Glibertarians.com 2017 Archive

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  • Why I hate the metric system and you should too: an uninformed rant based on no research whatsoever

    Honestly, I probably wouldn’t hate the metric system if I saw it in isolation.  Yes, it’s a little bit silly, like the tennis scoring system, but it’s just a system of measurement after all.

    It’s the fucking proponents of it I can’t stand.  More specifically, it’s the self-righteous more-sciencey-than-thou “educators” who will voxplain how it’s sooo superior and anyone who doesn’t recognize this is an inbred Luddite.  Before there were vegans, before there was crossfit, there were metric proponents. And even they wouldn’t be so bad if their arguments weren’t completely, absolutely, 100% full of shit.

    Myth #1:  “It’s more scientific”

    First of all, what does that even mean?  Seriously, what?  The closest thing I’ve found to an answer is that “it’s used by more scientists.”  Which is like saying Nathan’s hotdogs are “more medical.”

    Myth #2:  “It’s based on nature, not arbitrary units”

    Holy fuckballs no.  Not even.  Prior to the modern metric system, there was an idea to make a “natural” system wherein the unit of length would be the length of a pendulum with a period of 1 second.  This… is actually a pretty good idea.  And pretty close to a system based on natural laws.  Yes, there is still some arbitrariness involved with choosing the place where the standard will be set since gravity is inhomogeneous, but for the 18th century, pretty good.  This is not what we got.  What we got was a second set of arbitrary units with the pretense of objectivity.  To go into detail relates directly to the objections to:

    Myth #3:  “It’s self-consistent”

    Just stop.  Let’s talk about this “consistent system” for a while, shall we?   The meter, what is it?  “It’s 1/10,000th the distance from the pole to the equator.”  No, it’s not, shut up.  First of all, everything in this “consistent” system is based on factors of 1000.  Except for this, the principal unit of the system, which is mysteriously based on a factor of 10,000.  But of course it isn’t even that since it’s not 1/10,000th of anything, it’s 1/10,000th of a quarter of something.  So it’s really 1/40,000th of something.   What the meter is, is a juggling around with numbers until they could find a unit of measurement that is as close as possible to a yard, and then making a physical, constantly-changing arbitrary standard based on that.  If they weren’t trying to duplicate the yard, they would have made the meter based on some factor of 1000.  If they were determined to use the earth, they could have taken 1/1,000,000th of the circumference of the earth and gotten a serviceable unit of about an inch and a half, or 1/1000th the radius of the earth and gotten something close to 4 miles, but those units are just too weird and exotic and we need to make this change easy for the peasants to digest while we’re force-feeding this change to them and we really need to sharpen the guillotine again and… sorry, I was getting too deep into the revolutionary mindset for a minute there.  Anyway, a meter is a Froggy yard and I don’t care what anyone says they‘re just trying to post-hoc rationalize it.  Now moving on in our “self-consistent” system, we have the base unit of mass, the kilogram.  Does anyone else see the problem here?    We have a base unit… that requires a prefix.  Qu’est-ce que c’est le face-palm en francais?  And again, this base unit which is supposedly (but isn’t – it’s actually a terrible waste of platinum) the mass of a liter of water, which is a cubic decimeter.  A cubic decimeter of water… which is a liter… weighs a kilogram.  I’m so glad this system is so self-consistent.  And the most ludicrous thing about this inconsistency is that these last two are that they are derived units in the first place!  If they were self-consistent, and they kept with water, their base unit of volume would be about 264 gallons and the base unit of mass would be a long ton.  Which is simply inconvenient and puts to lie…

    Myth #4: “It’s easier to use”

    Here’s the speed of light as George Washington would have reckoned it:

    186000

    Easy to recognize, and it’s in miles/second because that’s really the only sensible combination of units to use for speeds like that.

    Here’s the Macron version:

    30000000

    Or is it?  Do I have the right number of zeroes there?  And what units?  I mean km/s would be the analog to mi/s, but since one of the purported advantages to metric is adding and dropping prefixes willy-nilly, they could be anything.  Usually, I see the speed of light given in m/s, but I can toss a random number of zeroes and still be correct as long as I claim to be using a particular prefix-unit combination.  To be fair, there are instances where the metric system is easier to use.  Those instances are when you are:

    -performing a calculation

    -with a pencil and paper

    -with abstracted numbers

    But other than that, nope.  And part of that is because the Top Men promoting the system are promising completely contradictory things.  To claim that you can create a system of measurement based on natural laws that is convenient for humans is that quotidian mix of ignorance and arrogance that has categorized progressive thought since time immemorial.  Repeat after me:  Nature hates you and wants you to die.  Nature is supremely unconcerned about being convenient.  By picking one unit to be human-scaled (the meter) they pretty much guaranteed that any of the other measurable aspects of nature are going to be stupidly awkward when expressed in terms of that unit.  When was the last time you bought a capacitator measured in a whole number of Farads?  A magnet in Teslas?  (People who buy NMRs don’t count.)  If you want to quantify exactly how terrible of an idea it is to try and build a measurement system around the fundamental properties of the universe, take a looky here.

    So what is the metric system if none of those myths?  It’s the product of a decimal fetishist.  Which is frankly a pretty low grade of fetish.  It’s like being preferentially attracted to Americans while you’re vacationing in Prague.  Prague, Czech Republic, not Prague, Oklahoma.  They’re not even pronounced the same.  The metric system was made by shallow-thinking revolutionaries who thought themselves wise.  For them, the decimal system had totemic value, like black guns or Maggie McNeil’s “sex rays.”  Their cook could understand halves and thirds, and quarters, but it took a man of the proper social class to understand 3/10ths.  All the good things about the metric system happen because it’s tied to the decimal system.  Which is also its biggest problem, because the decimal system is pretty crap.  But in one of the most unfortunate examples of existence bias in history, Messrs. Haut-Hommes never considered that maybe the decimal system was what they needed to take forth on the tumbrel.

    We already have the basis of the dozenal system in our language (dozen, gross, great gross) and Glibs of a certain age may remember when multiplication tables ran up to 12.  Those of you with rugrats can let me know if this is still a thing, but freaking muppets were able to recognize the superiority of the dozenal system.  Even metric-loving Eurotards are starting to clue in; though the specific example in that video is also chock-full of existence bias.  Yes, you could keep Arabic numerals and add a couple of symbols, but it really would be better to replace all of the numerals so it would be obvious what system was being written.  That’s a system that would have been an improvement over an older one.  It’s not what the metric system was.   The metric system was a waste of a good opportunity for a bunch of hubristic murderous progressives (but I repeat myself) to make a positive change but couldn’t because they were stupid (but I repeat myself yet again).

    That is why I hate it.  That is why you should too.

     

  • Friday Morning Links

    The several thousand people who showed up to watch the Rams-49ers, and the hundreds that watched from home got a treat last night as the boys from Los Angeles won 41-39.  In an odd twist, both teams were also eliminated from the playoffs without another squad taking the field. In college, USF beat Temple like a rented mule.

    In baseball news, The Cubs came from behind to beat the Brewers for the second night in a row and all but lock down the NL Central. Fortunately for Milwaukee, the Rockies are doing everything they can to help them in the wild card race as they dropped another one to the Padres. The Cardinals topped the BIG RED MACHINE to gain ground. The Dodgers won. As did the Nats The Nats didn’t.  On the junior circuit, The Indians topped the Angels and the Twinks got a much-needed win to stretch the lead to 2.5 games…although that lead is now over the Angels and the Rangers, who doubled up the Mariners.  Hey, the Orioles won a game! KC topped Team Canada. And lastly, the White Sox beat my Astros, who have long since clinched their playoff spot and home field in the Divisional Series.

    So that’s sports. And here’s other things in…the links!

    Sorry, Limeys. Big Brother says no.

    Uber is stripped of its license to operate in London over safety fears. Over 40,000 drivers for the service are now losing their income and the millions of passengers a week they carry will have to resort to something else to get them around (like a drunk Wayne Rooney, perhaps). Also, no word whether every Muslim in town with a license will have their cars taken away.

    President Trump’s racist travel ban temporary travel restrictions from a few countries other Presidents have restricted travel from is set to expire Sunday. And people are scrambling to figure out what’s going to happen.

    Well, um, what the hell did you expect to happen? Is it A: a money grab from the state to help shore up a little of its pension crisis? or B: a simple way to beef up the surveillance state? Or there’s always C: a big bunch of free money to a company connected to a few high-ups in the IDOT?  (Feel free to answer D: all of the above. Its probably right.)

