And Now For Something Completely Different…

It’s 5:26 Eastern Standard Time and Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is still dead.

Justice Scalia apparently passed away in his sleep, at the age of 79, while on a “hunting” trip in Texas.  As deaths go this is pretty much a conservative Republican’s wet dream.  So good for him.  Incidentally I put hunting in quotes up there because my understanding was that this was one of those quail hunts, where the quail are all but domestic pets who are suddenly taken out one day, stuffed in thickets and then wait, too terrified to move, until a dog, (or on really tough days a guide), flushes them out of the thicket, whereupon, assuming no attorneys are in the way, a fat-ass elderly Republican like Dick Cheney blasts them out of the sky with a shotgun.

C’est l’vie bird.

Justice Scalia was the first Italian-America appointed to the bench.  He was approved unanimously and served for nearly 30 years.  Scalia was an “originalist”, (alternatively called the “Old man yells at cloud” theory of Constitutional interpretation) ,  grandpa_simpson_yelling_at_cloud and on many occasions seems determined to bring the United States back to the peak of his greatness, which he seemed to believe was right around 1826, when Jefferson and Adams died within hours of each other.  He could be, and more often than not was, scathing in his dissents, or even when in the majority and addressing the arguments of dissenting Justices.

Scalia’s legacy will be a complicated one.  There’s no doubt he was a brilliant jurist and well deserving of his position on the Supreme Court.  There’s also no doubt that, if he had his way, gays would remain very much second class citizens, denied not just the right to marry but the right to have sex with another consenting adult should a state decide that was a good idea.  Scalia wasn’t much for racial quotas, actually voted to overrule Miranda v. Arizona, (with apparently no consideration given to how that would effect the writers of detective procedurals), and LOVED the death penalty.  He was, in my opinion justifiably, criticized for allowing religious views, both his own and what he perceived as the religious beliefs of the majority of Americans, to affect the way he looked at cases, particularly regarding teh gays.

For every criticism us liberal types come up with however there’s a conservative who will praise Scalia for leading the charge to protect American exceptionalism and all the traditional values that made us the greatest country in the world.  The traditional values that made us so great, by the way, are having a great Navy and being located between Canada and Mexico and in the  middle of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans while Europe and Asia teed off on each other, (with our help), in WWII, leaving us as the only intact industrial nation in a world that needed lots of stuff that only we could make.  It’s been downhill since.

But I digress.

The point is Constitutional Law is not black and white.  For every position I have there’s an alternate position(s) and for every position Scalia had there’s an alternate one or more.  I don’t have a lot of respect for the way he argued those positions, particularly towards the end of his career, but he had the right and the ability to make them, and make them as well as he could.  I’m not going to celebrate Antonin Scalia dying, (karma only goes so far and I’m saving that party for Dick Cheney), but I am going to celebrate that there is now an opening on the Supreme Court, caused by an arch-conservative leaving this mortal coil and finding out the answers to many mysteries, such as whether or not the Devil is real, and President Obama gets to at least try to fill it as one of his last acts as President.

That appointment promises to be a clusterfuck of epic proportions.  It may even be enough to save Twitter’s stock price!

Now back to dick jokes, football and Sill’s rugby world tour.

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Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

You can print this if you have not got a card yet.

Unsurprised

I said this on Facebook, but I hope Scalia is getting thoroughly roasted by God in defense of a lifetime of doing harm to the world in His name.

Sill Bimmons

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Unsurprised

Republican Catholic is an oxymoron.

Sill Bimmons

It’s like Verdun on the Ireland 5-meter line here.

ballsofsteelandfury

So, is anyone else watching the Sprint Cup Unlimited?

/crickets…

WCS

Brian France can die of gonorrhea and rot in hell.

ballsofsteelandfury

Gary Bettman would like a word.

Unsurprised

Richard Posner as a compromise/temporary pick.

