Shooting Sparks Night of Protest in Charlotte, States Fight Obama Overtime Rules, Popeyes May Have Served Fried Rat: A.M. Links

• A Charlotte police officer serving a warrant shot and killed another man, Keith Lamont Scott, whom the cops say was carrying a gun but whose family claims he had been holding a book. The killing sparked a night of protests in which a highway was blocked, 12 officers injured, and several people taken to the hospital.
• A lawsuit filed by 21 states Tuesday seeks to dismiss the Obama administration's new rule requiring more workers be eligible for overtime pay.
• Flight attendants are pushing legislation to make training flight attendants to learn the "signs" of human trafficking mandatory.
• Colorado officials are urging Arizona to first decriminalize marijuana possession before setting up a legalization scheme.
• Kittens will kill you.
• "Police say a fearful 11-year-old Georgia girl who took a knife to school told officers she needed the weapon to fend off clowns."
• Health officials are investigating a woman's claim that she was served a fried rat head at Popeye's.

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Kittens will kill you.

Eventually.

[UnCivilServant]

Before or after the cuteness wears off any you realize they're just entitled monsters?

[Swiss Servator]

After.

[Citizen X]

One morning i awoke into that gray half-sleep stage where you're conscious but can't move. My cat was sitting next to me on the bed, staring directly into my eyes. Slowly, without breaking eye contact, he reached over and put his paw right into my mouth.

I don't think he necessarily wants me dead, but if i died due to his actions i think he'd forgive himself pretty quickly.

[EDG reppin LBC]

Whoa!

[Certified Public Asshat]

Mine will do that too, luckily never in the mouth, but I will wake up, she'll be laying on my chest staring into my face, sucking my life out, when she will slowly reach her paw out and touch my cheek.

[OneOut]

He just wanted you to get up and feed him.

Ours do the same thing.

I frequently remind my wife that if the little bugers were only a fewp pounds heavier they would eat us. Though.

[PurityDiluting]

"He just wanted you to get up and feed him."
Keep telling yourself that

[UnCivilServant]

Or, if you didn't get up, you'd still end up feeding the cat...

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Just checking to see if you're still alive...

When they eat your eyelids and cheeks, they want it to be fresh.

[spqr2008]

That's why you don't let them in bed. My mom's cat (we called him my older brother), used to do that until they banned him from the bed when we moved (easier to keep him out of their bedroom in the new house, and my brother and I were old enough to give him the amount of attention he wanted). It was absolutely about food. He used to do the same thing to me if I fell asleep on the couch and it was time to feed him. just sit on my chest until I woke up, then reach out and bat me.

[Citizen X]

It wasn't about food - our cats have one of those silo-type feeders. If the feeder had been empty, his brother would have been in there too, screaming at me. Either he just wanted attention, or he was trying to see how easy it would be to smother me in my sleep.

[Lord Humungus]

In college I had two cats - one day I'm sleeping and have a dream that I can't breathe. I manage to fight myself awake only to find both of them lying on my chest, together. Sort of a team effort to snuff me out. I'm sure if I had a third cat they would have succeeded.

[Zeb]

We have one that would sleep on my wife's face every night if she would let her. And another that will come in the morning if we sleep in too late and poke one of us in the face with a claw. Just enough to get your attention.

[End Child Unemployment]

Cats respond to behaviorist operant conditioning just like dogs and children do. Any cat I am around regularly knows it will get a two finger smack in the face if it tries to scratch or bite me. You can also spray them with water or confine them to the bathroom if you have qualms about smacking them.

[Spartacus]

If that is happening to you a lot you should consider what you are doing to provoke them. Operant conditioning, you know.

[waffles]

But then you're the one being trained, not the cat.

[Slammer]

Doctors with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted the first large-scale study of cat-scratch fever in more than 15 years, and the results, published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, suggest that while fewer people are contracting the disease, its serious complications could be more common than previously thought.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Cat Scratch Fever?

It's nothin' dangerous
I feel no pain
I've got the choo-choo train
You know you got it when you, you're going insane
It makes a grown man cry, cry, oh won't you make my bed

[Spartacus]

This is why there is no money for Zika research.
Well, one of the reasons anyway.

[Rufus The Monocled]

Hello.

[Swiss Servator]

Greuzi mitenand.

[Rhywun]

Na so was!

[Elspeth Flashman]

Wasn't this in AM links yesterday, courtesy of a commenter?

[bacon-magic]

Where do you think Reason gets their scoops?

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

H/T's to no one!

[Lord Humungus]

I have a sad 🙁

[Elspeth Flashman]

Exactly!

[Just a thought not a sermon]

235) Apparently, if we break up the TSA, even its own employees wouldn't mind. At my son's Scout meeting last night, I was speaking to another father, and he was commenting how his family was just coming out of a period of financial difficulty. It seems after he got out of the Marines, he had some problems finding a job, so despite some misgivings, he took a position with the TSA.

He soon learned what a mistake he had made?he hated it with a passion, but found that nobody else wanted to hire somebody from the TSA. He finally took a job at a far lower salary than his background would suggest, simply to get away from the awful working conditions.

I was quite curious what exactly he objected to, but he seemed rather embittered about the whole experience, and I didn't want to pry.

But if travelers hate it, airports hate it, even its own employees hate it, and it objectively does little or nothing to actually improve airline security, is there some reason the TSA still exists?

[Citizen X]

You don't just give up a choice bureaucratic fiefdom like that, especially one that was intended to serve such a mediagenic cause. That it doesn't actually do anything besides make everybody involved miserable makes no difference whatsoever.

[Brett L]

Because for non-hackers who didn't actually make it to Marine boot and idiot cousins of federal representatives still need jobs?

[Suthenboy]

It, like all federal agencies, is a jobs program. That is its sole purpose.

[BigT]

-1 Kabuki theater

[Mike Laursen]

It subjectively does so much to improve airline security.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Objectively, not so much.

[Lord Humungus]

my duh comment:

Ever since TSA was implemented I hate traveling by air. Security was annoying before but thankfully short. Now it's terrible.

It's especially bad here - mid-sized city, near zero chance of any security issue, and that means the TSA is bored as hell. So they act like little dictators.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Health officials are investigating a woman's claim that she was served a fried rat head at Popeye's.

Yeah, they're always getting my order wrong, too.

[UnCivilServant]

What's she complaining about? I mean, fried rat's head is a premium option. I bet they didn't even charge her for it.

[Certified Public Asshat]

She wanted the spicy fried rat tenders and she got mild.

[Mickey Rat]

They had forgotten the bottle of ketchup.

[Princess Trigger]

hmmm brains.

[WTF]

Yeah, the fur and eyeballs on that rat do not look like they were actually in a deep fryer.

[Suthenboy]

Exactly. She brought the rat's head herself and poked it into the fried crust she pulled off of the end of the drumstick.

How much can she sue for? I bet more if she had actually taken a bite.

[Red Rocks Dickin Bimbos]

Someone's trying to win the ghetto lottery.

[SimonD]

That set off my B.S. alarm as well.

But don't forget, rat is terrific, just ask Stallone.

*best chicken I've had in years*

[pan fried wylie]

you referenced those lyrics incorrectly.

[Griffin3]

Isn't this a subplot in a number of Carl Hiaasen novels?

[Hamster of Doom]

"Police say a fearful 11-year-old Georgia girl who took a knife to school told officers she needed the weapon to fend off clowns."

They have a nice jail cell where she'll be quite safe.

[Swiss Servator]

"I brought it to fend of Slenderman!"

[Swiss Servator]

*off*

[Citizen X]

I originally read that as "Suderman." It made sense to me.

[Swiss Servator]

*rises to applaud*

[Rich]

In Maryland some kids confessed to making up "scary clown" crap reported to police.

Everybody needs to be scared straight.

[Lee Genes]

Your first mistake was eating at Popeye's.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

I don't eat fast food to often, but every once in a great while I get a real hankering for Popeye's. I basically have to spend the next 24 hours recovering as my digestive system "flushes" itself out.

[Lee Genes]

I'm still not over my encounter with Long John Silver's back in '87

[Krabappel]

Every few years I really want LJS drowned in malt vinegar. Luckily, the one in town went out of business so that option has been removed from me.

[straffinrun]

Ok. What do you do to LongJohn Silver's back?

[Krabappel]

-_-

[Hamster of Doom]

Their dirty rice isn't bad. Better than Golden Chick's, that's for damned sure. I don't even know what that was last time. Some sort of stroganoff/dirty rice fusion. Do not recommend.

[Suthenboy]

*sigh*

Popeyes is a cheap knockoff of Gary's. Al Copeland and Gary Lahood got started about the same time. Everything about Gary's was exponentially better. Copeland just took Gary's recipies and cheapened it down. If you want the recipe for really good dirty rice let me know.

[Rufus The Monocled]

Why do we have to ask?

Spill it.

[Hamster of Doom]

Absolutely. Rufus is right, what are you waiting for, Christmas? I'd love the recipe.

[BigT]

Yeah. What kind of dirt do use? My organic humus isn't thrilling anyone.

[Mr Drew]

The Super Popeyes in New Orleans was nothing short of amazing. Opened by the guy who started then lost Popeyes. Best po' boy I ever had. Sadly, they did not reopen after Katrina.

