Horrified Woman Snaps Photo Of Man Masturbating On NYC Subway: Conductor ‘Rolled His Eyes Annoyed’: Rattled straphanger complained that the train conductor seemed uninterested in the problem. There’s a time and a place for everything, but I don’t think the NYC subway system should ever be used for the purpose of a “morning jack.” (CBS New York)

Forget his 9/11 truther tirades — Here are 7 of Alex Jones’ most unhinged conspiracy theories: While many Americans will spend Sept. 11 remembering the people killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, others will presumably take the occasion to revisit their preferred conspiracy theories regarding them. Instead let’s take a tour of the best/worst/most deranged “theories” of Alex Jones. (Raw Story)

Legendary experimental composer/singer Meredith Monk receives National Medal Of Arts: Meredith Monk was honored with the National Medal Of Arts by President Obama at the National Humanities Medal Ceremony today. The medal is the highest honor in the United States specifically given for achievement in the arts. (FACT)

’A Carlin Home Companion’ for the hippest guy in the room: ‘He was born when the world was ready for him – he never took that for granted’ Salon talks to the legendary comedian’s daughter Kelly about her new memoir and growing up with George Carlin. (Salon)

This Is Art: James Franco Does Himself While Dressed Up As Walter White And Carrie Bradshaw: The image of James Franco doing James Franco in bad drag is stuck in the deep parts of my brain. (Dlisted)

Peter Capaldi wants David Bowie and Keith Richards to guest star in Doctor Who: Actor also reveals he is a big fan of ‘new wave music and rock and roll.’ (NME)

Scott Walker plunges in the polls in Iowa: The Wisconsin governor, once at the top in Iowa, is now badly trailing Trump, Carson and many others. THREE PERCENT! Yeah, once voters got a better look at this fucking idiot, who could possibly take this goober seriously as the leader of the free world? Funny how that works. (Politico)

Shitty Under the Dome finale marks the end of the stupidest TV series since Heroes: In the end who gives a shit about all of the unanswered questions and loose ends? This show sucked! (AV Club)

Genetically modified vegetables might end food poisoning: Producing antimicrobial proteins to kill E. coli (Popular Science)

Bernie Sanders: ‘Not Acceptable’ To Jail Young Pot Smokers And Let Big Bank CEOs Walk: He thinks it’s time to start locking up the real criminals... (Huffington Post)

Love and Death in New Orleans, a Decade After Hurricane Katrina: Ten years after the storm, there’s still a city at the mouth of the Mississippi. Just not the same one. Must-read, award-winning journalism from Charles P. Pierce. (Esquire)

Kim Davis is the new face of the religious right extremism: Angry, marginalized and increasingly desperate: As their numbers dwindle and their cultural influence wanes, Evangelicals are seizing power any way they can. (Salon)

6 GOP Candidates To Speak At Event Hosted By Conservative Who Believes Women Belong In The Kitchen: A Republican presidential nominee hasn’t won the women’s vote since 1988. While most of the candidates vying for the GOP nomination this year say they support women’s rights, a large number of them will speak at an event this weekend hosted by a group that opposes feminism, equal pay, and allowing women in combat. (Think Progress)

Below, an episode of Rich Fulcher’s Questionable Science asks “What If Sneezing Were Racist?”

 
Remembering Jabberjaw, the kitschy coffee house and defiant music venue: Beloved LA indie music institution gets the coffee table book treatment with It All Dies Anyway: L.A., Jabberjaw, and the End of an Era from Rizzoli. (Los Angeles Times)

The War on Women Is Over—and Women Lost: While you weren’t watching, conservatives fundamentally rewrote abortion laws. (Mother Jones)

Inside John Lennon, Keith Moon And Alice Cooper’s Legendary Hollywood Drinking Club: What did it take to join the Hollywood Vampires, besides a death wish and an inexhaustible bar tab? (NME)

The GOP’s new Iran deal plan is cynical, dishonest, and politically brilliant: Republican lawmakers, having lost the battle to block the Iran nuclear deal in Congress, appear to be considering a new strategy: turn the deal into a never-ending political circus. (Vox)

Trump Brings His Breathtaking Cynicism to the Gathering of the Unhinged: He surely knows the assortment of loons and nutcases at Wednesday’s rally for what they are, but he toed the line all the same. (Esquire)

28 Republican Men Threaten Government Shutdown Over Planned Parenthood: They won’t vote to fund the federal government if the bill includes any money for the family planning provider. (Huffington Post)

The terrifying reason Donald Trump is winning: The infantilized conservative base wants rage, not ideas: Jeb thinks he can beat Trump by attacking his liberal past. He clearly doesn’t understand the nature of this beast. (Salon)

Sandra Bullock’s New Boyfriend Is A Dog Shit Vigilante:  Do not abandon doggie feces in front of Bryan Randall. If he sees you not picking some up, he’ll pick it up for you and then smear it all over your door. (Dlisted)

Implanted sponges soak up cancer cells: Better to stop cancer before it spreads. (Popular Science)

Stop Comparing Donald Trump And Bernie Sanders: A lot of people are linking the candidacies of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump under headings like “populist” and “anti-establishment.” Most of these comparisons are too cute for their own good. (FiveThirtyEight)

Three children found dead in van across street from Los Angeles school: Three children were found dead on Wednesday in a van across the street from an elementary school in Los Angeles, and a man at the scene with stab wounds was taken to a hospital, police said. (CBS Los Angeles)