Senor Weaselo

Is this our open thread? I posted my gratuitous self-shilling (oh baby) in the morning footy thread and I don’t want to post it again. But yeah, you’re all more than welcome to listen to it.

Sill Bimmons

Post it again.

Senor Weaselo

Sure thing Sill. This is the not-Valentine’s concert from last year.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLl0kPx2XyetcO5kRbk88embZktjfjIBf8

ballsofsteelandfury

Yeah, re-post!

Sill Bimmons

France may lose this thing but they are beating the bejeezus out of Ireland physically.

WCS

Is Rubio running for President in 2004?

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh
Sill Bimmons

.png, .jpg and .gif are the only ones that work.

If it’s ALL CAPS it won’t work.

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

Yep.

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

Come to find out you can usually just retype the address extension to get it to work.

ballsofsteelandfury

It’s the ALL CAPS that fucks it up.

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

I’m sure no one cares, but the file type are the same. After looking around a bit; It’s not the html that is case sensitive, it’s the server’s OS. Windows’s filing system is not case sensitive, so .jpg and .JPG are the same. Modern operating systems are case sensitive, so the two are different. My guess is that your server is running on a Linux host.

So yelling the file extension DOES fuck it up.

Sill Bimmons

Check out the big brain on Moose!

You a smart motherfucker.

That’s right. The Linux system.

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Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

I didn’t know before. I’m sure you did, but others may not. WTF?

Senor Weaselo

Considering “Rule 34” is in the URL, I feel like I should be glad it didn’t work.

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

Now that’s two things learned in five minutes on Google; the Linux host thing AND Rule #34 – If it exists there IS porn of it. Thank you Senor.

*I knew the rule, just didn’t know it was #34.

theeWeeBabySeamus

For anyone who cares, Baylor getting shitcanned at home by TTech.

WCS

Tubby needs a big win. I believe that would qualify.

theeWeeBabySeamus

Working dat bubble.

Moonbatting Average

I guess Cruz, Pubio, and especially McConnell have given us our answer as the whether it’s too soon to politicize this

Moonbatting Average

“Pubio” was a Freudian typo

Sill Bimmons

Outstanding.

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

Clarence Thomas needs a Coke after that typo.

Duchess

BTW Triumphs 2016 election special on HULU is fantastic. Hell he made Huckabee actually likable for a few minutes.

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

I thought at first it was a typo. Thanks for the alert.

Sill Bimmons

France are just too slow.

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

This whole thing has taught me that I need to re-watch Harvey Birdman.

http://31.media.tumblr.com/b79f92160084a3791ae1945fb14ff23e/tumblr_mi3nahaz2M1r5c43bo1_r1_500.gif

Sill Bimmons

France just changed out both of their props.

Pretty sure I’ve never seen that.

Lothar of the Hill People

OK, I’m going back to my binge-watching of The West Wing, where an idealistic President was able to work with Congress to solve imaginary problems.

Much more fulfilling than reality, where an idealistic President was stonewalled by a Congress that avoided solving real problems.

Duchess

The Republicans are just acting like the evil team from “Water Boy” where they are just happy taking a knee.

Sill Bimmons

College visit with his kid.

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

Well that ruins the “Instant Hippo Thoughts” joke and/or post.

Sill Bimmons

Pretty much!

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

Guess he’ll have to fill in later.

King Hippo

Indeed. Auditions ran late.

In the 23rd minute of the DVR replay of Everton/WBA (I managed to avoid spoilers) whilst I cook my dinner.

Sadly, nothing like that ever happens on MY messy law-talking-guy desk.

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

You don’t screw Justice?

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

Also did you get that thing I sent?

/sorry

Sill Bimmons

Spoiler: Sunderland won.

Warthog

Here’s my stupid thought. The senate drags its feet until the election. A new president and democratic senate then nominate and confirm Obama as the next justice. Fox News and Rush ignite spontaneously like drummers from Spinal Tap.

