riddler

I'd like to make it clear that I voted for Obama in the first election, but not the second, because I was against his erosion of our personal rights (NDAA 2012, for example). However, I think this was a painful sacrifice for Obama. In my opinion, the POTUS does not have the authority to do anything and everything he wants (despite the law). It's the unfortunate political-economic reality of our times that there are controlling interests in the US government that can effectively remove power from the Commander in Chief. And Obama DID promise more transparency. In my opinion, he has been arranging for that - revealing more of what the government is doing (CIA drone strikes, NSA monitoring, etc). I believe these are things he does not have direct control over (despite what the law says), due to the power factions in the US Government. I believe that he is allowing that information to finally come out. These things happened under Bush Jr. (and likely previous POTUS). But Obama wants the American public to know about them. Unfortunately, that means he will also be taking the blame for them. I think Obama actually deserves a great deal of credit for, what I perceive as, sacrificing himself politically, so that Americans can know the truth. The correct thing to do is rally, politically, against these tactics, and ensure that these actions are stopped. But that requires the government, first, to acknowledge them (which Obama has done), and that paves the way for others to campaign on them and attempt to end them. Edited to add: This is only my personal conspiracy theory, and is not based on any evidence. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Explaining a joke is like dissecting a frog. You understand it better but the frog dies in the process. - EB White Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

"Can Feds Get'M?" Never go full redneck. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Ice cream! Ice cream! Ice cream! Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Why do people even question the accuracy of Idiocracy? To me, it's like Darwinian evolution; it may not be absolutely true, but it's the best theory out there right now. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

The answer is that it depends on where you threw the squirrel out. If it was in Texas, it would land safely, then be shot by someone who would slap it on the barbeque. If it was in California, it would land safely in the middle of a group of Earth-First, singing "Welcome, Home". When you landed PETA would shout obscenities at you through a megaphone, and the sheriff would have to cite you for cruelty to animals, so it looks to the media like they are doing something useful. Johnnie Chochran would offer to defend you under the premise that the squirrel jumped by itself, and you were an unfortunate by-stander. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Another one of my favorites http://gawker.com/ski-towns-most-exciting-incident-in-years-high-speed-476825008 Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

The first entry is one Jeremiah Hartline, who stole a big-rig truck full of strawberries from a weigh station, and proceeded down a California highway, swerving wildly to shake off the zombies that were clinging to the side of the trailer. http://www.upi.com/blog/2013/05/14/Man-who-fled-zombies-pleads-guilty/1761368538838/ Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Not one sound-byte of lightning sand or flame spurt in the trailer? Color me disappointed! Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Come to think of it, haven't seen Remi post in a bit. I can see him now, talking to the Feds ... "I just went over there to party a bit, you know, have a good time ..." Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I was doing some chores and left my 4 and 6 year old girls to play by themselves this morning. They used chairs to climb way up into the upper cupboards and found makeup that someone gave them for a present about a year ago. I saw my oldest covered with makeup, thought it was cute. She said she put some on the youngest, too. Cute. Then she proceeds to tell me how they "decorated" the bathroom with it. WHAT? I go downstairs, and my bathroom is painted in pink sparkly powder that smells like bubblegum. Walls, sink, toilet, floor, TP. Everywhere! Thank god for anti-depressants. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Doctor goes coal-mining. Finds diamond. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I'd take skydivers over "normal" folk any day! I know who's got my back, and they know I got theirs. That having been said, my two daughters are going nowhere near a DZ Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Same thing happened two jobs ago. Girl that started working after me got promoted to manager (not my manager). Then she started making stuff up about me, throwing tantrums at me, blah, blah. Management always believed her. This was the same job that they hired the "motivational speaker" that said all employees are either "stars, puppies, rats or terrorists" and that you have to "drown the rats and shoot the terrorists". lol Two months later they laid off 85% of the staff, which was surprising to most of us (I suspect not management). My theory is that they were trying to make people quit before they had to pay them severance, and/or possibly sued. Several people did quit and there is now one pending lawsuit that I am aware of. I stuck around to see if I could keep neutral and still produce good work, and ended up getting three weeks severance. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Wait, are you implying that some skydivers are not mentally stable? OMG, some of them could be murderers (I personally know two, not naming names), felons (too many to count), drug abusers (who isn't?) and animal rapists. OK, I don't know any skydiving animal rapists (other than Clay), but I'm starting to think that this sport attracts a certain percentage of people on "the fringe". Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Sounds like the Chinese youth are becoming more Americanized every day. We need to send LawRocket over to China and start some Personal Injury lawsuits. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I bought a miniature violin for my two girls. They like playing it for about 3 minutes. Then I turn on Rock Band, and we jam for about an hour Well, they are playing "instruments" and singing, so I hope it gives them a love of music. I'm hoping to graduate them to more formal instruction as they get older. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

The worst are the telemarketers that claim to be "for charity", when they are taking the majority of the cash and giving a pittance away. In this case, an out-of-state "charity", which kept 85% of the revenue Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Congratulations! Nothing better in this world than having kids

Darn! Verizon or Google better make Denver next, is all I can say Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/11725/Rick_Nielsen.jpg Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I would. I would laugh. And laugh. And laugh. I guess I'm kinda mean Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Ahem ... Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of smart people buying guns (and magazines). But there are a lot of people that can't get past vague generalities "Obama's takin' all our guns!", so they drive up the demand of everything out of irrational fear. It happened after the 2008 election, and then Obama made it easier to get guns. Magazines are in the same boat as ammo. Cost is high now, they'll make more, and when the supply catches up to demand, prices will drop again. The only thing that would stop that is a federal law against certain magazine sizes. That could happen, but it's unlikely; as long as one State keeps them legal, manufacturers will still make them and they'll be legally or illegally imported to other States. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Right. Even the title of this thread is misleading. It's not an "ammo shortage", it's a "ammo demand spike". Same thing happened when Obama was elected. So far, all of this has proven two things to me: 1. When some nutters with guns go crazy and kill a bunch of people, the government makes up laws that will have zero impact on nutters with guns, but make it more expensive for sane people with guns (fees for background checks, registering hi-cap mags, tax on bullets), and more expensive for sane people without guns (enforcing otherwise unenforceable laws with your tax money). 2. When the US government makes silly laws that have no impact on crime, the citizens of the US become retarded and fuel demand for things that aren't even related to those silly laws. Such as buying a whole bunch of ammo that isn't even targeted (hint, try buying .223 or .308, not handgun ammo). Or buying ammo, when they should be buying larger magazines. Or buying handguns, when they should be buying the soon-to-be-outlawed semi-auto rifles. So, we have a government that does things which make no sense, and is governing a people which does things that make no sense. Is anyone surprised by this? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD