1 Good Morning Morons.  Today is Thursday, March 14, 2013.  On this day in 1900 the US went on the gold standard.  It didnÂ’t take long before FDR took it off so he could debase the currency.  

2 Feinscrunt says she is ready to ban guns now but needs help.  I say we need a new bill making it a felony to violate the Constitution.

http://is.gd/Gf5jbK

3 Fox discusses the new Pope.  I noted yesterday a lot of Morons discussing “Social Justice” with regard to the new Pope and Jesuits in general.  Yes, that is one of the tenants of the Jesuit branch of the Catholic Church, but before everyone gets their tits all wound up in an uproar, take stock.  The social justice term as used by the Jesuits has been around for a long long time and it is not the same thing that is being preached by the charlatan race mongers like Jeremiah Wright.

http://is.gd/lR1BGO

4 Fox still pushing the amnesty shit.  Now trying to say we need it because counties are dying.  Fail to mention this is in the rust belt and is the fault of unions.

And hereÂ’s what the Republican Gov of Michigan says:

"Immigrants are innovators, entrepreneurs, they're making things happen. They create jobs," said Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, at an immigration conference in his state last week. Saying Michigan should be a top destination for legal immigrants to come and boost Detroit and other struggling areas, Snyder made a special appeal: "Please come here."


Actually 75% of them who come up from Mexico are just new members of the FSA who will be solid Democrats.  The Republican Party is officially shit.

http://is.gd/SU0Ezf

5 An Air Force General has really stepped on his dick when he dismissed charges against an Officer who had been convicted of sexual assault by a court marshal. After reviewing the case he determined that there was insufficient evidence for the conviction.  But this is the “new military” and PC is king.  Congress is involved now and he may as well resign now.

http://is.gd/rxs5Td

6 US Fish and Wildlife commission is killing peopleÂ’s pets by the hundreds.

http://is.gd/QBpUUf

7 Investigation of a crooked FL gambling charity explodes as Lt. Governor resigns. These types of operations are common (not the illegal part) in the South.  Gambling is normally prohibited everywhere except for a few rare exceptions. Among those is the charity angle in which it is allowed if most of the proceeds go to charity.  This was intended to allow things like the little Church bingo operations that grandma likes to go to.  This was much more than that and almost nothing went to the alleged beneficiaries.

http://is.gd/wi5ZjW

8 Even more crap on the new Sim City.  It looks like included with all the other problems it just doesnÂ’t work.

http://is.gd/n8GAcp

9 Obama to allow spy agencies access to AmericanÂ’s financial data without a warrant.  They claim that they will only be looked at the reports of large transfers that are required of the banks (another drug war POS) but I suspect it will go much further than that.  First off as far as their “laws” shit goes, it is against the law for spy agencies to operate inside the US.  Second off, if they get into actual peopleÂ’s accounts they need a warrant.

http://is.gd/cuA0kc

10 A coalition of pro-reform AMNESTY groups on Wednesday launched a major advertising and grassroots campaign in the state to argue for immigration reform AMNESTY — and to commend Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) for his efforts on its behalf.

They think this should be the bellwether because the House side of this panel has Trey Gowdy on it.   They also think the people in SC support amnesty.  They are insane or simply liars.  There could be one good thing, Graham could get his ass booted out.

http://is.gd/YHl4gM

11 NJ police raid a manÂ’s home without a warrant and arrest him for having a gun in his home.   This situation could have got out of hand real quick as well. If that had been my home there would be some dead cops and I would probably be dead as well.

http://is.gd/bvDwXc

12 Pope Francis In 2007: No Communion For Pro-Abortion Catholic Politicians

Lets see if he holds to that.  If you are going to be a Catholic it stands to reason you should follow the ChurchÂ’s teachings.  If not, be something else.

http://is.gd/wcTN66

13 MSNBC boots Schultz to weekends only.  Will anyone notice?

http://is.gd/w93eRu

14 Thomas Sowell looks at the fallacy of disparate impact.  Sorry Thomas you could shorten all those paragraphs of evidence and logic down to one small sentence.  It is an invention of the liberal courts.  There is no logic, or law involved.

http://is.gd/ZdG02P

15 Heritage laughs at the Senate budget.  No surprises just more tax and spend and no balance.

http://is.gd/ebKEse

16 Feinscrunt says she is ready to ban guns now but needs help. I say we need a new bill making it a felony to violate the Constitution. Posted by: Vic at March 14, 2013 06:53 AM (53z96)

Punishable by death.

Then again, I advocate the use of the death penalty for parking tickets....

17 More proof that the American Bar Association is a bunch of liberal hacks that donÂ’t give a shit about the law or the Constitution.

http://is.gd/hIJvaJ

18 This is the kind of shit that caused the 2008 collapse, and it continues unabated.  It is the same lying bullshit about “redlining” under a different label.

http://is.gd/hzodES

19 Daily Deals

They have a Heinlein “novella” for .99

http://is.gd/Q84YlY

20 I will not be doing a car.  CBD plans open threads with cars I assume starting today.  It seems to have been a popular thing in the morning thread.  Any suggestions for the new light topic after all the doom?  I have already used up kittehs, puppies, and cars now.   I will not do scantily clad women.  That will quickly degenerate.  In fact when someone requested it before (a few years ago) Gabe said he would rather we didnÂ’t because it would go into a who can outdo the other and soon we would be posting links to porn.


And thatÂ’s it for Thursday, March 14, 2013.

21 The HQ was nominated for Blog of the Year; the other nominees are Campaign Spot, Twitchy, The Other McCain, Legal Insurrection, and Hot Air, so we're in good company. I won't belong to any organization that would have me as a member.

22

2 Feinscrunt says she is ready to ban guns now but needs help.

 

 

 

 

I have to say I agree with her. Indeed she does "need help". I would suggest of the pyschiatric kind.

23 Lets see if he holds to that. If you are going to be a Catholic it stands to reason you should follow the ChurchÂ’s teachings. If not, be something else. Posted by: Vic at March 14, 2013 06:55 AM (53z96)

I think he will, Vic.  He's not American so he probably has a spine.

.....

Remember the days when the very definition of  "American" was that you had a spine?

Good times.  Good times.

24 Big news in the Aaron Swartz case. The defense says that one of the prosecutors withheld exculpatory evidence.


Not familiar with this case but it seems to me that this is becoming common.  When are these shit-hole judges going to start punishing the lawyers instead of the citizens for this?

25 Fuck Aaron Swartz. That is all.

26 Smart phone wars????


The Samsung Galaxy Tab-2 is the best one out there.  Got one for my wife, she doesn't use the phone, just all the other stuff.

27

13 MSNBC boots Schultz to weekends only. Will anyone notice?

 

 

 

I know one lady who will. I had a client once that told me she thought he should run for president. He was sooooooo smart and had so many good ideas. Gag. I could never look at her the same after that.

28 I will be at CPAC today



Make sure you dress "appropriately" (see yesterday.)

29 Morning Vic,and all the other pretend people in my laptop.
So,.....what fresh hell hath we been brought today?

30 Sean Bannion Question for you, since you seem to know Catholic theology. When has the title 'just war' ever been bestowed upon a war by the CC? I'm pretty sure I know the answer but I've never been able to find it on the Internet.

31 Being that pirate sites are safer, this is a good search on Pirate Bay.  They got all sorts of BBC radio and TV shows.

http://thepiratebay.se/search/BBC/0/99/0

32 Can Mal-Ware cause swelling in the face?

33 Who is this Aaron Schwartz and what is the case?

34 And morning all

35  The social justice term as used by the Jesuits has been around for a long long time and it is not the same thing that is being preached by the charlatan race mongers like Jeremiah Wright.

http://is.gd/lR1BGO

Posted by: Vic at March 14, 2013 06:53 AM (53z96)
========
THIS!

One of the most infuriating things about our culture is that we have allowed the Marxists to re-define the words in our vocabulary.  From the (admittedly small) amount of research I've done on Pope Francis I'm sure that when he says "social justice" it means what it is supposed to mean and not what the Marxists have perverted it into.

Also, I'm glad he took the name "Francis" and not the name of his order's founder.  "Pope Frank" I can handle, but I don't think the world is quite ready for "Pope Iggy".

Oh, and good morning all!

36 Question for you, since you seem to know Catholic theology. When has the title 'just war' ever been bestowed upon a war by the CC?  Posted by: Regular Moron at March 14, 2013 07:03 AM (feFL6)

I don't know that there has ever been a formal declaration.  I do know the conditions under which a war could be called "just" by the CC.  The bulk of the doctrine comes from St. Augustine.

And....most of the Crusades would NOT fit the definition of a just war.

37 OK here we go

Swartz was charged in two separate indictments with attempting to steal millions of journal articles from the nonprofit website JSTOR, for the purpose of disseminating them freely. Heymann initially charged Swartz with several felonies that could have led to many years in prison, and offered a plea bargain whereby Swartz would spend less than a year in prison.


Typical overcharge BS.  And he committed suicide.

38 Feinscrunt says she is ready to ban guns now but needs help. I say we need a new bill making it a felony to violate the Constitution. Posted by: Vic at March 14, 2013 06:53 AM (53z96) Punishable by death. Sean beat me to it. We don't need a "new" bill. Just tale the next lawmaker out that violates the Constitution & string 'em up.

39 Jersey City is one of those areas where Dr. Ben Carson believes your 2nd Amendment rights cease to exist.


Sucks to be him but that's what the idiots who live in Newark, Hoboken, Jersey City, etc. have decided the regime they will live under.

Move to western Jersey or eastern PA.

40 Who is this Aaron Schwartz and what is the case?

Reddit founder.  He hoovered a bunch of shit off JSTORS and released it.  The govt prosecuted for hacking.

Sad thing is the shit he hoovered, the govt JUST NOW decided shouldn't be behind a paywall anyway since it was research done with public funds.

41

In the document, Peters argues that Heymann withheld exculpatory evidence. At issue was whether the federal government had properly obtained a warrant to search Swartz' computer and thumb drive. Peters argued that the government failed by waiting more than a month to obtain the warrant. Heymann countered that he couldn't get a warrant because he didn't have access to the equipment. But an email in Heymann's possession, which was written to Heymann himself, showed that assertion to be untrue.

 

----

Now I'm no lawyer, but how is failing to get a warrant exculpatory? It shows illegal search and seizure and makes the evidence found inadmissable, but acutally releiving Swartz of guilt? Really?

 

42 DamnyouPixy!!

43 I don't know that there has ever been a formal declaration. Wife has about 20 or so RC theology credits and came home from class one time and told me the American Civil War was one case. But I've never been able to confirm it, so I wondered if you knew.

44 but acutally releivingSwartzof guilt? Really?

Courts are NOT about guilt or innocence in any absolute sense.  You don't get justice in courtrooms, you get PROCESS.

45 Now I'm no lawyer, but how is failing to get a warrant exculpatory? It shows illegal search and seizure andmakes the evidence found inadmissable, but acutally releivingSwartzof guilt? Really?

Posted by: Darth Randall at March 14, 2013 07:11 AM (lxc0s)

That is exactly how Bill Ayers got off the charges he had against him.  Long time court policy to punish the citizens for police misconduct.  You allow criminals to go free and the cops who violated the law walk. 

Except in this case it appears the only criminals were the cops.

46 So we're giving Zsa-Zsa's former site web hits off of links here?  What the fuck has happened to this place?  Next you'll tell me a fucking Jesuit is Pope.

47 Ha! Check out the comments on the WaPo 'tours' article. A bunch of boobs coming to Obama's defense in the vein of "I thought America's budget is about sacrifice, and you babies can't do without the stupid tours?" "......oh, I can't comment anymore, because the battery on my free Obamaphone is running low. And Project Runway is coming on my gov't subsidized big screen with gov't subsidized cable." You heard it people - the budget is about sacrifice The liberals are saying this. Let's get 'em sacrificin'.

48 And....most of the Crusades would NOT fit the definition of a just war. Posted by: Sean Bannion at March 14, 2013 07:09 AM (sbV1u) ?????? According to a liberal democrat /and or a muzzie, perhaps, but Catholics beg to differ: http://tinyurl.com/blh4nl6

49 Wife has about 20 or so RC theology credits and came home from class one time and told me the American Civil War was one case. But I've never been able to confirm it, so I wondered if you knew.

Posted by: Regular Moron at March 14, 2013 07:13 AM (feFL6)

That war is the furthest from a "just war" of any that this country has ever been in.

50 :::Reddit founder. He hoovered a bunch of shit off JSTORS and released it. The govt prosecuted for hacking.:::: He secreted a laptop in a network switching closet, using purloined access codes, for the purpose of fat-bitching IP that wasn't his. Fuck him. He knew exactly what he was doing - breaking into someone else's system to take something that wasn't his.

51 Excellent, entertaining, and right (as usual): http://preview.tinyurl.com/c3qxknj

52 Wife has about 20 or so RC theology credits and came home from class one time and told me the American Civil War was one case. But I've never been able to confirm it, so I wondered if you knew. Posted by: Regular Moron at March 14, 2013 07:13 AM (feFL6)

Here are the principles (below).  I would guess - and this is only a guess - that the Civil War would indeed qualify.

Except for that last point below.  (I'm looking at you Gen. Sherman...)

