Extreme Vetting of White House Job Candidates, Uber Backs Down, Jon Huntsman to be Russian Ambassador: A.M. Links

• 

  Doddis/Dreamstime.com

  The Trump administration is reportedly deploying some "extreme vetting" on the social media accounts of White House job candidates to ensure they've never publicly expressed anything negative about their potential boss.

• In great news for the taxi cartels, Uber announced it will no longer use its "Greyball" tool, which means more Uber drivers will be subject to arbitrary stings by authorities.
• Boston's Mayor Marty Walsh (D) and Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) both say they will refuse to march in Beantown's St. Patrick's Day Parade if a group of gay military veterans is not permitted to march as well.
• Plainclothes policing in Baltimore comes to an end.
• Forget the "Fight for 15" or "bringing jobs back to America," the burger-flipping robots are already upon us.
• Israel's World Baseball Classic team has made the typically dull tournament interesting by surprising almost everyone with a first round sweep of the competition.
• Cable cord-cutting means ESPN's business model is collapsing.
• Jon Huntsman has accepted President Trump's offer to be the next ambassador to Russia. Huntsman is a former Republican Governor of Utah, as well as a former ambassador to Singapore and China. He also ran for the Republican nomination for president in 2012, and has been insulted by Trump on Twitter for his diplomatic efforts.

Jon Huntsman called to see me. I said no, he gave away our country to China! @JonHuntsman

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2012

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Trump administration is reportedly deploying some "extreme vetting" on the social media accounts of White House job candidates to ensure...

they do the Dew.

[Evan from Evansville]

Hello.

[Rufus The Monocled]

Er...a word...

[Free Society]

This isn't natural.

[MSimon]

Reagan did it (started the surveillance State)

http://classicalvalues.com/2017/03/reagan-did-it/

[Rufus The Monocled]

Hello.

[Rufus The Monocled]

"Cable cord-cutting means ESPN's business model is collapsing."

They didn't SJW enough and hire enough diversity.

Didn't they sign a $1.3 billion NBA rights deal?

That'll do it.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Plainclothes policing in Baltimore comes to an end.

So you'll know for a fact who's punching you in the face.

[gaoxiaen]

Not really. Still have to deal with the locals.

[Bee Tagger]

Plainclothes policing in Baltimore comes to an end.

Policing plainclothes still in full force on the E network.

[American Memer]

*claps*

[Fist of Etiquette]

...the burger-flipping robots are already upon us.

And I for one welcome our new McOverlords.

[Shirley Knott]

Well, they're far less likely to spit on your burger.

[Libertarian]

But they *will* be dripping lubrication oil on your buns. Ew.

[$park? don't care bout yo mom]

Gay men rejoice.

[Bee Tagger]

Grimacing over here

[Princess Trigger]

And as I'm being torn limb for limb in the greasy claws of a crazed burger robot - I'll cry out "Thanks Unions!"

[Rich]

Boston's Mayor Marty Walsh (D) and Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) both say they will refuse to march in Beantown's St. Patrick's Day Parade if a group of gay military veterans is not permitted to march as well.

The horror!

[Shirley Knott]

Two individuals who do not have a job mandate to participate in an event held by a private group 'refuse' to participate because of decisions the private group has made in the past about who gets to participate.
I have a lot of trouble seeing the issue here. This could almost be Libertarian virtue-signaling.

[Rufus The Monocled]

/places dog on lap. 'Did I tell you the time I took a stance during the second Great civil rights St. Patty's movement back in 2017...?'

[Libertarian]

Was it a wide stance?

[Zeb]

I took a shit on St. Patrick's day once.

[Zeb]

It could be if they were libertarians.

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

I wonder what it's like to self-select into small little atomic cloisters...

"Happy St. Patty's day!"
"Happy St. Patty's day, I'm gay!"
"What?"
"Happy St. Patty's day, I'm gay and a vet!"
"What is going on here?"
"Happy St. Patty's day, I'm gay, a vet, and a woman!"
"....I hate parades now."

