the world." He has been among those lobbying for the sugar tax for several years.
"Our kids' health comes first...bold, brave, logical and supported by all the right people," Oliver said.

Making sure something is supported by all the right people is a key element to any bold, brave maneuver.

Christ. This asshole. AND YER PALATE'S FUCKED, JAMIE. DRINK MORE WATER, YOU TIT.

[InterDimentionalSpacePyrate]

"Celebrity Chef"

........

[Catatafish & Woodchips]

This saddens me as Jamie's shows and cookbooks are what initially got me interested in cooking myself.

(begins humming Bonnie Tyler lyrics)

[Lord Humungus]

Obama dances the tango in Cuba

When in Argentina, dance the tango.

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama tangoed with professional dancers Wednesday during a state dinner at the Kirchner Cultural Centre in Buenos Aires.

The event started with a dance performance for the guests at the dinner. A couple of dancers performed while Argentine President Mauricio Macri explained aspects of the dance to Obama. The first lady appeared taken with the performance, according to pool notes.

The female dancer then asked Obama to floor while the male performer requested the same of Michelle.

[MSimon]

If he had gone to Venezuela with a plane load of rubbers and TP he could have paid for the whole excursion.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Did Michelle rip his head off.

Okay, okay. That was uncalled for. I couldn't resist.

[BigT]

No selfie, no foul.

[waffles]

Trump and Cruz shift to trench warfare

Does anyone else find it alarming that they refer to their wives as trenches?

[gaoxiaen]

Your wife has a yuge gash.
I know, but is she okay?

[BigT]

Simply mispronounced wench.

[SugarFree]

TAKE THAT, you people who are neither alive and wouldn't give a shit even if you were!

[straffinrun]

The female interior space is still laced with taboo in a way that the male interior is not.

Great! *Lubes finger*

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

If you do it right, it's self lubricating.

[IndyEleven]

The tattoo ones are pretty slick actually. The key with lowbrow shit is to not ever read or listen to anything the artist says, it's all preening and inane smug.

[SugarFree]

The art is fine, but the artist makes me want to burn down her apartment.

[lap83]

That's a good thing to do with most, if not all, art. You can learn about technique from them, but the meaning is always BS.

[Lord Humungus]

Maryland school district examines racial disparities in its gifted programs

At the high school level, for instance, the report found an acceptance rate of 45 percent for white students applying to selective programs studied, compared with 39 percent for Asians, 23 percent for Hispanics, 19 percent for African Americans and 11 percent for low-income students.

Among younger children, enrollment in the district's elementary centers for the highly gifted was 47 percent white, 34 percent Asian, 8 percent African American, 8 percent low-income and 4 percent Latino in the 2013-2014 school year, according to a research firm's report to the county Board of Education.

Community leaders called the data deeply troubling, saying it reflects diminished opportunities for minority students at a time when the fast-growing school system is increasingly diverse.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Have a link that isn't pay-walled?

[Sevo]

"Have a link that isn't pay-walled?"
I didn't get a pay-wall

[Sevo]

BTW, HM:
"Forgotten Wars: Freedom and Revolution in Southeast Asia"
Interesting look into the economy of SE Asia before, during and after WWII

[Heroic Mulatto]

Interesting. Thanks!

One of the things that I found interesting is that on the eve of WW2, Siam/Thailand was second in both economic and military power only to Japan, yet by the end of the war, they were basically relegated to undeveloped, backward 3rd World-ness. In the post-war era, Malaysia and Singapore zoomed past them in development, and with the current dictatorship, they're swinging far too closely to a Thai-style juche state for my liking.

[Sevo]

It was the first delivery in the order with 'Genghis Khan'; not sure I was going to find it interesting. Goodness!
Frank ("Downfall") contends that every week delay in ending WWII was costing 100,000 Asian civilian lives. Didn't take more than the introduction in "Forgotten..." to see why; the Japs wiped out the normal trade, where Burma was the rice basket, providing food by trade to the other nations.
Not with Japan in power; hello, starvation!

[Sevo]

"In the post-war era, Malaysia and Singapore zoomed past them in development, and with the current dictatorship, they're swinging far too closely to a Thai-style juche state for my liking."

Hey! No spoilers! I'm not that far yet.

[Citizen X]

Thai-style juche

Sounds delicious, but i bet it's got an unreasonable amount of lemongrass in it.

[BigT]

"an unreasonable amount of lemongrass"
=
The null set.