- A just war can only be waged as a last resort. All non-violent options must be exhausted before the use of force can be justified.
- A war is just only if it is waged by a legitimate authority. Even just causes cannot be served by actions taken by individuals or groups who do not constitute an authority sanctioned by whatever the society and outsiders to the society deem legitimate.
- A just war can only be fought to redress a wrong suffered. For example, self-defense against an armed attack is always considered to be a just cause (although the justice of the cause is not sufficient). Further, a just war can only be fought with "right" intentions: the only permissible objective of a just war is to redress the injury.
- A war can only be just if it is fought with a reasonable chance of success. Deaths and injury incurred in a hopeless cause are not morally justifiable.
- The ultimate goal of a just war is to re-establish peace. More specifically, the peace established after the war must be preferable to the peace that would have prevailed if the war had not been fought.
- The violence used in the war must be proportional to the injury suffered. States are prohibited from using force not necessary to attain the limited objective of addressing the injury suffered.
- The weapons used in war must discriminate between combatants and non-combatants. Civilians are never permissible targets of war, and every effort must be taken to avoid killing civilians. The deaths of civilians are justified only if they are unavoidable victims of a deliberate attack on a military target.

53

Good morning, fellow Morons.  Thanks for the morning briefing, Gabe and Vic. 

 

 

HereÂ’s a story about the 1944 Judy Garland movie Meet Me in St. Louis:

 

 

Because the movie is set in 1903, the songwriters Hugh Martin and Ralph Blaine wanted their music to catch the excitement of the WorldÂ’s Fair.  One day, in search of an idea, Martin went to the Beverly Hills public library to trawl through their collection of period newspapers and magazines.  In one paper he found an advertisement for the popular Red Line, with a picture of a double-decker trolley trundling above the caption  CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, HERE COMES THE TROLLEY.  Rushing back to the studio, Martin told Blaine, “IÂ’ve got it!  ‘Clang, clang, clang, went the trolley!”  The two of them finished the song in ten minutes, then rushed it over to Garland and producer Arthur Freed, who both loved it.

 

 

Garland learned the song almost instantly, but in the rush to record, she flubbed the lyrics, singing “buzz, buzz, buzz” instead of “bump, bump, bump” on the first take.  It didnÂ’t matter.  Garland had sung with such excitement and spirit that music supervisor Roger Edens shouted, “ThatÂ’s it!  Print it!”

 

 

Both Martin and Blaine protested that Garland had sung the wrong words.  “WhoÂ’ll know?” said Edens.  “SheÂ’ll just have to learn it wrong and sing it that way when we shoot so sheÂ’ll be in sync.”  And, of course, nobody noticed – except forever after, Garland had to sing the wrong lyrics for The Trolley Song.

 

 

And thatÂ’s it for me.  Hope you all have a wonderful day.

54 You heard it people - the budget is about sacrifice The liberals are saying this. Sweet! Sacrificing liberals! Fire up the volcano & let's start pitching them in.

55 Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at March 14, 2013 07:19 AM (zF6Iw)


One of my favorite movies all because of that song.

56 Anyone who wants a real laugh google "Christopher Dumler sex assault Virginia". So a democrat rep was charged with force able fucking sodomy, and refuses to resign. All right in Charlottesville Virginia, and the fucking Washington post prints nothing. Only reason I even know about it is the guy used to be in a JAG unit my buddy was in.

57 And....most of the Crusades would NOT fit the definition of a just war. Posted by: Sean Bannion at March 14, 2013 07:09 AM (sbV1u) ?????? According to a liberal democrat /and or a muzzie, perhaps, but Catholics beg to differ:

The First Crusade was justified.  The Second most emphatically was not, (and St. Bernard regretted preaching for it until the day he died) the rest are open to various points of debate.  

See post #52.  Most of the Crusades fail on one or more of these points.

58 Sweet! Sacrificing liberals! Fire up the volcano & let's start pitching them in. Posted by: rickb223 at March 14, 2013 07:19 AM (d0Dmj) If you go by their comments, they're so badass, they'll just jump in for the good of the country. Stonings are good too. I'll take a bag of gravel and two smoothies.

59 @18 Eggs-but-ackly! Cue Cedric the Entertainer saying "That's not so bad" in the beer commercial when the subject of the Deep Blue States' credit worthiness comes up. The mortgage "red-lining" was completely debunked by Forbes magazine in the early 90s, when they published the results of a study that showed loan denials closely matched default rates in the subject areas. Who knew? (As if the lender's balance sheet cared what color the performing loans were.)

60 If you go by their comments, they're so badass, they'll just jump in for the good of the country. Funny, seeing how they are so skeered of guns.

61 If you go by their comments, they're so badass, they'll just jump in for the good of the country.  Posted by: Opus An Arcus at March 14, 2013 07:23 AM (UdBxw)

Fen's Law:  Liberals don't believe any of the shit they preach.

None of them have the courage of their convictions.  Because if they did, they'd all go hang themselves with fair trade hemp rope....to save Gaia.

62 What do we have to do to make sure AOSHQ gets blog of the year? Make a few calls? Clean up our comments? Or take them to Hot Air?

63 >The HQ was nominated for Blog of the Year so the bad language and cheerleader pics didn't hurt us?

64

Laurie Dhue hosted "On the Record" last night on Blaze TV. I just wrote a lengthy review (stunner) of it, hit "enter," and got the "your message has been rejected B.S."

65

Re: On the Record, we could have prevented 9-11 with facial recognition software that had already been developed. NSA employees said 9-11 was a GIFT since it elicited scads of unaccountable funds to them. Many millionaires resulted from our tax dollars.

 

66 NSA employees said 9-11 was a GIFT since it elicited scads of unaccountable funds to them.



Your average NSA employee has the social skills of erg; fortunately they're much better at math.

67 Laurie Dhue, typical view http://exleftist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/LD.jpg

68 See post #52. Most of the Crusades fail on one or more of these points. Posted by: Sean Bannion at March 14, 2013 07:21 AM (sbV1u) Again, depends who is doing the evaluation: http://tinyurl.com/c8crk5j

69 Laurie Dhue, typical view  Posted by: Jones in CO at March 14, 2013 07:32 AM (8sCoq)

Typical?

Do you have an "undercarriage" view?

70 Courts are NOT about guilt or innocence in any absolute sense. You don't get justice in courtrooms, you get PROCESS. Posted by: @PurpAv at March 14, 2013 07:14 AM (CAH/B) ******* It always irks me when people say, "I'm innocent until proven guilty." Not the same as "entitled to the presumption of innocence."

71 Stonings are good too. Reminds me, I just saw this earlier and laughed...It's gotta be old, back in the days when you could laugh at muslins... Atheism is a non-prophet organization. George Carlin

72 Fox just said the new Pope doesn't speak English.  I thought that was a requirement.  English, Spanish, Latin, and maybe Italian.

73 In fact when someone requested it before (a few years ago) Gabe said he would rather we didnÂ’t because it would go into a who can outdo the other and soon we would be posting links to porn.


And thatÂ’s it for Thursday, March 14, 2013.

Posted by: Vic at March 14, 2013 06:57 AM (53z96)

That's right.  We must leave it up to the head Ewok to "accidentally" post links to lesbian porn.

74 Again, depends who is doing the evaluation:  Posted by: RondinellaMamma at March 14, 2013 07:33 AM (53riN)

I think we're talking past each other here.  

I'm talking only about Just War theory and how the Crusades fit in to that.  In fact, the First Things piece you cite (and I am also a subscriber) exactly supports my point that several (but not all) of the Crusades fail the Just War test.

75 There is no such thing as a "just war". that term was invented by some nerd professor who never heard a shot fired in anger in his life.

76 > supports my point that several (but not all) of the Crusades fail the Just War test. Posted by: Sean Bannion at March 14, 2013 07:37 AM (sbV1u) so what- I say we reboot the Crusades. We'll kick those muzzie bastards back to goddam Mongolia where the belong

77 so what- I say we reboot the Crusades. We'll kick those muzzie bastards back to goddam Mongolia where the belong Posted by: Jones in CO at March 14, 2013 07:41 AM (8sCoq)

I'm down with that.

78 There is no just war, there is just war. It sounds clever so you know know it's true.

79 There is no such thing as a "just war". that term was invented by some nerd professor who never heard a shot fired in anger in his life.  Posted by: Mr Pink at March 14, 2013 07:41 AM (mO1DF)

No, it wasn't.

But thank you for playing.

80 Hey Sean, Are we reading the same article? ;-) Anyway, wish we could meet in person over coffee, I bet we'd have some great conversations! and Vic & MPPPP, too, my mornings are energized by all you Morons.

81 Just wars are the ones you win and I'll kill anyone who disagrees.

82 Pope Francis shuns security for surprise visit to Rome church http://tinyurl.com/5annax Wasn't that a scene in the movie "Shoes of the Fisherman"? The youth are going to love him, he's already creating mischief!

83 Hey Sean, Are we reading the same article? ;-)  Posted by: RondinellaMamma at March 14, 2013 07:45 AM (53riN)

Yeah we are.  I can go back to the principles list at #52, and then go to the First Things piece and pick out where they fail.  Again, some fail, not all.

84 49 -

That's true.  The Southerners had no business trying to take over Federal property in S. Carolina. 

It's ok though, it all turned out fine in the end. 

85 for the purpose of fat-bitching IP that wasn't his

The IP itself was *PUBLIC*, anyone could reproduce and distribute it if they had it.  It just happened to be behind a noxious paywall.

Just last week the govt decided to eliminate the paywall and make the stuff freely available over the coming year.

86 Hey it's Pie Day 3.14

87 Just wars are the ones you win and I'll kill anyone who disagrees.  Posted by: History belongs to Victor at March 14, 2013 07:45 AM (kEj+5)

Will there be rapin' and pillagin'?  It ain't a war unless there's rapin' and pillagin'

88 Laurie Dhue, typical view

http://exleftist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/LD.jpg

Posted by: Jones in CO at March 14, 2013 07:32 AM (8sCoq)

She was most likely showing all that at that time because she was on the sauce.  Her contract was not "renewed".  She eventually kicked the stuff but has not been back to Fox except for a few limited appearances.

Too bad because she was teh hawt.

89 And FTR, pecan pie is the one true pie. The others- heresy.

90 76 -

Can we keep the Bosnian chicks though?  They're hot. 

91 Sniff sniff

I smell a flame war coming.

92 It always irks me when people say, "I'm innocent until proven guilty." Not the same as "entitled to the presumption of innocence." Courts may have to presume innocence. I don't have to presume squat.

93 No communion? Weak. Sebelius, and others like her, should have been excommunicated years ago. Not a Catholic but if you're going to take a stance, take a stance.

94 My favorite blogs to read ate "ASHQ:, "The Other McCain" "Legal Insurrection" and "Neo-neocon" so that 3 out of four were nominated for best blog shows what good taste I have. ;^)

95 And have a good day folks.

96 Yeah, FNC is constantly recycling blonde women. There must be a factory somewhere.

97 You know what irks me???  Makes me madder than shit?



26 point damned 3 degrees on March 14.

98 85 -

Fine.  The nitwit violated a dumb law, then offed himself when they  tried to prosecute him.

Only people who deserve sympathy here are the ones who actually cared for him before he decided to commit his evil act. 

99 The IP itself was *PUBLIC*, anyone could reproduce and distribute it if they had it. It just happened to be behind a noxious paywall.

Yup.  Restricting access to taxpayer-funded research is one of the pillars of the global warming scam, although I'm fairly certain Swartz would have recoiled at that implication of what he was doing.

100 Dem's war on tiny women: http://tinyurl.com/cydn2kw

101 @97 Pretty cold here too. Al Gore must be touring again.

102 26 point damned 3 degrees on March 14. Posted by: Vic at March 14, 2013 07:52 AM (53z96)

In SC?????

Now????

Hell, it didn't even get that cold here.

103 I smell a flame war coming. But is it a 'just' flame war? Can casualties be avoided?

104 Yeah, FNC is constantly recycling blonde women. There must be a factory somewhere. Posted by: Jones in CO at March 14, 2013 07:51 AM (8sCoq)

It's located in a basement off a side street in Denton, Texas.

105 93 -

No communion is basically what ex-communication is.  One could make a distinction between a formal declaration, and one where a Priest simply refuses someone communion, but yeah.  That's it. 

106 Will there be rapin' and pillagin'? It ain't a war unless there's rapin' and pillagin' Always remember - pillage first, THEN burn.

107 Good morning. 23 degrees F here, and I hope my newly planted berries aren't toast. They got lttle sweaters on last afternoon, but I'm worried. :/

108
Fen's Law: Liberals don't believe any of the shit they preach.
=============

One of the most effective spies the US had during the Cold War was Morris Childs- he was a high level official in the CPUSA who regularly traveled the inner circles of the Politburo to brief Soviet leaders on the activities of the CPUSA and take instructions and money for the Party back to the US.

Childs became disenchanted with the CPUSA when his health failed and they essentially tried to kick him to the curb.  When that happened he offered his services as a double agent to the FBI but there was one catch- he was seriously ill and needed expensive treatment, he was also broke.  The FBI would pay for his treatment, but how to explain his sudden financial improvement to his comrades in the party?

Childs and his FBI handlers hatched a simple plan: Childs sent out a letter to the CPUSA membership describing his health problems and his financial dilemma and asked for them to donate money for his treatment.

Nobody sent a dime.

The FBI then paid for Childs' treatment at the Mayo Clinic and when he recovered Childs sent a warm heartfelt letter of thanks to all his CPUSA comrades who so "generously contributed" to pay for his treatment.  The Party membership bought the story hook, line, and sinker, and Morris Childs went on to be the FBI's man in the Kremlin and in the CPUSA for the next thirty years.