[Libertarian]

Not to brag, but I'm way ahead of the curve on this one. I've always hated parades.

[Rich]

They're so, um, contrived.

[gaoxiaen]

+1 hip replacement

[American Memer]

As some other commenter said, maybe the endgame is that the identities get so split to the point where you end up coming full circle to individualism.

[Mickey Rat]

Tolerance is not enough, acceptance and promotion are required.

[Free Society]

You didn't hear? Tolerance is acceptance and promotion now.

[CatoTheChipper]

Acceptance and promotion are also inadequate.

One must also join in the celebration.

[Fist of Etiquette]

...to ensure they've never publicly expressed anything negative about their potential boss.

Rosie O'Donnell is tearing up her resume as we speak.

[Libertarian]

"Forget the "Fight for 15" or "bringing jobs back to America," the burger-flipping robots are already upon us."

And the "progressives" will take no responsibility for their minimum wage laws encouraging this.

[double ham fisted]

We're sorry. It's not us. It's the monster. The bank isn't like a man. Yes, but the bank is only made of men.
No, you're wrong there?quite wrong there. The bank is something else than men. It happens that every man in a bank hates what the bank does, and yet the bank does it. The bank is something more than men, I tell you. It's the monster. Men made it, but they can't control it.

[Domestic Dissident]

In real life, the minimum wage is always zero.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Israel's World Baseball Classic team has made the typically dull tournament interesting by...

...turning it into football?

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

"Look's like Ike Lebowitz is going for the Two-State Conversion!"

[Citizen X - #6]

Cable cord-cutting means ESPN's business model is collapsing.

Sports bar douche bros hardest hit.

[Citizen X - #6]

Not sure why this is a response to Eugene.

[WakaWaka]

Correction: 'Woke' Sports Bar Douche Bros Hardest Hit

Respectable bros watch FS1

[Zeb]

But wouldn't cord-cutting have the same effect on them and all cable sports networks?

[UVaGrad]

No one watches FS1

[American Memer]

Maybe that's the joke?

[gaoxiaen]

Kickball or dodgeball.

[CE]

Football (both kinds) is already dull. Baseball is intrinsically far more interesting.

[Rich]

Plainclothes policing in Baltimore comes to an end.

So now the undercover cops must wear tuxedos or evening gowns?

[Shirley Knott]

Oh, where is Divine when you need him/her? The cute little number from Pink Flamingos would be an ideal cop uniform.

[Rich]

Divine in ecstasy

[Rich]

Jon Huntsman has accepted President Trump's offer to be the next ambassador to Russia.

Yet *another* Trump connection to Russia!

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

Irrevocable TAINT

[Crusty Juggler - #2]

"Irrevocable Taint" was my nickname in college.

[Ska]

I thought it was Choad the Wet Grundle.

[Citizen X - #6]

No, that's just what his proctologist calls him.

[Libertarian]

He's so brazen.

[Citizen X - #6]

Jon Huntsman called to see me. I said no, he gave away our country to China! @JonHuntsman

? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2012

That fucking guy!

[CE]

Did they vet Trump's social media accounts to make sure he never said anything bad about his appointees?

[WakaWaka]

"Boston's Mayor Marty Walsh (D) and Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) both say they will refuse to march in Beantown's St. Patrick's Day Parade if a group of gay military veterans is not permitted to march as well."

The demands never end. Why they would even want these politicians in the parade are beyond me

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

Much better to suck on hot-dogs and eat wieners all day with the fags than vote, in my humble opinion.

[WakaWaka]

Hell, marching in a parade is better than voting

[Crusty Juggler - #2]

With a show of Stars and Stripes, U.S. forces in Syria try to keep warring allies apart

n their first diversion from the task of fighting the Islamic State since the U.S. military's involvement began in 2014, U.S. troops dispatched to Syria have headed in recent days to the northern town of Manbij, 85 miles northwest of the extremists' capital, Raqqa, to protect their Kurdish and Arab allies against a threatened assault by other U.S. allies in a Turkish-backed force.

Russian troops have also shown up in Manbij under a separate deal that was negotiated without the input of the United States, according to U.S. officials. Under the deal, Syrian troops are to be deployed in the area, also in some form of peacekeeping role, setting up what is effectively a scramble by the armies of four nations to carve up a collection of mostly empty villages in a remote corner of Syria.

[Crusty Juggler - #2]

Other wars are brewing elsewhere across the vast areas freed so far from Islamic State control, in Iraq as well as Syria. In recent days, the United States has been mediating between rival Kurdish factions in Iraq, both of them indirectly allied to the United States in the fight against the Islamic State, after clashes erupted around the northwestern town of Snune, freed from the Islamic State more than two years ago.

Manbij is the first instance, however, in which U.S. troops have become directly involved in keeping rival factions apart. The Pentagon has described their mission as one to "reassure and deter" local parties from attacking one another, a new role for the U.S. military in the Islamic State war, and one that could set a trend for the remaining cities to be conquered.

[Libertarian]

Well, at least no one is going to be dying in vain.

[Crusty Juggler - #2]

It's absurd.

[double ham fisted]

The most revealing thing in the links was I now know that lookouts in The Wire were yelling "Knockers" and not "Narcos" as I used to think.

[Rich]

You do know it took place in Baltimore, not Boston, right?

[Zeb]

AAVE is also generally non-rhotic.

[Zeb]

"Knockos". I also originally thought they were saying "narcos".

[Rufus The Monocled]

"Israel's World Baseball Classic team has made the typically dull tournament interesting by..."

Didn't Chapman report the uniforms are drenched in the blood of Palestinian children?

Jews are the worst.

[double ham fisted]

Passover has gotten really weird.

[Princess Trigger]

That gives them great Jew-Power.

[Rich]

Gender-swap experiment shows Hillary even less likable as a man

One female audience member even remarked that she found the male version of Clinton "very punchable" because he smiled so much.

SEXIST!

[Citizen X - #6]

The Gender-Swap Experiment was Crusty's nickname in college.

[Crusty Juggler - #2]

Ed wrote about this yesterday, Rich. It is hella interesting, though.

[Rich]

Ah. h/t: Ed.

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

"No! That's not true! That's impossible"
"Search your feelings, you know it to be true!"

[Eternal Blue Sky]

Props to them for actually reporting their findings honestly when it went completely against the narrative they were trying to weave, though.

[Free Society]

That's the most surprising aspect of it all.

[Glide]

I still hated them both so I'm glad this confirms I'm not sexist against both men and women.

[Crusty Juggler - #2]

Uber announced it will no longer use its "Greyball" tool

"The Greyball Tool" was my nickname in college.

[Rich]

Sheesh, Crusty -- How many damn nicknames did you *have*?

[Libertarian]

When your "college days" span about a dozen years, you need to keep changing your nickname so that the new freshmen don't get wise.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Jon Huntsman called to see me. I said no, he gave away our country to China!

Russia already has us?

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

"The phone call Russians were coming from INSIDE the Whitehouse!

[Crusty Juggler - #2]

CNN presenter Reza Aslan sparks backlash after he eats HUMAN BRAIN while filming with Hindu cannibal sect

CNN presenter Reza Aslan has been heavily criticized after he ate part of a human brain while filming with a Hindu cannibal sect in India.

The episode, part of a series called Believer with Reza Aslan, was shown on Sunday and provoked horror and dismay from many viewers and an angry backlash by Hindus in America.

Tulsi Gabbard, the only Hindu in Congress, tweeted: 'I am very disturbed that CNN is using its power and influence to increase people's misunderstanding and fear of Hinduism.'

I've put grosser things into my mouth.

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

I thought this was a Euphemism for Reza's date with Chapman....

[Rufus The Monocled]

You can suck your own cock?

[Crusty Juggler - #2]

No, I have your mom for that.

