Have a great morning all!

Goodnight, all.

All the wingnut sites, plus Fox, are reporting that CAIR lost their tax-exempt status. Did this really happen?

Papa says if you see it in the Sun, it's so, but I tend to hold out for CNN or someone covering it, when WND, Jihadwatch and Fox are the only reporting agencies.

Oh, OK, Ben Smith at Politico is also running it. Sounds like they screwed up their refiling forms.

re: #3 SanFranciscoZionist

All the wingnut sites, plus Fox, are reporting that CAIR lost their tax-exempt status. Did this really happen?

Papa says if you see it in the Sun, it's so, but I tend to hold out for CNN or someone covering it, when WND, Jihadwatch and Fox are the only reporting agencies.

Yes, they lost it.

No, its not a punishment for anything, they supposedly filed the wrong paper work.

Yes, they are appealing it.

re: #5 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

Yes, they lost it.

No, its not a punishment for anything, they supposedly filed the wrong paper work.

Yes, they are appealing it.

Does this mean much in the short term?

re: #6 Alexzander

Does this mean much in the short term?

Lots of drooling + headlines at the wingnut sites.

re: #5 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

Yes, they lost it.

No, its not a punishment for anything, they supposedly filed the wrong paper work.

Yes, they are appealing it.

Let me guess, they'll get back their exempt status, but two years from now Fox will be reporting that they are no longer tax exempt.

Steal $52,900 -- spend the next 25 years prison.

Steal $3,000,000,000 -- spend the next 3 1/3 years in prison.

Guess which defendant was a millionaire?

Merica! Fuck yeah!

re: #6 Alexzander

Does this mean much in the short term?

A whole lot gloating with very little to actually base it on in some corners of the internet.

Can someone explain the significance (if any) of this to me:

Ron Paul bids high at Ames Straw Poll auction

What is a "lot" in the strawpoll?

re: #11 Alexzander

Can someone explain the significance (if any) of this to me:

Ron Paul bids high at Ames Straw Poll auction

What is a "lot" in the strawpoll?

At this point, it probably rates somewhere around a "World's Greatest Grandpa" coffee mug.

re: #12 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

At this point, it probably rates somewhere around a "World's Greatest Grandpa" coffee mug.

I guess I must admit to being totally ignorant of the ames straw poll. Does buying a better "lot" give Paul an advantage in winning the poll? If so, what the hell kind of poll is that? I'm super confused.

re: #13 Alexzander

I guess I must admit to being totally ignorant of the ames straw poll. Does buying a better "lot" give Paul an advantage in winning the poll? If so, what the hell kind of poll is that? I'm super confused.

Considering straw polls are basically meaningless, it basically meant he had more money to piss away.

re: #14 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

Considering straw polls are basically meaningless, it basically meant he had more money to piss away.

Yeah, basically.

re: #14 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

Considering straw polls are basically meaningless, it basically meant he had more money to piss away.

Which, if you believe like all the TV and internet polls, shows he's far and away the most popular candidate in the field. Then the primaries will start and he'll be lucky if he cracks the top 5.

re: #11 Alexzander

From that article:

McCotter's $18,000 bid is the clearest sign yet that he's really going to run for president.

My only question is... who?

re: #16 Targetpractice, Worst of Both Worlds

Which, if you believe like all the TV and internet polls, shows he's far and away the most popular candidate in the field. Then the primaries will start and he'll be lucky if he cracks the top 5.

Pfft, its like you're saying all these early polls are meaningless.

/looks at Giuliani back in 2007

This is that same straw poll where everyone busses people in, right?

re: #17 JasonA

From that article:

My only question is... who?

Isn't that the guy they welcomed back?

re: #20 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

Isn't that the guy they welcomed back?

They made an Irish version of that show?

re: #21 JasonA

They made an Irish version of that show?

Obviously.

Today's theme for the Family Research Council: Theocratic nationalism.

Activists: NBC should air Pledge daily

The Family Research Council, a conservative Christian advocacy group, is turning up the heat on NBC after it edited out "under God, indivisible" - twice - during a taped piece of children reciting the Pledge of Allegiance as part of last weekend's final round coverage of the U.S. Open Golf Championship.

The group wants to see the pledge recited on NBC, in its entirety, daily.

[...]

The phrase "under God" was not always in the Pledge of Allegiance.

The pledge was written by Francis Bellamy, a former Baptist minister who had left the pulpit and was working at a magazine, Youth's Companion. The magazine was putting together a nationwide celebration to honor Columbus discovering the New World. The pledge was expressly patriotic according to author and political scientist Richard Ellis in "To the Flag: The Unlikely History of the Pledge of Allegiance."

The pledge and the protocol for the pledge did not make it into U.S. law until June 22, 1942.

The phrase "under God" was added in 1954. Rep Louis Rabaut, D-Michigan, offered an amendment to add the phrase to the pledge. It was a homage to President Abraham Lincoln who had famously used it in the Gettysburg Address.

[...]

Perkins said in addition to the public service announcement of a daily Pledge of Allegiance he said he would also like to see NBC produce a program explaining the history of the pledge and why "under God" was inserted in the first place.

NBC hasn't responded to Perkins about his requests. A spokesman for the network declined to comment further on the matter.

A couple of comments:

First, the "Under God" change to the Pledge of Allegiance was made due to pressure from Joseph McCarthy's HUAC inquisitions during the 1950s.

Second, given Tony Perkins' white nationalist past, I wonder if he also supports returning the pledge to its original salute?

Bellamy Salute

re: #23 RadicalModerate

Today's theme for the Family Research Council: Theocratic nationalism.

Activists: NBC should air Pledge daily

A couple of comments:

First, the "Under God" change to the Pledge of Allegiance was made due to pressure from Joseph McCarthy's HUAC inquisitions during the 1950s.

Second, given Tony Perkins' white nationalist past, I wonder if he also supports returning the pledge to its original salute?

Bellamy Salute

As long as the Family Research Council is will to accept Khorne as the God to whom the pledge is being made, I don't have a problem with it.

Otherwise, they can fuck right off.

Sometimes I suspect that these Christianists are more loyal to their god than the nation...

re: #25 JasonA

Sometimes I suspect that these Christianists are more loyal to their god than the nation...

They should all just go back to where they came from...

re: #26 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

They should all just go back to where they came from...

Texas?

re: #27 JasonA

Texas?

Close enough.

New Cap trailer. With Tool for good measure.

[Link: www.aintitcool.com...]

re: #19 JasonA

re: #13 Alexzander

It's a dry run for the caucus, which comes up in January.

Caucuses work by everyone showing up in a large room, and each campaign has a home-turf in the room, so to speak. After hearing speeches, the people in the room migrate to the group in which they want to belong. Haggling goes on, people change groups, etc. When it is all done the groups count their members. Whoever has the most people in their groups get the most delegates for the state convention, who then elect the delegates for the national convention.