109 Here are the principles (below). I would guess - and this is only a guess - that the Civil War would indeed qualify.

Posted by: Sean Bannion at March 14, 2013 07:18 AM (sbV1u)


I would strongly disagree about the Civil War.  I think it fails on at least 2 points:

- A just war can only be waged as a last resort.

- A just war can only be fought to redress a wrong suffered.

The war came about because the northern states attempted to force their idea of right and wrong on the southern states, regardless of whether the North was correct or not.  The South Carolinians only fired on Fort Sumter when the Union refused to evacuate the fort. The Union was given every opportunity to avoid war, but chose not to.

I'm not sure what wrong the Union suffered that they were trying to redress.  It can't be slavery because they allowed it to continue in the border states.  That's the whole reason for the wording of the Emancipation Proclamation.  Lincoln was worried that an outright ban would drive the Border States into the arms of the South, so he was careful not to ban slavery there.  Given the amount of anti-Union activity there had been in those states early on, this was probably a wide decision.

110 It's as cold as an ex-wife's heart here in NE Ahia; all those glowbull worming turds should be chained outside in shorts and t-shirts to show the courage of their convictions.

111 No communion?
Weak.
Sebelius, and others like her, should have been excommunicated years ago.
Not a Catholic but if you're going to take a stance, take a stance.

Posted by: teej at March 14, 2013 07:50 AM (d4o2E)

 

Small steps, teej, small steps.  Think of the scowl on Fancy Nancy's face if her priest - or any priest - held the Host back and told her to screw until she gets right with the Church.  I suspect most of the Catholic clergy in America are too gutless to do it, but if Francis could find a way to make them refuse Communion to CINOs like her and make that stick, I'd forgive almost any other misstep.

112 Posted by: Nighthawk at March 14, 2013 07:57 AM (RSqz2)



Proof right there that the Soviets were financing all that shit here.  So why weren't these people prosecuted for being agents of a hostile foreign power?

113 109 -

Nice fiction.

Wish I could stick around for another story, but I gotta go to work...

By the way, the Catholic Church took no formal position on the American Civil War.  Which is one reason why, unlike several protestant denominations, it didn't have any problems maintaining itself throughout and after the war ended. 

114 l suspect that people like Sebellius and Pelosi rarely go to church expect for the big holy days of Christmas and Easter,

115

Just learned last night at the leader meeting for the Cub Scout Pack I help run that the Pack's chartering organization, the school's PTA, will not be renewing the Pack's charter for FY14.  The reason given is because of a recommendation by the Virginia State PTA that local PTA boards not expose themselves to "liability."

 

Of course, our Pack had been chartered by this PTA for years with no problems and no liability concerns (indeed, that's why the PTA carries liability insurance), so this first made me wonder what exactly has changed.  And after thirty seconds I had my answer when the Committee Chair started talking about the Scouts policy of "discrimination."

 

So basically, our Pack has to find a new chartering organization.  If we can't, then the Pack dissolves and I get to tell my kids that a bunch of busybodies with tenuous-at-best connections to Scouting thought it more important to force a private organization to prosletyze a political issue to kids than to just let them go camping and have fun as kids.

116 112 -

If you are going to prosecute, you have to show how you got your information, which is something the American counter-intelligence community was not willing to do. 

117 If you're going to shoot... shoot. Don't talk.

118 Purp, JSTOR did not just dump all their documents out there for free. They are allowing a couple of articles to be viewed or free every couple of weeks. So if you live forever, yes, you could theoretically eventually get them all for free. Or you could reach in your pocket and pay for it. Or you could lobby your Congressman and Senator to release that information. Or you could illegally break in to a network switching closet, hook up and hide your laptop, and suck the system dry. That's what Swartz did. I repeat: fuck him. Incidentally, he also filed a FOIA request on Bradley Manning's "treatment." What a fucking Internet hero. I guess our State Department cables and military intelligence should also be freely available, in his view, since they were produced with government funds. Of course, since he'll never go to trial, OF COURSE everyone can now say that the government had no case. How courageous.

119 I'm not sure what wrong the Union suffered that they were trying to redress. It can't be slavery because they allowed it to continue in the border states. That's the whole reason for the wording of the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln was worried that an outright ban would drive the Border States into the arms of the South, so he was careful not to ban slavery there. Given the amount of anti-Union activity there had been in those states early on, this was probably a wide decision.

It can be slavery.  The North tried to limit it using peaceful means, but that still left millions in slavery, which could be viewed as an act of war against Americans.  Lincoln was maneuvering tactically so as to not make things worse.  RINO.

120

Its funny hearing all these people talking about a Hispanic Pope.  There was some blurb last night about a student at college here from Mexico being all excited about it.  I don't think they would be all that excited if they actually knew he was a first generation Argentinian whose parents were Italian immigrants.

121 Proof right there that the Soviets were financing all that shit here. So why weren't these people prosecuted for being agents of a hostile foreign power?

Posted by: Vic at March 14, 2013 08:00 AM (53z96)
=======

To answer that question you will need a shovel, and possibly a fire extinguisher, because you will have to dig up J. Edgar Hoover and ask him.

Apparently he thought the intelligence gleaned from the "Solo" (Childs' code name) operation was more valuable than the prosecution of a bunch of Party apparatchiks.

122 Posted by: @JohnTant at March 14, 2013 08:04 AM (tVWQB)


Simple answer, eliminate the requirements for "Chartering Organizations".

123 John- Sorry about the troubles with the PTA and your pack. Can you see if a local church-of one of the more conservative varieties-will charter your group?

124 You know who is an ACTUAL Internet hero? Adrian Lamo. He turned in Bradley Manning, and he is persona non grata in the nerd community for being a rat. Wonder what Aaron Swartz thought of him?

125 @115
Yet another reason I refuse to have anything to do with the PTA.

126 I have already told my horror story with the PTA here.  They are not there except for one thing, raise money.

127 115 @JohnTant Disgusting to make children suffer for things that they shouldn't ven be having to deal with yet, and y never ave to personally 'struggle' with EVER. Given that such a small population of the world is purportedly LGBTMOUSE (whatever), it is amaing how pervasive and soul sucking thir 'movement' is.

128 Its funny hearing all these people talking about a Hispanic Pope. There was some blurb last night about a student at college here from Mexico being all excited about it. I don't think they would be all that excited if they actually knew he was a first generation Argentinian whose parents were Italian immigrants.  Posted by: buzzion at March 14, 2013 08:07 AM (GULKT)

Reading the FB posts of all my wife's very liberal and non-Catholic friends last night was hilarious.

Their ignorance was staggering.  They just assumed that because he was from Latin America that he was all for gay marriage, women priests, and "progress" in the Church.  My wife is from the Bay Area and most of these people live and work in Silicon Valley.  You would have thought they'd try using Google to find something out about the new Pope.

To them Latin American = oppressed = liberal = thinks just like me!

Can't wait for their posts describing how "crushed" and "disappointed" and "hurt" they are after they find out he's actually a devout Catholic.

129 NJ police raid a manÂ’s home without a warrant and arrest him for having a gun in his home. This situation could have got out of hand real quick as well. If that had been my home there would be some dead cops and I would probably be dead as well. http://is.gd/bvDwXc Posted by: Vic at March 14, 2013 06:55 AM (53z96) All black folk should be pro-gun rights. Damn racist cops are reason #1.

130

It doesn't matter if the articles on JSTOR are public domain or not because JSTOR can still charge for access.  It's charging you for use of its servers and database software as much or more than for the actual content.  Swartz violated the terms of agreement to use JSTORs site, and was doing so with a goal of undermining its business.  Furthermore he took advantage of MITs open policy repeatedly despite knowing that his activities were not welcome.  Swartz is a prime example of "this is why we can't have nice things".

After reading about the Swartz case, I'm left with pity and disgust for the man.  He was obviously a messed up kid who was very smart but was spoiled.  Left wingers took a 14 year old and used him while telling him how much smarter than everyone else he was and how much better than everyone else he was.  From the reports of Swartz's friends, he was a young man who had no real discipline in life, who didn't understand the way that the world worked, and who floated from one cracked-brain idea to another while at the same time never getting treatment for his very real mental health issues.

131 Can't wait for their posts describing how "crushed" and "disappointed" and "hurt" they are after they find out he's actually a devout Catholic.

Perhaps it will be described in the MSM as "growing in office"?

132 That's what Swartz did. I repeat: fuck him. Posted by: Empire of Jeff at March 14, 2013 08:06 AM (kEj+5) So the insane amount of years he was staring down the barrel of for pretty minor documents(I could download them from work) is totally cool? I don't condone the crime, but the case against him as prosecuted was ludicrous.

133 Posted by: Vic at March 14, 2013 08:12 AM (53z96)


Since you seem to have exhausted the puppehs and kittehs line of anti-doom, perhaps you should consider horses as a potential source of tranquil images!


I'm partial to pictures of weasels and honey badgers myself, but that's just me!

134 Many apologies and advance apologies to you all. My ipad tapping rather sucks, and I am also challenged to clearly see the typos before clicking "Post" I'll try to do better so as to be coherentish.

135 Could you please tell your PTA horror story again, Vic. I didn't hear when you told it before.

136 I saw Laurie Dhue mentioned upthread....my God at that pic.



Here's another one: http://tinyurl.com/d9j7pge




Now I'll go back to catching up on the comments...

137 :::Their ignorance was staggering. They just assumed that because he was from Latin America that he was all for gay marriage, women priests, and "progress" in the Church. My wife is from the Bay Area and most of these people live and work in Silicon Valley. You would have thought they'd try using Google to find something out about the new Pope. To them Latin American = oppressed = liberal = thinks just like me!:::: I heard "South American" and I figured he'd be wearing a Speedo on a beach, because all my information comes from YouTube videos.

138 Atheists on Facebook bitching about the Pope being pro-pedophilia (he's a Catholic so he must be, right), while the Libs are slamming him for being anti-gay. What fun.

139

@Purp and EoJ

 

NIH rules (and to a lesser extent FDA) have required that information go "open access" (specifically into PubMed) for several years now (I think since the mid 2000s at least maybe earlier.)

You were still allowed to have it on a paid basis for 6months to a year IIRC.

Furthermore, JSTOR is far more than science, there's a lot of stuff up there that definitely qualifies as IP (I think there's even a few short fiction journals on JSTOR.

My problem with Swartz was 2 fold. 1) He had access through his school but felt the need to break into an MIT closet, (which disrupted MIT's operations.)

2) He lied about "civil disobedience." I like Civil disobedience in principle when dealing with unjust laws (these days it's far from that.) But he wanted to render the law unenforceable.  Like it or not we're a country of laws, either work to get them changed or live with them, but don't run around trying to render them moot through some form of vigilantism.

140 Would you condone a 35 year prison sentence for seeding files on bit torrent? Jail time at all?

141 Morning all. And good morning to Pope F

142 Its funny hearing all these people talking about a Hispanic Pope. So is the Popemobile gonna be chopped & lowered with hydraulics, a tiny chain steering wheel & fuzzy dice added?

143 133 Hrothgar So long as there are no EU images of ground beef/horseor pink slime, no frozen meatesque entrees, etc.

144 I'm partial to pictures of weasels and honey badgers myself, but that's just me!

Posted by: Hrothgar at March 14, 2013 08:17 AM (Cnqmv)

LOL, weasels and honey badgers huh.   I'll think about that.  As for horses don't too much care for them.  They are expensive toys for rich people unless they are working a ranch in the West.

145 Some may believe there is such a thing as a "good Jesuit." I like Basilians.

Both AP and WallStJrnl today quote the prexy of Xavier in Cincinnati, who killed their NCAA rifle team dead on strictly ideological grounds, after the program had produced something like 14 Olympians. Special circle of Hell, he'll burn in.

After the continent's worth of gunpoint conversions they sponsored, it's clearly all about Change for the Jesuits. That and hypocrisy.

There's a dirty secret in that Francis name, no matter what Vatican PR says. No way on earth or in hell would a Jesuit use a Franciscan's name. It's "F.X." for sure. 

146

>>Nobody sent a dime.

>> ...Morris Childs went on to be the FBI's man in the Kremlin and in the CPUSA for the next thirty years.

 

Wow, that is some lovely self-hoisting there.

 

In other news, for sale cheap: 3 kids who become horribly miserable with a simple cold, including throwing up and keeping Mama awake for too much of the last 4 nights.

147 2) He lied about "civil disobedience." Exactly. Civil Disobedience requires that you be unjustly punished. It's MLK's pack-the-jails strategy. The best way to repeal bad law is to enforce it vigorously.

148 Is he "white" hispanic or the other kind.  I haven't heard the MFM say.

149 Could you please tell your PTA horror story again, Vic.
I didn't hear when you told it before.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at March 14, 2013 08:18 AM (g7q64)

After I first moved here and we enrolled our young daughter in the local elementary school we went to our first PTA meeting.

We sat through 2 hours of discussion of various fund raising projects and volunteers for said projects. I finally raised my hand and asked when we were going to talk about class plans and curriculum.

In a very snotty manner I was told that those would not be discussed that that wasn't the purpose of the PTA.  After closing my jaw I said "Looks like things have changed a lot since the 50s" and then walked out.

150 To them Latin American = oppressed = liberal = thinks just like me! Look at American Blacks' idea that all black people around the world are just like them. Groupism to the core.

151 Swartz turned down a six month deal so this 35 years stuff is bogus.

152 I'm with EoJ. Fuck Swartz.



Jim Carrey said it best in Liar Liar: "STOP BREAKING THE LAW ASSHOLE!!!"

153

>> Any suggestions for the new light topic after all the doom?