[AlexInCT]

WOAH!

Get off the mom jokes, cause I just got off a yours....

[Libertarian]

Bruce Jenner is a woman, Trump is in the Whitehouse, and cannibalism on CNN. ARE WE DONE YET???

[Libertarian]

This is how Mad Hindu Disease starts.

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

Have you ever been karmically bitch-slapped by a six-armed goddess?

[Libertarian]

No, but I heard a rumor that Six-armed bitch slapping goddess was Crusty's nickname in college.

[Mickey Rat]

As a reporter, he does realize he does not have to participate?

[Libertarian]

They're calling him a "presenter." What the hell is that? But as I've learned by watching countless hours of Julia Child, presentation is *everything* when it comes to a good meal.

[Zeb]

What do you expect from a talking lion?

[$park? don't care bout yo mom]

Tulsi Gabbard, the only Hindu in Congress, tweeted: 'I am very disturbed that CNN is using its power and influence to increase people's misunderstanding and fear of Hinduism.'

I'm not quite sure what could have been misunderstood about a guy eating brains with other cannibals.

[Eternal Blue Sky]

"Tulsi Gabbard, the only Hindu in Congress, tweeted: 'I am very disturbed that CNN is using its power and influence to increase people's misunderstanding and fear of Hinduism.'"

I'm pretty sure it was clear that that segment covered specifically the Aghori.

And, so what, people aren't allowed to interact with the Aghori because it might embarrass other Hindus??

[Free Society]

Aslan, who is himself a Muslim, is the author of several books, including No God but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam.

So human brains are halal?

[Conchfritters]

I thought it was against their religion to eat the long pork?

[AlexInCT]

Not on special occasions...

[Crusty Juggler - #2]

It doesn't get much creepier than this: EXCLUSIVE 'I want to move on from surgery': Human Ken Doll Rodrigo Alves flashes his ?22k FAKE abs in tiny trunks as he reveals plans to become a fitness model following 'fat' jibes

For seriously.

[Zeb]

He looks like a burn victim after reconstruction. Who thinks that looks good? His face, at least, was much better before.

And if you want to be a fitness model, shouldn't you have, you know, actual muscles?

[Citizen X - #6]

So he's completely smooth down there?

[double ham fisted]

How do you think they made his cheeks pop so much?

[Rich]

Brain Activity Has Been Recorded as Much as 10 Minutes After Death

And it's an entirely different phenomenon to the sudden 'death wave' that's been observed in rats following decapitation.

"Told you so."

/The Dalai Lama

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

Call Kevin Bacon, it's time for Flatliners 2: The Re-Flattening

[Libertarian]

You mean Kiefer?

[Free Society]

Flatliners 3: the Resuscitating Electric Bugaloo

[Libertarian]

So if it's still waving, it's basically "brain sushi", especially for certain CNN reporters.

[Memory Hole]

How to Become an International Gold Smuggler

Harold Vilches watched stoically while customs officers at Santiago's international airport scrutinized his carry-on. Inside the roller bag was 44 pounds of solid gold, worth almost $800,000, and all the baby-faced, 21-year-old college student wanted was clearance to get on a red-eye to Miami.

https://www.bloomberg.com

[Rich]

What a bizarre site!

[widget]

Imagine owning a small business where you put all you got on the table. That's how most businesses start, and most fail. You can't do it alone. Is extreme vetting OK here? If not, tell me when it is OK.

[Zeb]

I'm missing something here.

[MSimon]

A brain?

See the Wizard.

[Zeb]

Where's the yellow brick road?

[esteve7]

Yeah ESPN's downfall has nothing to do with the network being unwatchable, the website re-do being complete garbage, and them offering up nothing on their site other than nonstop SJW drivel. No it's people cutting their cord.

Yeah. That's it

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

Finally done consuming Disney products, Steve?

[esteve7]

Nope, I love Disneyland, go there like 10 times a year.

