Thursday Morning Links

Sorry Florida State baseball. They had a good run but LSU knocked them out last night. Although at this point, I’d be shocked if anybody could touch Oregon State. It’d take a slew of previously-unknown pederasty by their pitching staff to keep them from winning it all. Because obviously one didn’t hardly slow them down.

Also, NBA draft is tonight…Yawn. But the NHL’s expansion draft by the new Las Vegas team was anything but.  They got the goalie everyone was expecting them to go after. I’m gonna have to take a closer look to rate the other picks, but mullet-head Barry Melrose seemed impressed. Although the star of the evening had to be Marcel Dionne.

That’s it. Well, except for the Astros winning. And the Rockies giving up a 10-spot in the fourth inning.

Okey-dokey then. How’s about…the links!

Cindy: cocked and locked on the south

Well it looks like Tropical storm Dick and Balls Cindy is skipping H-town and heading to Louisiana. And you know what that means…a bunch of smug-ass progressives laughing at “God punishing the rednecks” and other such tolerant things from the oh-so-tolerant. There’s no link to this one. I just wanted to post the photo I got on my phone from a buddy.

But, what if nobody wants them? Well, really just that little corner up by a lake. The rest of the place is probably worth salvaging. And I’d personally send a lifeboat for the Glibs stuck in the bad part.

Can Alex Jones sue Slate for peddling a conspiracy theory that might even be too outrageous for even him? Seriously, they must be taking acid every hour on the hour over there to come up with this shit. (No TW necessary since I already said it was Slate.)

Florida Mom strikes again! (Click the video. The music is awesome!)

Trump’s budget is gonna cause the trains to, apparently, not run on time. Or not run at all. And some people are butthurt. Because there’s no better stewardship with the government’s money than to prop up a failing enterprise of 19th century technology.

KFC before paint job
KFC after paint job

Since Oakland has no other pressing matters, they’re able to dedicate time to denying private property rights.

And the asshole of the day goes to Hartford, Connecticut sociology professor Johnny Eric Williams. And frankly, it wasn’t even close. But I’m gonna stay tuned because I’m sure somebody from the tolerant left will top him by the end of the day.

Man, I sure like the way these numbers work out. Plus since that one is so short, here’s a little bonus. And I think “warm” is an understatement this week.

Th, th, th, that’s all folks! Make it a great day!

Comments

541 responses to “Thursday Morning Links”

  1. Yusef drives a Kia

    Early day, long week, have fun guys! I’m off! to see the Wizard

    1. F. Stupidity Jr.

      I’m off! to see the Wizard

      No one’s gonna tell me that’s not a euphemism.

      1. Raston Bot

        Oil the Tinman?
        Stuff the Scarecrow?

        good grief. the whole plot is one massive veined euphemism.

  2. Old Man With Candy

    Well it looks like Tropical storm Dick and Balls Cindy is skipping H-town and heading to Louisiana.

    Looks like KY is about to get a facial.

    1. ArchieBunker

      But it should be good for our number one cash crop. Not Talkin bout tobacco or corn.

      1. Is crystal meth a crop?

        1. ArchieBunker

          Ouch.

          1. ArchieBunker

            We import that these days from cartels. Thanks Suda-ban

  3. We Don’t Care! Part CCCXVII

    ‘Why I Wrote A Break-Up Letter To White People’

    Since Brexit and Trump’s election, commentators have been quick to talk about a new era of political polarisation. In my experience, this is nothing new. My blog post wasn’t just about me and my situation. It was a broader comment on the phenomenon that often plagues these polarised conversations about race – in which people of colour must defer to and prioritise white people’s feelings, or face severe social consequences. It was an admission that I was tired of feeling scared of saying how I was really feeling, in case I came across as aggressive. White people’s terror of being called ‘racist’ was clearly much more important than me challenging racism. I’d had enough of banging my head against a brick wall.

    The reaction to the post online was instant, and overwhelmingly positive. It went viral. Some people got in touch, thanking me for articulating what they’d long been afraid to say. Others thanked me for changing their minds on the issue. Socially, I didn’t put myself in situations in which I would ever be talking to white people about race. This didn’t mean I excluded myself from society – it just meant that I kept the topic off the table. I’d talk about EastEnders, the weather, their pets, their jobs, and their holidays. Just not race. I carefully followed the lead of other participants in conversations I found myself in. I kept my thoughts to myself, and channelled them into my work, which eventually became a book.

      1. Scruffy Nerfherder

        The most appropriate use of that clip.

        1. straffinrun

          More ways than one. Watched about 15 minutes of Costner’s version today. Terrible.

          1. Scruffy Nerfherder

            The Depressing Wyatt Earp

    1. Old Man With Candy

      Basically, a promo for her book. It will not make my list on our “What We’re Reading” feature.

    2. You left out the first paragraph!

      In 2012, I was a recent graduate, full of idealism, zeal and enthusiasm to change the world. I had been involved in feminist activism for a few years, and I believed that together, as women, we could change the world. I was ambitious, too. For me, feminism was never about a palatable, gender-only analysis. It was about changing the global narrative – achieving equality – for everyone. That included ending racism. So naturally, in my feminist activist circles, I talked to the other women about this.

      So she’s an inexperienced academic with no real-world experience and is suffering first-world problems that the rest of the world laughs at. She should make the break up complete and move to Saudi Arabia or some backwater in northern India. Or maybe get back to her roots and go live in sub-Saharan Africa in a village with one hand-pump well and a hole in the ground to shit in.

      1. AlexinCT

        Virtue signalling her way into a cushy tenured job?

    3. ArchieBunker

      Damn, I was gonna marry that gal

    4. “Socially, I didn’t put myself in situations in which I would ever be talking to white people about race.”

      I bet white people are *so* disappointed that they’re missing out on her wisdom.

      1. Agent Cooper

        “Thank You!”

        – white people

    5. Rhywun

      people of colour must defer to and prioritise white people’s feelings, or face severe social consequences

      lolwut

      1. Scruffy Nerfherder

        Black women always defer to everyone else’s feelings, doncha’ know?

        1. It depends on the person and to some extent on the generation. I wouldn’t say “always defer,” because anyone can be pushed too far, but being nice to people unless the other person is being rude – plenty of black women are still into that.

          1. So many black women like to post about how they’re Angry All The Time and It’s Your Fault, White People!!! that this self-selected, and influential, group sometimes sets the tone despite their attitude hardly being universal.

          2. FreeSociety

            Stereotypes usually have some basis in reality, even if it’s almost always less universal than the stereotype would have you believe.

          3. Rhywun

            Mormons?

          4. Scruffy Nerfherder

            Spend a week working retail and get back to me on that.

          5. There’s a contingent who think whites are always trying to put something over on them, and a retail clerk is going to meet this contingent a lot. I’m simply saying it’s a cultural subgroup – a noisy one, of course.

          6. And which interactions are more memorable – the interactions with the “what are you trying to pull *this* time” group, and the interactions with the “have a blessed day” group?

          7. Conor Cruise O’Brien talked about this in the Irish Catholic community* – the radicals are a minority, but they help set the tone because the moderates, on some level, think the radicals are simply being zealous – to be sure a bit *too* zealous – in a good cause. So sometimes the reaction of the moderates to the radicals is something a mix of indulgence and annoyance.

            *or at least nominally Catholic

          8. spqr2008

            When I worked at a large retailer in a poorer section of town (and this wasn’t even considered the most ghetto of their branches in the area), our African American Assistant Manager had her hands full 3-5 hours a day dealing with that kind of bullshit. I’d seriously spend more time and effort looking for stuff in the back for said contingent, say 20 minutes vs. ten, and then get yelled at because I’m “lying” because the system shows we do have something (as in 1 or two of it), and honestly, I think we had a ton of employee theft at that location.

          9. Yeah, I’m gonna second that working in retail gives you a skewed view of humanity. It attracts the absolute scum of the earth. I’d guess Adolf Hitler worked retail in a Jewish neighborhood if I didn’t know better.

          10. As I say, the noisy assholes suck the oxygen out of the room, they’re the ones you spend time on, and spend time worrying about.

          11. Rhywun

            The only thing worse than retail is hotel desk clerk. The day I left that for an office cubicle was the happiest day of my life.

          12. FreeSociety

            I work at a consumer facing job in a nearby welfare dependent low IQ city. The amount of stupidity and irrational anger I face on a daily basis has basically made me immune to the sob stories of people that bring their misery upon themselves, which is the vast majority of bitter and miserable people.

      2. Rufus the Monocled

        Try telling that to Stephen A. Smith.

        Dude flat our scares me.

    6. Tonio

      See, I told you this would happen. You let JATNAS number his comments and then all the other kids start doing it.

    7. Rufus the Monocled

      Man critical theorists sure love over-rating themselves.

    8. Dammit, I was hoping it was Ta Coates, so we’d never have to hear from him again.

  4. Pomp

    But, what if nobody wants them? Well, really just that little corner up by a lake. The rest of the place is probably worth salvaging. And I’d personally send a lifeboat for the Glibs stuck in the bad part.

    Man this, plus that territorial bankruptcy solution that RC Dean was talking about yesterday, love reading stuff like this.

    1. Private Chipperbot

      /briefly pauses to contemplate and then goes back to mining Michigan harbors.

    2. Tonio

      RC’s solution is cleaner and better. They’d retain their congresscritters under Kass’ scheme.

    1. Pomp

      LOL the mugshot is amazing. I’m going to interpret it as meaning to convey “Oh yeah, it was worth it. He had the girth of a soda can.”

      1. straffinrun

        Let’s just call it even and leave it at time served for ‘good behavior’.

    2. BY VALARIE HONEYCUTT SPEARS

      That’s not the name of a reporter. That’s the name of some Savannah society girl.

    3. how – a – come I wasn’t “raped” by someone like her when I was young? *pouts*

      1. AlexinCT

        You was not born at the right time?

    4. Jefe Hayek

      Asking around town, she is apparently one of those smug as hell non-denominational Jesus freaks. And she banged a 14 year old. She has some serious issues.

      Also, I would. Hard

      1. Scruffy Nerfherder

        Spreading the good word.

        1. AlexinCT

          That’s one euphemism I am struggling with.. This sort of oral crap always gets me.

          1. Rasilio

            If you’re mixing oral and crap you’re doing it wrong

          2. Enough About Palin

            Nein, nein, er ist nicht.

    5. Rhywun

      I hope the rape survivor is doing well. Pulling for you, buddy. ??

      1. Certified Public Asshat

        He has a severe smiling disorder now.

        1. AlexinCT

          The fact that he might likely have to wait for several years to get some from a woman again is gonna leave him suffering… of blue balls..

          1. The Last American Hero

            I don’t know, if he can capitalize on the huge confidence wave he’s on right now, he’ll do OK.

            If I was him, I’d pick up a guitar, stat, and start writing songs about his tragic love story.

          2. AlexinCT

            Where them older womenz at?

    6. FreeSociety

      She looks like she could be Richard Spencer’s twin sister.

    7. The rap sheet reads exactly like what I’d be shooting for on our first date.

    8. Apples and Knives

      Why are they always hot? When I was 14, I wouldn’t have been that discriminating. Maybe only the hot ones get caught because they’re the only ones who inspire bragging?

      1. Number.6

        No, she’s at the exceptional end of the pupil-molester spectrum. I think if you went over all the reports filed in newspapers and got pictures, she’d be upper decile, looks-wise. For a start, they posted a picture. They don’t always do that.

  5. Author describes what it’s like when a man becomes a woman

    The Gender Games traces Dawson’s transition from James to Juno, in a saucy, sassy, sweary look at gender, and how it trips and entraps us. “Gender and I were always heading for a showdown,” she writes. “One of Gender’s most common refrains is that ‘if it looks like a boy and it sounds like a boy, it’s a boy.’” Except in her case, she was a girl inside a boy’s body.

    While ‘sex’ refers to five physical characteristics – XX or XY chromosomes; ovaries or testicles; levels of oestrogen and testosterone; uterus or prostate; clitoris or penis – gender is manmade. Slugs and snails, sugar and spice.

    The World Health Organisation defines it as “socially constructed ideas about the behaviour, actions and roles a particular sex performs.” Or as Dawson puts it, “Gender is not sex. Gender is something else. If that’s all anyone takes away from this book, I’ve won.” Gender, says Dawson, “is neither science nor God”. Instead, it comes from us – “me, you, society, religion, doctors, the media, teachers, language, culture, your parents.” Boys don’t cry, girls don’t fight. That’s gender. “Gender is messages from the patriarchy,” she tells me. “How women should be, to better suit men.”

    As a trans woman, her transition meant automatically losing male privilege; she therefore identifies strongly as a feminist. “Gender only survives if men and women get treated differently. Feminism is the best weapon against gender…. All people, whatever their sex, benefit from feminism.”

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder

      Gender only survives if men and women get treated differently

      Can we just ignore it then? If gender is not a desirable concept, then what is all the fuss about? Can’t have it both ways.

      1. mr simple

        This is what I don’t get. Gender is some oppressive social construct but we all have to play along or else. And bringing up the “third way” of the pacific islanders (third gender? whatever they call it) is both bigoted and culturally appropriating or something.

