SEA SMITH SATURDAY EVENING NAUTICAL LINKS

THANKS BE TO SP!

 

SEA SMITH HERE, BACK FROM CONFERENCE. NO NEED USE OTHER PEOPLE SIGN ON… SP NICE ENOUGH GIVE SEA SMITH OWN ACCOUNT! SEA SMITH NOT THIS HAPPY SINCE FIND STRANDED CRUISE SHIP IN ’13. SEA SMITH WORK WAY THROUGH CREW AND MANY PASSENGERS BEFORE TUG BOATS SHOW UP. BY WORK WAY THROUGH, MEAN RAPE.

SEA SMITH SO HAPPY, HIM DO LINKS. COUSIN STEVE SMITH GET NIGHT OFF. HIM WORK TOO HARD LATELY. LINKS, RAPE HIKERS, LINKS, RAPE CAMPERS, ETC. WOULD ASK BIG STONE HEAD DO LINKS TONIGHT, BUT HIM MUTTERING ABOUT “CLEANSING BRUTALS” AND FLYING AROUND HAULING GRAIN.

COME ON IN, WATER LINKS FINE!

  1. GOOD NEWS ABOUT SHIP CREW IN GULF OF TONKIN?! FIRST TIME IN WHILE. SERIOUS. SEA SMITH NO MIND SHIP SINK, HIM WORRY ABOUT CREW.
  2. SO…IF YOU ON SHIP THAT SINKING – ESCAPE. “Shock may set in, causing everything to become surreal and to prevent you from doing your best to survive. If shock doesn’t set in, mental distress is a highly likely possibility, with nothing but water everywhere, right to the horizon, and not knowing when rescue will arrive.” WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE, AND ALL THE BOARDS DID SHRINK. WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE, NOR ANY DROP TO DRINK….SEA SMITH ALL-TIME FAVORITE! OH, ALSO, SEA SMITH MIGHT APPEAR! THAT GIVE TRAUMA, IYKWSSMAHTYD!
  3. SEA SMITH HEAR YOU LIBERTARIANS. SO HIM SAY “SOMALIA!” HA HA HA HA! SEA SMITH NO MIND BULLETS – TICKLE SOME. BUT THINK PIRATES NO LIKE!

SEA SMITH LIKE YOU. WANT YOU STAY SAFE ON WATER. YOU GO HERE. LEARN. WANT MORE? GO HERE.

Comments

405 responses to “SEA SMITH SATURDAY EVENING NAUTICAL LINKS”

  1. leonadasiv

    “EU naval force”

    This is a new low for pirating.

    1. SEA SMITH LAUGH AT EU. REALLY LIKE GERMANY NAVY TRY NEW SHIP. IT NO WORK. SEA SMITH VOLUNTEER PUSH SHIP. HAHAHAHA!

      1. Yusef drives a Kia

        As the the USN ships are trapped in Ice in Canada,

        1. It’s a friggin’ LCS. What do they think being launched in Wisconsin in the winter…

          1. SEA SMITH NO HELP IF STUCK IN ICE.

          2. DEG

            Some people find ice erotic.

  2. Juvenile Bluster

    Rolling Stone with its newest article. THE SHOCKING STORY!

    “The Trump-Russia-NRA connection: Here’s what you need to know”

    tl;dr: Evil forces, including the Koch Brothers, might funnel payments to the GOP through the NRA to get around campaign finance regulations, which they can do because DARK MONEY DARK MONEY CITIZENS UNITED. Therefore, Russia might have too. Do they have any facts? No! But we have speculation and innuendo. That’s the same thing, right?

    1. GRAB IT MOTHERF&$%ING CAMPAIGN MONEY!

    2. Trump is responsible for Jackie Coakley?

      1. Juvenile Bluster

        Dark forces, possibly associated with Russia, funneled money through the Trump campaign to discredit her.

    3. Rhywun

      Like I’m going to click on that.

    4. “I have hearsay and conjecture. Those are kinds of evidence.”

    5. J. Frank Parnell

      YOU CAN’T PROVE IT’S NOT TRUE!!!!

    6. Playa Manhattan

      That’s it. I’m joining the NRA.

      1. Scruffy Nerfherder

        I haven’t been a member for thirty years, but dammit if they’re not making it impossible for me to not join back up.

        1. hayeksplosives

          I know they’re imperfect, but my husband and I are about 5 yrs into the 10 yr plan to become lifetime members.

          So I get the Rifleman as my included subscription, and he gets America’s First Freedom as his. Every month I take the America’s First Freedom issue to the Electrical lab breakroom table (with name included so they know where it’s from). That has paid off over time in buying my position with the Bitter Clinger blue collar guys.

  3. Raven Nation

    Re: the stranded cruise ship. Not sure how to take that: I mean being stuck on a ship without power could be worrying & not having working toilets would be a problem. But fighting over food? It seems like it was only a couple of days. I’ve never been on a cruise ship, is it possible they’d run out that fast?

    1. YOU SEE FATTIES ON SHIP? THEY BRAWL OVER CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN BEFORE SHIP GET STUCK…

      1. Rick C-137

        Sea Smith understands, Sea Smith Seent it.

    2. Playa Manhattan

      Raven, can I email you a history question?

      1. Raven Nation

        Yep: I’m using a yahoo account for personal mail. Is that of concern to you?

        1. Playa Manhattan

          Not all. And whoops, see below.

        2. Playa Manhattan

          I have all 3 kids for the evening. Swimming until it gets dark.

          It’s not urgent, but it relates to both Australia and the US, so you’re the most authoritative person I can think of to settle the matter.

          It’s a very long question, so hopefully I’ll have it typed out by bedtime.

          1. Raven Nation

            No prob. May take me a few* days to get back to you.

            *Value of “few” may not be in single digits.

      2. Playa Manhattan

        And… no need to post the email here, because…. stalkers.

        I can send it to the email you used to register.

        1. Raven Nation

          Got it, appreciate the caution.

        2. trshmnstr

          Ima use this as an opportunity to pimp Abine Blur. I don’t use most of its features, but I keep it around for the masked email addresses. One click, and I’ve generated a new email address that forwards to my account. One more click and it stops forwarding to my account.

          1. SP

            And masked phone number and credit cards. I <3 Abine.

          2. Raven Nation

            Thanks – I saw that when you posted it a few days OK. I’m saving all those websites, etc. and plan to start switching over as soon as I have time.

          3. SP

            Do it right and get a pro account for Protonmail, then have the masked email addresses forward to that one.

          4. Raven Nation

            Ooh, excellent idea. Thanks.

          5. Number.6

            Abine/Blur is the shit,

            Or, as we say in the old country “The Dog’s Bollocks”.

          6. Scruffy Nerfherder

            Neat

  4. Juvenile Bluster

    Saw Black Panther today. Liked it well enough, it’s in the top 5 or so Marvel/Disney films for me. Not really worth the hype, but it was good enough.

    I was one of like 2 white people in the theater.

    1. leonadasiv

      Cause your a racist who is appropriating culture.

    2. Rick C-137

      That’s funny, when I went to see it there was a good mix. But I live in deplorable land. I also enjoyed it, well made with some awkward CG but overall solid. The hype was definitely overplayed.

    3. one true athena

      You mean it’s not the Best Movie of ALL TIME!!! (Rotten Tomatoes says so, must be true! )

      I saw, last week, some hilarious post telling people to go bump up the audience score there, imdb, etc. because the evil alt-right white supremacists were trying to bring it down!! Despite the fact that it was already up to ridiculous levels. And now it’s the BEST MOVIE OF ALL TIME. I just roll my eyes all the time at these people.

  5. leonadasiv

    “Would you expect to see women and children off first, then men? Or is it everyone for themselves? This actually depends upon the laws of what national waters the ship is in first, and the flag registry or nation of ownership second. ”

    What’s the rule of your seat stead starts to sink?

  6. leonadasiv

    Well OT but, many boxes, several friends and family members later, I’m moved in to my new house.

    1. GOOD!

      YOU BY OCEAN? SEA SMITH COME GIVE HOUSEWARMING GIFT.

      1. leonadasiv

        Unless sea Smith ever vacations at the great salt lake, no.

        1. MAKE TOO WRINKLY. PASS.

    2. By “box” you mean “coffin”, amirite?

    3. SP

      Congratulations! I hate moving So.Much.

      1. leonadasiv

        Thanks. Yeah it’s a pain, but we had lots of help, which made it happen fast.

      2. Rhywun

        Me too. I want to move but it’s expensive and annoying so I don’t.

      3. Gustave Lytton

        I think next time I’m going to hire a full service moving company to pack everything while I drink G&Ts

        1. Rhywun

          I expect it’s totally worth it. I’ll probably go that route too.

        2. DEG

          A former coworker of mine told me that whenever anyone asks him to help move, he gives them the phone number of movers he’s used and some money towards hiring the movers.

        3. SP

          Only if you can supervise. On our last cross-country relocation, the relocation company packed us. They sent 5 guys who swarmed throughout the house.

          I *still* can’t find things nearly 6 years later, and they had no idea what many items were, so the boxes were very oddly labeled. Additionally, I really didn’t need my plastic wrap and rubber bands wrapped in 5 layers of packing paper.

          Probably some of that was “we get to charge the company who hired us based on how much packing material we use,” but these boys were not leading intellectual lights. Before they started for the day, looking at our wall-to-wall floor-to-ceiling bookshelves crammed to overflowing in our library: “Have you, like, READ all these books?!”

    4. DEG

      Congratulations!

  7. Rick C-137

    Shakes fist

    krugman

    1. Rhywun

      The Conscience of a Grump

    2. Chafed

      If anyone is an expert on guns it’s Krugman. (Sarc). I love his line about policing being fundamental to public safety. Do you think 4 cops being too scared to enter the school will change his mind? Me neither.

    3. Grumbletarian

      Krugman naturally trots out the old Australia canard.

      Take the case of Australia, which used to experience occasional American-style gun massacres. After a particularly horrific example in 1996, the government banned assault weapons and bought such weapons back from those who already had them. There have been no massacres since.

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

      Guess he’s not counting the Monash University shooting in 2002, nor the Hunt family killings in 2014, wherein a man shot his wife and three kids to death before offing himself.

      1. Grumbletarian

        But in America a billiards tournament counts as a mass shooting.

      2. Chafed

        Of course not. They don’t fit his narrative.

  8. Rick C-137

    Enjoy with caution

    spicy…

    1. Rhywun

      we camped out in a remote, untouched wilderness for 12 days, hiking 75 miles total, with nothing but the items we could carry on our backs. It was simultaneously the whitest and the most difficult thing I’ve ever done

      OK, I expected all the “conservatives are mentally ill” flapdoodle, but WTF is “white” about camping? Assuming this isn’t elaborate satire, of course.

      1. The same thing that’s “white” about swimming?

        1. Don Escaped Texas

          40 years in backcountry: no blacks. I don’t have a single black friend who would ever consider it. I don’t know why….guessing it just hasn’t worked into some cultures yet.

          But, in the one-factory town I grew up in, everyone was at the city pool. By the seventies, if you had a quarter you were welcome; we all lived there.

        2. Rhywun

          I.e. nothing. NYC pools and beaches are ample evidence.

          1. Black people and the non-swimming stereotype.

            The Root would claim it’s whitey’s fault, of course.

          2. Rhywun

            That is so full of stupid I don’t even know where to begin.

          3. Rick C-137

            The Root is either the longest game of satire on the net or just the worst. In either case they give me and derptologist a lot of material.

          4. Rhywun

            Literally every article I see is wrong about every single thing. That is an impressive feat, I suppose.

        3. Don Escaped Texas

          Curling seems pretty white with flecks of yellow.

          Has Q linked us to the ten hottest ladies of curling?
          I’m hooked, but I don’t have a suitable reason to be.

          1. Gordilocks

            Sometimes it pays to look for ourselves while Q is off ….. Qing.

            http://www.myfacehunter.com/2014/02/30-hot-pictures-of-russian-women.html?m=1

          2. Don Escaped Texas

            I’ll be in my bunk watching team Sweden; a particular one of them was born to make me a sammich.