[Lord Humungus]

Can be read in incognito ("private mode") via Firefox.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Thanks.

[SugarFree]

If everyone is Gifted, then no one is Gifted.

[Irish ?s Lauren Southern]

"Among younger children, enrollment in the district's elementary centers for the highly gifted was 47 percent white, 34 percent Asian"

"Community leaders called the data deeply troubling, saying it reflects diminished opportunities for minority students "

Maryland is only 6.4% Asian and is 54% white, so I don't know how you can look at stats where white people are underrepresented and 5 times as many Asians are in gifted schools as their percentage of the population and conclude that there are 'diminished opportunities for minority students.'

There's one minority that's kicking ass and the majority group is actually less likely to be 'highly gifted' than their percentage of the population.

[Irish ?s Lauren Southern]

^ Incidentally, this is why affirmative action actually fucks over Asians. A lot of the time white people are actually underrepresented at some of these institutions because Asians are overrepresented 5-6 times so the people you have to kick out to make sure everything is 'fair' are frequently Asians, not white people.

[Rhywun]

I don't think it's official yet but everyone knows Asians aren't minority-minorities.

[ant1sthenes]

They're white-squared.

[BigT]

Off-white, eggshell, cream, or whatever

[Rhywun]

They're not fooling me - this article was written 40 years ago. Otherwise they would have to come up with an explanation for why the trillions of dollars spent to "fix" this hasn't accomplished squat.

[Sevo]

CA has entirely too many kids working, lefties try to solve that problem with new regulations.

"Union Group Submits 2016 Initiative to Boost California's Minimum Wage"
[...]
"One of the state's largest and most active health care unions ? SEIU United Healthcare Workers West ? submitted an initiative on Monday to boost California's statewide minimum wage to $15 an hour by the year 2021."

The SEIU; working for increased unemployment since 1921!

[Sevo]

Here's a link
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US.....458732980/

[widget]

I am in favor of increasing the minimum wage!

I am not sure I am on solid ground here and the argument is counter-intuitive. It's Randall Parker's argument. In a welfare state, like we live in, employers socialize the cost of low-skilled workers by giving them minimum wage plus EBT cards, section 8 rent, wildly unrealistic loans, and free tuition. You're going to pay for it either way, better to have it up front.

[Tornado16nb]

But don't they get cuts to those programs as they actually earn pay? Thus encouraging them not to work?

[Sevo]

Yes.
M/W beyond market M/W encourages people to take unemployment. So we pay for them to sit around.
Beyond which, Sevo's Law:
Any time a third party sticks its nose in a free transaction between two parties, at least one of those parties loses.

[Tornado16nb]

That is my biggest annoyance with the proggies. They are the third party who isn't affected by their solutions. It really is all about making themselves feel good.

[american socialist]

What's the unemployment rate in Seattle?

[Tornado16nb]

Are they at $15 yet? Does it count people who don't work at all? Isn't that a place where you need to be loaded to afford it?

[Sevo]

american socialist|3.24.16 @ 10:44AM|#
"What's the unemployment rate in Seattle?"

How much does cherry-picking pay?
Yeah, it's easy to show 'raising the M/W has no effect!', just pick the right data.
Ignoramuses who do so hope everyone else is stupid enough to presume raising the cost of a good means more people buy that good!
Hey! Stupeedo! I got a deal for you on the north anchorage of a bridge near here, but ya gotta act fast!
Fucking ignoramus...

[american socialist]

I'm into recent history. One of the completely hilarious things about recent history is the crazy shit crazies said would happen to the U.S. Under Obama's communist regime.

- Dow at 2800
- unemployment at 12-20%
- unions controlling all the businesses
- mass insurrection in "inner cities"

It's kind of like watching "The Day After"

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=01lMnDLn7Gk

[Tornado16nb]

Would you support all these things happening seeing as you are a socialist?

[american socialist]

No. I support socialism-- along with a tightly regulated free market-- because I think it brings about greater prosperity and happier societies. People keep telling me that socialism has failed. Like, where?

[Sevo]

american socialist|3.24.16 @ 10:43AM|#
"...People keep telling me that socialism has failed. Like, where?"

Every where it's been tried, and ignoramuses like you keep saying 'It'll work THIS' time!'
Stupidity combined with infantile avoidance of responsibility; that's what gives us people like you.

[Tornado16nb]

What is socialism in your mind?

Failures: Venezuela, Cuba, USSR, North Korea, China under Mao

[Tornado16nb]

How much do you make and what tax rate do you pay?

