Alan Grayson Accused of Abuse By Ex-Wife, Latest Cyberbullying Craze, RIP Miss Cleo: P.M. Links

• 

  Screenshot via Jenny Jones show

  The strange saga of Alan Grayson continues.

• There's kissing up to Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, and then there's this.
• Donald Trump: our new frontrunner?
• And Bernie Sanders' revolution dies.
• Michelle Obama received rave reviews for her DNC speech last night.
• "Girls gang up on boys in new cyberbullying craze called 'roasting,' experts warn."
• RIP: Miss Cleo.

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Donald Trump: our new frontrunner?

Trumpocalypse now.

[Mad Scientist]

Donald don't surf!

[thrakkorzog]

I love the smell of spray on tan in the morning. It smells like victory.

[Crusty Juggler]

The horror...the horror...

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Who's in charge here?

[Rufus The Monocled]

Hello.

[waffles]

I bet Miss Cleo didn't see this coming.

[BigT]

But she's voting for Hillary. Count on it.

[Jimbo]

3 times!

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

What?

She is buried in Chicago?

OOOOOF course she is.

[Joe M]

To Warty's basement with you!

[Fist of Etiquette]

And Bernie Sanders' revolution dies.

And the cult of lack of personality is just heating up.

[Citizen X]

Or not heating up! Whatever!

[Agent Cooper]

A Cult of Non-Personality already formed around Mitt Romney in 2012.

[PapayaSF]

It's the cult of socialism. You'd think hammering on that would be a Reason priority, but I guess it would take effort away from Trump-bashing.

[Mike Laursen]

Huh? Why would it be a reason priority to report on Sanders when he is no longer a candidate?

Also, this is just the reason blog. Their reporting is done in reason magazine, not here.

[BigT]

Oh, right. Hildog's not a socialist. Right.

[PapayaSF]

I mean hammering on the rising acceptability of socialism, not Sanders specifically.

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

Priorities, you know.

Can't miss those Cosmo-cocktail parties ...

[Juvenile Bluster]

RIP: Miss Cleo.

The first person to make a "she didn't see this coming" joke gets locked in Warty's basement for a year.

[Krabappel]

When I saw the news I immediately knew that she had died in Florida. There was just no other state that it could have been.

[Zero Sum Game]

Not even the state of denial?

[Citizen X]

[holds down Backspace key for a few seconds, walks away whistling]

[Doctor Whom]

I've already heard the "Psychic powers don't work that way" dodge.

[paranoid android]

Well, it is true that they don't work that way.

Because they don't work in any way.

[Doctor Whom]

I used that on a believer, who just stopped talking to me.

[Enough About Palin]

That's a great trick. Imma steal it.

[Agent Cooper]

I knew you were going to say that.

[Ted S.]

[locks Juvenile Bluster in Warty's basement]

[That's A Bingo!]

She foresaw a Trump presidency and gave up on life.

[ant1sthenes]

She had cancer, so...

[True Scottsman]

You win!

[The Fusionist]

She probably predicted she would die - the question is whether she got the date right.

RIP

[waffles]

Fortunately I did see this coming and I preemptively Warty-proofed the premises.

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

Fortunately I did see this coming and I preemptively Warty-proofed the premises.

UNPOSSIBLE.

[This Machine]

Goddammit, Fruit Sushi, what am I supposed to do with these.

[Citizen X]

Masturbate?

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Just the one about 'Roasting'.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Michelle Obama received rave reviews for her DNC speech last night.

Hillary better watch herself.

[thrakkorzog]

How many leg tingles did she cause?

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Or shoulder separations?

[Citizen X]

Lots of carpal tunnel syndrome, apparently.

[ant1sthenes]

I'm looking forward to Melania's version of that speech.

[Zeb]

I really want to see the kid who asks The Donald if his hair is the same as his.

[Free Society]

Hey Donald, does the carpet back door welcome mat match the drapes?

[Zeb]

I laughed.

[But Enough About Me]

I'm looking forward to Melania's version of that speech.

At least you won't have to watch a Klingon deliver it.

[Enough About Palin]

Pissed me off when she said she wakes up every morning in a house built by slaves. Girl, give that shit a rest.

[Lee Genes]

Don't you feel sorry for the wife of the most powerful man in the world? A woman who will never want for anything ever again? A woman who has the undying love of an army of sycophants?

You know I do.

[kbolino]

They had slaves in 1948?

[SKR]

lol I thought the same thing kbolino

[Agent Cooper]

Something something 620,000 dead.

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

Fuck the Wookie.

Figuratively, of course.

Whitehouse built by "slaves", yeah, right.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Michelle Obama received rave reviews for her DNC speech last night.

A prog friend of mine told me that if I didn't like her speech, I didn't have a heart.

[Juice]

What if I ignored it completely and have no idea what she said?

[Chipwooder]

This. I'd have to watch it to like it or dislike it, and I could give a shit what she has to say.

[Fist of Etiquette]

All the right things. That's what she said.

[C. Anacreon]

I think there's a Winston Churchill quote in there somewhere.
How do we get to the part about having no brain?

[The Fusionist]

They have a brain, but they're insane in it (NSFW)

[The Fusionist]

I think Churchill's American mother taught him those lyrics.

[thrakkorzog]

I had better things to do than watch the Dem infomercial. After all, there was a Simpsons marathon on FXX, and those don't happen every day.

[Doctor Whom]

The parts that I watched were like a low-numbered SiriusXM channel, but with name-calling.

[grrizzly]

Your friend must have watched the speech on CNN. One of their talking heads used this expression.

[Rich]

Or his friend is one the inner circle who receives the talking points.

[KDN]

I literally got through 5 minutes of it. Once sh dropped 5 straight lines about the children, I angrily remarked to my wife that every single one of the worst policies ever implemented was created to protect the children and demanded we watch something else.

Mrs. Lovejoy has been shrieking about the children for a quarter century and people still fall for this shit? Really?

[Injun, as in from India]

A prog friend of mine told me that if I didn't like her speech, I didn't have a heart.

Tell her that you have something else that throbs...

...if she wants it.

[Fist of Etiquette]

"Girls gang up on boys in new cyberbullying craze called 'roasting,' experts warn."

And the boys are upset it ain't happening IRL.

[C. Anacreon]

And then the boys kick the girls in the back.

[RBS]

The warnings followed research by non-profit motivational organisation dosomething.com,

This of those media reports satire as real news stories right?

[toolkien]

Then I guess the papal bull to not hit girls is lifted. There's all sorts of Riot Grrrrrll bullshit of the last two decades that needs to be tamped down with a nice, jaw breaking punch to the face.

[The Fusionist]

Oh, *cyber* bullying, never mind.

(Drops plans to sit on the beach carrying a "roast me" sign)

[Juice]

His wife was named Lolita? ok. I guess his mistress was named Tanqueray.

[Juvenile Bluster]

How old was his wife?

[Juice]

Michelle Obama received rave reviews for her DNC speech last night.

And will again in 8 years.

[Ted S.]

She received rave reviews because there's a Cult of Obama.

[Ted S.]

"Girls gang up on boys in new cyberbullying craze called 'roasting,' experts warn."

I blame the patriarchy.

[Chipwooder]

I blame Jeff Ross. Dean Martin too while we're at it.

[Anomalous]

They were enablers, but Lisa Lampanelli is the real criminal here.

[Dennis, Constitutional Peasant]

the strange saga of Alan Grayson continues.

I find it hard to understand how anyone could look at the man and not immediately go,

"This is someone that should never be trusted with anything, by anyone, ever"

Its like an artist was asked to sculpt a figure, and the only description they were given was "Scumbag"

[Juvenile Bluster]

I'd say "because Florida", but horrid politicians like Grayson exist everywhere.

[C. Anacreon]

Did he have a youthful ward named Dick Grayson?

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

If the linked article's subjects can be believed, Grayson's wife just may be about as crazy as a bag of cats.

[Lee Genes]

Perfect couple

[bacon-magic]

The two sites I saw this story didn't tell me his party affiliation...

[Pay up, Palin's Buttplug!]

The story linked to in the links mentioned he's a Democrat.

[Spartacus]

Is it me or does he look more and more like Chris Christie every year?

[Atanarjuat]

He's running for office (US Senate I think) and has ads on the radio multiple times a day with him ranting about blacks getting killed cops. They only play on the local R&B station. So, race-baiting scumbag.

[Atanarjuat]

Wife-beating, etc.

But yeah, he does look a lot like this guy trying and failing to affect a trustworthy demeanor.

[Arizona_Guy]

No alt-text?

[Citizen X]

Forget it, Guy, it's Fruit Sushi Town.

[The Hyperbole]

We're lucky to get more'n five links. Some are even more than the simplest of declaratory sentences.

[Rich]

Michelle Obama received rave reviews for her DNC speech last night.

Surely there must be *some* plagiarism in it, though.

[Mr Drew]

Well, she did rip off the line about "wake up in a house built by slaves and watch her beautiful, black girls" from one of her previous speeches. Am I the only one who noticed that? Really?

[CE]

So now she's othering the beauty-challenged.

[timbo]

RIP Miss Cleo?

Did Michelle obama die last night?

[Juvenile Bluster]

No, she's fine. She just wrapped up shooting on Star Wars Episode 8.

[bacon-magic]

Rawrrrrwrrrrr!(Wookie for racist)

[RBS]

It's more of an insult to wookies.

[thrakkorzog]

I hear bowcaster control is a hot issue on Kasshyk.

[Crusty Juggler]

These Dems sure do find out by reading newspapers and turning on televisions: How do you know Russia hacked the Hillary emails? Clinton campaign is asked. 'We saw it on CNN.' Democrats admit they have no evidence of Putin link to disastrous leak

It's a theory that is being put forward now by CNN, by the Washington Post, by the New York Times, these are the experts speaking out on this,' Mook told the Today show's Savannah Guthrie who brought up that Republican Donald Trump has called these accusations a 'conspiracy theory.'

Mook noted that CNN had reported yesterday that the FBI is investigating the DNC hack, but admitted that no government official had confirmed the connection to the Clinton campaign.

'They have not communicated that to us,' Mook said. 'I am simply going off what the reporting is telling us.'

[Citizen X]

What a Mook.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

As I mentioned in the AM Linx, NBC Nightly News had a segment on the hack yesterday that focused almost exclusively on Trump and Putin.

[JWatts]

Come on guys. These type of narratives don't write themselves!

[Free Society]

NBC is the most shameful of the most mainstream networks. They host a GOP debate and ask nothing of the candidates except "Senator Dickbag here said that you're smelly pirate hooker, care to respond?" and then broadcast far and wide about their supposed displeasure that the GOP candidates were immature for not sticking to the real issues.

They're like Salon, but with tv stations and syndicated programming. These are the same people who thought it was a good idea to edit George Zimmerman's 911 call and ran with every single unsubstantiated lead in the Ferguson debacle, presumably because they're all consumed with the desire to kick-start a race war. I'm not sure how to read their intentions any other way.

It's safe to say, I fucking hate NBC.

[toolkien]

Uhmm, that kind of negativity and fear mongering doesn't sit well with the naval gazers in charge of Reason. Might want to get in line with the "there's more trees and wouldn't self driving cars with kill switches nifty" side of the street.

[Zeb]

Huh. I thought CBS was the worstest.

I honestly haven't had any idea what the big 3 networks have been up to for at least 7 years since broadcast TV went digital and I couldn't get those channels anymore.

[Rufus The Monocled]

None of the networks exude any credibility. Anyone with a functional brain and endowed with a healthy skepticism wouldn't take them seriously.

I mean. Katie Couric, Dan Rather and Brian Williams.

Hello.

[commodious, VRW conspirator]

Not to mention Megyn Kelly bleeding out of her whatever.

[C. Anacreon]

Sounds like I should refer Megyn to me gynecologist.

[CE]

Get a digital HDTV antenna. They're cheap.

[Zeb]

I live pretty far out, so I'd have to get a fairly big one and put it up high.

[Free Society]

I honestly haven't had any idea what the big 3 networks have been up to for at least 7 years since broadcast TV went digital and I couldn't get those channels anymore.

I subsist solely on Netflix and chill.

[That's A Bingo!]

It's way more likely someone within the DNC gave it to WikiLeaks or someone connected/supporting the Bernie campaign. There were leaks to reporters back in 2015 about DNC bias and Bernie supporters did that data breach thing too.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

I think the most likely scenario is that the security on their system was shit and it was hacked by numerous parties.

[RBS]

Eskimo Brothers

[C. Anacreon]

Say what you will about them, they make a helluva pie.

[thrakkorzog]

I'm gussing their servers were set up by a hip young startup that contributed to the DNC. Rather than some middle-aged fuddy duddy white guys who actually had experience with network security.

[Pay up, Palin's Buttplug!]

More likely a 20-something recent poli-sci grad with experience as a Congressional intern, like most of the DNC's employees.

[Carl #TeamBlue #RedSucks]

I don't really give a shit, but:

...admitted that no government official had confirmed the [Russian] connection to the Clinton campaign.

is not the same as

Democrats admit they have no evidence of Putin link to disastrous leak

[But Enough About Me]

Whoa, wait a minute.

Did this dumbass just call three separate media outlets "experts"? ON HACKING?

It's officially time to start praying for a meteor strike.

[Dennis, Constitutional Peasant]

I need a word or phrase (sniglets will be accepted) to describe the noise this man makes before saying "yes"

[Citizen X]

[PLUFGH]

[Crusty Juggler]

Blurp

[John Titor]

"Buttheading"

[Juice]

Just a case of goatthroat.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

The sound of a fart through a thoroughly wrecked and blown-out asshole.

[Fist of Etiquette]

That's the "I'm going to be an ass now oblivious that I'll be contradicting myself in a few minutes with no self-awareness whatsoever" sound.

[Citizen X]

Snarting.

[Sir Digby Chicken Caesar]

^ What X says.

/looks up Rich Hall's contact info....

[Dennis, Constitutional Peasant]

its sort of like "ostentatious exasperation and throat clearing before making a very-emotive and "uh, DUH?!?" 'yes'

its like OMG I CANT EVEN BELIEVE YOU'RE ASKING I MEAN EVERYONE KNOWS THAT GOD

but there's no word for it. I think actors might have one. its got to be something people have identified before. Its like an "emotional-prefix" that can be attached to statements.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

^^THIS... is not a phrase or sniglet.

Play the game, hardon.

[Dennis, Constitutional Peasant]

i was just expanding on the question.

[Free Society]

SHAAAAAAAAZAM!

[Ken Shultz]

This is by far, without question, undoubtedly, the best Miss Cleo parody EVAR!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSR-uefPmME

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Women in power are at a clear disadvantage in the media and it is time to have some dialogue on this.

Not reading past.

[Ted S.]

Margaret Thatcher.

[Pan Zagloba]

She certainly was treated shitilly by the media, yes.

[Injun, as in from India]

But she was a heartless conservative, which means she lost her woman card.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

And she never complained about being put upon by a male dominated society.

[commodious, VRW conspirator]

Why does everyone think "dialogue" means "sanctimonious mini-rant"?

[Rich]

The superfood the world's been waiting for?

Cockroach milk!

[Lee Genes]

This fad has got some legs.

[Rich]

"I have nipples, Greg. Can you milk *me*?"

[Injun, as in from India]

That was one of the best lines from the me, besides the "You said 'bomb' on an airplane" followed by "Bom-bom-bom, Bom-bom-ba-bom" line!

[Eternal Blue Sky]

"The Pacific beetle cockroach (the only kind that gives birth to live young) feeds it's babies by lactating protein-dense crystals, which pack fats, sugars, amino acids, and more than four times the nutrition of cow's milk."

Lactating. That word. I do not think it means what you think it does.

[Zeb]

Despite it's nutritional value, cockroach milk is extremely high in calories.

They don't seem to know what "despite" means either.

[Krabappel]

Despite my throwing up, the thought of cockroach milk makes me very nauseous.

[CE]

Exactly. Calories and food value are closely related.

[Crusty Juggler]

Related to the above link: Why Experts Are Sure Russia Hacked the DNC Emails

Here's why the experts are so confident the Russians did it:

GEOGRAPHY: At least one of the hacker groups attacking the DNC appeared to cease operations on Russian holidays, and its work hours aligned with a Russian time zone, cybersecurity company FireEye concluded in a report.
LANGUAGE: The hackers also left an obvious digital fingerprint, one cybersecurity expert said, perhaps on purpose: a signature in Russia's Cyrillic alphabet.
FORENSIC EVIDENCE: After a different batch of hacked Democratic emails was released last month, a wide spectrum of cyber-security experts concluded that it was the work of Russian intelligence agencies through previously known proxy groups known as COZY BEAR or APT 29, and FANCY BEAR or APT 28. "We've had lots of experience with both of these actors ? and know them well," according to the DNC's own contract cybersecurity firm, Crowdstrike, which blogged that one of the two groups had already gained illegal access to the White House, State Department and even the military's Joint Chiefs of Staff.

