A.M. Links: Trump Eyes 'War Footing' in Afghanistan, Sally Yates Testifies Before Senate, Moon Jae-In Expected to Win South Korean Presidential Election

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  Gage Skidmore / Flickr.com

  The Trump administration is eying "a major shift in strategy in Afghanistan that would effectively put the United States back on a war footing with the Taliban."

• Sally Yates, the former acting attorney general who was fired by President Donald Trump, testified yesterday before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee.
• Exit polling shows that Moon Jae-in, the candidate who favors diplomacy with North Korea, is expected to win the South Korean presidential election.
• Jimmy Carter voted for Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primary.
• "Spirit Airlines cancels flight, passenger brawl breaks out."

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Trump administration is eying "a major shift in strategy in Afghanistan that would effectively put the United States back on a war footing with the Taliban."

We've been off it?

[Bee Tagger]

At least we've stopped warring with Eurasia, I think.

[Rufus The Monocled]

Hello.

I'm not following why Jimmy Carter's name keeps coming up.

And do any of you think Barry is giving speeches now as a form of 'shadow' against Trump in an indirect way to undermine him?

Wouldn't put it passed him.

[Citizen X - #6]

As the second-oldest living former president, he's coming up in a lot of death pools these days.

[Zeb]

Is he younger than Bush I?

I thought for sure he was going to die when he had that cancer thing.

[Zeb]

Younger by 4 months.

[Citizen X - #6]

Yeah, i thought Carter was older but had to check to be sure.

[Chipper Mourning Somali Roadz]

I know this is gonna be unpopular around here, but I kinda like Jimmy Carter. He does seem to care about peace.

[Chipper Mourning Somali Roadz]

To be sure, I am not talking about his presidency.

[Crusty Juggler aka "Chad"]

"Put a sweater on," Chipper Mourning Jimmy Carter Fan said, sharing his solution to every problem.

[Chipper Mourning Somali Roadz]

Maybe if you wore those little rubber sweaters I told you about, you would not have hide at the back of a pet store.

[Zeb]

"Put a sweater on" was weak leadership, but good advice if you are cold.

[Zeb]

He is not actually history's greatest monster. I'll give him that.

[Citizen X - #6]

From the Carter presidency came airline deregulation and the legalization of microbrewing, and those two facts alone cover a lot of sins.

[Zeb]

When he was president, he was less of a big government liberal sort too. He was just terrible at playing politics, so he didn't accomplish much with congress.

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

You know who else is not actually History's Greatest Monster?

[Citizen X - #6]

Vlad Tepes?

[Chipper Mourning Somali Roadz]

Yet for some reason someone always pulls him out.

[$park? leftist poser]

as a form of 'shadow' against Trump

Dude, so racist!

[Crusty Juggler aka "Chad"]

And do any of you think Barry is giving speeches now as a form of 'shadow' against Trump in an indirect way to undermine him?

No. Obama gives speeches for his ego and the sweet, sweet cash.

[Bob K]

I think first and foremost Barry wants to be paid. $500k per speech is enough incentive. I am sure he is telling himself that it is all for the "good fight" but really Saint Barry is just as greedy as the rest of us.

[gaoxiaen]

Speak for yourself.

[gaoxiaen]

-1 past participle

[RussianPrimeMinister]

"Shadow"

Racist.

[Bee Tagger]

"Spirit Airlines cancels flight, passenger brawl breaks out."

How much was the fee to throw a punch in their terminal?

[Conchfritters]

I've flown Spirit Airlines before - - they probably did these people a favor by cancelling their flight. It wouldn't surprise me if they still lost some of their bags.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Sally Yates, the former acting attorney general who was fired by President Donald Trump, testified yesterday before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee.

Everyone's exit interview should be televised.

[Citizen X - #6]

The Trump administration is eying "a major shift in strategy in Afghanistan that would effectively put the United States back on a war footing with the Taliban."

SOMEONE stopped watching the news in early 2001, apparently.