    2. Author describes what it’s like when a man becomes a woman

      I assume it’s filed under “fiction”.

      1. Scruffy Nerfherder

        Didn’t Percy Sledge have a song about that? Oh, no wait, that was when a man loves a woman.

        1. Yeah, you’ve got Percy confused with Lou Reed.

          Is he touring this year, by the way?

          1. egould310

            I’d like to see Lou Reed in concert. What an amazing storyteller.

          2. Brett L

            I’m searchin for my mainline, but I couldn’t hit it sideways.

        2. Juvenile Bluster

          Aerosmith?

    3. Rufus the Monocled

      After the West falls, it’s going to be very easy for historians to pin point where it all went awry.

    4. Gender is not sex. Gender is something else.

      Yes. I totally agree with this statement.

      Except in her case, she was a girl inside a boy’s body.

      But this is utter horseshit. “She” was a male who wanted to do things that girls do, but felt like she couldn’t without looking the part. “She” was a male who didn’t want to act like a man. Fine. But if gender isn’t sex–and it isn’t–sex isn’t gender. Meaning having surgery to make you look like you’re a different sex does not in fact make you that sex. And if the result of all this shit is that it has to be okay for females to embrace stereotypically masculine qualities, then you can fuck right off when males act like men.

      In other words, if my daughter likes the color pink and wants to play with dolls, fuck off about it. If I like to watch football, enjoy John Wayne movies, not wear my heart on my sleeve, and believe that most people’s problems would be solved if they’d just toughen the fuck up, then don’t give me shit about being a cishetero shitlord.

      1. DesigNate

        So unwoke, I can’t even.

    5. Juice

      When a ma-an becomes a wo-man.
      Can’t keep his balls or nothin else.
      He’d trade his wood
      For a taco mound

  6. straffinrun

    It is past time for the racially oppressed to do what people who believe themselves “white” will not do, put end to the vectors of their destructive mythology of whiteness and their white supremacy system #LetThemFuckingDie .

    What is a vector in this context? Doohicky, thingamajig, whatchamacallint?

    1. “Gibberish” would be my guess.

      Unless he was channeling Oswald Bates.

      1. straffinrun

        That’s about just right. Nice.

      2. bacon-magic

        Glibberish.

    2. Count Potato

      This seems to be just getting worse:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Dm7yVTbJo4

    3. Speaking for white people, right back atcha, pal.

  7. Juvenile Bluster

    The NHL Awards show/Expansion draft was such a clusterfuck.

    1. *fumes about Blackhawks losing a young defenseman*

    2. Gdragon

      Ms. Tappen was looking right at least. It’s odd, it seems like she hit 30 and started getting more attractive every year. If she could bottle that and sell it to every woman in the world she… still wouldn’t, because all women hate each other.

      1. ChipsnSalsa

        “Gilmored” that out of the park man. No clue where that comment should be.

        1. Tundra

          Nope. Exactly where it belonged. Kathryn Tappen is an NBC sports-minx who covers the NHL.

          Now apologize to the nice dragon.

          1. ChipsnSalsa

            There is a whole world out there unknown to me revolving around pro sports.

            Soorrry.

  8. Private Chipperbot

    Heading up to Indian River, Aloha state park, and Mullet lake for a week. A whole lotta appropriating going on…

    1. The Last American Hero

      Haven’t been to that corner of the state in a long time. I think the last time I went to Mullet Lake, I actually had a mullet – and it was socially acceptable.

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder

      The commies loved to install peasants in appointed positions. They were more grateful and pliable.

    2. Raston Bot

      I’ve always argued that the blind and severely handicapped should be employed by our government and that’s it. There are probably pissed off blind people listening to this post right now.

  9. ‘The Gong Show’ reboots and ‘Boy Band’ dances to distract in a new era of tumult

    A woman dressed as Little Bo Peep stuffs a tarantula in her mouth, then plays harmonica. A man dressed in a Sasquatch costume and riding a unicycle plays flaming bagpipes. They’re not to be confused with the piano-playing contortionist or Buddy Lee, the geriatric jump-roping sensation.

    If this sounds like an episode of “The Gong Show,” it is, but don’t expect to see Jamie Farr in the judge’s seat or Gene Gene the Dancing Machine busting bad disco moves across the stage.

    The ABC production, which premieres Thursday, is a reboot of the 1976 game show where Afros and tube socks reigned supreme and it was always amateur half-hour.

    Forty years later, and “The Gong Show” hasn’t matured much other than growing by 30 minutes. It’s just as crass and unsophisticated as the original, which is of course the point.

    I watched re-runs of this show when I was a kid… good times.

    ::good edit faerie flutters by::

    1. thank you, oh wonderful gossamer-winged creature.

    2. The Last American Hero

      +1 Unknown Comic

  10. Private Chipperbot

    French fashion blogger murdered by can of whipped cream.

    French authorities are investigating the death of a fashion blogger reportedly hit by an exploding whipped cream canister.

    1. straffinrun

      So the Detroit News has to go to Paris to find a murder to report on?

      1. leonadasiv

        What has become of Detroit? Have they lost so many people that the murder rate has necessarily dropped?

        1. The Last American Hero

          No, it got so dangerous that the reporters dare not ask the guards to open the gate and let them through the wall.

    2. Scruffy Nerfherder

      Consumer magazine 60 Million Consumers reported that she was hit violently in the chest by the exploding canister, leading to a heart attack.

      *looks at pic*

      Yeah, she had built in silicone impact absorbers, no way.

      1. {|}===[|}:;:;:;:;:;:;:>

        I’d volunteer to lead that probe. We’d have to do lots of hands on testing, for forensic purposes of course, across a diverse sample of chests, breasts, and cans of whipped cream.

    3. KibbledKristen

      France to ban canned whipped cream in 3, 2, 1…

      1. AlexinCT

        Allah Akbar with a cherry on top?

      2. Number.6

        Sado-dairyists hardest hit.

  11. Count Potato

    “The city council quickly ruled that the new paint job was in violation of an “approved color palette” agreed upon in 2008. KFC will now have to change its look to reflect those agreed-upon colors, presumably in a pattern less reminiscent of a circus tent.”

    WTF?? They should just demand everything is painted the same shade of grey.

    1. Private Chipperbot

      Yes, comrade!

    2. Suthenboy

      How long before black pajamas?

        1. The more I hear and read about the Antifa hijinks, the closer I get to takin’ it to the streets. There’s something about these spoiled brats throwing tantrums and bullying people they disagree with that makes me violently indignant. I think at this point I would go toe to toe with these fuckers to defend real, actual Nazis.

          1. Count Potato

            They are also getting extremely little mainstream press. Just the visual would make great TV. But nope, crickets.

      1. Microaggressor

        What you need, my son…
        What you need, my son…
        Is a holiday in Cambodia
        Where people are dressed in black
        A holiday in Cambodia
        Where you’ll kiss ass or crack

  12. Juvenile Bluster

    My idiot brother is officially moving to Chicago today. He’s all excited that his salary will be a bit higher. He’s 31 years old and doesn’t understand that between Illinois state taxes, Chicago sales taxes and other related taxes he isn’t paying in Florida, and cost of living, he’s going to be making far less. Did I ever mention he’s a committed progressive, volunteer to Barack and Hillary? He’all fit right in there.

    If any of you in Chicago see him, please slap him upside the head for me.

    1. Drake

      Good. Either he’ll have learned, or at least he will be living in a Progressive concentration camp and not bothering the rest of us. I’ve been to Chicago for business many times and cannot imagine a place I would less like to live in.

      1. Chipwooder

        Never been to Baltimore, I see?.

        1. Drake

          I have and my statement stands. (I assume I wouldn’t be living in the public housing ghetto part of either city)

          1. The nice thing about Baltimore is that it’s smaller, so you can escape faster.

          2. KibbledKristen

            I assume I wouldn’t be living in the public housing ghetto part of either city

            Then you wouldn’t be living in Baltimore! (can you tell it’s my least favorite city EVER?)

    2. Old Man With Candy

      After Swiss, SP, and I get out, it will be a progressive paradise. Yeah, Ed Wuncler will still be here, but he’s on the south side so it’s only a matter of time before he transitions from person to statistic.

    3. Michael

      Did I ever mention he’s a committed progressive, volunteer to Barack and Hillary?

      NO! YOU TAKE HIM BACK RIGHT THIS INSTANT!!!!!

      1. Michael

        I swear that the majority of progressives in this city are recent transplants. Fuck them all to hell.

    4. JD

      Plus, his Team Blue vote will be meaningless there.

    5. Certified Public Asshat

      The Illinois income tax rate is surprisingly not terrible (for now).

      Of course, coming from a 0% income tax rate, it is still a hike.

    6. The Last American Hero

      At least he’ll have access to real pizza.

      Relax, it was a joke.

    7. Number.6

      What’s his name? Ruprecht?

  13. Count Potato

    “Can Alex Jones sue Slate for peddling a conspiracy theory that might even be too outrageous for even him?”

    IT’S GOING TO MAKE THE FRIGGIN’ FROGS GAY!!

  14. Drake

    Our trains in New Jersey haven’t been running on time for a while, and it’s about to get worse. All those people who can’t take the trains are now in the worst traffic I’ve ever seen (and I lived in LA).

    Part of the problem is that didn’t do proper maintenance. Instead they spent a pile of money laying down track for a route into Sussex County which they never did actually start running.

    1. ArchieBunker

      Did anything ever happen with Christie shutting down a bridge for spite?

      1. The Last American Hero

        It cost him a shot at the Presidency and cost his party the upcoming Governor’s seat.

      2. Drake

        I think an aide or 2 got convicted.

        It’s a much bigger deal in the press than the general public in NJ. An hour delay on the GW Bridge is called Thursday morning, not an unique event.

    2. Pomp

      FTA:

      The Empire Builder passes through Tomah twice a day — once in each direction — bringing Amish families together, connecting people from small towns to Milwaukee and Minneapolis and beyond.

      It’s the same for Columbus and Portage, Wisconsin Dells and La Crosse.

      But the train with a name harking back to a time when America seemed bigger, or at least an age when traveling was a bit more unhurried, faces an uncertain fate. Under President Donald Trump’s proposed budget, hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies for long-distance Amtrak service would be slashed.

      :’-(
      :’-(
      :’-(

      1. Rhywun

        Like Congress would ever let it happen.

      2. Pope Jimbo

        Just for fun try to book a ticket on Amtrak

        My boss and I travel from Mpls to Chicago a lot for business. We were talking one day about trying the train. Normally we can hop on a Southwest flight and it costs about $160 round trip. It is normally about 5 hours door to door. Driving for me would be about 6.5 hours (then the hassle of parking in Chicago).

        So we thought we’d see how Amtrak would do.

        1) The web site is an example of how NOT to build a reservation system. Using it is a complete pain in the ass.
        2) Takes 8 hours just for the trip. My guess is that door to door is going to be 10 hours.
        3) It is $150 for one way.
        4) There is only one train per day. It leaves at 8 am and gets to Chicago at 4 pm.

        You would think that some Amtrak guy would look at the amount of flights between Mpls/Chicago every day and realize that there would be a big market for a business commuter train that ran at high speed and maybe only had one stop in Madison.

        I’m also sure that if they ever did put together a popular commuter route, that TSA would soon get involved and make security for the train as painful as it is for flying.

        1. Old Man With Candy

          Back in my CA days, I tried Amtrak for the Oxnard-San Jose run. I gave it three shots. Trains ranged from 2-4 hours late, 8 hour ride, more than double the cost of flying. On the positive side, it went past a nude beach on the Central Coast. Unfortunately, it seemed to be a predominantly gay male nude beach.

          1. Pope Jimbo

            You had a hard time with the nude beach, huh?

          2. Old Man With Candy

            It was difficult to get an erection, yes.

          3. Scruffy Nerfherder

            I bet they were all over 18 too.

        2. Juvenile Bluster

          I’m also sure that if they ever did put together a popular commuter route, that TSA would soon get involved and make security for the train as painful as it is for flying.

          They already do.

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visible_Intermodal_Prevention_and_Response_team

        3. one true athena

          After I saw some prog choo-choo article about how we should all be riding more trains, I wrote a response that pointed out Amtrak has a route from LA to Chicago. It takes a full day, basically, and costs the same as an airplane. So why the hell would anyone take the train? I also pointed out that even if that line were converted to the highest-speed train in the world it would still take longer than an airplane. And that’s why passenger trains died, outside of commuter lines in the west.

          that said, my kid and I did take the Amtrak from LA to San Luis Obispo to meet my husband at a conference. It was a nice route, and the back of Vandenberg was cool, but outside of that special circumstance it’s not something I’ll do again.

    3. Dr Mossy Lawn

      The only reasonable train line in NJ is the NE corridor. Princeton Jct to NYC.

      The Morris-Essex, Peapack and Boonton lines are all freight speed. It takes 2 hours from Netcong to WTC. With the one train tunnel (south near Hoboken) and the one path tunnel the trains have to swing south where the roads go via the GW, Lincoln and Holland tunnels.

      I didn’t hear that they were trying to extend rail up Rt23, those lines have been dormant for decades. I’m glad that they abandoned trying to extend the line to Blairstown/Stroudsburg. There is no ridership, we don’t want to go to NYC if it takes 2+ hours.

      I gave up on the Rt80 corridor 10 years ago when getting up at 5:00am couldn’t beat the traffic from 206->287..

  15. Rufus the Monocled

    Barry Melrose is a boob.

    1. Juvenile Bluster

      Not nearly as bad as Mike Milbury, who deserves to be fired. Out of a cannon. Into the sun.

      1. Seconded.

        *holds out powder bag*

  16. A Fuggin White Male

    Trump seemingly has a very dedicated base. Is it possible though that he could really win some libertarian support in 2020? The proposed budget cuts have got me thinking. If he actually is able to halt or significantly slow the growth of the federal budget (or, dare I say, actually shrink it), would he win some libertarian votes in 2020?

    1. Viking1865

      There’s a few pieces of legislation that if passed by the Congress and signed by Trump, would get me to vote for him. Major tax cuts, actual spending cuts, and a big gun rights law would do it.

      1. A Fuggin White Male

        Which are all parts of his agenda as well. For me, it would be to follow through with the spending cuts, major tax cuts, and continuing to scale back onerous regulations. Oh, and no more involvement in overseas conflicts. I don’t care about the the tough talk and saber rattling, or the occasional cruise missile into a mostly empty air base in order to show that he’s serious. But I don’t want more boots on the ground anywhere.

        If he could pick up half of the libertarian vote in 2020, Democrats would have a serious uphill battle. OH, NC, and to a lesser extent FL would all be solidly red. Trump would be starting at 260, with PA, WI, MI, and NH as tossups leaning red, NV and MN as legit tossups, and CO, NM and VA going from blue to tossups leaning blue (at least enough of a tossup threat that the Dems would have to waste money there).

        TL;DR… Unless Trump fucks up royally (which is entirely possible), Democrats are fucked in 2020.

        1. The Last American Hero

          A recession or major terror attack could derail him, but I’ve been saying this since the day after election day – if things are more or less the same in 2019 as they are today, and if Team Blue can’t get its shit together, he’s a shoe-in in 2020. All those concerns about him starting WWIII, crashing the economy, or starting concentration camps are going to fall by the way side.

    2. Pomp

      Only thing Trump really can do is have him and his executive branch minions lobby for the tax reform/cuts through negotiation, bully pulpit, whatever. The useless unflushed turds in Congress need to be pressured to reform.

  17. The Late P Brooks

    Golly- I wonder what Johnny Eric Williams would say if some “white” person said, in reference to welfare recipients of color, “Let ’em starve.”?

  18. Rufus the Monocled

    Architects of Western Decline:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTmNWY0ZPfM

  19. The case for restricting hate speech

    In fact, empirical data suggest that frequent verbal harassment can lead to various negative consequences. Racist hate speech has been linked to cigarette smoking, high blood pressure, anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, and requires complex coping strategies. Exposure to racial slurs also diminishes academic performance. Women subjected to sexualized speech may develop a phenomenon of “self-objectification,” which is associated with eating disorders.

    These negative physical and mental health outcomes — which embody the historical roots of race and gender oppression — mean that hate speech is not “just speech.” Hate speech is doing something. It results in tangible harms that are serious in and of themselves and that collectively amount to the harm of subordination. The harm of perpetuating discrimination. The harm of creating inequality.

    Instead of characterizing racist and sexist hate speech as “just speech,” courts and legislatures need to account for this research and, perhaps, allow the restriction of hate speech as do all of the other economically advanced democracies in the world.

    1. Mark Krikorian Verified account @MarkSKrikorian 7h7 hours ago
      Coming up in next week’s @LATimes editorial page: “The case for book burning”!

    2. Scruffy Nerfherder

      Speech as violence. They’re articulating their case in the major outlets now. They’ve got to be feeling a little bit of a sting from the Supreme Court trademark case this week.

      1. straffinrun

        courts and legislatures need to account for this research

        No, they don’t. Haha.

    3. Juvenile Bluster

      Poor Popehat was about having an aneurysm when that was published.

    4. Somebody needs to ask this fucking pussy if they were traumatized at a young age when people made fun of them on the playground.

      Because they obviously never heard “sticks and stones” while allegedly growing up.

      1. spqr2008

        I’m pretty damned sure that most of that kind of playground bullying either does one of two things. If you’re a slight sociopath with relatively little empathy, it makes you into a libertarian, like me, but if you are too emotional, it makes you become a perpetual victim, since fighting, or even a swift punch in the nose of a bully is a huge huge problem now, and could result in criminal charges in elementary school. I mean, I was a jackass to one of the kids in my class in 5th grade, and finally, after one two many smackdowns about his game in basketball (I was having the game of my life, and he was having an off day, I really do suck at sports) at recess, he punched me in the forehead with his NIKE ring (left an awesome scar for almost a year), and that was me taught to no longer be a jackass to him. No violence beyond the one punch, since it sort of stunned me that he would hit me.

      2. MikeS

        I’ve been saying this for years now. What the hell ever happened to “Sticks and stones…?” I mean, it must literally be a relic of previous decades.

        Millenial Glibs; did you ever hear the “sticks and stones” chant on the playground?

        1. Floridaman

          I did, quite often.

        2. compgrokker

          I did as well. Although, I’m an 80s-born millennial, so I barely count.

        3. leonadasiv

          I totally heard it and i’m early 90’s kid

    5. wdalasio

      Crap like this makes me almost wish they could get their way. With one caveat – the official government arbiters of hate versus free speech (and hell, make it a lifetime appointment) would be Rick Santorum, Milos Yiannopoulos, and Michael Savage.

      1. AlexinCT

        Of course these people always assume they will be the ones deciding what is and is not bad speech. If you point out you agree with them but then tell them you want these people to make the arbitration, their heads will explode.

    6. Count Potato

      There was less child obesity back when it was OK to tease fat kids.

      1. leonadasiv

        You see less schools obesity, I see less waistline diversity shitlord!

      2. Rasilio

        As someone who was the fat kid let me tell you that you are full of shit. Mocking someone is one of the WORST ways to motivate them and for every kid it spurs to get into shape there are 10 who it does nothing but damage their self confidence and another 2 or 3 who it damages so severely that it pushes them into gaining even more weight.

        1. Count Potato

          That’s still a 9% reduction. If those are actual statistics.

          1. Rasilio

            Not actual statistics but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some out there somewhere. That said, isn’t ignoring the cost and focusing only on the supposed benefits a tactic reserved for progressives?

        1. Rhywun

          That whole story is so crazy. Even with all the exclamation points.

          1. Suthenboy

            I think Jones doesnt get the appreciation he deserves. He was everything bad about socialism/communism rolled into one and dialed up to 11 and the SF pinko pols loved them some Jim Jones. Of course now they all pretend it never happened, but every time I look at Feinstein I see the monster that she really is.

  20. The Late P Brooks

    They should just demand everything is painted the same shade of grey.

    In Holidays in Hell, P J O’Rourke made anexcellent observation about the unmitigated drabness of socialist countries. That stuck with me.

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder

      Having been to the GDR, I can verify that it’s true. Gray, with streaks of coal soot and despair.

      1. Rhywun

        Ditto

        1. Chipwooder

          Same here. I was there on a school trip in the spring of 1990, after the wall came down but before the final implosion of the GDR. I have picture after picture of washed-out Trabants and dull buildings. I remember one picture in particular, taken from our bus, of a bright red Porsche. What it was doing in Leipzig, I don’t know, but I took the picture because, even at age 13, the contrast between that Porsche and the hordes of pale, ugly little Trabants on the road was stunning.

          1. {|}===[|}:;:;:;:;:;:;:>

            I remember in ’96 they still had occupied buildings from the pre-war period with unpaired damage from small arms fire.

    2. Juvenile Bluster

      I visited Poland in the early 90s, just after the fall of the iron curtain. It was striking how gray and drab everything was.

      1. Michael

        You should see it now if you haven’t recently. It is absolutely magnificent.

    3. Count Potato

      I was thinking of Sweden in this:

      http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1139797/

      Great film, btw. The American remake is crap though.

  21. straffinrun

    Free speech under fire after Finsbury

    ‘Glad I’m not running the van hire’, he burbled. ‘The police wouldn’t like what my answer would be. It’s my dad’s company I don’t get involved it’s a shame they don’t hire out steam rollers or tanks could have done a tidy job then.’ And for that stream of deeply unpleasant nonsense, he was arrested ‘on suspicion of displaying threatening, abusive, insulting written material with intent that is likely to stir up racial hatred’.

    Do people just keep forgetting they live in the UK?

    1. Stinky Wizzleteats

      The U.K. Is worried the Muzzies will riot so they crack down on the local yokels when they talk shit about them. The natives have to burn some shit down and then they’ll get some consideration.

      1. They already tried that several times.

        1. Brett L

          They should try Parliament again. The Gunpowder Plot got lots of attention on the Catholic Problem.

          1. Not the right kind of attention.

  22. Stinky Wizzleteats

    I hope Trump does a better job defunding Amtrak than he did defunding public television and radio.

    1. Chipwooder

      The progs do love their choo-choos so.

    2. totally_not_an_escaped_ai

      Yeah, defund Amtrack! Except the Capital Corridor train that does the Sacramento to San Jose route. I use that every day. That one totally needs more federal support because reasons.

      /bad libertarian

  23. Coming soon to a country near you:

    Shoreham man jailed for stirring up religious hatred in Facebook posts

    Sussex Police Hate Crime Sergeant, Peter Allan said: “The charges brought in this case are extremely serious and were only brought against four people in England and Wales during 2016. Nigel Pelham used Facebook to express some truly offensive views, with no understanding of how serious his actions were. Many people see social media as a harmless and sometimes faceless place to air their opinions, however I hope this shows we will not tolerate this type of behaviour and will act when someone reports their concern about what someone is posting.

    “I hope the sentence handed down by the court on Friday acts as a deterrent to others and sends a reassuring message to those who may be directly targeted or are more widely affected by people’s use of social media to spread messages of fear and hate.

    1. Drake

      Hate Crime Sergeant

      So a whole “Hate Crime” department? I bet they don’t report to the Chief at the end of the week that there were no hate crimes.

      1. Stinky Wizzleteats

        Maybe they should hire a Grooming Gangs Sergeant.

      2. Agent Cooper

        He works under the GROUP THINK LEFTENANT.

    2. Count Potato

      So religious expression is protected, but not expressions of hate? Unless they are both, then what?

      1. Juvenile Bluster

        Depends on which religion.

  24. Count Potato

    She could have done better.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-4627560/Alison-Brie-Dave-Franco-stare-adoringly-premiere.html

    I mean, come on, he’s not even James Franco.

    Also, (((would))) (Alison, not Dave)

    1. Negroni Please

      But, not being James Franco is Dave Franco’s best quality

      1. Count Potato

        Clearly, his wife is his best quality.

  25. ChipsnSalsa

    But, what if nobody wants them? Well, really just that little corner up by a lake. The rest of the place is probably worth salvaging. And I’d personally send a lifeboat for the Glibs stuck in the bad part.

    As a citizen of Wisconsin, I like my southern border right where it is thank you very much. Getting stuck with Chicago and Rockford? ugh.

    I think I’d have to move to Minnesota.

    1. robc

      Lets not talk crazy.

      Rockford has that cool looking water park on the north side of town.

      1. ChipsnSalsa

        We have Wisconsin Dells.

        Second thought, we could hike that border up a bit and IL can have Beloit.

        1. *shakes fist*

          /Grew up in Rockford

          1. straffinrun

            Dad is from Rockford and mom from Dekalb. Brother!

    2. Pope Jimbo

      Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!

      Hold on there Packer breath. You can’t just move to Minnesoda. You have to live in Hudson, Somerset or River Falls and migrate in each morning for work. We have standards here and quite frankly you and Carl Gerbschmidt don’t make the cut.

      1. ChipsnSalsa

        I will bring beer over.

        1. Tundra

          Thanks, but we’re good.

        2. Pope Jimbo

          The beer explains your wimmin. (may not be SFW)

  26. The Late P Brooks

    Ed Wuncler will still be here, but he’s on the south side so it’s only a matter of time before he transitions from person to statistic.

    That’s just mean.

    Stop and pick him up on your way out of town.

    1. Old Man With Candy

      We’ll make him ride in the back seat.

      1. Juvenile Bluster

        Euphemism?

    1. What do you think SugarFree is wearing right now?

      1. Count Potato

        A unicorn onesie?

    2. Pomp

      Doesn’t do anything for me. Good voice though.

    1. Juvenile Bluster

      Hey, at least he was involved when the protests actually meant something and did something, instead of whatever the fuck they’re doing now.

      1. Scruffy Nerfherder

        True. It’s somewhat sad to see grown ass adults participating in this virtue signaling competition though. Holier than thou has made a major comeback.

    2. Colonel Slanders

      HAHAHAHAHA! These days, when reading about the latest outrage being committed by Proglodytes, I’m constantly reminded of a Nazi Officer, who when speaking of the Russian POW’s in the camp he was at: ‘Having eaten everything in sight including their shoes, they’ve turned to the only thing left: each other’ – LOL.

  27. Pope Jimbo

    Cops are miffed that they are not welcome at the Minneapolis Pride parade

    As much as I enjoy the butt hurt from the local cops at not being fawned over, the organizers are pretty stupid too.

    The increased police presence in response to the Orlando shooting at Pride last year left many people of color feeling “unsafe,” Wood said.

    “Specifically, the queer and trans people of color reached out to us saying cops in uniform at Pride might make white people feel safe, but not us.”

    1. Of course the cops have an “LGBTQ liaison.”

      While the article isn’t 100% clear, it seems they’re not only limiting police protection at their parade, they’re telling gay cops not to participate as marchers – at least not in uniform.

      1. Scruffy Nerfherder

        That’s odd. Almost all of the gay pride parades I’ve seen have had some cops marching along. At least they were dressed like cops with their tight shorts and all….

        1. Agent Cooper
        2. Number.6

          Hate to break it to you but – those strap-ons and assless chaps? — NOT standard issue, dude.

    2. Haybob

      How can you do the YMCA routine without the cop?

      1. Count Potato

        “Missed it by this much”

      2. Old Man With Candy

        I note without comment that there are no scientists in The Village People.

        1. Count Potato

          Men in lab coats and glasses aren’t sexy like women in lab coats and glasses. Same with librarian and schoolteacher outfits. Cops, cowpunchers, bikers, etc. work for both because they’re physical roles.

          1. Pomp

            Same reason I could never take Gordon Freeman, the badass bespectacled scientist toughguy from Half-Life, seriously.

          2. Number.6

            I never quite escaped the feeling that I was a panicked, psycho Elvis Costello.

          3. Pomp

            Truth is that Half-Life was just a really long acid trip.

          4. Number.6

            You bastard! Shoulda given a spoiler warning.

            I have a save game just before I take on the final Boss – so, do I wake up during the credits, muttering “oh my! It was just a dream!”?

    3. Count Potato

      “”Organizers in Portland, Ore., are asking officers to consider not wearing their uniforms because some “don’t feel comfortable attending alongside police in uniform,” according to the Oregonian.”

      Then how do you explain this?

      http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_t6rV3U9ZEHM/TD3VG-Wz60I/AAAAAAAA2dw/v4XxO2x1xtA/s1600/village_people.jpg

      1. Stinky Wizzleteats

        Cops not in uniform are still cops though. I’m not normally a fan o’ the fuzz but fuck that shit.

    4. Brett L

      Even the female cops? That seems hurtful.

    5. Tundra

      Wait, what about the white queer and trans people?

    6. You guys are all missing the most important part of the story. Gay black people are afraid of cops so they want cops away from their parade. This means their color is more important than their sexuality.
      Therefore, we can deduce that race is higher on the SJW grievance scale than LGBT. a question that had been a head-scratcher for some time, although I doubt white trannies and queers (their word choice, not mine) aren’t gonna be too happy.

      1. ChipsnSalsa

        *corrects intersectional scorecard*

      2. leonadasiv

        The times we live in. Research on the hierarchy is picking up pace. Soon we will have mapped all the victim groups!

        1. Pope Jimbo

          Maps are a tool of the patriarchy!

          1. Count Potato

            They are according to The Journal of Feminist Geography.

      3. KibbledKristen

        I’ve seen lots and lots and lots of anti-white griefing among LGBT folks for quite some time.

    7. The Last American Hero

      What about the dudes at the parade that like to cosplay as cops?

  28. Jefe Hayek

    Has anyone mentioned what a bunch of pussy ass CUCKS! the NRA is for not blitzing the media with support for Philando Castile? Between this and just giving up on states like Maryland and California, I’m definitely not going to re-up.

    They have become as bad as any lobbying group on the left; we can’t actually work to end racism/sexism/attacks on gun rights, because then people won’t need to give us money!

    1. Stinky Wizzleteats

      Yep, the NRA sucks-GOA maybe?

      1. FreeSociety

        GOA are good. Radically good.

      2. robc

        GOA grading of politicians is more honest than the NRA. No bonus points/penalties for being and R/D.

        1. Cliche Bandit

          JPFO or GTFO

    2. Brett L

      This issue is so bad, I found myself agreeing with Trevor Noah. I had a big argument with a friend where I described why I didn’t join a gun club once because they required NRA membership and the only NRA membership even remotely worth buying at the time was the lifetime membership. He couldn’t figure out why I wouldn’t buy the lifetime membership.

      Me: “What if they start doing things I disagree with?”
      Him: “Sure, but when will that happen?”
      Me: “Have you ever seen a big advocacy group NOT fuck up?”
      Him: “But its the NRA”

      1. Stinky Wizzleteats

        Back during the Sandy Hook frenzy I got a one year membership for that exact reason and I’m glad I did it that way.

      2. Jefe Hayek

        Yankee Marshal is the 2nd best youtube gun channel (behind Hickok45) and he absolutely rakes the NRA over the coals for this and all of their bullshit. He’s the one that really turned me on to how fucked up the NRA was

    3. Juvenile Bluster

      Their lack of response to Castile has nothing to do with race and everything to do with the NRA loving cops like a fat kid loves cake. They don’t have the balls to call them out even in an obvious situation like this.

      Next payday (along with giving money to this place) I’m giving to the Pink Pistols.

      1. Chipwooder

        Most likely true. It’s one of the inherent contradictions on the right – suspicion of government overreach while slavishly worshipping the enforcers of said government overreach.

    4. egould310

      I have a colleague who was pretty upset by the Philando Castile episode yesterday. She never gets upset by stuff like that. She saw the shooting on YouTube. I never bring up politics, libertarianism, etc. But yesterday, something changed. I think people may waking up to the reality of modern law enforcement and the total state. I kept trying to steer the conversation away from “racist cop” to “consequences of criminalizing everything” and “too much government “..

      1. Tundra

        It was a goddamn taillight, a legal firearm, a pussy cop and the devil weed. Almost everything wrong with modern law enforcement in one story.

      2. Count Potato

        If I remember Rand Paul tried to make that argument after Eric Garner died. But the Left had to insist it was racism, and they weren’t the racists, somehow.

    5. Number.6

      They’re getting *some* shit for that, including from me, given that I had a letter from old Wayne begging for money in the mail (again) on Tuesday.

    6. You need to look into SAF (Second Amendment Foundation) and NAGR (Natl Assn for Gun Rights) before you give GOA your money. I think SAF is better. I don’t know much about NAGR. I’ve just heard them mentioned by Mother Jones as pure evil, so they’re probably decent.

      1. KibbledKristen

        NAGR is highly aggressive in everything they do – including soliciting. I actually appreciate that. They also do some really nice gun giveaways, no purchase/donation necessary.

        1. Number.6

          URL or GTFO!

          1. Number.6

            Danke!

      2. Gustave Lytton

        SAF is a load of shit. Alan Gottlieb is a sellout and a compromiser. Fuck them.

        1. Gustave Lytton

          Among others, he was a support & advocate of Manchin-Toomey.

      3. Raston Bot

        I can’t find any substantial accomplishments by NAGR and it appears to be just one guy doing aggressive social media.

        SAF files the occasional amicus curiae.

        The NRA has a new self-defense insurance program they’re pushing to compete with USCCA’s coverage. That is a battle the NRA’s losing. USCCA relentlessly promotes their success stories and are very generous with gun giveaways. They jumped into that market niche (affordable comprehensive coverage) and scooped up a hundred thousand members before the NRA even realized the tectonic shift in the concealed carry scene. Maybe the NRA was blinded by their subservience to the thin blue line. Whatever. That was a big misstep.

      4. Pope Jimbo

        As a white guy, I’m going to avoid NAGR.

        I can just see the trouble when meeting a fellow member: “What up my NAGR?”

        1. Raston Bot

          fortunately the acronym is spelled out on their hats.

        2. peachy rex

          “Pope Jimbo is a NAGR!”
          “What’d he say?”
          “Pope Jimbo is near.”

          1. Pope Jimbo

            Pope Jimbo: “Hold on while I whip this out”

            Jeronimo Yanez: *blam* *blam* *blam*

          2. Cliche Bandit

            *blam* *blam* *blam* and *blam*

            You forgot the other four.

  29. Rufus the Monocled

    The comments in the L.A. Times article are awesome.

    Once again, I detect an increasing gulf between the narrative and what people think. There’s a limit to which people will tolerate critical theory and I think we’re hitting that ceiling.

    I hope.

    1. straffinrun

      There’s a poll out there saying the exact opposite and Nate Silver is staking his reputation on it.

  30. The Late P Brooks

    Fucking rich people…

    Perhaps most importantly, the new investment in inconspicuous consumption reproduces privilege in a way that previous conspicuous consumption could not. Knowing which New Yorker articles to reference or what small talk to engage in at the local farmers’ market enables and displays the acquisition of cultural capital, thereby providing entry into social networks that, in turn, help to pave the way to elite jobs, key social and professional contacts, and private schools. In short, inconspicuous consumption confers social mobility.

    More profoundly, investment in education, healthcare and retirement has a notable impact on consumers’ quality of life, and also on the future life chances of the next generation. Today’s inconspicuous consumption is a far more pernicious form of status spending than the conspicuous consumption of Veblen’s time.

    Inconspicuous consumption – whether breastfeeding or education – is a means to a better quality of life and improved social mobility for one’s own children, whereas conspicuous consumption is merely an end in itself – simply ostentation. For today’s aspirational class, inconspicuous consumption choices secure and preserve social status, even if they do not necessarily display it.

    Privileged bastards.

    1. ChipsnSalsa

      Damn, I filled up on salad. Now I’m not hungry for the main course.

    2. Tundra

      Well that was a load of steaming shit. Not surprising, though. Here’s her 14 page resume.

      As I suspected, she’s never seen the real world.

      1. Scruffy Nerfherder

        Columbia University; Ph.D., Urban Planning 2006
        Thesis Advisor: Susan Fainstein
        Carnegie Mellon University, H. John Heinz School of Public Policy and Management
        Master of Science 2002; Public Policy and Management
        Carnegie Mellon University; Bachelor of Arts 2000
        Professional Writing and Creative Writing; Minor in Business Administration and
        Environmental Policy

        Everything about that screams busybody.

        1. Pomp

          OoooOOooh, sciencey.

          1. Number.6

            I see no “ologies” there.

      2. Agent Cooper

        Ugh. She went to my alma mater — CMU.

        1. Number.6

          It seems like CMU is the Curates Egg. Sad.

    3. Scruffy Nerfherder

      People making choices in their own self-interest! How dare they?

      1. AlexinCT

        Because collectivism is all about drones servicing the master class, and you can’t have that when people serve their own interests…

    4. Rhywun

      That is a whole of lot of pretentious twaddle.

    5. Ken Shultz

      “More profoundly, investment in education, healthcare and retirement has a notable impact on consumers’ quality of life, and also on the future life chances of the next generation. Today’s inconspicuous consumption is a far more pernicious form of status spending than the conspicuous consumption of Veblen’s time.”

      Eureka, he’s discovered the Protestant work ethic!

      It’s as old as . . . well, if not the hills, then certainly it’s as old as Calvinism.

      If he keeps going like this, he may soon discover that the earth orbits the sun.

      1. Tundra

        She, but yeah.

        1. Ken Shultz

          Has this guy never heard of the Puritans and their impact on American culture?

          You mean rappers appear garish to average suburban Americans, like, really?

          Who knew?!

        2. Ken Shultz

          Jeff Bezos, last I heard, still drives around in an old, beat up Volvo station wagon.

          Warren Buffet has lived in the same old Iowa farmhouse for decades.

          These are points of pride–and have been for decades.

          No, driving around in a car you can’t afford doesn’t impress wealthy people. One of the wealthiest people I know drives around in a Prius.

          It’s generally bad for business, too. Your employees may not think you need to pay then enough to afford a new Mercedes if you don’t drive one yourself–although their wives may disagree.

          Incidentally, that seems to be a great predictor of divorce in SoCal–if your relationship with your wife has broken down to the point where you drive a nicer car than she does, you’re probably well on the way to getting divorced whether you realize it or not.

          1. robc

            Iowa farmhouse

            Did he have it shipped to Omaha?

          2. Ken Shultz

            Iowa, Nebraska, it’s all flyover country, right?

            Just kidding!!!

          3. The Last American Hero

            I remember Bill Gates did an interview a couple years back with a local paper. He picked the reporter up for lunch in his Lexus. A fine, pricey car to be sure, but Bill is the richest man in the world. He didn’t send a limo, or even show up in one, and he didn’t show up in the Batmobile or some exotic super car. Just a car that half the lawyers in town own.

          4. robc

            He used to play 3-6 hold em in Vegas.