I assume the straw poll "lots" bidding is just for campaigns to mark off the area of the room in which the event will take place.

McCotter is an interesting character. Became aware of him after he 2010 election as he is senior enough to pull some weight in the Congress. He wasn't originally a Tea drinker, from what I understand, but with the Overton Window shifting so far to the right he's had to move along with it.

And the UK trailer for Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

I'm on Team Monkey.

[Link: www.thesun.co.uk...]

His biggest downside is his hair, or lack of it. Americans want candidates that remind them of TV and movie stars - and Thaddeus doesn't quite make the bar.

re: #33 freetoken

His biggest downside is his hair, or lack of it. Americans want candidates that remind them of TV and movie stars - and Thaddeus doesn't quite make the bar.

Patrick Stewart would like to have a word with you.

re: #29 JasonA

Oh. Thank you for that!

Very excited about that movie. Hell - about Summer as a whole, for movies.

re: #34 JasonA

Patrick Stewart would like to have a word with you.

He's British. Doesn't count.

re: #34 JasonA

But... he looks good without hair. And he speaks with just enough of an English sounding accent to make him sound serious.

Thaddeus - not so much.

Also, one reason he might be thinking of running - isn't Michigan suppose to lose seats, because of the census? Maybe he's afraid that his district will end up going away and he'll need the recognition from a national run to keep his pecking order in the MI GOP.

re: #32 JasonA

And that doesn't look awful, either. Along with the X-Men movie, is that 2 civil rights metaphors this year?

Yup, MI is losing a seat:
Image: File:2010_census_reapportionment.jpg

Could be some red-on-red engagement in the back room politics going on in MI.

Do you know we have the same number of Representatives today as we had 100 years ago after the Public Law 62-5 was enacted?

Back then, Iowa and California had the same number of Reps - 11.

Now California has over 11 times as many Reps as Iowa.

My, how times have changed.

OK, I'll stop talking to myself and play some music:

I'm of no religious beliefs, so since about elementary school I never said "under God". But it's kinda awkward being silent for a part of the pledge. So toward the end of my time in High school, I started saying the pledge as a sort of word grab bag. "...One Nation, Under _____, indivisible..."
Some of the ones I remember doing on a regular basis:
Under Pasta (pastafarian pledge)
Under Durden (Fight Club)
Underwear
Under Buddha/Allah (I don't discriminate against other people's deities)
Under Canada

...yeah I was/am kind of a nerd.

re: #8 Iwouldprefernotto

Let me guess, they'll get back their exempt status, but two years from now Fox will be reporting that they are no longer tax exempt.

Yeah, it'll go something like this: "CAIR lost their tax exempt status in 2011."

With no followup sentence whatsoever.

re: #23 RadicalModerate

Today's theme for the Family Research Council: Theocratic nationalism.

Activists: NBC should air Pledge daily

More:

The Washington-based Family Research Council says its mission is to advance "faith, family and freedom in public policy and public opinion."

"Faith, family and freedom", Conservative PC for Ku Klux Klan.

I wonder (given how every Census causes each representative to, well, represent more and more constituents) when the disparity between the average congressional district and the least populous state become great enough to change how the districts/number of reps are determined.

Come 2012, the average population of 434 congressional districts will be above 700k, while the one congressional district that is all of Wyoming will have around 550k, or 20% less.

re: #25 JasonA

Sometimes I suspect that these Christianists are more loyal to their god than the nation...

Given that one of the goals of Christian Reconstructionism is to replace the basis of the United States law system from the Constitution with the Bible, I'd say that is an entirely accurate statement.

re: #46 Spocomptonite

Come 2012, the average population of 434 congressional districts will be above 700k, ...

Which is far too many people for any single Representative to be ever able to meet them even in large groups/

Back in 1911, when the 435 figure was decided up, the US population was under 94 million. Which meant each Rep had just over 200,000 constituents on average. Now, while transportation was slower back then one could still get 500 people into a big hall, and with a goodly fraction of the population being children anyway, it meant a Rep could in theory at least be seen by most of his constituents even if personal conversations were impossible.

We really do need to enlarge the House. Get rid of the Senate (it can be replaced by a minimally scoped Board of Governors) and add 100 or more bodies to the House.

Name that TV show:

Harry James:

re: #48 freetoken

Considering the kind of stuff being pushed through the House, I'm actually thankful for the Senate for once.

re: #49 freetoken

I am sure I watched it as a kid, but cannot name it.

Morning Honcos.

Thinning the herd....
[Link: www.wtsp.com...]

re: #49 freetoken

Quincy?

re: #51 laZardo

Considering the kind of stuff being pushed through the House, I'm actually thankful for the Senate for once.

Considering that both parties go off the deep end from time to time, it's a good thing all around to have the Senate as a bit of a flywheel.

Our founding fathers had seen it all in Parliament and decided that senators, with six-year terms and responsible to an entire state rather than just a district, would serve that purpose. They nailed it.

Why is this funny to me?

Scientology enemies list.
[Link: www.huffingtonpost.com...]

re: #55 Cannadian Club Akbar

He needed to die.

re: #48 freetoken

Isn't that why we have lobbyists?
/

re: #61 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

Isn't that why we have lobbyists?
/

I tried to look up the amount of lobbyist in the DC area the other day. Article I found, dated from 2005 or 2006, said around 17,000.

Morning Folks!

re: #63 RogueOne

Oh, hello!

re: #63 RogueOne

Morning Folks!

I'm not coming near you...
[Link: www.reuters.com...]

re: #57 lostlakehiker

Considering that both parties go off the deep end from time to time, it's a good thing all around to have the Senate as a bit of a flywheel.

Our founding fathers had seen it all in Parliament and decided that senators, with six-year terms and responsible to an entire state rather than just a district, would serve that purpose. They nailed it.

I read something yesterday that said republicans could end up holding 60 senate seats after the '12 elections and the first thought that popped into my head was "oh shit, here we go again".

re: #65 Cannadian Club Akbar

I'm not coming near you...
[Link: www.reuters.com...]

The clinic says I'm clean.

re: #64 laZardo

Read that last night. I find it amusing. A little chaos is good for people.

re: #67 RogueOne

The clinic says I'm clean.

Sucks when the free clinic knows you by your first name.
/

re: #66 RogueOne

I read something yesterday that said republicans could end up holding 60 senate seats after the '12 elections and the first thought that popped into my head was "oh shit, here we go again".

[Link: www.usnews.com...]

re: #70 Cannadian Club Akbar

It certainly wouldn't hurt my feelings to see the dem majority get tossed out on its butt but the worst case scenario (IMO) would be a repeat of what we had in '08 with one party in power and holding enough senate seats to pass whatever the hell they want.

re: #71 RogueOne

It certainly wouldn't hurt my feelings to see the dem majority get tossed out on its butt but the worst case scenario (IMO) would be a repeat of what we had in '08 with one party in power and holding enough senate seats to pass whatever the hell they want.