GOP House Speaker John Boehner will have a rare private one-on-one meeting with Pope Francis during his visit to the Capitol: Boehner, a devout Catholic, has been on a 20-year mission to bring a pope to address Congress. What will he do if the Pope tells him that he thinks Republicans are evil? (Politico)

Husband bites estranged wife’s nose off and eats it after she fails to return his calls: Enraged, her husband stormed into her work the following day and attacked her, biting off her nose and then swallowing it. (The Independent)

Thief Steals Andy Warhol Paintings And Replaces Them With Fakes: The problem is, the swap could have taken place at any time since the late 1980s. (CBS Los Angeles)

Mike Kelley’s “Little Friend” commercial:

 
Police: Man Finds Wife Naked In Bed With Her Dad, Gets Stabbed By Father-In-Law: Now that is what you call very bad luck. (CBS Detroit)

Top Ten Reasons Trump Wins the GOP Nomination: He’s the best horse in an extremely weak field. The rest of them are midgets compared to him and they know it, he knows it and everybody else knows it, too. (AlterNet)

Warren Buffett: I ‘admire’ Bernie Sanders: Sen. Sanders (I-Vermont) has a something of a surprising new fan. (Business Insider)

New research suggests that nearly half of all U.S. adults have diabetes or prediabetes: 40% of Americans have elevated blood sugar levels that could lead to full-fledged disease. The instance of the disease in the general population has skyrocketed since the 1980s. (Associated Press)

Hillary Clinton Turned Down An Offer To Appear On Colbert’s Premiere: In favor of doing Jimmy Fallon? WTF? (Talking Points Memo)

Boehner’s future as speaker in doubt: The Republican leader faces a grueling next few months, and even allies believe this will be his last term atop the GOP conference. (Politico)

Chris Christie: I would bring back stop-and-frisk: The more I hear from the NJ governor, the more I hate him. (CNN)

Donald Trump removes the punctuation from Jeb! in blistering new campaign ad: “Need some low energy?” Trump’s ad asks before recommending Jeb “for all your sleeping needs.” Is this the first time a candidate’s virility has been ridiculed in a political ad? Mean, but funny! (Salon)

Does the Sanders surge pose a serious threat to Hillary? Howard Dean weighs in: “Bernie is a real phenomenon, not just a quirk of the polls.” (Washington Post)

Why Capital Is Fleeing China: The Crushing Costs of Systemic Corruption: What China will be left with is a poisoned land stripped of talent and capital. (Of Two Minds)

Homeopathy conference ends in chaos after delegates take hallucinogenic drug: Broadcaster NDR described the 29 men and women “staggering around, rolling in a meadow, talking gibberish and suffering severe cramps”. Tests on their blood and urine revealed they had all taken hallucinogenic drug 2C-E, which is known as “Aquarust” in Germany and has been illegal there since the end of last year. (The Independent)

Brian Johnson Discusses Possibility of AC/DC’s Retirement: AC/DC survived the sudden departure of co-founding member Malcolm Young, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t considered calling it quits. “Y’know, retirement is like anything,” Brian Johnson says. “A good footballer, a good ice hockey player, they don’t want to retire, but unfortunately sometimes there’s a time when you have to call it quits.” (Ultimate Classic Rock)

Below, the video for Lionlimb’s “Turnstile” single out September 18, 2015 on Bayonet Records. The first 100 copies of the Turnstile 7” come with an original drawing by Stewart Bronaugh (aka Lionlimb) as seen in this clip.

 
Quentin Tarantino: The Complete Syllabus of His Influences and References: From Reservoir Dogs to Django Unchained, the master list. (New York)

‘It’s now or never’: Texts reveal teen’s efforts to pressure boyfriend into suicide: Michelle Carter knew that if anyone found her text messages to her boyfriend Conrad Roy III, she might go to jail.“[If the police] read my messages with him I’m done. His family will hate me and I can go to jail. File under “deeply disturbing.” (Washington Post)

Paranoid history of the GOP: How conspiracy theories poisoned the Republican Party: Wingnuts have become increasingly reliant on reality-defying paranoia. Here’s how it happened. (Salon)

Meet the Republican Who Launched the ‘Ready for Kanye’ PAC: ‘A party that can openly accept Donald Trump has room for Kanye West,’ says 24-year-old Ready for Kanye founder Eugene Craig. (Rolling Stone)

Mystery ‘zombie’ drug used in Paris muggings: Two women have been arrested after allegedly using a substance with similar effects to Colombia’s infamous Devil’s Breath ‘zombie drug’ to rob elderly Parisians. That substance contains scopolamine, a toxin found in plants of the Datura genus found in the South American country. It can cause severe and frightening hallucinations that last for a long, long time. What a fucked up thing to do to old people. (The Local)

Death of Justin Bieber-lookalike reveals a sadder tale: Man who had surgery to look like the pop singer was found dead in a San Fernando Valley motel room. (Los Angeles Times)

Bernie Sanders to appear on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: I’ll tune in for that. Poor Martin O’Malley can’t even get booked with James Corden. (Deadline Hollywood)

Carbon dating suggests ‘world’s oldest’ Koran is even older than the Prophet Muhammad: Tests suggest that the book was produced between 568 and 545 A.D., said scientists at the University of Oxford, but Islamic scholars generally believe Muhammad lived between 570 and 632 A.D. (The Raw Story)

Jeb! To Trump: You’re Not A Real Republican: The inevitable Jeb v. Trump action is heating up. Prediction: This will not end well for “low energy loser” Jeb! Bush. (Talking Points Memo)

Kentucky clerk defies US Supreme Court and denies marriage licenses to same-sex couples ‘under God’s authority’: The top court ruled Monday evening that Kim Davis, the Rowan County clerk, could not be excused from following the law on religious grounds. Isn’t it time for the Governor to step in and simply fire this ugly, lemon-faced Christianist bigot? WHY does this clown still have a job? (The Raw Story)

Tutankhamun’s penis was fully ERECT when he was mummified so he would look like a god in afterlife: The world’s most famous mummy was buried with his penis standing at a 90 degree angle. It is theorized that the upright penis broke off after the discovery of the tomb, despite speculation that it was stolen. And then later the dickless boy king’s cadaver was displayed for millions of moderns to gawk at. (Daily Mirror)

Steve Martin performs his 1978 novelty hit “King Tut” on Saturday Night Live. I’m guessing he’d have added another chorus about the missing phallus had this been known at the time.

