Electoral College Votes Today, 300 Arrested in Venezuela Protests, Zsa Zsa Gabor Dies: A.M. Links

• 

  thefoxling/flickr

  The Electoral College votes for president today.

• Thousands of people are evacuating Aleppo as United Nations observers watch.
• More than 300 people were arrested at protests in Venezuela over the government's decision to eliminate the 100 bolivar note.
• Malaysia is hosting a regional summit to discuss alleged crimes against humanity against the Muslim community of Rohingya in Myanmar.
• Video released by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute captures the ghost shark on camera for the first time.
• Zsa Zsa Gabor died, aged 99.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Electoral College votes for president today.

This is the last chance our democracy has to invalidate anything that came before today!

[Rufus The Monocled]

Hello.

"More than 300 people were arrested at protests in Venezuela over the government's decision to eliminate the 100 bolivar note."

I'm always impressed when they do it in round numbers.

[robc]

313 people arrested over decision to eliminate 89 bolivar note.

[l0b0t]

Howdy Rufus. I love your name; you share it with my grandfather and my son. Also, I just finished this book and found it absolutely fascinating and it counters everything I was ever taught about Italian unification. I think you might like it (if you have not already seen it). Cheers.

Naples: A Travellers' Companion

[Not a Libertarian]

This seems so awfully idiosyncratic to be comment spam. Are the bots now sentient or are you are real person who wants to send Rufus to Naples to understand the Risorgimento?

[Zeb]

Pretty sure it's a real person. I recognize the handle.

[Citizen X]

Hit'n'Run: just awful idiosyncrasies all the way down.

[l0b0t]

I'm real. Well, as real as any of us. I've been reading the print Reason since my beloved grandfather (Rufus, 'natch) gifted me a subscription back in the late 1970s. I read Hit'n'Run voraciously but only occasionally comment. I note the ethnic heritage of one our beloved Snowbird regulars and thought he might enjoy some interesting history of the Old Country. My handle is based upon the name of my favorite John Hollis character, the city manager of Cloud City, Bespin; without whom Lando Calrissian would be naught but another space pirate.

[commodious buggres alle]

This is the worst chatroom ever.

[TapDancingXenomorph]

Would a bot use a Star Wars reference in its handle?

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Lobot

[Citizen X]

He's not a bot. He's a cyborg.

[Fist of Etiquette]

More than 300 people were arrested at protests in Venezuela over the government's decision to eliminate the 100 bolivar note.

So suddenly they don't need toilet paper?

[Juvenile Bluster]

Already seen pictures on social media of Venezuelans with stacks of 100 bolivar notes near their toilets.

I mean, at appx. 2 cents per bill, it costs about as much anyways.

[Fist of Etiquette]

At least we know it's soft currency.

[Swiss Servator]

"Venezuelan monetary policy is quite...absorbing"

[thrakkorzog]

Nobody needs 28 types of 100 Bolivar notes.

[Zeb]

Probably less than proper TP.

[$park? is totally a Swifty]

Thousands of people are evacuating Aleppo as United Nations observers watch.

Where?

[Agammamon]

From a secure bunker at an undisclosed location - through the sensors of the drones and aircraft that are doing the bombing.

TRUMP! DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU'RE BOMBS ARE FALLING!!!11!!

[straffinrun]

Thousands of people are evacuating Aleppo as United Nations observers watch.

Uh, what else would observers be doing?

[Juvenile Bluster]

Given the history of UN observers, snatching women and young girls off the streets?

[Swiss Servator]

Spreading choleta?

[Monty Crisco]

Do you mean "colitas"?

[straffinrun]

There is a warm smell from both.

[SugarFree]

Oh, it's rising up in the air, alright.

[Swiss Servator]

Damn, meant "Cholera"

[straffinrun]

*Spits out mouthful of pond water*

Now you tell me.

[Agammamon]

That wasn't pond water.

[BigT]

You're Swiss, you spread chocolate

[Fist of Etiquette]

Thousands of people are evacuating Aleppo as United Nations observers watch.

[Chief Wiggum voice] "That's some nice evacuating, boys."

[Radioactive]

couldn't we do the same "observing" with a couple of nice drones from Sharper Image?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Only if you can put blue helmets on them.

[Radioactive]

ok then blue helmets all around, except you, Gunter you get the puce one!

[Mainer2]

Puce. The most sarcastic color.

[Brett L]

Who will pimp the orphans, then?

[Lord Humungus]

Women Enjoy Sex More Than Men Do, Says Science

Concordia's findings were that variety is the spice of a woman's bedroom life. Unlike men, who are limited to the same old, same old when it comes to the big O, women have remarkable opportunities to get all shivery and shaky from a number of sources.

The study's authors looked at vaginal and clitoral orgasms. Whether one or the other is real has been debated by sex researchers for years. According to the release that broke down the study results, researchers arrived "at a new understanding of the female orgasm that incorporates the external clitoral glans, the internal region around the G-spot, the cervix and sensory stimulation of non-genital areas such as the nipples."

Just because I own 10 cars doesn't mean I like to drive more than the guy with one Porsche.

[Idle Hands]

It's their world we just live in it.

[John]

Pretty much every civilization in history has gone to extreme lengths to control women's sexuality and keep them from screwing around for a reason. Yes, men wanted to make sure the kids they had were their own. But they didn't go to such great lengths to ensure that for no reason or out of some paranoid fantasy that their wives would screw around on them. That worry was based to a large degree on nature and fact.

[commodious buggres alle]

Speaking of, where's Longtorso been?

[Lord Humungus]

Practicing his mad-tight PUA skills on the hot ladies?

[Citizen X]

He finally busted his anime body pillow, and is in mourning.

[BestUsedCarSales]

Mizuki died?!

[Chipwooder]

He's been binging on Westworld in a state of bliss, as it represents his cherished dream of gorgeous sexbots that he can do anything with.