Balance is needed. But that is a way to not get shit done. Bush's last 2 years and President Obama's last 2, depending on 2012.

re: #68 RogueOne

Read that last night. I find it amusing. A little chaos is good for people.

I'm surprised LulzSec actually got off their asses for something more than "LOL U GOT DDOSSED FOR DA LULZ." A comment on that article notes that the "mouthpiece" running their Twitter might have actually changed.

Still, there's definitely some humor to be gleaned from it, like this page on concealments from New York State Intelligence.

[note: there's no actual confidential info on it.]

re: #72 Cannadian Club Akbar

Balance is needed. But that is a way to not get shit done. Bush's last 2 years and President Obama's last 2, depending on 2012.

The only way to get them to leave us alone is to make sure they spend all their time fighting each other.

re: #73 laZardo

They turned militant pretty quickly. Best anarchist logo ever btw.

re: #74 RogueOne

The only way to get them to leave us alone is to make sure they spend all their time fighting each other.

Plus, the finger pointing gives the 24 hour news outlets something to talk about.I hate them.

re: #76 Cannadian Club Akbar

Plus, the finger pointing gives the 24 hour news outlets something to talk about.I hate them.

The way to solve that is not to watch. I watch 2 news programs religiously...Around The Horn and PTI.

Thinning the herd...
[Link: www.ajc.com...]

re: #78 Cannadian Club Akbar

From the sidebar:

Legendary blind sports announcer dies
[Link: www.ajc.com...]

"Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I didn't see Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run to break Babe Ruth's record or see Muhammad Ali fight Jerry Quarry at the old City Auditorium," Walker told the AJC in 2000. "When I say I saw something, I did.

Actually, that's exactly what being blind means. You didn't see it or else you wouldn't be, ya know, blind.

re: #78 Cannadian Club Akbar

He needed to die.

The flooding in the Dakotas is getting even worse and it's all rolling down river. Sioux City is still flooded.

re: #79 RogueOne

When the Rays are on TV, they always do a half inning with Univision or whoever. The color commentator is actually blind. But he does doesn't do play by play, obviously.

re: #82 Cannadian Club Akbar

When the Rays are on TV, they always do a half inning with Univision or whoever. The color commentator is actually blind. But he does doesn't do play by play, obviously.

I'm going to hell because that would be hilarious.

re: #11 Alexzander

Can someone explain the significance (if any) of this to me:

Ron Paul bids high at Ames Straw Poll auction

What is a "lot" in the strawpoll?

In Iowa? 4.

Morning, all

I think Yoo might be angling for a job in the Obama administration:

John Yoo On Libya: Obama Reached Right End Through Wrong Means
[Link: tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com...]

Yoo's argument is that Obama is constitutionally allowed to reach his own interpretations of federal law, but wrote that it was "unprecedented" for a president to disregard the views of senior Justice and Defense Department officials.

In short, Yoo is arguing that Obama would have been fine if he had just put someone in the Office of Legal Council post who would have given him the go-ahead -- perhaps someone with wider views of executive power, like Yoo.

Morning, everyone!

Some dude is good at multitasking:

Horse trainer arrested for meth, driving naked, and viewing porn

re: #49 freetoken

Name that TV show:

[Video]

Mannix?

OK. This guy wants to walk across Niagara Falls on a tightrope. Questions:
Anyone remember when his family member fell in Cuba or where ever?
Will he need a passport?
[Link: apnews.myway.com...]

re: #87 iceweasel

Morning, everyone!

Some dude is good at multitasking:

Horse trainer arrested for meth, driving naked, and viewing porn

And he is on the hook for thinking he was gonna meet an underage girl. Lovely.

re: #88 researchok

You may be right about that one. I guessed Quincy.

re: #87 iceweasel

Morning, everyone!

Some dude is good at multitasking:

Horse trainer arrested for meth, driving naked, and viewing porn

Meth: Gets shit done.

re: #92 RogueOne

Meth: Gets shit done.

methizahelluvadrug.

re: #91 mdey

You may be right about that one. I guessed Quincy.

No idea- I was really young when that was on. It was one of those American shows my parents always watched. Of course, we got it a week ore two after it played here.

re: #93 lazardo

methizahelluvadrug.

Meth: Saves you money on trips to the Dentist.

re: #93 lazardo

methizahelluvadrug.

I did it once (possibly a few more times than that). I spent roughly 12 straight hours playing video games without blinking.

re: #89 Cannadian Club Akbar

OK. This guy wants to walk across Niagara Falls on a tightrope. Questions:
Anyone remember when his family member fell in Cuba or where ever?
Will he need a passport?
[Link: apnews.myway.com...]

The flying/falling Wallendas.

re: #96 RogueOne

I did it once (possibly a few more times than that). I spent roughly 12 straight hours playing video games without blinking.

This is why I don't play video games.

re: #94 researchok

I guess Freetoken will have to inform both of us.

re: #75 RogueOne

They turned militant pretty quickly. Best anarchist logo ever btw.

The Pop Tart Cat or the Gentleman stick figure?

re: #97 researchok

The flying/falling Wallendas.

What's funny is, we won't watch the guy trying to walk across the falls, hoping he'll make it. We will wait for him to fall, then act like we're horrified. (well, not me)

re: #101 Cannadian Club Akbar

What's funny is, we won't watch the guy trying to walk across the falls, hoping he'll make it. We will wait for him to fall, then act like we're horrified. (well, not me)

We're drawn to it.

Human nature.

re: #88 researchok

Mannix?

Winner.

I'm off to do some chores-- be back later. Have a great day, folks!

re: #100 lazardo

The Pop Tart Cat or the Gentleman stick figure?

Image: lulzsec-logo.jpg

re: #103 RogueOne

Winner.

Cool. I vaguely recalled the tune.

re: #104 iceweasel

I'm off to do some chores-- be back later. Have a great day, folks!

Chores? Like going to the Pub is a chore. Just sayin'.:)

I'm hoping to hit the road today- VA Beach. If all goes well, I'm outta here this afternoon.

Lots of driving this week. My ass is as flat as a pancake.

re: #108 researchok

I'm hoping to hit the road today- VA Beach. If all goes well, I'm outta here this afternoon.

Lots of driving this week. My ass is as flat as a pancake.

Sounds like fun. One thing I hate about Indiana is I'm roughly 1000 miles from the closest real beach.

re: #108 researchok

I'm hoping to hit the road today- VA Beach. If all goes well, I'm outta here this afternoon.

Lots of driving this week. My ass is as flat as a pancake.

If you drive by FBV's house, give 'em the finger for me.
///

re: #110 Cannadian Club Akbar

If you drive by FBV's house, give 'em the finger for me.
///

Done deal

re: #109 RogueOne

Sounds like fun. One thing I hate about Indiana is I'm roughly 1000 miles from the closest real beach.

