U.S. to Stay in Syria, Big Gender Pay Gap in Government, Chicago Mulls Plans to Up Arbitrary Arrests: A.M. Links

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Elizabeth Nolan Brown is a senior editor at Reason.

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  1. The fate of Republican tax-reform schemes now rests with the Senate.

    Leave it to the Senate to queer another Trump win.

    1. Rufus The Monocled

      Hello.

      I see the late night show comedy hacks were at it about Trump and the water bottle.

      Oh, it was all so edgy.

      Bunch of lazy cowards.

      1. Enjoy Every Sandwich

        It amazes me that people get paid for writing such lame material.

        1. People don’t want challenged right before bed time. Or ever.

        2. What's that smell?

          Or that people actually watch that crap.

      2. Rhywun

        Trump and the water bottle

        I don’t want to know, do I?

        1. Rich

          It’s a kid’s story.

        2. I think he drank a water bottle weird. Or spilled on himself or something. I saw a picture of an article talking about it, but I didn’t click it.

      3. Mitsima

        Last time I watched a late night show Johnny was retiring and some big-jawed kid I’d never heard of was supposed to take over. I sometimes wonder how that all worked out, but then realize I don’t actually care.

        1. Rhywun

          It worked out really well for the big-jawed kid.

    2. Picture, if you will, President Trump is tweeting his critique of Al Franken’s hilarious yet misogynist antics while entertaining our troops with his hilarious yet misogynist routine. Meanwhile, Facebook has dug up a photo of the meeting earlier this year between the president and minority leadership of both houses of Congress. In the picture, while Nancy Pelosi sits discombobulated, the president is seen mugging for the camera while “honking” a napping Chuck Schumer’s man titties. Schumer sends out a #MeToo email to donors. Meanwhile, Instagram has uncovered a photo of Chuck Schumer motorboating a sleeping Dianne Feinstein on a recent junket, setting off a chain of calls for resignations that ultimately empties both houses of Congress, leaving only Bernie Sanders left, who immediately passes Cash for Clunkers 2.0.

  2. Bee Tagger

    President Trump is facing criticism for quickly commenting on allegations about Minnesota Democratic Sen. Al Franken (“really bad”) while staying silent on Judge Roy Moore.

    He won’t be able to escape this gaffe!

    1. Rich

      “Everyone knows my criticism was just a joke. Sad!”

    2. CE

      But President Trump, Senator Franken is famous. You said it was okay.

  3. Chicago is considering plans to criminalize loitering in any zone declared to be “frequently associated with prostitution.”

    Chicago zeroing in on their greatest problem.

    1. Bee Tagger

      The Bulls?

    2. Mitsima

      Cultural appropriation of Chicago-style pizza?

    3. Tom Bombadil

      Picture, (if you will) the City of Chicago declares the various no loitering zones. The whores move their business a few blocks. That area then becomes a no loiter zone. And so on until the entire city is so declared and anybody can be arrested anywhere at any time for solicitation.

      Question: Flaw or Feature?

      1. Final pane: Trump tweets something to take everyone’s mind of this situation.

    4. CE

      Rigged elections?

  4. Bee Tagger

    The fate of Republican tax-reform schemes now rests with the Senate.

    “Rests with the Senate” was the original line in The Godfather before someone punched up the script.

    1. Conchfritters

      Luca Bras? rests with the Senate?

  5. …while staying silent on Judge Roy Moore.

    Everyone else has that covered.

  6. Rich

    Mattis says U.S. forces will stay in Syria everywhere to prevent the formation of “ISIS 2.0.”

    FTFY

    1. Do you want a varsity ISIS team?

      1. Rich

        But ISIS has learned from MS to release new versions before they’re completely ready. 8-(

        1. Libertarian

          In other words, they’re not master betas?

          1. In the eyes of YHWH/Allah, all men are alphas.

    2. Mitsima

      I thought the GoatBugger subroutine was supposed to fix all the instabilities. Whatevs; I always thought culturally appropriating an Egyptian goddess for a ME terror movement was insensitive anyway.

      1. They’re really riding on the coat tails of the thinking man’s pretty good metal band

    3. Rat on a train

      ISIS 2.0 is a development build. ISIS 3.0 is the next production release.

  7. ISIS has been driven from Raqqa, but Defense Secretary James Mattis says U.S. forces will stay in Syria to prevent the formation of “ISIS 2.0.”