[Crusty Juggler]

Yeah, what's wrong with you - post the recipe, you selfish fuck.

[bacon-magic]

WTF Suthenboy, you can't tease us like this. Well, you can, but someone will report this as spam. *whistles and looks innocent

[Slammer]

They're better than KFC

[Mr. Flanders]

KFC cuts their fries too big. It's like they want more potato in the fry and less grease. It's pretty un-American if you ask me.

[Swiss Servator]

NOTHING is better than KFC coleslaw!

[Red Rocks Dickin Bimbos]

Red Lobster's cheesy biscuits laugh at KFC coleslaw.

[BigT]

"NOTHING is better than KFC coleslaw!"

True dat. I prefer nothing.

[Chipwooder]

Bojangles rules all

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

One Bojangles to rule them all, and in the fryer grease, bind them!

[Slammer]

A lawsuit filed by 21 states Tuesday seeks to dismiss the Obama administration's new rule requiring more workers be eligible for overtime pay.

Plenty of overtime for attorneys

[Brett L]

Ah, the old deep-fried rat trick. An evergreen money-maker.

[Drave Robber]

If it was real, taxidermists of the world would flock to Popeye's to learn how to preserve specimens better.

[Lord Humungus]

Miner 49er?

Canadian Mint employee accused of smuggling $180K of gold in his rectum

The Uck! factor aside, the case was also an illuminating look at security measures inside the Mint, the building on Sussex Drive that produces hundreds of millions of gold coins annually for the federal Crown corporation.

"Appalling," was the conclusion of defence lawyer Gary Barnes, who described the Crown's case as an underwhelming collection of circumstantial evidence.

"This is the Royal Canadian Mint, your Honour, and one would think they should have the highest security measures imaginable," Barnes said in his closing submission.

"And here the gold is left sitting around in open buckets."

[UnCivilServant]

Um... They don't have a metal detector on the exit?

[Zeb]

That does seem like kind of an obvious measure to have at a mint.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

As gold is non-magnetic, would it set off a metal detector?

[Zeb]

It's the conductivity that makes metal detectable, not magnetism. Most work by inducing an electric current in the metal to be detected and detecting the changes in magnetic field that are thus created.

[UnCivilServant]

Yes, actually. Or there's a lot of fraudsters...

[SIV]

Yes

[BigT]

Didn't RTFA. Was he caught going through security at the airport?

[Isaac Bartram]

According to TFA, they do. And he apparently set it off many times.

He managed to pass the handheld search every time.

[Free Society]

"Appalling," was the conclusion of defence lawyer Gary Barnes, who described the Crown's case as an underwhelming collection of circumstantial evidence.

"So you found some gold in his butt. It could have come from anywhere. Big deal."

[Brett L]

"So, uh, I do I get a discount if I pay in untraceable gold?"

[Free Society]

"There's traces of yesterday's lunch on it, but still."

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Somebody has some strong sphincter muscles.

I wonder if there's a work-out?

[Elspeth Flashman]

Kind of like the goose who laid the golden eggs? Or maybe he has the Midas touch?

[Isaac Bartram]

Having read the article, I now know that the $180K was taken out in several trips.

This answered my first reaction to this post, which was, "I know gold's expensive, but how did he get that much gold in there?"

[Hamster of Doom]

Kittens will kill you.

They will rule us all one day. All shall love them and despair.

[Doctor Whom]

I, for one, welcome our new kitten overlords.

[Zeb]

But only for a few months, after which they will just lie around and lick themselves.

[Spartacus]

It's only fair. I've killed plenty of them.

[Slammer]

Kittens will kill you.

Young pussy can be dangerous.

[W. Chipper Dove]

But it's totally worth it.

[Fist of Etiquette]

"Police say a fearful 11-year-old Georgia girl who took a knife to school told officers she needed the weapon to fend off clowns."

A well regulated knife gang is not necessary for security from clowns. It's in the BoR.

[Lord Humungus]

Nate Silver: Trump surges from 3% to 48% chance of winning

The latest vote projection from elections guru Nate Silver has Republican Donald Trump just six Electoral Votes short of winning and one point away from equaling Hillary Rodham Clinton's popular vote.

The newest Five Thirty Eight survey Trump at 264 and Clinton at 272, two more than needed. It's the closest in recent weeks.

[John]

The OED should include a picture of Nate Silver next to its definition of "lagging indicator".

[straffinrun]

God, Nate. Why don't you just suck his dick?

[LynchPin1477]

That's interesting and all, but I hate the way this is presented. These aren't predictions, or if they are, they are meaningless. They are snapshots of what might happen if the election was held today. Since the election isn't being held today or close to today, obsessing over these numbers is pointless.

But since it's all statisticy and stuff, and since Silver got a high profile prediction right that one time (what's the statistical significance of that, I wonder?) everyone acts like 538's projections are authoritative.

[SIV]

538 is an infallible crystal ball of pure science!

[Brett L]

Yes, but since discreet events that happen in the future affect it, you can't predict it. Its usually, "if present trends continue", but then you try to affect the dataset. It lets you know if your actions are affecting people. Its not useless, but you can't see beyond the next event. Its like trying to predict football scores six weeks in the future. Probably there will be injuries.

[PurityDiluting]

this bump is nothing more than his dead cat bounce in the polls

[BigT]

Hildog ain't dead...yet.

[Doctor Whom]

How Bad[ly] Off Is Oil-Rich Venezuela? It's Buying U.S. Oil

Economic miracle!

[UnCivilServant]

Venezuela needs to mix the crude it produces with a different viscocity of oil to refine it.

They've always bought crude from other sources to do that. It's pretty much the only thing that's not a symptom of their shitstorm.

[Suthenboy]

What amazes me about their shitstorm is the crickets we get from the MSM here about it.

[PurityDiluting]

MSM is consistently crickets about news from other countries that doesn't directly involve killing or being killed

[BigT]

That's why they ignored Brexit.

Oops!!

[Hamster of Doom]

Oil production for Venezuela is going down the tubes. Rapidly.

[straffinrun]

Used it all on palm greasing.

[Free Society]

Your name is orange now. Change angers me. I'm mad at you.

[commodious is bimbing dickos]

Venezuela's woes are a conspiracy between US and Saudi Arabia to hold the price of oil low.

Apparently both US companies and Saudi oil sheiks are willing to forego enormous gouts of oil revenue in order to crush a pissant developing country.

[Lee Genes]

Caleb Maupin is a MintPress journalist and political analyst who resides in New York City focusing his coverage on US foreign policy and the global system of monopoly capitalism and imperialism. Originally from Ohio, he studied political science at Baldwin-Wallace College. In addition to his journalism, analysis, and commentary, he has engaged in political activism. He was part of the Occupy Wall Street movement from its early planning stages in August of 2011. He has worked against police brutality, mass incarceration, and imperialist war. He has appeared on Russia Today, PressTV, Telesur, and CNN. In 2014, he participated in the voyage of Iran Shahed Rescue Ship, attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Yemen with the Red Crescent Society of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Talk about being a useful idiot...

[Lee Genes]

The same author. Filed under holy shit.

Mugabe: The Dictator?
Is Zimbabwe's 92-year-old leader really the oppressive dictator the West makes him out to be, or is he demonized for not succumbing to a history of destabilization and intervention attempts by the West?

The redistribution process slowed agricultural production in Zimbabwe. The process of transitioning farms from the large plantations owned by white settlers, to small individual plots owned by African families, was difficult on its own. But it was also compounded by the fact that Africans who had never owned their own farms did not have easy, immediate access to many types of modern agricultural technology previously employed by white farmers. The U.S. made the economic situation far worse by imposing economic sanctions on Zimbabwe starting in 2001, heavily restricting its ability to export agricultural goods. The sanctions also limited Zimbabwe's access to key agricultural imports needed to make fertilizer.

Speaking at the U.N. General Assembly in 2008, Mugabe said, "We want to be left alone." He urged Western forces to stop meddling in his country's internal affairs, and to allow Zimbabwe to alter its economic system toward one featuring a more equitable distribution of wealth.

[Lee Genes]

linkie

[perlchpr]

Wow. I guess there's a Walter Duranty in every generation.

[BigT]

Damn those greedy oil shieks and oil companies!! You're not being greedy enough!!

[Gadfly]

The idea that they are conspiring with the intent to harm Venezuela is nuts, but it is in the interest of both nations to keep oil low, albeit for different reasons. A country whose economy is heavily based on manufacturing and consumption (as is the US economy) benefits greatly from cheap energy, and Saudi Arabia wants to keep the price low in order to run a bunch of their competitors out of business. Of course, many other actors are involved as well, as it seems all of the oil producing countries are currently over-producing in the hopes to make up on volume for what they are losing due to low prices. And we consumers benefit.

[Mr. Flanders]

I feel really bad for the rat.

[Rich]

"We started to notice more often there were passengers on the planes, who shouldn't have been there with certain people, and we started to notice kids with people who they shouldn't have been with," said Natasha Glasper, MEC/LEC President

Sounds like "we" have personal problems.

[PurityDiluting]

"who shouldn't have been there with certain people"
like who? hot chicks with old dudes? Ageism!

[Suthenboy]

Were they with clowns?

What a bunch of horseshit.