Lothar of the Hill People

This came up a few weeks back and the press secretary vehemently denied that Obama wanted anything to do with the SCOTUS.

Give him a few years on the lecture circuit to make some coin, then when Breyer retires, maybe he’ll change his mind.

Warthog

Then maybe Bill can take the first open spot. But would he give up being First Man?

Lothar of the Hill People

He had to give up his law license, I thought, because of the perjury. So I think that sort of disqualifies him. Not by the Constitution, but by general consensus.

Plus he’s way too old.

Plus it would be a conflict of interest and it would turn a lot of voters off Hillary.

Warthog

Your responses are more reasoned than my brain farts deserve. Maybe we should just call Saul.

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh
Duchess

IDK wouldn’t he want to be Chief Justice like Taft was?

Fun Fact: Taft was the last President with facial hair

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

But he DID manscape a lot.

Lothar of the Hill People

Holy carp. Three of the people potentially on Obama’s short list would stir up so much shit that the Senate would eat itself.

Sri Srinivasan, 48-year-old D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals judge (Indian-American, obvs)
Paul Watford, 48-year-old African-American Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge
Loretta Lynch, AG. (would be 1st African-American woman)

Dang.

King Hippo

Srinivasan would be FANTASTIC

Sill Bimmons

THEY MOOSLIMS BE TAKIN OVAR WIT THEY SHARONA LAW

Lothar of the Hill People

He was born in India, too, so Cruz might actually go for him to get some of that “born in another country, but can serve in high office” mojo.

Duchess

Funny thing is I just realized Rubio isn’t seeking re-election for his Senate seat. He is either really done with this shit or going all in with a 2-7 off suit.

Lothar of the Hill People

No, Duchess is right. He’s not running for re-election.

He’s all-in on the Pres gig. He’s hoping for a spot on the ticket, and likely a lucrative career on the speaking circuit (he has debts to pay back) if that fails.

It’s amazing how most losing-VP nominees see their political careers tank, btw. Paul Ryan is doing about the best of any losing VP nominee in recent history.

Duchess

he could, but he doesn’t like the Senate and not running for re-election.

Sill Bimmons

OH BOO FUCKING HOO

Woe is me! I have the world’s easiest job as a member of the world’s most powerful non-Illuminati club!

PLAY THIS FUCKER OFF WSV

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Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

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Sill Bimmons

France lookin’ like merde.

Lothar of the Hill People

Obama fires one across the Senate’s bow:

“I plan to fulfill my constitutional responsibility (to nominate a replacement)…. there will be plenty of time for the Senate to fulfill its obligations.”

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

That is the perfect measured response. A polite fuck you.

Lothar of the Hill People

Carson is saying that because he met Scalia once when they both got honorary degrees, he can say a bunch of shit about how great Scalia was at making friends with people he disagreed with. Carson says that Scalia didn’t care if you disagreed with him, he liked you anyway.

I’m sure Scalia had plenty of gay friends, then.

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

Of all the justices on the Supreme Court, Scalia probably had the worst farts, right?

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh
Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

Partially digested sauerkraut and undigested hate.

Lothar of the Hill People

Love how Cruz is calling Scalia an “American hero.” How many gooks did Scalia kill in ‘Nam?

Darkest Timeline Zack Morris

Get ’em Hillz!!!

“The Republicans in the Senate and on the campaign trail who are calling for Justice Scalia’s seat to remain vacant dishonor our Constitution. The Senate has a constitutional responsibility here that it cannot abdicate for partisan political reasons.”

Sill Bimmons

These British commentators are like good cassette tapes:

http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/mz0AAOSw~FNUYyoo/s-l300.jpg

Buddy Cole's Halftime Show

Also a rejected Boston Globe headline for the June 20, 1986 edition.

Sill Bimmons

Ouch.

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

I went right passed that before; THAT IS FUCKING EXCELLENT!