 

Knock knock jokes.

154 I heard "South American" and I figured he'd be wearing a Speedo on a beach, because all my information comes from YouTube videos. Posted by: Empire of Jeff at March 14, 2013 08:18 AM (JDIKC)

Hmmmm....banana hammock and a Biretta.

I just had a marketing idea for the South American and Italian markets.

To Kickstarter!  Away!

155

@MPPP,

 

To an extent I agree with you.  But OTOH, I also see why the church sticks to the whole "it's up to you to decide if you're able to receive communion thing."

Firstly, I'm not sure politics is really where the church needs to be. We lose every time we do that.  It's impossible to translate a virtue ethic to a nietzschean world, so we need to focus on building good people not good government.  And overt actions like that are going to seen as political more than moral (and thus backfire horribly)

Pelosi's a fucker who doesn't understand even basic theology.  But making ruling based on her actions would likely negatively affect people who do understand the theology and disagree with the church on subtle points while still supporting the church's position (and right to that position) in public, but having discussions about it in private.

I'd hate to see people who actually mean well get screwed over because a priest disagreed with their prudential judgment. (Consider if you told Pelosi to fuck off, how long until some libtard priest does the same to Ryan?)

156 151 Swartz turned down a six month deal so this 35 years stuff is bogus. Posted by: blaster at March 14, 2013 08:24 AM (/1U3u) So he didn't refuse his right to a trial, therefore it's bogus. Ok.

157 Atheists on Facebook bitching about the Pope being pro-pedophilia (he's a Catholic so he must be, right), while the Libs are slamming him for being anti-gay. What fun.

Posted by: Lincolntf at March 14, 2013 08:18 AM (ZshNr)

 

As someone on Lileks' comment board noted, isn't it funny how, after all the Catholic-bashing and outright hatred displayed against the new pope, not a single Catholic has beheaded anyone?

158 Hmmmm....banana hammock and a Biretta.

I just had a marketing idea for the South American and Italian markets.

To Kickstarter! Away!

Posted by: Sean Bannion at March 14, 2013 08:25 AM (sbV1u)

Filthy Capitalist pig.

159 So when someone gets hit with an absolutely ludicrous gun law in the future and is facing 35 years in charges(or 6 months plea deal!) I'm sure you guys won't be singing a different tune.

160 Like it or not we're a country of laws

Not lately.  The oligarchy has made sure nobody can avoid being a felon unless they're dead.

161 Atheists on Facebook bitching about the Pope being pro-pedophilia (he's a Catholic so he must be, right), while the Libs are slamming him for being anti-gay. What fun. Posted by: Lincolntf at March 14, 2013 08:18 AM (ZshNr)

I think I'm going to unplug from FB soon.

It's a perfect storm of ignorance and stupidity.

162
159 So when someone gets hit with an absolutely ludicrous gun law in the future and is facing 35 years in charges(or 6 months plea deal!) I'm sure you guys won't be singing a different tune.

Posted by: HoboJerky, now with 74% more DOOM! at March 14, 2013 08:27 AM (FsUAO)

You don't get to pick and choose which laws to obey. Oh, this is a stupid law, therefor I don't have to do what it says. That ain't how shit works. You break the law, you get punished. If you think the law is stupid, great. Get it changed. But if you don't want to go to jail, don't break the law. It's pretty simple.

163 They have found the Higgs-Boson

http://is.gd/51FuoU


Next we will have Catholic Physics guys with their eyeballs cut out.

164 Filthy Capitalist pig. Posted by: BCochran1981 at March 14, 2013 08:27 AM (da5Wo)

You're in for 15% of the take.  I need a marketing guy.

165 It's a perfect storm of ignorance and stupidity.

Posted by: Sean Bannion at March 14, 2013 08:28 AM (sbV1u)

*AHEM*

166 Not lately. The oligarchy has made sure nobody can avoid being a felon unless they're dead.

Yup.  Insty has a good paper on this.  The libs have made everything illegal (and in the case of things like VAWA double or triple-illegal) so if they want to punish someone, there's *always* charges that can be brought.

167 Not lately. The oligarchy has made sure nobody can avoid being a felon unless they're dead.

Posted by: @PurpAv at March 14, 2013 08:28 AM (CAH/B)

OR a Democrat

FTFY

168 Apparently he thought the intelligence gleaned from the "Solo" (Childs' code name) operation was more valuable than the prosecution of a bunch of Party apparatchiks. Posted by: Nighthawk at March 14, 2013 08:08 AM (RSqz2) The book "Operation Solo" is awesome. Childs was like 80 years old, squirreling CPUSA documents out of the USSR in his waistband.

169 You're in for 15% of the take. I need a marketing guy.

Posted by: Sean Bannion at March 14, 2013 08:29 AM (sbV1u)

You know....this mud down here isn't too bad.

170 I'm with EoJ. Fuck Swartz.



Jim Carrey said it best in Liar Liar: "STOP BREAKING THE LAW ASSHOLE!!!"

Posted by: BCochran1981 at March 14, 2013 08:24 AM (da5Wo)

 

I liked Orin Kerr's take over at Volokh, which I think is more subtle.

Swartz broke the law pretty obviously.  At the very least he needed to be tried for breaking and entering, various charges of unauthorized access and to a lesser extent punished (either criminally or civilly) to the damages to MIT for a) harming their network and b) causing outages.

However, the stacking of crazy charges by the prosecution got a little extreme.

As to HoboJerky, I think it was Popehat who showed that the 35 year shit was bogus based on the Federal Sentencing Guidelines (which are pretty much universally followed.)  35 years IIRC was stacking all the charges up, giving him the max and running them consecutively.

171 Next we will have Catholic Physics guys with their eyeballs cut out. Posted by: Vic at March 14, 2013 08:29 AM (53z96)

Why would that be?

If God is the author of all truth then there's nothing to worry about.

Frankly, its the fundamentalists who are more anti-science then Catholics.

172 You don't get to pick and choose which laws to obey. Oh, this is a stupid law, therefor I don't have to do what it says. That ain't how shit works. You break the law, you get punished. If you think the law is stupid, great. Get it changed. But if you don't want to go to jail, don't break the law. It's pretty simple. Posted by: BCochran1981 at March 14, 2013 08:29 AM (da5Wo) And you'd say the same thing about gun laws? I think you are completely dodging my point. Many here would intentionally break and unjust gun law here, or support 3D printing of guns to get around gun bans.

173 Dhue's now working at the Blaze, her most recent, was a big story on the NSA, Does one need to be reminded that the Smith Act, which was the chief tool to get at the CPUSA, was undermined by among others, that weasel Brennan on the Court, with the connivance of that other Top Man, Earl Warren,

174 *AHEM* Posted by: BCochran1981 at March 14, 2013 08:30 AM (da5Wo)

Present company excepted, of course!

I am spending more time "defriending" these days than "friending"

175 You don't get to pick and choose which laws to obey. Oh, this is a stupid law, therefor I don't have to do what it says.

That's how shit gets declared unconstitutional.  Someone takes the hit and brings the case.

There's a metric fuckton of unconstitutional laws on the books just waiting to be challenged and overturned...but to have standing, you gotta get busted first.

176 :::So the insane amount of years he was staring down the barrel of for pretty minor documents(I could download them from work) is totally cool? ::: YES. He was offered a very lenient plea agreement that would have resulted in six months, max. Most likely, as Colorado Alex pointed out above, his enablers/users counseled strongly against it. "Information should be free, man..." And after all, THEY weren't the ones facing prosecution. I guess he didn't have the courage of whoever's convictions talked him out of the plea bargain. Which is double stupid. Look how many people lined up to suck his dead dick. Thu certainly would have ponied up to the EFF to keep him free on appeal until the Sun is a cold, dead husk.

177 Why would that be?

If God is the author of all truth then there's nothing to worry about.

Frankly, its the fundamentalists who are more anti-science then Catholics.

Posted by: Sean Bannion at March 14, 2013 08:31 AM (sbV1u)

Think popular novel here OK?

178 Just be happy in the knowledge that anyone taking Communion in a state of mortal sin (unrepentant pro-abortion politician) is guilty of the sin of Sacrilege. Woo hoo!  More punishment is on the way.

179 And you'd say the same thing about gun laws? I think you are completely dodging my point. Many here would intentionally break and unjust gun law here, or support 3D printing of guns to get around gun bans.

Posted by: HoboJerky, now with 74% more DOOM! at March 14, 2013 08:31 AM (FsUAO)

Yes, I would say the same. The "justness" of a law has nothing to do with the punishment for breaking it. If you break the law you have to be prepared for the consequences. Period. This isn't hard.

180 Think popular novel here OK? Posted by: Vic at March 14, 2013 08:33 AM (53z96)

Got it.

I missed it the first time.

181

So the insane amount of years he was staring down the barrel of for pretty minor documents(I could download them from work) is totally cool? 

The status of the documents as public domain was relatively unimportant.  JSTOR charges for access to its database and server equipment, regardless of whether the material is copyrighted.  Swartz lied about agreeing to their terms of use in order to release the end product of their years of work and thousands of dollars of investment, an act which would have caused financial damage to the company.  That's fraud with damages that easily exceed the minimum for it to be a felony.

Did the prosecutor try and scare him?  Yes, but so what?   His job is to represent the interests of the state.  This was a negotiation to try and get the best possible agreement without going to trial.  Swartz's own lawyers knew that the prosecutor was stating the absolute worst-case scenario and that any likely penalties would be much less.  Hell, Swartz himself was smart enough to be able to do a little research and see that federal sentencing guidelines would be far less than the maximums. 

182 Oh blow me. Somebody asked a lawyer about The Majesty of The Law. WTF answer did you expect? It's like asking the mailman about Saturday delivery.

183 Woo hoo! More punishment is on the way. Posted by: Al at March 14, 2013 08:33 AM (V70Uh)

That's the spirit!

People like Pelosi go to communion and think, "Cool!  Snack time!"

184

123 (and youse other guys), I'm involved in a search for another chartering organization.  We have to have one because of national/council rules (it's not like the Girl Scouts where anyone can just start up a troop).  The idea is to provide good integration of the Scouts with the community.

 

I'm also trying to figure out if I can just start a non-profit "organization" on paper and charter that way, but the BSA are kind of sticklers on this point. 

 

There are a number of churches and such in the area which might be willing to charter, so we just have to do legwork.  There's a point that technically the chartering organization  has oversight over the Pack so we just need to find one that is willing to be somewhat laissez-faire.

 

Interesting point...one of the complaints the PTA presented is that they didn't exercise any real oversight which they said created liability concerns for them.  I said anyone from the PTA is welcome at any Scout event/function/meeting at any time to make sure it's being run correctly, to which I was told that no one from the PTA would volunteer for such a role.  In other words, they are complaining that they don't have oversight but they aren't willing to provide oversight.

 

It's a giant piece of political shit.

 

Interestingly, the actual policy isn't against gays per se, but those who are openly gay.  The actual reasoning (also detailed in the policy) is that the Scouts believe parents should be having these conversations with their kids directly instead of the Scouts forcing the issue on them.  Put another way, if a gay man wants to be a Scout leader but basically keeps his sexuality to himself, there's no practical prohibition against it.  It's when he starts prosletyzing, bringing his "partner" to meetings, etc that the problem is created.  So this whole "discrimination" meme is something basically manufactured and didn't seem to be a problem to me to begin with.

185 That's how shit gets declared unconstitutional. Someone takes the hit and brings the case.

There's a metric fuckton of unconstitutional laws on the books just waiting to be challenged and overturned...but to have standing, you gotta get busted first.

Posted by: @PurpAv at March 14, 2013 08:33 AM (CAH/B)

And that dovetails nicely with what I'm saying. Those people were willing to take the hit. They knowingly broke the law in an effort to get it changed. I got no problem with that. But you have to be willing and prepared for it not to go your way.

186 Yes, I would say the same. The "justness" of a law has nothing to do with the punishment for breaking it. If you break the law you have to be prepared for the consequences. Period. This isn't hard. Posted by: BCochran1981 at March 14, 2013 08:33 AM (da5Wo) It's kind of hard to argue with this, other than I think he didn't know a priori they were going to put bullshit charges on him for 35 years if he turned down a plea agreement.

187

"class plans and curriculum."

 

That's the Federal Governments job now.  They have been grabbing state and local power away from the people since 1865.  See what Mr. Lincoln hast wrought?  And his excuse was "To keep the union together", not slavery.  Damn, read a book.

188 Judges can receive special training to perform court-ordered amputations if doctors refuse to carry out the sentences, a Sudanese justice said Tuesday. Deputy Chief Justice Abdul Rahman Sharfi added that any doctors who refuse “the rule of Allah” will themselves face prosecution, the Sudan Tribune reported. He made the comments at a news conference in response to strong criticism from human rights groups concerning last month’s amputation of the right hand and left foot of a man found guilty of armed robbery. “We cherish the book of Allah (Koran) and not the Hippocratic Oath,” said Sharfi. He said if doctors refuse to follow Islamic law the government is prepared to train and qualify some judges to perform court-ordered amputations. Hum? Hey what's the per diem per foot and hand? I'll bring my own knife and drill

189 Posted by: @JohnTant at March 14, 2013 08:35 AM (tVWQB)

John, where are you in VA?  I might have an option for you.

Drop me a note.  Email in nic.

190

@Purp,

Fair enough point, but that's a problem we need to fix in and of itself.  Of course we failed last time because "Free shit man!" but maybe next time.

@HoboJerky

Context is everything here.  I may intentionally break an unjust gun law but I also need to be prepared to face whatever consequences come of that (and use those consequences to highlight the proplems with the law.)

