May 31, 2016

The Poet Laureate of Bernie Porn Does Not Want To Talk To The Beast

Every candidate gets the surrogate he deserves, and Bernie Sanders has H.A. Goodman, a dedicated, secretive supporter who’s become a cable TV staple and a near legend among the campaign press corps, which celebrates each new missive from the man who’s been called “the poet laureate” of “Bernie porn.”

When supporters of Bernie Sanders turned a normally placid state party convention into a chair-tossing riot, one that included death threats against the party chair, H.A. Goodman took to YouTube.

Wearing a polo shirt and glaring down at the camera below, Goodman said it was time for Hillary Clinton and her supporters to face facts and rally around the inevitable nominee—Sanders. If the party was descending into chaos, blame not the young supporters of the Socialist insurgent, but the establishment hacks blinded by their lust for the power.

“There are probably millions of examples online of Hillary supporters intimidating, bullying, berating and attacking Bernie Sanders supporters,” Goodman said beneath two framed water colors in the room where he shoots most of his legion of video commentaries, which appears to be in his Los Angeles-area home. “So the whole Bernie Bro myth is actually reversed. The most condescending, the most aggressive, the meanest people online, and also the most entitled people are Hillary supporters. They can’t even imagine not voting for someone not under criminal FBI investigation.”

For nearly 20 minutes Goodman goes on like this: It is Hillary Clinton who is propping up extremists, it is Bernie Sanders who is the front-runner and who would stand a better chance of beating Donald Trump in November if only the Democratic Party power base would listen, never mind that Clinton has an insurmountable lead in delegates and has won millions of more votes.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/05/31/the-poet-laureate-of-bernie-porn-does-not-want-to-talk-to-the-beast.html

May 26, 2016

The huge price tag for missing warnings of L.A. teachers abusing students: $300 million

In a recent court hearing, one young man after another claimed that former Franklin High football coach Jaime Jimenez befriended them during summer practice before 9th grade, then sexually abused them.

But it’s not the allegations against Jimenez that are at the center of a lawsuit filed this month against the Los Angeles Unified School District. It’s about whether school officials once again missed — or ignored — warning signs about Jimenez that prolonged the alleged abuse.

The nation's second-largest school system has been plagued in recent years by a series of cases in which officials missed indications of teacher misconduct, and in some instances, continued to employ teachers who were under a cloud, or ignored or overlooked direct complaints. The result is a trail of victimized students and massive payouts to victims and attorneys that have surpassed $300 million in just the last four years.

The district paid $40 million related to abuse at Telfair Elementary School after plaintiffs claimed the district overlooked earlier molestation allegations made against a teacher. The settlement was $58 million in the case of a George De La Torre Elementary School teacher, who faced numerous accusations of touching students that the district ignored. The biggest payout -- $200 million -- came after revelations that the district knew of complaints dating back to 1983 about a Miramonte Elementary School teacher accused of abusing numerous students in his classroom.

"Districts are not liable for criminal acts," said attorney Mary Jo McGrath, who has advised school districts and conducted investigations for them. "They are liable for what they did not do.”

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-la-unified-payouts-for-sex-abuse-20160525-snap-story.html

Holy damn this is some Catholic Church-level negligence going on here...

May 26, 2016

I have a nominee for induction into the BerniBro Hall of Fame:

Bill Clinton Gets Into 30-Minute Debate With A 24-Year-Old Bernie Fan

SANTA FE, N.M. — Five different times, aides tried to drag him away from the booth where Josh Brody, a 24-year-old supporter of Bernie Sanders, was holding forth about all that had gone wrong in the 1990s: welfare, NAFTA, Wall Street.

“Other people are waiting,” one staffer said, stepping forward.

“I think we’re gonna agree to disagree here, guys,” he tried again.

“All right, Mr. President. These folks are waiting,” a second aide said.

But for more than 30 minutes, Bill Clinton stayed to argue every point, turning a routine retail stop at Tia Sophia’s, a Mexican restaurant here in Santa Fe, into a one-on-one debate with Brody, a recent graduate of New York’s New School, who said he supported Hillary Clinton’s Democratic challenger. “For the next few weeks — then I’ll be a Stein supporter,” he added of Green Party candidate Jill Stein.

The encounter on Wednesday was emblematic of a presidential election driven by questions about the politics of the 1990s — and the legacy of the Clinton years. On the campaign trail, when confronted with a voter on the rope line or a heckler in the crowd, Clinton is often unwilling to let his record go undefended.

The conversation here began when Clinton approached Brody’s booth. The young Sanders supporter, a Santa Fe native, appeared to decline a handshake with the former president, instead posing a question about “aid to families with dependent children.”

https://www.buzzfeed.com/rubycramer/bill-clinton-ends-up-in-30-minute-debate-vs-a-24-year-old-be?utm_term=.es3vpJdNr#.efQaOq72A

So a Berniestan who was playing with his fucking Legos and Power Rangers during the Clinton era wants to lecture WJC about his presidency? How on EARTH does he even walk with balls this fucking big? And real classy declining his handshake, asshole...

I can only come down on him so hard, though... I remember when I was 24 and knew everything there was to know about everything, and nobody could tell me shit. Hopefully someday this kid grows the fuck up and realizes how much of a bellend he was.

Any of our newer posters want to come forward and admit they were that guy? I can think of quite a few candidates...

May 26, 2016

Former Russian Prime Minister Caught on Camera Having Sex With Opposition Leader

Political campaigns in the U.S. can be dirty, but Russia just tipped the nasty meter—again.

On Saturday morning, a number of British newspapers—including Daily Mail and Mirror—broke the story to the West that some hours earlier glued millions of Russians to their television sets.

Mikhail Kasyanov, the former Minister of Finance and Prime Minister under Vladimir Putin, is a chairman of the opposition party, PARNAS (Party of People’s Freedom)—created long ago with the late Boris Nemtsov.

Mr. Kasyanov was caught in a scandal that will inevitably ruin not only his political aspirations, but also his family life.

Clips of a secretly taped 40-minute video were shown on the Kremlin-loyal NTV channel Kasyanov’s Day, in hopes of delivering another devastating blow to Mr. Putin’s rivals in the upcoming elections for the State Parliament Duma.

In the video, the former Prime Minister removes his usual sharp suit and expensive tie. Leaving his thick-framed glasses on, he goes to bed with his fellow party member and his personal political assistant, Natalia Pelevina. Mr. Kasyanov is 58, married and has two children.

Ms. Pelevina wears seductive lingerie and waits for him in bed.

http://observer.com/2016/04/former-russian-prime-minister-caught-on-camera-having-sex-with-opposition-leader/

May 25, 2016

Casey Anthony allegedly paid her lawyer with sex

Accused child-killer Casey Anthony paid her lawyer with sex, according to a report Tuesday.

A private investigator hired by Casey’s lawyer, Jose Baez, in her murder case claimed that he learned that Anthony was trading sex for legal representation after a TV show requested an interview with her that she didn’t want to do in 2008, according to the gossip website RadarOnline.

“[Baez] called the network saying they would have to take a raincheck, hung up the phone and said to Casey: ‘You now owe me three blowjobs,’ ” according to PI Dominic Casey, who Radar says gave the sworn testimony in January as part of a bankruptcy case.

The alleged shenanigans got worse as time went by because Anthony was broke, the private detective claims.

“The misconduct between Casey and Jose escalated,” the PI said, adding that he once “witnessed a naked Casey’’ run from Baez’s private chambers.

http://nypost.com/2016/05/24/casey-anthony-paid-her-lawyer-with-sex/

Do lawyers even accept that as payment??

May 25, 2016

A Letter to a Bernie-or-Bust Voter

A Letter to a Bernie-or-Bust Voter
I get it. I was just like you once.

In the year 2000, fresh out of college, I cast my second-ever presidential election vote for Ralph Nader. Later that night, I watched in horror as the contest between Al Gore and George W. Bush ended in an unprecedented electoral college toss-up, leading to a messy recount battle and the infamous Supreme Court decision Bush v. Gore. The chosen successor of a popular incumbent administration, Gore should have sailed to victory on the strength of the economy alone, yet he conceded the election to Bush, a candidate initially considered too unserious to be a true contender.