 
Young goths ‘at risk of depression’: Young people who identify as goths may be at increased risk of depression and self-harm, a study suggests.
Researchers could not fully explain the link, but suggest a tendency for goths to distance themselves from society could play a part. (BBC News)

The Way of the Doofus Warrior or ‘The Art of the War,’ Trump style: Donald Trump, military genius or crazy like a fox, or both? (Talking Points Memo)

Trump Kept Hitler’s Speeches by his Bed: Says Only Short Jews Can Count His Money, Not Blacks: “If I had these speeches, and I am not saying that I do, I would never read them.”(Ring of Fire)

Vatican’s No. 1 Pervert Priest Dies Suddenly in Vatican City: After raping boys and keeping child porn at the Vatican, Josef Wesolowski was set to stand trial for his sins. Now his fate will be left to a higher power. (The Daily Beast)

Business owners try to remove all voters from business district, but they forgot one college student: University of Missouri student Jen Henderson, alone, will get to decide whether or not to approve the a sneaky sales tax increase. (Daily Kos)

Transgender porn quickly growing in popularity: While many Americans might say Caitlyn Jenner’s much-watched interview with Diane Sawyer was their introduction to the transgender community, the adult entertainment industry says transgender porn has been a big seller for years—and it’s getting bigger. (CNBC)

Sanders to push Dems to rebel against establishment: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) plans to tell the Democratic National Committee (DNC) that the party needs an anti-establishment approach to be successful in 2016 elections. When the presidential candidate speaks at the DNC’s summer meeting Friday in Minneapolis, he will tell them that “if Democrats want to keep the White House and recapture Congress and make gains in statehouses, then establishment politics won’t do it,” according to CNN. (The Hill)

Jindal Letter To Obama: Please Don’t Mention Climate Change On Katrina Anniversary: If someone punched Bobby Jindal right in the face, I would laugh. What a fucking idiot. WHO told this fool he could become President? God? (Talking Points Memo)

Hawaii’s Governor Dumps Oil and Gas in Favor of 100% Renewables: An unlikely partnership between Hawaii’s local government and the US military makes the island a leader in energy policy. (The Nation)

The Troubling Decline of Financial Independence in America: If you can’t work for yourself and afford health insurance, something is seriously messed up. (Of Two Minds)

Marco Rubio’s trickle-down nonsense: Tax cuts for the rich make sense because his father was a bartender! His tax plan will make the rich richer and worsen inequality, but his dad was working-class so it’s okay? (Salon)

Below, the Flying Lizards do “Money (It’s What I Want)” on Holland’s TopPop TV show:

 
Nevada Sheriff’s Department Promises to Turn ‘Burning Man’ Festival into a Police State: The new sheriff is concerned about “non-violent crime” at the annual desert bash. What could he be talking about? (AlterNet)

Working with men is bad for your health, study shows: Ladies, take note: new research has found that working in a male-heavy environment is bad for you. Researchers from Indiana University Bloomington found that in industries which are highly sex-segregated such as science, tech and engineering, ‘token’ female employees showed chronic dysregulation in their levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. (The Independent)

Welcome to the naked city: sun, swingers and very little shoplifting: Modernism and naturism meld at the world’s biggest nude town, Cap d’Agde in France, which swells to 40,000 people in summer. Nothing exists on this scale anywhere else in the world. (The Guardian)

Miley Cyrus Goes Undercover to Find Out How Much People Hate Her: As one man told the singer, “The whole fabric of America is falling apart and she’s not doing anything to try to keep it together.” (Mediaite)

Why not Donald Trump?: Yes, Trump is basically executing a hostile takeover of the Republican Party. Is that supposed to make the civic-minded shudder? Does the Republican Party strike you as a particularly civic-minded organization? Is there any organization you can name more deeply deserving of being hostilely taken over in this manner? (The Week)

Almost None of the Women in the Ashley Madison Database Ever Used the Site: And I’ll just make a wild guess and say that the ones who do are probably doing so for professional reasons? (Gizmodo)

Ohio’s controversial abortion bill puts supposedly moderate Republican Governor John Kasich in an awkward spot: Would outlaw abortion for mothers carrying babies with Down syndrome but aborting a healthy fetus would still be legal, a confused notion if ever there was one. (The Economist)

Is porn addiction really a thing? Or it an attempt to medicalize religious dogma that forbids normal and healthy interest in sexual fantasies? (Slate)

What some of the richest people in America say about the poor when they think no one is listening: A Facebook page for tony Manhattan residents is a cesspool of racist vitriol and complaints about the homeless. (Salon)

Chris Christie Is Doing So Poorly That The Chris Christie Anti-Super PAC Just Folded: A Super PAC created just to oppose Christie’s bid for president has shut down its operations because Christie’s campaign is losing spirit and performing so horribly all on its own! Everybody hates Chris. I gotta tell it like it is. (Esquire)