    Never in the same room. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

    I’m Mister Snow Miser, I’m Mister Snow. Say goodbye to Summer. Because I’m starting to blow.  (With apologies to John Kerry.)

    Did you know they had Comicon’s in Africa?  Dis wat dem dey look like in Lagos.

    Holy shit, did Maria ever do a number on Puerto Rico. Looks worse than after Hugo.

    Its the last day of this theme. And the name of this song seems appropriate.

    Hope its been a decent week. And I hope its a better weekend.

  • Week 4 College Football Preview

    Losers from last week, look at the rankings. This is what you have made me do. It is all your fault. Think about it. And here is sloopy’s mandatory link.

    Dubious Rivalries of the Week

    Old Dominion @ Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA

    The commonwealth throwdown. The Battle for Madison’s Shoe. The Founding Fight. This rivalry has many names, which is amusing as they have never played in football. Here is hoping that “The Battle for Madison’s Shoe” catches on.

    ODU didn’t play football between 1940 and 2009, so at least it is understandable.

    Tailgate of the Week

    Kent St @ Louisville, Louisville, KY

    My old stomping grounds. Tailgating at the actual game isn’t anything special, but I know the spots to booze up around town. Also, Louisville punches well above its weight when it comes to the restaurant scene. And its relatively cheap.

    I will be eating here this Saturday. I haven’t tried it before, I will let you all know how it goes.

    Beer: In my opinion, the best beer bar in the USA is Holy Grale. Built in a former Unitarian Church, it has a great selection of craft beers that you probably won’t see many other places. Plus a great burger.

    Booze: Mint Julep Recipe – Henry Watterson

    Pluck the mint gently from its bed, just as the dew of the evening is about to form on it. Select the choicer sprigs only, but do not rinse them. Prepare the simple syrup and measure out a half-tumbler of whiskey. Pour the whiskey into a well-frosted silver cup, throw the other ingredients away, and drink the whiskey.

    Really, don’t drink that crap. If you have to adulterate your bourbon, I recommend ice. If you really, really need something else, make a Manhattan.

    Game of the Century of the Week

    Mississippi St @ University [sic] of Georgia, Athens, GA

    After their thumping of LSU in this game last week, Mississippi St makes a surprising return. Here is hoping that they do the same this week, only more so. History suggests it is unlikely, as Georgia leads the all time series 17-6. That isn’t many games for two teams that have been in the same conference forever.

    Top 25

    1. Duke (3-0) 4.597 +3
    2. Michigan (3-0) 4.490 +6
    3. Iowa (3-0) 4.476 +10
    4. Utah (3-0) 4.466 +1
    5. Clemson (3-0) 4.444 +4
    6. Mississippi St (3-0) 4.419
    7. Maryland (2-0) 4.411 +10
    8. Virginia Tech (3-0) 4.410 +11
    9. Georgia (3-0) 4.393 +1
    10. California (3-0) 4.390 -3
    11. Southern Cal (3-0) 4.382
    12. Georgia Tech (1-1) 4.352 +12
    13. Oregon (3-0) 4.322 +3
    14. Michigan St (2-0) 4.306 +9
    15. Texas Tech (2-0) 4.300 -3
    16. Alabama (3-0) 4.290 -1
    17. Washington St (3-0) 4.246 +5
    18. Miami FL (1-0) 4.235 NR
    19. Vanderbilt (3-0) 4.233 +2
    20. Wake Forest (3-0) 4.212 NR
    21. Indiana (1-1) 4.209 NR
    22. UCLA (2-1) 4.183 -21
    23. Oklahoma St (3-0) 4.183 +2
    24. Oklahoma (3-0) 4.165 NR
    25. Colorado (3-0) 4.151 NR

    Falling out: South Carolina, LSU, Ole Miss, Illinois, Tennessee. A bloodbath for the SEC, although 3 of the 4 were due to in-conference losses.

  • Thursday Afternoon Links

    Happy Thursday. I just had corned beef hash for lunch made out of the leftovers of last night’s dinner. That’s one of those meals that just feels like the best parts of my childhood. Boiled meat and root vegetables, refried in the pan the next day. Meals of the traditionally rich!

    Hobo and Lurch, tag-team 2020

    This one gave me an awkward semi. The idea of seeing John Kerry mercilessly pummeled on twitter and in campaign speeches by Donald Trump would be a fine way to spend 2020. I mean, when I’m not mourning the fact that people don’t get beat into a coma for bringing up John Kerry as a serious presidential candidate. Hey guys, I’ve got a great idea! We ran the worst Secretary of State since WWII and she lost. Let’s run the second worst and see how he does. If you’re seriously considering previous losers for your party’s presidential candidate you’re either voting for Ron Paul or you belong to a Loser Party. /rant

    This is some dictatorial shit right here. Not that I think Chelsea Clinton would be safe if Hillary thought offing her would deliver the presidency in 2020.

    Scientist discover animal without a brain that sleeps. Apparently running their first study on DMV clerks.

    Local to me people who need to be tied up in a sack and beaten. Oh, you disagree with your neighbor cutting trees on his own property? Go jump right up your own ass you lousy snitch.

    Can’t wait for the 2020 version where she replaces Sanders with Kerry

    This is going to be the biggest nothing ever. Or an absolute stake in the heart. But probably nothing.

    Something different.

  • Romania Craft Beer: It Is… Alive!

    When it comes to imbibing beverages with a non-negligible fraction of ethanol, Romanians can hold their own. In fact, we are known to often go above and beyond the call of duty.  According to some ranking or other, we are 5th in Europe in drinking per capita, equal to the Czech Republic. Off course, keep in mind it is hard to keep track of all the home made hooch in Romania, as a lot consume țuică and wine of their own production. So we might be even higher. Off course the same is probably the case in Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Lithuania and other countries near the top of the list.

    Generic beer picture is generic

    Romania was traditionally a wine and plum brandy country, but that changed significantly in the last 50 years. Beer gained a prominent role in the drinking hierarchy, estimated at 80 litres per capita, 7th in Europe. Sadly, most of this beer is generic and profoundly mediocre, even if drinkable (then again on a hot summer day, most beer is drinkable, even that Bud Light thing you Americans have). The market is dominated by a few brands, which while having some tradition in Romania, are now bottled by large multinationals – SABMiller, Heineken, Carlsberg or Molson Coors- and are almost interchangeable. There is a bit of scandal going on about using corn and special enzymes to speed up the fermentation process, but in the end, there is no proof either practice is harmful, and the result is still mediocre.

    But times they are a-changing and the hipster they are a-coming. So Romania, like many a country, the craft beer movement started and it is gaining steam. It was a timid start, mind, as craft beer tends to be on the pricey side and Romanian incomes are still on the scant side. But a start is better than nothing. I want to do a quick overview of the scene here, although I will avoid reviews, tasting notes and the like for this post. This is just the cliff notes, in case any Glib runs into some Romanian Beer – the odds of which are similar to being hit by lightning or election fraud, very low.

    The first wave of the “craft” movement started by making standard style beers, slightly better, but not by much. These were Clinica de Bere – which made a beer called Terapia, Nemteana, Zaganul and a few others. They all were fairly similar; they had a pale lager beer, an amber one and usually a German style wheat beer. I rarely drink these, as they do not bring much to the table.

    You Americans wish you had pretty labels like us

    The second wave got into the ale style beers, producing some standard ales and some very hoppy IPAs. Now, while I don’t want to get controversies started (kidding, I totally do, I measure the worth of my posts by the number of comments they get), and while I am reasonably fond of IPAs myself, there is a slight tendency to over-hop these ones. Although the results were pretty good, it was also a way to hide imperfections in the brew. More hops do not automatically a better beer make, just like more oak does not always mean better wine.

    Among the more mediocre of this wave is Sikaru. Among the better ones is Ground Zero, which actually produced the first decent Romanian craft beers I have tasted.

    Some of the good stuffBeing hipsters, one of the things craft breweries have in common with other countries is the silly… ehm let’s say creative, actually, names. But hey, they try, and that’s not nothing. And I like their beer overall, although the prices tend to be a bit high. They have a good pale ale – Easy Rider, a decent  IPA – Morning Glory (which is actually good as a Sunday morning drink), an pretty good imperial IPA – Imperial Fuck (not bad, but I like beer lower in alcohol) and a dark Gypsy Porter (racist? I don’t know). They also have seasonal stuff like autumn spiced ales. Overall, very solid effort for our fair country, and recommended for drinking should you find yourselves on our distant shores.

