Unappropriated Obamacare Subsidies Ruled Illegal, Zimmerman's Gun Auction Disappears, Trump's Butler Is Mean: P.M. Links

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  • Obamacare van
    Credit: CLender / photo on flickr

    A judge ruled against the Obama administration today over unappropriated federal spending for a "cost sharing" provision of the Affordable Care Act. The suit was brought by Congress.

  • George Zimmerman's attempt to auction off the gun used to kill Trayvon Martin may have been thwarted by the site he posted it on.
  • Former New York State Senate Republican Majority Leader Dean Skelos has been sentenced to five years in prison for bribery and extortion. His son got a longer sentence.
  • A union for Border Patrol agents is facing criticism for endorsing Donald Trump for president.
  • In other Trump news, the candidate's butler is getting attention for Facebook posts calling for President Barack Obama's execution.
  • Also: Trump's trade wars would be disastrous for poor people and could cost American households thousands per year.
  • The head of the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) says they are no longer retaliating against employees who blow the whistle on waste, fraud, and abuse. In the past, those who spoke out faced reassignment.

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NEXT: Trump Fans and 'Social Justice Warriors,' Two Sides of the Same Authoritarian Coin

Scott Shackford is an associate editor at Reason.

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  1. A judge ruled against the Obama administration today over unappropriated federal spending for a “cost sharing” provision of the Affordable Care Act.

    That’s it close it up no more Obamacare!

    1. kinnath

      that’s the best you can do?

      1. Apparently.

        1. Chipper Morning Wood

          Make the first comment great again! Karinka, where are you?

          1. Rich

            She’s on her laptop, making $85 an hour.

      2. that’s the best you can do?

        He could fall in love.

    2. Tonio

      You wish, Fisty. It appears the judge stayed her ruling pending appeal.

      1. fish

        It appears the judge stayed her ruling pending appeal.

        It appears the judge stayed her ruling pending appeal getting Chief Justice Roberts all liquored up in preparation of saving it for the 8th time.

        FTFY

        1. The Last American Hero

          I wonder what is in that manila envelope that Obama keeps with Roberts’ name on it.

      2. Hey Tonio – don’t know if you saw my comment from AM Links – sorry if I offended you bro.

        1. Tonio

          No, will check back. It would take a lot for you to anger me, Hiawatha. I don’t expect my friends on here to agree 100% with me, and you always argue thoughtfully and in good faith.

        2. Tonio

          Hiawatha, buddy, we are totes good.

          Tired, so extremely brief response – no, I don’t know where it’s going to go and I certainly don’t want it rammed down peoples throats (j/k).

    3. Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer

      Hello.

      1. Tonio

        Hi, Rufus!

    4. Homple

      Tune in to the next thrilling episode of our serial, John Roberts to the Rescue.

      1. It’s legal under the FYTW Clause of the Constitution.

      2. Lee G

        It’s PenaltaxMan!

        1. Chipper Morning Wood

          Those of us in the top 1% are vehemently opposed to the penile tax.

          1. C. Anacreon

            Hope you don’t end up with a hung jury.

          2. The recipients of the redistribution effort are not pleased either.

  2. The head of the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) says they are no longer retaliating against employees who blow the whistle on waste, fraud, and abuse.

    If they had put half the effort into correcting the waste, fraud and abuse they had put into the petty payback….

    Still nothing.

    1. Tonio

      And they shouldn’t have been retaliating in the first place.

      You want a populist plank? Promise to neuter the TSA.

      1. croaker

        Texas tried. When TSA threatened to shut down the airports they folded like a cheap suit.

        What should have happened is a tent city surrounded by barbed wire filled with smurfs.

    2. No, no, this’ll fix it for sure.
      …it’ll be all better now…

      *sings softly to self*

    3. Bobarian (Would Chip Her)

      They managed to vet out all the existing and potential whistle-blowers, so no need to retaliate?

  3. Brochettaward

    Zimmerman has been hounded into not selling his weapon. I hope ENB is happy.

    1. Nope, it’s back on, just on another site.

      1. waffles

        It’s a used keltec. Can’t be worth much at all.

  4. That’s it. Close it up? No! More Obamacare.

    1. Homple

      The power of punctuation.

      1. Now I just have to master the power of threading.

      2. Works on contingency? No, money down!

    2. Well done, Mr. Hutz.

      1. Bill Door

        Man, the Simpsons really lost out with the loss of Hartman and Hutz/McClure/Lanley/et al.

        Sigh…

        1. Pan Zagloba

          Picture what he could have done as Zap Brannigan on Futurama…

          1. Bill Door

            Oh yeah, he would have killed that role. The first time I saw Zap Brannigan I knew it was a role made for Hartman that he never got a chance to do.

  5. Meanwhile, in Venezuela:

    “The entrepreneur is one of the real people behind those zany “there’s no toilet paper in Venezuela” stories that play up the crisis up for laughs, and clicks. But to Venezuelans like the present writers, and the entrepreneur, there’s nothing funny about the dark turn our country has taken. The experiment with “21st-century socialism” as introduced by the late President Hugo Chavez, a self-described champion of the poor who vowed to distribute the country’s wealth among the masses, and instead steered the nation toward the catastrophe the world is witnessing under his handpicked successor Maduro, has been a cruel failure.”

    “In the last two years Venezuela has experienced the kind of implosion that hardly ever occurs in a middle-income country like it outside of war. Mortality rates are skyrocketing; one public service after another is collapsing; triple-digit inflation has left more than 70 percent of the population in poverty; an unmanageable crime wave keeps people locked indoors at night; shoppers have to stand in line for hours to buy food; babies die in large numbers for lack of simple, inexpensive medicines and equipment in hospitals, as do the elderly and those suffering from chronic illnesses.”