Below, the Bee Gees do “Alive” on Dutch television’s long running TopPop series in 1972:

 
A peek inside Mr. Robot‘s Toolbox: The USA show concludes its powerful first season tonight. UPDATE: Mr. Robot‘s season finale will NOT air tonight after all, according to a statement of the show’s Facebook page: “The previously filmed season finale of Mr. Robot contains a graphic scene similar in nature to today’s tragic events in Virginia. Out of respect to the victims, their families and colleagues, and our viewers, we are postponing tonight’s episode. Our thoughts go out to all those affected during this difficult time.” The finale will air on Wednesday September 2. (Wired)

‘Dictator’ Jim Bob Duggar teaches his sons to repress their lust using THIS weird code word. This family is fucking nuts. (The Raw Story)

It’s not just Trump: Latinos should boycott the Republican party en masse: Donald Trump’s treatment of Univision’s Jorge Ramos is just the latest reason why Latino voters should unite to bring the party to its knees. (The Guardian)

GOP voters strongly favor marijuana reform, poll finds: See, Republicans are just like everybody else. Just stupider. (The Hill)

Schizophrenics have different throat bacteria: This could be helpful for new treatments, faster diagnoses, and figuring out what causes the disease in the first place. (PopSci)

The incredible animatronic sculptures of Thomas Kuntz: Fantastic animatronic mechanisms that recreate scenes from the best nightmares you’ve ever had. (bOING bOING)

Kansas seeks to block release of voting machine paper tapes: The top election official in Kansas has asked a Sedgwick County judge to block the release of voting machine tapes sought by a Wichita mathematician who is researching statistical anomalies favoring Republicans in counts coming from large precincts in the November 2014 general election. I wonder why? (KSN)

Why Fox News’ Defense Of Megyn Kelly Is Going To Backfire: Their viewers tend to be old, male and misogynist? (Talking Points Memo)

Slenderman Stabbing: If 12-year-olds Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser knew that the Internet character they worshipped was a fantasy, why did they want to kill their friend for him? Fascinatingly strange article, a “must read.”(New York)

Why so many Christians blame pornography for other sins like adultery: Because of Jesus? Kirk Cameron? It’s a super convenient excuse? (Vox)

North Dakota First State to Legalize Armed Drones for Cops: Free to fire tasers, tear gas from air. What could possibly go wrong? (The Daily Beast)

Bobby Jindal: No, I’m Not An ‘Anchor Baby’: Just a fucking idiot. (Talking Points Memo)

“Fadeout Killer” video from the latest release from Slim Twig, Thank You for Stickin’ with Twig, one of my very favorite albums of 2015 so far. In the top two. This guy is the real deal:

 
Bernie Sanders Surpasses Hillary Clinton In New Hampshire Poll: This is the second poll this month that shows him ahead of Clinton in the state. Beyond the margin of error. (Huffington Post)

What is a Red Sprite: Ghost? Alien? Carbonated beverage? (Popular Science)

Students protesting Alison Bechdel’s ‘Fun Home’: How clinging to “Christian moral beliefs” can end an education before it even begins: Duke University’s advance summer reading assignment is an award-winning graphic novel, not pornography. I reckon ‘Fun Home’ is the best thing that I read last year, it’s a truly amazing and moving piece of literature. These kids are fucking fucknuts and need to have their goody-two-shoes asses kicked. (Salon)

Nobody has been hurt by Trump more than Walker, who has seen his support drop nearly in half in the last month, to single digits: After his flat performance in the debate, he lost his longtime lead in Iowa. Maybe it’s because so many saw him for the very first time and wrote him off as a half-wit? I’m just sayin’. I mean, look at the guy. He’s the dictionary definition of “goober.” (Washington Post)

If Social Security Had Been In Private Accounts The Stock Market Drop Could Have Been A Disaster: Although Black Monday may have knocked a good deal of money out of people’s 401(k) retirement accounts, Social Security benefits remain by and large untouched by such fluctuations. Some Republicans, however, are interested in changing that. (Think Progress)

Former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke throws support behind Donald Trump: Duke, a self-described “racial realist” and notorious white nationalist, praised Trump during a wide-ranging tirade on his radio program, calling the surging real estate mogul a “good salesman” and “the best of the lot” of the large group of 2016 Republican presidential candidates. (NY Daily News)

Wall Street: We Have Too Much Stuff: What’s behind the turmoil on Wall Street? Fundamentally, we have too many resources, nobody wants them, and the people who are making them aren’t being paid enough. Clearly 21st century Capitalism isn’t the best way for societies to allocate resources. (The Daily Beast)

Donald Trump’s approval rating among Hispanic Americans is absolutely horrible: After Donald Trump suggested that all Mexican immigrants are rapists and criminals, he went on to insist that he “will win the Latino vote.” Well, Gallup’s survey results for the past month and a half are in, and Hispanic Americans have responded with a very clear “nope.” (Vox)

The Death of Friedrich Nietzsche: Julian Cope on the thorny problem of the German philosopher. (On This Deity)

This could change everything: Secretive California company advances towards unlimited fusion energy: Scientists using a machine the size of two city buses came one step closer to creating abundant, cheap, clean energy. (Raw Story)

Feeling the Bern with the youth vote: In an era of gridlock and systemic abuse, trust in the sanctity of the political process may be the most valuable gift a young voter can get. Bernie Sanders shows the kids what’s possible. (The New Yorker)