    After the modest success of the second wave, a bit of increased prosperity and the growing fashion in craft whatever, the third wave came with a significant increase in the number of craft brewers. I haven’t had the chance to taste all, but there is some good stuff and an encouraging amount of experimentation.

    To highlight one that is worth a taste, Hop Hooligans – stereotypical name, I know, craft beer has almost metal band level of names – were among the first more experimental ones. They had, for example, the first coconut stout which I tasted. Didn’t like it, didn’t expect to, really, but I appreciated the effort.  I have yet to gather the courage to try Coconut Vanilla Smoothie IPA, whatever the bloody hell that is. They started with Summer Punch (American pale ale) and Crowd Control (IPA) and branched quite a bit. I won’t list them all, here’s a link for the curious.

    Other brewers are Hophead Brewing – again with the hops, that’s original; Perfektum which I found underwhelming compared to others; Amistad Beer and Bereta which I have not tasted yet.

    One of the signs the movement is still in its infancy is the low availability of these beers in the market. Except for a handful of bars and one or two hard to reach specialty stores, you will find it difficult to purchase these. Although availability is increasing, it is doing so slowly. But we take what we can get. A lot of bars have deals with Big Beer – either brewers or large distributors -and are generally reluctant to get the craft stuff. But as the customers appear, so will the purveyors.

    You can get craft beer in a few places, although mostly by the bottle. I only saw craft on tap in one pub, which is specialized on beer and almost nothing else – I think they have beer and tap water.

    I would also find it interesting if the brewers themselves opened tap houses, and if more pubs or restaurants in the country would start brewing their own house beer. Just to have something special for the customers. In the meantime, I just drink the stuff by the bottle, mostly at home, and am pleased that it exists in the first place.

  • Thursday Morning Links

    The Red Sox have punched their ticket to the postseason with a shutout win over the Orioles.  The Yankees are well on their way to punching theirs as they topped the Twinks. And those guys need to get their heads out of their sphincters and start winning some games. They can’t keep relying on the Indians to beat the California Angels to keep their wild card lead intact. In fact, both teams holding the final wild card spot in their leagues are trying to back into the playoffs, as the Rockies also dropped one but the Brewers were unable to gain ground.  Elsewhere, the Dodgers fell to the Phillies. Team Canada fell to K.C.  The Cards, who are still hanging in the wild card race, took down the BIG RED MACHINE. The Rays dumped the Cubbies. The Nationals beat the Braves. The D-backs won. And the Firstros again topped the White Sox.

    More preseason hockey, which I caught for a few minutes in the wrap-around coverage last night. It sure was sloppy. And there sure were a lot of whistles for phantom slashing calls. If this doesn’t change, the games will be unwatchable this season. So, based on their track record, I’m sure the NHL will tell the officials to get even more whistle-happy. And then they’ll do another new TV contract with an even shittier network.

    BONUS SPORTS LINK! (thanks, Warty!)It’s from the University of Tennessee, so you know its gonna be retarded. Enjoy.

    DRUUUUDGE!!!!!

    OK, that’s it for athletic endeavours. Time to drop a little knowledge in…the links!

    Never change, Media Matters. Just keep that retarded spin machine going forever. (Trigger Warning: obviously its Media Matters.)

    I think Glibs should pool our resources and buy Rolling Stone.  Of course, it means we’d have to stop penning steaming piles of sanctimonious horseshit like this. But that’s a risk I’m willing to take.

    Puerto Rico is in absolute darkness as Hurricane Maria knocks out power to the entire island. Jesus. That seems just inconceivable to me. And fortunately, a lot of people and businesses there have generators.  But still…Jesus.

    A piece on the “opioid crisis” that completely misses the point. How about legalizing the damn things and letting people medicate to ease pain and at the same time, let recreational users get cleaner drugs?  Nah. That would, like, let people be responsible for their own actions. And we can’t have that.

    DRUUUUUUGS!!!!!

    I’m no huge fan of the GOP’s health care bill.  But I did find a silver lining.