[Crusty Juggler]

MOTIVE: Given their mutual and very public bromance, Putin would much prefer a Trump presidency to a Clinton one, and the timing suggests the leak was timed for maximum embarrassment to the Democrats and their presumptive nominee. Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said the campaign was told by cyber experts that Russian hackers stole and released the emails to help Trump. "I don't think it's coincidental that these emails were released on the eve of our convention here," said Mook, "and I think that's disturbing."
HISTORY: U.S. intelligence officials, including Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, said they had previously seen evidence of foreign hackers spying on U.S. presidential candidates, including some state-sponsored ones, and that such cyber-intrusions would become even more commonplace.

The main reason, however, is that the email hack is exactly the kind of thing Russian hackers can do, are supposed to do, and are used for by Putin and his aides, retired four-star Adm. James Stavridis told NBC News.

[Chipwooder]

I gotta say, this whole sordid affair just lacks the panache of Ted Kennedy trying to convince the Soviets to help defeat Reagan.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Let's drive off that bridge when we come to it, ok?

[Dennis, Constitutional Peasant]

the email hack is exactly the kind of thing Russian hackers can do, are supposed to do, and are used for by Putin and his aides, retired four-star Adm. James Stavridis told NBC New

its like Appeal to Authority personified.

"We have reports that the Queen of England has confirmed the admiral's speculation"

[waffles]

Isn't saying Russians/Eastern Europeans are hackers a bit like saying Muslims are terrorists?

[Pan Zagloba]

Us Slavs became white at some point, and we aren't giving it back! Despite what Brexit panic would want (with Poles all of a sudden becoming non-white so we can shit pants about racism).

[Drake]

Reason will have 3 articles tomorrow to dispel that Muslim terrorist crazy theory - and a blurb about the latest Muslim terrorist massacre.

[Mad Scientist]

and its work hours aligned with a Russian time zone

Since Russia spans 11 time zones, that seems a little inconclusive.

[Citizen X]

Isn't it 12 if you include the Kaliningrad exclave? And more if you're a Zhironovsky-style irredentist who believes the Tsar should never have sold Alyeska?

[Chipwooder]

hah, Zhironovsky. I remember when he was the big bad in Russia. I assume he's either in prison now or Putin ran him off to exile.

[John Titor]

If it was China this wouldn't be a problem, because for some idiot communist reason the entire country is legally required to run on Beijing time.

[Free Society]

For some idiot reason, the imperial China of yore essentially claimed suzerainty over the whole world. The gifts of foreign emissaries were regarded as tribute for this reason.

[Zeb]

I saw some old Chinese maps of the world in Hon Kong that showed China as a huge land mass in the center of the world and everything else that they knew about, including Europe, India, Siberia, the Middle East and parts of Africa as little minor places off to the side. They really thought that they were it.

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

It has always been and always will be The Middle Kingdom.

/Gwielow

[Ted S.]

If you want to be a pedantic bastard, you could point out that Taiwan technically claims sovereignty over Mongolia, which has more than one time zone.

[John Titor]

So the PRC claims Taiwan is a rebelling province, who then claim Mongolia as a sovereign part of their land. That's some good pedantry there.

[Rufus The Monocled]

"Nonetheless, Taiwan and Mongolia have developed reasonably close relations. As a sign of friendship, Taiwan recently gave Mongolia a three-story high portrait of Genghis Khan, made out of 437,000 mosaic tiles, based on a rare portrait of the world-conqueror held in Taipei's National Palace Museum."

Ah.

Don't give progs idears.

[Free Society]

Genhis is perhaps the most prolific rapist in the history of the world. He is without a doubt, the most celebrated prolific rapist/mass murderer in the history of the world. Respect.

[John Titor]

The convenience store I buy cigarettes at has a big portrait of Genghis Khan behind the front counter. Second or third time I was there I said to the clerk "Hey, Genghis Khan, he supposed to scare away robbers or something?"

The Mongolian clerk immediately gives this look of "oh shit, the white people know who this guy is" and starts talking about how "he's an important part of our history, but he was a bad man, a very bad man..."

I shrugged and asked him if he had a picture of Kublai to put next to him.

[Free Society]

God damn Mongorians.

[Ted S.]

They redid the time zones in 2010, going from 11 to 9 and being on Daylight Savings Time all year round. Moscow used to bu UTC+3 in the winter and UTC+4 in the summer; now they're UTC+4 all year round.

And I believe back in the Soviet era all train schedules ran on Moscow time, but can't find that online right now.

[Pay up, Palin's Buttplug!]

Moscow Time is UTC+3 since 2014.

The time is announced on the radio in Moscow Time and time zones are calculated on Moscow Time rather than UTC, so it wouldn't surprise me if everything is done based on Moscow Time.

[Ted S.]

I didn't realize they were permanently UTC+3.

[CE]

And hackers never stay up late.

[Citizen X]

The hackers also left an obvious digital fingerprint, one cybersecurity expert said, perhaps on purpose: a signature in Russia's Cyrillic alphabet.

That signature? ?????? ?????.

[Lee Genes]

What is this? Reason tells me I have to post in English.

Not very cosmo of them.

[Citizen X]

You can get away with a small amount of Cyrillic as long as you have a certain number of regular old boring Latin characters, ????????.

[Ted S.]

It's not just Cyrillic; it's anything outside of ASCII. Even ISO-8859-1 stuff like the ? can cause a problem.