USA and Russia Can’t Even Agree on How to Handle Astronaut Pee: The International Space Station flies with two completely separate water systems. Drinking urine isn’t actually the main reason. (Bloomberg)

Pollster’s Legs Wobble After Fawning Donald Trump Focus Group: Republican pollster Frank Luntz asks media “You guys understand how significant this is? This is real. I’m having trouble processing it. Like, my legs are shaking. I want to put the Republican leadership behind this mirror and let them see. They need to wake up. They don’t realize how the grassroots have abandoned them,” Luntz continued. “Donald Trump is punishment to a Republican elite that wasn’t listening to their grassroots.” (TIME)

Below, Brian Eno performing “Seven Deadly Fins” on Dutch television, 1974:

 
Happy meals: The airport spiking food with ‘happy hormones’: Feeling stressed at the airport? London’s Gatwick Airport may have found a solution: They’ve started serving meals full of “happy hormones.” (CNN)

Bernie Sanders Takes Aim At ‘Greedy’ Koch Brothers: “For the life of me, I will never understand how a family like the Koch brothers, worth $85 billion, apparently think that’s not enough money.” (Huffington Post)

H&R Block snuck language into a Senate bill to make taxes more confusing for poor people: Awfully nice of them! (Vox)

Ben Carson says he’d consider being Trump’s running mate: And—ahem—“vice versa”! Yeah, right. I’d imagine that Trump probably has his own ideas that don’t include Ben Carson. (NY Post)

Howard Stern predicts Trump will win GOP nod: ‘People dig him’: “I’ll tell you why I think he’s going to be the nominee: He’s proven that no matter what he says, people dig him,” the SiriusXM radio host told listeners on Monday. (The Hill)

Despite Donald Trump’s immigration comments, GOP is actually gaining among non-whites: Hillary Clinton leads Trump by nine points among all respondents in CNN’s most recent poll, and Jeb! Bush by eight. In late June, she led Bush by 13 and Trump by 25. (Washington Post)

CNN host to anti-abortion GOPer: ‘Where does it stop’ if you can force us to carry Down Syndrome fetuses? Don’t ever change, Republican weenies. (Raw Story)

Satan worshipers drench women with milk in Planned Parenthood counter-protest: Clad in black robes, members of the Satanic Temple of Detriot drenched bound women with milk, simulating water-boarding to “illustrate the theocratic agenda imposed upon female bodies.” The milk symbolized breast milk, one of the protest organizers explained on Facebook. (Washington Examiner)

David Simon: Hyper-segregation is our national dynamic: The Wire creator David Simon on his newest mini-series and what drives white people “batsh*t, batsh*t crazy” (Salon)

Why the Bear market of 2015 Is Different from the Bear Market of 2008: Are there any conditions now that are actually better than those of 2008? (Of Two Minds)

Let’s Debunk the Nonsense in This Pathetic Ted Cruz Ad About Anti-Gay “Religious Liberty”: Even Trump isn’t bowing to gay bashing. If Cruz can be said to have any “constituents” outside of Texas, he clearly only appeals to dummies, bigots and, I dunno big Peter Lorre fans? The dud is a stone freak. (Slate)

“Del Ghosto” by Cellular Chaos. Directed by Admiral Grey:

 
Josh Duggar is a loathsome dipshit: Admits to porn addiction and being ‘unfaithful’ to wife: ‘I have been the biggest hypocrite ever.’ It pisses me off to even be typing his name. I don’t want to know anything about this man’s dumb life and yet I do. That’s just plain WRONG. Lord Jesus, make it stop! (Raw Story)

The Secretive Beach Retreat Where China Leaders Plot World Domination: Welcome to the beach resort where the Chinese Communist Party’s major players convene each year to set the country’s geopolitical and domestic agendas. (The Daily Beast)

Bernie Sanders Announces Bill to Abolish Private Prisons, Hints at Marijuana Policy Platform: Sanders isn’t done talking about criminal justice reform — in fact, he’s merely getting started. The presidential contender continues to rise in the polls and sensible Drug War reforms will only increase his standing with the Democratic base. (Marijuana Politics)

London’s sky pool will let the super-rich swim through the air: Developers in London are building what they claim is the world’s first “sky pool” — a 25-meter long swimming pool suspended 10 stories in the air between two blocks of luxury flats. Prices in the building start at one million dollars. (The Verge)

Noam Chomsky: Why America Is the Gravest Threat to World Peace: What, exactly, is the alleged Iranian threat? (AlterNet)

A factor behind Bernie Sanders’ appeal: Changing attitudes toward socialism: The independent Democratic candidate has repeatedly upheld his socialist views throughout his presidential campaign. (The Christian Science Monitor)

Audi is to unveil an electric car to rival Tesla’s forthcoming Model X that the German marque says is capable of travelling at least 310 miles on battery power alone: The Volkswagen-owned carmaker will display the concept, a sport utility vehicle provisionally called the E-Tron Quattro, at next month’s Frankfurt motor show and plans to put it into production in 2018 as its first mainstream electric car. (Financial Times)

An Open Letter to My Future Parents In-Law Who Won’t Attend Our Wedding: Should be mandatory reading for all anti-gay bigots. (Huffington Post)

Republicans Can’t Face the Truth About Iraq: Gov. Jeb Bush repeated one of the biggest falsehoods of our time during the recent presidential candidate debate: “we were misled (into the Iraq War) by faulty intelligence.” US intelligence was not “misled.” It was ordered by the real, de facto president, Dick Cheney, to provide excuses for a war of aggression against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. (The UNZ Review)