[Citizen X]

"The Porsche" is exactly what the ladies call my junk - nice to look at, fun to ride, and engineered by Germans, but the spare parts ain't cheap and it uses a lot of gasoline.

[Rufus The Monocled]

Are you done?

[Radioactive]

the question is actually "are you in?"

[Citizen X]

Almost.

[bacon-magic]

So...overpriced and only works half the time? Ok.

[Citizen X]

You've been talking to your mom, i see.

[straffinrun]

Obviously men are doing it wrong then.

[John]

I think that is kind of a given isn't it?

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

I don't know about you, but I manage to finish every time... Who's doing it wrong?

[straffinrun]

When I'm sleepy, a handful of mayo on the back gets me off the hook.

[Citizen X]

In Japan, isn't that considered a polite way to greet a stranger on the subway?

[straffinrun]

You're thinking of the monorail.

[jack sprat]

I found the G spot and it has changed my life for the better.

*blind squirrel finding a nut is appropriate analogy here

[Crusty Juggler]

I found the G spot and it has changed my life for the better.

Please continue...

[Citizen X]

I thought you were still researching the myth of the male orgasm.

[Zeb]

I'll believe it. At least in the sense that when it's really good it does seem that way.

Though of course it's impossible to know what someone else's subjective experience is.

[Bee Tagger]

The Electoral College votes for president today.

Shouldn't this be Rico's beat?

[Tonio]

[golf clap]

[Swiss Servator]

Stand by, the day is not done.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Malaysia is hosting a regional summit to discuss alleged crimes against humanity against the Muslim community of Rohingya in Myanmar.

Putting Trump on notice.

[Bee Tagger]

Video released by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute captures the ghost shark on camera for the first time.

Thousands and thousands of ghost hunting shows on SyFy and related channels and it's some dumb research institute that actually captures a ghost?

[SugarFree]

Scooby Gang hit hardest.

[Swiss Servator]

Are you saying it is just Old Man Withers in a shark suit?!!

[commodious buggres alle]

Old Man Withers

There's a pill for that.

[Lord Humungus]

sounds legit...

Thai Company Wants to Sell You This $1,500 Ghost Repelling Device

It might look like a DIY subwoofer, but the wooden box in the picture below is actually a ghost repelling device. The Trisaksri Ghost Repellent is made by a Thailand-based company called Boondee Workshop and cost $1,500 plus $140 for U.S. shipping. I know, it's kind of pricey, but no one ever said keeping pesky ghosts away was cheap.

The Trisaksri Ghost Repellent first made international headlines in 2009, when various Western tech blogs wrote about its alleged ability to scan homes for unwanted spirits and drive them away with a radio wave blast. Back then, everyone laughed at this joke of a "gadget", anticipating that Boondee Workshop wouldn't sell a single unit, but here they are, seven years later, launching the new and improved version of their ghost repellent.

[Bee Tagger]

Back then, everyone laughed at this joke of a "gadget", anticipating that Boondee Workshop wouldn't sell a single unit, but here they are, seven years later, launching the new and improved version of their ghost repellent.

Well, this doesn't actually tell me if they've sold a single unit yet.

[$park? is totally a Swifty]

Brilliant!

/Guinness dudes

[Libertarian]

Scientology hardest hit.

[DJF]

It works like my elephant gun, once I got it there has not been a rogue elephant within thousands of mile of me

[Elspeth Flashman]

Great Christmas gift! They'll keep it forever.

[commodious buggres alle]

Is it sharkproof too?

[Citizen X]

Zsa Zsa Gabor died, aged 99.

Crusty hardest hit. SIV currently running a retrospective.

[Lord Humungus]

Tragedy or triumph? Russians agonise over how to mark 1917 revolutions

As the country enters the centenary of the tumultuous year that ended tsarism and ushered in the 70-year communist experiment, President Vladimir Putin faces the dilemma of how to commemorate the events that had such a huge effect on Russia and the world.

"There is no officially approved narrative of 1917; it's too difficult and complicated," said Mikhail Zygar, the journalist who is running the reconstruction project. "But it's a very important period to help understand what's happening in Russia now, and very important for the national consciousness."

The year featured two revolutions: the February revolution (actually in March, according to the modern calendar) deposed Tsar Nicholas II after more than 300 years of rule by the Romanov dynasty, ushering in a brief period in which hopes for a democratic future flourished. Lenin's Bolsheviks, a small, marginal faction of fanatics who were not taken seriously in the aftermath of the February uprising, took control in the October revolution (actually in November).

[Rufus The Monocled]

Mark it with blood.

[Radioactive]

roll it and pat it and mark it with "B" and put it in the oven... you get the idea...

[John]

Lenin's Bolsheviks, a small, marginal faction of fanatics who were not taken seriously in the aftermath of the February uprising, took control in the October revolution (actually in November).

The fact that they were a small, generally unpopular and fanatical faction should never be forgotten. In a situation like that it doesn't matter how popular you are. The people who take power are those who are most willing to kill and die to take power. If you are not willing to defend your freedom with your life and willing to take others lives to keep it, someone who is willing to die and take other lives for power will come along and take it.

[Number.6]

A kind of 'Alt-Left' then?

Maybe Salon and all the pantsHitlers have a point then ...

[John]

If they were not delusional, perhaps. The truth is what it is. The Bolsheviks were willing to kill and die to enslave Russia and the Russians were not willing to kill and die to stop them. It is really that simple.

[robc]

This is why anarchy isnt stable.

[John]

Anarchy was the final stage of Marxism. If you have a society filled with perfect people who all work for the common good and don't game the system, you don't need a government. Anarchists are nothing but Marxists who are too dim to understand that anarchy cannot happen until you have a new form of man.

[robc]

I dont think its fair calling them ALL marxists. But "too dim to understand...new form of man" is dead on.

[John]

I guess they are not really Marxists. But their Utopia and Marx's Utopia are basically the same thing. They just differ on how to get there.