[Lord Humungus]

Robichaud: Hillary Clinton's health ills give a bitter dose of reality

This latest episode in the Clinton saga has two possible ramifications in this presidential race.

First, it lowers Hillary's expectations for the debate. As someone who has been on the public stage debating for decades, the former first lady, former U.S. senator and former secretary of state is expected to perform well against Trump, a novice debater. However, now that she has been under the weather, everyone is wondering if Hillary can make it through the entire debate. Her expected level of performance has been completely erased. She doesn't have to pummel Trump to be considered the winner by the biased liberal media. All Hillary has to do is get through the hour and half without collapsing.

You're probably thinking that couldn't possibly happen. Really? We're talking about Hillary, who won the New Hampshire primary eight years ago by crying. Furthermore, as Massachusetts residents we have seen this lower expectation performance be accepted by the voters. In his twilight, Ted Kennedy was not lighting the world on fire. Voters were impressed when he could form a full sentence.

[UnCivilServant]

She doesn't have to pummel Trump to be considered the winner by the biased liberal media

She doesn't even have to show up and they'd declare her the winner.

[Citizen X]

Did... did Holly Robichaud just call Hillary a master debater?

Have we found a SugarFree alias at large in the world?

[mojoe]

Remember she was debating Lazio, and he made those horrible, bullying moves towards her by stepping away from his podium and gesticulating?

Get ready for lots of accusations of intimidation, chauvinistic behavior and misogyny(!!1!) as this debate ramps up.

[Red Rocks Dickin Bimbos]

Yeah, people act as if she's not going to pull the "strong woman/helpless female" card based on whichever is needed at the time.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Colorado officials are urging Arizona to first decriminalize marijuana possession before setting up a legalization scheme.

Colorado being a model for how not to do it.

[Zeb]

Seems like Colorado has done a decent enough job of it.

[Fist of Etiquette]

None of them have.

[Zeb]

I'm not saying it's what I would have wanted. But it's as good as I'd expect.

I'd much rather just see a line through the text of the laws that banned it. But that's not too likely.

[Free Society]

Just look at Washington if you want to know how not to go about legalization.

[Zeb]

Exactly. Colorado is far from perfect, but relatively better.

[Free Society]

It's the best example of legalization out of pretty anywhere that I can think of. And I mean better than thew Dutch who were previously the best about pot anywhere on earth, barring Antarctica. Now technically they only decriminalized it, and did so very well in terms of use and consumption. But though coffee shops may be able to sell it if they stay on good terms with local police, their delivery personnel literally have to sneak it into the shop because it's technically illegal to move in bulk or even just to produce it. And every so often, their cops feel like fucking with the movers and producers.

[PurityDiluting]

The whole notion of budtender is funny. Who cares what the bud smells like. Does this weed get me stoned or not?

[Just a thought not a sermon]

I take it you're also a fan of Schlitz?

[PurityDiluting]

I'll hazard a guess that the horticulturalist's talents play a role. So unlike Schlitz, the Durban Poison purchased at one shop isn't going to be the same as the Durban Poison bought down the road.
This overstates my point, and I'm not trying to disparage the true aficionados, but beyond the indica / sativa distinction it's a crapshoot at the pot shops.
However, the price point doesn't vary in the same way that it does for wine and nobody expects you to lucidly describe the subtle undertones of pine with a hint of black currant after partaking.
So weed has that going for it. Pass the Cheetos this way

[Zeb]

nobody expects you to lucidly describe the subtle undertones of pine with a hint of black currant after partaking

Speak for yourself. People do.

[Free Society]

Seems like have it precisely backwards. It's a crap shoot with regular illegal dealers. In pot shops, it's the opposite of a crap shoot. A dealer might tell you "this is Afghan Kush" and you can safely assume that either he was lied to by his dealer or he's lying to you, but you can still ascertain the overall quality. With a pot shop, they can actually control their supply and get verifiable data on the genetics and have first knowledge of the facility in which it was grown. And by god, when I order Blueberry something or other, it better damn well have fruity undertones and a pleasant after taste.

[Zeb]

People do care.

Who cares what this wine tastes like if it gets you drunk?

[A frilly pink thing]

Weed doesn't work like that.

[Zeb]

What are you talking about? Of course it does. Many weed enthusiasts enjoy the flavor and odor of particular varieties and growers go to great pains to cure it in such a way as to enhance that part of the experience.

[Free Society]

I can personally guarantee you, people do care and care for good reason. No one wants to smoke your grandpas ditch weed or Juan's Mexican seed weed that's been smashed and packed into a tire and then driven on for 1,000 miles.

[A frilly pink thing]

"people do care "

Yeah.

"and care for good reason"

Nah.

[Free Society]

You know best, being such an expert in the industry and as a consumer connoisseur.

[Zeb]

For as good a reason as people have for caring what their beer, wine or whisky tastes like.

[Free Society]

NO ZEB. People don't tend to prefer higher quality to lower quality when it comes to pot, unlike every other product in existence. He knows.

[Red Rocks Dickin Bimbos]

You haven't had to try and buy a house here the last two years.

[Yusef Adama]

'Splain please

[Red Rocks Dickin Bimbos]

All the potheads moving here to set up businesses have sent the cost of housing through the roof. That's great if you're not going anywhere on the Front Range anytime soon, or are leaving the state; not so much if you're trying to find somewhere that isn't falling apart or isn't located in a shithole part of the area, like north Aurora.

[Free Society]

I remember people complaining that all the abandoned warehouses and industrial properties were being bought up by growers, as if rising property values and increased commerce is a bad thing.

[Red Rocks Dickin Bimbos]

as if rising property values and increased commerce is a bad thing.

It's not always an inherently good thing, either. My grandparents live on the same street as two pot growers. A month ago, someone did a drive-by on one of the houses, which has never happened before in the 50+ years they've been living there; this is a neighborhood that was largely working-class for decades and relatively safe. Not so much anymore.

[Free Society]

Yeah the problem there is the drug war more generally, the individual perpetrators specifically, and pot plants not in the slightest. Pot plants don't attract drive-bys like magnets to metal anymore than a rose bush does, the difference is the class of people that the drug war has essentially handed control of the industry to moved into your parents neighborhood. Do you think there was a drive by because the perps were trying to shoot pot plants, or because they were trying to shoot the specific people in the house?

Your parents probably have 5 other grow ops in their neighborhood that you or no one else knows about and they've probably been there for over a decade without a single problem.

[Red Rocks Dickin Bimbos]

Yeah the problem there is the drug war more generally, the individual perpetrators specifically, and pot plants not in the slightest. the difference is the class of people that the drug war has essentially handed control of the industry to moved into your parents neighborhood

Except this wouldn't apply because of Colorado's legalization, now would it? No argument there on the shitty class of people that live there (I've met the inhabitants of both homes and they're stereotypical subliterate bottom-feeders), but better that they weren't living there at all so I wouldn't have to worry about my grandparents getting hosed in a territorial pissing.

Your parents probably have 5 other grow ops in their neighborhood that you or no one else knows about and they've probably been there for over a decade without a single problem.

You underestimate how much everyone is in everyone else's business in that neighborhood.

[perlchpr]

Except this wouldn't apply because of Colorado's legalization, now would it?

It's still federally illegal, and that's still causing all of those problems.

[Citizen X]

Colorado being a model for how not to do it.

Colorado is a lot like your mom in that respect.

[Bee Tagger]

Health officials are investigating a woman's claim that she was served a fried rat head at Popeye's.

That's what it gets for trying to steal that pizza on the subway steps.

[Swiss Servator]

*polite applause*

[Hamster of Doom]

A Charlotte police officer serving a warrant shot and killed another man, Keith Lamont Scott, whom the cops say was carrying a gun but whose family claims he had been holding a book. The killing sparked a night of protests in which a highway was blocked, 12 officer injured, and several people taken to the hospital.

We always knew that reading was dangerous to power.

[WTF]

A Charlotte police officer serving a warrant shot and killed another man, Keith Lamont Scott, whom the cops say was carrying a gun but whose family claims he had been holding a book.

Should be easy to resolve, as I presume the cops will be able to produce the gun that is clearly traceable to the victim?

[(((Renegade)))]

whose family claims

Res ipsa. "He din do nuffin!" Which is possible, but I rarely believe the hot take from the family, especially when there's sweet, sweet settlement money as a possibility.

[WTF]

Well yeah, you do always have to take the ghetto lottery into account.

[Crusty Juggler]

You can buy a gun cheaper than you can buy a book, so my money is on him carrying a gun.

[Brett L]

At the very least, these guys are smart enough to have throw-down guns. It shows respect for the intelligence of the citizenry.

[Agent Cooper]

I commend them. Books have killed more people than guns throughout history!

[Lord Humungus]

Researchers hack Tesla Model S with remote attack

First, while the car was parked, the researchers used a laptop to remotely open its sunroof, activate the steering light, reposition the driver's seat, take over the dashboard and central display and unlock the car.

In a second demonstration, they turned on the windshield wipers while the car was being driven at low speed in a parking lot for demonstration purposes. They also showed that they can open the trunk and fold the side-view mirror when the driver is trying to change lanes. While these operations can be distracting to the driver in certain situations, causing a safety risk, the most dangerous thing they were able to do was to engage the car's braking from 12 miles away.