I'm saying I used to watch ESPN and go to their website for sporting news all the time. The last couple years it's been unwatchable though, and when they redesigned their website into the hot garbage it is now I was out. Now I stick to other sports outlets, like CSN / CSN Bay Area, and SBNation. The only reason I ever turn on ESPN is to watch a game I can't get on the regional networks.

[Conchfritters]

I agree. I can stand the self absorbed bald guy on sports center, and the website sucks - - full of ads and other junk, it takes forever just to check the score of a game without the site crashing half a dozen times. I don't think I've watched ESPN with any regularity in 10+ years, and I used to watch it every night.

[Crusty Juggler - #2]

it's people cutting their cord.

I would think it is this far more than the other reasons you listed. ESPN is charging cable subscribers over 7 dollars a month because cable companies keep losing subscribers.

[John]

Perhaps one of the reason's why people are so willing to walk away from cable is that ESPN doesn't offer them anything they want. If ESPN had shows that people wanted to see, people would be more willing to stay on cable.

[Zeb]

I find it odd that people imagine there to be one simple cause for so many things. That's almost never how it works.
It is because people are cutting cords. And part of the reason people are doing that is because the content on cable either sucks or can be found somewhere else that doesn't require a full cable subscription.

Still, whether or not ESPN sucks, the conventional cable model is probably on its way out.

[John]

It is a lot of reasons, but it is still TV and the quality of your shows still is the most important thing. A lot of the reason why people are walking away from cable and satellite is that internet services like hulu, Amazon, and Netflix have come out with some very good shows that people want to watch. You are right that it is a lot of factors, but it isn't that people don't want to watch TV anymore. They do. It is that the internet services increasingly offer more of what they want to watch than the cable companies.

[VG Zaytsev]

From the point of view of a grumpy 50ish man, it's amazing how much absolute shit it is on cable - and how little diversity their is. What the fuck ever happened to the history channel or TTN or Family Channel or any number of other channels that began by catering to specific market segments? They've all homogenized into crappy cable option 1, 2, 3 or 4. 150 channels to pick from and they're all showing variations of 4 basic shows - all of which suck ass.

[John]

The quality of TV documentaries is horrible. I remember when the History Channel first went on the air. They did this multipart documentary on the American Revolution. It is still rebroadcast to this day. It is fantastic. Now they have Pawn Stars. It is just sad.

The only thing I will say for cable recently is that the success fo Downton Abbey has caused networks to import more and better period dramas from Europe. Ovation broadcast a series about Louis XIV called Versailles last fall that was great. History Channel broadcast a BBC production of War and Peace that was really good. The current BBC Brit drama Victoria has been really good. As an aside Jenna Coleman has a PHD in babeology. She is just adorable. It makes me regret never watching Dr. Who.

[Zeb]

It's just shocking what utter shit the History channel, Discovery channel, etc. have become.

[Conchfritters]

I agree - - I'll watch the History channel when they bring back Wings. I want hour long documentaries on the A-7 Corsair II.

[Crusty Juggler - #2]

Sports media companies are more impacted by cord cutting than other media companies because of the "rights fees" they have agreed to pay.

[John]

Yes. And that means that sports leagues are going to be affected at some point. When the current giant TV deals run out, who is going to be there to renew them at those rates? I think the professional sports bubble is about to burst.

[Crusty Juggler - #2]

There are not going to be many events that people watch live other than sports, so their ability to generate a lot of revenue from advertisers may even increase. Live sports are always going to be a big earner, but it just won't be via cable subscribers, which is why ESPN finally made a huge investment into streaming.

[John]

That is a good point. Live sports is the one form of broadcasting that people do not record and fast forward through the commercials. Interestingly, the sport that people watch live the most often in college sports. The scourge of fantasy leagues among professional sports fans has caused more and more pro sports fans to flip back and forth between games to follow their fantasy team. This is especially true of the NFL. It is not true of college sports. College football doesn't have anything like the ratings the NFL does but it has just as much ad penetration.