      2. Rick C-137

        It’s real AFAIK. And I don’t really know. My best friend is black and we go camping a decent amount.

      3. Gordilocks

        we camped out in a remote, untouched wilderness for 12 days, hiking 75 miles total, with nothing but the items we could carry on our backs. It was simultaneously the whitest and the most difficult thing I’ve ever done

        This just in – Kalahari Bushmen, The Inuit, and everyone in Papua New Guinea, is now white.

        How do we send them our privilege?

        1. westernsloper

          Ya, that aint no shit. After reading that, I see the gentleman has a serious chip on his shoulder and just might hate whitey. I think he should go camping for 12 days in some untouched wilderness in the Southern Highlands with some Hulis and let them explain what privilege is and that he in fact has it by the boat load. If they didn’t chop him up with a bush knife on the first night for being a prick that is.

      4. Bob Boberson

        STEVE SMITH SHOW YOU WHAT RIGHT ABOUT CAMPING. BY SHOW YOU MEAN RAPE!

        1. Bob Boberson

          White you POS autocorrect, white!!!! Stop thinking you know better than me. First STEVE SMITH joke ruined.

          1. Gordilocks

            Autocorrect was made by Silicon Valley SJWs. You think they’re going to just let you be a racist shitlord?

          2. Bob Boberson

            Damn it, Where can I get a racist version of autocorrect?!

          3. Two Wongs don’t make a white.

          4. Bob Boberson

            But evidently one white makes a right. Maybe I DO have the racist version of autocorrect!

          5. Gordilocks

            Unless it’s in university admissions. The Wongs are always White then.

          6. Tres Cool

            But 2 Wrights can build an airplane.

    2. Playa Manhattan

      “If I voted for a half-wit racist who undermined the entire democratic system…”

      Please do continue.

    3. Chafed

      Made it about half way through and had to bail out.

  9. Hyperion

    I’m sorry, but I still do not believe in Sea Smith. It’s impossible to rape that hard underwater.

    1. Rick C-137

      SEA SMITH DEMONSTRATE HYDRAULIC THEORY STEP INTO OCEAN FOR LESSON

    2. LET SEA SMITH KNOW WHEN YOU GO TO OCEAN NEXT… FREE DEMONSTRATION.

    3. The dolphins say otherwise.

    1. Hyperion

      STEVE SMITH BELIEVE IN SEA SMITH UNDERWATER AND BY BELIEVE MEAN RAPE.

    2. one true athena

      I’m so tired of that clickbait headline formulation. It always seems to herald some weakly feminist garbage written poorly by some millennial with zero knowledge about anything other than what she learned in her Gender Studies and Film class.

      1. Don Escaped Texas

        I’m thrilled: the formulation tells me where not to go.

        “Zero knowledge” afflicts the wide spectrum, though. Team Millennial will dominate votes and money; how they feel about things will soon be all that matters. We have not even approached peak derp yet.

        1. Rhywun

          Well, they’ve set race relations back 40 years, the poisoning of relations between the sexes is well underway… what’s next I wonder.

          1. SEA SMITH HOPE LOTS SEA GOING REFUGEES.

          2. Rope Snake

            That was millennials?

          3. Rhywun

            OK, George Soros too.

      2. Rick C-137

        But without clickbait how would they get clicks! You aren’t suggesting that substance would draw a crowd are you?

    3. Scruffy Nerfherder

      I think I’d rather get syphilis than watch that tripe.

    1. Rhywun

      What’s really going to happen is an unarmed black truant loitering in a hallway he’s not supposed to be in who gets shot eight times by the jumpy choir director.

      But it’s OK if an innocent white kid gets shot eight times?

      This has generated some of the best hate mail I’ve ever received.

      Mission accomplished.

      1. Rick C-137

        Some people look for offense everywhere, they often find it.

      2. Bob Boberson

        If teachers were cops I’d agree. Truants are known for their furtive movements.

  10. Gordilocks

    What did SEA SMITH’s great grandpappy tell him about what really happened after The Titanic sunk?

    1. Tres Cool

      “Like fish in a barrel”?

  11. J. Frank Parnell

    AT&T has doomed us all to certain death:

    AT&T didn’t waste any time abandoning net neutrality

    The company has expanded its “sponsored data” program to prepaid wireless customers, offering content companies the option to “sponsor” their data so that it doesn’t count against users’ caps.

    This, in case you’re wondering, is what you find under the definition of “paid fast lanes” in the net neutrality false promises hall of fame.

    As of right now, the only three services using AT&T’s sponsored data program are DirecTV, UVerse, and Fullscreen. By a huge coincidence, those are three video services owned by AT&T. “Now your plan includes sponsored data. This means, for example, that customers who have DirecTV or U-verse TV can now stream movies and shows … without it counting against their plan data,” AT&T told customers in a text message earlier today.

    Hug your loved ones, people.

    1. Yusef drives a Kia

      If they don’t charge my Data cap, I don’t care much

      1. Rhywun

        “Here, let us help you write that law for you.”

    2. Gordilocks

      Huh. Offering something for free to your customers is ….. taking away from ….. what?

      And how does this impede anyone’s ability to go see what’s happening at Jezebel or Everyday Feminism or listen to the dorks at Chapo Trap House?

  12. Yusef drives a Kia

    SEA SMITH! I want to run from the Ocean to the Mighty Colorado River, is this a good thing? i will be leaving California, this is a good thing….

    1. AS LONG AS BY WATER, IT GOOD THING.

  13. Question for the legal beagles – how might a fictional rich family protect their assets from the death tax. (We’re talking billions)

    1. Yusef drives a Kia

      Writing again? I’m watching You….

      1. Of course I’m writing. I’m always writing.

    2. Create a fictional universe that doesn’t have a death tax. Or have them set up a trust. Or have them go into politics to get the death tax lowered.

    3. Gustave Lytton

      Just research how the Kennedys kept theirs.

    4. Just Say’n

      If it’s fictional then I’d recommend converting all the money into coins and keeping it in a giant safe. Sure people may try to steal it all the time, but you can jump from a diving board into the coins, which is pretty cool

      1. The oil company, arms manufacturer, research intitute, heavy industrial equipment manufacturing, cruise line, medical supply company, shipping firm, real estate, hotels, dry cleaners, restaurant and private school are better investments.

