I thought the topic was done with. The Catalonian leadership had waffled, Madrid had growled and it looked like the whole thing was done. A bluff called and folded.
Remember, Sully, when I promised not to talk about Catalonia anymore?
But, as in many things…I was wrong. The Spanish central government appears to want this over with, once and for all. As I have been questioning – what does this matter to a libertarian? Is this a case of “When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them“? Or just a bunch of whiny Socialists saying “What do we want? Socialism! Where do we want it? Here!” Should that even matter?
And now my bid to win a Judge Napolitano Medal for Meritorious Question Marking:
A good point Playa Manhattan had brought up – at what point is enough of the populace saying “we want out” enough? The referendum that trigger this shitstorm did not see even majority of eligible voter participation. Is there a number where you can draw a line and say “OK, there it is, enough to call it just”?
What happens to someone who wants to remain Spanish? You see a lot about the Spanish Constitution saying Spain is indivisible – does that hold for people who were not even born, or of age when it was adopted?
Will Madrid’s continuing crackdown push Catalans to say “hey, maybe the independence types are right…Madrid really does want to crap on us!”?
Can we just airdrop STEVE SMITH or send Zardoz over there to solve the whole thing?
I am torn…but if pushed, I would say that I would reluctantly back the Catalans. I do truly believe that Governments are instituted among Men,deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. But I can be convinced this is not the case here. Discuss, debate and snark, as you will.
This is all a plot of the Swiss Spy Service to take over Europe.
Pshaw….all the gold reserves are in Madrid… wait, forget I SAID ANYTHING!
*scurries out of room*
People should be allowed to have a say in who governs them. Any division of government into smaller more locally accountable units is a net positive for liberty. Those are the only factors that I consider
Further, the fact that the central government has now revoked the degree of autonomy enjoyed by Catalonia makes this issue even more about liberty and restraining an overbearing central government
If that is temporary, does that make enough of a difference?
I don’t think so. What rationale does the central government have for opposing the referendum other than preserving its own power? The Catalonians are motivated by wanting to control their own destiny and identity, while the opposition is motivated by imposing its authority.
I can’t say I have a particularly firm grasp of the particulars of Catalonian independence goals, but as a matter of principle I agree with you. My instinct is to support the Catalans.
I’d enthusiastically support the Catalans. Mostly because their efforts at being productive are subsidizing most of the rest of Spain. The loss of them and the Basques would force the Spainiards to get off their behinds and act.
Hopefully by invoking Article 50, leaving the Eurozone, getting jobs and doing something useful.
Don’t mention the referendum! I mentioned it once, but I think I got away with it all right.
Would you like your salad before or after the referendum?
STEVE SMITH TOSS SALD. BY TOSS SALAD, MEAN RAPE.
+1 How ever did they win?
Answering one of your questions: 60% of the voting population.
I can’t defend that from any principle, just seems about right.
My understanding of the American Revolution is that roughly 1/3 of the population actively promoted rebellion, 1/3 were staunchly loyalist and the remaining third pretty much didn’t give a shit.
I thought it was even less, hence the “three percenter” movement.
3% was the percent of people that actively took up arms.
I never liked the implications of that movement. You can’t have an insurgency without a sizeable portion of the population to back it. Just because somebody isn’t willing to fight doesn’t mean they won’t help.
I’m not sure I’ve ever heard of it.
Its more of internet gun forum bluster than anything.
That is what I have heard too. So any referendum would have been about 50/50. That’s why they had to fight a war instead of just voting!
But recall: at the time, who was the voting population of the United States? Free men and landholders, not the entire populace. And the voting population had elected state representatives who subsequently declared for independence, and it was not something that just came out of the blue so it is probably safe to assume that the voters knew the proclivities of the representatives they were electing. So even if only a third of the entire populace supported independence, it’s a safe bet that the support was far higher among the voting population.
I suppose it’d be small comfort to the separatists who no doubt see themselves as eventual powerbrokers in the Catalonian national parliament (or whatever they’d institute), but it seems like a great deal of wind might have been taken out of the separatist sails, and early, if Spain had delegated more control to local bodies.
And is there any reason to think other than that Catalonia would become an immediate ward of the EU superstate upon seceding?
Well, the EU did make a statement that if Scotland decided to separate from the UK, they’d have to separately apply for membership in the EU.
Of course, that’s assuming the Eurocrats are consistant.
I don’t actually want to see people suffer. But there is a part of me that is so ready to see the EU burn.
I’m hoping Poland and Hungary invoke Article 50 over the abuse the EU has heaped on them.
Goddamit some of us live here. Fire is not good
My view, it’s not a matter of wanting or hoping, it’s that the EU is doomed. Better for it to fall apart sooner rather than later so the rebuilding can start.