Such an attack, performed against a car being driven at high speed on a highway, could result in a serious rear-end collision.

[Red Rocks Dickin Bimbos]

This is why the "Internet of Things" is such a stupid concept.

[BigT]

Internet of things = lets make everything hackable!

[Brett L]

Yes. I definitely want my cars and door-locks to be subject to the same security flaws as the Internet! Maybe they can do my pacemaker next!

[PurityDiluting]

^ This

[Lee Genes]

We're going to need a more socially aware boat....

6 Ways Your Social Justice Activism Might Be Ableist

2. Implying That Public Protest Is the Ultimate Activism

Participation in public protests like marches and sit-ins, and even getting arrested for acts of civil disobedience, is often implicitly held as the pinnacle of anti-oppression activism. Yet in order to safely participate in many of these activities, one has to be physically healthy and mobile.

Emotional and cognitive issues like developmental disabilities, autism, anxiety, and PTSD can also play a role in one's ability to publicly protest. This is not to mention the other myriad reasons people might not be able to show up, like concerns about undocumented immigration, childcare, police brutality, or losing one's job.

This doesn't mean these types of actions aren't necessary or useful; indeed, they are some of the most important tactics ever employed in various fights against injustice. The problem arises when we don't examine our assumptions about what legitimate activism looks like, and when we discount less obvious types of social change that have been equally important, including the radical act of letting oneself safely rest when oppressed and weary.

[Mr. Flanders]

Blocked at my work. Everyday Feminism posted this? Holy shit, are they finally starting to realize that their ideology demonizes pretty much everyone? I doubt it...

[Lee Genes]

The ones who are trying to be intellectually consistent (and failing) are eating themselves ourobouros style. What they don't realize is that they are just useful idiots for those who only seek power.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

"Implying That Public Protest Is the Ultimate Activism"

Obviously, Twitter activism is the most powerful force on earth

[PBR Streetgang]

The author uses "Able-Splaining".
Able.
Splaining.

[Chipwooder]

Anyone that uses the word fragment "splaining" with anything other than "ex" in front of it should be punched.

[Glide]

As should anyone who uses "splaining" with "ex" in front of it, because "exsplaining" is not a word.

But yeah.

[Yusef Adama]

Ricky Ricardo?

[LynchPin1477]

Way to marginalize people without access to high speed internet. Why do you hate people living in 4G deadzones?

[Zeb]

I fail to see the problem.

[PBR Streetgang]

Are we certain everydayfeminism isn't a parody site?

[Juvenile Bluster]

I'd be a lot happier if it was.

[Tonio]

It is a parody site, they just aren't self-aware enough to realize it. Conscious self-parody is delicious if done right (eg, Shatner); unconscious self-parody is the cruellest, and therefore funniest, form of humor.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

At what point does it become impossible for a SJW to complete a thought, leave the house, or perform basic everyday duties because every action must be vetted for so many possible microaggressions that it literally takes hours to perform the simplest task?

[Lee Genes]

When your sole purpose is to find the offense in everything, guess what you'll find everywhere you look.

[LynchPin1477]

It reminds me of ultra-strict Buddhists who worry about going outside less they accidentally step on an ant, except the SJWs seem far less rational than the Buddhist.

[ant1sthenes]

The problem isn't the ones who overanalyze their sin until they fall over and die, it's the small percentage who instead are driven insane and turn into rapey cannibal savages.

[Free Society]

I say we round up all the SJWs and put them in some sort of reeducation camp where they can work and be...concentrated...in one place.

[PurityDiluting]

you mean college?

[Agent Cooper]

Zing.

[BigT]

Concentrated by combustion.

[Tonio]

I applaud this. Whether this is a brilliant false-flag operation to depress turnout for lefty protests, or the left simply self destructing, it's a win!

[Suthenboy]

I think I know the author. When I worked in a mental hospital we had a patient that believed that what was wrong with the world was that it was out of balance. She wanted everyone in the world to walk to one side of the earth and she claimed that would re-balance the earth on its axis and everything would be ok.

It has to be her.

[Lord Humungus]

China's 'out of control' 8-tonne space station could strike anywhere on Earth

China's first space station is hurtling towards earth amid fears the country's space program has "lost control" of the module.

Chinese authorities have revealed the Tiangong-1 station was falling back to Earth and would enter the atmosphere some time late next year.

But while China has attempted to play down the development as simply the end of the mission, experts have warned chunks of the station weighing up to 100kg could cause damage upon re-entering earth's atmosphere.

The developments came as China launched its Tiangong-2 space laboratory earlier this month as it attempts to build a space program.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

I'm not sure a gradual de-orbiting that can be predicted more than a year ahead of time can rightly be characterized as "hurtling towards earth."

[Mr. Flanders]

Things travel really, really fast in space. Its all hurtling, all of it.

[UnCivilServant]

The journalist was told to spice up the story. "Debris likely to land in ocean a year from now" does not get clicks.

[WTF]

Yeah, fortunately most of the earth is water, and most of the land is sparsely inhabited, so the chances for actual harm are pretty slim.

[PurityDiluting]

Skylab, the sequel.
Maybe China has time to aim it while still being able to play the Oops card.
The Outback took the hit last time.

[Zeb]

I've been reading some Heinlein lately and reading his descriptions of navigating space ships into different orbits and landing on the moon it struck me how many sci fi authors either just don't understand or ignore how orbital mechanics and gravity actually work.

[UnCivilServant]

I read some of the same stuff and came to the conclusion that it's getting in the way of the story.

Not that I don't want to know about orbital mechanics, Science Fiction was not the gateway that got me there. (Kerbal Space Program drove a lot more of my efforts at understanding the actual mechanics involved than my love of SciFi.)

[Zeb]

I don't necessarily think every author needs to make it so realistic, but it's cool to read someone who does sometimes. It's interesting to see fleshed out how such things would actually work.

[UnCivilServant]

I can see how it might be interesting, or worked in to a story - but the one time I saw it from Heinlein, there was literally a "Skip to chapter X if you don't want to be bored out of your skull" annotation just before it started because the sequence was so poorly inegrated and detracted from the story in question by getting bogged down in the physics rather than weaving it into the fabric of the tale.

[Zeb]

Yeah, that doesn't help the story. But he also works it in in more natural ways. I don't need the full physics lecture, but it's cool to have it be realistic.

[commodious is bimbing dickos]

I listened to Seveneves and didn't much mind his descriptions of orbital mechanics, but afterward I bought a paper copy for my brother and he balked at Stephenson's obnoxious, pedantic habit of denoting "up" and "down" with quotation marks every single time.

[Free Society]

I read some of the same stuff and came to the conclusion that it's getting in the way of the story.

Not that I don't want to know about orbital mechanics

It was absolutely vital to the story in The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. It was how they were able to halt the Earthling invasion and continue to hurl big rocks down onto the Earth with near impunity.

[UnCivilServant]

I never got around to that one, his other works made me not want to read anything else he did.

Every time I read the synopsis, my reaction is "I don't think I'd like reading that."

[Citizen X]

UnCivil Servant refuses to partake of something else that's good? Color me shocked.

[UnCivilServant]

Commentariat mistakes its own subjective opinion as the one objective truth? I'm surprised.

[Citizen X]

I'm just teasing you, UCS.

Because you don't like anything good.

It is known.

[Free Society]

For what it's worth, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I thought the whole polyamory family structure thing was a bit overstated, but the rest of it was good. It's also neat to see a 1960's mind trying to envision the future of computing and artificial intelligence.

[Tonio]

Heinlein made it a point to get it right - and this was before even electronic calculators were available. I recall him writing about how he and Mrs. Heinlein stayed up all night doing the math to make sure the orbit in a story was factually correct.

[commodious is bimbing dickos]

NEEEEEEEEEEEERD

[Eternal Blue Sky]

As Kurt Vonnegut has said, he, like all science fiction writers, knows nothing about actual science.

[Lord Humungus]

Phillip K. Dick certainly ignored the mechanics of his sci-fi world. Talking taxis, traveling in space, robots, etc just "were" and needed no explanation.

[Princess Trigger]

I'll be in my bunk(er).

[straffinrun]

🙂

[Citizen X]

Insert joke about cheap Chinese manufacture here.

This is why i get my space stations built by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation.

[Rich]

"I learned it from Skylab, OK?!"

[robc]

I was going to say, is this a big deal? We have done it a few times too.

[UnCivilServant]

+$400 Australian littering fine.

[Swiss Servator]

*mistily narrows gaze*

/1970s memories

[Eternal Blue Sky]

"China's first space station is hurtling towards earth"

That's ... kinda how orbit works.

Every satellite, space station, and the moon itself, are all "hurtling towards Earth"

[UnCivilServant]

The important distinction is that the rest of them are going to keep missing the Earth for a good long time.

[commodious is bimbing dickos]

The secret to flying orbiting is forgetting to hit the ground.

[KDN]

I thought the moon was hurtling away from Earth. Has the National Geographic channel lied to me again?

[Free Society]

It's failing at falling towards the Earth so hard that it recedes about 1 inch per year, yes.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

"A lawsuit filed by 21 states Tuesday seeks to dismiss the Obama administration's new rule requiring more workers be eligible for overtime pay."

Why don't these states understand the blessings that will flow from following our holy president's grand pronouncements?