[The Last American Hero]

I'm in the GTFO crowd, but if what we've been doing is "war footing", we're doing a pretty piss poor job of it. Propping up a corrupt government and building infrastructure for a future Taliban government isn't "war footing".

[Fist of Etiquette]

Exit polling shows that Moon Jae-in, the candidate who favors diplomacy with North Korea, is expected to win the South Korean presidential election.

Mr. Kim, tear down this minefield.

[$park? leftist poser]

He's going to arm the South Korean army with sandwiches and have them stand along the southern line. Maybe get a few pig roasts going and some giant fans to blow the smell north.

[Get To Da Chippah]

He'll probably still be a better chief executive than Governor Moon Be-Am.

[Citizen X - #6]

Jimmy Carter voted for Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primary.

Ancient socialist dummies gotta stick together.

[Bee Tagger]

Sally Yates, the former acting attorney general who was fired by President Donald Trump

He has special laws just for hollywood actors? #smh

[Citizen X - #6]

"No, Senator. He didn't even ask me to come back for the season finale."

[Fist of Etiquette]

Jimmy Carter voted for Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primary.

And Stein in the general?

[Fist of Etiquette]

"Spirit Airlines cancels flight, passenger brawl breaks out."

They overbooked by 100%.

[Chipper Mourning Somali Roadz]

"Sir, this ticket is only for your spirit. You need to purchase an extra ticket for your body."

[Crusty Juggler aka "Chad"]

Norman Lear Leads N-Word Chant in Podcast

"Wouldn't it be better if the word...was available?" said Lear. "Making it the worst thing that could ever happen, so that nobody can say anything but the 'n-word' ? isn't that a curse on the word and communication?"

Carmichael responded by saying that making it taboo actually preserves the word and makes it "more dangerous. "It's a curse on the word and childish, and does more harm than good. People think ? the intention is it's stopping hatred, but it doesn't stop hatred and it doesn't stop, you know, painful language."

Lear said he'd like one of them to use the n-word in the next three minutes. He counted down and then all three men simultaneously said the word.

In other words they reenacted a Red Sox game.

[$park? leftist poser]

If you make nigger acceptable then people will just come up with another word.

[Citizen X - #6]

I hope racists don't fall back on "coon," because i don't need anyone to think i'm a bigot when i'm in the backyard yellin' at toilet bears.

[Chipper Mourning Somali Roadz]

I thought they were called trash pandas.

[MarkLastname]

Skunks probably deserve to be called trash pandas.

I never see raccoons round here. Just skunks. Lots of them. They're all over the place. And apparently they like to eat tomatoes.

[Zeb]

I vote for "jiggaboo"

[Chipper Mourning Somali Roadz]

"Get out of my trash can, jiggaboo!"
Do you think that would keep the racoons away?

[$park? leftist poser]

Keep raccoons away? Is that even possible? They always give me the finger when I try to scare them off.

[Citizen X - #6]

In my experience, hitting a raccoon repeatedly on the head with a shoe sometimes isn't enough to make them leave.

[Zeb]

Rabies is the only thing that works. 'Coons around where I live are just making a comeback after rabies hit them pretty hard years ago.

Of course, rabies is such a horrifying disease that I'd rather just have the raccoons.

[gaoxiaen]

+1 porch monkey. Unless the porch has been forfeited.

[Get To Da Chippah]

No love for moon cricket?

[Zeb]

That's a new one for me.

My favorite racial epithet of all (and this one's for white people) is "peckerwood".

[Zeb]

Do you think that a new word could carry the same cultural weight that "nigger" does?

Whether or not it could, you can just do the same with the new word.

I think it's a great idea. Making certain words off limits just gives them more power.

[$park? leftist poser]

Hard to say and there would be a long way to go anyway. I got done with a book a couple weeks ago, What the F, which showed that nigger is rated as the most offensive profanity in use right now.

[Zeb]

That's what I would have thought. I'd guess that "cunt" probably follows pretty close behind.

[$park? leftist poser]

Second or third place, I believe. Except in the U.K. where it's closer to the bottom of the pack.