Fire good, friend!
I was gonna make espresso!
Do you live in Romania or the EU?
Romania but the EU makes it better hard as it is to believe
I’m sure the open trade and movement is beneficial, but legal dictates delivered by an unaccountable bureaucracy in Brussels can’t be making anything better
You’d be surprised . You can’t comprehend how bad the political class is in Romania
I’m sure they are, but what gives you faith in the political class in Brussels that aren’t even accountable to the people of Romania?
The benefit of them somewhat keeping our guys in check outweigh the costs. From a utilitarian point of view…
And that’s the problem with utilitarianism, you end up justifying your chains
well in Romania we are fucked deontological and utilitarian. So might as well use some lube i.e the EU
Fair enough
Nearly any benefit the EU gives can be made independently and jointly, without surrendering the continent to Germanic bureaucratic authoritarianism.
If the EU burns I am immigrating to America and I am going to take your jerbs is that what you want huh?
We can go out to the range some time.
How’s your spoken English?
Just like my written English just with better spelling. American and English acquaintances say I don’t have a strong eastern European accent .
You’ll fit in better than some of the consultants here.
But seriously at this point I find no more difficulty speaking English than Romanian. They come just as easy to me.
Have you thought about Emigrating?
What’s tying you to Romania?
Yes but not to the US. To difficult. And I am not coming on an H1B visa those things are ridiculous
Of my God Karen, you can’t just ask someone whether he’d emigrate!
Just fly to Canadia and walk across the border. I’m sure they’ll amnesty you in some sort of limp-wristed “deal” with the Democrats.
What is tying me to Romania right now is my mother – if my father hadn’t died it would be easier to leave- and general fear of change. Also I am specialized in a niche job and would need to gain experience in something else before moving.
What is your niche job? I have a brother who is a civil engineer and specializing in building wide-span joists. That field is about to regain its pre-crash momentum.
a sort of physical verification for a semiconductor company
Electrical test? We have an entire legal department just for handling immigration issues for our employees.
Check this out:
https://www.globalfoundries.com/about-us/careers
“a sort of physical verification for a semiconductor company”
Quite a euphemism.
We have porn production companies in the US too y’know?
I do sort of ERC lets say. I use a lot of Cadence SKILL and Mentor Graphics Calibre PERC, plus some perl, shell scripting, tcl and such
Also, if you apply, use my name as a reference and I’ll kick back 15% of the bounty I’ll get on your hiring.
Their US location is in New York – it’s a trick, don’t fall for it!
So I’ll say Not Adahn sent me :). I am not thinking about applying right now and I don’t know if there are jobs for me there but I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks.
My company has an office in Tewksbury, Massachusetts is that better then new york? Maybe I can request a move
Here in Romania we get 2500 euros bounty for a hire
Massataxes is pretty bad too. Really, you want to avoid much of the northeast if you can.
Don’t go to Massachusetts.
To be honest I always wanted to buy guns so were I to move to the US I would prefer a state that makes that fairly easy. But not like Montana to cold. Texas is to hot. I don’t know what is worse, hot or cold… depends on the AC I suppose
Utah.
Tewksbury, Massachusetts is an easy commute from New Hampshire.
Austin, Texas is loaded with semiconductor reliability jobs. And other jobs besides. From what you describe, this job listing sounds similar to your skill set, and I’m sure there are others that more closely match what you can do. https://www.glassdoor.com/job-listing/semiconductor-reliability-engineer-samsung-electronics-america-JV_IC1139761_KO0,34_KE35,62.htm?jl=2550224243&ctt=1508437339743
‘Closer’ to your home, I know AMD has a fab in Dresden. Are there fabs in the EU that’d pay more than where you are now? Not that you could bring your family with you, in all likelihood.
I don’t really work in a fab, I work in an R&D center. And sadly I don’t have much family to bring with me.
Had. Muahahahaha
One of Intel’s R&D centers is in Austin. (not the building near 5th Street that sat unfinished for seemingly forever in the early ’00s)
The point being, there are a gazillion of those types of jobs in the States. Even some with weather you can tolerate, and decent gun laws.
But seriously, if you can get a job in Austin, do it. That place is great. I’m always looking to get back there.
I knew I should have looked up what happened to Fab 30. Wow, I wonder why they closed it? And what the space is doing now.
It was the reason for my visiting Germany about 15 years ago. I liked Dresden quite a lot. Wish they’d export Radeburger Pils to the US.
Oh it’s still there, still making chips, gearing up for 12nm FDSOI actually. It’s just under UAE ownership now.