Lothar of the Hill People

So, while my ideal would be Obama–being all out of fucks to give–nominating a dyed-in-the-wool librul (or, at the very least, a reliable lefty) who would stand little chance of being confirmed by a Republican Senate even if it was RBG retiring/dying, I’m thinking the best-case scenario is he nominates a left-of-center pragmatist… the left-ish version of Sandra Day O’Connor. Someone that should/would be an easy confirmation under other circumstances.

Then when the Senate does its horse imitation (“neigh! neigh!”), it highlights just how obstructionist the GOP has become. Meanwhile, when the House is voting to repeal the ACA for the 61st, 62nd, and 63rd times, maybe enough independents jump ship from the GOP to actually get the country moving again.

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

I wonder who is on his current list.

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Buddy Cole's Halftime Show

To be fair, I think there’s less politics at play than people think. Some of the most liberal/moderate judges were nominated by Republicans:

Stevens (Ford)
O’Connor (Reagan)
Souter (Bush Sr.)

Even Bush II’s nominee Harriet Miers leaned left.

Lothar of the Hill People

The House’s 60 votes to repeal the ACA would beg to disagree about the politics at play.

Buddy Cole's Halftime Show

The one that Dubya-nominee Justice Roberts put into law?

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

Roberts has surprised me several times by doing the right thing; he seems to be with the rule of law more than his nominator would have wished.

Unsurprised

Yeah, who’d imagine that a corporate whore like Roberts would uphold a law that transfers trillions of dollars of taxpayer money to insurance companies.

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

With some exceptions with Reagan, those guys would be considered moderate to left in today’s GOP. Also there was a time when jurists were selected with more emphasis on qualifications.

Lothar of the Hill People

Lets not forget that Souter was a crypto-left/centrist. Bush thought he was nominating a conservative, but Souter surprised everyone once he was on the bench. The GOP cry since then has been “NO MORE SU-SU-SOUTERS!”

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

Yep.

Sill Bimmons

I think the question we’re all asking ourselves is: Was Scalia a elite justis?

Lothar of the Hill People

He is kinda the anti-Joe Flacco of Supreme Court Justices.

Duchess

Anyone else hitting refresh on reddit waiting for the tinfoil conspiracy theories to pop up?

Sill Bimmons

“79 Year Old Fat Man Dies”

ITS VINCE FOSTER ALL OAVR AGIN

Lothar of the Hill People

WHERE WAS HILLARY WHEN SCALIA DIED?

WHERE WAS THE OREGON STATE POLICE WHO SHOT LAVOY?

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh
Moose -The End Is Well Nigh
Moose -The End Is Well Nigh
Sill Bimmons

Démarrer! Allez les Bleus!

Sill Bimmons

La Marseillaise is the best anthem ever.

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

Thanks for the link.

Darkest Timeline Zack Morris

Exact quote from Bitch McConnell

“The American people‎ should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new President,”

Wait, WHAT??? The American people made that decision, TWICE, you ignorant lackwit. The American people’s voices rang out quite clearly that we want a Socialist Kenyan Supreme Court.

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

What a fucking cunt. Damn, thanks for the quote, but that is just depressing in its idiocy.

Darkest Timeline Zack Morris

I couldn’t believe it when I read it. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face – they’re handing the Dems so much ammo, showing that they’re just obstructionist turds and not serious governmental agents, working for the will of the people and the good of the country.

Lothar of the Hill People

They’re firing up their bases.

Look how fast both Rubio and Cruz jumped on it. They want to get tons of free press and camera time stopping the Socialist Muslim Kenyan from rigging the court, in order to whip up votes.

This is perfect timing for the Senators.

Sill Bimmons

Yup.

More red meat than they ever dreamed possible.

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

I agree with you totally….. HOWEVER “obstructionist turds” made me think of a cheese joke right in the middle of your post.