[John DeWitt]

Marxists who are too dim to understand that anarchy cannot happen until you have a new form of man.

Westworld S2 spoiler alert?

[Zeb]

Depends on the anarchist. I consider my self a kind of anarchist. I don't think there is really any moral basis for government besides "FYTW". But I don't think anarchy is something that can really come about. Some group will always become a government, effectively.
But I also don't think that government is some special category. There's no line you can draw that distinguishes government from a protection racket.
So anarchy is just reality. Government isn't a real thing. The rule of law is an illusion (albeit a very useful and desirable one in many cases). All that really exists is individuals doing what they do.

[Citizen X]

"Anarchy is no guarantee that some people won't kill, injure, kidnap, defraud, or steal from others. Government is a guarantee that some will" - Gustave de Molinari

[Gadfly]

"Anarchy is no guarantee that some people won't kill, injure, kidnap, defraud, or steal from others. Government is a guarantee that some will" - Gustave de Molinari

This quote doesn't quite capture the reality of the situation. I think it would be more accurate to say that anarchy is people killing and stealing in a disorderly fashion, while government is people killing and stealing in an orderly fashion. There is, after all, a reason why all societies prefer government to anarchy: order provides predictability, which is both comforting and conducive to planning for the future.

[You ARE a Prog (MJG)]

When did societies 'choose' government over anarchy? When have people experienced both and come to prefer one over the other?

[Zeb]

There is, after all, a reason why all societies prefer government to anarchy

And I don't think that captures the reality of the situation either. No society is given the choice of anarchy or government. And none has had the opportunity to compare the options. Once a society becomes big enough, governments just happen. There is no point at which a society decides it's going to have a government. People might sit down and formalize the rules and structures of government. But even that is usually one group imposing their will on the rest of the people. It just seems like a mutual consent thing sometimes because the smart rulers make rules that most people find acceptable.

[You ARE a Prog (MJG)]

You're actually just a Marxist, Zeb.

[Citizen X]

YOU'RE a Marxist!

[Zeb]

And also why nothing is stable.

[$park? is totally a Swifty]

Video released by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute captures the ghost shark on camera for the first time.

Uh huh. All I see is a speck of dust zooming past the lens.

[Swiss Servator]

It is obvious what happened!

http://reason.com/blog/2016/12.....nt_6625701

[Jerryskids]

More than 300 people were arrested at protests in Venezuela over the government's decision to eliminate the 100 bolivar note.

Many despotic regimes would just machine-gun them down in the street like dirty dogs. So I'm guessing the Venezuelan government can't even afford bullets?

[straffinrun]

BYOB?

[commodious buggres alle]

They have quite enough Bolivarianism.

[Lord Humungus]

Meanwhile in Australia...

Woman finds deadly snake in her Christmas tree

The woman, called Cheryl, noticed the uninvited and highly venomous guest in her Melbourne home on Sunday.

Instead of panicking she called a professional snake-catcher and had a cuppa while waiting for him.

"It was a tiger snake. They are very deadly but only if you hurt them," snake-catcher Barry Goldsmith, who removed the reptile, told AFP Monday.

"It probably came in through an open door, but Cheryl was very sensible about it.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Of course Australian Christmas trees try to kill people. Everything else in Australia does.

[commodious buggres alle]

I used to think Deathworld was a metaphor for Israel, but now I realize it's a parody of Australia.

[Tonio]

What no UK/AU coverage of this where we also get a photo of the woman all dressed up?

[Jerry on the sea]

Video released by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute captures the ghost shark on camera for the first time.

"Male chimaeras have retractable sexual appendages on their foreheads."
Wait, what?!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Male chimaeras have retractable sex organs ? on their foreheads.

Dickhead.

[Swiss Servator]

...someone was bound to say it.

*shakes head slowly and wanders off*

[straffinrun]

...on an erotic tangent.

[WTF]

More than two shakes and you're playing with it.

[jack sprat]

It had to be said. And I am thankful it didn't have to be me.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

The difference between Fist and a Chimaera?

'Retractable'.

[commodious buggres alle]

You said it...

[SFC B]

And female chimaeras say "Daddy".

[Lord Humungus]

Bacha bazi: Afghan subculture of child sex slaves

Powerful warlords, commanders, politicians and other members of the elite often keep "bachas" as a symbol of authority and affluence.

Bachas, sometimes dressed as women, are often sexually exploited. They can also be used as dancers at private parties.

Bacha bazi is not widely seen as homosexual behaviour -- popularly demonised as a deviant sexual act, prohibited in Islam -- and is largely accepted as a cultural practice.

How common is it?

"Women are for child-rearing, boys are for pleasure" is a common saying across many parts of Afghanistan.

The ancient custom, banned under the Taliban's 1996-2001 rule, has seen a resurgence in recent years. It is said to be widespread across southern and eastern Afghanistan's rural Pashtun heartland, and with ethnic Tajiks across the northern countryside.

something open something borders

[Tonio]

Forget it, LH. If progs can't be arsed to give a shit about the plight of women in Islamic shitholes, they certainly aren't going to say anything about this.

[Swiss Servator]

Yeah, we had one local Pashtun militia leader we nicknamed "Baron Harkonnen" - and it wasn't just because he was overweight...

[John]

Afghanistan and really the entire near east is a disgusting place full of disgusting cultures. People who have never been to such places often have no idea just how gross most of the world is.

[Free Society]

All cultures are equal! All people are interchangeable!

[John DeWitt]

*except rednecks...they're the worst.

[Crusty Juggler]

Do you remember this story? Green Beret Who Beat Up Afghan Officer for Raping Boy Can Stay in Army

Sgt. First Class Charles Martland, a member of the Special Forces, had helped to beat up the Afghan militia commander, Abdul Rahman, in 2011 after he abducted a boy and kept him chained to his bed as a sex slave. Sergeant Martland later told Army officials that he and a Special Forces captain, Dan Quinn, "felt that morally we could no longer stand by" and allow the Afghan local police "to commit atrocities."