[grrizzly]

Is there anything cosmo about Reason other than cocktail parties?

[Pan Zagloba]

The Hair?

[CE]

Is that Cyrillic for "Donald Trump"? Or "Mr. Robot"?

[Lee Genes]

COZY BEAR or APT 29, and FANCY BEAR or APT 28

Damn furries

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

And BABY BEAR was JUST RIGHT.

[Ted S.]

Which one does Jesse prefer?

[ant1sthenes]

If Russia leaked a photograph of Hillary standing behind a kneeling Vince Foster with a gun to the back of his head, the sinister media would be arguing that the offense against our democracy demonstrates a need for immediate nuclear retaliation.

[Eternal Blue Sky]

"The hackers also left an obvious digital fingerprint, one cybersecurity expert said, perhaps on purpose: a signature in Russia's Cyrillic alphabet."

Reminds me of the part in Terry Pratchet book "Jingo" where they find a bunch of sand at the crime scene, evidence that the crime was perpetrated by dastardly assassins from Not!Arabia. Or, rather, evidence that someone wanted the Watch to believe the crime had been perpetrated by assassins from Not!Arabia.

Just saying, if I was a hacker who wanted people to think the Russians were responsible for my crimes, thereby deflecting attention away from me, I'd put a Cyrillic digital signature on the device I hacked.

[thrakkorzog]

Ahh the old Klatchian double bluff, except in that book, Not!Arabia actually was responsible, they just wanted to make the frame up so obvious that the watch would think it was by their own people.

[BigT]

Exactly. The Cyrillic leads me to think it was the Israelis.

[You Sound Like a Prog (MJG)]

Well they're EXPERTS, so I believe 'em.

[Pay up, Palin's Buttplug!]

Followed the link and read the link docs? Belarussian is another possibility.

[Pay up, Palin's Buttplug!]

LANGUAGE: The hackers also left an obvious digital fingerprint, one cybersecurity expert said, perhaps on purpose: a signature in Russia's Cyrillic alphabet.

?????? ??????????, Felix Edmundovich, the name and patronymic of Felix Dzerzhinsky, born in modern Belarus of Polish ancestry.

[The Iconoclast]

Yes, when the NSA hacks your server they always leave a signature in there in English, something like "Hacked by the NSA - You suck!"

I mean, it's considered sporting to let them know who did it, reference any episode of Batman.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

There's kissing up to Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, and then there's this

Incoherent rant. It is amazing someone approved its publication should be amazing someone approved its publication, but political pundits are all barely literate partisan hacks these days.

[Rich]

Women in power are at a clear disadvantage in the media

Take Michelle Obama, for instance.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Or Hillary Clinton, for another.

[Lee Genes]

Please

[Fist of Etiquette]

Rep. Alan Grayson's ex-wife has accused him of physically abusing her over a two-decade period...

He doesn't seem like the type.

[Crusty Juggler]

They looked like a couple of white, alto sumo wrestlers about to square off.

[The Grinch]

Couldn't happen to a nicer douche.

[Dennis, Constitutional Peasant]

Grayson said that his ex-wife was a gold digger.

Well, that's a useful skill to have, provided you have a gold-mine for her to labor in.

[The Fusionist]

Well, that can be objectively tested. Has she been seen with any broke persons of color?

[John Titor]

So last night I watched The Killing Joke, DC's new animated Batman movie based on the comic by Moore. You may remember the last time The Killing Joke came up was in regards to that poster and people complaining about Batgirl being a victim. So this time they tried to prevent the problem by expanding the story beyond the material from the Killing Joke, adding a thirty minute prologue of sorts that focuses on Batgirl going after her own Joker-esque character and saving Batman's life. The opening thirty minutes is clearly intended to pull the social justice crowd in, with Batgirl's villain being a very date-rapey representation of every douchebag male cliche and her sassy gay friend who she discusses her problems with. So this appeal to the social justice crowd clearly worked, right?

Nope, they hate it because Batman and Batgirl have sex. And a later scene that some people think imply Batgirl was raped, but apparently they've stated that wasn't their intention.

[John Titor]

The opening thirty minutes is actually really bad, but not for the stupid reasons the social justice crowd or the hardcore 'canon' comic book fans argue. It's just poorly written and tacked-on, and really serves no other purpose other than to try to elevate Batgirl to something other than the victim of a horrible tragedy, as per the comic. When they actually get past that and use the actual comic material, it's actually pretty good. A lot of it is shot-for-shot taken from the comic and Conroy and Hamill have good performances.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

SJWs have ruined comics culture. It's all unbearable these days.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Sulu will now be wearing a rainbow uniform.

[C. Anacreon]

Has the Muslim woman Captain Marvel come out yet? That must be SJW paradise.

[John Titor]

Remember, they ruined Captain America when they made him a 'douchey libertarian' in Civil War.

Yeah, this seems like a guy who would cater to government oversight and liberal sensibilities.

[thrakkorzog]

We all know that Cap isn't really American because he doesn't watch American Idol, follow NASCAR, or post on Myspace.

[Rufus The Monocled]

If they ever transgender Bat-Man...I SWEAR....

[The Fusionist]

He's already dressed like a bat, who cares what sex he identifies with?

[Lee Genes]

The last Batman game was fairly true to the original Killing Joke. I was surprised.

[Sir Digby Chicken Caesar]

Nope, they hate it because Batman and Batgirl have sex.

Well, we should probably expect that sort of reaction from someone described thusly:

Emily lives in Brooklyn, where she reads comics and feeds her pet rats.

Fuck if that doesn't speak volumes about East Coast progs....

[RBS]

She sounds fat.