    1. Brochettaward

      The leftists already have all the excuses they need, from experience arguing with them:
      1. It’s because of American hostility.
      2. Venezuela isn’t *really* socialist.

      1. I’m amazed the Atlantic published that since it directly contradicts basically everything their American based writers like Ta-Nahesi Coates argue:

        “A case in point is the price controls, which have expanded to apply to more and more goods: food and vital medicines, yes, but also car batteries, essential medical services, deodorant, diapers, and, of course, toilet paper. The ostensible goal was to check inflation and keep goods affordable for the poor, but anyone with a basic grasp of economics could have foreseen the consequences: When prices are set below production costs, sellers can’t afford to keep the shelves stocked. Official prices are low, but it’s a mirage: The products have disappeared.”

        1. paranoid android

          Listen, if you can’t sell goods below cost at prices arbitrarily determined by government officials for political reasons, you don’t deserve to be in business.

        2. grrizzly

          The Atlantic has a long history of being a solid publication. It’s nothing like Slate or Salon.

          I recall reading a history book about Jim Crow that was published in the mid-20th century. It mentioned the Atlantic reports from the second half of the 19th century.

          1. Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer

            And yet it has the likes of pseudo-intellectuals like Coates in its ranks.

            1. Brett L

              Successful organisms attract parasites.

        3. Red Rocks Rockin

          Who’s the bigger monster, Hugo Chavez or the Baltimore homeboys who failed to bullycide TNC?

      2. Mokers

        If only they hadn’t waited so long to nationalize the oil fields!

      3. Yeah, w.r.t. #2, it’s: “It’s not a _democratic_ socialist place. They’re totalitarian.”

        To which I show them this link: Jimmy Carter says: “Election Process in Venezuela is the Best in the World”

        1. Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer

          What the fuck was that site?

          Comments:

          JoneyJones ? 4 years ago

          VIVA Hugo !

          4
          ?
          Reply

          Here’s my reply: Wonder if he’s sticking to this.
          ?
          “Avatar
          Rosythebear ? 4 years ago

          Poor little right wing creeps didn;t get a chance to exploit the situation – fear my ass! Its only by the grace of God and by overwhelming public support that Chavez wasn’t again kidnapped or assassinated by the right wing US backed greedy psychos.”

      4. paranoid android

        I’m predicting they fall back on the old standby of revising it to “state capitalism”.

        1. Brochettaward

          Had that thrown at me just yesterday.

        2. Tonio

          Or maybe they could nationalize it all. Nationwide socialism?

        3. Lee G

          God I hate that term.

        4. robc

          What the hell does that even mean?

          1. paranoid android

            It means revisionists are unable to reconcile their belief that Socialism must by definition usher in utopia with the objective reality that the Socialism of the Soviet Union was a horror show.

      5. Socialism hasn’t been tried hard enough.

      6. The Last American Hero

        They also claim it was a third world shit-hole to begin with, unlike the socialist paradises of Norway and Denmark. It’s not true, but it’s all about the narrative.

    2. Aloysious

      Amazing. And sad as well.

  6. In other Trump news, the candidate’s butler is getting attention for Facebook posts calling for President Barack Obama’s execution.

    Guess what’s for dinner tonight, Mr. Trump?

    1. Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer

      McDonald’s?

      1. Jack in the Box. They’re blowing up these days.

    2. Taco bowl? Ay yi yi!

    3. RBS

      Monkey brains, live snakes and eyeball soup?

    4. Republican tears

    5. Trump and his butler on Barack:

      You taste better than we thought.”

    6. Jerry on the rocks

      Anthony Senecal, who worked as Donald Trump’s butler for 17 years before being named the in-house historian at the tycoon’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, has repeatedly published posts on his Facebook page that express profound hatred for President Barack Obama and declare he should be killed.

      Tony Cynical? Even the butler gets into the trolling.

      1. I immediately thought of this.

        sen?e?schal
        ?sen?SH?l/Submit
        noun
        1.
        historical
        the steward or major-domo of a medieval great house.

        1. And, I was right.

          http://www.ancestry.com/name-o…..me=senecal

          Senecal Name Meaning French (S?n?cal): status name for a seneschal, an official in a large household who was responsible for overseeing day-to-day domestic arrangements, from Old French seneschal

    7. Demoted Comment (Slammer)

      Mr. Carson with an Italian bolt-action rifle in the book suppository?

  7. Rich

    George Zimmerman’s attempt to auction off the gun used to kill Trayvon Martin may have been thwarted by the site he posted it on.

    Yeah, in retrospect, posting it on this *was* a bad idea.

    1. “Back Lives Matter Toronto”?!!

      Did anyone show up?

      1. Enough About Palin

        “Honk if You’ve Ever Seen a Black Person”

  8. In other Trump news, the candidate’s butler is getting attention for Facebook posts calling for President Barack Obama’s execution.

    Good thing Trump’s immune to PR nightmares because he can’t fire his butler. The guy knows things.

    1. Tonio

      Or maybe he’s happy to have him as a surrogate.

    2. he already spilled the beans about Trump’s preference for well done steaks, what could be worse than that?

      1. WHAT?????

        What a philistine!

        1. “rocking on the plate”

        2. RBS

          I can imagine him buying an entire cow worth of the best beef in the world and cooking the shit out of it just for fun.

          1. Jerry on the rocks

            Unfortunately, the Trump administration just banned all imports from Japan.