Gore lost Florida by 537 votes. Nader received almost 100,000 votes in Florida. And he actively campaigned in swing states, including Florida, in the lead-up to the election. If Nader had quit the race and thrown his support to the Democrats, we might be reminiscing about a Gore administration right now.

And I share the blame. Now, before you post mean things in the comments, let me clarify: I voted in New York state, which went blue in 2000, so my individual vote did not help swing the election. But I still feel complicit. I jumped on the Nader bandwagon and bought into a set of beliefs that seemed right to me at the time but were proven very wrong over the eight years that followed.

Chief among them, I thought that Gore and Bush were essentially indistinguishable. Carbon copies of each other. Both corporate insider candidates, beholden to big-money interests and out of touch with people struggling at the margins of the economy. I’m from the Rust Belt—I grew up near Cleveland—and I had seen factory closures turn a once-vibrant part of the country into a series of ghost towns. I blamed NAFTA and the Clinton administration’s failure to defend unions and stem the tide of outsourcing. In this and on other issues—welfare reform, prison sentencing—I thought the Clinton administration had bent so far backward to win over the right that it had lost its progressive conscience. The economy boomed during the Clinton years, but the gulf between the rich and poor, the haves and have-nots, only widened.

Nader voiced the discontent I was feeling. I was young and idealistic and wanted political revolution. It felt good to back a rabble-rouser, not the stiff, robotic Al Gore. I was annoyed with the Democrats for picking a predictable, incremental candidate who played not to the left, but to the mushy middle. I went to a Nader rally in NYC: Bill Murray, Michael Moore, and Susan Sarandon spoke. Eddie Vedder sang. I felt inspired, part of a movement to bring about real change, ready to cast my protest vote.


http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2016/05/a_letter_to_a_bernie_or_bust_voter.html

Said it much better than I could...

May 19, 2016

If you are active duty/retired military, PLEASE don't be this guy:

Virginia Beach veteran found guilty in American flag dispute with neighbor


John Parmele Jr. admitted he learned an expensive lesson. But he defended why he stole two American flags from his neighbor. The Navy vet said he took them from Mike Anderson last month because they were flown at night without being illuminated.

“I regret I did it now,” the 73-year-old said. “But I will not apologize because Mr. Anderson disrespects the flag. He disrespects veterans and he disrespects all Americans.”

District Court Judge Teresa Hammons found Parmele guilty Monday of trespassing, petty larceny and intentional damage to a monument after Anderson presented photos and video of the crime being committed. The judge suspended a 90-day jail sentence and ordered Parmele to reimburse Anderson $99.98 for the stolen items. She also ordered Parmele to stay off his neighbor’s property and to remain on good behavior for two years.

Anderson, who was accompanied in court by four other neighbors from the cul-de-sac in Laurel Cove where he and Parmele live, said he was pleased with the outcome but declined to discuss it. Parmele told the judge he took the flags because he could not put up with Anderson flying them against the federal flag code, which states that if a flag is not taken down at night, it should be illuminated. The code, however, is not enforceable.

?resize=1200%2C829

http://pilotonline.com/news/local/crime/virginia-beach-veteran-found-guilty-in-american-flag-dispute-with/article_0d13cd64-d191-5563-b4f0-1c1f8736ce6d.html

May 18, 2016

We called up Bernie fans who threatened Nevada Dem Chair & asked them to explain themselves

...Soon afterwards, Lange’s cellphone number was posted online, and the local offices were vandalized. In a formal letter of complaint written to the Democratic National Committee, the Nevada Democratic Party said Lange has received hundreds of insulting and often threatening calls and texts. The letter said, too, that they feared the same behavior will happen again at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia in July.

As Stassa notes, many Sanders supporters condemned what happened at the Nevada convention and the threats against Lange. The Nevada Dems, though, placed the blame squarely on Sanders’ camp, drawing no distinction between the campaign itself and its supporters:

We write to alert you to what we perceive as the Sanders Campaign’s penchant for extra-parliamentary behavior—indeed, actual violence—in place of democratic conduct in a convention setting, and furthermore what we can only describe as their encouragement of, and complicity in, a very dangerous atmosphere that ended in chaos and physical threats to fellow Democrats. Indeed, the threats to the Chair of the Nevada State Democratic Party are ongoing at time of this writing, as Sanders activists have posted her cell phone and home address online, and have bombarded her with threats to her life and the safety of her family. We have attached some examples of this conduct, which is not merely offensive but obviously criminal in nature. We can provide audio of threatening phone calls made directly to the Chair, which now number in the hundreds.

The state party also released a Dropbox folder that had links to some of the texts and voicemails Lange received.

In these voicemails, she is called a cunt and a bitch, and many callers express hopes that she’s seriously harmed. “Praying to god someone shoots you in the FACE,” one says, “and blows your democracy-stealing head off!” Another called for her to be “hung in a public execution.”

http://theslot.jezebel.com/we-called-up-bernie-fans-who-threatened-nevada-dem-stat-1777177985

May 18, 2016

Get Control, Senator Sanders, or Get Out

Violence. Death threats. Vile, misogynistic names screamed at women. Rage. Hatred. Menacing, anonymous phone calls to homes and offices. Public officials whisked offstage by security agents frightened of the growing mob. None of this has any place in a political campaign. And the candidate who has been tolerating this obscene behavior among his supporters is showing himself to be unfit for office.

So, Senator Sanders, either get control of what is becoming your increasingly unhinged cult or get out of the race. Whatever respect sane liberals had for you is rapidly dwindling, and the damage being inflicted on your reputation may be unfixable. If you can’t even manage the vicious thugs who act in your name, you can’t be trusted to run a convenience store, much less the country.

When Bernie Sanders launched his presidential campaign, he seemed to be the kind of candidate who would inspire voters from the liberal blocs of the Democratic Party, push the party leftward and influence the future direction of politics—either as the nominee or as a force for change. But Sanders has increasingly signaled that he is in this race for Sanders, and day after day shows himself to be a whining crybaby with little interest in a broader movement. His vicious—and often ridiculous—attacks on the party whenever he doesn’t win a contest have inspired a level of ignorant fanaticism among a large swath of his supporters that is becoming more akin to what might be seen at an out-of-control rally for Donald Trump. Signs are emerging that the Sanders campaign is transmogrifying into the type of movement through which tyrants are born.

The ugly was on display at the recent state convention of the Nevada Democratic Party, where Hillary Clinton won more delegates than Sanders. Now, this should hardly have been a surprise to anyone except the Sandernistas, whose certainty in their righteousness has overwhelmed any commitment they may have ever had to democracy. Sanders lost the Nevada caucuses in February by more than 5 percent. A rational person who cared about the will of the people would presume that Clinton would emerge from the state with the most delegates. But Sanders supporters were outraged—outraged!—that the person with the largest number of votes ended up with the largest share of delegates.

http://www.newsweek.com/bernie-sanders-get-control-get-out-race-461195

May 16, 2016

'You want a description of hell?’ OxyContin’s 12-hour problem

The drugmaker Purdue Pharma launched OxyContin two decades ago with a bold marketing claim: One dose relieves pain for 12 hours, more than twice as long as generic medications.

Patients would no longer have to wake up in the middle of the night to take their pills, Purdue told doctors. One OxyContin tablet in the morning and one before bed would provide “smooth and sustained pain control all day and all night.”

When Purdue unveiled OxyContin in 1996, it touted 12-hour duration.

On the strength of that promise, OxyContin became America’s bestselling painkiller, and Purdue reaped $31 billion in revenue.

But OxyContin’s stunning success masked a fundamental problem: The drug wears off hours early in many people, a Los Angeles Times investigation found. OxyContin is a chemical cousin of heroin, and when it doesn’t last, patients can experience excruciating symptoms of withdrawal, including an intense craving for the drug.

The problem offers new insight into why so many people have become addicted to OxyContin, one of the most abused pharmaceuticals in U.S. history.

http://static.latimes.com/oxycontin-part1/