AMD + Charter = Globalfoundries
12 nm? We still have some 130… but then again when the power dmos takes half the area no point in shrinking the digital that much
Also fun fact my company had a deal to buy a US company but the goddamn US government blocked it. I blame Trump
Also foundry wise the big stuff is in Taiwan …
One of my company’s competitors is Texas Instruments and they are kicking our ass as profitability goes
I remember Texas Instruments for two things
1: the TI-82
2: being the company where the integrated circuit was invented.
TI-99/4A or GTFO
Holy shit. You peckerheads are still spring chickens. My first calculator was a TI-35. It was 350 bucks in 1984 dollars. You had to take a damned class to learn how to use it. Everything about its use was counterintuitive. A couple of years later Casio came out with one for 20 bucks that could do twice as much and took 30 seconds to learn how to use.
Good times.
Sorry, got you beat by three years on that one Suthen.
My first calculator was a TI-35. It was 350 bucks in 1984 dollars.
TI-35 1982 MSRP: $24.95
Maybe you’re thinking of a different calculator?
Possibly. It was a big clunky thing and was 350 bucks. It was a TI.
I am old. I had to look it up and guess which one it was. It was one of the first graphing calculators. maybe THE first.
Clicked your link. Ok. It was not the 35. It was a big, black box about the size of a small paperback book and the functions were coded, not printed on the keys.
I looked around on that site but I couldn’t find a TI graphing calculator from the 1980s that didn’t have defined functions on the buttons. There were calculators meeting some of those constraints, but not all of them. It’s a nifty website, though, if you’re interested in old calculators.
TI-59 with the magnetic card reader?.. late 70’s
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TI-59_/_TI-58
I remember that being in the hundreds of dollars.
My first calculator was the TI SR-51A (1974? I think). Amazing calculator. Damned expensive.
We are hiring.
I think I found an honorary libertarian brewery.
If it wasn’t on the other side of the state, I would have to go to this.
Holy shite… my first Gilmoring!
I just figured you thought I worked for that brewery…
What positions you have open?
You might consider the green-card lottery, I’ve know a couple people who’ve had success with that.
Just posted the link under Straff’s second chapter in the morning linx. Figured I’d drop it here to. The movie poster!
*prolonged and thunderous ovation*
https://www.barstoolsports.com/boston/barstool-local-smokeshow-of-the-day-hannah-from-umaine
College girl or…………………….
https://twitter.com/Playboy/status/920718635387293700
………………..model
Do you have a problem with this, bigot?
Going with college girl and it has nothing to do with the tranny thing, for all I know they’re both trannies, but the college girl is better.
That brings to mind this.
Mind BLOWN.
Ditto. If a tranny looks good I’ll say a tranny looks good–hell, with the amount of photo editing that goes into Playboy they could make me look like a 20-year-old chick–but the college girl has the tranny beat hands-down.
Which was pretty much the point of The Crying Game.
Is society at the, “If you won’t fuck a tranny as a hetero male, you’re a homo-phobe and Nazi,” point yet?
Some people are pushing it.
My answer is still “Call me what you will, I’m not fucking that.”
ehm ewwww
A once venerable institution, now mired in worthless identity politicking.
Good luck with that flaming dumpster.
Damn, who would have thought they’d get Playboy and the NFL simultaneously?
Enjoy wearing the skin and demanding respect.
My pop up blocker at work did NOT like your link.
Speaking of size to secede fun fact : in Romania some people declared Republic of Ploiești encompassing well the city of Ploiești
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ploie%C8%99ti
Typically, breaking away and forming an independent state is accompanied by bloodshed. I hope that doesn’t happen here. I completely support people’s right to break away from government they consider tyrannical; your questions of “how many people do you need?” and “what happens with the leftovers?” etc. are what usually lead to bloodshed. We don’t have a better way of doing it yet, and maybe we never will.
I mean bloodshed is bad but some raping and pillaging never hurt nobody
[Rapes and pillages PieInTheSky]
Just look at Britain: after voting to break with the EU, so many of its citizens went berserk with trucks and knives and explosives, and for no other reason!
Those damn Amish.
I go back to Heinlein; violence solves problems. That doesn’t make it noble or evil; it is what it is. People who are serious and committed to an idea, however, will fight and die to defend it. Are the Catalonians ready to die for independence? Are the Spanish ready to do the same to keep the country together? Nothing will change if the answer to both questions is “no”.
I look at as a test. If you really want independence and freedom, you have to be willing to pay for it in blood. If you aren’t willing, you don’t deserve it.
“You see a lot about the Spanish Constitution saying Spain is indivisible – does that hold for people who were not even born, or of age when it was adopted?”
Yes, it does. Be careful here, this could blow up in your face.