I need to make a stop there on the way up to N. VA. No beach time, though.

I hope I can get out of here today. I have to wait for a UPS before I can go. I won't know if it was went out yesterday or not. If it didn't, It will go out today. Either way, I'm waiting.

re: #112 researchok

UPS has tracking numbers. It will tell you when it hit the truck.

re: #113 Cannadian Club Akbar

UPS has tracking numbers. It will tell you when it hit the truck.

I won't know tracking number till after 10

More good news;
/

JI, Muslim Brotherhood join hands

re: #115 researchok

More good news;
/

JI, Muslim Brotherhood join hands

From the link:
Both the parties also decided to strengthen the relations between Islamic movements in different countries, and to counter propaganda against Islam.

Start with removing beheading videos from the web.

PETA. Keeping it classy. Fucking douchebags.
[Link: www.fox40.com...]

Chicago police chief has his history exactly backwards:

Emanuel police chief blasts NRA, Palin on 'government-sponsored racism'
[Link: www.politico.com...]

Chicago Police Chief Garry McCarthy told parishoners at Saint Sabina Church earlier this month that the easy availability of guns in the United States is the extension of a tradition of "government-sponsored racism" that began with slavery and Jim Crow.

"This is sensitive. You know, because everybody’s afraid of race. Have you noticed that? Everybody’s afraid of race," McCarthy, a former New York and Newark police official said. "So here’s what I want to tell you. See, let’s see if we can make a connection here. Slavery. Segregation. Black codes. Jim Crow. What, what did they all have in common? Anybody getting’ scared? Government sponsored racism."

He's obviously oblivious to the fact that souther blacks used the 2nd amendment to protect themselves and gun control laws were used to take that right away from urban blacks. Moron.

Someone in Chicago needs to send him a book:
[Link: www.amazon.com...]

re: #117 Cannadian Club Akbar

Mmmm, Microwave Baby. I think you can pick up some in the frozen food section at your grocery.

re: #118 RogueOne

Last I knew, in Chicago you couldn't carry a legally obtained concealed weapon. I'd ask him how that's working out.

re: #9 negativ

Steal $52,900 -- spend the next 25 years prison.

Steal $3,000,000,000 -- spend the next 3 1/3 years in prison.

Guess which defendant was a millionaire?

Merica! Fuck yeah!

"I messed up got caught. I messed up got caught big," Allen told U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema before he was sentenced, apologizing to his family and "the entire financial community. "There was no excuse for my behavior getting caught."

Fixed!

re: #120 Cannadian Club Akbar

Last I knew, in Chicago you couldn't carry a legally obtained concealed weapon. I'd ask him how that's working out.

CC permits are given out to those that can demonstrate a need. Basically anyone who has is owed a favor by the Machine.

Chicago politics.

Handguns are not legal in the city limits.

Criminals, however, can have as many as they want.

How is everyone this am?

I stand corrected. This have changed since the Supreme Court case.

re: #122 ggt

I remember a year or two ago, every week headlines would say, "Eight killed in 24 hour period" in Chi town.

re: #125 Cannadian Club Akbar

I remember a year or two ago, every week headlines would say, "Eight killed in 24 hour period" in Chi town.

Unfortunately, the "Al Capone Mystique" sells newspapers.

re: #126 ggt

Unfortunately, the "Al Capone Mystique" sells newspapers.

I still remember the Geraldo special about Capone's vault. An hour of my life I'll never get back.

re: #127 Cannadian Club Akbar

I still remember the Geraldo special about Capone's vault. An hour of my life I'll never get back.

There are a number of factors that go into the crime/murder rate in Chicago. Legally owned firearms are not one of those factors.

What get's me is that you hear about firearm deaths, but not about firearm ARRESTS.

Oh, of course, the elected officials get an automatic concealed carry permit. Then again, I mentioned that the criminals can have all the firearms they want.

More on that arrest the other day of the 2 reporters at a public meeting in DC:

Why I Was Arrested Yesterday at a D.C. Taxi Commission Meeting
[Link: reason.com...]

On June 22, 2011, I attended a meeting of the D.C. Taxi Commission for a story I'm currently working on about a proposed medallion system in the district.

About 30 minutes into the meeting, I witnessed journalist Pete Tucker snap a still photo of the proceedings on his camera phone. A few minutes later, two police officers arrested Tucker. I filmed Tucker's arrest and the audience's subsequent outrage using my cell phone.

A few minutes later, as I was attempting to leave the building, I overheard the female officer who had arrested Tucker promise a woman, who I presumed to be an employee of the Taxi Commission, that she would confiscate my phone. Reason intern Kyle Blaine, overheard her say, "Do you want his phone? I can get his phone."

Check out the video. The guy gets seriously sad when they put the cuffs on him. It's not funny, I find it infuriating, but I did chuckle at his expression:

re: #130 RogueOne

This comment from Balko nails it:

One thing about the video I found interesting: Note the outrage from the taxi drivers as Tucker is hauled off in handcuffs. The vast, vast majority of D.C. taxi drivers are immigrants, most from east Africa and the Middle East. And yet they seem to have a far better grasp of free expression and the need for transparency in government than the federal and city employees working in America’s capital city

re: #107 Cannadian Club Akbar

Chores? Like going to the Pub is a chore. Just sayin'.:)

I wish! Grocery shopping (or as they say here for some reason, ''doing the messages") and cleaning.
Messages done. When can I go to the pub?/

re: #132 iceweasel

I wish! Grocery shopping (or as they say here for some reason, ''doing the messages") and cleaning.
Messages done. When can I go to the pub?/

Tell Jimmah to do the cleaning. You are free to go.:)

re: #132 iceweasel

"Doing the messages" means grocery shopping? That seems a little odd. I wonder how that phrase got started.

re: #134 RogueOne

"Doing the messages" means grocery shopping? That seems a little odd. I wonder how that phrase got started.

Weird, isn't it? I have no idea where it came from.

re: #133 Cannadian Club Akbar

Tell Jimmah to do the cleaning. You are free to go.:)

Alas, I'll be staying here with you and planning dinner.

re: #131 RogueOne

This comment from Balko nails it:

I really like Balko on civil liberty issues.

NOW is having a conference in Tampa this weekend. Prolly not the best place to pick up chicks!!
///

(Wanna guess who will be protesting against NOW?)

re: #137 Cannadian Club Akbar

NOW is having a conference in Tampa this weekend. Prolly not the best place to pick up chicks!!
///

(Wanna guess who will be protesting against NOW?)

Concerned Women for America?

Beverly LaHaye, wife of the guy who wrote the Left Behind books, travels the nation telling women their place is in the home.

re: #136 iceweasel

I really like Balko on civil liberty issues.

He has a nice series on HuffPo going. 2 of the 3 parts are up.

re: #138 iceweasel

Concerned Women for America?