        1. Number.6

          Typically, a “good investment” will be quite visible, and open to confiscation by the state either in total, or incrementally.

          Over sufficient time, they steal it anyway via inflation.

          If you’re talking about socking away wealth with a timeline of generations, or decades, hard (ideally scarce) assets.

          1. So no one should start or expand companies because they can’t be buried in the ground and retain value?

            I may be misreading your response, but that does seem to be what your complaint about them owning a dozen companies sounds like. A healthy company will appreciate in value faster than that gold bar you buried in your back yard.

            Though I do think Hephaestus Mineral and Oil owns mines (including at least one coal mine) so they may be contributing to the depreciation of your gold by putting more onto the market.

          2. Number.6

            Oh, there’s no harm in using that capital to form wealth-creating businesses, but they’re out in the open and subject to the vagaries of whatever the tax regime is at the time, and when people die, the tax man is never far away. Given that we’ve just seen a change in the tax structure that is having profound effects on a large number of people’s economic behavior, imagine setting up a bunch of real, profitable businesses and then, 2 years before the patriarch of the family dies, a 25% death tax on all assets over $5m is introduced.

            The issue here is capital appreciation, or capital preservation, and if a mix, what kind of mix, and what your investment horizon is. Furthermore, what you want to do, if anything, about the currency you want to realize that wealth in.

            You want to see wealth destruction in action? Go look at the great landowners of Britain at 1900, and see how many of their descendants have any money left now. They’re not poor because they all became champagne and caviar addicts,

            If I wanted to preserve capital, I’d consider looking at a bundle of fixed assets that aren’t being talked about on MSNBC. For about 10 years, 20 years ago, word was that the Bass Family in TX were investing in nickels. Not as coinage, but because the value of the nickel in the coins was *already* worth more than 5 cents. I have no idea if they still have those pallets of nickels in a warehouse somewhere, but at least for a while, they had a highly liquid, largely ignored fixed asset.

            If I wanted to appreciate capital I’d inititially consider a diversified portfolio of businesses in profitable niche markets in places other than the US – for two reasons. America will *eventually* lose it’s position as global reserve currency hegemon. When that happens, all sorts of changes will occur. Even before that happens, it’s been wise to recognize that when an investor risks capital in another country that has a different currency, a significant portion of the gains or losses you will make will be the result not of your investment, but as a result of the FX rate when you repatriate profits, unless you also want to hedge your exposure in some way – an expensive undertaking that seems to get more expensive as the years go by.

          3. Number.6

            cont.

            Why outside the US? Well, in the next couple of decades, the stock market will necessarily decline. Not as a result of a correction, but because of 401(k) outflows and the decline in the US economy compared to developing (more correctly, early-stage developed) countries. There will simply be less money in the market.

            I won’t call them ‘Emerging Markets’ because we’ll have much more appealing markets in those countries that are almost as advanced as the US, and may even have better regulatory environments that the over-regulated, shambolic, corrupt regulatory regimes we have here. One of America’s alleged strengths was that the market was regulated via a system of unbiased, fairly applied laws.

            Well, guess what? When the GM Bondholders were fucked over, we saw the lie for what it was.

            Rant over.
            Standard disclaimer. This is a set of observations and hypotheticals based and does not constitute investment advice.

      2. Gustave Lytton

        +1 dime

    5. Tres Cool

      Offshore.

    6. leonadasiv

      Don’t die, duh.

      1. leonadasiv

        In a serious note, you could have the money “belong” to a generous benefactor, who never seems to die.

    7. Don Escaped Texas

      Diversified trusts: the trick is to hide everything under layers of paperwork where you still control everything but not in an obvious way. The trust has expenses and budgets, and you still decide all of that, the same way you still write off personal mileage (grocery trips) on your work vehicle. Lots of trusts invested in and benefitting many institutions, all of which are, basically, you and your heirs.

      1. Does that scale to a $40 billion portfolio of companies?

        1. Don Escaped Texas

          yes…as does the effort. Notice how little fun little Billy has being chair of Ford.

          I learned the law of diminishing returns when I was about 15 and haven’t done an honest day’s work since: Cs get degrees, etc. You only need a few bucks to be fabulously happy: a house in a stable neighborhood, a 3/4 ton Suburban in diesel, an earnings stream that pays for necessities (balls, beer, bullets, and bait), vacations, and a little change for the mistress. Every nickel above that requires extra dealing with people (bosses, clients, whatever) and pretending to care and getting out of bed on time……just not worth it.

    8. Tacit Rainbow

      Trusts. Various corporate entities. The assets should never actually show in their actual names. The family [organization] should own the assets.

      The Clintons, Inc. are a pretty good example of how that works, if you want to talk about minmaxing it.

    9. Drake

      The fictional drunk Irish politician family called the Kennedy’s moved most of their wealth to a trust in Fiji. Arctic Oil is one if their fronts. Nobody really knows how many $billions are sheltered there.

    10. as everyone said; trusts. If my dad dies, his remaining wealth goes into my mom’s trust. And visa-versa.

      1. CPRM

        Just a note on trusts; lands held in trust create a lot of legal ‘I’ve never seen that before’ type moments with all kinds of government paperwork.

      2. Number.6

        The challenge with trusts is that just like a normal personal estate, at some point, you need to realize some or all of the value of the holdings.

        That’s not a reason not to have trusts, because they’re a shelter from some forms of multiple wealth confiscation, but they’re not a magic wand.

  14. Waterfall Insurance

    I have the results of the Glibs Presidential Ranking Survey.

    1. Reagan (average score) 6.76
    2. Trump 6.57
    3. Ford 4.16
    4. Clinton 3.93
    5. HW Bush 3.71
    6. Nixon 2.91
    7. W Bush 2.57
    8. Carter 2.32
    9.Chocolate Jesus 2.05
    10. Obama 1.62
    11. Johnson 1.11
    (FYI it was accidentally rigged obama didn’t allow you to choose 0 and everyone else did I included the results and a guess of the more likely results, Obama’s with the handicap is listed as chocolate Jesus.)