*re-reads the bill of rights*
“That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
I am not interested in Catalonia or Spain. I just dont want that argument used against us. If you dont like the constitution, amend it.
“The second amendment doesnt apply because none of us were yet born when it was written. ”
That is exactly what the ‘written by old white slaveowners in a language no one understands’ crowd has been arguing.
So it is a tactical argument….not a principle? I am not talking about a piece of a Constitution, but if a people says “we want out of the whole set up and make our own”.
Bill of Rights enshrines pre-existing natural rights. You don’t need a piece of paper to tell you what is self-evident
But set a legal precedent that pre-existing constitutional clauses don’t apply, and those who want to deprive you of those rights will ram their crowbar into that crack so hard you’d wish this was a euphemism.
Exactly.
Not part, UCS, but the whole. If a country has a Constitution that says no leaving, you must remain in that country…forever?
It’s not the principle of self determination I’m arguing against, it’s the reasoning used in the article. I’m not an expert on the Spanish constitution and to whether they do amendments or just have do-overs, but discarding the rule of law is generally a bad idea.
Amend the constitution, dont start shooting people.
80% of Spain says “nope” – now what?
*looks around nervously*
¡Olè!
I see a parallel here with California separatists. They want out to form their own hard left socialist state. If they get their wish how long before they are demanding money from their former state to bail them out?
I am going to have to go with Spain on this one.
Isn’t Catalonia one of the most productive regions in Spain?
Or did I miss something about how the EU and/or Madrid was preventing the autonomous region from progging hard?
Yeah, Catalonians are tired of bailing out the rest of Spain.
Yes Catalonia is the most productive region in Spain. How long will that last if they go more socialist than Spain already is? They are going to turn it into a wasteland and then demand that Spain feed them.
There is no good guy in this story.
Where are you hearing this intent to go more socialist than Spain? You’re the only one I see mentioning it and I’d like to know if there is information I missed somewhere.
Maybe I have a mistaken impression but I had the notion that the driving force behind the separatist movement were the socialists. Now that you ask I dont remember where I got that.
Ok,that changes everything. If they are trying to get away from the socialist state of Spain then I am all for it.
I’m looking at the Catalan coalition that called this, and it’s listed as a mix of (Euro)Center-right and (Euro)Center-left parties. Some are distinctly ex-Euro-Socialist types, others not so much. Hard to judge what the government of an independant Catalonia would look like.
Now that I think about it I saw a photo of a separatist rally and some woman was waving a red hammer and sickle flag. I was probably drunk at the time and just thought “Oh, of course. The commies”
So self-determination is fine, unless you’re a commie?
That depends – can you enter into a contract that reduces yourself to the status of slave?
You determining that decision for someone already makes them a slave
So it is permissible for someone to enter into an agreement stripping themselves and their progeny of all future rights.
Just so long as we’re clear.
Your logic is circular. A man cannot decide to become a slave, but by deciding that he cannot make that choice you have already determined that he lacks free choice
Two things – 1: You’re avoiding the issue. 2: A communist government isn’t just reducing oneself, but reducing all who voted no plus the future generations until it is overthrown. It’s like saying we can’t take away someone’s right to lock themselves and unwilling people in a bunker.
You are deciding that a socialist government is equivalent to slavery. I may agree with that, but it’s not my role to make that decision for others
Re: Just Say’n
yes, self determination is ok unless you are a commie. Commies aren’t determining for just themselves. The nature of communism is to enslave not only the yes voters but the no voters as well. it is a true tyranny of the majority in every sense of the phrase. It is such a poisonous philosophy and practice that if even one person in Catalan voted no I would say that no wins. Even if it were 100% commie yes’ there is the issue of their future children.
Communism is evil. Burn it, shoot it, stomp it in the ground and then drop a grenade on it.
And then we get into an ethics discussion.
Do you prevent someone from doing something you know to be wrong?
Do you prevent a nation of people from doing so?
If these are not the same answer, then we run afoul of the sorites paradox – at what critical mass of people does the threshold change?
Well, I don’t feel like you can have a universal principle and then state offer not valid for these people
“Do you prevent someone from doing something you know to be wrong?”
See the Axis powers 1945. A majority of Germans thought the Jews should be exterminated. They dont get to decide that. Of course that is an extreme example though not reductio ad absurdum: It actually did happen.
Given communism’s record I think it falls into the same category but worse. They murdered over 100 million human beings and have destroyed the lives of hundreds of millions more. It is theft. It’s slavery. As many as 700,000 Americans already lost their lives in the destruction f that vile institution. Dressing up the plantation with red flags doesnt change what it is.
Self determination and opposition to the tyranny of the majority are not exclusive principles, nor are they as contradictory as you seem to be claiming.