Beverly LaHaye, wife of the guy who wrote the Left Behind books, travels the nation telling women their place is in the home.

Says the woman who is planning dinner!!!
///

re: #140 Cannadian Club Akbar

Says the woman who is planning dinner!!!
///

It's all about choices! :)

re: #138 iceweasel

Actually, the Shrieking Harpy. She'll be on my radio in 1 minute.

re: #138 iceweasel

Concerned Women for America?

Beverly LaHaye, wife of the guy who wrote the Left Behind books, travels the nation telling women their place is in the home.

Tell that to Michelle Bachman . . .LaHaye is one of her inspirations. Oh wait, she is on a Mission from God. . .

re: #139 RogueOne

He has a nice series on HuffPo going. 2 of the 3 parts are up.

Cool, I'll have to check it out. Thanks.

re: #142 Cannadian Club Akbar

Actually, the Shrieking Harpy. She'll be on my radio in 1 minute.

Can you live blog it while your ears are bleeding, though?

re: #138 iceweasel

Concerned Women for America?

Beverly LaHaye, wife of the guy who wrote the Left Behind books, travels the nation telling women their place is in the home.

I must be wrong. I could have sworn that Jesus had something to say on the subject of hypocrites.

The Huntsman/Reid story has led me to a realization about the whole religious/libertarian/conspiracy sub-culture, that is, the current Republican base.

The crazy-train right isn't afraid of a GOP candidate who might lose, they are afraid of a candidate who might win. It would derail the whole fake victimology paradigm that is profoundly embedded in both their culture and even their individual lifestyles.
It's a lot easier to cheat on your taxes, betray your co-workers, or boff the church ladies if you're convinced you're being ripped off by lazy, entitlement crazed welfare recipients and ridiculed by an elite composed of degenerate, metrosexual artists and other lib types.

re: #138 iceweasel

Concerned Women for America?

Beverly LaHaye, wife of the guy who wrote the Left Behind books, travels the nation telling women their place is in the home.

Darn straight. Now get in the kitchen and make me a sammich.

/ducks
//If I said that to my wife, I'd get the crap kicked out of me

re: #147 Shiplord Kirel

The Huntsman/Reid story has led me to a realization about the whole religious/libertarian/conspiracy sub-culture, that is, the current Republican base.

The crazy-train right isn't afraid of a GOP candidate who might lose, they are afraid of a candidate who might win. It would derail the whole fake victimology paradigm that is profoundly embedded in both their culture and even their individual lifestyles.
It's a lot easier to cheat on your taxes, betray your co-workers, or boff the church ladies if you're convinced you're being ripped off by lazy, entitlement crazed welfare recipients and ridiculed by an elite composed of degenerate, metrosexual artists and other lib types.

They seem to have reduced everything to a zero-sum game. I wasn't even taught that in RC school.

re: #138 iceweasel

Concerned Women for America?

Beverly LaHaye, wife of the guy who wrote the Left Behind books, travels the nation telling women their place is in the home.

Baggage with luggage, it seems.

Pammy sez:
Says a Muslim woman here was killed. Medical examiner said it was suicide.
Her voice might make me violent.

Today in books:

'Darwin's uncontrollable retching and farting seriously limited his public life.'

A Modern History of the Stomach: Gastric Illness, Medicine and British Society, 1800-1950 by Ian Miller

re: #151 Cannadian Club Akbar

Pammy sez:
Says a Muslim woman here was killed. Medical examiner said it was suicide.
Her voice might make me violent.

turn it off. You don't have to listen.

Hamas says: Israel is violating "International Law" in its treatment of Palestinian prisoners.

This is after they refused to allow the ICRC to visit Gilad Shalit.

My brain hurts.

And yet another Special Snowflake joins the "Audacity of Dope." "As A Jew" of course.

Pammy sez:
My radio brought up how Tampa had a woman Police Chief and an out going female mayor. She brought the conversation back to my previous post.

re: #152 iceweasel

Today in books:

'Darwin's uncontrollable retching and farting seriously limited his public life.'

A Modern History of the Stomach: Gastric Illness, Medicine and British Society, 1800-1950 by Ian Miller

So that's why everyone had a problem with Darwin. Makes perfect sense.

re: #155 Cannadian Club Akbar

Pammy sez:
My radio brought up how Tampa had a woman Police Chief and an out going female mayor. She brought the conversation back to my previous post.

If you quote her again, I may have to down-ding you

/:)

Pammy sez:
Encroaching Sharia.

re: #156 RogueOne

So that's why everyone had a problem with Darwin. Makes perfect sense.

"a London physician called John Clarke closed the circle by suggesting that indigestion and evolution were causally connected: if Darwin’s stomach had been healthier, ‘his view of humanity might possibly have been a more generous and exalted one.’ "

re: #157 ggt

If you quote her again, I may have to down-ding you

/:)

She's gone. Will write the host of the show.

THere is/was a Left Behind Movie with Louis Gosset Jr. I rented it at Blockbuster a while back not realizing what it was.

It was Bizarre, truly bizarre.

re: #158 Cannadian Club Akbar

Pammy sez:
Encroaching Sharia.

I hope she sings My Sharia again. /

Why is this guy still allowed to wear a badge and carry a gun?

[Link: crimeblog.dallasnews.com...]

A Dallas police officer has been given a 15-day suspension over a November 2010 domestic disturbance in Garland.

Assistant Chief Vince Golbeck handed down the suspension to Officer Joshua Shipp during a disciplinary hearing Thursday afternoon.

According to police records, Shipp was in full uniform when he went to his estranged wife's apartment about 8:45 a.m. on November 14. He found another man in the apartment.

During the encounter, police say Shipp struck the other man several times. When the other man tried to drive away, authorities say, Shipp followed him and kicked out the tail light of his vehicle.

re: #159 iceweasel

"a London physician called John Clarke closed the circle by suggesting that indigestion and evolution were causally connected: if Darwin’s stomach had been healthier, ‘his view of humanity might possibly have been a more generous and exalted one.’ "

More likely he picked-up a bug from all his travels?

re: #163 RogueOne

Why is this guy still allowed to wear a badge and carry a gun?

[Link: crimeblog.dallasnews.com...]

I don't see why not. He should also be allowed to drink while carrying the gun.
///

re: #163 RogueOne

Why is this guy still allowed to wear a badge and carry a gun?

[Link: crimeblog.dallasnews.com...]

Power is an insidious vice. I don't know if those who are especially susceptable are drawn to law enforcement or if the job makes a person more vulnerable.

My folks have a big and very friendly dog. Somehow the neighbors puppy got into the yard so he tossed his little kid over the privacy fence to get the puppy because he was afraid the folks dog would bite the puppy. He was willing to sacrifice his kid for the pup.

re: #167 RogueOne

My folks have a big and very friendly dog. Somehow the neighbors puppy got into the yard so he tossed his little kid over the privacy fence to get the puppy because he was afraid the folks dog would bite the puppy. He was willing to sacrifice his kid for the pup.