    A military occupation has gotta work one of these times!

    1. CE

      After all, what military occupation has ever engendered armed civilian resistance?

  8. Bee Tagger

    ISIS has been driven from Raqqa, but Defense Secretary James Mattis says U.S. forces will stay in Syria to prevent the formation of “ISIS 2.0.”

    But comments sections are the great societal equalizer!

  9. Wisconsin high-schooler and dance-team member Kaiden Johnson has filed a Title IX complaint with the U.S. Department of Education over his being forbidden from participating in a dance-team competition with female teammates.

    With DeVos now in charge, the penises will always win now. #Resist

    1. Rhywun

      “That’s not how it works.”

  10. Rich

    “Across the states, just two in ten top earners were women.”

    “And don’t even get me started with trans-women!”

    1. Rhywun

      “See, we can do Fake News just like the other guys!”

      /Fox News

  11. .And to think that just last week he was lecturing anyone who would listen about sexual harassment and respect for women. Lesley Stahl tape?
    ? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 17, 2017

    The president hates hypocrisy.

  12. Rich

    Chicago is considering plans to criminalize loitering in any zone declared to be “frequently associated with prostitution.”

    City Hall hardest hit.

  13. Jerusalem has built a half-mile long tunnel under the city to house 22,000 graves.

    Are they planning for something?

  14. Bee Tagger

    forbidden from participating in a dance-team competition with female teammates.

    I can’t wait to laugh in that Curves gym owner’s face when he wins this. Hopefully she can hear me laugh from my legally required distance of 50 feet.

    1. I thought trying to get into Curves was more John’s thing.

    2. Enjoy Every Sandwich

      A good hearty “Bwuhahaha!” carries for quite a distance.

  15. Enjoy Every Sandwich

    Naturally, arguing that scum like Roy Moore and Al Franken shouldn’t be U.S. Senators because of their utter lack of morality is a complete waste of time. But I wish the fact that they’re obviously morons would carry some weight.

    1. Rufus The Monocled

      My question is this: Franken, I believe, wasn’t a senator at the time he did that. So he was just acting like all immature comedians do. It wasn’t the end of the world. Sure it was in poor taste but assault? Anyway, had those pictures come out while he was campaigning would it have mattered? How would the media have spun it? Would Minnesotans still have elected him? My guess is yes because it’s very much in-line with what the ‘mood’ and narrative of the day is. Back then, it was no big deal. I don’t know if it rises to hypocrisy but still….

      1. Rufus The Monocled

        I shouldn’t say ‘all’. That’s presumptuous and unfair.

      2. Zeb

        I think that you might be onto something. It was a lame joke that may have crosses some kind of moral or legal line. But something no one would have thought twice about if Franken wasn’t a Senator now and we weren’t in the midst of whatever it is that we are in teh midst of.

        1. Rich

          “Senator, have you *ever* referred to a woman’s breasts using the ‘t-word’?”

          1. Libertarian

            “Sorry, chairman, but I’m running late for a meeting. Ta-ta!”

        2. Bra Ket

          Well if somehow the voters just completely missed the fact that he was such a jackass when they elected him (which still puzzles me), then this might have helped them finally see him for what he was.

          Besides that, yeah this stupidity doesn’t add much beyond a few minor crimes for taking his bad jokes too far, which he should be slapped on the wrist for.

          As for the current climate: moral panic.

      3. Conchfritters

        Would Minnesotans still have elected him?

        I dunno – he beat Norm Coleman by like 91 votes after a recount that lasted like 6 months, but now that he is a member of the club, I doubt he will ever leave.

        1. colorblindkid

          While this very likely could have cost the election, hindsight predictions like that are silly. I know they are fun, bu it’s like the “But the Comey later!” arguments. We will never know, and it is irrelevant.

          1. Bra Ket

            “…it’s like the “But the Comey later!” arguments”

            Funny thing is that surprise hit Clinton practically the same time as the “pussy grabbing” campaign launched. But that one doesn’t count because Trump brought it on himself…

        2. Rat on a train

          Franken also needed trunk ballots to push him over the top.

      4. What's that smell?

        Remember it was ACORN that elected him 1st. They found 300 “missing” votes for Franken in the trunk of a staffers car.?.?.?
        Okay, it could happen…I guess. BUT somehow that “find” also, magically, erased 100’s of votes for his opponent?!?!
        Still waiting on an explanation of how that happened.