I have to bow out of this debate at this point, real life intrudes.
So not a principle then?
Yes. Property rights. Socialism is the antithesis of individual property rights. Socialism is evil. It is just another name for slavery.
I am a fire breathing abolitionist.
But the people that want to leave Spain…you seemed to say ok, if they are of a certain political stripe, but no if another.
Fire. Breathing.
If they want to leave so that they can enslave their fellow citizens, which I now am not clear on, I have to say no.
The reason you want to leave matters. I cant endorse Maduro in Venezuela even though he got 100% of the vote.
The Founders left Britain, and literally kept slavery. Does that invalidate our own revolution?
Actually, the US constitution doesn’t take a position on slavery per say. It takes an implicit position that as man cannot be property but explicitly allows the state governments to define what property is.
If they want a bail out they should get no bail out. The whole world has gone mad. Independence should mean independence
Of course they shouldn’t get one, but they are going to demand it anyway. They are going to behave just like Greece.
How much longer will the people of the other European states allow this to continue? All it will do is sow the seeds for more break-ups
Look at the history of Europe…they are all crowded together in tiny space jostling elbows, hate each other with passion and since the ice age they have been killing and stealing from each other. It is too culturally balkanized for the EU to survive. It is going to fall apart.
^^ This.
I may have missed this in an earlier post on Catalonian independence, but how would the French react to having a new state on their border?
*Gallic Shrug*
They’d surrender.
OT: Legal insurrection is always a good spot for a little sanity.
https://legalinsurrection.com/2017/10/how-me-too-unfairly-maligns-men-and-perpetuates-victimhood/
“When cat calls are viewed as tantamount to rape, nothing about this sexual assault conversation can or should be taken seriously.”
OT: Let me get my popcorn.
https://pjmedia.com/election/texas-democrats-dilemma-not-mr-leather/
A guy like that ran for mayor of Tucson back in the mid eighties. I went to see him speak. He spoke wearing a t-shirt advertising the bar he owned. It had the name of the bar and then ‘liquor where she likes it’.
He didn’t win.
Man I’m really glad I don’t live in Kingston anymore, the city’s probably going full North Korean leader funeral over Gord Downey for the next week.
Rough week for Canada, who’s next, Don Cherry?
“who’s next, Don Cherry?”
BITE YOUR TONGUE!
I just called a friend and they’re having FIVE DAYS of only Tragically Hip on one of their local classic rock stations. Even their country stations are playing Hip. There is such a thing as too much Hip.
Then when Cherry dies (also a Kingston native) they’ll have to dig a big Pharaoh-style tomb for him so he can go into the afterlife with all his suits.
The Great Pyramids of Giza…and Kingston.
I assumed the radio stations were doing it to avoid having to play any other CanCon for the next 18 years.
For you Muricans, this is Don Cherry.
Justin Trudeau?
“When cat calls are viewed as tantamount to rape, nothing about this sexual assault conversation can or should be taken seriously.”
Meanwhile, some “feminist” is in the NYT claiming to have invented the term “sexual harassment” and lamenting its usurpation by kkkorporations.
No, I don’t know what that means, either.
She probably wants money.
I am pretty sure I invented the term ‘trump derangement syndrome’ in a rant over at TOS as soon as the writers there started showing symptoms. I could be wrong. Maybe I forgot that I heard it somewhere and it just popped back out in the middle of my rant. Now I see that Charles Krauthammer gets credit. I dont care I am just glad the term is out there.
Suthen, I think that about 80% of the time the answer is “money”. That or power.
Why not both?
One is a means to another.
RC’s Iron Law: Money and power always find each other.
For me, the key question here is what do the Catalans want independence for. If they want independence because they feel the Spanish central government takes too much from them without giving much back, I can certainly support them on that. On the other hand, if they feel like the Spanish government preventing them from instituting laws that sufficiently screw people over, that’s quite a different thing. I mean, I think of it this way – while I support power being delegated to as local a level as possible, I’d fight tooth and nail against NYC trying to secede from the U.S. I know the resulting government would proceed to dispose of my rights with a vengeance in a way they can’t under our constitutional system.
I have no illusions that my friends and neighbors can’t be just as tyrannical as a far-away government.
This line of thinking brings up some interesting questions re: borders. Is freedom of movement paramount? What if an independent NYC tried to prohibit you from leaving? What if what’s left of NY State refused you entry? I have no answers, just pointing out interesting questions.
Should NH build a wall to keep the Massholes out?
I wish we could wall off California.
Where is Lex Luther when you need him?
No, really, I heard you were dead!
Too late!
What if an independent NYC tried to prohibit you from leaving?