Darkest Timeline Zack Morris

I never matured past calling people turds. AND NEVER SHALL

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

Matured? I believe the term is apt in any circle, my good man.

Doktor Zymm

So basically Obama needs to figure out what the equivalent of prune juice and bran is to flush out the governmental constipation? I’m digging this obstructionist turd metaphor.

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh
Sill Bimmons

He definitely needs to steer clear of the government cheese.

Duchess

re: “We should wait until someone white picks a replacement.”

Darkest Timeline Zack Morris

I looked and looked for the picture of Steve Martin from Roxanne doing the “On the Nose” and I couldn’t find it.

Sill Bimmons
ballsofsteelandfury

It was for Scalia..

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh
Duchess

Obama should nominate Ted Cruz just to fuck with everyone.

Sill Bimmons

Rand Paul.

Duchess

Ted would then have to choose between accepting and abandoning the Presidential race or turn down the nomination and be raked over the coals for it by Trump and everyone else.

Buddy Cole's Halftime Show

David Duke

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

If he nominates a qualified replacement (not listed above), who goes by the rule of law, has ethics, and no dog in the fight Congress will go NUTS.

Sill Bimmons

The winner in all this?

Fetushead.

Buddy Cole's Halftime Show

So Buddy found $55 dollars worth of iTunes gift card long thought gone since Christmas, and bought the following:

* Los Lobos – Kiko
* Traffic – The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys; John Barleycorn Must Die
* OutKast – Aquemini
* Nick Lowe – Labour of Lust

Well worth it.

Sill Bimmons

That’s…varied.

Spanky Datass

*Traffic Live: So hiiiiigh, so bad-ass!

ballsofsteelandfury

I’m super interested in how this will affect the election. I have no idea what will happen, but the stakes for this election are now incredibly high.

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

I still like the Dick Cheney joke, even though he was not shot.

Sill Bimmons

This is just nuts.

Duchess

He was already one of the four Justices believed to be leaving the bench in the next 4 yrs.

Sill Bimmons

Yeah, but Obummer’s got almost an entire year to try and get it done before the election.

http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view5/2837510/michael-jackson-eating-popcorn-o.gif

Lothar of the Hill People

Considering RBG and Breyer were likely set to retire (and/or not make it through a Republican term), this is just adding fuel to the SCOTUS-of-the-future fire.

Lothar of the Hill People

I get the feeling she’s hanging on until she’s assured a liberal President and Democratic Senate will fill her seat with another progressive.

She’s the shit, though. I got my daughter The Notorious RBG book, and when my daughter’s old enough to understand it better, I’m making RBG her role model (right now that spot is taken by Rey from TFA).

Sill Bimmons

Take it away, Rick Hazen!

“The future composition of the Supreme Court is the most important civil rights cause of our time. It is more important than racial justice, marriage equality, voting rights, money in politics, abortion rights, gun rights, or managing climate change. It matters more because the ability to move forward in these other civil rights struggles depends first and foremost upon control of the Court. And control for the next generation is about to be up for grabs, likely in the next presidential election, a point many on the right but few on the left seem to have recognized.”

Kungjitsu

The Republicans are fucked. They either have to let Barry put a third justice on the Bench, or they hand the Presidency to the Democrats by GIVING the a simple, repeatable, legitimate jingle of an issue: DO YOUR JOB! Especially, if the GOP nominee is Rafael since he’s a senator.

herodotus450

Antonin, you ignorant slut!

Lothar of the Hill People

I’ll say one nice thing about Scalia. He was a patriot. He believed with his heart in (his idea of) America.

I won’t celebrate his death. But I’ll damn well celebrate the opening on the court. And though it’d be damned hard for the Democrats to get a majority in the Senate to get a liberal replacement confirmed (hell, with the Senate’s filibuster rules, any “non-consensus” nominee would likely never see a confirmation vote), I just last night re-watched the West Wing “Mendoza” episode. I’m optimistic–for no reason whatsoever–that a non-conservative replaces Scalia.