    1. Waterfall Insurance

      I will post the domestic and foreign policy rankings after I get my kids to sleep.

      1. Waterfall Insurance

        Domestic
        1. Trump 7.36
        2. Reagan 6.18
        3. Clinton 4.5
        4. Ford 4.09
        5.HW Bush 3.73
        6. W Bush 3.68
        7. Carter 2.59
        8. Chocolate Jesus2.23
        9. Nixon 2.18
        10. Obama 1.82
        11. Johnson 1.48

        1. Heroic Mulatto

          Domestic
          1. Trump 7.36

          What the fuck is wrong with you people?

          1. Don’t blame me, I didn’t vote.

          2. Rhywun

            I have no idea what any of this is about.

          3. Heroic Mulatto

            You’re the reason Libertarians never win elections.

          4. I’m not a libertarian. The only time I voted for a libertarian candidate was for Comptroller, because I wanted someone who would be a more prudent fiduciary steward of the retirement fund.

          5. Heroic Mulatto

            I didn’t imply that you were a libertarian.

            I was accusing you of being involved in voter fraud.

          6. Ah okay.

            But if that were true, the ballots I do cast wouldn’t be the inverse of the results.

          7. Rhywun

            Not a Working Families Party member, eh?

          8. Those commie bastards?

            No, I’m still a registered Republican.

          9. Heroic Mulatto

            I thought it was well known that UCS is a member of the Rent Is Too Damn High Party.

          10. Oh, no. I’m a landowner now. My interests no longer align with TRITDH anymore.

          11. Heroic Mulatto

            But you still support same-sex shoe marriage though, yes?

          12. I’m opposed to allowing footwear to marry, regardless of the sex of the shoes involved.

          13. Rhywun

            I’ve been “Independent” (i.e. no party) since I left the Dems around 20 years ago. While it IS true that my rent is too damn high, I’m under no illusions that those fine folks have my best interests at heart.

          14. Grumbletarian

            Pros:
            – Neil Gorsuch, Betsy DeVos, Don Willett, and a host of other great small-government appointments.
            – Eliminating a shitload of Obama-era regulations via executive order. Net Neutrality, EPA regs, etc.
            – An executive order stating that for any new regulations, two old ones must be eliminated.
            – Tax cuts.
            – Plenty of legislative gridlock otherwise.

            Cons:
            – Dumb and unconstitutional transgender ban in the military
            – Protectionist tariffs (probably counts more towards foreign policy, but it will have a marked effect domestically.)
            – Wants increased government spending for ‘infrastructure,’ which means… ???

        2. Rope Snake

          lol

          TOS’s trolls had Glibs pegged!

      2. Waterfall Insurance

        Foreign Policy
        1. Reagan 7.33
        2. Trump 5.77
        3. Ford 4.27
        4. HW Bush 3.68
        5. Clinton 3.36
        6. Nixon 2.69
        7. Carter 2.05
        8. Chocolate Jesus 1.86
        9. W Bush 1.45
        10. Obama 1.41
        11. Johnson .77

        1. Don Escaped Texas

          Honest question: how is Nixon so low on this one?

          1. Gustave Lytton

            Continuing Vietnam?

          2. Gustave Lytton

            Pulling the rug out from under Taiwan and cozying up to Red China?

            Giving Kissinger a platform for him to be anything more than a retired academic?

          3. Chafed

            Wage and price controls, creating the EPA, having Spiro Agnew as his VP, asserting if the President does it it isn’t illegal, etc

    2. Yusef drives a Kia

      I saw that and was pissed off! Sir!

      1. Waterfall Insurance

        My apologies.

  15. Gilmore

    Ok, so this is funny

    Rupert Neve is sort of like the Edison-meets-Picasso of music recording technology. every piece of equipment he designed has eventually become ‘massively overpriced collectible’.

    While ’70s Neve-branded consoles are still considered the best tracking hardware money can buy.. he formed a new company (Focusrite) back in the late 70s in order to go another step further and build “Scientific-grade, no-cost-spared, ultimate in analog recording consoles”

    they built 10 of these, and then promptly went bankrupt.

    (*the timing of Neve’s decision to make a bazillion-dollar, no-cost-spared all-analog console was particularly poor, because by the early-mid 1980s, all recording engineers were using SMPTE and MIDI and other kind of digital integration, and SSL – a competing company – ended up becoming the industry standard because of its superior blending of analog and digital controls)

    the bankrupt co was bought and turned into a lower-end, music hardware company which today makes perfectly respectable, albeit far-cheaper, gear.

    an employee of the still-in-business version of the corp decided it would be fun to make a movie wondering, “What happened to those 10, “super-consoles”?. he travels around the world trying to find where they ended up

    So, the punchline:

    one of them is literally in a spanish kids bedroom

    this is sort of like if you hailed a cab, and they pulled up in a 1940s rolls royce phantom IV

    1. Rick C-137

      That’s rather fascinating. It’s fun watching the way the world can interact.

      1. Gilmore

        Perhaps even stranger is the story of the one in Botswana

  16. Winston

    You Know Who Else was concerned about a sinking ship in the Gulf of Tonkin.

    1. Tres Cool

      Greenpeace?

    2. Grumbletarian

      Jesse Ventura?

    1. LJW

      Pending FBI investigation.

      1. Raven Nation

        Yeah, I saw that.

        On that subject, I assume the guy at Arizona is toast.

  17. Juvenile Bluster

    Schiff Memo released

    tl;dr: A lot of redactions, a lot of denying the Nunes memo, I have no clue which one is telling the truth and I really don’t give a shit.

    1. Just Say’n

      I like how CNN frames the Nunes memo as “highly controversial”. I still don’t understand what was so dangerous about releasing that memo. I’m going to say the Nunes memo is probably more closer to reality since the Senate has come up with the same questions about the FBI’s conduct in their own investigation. And I doubt the media and Democrats would be so against the Nunes memo release if everything in it was bogus

      1. Just Say’n

        I know that we’re supposed to play this “I don’t have a dog in this fight”, but my default position is to not trust the FBI. Especially with all the details we’ve seen about how they botched the Hillary email investigation

      2. Raven Nation

        “Highly controversial” = criticized by progressives.