Wait, I heard you were dead!
http://dailycaller.com/2017/10/18/bill-banning-muslim-face-covering-would-be-a-first-in-north-america/
And this is why Gary Johnson’s campaign was so offensive. Dismissing religious liberty as a ‘black hole’ makes things like this possible. Also, it’s worth noting that Gary Johnson proposed a burqa ban before he quickly backtracked
I thought Gary Johnson’s campaign was so offensive because from day one he was effectively corrupt.
Well he did corrupt principles. But, I find it ironic how Gay Jay supporters can find this law offensive after they supported a man who dismissed religious liberty entirely. I suppose religious liberty is bad when it is not ‘woke’
Gary Johnson is the personification of “I dont care”. He said so every time he appeared on camera. He never had any intention of winning. He was in it for money. He doesnt really care about principle.
And you know there will be people on both sides whining “But this is DIIIIFFFRENNNNNT!”
Absolutely. This is a perfect example to expose hypocrites and TOS has exposed itself as such in spades
When’s Gillespie going to make a principled stand against this after he told libertarians who were against Johnson to go to hell?
And that’s the problem. Cosmotarians have no principles
Why does Nick have a problem with libertarians not wanting to support a guy who isn’t a libertarian?
After the election Nick threw a pathetic little temper tantrum wherein he told anti-Johnsonites to ‘go screw themselves’ because Johnson pulled way more votes than the libertarians did four years ago.
Of course, this definitely had nothing to do with it being a rabid anti-establishment election and a general dislike of either candidate from both sides of the aisle. A more principled libertarian would have never capitalized on that and gotten even more votes, no siree. The NeverTrump vote was basically a lock for the LP and they still managed to fuck that up.
Stay home and drink beer or fight traffic to go to a polling station to vote for a boring guy who doesn’t really stand for anything and has zero chance of winning? I know which one I’d pick.
Because Nick isn’t a libertarian.
ENB has a piece up about it. Following a quick skim, it seems to be straight reporting with no authorial opinion.
So then they are worse than hypocrites, they are illiberal. Those that oppose religious liberty are by definition not liberal
Quebecois are pretty touchy about religious expression mostly because the Catholic Church tried to rule them as their own fiefdom for a couple centuries. The control of society and the censorship (along with the persecution of various minority religious groups for various things) has somewhat soured their view of religion.
It is still an illiberal position, regardless of the rationale
Meh, I’ll still take it over them trying to blow people up like they used to.
Hey everyone, W’s back and it seems he doesn’t like Trump and his supporters either. Thank God he’s lent his unsullied moral authority to this issue.
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/19/george-w-bush-trumpism-243945
Also, check out the comments…if you don’t think Trump should be thrown out on his ass for treason and collaboration you’re accused of being a Russian agent. These people are in for quite a disappointment.
I would be nice if they were disappointed but they’ll focus their outrage towards something much more irrelevant.
Jet fuel can’t melt steel!!!
But heating it does increase it’s malleability and reduce it’s compressive and tensile strength.
Which can cause the beams on one floor to buckle and fall against another….
where the impact exceeds the shock strength of those beams, and before you know it the whole thing is just a heap on grade.
LIARS! BOOOOOOSH DID IT ON PURPOSE AS AN EXCUSE TO START A WAR!!!!!!!!!!!
They got to y’all too huh?
Sad.
I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.
No, you got it all wrong.
http://www.dailywire.com/news/22490/media-are-telling-you-george-w-bush-attacked-trump-ben-shapiro
Ben Shapiro says Politico isn’t giving the full story
Even reading the the Politico piece I got the sense that W was not just talking about about Trumpisim (whatever that is).
More of the triumphs of appearance over reality.
Clinton murdered 100 civilians, burned them alive in their homes, because they had a weird religion.
Bush ordered the torture of at least one American citizen, and the unconstitutional imprisonment of others.
Obama ordered the murder via drone strike of an American citizen for making YouTube videos.
Trump…..well he’s mean on Twitter.
There was a photo on Twitter of Bubba, Dubya, and Barry Soetero at a golf tournament mugging for the camera, with dozens of fucking cucks commenting shit like “miss these classy guys!!” and other similar sentiments. Sure they might have violated your rights on a fucking daily basis, but look at that smile and OMG remember when Obama was on Jimmy Kimmel??!?!?!?
You want my vote in 2020 Trump? Indict Obama for the murder of Anwar al-Awlaki and his son. Indict George W. Bush for the torture of Jose Padilla. Indict Bill Clinton for the Waco massacre. Drain the fucking swamp from the top down.
The hate of Trump has always been cultural. He’s an icky outsider and not allowed into the Kool Kids Klub.