[Swiss Servator]

Praise O! from whom all blessings flow
Praise him all voters here below
Praise him above ye servile media
Praise O! Lightworker and Holy Golf

[Rich]

Even though the final rhyme is marginal -- Nice!

[Eternal Blue Sky]

Feels like there are two too many syllables in the second last line.

[BigT]

Just replace media with hacks

[WTF]

Why a lawsuit? Why not just note that the President has no constitutional authority to impose such rules and ignore it?

[SimonD]

I would assume highway money is the reason.

[Bee Tagger]

Cat-scratch fever is caused by a bacteria found in fleas.

Is there no level to which the liberal media won't stoop to denigrate Ted Nugent?

[WTF]

Just wait until they move on to wang dang sweet poontang.

[Lord Humungus]

Rejecting Voodoo Science in the Courtroom

The White House will release a report Tuesday that will fundamentally change the way many criminal trials are conducted. The new study from the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) examines the scientific validity of forensic-evidence techniques?DNA, fingerprint, bitemark, firearm, footwear and hair analysis. It concludes that virtually all of these methods are flawed, some irredeemably so.

Americans have long had an abiding faith in science, including forensic science. Popular TV shows like "CSI" and "Forensic Files" stoke this confidence. Yet the PCAST report will likely upend many people's beliefs, as it should. Why trust a justice system that imprisons and even executes people based on junk science?

Only the most basic form of DNA analysis is scientifically reliable, the study indicates. Some forensic methods have significant error rates and others are rank guesswork. "The prospects of developing bitemark analysis into a scientifically valid method" are low, according to the report. In plain terms: Bitemark analysis is about as reliable as astrology. Yet many unfortunates languish in prison based on such bad science.

[robc]

Obama has done something right?

Good.

[Chipwooder]

Broken clocks, etc

[Lee Genes]

What I learned from TV detective shows is that all of the real forensics labs turn the lights up too high.

[Juvenile Bluster]

That and the cops can find a blood sample, get it to the lab, run it through CODIS and have a match with a one in 15 trillion chance of being wrong all within 10 minutes.

[WTF]

Holy fuck, he actually got one right.

[Free Society]

Give him a chance to fuck up getting it right.

[R C Dean]

Coming soon:

Massive funding increase for the po-po to "upgrade" their "labs".

[Lee Genes]

We Need To Talk About The Dreadlocks At Marc Jacobs

Fashion is no stranger to controversy. In just the last year or so, we've watched as models walked the Givenchy fall '15 runway in a hairstyle described as "Chola Victorian;" as Dolce & Gabbana came under fire for selling the "slave sandal;" as Valentino showed an Africa-inspired collection for spring '16 that featured predominantly white models in cornrows. Now, Marc Jacobs is the latest designer to find himself in hot water.

As a beauty editor, I look forward to going backstage at Marc Jacobs every season. It's one of only a few shows I get excited for, not just because you can always count on a buzzy look (even when the look is no look), but a thoughtful story behind it, as well. It's never just "Marc was into red lipstick for spring."

So when I entered the warehouse packed with hairstylists and makeup artists this morning and immediately spotted a model (white) with a head piled high with pounds of pastel dreadlocks, I thought I ought to withhold judgment ? surely this was meant to be a statement on the current political waters.

[Rich]

spotted a model (white) with a head piled high with pounds of pastel dreadlocks, I thought I ought to withhold judgment ? surely this was meant to be a statement on the current political waters.

Why, that's the only possible explanation!

[LynchPin1477]

We Need To Talk About The Dreadlocks At Marc Jacobs

We absolutely do not.

[Rufus The Monocled]

Oh fuck off.

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

The ultimate irony? It was culturally appropriated!

[Glide]

We Need To Talk About The Dreadlocks At Marc Jacobs

Pass.

[Eternal Blue Sky]

Technically, the Egyptians were the first to wear dreadlocks.

Therefore ~I~ with my small amount of Egyptian heritage have the right to tell Jamaicans to stop their appropriation of my culture!!

And that's where taking this logic to its logical conclusion will get you. The Rastafarians are oppressing me.

[W. Chipper Dove]

Perhaps they have some commodity they can offer to assuage your hurtfulness.

[Free Society]

Technically, the Egyptians were the first to wear dreadlocks.

Assuming that Ugg, Chief of the Cave People who lived in 20,000 BC didn't have dreadlocks.

[Zeb]

I would imagine that a lot of early humans had unintentional dreadlocks, anyway.

[John DeWitt]

Cultural appropriation...I wish they'd do some more of it.

[Lord Humungus]

The US Navy Needs More Submarines to Match Russia and China

The United States Navy and the submarine industrial base might be able to build more than two submarines per year if the Pentagon increases the requirement for the number of attack boats in the fleet.

It would take considerable investment to reconstitute the industrial base?which could build as many as six attack boats (SSN) and a ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) during a single year during the 1980s?if the Navy increased its requirement from 48 subs to a higher number. However, the Navy is struggling to meet the demands of combatant commanders around the world with its current fleet of 53 attack submarines?which is technically in excess of its 48-boat requirement?as the Russian undersea force reemerges from its post-Cold War d?nouement and the Chinese fleet grows rapidly. Worse still, the Navy's submarine force is expected to shrink to only 41 attack boats in 2029. Indeed, from Congressional testimony, it is apparent that the Navy is likely to raise its requirements for the number of attack submarines in the fleet.

[Private Chipperbot]

Give me a ping, Vasily. One ping only.

[Chipwooder]

Ryan, be careful. Most things in here don't react too well to bullets.

[mojoe]

I would like to have seen Montana.

[Brett L]

Someone needs to photoshop him into the scenes with the ugly British guy from the British Christmas movie with all the Harry Potter stars that the women all llike to watch.

[Chipwooder]

Son, the average Russian don't take a dump without a plan.

[Brett L]

The idea that we need to track every single submarine with a submarine of our own is a terrible Cold War strategy that needs to be thrown over. Our ability to deploy cheap, effective sonar buoys at will over any defensible line for the price of several modern fast attack submarines is nearly unlimited.

[Free Society]

This reminds me of the argument saying the navy doesn't have enough aircraft carriers, when in fact the US has almost more air craft carriers than the rest of the world combined, in addition to the fact that the US carriers are the largest and the only ones on the planet that are nuclear powered and can remain at sea practically indefinitely.

[Brett L]

And each one carries about 3x any other carrier's aircraft.

[UnCivilServant]

Doesn't that just paint big "Sink Me" signs on all of them?

Isn't that why we have to keep buying more escort ships to keep these giant targets afloat?

[PurityDiluting]

hasn't the invention of anti-ship ballistic missiles changed the equation?

[UnCivilServant]

We just need more carriers than they have Missiles!

/sarc

[kbolino]

Although I don't know how effective the systems would be in an actual "symmetrical" war, all U.S. Navy warships have Phalanx CIWS to counter the ballistic missile threat. Big targets like aircraft carriers have more than one.

[kbolino]

All surface ships, that is. Submarines don't really need them.

[Isaac Bartram]

Actually, if you count amphibious assault ships the US has nearly twice as many aircraft carrier as all the world's other navies combined.

Only Russia, Britain, France have any meaningful force projection capability much beyond their own waters. And then only with the help of allies (read the USA, so Russia is pretty much SOL).

China has one carrier but by all reports is still learning how to use it.

[Lee Genes]

Pam Houston Stands Up for Her Favorite Flaws

"I'm officially done with the "she's so flawed but she is the lesser of two evils" rhetoric. Cause, you know, I'm flawed. And you are flawed. And Bernie Sanders is flawed and Barack Obama is flawed and even Michelle Obama is flawed. But the difference between all of them and me--and probably you, is that they have all given their flawed lives to public service. And now, they are all working together in their inevitably flawed ways, to save all of us, and the whole world from a sociopathic narcissist. And every day, Hillary puts a hopefully unflawed bullet proof vest on her flawed and aging and sometimes unsmiling self and stands up in front of people who have been incited by her opponent to shoot her, and she says calm and rational and intelligent (and sometimes flawed) things about how to make a difference. In my book that makes her a fucking rock star. And in the words of another flawed and resilient rock star: There is a crack in everything. That's where the light gets in."

[Just a thought not a sermon]

"There is a crack in everything. That's where the light gets in."

Hillary must be lit up like a prison exercise yard, then.

Here's another lyric for you Pam Houston:
Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows that the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died

And here's one for Hillary that she can use for Bill:
Everybody knows that you love me baby
Everybody knows that you really do
Everybody knows that you've been faithful
Ah, give or take a night or two
Everybody knows you've been discreet
But there were so many people you just had to meet
Without your clothes
And everybody knows

[Zeb]

Even Michelle Obama? Never!

[Rufus The Monocled]

and even Michelle Obama is flawed.

So...it's supposed she wasn't?

And fuck you.

I signed the organ donor part of my driver's license and give blood.

None of those people give a shit about you, you stupid dolt.

[WTF]

Holy fuck (hovers over link) ah, DU, that explains it.

[Suthenboy]

"...even Michelle Obama is flawed."

Creepy, crazy cult members are creepy and crazy.

[commodious is bimbing dickos]

In my book that makes her a fucking rock star.