    2. CPRM

      The Dem memo is attacking straw men. It only talks about what people may have interpreted from the Nunez memo, while not establishing any facts of it’s own.

  18. DEG

    uspected Somali pirates attacked a Singaporean-flagged chemical tanker on Friday but were repelled by guards on board

    Good.

    1. DEG

      “The skiffs approached from the stern and fired upon her, after which the on-board Private Armed Security Team returned fire with warning shots,” EU Navfor said.

      I should have kept reading. It got better.

      1. Rhywun

        How reckless. They were supposed to wait for proper law enforcement to arrive.

        /prog

      2. Gustave Lytton

        Private Armed Security Team

        So the pirates got…

        /dons sunglasses

        … a blast from the PAST?

        1. YOU JUST LUCKY YOU NOT IN REACH…

  19. trshmnstr

    How about we inject some controversy in here?

    On another site I frequent, a guy brought up an interesting situation. To boil it down, his son is in grad school, mostly or fully financed by mom and dad, including using dad’s credit card for living costs. Son recently got married (also paid by mom and dad), and is about to graduate. Mom is getting antsy to wrap up the financial support soon, dad doesn’t see the need for the rush.

    Thoughts on fully financially supporting your kids through grad school?

    Mine are this. My parents treated me as a quasi-adult when I turned 18. They helped a little with college, but I was expected to craft my own way forward so that I was a minimal financial burden and self-sufficient shortly after graduating. If I had asked my dad for help with law school, he’d have told me that I was clearly not ready to go to law school yet. I don’t have any issue with gifting a kid enough to pay for most/all of a grad program, but it’s more of a “I wanna help you achieve your, so I’m cutting you a check” thing as opposed to “here’s my credit card and I’ll deposit a monthly beer allowance in your checking account.”

    1. Kid should be off parental support at least by the time they have the undergraduate degree. There’s no reason they should still be subsidizing him at that point.

    2. trshmnstr

      your goal*

    3. Just Say’n

      I paid for grad school and my wedding out of pocket. That’s the way it should be

    4. Rhywun

      My parents treated me as a quasi-adult when I turned 18.

      Same here – college was all financial aid and part-time jobs. Not that there was a choice in the matter.

      It’s a tough question. I wouldn’t wish my college years on any hypothetical spawn, but how else are they gonna grow up?

    5. Number.6

      Grad school? You’re on your own.

      If you can’t figure out whether the cost/benefit analysis at 21, you have no business blowing someone else’s money on it. Even if ‘someone else’ is your parent.

    6. CPRM

      It all depends on the family situation. Is the son taking care of one the parents that is ill whilst getting the degree? Is the son disabled in some way? Does the family have a lot of money? Is CPRM Judge Napalatono?

      1. trshmnstr

        My understanding is that the only “relevant” factor is that the family is well enough off to afford it. The thing that surprised me was how many people at the original site were of the opinion that the family owes it to the kid to pay for his grad school. Setting aside the method of the money transfer, there’s a huge difference in my mind between blessing your kid with a gift and paying out of guilt or expectation. Hell, I never even expected $20 to go to the movies with my friends during middle school, let alone any sort of financial support when I was in my mid-20s.

    7. SP

      Insane. My family would never have gone for that from either side. We believe in self-sufficiency and independence. I would never want to be beholden to my family, nor have to potentially live under the “my money, my rules” mandates that could come up. And I don’t believe in infantilizing my kids by managing their lives financially, or any other way.

      My millennial son graduated from college with zero debt, having worked his ass off at two full-times jobs the entire time. He now has a job where they are investing in his advanced degrees as a performance perk. He managed to find a way to not be a perpetual student at someone else’s expense and is now contributing to society in a big way. Everyone who knows him calls him Captain America. Good kid.

      /proud Mom

    8. Rick C-137

      I was personally independent when I went to college (it was a work-study so I paid my way with sweat). I think the more and longer a parent supports a kid the harder that kid is going to find being independent later in life. At the point in adult development that one gets a masters, my question would be, is it needed or is the just reality avoidance. Also Wedding are a toss up, my and my wife’s family chipped in, but me and my wife also paid for a portion (no one spent a lot, it was simple affair).

        1. Yusef drives a Kia

          Or live Lachowsky’s life, it Burns….

      1. trshmnstr

        Also Wedding are a toss up, my and my wife’s family chipped in, but me and my wife also paid for a portion (no one spent a lot, it was simple affair).

        I’d agree there. Combined, our families paid ~$3k (and a Glock) toward our $10k wedding. I don’t see that as inappropriate at all, especially since it was my wife’s second wedding. Even a 100% gift of a wedding doesn’t seem inappropriate under some circumstances. However, we weren’t penniless grad students begging mommy and daddy to pay for the entirety of the wedding while footing the bill for grad school, either.

        1. Rick C-137

          Good point. Our wedding cost about 3.5k, we had a friend officiate, did it in a family members backyard and pulled on our entire network to chip in. I couldn’t imagine asking for money for grad school (not there’d be any, wife and I both come from broke asss backgrounds) in addition to a wedding (which I’m sure spared no expense. I think though that Don says it best, below. Parents can blow the money however they want, but the disagreement in the household harbors seeds of larger problems.

    9. Don Escaped Texas

      There’s no right or wrong so long as a man and his wife agree; that’s the worst part of this story to me: they’re on different pages. Today’s reality should be just the last step in a plan that everyone has understood for decades.

      My family will number amongst the tougher and more independent in most groups….probably this one….and my son hasn’t got a cent from me since he was 21, but that has nothing to do with how I see things. There’s nothing particularly wrong about paying for kiddos’ grad schools any more than there is in leaving them an inheritance: they are benefitting from your success and the extra you have built up; how you package it and when they get it isn’t terribly interesting to me.

      By that same token, there is nothing wrong with your expecting your kiddos to take care of you in your dotage. If that’s part of your clan’s deal and everyone is on board, I don’t object to how things run at your house.

      1. trshmnstr

        Today’s reality should be just the last step in a plan that everyone has understood for decades.