[John DeWitt]

How culturally insensitive, Mr. Martland.

[Anomalous]

I thought that their preferred sexual outlets were sheep and goats.

[$park? is totally a Swifty]

Little children have a much more human feel to themZ

[Eternal Blue Sky]

"something open something borders"

To be fair, it's the Islamists who are actually against this practice. It's America's regional allies who perpetuate it.

[Gadfly]

So it's a lose-lose situation: sharia or pederasty.

[Lord Humungus]

Deep sea ghost shark with retractable PENIS on its forehead filmed in wild for first time

Relatives of sharks and rays, these beasts were around long before dinosaurs ? but scientists know little about them.

The Ghost Shark is renowned for their dead-eyed glaze as well as their winged fins.

Oh, and the penis protruding from the male species' head.

We don't quite know how the males use their willies, which "resemble a spiked club at the end of a stalk".

They may be used to ensnare women and pull them closer, or may play a softer role in stimulating her own sexual organs.

[WTF]

We don't quite know how the males use their willies, which "resemble a spiked club at the end of a stalk".

They may be used to ensnare women and pull them closer

Also known as the "Warty shark".

[Tonio]

^This

[Swiss Servator]

Selachimorpha Wartyius

[Tonio]

+1 Sea Bug

[John DeWitt]

They may be used to ensnare women and pull them closer

Can probably add "Trump Shark" to the aka list

[$park? is totally a Swifty]

Sorry, Ed beat you to it.

[straffinrun]

LH needs a retraction.

[Lord Humungus]

I have the much better Sun version...

[commodious buggres alle]

If it's not page 3, gtfo.

[Lord Humungus]

Obama: Dems lost because we didn't 'show up'

In an interview with NPR broadcast Monday, the president said the country has a "scrambled political landscape."

"There are some things that we know are a challenge for Democrats ? structural problems," he said.

Obama noted that Democratic voters are often clustered in urban areas and on the coasts.

"So as a consequence, you've got a situation where there're not only entire states but also big chunks of states where, if we're not showing up, if we're not in there making an argument, then we're going to lose," he said.

"And we can lose badly, and that's what happened in this election."

Obama said he doesn't think the Democratic Party's problem is its core argument. The values presented by the Democratic Party have strong support, he said, citing the minimum wage.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Why do they always come so, so close to the truth without getting there?

WHY are people not showing up, Barack? I'll give you a hint. Maybe, just maybe, it has something to do with that message you say is so popular.

[Tonio]

^This. Of perhaps it was the messenger not the message. Still no evidence of introspection from those people.

[kbolino]

But Obama's poll numbers are so great, surely the people love him!

... according to the same pollsters who failed to predict MI, OH, PA, and FL.

[Citizen X]

I mean, i GUESS economic illiteracy is technically a "value"...

But, Real Talk: Democrats, you lost because you ran possibly the shittiest candidate possible, and instead of acknowledging and learning from that fact, you're pretty much all having public temper tantrums. It's embarrassing. Stop it.

[Libertarian]

The Dems, despite eons of evidence, insist on policies driven by emotions and gut instincts. Yet they claim that Reps are the ones who are anti-science! It cannot be said enough: minimum wage laws are evil.

[Free Society]

Basically everything the left advocates for is evil.

[Citizen X]

As has been often pointed out in these comments, the real minimum wage is always $0.

[BigT]

But, Real Talk: Democrats, you lost because you ran possibly the shittiest candidate possible, and instead of acknowledging and learning from that fact, you're pretty much all having public temper tantrums. It's embarrassing. Stop it. Keep it up, a-holes.

[Rufus The Monocled]

Professional sports coach: We lost because we didn't show up.
Journalist: But you were there. I saw you.
Coach: I meant esoterically.
Journalist: Like, you sucked?
Coach: This interview is over.

[Radioactive]

"There are some things that we know are a challenge for Democrats"...coherent thought, simple declarative sentences, keeping their hands to themselves...you know all those habits 6 year olds successfully employ...

[Anomalous]

"80 percent of success is showing up."

-Woody Allen

[SFC B]

Maybe, just maybe, they should not have built their electoral projections on an old white woman who spent 40 years deeply entrenched in the bowels of power as being able to attract minority voters at the same level as a young, dynamic black man who was able to convincingly campaign on "change". They were doomed as soon as they thought "we can totally get Obama's coalition to show up for Hillary!"

[BigT]

an old white woman who spent 40 years deeply entrenched in the bowels of power

So, Huma's a receiver. Who knew?

[Lord Humungus]

STEVE SMITH HAS PRIMAL SCREAM...

'It Was My Primal Scream'
A lifelong progressive was so disgusted with her party, she voted for Trump. Will Democrats care enough to win her back?

Three weeks before Election Day, as she sat at her kitchen table to fill out her ballot, Kim McKinney Cohen was angry and fed up. The Democratic Party, to which she had been unswervingly loyal for four decades, had sabotaged her chosen candidate, Bernie Sanders, and then lectured her about the need to vote for a woman whose hawkishness and arrogance rubbed her the wrong way. When Hillary Clinton said dismissively supporters of Donald Trump were "a basket of deplorables," Cohen had heard enough.

"Well, then," she sighed, "I guess I'm a deplorable."

She took a black ink pen and carefully shaded in the rectangle next to the name Donald J. Trump.

[SFC B]

She's actually kind of brave to out herself as an apostate.

[Gadfly]

And the Democrats' take-away, given the last few weeks of tantrums, is that they didn't insult the voters enough.

[Libertarian]

Select quotes from Krugman's column today. I'm told he won the Nobel prize in economics, but I can't remember the last time he wrote a column on..........economics.