[Chipper Mourning Somali Roadz]

We did this exercise in college in one of my classes. We came to the conclusion that calling someone a "rapist" was the most offensive.

[Crusty Juggler aka "Chad"]

We did this exercise in college in one of my classes. We came to the conclusion that calling someone a "rapist" was the most offensive.

As in, Zeb's taste in beer is that of a violent rapists'?

[Chipper Mourning Somali Roadz]

Drinking an IPA is like getting gang-raped in the mouth by a group of syphilitic hobos.

[Zeb]

Hmm. Maybe I'll have to reconsider my position on hobo mouth rape, then.

[Rhywun]

Except that word is not "profane" - it is "derogatory". Further, it is only offensive when used by a certain population in a certain way.

[Conchfritters]

Is rapping to NWA while in the car offensive? Asking for a friend.

[$park? leftist poser]

And much like any drug is called a narcotic, any bad word is called a profanity. The guy who wrote the book I read breaks them into four categories called the Holy Fucking Shit Nigger Principle.

[Crusty Juggler aka "Chad"]

Making certain words off limits just gives them more power.

Exactly.

[Chipper Mourning Somali Roadz]

"Mom, what do you call the chicken's butthole?"

"Cloaca, little SIVie. But that's a dirty word. You are not allowed to say it."

"Cloaca."

"I told you, don't say that word."

"Cloaca."

[severe beating ensues]

Several decades later....well, you all know what happens.

[Citizen X - #6]

He fixes the cable*?

*by which i mean "fucks chickens"

[BearOdinson]

Don't be fatuous Jeffrey!

[Bee Tagger]

Jimmy Carter voted for Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primary.

No wonder his vote total was peanuts compared to Hillary's.

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

I miss Swiss.

[Crusty Juggler aka "Chad"]

Lena Dunham's "Diet Tips" Will Sound Familiar To Anyone Who's Been Struggling Since Inauguration Day

It all started when Us Weekly used a photo of Dunham alongside a headline about celebrity diet tips on a magazine cover. (Bustle reached out to Us Weekly for comment, but has not yet received a reply.) Dunham was upset that she was being used in connection with something that's against "everything I've fought my whole career for," and she used an Instagram caption to express exactly why she may have dropped a few pounds in the last few months.

[Crusty Juggler aka "Chad"]

20 slimdown diet tips! 1. anxiety disorder * 2. resultant constant nausea 3. an election that reveals the true depths of American misogyny 4. constant sweaty dreams of dystopian future 5. abdominal adhesions pinning ovary below uterus * 6. baseless but still harrowing threats to physical safety online and through smail mail 7. watching institutions you love from Planned Parenthood to PBS be threatened by cartoon mustache-twirling villains 8. finally realizing superheroes aren't real (specifically the X-Factor, really thought they'd handle this) 9. marching your ass off 10. a quiet rage that replaces need for food with need for revenge 11. sleeping 19 hours a day 12. realizing that even the liberal media wants dem clicks no matter whut 13. worrying ceaselessly about the health and safety of women you know and women you don't 14.

[Crusty Juggler aka "Chad"]

realizing who ya real friends are 15. having to switch from Uber to Lyft (lots of calories burned trying to understand a new app, then even more trying to understand if the conflict was resolved) 16. bladder spasms, urinary frequency and urgency * 17. having your phone number leaked and violent images texted to your phone by randos under names like [e-mail] 18. keeping your back arched against the wind 19. um, who the fuck cares? 20. I have no tips I give no tips I don't want to be on this cover cuz it's diametrically opposed to everything I've fought my whole career for and it's not a compliment to me because it's not an achievement thanx * Star indicates a pre-existing condition

[$park? leftist poser]

Poor Lena. I hear that all the kids these days are resorting to suicide.

[Conchfritters]

The blame should be placed at the feet of the chronically ill, war mongering, screeching old hag who couldn't inspire enough votes in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania to beat only the second worst person to ever run for office for a major party. If anything they should thank Trump for helping them get healthy again, those fat fucks.