        Preach it!!

    10. RAHeinlein

      Both my husband and I received ZERO college/grad school funding from parents.

      That said, we will 100% pay for grad school.

    11. Tulip

      My view is if you don’t get a stipend, the grad school didn’t really want you. I got paid to go to grad school. I was poor, but able to pay my bills. Medical school and law school are different, but don’t pay for a history PhD.

      1. trshmnstr

        These days, law school isn’t all that different. There are substantially more law students than available jobs.
        Rule #1 of law school admissions: don’t pay sticker price for law school.
        Rule #2 of law school admissions: keep retaking the LSAT until you get a substantial scholarship to a school that gives you a decent chance at getting a good job.

    12. Tulip

      Depends on masters or PhD. If PhD, and they don’t waive tuition and give you a stipend, you didn’t really get in.

      1. Heroic Mulatto

        That’s really true only for Tier-1 research institutions.

        1. Tulip

          If you want an academic career (tenure track) in something over subscribed like history or anthropology or English, then you need to go to a Tier 1 school or face years of adjusting or being a VAP. And possibly never getting the tenure track position.

          1. Heroic Mulatto

            While I know first-hand that competition for tenure-track positions is fierce in pretty much every discipline nowadays, I do think you are overstating things a little bit. I know more than a few associate profs. of anthro, history, and english who didn’t go to Stanford, but to places like Hofstra, Seton Hall, etc..

          2. Tulip

            When did they go? It keeps getting worse as colleges and universities drop tenure lines. Someone with a PhD from the 1990s had a very different experience. So I don’t think I’m overstating it. If you want an academic career and you can’t get into a top 25 program, you should rethink your plans.

  20. Private Chipperbot

    Having some bourbon with the Mrs. Watching One Crazy Summer with her and kids. Enjoy the night, Glibs

    1. egould310

      Sipping bourbon with the wife, watching Berlin Syndrome. Cheers!

    2. CPRM

      Tundra and I approve.

      1. Gustave Lytton

        #metoo

        Although the opening scene gave me a fear of mortarboards for years. I thought that was an actual danger of throwing them into the air.

    3. RAHeinlein

      “You know Karate?” “No, I know Dow.”

      Love that movie.

  21. CPRM

    The Lego Batman movie was the last place I thought I’d see a Gymkata reference, but there it was.

    1. Gilmore

      Razorfist has convinced me that the 1980s were the true Golden Age of American filmmaking. Everything before and since has been way too distracted by wastes of time like, “Plot” and “character” and “acting”, which serve only to diminish what could in theory be 120minutes of pure ass-kickery.

      1. trshmnstr

        Speaking of 80s movies, watched Escape from New York for the first time today. . . now I get some of the references around here.

        1. Gilmore

          I heard you were dead

        2. Rick C-137

          EfNY is fantastic, I really enjoyed the stripped down nature of it, EfLA, eh good schlock, but not much else.

          1. Rhywun

            EfLA, eh good schlock, but not much else

            Saw it in the theater – probably never again. Even Buscemi couldn’t save it.

            The original, OTOH, I think we all agree is a classic.

          2. egould310

            A classic. Top 5 around our household. Die Hard, EfNY, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Die Hard 2, The Matrix get a lot of respect around here.

          3. Gilmore

            Even Buscemi couldn’t save it

            Razorfist’s review gives it new life

      2. Yusef drives a Kia

        Hmm. season 2?
        Binge!

      3. It doesn’t have to be two hours. A lot of great movies from the 30s clock in at under 100 minutes.

          1. What’s wrong with l!king 30s movies?

            Today I watched “Millie”, a not very good 1931 movie that had the interesting plot point of one of Millie’s ex-lovers deciding to start going to church for the express purpose of perving on Millie’s 16-year-old daughter.

            Millie ultimately shoots him for it.

          2. egould310

            I watch all sorts of crap from the 30’s-50’s. Some real bad movies. I like bad movies. Sci-fi, Western serials, melodramas, musicals, gangster films. I just don’t care. I’m easily amused.

      4. straffinrun

        Watched Devil’s Advocate last night. ’97 so not 80’s. “I win! That’s what I do!”. May be the worst line in cinematic history.

        1. CPRM

          That can be said of most Keanu Reeves movies.

          1. straffinrun

            Bill and Ted – Perfect fit for Keanu. Also, I can overlook his acting in the first Matrix because the movie was so good otherwise.

          2. hayeksplosives

            I enjoyed him in Devil’s Advocate.

            And in this meme.

            Water into Wine

          3. straffinrun

            Took me minute. Nice.

        2. “Let’s get outta here.”

        3. Scruffy Nerfherder

          That should have been called “Pacino’s Paycheck” instead.

        4. Chafed

          That was an awful movie.

      5. Scruffy Nerfherder

        Dudikoff is the master of all.

        1. Gilmore

          My favorite line ever spoken:

          “There is only 1 choice that needs to be made for any film: Chuck Norris, or Chuck Bronson?”

          1. straffinrun

            That was a gem. Throw Grodin in the mix and you don’t need anyone else.

        2. straffinrun

          I’d pay to see Chuck Norris in Wuthering Heights.

          1. Gilmore

            Wuthering Heights II: Fist of Revenge

        3. Gilmore

          Ninja III: The Domination managed to take The Exorcist, a Ninja movie, and combine it with Flashdance

          (swoon)

          1. Rick C-137

            Are you also a Red Letter Media fan, Gilmore?

          2. CPRM

            What’s wrong with your FAAAAAAAAAACCE?!

          3. Rick C-137

            OHHMYYYGOOOOODDDD!!!!

          4. Gilmore

            the youtube film review guys? i think i’ve seen a few of their things.

            they’re the same ones who get drunk? (checks) Yes, the “half in the bag” stuff. i subscribe to that channel but don’t watch them very often.

          5. Rick C-137

            I have recently started watching them, a lot. The Best of the Worst reviews are great. It’s something I can have on as either background or to really focus on, and I’ve even noticed that they do drop some nice technical details into some of the reviews and I think that’s helped me become a more savvy watcher.