        1. What's that smell?

          Franken-ACORN link

          Reason won’t let me post them

          Just Goog…er I mean Bing ACORN and Franken

      5. bevis the lumberjack

        Well, yeah, that plus the fact that he stuck his tongue down her throat. And harassed her when she declined to bang him.

      6. Enjoy Every Sandwich

        With Franken, I was particularly thinking about how he tried to con that reporter into kissing him, with that lame-ass “but we’ve got to rehearse it!”. My fucking God. What kind of sorry wanker would have to rehearse a kiss for a simple skit? The master comedian couldn’t think up a better excuse than that?

      7. TW

        After all of the recounts, Franken won by 235 votes. With a margin that small, a picture of a candidate groping a sleeping woman would have been enough to change the election, especially in Minnesota.

      8. Ecoli

        Stealing an election. Disenfranchising voters. These things are quite acceptable to Democrats.

        Violating the current moral panic: he must resign!

      9. Azathoth!!

        Minnesotans didn’t elect Al Franken. Boxes of ‘unread’ ‘valid’ ballots found in Democrats trunks did.

  16. DJF

    “””””We found that top-paid men outnumber women two to one at the federal level,””””

    Silly report, its not called “top men” for nothing!

    1. Rich

      “I know how you like it.
      You like it on top!”

    2. DJF

      “”””Adam Andrzejewski, CEO of the nonprofit that conducted the study, at Fox News.”””

      And how much is Adam paid?

  17. Rich

    “Schools cannot tell either boys or girls, ‘you’re the wrong sex, therefore, no dancing for you.’ “

    They can, however, tell the dancers ‘four jump-splits in a row are required to dance.’

    1. If a guy can pull off four jump-splits in a row i think he legally becomes Jean Claude Van Damme.

  18. “We found that top-paid men outnumber women two to one at the federal level,” writes Adam Andrzejewski, CEO of the nonprofit that conducted the study, at Fox News.

    Baby factory discounts!

  19. Domestic Dissident

    “Schemes”.

  20. Conchfritters

    ISIS has been driven from Raqqa, but Defense Secretary James Mattis says U.S. forces will stay in Syria to prevent the formation of “ISIS 2.0.”

    Prediction: more war.

    1. Rich

      War 3.0?

      1. Conchfritters

        How else are we going to find out if the F-35 actually works? (and if we should order more)

        1. Note that the answer to your second question is unlikely to bear any relation to the answer to the first.

        2. Rat on a train

          By works, do you mean, made some well connected person rich?

    2. Ken Shultz

      No question there’s a war going on now–even between our allies–over territory that ISIS has lost. It’s all up for grabs.

      My anti-war arguments are divided. I opposed the invasion of Iraq because of the likely consequences. It’s like once you make that first decision, the rest of your decisions get made for you.

      Regardless, the rest of your decisions aren’t without consequences either–not even the decision to get out. That’s a great reason to never put boots on the ground in Libya. It was easy to “pull out” of Libya–since we never put troops on the ground to begin with. In Iraq, where pulling out left a huge vacuum for ISIS to fill, that really does need to be considered.

      It’s like expanding Medicaid in ObamaCare. A good reason not to do that is because taking that expansion back, once it’s done, is not free of consequences–even if that’s what we should do. We developed a whole doctrine to prevent us from getting into these quagmires to begin with (the Powell-Weinberger Doctrines) because getting out of them is so hard.

      We shouldn’t expect to get our of Iraq any sooner than we get out of Germany, Japan, and South Korea. Those places are about as democratic and stable as can be expected, but the consequences of leaving are still considered prohibitive.

      1. CE

        It’s an easy decision to get out. No more pointless US casualties.

  21. Rich

    The most REALISTIC sex dolls you will ever see

    NSFW, despite the pixelated nipples.

  22. Rhywun

    Now this is how you RINO.

    “Only in New York!”

    1. Rhywun

      BTW, the woman he beat was running for her 3rd term which was only possible after the council voted itself (and Bloomberg) an extension of term limits in defiance of multiple voter referendums. Democracy!

      1. the woman he beat

        Problematic!

  23. Ken Shultz

    “Trump is facing criticism for quickly commenting on allegations about Minnesota Democratic Sen. Al Franken (“really bad”) while staying silent on Judge Roy Moore.”

    Is the criticism coming from Democrats or Republicans?