Maybe the pup doesn't crap on the carpet.
/

re: #130 RogueOne

More on that arrest the other day of the 2 reporters at a public meeting in DC:

Why I Was Arrested Yesterday at a D.C. Taxi Commission Meeting
[Link: reason.com...]

Check out the video. The guy gets seriously sad when they put the cuffs on him. It's not funny, I find it infuriating, but I did chuckle at his expression:

[Video]

Democrats, this is your party. The big men with the guns, hauling off the reporter, are your agents. DC's government, from roof to basement, is in the hands of your party.

Your party fired Michelle Rhee, scuttling school reform in the District.

The Republicans' faults are many and dire. But how about an alternative a little more attractive than this? Please?

re: #166 ggt

Power is an insidious vice. I don't know if those who are especially susceptable are drawn to law enforcement or if the job makes a person more vulnerable.

I think it might be both. Some damaged people are attracted to it because it promises power, some people become corrupted through the exercise of that power.

re: #168 Cannadian Club Akbar

Maybe the pup doesn't crap on the carpet.
/

What an idiot. Mom just called to tell me. She asked the guy if he was retarded since his explanation made zero sense. I love my mom.

re: #170 iceweasel

I think it might be both. Some damaged people are attracted to it because it promises power, some people become corrupted through the exercise of that power.

Strangely, around my part of the world the cops are all short men. I often wonder if there isn't some "short man" insecurity thing going on as well.

re: #171 RogueOne

What an idiot. Mom just called to tell me. She asked the guy if he was retarded since his explanation made zero sense. I love my mom.

That just made my morning right there.

re: #171 RogueOne

What an idiot. Mom just called to tell me. She asked the guy if he was retarded since his explanation made zero sense. I love my mom.

I love your mom too, because she still brings up that girl who called you a slut and slapped you. ;)

re: #174 iceweasel

I love your mom too, because she still brings up that girl who called you a slut and slapped you. ;)

HELL YES!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!

re: #172 ggt

Strangely, around my part of the world the cops are all short men. I often wonder if there isn't some "short man" insecurity thing going on as well.

I definitely think the Napoleon complex is real and that some short men suffer from it.

re: #174 iceweasel

I love your mom too, because she still brings up that girl who called you a slut and slapped you. ;)

ahahahahaha, I didn't know about that one.

I'm going to remember it. *evil grin*:)

re: #170 iceweasel

I think it might be both. Some damaged people are attracted to it because it promises power, some people become corrupted through the exercise of that power.

OTOH, my B-i-L and best buddy both wanted to be cops from the time they were little kids. Both are well centered good guys. Too bad there aren't more like them carrying a badge. I've been to quite a few parties at both their houses with their compatriots and I wouldn't trust 1/2 of them to guard my shop.

re: #134 RogueOne

"Doing the messages" means grocery shopping? That seems a little odd. I wonder how that phrase got started.

A turn of phrase I only know from Svottish, Irish and N English dialects.

Funny thing is that the Dutch have the same expression: "de bodschapen doen", literally "doing the messages" in the sense of doing one's small chores in town, which is where the English language might have acquired it.

re: #152 iceweasel

Today in books:

'Darwin's uncontrollable retching and farting seriously limited his public life.'

A Modern History of the Stomach: Gastric Illness, Medicine and British Society, 1800-1950 by Ian Miller

Intelligent Flatulence?

re: #174 iceweasel

I love your mom too, because she still brings up that girl who called you a slut and slapped you. ;)

I stopped bringing girls home to meet my parents because my mom would tell them "you seem way too nice and smart to be dating my son".

re: #179 ralphieboy

A turn of phrase I only know from Svottish, Irish and N English dialects.

Funny thing is that the Dutch have the same expression: "de bodschapen doen", literally "doing the messages" in the sense of doing one's small chores in town, which is where the English language might have acquired it.

The dutch...figures.

Interesting article relating to the "Power is the Most Insidious of Vices". It states that most prisonr rapes are perpetrated by the guards.

Our Department of Ag is taking over skool lunches instead of leaving it up to the DOE. Gee, ya think?

Good morning lizards!

Alright. Gotta run for a short time. BBIAB.

re: #183 ggt

Interesting article relating to the "Power is the Most Insidious of Vices". It states that most prisonr rapes are perpetrated by the guards.

Really!--I had no idea. I looked at the Human Rights Watch report on prison rape, but I honestly couldn't stand to read it. The victims'testimony was nightmarish.

re: #165 Cannadian Club Akbar

I don't see why not. He should also be allowed to drink while carrying the gun.
///

Hmm.

I'm beginning to see a pattern emerge in your suggestions regarding the betterment of the human condition.

re: #187 iceweasel

Really!--I had no idea. I looked at the Human Rights Watch report on prison rape, but I honestly couldn't stand to read it. The victims'testimony was nightmarish.

Yeah, rather horrid.

Sounds like we need a whole new branch of social services to deal with the Vice of Power.

I'm not joking. We can start with our Congress Critters.

re: #187 iceweasel

Really!--I had no idea. I looked at the Human Rights Watch report on prison rape, but I honestly couldn't stand to read it. The victims'testimony was nightmarish.

If I didn't think most of these people considered themselves Christian, I'd be likely to think they need a dose of old-time religion to temper their vice. But we all know what repression does . . . .

Well, I couldn't sleep. On my 2nd cuppa and am yawning.

Shouldn't have gotten up so early. I'm going back to bed to finish the night's sleep.

Have a great one all!

I bet this was fun to reel in:

EAST GREENWICH, R.I. (AP) — A Rhode Island fisherman is the talk of the angling community after catching a 77.4-pound striped bass, missing the world record by only a pound but breaking his own state record.

re: #187 iceweasel

Really!--I had no idea. I looked at the Human Rights Watch report on prison rape, but I honestly couldn't stand to read it. The victims'testimony was nightmarish.

If you can't depend on the Justice Department, just leave it to the free market.

re: #193 lazardo

Yeah. Thankfully this never happens in public prisons which have always been a walk in the park.

/

re: #193 lazardo

Free market rape is inherently better than government subsidized rape.

I only use sarc tags when I'm jokingly insulting someone. I didn't think that last statement might actually need the sarc tag to be understood that I'm semi-joking.

Guy Who Says God Told Him to Break Into Home and Smash Statues Looks Like This

This is Levon Sarkisyan's mugshot. The Connecticut native was arrested for breaking into a stranger's home, telling the owner that God made him do it, and then proceeding to smash statues of Roman soldiers and a marble table with a fireplace poker. Then he took a shower and dressed himself in the clothing of a deceased man who used to live there. When police took him into custody, he informed them that he'd smoked "a strange strand of herb."

LOL....must have been some really strong weed.

So they nationalized everything and we all lived happily ever after.

re: #196 RogueOne

I only use sarc tags when I'm jokingly insulting someone. I didn't think that last statement might actually need the sarc tag to be understood that I'm semi-joking.

GASP! You are a horrible person! I can't believe you! I'm going to go off and cry now./

re: #196 RogueOne

Greenhearted for reference.

re: #197 NJDhockeyfan

Guy Who Says God Told Him to Break Into Home and Smash Statues Looks Like This

LOL...must have been some really strong weed.

Weed doesn't let you talk to god, that's peyote. Get your religions straight!

re: #198 Gus 802

So they nationalized everything and we all lived happily ever after.

Who's footing the bill?

re: #197 NJDhockeyfan

I think I might use that guys pic as my avatar. He looks really really happy to be there.

Newt Gingrich: Obama Is So Bad, Black People Will Vote Republican

re: #198 Gus 802

So they nationalized everything and we all lived happily ever after.

I think it would be fairly easy to construct an argument suggesting that the prison system shouldn't be a for-profit endeavor.

re: #199 thedopefishlives

GASP! You are a horrible person! I can't believe you! I'm going to go off and cry now./

Find out where he works and then call an attorney! Americans should NOT have to read this type of HATEFUL rhetoric!

/

re: #205 iossarian

I think it would be fairly easy to construct an argument suggesting that the prison system shouldn't be a for-profit endeavor.

Private Prisons Spend Millions On Lobbying To Put More People In Jail

re: #206 Gus 802

Find out where he works and then call an attorney! Americans should NOT have to read this type of HATEFUL rhetoric!

/

That's the great thing about being my boss. I get to abuse myself when I get out of line.

re: #208 RogueOne

That's the great thing about being my boss. I get to abuse myself when I get out of line.

So THAT'S what they call it these days.

re: #205 iossarian

I think it would be fairly easy to construct an argument suggesting that the prison system shouldn't be a for-profit endeavor.

Perhaps not but it would also be very easy to argue that prison abuse is not a monopoly of private prisons. Let's have a look at Rikers Island and Attica... or perhaps the numerous super-max facilities and the notorious state facilities in Florida.

re: #210 Gus 802

Perhaps not but it would also be very easy to argue that prison abuse is not a monopoly of private prisons. Let's have a look at Rikers Island and Attica... or perhaps the numerous super-max facilities and the notorious state facilities in Florida.

Or any of the federal max facilities. My BiL was tossed in a max facility at 18. Within a month he had his teeth knocked out and his ear ripped off. Doesn't take much of an imagination to understand how or why. He went in as a non-violent offender and ended up stabbing a guy 27 times a few years later. Again, it doesn't take much of an imagination to wonder what could make a guy like that so angry.

re: #207 Varek Raith

Private Prisons Spend Millions On Lobbying To Put More People In Jail

To be honest. I read that yesterday and didn't see any proof or evidence that supports the claim of that title. It seems like it would be a logical conclusion but they didn't provide any examples. They did note the lobbying but they didn't show example of laws they support that would put more people in prisons.

re: #210 Gus 802

Perhaps not but it would also be very easy to argue that prison abuse is not a monopoly of private prisons. Let's have a look at Rikers Island and Attica... or perhaps the numerous super-max facilities and the notorious state facilities in Florida.

Oh, I completely agree with that. Prisons are always going to face immense problems due to their very nature, public or private.

re: #212 Gus 802

To be honest. I read that yesterday and didn't see any proof or evidence that supports the claim of that title. It seems like it would be a logical conclusion but they didn't provide any examples. They did note the lobbying but they didn't show example of laws they support that would put more people in prisons.

Did the PA juvenile correctional kickbacks scandal involve a private contractor of such incarceration services? I can't remember.

re: #212 Gus 802

To be honest. I read that yesterday and didn't see any proof or evidence that supports the claim of that title. It seems like it would be a logical conclusion but they didn't provide any examples. They did note the lobbying but they didn't show example of laws they support that would put more people in prisons.

My main worry is the shifting of prisoners from fed/state prisons to private ones and the ridiculous drug sentencing laws. Gives them an incentive not to reform such laws.

re: #212 Gus 802

It happened in IN. Daniels, with the help of the state supreme court justices, tried to get a real prison reform bill through. It was fought tooth and nail by the prosecutors, cops, and private prison industry.

re: #210 Gus 802

Perhaps not but it would also be very easy to argue that prison abuse is not a monopoly of private prisons. Let's have a look at Rikers Island and Attica... or perhaps the numerous super-max facilities and the notorious state facilities in Florida.

I understand. I was just poking inevitable fun at the suggestion (not from you, of course) that privatization would solve it.

re: #213 iossarian

Did the PA juvenile correctional kickbacks scandal involve a private contractor of such incarceration services? I can't remember.

Yes it did.

re: #216 lazardo

I understand. I was just poking inevitable fun at the suggestion (not from you, of course) that privatization would solve it.

That's true too. So in the end it's "inherent in the system" with both private and public institutions. And that "system" is human behavior.

re: #218 Gus 802

That's true too. So in the end it's "inherent in the system" with both private and public institutions. And that "system" is human behavior.

Robots.
Problem solved.

re: #219 Varek Raith

Robots.
Problem solved.

I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords.

re: #219 Varek Raith

Robots.
Problem solved.

And chip implants.

/

re: #221 Gus 802

And chip implants.

/

Like these?

Prisons are like a bad chapter in Lord Of The Flies. The only way to keep them from killing/raping each other is to lock them down individually. My BiL was just transferred to another state where the 2 black gangs (everyone joins a gang in prison) are continually going at it. They were locked down for the last 5 weeks. No phone calls, no tv, no exercise, no visitors.

re: #217 iossarian

Yes it did.

Damn, that's sick. Think I read about that a couple of weeks ago.

re: #220 thedopefishlives

I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords.

Drop your weapon you have 15 seconds to comply.

re: #218 Gus 802

That's true too. So in the end it's "inherent in the system" with both private and public institutions. And that "system" is human behavior.

I'd think this system of behavior is derived from the "prison culture" that has pervaded for decades if not centuries. Perhaps broad systemic change should be hastened from above that culture (e.g. reforms as suggested in ggt's article) that should promote a system of human behavior where abuse is no longer tolerated or even promoted.

re: #224 Gus 802

Damn, that's sick. Think I read about that a couple of weeks ago.

Yeah, that's what I mean. Prisons are difficult to manage, public or private, no doubt. What you don't need is a bunch of rich folks who make money by sending more people to prison.

(Of course, you also don't want to be at the other, Stalinesque, end of the scale either, but it's silly to suggest that the US isn't closer to the privatized dystopia than the totalitarian state.)

re: #223 RogueOne

Prisons are like a bad chapter in Lord Of The Flies. The only way to keep them from killing/raping each other is to lock them down individually. My BiL was just transferred to another state where the 2 black gangs (everyone joins a gang in prison) are continually going at it. They were locked down for the last 5 weeks. No phone calls, no tv, no exercise, no visitors.