[Tornado16nb]

The United States is pretty prosperous is it not?

[Citizen X]

tightly regulated free market

An oxymoronic phrase from a regular-moronic person.

[Tornado16nb]

Lol

[widget]

- unions controlling all the businesses

I wonder what Marx would think of automation.

The robots control the means of product.

Class struggle is cybernet struggle.

[Brett L]

I have to say that the cops have been pretty brutally efficient at preventing mass insurrection.

[Sevo]

american socialist|3.24.16 @ 10:24AM|#
"I'm into recent history."

Bullshit.
You're a cherry-picking, lying piece of shit.

[GILMORE?]

Donald Trump is currently "the only political entity less popular than Congress and the GOP."

That is not even remotely true. I mean, what about the Athiest+ movement, and ISIS?

[Rhywun]

Shhh... they're on a roll with this Trump thing.

[Sevo]

And, what's-his-name? Him, too.

[Glide]

Microsoft AI turned into racist asshole by its interactions with the internet

Microsoft's new AI chatbot went off the rails Wednesday, posting a deluge of incredibly racist messages in response to questions.

The tech company introduced "Tay" this week ? a bot that responds to users' queries and emulates the casual, jokey speech patterns of a stereotypical millennial.

The aim was to "experiment with and conduct research on conversational understanding," with Tay able to learn from "her" conversations and get progressively "smarter."

But Tay proved a smash hit with racists, trolls, and online troublemakers, who persuaded Tay to blithely use racial slurs, defend white-supremacist propaganda, and even outright call for genocide.

This is terrible, but I'm laughing my ass off at the tweets in this article.

[Citizen X]

I blame Irish.

[Mustang]

The first thing it learned was that it supported genocide.

SkyNet is real.

We're doomed, and it's all thanks to Millenial trolls. Is there anything they can't do?

[Sevo]

We'll have to poll them to find out.

[Dr. Fronkensteen]

Yawn, An AI that supports genocide.What else is new.

[EMD]

Did it sing Chocolate Rain?

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Curious. Do WInnipeggers visit Minnesota a lot?

[Pope Jimbo]

My guess is that they will build on their successful bike share program and institute a car share program. You get on the bus in the north metro drive down to Eden Prairie where there is a lot of free Go Cars or something that you can use for free.

Then they will declare victory and no reporter will ever think to ask about the costs.

[Rhywun]

I thought the whole point of moving to Suburbia is so you can drive everywhere. Meanwhile they probably cut service in the city to fund shit like that.

[Col. Chestbridge]

I'm still holding out hope for a new light rail line that just continuously circles through the surrounding suburbs.

[Citizen X]

Beats staying in Winnipeg.

[Pope Jimbo]

As a kid I grew up in a tourist trap in NW Minnesoda and all summer we'd get swarms of Friendly Manitobans for the long Canadian weekends. They were great. They'd break everything in sight while drunk and then pay to fix it without any complaining.

The only bitch about them in town was you had to watch your change real close to make sure the bastards weren't trying to pay with canuck quarters.

Fun Fact: Drunk canucks are extremely easy to shortchange because all our money is the same color and they are used to multi-colored currency which makes it much easier to tell what you got back.

[Pope Jimbo]

As kids we would drive to Winnipeg once or twice a winter to watch the Northstars play the Jets. It was just as close as driving to the Twin Cities. The drinking age was only 18 there too.

So I have to admit that Winnipeg has a soft spot in my heart.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Taking advantage of the place that gave the world Winnie the Pooh?

FOR SHAME!

[waffles]

Swindeling nickels from drunk Canadians, is there no limit to libertarian depravity?

[Pope Jimbo]

Absolutely. I still hate traveling because of all the ways I learned how to clip tourists as a kid.

[Citizen X]

Ok, but Russia perfected Winnie the Pooh.

(Fun fact: a YouTube search for "russian winnie the pooh" brings up a shit ton of twerking videos, for some reason. I blame Heroic Mulatto.)

[Pope Jimbo]

I got one more kid to get through the system. Then I'm not sure what I'll do.

But yeah, they do seem determined to drive people out. Especially now that they are cracking down on snowbirds.

[Swiss Servator]

If it involves twerking, HM is probably involved at some level, yes?

[Brett L]

Bike share in Minnesota? That sounds like a good way to freeze to death four months a year.

[Citizen X]

That sounds like a good way to freeze to death four months a year.

The other eight months, it's winter and the bike share is closed.