          2. Hyogo Prefecture has a cow sad.

      2. Does Trump like deep-dish too?

        1. grrizzly

          It’s even worse — he doesn’t drink.

          1. Enough About Palin

            I’d have to be crazy, fucking drunk to eat a well-don steak.

            1. Still wouldn’t do it.

      3. Chipper Morning Wood

        That is much worse than the wall.

  9. In the past, those who spoke out faced reassignment.

    Why all government-oriented plans fail: they ignore the fallibility of humans.

    1. Just need moar training…and therefore a massive increase in budget

    2. Dr. Fronkensteen

      Reassignment? At least they can use the bathroom of their choice.

  10. Reactionary Moment

    Trump’s Butler will never get confirmed by the Senate now.

    1. Funny you say that. In the Middle Ages, a king’s Seneschal/S?n?cal was, in fact, a member of his cabinet and so would have been confirmed by the House of Lords.

  11. A union for Border Patrol agents is facing criticism for endorsing Donald Trump for president.

    What’s the motivation?

    A bigger wall means less work for them?

    Or he’s going to hire more agents and swell the union’s collected dues?

    1. That second thing. Although less work is always nice, too. It pays the same.

      1. Bobarian (Would Chip Her)

        Having less to do also allows for mission creep, so that you can then ask for new resources to support the requirements.

        /Bureaucrat 101: Building a bigger better rice bowl.

    2. they are the wall. The Wall is a euphemism for quadrupling border enforcement.

      1. paranoid android

        they are the wall. The Wall is a euphemism for quadrupling border enforcement.

        Here I thought it was a metaphor for Roger Waters’ self-loathing and alienation, guess I was way off.

        1. Trigger Hippie

          It was just a passing phase
          One of his bad days

    3. Jordan

      The Border Patrol is the perfect example of a Trumpian agency. Completely out of control, and filled with violent raging asshats who have nothing but contempt for the Constitution.

    4. Brochettaward

      The left is criticizing a union. I mean, sure it’s the one union endorsing a Republican, but…progress?

      1. Labor Unions are useful in the State Socialism stage of the Revolutionary Process. They must be dismantled in the transition to pure Socialism in order to achieve total equality.

        Or some bullshit like that.

  12. A union for Border Patrol agents is facing criticism for endorsing Donald Trump for president.

    Criticizing them for wasting everyone’s time stating the obvious?

    1. Red Rocks Rockin

      “Just got an endorsement from the union for Border Patrol agents! Unions will help #MakeAmericaGreatAgain!”

  13. Feminist explains free speech

    “If social, political and economic hierarchies didn’t exist, maybe an unnuanced “free speech” argument would actually fly. But because individuals and institutions experience power differently, “free speech” can’t be discussed like it’s a uniform concept. This is especially true given that many of the individuals and institutions in power who claim their “free speech” has been violated often do so while simultaneously devaluing, decentering or altogether ignoring the voice and work of marginalized people. So many of these old-guard literary spaces seem to just be sheltering violence under the guise of some magical objective intellectual plane that simply doesn’t exist. Antioch College refers to it as, “a key Antiochian value?the free expression of ideas and opinions, even when they run counter to our own.” Which sounds really great? except for when an “idea” or “opinion” can cost someone ? or many someones, or generation after generation of someones ? their very lives.”

    1. when an “idea” or “opinion” can cost someone ? or many someones, or generation after generation of someones ? their very lives.”

      Real world example please. Oh, there aren’t any?

      1. There’s another great quote where she says ‘the guy who wrote this stuff that offended me may not have personally stabbed this transgendered woman to death, but he’s still kind of responsible.’

      2. RBS

        Well, communism is an idea.

        1. Tonio

          ^This. Boom.

          1. The idea never killed anyone. People did.

    2. Tonio

      Is that your new girlfriend?

      1. Bobarian (Would Chip Her)

        She does kinda sound like his type…

        *follows link*

        Oh wait, she’s a little too ‘tan’ for Irish

      2. Trigger Hippie

        I’m a little surprised he hasn’t declared undying love for Kristin Tate yet. Then again, I had insomnia a few nights ago and saw her on Red Eye. Barely watchable at this point, yet still one of the only two programs on Fox even remotely tolerable(Stossel). Anyway, she came across as just another empty headed beauty, regurgitating right wing talking points.

        The libertarian chick, pfft.

    3. Rich

      But because individuals and institutions experience power differently, “free speech” can’t be discussed like it’s a uniform concept.

      “But because individuals and institutions experience power differently, ‘murder’ can’t be discussed like it’s a uniform concept.”

      “But because individuals and institutions experience power differently, ‘self-defense’ can’t be discussed like it’s a uniform concept.”

      ….

    4. BiMonSciFiCon

      These [trigger warning: ableism(?); moon reference(?)] lunatics can rail against free speech as much as they want, but at the end of the day we still have the First Amendment and until they get 3/4 of the states and a hell of a lot of congressmen to vote to repeal it, what are they going to do about it?

      1. Emmerson Biggins

        You are right.

        Now I don’t have to make any triggering statements about wood chippers.

        Thx for keeping me out of trouble.

    5. kbolino

      If you can stop someone from freely speaking his mind, then it is you who has the greater amount of power.

    6. Lee G

      Shorter version:

      Shut up. Why? Because we said so.

    7. Demoted Comment (Slammer)

      Jacqui Germain is a published writer and Pushcart Prize nominated poet based in St. Louis, Missouri. Her work is focused on historical and contemporary iterations of black, brown and indigenous resistance. She is a also a Callaloo Fellow

      Callaloo

      In addition to receiving grants of support from national agencies such as the Lannan Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts

      Is taxpayer money for poetry part of a “social, political and economic hierarchies”?