    You’d think that would be the obvious next question. Who’s criticizing Trump for criticizing Al Franken?

    But when you read the linked story, it looks like the only person criticizing Trump for this is Zeke Miller at the AP (AKA Nobody).

    I know it’s hard for the White House Press Corps to have been reduced to covering Trump’s tweets, but this is ridiculous. It isn’t fake news–it’s non-news. It’s some guy at the AP writing his personal opinion about Trump’s tweet. I wonder how much the AP pays people to sit around all day and wait for Trump to tweet something.

    1. Rhywun

      It’s Charlottesville Nazi dog whistles all over again.

      1. Ken Shultz

        ENB is reporting on the AP reporting on their staff memeber’s own reaction to Trump’s tweets.

        How can President Trump withstand such withering criticism?

        When will the American people finally accept the truth?

  24. Bra Ket

    President Trump is facing criticism for quickly commenting on allegations about Minnesota Democratic Sen. Al Franken (“really bad”) while staying silent on Judge Roy Moore.

    Well as we see there, he said the picture looked really bad, not the allegations. In Moore’s case there is no equivalent smoking gun evidence to similarly comment on.

    And Tweeden has a long career in the public eye and has a lot more stature than some random bipolar woman who came out of nowhere to accuse Moore.

    Also Trump is a major hypocrite. This is not news.

  25. “Big Gender Pay Gap in Government”

    don’t care

  26. President Trump is facing criticism for quickly commenting on allegations about Minnesota Democratic Sen. Al Franken (“really bad”)

    The Al Frankenstien picture is really bad

  27. Rebel Scum

    We found that top-paid men outnumber women two to one at the federal level

    And?

    1. Rhywun

      It’s Not OK?

    2. Mostly flag officers.

  28. Rebel Scum

    The fate of Republican tax-reform schemes now rests with the Senate.

    Where it, too, will die like the ACA repeal and/or be mangled in to something horrible. The stupid (and spineless) party’s gotta stupid.

  29. Sevo

    I’m guessing the Pope has a pretty nifty medical care facility in the Vatican and that it offers care and procedures I can’t afford. I’m also guessing it is not open to anyone who wanders in and asks for that care for free:

    “Pope to Lawmakers: Protect All People With Health Care Laws”
    […]
    “”This tendency is clearly visible at the global level, particularly when different countries are compared,” Francis said. “But it is also present within the more wealthy countries, where access to health care risks being more dependent on individuals’ economic resources than on their actual need for treatment.”
    https://www.usnews.com/news /world/articles/2017-11-16 /pope-upset-that-health-care -is-too-tied-to-peoples-finances

    Shorter: I’m guessing the Pope is a hypocrite.

    1. Rhywun

      The Marxism is more bothersome to me. Poor people get much better care in rich countries – and often for free – than they would in poor countries… I mean, how is that even a question for him? The best way to ensure health is to get rich. Sheesh.

  30. Sevo

    “IRS starts to enforce health law’s rule that employers offer insurance”
    https://www.bizjournals.com /cincinnati/news/2017/11/16 /irs-starts-to-enforce-health- law-s-rule-that.html

    Maybe now we’ll find out ‘what’s in it’.

  31. Bra Ket

    “…Al Frankenstien…”

    By the way, did everyone miss this (possibly intentional) burn?

    1. Tony

      Nobody missed the president’s disturbingly juvenile and/or senile remark.

  32. Rebel Scum

    Chicago is considering plans to criminalize loitering in any zone declared to be “frequently associated with prostitution.”

    How DARE you stand around in a free country. (or engage in voluntary interaction with another consenting adult…)

  33. Rebel Scum

    The Al Frankenstien picture is really bad, speaks a thousand words. Where do his hands go in pictures 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 while she sleeps? ….

    “At least when I grab puss it’s because they let me! Al is such a LOSER he has to fondle unconscious women! Sad!”

  34. lap83

    “We found that top-paid men outnumber women two to one at the federal level,”
    but at least the women outnumber the men in sexual harassment payouts received!

    1. “Hey baby – wanna see my ficus.”

      1. Crusty’s ficus is an actual ficus, but the shape he bonsai’d it into is… disturbing.

  35. Stormy Dragon

    Dark secret: I kind of want Moore to win as an object demonstration of the philosophical rot that has consumed the Republican party.

  36. Comment: 100. No one else comment.

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