kimmy

Giving frickin' Willard and his buddies free reign to dismantle what little regulation remains on the finance industry wasn't going to create jobs and prosperity, it was just going to accelerate the rate at which those goons can siphon wealth into their own bank accounts. -k

I don't think that's especially controversial, I think we all just have different ideas of what constitutes "orderly". Some of your brethren don't think education is a necessary part of an "orderly" society, for example. Well, sure, but bottom line The Man isn't going to let your start-up just sell ion-drives and laser canons to whoever you feel like. For the same reason that my soldier of fortune business is drowning in red tape. -k

You misread what bleeding heart wrote. To paraphrase: "when he was poor they said he was jealous, but now that he is rich they say he is a hypocrite, but either way the criticism is apparently not legitimate". As for what Brand is saying in the quotes you linked: when Brand says "end of days" you can be sure he doesn't mean it in the same sense that Michele Bachmann does, as is clear from the context (where he mentions the fall of Rome, Egypt, and Easter Island, not Revelation and the Tribulation.) -k

I believe that our cops are just as bad as yours; I think the only real difference is how much lead the cops on your side of the border are allowed to spray at suspects. -k

Leaving aside the question of whether a routine traffic stop provided "probable cause" for a search of the vehicle by a drug-sniffing dog in the first place, they ran out of "probable cause" long before they got to the colonoscopy. They ran out of probable cause to continue jamming stuff up the guy's ass after the first round of probing, x-ray, and enema failed to produce anything. It was police misconduct before they even stopped the vehicle; the dog flunked its certification in 2011 and hasn't been valid since. This is a case that Lionel Hutz could win; the only question is the exact dollar figure that it's going to cost the tax payers of Hidalgo County. Fine and well, but this particular case has "gigantic cash settlement" written all over and is going to cost the tax payers a lot of money. It won't cost the officers a penny out of their pockets or a minute of sleep, of course; the county will pay the costs, and the police themselves will be back on the street after perhaps a short paid vacation or brief reassignment to "desk patrol" duty. It'll be a story they and their buddies can laugh about over drinks after their shift is over. -k

So, this actually happened in New Mexico. A drug dog sniffs a guy's car seat during a routine traffic stop. The dog gives a "positive", leading to the man being anally probed by police. After "going digital" the police found no drugs, so they did what any reasonable person would do: they took the man to a hospital, where over the next 14 hours the man was sedated, given an X-ray, more anal probes, two enemas, and a colonoscopy. None of this anal violation revealed any evidence of drugs. Oh yeah, and the hospital is also billing him for the "medical care" he received. There's something seriously wrong when the police can decide to detain you for 14 hours and anally rape you numerous times because their dog liked the smell of your car seat. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/new-mexico-man-sues-authorities-anally-probed-8-times-article-1.1507651 Oh yeah, this happened before, with the same drug dog: http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S3210356.shtml?cat=500#.UnuqY-LjXTC -k

So what you're saying is that libertarians support rights and government functions that work to their advantage? I'm not sure if it's occurred to you, Bonam, but you're just not like the rest of us. You could wake up some morning with Xenia Onatopp straddling your chest demanding you give her "ze blueprints". Now matter how much or how little regulation there is in other businesses, you're always going to face a high level of paperwork because The Man is worried what could happen if you decided to snowden off to North Korea and give Kim Jong Un the technology to build a weather-controlling satellite. -k

It is inevitable that this kind of paperwork is part of the cost of doing business. You already agreed that you don't want to do away with all regulation, so you're not going to be eliminating those consultants. This seems to suggest that you realize that the influence of corporations on government is, indeed, a real problem. -k

I would think that the wealthy would be the ones moving to Somalia, so that they can live in a country where Big Government™ isn't trying to Redistribute Their Wealth™, and where they are Free To Create Jobs™ without the Shackles Of Regulation™. -k

I was pretty surprised on Thursday when some little ghosts and goblins came knocking on my door trying to scare up some treats! I didn't realize that any children lived in this building, so I was completely unprepared! Not a single piece of candy in the place! Of course I didn't want to send the little tricksters away disappointed, so I tried to think of something else I could give them. I didn't think they'd like potatoes and onions very much, and I was about to give up, but then I remembered that I had a 6 pack of Palm Bay in the fridge! Boy were they surprised! -k

I'm happy to be wrong; Ken Cuccinelli was narrowly defeated tonight, losing to a Democrat who has something less than a stellar reputation himself. E.W. Jackson lost the Lt. Gov race by a considerably larger margin, and claims he is the victim of religious persecution. -k

I watched, and I agree with much of what he says. His first observation that I agreed with is that it's not so much that Russell Brand is saying anything particularly smart, it's just that he sounds smart while he's saying it. He's able to talk really quickly using high-level vocabulary without pausing or saying "um" or anything, so that you have this avalanche of words coming at you so quickly that it's hard to digest it in real time. I believe somebody said of Paul Ryan during the election campaign "he's what a dumb-guy thinks a smart-guy sounds like". I think the same can be said of Russell Brand. I also agreed with what he said when he criticized Brand's views on profit. The idea that profit for somebody is a deficit for somebody else is wrong. It subscribes to a zero-sum game type view that just isn't reasonable. He made some fair comments on voting as well... I don't agree that voting is pointless because they're equally bad. Even if all the candidates are terrible, they're not terrible in the same ways. Where I took issue with Mr Schiff is when he just brushed off the main reason that people are so upset right now. "...so you see, profits are good! Now, people are probably mad about the obscene profits that the banks are making, and if it wasn't for crony capitalism maybe we would have less people like Russell Brand getting mad, but let's move on to what he said about voting..." No, let's not move on. That thing you just said? Let's talk more about that. -k