    8. GILMORE?

      Harris’ essay isn’t an actual weapon, but I’m a Black woman living in America, and I know that there are many ways to kill someone.

      Black Mamba

    9. Microaggressor

      except for when an “idea” or “opinion” can cost someone ? or many someones, or generation after generation of someones ? their very lives.”

      Ideas like socialism? Spot on.

    10. Akira

      So let me get this straight:

      We live in the age of the Internet – a tool that gives individuals the power to make a video or blog post that can reach the entire world in a week’s time if the message resonates with people – in contrast to most of history, during which almost all forms of mass media were controlled by governments or a small handful of news outlets…

      And this dingus is telling us that “free speech is bad bcuz of kkkorporayshuns and heirarchies n stuff!!!!111”

  14. All I know is that Trump is personally responsible for the conduct of every single one of his employees.

    1. Akira

      … Whereas when Obama fills out a questionnaire that says he would favor a total ban on handguns, he can dismiss it as the clumsy work of a bone-headed “staffer” and the Left just flushes the whole incident down the memory hole.

  15. Former New York State Senate Republican Majority Leader Dean Skelos has been sentenced to five years in prison for bribery and extortion. His son got a longer sentence.

    “These sentences show there is zero tolerance for those who use public service for private gain,” Cuomo said. “Today, the guilty were punished and justice prevailed.

    You’re next, asshole. Get ’em, Preet!

    1. The Last American Hero

      I thought Preet only went after internet commenters.

  16. Rich

    Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) detailed his most recent experience at an airport, or what he described as “the night from hell,” in which every member of his group missed their flights because they were waiting in security lines while a number of lanes were closed and TSA staff stood around.

    I trust the congress creature will be “retaliating” against TSA.

    1. I’m fine with that.

      TSA tried to get guns a while back. I want congress to NOT like them.

  17. Aloysious

    Sexually abused Dutch woman given help to end her life

    Papers published recently by the Dutch Euthanasia Commission reportedly revealed that a woman in her twenties was allowed to go ahead with assisted suicide based on psychiatrists’ decision that her mental health condition was “insufferable,” and it was therefore illegal to deny her life-ending drugs.

    The woman, who has not been identified, was sexually abused between the ages of 5 and 15, according to Britain’s Independent.

    Multiple reports cited the documents published by the Commission as stating the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) the woman suffered due to the abuse was “incurable,” enabling the approval under Dutch law of her request for euthanasia.

    The Telegraph reports that the young woman was not an isolated case, and in fact, the rate of approved assisted suicides in the Netherlands for patients suffering from mental disorders has increased dramatically since the procedure was first made legal.

    1. Eugenics 2.0?

      1. Margaret Sanger

        Yeah? And? What’s your point?

        1. LOL. Nice handle you got there.

        2. The Last American Hero

          The point is she was Dutch, so she probably didn’t look like the sort that Ms. Sanger wanted to see wiped from the earth.

          1. Pan Zagloba

            Mentally ill, however, are perfectly acceptable eugenic target. 3 generations and all that.

      2. Bobarian (Would Chip Her)

        2.0?

        By my count you’ve missed a shit-ton of upgrades along the way.

        11.9 Service Pack 15? With DLC?

    2. Why can’t she just hang herself of jump off a dike?

      1. Pan Zagloba

        It’s painless, won’t fail and won’t inconvenience/traumatize others?

    3. ant1sthenes

      Social justice: putting down rape victims is kind and good. Executing mass murderers is unspeakable cruelty.

  18. BiMonSciFiCon

    In other Trump news, the candidate’s butler is getting attention for Facebook posts calling for President Barack Obama’s execution.

    Didn’t happen! Nuh uh! Trump is perfect, and I agree with all his positions. Even the ones that contradict the other ones.

    1. Eternal Blue Sky

      Why are we suddenly acting like calling for the execution of a statist is a bad thing??

      1. CatoTheChipper

        Most politicians probably deserve a fair trial and a first-class hangin’.

    2. John

      It was his butler dude. It wasn’t him.

      1. BiMonSciFiCon

        Yeah and he didn’t do it. Just like Corey L. didn’t grab that Lyin’ Michelle Fields!

        1. John

          Who are they?

    3. AlmightyJB

      It’s always the butler. I’m going to assume the butler is black cause that makes the story better.

      1. Bobarian (Would Chip Her)

        …makes the story better.

        Undocumented Honduran.

    4. Trigger Hippie

      We’ll make a proper Christian of you yet.

  19. Donald Trump

    WTF?

    *Calls David Koch*

    David? It’s Donald. Yes, I saw, I saw, I know the Yankees suck. Anyway, there’s only three damned links about me in the 4:30 Hot Sheet. How are we going to pull this off if your people don’t toe the line? Can you take care of this please, I’m getting tired of all the fawning praise. Thanks buddy.

    *hangs up*

    Gooood. Very goooood.

    1. Trigger Hippie

      As if you actually cared about liddle ol’, ineffectual us.

      1. There are dozens of us! Dozens!!

        1. And we are of a single mind and united!

          1. Trigger Hippie

            +1 cat herder

  20. Feministing might not be quite as bad as Everyday Feminism, but it’s close

    “NEW PAC ASKS MEDIOCRE WHITE MEN RUNNING FOR OFFICE: “CAN YOU NOT?””