I actually only support 3D printing of guns insofar as it shows the stupidity of the laws they're trying to pass as unenforceable, but still think the primary concern is changing those laws.

Furthermore, it's entirely more vague if the laws Swartz was fighting were "unjust." If he had just been sitting at home downloading some articles and had reached some arbitrary cap, cleared his cookies and gone about working again I'd be more concerned.  But he's well outside those bounds and his intent was not entirely pure IMHO.

191 I am having a really hard time with the use of the words "conservative" and "Jesuit" being applied to the same person.

Jonah Goldberg discusses "Social Justice" in his book "The Tyranny of Cliches'."  It's a meaningless term.

192 China is building one of the world's largest drone fleets aimed at expanding its military reach in the Pacific and swarming U.S. Navy carriers in the unlikely event of a war, according to a new report. The Chinese military — known as the People's Liberation Army (PLA) — envisions its drone swarms scouting out battlefields, guiding missile strikes and overwhelming opponents through sheer numbers. China's military-industrial complex has created a wide array of homegrown drones to accomplish those goals over the past decade, according to the report released by the Project 2049 Institute on March 11. "The PLA now fields one of the world's most expansive UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] fleets," said Ian Easton and L.C. Russell Hsiao, researchers at the Project 2049 Institute and authors of the new report. Hey I got an idea, let's cut and slash the Defense budget?

193

Good  morning, window lickers.

 

The sun is up, the sky is blue, and we're still screwed.

 

SNAFU.

194 Posted by: Al at March 14, 2013 08:38 AM (V70Uh)

See #3 above

195 I don't know why anyone would celebrate someone taking the Eucharist in a state of mortal sin because "more punishment is on the way". What do you mean-that they're facing hell? I hope you're a troll because that's a not a good thing to celebrate. Better to pray that God works in their lives to help them (and all of we Christians) to repent of sin and become closer to Christ.

196 The Times has reported that Lord Ahmed, a Labour life peer, claimed that he received his prison sentenced because of pressure on the courts from Jews “who own newspapers and TV channels". Lord Ahmed, who in 1998 became the first Muslim life peer, is said to have claimed that the conspiracy was a result of his support for the Palestinians in Gaza. He is said to have made the comments in a TV interview in April last year while on a visit to Pakistan. Labour today suspended the peer "pending an investigation". Lord Ahmed, who was born in Pakistan, became Baron Ahmed of Rotherham at the age of 40. In 2007 he was highly critical of the awarding of a knighthood to Salman Rushdie, claiming the author had "blood on his hands." In 2009 he was jailed for dangerous driving after sending and receiving text messages minutes before being involved in a fatal motorway crash. The Court of Appeal later suspended his 12-week jail sentence. He was freed after serving 16 days in jail after Martyn Gombar, a 28-year-old Slovakian was killed on Christmas Day in 2007 after his stationary car was hit by Lord Ahmed’s Jaguar. In the TV broadcast it is alleged Lord Ahmed said of his jail sentence: “My case became more critical because I went to Gaza to support Palestinians. My Jewish friends who own newspapers and TV channels opposed this.” 16 days for murder. now that'll teach him

197 I am having a really hard time with the use of the words "conservative" and "Jesuit" being applied to the same person. Posted by: Al at March 14, 2013 08:38 AM (V70Uh)

That's because in this country they don't go together and haven't since 1966.

In other parts of the world, they still do.

Jonah Goldberg discusses "Social Justice" in his book "The Tyranny of Cliches'." It's a meaningless term.

As used by liberals these days, yeah, he's right.  As used within the RCC, it has a very specific meaning that bears only the faintest resemblance to how political liberals use it.

198 Thu certainly would have ponied up to the EFF to keep him free on appeal until the Sun is a cold, dead husk.

They talk a good game, but they're cheap mofo's who'll cut you lose in a NY minute if you're facing prison time.

He should have fled to Vietnam or something like that one scraggly looking scandi Pirate Bay dude did.  I think he was too young and idealistic to realize he had other options than doing the dangle.

Older/wiser counsel would have told him to bolt because you can't piss off the govt and not have them land on you like Thor's hammer.  Running or going underground is always an option.

199 ::::140 Would you condone a 35 year prison sentence for seeding files on bit torrent? Jail time at all? Posted by: HoboJerky, now with 74% more DOOM! at March 14, 2013 08:19 AM (FsUAO):::: I don't know what that means, other than it has something to do with downloading movies you haven't paid for because fuck Hollywood or something. I realize I am in the minority in disapproving of pirating media and software. Sorry, but you'll never convince me that ripping off the fruit of someone else's labor is justified. It isn't yours. You don't have the right to take it. That no one is able to effectively stamp out online piracy is not a defense, to my mind. If we really want to go down the Might Makes Right road all the way, you will all taste the jackboot.

200 It may be too late to preserve deceased Venezuela President Hugo Chavez’s body in a glass casket “for eternity” after all. The embalming process should have started earlier, government officials said, in a Reuters report. “Russian and German scientists have arrived to embalm Chavez, and they tell us it’s very difficult because the process should have started earlier,” said interim President Nicolas Maduro, Reuters reported. “Maybe we can’t do it. We are in the middle of the process. It’s complicated — it’s my duty to inform you.” Why not just cover his body in honey and put it out near an ant hill

201 There's a difference between having the state do it, and the role of fraternal and other institutions, alleviating poverty, Obama is of course, cutting out the middleman, big surprise.

202 If you break the law you have to be prepared for the consequences. Period. This isn't hard.

Posted by: BCochran1981 at March 14, 2013 08:33 AM (da5Wo)

This seems to me to be inextricably linked with the proposition that the "laws" are recognized as valid and can be understood by the citizenry.  With the advent of the totalitarian administrative state, where everything not expressly permitted is illegal, and the regulators are writing new regulations by the pound (or page-foot), the concept of "being prepared for the consequences" doesn't seem so easy to me.

203 Why not just cover his body in honey and put it out near an ant hill Posted by: Nevergiveup at March 14, 2013 08:42 AM (9Bj8R) Because poop dipped in honey is still poop? Good mornin rons.

204

190

 

Thanks, Sean...email is on its way.

205 He was offered a very lenient plea agreement that would have resulted in six months, max. Most likely, as Colorado Alex pointed out above, his enablers/users counseled strongly against it. "Information should be free, man..." And after all, THEY weren't the ones facing prosecution.

Posted by: Empire of Jeff at March 14, 2013 08:33 AM (JDIKC)

The idiot was worth more to them dead than alive.  For somebody that was so fucking brilliant, his insight into the motivation of others was almost completely lacking.

206

Scientists identify how deadly new virus infects cells

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/13/us-virus-mechanism-idUSBRE92C10620130313

 

The emergence of any new, lethal pathogen is always frightening, so I'm glad scientists are making progress on creating a vaccine for this new virus.   But that's not the reason I'm linking the story.   While it's hard to find levity in a situation that's already killed 9 of 15 people, I couldn't help but giggle when I read the following.

 

 

In one of the first detailed studies of the virus - which emerged in the Middle East and has so far infected 15 people worldwide, killing nine of them - Dutch researchers identified a cell surface protein it uses to enter and infect human cells.

 

...

 

Initial analysis by scientists at Britain's Health Protection Agency last year found that NCoV's closest relatives were most probably bat viruses.

 

Yet further work by a research team in Germany suggests NCoV may have come through an intermediary - possibly goats.

 

 

Submitted without further comment.*

 

(*Yes yes, I know they EAT goat, too.  But this is the HQ.)

207 Barack Obama is a stuttering clusterf*ck of a malignant traitor.

208 For somebody that was so fucking brilliant, his insight into the motivation of others was almost completely lacking. Posted by: Captain Hate at March 14, 2013 08:46 AM (zHyAo)

That's what you get when you primary nutrition is Red Bull and Doritos and you live in your Mom's basement.

209 It may be too late to preserve deceased Venezuela President Hugo Chavez’s body in a glass casket “for eternity” after all.

The embalming process should have started earlier, government officials said, in a Reuters report.

“Russian and German scientists have arrived to embalm Chavez, and they tell us it’s very difficult because the process should have started earlier,” said interim President Nicolas Maduro, Reuters reported. “Maybe we can’t do it. We are in the middle of the process. It’s complicated — it’s my duty to inform you.”

... damn

210

Posted by: Hrothgar at March 14, 2013 08:44 AM (Cnqmv)

 

Nah, we discussed "using those consequences to highlight the unjustness" of the law above.

 

Nothing prevent that, however claiming "unjust law!" doesn't get rid of the consequences (until you prove that point by either a) getting a court to throw the law out or b) getting people to change it via legislative process.)

211 This seems to me to be inextricably linked with the proposition that the "laws" are recognized as valid and can be understood by the citizenry. With the advent of the totalitarian administrative state, where everything not expressly permitted is illegal, and the regulators are writing new regulations by the pound (or page-foot), the concept of "being prepared for the consequences" doesn't seem so easy to me.

Posted by: Hrothgar at March 14, 2013 08:44 AM (Cnqmv)

That the "Law" is so gargantuan that the common man can't know or comprehend it in any real sense is a valid point and an argument well worth having. But that's not what happened in Swartz' case. He knew he was breaking the law. He didn't expect the hammer to come down like it did.

212 The idiot was worth more to them dead than alive. For somebody that was so fucking brilliant, his insight into the motivation of others was almost completely lacking.

Posted by: Captain Hate at March 14, 2013 08:46 AM (zHyAo)

 

He's an amazing example of the "Tragedy of the Commons" in more ways than one I'd imagine.

213 So I'm reading the thread and I see a heaping helping of Pope concern. This Pope is a staunch enemy of Marxism and communism. I believed he worked with JPII when the Berlin wall came down. Anyway, I like the Idea of a Pope from the Americas. We will just have to wait and see what happens. One thing to look forward to. I believe his latino influence will put some hydraulics and metal flake flames on the Pope mobile.

214 Yeah, I'm terrible.

Contrary to Protestants, Catholics believe in Mortal Sin.  If Pelosi doesn't repent in time, and I hope she does, her baptism isn't going to save her.  She has "cast off the yoke of God's law."

There is no redemption without repentance.

215 The book "Operation Solo" is awesome. Childs was like 80 years old, squirreling CPUSA documents out of the USSR in his waistband.

Posted by: Mainah at March 14, 2013 08:30 AM (659DL)
========

And he got away with it for two reasons: he had balls the size of watermelons and he understood how Communists thought and how to exploit their though processes.

Those are qualities we need again in this country.

216 @185 John Tant, thanks so much for pointing out that distinction. 100% of people outside Scouting have never been introduced to it. Hey, I once led a troop that was originally chartered by a Ladies' Sewing Circle. How many of those do you know?

The old, we-thought-it-was-that-easy way around the Gay Thing was to state that Scouting was not about sexuality, one way or the other. Modern thinking is that all behavior is sexualized and gender-inflected. It's quite a collision.

Didn't help that Baden-Powell wouldn't shut his British Liberal yap about jagoffs (apparently quite a problem at the time of the Boer War) and essence-wasting. He was a veritable Jack D Ripper on the subject, to our very great detriment a century later. Following that, one simply cannot say "on the other hand"... but a couple of the founders of BSA didn't even like to be around boys. They liked selling camping equipment and uniforms. Who'd have thought that could become a saving grace?

217 Hum? Hey what's the per diem per foot and hand? I'll bring my own knife and drill

Posted by: Nevergiveup at March 14, 2013 08:37 AM (9Bj8R)

 

********

 

Meh, between supplies, capital expenditures and overhead it's gonna cost you an arm and a leg.

218 The wife and I were watching some Jeff Dunham last night from Netflix, and I realized something. When I picture Vic in my head, I come up with a (living, and life-sized) version of Walter. And for some reason Gabe is Jose the Jalapeno. On a stick.

219 Posted by: AllenG (Dedicated Tenther) Channelling Breitbart at March 14, 2013 08:51 AM (4OvDk) Now I always picture him as one of the muppets that shouted insults from the theater balcony in the muppet show. But walter works.

220

“Russian and German scientists have arrived to embalm Chavez, and they tell us it’s very difficult because the process should have started earlier,” said interim President Nicolas Maduro, Reuters reported.

 

Yeah, Maduro?   Here's a little hint.   When the body starts to puff up like a blowfish    and stink like     a     garbage scow, it's too late.      I realize your third world foolishness might find that hard to understand, but there you go.

 

And WTH?   Russian and German scientists?   What, they don't have any competent embalmers in South America?   They've had enough dictators, you'd think SOMEONE in the southern continent would know how to preserve the body of a totalitarian       tyrant.

221 isn't it funny how, after all the Catholic-bashing and outright hatred displayed against the new pope, not a single Catholic has beheaded anyone?

Yet.


Also, with the pedophilia rants.  When a liberal goes on about how they hate a group that protects pedos, just ask them why they have such a problem with public schools.

222

Now I always picture him as one of the muppets that shouted insults from the theater balcony in the muppet show. But walter works.

 

Statler and/or   Hilton.

 

I evision myself as Animal. Or Beaker.

223 When I picture Vic in my head, I come up with a (living, and life-sized) version of Walter.

And for some reason Gabe is Jose the Jalapeno. On a stick.

Posted by: AllenG (Dedicated Tenther) Channelling Breitbart at March 14, 2013 08:51 AM (4OvDk)

When CBD posts today you'll see a pic of me.