    I’ve heard of throwing money down the toilet. But dis em gettin’ big time ridiculous!

    Crude oil tops $50 a barrel for first time in more than two months. So expect gas to stay above $2.25 a gallon for the foreseeable future.

    Go ahead and dance. And enjoy some movie clips from one of the greatest films of all time.  How it didn’t sweep the Oscars will be one of the greatest travesties of the modern age.

    Have a wonderful day, friends. The weekend is almost upon us.

  • The Hat and The Hair: Episode 60

    (Please note that this is all Brett L’s fault.)

    “Luther! Luther! Pay attention you fuckin’ cracka!” Donald yelled. “Hit him in the panhandle! It’s his only weakest!”

    Luther and Steve circled each other in the Montgomery Cockfighting Pit, the swankiest state capitol cockfighting pit of all the state capitol cockfighting pits. The handicappers for the fight had hobbled Steve and given Luther a set of steel spurs. They were sitting in their respective corners of the pit having their cloacas massaged by their trainers.

    “This is barbaric,” the hair muttered. Donald slapped his own head to quiet him. The USA hat squealed in protest. “Moron,” the hair muttered.

    “It’s won’t settle the election, but honest, hard-working people like Alabamians like to know you can fight before they vote for you,” Donald said.

    “Don’t distract him, Donald. Steve is dangerous,” the hair said. Donald mumbled something and went back to his ice cream cone.

    The stands around the pit were full of eager fans. The air was dead and the smell of sweat and beer and chaw and cigar smoke were mingled together and hanging heavy. Donald’s scalp was beginning to sweat and the hair held on with anxious tendrils.

    “Dem two gonna fight ‘em?” USA hat asked.

    “O-M-G, shutthefuckup,” the hat said.

    “Steve could kill him,” Donald said and laughed.

    “Why is he even out there? Shouldn’t be overseeing Breitbart or riding the rails? And where the fuck is Roy? Roy’s who should be in the ring,” the hair said.

    “Roy had a date,” Donald said. “Skinny little guy, but he forwarded me the picture of his dick. Roy’s probably going to shit wrong for a week.”

    “It’s the seat that Roy wants, so Roy should be fighting for it,” the hair said.

    “Big Luther knows what he’s doing. Besides, I took out a little insurance. Watch.”

    The trainer with Steve held his hand up to the editor’s face and Steve gobbled down whatever was there. Donald started laughing and rubbing his nipples.

    “What did you do, Donald?” the hair asked.

    “Just watch.”

    “Can I have a popsicles?” USA hat asked.

    “No,” the hair snapped, “You’ll get it all over me. Shut up.”

    “Aww, don’t be like that, Touppie” the USA hat said.

    “I told you not to call me that!” the hair yelled.

    “Both of you stop it!” Donald said. “The fight’s starting.”

    “I like watchin’ fights, yes I do, I surely do,” the USA hat said. The hair growled at him.

    “Hey y’all,” Jeff said, emerging from the smoky dim outside the glare of the pit lights. “Yew mind if I sit by yew?”

    “Sure, OK, whatever,” Donald said with no enthusiasm. “Just be quiet.”

    “They’re fightin’ for mah old Senate seat, you know,” Jeff said, perching on the bench beside Donald like a wizened Elf on the Shelf.

    “No shit,” the hat said.

    “You say somethin’, Donald?” Jeff asked.

    “I said ‘be quiet,’” he replied.

    The referee raised his hand and the venue grew quiet, but when he dropped it, and Luther and Steve were shoved into the pit, the crowd roared.

    Steve minced to the center of the ring, his feet tied together by a short length of rope. He raised his arms over his head and bellowed something unintelligible.

    “Big Luther!” Donald yelled.

    Luther scuttled forward quickly and slashed at Steve with an ankle spur. Steve hopped backward and brought his clasped hands down on Luther’s shoulder. Everyone could hear it dislocate and Luther stumbled back. The USA hat guffawed loudly.

    “Uh, Donald…” the hair began.

    Luther, holding his arm, stepped away from his opponent’s lumbering embrace, pivoted and brought his spur down, laying open Steve’s shin almost its entire length. Steve howled in agony and fell into the side of pit.

    The hair noticed that Jeff was pawing at his own crotch frantically.

    “Yeah!” Donald yelled. “Give him a taste of STRANGE!”