[Zeb]

an election that reveals the true depths of American misogyny

God, these people really just absolutely refuse to learn anything from the election, don't they?

[Enjoy Every Sandwich]

She missed:
21. Stop whining and grow the fuck up

[Not a True MJG]

What is this?

[Citizen X - #6]

Don't worry about it.

[RussianPrimeMinister]

An abortion.

[Citizen X - #6]

It all started when Us Weekly used a photo of Dunham alongside a headline about celebrity diet tips

Exposure to Lena Dunham is a fairly effective appetite suppressant, it is known.

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

Erectile suppressant, as well.

[gaoxiaen]

Suicidal enhancement as well.

[creech]

Sure, Lena is not attractive by most Hollywood/celebrity standards. But I noticed at a festival last week that about half the male population is dating or married to women who are as average looking or worse than Lena. So there's some Bell curve among females and she, as repulsive as she is, is pretty average, especially for someone who has the money to keep her appearance up.

[Chipper Mourning Somali Roadz]

So, you are saying Lena is the Bell curve?

[Meh.]

I personally don't think she's ugly, and I've seen people on here say "would" to far worse. It's mostly everything that comes out of her mouth that's so repulsive.

[gaoxiaen]

Yes. She's a sperm-burping gutterslut.

[Not a True MJG]

It's that she tries to look ugly that is off-putting.

[$park? leftist poser]

In a federal lawsuit, the airline says cancellations have been caused by pilot unavailability and is accusing the pilots' union -- the Airline Pilots Association, International (ALPA) -- of orchestrating an unlawful slowdown.

This should be an easy win, I'm betting that flying is a public accommodation.

[Rhywun]

I don't understand why pilots have a union. That skill isn't exactly easy to come by, nor is likely to be anything other than very well-rewarded. Why would they want to subject themselves to BS rules and non-negotiable wages?

[CE]

Why do professional baseball players have a union?

[Lord_at_War]

Why do professional baseball players have a union?

The same reason the NFL and every other union does- Negotiate contracts that screw over younger people...

Dad was a union steelworker. After three stikes in 6 years during the 70's, they finally agreed on a "two-tier" contract that screwed over new hires to keep their own benefits. Google 5th Ave and Cleveland Ave in Columbus---Southwest corner on satellite view- it's been closed for 30 yrs. and is still deserted.

Mom was a union cashier at Kroger. They were on strike for a year. They finally took a "one time" bonus and agreed to a "two-tier" contract that screwed the noobs- 5 yrs later, there wasn't a single union cashier job in Columbus.

[RussianPrimeMinister]

Planes are clearly a utility.

[Crusty Juggler aka "Chad"]

Just call him the commando! Jon Hamm appears to have once again forgotten his underwear during outing in LA

[Crusty Juggler aka "Chad"]

12 Awesome Pieces of Career and Life Advice from the Girl Bosses at This Weekend's Create + Cultivate Conference

We've rounded up some of the most inspiring, thought-provoking, action-starting quotes from the day's events below.

On being genuine on social media:
"My followers wanted to keep up with me after the show finished airing? [But] people can sniff out inauthenticity. Be true to who you are."
? Andi Dorfman, former Bachelorette

On what needs to change to avoid insensitive gaffes, like the Pepsi scandal:
"It's not just the high-profile, the models [that need to be more diverse]. It's the people in the board rooms behind the scenes."
? Emily Sears, model

On not pretending to be something you're not:
"I always just tried to be different, because I am."
? Courtney Quinn, blogger at Color Me Courtney

[Citizen X - #6]

Jesus, you can smell the pumpkin spice just reading that.

[$park? leftist poser]

You leave Pumpkin Spice alone, she was my favorite.

[Chipper Mourning Somali Roadz]

I am a Scary Spice fan.

[Crusty Juggler aka "Chad"]

I am amused by bloggers, models, and reality stars on a stage giving women advice about how to succeed in life.

[Meh.]

Success on social media = success in life. Duh.