". . . we have a president-elect who openly asked Russia to help smear his opponent, . . . "

["smear" his opponent by showing the public her emails]

"Officially, imperial Rome was still ruled by a Senate that just happened to defer to the emperor, whose title originally just meant "commander," on everything that mattered. We may not go down exactly the same route ? although are we even sure of that? ? but the process of destroying democratic substance while preserving forms is already underway."

["already"????? where has he been the last 40 years?]

"For such people, toeing the party line and defending the party's rule are all that matters. And if they sometimes seem consumed with rage at anyone who challenges their actions, well, that's how hacks always respond when called on their hackery."

[yes, this is actually written by the man who, after 8 years of begging the country to do more deficit spending, is currently criticizing Trump's deficit spending]

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12.....egion&_r=0

[Lord Humungus]

For such people, toeing the party line and defending the party's rule are all that matters

Pot Kettle Black

[Tyler.C]

My thoughts exactly.

[WTF]

Krugman makes a nice living telling NYT readers what they want to hear.

[jack sprat]

^this
I would prefer he would F-Off and die however.

[John]

Krugman said that the 2009 stimulus was too small. He also endorsed the infamous "trillion dollar coin". Krugman spent 8 years defending Obama's economic record more or less by claiming that to the extent Obama's policies didn't work it was because Republicans in Congress prevented Obama from spending enough. And now he is claiming to care about deficits.

[SugarFree]

"For such people, toeing the party line and defending the party's rule are all that matters. And if they sometimes seem consumed with rage at anyone who challenges their actions, well, that's how hacks always respond when called on their hackery."

This is the most hypocritically ironic line ever. It should be studied for generations to come.

[$park? is totally a Swifty]

Hypocritically ironic? Is that even possible? Indeed, this must be studied.

[Free Society]

"For such people, toeing the party line and defending the party's rule are all that matters. And if they sometimes seem consumed with rage at anyone who challenges their actions, well, that's how hacks always respond when called on their hackery."

Krugtron, world class projector.

[Zeb]

There has to be a joke in there about an IMAX screen or something.

[Red Rocks Dickin Bimbos]

Krugman apparently knows as much about Roman history as he does about economics.

[You ARE a Prog (MJG)]

the process of destroying democratic substance while preserving forms is already underway.

Yes, the election of a non-politician is indicative of keeping up appearances while democratic substance erodes.

[Lord Humungus]

Pa. electors get police protection: 'This is stupid'
Facing a wave of calls, Pennsylvania electors sounding unshakable

Thousands of emails land in their inboxes every day. Copies of the Federalist Papers and other books urging political courage are being mailed to their homes. They are even getting phone calls in the middle of the night.

Such has been the life of Pennsylvania's 20 electors for President-elect Donald Trump since the Nov. 8 election.

On Monday, they will travel to the state Capitol to cast their votes to assign Pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes to Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence during what has, in the past, been a ceremonial and largely unnoticed event.

Not this year.

This time around, the electors will be greeted by organized protests, urging them to assign Pennsylvania's electoral votes to anyone but Trump.

One elector, Ash Khare, said he and each of the 19 others have been assigned a plainclothes state police trooper for protection.

"I'm a big boy," said Khare, an India-born engineer and a longtime Republican from Warren County, who estimates he receives 3,000 to 5,000 emails, letters, and phone calls a day from as far away as France, Germany, and Australia. "But this is stupid. Nobody is standing up and telling these people, 'Enough, knock it off.' "

[$park? is totally a Swifty]

But this is stupid. Nobody is standing up and telling these people, 'Enough, knock it off.'

First Amendment is totes bae when they do it.

[robc]

Honestly, I think all the uproar makes the electors MORE likely to vote for Trump.

So from 99.5% doing it to 99.8%.

[Libertarian]

Wouldn't it be funny if Trump gets MORE electoral votes than expected? Jesus, the tears would flow. Dare I hope?

[The Fusionist]

"an India-born engineer"

An immigrant voting for Trump? That's like a Jew voting for Hitler!

/sarc

[BigT]

Milania might have voted for Donald.

[Rocinante]

"he receives 3,000 to 5,000 emails, letters, and phone calls a day from as far away as France, Germany, and Australia."
Wait, foreigners trying to influence the election? Call the CIA.

[Tonio]

So do we actually get an EC result today? I know that the votes are happening at the various state houses and that the official tallying of them isn't for a couple of weeks, but do we get a prelim today?

[Rufus The Monocled]

I heard it comes out January 6, 2017.

[robc]

I dont think so.

They don't open the ballots until congress convenes for a joint session in January.

[Swiss Servator]

I suppose someone could come out and say they had voted someone else, other than their pledged person. The real count happens next month in the House, I think.

[robc]

Joint meeting of House and Senate.

[John]

But once the states certify the votes, all the Congress does is count them. The result is set after today. The Congress can only intervene if one candidate doesn't get a majority of the votes. They can't change the votes or do anything except certify the result if one candidate gets a majority.

[Libertarian]

Intellectual exercise: what if the choosing of the next President ended up in the Republican Congress? Would the Democrats have to take partial responsibility and support the winner?

[Crusty Juggler]

Meet Freddy, the biggest dog in the world: 7ft 6in Great Dane loves chicken and peanut butter... but he's also munched his way through 23 sofas

'I've been single for the best part of four years. But I get cuddles off the dogs and I don't have to wash dirty underpants,' Miss Stoneman told the Daily Star Sunday.

'They are children to me... because I haven't had any kids. They need me and it's quite nice to be needed,' added the former glamour model, who shares her king-sized bed with Freddy.

And with dogs that big - Freddy weighs 14.5 stone - maintenance costs are also massive: Miss Stoneman spends in excess of ?12,500 a year to look after the pair.

Among four-year-old Freddy's favourite treats is whole roast chicken or peanut butter on toast.

[$park? is totally a Swifty]

But I get cuddles off the dogs and I don't have to wash dirty underpants,

Wait, what?

[Tonio]

Dogs will eat the most amazing things.

[$park? is totally a Swifty]

I wonder if she's still wearing them when the dog starts eating.