    Luther rushed into punch Steve twice in the face as the homeless Svengali reeled drunkenly. A cut over his eye began to weep blood. The referee stopped the fight and sent them both out of the pit.

    “That’s it? I though theys was gonna kill each udder,” the USA hat whined.

    “Wow. What happened?” the hair asked, impressed.

    “I paid off the trainer to slip Steve the one thing no hobo can resist,” Donald said smugly, “A pint of Sterno.”

  • Wednesday Afternoon Links

    Happy Wednesday? Wednesday. Huh. I feel like I lost a day this week.

    A little geek history — the first web-apps.

    Reading George Monbiot and agreeing with him is… unsettling?

    Slate goes full derp, takes issue with the idea that even in the future there will be competing uses for limited resources, and that markets will exist for humans or their robot successors to find a consensual, non-hierarchical (and efficient!) way of prioritizing those uses. Of course, unless you had Thomas Sowell (or another similarly honest economics book) beat “competing uses for limited resources” into your head, you might not understand why markets are the ultimate consensus generator.

    I always get nervous when geniuses want to fix a problem that doesn’t exist. RAISING CAPITAL IS SUPPOSED TO BE PAINFUL, YOU MORONS! If you don’t like the way the stock market focuses on the short term, maybe, I dunno, get the Fed to raise interest rates high enough that CDs and bonds are viable short-to-medium term savings vehicles?

    Thank goodness we still have Lemmy and David, right?

    And Mythical Libertarian Woman made us all something…

  • Lesbian parents: Do problems stem from their gender, or their politics?

     

    A 2016 study from the Catholic University of America has come back to the forefront thanks to an article on Milo’s blog called “Having lesbian parents makes you fat” (Milo’s #1 priority). The study followed 20 sets of same-sex parents (17 of them lesbian) over a span of thirteen years, from 1995 to 2008. You can read the study for yourself here, complete with a virtue-signaling disclaimer at the beginning. The gist of it is that the study found that having same-sex parents made children “2.25 times more likely to experience depression than is the general population,” as well as more than twice as likely to be obese and more than three times as likely to experience suicidal thoughts.

    In their disclaimer, one thing Hindawi notes is that the small sample size of the study may be skewing results. I would agree with that, but for perhaps a different reason than either the author of the study or the editors at Hindawi had in mind. I suspect, that with a sample size that small, the odds of political diversity in the sample are probably very slim—and I would like to suggest that that, more than the gender of the parents, may be a large part of the problem.

    The most recent photo-graphical evidence of a libertarian woman in the wild

    As background, I am bisexual and have dated men and women roughly equally (I’m currently dating a woman, though it’s been very short-term so far, only about two months). I generally prefer dating women, and would probably prefer to marry a woman, with one small caveat: lesbians are overwhelmingly fucking lunatics politically. Conservative and non-political lesbians do exist (no libertarians, though, since I’m the only libertarian woman), but like the fabled STEVE SMITH, they’re rare and require patience to spot.

    Lesbians, being both women and homosexual, fit this perfect double-whammy market for the left. It is known that if you’re one of those, your vote automatically belongs to the Democrats; so, obviously, if you’re both, you doubly belong to them. Thus, lesbian Democrats are doubly insane. The vast majority of them are screaming feminists. They’re angry often, possibly even most of the time. They’ve bought into victimhood culture and they milk it for all it’s worth.

    It’s easy to see how a climate like that could affect a child. But I feel this has less to do with the fact that the child has two women for parents and more to do with the fact that rabid progressivism (and postmodernism, third-wave feminism, identity politics and all the other bullshit theories that have been infecting the left for the last two decades) creates a toxic environment. These theories have been particularly strong in the LGBT community, where they became dominant much earlier than they did for the “mainstream” left (fitting the 1995-2008 timeline of the study). And you can see how the symptoms reported in the study could stem directly from those ideologies.

    Higher rates of obesity? Not surprising in “body positivity” culture.

    Higher rates of depression? Remember that this study was conducted primarily during the tenure of “Literally Hitler” the First. Imagine spending your formative years listening to your moms rant daily about how BOOOOOSH (or, perhaps, the real evil mastermind, CHENEYYYYYY) was going to bring about the apocalypse.