Conservative radio host’s comically horrific immigration plan: Let’s reinstitute slavery to build Donald Trump’s wall: “What’s wrong with slavery?” Jan Mickelson asked on a recent radio program. (Salon)

Millennials ‘heart’ Bernie Sanders: Why the young and hip are #FeelingTheBern. (Raw Story)

Sarah Palin Likes Her Men Dumb And Drunk, Like Donald Trump: Watch the Republican Party die a little bit in real time. (Wonkette)

Hillary Refuses to Take a Stance on the Keystone Pipeline: She can’t keep this up for long. (Charles P. Pierce/Esquire)

Donald Trump: Brothers who beat and urinated on Latino man ‘want this country to be great again’: They have a novel way of demonstrating their patriotism, no? Assault he inspired was “a shame” says the xenophobic GOP frontrunner. (Raw Story)

Below, Herman’s Hermits sing “No Milk Today” in 1966:
 

 
The Republican Party Is Becoming a Bloodbath: Donald Trump is causing conservatives to turn on each other, and it’s not pretty. (New Republic)

CNN/ORC Poll: Donald Trump now competitive in general election: The poll finds Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton ahead of Trump by just 6 points, a dramatic tightening since July when he trailed her by 16 points. (CNN)

The shocking number of new moms who return to work two weeks after childbirth: In the United States, nearly a quarter of employed mothers return to work within two weeks of giving birth, according to a new report from In These Times, a nonprofit magazine, which analyzed data from the Department of Labor and collected stories from mothers who kept working through pain and grief. It’s not because they recover at a supernatural pace. Or because they value their jobs over their babies. They can’t afford not to! (Washington Post)

Walker’s healthcare plan is perfect, if you want almost no insurance at all: Thanks for nothing, Scott Walker! (Los Angeles Times)

The rise of the “self-proclaimed socialist”: Why reporters shouldn’t be so surprised that Bernie Sanders’ appeal is growing. Few Americans embrace socialism, but they don’t have the same hostility to the idea either—especially the young. (Salon)

Oppose the TPP trade deal; support Bernie Sanders: Passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership will complete the transfer of power in America from government to corporations. Everyone who votes for this democracy-killing bill will be complicit in this crime against U.S. citizens. (The Roanoke Times)

Donald Trump has transformed GOP politics – no matter what happens: The future of the businessman’s campaign notwithstanding, his run has reframed the debate on key issues as it limits fellow candidates’ exposure. (The Guardian)

Poll shows Donald Trump leading GOP candidates in North Carolina, followed closely by ‘Deez Nuts’: Because Republicans? (USA Today)

Birmingham, Alabama approves minimum wage increase to $10.10: This is a distinctly un-red state thing to do. What gives? (WIAT)

Act Two of the Trump Epic: We’ve gone far enough now with the Trump political phenomenon to know that it is no mere or momentary matter of name recognition which has placed him as the top contender for the Republican nomination, as bizarre an eventuality as that might appear. He leads all national polls and all polls in the key early primary and caucus states - and by significant margins. And now his positions are becoming the GOP’s positions. Donald Trump is defining the terms of the debate. (Talking Points Memo)

Below, “Franks Kaktus” the latest from Sweden’s amazing Dungen:

 
W.Va. senator slams FDA for giving OxyContin to 11-year-olds: As the former Governor of West Virginia, Joe Manchin has seen the “hillbilly heroin” scourge up close. There are 2.1 million Americans abusing or dependent on opioids and 44 people die every day as a result of prescription opioid overdose. The pharmaceutical industry regrets the loss of these loyal customers, but what are ya gonna do, eh? (The Hill)

Donald Trump’s Immigration Principles Would’ve Barred His Own Grandfather: The Republican frontrunner proposes an impossible threshold as he courts the restrictionist vote. (The Atlantic)

Rubio hits kid in the face with football, becomes meme: A video of Sen. Marco Rubio playing football caught fire on Twitter on Tuesday. The crux of the clip: Rubio accidentally hits a little boy in the face while throwing a football around. (Politico)

Jeb’s humiliating weakness: Americans like him even less than Donald Trump: Erstwhile GOP frontrunner watches his favorability rating slide to Trumpian levels. Loser! (Salon)

Bernie Sanders is really running against the ‘corporate media’ as much as he’s running against Hillary Clinton: A big part of Sanders’ appeal is his indictment of the so-called “corporate media” and its allegedly not-so-hidden agendas in the presidential race. That message appeals to the growing sense among liberals that the media is rigged to a) favor Clinton and b) treat politics like a game rather than a serious contest of ideas. (Washington Post)

Ex-Virginia Cop Charged With Murder For Killing Unarmed Man In Doorway Of His Home: A former Fairfax County police officer who shot and killed an unarmed man as he stood inside his front door with his hands up in 2013 was indicted Monday on a second-degree murder charge, authorities said. (Talking Points Memo)

Grieving husband plants 4 mile ribbon of sunflowers: Don Jaquish began planning the sunflower tribute to his wife a month after her funeral. It’s a sad and beautiful world. (KREM-CBS)

Hillary Clinton Is Rooting for Jeb Bush: The Clintons want Bush to win the nomination—because he’s easy to beat. He’s mayonnaise in the shape of a human being. The guy sucks as a politician. When Bush was elected governor of Florida, he was asked what he’d do for African Americans. He answered “Nothing.” (Politico)

Alex Morgan Rips Women’s Soccer League For Bedbug-Ridden Hotels: Bedbugs lead to extreme measures. There are limits. (Huffington Post)

Donald Trump is forcing other Republicans to say things they’ll regret about immigration: Latino voters might not be paying attention now, but sound bites last forever. (Vox)

Below, Grand Funk Railroad’s “We’re an American Band” promo video.