In your book anyone who flatters your sentiments is a fucking rock star, so let's shelve the moralizing and just acknowledge you're no less a partisan hack than Trump's backers.

[Glide]

So if I understand this right, Hillary is flawed, but that's okay. Trump is flawed, and is a horrible supervillain set on destroying the world.

[Eternal Blue Sky]

The greatest part of this is her targeting the "she's so flawed but she is the lesser of two evils" people.

Like, fuck, if someone wants to vote for my favorite candidate I really don't care their motivation. I'm certainly not going to demonize them for their reasons for voting for my candidate. That might ... you know ... drive them away.

[Lord Humungus]

You know who else failed in an air war...

Clinton air war fails to sink Trump

Hillary Clinton's campaign and its allies are outspending their Republican counterparts by a factor of about five to one, according to a new analysis released Tuesday.

But the former secretary of State has failed to put away Donald Trump, and many anxious Democrats are baffled as to why the race remains so close.

Part of the reason may be that TV advertising ? often the single biggest budget item within a campaign ? is losing its effectiveness.

"It's becoming more difficult to target voters," said one Democratic strategist, who requested anonymity to speak candidly. "Voters are more cynical about ads because they have seen them for decades. Nothing is as effective as it used to be."

The analysis published by NBC News on Tuesday, drawing on data from tracking firm Advertising Analytics, found that the Clinton campaign had spent $96.4 million on the airwaves against just $17.3 million from the Trump campaign.

[Rich]

You know who else failed in an air war...

This guy?

[UnCivilServant]

TV Advertising was shown to have lost its effect several cycles ago when Everytown outspent pro-RKBA groups by orders of magnitude and got trounced badly.

[Red Rocks Dickin Bimbos]

Wasn't there a study that showed it's a complete waste of money until about 2 weeks before the election?

Regardless, TV ads are a dying form of propaganda overall. People just tune it out after seeing it the first or second time, so saturation doesn't help. If you're going to employ it, keep it limited to a few key time slots for a short period of time, and spend the bulk of your capital pushing your message on social media, using videos and memes that are memorable.

[Lord Humungus]

that and DVR - or people like me who doesn't watch broadcast TV, or cable, or satellite. Just DVDs and online *ahem* videos.

[LynchPin1477]

But the former secretary of State has failed to put away Donald Trump, and many anxious Democrats are baffled as to why the race remains so close.

If there is one guarantee, it's that they will learn nothing and remain completely baffled.

[PurityDiluting]

the media is sure to double-down on its strategy of falling all over the whackiest Republican candidate in the primaries next time only to then turn against their Frankenstein once the election gets serious. click bait pays.
It would be interesting to see a revenue comparison of Donny's missing ad spending versus the $ the networks are pulling in with their day-to-day coverage of him.

[LynchPin1477]

There was something like that back during the primaries, and it showed that the value of media coverage of Trump was more than spending by other candidates by a lot, and I think still more than the combination of candidate spending + media coverage (even though up to that point Trump spent almost nothing).

I forget the exact source but it was illustrative. For as much as people in the media may dislike Trump the candidate they simply cannot help but cover his every utterance. It has all the signs of a drug addiction.

[carol]

The one thing you can always count on is that Democrats are baffled.

[Chipwooder]

Merkin Muffley?

[Tonio]

+1 I'm sorry, too, Dmitri.

[W. Chipper Dove]

Wasn't he one of the Wacky Races drivers?

[mojoe]

Stop the pigeon, now!

[Illocust]

So campaign spending is no big deal anymore? Probably not going to take that to heart and we'll keep hearing about campaign financing.

[PurityDiluting]

there's an entire industry built around campaigns. the beast must be fed. think of the jobs!

[mojoe]

And if they're related to Clinton's campaign they're shovel-ready jobs!

[Agent Cooper]

Clinton has 789 full-time staffers on the payroll.

Trump has 137, I believe.

[Suthenboy]

"...many anxious Democrats are baffled as to why the race remains so close."

And will remain so after they lose. At least they got their tranny bathrooms.

[Lord Humungus]

VIDEO: Sharia in the Twin Cities?

Filmmaker Ami Horowitz was alarmed by the growing number of Somali Americans living in Minneapolis who have joined up with the Islamist-terror groups ISIS and al-Shabaab. So he recently traveled to that city to speak with members of the community about how much American values resonated with them, their feelings about sharia law and terrorism, and whether they'd prefer to live in Somalia or America. Their answers were revealing.

[WTF]

But, PEEPUL AR NOT SKITTLES!!!11!!!
MUH DIVERSITY!!11!!!

[PurityDiluting]

" PEEPUL AR NOT SKITTLES"
but men are M

[PurityDiluting]

lost the ampersand.
men are M and M's

[Domestic Dissident]

Overrated, overhyped non-genius JournoList hero Nate Silver says Trump's chances of winning have suddenly jumped from 3% all the way up to 48%.

That's even closer to a true coin flip than pokcet Jacks against Ace-King suited. Feel free to go ahead and roll those eyeballs up towards the ceiling.

[Brett L]

You know, I beat up Nate Silver pretty badly ahead of the 2012 elections, but since then I've really come to respect his model.

[Lord Humungus]

you bait click article:

The Complete List of Lewd-Sounding Town Names in America

Recently, we here at Estately Real Estate Search published a map and article detailing the oddest town names in each state. Immediately afterwards we were subjected to relentless online criticism for omitting a handful of town names that sounded sexual or obscene in nature. We would like to apologize to everyone we let down, especially the good people from the towns of Intercourse, Blue Balls, Climax, etc.

In order to make things right, we've created a new map using only the lewdest, most sexualized town names. To do this, we placed our minds in the gutter and spent days looking over detailed maps and scrutinizing the names of all cities, towns, and unincorporated communities for anything that sounded even remotely sexual or perverse. For the sake of time, we intentionally omitted natural features like Little Dick Lake in Minnesota, as well neighborhoods, such as Mianus in Connecticut.

[Lord Humungus]

*your

[Swiss Servator]

So....a database for SugarFree?

[Lee Genes]

They forgot Lickinghole Creek

[Chipwooder]

And Big Bone Lick in Kentucky

[Tonio]

There is a Lickinghole Creek Farm Brewery in Virginia; one of their best is Magic Beaver IPA. I have had much fun ordering those in restaurants and (mostly) managing to not snicker.

[Certified Public Asshat]

Essex was the best CT had to offer?

[Citizen X]

Connecticut sucks.

[Suthenboy]

"Police say a fearful 11-year-old Georgia girl who took a knife to school told officers she needed the weapon to fend off clowns."

Most ridiculous panic ever. Everyone has a cellphone camera these days. Show me a picture of these clowns or stfu.

"Health officials are investigating a woman's claim that she was served a fried rat head at Popeye's."

Bullshit.

[Rich]

No, really, S -- Officials *are* investigating.

[Suthenboy]

Recent conversation:

Me - An 11 yo girl got caught with a knife. She said it was to fend off clowns. Clowns that don't exist.

Them - They reported the clowns on the news!

Me - Who do you think is smarter? An eleven year old girl, a school official, or a newscaster?

Them - good point

[Agent Cooper]

If this is true, and I'm going to be serious for a bit, I kind of feel for the girl. Something's not right with her.

[Lord Humungus]

Cow farts can now be regulated in California

One of the main methane culprits: manure. Per the bill, dairy farmers have to cut methane emissions to 40 percent below 2013 levels by 2030. Under a cap-and-trade plan, farmers will receive aid from the $50 million or so raised via polluter fees, which they can then put toward machinery that uses methane to create energy they can in turn sell to electric companies.

The state's Air Resources Board can also now regulate bovine flatulence, as long as there are practical ways to reduce the cows' belching and breaking wind.

Under the bill, emissions from HFCs also must be reduced by 40 percent from 2013 levels by 2030, while black carbon emissions will have to get to 50 percent below those levels by the same year.

[Hamster of Doom]

Tommy Lee Jones reacts.

[Suthenboy]

"...as long as there are practical ways to reduce the cow's belching and breaking wind."

Ah, so they are going to do nothing except extort money from farmers. I guess those happy cow ads for Ca milk are history.

[Isaac Bartram]

One of the main methane culprits: manure.

But what will organic farmers use for fertilizer?

Actually, if cowshit is a significant source of methane it might be feasible to scoop it up into an anaerobic digester and use the methane produced to provide fuel on the farm. Now, if it is true that cowshit is a significant source of methane I'm fairly sure that farmers would know that* and would use that in their calculations about their energy needs.

The fact that recovering that methane for use as fuel indicates to me that cowshit does not emit enough methane to be economically usable as fuel and hence I think it unlikely that cowshit emits enough methane to signifcantly affect the climate.

*if they don't know it now, it's possible that if they became aware of it they might plan differently. In which case they would rush to buy digesters if someone were offering them.

[Chip the Chipper]

I know we don't have all the details, but so what if he was carrying a gun? It is his right as an American to carry a fucking gun.

Note that they didn't say he pointed it at them or acted threatening to them. He was carrying a gun and he was black.

[WTF]

Maybe he was carrying a gun - the family says he was holding a book.

[Rich]

This fall, campuses nationwide are offering coloring books to students to help them de-stress.