Yeah, man, what economic problems can't be fixed by tax cuts? I mean, it's just obvious! -k

You people are making fun of Betsy's religious beliefs, and you should feel bad. This "Blood Moon" event is a serious scientific phenomenon, and deserves careful consideration. On a completely unrelated note, I've become aware of another scientific phenomenon called the "Kimmy Sunrise". It's quite rare, and I was just checking through the Naval Observatory records and it's amazing how close the recent Kimmy Sunrises coincide with tragic disasters. December 26, 2004 (Indonesia tsunami) August 28, 2005 (Hurricane Katrina) July 3, 2006 (Chris Pronger trade) January 12, 2010 (Haiti earthquake) March 11, 2011 (Japan tsunami) NASA data indicates that another Kimmy Sunrise could be upon us any day. That doesn't necessarily mean that there will be a terrible disaster to go along with it, but it is a little unsettling. Now, obviously I'm not going to tell you that you should prepare for some kind of disaster by praying for salvation or any of that sort of thing. However, I think this would be a great time to mention that I've discovered some great deals on insurance! Send me a PM for information on how you could save 10% or more on insurance... just in case. -k

Sergei's Halloween costume: YOU'RE THE #1 COP ON THE FORCE, Bobrovsky!! -k

I saw Trainspotting, although it was a long time ago. I didn't remember that song being in that scene for some reason. I do remember Blondie very clearly, though. -k

Well that's just silly. Andy Dalton is off the charts right now, the Bengals don't need Tim Te--- ohhhh, you meant OTHER Jesus. -k

We in Canada often talk about the "brain drain". Is it real? Is it a myth? Is it overhyped? Oh, it's real. And never has Canada been harder hit by the brain drain than by the loss of Jay Onrait to Fox Sports. "YOU'RE A LOOSE CANNON, Bobrovsky! You're off the case!!!" -k

Well, my list could be far longer than 10, and I bet you'd run out long before I would. I am sure that there are some regulations out there that are bad ideas, and I am sure that there are others that are implemented in an inefficient way. I don't doubt that. What I do doubt is the premise that slashing regulations will create waves of new jobs. It's an idea that gets repeated so often by Elephant Team types that they accept it without question. It's the present-day version of "Brawndo has the electrolytes that plants crave." It gets repeated over and over by people who never stop to wonder whether plants really crave electrolytes or whether Brawndo is good for plants. Of course not. Rich Guy Team is generally much in favor of regulations that make it easier for them to stay rich or become richer. Yes to longer patents! Yes to taxes or levies or barriers to entry for technologies that threaten their own! Some US states are in the process of passing laws that make it illegal for Tesla to sell cars directly to consumers. Why? Do these states hate the free market? Do they hate electric cars? Do they hate innovation? No, none of that. It's because car dealerships are big campaign contributors. That's how Rich Guy Team really feels about regulations. "BAH! Too much red tape!" It's really just sloganeering, isn't it? "Electrolytes! They're what plants crave!" -k

Of course, Shady. I think the point Argus is making is that it's false to think that corporations would hire more people if they just had more money. For reasons that both you and Argus have just explained. You clearly understand that... so perhaps you should go back to Elephant Team HQ and explain it to the rest of the gang. -k

Wow, what has gotten into the Bengals?! -k

I tried samples of a couple of Alexander Keith's new single-hops beers recently. One (a German hops) was pretty good, but the other (forgot what it was called) was just too citrusy. Tasted like somebody zested a whole lemon into the beer. -k

"Let's scrap these job-killing regulations!" and "Let's unshackle our job-creators!" are good slogans. They appeal to regular folks who think "Yeah, if it wasn't for all these stupid laws about protecting spotted owls and quotas for hiring wheelchair people, companies could create more jobs for guys like me!" But the regulations that the corporations are concerned with aren't about protecting spotted owls or quotas on wheelchair people, they're rules about getting more money out of the country without paying taxes on it and rules that are supposed to the finance industry from screwing up the economy like they did last time. I think that if you asked most supporters of scrapping regulations what regulations they actually want scrapped, the only answer they'd have for you is "whichever ones prevent companies from hiring more people." Ask them about a specific regulation, whether it be rules for banks and finance, or workplace standards, or environmental standards, or whatever, and they'll probably think the regulation is actually a good idea. -k

I had actually not heard "Perfect Day" prior to it being featured in the current TV ads for the Playstation 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsgQw5EToE4 As with Angus, I never cared for Lou Reed, but I can understand that he's respected. Even though he's not among my favorites, he's been on my stereo a lot recently as he contributed vocals to the chorus of this song from last year's Metric record: -k