    “What I appreciate about the PAC ? which was started as a joke but is now “100% serious!” ? is its recognition that allyship/solidarity/living one’s progressive politics demands more than nominal support of a candidate from an underrepresented community. As the PAC’s creators told MSNBC, “We know of groups that are doing such great work recruiting women and people of color and LGBT people. And we know white men who will give donations to those groups while simultaneously running against them in primaries.” In a world rife with sexism and racism, in which our successes and failures are shaped by systems working for or against us, the Can You Not PAC declares it’s on the powerful and privileged to reflect on the ways in which they advance through the world ? and then to do something (meaningful and substantive and probably difficult) about it. I wonder how the PAC’s thesis might apply to folks outside of electoral politics ? say, in academia or law or business. What might our responsibility as mediocre white people, or overconfident, under-qualified cis dudes, look like there?”

    1. Tonio

      Previously posted, but bears repeating. They really don’t understand how this just comes across as white liberal guilt enacted.

      1. Progressivism is rapidly becoming something of a death cult. All that matters is equality and they don’t care whether equality is obtained through making poor groups *better off* or making rich groups *worse off.* In fact, it’s easier to make rich groups worse off, so progressives would gladly see us all made dirt poor to achieve equality.

        1. kbolino

          Making poor groups better off takes hard work. Making rich groups worse off just takes violence.

          1. PBR Streetgang

            That is it in a nutshell. Nice summation.

            1. Trigger Hippie

              Agreed. The best campaign slogan I’ve heard this election cycle.

    2. I wholeheartedly support this PAC. Go ahead and discourage your more successful candidates from running.

    3. Illocust

      It would be interesting for this to actually take hold. If all those white social justice warriors gave up their pulpits their whole movement would die within two years. I don’t think these guys realize how dependent they are on being the only voice a large chunk of the population hears.

  21. Mazakon

    Texas GOP to vote on whether or not to secede at convention

    When Texas Republicans assemble for their state convention Thursday, they will debate and vote on whether Texas should secede from the United States.

    There’s almost no chance Texas Republicans will actually vote in favor of seceding, mind you ? not least because most of the party wants nothing to do with this ? but the fact we’re even mentioning secession and the Texas GOP convention in the same sentence suggests that the once-fringe movement has become a priority for at least some conservative grass-roots Texans.

    To be sure, that seems to be a relatively small group. The Texas secession movement says 22 out of the 270 county GOP conventions passed some kind of independence resolution this spring. A party official said he’d be surprised if that were the case, and the Houston Chronicle was able to confirm only 10 counties. But 10 is a lot more than the one county that passed an independence resolution in 2012.

    1. Demoted Comment (Slammer)

      I hope I see a state secession attempt in my lifetime.

      1. Microaggressor

        I hope I see a state secession attempt in my lifetime.

      2. Yeah, because that won’t get violent or anything. I mean, what could go wrong?

  22. Wendy’s Serves Up Big Kiosk Expansion As Wage Hikes Hit Fast Food

    Wendy’s (WEN) said that self-service ordering kiosks will be made available across its 6,000-plus restaurants in the second half of the year as minimum wage hikes and a tight labor market push up wages.

    It will be up to franchisees whether to deploy the labor-saving technology, but Wendy’s President Todd Penegor did note that some franchise locations have been raising prices to offset wage hikes.

    McDonald’s (MCD) has been testing self-service kiosks. But Wendy’s, which has been vocal about embracing labor-saving technology, is launching the biggest potential expansion.

    Wendy’s Penegor said company-operated stores, only about 10% of the total, are seeing wage inflation of 5% to 6%, driven both by the minimum wage and some by the need to offer a competitive wage “to access good labor.”

    1. Tonio

      And Taco Bell is working on a Taco-Bot ordering kiosk. Sure, SJWs, push that minimum wage.

    2. BiMonSciFiCon

      The ones at panera are actually really easy to use after the first time you use them. Fight for Fifteen better start destroying looms.

      1. Bubba Jones

        The OIG ipad kiosks at airports suck ass. They try to do too much. They run ads. They offer to connect me to the internet. I JUST WANT A DAMNED SALAD.

      2. Trigger Hippie

        Hell, the gas station chain QuickTrip has a fairly quick and easy to use kiosk system in place for consumers. Hot, passable food made to order and in your hands in three minutes. It has already made a noticeable dent in the breakfast sales of national fast food chains. Of course, they still have to pay somebody to cook your order, but they’re working on that.

    3. Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer

      The SJWs are gonna start busting up machines.

      Like the old Luddites.

      1. ant1sthenes

        Nah, the unions got their pay jump and the progs got their smug on, so mission accomplished.

    4. The Last American Hero

      I went to a Taco Bell a few months back and the 2 registers have been slimmed to one. In place of one of the old registers is a sign instructing you to order by App.

    5. Illocust

      Whelp, if they all do it at once this will catch on. The real danger was being the only store and having to teach all your customers to use the technology. If everybodies doing it the pain is spread around.

  23. John

    http://nationalinterest.org/fe…..?page=show

    In the United States, the question of the day is to what degree will the Republican Party go to accommodate and support these aspirations, of which Donald Trump has improbably become leading vector. It is clear that the answer for the some of the GOP intellectuals, the hardcore neocons and most of the people at National Review, the answer is no, not one bit, not ever. These publications have developed an almost religious devotion to hawkish foreign policies, and a comparable affection for free trade. Their feelings about immigration may be ambivalent, but like most of the American upper class they are immunized from the worse effects. Their vision of America as an indispensable nation is one which requires America’s meddling in every corner of the globe.

    That pretty much nails it.