True. But the absurd part of it is how many people who are even less inside the tent than Donald Trump seem to cop that attitude.
He’ll need to fire Sessions first who, for the life of me, I swear must have been hiding under his desk since his confirmation.
That’s funny. He either cant see that they are doing to Trump x10 what they did to him, which he can, or he is trying to social signal his way back into grace.
Idiot. George, they are never going to love you. Kow towing to them wont get you anywhere.
George, they are never going to love you.
I’m not so sure of that. Now that he’s effectively a non-threat, they really have no reason to continue hating him. And as long as he plays ball denouncing Republicans, they’ll be happy to give at least the appearance of approval.
So I got off a phone interview with a VP. This is the third interview with this company. I don’t think I shat the bed but I think I did alright. I will have to skin a rabbit and place it on an altar for ZARDOZ later.
If you get to the 3rd interview and don’t screw up, you are in.
At least, in my experience. They have decided to make an offer and just want sign off from all of the important parties.
Same job as the one you were chasing a few weeks ago or new one?
Nope, this is a new one. Six week process, but they worked this interview around my vacation, so that should be an indicator.
Sounds like you’re in.
OT: WTF?
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/17/nyregion/nxivm-women-branded-albany.html
Look, people are fucked up, okay?
Looking at that guys picture, I have to wonder what drives people to follow a guy that looks like that?
This sounds like a mix of a prison gang and dopey university secret society.
Of course he is.
Weird. A la what some traditionally black fraternities do, I was expecting the women to be African-American.
Their bodies, their say so, but branding is fucked up.
Branding is like Tattooing, only more painful, with fewer colors and lower resolution imagery.
FTA, this was less of a “brand” and more of a “freehand drawing with a cautery tool”
I did read that, but burning the image into the skin is branding, even if you don’t use a preformed template to make it.
Sounds like the ladies’ version of Proud Boys.
By all accounts (and according to my cousin out in Galicia) it’s all bull.
If Catalonia’s grievances and demands, as I’ve point out in the past, are anything like Quebec, then I don’t sympathize.
“I am torn…but if pushed, I would say that I would reluctantly back the Catalans. I do truly believe that Governments are instituted among Men,deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. But I can be convinced this is not the case here. Discuss, debate and snark, as you will.”
America was being oppressed by a foreign government. Plus there’s something to be said of destiny as it was poised to become the first nation in history to principally be built on the concept of the sovereign individual.
In this way, Catalonia is not like that. It’s more like Quebec. They have issues with the central government. The slight difference here being, Catalonia is, from what I read, a ‘have’ region that gives more than it takes (like Northern Italy where the Lombard League says ‘il nordo lavorro, il sudo mangia) whereas Quebec is a ‘have not’ (despite being resource rich) and takes more than it gives.
Reluctant consent is not worth it in this case. They can always use their power (and apparently they do and have) to gain more from the Federal government like Quebec does. Canada, over time, became the most decentralized Federal government in the Western hemisphere. So Quebec pretty much has all it needs except the final ‘stamp’. Which is really not necessary except to make it about ‘identity.’ Again, is it really worth it? From where I stand, Quebec does okay within the confines of the Confederacy (a founding member at that I might add. So there’s something to be said about seeing things through).
A lot of talking for someone who should be working.
/mumbles to self angrily. Goes back to peeling potatoes.
Ooooooh taters!
Special ingredients just for you!
Bacon + potatoes = hash
Everyone likes smoking hash.
Yes sir.
My one Catalonian friend has broken her silence and started sharing this video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPMJxa6SzHo
I guess she’s in favor of independence after all.
Also, what’s Catalonian for “would”? Yowza.
So when does the German government send you down to help Franco…I mean, assist Spain in retaining its core states?
Good grief, can we send Antifa to form International Brigades, and then have Putin’s “advisors” quietly cull them?
Given the response by the Kurds to that LGBTwhatever antifa group, I don’t think they’ll want them. The Lincoln Battalion or the MacPacs they are not.
Given the response by the Kurds to that LGBTwhatever antifa group, I don’t think they’ll want them.
Wait…what?
This is part of the plot in the historical potboiler “Leaving Berlin” — lots of good fun
yeah, would.
Three and a half minutes in and it sounds like a typical commie speech to me. I especially like her term ‘social rights’.
Yeh. Is quivering a new argumentative mode for lefties?
I’m reminded of the movie Barcelona.
At least Canada permitted two referendums TWICE in total peace.
Problem is, what would have happened if the vote went against Canada because for all intents and purposes, it WAS an illegal act.
Maybe the Feds simply humoured Quebec knowing full well they wouldn’t opt against it. But in 1995 it came damn close thanks in part to the Parti Quebecois spoiling ballots.