[Dennis, Constitutional Peasant]

Computer Concludes: Human Error

""U.S. report says Tesla driver speeding in fatal Autopilot crash""

A driver killed in the May 7 crash of a Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA.O) car while using Autopilot driving-assist software was speeding, U.S. highway safety investigators said on Tuesday in a preliminary report that did not state a probable cause.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said its preliminary findings showed the Model S was traveling at 74 miles per hour (mph) in a 65-mph zone at the time it struck a semi-truck near Williston, Florida.

it would seem that not only could the "auto" pilot not see what was in front of it, it was unaware of the actual speed limit?

In the distant future, when the war between man and machine has reached its bloodiest phase, the movie "Maximum Overdrive" will be the prophetic founding text of a new-religion

[Juice]

Computer concludes, "wasn't me."

[John Titor]

The machine overlord will come once they install driving-assistance software into the Killdozer.

[C. Anacreon]

Fun fact: Killdozer was directed by Jerry London, the guy who created Hogan's Heroes.

Not to be confused with Jerry Paris, another TV show director, who you might also remember as the next-door-neighbor dentist and husband of Laura's friend Millie on the Dick Van Dyke Show.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Wasn't the guy reading the Chronicles of Shannara or something while behind the wheel?

[Illocust]

74 mph in a 65 mph zone only qualifies as speeding on a technicality. The device needs to work at the speeds people actually drive.

[Dennis, Constitutional Peasant]

The device needs to work at the speeds people actually drive.

You should probably have to demonstrate it had bulletproof functionality *within the legal speed limits* before programming your autopilot to "play fast and loose" with the traffic-speed.

[commodious, VRW conspirator]

More worried about the operators than the computers..

[CE]

74 in a 65? Was he in the slow lane?

[Acosmist]

In Pennsylvania, the left lane goes 60 in a 70 zone. Is that the only state where people have no better place to be than fucking around on the road going under the speed limit?

[Juvenile Bluster]

There's kissing up to Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, and then there's this.

Oh Jesus. It's a rich kid from Weston or Plantation going to school in DC. In a few years I'll probably have to deal with him as a talking head or a politician. Rising democratic star!

[sarcasmic]

Is it just me, or does Miss Cleo look totally fucking baked in that pic?

[Rich]

It's a *trance*, you philistine!

[Dennis, Constitutional Peasant]

Turns out the case against the Planned Parenthood video-makers was complete garbage

still, probably achieved its purpose, scaring the fuck out of any groups attempting to blow the whistle on govt-approved wrongdoing.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Note that the DA that brought those asinine charges is the same one that threw the mentally ill rape victim in jail for a month.

[The Fusionist]

What was this?

[The Fusionist]

Is it this story?

This prosecutors sounds like a true champion on women.

[Rich]

Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson said in a statement her office was limited in what it can investigate under Texas law due to procedural matters with the grand jury process. "In light of this and after careful research and review, this office dismissed the indictments," Anderson said

"No reasonable prosecutor would bring charges."

[Injun, as in from India]

Threadwinner!

[Free Society]

The strange saga of Alan Grayson continues.

In Grayson's defense, the woman certainly has the look of a crazy person.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

She married him; so imma say she'd have to be.

[SIV]

Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) is giving the Bernie Sanders nominating speech right now.

[bacon-magic]

Would.

[Free Society]

Because of your would, I clicked. You done good.

[Lee Genes]

Best pic from DNC Convention yet

http://assets.bwbx.io/images/u...../-1x-1.jpg

Needs a caption, get crackin'

[Certified Public Asshat]

This is my O-face, you guys still want to bang me?

[RBS]

Yes?

[Rufus The Monocled]

'He stuck it in my ass!'
'I did!'

[Jerry on the rocks]

"Oh boy, Bill is here."

[Dennis, Constitutional Peasant]

"Sarah Silverman Learns of Donald Trump's Victory"

[Injun, as in from India]

Someone's hiding inside the podium performing oral sex on the speaker, like that scene from Police Academy.

[Lee Genes]

Al Franken witnesses his first female orgasm.

[Sir Digby Chicken Caesar]

Outstanding! Lee gets it.

[C. Anacreon]

Sorry, a poster can't win their own contest!

[thrakkorzog]

"I loved you in The Way of the Gun."

[Sir Digby Chicken Caesar]

Dammit, thrakk... That's beautiful.

[commodious, VRW conspirator]

She wouldn't shut her cunt mouth, and now he's come over to fuck-start her head.

[C. Anacreon]

Oy vey! What you are doing to me, Bernie, you are.

[bacon-magic]

I'm so moist for Bill right now. Give me some of that Slick Willy. /feminazi unfunny trashy ho

[sarcasmic]

Insert Penis Here

[OneOut]

Open just a little wider.

[Crusty Juggler]

"Never pull Al Franken's finger."

[Brochettaward]

These are the most half-assed links Robbie may have ever done. But I guess that beats the no-assed links of 5/17.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Never FORGET!

[Free Society]

Never forget that day, the seventeenth of May.

[OneOut]

We'll always remember the 5th of November.

[C. Anacreon]

Try to remember that time in September, when love was an ember about to billow.

[CE]

But beware the ides of March.

[Dennis, Constitutional Peasant]

These are the most half-assed links Robbie may have ever done.

That is a bold statement. Robby has a long history of unbelievably half-assed links.

[bacon-magic]

Hat tip to Injun from India
Fruit Sushi has been on a tight leash ever since. Kudos to KMW the purple haired goddess for the pussy control.

[OneOut]

Remember the Alamo !!