    1. kbolino

      The problem with National Review is that while they may be wrong about foreign policy, they aren’t wrong about trade. We don’t have free trade, we have managed and imbalanced trade. I see nothing wrong with pointing that out and advocating for the US to exercise its bargaining power to reduce the imbalance. I might even be on board with raising tariffs if the income tax was abolished or at least drastically cut. But as it stands, any faction which takes its first cue as raising taxes should be viewed as suspect, the histrionics of NR notwithstanding.

      1. Bubba Jones

        Tariffs hurt the home country. We can sell our shit somewhere else.

        1. kbolino

          I don’t disagree, but the U.S. Government should still push to open up foreign markets in trade negotiations.

      2. kbolino

        To be clearer, free trade is the correct answer. Anyone who calls it a “failed policy” or says it doesn’t do what was “promised” is setting up strawmen.

      3. John

        I completely agree. But even that view on trade will get you banned and all of your posts deleted going back years from the NR comment boards. I am not kidding. It happened to me.

        The conservative movement has lost its collective minds.

        1. kbolino

          I only read some of their shit, since like I said they’re wrong about a pretty important matter, but damn. You only get that treatment from Reason if you have a willful propensity for getting the Foundation in legal trouble.

          1. John

            I did not say anything racist or dox anyone or anything like that. I just called them out on trade and foreign policy and their various hypocrisies on things. Even on foreign policy, I am pretty hawkish but I wanted to know why it is wrong to even question our commitments in the world and suggested they better come up with a better answer than “but allies” or “Munich!!” Finally I pissed enough of them off they banned me. I was a subscriber and donor to them for years. Part of me wants to take an afternoon and go over to the National Review office and ask for an explanation.

      4. NO NO NO.

        Free trade – even if its only on one side – benefits everyone.

        We do not need equal free trade on both sides, only to understand that protectionism hurts *some classes of producers* while helping *all consumers*.

        Actions taken to ‘rectify’ this end up helping *some classes of producers* while harming *all consumers*.

        What we need to do is simply drop all trade barriers on the US side. Who gives a fuck if China is subsidizing steel or solar panel production – that may hurt steel and solar panel producers in the US but it *hurts all Chinese consumers while helping all American consumers*.

        1. kbolino

          Again, not in disagreement. But if the U.S. trade delegation is sitting across from the Chinese trade delegation and the ultimate result is the U.S. lowering its tariffs while the Chinese don’t reciprocate, then it’s not an attack on free trade to call that out as unfair and imbalanced.

  24. Rich

    Spencer Tunick, of New York, is looking for 100 women to pose nude while holding mirrors in Cleveland at sunrise on July 17, the week of the GOP convention.

    Those who are interested can sign up by submitting a photo at his website, http://www.spencertunickcleveland.com.

    I think this has some practical joke artistic potential.

    Warty?

    1. If this sort of buffoonery actually happens, guess whose poll numbers and support will actually go up?

      1. John

        Episiarch nailed these people. All they know is more retard. They never learn and they never change. Its just more retard.

        1. lap83

          “Epsiarch nailed these people”
          Ugh. He has worse taste than Crusty

      2. Tonio

        guess whose polls…will actually go up

        Those of all you straight guys?

        1. “Those of all you straight guys?”

          Given the kind of women who would show up to engage in nude, left-wing performance art, I suspect my pole will actually contract inside of me if I accidentally stumble on those pictures.

          1. Tonio

            You could meet your next girlfriend there.

      3. Rich

        Drew Carey?

    2. Tonio

      You missed the best part, Rich.

      The photograph will involve 100 nude women holding large mirror discs, reflecting the knowledge and wisdom of progressive women and the concept of ‘Mother Nature’ into and onto the convention center, cityscape and horizon of Cleveland. The philosophy of the artwork relates to the idea of the sacred feminine. By holding mirrors, we hope to suggest that women are a reflection and embodiment of nature, the sun, the sky and the land. We want to express the belief that we will rely upon the strength, intuition and wisdom of progressive and enlightened women to find our place in nature and to regain the balance within it. The mirrors communicate that we are a reflection of ourselves, each other, and of, the world that surrounds us. The woman becomes the future and the future becomes the woman.

      1. Rich

        reflecting the concept of ‘Mother Nature’ into and onto the convention center

        That is some *mighty* fine artspeak.

      2. Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer

        That does it.

        TRUMP!

      3. ant1sthenes

        Or the mirrors symbolize prog narcissism. Art is subject to interpretation.

      4. Jesus, that sounds like the bs my GF(maybe?) would say.
        She was going on another anti GMO tirade last night and I called her “ignorant”. She hung up on me. Haven’t communicated yet. Plenty of women out there, I don’t need some brainwashed lefty.

      5. Agent Cooper

        Someone will get retinal damage. Or they’ll start a fire!

    3. AlmightyJB

      Cleveland? That’s not going to be pretty.

      1. AlmightyJB

        I still might have to make the drive cause you know 100 naked women

        1. Rich

          Careful, JB. When the rioting starts those large mirrors become pretty nasty weapons.

          1. AlmightyJB

            What a great obituary though

          2. Pan Zagloba

            Oh shit, he’s using the Archimedes’ parabolic mirror focusing sunlight idea!

            GOP delegates laugh, then screaming begins when the building goes up in flames. Diabolical!

            1. dschwar

              Unfortunately, Mythbusters tried this one and called it totally implausible.

              1. Trigger Hippie

                They made the mistake of using dozens of small, square mirrors placed in a circular pattern and improperly angled the focus point instead of creating one immense lens. At least that’s what some guy at a bar once told me. I honestly don’t much about such things.