For 5 weeks? That's rather grotesque. People think we should treat all prisoners like animals or worse. Were they allowed books or other reading material?

re: #227 iossarian

(Of course, you also don't want to be at the other, Stalinesque, end of the scale either, but it's silly to suggest that the US isn't closer to the privatized dystopia than the totalitarian state.)

At least there'll be great pay-per-view.

/never watched the carradine version, i'm so ashamed ;_;

re: #226 lazardo

I'd think this system of behavior is derived from the "prison culture" that has pervaded for decades if not centuries. Perhaps broad systemic change should be hastened from above that culture (e.g. reforms as suggested in ggt's article) that should promote a system of human behavior where abuse is no longer tolerated or even promoted.

I was thinking more along the lines of the human tendency towards sadism. That is being a sadistic SOB particularly towards those that have strayed off the legal path. Treating people like lab rats.

re: #228 Gus 802

For 5 weeks? That's rather grotesque. People think we should treat all prisoners like animals or worse. Were they allowed books or other reading material?

Books and drawing materials. He just left a program where he was locked down for 23 out of 24 hours a day for over a year. He's now on phase 2 which is why they moved him. When he was first incarcerated he would intentionally get into trouble so they would lock him up. That's one way to stay safe.

re: #227 iossarian

Yeah, that's what I mean. Prisons are difficult to manage, public or private, no doubt. What you don't need is a bunch of rich folks who make money by sending more people to prison.

(Of course, you also don't want to be at the other, Stalinesque, end of the scale either, but it's silly to suggest that the US isn't closer to the privatized dystopia than the totalitarian state.)

The best approach to prison reform is to keep people out of them. Get rid of unneeded laws and sentencing--starting with drugs. Most of the kids in the lockup where my daughter teaches are there because of a problem we consider a medical condition if the patient is rich enough.

Murdering civilians continues in Syria today...

US urges Syria to withdraw troops from border with Turkey

Washington: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is warning Syria to withdraw troops now massing near its border with Turkey, saying their presence is worsening an already bad situation for refugees and risks sparking border clashes with the Turks.

Clinton told reporters at the State Department on Thursday that the US saw the situation as volatile and "very worrisome" and that the Syria military should immediately end attacks and provocations in the region. She said the buildup of soldiers several hundred metres from the Turkish border was another sign of the Syrian government's intent to repress its own people.

Troops open fire, 'killing at least two'

Syrian security forces opened fire on demonstrators Friday killing at least two people and wounding nine others in the town of Kiswah near Damascus, activists said.

Thousands of protesters demonstrated across Syria after the weekly Muslim prayers calling for the fall of the autocratic regime of President Bashar Al Assad in response to a call by the Facebook group Syrian Revolution 2011, one of the motors of the protests under the banner, "Fall of legitimacy".

Totally messed up situation going on over there. Is there any chance Syrian forces would cross the Turkish border to continue the killings?

re: #233 NJDhockeyfan

Not into Turkey. Unlike the Israelis, Turkish troops will fire back without worrying about world reaction.

Damn humans. The things we do and have done on this "pale blue dot" all alone in the vast Milky Way and universe. If there was ever a high intelligent life form out there and they happened by our pathetic "civilization" even I would suggest that they only observe our stupid endeavor from a distance.

re: #234 RogueOne

Not into Turkey. Unlike the Israelis, Turkish troops will fire back without worrying about world reaction.

If Turkish troops fire on Syrian forces, the UN will find a way to blame Israel anyway.

My connection still sucks. Is it really 2011? Is this really the 21st Century? WTF.

re: #237 Gus 802

My connection still sucks. Is it really 2011? Is this really the 21st Century? WTF.

I bet mine's worse. IBEC BPL is awful.

re: #235 Gus 802

Damn humans. The things we do and have done on this "pale blue dot" all alone in the vast Milky Way and universe. If there was ever a high intelligent life form out there and they happened by our pathetic "civilization" even I would suggest that they only observe our stupid endeavor from a distance.

If there's intelligent life out there they've been picking up our teevee and radio transmissions for years, so I'd say we're fucked.

And I didn't even mention the Spaghetti Monster™ BS. What a world.

re: #239 iceweasel

If there's intelligent life out there they've been picking up our teevee and radio transmissions for years, so I'd say we're fucked.

Only if they are within 75 or so lightyears.
;)

re: #239 iceweasel

If there's intelligent life out there they've been picking up our teevee and radio transmissions for years, so I'd say we're fucked.

"Please don't come down here and eat us."

Alice Cooper: We're No baloney, We're Homo-sapians:

re: #239 iceweasel

If there's intelligent life out there they've been picking up our teevee and radio transmissions for years, so I'd say we're fucked.

For sure. Nevermind the recent "transmissions" of today's cable programming. The average human is only 2 digits ahead of Koko the gorilla on the IQ scale. Some are even at the same level as gorillas.

re: #243 Gus 802

For sure. Nevermind the recent "transmissions" of today's cable programming. The average human is only 2 digits ahead of Koko the gorilla on the IQ scale. Some are even at the same level as gorillas.

HAhaha! I might steal that.

re: #243 Gus 802

For sure. Nevermind the recent "transmissions" of today's cable programming. The average human is only 2 digits ahead of Koko the gorilla on the IQ scale. Some are even at the same level as gorillas.

O_o

. Koko has a tested IQ of between 70 and 95 on a human scale, where 100 is considered "normal."

re: #244 RogueOne

HAhaha! I might steal that.

Chimpanzees! First in space! After sending up chimps the aliens were observing and reported back to their home planet, "looks like this time they sent up a hairless one."

/

re: #245 Varek Raith

O_o

Yep. I did some quick "research" before typing that. ;)

re: #246 Gus 802

Chimpanzees! First in space! After sending up chimps the aliens were observing and reported back to their home planet, "looks like this time they sent up a hairless one."

/

Someone up thread posted the new Planet of the Apes movie trailer. I'm excited about that one.

re: #245 Varek Raith

You know, this is how Planet of the Apes started.

re: #248 RogueOne

Someone up thread posted the new Planet of the Apes movie trailer. I'm excited about that one.

Yep, looks good.

re: #249 Varek Raith

You know, this is how Planet of the Apes started.

I saw that documentary. How did they get footage of the future, did they borrow GWB's time machine?

re: #238 NJDhockeyfan

I bet mine's worse. IBEC BPL is awful.

This wireless is rather annoying. Some day I'll make it back to civilization. Only time will tell.

re: #251 NJDhockeyfan

I saw that documentary. How did they get footage of the future, did they borrow GWB's time machine?

Possibly.
And it Rove's time machine, BTW.