Sill Bimmons

Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.

Going through a list of historical super-patriots reads more like History’s Greatest Monsters.

Lothar of the Hill People

True. But he believed in what he believed. Racist, anti-gay bigot, but he was true to it.

I’m tryin’ to be nice to the dead, Sill.

Sill Bimmons

Some dead people don’t deserve anything nice.

Scalia was a fundamentalist Catholic theocrat that had no business in government at all, let alone in a position of such power and responsibilty.

Fuck him in his grave with a rusty chainsaw.

Buddy Cole's Halftime Show

But, you never know how people will vote. I remember a lot of conservative handwringing about Sotomayor, but she’s actually been somewhat (left)libertarian in her rulings, same with Kagan.

From what I can gather, Ginsberg is as liberal as Alito was conservative.

Buddy Cole's Halftime Show

Shit makes that Scalia instead of Alito.

Buddy Cole's Halftime Show

He was a pretty strident defender of free speech, but… here’s an article from 2014 showing how justices are more likely to vote for the rights of a speaker who shares their ideology.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/06/us/politics/in-justices-votes-free-speech-often-means-speech-i-agree-with.html?_r=0

Sill Bimmons

“I may not agree with what you say, but I’ve got a noon tee time and a dinner reservation at The Source so I really can’t be bothered right now.”

— A. Scalia

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

Try going and reading some of his opinions; they read like a paralegal who is very religious. To me he was a scary motherfucker; that much power in someone who is a Salem witch hunter type. I’m no legal guy, but holy shit; anyone can see the gaps in logic.

Buddy Cole's Halftime Show

It’s strange because the other Reagan nominee currently on the SC is Kennedy, who is pretty damn different from Scalia.

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

Just the writing and logic alone are a world apart.

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

I can’t find it right now, but I read an article of several of his lower court rulings that were questionable in several of these areas. His public on religion and the government were outrageous.

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

*public statements

Buddy Cole's Halftime Show

He had some quotes that make my civil libertarian streak cringe namely in the “sodomy” line of thinking, yes.

However, he was pro-flag burning. Go figure.

Sill Bimmons

The world is a slightly better place today.

Pictured: Scalia’s hero

http://www.redcap70.net/A%20History%20of%20the%20SS%20Organisation%201924-1945.html/F/FREISLER.jpg

Doktor Zymm

Obama should nominate someone as quick as possible, and lock Congress up until they approve someone, Papal Conclave style.

WCS
Sill Bimmons
Darkest Timeline Zack Morris

My vote goes for
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WCS

He’s an expert on bird law.

Darkest Timeline Zack Morris

I’ll just regress, because I feel I’ve made myself perfectly redundant.

Sill Bimmons

That’s cromulent.

We’ll allow it.

Darkest Timeline Zack Morris

Mind you that heretofore document had… dry ink on it for many fork-night.

Sill Bimmons

You embiggen us all with your legal acuman.

Buddy Cole's Halftime Show

Considering five of remaining justices are Catholic, it may not be a bad idea.

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

Which to me is unFUCKINGbelievable.

Lothar of the Hill People

Already, McConnell, Cruz, and Rubio say that Obama shouldn’t nominate anyone.

This is a game-changer for the election.

In personal news, my 6 year-old daughter runs out of the bathroom, screaming, because when she peed it burned. My wife does a quick exam and asks my daughter if she’s been rubbing herself down there. My daughter replies, “only twice a night.”

We’re a pretty open (nuclear) family; I want my daughter to be a lesbian, and we’ve been telling her that for years now. But holy shit. I poured myself some bourbon.

WCS

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Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

So she helped mince the chilies?

WCS

#LionelHutz4SCOTUS

Buddy Cole's Halftime Show

“Clarence Darrow, was he the black guy from the Mod Squad?”

Lothar of the Hill People

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