[The Last American Hero]

Judging by the pics, the answer is "be smoking hot".

[$park? leftist poser]

"I always just tried to be different, because I am."

She's unique, just like everyone else.

[Chipper Mourning Somali Roadz]

What about identical twins?

[gaoxiaen]

A deniable threesome?

[Citizen X - #6]

Deniable Threesome was my nickname in college.

[Griffin3]

The exception that proves the rule.

[Not a True MJG]

Boy, I'm ready to start some action!

On being genuine on social media:
On not pretending to be something you're not:

...

[CE]

How is a bad pop commercial a "scandal"?

[Crusty Juggler aka "Chad"]

The plan comes at the end of a sweeping policy review built around the president's desire to reverse worsening security in Afghanistan and "start winning" again, said one U.S. official, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

The new strategy, which has the backing of top Cabinet officials, would authorize the Pentagon, not the White House, to set troop numbers in Afghanistan and give the military far broader authority to use airstrikes to target Taliban militants. It would also lift Obama-era restrictions that limited the mobility of U.S. military advisers on the battlefield.

The net result of the changes would be to reverse moves by President Barack Obama to steadily limit the U.S. military role in Afghanistan, along with the risk to American troops and the cost of the war effort, more than 15 years after U.S. forces first arrived there.

[Conchfritters]

I've spoken with a few soldiers, and they cant wait to put their lives on the line to go from cave to cave to kill these bastards who aren't a direct (or even indirect) threat to the US. How else are we going to ensure broadband coverage for all the caves in Afghanistan?

[BearOdinson]

I was all far destroying the Taliban after 9/11. And we were completely justified in fighting in Afghanistan. But that was over 15 fucking years ago.

"Walter, I don't see any connection with Vietnam Afghanistan."

[RussianPrimeMinister]

I've always felt that civilian oversight was rather important to the process. Giving the military unilateral decision making powers is asking for trouble.

[Crusty Juggler aka "Chad"]

Jimmy Kimmel slams critics of his emotional health-care plea, calls out Newt Gingrich

[bartzman86]

So he wasn't able to destroy them huh? I guess that method is trademarked by Jon Stewart.

[Mickey Rat]

Kimmel channels Dilbert's boss asking for features from a system without any knowledge or care how that might accomplished or even if it can be accomplished.

Yes, he has a sad story but his plea is childish, "I want and you are a big meanie if you do not give me what I want."

[Crusty Juggler aka "Chad"]

John Oliver revives his signature fight ? net neutrality ? in an ingenious way

Late night TV's emotional pleas to have bureaucrats steal your money and control your choices.

[Zeb]

What a strange thing to pick as your signature fight. I suppose no one actually understanding what Net Neutrality helps.

[Crusty Juggler aka "Chad"]

Um, John Oliver says it's good, so it's good.

[$park? leftist poser]

DRUMPF! HURR HURR!

/John Oliver watcher

[Crusty Juggler aka "Chad"]

It's a simplistic, reactionary right-wing website response, but it's fairly accurate.

[gaoxiaen]

Helps or affects?

[Zeb]

I think I left out a word. Just rewrite it so it says something smart.

[Chipper Mourning Somali Roadz]

But it sounds so good. You don't want the Net to be Neutral?

[Zeb]

No, I just want Netflix to work.

[$park? leftist poser]

Let's crash their commenting site to let them know why we need unlimited bandwidth to do so!

[RussianPrimeMinister]

DOeS it from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

[Not a True MJG]

Ingenious? Isn't that what he did last time?

And no, redirecting URLs is not ingenious.

[Glide]

I watched the video because I like his presentation style even if I hate his politics, and that guy just keeps getting less and less responsible about presenting both sides of an argument.

[Brandybuck]

Considering their history, why the hell is anyone still trying to fly with Spirit Airlines?

"They tossed our kitten into the turbofan and shipped out luggage to Mataveri, but at least we didn't pay $5 more for tickets with the other guys!"

[CE]

Actually, you did pay 5 dollars more, unless you sat in a middle seat.