[Citizen X]

Well, she HAS been single for a long time...

[Zeb]

I hear the peanut butter helps.

[Libertarian]

Apparently she would rather use 15gal trash bags as pooper scoopers than wash a husband's underwear.

[Lord Humungus]

OT: Has anyone ever bought a bank foreclosure property? The house (and a few acres of land) has no disclosure or warranty, but it was the home was built rather recently - 2000 - and looks to be well-made. But - this is more my dad - I would personally have something a little more detailed than your average house inspection.

Are mortgages harder to get for property like this? I'm just wondering why it's been on the market for six months with no buyers. Great neighborhood and definitely underpriced so my warning lights are going on.

[Crusty Juggler]

I would personally have something a little more detailed than your average house inspection.

Yes. Lift up those carpets...

[Rufus The Monocled]

Ask Elizabeth 'I'm a Native Something' Warren.

I hear she knows a thing or two about that.

[John]

I looked into a short sale, which is how you buy foreclosed properties. The problem with them is that you have to make a bid and you can't take your bid back. That would be okay except it can take banks months to decide on a bid. So unless you are in the home buying and flipping business, once you bid on a short sale property, you can't bid on anything else for several months until that property is sold. Otherwise you run the risk of buying another house only to have a bank come back and accept your offer on another house and then sue you for breach when you don't buy it. And they will sue you for breach.

It is fairly difficult for the typical home buyer to do a short sale. The other problem is that those houses can sit vacant and without proper maintenance while the bank is fucking around. So the house you get might not be in the same condition as when you bid on it.

[Lord Humungus]

That's my big concern - this house is owned by the bank so I'm worried about the delay; especially since my folks are looking for a house NOW - not something that will take more than two months to secure.

[Citizen X]

A short sale is actually a loss mitigation method to avoid a foreclosure. In a short sale, the bank agrees to consider the mortgage satisfied even if the owners sell the property for less than they currently owe on the mortgage. Their credit takes a hit, but not as big a hit as it would have if the property actually went into foreclosure. Aside from needing the bank's permission, a short sale proceeds the same as a normal house sale.

I don't know how it works in other states, but in Virginia (where, if i'm not mistaken, you live), the banks provide the trustee with the opening bid prior to the sale date, so there is no "deciding on a bid" after the fact. You may be thinking of an REO sale, in which a foreclosure auction was held but nobody bid on the property, in which case it reverts to the bank (or investor, in the case of Fannie/Freddie/FHA mortgages). An REO sale is, again, very similar to a normal sale, except that the CFPB chased all the small and medium sized servicers out of the mortgage game, and the big guys such as BoA, Wells Fargo, Nationstar, etc. (not to mention the GSEs and government agencies) all have enormous amounts of bureaucratic inertia that a prospective purchaser has to fight against.

/former VA foreclosure legal peon

[John]

You are right and I am mistaken about when a short sale is done. But anything involving a bank is going to be a long process and not something that is very useful to the average homebuyer.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

An extra point to a short sale: The Fed considers any money written off in a short-sale as income to the seller.

Some people have gotten very nasty surprises at tax time.

[Citizen X]

Gotta love the feds, man. It's banal evil all the way up.

[RBS]

Check to see if it is still subject to a superior mortgage. I do a lot of foreclosure work...for HOAs. So we often foreclose on a property that is still subject to 1 or 2 superior mortgages, so, generally, nobody will buy it. Also, what state?

[Lord Humungus]

Michigan - the land of snow and er, snow.

Though we do have some great beaches - usable for 6-8 weeks out of the year.

[Free Society]

Are mortgages harder to get for property like this? I'm just wondering why it's been on the market for six months with no buyers. Great neighborhood and definitely underpriced so my warning lights are going on.

Could have to do with bank stipulations, especially since most buyers are having their loans underwritten by the US Dept of Agriculture or HUD whether they know it or not. When government agencies get involved in your purchase agreements, shit gets fuckin' weird. The USDA was ready to torpedo the whole deal when I was selling a house and the buyer's gubmint inspector decided that the house could not possibly be sold with a dusty crawl space.

They could find nothing else wrong with the place and some bureaucrat back at the home office said they wouldn't close the buyer's loan until I cleaned all the dust out of the crawl space. I refused. And the buyer came and cleaned it out himself.

[Juvenile Bluster]

From the "You're really not getting this, are you?" file, this has been going around in progressive circles on Facebook:

You may have heard that the Trump people are freaking out that the performers for the Inauguration will be limited to Kid Rock and Ted Nugent.

You know what would be really smart? If there was a televised "freedom concert" with huge celebrities like: Beyonc? and Jay Z, Madonna, Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake, Gaga, Bruce Springsteen, etc. that aired at the same time as the inauguration. Imagine how mad "Tiny Fingers" would be. He would totally lose all the ratings.
And what if all the proceeds of the concert went to: the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, Lambda Legal, NAACP, CAIR, IRAP, SPLC, Environmental Defense Fund, Human Rights Campaign Fund, GLAD.

I would add that Alec Baldwin should MC the event playing Trump as he does on SNL.

COPY & PASTE to your timeline if you like the idea! (Don't share - copy and paste instead. If you share, many people won't be able to see it)

[Rufus The Monocled]

Yeh. NONE of those people give a shit about freedom; let alone you.

Idiot.

[$park? is totally a Swifty]

You're not free unless you're free to be told what to do.

[LynchPin1477]

He would totally lose all the ratings

Don't all presidential inaugurations? I assume (but don't really know) that it is in the middle of the day when normal people are working.

[Lord Humungus]

and I'm sure it will make Trump cry... jeez, the feels with these people.

[Libertarian]

I don't think they understand that the inauguration takes place in the freezing cold of D.C. during the day, and that the entertainment and numerous balls take place later that night. And ratings? Since when are the parties televised?

[straffinrun]

They were so successful at denying Trump ratings earlier this year. Double down!