At American University on Monday, its counseling center provided coloring sheets in honor of Healthy Campus Week, noting on its Facebook page that adult coloring books "can help with a number of emotional and mental health issues." Conditions cited include obsessive-compulsive, eating, anxiety and depressive disorders, as well as anger management and substance abuse issues.

Nothing like a few hours with a coloring book to treat OCD, I always say.

[lap83]

Health officials are investigating a woman's claim that she was served a fried rat head at Popeye's.

food desert: confirmed

[UnCivilServant]

Nonsense, she has access to at least two sources of protein - chicken and rat

[lap83]

maybe if the rat was crusted in quinoa and served under atmospheric lighting it would be OK

[Rich]

It was a *kangaroo rat*?!

[John]

http://nymag.com/daily/intelli.....ember.html

Jonathan Chait tries to reassure the faithful about the election in NY Magazine. To anyone outside the faithful, he inadvertently tells you how much trouble Hillary Clinton is actually in. His article finishes with the following:

The probably fortunate news is that there is a mechanism in place to prod the public into judging the candidates against each other: the presidential debates. In fact, they are likely the last chance to alter the trajectory of the campaign.

Hillary has never looked good in a debate in her life. She has been in the public eye for 25 years and has never once came across a likable. And that was before she got sick. If Hillary's last and best chance is scoring some kind of big win in the debates that finally proves Trump is as horrible as the elite media thinks he is, she has no chance.

[tarran]

John, I think you underestimate the power of the media to frame a defeat as a victory and have people lap it up.

[Idle Hands]

Meh. Look at the 2012 debates, Romney absolutely killed Obama in the first debate and the media knew it were unable to spin it. Then in the second the media (Candy Crowley) ensured a Romney defeat. They aren't even going to give Trump a chance to win the first debate he's surging and they know it. They are going to manufacturer a Clinton win through the format.

[Idle Hands]

Clinton's not even going to be given a chance to screw this up like Obama was. before they throw it. At the time the news media overestimated Obama and they won't make that mistake twice especially with a candidate as terrible as Clinton.

[PurityDiluting]

I'd still like to see Gary do a Mystery Science Theater voiceover during the debate

[John]

That is exactly what they are going to do. The problem is everyone knows and expects them to do it. So it likely won't mean anything to the public. The only way the debates can help Hillary is if Trump says or does something that legitimately offends the public such that no media spin is needed for it to damage him. The media is not going to spin something out of nothing and damage Trump the way they did Romney. If they could do that, Trump would have never won the nomination or be in the position he is in.

[John]

If they still had that power, Trump wouldn't be the GOP nominee much less ahead in the polls. It took Trump a few weeks to adjust to being the nominee and fully realize that even though he had won the GOP nomination by being outrageous, he needed to be low key and Presidential if he wanted to win the election. He seems to have gotten that. So, I think the chances of Trump being anything more than a bit pointed and plane spoken in the debates are pretty small. Further, the problem the media has is that it does no good to be biased if everyone knows and expects you to be biased. If they try something like Candy Crowley sticking her fat ass in the breach to save Obama in 2012, the public will just roll their eyes. I am honestly not sure what they can do in the debates to make Trump look bad.

Beyond that, having the refs on your side only does so much good. Crowley saved Obama because Obama could be likable and could take advantage of the opportunity she gave him. Hillary is not and likely can't.

[Suthenboy]

That is true tarran, but my god, Trump has so much ammo to use against that croaking old hag. He is going to mop the floor with her ass...if she doesnt pass out in the middle of it.

People are stupid, but not that stupid. The people who watch the debates will know what they are looking at. "Believe me, not your lying eyes" will only go so far.

[R C Dean]

This made me think of the Nixon JFK debates. Nixon apparently won on radio, but lost on TV because of the optics.

[Isaac Bartram]

And Nixon lost with women because, darn it, Jack Kennedy was so damn good looking.

[R C Dean]

These debates are being run by Clinton donors. By the Clinton campaign, in effect.

It will be interesting to see if Trump calls out the obvious bias, and can do so in a way that doesn't sound like whining. There's yet another trap here for the Clinton campaign - if they overplay their hand, it could well help Trump.

And that's assuming the Hillary does well in the debates. Her meds will be dialed in, for sure, but that's a long time and a lot of stress for a sick person to stand up to.

[Free Society]

I imagine that she will be cheered no matter what she says, even if she just coughs some flem onto the microphone. Meanwhile, Trump will be booed no matter what he says, even if it's identical to Hilary's answer. Then the media will contend that she won the debate, even if she collapses on stage and a xenomorph bursts out of her chest.

[Free Society]

I hear Matt Lauer will be moderating the first debate. Which does not bode well for Trump, but at least it won't be as bad as Nick Gillespie "moderating".

[Rufus The Monocled]

I remember the 'I found a rat's tail' in the Kentucky Fried Chicken urban myth.

[Rich]

Think about all the other rat that have been served and the lasting effect this will have on my daughter, niece and sister.

"Do you serve rats?"

"Lady, we serve anybody."

[Swiss Servator]

Very nice.

[Mr. Flanders]

I have a close friend that said she's voting for Hillary since she worked for her via a U.S. diplomat office and she "was nice." I said "fair enough I suppose, but I simply can't support a candidate that oversaw the bombing of about a dozen countries during her tenor."

Anyone else have any fun comments to say to friends and family that support Clinton or Trump?

[Mr. Flanders]

Damn auto correct, "time" not "tenor"

[Tonio]

"Tenure" would have also worked. Everyone hates the tenor.

[Red Rocks Dickin Bimbos]

That's interesting, because I know someone who's met every President, VP, and First Lady going back to the Clintons as part of her job, and she's told me that Hillary is nothing but a disdainful, arrogant bitch. Everyone else (even the Obamas) were very nice and respectful; Biden and Bill especially stood out in this regard.

My impression over the years is that Hillary is very warm with people in her inner circle or who persistently kiss her ass; everyone else gets treated like shit.

[Krabappel]

I like using "she was against gay marriage until it was politically convenient only a few years ago" against liberals.

[SFC B]

My standard response to family voting for Clinton is "I handle classified info several times a week if I mishandled 1/10th what she did I'd be in prison."

[Isaac Bartram]

Many of my friends and family live in other countries.

After I resist the, "who we elect is none of your goddamn business" rant, I simply say, if I lived in another country, I wouldn't be in least concerned whether Americans have universal healthcare or how many guns Americans own or even how America treats black people*, I'd worry about which candidate was most likely to invade or bomb my country. And that would exclude anyone named Clinton.

*truth be told, there are not that many countries on earth whose citizens have a right to lecture Americans about treatment of minority populations.

[Mr. Flanders]

Good points all around..

[Slammer]

ThinkProgress: The problem with mobile emergency alerts
Mixing tech with preconceived racial stereotypes and mass communication risks safety instead of protecting it.

Following two bombings in New York City and New Jersey, New York officials deployed a mass emergency message Monday to notify everyone in the region that police were looking for 28-year-old alleged bomb suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami.
The message was sent through the wireless emergency alerts (WEA) system, which allows government agencies to send messages en masse using nearby cell towers to mobile devices in a specific location.

But while New York was within its rights to use the WEA system following the bombings, the incident raises intersecting questions about the over-criminalization of people of color, how they are treated by law enforcement, and whether the WEA system is the best way for police to crowdsource information about suspects.

[Slammer]

Rising anti-Islam sentiments and Islamic State-inspired attacks in the U.S. and abroad have put the Muslim community at risk for profiling by law enforcement and the public overall. Attacks against Muslims have increased nearly 10-fold in the last year, including murders, physical assaults, shootings, and bombings. Georgetown University's Muslim-Christian relations center, the Bridge Initiative, found 174 reported incidents of hate crimes against Muslims in 2015.
When New York City officials used the WEA system to help flush out alleged bomber Rahami, who has since been captured and charged with attempted murder after a shootout with police, they could have unintentionally stirred feelings of jeopardy and panic that stem from systemic racial discrimination in hopes of protecting the public from a threat.

[Lee Genes]

shades of Rotherham....

[Just a thought not a sermon]

Shall we compare the death, injury, and property damage toll from these "hate crimes" against the death, injury, and property damage toll resulting from Muslim terrorist attacks in the United States?

[Eternal Blue Sky]

Oh, is that how it works these days?? As long as you cause less damage against a certain group then they caused on your group it's okay??

The Russians killed one of my family members and stole our farm. So I should be able to burn down a Russian-owned farm and torture like one of them and it would be fine, right??

[Suthenboy]

Well sure.

[KDN]

Go for it. I would love to retroactively claim a share of my ancestral plot of land in Minsk.

[Citizen X]

"The English took all of our sheep and all of our women! And then they gave them back, which was worse!"

[Rich]

Mixing tech with preconceived racial stereotypes and mass communication

Sounds like one of those foundation mission statements on public TV.

[John]

The fact that the entire community Muslim and nonMuslim alike is increasingly at risk of being blown up, stabbed or shot at random by some Muslim fanatic is of no concern to Think Progress. If there has to be another terrorist attack, can it please be at the offices of Think Progress?

[WTF]

And there were over 900 hate crimes against Jews in 2015, up 21% percent from the previous year. And all attacks against Muslims are not hate crimes. But no, we must not send out an actual description and photo of the suspect, because people might get the "wrong" idea, like maybe Muslims are more likely to be involved in this type of thing.