          5. ChipsnSalsa

            don’t work to overturn import laws and government dictated standards. Nope, just carve out a exemption for yourself.

    6. leonadasiv

      Today’s inconspicuous consumption is a far more pernicious form of status spending …a means to a better quality of life and improved social mobility for one’s own children,

      That there is what you need to take away. Now rich people frittering away their wealth is good, compared to this ‘new’ horrible trend of rich people paying to set their kids up for the future.

      1. Ken Shultz

        It’s like it was written by someone who grew up in the projects, made it to the middle class, and suddenly realized that “flaunt it if you got it” is actually embarrassing in polite society.

        This is why so many football players end up bankrupt shortly after leaving the NFL.

        This is why MC Hammer made a fortune and ended up giving it all to the IRS.

        Ostentatious displays by Puritans were things like an ownership button.

        They used to put a white disk on the center of their banister landing once they paid off on their house and it was owned free and clear.

        Being in debt was so uncool, and if you didn’t have any debt, that you might want to flaunt–along with the fact that you’re self-sufficient and despite your wealth, your wife sews her own clothes. What could be cooler than that?

        I had a girlfriend who used to get embarrassed as hell when I’d brag about how little I paid for something or how I built my hot rod myself. I went to a boarding prep school full of people like me. This isn’t new. It’s older than America.

        1. robc

          It is like she read The Millionaire Next Door and declared it evil.

  31. Ken Shultz

    Representative Debbie Dingell of Michigan called for Democrats to go “on offense” and attack the president’s perceived strength on economic matters with working-class voters.

    “We need to show working men and women we understand their anxieties and fears,” she said, “and show that Trump is treating them like just another politician.”

    . . . .

    Representative Tim Ryan of Ohio, who tried to unseat Ms. Pelosi as House minority leader late last fall, said she remained a political millstone for Democrats. But Mr. Ryan said the Democratic brand had also become “toxic” in much of the country because voters saw Democrats as “not being able to connect with the issues they care about.”

    “Our brand is worse than Trump,” he said.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/21/us/pelosi-georgia-ossoff-democrats.html

    Point 1: White, middle class, blue collar voters think the Democratic Party represents the concerns of radical environmentalists, feminists, illegal aliens, LGBT, and Muslims. They think the Democratic leadership hates the white, blue collar, middle class, and this may because the Democratic leadership actually does hate the white, blue collar, middle class.

    Point 2: The Democrat representatives from Michigan and Ohio get it–while those from California, Massachusetts, and New York seem to think the way to beat Trump in places like Georgia is to hate the white, blue collar,middle class even harder. The beatings will continue until morale improves!

    Yes, the Democrat brand is worse than Trump’s.

    1. Ken Shultz

      June 22, 2017 at 7:55 am — The moment Ken Shultz first succeeded in using an html tag on word press.

      Now, I’m unstoppable.

        1. ChipsnSalsa

          That was short, for Ken

        2. Ken Shultz

          That was like four sentences!

          Half of it was the quote I was commenting on!

          C’mon!

          1. Agent Cooper

            What are you looking at?

      1. F. Stupidity Jr.

        *Gives Ken Schultz the overlong, awkward, politicians-in-post-debate handshake*

    2. american socialist

      Hmm anyone catch the “like any other politician?” Are they admitting the democrats are just politicians

      1. Ken Shultz

        Before they can come to terms with why Democrats should charge that Trump is just like any other politician, they’d have to change so much of what they think–it’s probably impossible.

        That’s somebody who sees how bad the progressive/SJW Democratic party plays with swing voters in swing states.

        There’s no way the Democrat leadership can use that message to their advantage. The reason swing voters in swing states hate the SJWs and progressives in the Democratic party leadership isn’t because they’re Nancy Pelosi. The reason swing voters hate the SJWs and progressives in the Democratic party leadership is because they’re progressives and SJWs.

        How do you convince true believers that their beliefs are the problem?

        Paul Ryan might do well to go after some of those Democrats to flip–except that he’s got such a comfortable margin, and his biggest headaches right now come from moderates–who needs more of what’s giving him headaches?

    3. wdalasio

      And it only tends to get worse with time, at least until the Republicans fuck up. Democrats in Ohio or Michigan “get it” because they have to get it. There’s a real chance that the party’s hatred of white, blue collar,middle class could cost them their seats. Democrats from California, Massachusetts, and New York are in a safer position. They know they can hate them with impunity. But that just means that the Law of Averages means the ones from Ohio or Michigan get voted out while the ones from California, Massachusetts, and New York remain.

      How many districts that had Blue Dogs twenty years ago are now Republican?

      1. Ken Shultz

        The Republicans have never been so strong.

        The internal fights they’re having now are largely about former Democrats flooding into the Republican party.

        Moderate Republicans today are the mainstream Democrats of yesteryear.

        What they call radical Republicans are libertarians, fiscal conservatives, and Tea Party types.

        The Democrat/Republican divide of old now runs through the middle of the Republican party.

        The Democrats are radical. They’re what used to be called the New Left. Environmentalists, feminists, LGBT, black lives matter, and illegal alien interests. These are all radical leftist groups from the ’60s and ’70s. When they took over the party in the ’70s, the white, blue collar middle class flocked to Reagan, and they’re doing the same thing now with Trump–and for the same reason.

        To get away from the radicals running the Democratic party.

        1. wdalasio

          Exactly. But, that domination of the Democrats will only get more pronounced as things continue. The flocking of the blue collar middle class Democrats to the GOP means the non-New-Left Democratic politicians will have fewer and fewer roles in the Democratic party. Telling folks in suburban Dayton that the country’s top priority needs to be high speed rail between San Francisco and LA and that there’s nothing wrong with the Ohio economy that a nice hefty dose of queer feminist deconstruction theory can’t fix is hardly a recipe for getting guys like Tim Ryan elected.

          And when that happens, the natural inclination Is for the party to respond to losing by doubling down. For Chuck Schumer, for Nancy Pelosi, for Liz Warren, for Maxine Waters, the response to a challenge is to increase their appeal to the New Left. They’d be crazy to respond in any other way. Increasing their appeal to the left is what gets them elected. Going after white, blue-collar, middle-class voters at the expense of the left would end their political career. It’s just what works for them personally, is disastrous when you try to apply it to competitive, toss-up districts.

    4. FreeSociety

      They think the Democratic leadership hates the white, blue collar, middle class, and this may because the Democratic leadership actually does hate the white, blue collar, middle class.

      It’s surprising it took so many whites so long to figure that out. They’ve been positively gleeful about the diminishing white population anywhere and everywhere it’s happening and they proudly declare their intent to slam down on the accelerator.

      1. Ken Shultz

        From my perspective, it’s more about not being able to see themselves through the eyes of average Americans.

        Talk to a progressive about how the white, blue collar, middle class sees the Democrats as hating them, and that progressive conversation will quickly turn it into a conversation about why the white, blue collar, middle class deserves to be hated. They’re too stupid to believe in AGW, they’re racist, they’re homophobic, they’re always driving around in trucks and shooting guns, . . .

        I had a conversation with Hazel a while back that was illustrative. She was wondering out loud about why Trump voters would oppose student visas when most of the engineering and STEM undergrads and grad students were foreign students anyway. It’s not as if those stupid little, white, blue collar voters or their kids are ever going to go to college anyway–much less graduate with a STEM degree.

        There were a chorus of others who sang the same song subsequent threads. It was like listening to segregationists back in the 50’s and early 60’s talk about why there’s no point in letting black people into white colleges anyway–since they don’t have the . . .

        Its hard for the elitist mind to perceive its own elitism.

        Yeah, if average Americans willingly support state schools, it isn’t because they want to make sure foreign elitist kids get an excellent chance at a STEM degree. It’s because they’re hoping their own kids might go to college. When I wrote that, you’d have thought I were arguing for the Flat Earth Society. How could the children of Trump voters imagine that their kids would go to college, Ken? That’s just crazy!

        1. FreeSociety

          I had a conversation with Hazel a while back that was illustrative.

          She’s a microcosm of the prevailing wisdom of leftist culture warriors, always an illustrative commenter…

          Yeah, if average Americans willingly support state schools, it isn’t because they want to make sure foreign elitist kids get an excellent chance at a STEM degree. It’s because they’re hoping their own kids might go to college.

          Literally Hitler. But no I get you, it astounds people that Americans would want to enact policies that benefit their own children and their own communities futures, and not some Congolese villagers or Pakistani military officer’s kid.

          1. Ken Shultz

            It later became clear to me that not only is Hazel contemptuous of average Americans, she’s also, I gather, a student from Canada pursuing a STEM graduate degree.

            She somehow thought that paying higher tuition as a foreign student and not being allowed to work on some research projects funded by the U.S. government meant that American taxpayers weren’t supporting her.

            I mentioned that money is fungible and linked to a graph showing what a small percentage of funding tuition accounts for at a typical public school and how much was funded by state and federal government.

            She genuinely believes that Trump voters’ kids have so little chance of being successful in college that their parents couldn’t possibly imagine that was a reasonable option for them. I must be a nut-job for thinking Trump voter’s kids have a legitimate shot at anything but accidentally shooting themselves.

            In fact, it quickly became apparent that she thought I must be a redneck–not that there’s anything wrong with that! It’s just that after having her arguments chopped up into little pieces and sent back to her in a box, she still couldn’t let go of them. No, the better explanation was that I must be a redneck–because I’m too dumb to be an elitist.

            P.S. Elitism is incompatible with libertarian capitalism and dovetails nicely with authoritarian socialism.

          2. AlexinCT

            She somehow thought that paying higher tuition as a foreign student and not being allowed to work on some research projects funded by the U.S. government meant that American taxpayers weren’t supporting her.

            Typical idiot proggie that doesn’t understand most STEM research at schools is paid for by the DOD, and because it usually is for military applications, requires a security clearance. In all honesty, most proggies seem to have a problem with the concept of a security clearance. Hillary commits clear crimes, and it is no big deal, But Hillary loses the election to Trump, and suddenly there has to be some nefarious reason other than Hillary being seen for the vapid and totally moronic criminal she is. Now suddenly security matters.

            Double standards and all that…

          3. wdalasio

            She genuinely believes that Trump voters’ kids have so little chance of being successful in college that their parents couldn’t possibly imagine that was a reasonable option for them. I must be a nut-job for thinking Trump voter’s kids have a legitimate shot at anything but accidentally shooting themselves.

            As someone whose parents worked as a truck driver and waitress and whose widowed mother proudly voted for Trump, Hazel can go fuck herself.

            Oh, and I’m Phi Beta Kappa, Pi Mu Epsilon, Omicron Delta Epsilon with Honors and have an MBA from a Top 20 program.

          4. Ken Shultz

            That’s the American dream.

          5. wdalasio

            The thing is it’s really not that uncommon. My impression is that the STEM and management fields have a comparatively large portion of people from working class families (“Trump voters”).

          6. Ken Shultz

            In Hazel’s defense, she may be contemptuous of average Canadians, too!

          7. AlexinCT

            Because they probably don’t prog hard enough for her likes?

          8. FreeSociety

            Well you’ve probably interacted with her enough to know what her assumptions about human nature and society are. She seems to be contemptuous of anyone outside the coalition of protected groups who isn’t a guilt ridden leftist culture warrior.

          1. Number.6

            The nutty one.

          2. Scruffy Nerfherder

            The witch

          3. You saw what I was trying to do there.

          4. FreeSociety

            The SJW. I don’t say that lightly. She is the genuine article.

          5. F. Stupidity Jr.

            Granted that I was never super involved at H&R like many of you, but I don’t remember Hazel being such a shrill SJW before Trump. From my recollection, it wasn’t quite night and day, but it was a nevertheless startling change. It was as if suddenly everyone but she was a white male cis-hetero shitlord and Trump was gonna put the women and gays in camps.

          6. FreeSociety

            The Trumpening only made her more irate and less reserved in revealing her views. She’s had a boner for “social justice” since before “SJW” entered the lexicon. She’s basically a Trotskyite that claims to approve of private property and free markets, but she consistently speaks out against a right to free association because she thinks the results would be icky.

          7. egould310

            Shirley Booth?

          8. Agent Cooper

            She sounds very astringent.

  32. Count Potato

    “The doll does not come with Warren’s series of investment properties (which she bought at rock-bottom prices when their owners were foreclosed on), her $8.5 million net worth, or her sense of liberal superiority. Harvard office play set, earned by claiming an unproven Native American heritage allowing your doll to fill one of Harvard’s “diversity hire” slots despite being white, not included.”

    https://heatst.com/politics/new-sen-elizabeth-warren-action-figure-even-smacks-donald-trump-in-face/

    1. [considers joke about Elizabeth Warren Real Doll, decides such a joke would be really tasteless even by my standards]

      1. Scruffy Nerfherder

        Tasteless by your standards? No problem.

        Tasteless by Sugarfree’s standards? Problem.

        1. That Real Doll would have to have a *lot* of extra, near-Lovecraftian features for it to be too tasteless for SF.

          1. Tundra

            Imagine Warren as Ms. Horseshoe and you’d be close.