224 I didn't say "you" were terrible. I said it's not nice to celebrate someone facing hell and no, you didn't say anything about your hoping she would repent. I wish you had. I am not particularly interested in doctrinal debates. The "my group is better than yours" holds no interest for me. I have no fundamental beef with any other Christian who lifts up Jesus who is all in all.

225 When a liberal goes on about how they hate a group that protects pedos, just ask them why they have such a problem with public schools. Or how they feel about NAMBLA.

226 "The conspiracy theorists are plotting against us!"

227 :::When CBD posts today you'll see a pic of me. :::: You had him airbrush some six-pack abs on you, didn't you?

228 When CBD posts today you'll see a pic of me. Posted by: Vic at March 14, 2013 08:55 AM (53z96) I got a feeling he'll look like a cross between Sean Connery and George Clooney.

229 @ 226 thats a sacred institution in Mexifornia..

230

And WTH? Russian and German scientists? What, they don't have any competent embalmers in South America? They've had enough dictators, you'd think SOMEONE in the southern continent would know how to preserve the body of a totalitarian tyrant.

 

In all fairness, they've been trying to keep a dead ideology alive for a while now: socialism.

231 Here's a hint; I was in pretty good shape, but it was almost 40 years ago.

232

185, Yep.  Scouting also has a dimension of encouraging bonds between the Scout and his family, and the existing policy really cements that.  Changing the policy would basically have the BSA saying "Parents, we really want you actively  involved in your son's life, in the Pack/Troop, and in the community...EXCEPT ON THIS ONE ISSUE IN WHICH CASE WE WILL EXERCISE DOMINION."

 

 

233 Posted by: BCochran1981 at March 14, 2013 08:49 AM (da5Wo)

My comments were not in support of Swartz.  In his case, several understandable applicable laws were broken.  I am concerned about the use of a massive tax-payer funded prosecutorial-judiciary system that is empowered and encouraged to go after individual citizens with limited means to defend themselves.

234 Sorry, in 233 I meant to reply to comatus @217.  Time for coffee, assuming the PTA approves of my choice of blends.  Those shitheads.

235 ::::229 When CBD posts today you'll see a pic of me. Posted by: Vic at March 14, 2013 08:55 AM (53z96) I got a feeling he'll look like a cross between Sean Connery and George Clooney. Posted by: Oldsailors Poet is no longer shamelessly hawking his book Amy Lynn available on amazon. at March 14, 2013 08:57 AM (l86i3):::: Wilford Brimley, with six pack abs.

236 VIDEO – Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, who was elected Wednesday to be the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church on Wednesday, is said to be a close friend of the global Jewish community, and the Argentinean community in particular. Jewish organizations worldwide welcomed his election and expect to see him strengthen the relationship between the Jewish community and the Vatican and continue the work of Pope Benedict XVI, who spoke against anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial. Rosen added that after the bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires in 1994, Bergoglio "showed solidarity with the Jewish community." According to JTA, in 2005 Bergoglio was the first public personality to sign a petition for justice in the AMIA bombing case. In June 2010, he even visited the rebuilt AMIA building to talk with Jewish leaders.

237

:::When CBD posts today you'll see a pic of me. ::::

 

You had him airbrush some six-pack abs on you, didn't you?

Posted by: Empire of Jeff at March 14, 2013 08:57 AM (JDIKC)

 

Pretty hard to airbrush a daguerrotype.

238 Wilford Brimley, with six pack abs.

Posted by: Empire of Jeff at March 14, 2013 09:00 AM (JDIKC)

 

I think Vic looks like his contemporary, Moses.

 

(I keed, Vic!)

239  he'll look like a cross between Sean Connery and George Clooney.

Posted by: Oldsailors Poet is no longer shamelessly hawking his book Amy Lynn available on amazon. at March 14, 2013 08:57 AM (l86i3)

 

*******

 

I didn't even know they were dating.

240 Wilford Brimley, with six pack abs. Posted by: Empire of Jeff at March 14, 2013 09:00 AM (JDIKC) LOL, He's that guy on the commercials that promise to turn old guys into studs. The guy with the blonde wife who is laughing about how much he likes to hit that.

241 Did someone say that my friend Hugo is getting the puffy face too?
Could be the medication.



And rape.

242 Bill Gates wishes we were more like the UK so Obama would have more power. I think it's time to move over to linux. Fucking commie.

243

Back to Vic for a sec:

"I will not do scantily clad women. That will quickly degenerate"

Well heck. It would help on a 30F degree AM in flipp'n March...

244 Report: Russian battle-cruisers docked in Beirut on way to Syria Published: 03.14.13, 13:36 / Israel News The Hezbollah-affiliated "Al Miadin" Lebanese news channel reported three Russian battle-cruisers, with 700 soldiers on board, docked at Beirut port and are expected to stay there for three days. According to the report, the ships are on their way to the Tartus port in Syria. (Roi Kais) The French foreign minister says France is ready to help arm Syrian opposition fighters and is pushing for an urgent European Union meeting on lifting its arms embargo on Syria. Asked if France should arm the rebels, Laurent Fabius said on France-Info radio Thursday that it's "one of the only means left to make things move politically" in Syria. He also said France and Britain will ask for an EU meeting on lifting the embargo "now," possibly by the end of this month. The current embargo expires in May. (AP) Hum? france vs Russia? I'm going with Russia

245 Bill Gates wishes we were more like the UK so Obama would have more power. I think it's time to move over to linux. Fucking commie. Posted by: Attila at March 14, 2013 09:02 AM (Cs2tJ) Bill is like the rest of the rich Baby Boomers. Of course Obama will never go after his shit, right?

246 239 Vic looks like Charlton Heston?

247 The Libs are faced with the same Venn diagram we all see when we look at the Catholic Church scandals, 99% gay men on adolescent boys. The LGBTQers are all about adolescent homosexuality, so it's a quandary.

248 Hum? france vs Russia? I'm going with Russia

Posted by: Nevergiveup at March 14, 2013 09:03 AM (9Bj8R)

 

France has generic surrender documents already drafted for any future conflicts.

249 You can find out more about the new Pope here in a few hours then the MSM will tell you in the next ten years.

250 Well heck. It would help on a 30F degree AM in flipp'n March...

Posted by: Jess1 at March 14, 2013 09:03 AM (lbiWb)

BTAIM I was asked to to post those kinds of links.

251 Now , I had the best time with my sister out to lunch yesterday at a salad house in Pasadena , we had some of her friends sit at a table next to us at Green Street.. any who , I have been told to keep my Archie Bunker in my pocket , but was drawn into a conversation by her ultra Libby 's associates about the Rising Health Care cost in Mexifornia, If you study history, you have a clue..

252 Vic looks like Charlton Heston?

Posted by: Mirage at March 14, 2013 09:04 AM (Cyr3J)

My wife wishes.

253 (9Bj8R)France has generic surrender documents already drafted for any future conflicts. Posted by: tsrblke at March 14, 2013 09:05 AM (GaqMa) Is the French tank the one with one forward gear and four reverse gears?

254 France has generic surrender documents already drafted for any future conflicts.

Posted by: tsrblke at March 14, 2013 09:05 AM (GaqMa)

 

*******

 

Launching a preemptive surrender?  Nice!

255 to not

256 Gabe, I happen to be in DC today and plan to stop by cpac. Where will you be?

257 Of course Obama will never go after his shit, right? It's not that, it's that his shit is already so well protected that (at least on paper) it largely doesn't look like his. It's the problem all liberals have, and rich liberals worse than anyone else- they think one of the roles of Government is charity. It never occurs to them that Government "charity" is just forced wealth redistribution. And when you point out that it is, they tell you you're wrong. Ask "okay, where does that money come from?" and you'll get anything from a changed subject, to blank stares, to the equivalent of "Obama's stash."

258 With many liberals if you bring to their attention the many stories about public school teachers sexually abusing kids they ignore it or claim it's a miniscule number .Public school employees tend to be even more in denial about this claiming "The public school polices its own" Really? Than how do you explain the idea of "Passing the trash" in which teachers who have affairs with kids who are minors are frequently sent to other school in the district and not fired? No answer because apparently it's only church people and/or members of a family who do these horrors. Not the teachers.

259 And speaking of new threads must be about time for one.

260 Has Pope Francis or the Vatican said which (Saint) Francis is the new pope's namesake?

Interesting earlier trivia where Francis of Assissi visited the Sultan of Egypt (121 during a siege three day truce, and that the Franciscans received sanctions from the Mamluk Sultan (1333) to certain sites in the holy land (Jerusalem and Bethlehem). The Mamluk military caste ended the era of Christian Crusades in 1302.

Named after Francis of Assissi, St. Francis of Paola (1416-1507) was the hermit who founded the Order of Minims dedicated to the Lenten way of life (France, Germany, Spain) is called the Fire Handler. The holy man was favored with an eminent spirit of prophecy. He foretold to several persons, in the years 1447, 1448, and 1449, the taking of Constantinople by the Turks, which happened on the a 29 May, in 1453, under the command of Mahomet II, when Constantine Palaeologus, the last Christian emperor, was slain, fighting tumultuously in the streets. Once when refused passage by boat, he laid his cloak on the water with one end tied to his staff, and crossed the Strait of Messina to Sicily. He was also renowned for restoring life.

After Xavier (Basque) of Southern Navarre who grew up during the 18 year war by Ferdinand the Catholic King of Spain as the joint forces of Aragon and Castile invaded Navarre and split the kingdom. Francis was educated in France, taught Aristotelian philosophy at Beauvais college in Paris, co-founded the Jesuits, and dedicated his service as the first Jesuit missionary, vowing to convert the Muslims (1534) and traveled throughout the East.

Finally, no saint, Francis II (Francis I), the one and only Doppelkaiser, Emperor of both Germany and Austria, Apostolic King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, opponent of Napoleonic France, dissolved the Holy Roman Empire (1806).

261 I just noticed yesterday that all the Republicans have the same Mantra in DC. "They are waiting for leadership from the WH." That's is basically sitting with both thumbs up their asses for a miracle..

262 Than how do you explain the idea of "Passing the trash" in which teachers who have affairs with kids who are minors are frequently sent to other school in the district and not fired? No answer because apparently it's only church people and/or members of a family who do these horrors. Not the teachers.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at March 14, 2013 09:08 AM (g7q64)

That doesn't happen here.  If they get caught, and they all do eventually, they do hard jail time.

263 Bill is like the rest of the rich Baby Boomers. Of course Obama will never go after his shit, right?

Posted by: Oldsailors Poet is no longer shamelessly hawking his book Amy Lynn available on amazon. at March 14, 2013 09:04 AM (l86i3)

As long as those campaign contributions keep coming in comrade, you don't have to worry about a thing!

264 253Vic looks like Charlton Heston?

Posted by: Mirage at March 14, 2013 09:04 AM (Cyr3J)

My wife wishes.

Posted by: Vic at March 14, 2013 09:06 AM (53z96)

 

 

 

 

Really? I figure Charlton looks pretty moldy by now.

265 I have lived in a few cities in my life, in every single one there was at least an annual story of some local teacher being busted for "inappropriate contact". Here in W-S, we've probably had half a dozen in the last few years. No news conferences, no task forces, nothing but minimal court coverage.

266

  It never occurs to them that Government "charity" is just forced wealth redistribution.

 

It also never occurs to them that supplementing virtue with law creates bad people.

Government cannot create moral people precisely because the law is incapable of teaching self restraint and good moral habits.

267 It may not happen there; It happened for years elsewhere.

268 And he got away with it for two reasons: he had balls the size of watermelons and he understood how Communists thought and how to exploit their though processes. Those are qualities we need again in this country. Posted by: Nighthawk at March 14, 2013 08:50 AM (RSqz2) Amen to that.

269

Say it loud:  (from Reuters)

Michigan Expected to Announce Takeover of Detroit's Finances:

Detroit is the poorest major city in the United States with more than a third of the population officially classified as living in poverty, and it has an unemployment rate of 18.2 percent compared with a national rate of 7.7 percent, according to government figures.  Basic services such as street lights and police protection have broken down, and the city has suffered from mismanagement and political corruption.

Me:  Detroit-Calling it a "third world country" is an insult to thired world countries. 

270 I try to stay away from the legal opinion flame wars.

But, for me, one of the defining characteristics of a Liberal is the belief that if what they are doing makes them feel good, but it's illegal, then f*ck that particular law.

Stop sign+late for work= F*ck it
Handicapped spot+few regular spots= F*ck it
Racial discrimination laws+White male doesn't get job= F*ck it
Law against torching private property+No outlet for frustration= F*ck it
No texting while driving law+incoming text= F*ck it

So I'm kinda leery about going down that path, no matter how short a distance.

271 GOP "They are waiting for leadership from the WH."

yep. Stupid is as stupid does. 

272

Asked if France should arm the rebels, Laurent Fabius said on France-Info radio Thursday that it's "one of the only means left to make things move politically" in Syria.

 

I'm sorry, but just why the hell    should    we care about "moving things politically" in Syria?      Maybe I've run dry on the milk of human kindness, but from where I stand it appears to be a brutal dictator versus an   uprising of terrorist rabble.   I feel pity for the innocents caught in the crossfire (how many innocents are there in Syria?), but this is not a fight in which we appear to have a dog.   If the French want to help the Syrian    "rebels,"    fine.  But if Libya's taught the world anything, it's that helping one group of bad guys    fight     another bad guy isn't really much of an improvement.   See also the Iran/Iraq war.  