The problem is that ESPN has lost its ass on these big contracts. So, yes, the ad revenue for sports is greater because people watch it live, but it doesn't seem to be enough to cover the costs at current prices.

[Crusty Juggler - #2]

that people do not record and fast forward through the commercials

It's not just that, it's also ads shown live during the game. That is why the wall behind home plate during a baseball game is very popular. If you watch a Yankee's game you will see an ad for Johnnie Walker Black behind the catcher countless times.

[SFC B]

All of those reasons are why people cut the cord.

For me it was that they do a terrible job covering the sports I enjoy. You know, those obscure ones like professional baseball and football.

[Crusty Juggler - #2]

You can still watch ESPN via the SlingTv app, which is what cord cutters do if they want access to ESPN's live sports.

[widget]

Many NFL running backs are capable of doing a standing backflip, some can do a forward standing flip.

Great!

There are kids at Big Bear who can do one of each flying down a hill on a snowboard at 50 mph.

Dude!

[Zeb]

If you are going 50 mph on a snowboard, it's not a standing flip.

[widget]

Correct. The run need features.

Third camera:

http://www.bigbearmountainreso.....o/web-cams

YMMV.

[Zeb]

Nothing doing. I guess it's a bit early.

[Memory Hole]

Jesus has escalator accident

And on the third day, he rose from the food court.

PennyBladder

https://www.liveleak.com/view?i=c7e_1488389271

[american socialist]

Anyone see the logic for hawaii lawsuit on travel ban?

Says ban establishes a state religion in hawaii and discrimination against a subset of Hawaii citizens

Wtf? Does this mean there really is no good legal challenge

[Zeb]

I don't know if it means that, but I don't see how Hawaii has standing to sue.

[spqr2008]

I don't understand how Hawaii can be against any kind of discrimination, considering you basically have to be native Hawaiian to be considered for certain positions in their government.

[Zeb]

Well, they are not against any kind of discrimination. Just certain kinds.

[Free Society]

So the official state religion is "not Islam"? Sounds fine to me.

[Glide]

Florida Lawyer's pants catch fire during court hearing

Not that I'm implying anything about our resident lawyers.

[Libertarian]

His briefs were the best. Asbestos.

[John]

Lawyers are paid to lie. So that is quite appropriate.

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

Excuse me! It's the Shadow of the Cube, John! We just move the light!

[John]

They are not actually paid to lie. They are, however, paid to do some pretty distasteful things.

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

"They"? Forgive me, but the client's are the ones facing off, the client's names are on the case files, and the clients are the subjects of the verbs in the action.

"Plaintiff's claim" and not "Plaintiff's lawyer's claim"

Can't have attorney-client privilege if attorneys get independent determination regardless of client's wishes.

[Free Society]

There's a more than good chance he is lying. Insurance companies bend over backwards to not take insurance fraud cases to trial, they usually try to either scare the person out of proceeding further with the claim or they just pay the fraudulent claim and non-renew the guy's policy the following year. I've seen several cases where one of my clients commits insurance fraud and the insurance company people might agree with me, but they do everything in their power to avoid criminal proceedings. I had one lady who lit her car on fire on the same day of the year every year for three years. No charges were filed.

[John]

The threat of a bad faith suit tends to make insurance companies a bit cautious in dealing with their insureds. If you are suing an insurance company as a third party who was harmed by their policyholder, insurance companies can often be nasty assholes. Their attitude in those cases is to just pay their lawyers to wait you out until you get desperate enough to take less than you deserve. But when they are dealing with an insured, the insured has the threat of bringing a bad faith suit. Bad faith suits in many states can result in punitive or statutory damages, and the company having to pay the plaintiff's attorneys fees. On top of that, a bad faith suit, unlike a regular tort suit, is the little guy against the big bad insurance company rather than the little guy against some other little guy or medium guy being represented by an insurance company. And that matters. People hate insurance companies and insurance companies know it and are loath to take even the strongest case before a jury. It doesn't surprise me at all insurance companies are hesitant to go after their insureds for fraud. Doing that opens up the possibility of a bad faith suit and none of them want that.