[Suthenboy]

"Pull your pants down, cover your eyes and turn around. I promise everything will be ok."

[Michael]

...preconceived racial stereotypes...

Proglodyte vocabulary is fucking ridiculous. Isn't every stereotype preconceived? Otherwise it really wouldn't be a stereotype, right? This must come from the "Giving Idiotic Arguments More Weight" chapter of the Social Justice Conditioning Manual.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Less likely to be true:

"I found [insert animal here] in my fried chicken", or

"Restaurant patrons wrote [insert horrible message here] instead of giving me a tip"

[UnCivilServant]

"I found [Chicken] in my fried chicken"

[tarran]

Jeremy Clarkson's documentary on one of the most insane commando raids every conceived by the British Army. Trigger warning: manliness.

[Lee Genes]

I recommend The Heavy Water War on Netflix. If you can ignore the characters added to sate modern sensibilities, it's quite entertaining.

[John]

That was on our local PBS station a while back. That mini series is awesome. And I wouldn't say the characters are added to south modern sensibilities. I think they added some soap opera elements to make it appealing to both women and men.

[Lee Genes]

Admittedly, I don't mind Anna Friel. I do think they softened Lief Tronstad's character a bit though. He was a badass in real life.

[John]

I really like the German actress Peri Baumeister who played Heisenberg's wife. She is just smoking hot. As is Anna Friel.

[OneOut]

Ere body knoes that the single most brave qct in warfare was wheen Obama single handily approved the Seal Team raid to git Osama bin Laden.

Do you doubt the massive amount of courage it took to approve that mission mere weeks before an election ?

Nay my friend true courage is not exibited by the warrior but the politician who risks ridicule just before an up or down vote on his job performance.

[Slammer]

I'm now thinking about starting a trendy, non-GMO, Organic, Fair-Trade Fried RAT and Mouse food truck

[UnCivilServant]

... but all the flavor in rat comes from the urban chemical runoff!

[Eternal Blue Sky]

Rat: A animal you have to meticulously skin and bone to disguise as a different kind of meat. Roughly $6 for a half-pound of meat at your local pet store.

Chicken: A mass produced food animal that you can buy processed for roughly $3 per pound.

If the place does serve up rat, the obvious question becomes why the hell they would do that. Real chicken is cheaper than rat!!

[UnCivilServant]

$3? You're getting ripped off.

(okay, okay, I know the price varies by what part of the chicken and how much processing was done)

[Chipwooder]

But these are free range rats, available in dumpsters and shitty buildings everywhere for free.

[UnCivilServant]

It's not free, it takes time and effort to catch those rats. And at $15/hr you'd better be pretty efficient at it (Or be selling your services to the property owner who wants the rats gone regardless to defray overhead costs)

[Eternal Blue Sky]

Something tells me ratcatching is less cost effective than simply buying dirt-cheap chicken.

[UnCivilServant]

Well, if you already have a ratcatching company and people are paying you to remove the rats, resale might be an added revenue stream...

[John]

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/art.....r-business

The Trump campaign's ability to troll the Prog media is really something to behold. It turns out the skittles analogy that the Prog media was having a case of the vapors over, was first used by feminists as a way to describe men being potential rapists. You know good and well the Trump campaign knew that. Using skittles, as opposed to M or any of the other million objects that would work in the analogy, is way too much of a coincidence. They threw that out there, let the prog media take the bait and get its outrage up knowing that the feminists use of it would be discovered and thrown right back in their faces. Well played.

[UnCivilServant]

Am I the only one here who knew about the M&M Misandry before the whole Poisoned Skittles kerfuffle?

[Eternal Blue Sky]

Nope.

[Tornado16nb]

In my opinion progressivism appears to be being rejected left and right.

[Tornado16nb]

Note: did not mean left and right in political terms.

My one friend can be described as a bleeding heart. Nice guy and all. But i thought it was funny he described living in california he sarcastically remarked " you can't even sneeze without permission"

They are losing their-selves over climate change. Gun grabbing is a hill to die on. Not sure they have much support for the bathroom stuff. They are eating their own in identity politics.

Not sure min wage to 15, singlepayer and all these other programs are all that popular

[Suthenboy]

My grandmother told me that the last time the proggies had finished their run people were so sick of their shit that if you announced you were a progressive on the street a mob would form and lynch you. That time is coming again.

[Sevo]

Dairy more than happy to separate fools from their money:

"Clover to be first major dairy to sell non-GMO conventional milk"
[...]
"Our primary constituency group is moms buying milk for their children,"
http://www.sfgate.com/food/art.....235524.php

An insult to moms everywhere.

[John]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/living/182486.....in-a-year/

Which one of your weirdos has designer testicles?

[Lord Humungus]

Warty?

[Citizen X]

Definitely Warty. I have to assume John was asking rhetorically.

[bacon-magic]

Ask Crusty.

[Lee Genes]

But why?

[Lee Genes]

@John

[John]

I have no idea Lee. I got nothing on this. Anyone who does, please chime in.

[Lord Humungus]

down by the river?

People are ditching their apartments to live the 'van life'

L.A., like many cities, has a housing shortage. This, coupled with a 3.1 percent vacancy rate, makes affordable living in L.A. an oxymoron.

"The main expenses are insurance for the van, which is like $60 a month," said Hutchins. "Then, I have a storage unit for like $60."

That puts his monthly rent at $120. The van cost him just $125 at an auction.

Hutchins works part-time at a Taco Bell to help pay the bills, and he says living in a van has slashed his cost of living by $800 a month.

He showers at the gym, cooks on a portable stove on a sidewalk (he stores his butane at his friends' place nearby) and uses wifi at nearby coffeeshops.

[A frilly pink thing]

Wow that sounds awful.

[Red Rocks Dickin Bimbos]

California--coming soon to a red state near you.

Kidding aside, I know a guy with this kind of mentality. He makes good money, but lives in a shitty apartment and drives a beat-up Ford Ranger that sometimes won't even start in the mild Albuquerque winters. It's not because he's a masochist or can't afford something nicer, it's because he's a cheapskate of the highest order. I firmly believe that if he didn't have a girlfriend and had to remain somewhat civilized to keep her around, he'd have a camper on his truck and would be sleeping in a random Walmart parking lot every night.

[commodious is bimbing dickos]

If not for the "makes good money part," I'd think you're describing my brother (also an Albuquerquian). He has at times lived in a Vanagon giving himself sponge baths and eating out of cans.

[ant1sthenes]

Don't worry, the government will fix it by adding a new van tax or banning van living or something.

[perlchpr]

The government has likely already banned van living, and these guys just haven't been popped yet. They come down hard on things like that around, say, Santa Cruz, though.

[Cynical Asshole]

Think about ... the lasting effect this will have on my daughter, niece and sister.

The most obvious lasting effect I can think of is that this woman's daughter, niece, and sister will probably never want to eat at a Popeye's ever again. I'd say that's a net positive.

[Brett L]

Google creates their 3rd? 4th? messaging service. I'm sure they'll wait until this one sees a wave of popular adoption to stop supporting it, too.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Especially since they promised encryption and no storage, and then when they rolled out the product they store everything you say on their servers for easy snooping.

[The Fusionist]

Interesting article in the Guardian about the 99-year-old murder of IWW activist Frank Little, who was lynched by persons unknown after coming to Butte, Montana to preach for unionizing the copper miners and resisting World War One. The most likely culprit was the Anaconda Company which ran the copper mines (and much of the state).

Mandatory retardation:

"a century later the question remains: who killed [Little] and did it help pave the way for Donald Trump?...

"...CW Copeland, a Montana member of the IWW, which still limps on, [said] "A lot of those going crazy for Donald Trump identify more with their whiteness than with their class. If more people knew about Frank Little ? I think you'd have fewer voting for Trump.""

[The Fusionist]

(Some of the former IWW [International Workers of the World] people became Communists, like Elizebeth Gurley Flynn who joined both the Communist Party and the ACLU, though she was expelled from the latter's governing board in 1940, and then in the 1940s the ACLU apologized for being so insensitive.)

[The Fusionist]

Elizabeth with an "a"

[commodious is bimbing dickos]

Alizabeth?

[The Fusionist]

Apologized in the *1970s*

[Red Rocks Dickin Bimbos]

One of their founders, Big Bill Haywood, actually fled to the Soviet Union and ended up dying there.

[commodious is bimbing dickos]

The derangement is real and it's among us.

Seriously, that is a retarded shoehorned takeaway.

[Red Rocks Dickin Bimbos]

If more people knew about Frank Little ? I think you'd have fewer voting for Trump."

Sorry, but that's a load of shit. The main reason the IWW was so brutally repressed was because they were an inherently socially chaotic organization that drew their membership primarily from itinerant, seasonal laborers. Their membership, by and large, had very little emotional investment in the local communities where the IWW operated, and thus spent more social capital on stunts like bringing in members from out of state to pack the jails and disrupt the social order than cultivating alliances with local small businesses and the middle class bourgeoisie who ran the towns. They were philosophically incapable of getting the right people on their side because their Marxist worldview deemed that they hold these people in contempt, so when the police and military started cracking heads, most of the locals just shrugged their shoulders and said "good riddance."