 
Minimum-wage offensive could speed arrival of robot-powered restaurants: Fifty years ago there were twice as many employees in a typical McDonald’s franchise. Soon these workers might be replaced by robots. AND THEN WHAT? (Washington Post)

Republicans Against Retirement: What’s puzzling about the renewed Republican assault on Social Security is that it looks like bad politics as well as bad policy. Americans love Social Security, so why aren’t the candidates at least pretending to share that sentiment? Their donors perhaps? Yeah, their billionaire benefactors! The Republican running for President in 2016 are competing to be “America’s Top Servant of the 1%,” no more, no less. Think of it as a particularly harsh “reality” program. (New York Times)

Half of young people in the UK say they are not 100% heterosexual: In the YouGov study, individuals were asked to put themselves on that sexuality scale. In total, 72% of the British public scored themselves at the completely heterosexual end of the scale, while 4% were at the completely homosexual end, with 19% stating they were somewhere in between – classed as bisexual by Kinsey. (International Business Times)

Ohio’s Legal Weed Proposal Could Create the World’s First ‘Pot Grower Oligarchy’: This is the literal definition of “crony capitalism.” Small wonder it’s an issue that’s uniting conservative Republicans and potheads alike. (VICE News)

Donald Trump Explains His Ridiculous Plan to Make Mexico Pay for a Border Fence: If necessary, Trump is happy to start a trade war and diplomatic struggle with Mexico until it funds a fence. (Slate)

Would Jesus Vote for Bernie Sanders?: With the decline of culture war issues and the rise of crises like climate change, Bernie might actually be able to win over young evangelicals. (In These Times)

The Republican Party doesn’t want to believe its voters agree with Trump. But they do. They say he’s not really a Republican. Their voters disagree. (Vox

America’s Horniest President: Warren G. Harding might have been a useless leader, but he sure could craft a sex scandal. (Politico)

Fascist march cancelled after backlash from protesters: Neo-Nazis were chased out of Liverpool and bombarded with debris after attempting to hold a rally. Hundreds of locals chanted “Nazi scum off our streets” and “Master race, you’re having a laugh” as boot boys hide in a lost luggage office in train station. (The Telegraph)

Confederate Flag Backers Wave Weapons In Black Lives Matter Clash: Black Lives Matter protesters clashed with Confederate flag supporters at a Florida rally on Sunday, with flag backers allegedly brandishing weapons as the confrontation became heated, according to one protester. But they’re not racist. The Confederate flag is about heritage. (Talking Points Memo)

U.S. tax revenues at record high: Who’s paying? Take a guess! YOU. (CNN)

Sanders on billionaire class: ‘I welcome their hatred’: “And let me echo that today: If the Koch Brothers and the billionaire class hate my guts, I welcome their hatred. Because I am going to stand with working families.”(Des Moines Register)

Constantly checking your mobile phone can lead to ‘cognitive failures’: High-frequency internet users find it much more difficult to pay attention. WHO is surprised by this? (The Independent)

Donald Trump Gives Anti-Immigration Republicans Their Dream Plan: A sweeping immigration policy proposal released Sunday by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is an early Christmas to American voters hungry for more restrictive immigration policies. It’s also a nightmare for Republican leaders working to entice Latino voters. (Bloomberg)

German news anchor Anja Reschke attacks ‘little racist nobodies’ in impassioned call to end hatred towards refugees: Expressed her anger at how “normal” it now is to publish “hate tirades” under real names in comment pieces she believes has contributed to a “rise in extreme right wing acts” including arson. “Until recently, such commentators were hidden behind pseudonyms but now these things are being aired under real names,” she said in the two-minute segment, which quickly went viral.” Apparently it’s no longer embarrassing - on the contrary, in reaction to phrases like ‘filthy vermin should drown in the sea’, you get excited consensus and a lot of ‘likes’.”

 
Portland’s Daily Newspaper The Oregonian Is Looking for a Reefer Critic: The job listing for the freelance position demands an “experienced cannabis consumer” with deep knowledge of the strains of marijuana available in the state. The role will also include writing about the state’s “robust cannabis culture and marketplace.” It’d be fun to make a Portland joke here, but the Denver Post has already had a pot editor for two years. (Time)

We Should Not Dismiss the Dangers of ‘Killer Robots’ So Quickly: “Sentient robots like Hollywood’s Terminator would be a very bad thing. Even stupid AI in killer robots that are non-sentient would be a very bad thing. We need a ban today to protect mankind from swarms of armed quadcopters, technology that is practically on the shelves of hardware stores today.” (The Conversation)

Rand Paul is the “New Coke” of the GOP: Why His Bold Vision for a Libertarian Future Is a Disaster Waiting to Happen: Most people don’t agree that high taxes and excessive regulations are affecting young people’s ability to land a job, and there is no reason to believe that lowering taxes will make that any better. Why anyone would be persuaded that their massive student loan debt can be fixed with a flat tax is confusing. (Salon)

Fat Mike of NOFX Offered a Guy with a Beard $100 to Leave NOFX Show, Called Him a “hipster”: So hey, guys with beards? I’m thinking the potential ROI on a NOFX ticket might look kind of tempting right now. (Brooklyn Vegan)

Republicans Back Donald Trump Over Megyn Kelly: Surprise, surprise, surprise… (HuffPo)