    4. Eternal Blue Sky

      Ladies, stick it to the GOP by sending your nude picks to this one dude!!

    5. The Last American Hero

      What if I show up and choose to identify as female?

      1. The Last American Hero

        In fact, a bunch of dudes should do just that. Show up, strip down, stand uncomfortably close, and whisper in their ears not to worry, gender is a social construct.

  25. Modified ecstasy ‘attacks blood cancers’

    Modified ecstasy could one day have a role to play in fighting some blood cancers, according to scientists.

    Ecstasy is known to kill some cancer cells, but scientists have increased its effectiveness 100-fold, they said in Investigational New Drugs journal.

    Their early study showed all leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma cells could be killed in a test tube, but any treatment would be a decade away.

    1. But what about the high?

      Is it going to be 100-fold also?

      1. Tonio

        Yeah, I don’t think most cancer patients will care about that. But you know the prohibitionists won’t approve it until every molecule of potential fun is sucked right out of it.

    2. Rich

      Not exactly a rave review.

      1. GILMORE?

        groan (set to pumping techno beat)

    3. Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer

      So the DEA is gonna no-knock raid and shoot up a hospital full of cancer patients, eh?

  26. Even more off-topic than usual: I did some work on a promo spot for the new movie about the Kelo case, with Catherine Keener as Kelo. The Institute for Justice gets name-checked, of course, and their lawyer even gets a corny, “You’re here to help the poor troubled folks?” line.

    It also allowed me to shame my uber-proggy coworker. I actually overheard him forward that new line that Trump is not only a traditional Republican, he’s really more of a libertarian (this is what’s being passed around Salon and DU, right?). A few minutes later, he strolled in and asked what I was working on. I told him he wouldn’t like it; the libertarian is the savior. Well… almost the savior. Damn court.

    1. John

      I have always had a huge crush on Keener. Not sure why but she has just done it for me.

      And this is why the Democrats are powerless against Trump. He is not a Republican or a conservative. All they know how to do is claim their opponent is an evil Rethuglican.

    2. Tonio

      Yes, the prog central committee are labelling him as a Libertarian, and their low-information followers are parroting that. They are cynically trying to demonize us.

  27. Ken Shultz

    “In other Trump news, the candidate’s butler is getting attention for Facebook posts calling for President Barack Obama’s execution.”

    After our experience at Reason with Preet Bahara going after people for writing innocuous co0mments about how there’s a “hot place in hell” for somebody, etc. I was skeptical.

    I read them, and the “threats” I read were not threats at all.

    He wondered why the military hadn’t taken out Obama as a spy for the other side, and he called for another American Revolution. These are not threats. Even Preet Bahara backed off prosecuting statements like that.

    And Preet Bahara is a one-eyed, jackass.

    The butler also wrote some incredible obnoxious things about Muslims and Democrats. So what? There’s this thing called the First Amendment.

    No really.

    1. John

      And it was his butler.Even if they were threats, who cares?

    2. Rich

      But because Muslims and Democrats experience power differently, “the First Amendment” can’t be discussed like it’s a uniform concept.

      1. waffles

        Can you draw me a diagram? I’m a visual learner.

        1. Rich

          Here ya go, waffles.

    3. Why did you put “threat” in quotes? Who are you quoting? Scott didn’t call it a threat, not even motherjones called it a threat.

      1. Ken Shultz

        They’re called scare quotes, Buddy Ro!

        “Scare quotes, shudder quotes,[1][2] or sneer quotes[3][4][5] are quotation marks placed around a word or phrase to signal that a term is being used in a non-standard, ironic, or otherwise special sense.[6] They may be used to imply that a particular expression is not necessarily how the author would have worded a concept.”

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scare_quotes

        1. I think “Buddy Ro!”‘s point was that no one was calling them “threats” so your scare quotes, which in this case seem to mean “so called-threats” is inaccurate. Furthermore, 1A has no say in whether people think someone is an asshole for saying shit, or guilting by association people who know/employ/befriend said asshole.

          1. Ken Shultz

            It’s wrong for me to say it wasn’t really a threat–because it wasn’t really a threat?

            Did you all covert to Objectivism last night or something?

            Is this a joke?

        2. But then you just argue over what constitutes a threat. So who are you arguing with? Are you saying it’s all just a bit?

          1. Ken Shultz

            I’m saying I don’t read anything there as a threat.

            I read the “threats”, and I didn’t see any threat.

            Why is this hard to understand?

            Sometimes, you guys are hard on me just because it’s funny. I can appreciate that!

            Sometimes, you guys are hard on me, and you’re dead serious about it.

            Other times, y’all just go with the batshit crazy, and decide whether you’re serious or not after the fact.

            I think this is scenario 3.

            You learned about scare quotes today. Congratulations.

            I’m not chasing any squirrels tonight.

    4. Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer

      Preeeet!

      /pumps chest with fist.

      YOU MY BRO!

    5. Bobarian (Would Chip Her)

      Ken’s fishing for his own indictment.

      One-eyed jack-ass is insult to Jack-asses.

      1. Demoted Comment (Slammer)

        The comma is brilliant, and will save him:

        Preet Bahara is a one-eyed, jackass.

  28. Karinka

    Are you single tonight? A lot of beautiful girls waiting for you to http://goo.gl/pI9ucn
    The best adult dating site!

    1. waffles

      I see no difference between Karinka and Adam Lanza.

      1. Rich

        Indeed. They both deal with that thing that goes up.

    2. Enough About Palin

      It’s the goo part that makes me wary.

  29. Random Axe Of Kindness

    OT: http://chicago.cbslocal.com/20…..the-chief/
    This is fairly local- but there is a progressive push in Illinois to punish students at U of I that are using unauthorized “chief” representations.

    1. Yeah, that’s a blatant attempt to curry favor given how fucked up U of I has been. There was an admissions scandal where politicians were basically buying spots for their dumb kids at U of I a few years back and they’ve had 7 or 8 other headline grabbing issues recently. A good way to get people to stop mentioning that is to fight against representations of the Chief.

      1. Oh my God, Dan Bernstein is a fucking asshole:

        “Such is the ongoing conflict that smolders at Illinois, however, and the more intelligent, progressive faction of leadership understands that there will be opposition from the intractable bloc representing retrograde, downstate interests. There are those who will hide behind empty buzzwords like “tradition” and “honor” to fight for what they really want to retain ? their right to celebrate a racist mascot.”

        Yes, nothing says ‘intelligent and progressive’ like punishing your students for exercising speech rights or dressing a way you don’t like. If only those ‘retrograde forces’ realized that ruining kids’ lives because they put on a headdress is just proof of how much you care.

        1. paranoid android

          the more intelligent, progressive faction of leadership understands that there will be opposition from the intractable bloc representing retrograde, downstate interests

          This sounds like it was excerpted from a speech by Stalin.

        2. C. Anacreon

          Also not to mention that the tribe is extinct, and the headdress honoring it was authentic. I guess that makes it racist?

        3. Microaggressor

          I nearly suffocated from the smug.

      2. curry favor

        Not that kind of Indian, dude.

  30. Former New York State Senate Republican Majority Leader Dean Skelos has been sentenced to five years in prison for bribery and extortion. His son got a longer sentence.

    Preet Bahara: our savior?

    1. GILMORE?

      DA’s are all about “Scalps”.

      The bigger your scalps, the more likely you’re made a future candidate for Federal Office.

      I think NY pols aren’t particularly loved by anyone outside NY, and its not a partisan thing. He’s taking them down because he can.

      I think what’s more interesting … is Cuomo. Has he commented on this stuff? Because no one has been tighter with both Sheldon and Skelos than he was/is. He’s implicated by default. I imagine he’s praising Preet in public, but furious behind the scenes.

  31. GILMORE?

    U.S. plans new wave of immigrant deportation raids

    Immigration officials are planning a month-long series of raids in May and June to deport hundreds of Central American mothers and children that have entered the country illegally, according to sources and an internal document seen by Reuters.

  32. GILMORE?

    Paging Sheldon = maybe we need another article about the West’s ‘provocation’ of the Russians.

    NATO Activates Regional Missile Defense Shield

    Russia is incensed at such of show of force by its Cold War rival in formerly communist-ruled eastern Europe. Moscow says the U.S.-led alliance is trying to encircle it close to the strategically important Black Sea, home to a Russian naval fleet and where NATO is also considering increasing patrols.

    When complete, the defensive umbrella will stretch from Greenland to the Azores. On Friday, the United States* will break ground on a final site in Poland due to be ready by late 2018, completing the defense line first proposed almost a decade ago.

    (*note: the headline says, “US”, and the article repeatedly conflates US and NATO as one and the same, which i think is just shitty journalism)

    1. The Last American Hero

      Greenland has been under water since the polar ice cap melted in 2014. WTF?

    2. Chip Woodier

      Russia is sounding like Germany right before WWI. Keep an eye on your Archdukes.

  33. Sigivald

    As a 2A enthusiast, I’d like to tell Mr. Zimmerman “you’re not helping”.

    1. Agent Cooper

      It’s his gun. He can do what he wants with it.

  34. GILMORE?

    Good Shoot

    DOVER, Del. (AP) ? Criminal charges cannot be brought against four Wilmington police officers involved in the fatal shooting of a man in a wheelchair, although one officer exhibited “extraordinarily poor” police work and should not be allowed to carry a gun in public, the Delaware attorney general’s office concluded in a report released Thursday.

    1. Rich

      The “man in the wheelchair” was quite a piece of work. RIP.

    2. Agent Cooper

      He sipped and puffed straight at us! We feared for our lives!

  35. GILMORE?


    Music-education CEO hits bad note on minorities, loses job

    ‘bad note’? WRONG NOTE. Fire this headline writer!!

  36. GILMORE?

    A refreshingly more-honest headline

    House OKs bipartisan drug abuse bills, but Dems want money

    FUCK THE DRUGS, GIMME THE MONEY

  37. GILMORE?

    Today’s “Now THAT’s a Headline” =

    Massive robotic dinosaur destroyed by fire; skeleton remains

    1. Juvenile Bluster

      Oh great. So Mecha-Godzilla won’t kill us, but Zombie Mecha-Godzilla will.

    2. There was an article on Slate this morning with the headline “Squirrels Get Frustrated When You Take Away Their Nuts, Express It With Tails”, but sadly it got changed to “Squirrels Express Frustration by Twitching Their Tails, Researchers Say”

  38. NatashaJames

    My last pay check was $9500 working 12 hours a week online. My sisters friend has been averaging 15k for months now and she works about 20 hours a week. I can’t believe how easy it was once I tried it out.

    This is what I do—————– http://www.earnmore9.com

  39. HarrietTurnbull

    I’m making over $8k a month working part time. I kept hearing other people tell me how much money they can make online so I decided to look into it. Well, it was all true and has totally changed my life.

    This is what I do.———————— http://www.earntimes.tk/

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