[Tonio]

If you share, many people won't be able to see it because they have wisely chosen to filter out BS from DU, Kos and the other bullshit prog sites.

[Steve G]

"Freedom" means...

[Libertarian]

For them, it's just another word for nothing left to choose.

[R C Dean]

Oh, that is sweet.

[commodious buggres alle]

(Don't share - copy and paste instead. If you share, many people won't be able to see it)

That's because most of your family and friends keep you muted, sunshine.

[Crusty Juggler]

Post-election 'Subway Therapy' sticky notes taken down ? but not thrown out

In the days and weeks following Election Day, the sticky notes in the subway stations created a mosaic of the emotions, frustrations and fears felt by Americans:

"Woke up this morning and still can't believe this world," one note read. "As my heart cries, help me understand," another person wrote.

Others were more uplifting:

"Never give up."

"It gives me hope that such beauty and solidarity is coming out of such chaos."

[Crusty Juggler]

The nearly 50,000 sticky notes left behind in the subway stations in New York City became an international symbol of unity and expression. And on Friday, more than five weeks after the project ? called "Subway Therapy" ? began, the notes were taken down. A large selection of the sticky notes will be preserved by the New-York Historical Society as a way of documenting New Yorkers' response to the election, New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced Friday.

The notes will join a list of other artifacts the society has preserved from "spontaneous moments of crisis or exhilaration," such as objects recovered from the Sept. 11 attacks, items marking the celebrations following the legalization of same-sex marriage and messages left behind at the Stonewall Inn during a vigil for victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting, according to the news release.

[Libertarian]

It's amazing what passes for "historical" these days. How is the NY historical society funded? Methinks their budget needs to be trimmed.

[WTF]

The nearly 50,000 sticky notes left behind in the subway stations in New York City became an international symbol of unity and expression.

How the fuck did they symbolize unity? It was symbolic of divisiveness and refusal to accept an election outcome.

[Libertarian]

And "international"?? Dear New Yorkers, not everything that happens in NY is "international." It's amazing how many times I come across an article that says something like, "the world was rocked today upon learning of Lou Reed's death."

[Free Society]

WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN?

[Number.6]

Fake newz!!

[Tonio]

As my heart cries, help me understand

You lost. Get over it.

[John]

http://www.politico.com/story/.....oss-232803

It was the angry white men in the basement with the hacked emails who murdered Hillary's candidacy!!

[robc]

Worst version of clue.

[Libertarian]

"Angry white man used a computer in the basement."

I see the possibility for a new version of Clue in the 21st century.

[robc]

Too slow.

[Libertarian]

I'm used to it.

[robc]

Bill should shut up, Trump got a larger percent of the vote than he did.

[tarran]

You are making Bill's very point!

Had Bill been as good at getting angry white men to vote for him as Trump is, Bill's percentages would have been better!

[Libertarian]

It will be interesting today to see how many of the protesters are angry white men.

[Free Society]

Yeah when I think of irrationally angry protesters I don't think of white men in red hats.

[commodious buggres alle]

Shriners seem like an affable bunch.

[R C Dean]

You'd think, but don't cut them off in their tiny little cars. That shit can get real, fast.

[commodious buggres alle]

They'll race up and down the sidewalk twenty thousand million times.

[Zeb]

And if Ross Perot hadn't been there. I think that's probably by far the biggest reason he got a smaller than usual proportion of the vote for the winner.

[robc]

Perot got 19% of the vote, so of course its the reason.

But that is beside the point. He didnt even come close to getting a plurality of the vote.

[robc]

Majority, he got a plurality.

[Zeb]

How often does the winner get a majority of the popular vote, I wonder?

I guess I don't know what the point is, then. Bill is just saying that he won more of the votes that actually count, which is true.

I do think it's pretty much always stupid when a presidential winner claims a landslide or mandate. More than half of the country is always either against them or doesn't give a shit.

[kbolino]

How often does the winner get a majority of the popular vote, I wonder?

Most of the time. Since the end of WW2, there have been 18 Presidential elections, and 11 of them (61%) were won along with a majority of the popular vote. In addition, 5 of them (28%) were won along with a plurality of the vote, while 2 of them (11%) were won without a majority or plurality of the national popular vote.

[Lord Humungus]

Wasn't the "white angry male" thing also a Democratic talking point ...wait for it... way back in the 90s?

[Red Rocks Dickin Bimbos]

Bill's getting as bitchy as his harridan harpy of a wife--

"Landslide? I got something like 370 electoral votes," Clinton said, correctly recalling his 1992 total. "That was a landslide."

Nice of him to leave out that Perot played the spoiler in '92 and likely gained him at least 50 of those electoral votes from disgruntled Republicans.

[straffinrun]

the Manhattan billionaire was strangely cordial, "like it was 15 years ago" when he was friendly with the Clintons and would socialize with them.

In what world would Trump call up and be anything but cordial in that situation? "Strangely." *SMDH*

[John]

Trump is supposed to live up to the delusions Progs have about him. How dare he act like a normal human being instead of the monster he is supposed to be.

[straffinrun]

They're certainly hell bent on giving him the space to be magnanimous by assuming he's a douche 24/7.

[Sevo]

"Trump is supposed to live up to the delusions Progs have about him. How dare he act like a normal human being instead of the monster he is supposed to be."

I linked a story yesterday where he was accused of "lashing out" on twitter; he posted that, were the situation reversed, his supporters would be called all sort of nasty names by the press for trying to subvert the EC vote.
So he's "lashing out" when he posts the truth...

[commodious buggres alle]

Trump has the most innocuous tweets. Dumb, whiny, ill-considered, reactionary maybe... but not violent.

[Libertarian]

The Left are such a bunch of sexists. They think all the electors are men.

http://www.foxnews.com/enterta.....trump.html

[Juvenile Bluster]

What in the ever loving fuck?