Chicago’s Stony Island Arts Bank to Honor House Music Legend Frankie Knuckles: As part of a wider celebration of African and American culture and history led by Chicago artist Theaster Gates, Stony Island Arts Bank will play host to a vinyl collection of Frankie’s works starting October 3. Details of the extent of the collection have not been specified. (Dancing Astronaut)

The Strangest Campaign Pledge: The utterly brilliant Harvard prof Lawrence Lessig has announced that he would run for president if he can raise a million bucks by Labor Day. His campaign platform is curiously narrow. He vows to pass a single law, the Citizen Equality Act, which would by various means guarantee equal access to voting across race, class and educational lines, ban gerrymandering outright, and provide for citizen-funded elections. Lessig further promises that, having passed that one law, he’d resign the presidency. But would such a law even work? (Slate)

There’s a Nationwide Shortage of Restaurant Cooks: Wasn’t there a glut several years ago, when Food Network turned chefs into rock stars? Here’s a thought: pay your employees well enough to pay off culinary school AND earn a good living, and then maybe people will apply for your jobs? (Washington Post)

Hillary Clinton in Trouble? What’s Behind Al Gore, Joe Biden Rumor Mill: Joe Biden is sounding out allies about a potential presidential bid that just a few months ago seemed unlikely at best. Some Democratic officials are shooting down reports that Al Gore, who last ran for elective office 15 years ago, might be generating some renewed interest inside the party. But these stories are really more about Clinton’s campaign and the difficulties she has faced in the unfolding story about her emails as Secretary of State. (NBC)

What the Hell is Going On with SoundCloud? This week has seen a spate of high-profile account takedowns and suspensions issued by SoundCloud. On August 12, London-based internet station Radar Radio had its SoundCloud account removed. The station was told it had seven days to deal with any copyright infringements on their page, but the account was closed without warning the next day. Bizarrely, the account was then reinstated without explanation, and as of today has been suspended again. (FACT)

Dutch Newspaper Uses N-Word in Headline of Review of Ta-Nehisi Coates’s New Book: Somewhere along the editorial process, the editors thought it would be a good idea to headline the article, “Ni**er, Are You Crazy?” Since this wasn’t a U.S. paper, I suppose there’s some values dissonance at work here, BUT STILL, SERIOUSLY? (Washington Post)

Start your weekend right, with a Twin Peaks themed Norwegian rap video.
 

 
The GOP’s Most Ludicrous Election Myth: “The Reasonable Republican”: Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s recent surge in the polls—attributable to his “moderation”—shows how crazy the GOP is. More of Dangerous Minds hails from Ohio than you might expect, and we implore you to trust us on this: Kasich is hardly any more a “moderate” than Scott Walker. He’s less vicious to gay people, but that’s about it. (Salon)

Octopuses ‘Are Aliens,’ Scientists Decide After DNA Study: They’re evidently unrelated to anything else on the planet! University of Chicago researcher Clifton Ragsdale says, “The octopus appears to be utterly different from all other animals, even other mollusks.” (Metro)

Trumping Americans: The Strange, Irresistible Appeal of a Narcissistic Bloviator: Some say they like Trump because he is authentic. He doesn’t censor himself. He expresses our most primordial aggressive feelings and thoughts without being restricted by guilt, shame or remorse. This is what we did as young children before we were reprimanded for it, and became “socialized.” Trump releases us from the straitjacket of being civilized. (HuffPo)

Why Human Head Transplants Are Still a Long Way From Becoming a Reality: Despite scientists and surgeons voicing some serious doubts that such a massive undertaking would be successful, Italian neurosurgeon Sergio Canavero is adamant that the technology now exists. (The Conversation)

Google Wants to Be God’s Mind: The Secret Theology of “I’m Feeling Lucky”: Google makes order of the universe and answers our entreaties. It knows that it’s a temple of knowledge in the sky. (Salon)

Man Sends FB Conservatives into a Full-Blown Rage by Posing as Target: Shades of “Hope That Helps,” a Facebook user has set up a fake Target account to troll conservatives who’re pants-shitting over Target’s decision to end the gender segregation of children’s toys in their stores. It’s damn funny. (Raw Story)

Death Penalty In Connecticut Ruled Unconstitutional: Lawmakers repealed the state’s death penalty in 2012, but stipulated it only applied to future crimes. Now, the Connecticut Supreme Court’s ruling saves the lives the 11 inmates currently on the state’s death row from state-sponsored murder. (HuffPo)

Chelsea Wolfe Q&A: The neo-goth singer’s raw new album Abyss is terrifying, ethereal, and stunning. (Whosay)

Miami Nice: Are Florida’s Power Brokers Mellowing on Cuba? For decades, Florida’s Cuban exile community has ensured that the United States maintained its tough policy toward the island nation. But as relations between Cuba and the U.S. thaw, Miami’s “Little Havana” might have its own political revolution. (Mother Jones)

The U.S. Government Is Putting American Citizens on the No-Fly list… ON A HUNCH: And of course they won’t even tell you WHY because something something freedom isn’t free, ya got’dam terra-ist. (Slate)

Hacienda Film Tracks Down Pieces of Music History: Literally pieces—the club itself was demolished 15 years ago, but artifacts—from the dancefloor to the urinals—were saved and auctioned off. Do You Own the Dancefloor endeavors to track them down! (BBC)

The Neuroscience of Drumming: There are three kinds of drummers in the world: those who can count, and those who can’t. (Open Culture)

Ted Cruz fan art! Check out this adept comic-style rendering of the Texas twit as “Captain Constitution,” tweeted by the NYT’s Nick Corasani.