  33. FreeSociety

    But, what if nobody wants them? Well, really just that little corner up by a lake. The rest of the place is probably worth salvaging. And I’d personally send a lifeboat for the Glibs stuck in the bad part

    The heart of the problem with Illinois is…. Chicago. I can imagine the neighboring states happily scooping up chunks of the state, but then they’d all be fighting to not take Chicago. Annexing Chicago into your state would be like having a cancerous tumor surgically implanted into your chest cavity.

    1. ChipsnSalsa

      *nods vigorously*

    2. robc

      Make Cook County an independent city-territory like DC.

      1. FreeSociety

        Give them only a non-voting congressional observer too. The whole country would benefit.

    1. Rhywun

      the artist is part of the resistance to the resistance

      Or, in this case, “the resistance”.

  34. The Late P Brooks

    America sucks chapter 8,302

    Some of our friends turned on us, calling us terrible parents, or saying we were unpatriotic. Why would we want to leave the land of the free and the home of the brave? And where was Ecuador, anyway? Somewhere near Mexico? Africa? We were taking our children to a country that most Americans can’t even point to on a map. What were we thinking?

    Well, we were thinking a lot of things, and taking a number of factors into consideration. In America, it seemed every third child was taking pharmaceuticals to treat behavioral issues, anxiety, or depression. High school students were unloading automatic weapons into their classmates. Opioid use was reaching all new highs. Bank executives were defrauding their customers and Wall Street was walking an increasingly thin tight rope. It felt like The American Dream as we knew it was all but gone, having transformed into a shadowy unknown. We fretted about what the future would hold for our family. We thought maybe, just maybe, a simpler lifestyle somewhere else was the answer. And so, in 2011, our family walked up to the edge of the unknown, took a deep breath, and jumped.

    Surprisingly, not Trump’s fault.

    1. Is their experiment working?

      1. Hmmm…she paints an appealing picture.

    2. My reading: Yay! Let’s live in 3rd world shithole and call it enlightenment.

      *sips his brandy on the veranda*

      1. I’m getting the idea that they have some money they brought from the U. S., and they’re just glad the kids are learning deferred gratification and seeing the natural wonders of the country without vegging out in front of video games. They think they’ll be more resilient and adaptable when they get back to the U. S. It’s early days yet, but it’s a useful experiment.

        1. Having American-style money can be useful in living in a poor country if you’re not a dick about it. You won’t be able to spoil the kids to death (unless you’re a uber-rich planter or whatever), but there will be a cushion and a passport available. Plus Spanish-language immersion, getting some empathy for people who are actually different, not just superficially different.

          1. Drake

            Sure. I did a semester abroad in a Third World Country. Just a little money there let’s you live a nice relaxed lifestyle like an English Colonial Governor. Crappy communications and entertainment services, but servants all around to bring you fresh coconut drinks and spicy meals.

        2. ChipsnSalsa

          You don’t have to go to Ecuador to do that.

          Their call though.

          1. Rufus the Monocled

            Yeh. Just go to Oklahoma or PEI.

            /RAISES HAND LOOKING FOR HIGH FIVES.

        3. I dunno – moving to another country as a crutch for bad parenting doesn’t make much sense to me.

          1. Like I said, early days…maybe they’ll end up in therapy or whatever. But there’s this:

            “Christmas in these parts is about church and family, not piles of presents and deepening debt.

            “While they’re still kids with wants and desires, runaway consumerism and material greed has passed right by my boys. When they do want something special, they’re willing to work for it — like when my oldest son baked and sold cupcakes to earn money for that electric piano keyboard he had been eyeing.

            “My kids have also learned to be patient. Living in a country where instant gratification is a laughable concept, you learn to develop some mad waiting skills. When my youngest found that his 11th birthday present was going to arrive two weeks late, he took it in stride. “That’s okay, mom, we’ll celebrate my birthday when it gets here.” I know that if this had happened to me, my 11-year-old self would have collapsed into tears.”

            Key issues will emerge if the kids get sick, for example, or if they’re targeted for kidnapping or whatever. But I know someone who lived in Equador to do research, and never got raped or kidnapped or killed by a tropical disease.

          2. Lots of American kids grew up abroad. Army “brats,” diplomats’ kids, missionaries’ kids, children of businesspeople, etc. Just keep your passport and keep your options open.

          3. AlexinCT

            Yup, and if you really realize the opportunity, it can be very much worth it.

          4. Scruffy Nerfherder

            Having worked overseas for a short period of time, I would argue that the seemingly infinite patience that exists in third world countries is a part of their economic problems.

            That said, on a personal level, flexibility and an ability to cope with the unimportant bullshit are excellent traits to develop.

          5. Yes and yes.

            But I’m impressed that when it came to a birthday present (as opposed to an urgent shipment of equipment for the factory, for example), the kid could be patient with a delay and not throw a fit.

          6. There’s often a problem with “The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism” (as Daniel Bell put it) by which people who practice the wealth-maximizing virtues sometimes accumulate so much wealth that their kids take it for granted and lose the values which made the wealth possible to begin with.

            This is the counterpart to the poor person whose behavior leads him to stay poor – the rich person who doesn’t know how to keep and build on the wealth earlier generations built up, because they’re too busy enjoying that wealth to focus on how to extend it.

            Which is why I don’t like the prog scoffing at people like Trump – “oh, he got a lot of money from his Dad, he just used the money to make a lot more money, pshaw, that’s nothing!”

            Trump got the money and the attitudes needed to expand it. Whether he got other necessary moral values is not a matter I’m competent to discuss.

          7. “And Alexander the Great – he inherited a kingdom from his Dad. Sure, he vastly expanded the boundaries of that kingdom, but since he didn’t start from scratch it’s meaningless.”

          8. robc

            Which is why I don’t like the prog scoffing at people like Trump – “oh, he got a lot of money from his Dad, he just used the money to make a lot more money, pshaw, that’s nothing!”

            The more reasonable criticism is that he hasn’t. He would have done better sticking the inheritance in an index fund.

            But, I aint one to criticize someone for trying. My business ventures havent been a shining example either.

          9. It’s not just me and Daniel Bell – the theme of people squandering inheritances resonates in our culture from the Parable of the Prodigal Son to Hogarth’s *The Rake’s Progress* to the stories of certain lottery winners.

            Let’s see if these parents have figured out a possible way to guard against these dangers.

          10. kbolino

            Which is why I don’t like the prog scoffing at people like Trump – “oh, he got a lot of money from his Dad, he just used the money to make a lot more money, pshaw, that’s nothing!”

            Except he’s probably lost more money than he ever got from his dad. This statement just isn’t true for any time past the early 1990s. Trump’s business record is very mixed, but most of what he has succeeded at has been on his own (ditto his failures). He can’t own so many failures but none of the successes at the same time.

          11. I don’t know the details – I just know that he seems to keep bouncing back, to the point he’s able to return his Presidential salary to the Treasury or live in a hotel if he wants.

          12. Number.6

            Trump runs a diversified portfolio or real estate letting, development, private equity holdings, traditional HNW investments in hedge funds, his entertainment business, and his own image.

            He’s lost money in various investments in all of those categories, along with his co-investors who gladly signed up to sail on USS Trump, but risk is a two-way street, and some of the stuff Trump has done has been quite high-risk. It’s hardly surprising he’s had some failures.

          13. I’m not saying this to his praise, but if you can marry a model, ditch her, and find another model to marry, you’re probably not poor.

    3. Chipwooder

      I’m calling bullshit on the notion that anyone thought Ecuador was in Africa.

      1. Scruffy Nerfherder

        The average Americans knowledge of geography is astoundingly bad.

        1. Chipwooder

          I agree. I doubt one in ten could identify Ecuador on a map. That’s a big stretch from thinking it’s in Africa, though.

          1. Scruffy Nerfherder

            http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/11/1120_021120_GeoRoperSurvey.html

            About 11 percent of young citizens of the U.S. couldn’t even locate the U.S. on a map. The Pacific Ocean’s location was a mystery to 29 percent; Japan, to 58 percent; France, to 65 percent; and the United Kingdom, to 69 percent.

          2. F. Stupidity Jr.

            The Pacific Ocean? How do you get that wrong? I hope like hell that those who missed on that were pointing at the Atlantic and not like the Caspian Sea or Loch Ness.

          3. Rufus the Monocled

            Teacher: Rufus, please locate Canada on the map.
            Rufus (pulls stapler out of ass, smells it): What’s a Canada?
            Teacher: You walk up to the board right this minute and find Canada!
            Rufus: Canada is in all of us. You, you, you and even you Becky. Everyone has been in you!
            Teacher: I’m calling your guardian tonight.
            Rufus (rips down map from wall waving pieces around furiously): Who needs this shit anyway, huh?! Is this gonna help me find a job at Tim’s? Fuck this hit man. I’m outta here.
            Teacher: RUFUS! You come back here!
            Rufus: Wayne know where Canada is? Bend over….I’LL SHOW YOU!

            Later on. Principle talking to teacher.

            Principle: You did a good job with Rufus.
            Teacher: I think I’m finally getting through to him.
            Principle: What about the other students?
            Teacher: Oh dear me….

          4. I see it’s all about principles, not principals with Rufus.

          5. Jeez, tough crowd.

          6. Rufus the Monocled

            Damn.

            Oh well.

          7. Chipwooder

            That can’t be right – 30% can’t find the Pacific Ocean??

          8. Scruffy Nerfherder

            My MIL works in a Philadelphia public school. I believe that statistic wholeheartedly.

          9. Nephilium

            Several years back I was talking to someone in California who had never left the state. They thought Cleveland was in the middle of Ohio. Then when I said it was by Lake Erie, they asked if it was a fresh water or salt water lake.

          10. grrizzly

            They thought Cleveland was in the middle of Ohio.

            Does anybody outside of Cleveland care where exactly in Ohio it’s located?

          11. straffinrun

            I’m in that 58%. What are all these Asians doing in Scranton? *Checks old plane ticket*

          12. Some of it is the teachers not knowing shit though. Like they asked my son to identify the capital of Somalia on a world map and he correctly pointed at Minneapolis but the teacher still said it was wrong.

          13. Number.6

            I always thought the answer to that question was “$2.05”.

          14. Chipwooder

            *rimshot*

          15. Again, there’s an African country called Equatorial Guinea, so maybe the problem was they knew just enough to be spectacularly wrong.

          16. Number.6

            It’s really bad, but true. And I get caught in the middle. I don’t *want* to attack the ignorance of the average American when it comes to foreign cultures and travel, but I end up in conversations where some educated liberal American or European starts scoffing about ‘normal’ Americans being dolts.

            Then, when the smug ‘world traveller elite’ want to complete their point, they ask me for confirmation – but sadly, I can’t easily contradict their point. In mitigation, there really are lots of places in the world that don’t deserve that much attention, and it’s hardly surprising that your average American kid isn’t taught about where Paraguay is and what its major exports are.

          17. Scruffy Nerfherder

            They export paragliders, duh.

          18. What does Uruguay export?

          19. Scruffy Nerfherder

            Uruk Hai

          20. AlexinCT

            Decent looking chicks?

          21. Those jokes were more printable than I expected.

          22. Number.6

            Alex is more than slightly right if one of my co-workers is anything to go by. *SMOKIN’ HOT* late 20’s chick with a great work ethic and a smile that makes its way right to my ‘nads,

          23. Count Potato

            “What does Uruguay export?”

            Accusations of homosexuality?

          24. AlexinCT

            One big benefit of having lived in so many counties, is actually the experience with the ladies. I have to tell you that South America produces some stunning ladies. Then again, they also tend to be horribly jealous and kind of nuts. Ladies from the orient were the more intriguing ones. They could be demure and all about you, then fly off into insane rages. While I had fun with the European ladies, I have to admit that the hygiene bothered me, but not so much as them flying of the handle and hulking out for no apparent reason. Wait a second… I am seeing a pattern here..

            But I am sure it is my fault that they are all flaky..

          25. kbolino

            Of course, the educated liberal elite who travels the world only really gets to know other educated liberal elites who travel the world. I doubt they’ve ever had any interactions with your average French farmer or British tradesman, who likely have a similar level of ignorance over world geography.

            The whole “Americans are ignorant rubes” thing, in an international context, is basically just educated non-Americans sweeping their own countries’ realities under the rug to engage in America bashing.

          26. wdalasio

            I had an uncle come here to visit from England when I was young. He explained something to me late his trip that I kind of recall. Essentially he realized that Americans pay less attention to the rest of the world because our country is just so damned big. It’s about 500 miles from London to Germany. That’s roughly the distance from New York to Charlotte. Of course you’re going to pay more attention to what’s happening in “the rest of the world” if you’re in Europe. You’re “rest of the world” is closer than a lot of the locations we have in our own country.

          27. Number.6

            That’s a very fair point. It’s like the snarky tale you hear of how many Americans don’t have passports. To which the (quite fair) reply is – that’s because they don’t need them. You want to ski? You want to climb mountains? You want to vacation in a desert? Forests? Incredible beaches? The US has them all, and you don’t have to bother with a foreign language or weird currency.

