Overnight Open Thread (12-7-2015)

Quote of the Day I

Two things happen whenever Democrats talk about gun control: more people buy guns, fewer elected Democrats have jobs

-- Sean Davis

Quote of the Day II

Nothing has changed. After declaring the Islamic State "contained" a day before the Paris attacks and assuring Americans a day before the San Bernadino, Calif., massacre that the United States was safe from a Paris-style attack, Obama is "staying the course."

-- Marc Thiessen

Quote of the Day III

The Democratic party's dramatic slide into naked authoritarianism - voting in the Senate to repeal the First Amendment, trying to lock up governors for vetoing legislation, and seeking to jail political opponents for holding unpopular views on global warming, etc. - has been both worrisome and dramatic. The Democrats even have a new position on the ancient civil-rights issue of due process, and that position is: "F- you."

-- Kevin D. Williamson

Did Obama Actually Admit that San Bernardino, Ft. Hood, and Chattanooga Were Terrorist Attacks? Maybe Not

Neo-neocon carefully parses the words in his speech -

Over the last few years, however, the terrorist threat has evolved into a new phase. As we've become better at preventing complex, multifaceted attacks like 9/11, terrorists turned to less complicated acts of violence like the mass shootings that are all too common in our society. It is this type of attack that we saw at Fort Hood in 2009; in Chattanooga earlier this year; and now in San Bernardino.

and concludes that he deliberately chose them in order to give the impression that he was calling them terrorism while not actually doing so.

True Fact: In 2015 alone, France suffered more casualties from gun violence than the U.S. has suffered during Obama's entire presidency

The One Person on the No-Fly List Known to Have Killed Someone

Wounded Soldier to Get First Penis Transplant in America

The United States' first penis transplant will be performed for a veteran returning from Afghanistan who suffered damage to his sexual organ.

Surgeons at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland say that within the next several months they will take an organ from a deceased donor and giving it to the soldier, according to the New York Times.

The Department of Defense reports that 1,367 men - mostly under 35 years of age - suffered genital wounds from 2001 to 2013, largely as the result of improvised explosive devices in Iraq and Afghanistan.

And it won't be just for show - doctors expect it to function as well. [insert Bruce Jenner's wang joke here]

Court: 'Repugnant' Online Discussions Aren't A Crime

"We are loathe to give the government the power to punish us for our thoughts and not our actions. That includes the power to criminalize an individual's expression of sexual fantasies, no matter how perverse or disturbing. Fantasizing about committing a crime, even a crime of violence against a real person whom you know, is not a crime." The court also addressed the government's questionable efforts to use the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to increase the severity of Valle's punishment: "While the Government might promise that it would not prosecute an individual for checking Facebook at work, we are not at liberty to take prosecutors at their word in such matters."

Bookworm on Happiness as a Decision

As you've no doubt realized, my parents were typical of the European war generation, as well as being typical for a majority of the Jews who lived in Israel during the time of the War of Liberation. Theirs was a life of high stress, high fear, deprivation, and a general failure to achieve life goals. What was sad was that, even though my parents ultimately enjoyed a somewhat stable, albeit financially precarious middle class existence, in a nice little home, with good friends, and reasonably decent children, these things were never enough to offset the strong sense of loss, fear, and anger that had permeated their young lives. They did not know how to be happy.

Of course, they weren't always unhappy. They laughed at a good movie, had lovely evenings out with friends, liked some TV shows, read good books, and were often proud of, and definitely loved, their children. But happiness was an intermission to lives that both my parents viewed as depressing, difficult, and unpleasant. Add to that a seemingly common European habit of cynicism and existential despair, and you end up with a high-functioning house in which the children never learn gratitude, to count their blessings, or that true emotional resilience means more than just surviving.

I have spent the past 14 years of my life trying to learn a different template. If you're wondering why I can date my new template with such precision, it's because of my children. And it's not because they brought me happiness; it's because, at least in the beginning, they brought me misery. They made me miserable because they were the worst children in the world.

I recommend reading the whole thing and watching the video at the end as well.

'The Rest Is History. I Killed Him.' The True Story Behind 'Casino'

Meanwhile, "Lefty" had his own issues. On October 4, 1982, Rosenthal entered his vehicle outside of a restaurant and turned the ignition which triggered an explosive located underneath the car. The explosion did not go as planned, rocketing out of the rear of the vehicle instead of blowing up the interior. "Lefty" was burned and injured, but he survived. The theories surrounding the assassination attempt have revolved around a love triangle between "Lefty," Tony Spilotro, and Rosenthal's estranged wife Geri (sounds like Casino, right?). The other possibility is that the outfit was through with Rosenthal, after he had been expelled from his position at the Stardust.

As for Tony, in 1986, he was found in a grave in an Indiana cornfield, beaten to death along with his brother Michael. The murders were reconstructed on film in Casino.

The US Postal Service Will Now Email You Pictures of Your Mail

Okay sure I guess.

The US Postal Service is testing a "notification" service that emails customers images of the envelopes of their letter-size mail.

The service, called Informed Delivery, will send out an email to customers each morning with that day's mailbox contents. The images are only of the exterior front side, and the mail will not be opened.

NASA 'Moving On' From Low-Earth Orbit

And that may be a good thing. I've long argued that we need more space engineering and space commerce and a whole lot less space science.

True Fact: From 1995 to 2001 the McDonalds Monopoly Game Was Secretly Always Won by a Single Employee of the Company That Ran the Promotion

Feminist Sucks The Soul Right Out Of Poor Old Man

Okay I laughed.

Man Named Bud Weisser Arrested at Budweiser Brewery

I sense a marketing opportunity.

Beer Pong Video Could Send Infamous 'Affluenza' Teen to Jail

In 2013 16 year old Ethan Couch killed four people including a mother and daughter and a youth pastor when he crashed into their stalled vehicle while speeding with a BAC of 0.24. He was only given 10 years of probation after a psychologist testified that he was suffering from 'affluenza' since due to his family's great wealth and indulgent parenting he did not recognize any connection between his behavior and consequences. As part of his probation he was not allowed to drive, drink, or use drugs.

Marin college student fights criminal charges of drunk napping in class

If You Have to Go, Well You Could Do Worse: 91 year Old Woman Suffocates During Sex Game

(blame credit to Tim)

The Yahoo AoSHQ group - it's got electrolytes and shit.

And my twitter thang.

Tonight's post brought to you by photo taken by Japanese plane at beginning of attack on Pearl Harbor:

Notice: Posted by permission of AceCorp LLC. Toilets are for paying customers only.

posted by Maetenloch at 09:43 PM

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