[You Sound Like a Prog (MJG)]

Yesterday I said it's frustrating to want to cheer Bernie supporters on when almost everything they believe in is terrible. Another frustrating point in this whole mess:

These people are righteously angry at Clinton's triumph. It's an unfair system which she rigged, they don't like her, they don't like her policies, but she's being shoved down their throats anyway. It's supremely awful and a huge injustice.

But... what about the tens of millions of us that did not and will not vote for Clinton anyway? We also have to put up with her bullshit, no matter how strongly we hate it. Think about how we feel, Berniebros! And how much sympathy would they have for us if their socialist Bernie did win it all? In that world, 99.9% of them would stick out their tongue at the millions of us and tell us to suck it up, he won, deal with it!

[John Titor]

It's entirely possible to applaud the Bern Victims for turning the DNC into a shitshow while also recognizing that their ideology is incoherent, destructive and dangerous. I look at it more as a case where the Democrats have been catering to and trying to pull these people into their party for the last eight years. Well, now you've got it Democrats, and they don't like the game you're playing. Poetic judge.

[John Titor]

*Poetic justice

[You Sound Like a Prog (MJG)]

Sure, it's possible, but I don't wanna!

[commodious, VRW conspirator]

You should withhold any approbation until the end of the convention. Something tells me they'll stick out the outrage shtick right up until they're having to pack it in and go home. And then they'll fold and fall in line.

[Dennis, Constitutional Peasant]

Black Lives Matter Wants to Send Message to Hillary Clinton

I read the story. I can't actually figure out what the message was.

Khalif said some of Clinton's rhetoric on the campaign trail has been patronizing, noting her comments to a black radio show host in April in which she said she always keeps hot sauce in her purse.

"We remember that her husband created a bill that generationally continues to harm black and brown families," Khalif said. "We know what the true Hillary Clinton is, not the one all made up in a blue suit on asking for black people to vote and saying she has hot sauce in her pocketbook."

[Free Society]

I for one, keep at least one bottle of (very) hot sauce at both my offices, my home and I take a full kit of hot sauces with me to Mexican restaurants when I go. I am apparently, black as fuck.

[RBS]

Hot sauce at the office and a watermelon waiting for me at home. Maybe I'm just from the South?

[Crusty Juggler]

Hot sauce at the office and a watermelon waiting for me at home.

These euphemisms...

[sarcasmic]

I like Sriracha, Cholula, and Buffalo Wild Wings' Mango Habenero.

Any suggestions along the same vein?

[Zeb]

Marie Sharps.

[Suell]

El Yucateco. Either their black label, Salsa Mayakut or their Caribbean Habanero. There are no equals to those.

[sarcasmic]

I will look for both in the store. Thanks Zeb and Suell.

[Stormy Dragon]

My favorite hot sauce is J. T. Pappy's Flaming Gator Sauce:

http://www.jtpappys.net/

It has a very distinct mustard based flavor that I really like.

[(((Renegade)))]

Bufalo Salsa Clasica.

But of course, sriracha is true ambrosia.

[OneOut]

Home grown peppers. . Some Garlic . Some vinegar. Some something else at you taste.

have fun and make your own

[sarcasmic]

Home grown peppers. . Some Garlic . Some vinegar. Some something else at you taste.

Not enough sun where I live to grow peppers. Have done so with gifted peppers. Thanks though.

[Free Society]

You might consider getting a grow lamp. I always have the best luck with peppers when grown in a controlled environment.

[sarcasmic]

Electricity is very expensive here. Not worth it. Just running a dehumidifier in the basement during the summer adds close to thirty dollars a year to the monthly bill. Thanks though.

[Free Society]

Hamajang. It's a smoked ghost pepper sauce with some other goodies mixed in. I think it's fairly endemic to Hawaii, but it'll burn your tits clean off.

[Free Society]

Though I guess smoked isn't necessarily in that vein. But of those you mentioned, I of course have Sriracha, which is what I keep at work in case burritos find their way into the building.

But in that vein... try Sambal Olek. You could find it at most import stores that import from Europe or SE Asia. Indonesian food is quite popular in Holland so I eat a lot of Sambal when I'm there. It's not a brand mind you, but more of a category with some variability in heat and flavor, and it's great for cooking.

[Krabappel]

Sriracha, Cholula, Franks, and Gochu Jang.

[Free Society]

Frank's is for gas station chicken wings.

[Krabappel]

I know what it is and I like it any ways :X

[Atanarjuat]

So you don't tip at the Mexican restaurants?

And it's nice to hear someone getting pandered to call bullshit, although I didn't actually read anything but the quoted excerpt.

[Dennis, Constitutional Peasant]

Yet People Think Six-Year-Olds Should Be Able To Determine Their Lifelong "Gender"

This February 2014 photo taken by Arnell Elegue and provided by the Make A Wish Foundation shows Ethan Dean in Rancho Cordova, Calif. Dean, 6, who has cystic fibrosis, will have his dream to be a garbage man come true with help of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

[You Sound Like a Prog (MJG)]

Damn, the world is gonna lose a valuable person.

[John]

No kidding. Garbage men do an important job. Good for that kid for wanting to be one.

[Libertarian]

Important AND dangerous. Number 6, actually. Well ahead of cops.

[Dennis, Constitutional Peasant]

Also Doubles as Surveillance Van

"I'll have the nickel-ride sundae"

[Ken Shultz]

By the way, worst PM links ever.

[bacon-magic]

You leave Robbo alone, he's trying to catch 'em all.

[John]

Nothing about the charges in Houston but we had to talk about the important things like the death of Miss Cleo.

[John]

http://www.breitbart.com/londo.....t-bathers/

Young Muslims threaten to exterminate nude bathers in Germany. Maybe the Germans are completely broken, but if they are not, these animals may find out the Germans know a thing or two about extermination. If and when that happens, it will of course be everyone else' fault.