            In a way, it’s a condemnation of the critics, because they’re usually the ones who will also claim that America needs a ‘proper mass transit network’. Sure, if 60 million Americans lived in one region of the US the size of Maine, then it might be viable.

            Size matters.

      2. Maybe they were thinking of the Republic of Ecuatorial Guinea?

      3. ChipsnSalsa

        You underestimate the power of The Derp.

      4. Juvenile Bluster

        When I was in… 3rd grade? I was supposed to do a report on the equator, but i ended up doing it on Ecuador.

        Of course, I was 8.

        1. Scruffy Nerfherder

          You weren’t incorrect, just bilingual.

    4. Chipwooder

      This is kind of funny too:

      Back home, my sons played little league, but baseball isn’t really a thing in South America

      Someone as dense as that really shouldn’t be mocking people whose grasp of geography isn’t great. Baseball may not be a thing in Ecuador, but it most certainly is a thing in Venezuela and Colombia, not to mention Panama (which is close enough to South America to count if you ask me).

      1. AlexinCT

        I lived in Ecuador for a while, and I assure you Beisbol is a hawt thing for the people there. They don’t have the fervor the people of Columbia or Venezuela have for it (and I have lived in both those countries as well), but it is definitely the most popular sport unless you are talking to a fan of futbol.

    5. Certified Public Asshat

      Eventually my boys will return to the U.S. to attend college and build their adult lives.

      And then all her hard work will be undone.

  35. The Late P Brooks

    Let’s live in 3rd world shithole and call it enlightenment.

    They saved their children from a life of vapid consumerism and on time delivery, you fool! They are ten bazillion times better than we.

  36. FreeSociety

    And the asshole of the day goes to Hartford, Connecticut sociology professor Johnny Eric Williams. And frankly, it wasn’t even close. But I’m gonna stay tuned because I’m sure somebody from the tolerant left will top him by the end of the day.

    I bet this professor will have to go into hiding now because all of the white supremacy will now be focused at him for bravely denouncing so-called “white people” and their oppressive ways. So brave.

    1. AlexinCT

      These people are boring. It is easy to virtue signal when nobody will even bat an eye at your stupdity.

  37. Pope Jimbo

    Sometimes you read a story and you just wonder how the writer even managed to start their PC.

    This story about heat killing people is one of those stories.

    It is all so fucking dumb, that I can’t even figure out what the pull quote should be. In general it is about a study that shows that global warming is going to kill a shit ton of us due to heat waves.

    Heat, Heat, Heat.

    1. Pope Jimbo

      For some reason the asshole left out the fact that 20 times more people die from the cold than heat.

      So even if global warming doubles the amount of people who die from heat, the net deaths would go way down because less people would die from cold.

      1. leonadasiv

        Climate isn’t weather DENIER!!!

        (BULLY)

      2. Cliche Bandit

        You ever read that story about the death valley germans…damn
        crazy and sad shit

    2. F. Stupidity Jr.

      I was watching a YouTube video yesterday on Barrow, Alaska. Figured it would be interesting, and it was…about halfway through.

      Then they went on and on about global warming. My guess is half the damn video was about GW, but I don’t know for a fact because I stopped watching.

    3. Suthenboy

      Statistically there are no weather anomalies. The warmistas never point this out when making these predictions of doom. I recall some fuckwit predicting 1 billion deaths by 2012. When 2012 arrived I wrote to him and asked him about that. His only response was ‘you aren’t a very nice guy’ and then he went off on his new crusade for LGNBBYZ rights.

      It’s all virtue signaling for these moral midgets. They dont believe any of the shit they say. They are professional liars.

    4. mexican sharpshooter

      So 100,000 people died of heat related illness over a 34 year period? That averages out to 8 people per day–worldwide. It is expected to be around 120 today in Phoenix, with this in mind you will have to forgive me for not getting rid of my SUV.

    5. Rasilio

      So you could say global warming is a self correcting problem?

  38. AlexinCT

    OK, which one of you SOBs traveled to South Africa and is responsible for this?

    1. SugarFree, obviously.

      1. leonadasiv

        And here I didn’t want to click the link to some south African political porn…

    2. straffinrun

      SF or Gilmore?

    3. ::good edit faerie takes a look…shrugs…flutters away::

      1. straffinrun

        ::evil edit faerie takes over:: This.

        1. Count Potato

          The answer is still SugarFree.

        2. ChipsnSalsa

          That’s disgusting.

    4. Number.6

      <fx: stops mouth from forming the words “Betws-y-coed”>

      1. Caput Lupinum

        We buggered off to Patagonia, that’s the work of the Scottish.

        1. Number.6

          Telling choice of verbs, Caput bach, :p

          1. Caput Lupinum

            All stereotypes have some truth to them.

            I’m still pelting you with leeks next March.

          2. Number.6

            I got my butter and chicken stock at the ready.

          3. Scruffy Nerfherder

            These euphemisms….

          4. Number.6

            What euphemisms?

            Don’t belittle my perversions, shitlord!

  39. Certified Public Asshat

    When Unions Were Strong, The Lowest Earners Were Much Better Off

    Hamilton Nolan ahead:

    It’s common fucking sense! Unions serve to shrink the gap between rich and poor workers, both curbing, at least somewhat, excessive pay at the top (by increasing labor’s collective power to take a bigger piece of the pie) and by curbing excessively low pay at the bottom (by setting reasonable floors for the lowest-earning members). Is this some communist fantasyland? No, it is the United States of America during the Good Old Days that Republicans are always acting like they want to return to. This is what made them golden, motherfuckers?

    1. Certified Public Asshat

      Top comment!

      Sadly, your sarcastic-sounding conclussion is true. We are now a nation of bootlickers and worshipers of the wealthy. Most people think the rich “deserve” or “earned” their vast wealth deapite most wealthy people not contributing anything of actual value to society.

      I cant tell you how many conversations i have had with lower or middle class folks who think the estate tax is bad and unions are evil. Even if they agree that inequality is a problem, theyre against the actual means to change it.

      Our country has been brainwashed by the wealthy and privledged and i dont see that changing any time soon.

      1. commodious spittoon

        It’s rude to punch down, and this semiliterate jackass probably deserves more pity than scorn, but…

        deapite most wealthy people not contributing anything of actual value to society

        You mean, besides the bulk of the tax base?

        1. kbolino

          Even if most wealthy people did nothing to contribute to society except stick their vast hordes of Scrooge McDuck money into investments, that would still be an incredible contribution. Even if they didn’t pay taxes on their investment returns, they still put all of that money to work and into other people’s pockets.

          Wealth envy is just arrogant willful ignorance.

          1. Certified Public Asshat

            We also have the stats to show that most millionaires and billionaires are first generation rich, meaning they must have done something to have accumulated all that wealth.

          2. commodious spittoon

            You’re right, I take it back: those rich assholes are paying for all the government we don’t want. God damn them!

        2. And the bulk of manufacturing, transportation, construction, food production, mining, oil exploration and a host of other essentials.

          1. Number.6

            … all the activities that yield profits that in turn allow idiots to have a defined benefit plan pension.

      2. R C Dean

        I cant tell you how many conversations i have had with lower or middle class folks who think the estate tax is bad and unions are evil.

        So there is a glimmer of light in the darkness.

        1. kbolino

          People want to have jobs and be able to pass wealth on to their children.

          Shocking!

    2. Scruffy Nerfherder

      It’s common fucking sense!

      I can usually safely ignore what comes after those words.

    3. Chipwooder

      Is he asking or telling?

      1. Caput Lupinum

        Screeching indignantly.

    4. kbolino

      Unions serve to shrink the gap between rich and poor workers

      Yes, but why should they? And what of the people who are driven out of work?

      Unions ensure that shitty workers and good workers get paid the same, which means there will be more of the former and fewer of the latter. And even two “good” workers don’t have the same value to the company. Why should you get paid the same or similar to do work that has drastically different levels of impact on the company’s operations?

      It’s real convenient to look at the gap between “rich workers” and “poor workers” because it hides the gap between “workers” and “non-workers” which only grows thanks to unions.

    5. Gilmore

      Unions serve to shrink the gap between rich and poor workers

      One of the most heavily unionized industries in America is film production.

      1. leonadasiv

        Well that makes sense, with all those millionaire key-grips.

        1. Old Man With Candy

          It’s the 1%-er Best Boys.

        2. Chipwooder

          You a grip? OK, I want you to go over there and punch that director in the face, really fucking hard.

      2. robc

        I wonder why the SAG doesn’t level out pay to its members?

    6. american socialist

      Didnt this period mean effectively only white males had the good jobs? And also there was more of an industrial base? Which the progs are trying to kill with environmental regulations

      1. Chipwooder

        Why, are you suggesting that unions served as an effective barrier to employment of blacks?

        *why yes, yes I am*

  40. The Late P Brooks

    What if I… you know… just don’t care?

    If it really irks you that people of color wanted to feel represented on a Pride flag, you need to rethink your battle plans, because this is a stupid hill to die on. People of color really have been marginalized and pushed aside in our community, and if you don’t think that’s true, I can probably guess what color skin you have — and no, spray tan is not a skin color. If giving POC their own Pride flag helps them feel welcome, then what the hell should it matter? There are flags for trans, bi, lesbian, bears, allies, leathers, bears; I mean, for God’s sake, there’s probably a flag for queer furries who are only into left-handed Jewish people. If people of color want to have their own Pride flag, let them. The fact that you’re so uptight that they want something as simple as a minor symbol of acceptance says more about you than any sort of “social justice warrior/political correctness run amok.”

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder

      I mean, for God’s sake, there’s probably a flag for queer furries who are only into left-handed Jewish people.

      Don’t get my hopes up

    2. “What if I… you know… just don’t care?”

      Then you should wave your hands in the air?

    3. Suthenboy

      Was someone stopping them from having their own flag? Or are people just not paying enough attention to them? I am a little fuzzy on what is going on here.

    4. Brett L

      I eagerly await the inclusion of the white stripe

  41. KibbledKristen

    More Ingsoc retardation from the UK.

    1. Chipwooder

      “Invetigation in Progress”

      “Gareth Keenan Investigates!”

    2. Juvenile Bluster

      I’m about to be investigated in the UK, aren’t I

      https://twitter.com/JuvenileBluster/status/877903181124034560

      (I should’ve switched to the UK-sited VPN just for the location lulz)

      1. Chipwooder

        I don’t think UK cops can hack Philly. You have nothing to worry about.

        1. Caput Lupinum

          But Philly cops can firebomb a neighborhood and get away with it, so still plenty to worry about.

        2. Juvenile Bluster

          I’m actually where I always am in South Florida, but connected to a VPN with a NJ exit node. Should’ve switched to the London exit node.

          1. Chipwooder

            Aha, I was just assuming based on the *puke* Eagles logo

    3. Suthenboy

      I dont understand. I keep trying to get banned from the twitter and so far no luck. I get banned everywhere else, what’s wrong with those people? They aren’t control freaking right.

      1. Caput Lupinum

        Step 1. Find someone on the left that has a checkmark, and a vagina. The vagina can be literal or figurative.

        Step 2. Call them a cunt.

        Step 3. ????

        Step 4. PROFIT!

      2. mexican sharpshooter

        Post a Dick Pic. That will probably get you banned.

  42. Juvenile Bluster

    Tappan Zee Bridge to be renamed as the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge

    Um… at least he wasn’t as bad as his son is?

    1. Chipwooder

      Oh, how I love the collective amnesia of lefties

      1. Number.6

        Time to start a campaign to demand that the bridge be removed because it commemorates a terrible anti-gay bigot then!

        What was Iowahawk’s quote about skin-suits?

          1. Number.6

            Ah, my mistake. It’s hard to respect the Tappan Zee Bridge.

            Although as Gilmore notes below, it’s falling apart, a bit like Cuomo Jr.’s Party, so maybe the naming is somewhat apt.

          2. Rasilio

            As of last summer they were in the process of building a new bridge right next to the old Tappan Zee, presumably to replace it. The new Bridge was probably about 40ish % complete last September (the last time I used it to get from Boston to Annapolis) with all the support pylons in place and about a quarter mile of road surface installed on the Western side.

            My guess is it is this new bridge that is going to be named for Cuomo

    2. Gilmore

      Tappan Zee Bridge to be renamed as the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge

      That’s because the bridge is falling apart and the state is going to throw billions of dollars at it

      http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/01/28/manhattan-construction-attorney-tappan-zee-bridge-could-fall-at-any-moment/

      when those billions start flowing to the crony contractors, they want everyone to remember which political family delivered the goods

    3. KibbledKristen

      As long as they don’t change the name of Coxsackie, my annual road trip will be just fine.

    4. Rasilio

      Kinda fits since the Tappan Zee is not as bad as the Gw

  43. Juvenile Bluster

    Tankie Takes continues to be one of my favorite/least favorite twitter accounts

    https://twitter.com/tankietakes/status/877704632134455302

    1. Chipwooder

      the hell is a tankie?