 

And when did    arming combatants     become a "political" move?   Sure,    wars    are all political when you get down to the brass tacks,      But       This is the French essentially saying, "Look, the only way to get rid of Assad is to give the other guys lots of guns and hope they shoot him, or enough of his people that he gives up."      Usually the Euros are     much more circumspect when discussing the violent overthrow    and/or    assassination     of a dictator.      Probably because they've got plenty of their own to deal with.

273 265 Depending on the embalming technique?

274 Here's an article about "passing the trash" teachers.

275 Forgot the link; Sorry: http://thephilanews.com/preventing-schools-from-passing-the-trash-28835.htm

276 Bill is like the rest of the rich Baby Boomers. Of course Obama will never go after his shit, right?

Posted by: Oldsailors Poet is no longer shamelessly hawking his book Amy Lynn available on amazon. at March 14, 2013 09:04 AM (l86i3)

----------

Obama: Bill, we're going after your shit.

Gates: We'll move everything, lock, stock, and barrel to BC.

Obama: Bill, Melinda is looking lovely this evening.

277 The just war thing though, is a Catholic thing. It's just a way to analyze war and a way to approach fighting war in a world where war is necessary.

Ultimately I would agree that there are no just wars, just necessary and unnecessary wars. A war being necessary is enough 'justification' for me. People always see the consequences of a war fought and not the consequences if that war hadn't been fought. I am led to believe that there are times where the latter was much worse; but if and by how much we will never know.

278 Bill Gates wishes we were more like the UK so Obama would have more power. I think it's time to move over to linux. Fucking commie.

Posted by: Attila at March 14, 2013 09:02 AM (Cs2tJ)

He wants us to have bad teeth, food and people dieing in government hospitals? What a useless cockmuncher and his wife too

279
And that dovetails nicely with what I'm saying. Those people were willing to take the hit. They knowingly broke the law in an effort to get it changed. I got no problem with that. But you have to be willing and prepared for it not to go your way.

Assuming one has the money to actually fight the feds in court. Of course, that's why they have plea deals....people are more likely to accept that, than trying to take it all the way to a jury trial, bankrupt themselves, and their family, likely lose their job, their home.

So no. It's bs. You, me, and just about everyone in this country manages to commit three federal felonies a day without even knowing it. Now, if the you inadvertently find yourself in the prosecutorial cross hairs, do you have the resources to retain a lawyer, and take it all the way to trial, or will you accept a plea deal?

In Swarz' case, it was intentional, he knew what he was doing. That's different. He should have taken the six months, or, since he apparently had the money, stuck it out through trial.

280

Posted by: RiverC at March 14, 2013 09:14 AM (KTytI)

 

"Just war" is probably a misnomer.

I think it's more "justified" than it has to do with "justice."

281 I am led to believe that there are times where the latter was much worse; but if and by how much we will never know. Posted by: RiverC at March 14, 2013 09:14 AM (KTytI) Good point. One only needs to imagine Hitler with the Bomb.

282 Stop sign+late for work= F*ck it   Handicapped spot+few regular spots= F*ck it  No texting while driving law+incoming text= F*ck it.......So I'm kinda leery about going down that path, no matter how short a distance.  Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at March 14, 2013 09:12 AM (iZP3p)

Related but....can anyone explain why everyone who drives a Mercedes is an asshole?

With BMWs they only become assholes with the 5 series and above.  But with Mercedes anyone driving any class of Mercedes is an asshole.

I know this to be true because I live it on the roads of Northern VA every day.

283 MWR,

My Patriarch is in Syria as are a number of Orthodox Christians who have lived in that region for eons. They're definitely feeling the heat from this conflict.

284 It never occurs to them that Government "charity" is just forced wealth redistribution.

And charity directs ALL funds to the widows and orphans, lame and weakest members of society. Whereas taxes, regardless of tag, end up in the deep pockets of globalist "investors" and corporations, making the world's wealthiest elitists even more "too big to fail". But then, if corporatists (people, too) who refrain from paying taxes didn't get the tax funded "charity" they'd have to get a real job.

285 On the ONT last night a commenter mentioned a black Democrat phoning Rush's show to tell Rush that he'd finally figured out the JEF was a fraud and the caller was turning conservative. There's a link to the audio of the caller in my sock.

286

More fun at Popehat on a diff. topic:

 

http://tinyurl.com/cox7shf

 

>> For the record: I am Ken, I am talking about the threats y'all sent, and I represent the inexpressible joy of ridiculing feckless legal bullies.

287 I'm sorry, but just why the hell should we care about "moving things politically" in Syria? Maybe I've run dry on the milk of human kindness, but from where I stand it appears to be a brutal dictator versus an uprising of terrorist rabble Yeah, I'm with you. Arm both sides, then wall off the country. What comes after Assad won't be better. Looking to Egypt and Libya, it will probably be as bad or worse.

288

What a useless cockmuncher and his wife too

 

Wasn't Gates' wife a secretary at Microsoft before he married her?  Must have been an epic BJ on her part.

289 And when did arming combatants become a "political" move? Posted by: MWR, Proud Tea(rrorist) Party Assault Hobbit at March 14, 2013 09:12 AM (4df7R)

Ahem.

You should read my book.

290 Fuck Bill Gates. Son of a bitch has been out of touch with reality for 20 years.

291 My Patriarch is in Syria as are a number of Orthodox Christians who have lived in that region for eons. They're definitely feeling the heat from this conflict.

Posted by: RiverC at March 14, 2013 09:17 AM (KTytI)

 

Then my prayers are with them that they    survive the actions of those around them.

292 #281

Yes, in English we use the word 'just' in two ways, which can be ambiguous. One is in the sense of 'justice', or 'righteousness': i.e. 'a just man' doesn't mean the guy has justifications, but that he's a dang good person. On the other hand, 'just cause' probably means closer to 'having reasonable justifications' and not necessarily implying 'righteousness'.

Though when you're looking at Calvinistic thinking, sometimes 'I have reasoned through this and I find it to be correct' is the same thing as 'righteousness.' Our language has had some good tangles with this kind of thinking.

293 I know this to be true because I live it on the roads of Northern VA every day. Posted by: Sean Bannion at March 14, 2013 09:17 AM (sbV1u) OMG, this buttplug in a seven series BMW pissed me off so bad testerday while I was taking my kid to school. If the little one hadn't been in the car there would have been an Orange Element stripe down the side of that BEEMER and it would have been his fault.

294

Maybe he can move to a foreign country or war zone-like Brooklyn--via Drudge:

Protesters enraged over the fatal shooting of a teenager by police poured into Brooklyn streets for a third straight night Wednesday, pitching bricks, bottles and garbage in furious clashes with cops.

At least 18 demonstrators were arrested along Church Ave. in East Flatbush. Police struggled to control a hostile crowd that broke away from a planned peaceful vigil for Kimani (Kiki) Gray, 16, killed by police on Saturday night

295 On the phone front, Windows Phone 8 is absolutely wonderful. My Lumia 920 is just about perfect. Ignore Bill Gates's idiocy.

296 I'll be at RadishPAC all weekend.  The dress code is fuzzy slippers.

297 283 I have had thoughts this is also related to most Honda drivers, as well as anyone with an Obama/Biden and/or CoExist bumber sticker... But that is just my personal experience in two different states. (Sorry if this offends any of the AoS horde)

298 So Drudge's current big headline is "Physicists: We've found the 'God Particle.'"   I haven't read the story yet, but haven't they said this a couple of times before?   Should I be excited or blase about this particular event?

299 I am reading Rommel's book on his actions as a young commander against the Fwench and Italians in WWI. I used to think they lost all their real men in WWI, I was wrong. They were bad soldiers and pussies then too. My disrespect has been expanded.

300 Fuck Bill Gates. Dumbest thing IBM ever did was hook up with him, or at least buy him outright. CP/M was a much better O/S.

301 #296

Windows 8 - Microsoft finally manages to make a good OS for mobile and touch devices.

Too bad they are trying to force the same OS on non-mobile and touch devices.

302 Wasn't Gates' wife a secretary at Microsoft before he married her? Must have been an epic BJ on her part.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at March 14, 2013 09:18 AM (zF6Iw)

I know she supports a lot of left wing causes and is a very liberal Catholic who supports "modernizing" the church. Intercourse her and her limp dick husband

303 sean thanks....i drive a benz.....

304 You fools.  You think you've discovered my secrets, but I have only given you the tip.

When I unleash the power of my field upon your puny realm, you will bow down before me, you will pay heed, and you will blow me.

Soon, meatbags, soon.

305 thanks....i drive a benz.....Posted by: phoenixgirl at March 14, 2013 09:23 AM (GVxQo)

I am assuming you are the exception that proves the rule.

306 299 MWR
"Physicists: We've found the 'God Particle.'" I haven't read the story yet, but haven't they said this a couple of times before?

Behold the evolution of "god" -- grabs research grants.

307 I'll be at RadishPAC all weekend. The dress code is fuzzy slippers. Just fuzzy slippers? You know the rule.

308 President Barack Obama’s defense to Democratic senators complaining about how little his administration has told Congress about the legal justifications for his drone policy: Dick Cheney was worse. That’s part of what two senators in the room recounted of Obama’s response when, near the outset of his closed-door session with the Senate Democratic conference on Tuesday, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) confronted the president over the administration’s refusal for two years to show congressional intelligence committees Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel memos justifying the use of lethal force against American terror suspects abroad. Obama recently allowed members of those panels to see the memos, but only after senators in both parties threatened to hold up the confirmation of John Brennan as Central Intelligence Agency director. Brennan was confirmed last week, but lawmakers not on one of the intelligence panels are still being denied access to the memos and several are steamed over being frozen out. In response to Rockefeller’s critique, Obama said he’s not involved in drafting such memos, the senators told POLITICO. He also tried to assure his former colleagues that his administration is more open to oversight than that of President George W. Bush, whom many Democratic senators attacked for secrecy and for expanding executive power in the national security realm. “This is not Dick Cheney we’re talking about here,” he said, according to Democratic senators who asked not to be named discussing the private meeting. 5 years into this nightmare and still 'Nothing" is his fault?

309 I can't believe we're 300 comments in and no one has mentioned that it's Steak and BJ day.

310 When I unleash the power of my field upon your puny realm, you will bow down before me, you will pay heed, and but first you will blow me. FIFY.

311 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mit_brennender_Sorge

statolatry is an apt word. 

312 Yeah, Microsoft is the key way you can demonstrate to most Left-leaning techie 20-30 somethings that they don't understand politics.

Ask them who Microsoft supported in the last election. They will reflexively say, 'Romney' (hint: None of us like Microsoft much, especially those of us who do tech stuff on Gov't contract)

Of course, Microsoft was in the bag for Obama ages ago. Microsoft and Obama believe in about the same kind of 'change'. Linux is more like Ron Paul. Romney would be HP/UX.

Anyone know who Apple gave the most support to?

313 President Obama, speaking at his campaign-turned advocacy group, contradicted media reports that his primary focus right now is setting up House Democrats to retake the majority in the 2014 midterms. “It’s not about 2014,” Obama told Organizing for Action this evening, per the pool report. “I actually wanna govern, at least for a couple of years.” He added that “If a senator or congressman from a swing district is about to take a tough vote on immigration or guns, they need to feel supported.” What a dope

314 Obama said heÂ’s not involved in drafting such memos Wait, what? It's his policy but "he's not involved in drafting such memos?" What the hell?

315

Biden Press Office Apologizes For Demanding Student Journalist Delete Photographs

CBS Local, Washington: http://tiny.cc/sduxtw

 

ROCKVILLE, Md. (CBSDC) – Vice President Joe Biden’s press office has apologized to the University of Maryland following “pure intimidation” demands for a student journalist to delete photos he took of a domestic violence event featuring Biden.

 

...

 

“Did you take any photos during the event,” Barr said he was asked by Biden staffer Dana Rosenzweig. “I need to see your camera right now,” she reportedly said after Barr confirmed he had taken photographs of the event that also featured Attorney General Eric Holder and Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin.

 

The Biden staffer then requested to watch Barr delete his photos, Barr complied, and then the staffer reportedly asked him to show her his iPhone to confirm he did not save any of the photos....

 

Biden's   staffpeople:  when they're not locking reporters in broom closets, they're making them delete      innocuous    photos of public events.

 

316 I know she supports a lot of left wing causes and is a very liberal Catholic who supports "modernizing" the church. Intercourse her and her limp dick husband  Posted by: TheQuietMan at March 14, 2013 09:23 AM (1Jaio)

There is no "liberal" Catholic or "conservative" Catholic.  There is only "Catholic."  You either believe this stuff, or you don't, and if you don't, then you're just fooling yourself.  Period.  End of conversation.  Full stop. 

Melinda Gates, Pelosi, Sebelius, Biden....they're all kidding themselves.  They are no more Catholic than I am a billionaire.

There is such a thing as dissent recognized in the Church.  It's a tad complex, but the Reader's Digest explanation of it is, "keep it in the family."    None of them do this, therefore none of them are really entitled to call themselves "Catholic."

317 Anyone know who Apple gave the most support to? Posted by: RiverC at March 14, 2013 09:27 AM (KTytI) Well regardless of what political instincts Jobs had ( to the left I am sure ) he was notoriously cheap and gave very little to political stuff

318 Volvo S60 here.
Volvo Wagon for Mrs VIA (with her NRA sticker in back window)

Drives liberals insane.

And several heterocentric married couples with Subaru's in our block.

319 It's the problem all liberals have, and rich liberals worse than anyone else- they think one of the roles of Government is charity. It never occurs to them that Government "charity" is just forced wealth redistribution.