[bacon-magic]

Herr exterminator

[JaimeRoberto]

To be fair, most of the people who sunbathe nude are people who shouldn't be nude. So maybe the Muslims are doing everyone a favor here.

[(((Renegade)))]

O'Rourke's Law: "The larger the German body, the smaller the German bathing suit."

[You Sound Like a Prog (MJG)]

There was talk of punchable faces earlier today.

Well, here you go: "Waiting for the facts does hurt" He is "a recovering white moderate."

[Sir Digby Chicken Caesar]

Can I hit it with a cinder block? Yeeesh.....

[commodious, VRW conspirator]

As a recovering white moderate, I get it: you should never scapegoat one cop for the collective sins of the criminal justice system. It's illiberal.

...

Whites wouldn't do this if we actually valued black lives. But, by and large, we don't. We get the luxury of ignoring police racism because we don't personally have to accumulate its trauma. Or we look at each tragedy on its own, in a vacuum, divorced from the fuller context of anti-black racism. Either way, our apathy breathes life into a status quo that is actively violent against our black friends and loved ones.

...

So yes, the dust is still settling in Minnesota. But don't ask protesters to keep cool and judicious. Why? Because waiting for the facts does hurt people. Maybe they just don't look like you.

So, presumably, since you can't risk losing the forest for the trees, it's perfectly acceptable to get every incident fundamentally wrong while still being right on the message. Something about losing money on every sale and making it up in volume.

What pap. Sorry, bro, about your nasty case of white guilt. Sorry you're a sucker for that sort of thing. But it doesn't dislodge the need for data in the face of overwrought emotion.

[John]

They dropped the charges in Houston against the reporters who videotaped planned parenthood. That is a real victory for free speech and a complete outrage the charges were ever brought. Reason gave it ZERO coverage from what I can see. It is almost like they only give a shit about free speech if it involves people they approve of or something.

[bacon-magic]

I'm slightly surprised they did not cover it.

[John]

I am less surprised than I should be. But they never paid attention to the case. That was a real case of a DA abusing the legal system. And reason didn't touch it because their cultural biases toward Planned Parenthood trumped their principles. That is sad.

[Crusty Juggler]

Forgot to post! Michelle Obama's Dress May Have Looked Simple, but It Spoke Volumes

Cobalt blue silk crepe, with cap sleeves, a flared skirt and a neat waist, it was by the designer Christian Siriano, and it pretty much matched the backdrop, playing down Mrs. Obama's appearance and playing to the patriotic theme, especially when contrasted with the bright red jacket that Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts wore during her speech.

But the simplicity and the color were just the beginning. See, Mr. Siriano is a former reality TV star ? the only designer to really have emerged from the television show "Project Runway" (he won the fourth season competition) and carved out a place on the New York Fashion Week scene.

But unlike another reality TV star, Mr. Siriano has built his career on being inclusive: on catering to women regardless of size or age.

[RBS]

catering to women

So, exclusive of men?

[John]

http://time.com/4424055/comet-.....ell-earth/

This is kind of sad.

[Dennis, Constitutional Peasant]

did you give your teddy bears voices when you were a kid?

[bacon-magic]

Poor little guy.

[thrakkorzog]

Reminds me of this: https://www.xkcd.com/695/

[Dennis, Constitutional Peasant]

China = World's Leader in Holes

[bacon-magic]

Did I read that right?

[Mad Scientist]

Duck

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

No more yanky my wanky, Donger tired.

[True Scottsman]

Send Krillen & Bulma, maybe Yamcha, trust me they're not helping here anyway.

[R C Dean]

Kinda OT:

First the good news:

A grand jury indicted [Border Patrol officer] Swartz on a second-degree murder charge in September for shooting through gaps in the border fence and killing 16-year-old Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez in October 2012.

An autopsy report by the government of Sonora, Mexico, showed Elena Rodriguez was struck as many as 10 times.

Inevitably, some bad news:

Border Patrol officials said the shooting occurred during a rock-throwing incident. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has refused to release footage of the shooting taken by a border surveillance camera.

I don't see how they can refuse to release evidence relevant to a murder charge, unless this is a clever ploy to taint the trial so their guy can't be convicted.

http://tucson.com/news/local/b.....876eb.html

[kbolino]

Why does the agency even get a say in the release of border surveillance videos? Is the privacy of Mexican citizens of sudden importance to the U.S. government? Is there a national security interest in videos taken openly of public places?

[Lee Genes]

Heroes

That's why

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

When Trump is president, there won't be any gaps in the border fence. And it'll be so high, you won't be able to throw rocks over it.

Did I do that right?

[OneOut]

I bet those Messkins will be so high I can't throw rocks over it

Or something like that.

[Libertarian]

An "RIP" for a fake psychic (yes that's redundant, I know) who takes advantage of desperate people? (oops, another redundancy). I don't think so.

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

A FLORIDAMAN amongst Floridamen.

Florida Man Charged With Picking Magic Mushrooms While Carrying An Alligator

[But Enough About Me]

They charged him?

Why the Hell didn't they declare this man to be their god?

[BigT]

Lester Holt interviewed Obama about the email leak. All he asked about was the Russian 'connection.' Not a single: What does this say about your party? or Do you think Hillary won fairly?

Yes, NBC is shit.

[But Enough About Me]

In fairness, The Big O would've just dodged 'n weaved anyways, so there really wasn't any point in trying.

[Mr Drew]

"Michelle Obama received rave reviews for her DNC speech last night."

Did anyone else notice that Michelle plagiarized herself from a speech given a couple of months ago at...some New York college?

Scandal!