In Spain, Madrid considers it an illegal act. What did the Catalans think was going to happen? Also, does Spain threaten the values she expresses in the video? That is, were Catalans were concerned that Spain was gonna take away their stuff? I don’t think it did.
Repeating what I said upthread: People who are serious and committed to an idea will fight and die to defend it. Are the Catalonians ready to die for independence? Are the Spanish ready to do the same to keep the country together? If the answer to both questions is “no” then this is just bullshit posturing and political theater.
That’s my feeling as well. It’s more like Canada because no one here is willing to do that.
Hazel claims that the NFL players aren’t really disrespecting the flag, that kneeling before the flag is actually a sign of respect.
I point out that if the NFL players aren’t disrespecting the flag, it isn’t for not trying, and I add, “Don’t piss on the flag and tell me it’s raining”.
Hazel then responds that I’m wrong because no NFL players have actually pissed on the flag.
I’d say, “Never assume malicious intent when it could just as easily be explained by Asperger syndrome”, but it all started with something that seems obviously dishonest. I suppose an Asperger victim might honestly not understand the intent of players refusing to stand for the national anthem, but it isn’t it obvious that they’re trying to provoke a public reaction by disrespecting the flag?
Or am I crazy?
I’m the guy around here whose sarcasm detector is most likely to fail.
There are other people out there, however, who are far worse than I am. And that wasn’t even sarcasm she didn’t get. It was a figure of speech. An idiom!
Honestly, Hazel never struck me as being particularly bright.
Hazel is being purposely obtuse.
The players themselves don’t even understand what they’re protesting, but to the NFL’s core audience, it sure as hell is disrespecting the flag; and disrespecting the entire country by extension.
Hazel’s a moron.
Hazel has mental issues. The few times I go back to Reason I always see her flipping out about the evil alt-right hiding under the bed. When I told them they were being dramatic and asinine by calling Trump a ‘national socialist’ she freaked out and started screaming at me about how I worship Richard Spencer. She has active delusions and paranoia.
You dont?
*Seriously, who the fuck is that guy? Where did he come from? He reminds me of a fuzzy photo of bigfoot where you cant quite make it out. I guess the international socialists need a national socialist menace bad enough to invent one. I saw a photo from one of his rallies. There were hundreds of protesters and Spencer had…get this…three people.
I have a rule: “Arguing with HazelMeade is like playing pigeon chess with a pig at the Special Olympics: no matter what happens, you’re covered in mud, Hazel’s strutting in victory all over the chessboard, and the pig likes that you’re the fastest retarded pigeon.” Or something, I forget.
Sargon of Akkad was laughing his ass off about the kneeling. In Europe(and most of the world for that matter) kneeling is a sign of obeisance.
Yep, when I first vaguely heard that NFL players were kneeling, my response was “what, as like a sign of loyalty or something?” Probably a cultural influence from countries with monarchies. When those university people did it to Pence I thought it was hilarious because they’re basically proclaiming him Emperor. It’s the most tone-deaf and stupid of the ‘Resistance’ protests yet.
Yeah, in football taking a knee means something else but these fools are all about optics. They should’ve went with the old tried and true “black power/I’m a commie” clenched fist.
It’s not just restricted to this world.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFyHTU8tg_0
What those players are doing is protesting because America is a racist, misogynistic, homophobic country that murders black men in the street. They are trying to show they are woke to the proggie way. In other words they are pissing on the flag no matter how many times they aren’t.
“I am not disrespecting the flag, I just hate America!”
At one point, she was actually claiming that kneeling before the flag was a sign of respect!
My “pissing on the flag” story just shows that I’m a victim of fake news!
LOL
It’s like, what do they call it . . . gas lighting!
They’re trying to convince you you’re crazy.
I might be crazy, but not for that reason–not because I think the NFL players are purposely disrespecting the flag to get attention.
Sounds about right. It’s impossible to argue with Hazel because she randomly redefines the meaning of words to suit her objective. And the definition can change several times in the same paragraph.
Off topic, but…..Charles Blow is a terrible, terrible writer. I’m not even talking about the content. He’s just a lousy writer:
“ink-stained line of the essay writer”….”the boot of truth”. Awful. A 9th grader could do better than this dreck.
He is a living example of the Dunning–Kruger effect.
There is a lot of that going around.
That is awful. I also like how he put “president” in quotes. Very funny.
So Jesus Campos finally showed up on the Ellen DeGeneres show. I thought it ind of wierd that there was a dude, an “engineer,” with him. I dont remember this dude being part of the narrative.
My Jr high school Spanish teacher was a big fan of Franco.
Also, first!