      1. Juvenile Bluster

        Tankie = “Stalin did nothing wrong, Communism is the best system of government, any problems in communist countries are due to those damn wreckers and kulaks. And Capitalism is of the Devil”

      2. Caput Lupinum

        A Tankie is an apologist for the violence and crimes against humanity perpetrated by twentieth-century Marxist-Leninist regimes, particularly the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin (1924 – 1953).

        You know, a retard.

      3. Chipwooder

        Aha. Learn something every day.

    2. Gilmore

      I have looked at it (tankietakes), but sometimes i suspect the thing he’s mocking is itself some form of in-group self-mockery. the twitter-stalinist crowd, like many online communities, uses verbal hyperbole in mixed ways. its sometimes hard to distinguish the serious retardation from the mock-retardation.

      1. Mr. Hilton: (outraged) MOCK retardation!?! We use NO artificial additives or preservatives of ANY kind!

        Inspector: Nevertheless, I advise you in future to replace the words ‘Crunchy Stalinism’ with the legend, ‘Crunchy, Raw, Unboned Real Dead Stalinism’ if you wish to avoid prosecution!

    3. leonadasiv

      This one was my favorite. They are railing against this Twitter account for “Entertaining Fascists” when all it does is literally retweet the stupid shit these retards say.

      But then I saw the ones absolving Stalin of the Holmdor. These people are fucking evil. I don’t care if they are retarded, stupid people, they can be evil too, and if you don’t have a conscience enough to try to understand that Stalin was an evil man then you fit my definition of evil.

      1. Juvenile Bluster

        The Holmdor is a font of takes from idiots. I see these 3 all the time:

        1. It was nobody’s fault! Stalin couldn’t control the sun and the rain!

        2. It was the wreckers and kulaks!

        3. It was the Jews!

        1. Scruffy Nerfherder

          Ignorance is a state of evil as far as I’m concerned.

      2. Juvenile Bluster

        By the way, this is still the most haunting thing I’ve ever read on any Wiki page

        Evidence of widespread cannibalism was documented during the Holodomor.

        Survival was a moral as well as a physical struggle. A woman doctor wrote to a friend in June 1933 that she had not yet become a cannibal, but was “not sure that I shall not be one by the time my letter reaches you.” The good people died first. Those who refused to steal or to prostitute themselves died. Those who gave food to others died. Those who refused to eat corpses died. Those who refused to kill their fellow man died. Parents who resisted cannibalism died before their children did.

        The Soviet regime printed posters declaring: “To eat your own children is a barbarian act.” More than 2,500 people were convicted of cannibalism during the Holodomor.

      3. Chipwooder

        “Magic weather machine”? Gee, it’s almost as if it would be impossible to confiscate all their grain at gunpoint.

    4. Scruffy Nerfherder

      “Trotsky is a bitter loser.”

      Not anymore, he ain’t.

    5. KibbledKristen

      Cannot unsee!

  44. mexican sharpshooter

    After the 8th inning theatrics it took for the Rocks to win on Tuesday, I enjoyed watching the Dbacks react by crushing them like roaches. Of course that probably means they’ll struggle to get 2 runs today. Oh well.

  45. commodious spittoon

    Gallup: Hillary is the only failed presidential candidate in recent history to lose favorability post-election. Eight months later, her 43% election-day favorability rating has fallen to 41%.

    1. Chipwooder

      “Why hasn’t my favorability dropped by 50 points?”

    2. Drake

      There are people who approve of John McCain?

    3. Suthenboy

      I thought she would completely disappear from the radar after her attack on everyone that was in the tank for her. I was hoping that by 2019 when people mentioned her name the usual reply would be “who?”

      1. leonadasiv

        That is one nice thought. in 30 years no one will know who she was. Can you name most of the First Ladies? because that’s about the most unique thing she has going for her. (Sec State? Hell i don’t remember who the Sec of State was 8 years ago…,)

  46. commodious spittoon

    NY Post: that Senate healthcare bill lefties are freaking out about? Yeah, it’s pretty much Obamacare with a big red bow on top.

    Instead of an open-ended amount, Medicaid funds would be allocated at a specific amount per recipient — a severe jolt to high-spending Medicaid states like New York.

    The bill would also allow states to opt out of certain insurance requirements, but they’d still have to accept every person seeking insurance.

    Insurers would be required to sell policies to people with pre-existing conditions and could not charge sick people higher premiums than healthy people.

    Unlike the House, the Senate bill would provide health care tax credits linked to people’s incomes, not their ages.

    But it does end subsidies to Planned Parenthood… for a year. And they super pinky swear the ACA taxes are going to be repealed, but nobody can say how.

    Now the GOP can own the Obamacare debacle, too! They caught that hot potato and rather than throw it away, sat on it. Good job, guys.

    1. Juvenile Bluster

      Insurers would be required to sell policies to people with pre-existing conditions and could not charge sick people higher premiums than healthy people.

      The fuck?

      If you have that provision AND you do away with the individual mandate, Trumpcare is actually somehow going to be worse than Obamacare has been.

      1. Suthenboy

        This isnt about healthcare. It is about getting a single payer system because that is the closest thing to a literal boot on our necks they can get. It is about power. It is about control.

        They are trying to collapse the existing system.

      2. R C Dean

        I doubt the mandate has actually resulted in more people buying insurance. Or, at least, enough more people to make any kind of difference.

        Its a shame the Reps are so ball-less and ignorant that they are going to keep the baked-in death spiral.

        1. Number.6

          Spock with a beard! – I do wish that the death spiral didn’t look like the only part of the ACA that wasn’t going to get removed.

  47. F. Stupidity Jr.

    But it does end subsidies to Planned Parenthood… for a year.

    THAT’LL LEARN ‘EM

    1. commodious spittoon

      Yerp. And you know PP will rake in tons of panicky donations over losing a year’s worth of abortion subsidies.

      1. Number.6

        Thereby proving yet again, the superiority of public charity over funding via taxes.

        1. commodious spittoon

          I don’t think it’s merely funding that concerns PP and its supporters. I honestly think it’s a matter of spreading the guilt around and thereby implicating everyone.

        2. Number.6

          I know a number of pro-abortion zealots. I don’t think they even comprehend the meaning of the word ‘guilt’ – and I’m not restricting that observation to any possible guilt they might feel for aborting fetuses.

          Because why, if you really believe that abortion is a moral and legal right – would you need to implicate other people to appease the guilt you shouldn’t feel?

          1. Pan Zagloba

            To rub their nose in it. It’s not enough to merely win – true joy comes from forcing your enemy to debase themselves and declare you The All-Conqueror.

            Something something greengrocer and “Workers of World, Unite” poster….

          2. commodious spittoon

            It truly is perverse. It’s not enough to have the thing sanctified by the Supreme Court, and Cecile Richards beatified by congressional politicians: no, it is such an indispensable institution that even its harshest critics must be made to share in supporting it by way of federal subsidies. Democrats don’t want it tolerated, they want it flouted against the consciences of its opponents.

      2. Gilmore

        PP will rake in tons of 5X their annual budget in panicky donations

        i think they’re learning from the gun industry how having an potentially-threatening-govt in power can be good for business

        1. R C Dean

          And then, in a rational world, when they tried to turn the federal funding back on, the legislators would say “Why? You had more revenue without federal funding. You’re fine. Go away now.”

          In a rational world. Not, I fear, this one.

  48. KibbledKristen

    Ron Howard + Star Wars?

    Love this quote. Makes me LOL

    “At Lucasfilm, we believe the highest goal of each film is to delight, carrying forward the spirit of the saga that George Lucas began forty years ago,”

    1. commodious spittoon

      BRING BACK JEDI KNIGHT.

      Or just remake Jedi Outcast.

  49. Raston Bot

    Charles CW Cooke and Kevin Williamson have a podcast. I did not know that. Why don’t you people tell me these things?

    https://ricochet.com/series/mad-dogs-englishmen/

    1. commodious spittoon

      I bring it up once a week!

      Their conversation this week on David Frum and gun control–or rather, Cook’s ambling discursion the topic–was a little disappointing given how pithy and effective his corner posts were.

      1. commodious spittoon

        ^on the topic

      2. Raston Bot

        were you as disappointed as i was when you found out the expression “mad dogs and englishmen” is really an observation about brits in colonial-era India walking outdoors in the middle of the day/heat? and not really a cool badass expression about some whoopass english military performance?

        1. commodious spittoon

          I never thought to look it up! I figured Kevin just styles himself a “mad dog”.

  50. Chipwooder

    The horror! The horror!”

    The fun part is if you look at the screenshot she posts. You can’t see the entire sentence of her email, but her fear and revulsion at “promoting individual liberty” is both hilarious and depressing.

    1. F. Stupidity Jr.

      Shouldn’t be that surprising. The Koch brothers and other rightwingers spent a long deliberate effort on reshaping higher education system.

      1. kbolino

        They’re taking union jobs!

        1. kbolino

          That joke might have lost something in the translation from my brain to the page. The gist of it is, only the right people are supposed to spend long, deliberate efforts on reshaping the education system [to benefit themselves and spread their own propaganda].

    2. Scruffy Nerfherder

      If I’m interpreting her profile correctly she’s a yoga instructor who considers herself a healthcare provider.

    3. R C Dean

      My Prof. Just assigned reading material written by Cato institute-conservative propaganda machine funded by Koch bros. Wow!

      Nobody tell her the Koch Bros also fund NPR.

      1. KibbledKristen

        And PBS Nova

      2. leonadasiv

        and PBS

    4. Tundra

      “I pay big money to only hear things I already believe.” The real world is going to be quite a shock.

      This guy gets it.

    5. Raston Bot

      she needs to stick with her critique of the paper by focusing on bankruptcies. if she stuck to that and made a cogent argument, then okay fine, well done. but she just can’t shake ERMAGERD IT’S CATOOOO

  51. The Late P Brooks

    Just in case you didn’t think Harvard’s “brand” couldn’t get any more worthless

    I suggest that the problem at Uber goes beyond a culture created by toxic leadership. The company’s cultural dysfunction, it seems to me, stems from the very nature of the company’s competitive advantage: Uber’s business model is predicated on lawbreaking. And having grown through intentional illegality, Uber can’t easily pivot toward following the rules.

    —————–

    Uber’s biggest advantage over incumbents was in using ordinary vehicles with no special licensing or other formalities. With regular noncommercial cars, Uber and its drivers avoided commercial insurance, commercial registration, commercial plates, special driver’s licenses, background checks, rigorous commercial vehicle inspections, and countless other expenses. With these savings, Uber seized a huge cost advantage over taxis and traditional car services. Uber’s lower costs brought lower prices to consumers, with resulting popularity and growth. But this use of noncommercial cars was unlawful from the start. In most jurisdictions, longstanding rules required all the protections described above, and no exception allowed what Uber envisioned. (To be fair, Uber didn’t start it — Lyft did. More on that later on.)

    Harvard Business School, where statist fucks hate deregulatory innovation and freedom.

    1. kbolino

      I assume, at this point, anyone writing for the Harvard Business Review is too inept to start an actual business and thus loathes the people who do.

    2. R C Dean

      But this use of noncommercial cars was unlawful from the start. In most jurisdictions, longstanding rules required all the protections described above, and no exception allowed what Uber envisioned.

      I was stunned to see that this clown actually has a law degree, because he is unequivocally wrong on the law here. Where Uber was actually outlawed, it mostly took passing a new law.

    3. leonadasiv

      The ‘lawbreaking’ was my favorite part of Uber.

  52. The Late P Brooks

    Comments on that Uber article are a mixed bag, but there are a few people ripping on him. Including one whose first name is “Rob” and last name begins with “C”.

    Coincidence?

  53. The Late P Brooks

    My “Economics of Regulation” professor at the University of Idaho would have flunked that clown If he he handed that paper in.

  54. KibbledKristen

    My office mate is typing really loudly. Time for a break.

    1. Raston Bot

      “typing” is a bit pedestrian but it’s welcome in this time of grandiose abstract euphemisms.

  55. KibbledKristen

    These people. I just can’t. Ossoff rants against money in politics.

    1. Brett L

      Well, obviously it wasn’t the solution, so it must be the problem!

      1. AlexinCT

        When you can’t win the race even though you outspent the enemy 6 or 7 to one, yeah, I can understand why you suddenly favor campaign finance reform. Of course, if this guy follows the usual plan, he will want to band all the money the other side gets, while leaving the big special interest donors the left thrives on in play. Cause when the spending is 11 or 12 to one in his favor, the other side can’t get any air time, then campaign finance reform has worked.

        1. Fatty Bolger

          Democrats already get a ton of favorable free media coverage, so reducing overall spending helps them even if the spending is even on both sides. They also want donors visible so they can be named and shamed, an activity that is also aided and abetted by the media.

    2. R C Dean

      I could easily imagine people voting against the a-hole who puked tens of millions of dollars of ads all over the media, because people fucking hate political ads for the most part. He might have done better if he hadn’t spent so much money annoying people, is all.

    3. ChipsnSalsa

      That picture looks like he is running for student council.

      1. Fatty Bolger

        He was compared to Pajama Boy from the AHCA ads.

  56. KibbledKristen