    Higher rates of suicidal thoughts? I have suicidal thoughts after spending too much time on Twitter, something I can turn off. I can only imagine the effect being steeped in that ideology 24/7—as a child—would have on my psyche. The study concluded in 2008, the year of Sarah Palin and Prop 8. Not sure if it ended before the Anointed One ascended the throne, but I could see how the preceding months of “THOSE DAMN KKKORPORATIONS ARE FUNDING CAMPAIGNS TO DESTROY OUR FAMILY” might impact someone.

    The “gold standard”

    The issue with a study like this is that they compare overall results with those of other studies that look merely at two-parent, one-man-one-woman households, without considering differences in the parents’ political beliefs. If a significantly more politically diverse sample was taken of the “standard” families (not even specifically conservative, but just politically neutral), I suspect the results look better just because the kids grew up without being mired in negativity. I would be interested to see the results of those studies broken down into leftist families vs. non-political or conservative families. I suspect that the results for the left would look closer to the results Father Sullins got, with the non-leftists bringing up their scores thanks to averaging.

    Maybe, statistically, the results would still show that one-man-one-woman households are the healthiest environments for kids. But that’s also the case compared to single parent households and blended families, and they make it work. And I believe that same-sex couples can as well. But it involves leaving politics (identity and otherwise) at the door, for the sake of your kid. After all, being a lunatic is not an intrinsic, inherent part of being a lesbian; it’s an individual choice.

    I can’t help but wonder what the difference would be in a household with two moms like that, rather than a household with Big Red as Mom 1 and Trigglypuff as Mom 2. A household like that of many opposite-sex couples, where politics doesn’t matter—family does.

  • Wednesday Morning Links

    The steroid era ain’t got nothing on the live ball era.  MLB just broke a record for most home runs hit in a season and with around 12 games to go per team, it looks like they’ll crush it.  But they swear the ball’s not juiced. Sure thing.

    There were some crucial games last night and a few teams playing out the string.  The Red Sox topped the Orioles. The Yanks beat the Twinks to keep pace. Fortunately the California Angels lost to the still smoldering Indians so that tenuous wild card lead is holding. The D-backs fell, as did the Rockies. And with the Brewers winning, the NL chase is officially red hot. The Dodgers fell to the Phillies. Team Canada beat the Royals. The Cards beat the BIG RED MACHINE. The Cubs won. The Nationals won. And the Astros continue to play solid ball and topped the White Sox.

    Nothing else happened on this side of the pond. The League Cup kicked off in earnest yesterday. But with many teams fielding a b-side through the entire competition its not really much to get stoked about.  But preseason hockey is in full swing now, so expect some reports to start dribbling in as thats season approaches.

    Alright, are you fired up?  I’m fired up. Let’s all get fired up for…the links!

    Earthquake damage in Mexico

    Gaia must really hate Puerto Rico. Prayers for my friend in Yabucoa and everybody else in the path. She must really hate central Mexico as well. Prayers for everybody between Puebla and Mexico City.

    President Trump dished out a blistering speech at the United Nations yesterday.  He took the Nork, Iranian and Venezuelan governments specifically to task and offered up America as an example.  As for the Norks, he said we would destroy them if forced to defend ourselves or our allies from attack. Of course, most of the major media left that last little bit out and are calling the speech terrifying.  But trolls gotta troll.  The memes started coming quickly.

    Hey, just be glad he was still there and didn’t start driving people home. (Its not too soon, is it? Nah.)

    Obviously not the designated drivers

    I’m bring you a double-whammy rom the Bay Area today because they’re both too good to pass up. First, no good deed goes unpunished. Coffee shop robber looks to sue man who subdued him. (WATCH THE VIDEO!!!)  And second, Fremont man bashes baker with baguette. The roll was unavailable for comment.

    I wonder if this was covered yesterday or if its new? Jogging woman wey dey always poo-poo for somebody dormot. Either way, its better in a tongue that really grabs the essence of it. Enjoy.

    This guy gets it! Taxes are bad. It shouldn’t be a revelation, but at least somebody is saying it.

    Start toe-tappin. Then finger-snappin. Then that voice kicks in.

    Offer up a prayer to thought to those in Puerto Rico and Mexico, please. And everywhere else that’s had a shit deal the last few days. Thanks.