Posted by: AllenG (Dedicated Tenther) Channelling Breitbart at March 14, 2013 09:07 AM (4OvDk)
========

They also fail to realize that if you are coerced into making "charitable" contributions what you are doing is, by definition, NOT charity.

320 Coulter has a good piece on the hypocrisy of what libs consider nannable. http://dailycaller.com/2013/03/13/trouble-in-the-nanny-state/ It’s one thing to stigmatize “Big Gulp” drinkers, but liberals are hopping mad at this attempt to stigmatize teen pregnancy, 90 percent of which is unwed. To put it another way, if you’re a New York teen with a distended belly these days, it had better be because you’re pregnant.

321 @Nevergiveup

I was going to say Apple was too hipster to vote but...

322

It may be too late to preserve deceased Venezuela President Hugo Chavez’s body in a glass casket “for eternity” after all.

The embalming process should have started earlier, government officials said, in a Reuters report.

They should just leave the rotting carcass on display

323 Benz, High end Lexus, BMW - they have rarefied the secret to driving like you're in Baltimore and put it in a car.

324

In response to RockefellerÂ’s critique, Obama said heÂ’s not involved in drafting such memos, the senators told POLITICO

 

So not only is the White House not involved in shutting down tours of the White    House,   but the President isn't involved in drafting memos    allegedly justifying    the President's    powers to order the assassination of Americans overseas.

 

Next on the docket:  The First Lady is not responsible for selecting the First Lady's wardrobe, and     Joe Biden is not responsible for comments that come out of Joe Biden's mouth.

325 They should just leave the rotting carcass on display

Posted by: TheQuietMan at March 14, 2013 09:31 AM (1Jaio)

 

They should gift him to underpriveledged rats and cockroaches in a Caracas alley.

326 That CERN supercollider thing mass raped God's particle!

327 323
It may be too late to preserve deceased Venezuela President Hugo Chavez’s body in a glass casket “for eternity” after all.
The embalming process should have started earlier, government officials said, in a Reuters report.




They should just leave the rotting carcass on display
  ********     Political allegory?

328 They should just leave the rotting carcass on display

It would be the perfect monument to all he has done for the country.

329 I'll be at RadishPAC all weekend. The dress code is fuzzy slippers. Posted by: HeatherRadish™ needs a beer at March 14, 2013 09:22 AM (/kI1Q) :-)

330 Nude dump up

331 Next on the docket: ... Joe Biden is not responsible for comments that come out of Joe Biden's mouth. I don't think you can hold a mental incompetent responsible for any of their actions.

332 Posted by: MWR, Proud Tea(rrorist) Party Assault Hobbit at March 14, 2013 09:29 AM (4df7R)

The Bill of Rights for me, but not for thee!

333 Volvo S60 here. Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at March 14, 2013 09:29 AM (iZP3p)

Volvo!  The official car of preening, sanctimonious Massachusetts liberals everywhere.  Get yours at a New England Volvo dealer soon!

When you're driving 128 or the Mass Pike and someone does something stupid, invariably it's a Volvo.  I take it you're nowhere in New England, because a Volvo with an NRA sticker on it would be spending a lot of time in the body shop.

I like your example.  I think I now want a Volvo for my next car.  With an NRA sticker, and a "OIF Veteran" sticker, and a "It's a Life, Not a Choice" sticker, and a "Bush-Cheney 2004" sticker, and.....

334 RE: Chavez

As much as he was a crazy, do have some respect for the dead.

Which is why I respected him even while he was breathing.

335 They should just leave the rotting carcass on display

Posted by: TheQuietMan at March 14, 2013 09:31 AM (1Jaio)

 

Considering there are those in South America who believe the Spirit of Chavez is what prompted the installation of the first Latin American Pope, why don't they just leave him as is    so they can witness his inevitable    Sainthood?      The body of a Saint isn't supposed to decompose, right?   So embalming shouldn't be necessary.

 

Idiots, the whole lot of them.

336 There is such a thing as dissent recognized in the Church. It's a tad complex, but the Reader's Digest explanation of it is, "keep it in the family." None of them do this, therefore none of them are really entitled to call themselves "Catholic."

Posted by: Sean Bannion at March 14, 2013 09:29 AM (sbV1u)

 

 

I actually have this debate on a regular basis with friends of mine and whether various catholic health groups run by various pen wielding nuns are on the "right side" of dissent or whether they push the envelope waaayy to far.

My general thought is they push it to far for a number of reasons.  Even when they keep it in the family I have to sit through conferences that I call "bishop bashing" because they seem to constantly want to pick fights with any bishop who doesn't agree with them on everything.

Hell, I dissent with some church teachings on the Birth Control thing (let's not get into my opinion it'd be longer than an ace movie review) but I'm fucking out there fighting for the Obamacare changes because it's overreach.  Those nut jobs just shrugged and went "meh."

337 Sean, nothing like an NRA Lifetime sticker with a Ranger tab over it to keep the moon bats back

338 Posted by: Sean Bannion at March 14, 2013 09:35 AM (sbV1u)

Oh...you are going to LOVE the Chris Matthews link in the link dump.

339 Should I be excited or blase about this particular event? It still seems 'iffy'. You have to wait until they pronounce it 'settled science' -- then you'll know there's a 50/50 chance they got it wrong.

340

323
It may be too late to preserve deceased Venezuela President Hugo Chavez’s body in a glass casket “for eternity” after all.
The embalming process should have started earlier, government officials said, in a Reuters report.

They should just leave the rotting carcass on display

************************************************

Isn't that what we've seen on TV for the past several years?

341 And Sean, if you really want to piss them off in NOVA land, get a HOPE After Abortion sticker.

342 Sean, nothing like an NRA Lifetime sticker with a Ranger tab over it to keep the moon bats back  Posted by: Jean at March 14, 2013 09:37 AM (VRCBg)

That's gotta be a thing of beauty.

343 Sean
If you're gonna go Volvo, go with the wagon.
That back glass has lots of room for stickers.
All of them right at eyeball height for the car behind you.

344 On Swartz, who I never heard of until he was dead, like most of these famous people. If he was going to post public documents, and it was his right all along since they were in the public domain then I'm not feeling the hate for the guy. Reminds me of about a decade ago I went down to the city to see some blueprints of a new building going up in town. Its a small city of about 7000 (I think). The code inspector took the stance that he had a choice whether or not to show me the prints, and he was choosing no, on the grounds that they weren't the latest revision. So I told him everything in his office that isn't his personal property is already mine. Advised he call the city attorney and find that out and I'll be back the next day to see the prints, and maybe everything else in the filing cabinet. Went back the next day and youd think he was meeting the pope, with the change of attitude, and hospitality.

345 30 Question for you, since you seem to know Catholic theology. When has the title 'just war' ever been bestowed upon a war by the CC? I'm pretty sure I know the answer but I've never been able to find it on the Internet. Posted by: Regular Moron at March 14, 2013 07:03 AM (feFL6) Boy, howdy! I brought up St. Augustine's concept of a just war as my "lesson" during a vestry meeting after 9/11 and gave my fellow members a bad case of the vapors. "Oh, we couldn't possibly condone THAT idea!" For this pusillanimity and a host of other transgressions, I left the Episcopal Church shortly thereafter.

346 300. right, and I've tried to figure whatever happened to the French to make them so self absorbed, so elitist.

The French revolution was genocide against their own. Those murderers who survived and thrived included the most twisted. "For the grandeur of France" always functioned vs. Liberté, égalité, fraternité to determine the fate of France.  French Leaders certainly coined propaganda that works, as if there was ever any intention to fulfill campaign promises, campaigns being military or political, no difference. French disillusionment is their national public expectation, cynicism.

The legitimacy of Vichy France and Pétain's leadership was constantly challenged by the exiled General Charles de Gaulle, based in London. Duh. It wasn't so much being contrary to the Vichy national socialism but simply the challenge to being king of the mountain that de Gaulle presented. HE wanted it all. And so far as he was concerned, France owed humanity at large absolutely nothing. Rather, the world owed France for whatever.

347 Big news in the Aaron Swartz case. The defense says that one of the prosecutors withheld exculpatory evidence. Hardly. Swartz committed suicide because he was mentally unstable. There is no doubt he committed the crime. Granted he was under a lot of pressure looking at criminal prosecution. But he should have been able to strike a deal. If not, his sentence would be minimal and he would come out a hero to whackjob nation.

348 The HQ was nominated for Blog of the Year What sort of fuckery is this?

349 Hardly. Swartz committed suicide because he was mentally unstable. There is no doubt he committed the crime. Granted he was under a lot of pressure looking at criminal prosecution. But he should have been able to strike a deal. It takes two to strike deal. How does one strike a deal when the prosecutor thinks they have the upper hand, and wants to hang a scalp on her wall? Especially if they're illegally withholding exculpatory evidence? Wonder how you'll feel when some overzealous federal prosecutor goes after you for one of the 3 federal felonies you commit every day, and wants to put you away for 20+ years and isn't willing to take a plea? because your scalp will look really good on her resume?

350 For the record, they obtained a warrant for Swartz. The defense is arguing, that they should have obtained a warrant a month earlier. As to time he would have served in prison: the feds have a complicated point system they use. No way was he looking at years of prison.

351 @278 Just War. The theology students' joke is that it's, well, just war.

I tire quickly of philosophy and military science students being made to agonize over Just War theory. It was formulated for rump empires, with monarchs who claimed Divine Right, and had Issues with the papacy over who invested whom.  It was stretched to its limit to deal with the diplomacy/war of Westphalian states, and could not deal with the American Revolution, let alone the American Civil War, in any meaningful way at all.

Naturally, the Vatican had to use it against the new nationalist-states a la Garibaldi, because, well, Garibaldi. The world-socialists cleverly created the National Front communist insurgencies to get around its applicability. It has nothing to say to pan-[insert racial clan here] identity states, or guerrilla conflict for cause. Really, just a footnote to canon law (SWIDT?). 

Once you try on the idea of rules for conduct of warfare (and you probably shouldn't), the morals of religious tradition are one large source of moral enlightenment. Just War theory, though, is all about invoking God's blessing on the undertaking of war. It's like asking God to explain a car accident.

352 It takes two to strike deal. How does one strike a deal when the prosecutor thinks they have the upper hand, and wants to hang a scalp on her wall? Not much of a scalp. Hardly a drug king pin or gangster. This is a bullshit argument. And the prosecution always wants to strike a deal in order to save on court resources. Especially if they're illegally withholding exculpatory evidence? Who ruled that they did anything illegal? The defenae is arguing that the prosecution should have obtained a warrant a month earlier. Explain how this is an illegal act. Wonder how you'll feel when some overzealous federal prosecutor goes after you for one of the 3 federal felonies you commit every day, and wants to put you away for 20+ years and isn't willing to take a plea? because your scalp will look really good on her resume? Posted by: I R A Darth Aggie Again, the federal sentencing scheme does not work that way. And enough with the scalp analogies. They are silly. He was not targeted and he was not going to receive 20 years if he went to trial. He would have lost because he's guilty and they could prove it. But he still would have received a minimal sentence under the federal sentencing guidelines. Unfortunately, the guy was mentally unstable. Arguments like yours probably did not help his mental state either.

353 Since some of Yall are on NON drivin sumbeeches - my FAVORITE 2 bumper snickers:

"Ted Kennedy's CAR has killed more people than my GUN"

and

"www.offmyASS.com"    

354

Romney would be HP/UX.

 

Well that's pretty accurate and explains why he lost.  HP's suck ass and I try to persuade anyone that asks me for computer advice I steer them clear of those piece of shit computers.

355 People here really ought to read the New Yorker profile of Aaron Swartz, which explains so much.

The reason he committed suicide isn't because of a fear of jailtime, as the article reveals.  The reason he did it is because:

1.) He had major mental and developmental problems, stemming from an early age when he was never forced to cope with hard work and frustration and boredom and routine like most humans.

2.) He was despondent over the potential of having a felony conviction on his record, because it threw a wrench into the works of his life plans.  He had become convinced that the only solution to America's problems was his particular version of technocratic liberal fascism, where HE would be the man in charge, forcing people to "be good" by using the power of the government.  To that end, his ultimate goal was to work in the White House, for the Obama (or presumably upcoming Clinton) administrations.  And he knew that he could never get into that position with a felony conviction.  Hence, he considered his life's ambition to be ruined.

You really need to read The New Yorker on Swartz.  It's an eye-opener.  As it turns out, he was really quite a nasty piece of work (despite all his friends in the article saying how 'inspiring' he was), one which the world is arguably slightly better off without, despite the sad circumstances surrounding his exit from life.

All that said, federal prosecutorial overreach ain't no joke, no matter who it's done against.  And Swartz arguably was victimized here.

356 115 So basically, our Pack has to find a new chartering organization. If we can't, then the Pack dissolves and I get to tell my kids that a bunch of busybodies with tenuous-at-best connections to Scouting thought it more important to force a private organization to prosletyze a political issue to kids than to just let them go camping and have fun as kids. Posted by: @JohnTant at March 14, 2013 08:04 AM (tVWQB) There are likely dozens of groups around who are ready, willing and able to become your Pack's sponsors. Search "Silverside Church Troop 70 Peacemakers" to see how a Scout Troop encountered similar behavior and ultimately rechartered with a more welcoming sponsor.

357 Looked at the CPAC list. Just want to say that The Donald is not a conservative; he's an opportunist. But he's a feisty one!

358 And....most of the Crusades would NOT fit the definition of a just war.

Posted by: Sean Bannion at March 14, 2013 07:09 AM (sbV1u) ***

Why not?