[Free Society]

You're exactly right, but when you have instances of clear fraud, the person might have even signed a notarized affidavit stating essentially that they knowingly committed fraud, the company is still hesitant to do anything about it, there's something wrong with that situation. In the last example I cited, the insured had a record of bouncing checks, petty theft and embezzlement and on her third car burning, she broke down and admitted to the adjusters during a deposition that she burned the car herself to collect the insurance money, the company was content to deny the claim and let her ride off into the sunset to find another insurance company to fuck over.

That was one woman I wanted to see in prison but instead she didn't even have to pay for the car she burned because she declared bankruptcy. Which nowadays, a bankruptcy isn't even enough to stop you from getting a tax payer guaranteed home loan.

[John]

I totally agree that there is something wrong with that. The same underwriters who will happily fuck over someone who has a legitimate claim against an insured will turn right around and refuse to do anything about an insured stealing from the company.

My best guess is that most people have no courage and live their lives terrified of making a mistake. In an insurance company, your job is to defend your insureds and doing that with too much zeal is rarely if ever going to be punished. Going after an insured, however, is different. If you go after an insured for fraud and it turns out you are wrong, that might carry some consequences. So, I think the decision makers refuse to go after fraud because it is a decision that getting wrong will have real consequences for them and most people don't have the confidence or the courage to make such decisions. So they refuse to do it no matter how strong the case.

That is by two cent theory.

[Free Society]

The same underwriters who will happily fuck over someone who has a legitimate claim against an insured will turn right around and refuse to do anything about an insured stealing from the company.

That's a common trope but far more rare than you might think. For the same reasons you mentioned previously, juries typically don't favor the big bad meanie pants insurance companies, and the company's know this. Only on two or three occasions in my two decades career, have I seen completely indefensible decisions made by adjusters (note underwriters don't handle claims) and even then it was by small podunk companies who didn't have a legal department to slap them upside the head proverbially. And on two of those occasions, my agency stepped up to pay the person's claim when the company wouldn't because it was the right thing to do.

[MSimon]

Reagan did it (started the surveillance State)

http://classicalvalues.com/2017/03/reagan-did-it/

[Not a True MJG]

Boston's Mayor Marty Walsh (D) and Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) both say they will refuse to march in Beantown's St. Patrick's Day Parade if a group of gay military veterans is not permitted to march as well.

DAMN IT! I'm sick of one group wanting something and another group wanting something else, and the two of them bargaining with non-violent social pressure. When will this insanity end???

[John]

The thing is that the can march in the parade. They just can't march as "Gay Veterans". It's not like they put a sign out saying "no homos". What the hell does being a gay veteran have to do with St. Patrick's Day? Why does every single parade have to include every designated victim group?

[widget]

I love a parade.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b5phblXXlA

[Mickey Rat]

You have two politicians doing grandstanding social signaling over something that should not concern them.

[Get To Da Chippah]

Forget the "Fight for 15" or "bringing jobs back to America," the burger-flipping robots are already upon us.

"Hi! I'm Flippy! I see you're trying to raise a family of four on a low-skill entry-level job. Can I help you with that?"

[GILMORE?]

insulted by Trump on Twitter

That was an insult?

[Jason Bayz]

"Forget the "Fight for 15" or "bringing jobs back to America," the burger-flipping robots are already upon us."

True, I guess it took Trump to get you to finally see it, though there's no solution proposed. Don't forget to write about the U.S. needs more illegal immigrant workers in the next post.

[Citizen X - #6]

I... what?

[Juice]

Cable cord-cutting means ESPN's business model is collapsing.

We "cut the cord" recently and it was because of ESPN. Or, it was because the "Regional Sports Fee" went up yet again and now our barely tolerable cable bill became intolerable. Good job, sports networks. You're really raking in those fees now.

[Mickey Rat]

There is only so far you can press before the customer says "no more"