Upon learning that other students had accused her of possessing drugs, Doe insisted that the allegations were false. The complaint says Doe offered to let Luther search her backpack in front of her, but that the school officials had a more humiliating search in mind. Doe had to leave her backpack behind, according to the complaint, while Luther and Bird took her to the nurse's office with a change of clothes.

"Jane was told that she would undergo a 'strip search," the complaint states. With Avallone and Bird looking on, Doe says she followed orders to disrobe completely. Despite the spare set of clothes on hand, the women allegedly forced Doe "to stand exposed for several minutes" while they inspected her shirt, bra, boots, pants and underwear. "No drugs, contraband, or any other prohibited substances were located in any of Jane's clothes," the complaint states.

Then nurse Avallone allegedly offered to perform a rectal exam.

It gets far, far, far worse from there.

[Gene]

Un-fucking-real, yet totally believable.

[Hank Phillips]

Yep. It is ordinary Revealed Faith that the * is a gateway to Demonic Possession. We have the Reagan-Bush Administration to thank for first forcing people to GO-Pee in a Dixie cup, then sit like a draftee for a haircut, and finally guiding and pacing us to quietly submit to foeced this-won't-hurt'a-bit intrusion to be sure we're not carrying Demonic Dope. The upside is that "both" parties have forced governments all over the world to subject their captives and slaves to similar torture. That makes it "fair" because everyone gets equal treatment.

[Free Society]

Yeah, if I ever get asked for rectal exam, I plan to shit.

[Citizen X]

Your proctologist is gonna retire early.

[Zeb]

The most fucked up thing about incidents like this is that anyone at all thinks that a school does or should have the authority to do such a thing.

Seems like the appropriate response from the student would be "no, fuck you, suspend me or fuck off". Rumors from other students shouldn't even be considered cause to search her bag (though I'm sure they probably claim the right to search students' bags at any time).

[commodious buggres alle]

Mischievous, no. Felonious, almost certainly.

[ant1sthenes]

If they tried that with one of my daughters, no one involved would be legally allowed within 1000 feet of a school again.

[Citizen X]

Same here. Because they would be dead.

[Lord Humungus]

When did the cape go out of style? Right now I like the idea of carrying an extra blanket.

[Libertarian]

Probably when we stopped riding horses.

[Kurmudgeonly Kristen]

Capes are super in-style (for women). Sheesh!

[The Fusionist]

Live coverage of the electors voting

[The Fusionist]

The bottom right corner has an autoplay video

[Kurmudgeonly Kristen]

Aleppo 1993...weird to think all this is rubble now. Though it was in bad shape 23 years ago, too.

[Number.6]

Buildings like that have been flattened in what amounts to step 1 in an urban renewal project. It really doesn't take much effort to build others that look equally brutal and soulless, although the sanitary conditions could be improved.

The real loss was in the older districts; much of Aleppo's history was well represented. Many of the 14th century souks, gates and mosques have been damaged so heavily, it's hard to imagine anyone is going to reconstruct them.

It'd be easy to rebuild Aleppo to look like that photo. Cheap construction and a coupe years of neglect would see to that.

[Kurmudgeonly Kristen]

The photo was actually taken from the minaret of the Great Mosque...in the old city.

[Domestic Dissident]

Thousands of people are evacuating Aleppo as United Nations observers watch.

Again, I thought we weren't supposed to know or care about "Aleppo".

[Zeb]

Huh?

[Domestic Dissident]

Don't "huh?" me when you know exactly what I'm referring to.

[Citizen X]

Jesus, Red Shreek, YOU don't even know what you're referring to. Don't you have some coloring books you could be working on right now? Or did you eat all your crayons again?

[Zeb]

Only if you stop being an idiot.

[Sevo]

"?More than 300 people were arrested at protests in Venezuela over the government's decision to eliminate the 100 bolivar note."

TDS reaches new heights of infection!
A commenter on the Yahoo link tries to claim that Maduro somehow equals Trump.

[Hank Phillips]

Trump lights his cigars with 100 bolivar bills to save on matches... there's a difference.

[Hank Phillips]

Excuse me, but is Aleppo some Mohammedan disaster area in the former Ottoman Empire? It was mentioned in a 1922 Aldous Huxley short story, Green Tunnels, according to Gary Johnson. There was some sort of fighting going on, involving fascisti...

[Fist of Etiquette]

It sank. That's how she died.

[Radioactive]

I heard she went down...

[Lord Humungus]

This is my old man's deal - I just don't want him to walk into a bunch of trouble - but yes, cash purchase from the sale of his current house.

Thanks!

[Crusty Juggler]

Those are very good rules, and pretty much exactly what I told my sister because she is looking to buy a place.

[commodious buggres alle]

Dickhead.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Dickhead.

[Lord Humungus]

Will get more details today... this property just popped up (you know what else just popped up...)

[Citizen X]

Yeah, banks don't want to have property - they want to have MONEY. That's the thing about the whole foreclosure process - if the homeowner makes a good faith effort, a bank would rather renegotiate a loan and get a smaller mortgage payment every month than go through the expense of foreclosing, maintaining the property and then reselling if it goes into REO, etc.

In theory, anyway. In practice, the big banks run into the knowledge problem so hard that they're too busy tripping over they dicks to do anything effectively, as many homeowners learned over the last ten years.

[Free Society]

if the homeowner makes a good faith effort, a bank would rather renegotiate a loan and get a smaller mortgage payment every month than go through the expense of foreclosing, maintaining the property and then reselling if it goes into REO, etc.

Assuming of course that they don't have a government agency waiting in the wings to buy the property from the bank as soon as the foreclosure goes through.

[Citizen X]

If the loan is backed by one of the GSEs, HUD, VA, etc., they do have to approve any loss mitigation attempt. The backer also has to approve the opening bid made by the bank prior to auction. If nobody bids at auction and the property goes back to the bank, the bank immediately assigns it to the backer. SOME parts of the process are streamlined.