        4. Scruffy Nerfherder

          That was an entertaining film. I think I saw 90% of their catalog during my teenage years.

        5. Gustave Lytton

          They were the forerunners of the Weinsteins. Except that the Weinsteins cared about qualityraping starlets and jerking off into potted plants.

        6. +1 Shelley Winters in “The Delta Force”

  22. Yusef drives a Kia

    another Badass selection, not an IPA,
    https://photos.app.goo.gl/1c4gS4jxaBf78Awj2
    Imperial Frambozen, whatever that means….

    1. Raspberries?

    2. AlmightyJB

      Is that a framboise?

    3. DEG

      That looks delicious.

  23. CPRM

    By the way, thank you to whoever it is that donated to my semi-secret thing.

    1. Chafed

      These euphamisms.

  24. straffinrun

    Tokyo marathon today. Course goes right in front of my office. Probably shouldn’t be walking around with this pressure cooker I just bought.

    1. AlmightyJB

      Are they as stupid as we are?

      1. straffinrun

        Not sure how to answer that.

        1. AlmightyJB

          Do they overreact to everything like we do in the states.

    2. CPRM

      The obvious answer is stand in your office window naked.

      1. Tres Cool

        Walk around with tentacles, hilarity will ensue.

    3. Tres Cool

      Like they’re not accustomed to seeing people with “rice cookers” walking around in public.

  25. AlmightyJB

    So my wife got tired of Green Lantern. Has now moved on to Supergirl. Just as horrible. Who’s responsive for these crimes against humanity.

      1. AlmightyJB

        TV series.

        1. CPRM

          Then I guess you mean Green Arrow (Arrow), not Green Lantern. Unless she’s watching old cartoons.

          1. The Green Lantern cartoon from a few years ago wasn’t that bad or that old.

          2. AlmightyJB

            Yeah I meant Arrow.

    1. CPRM

      Comics? Movies? Sex costumes?

      1. AlmightyJB

        I wouldn’t be complaining about cosplay as long as she didn’t take her green lantern costume too seriously. Lol.

    2. Rick C-137

      I honestly haven’t read comics in a while (Marvel was the Fear Itself arc and DC was Blackest Night), I’m glad I stopped when I did as the industry seemed to have nosedived in the last several years. Get Titor or Mythical out here and they’ll give you a nice rant.

      1. straffinrun

        How adult men can get worked up over superhero movies is incomprehensible to me.

        1. AlmightyJB

          The TV shows are like daytime soap operas.

        2. Rick C-137

          Eh, it is what it is. For me it was a large part of my culture growing up. As I geek going to the comic shop was routine, as was/is geeking out about said comics. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea but for some of us it was a large part of growing up.

          1. straffinrun

            It’s similar to middle aged men wearing NFL/NBA jerseys with their favoritest player’s number on it. Fantasy indulging should be restricted to porn after puberty.

          2. Rick C-137

            I mean, sure. But by that logic enjoying any sort of escapism is childish. I think the medium can do some fantastic things, and I enjoy talking about those things with people who are equally passionate. I don’t pretend that I have abilities (no one sane does, either).

          3. CPRM

            Once, when I played Spider-Man 2 for 20hrs straight on the PS2 and then went to work I was, for a moment, confused why I could no longer web sling.

          4. Rick C-137

            @CPRM, lol. That’s pretty funny actually. But as a glib commentator I question you sanity to begin with.

          5. straffinrun

            Listen, if Superhero movies were tackling deep, philosophical questions, fine. With the rare exception, the ones I’ve seen recently are vehicles of flat out brainwashing. The Heath Leger Batman was great IMO because it made people think. I’m not an aficionado, so maybe I’m being to harsh.

          6. Rhywun

            Yeah. I’ve never actually read a comic book, so that probably explains my lack of interest in any of the other media.

          7. straffinrun

            So let’s see, Rhywun has smoked Mexican swag out of a perforated RC Cola can while listening to Upstairs at Eric’s, scorns superhero movies and hangs out here. We might be twins.

          8. Rhywun

            Replace the RC can with a bong and that does sound exactly like a typical evening circa 1989.

          9. Gustave Lytton

            I read Sgt Rock when we went to the grocery store. That was it. Never really got into comics either.

  26. Derpetologist

    Man with long history of saying stupid things says another stupid thing.

    ***
    Left-wing documentary filmmaker Michael Moore took to Twitter on Friday and urged the media to compare the National Rifle Association (NRA) to the murderous terrorist group ISIS.

    “The NRA is a terrorist organization,” Moore wrote in a tweet that went viral. “The media should speak of the NRA in the same way they do ISIS.”

    “Total ISIS-inspired deaths in US = 79,” the Academy Award-winner wrote, adding, “Thanks to the NRA & the politicians they buy, we’ve had 1.2 MILLION American gun deaths since John Lennon was shot dead in NYC #NRAKillsKids.”
    ***

    https://www.jihadwatch.org/2018/02/michael-moore-nra-is-worse-than-isis

    1. Rick C-137

      Maximum KEK. What a putz. Has he ever made a documentary worth screening? I ‘member him fellating Cuba in sicko, that should have been gounds for a tar and feathering right thar.

  27. AlmightyJB

    Thinking about a mojito. Don’t want to be up all night though.

    1. Number.6

      Skip the crumbled amphetamines on the rim of the glass.

      1. AlmightyJB

        Why bother then?

        1. Number.6

          ::sad trombone::

      2. Scruffy Nerfherder

        The things I learn.

        I wonder if the local Mexican place will honor that request.

  28. Derpetologist

    great moments in wokeness

    Black student complaint about Black History Month menu gets black employees canned
    https://www.thecollegefix.com/post/42311/

    1. Rhywun

      What are the chances that oppressed person has ever been to the south or met a white person from the south who cooks?

  29. Don Escaped Texas

    A dear friend just posted on facederp a very reasonable screed about flakes needing to move to the very socialists nirvanas they envision to see how they like those realities.

    That’s completely fair; I like that kind of accountability. I’m certainly not a socialist or fellow traveler. And it’s funny.

    But this guy is on the dole 100% since he was rendered a paraplegic when he was 21. He has drawn government support roughly to the tune of 20bazillion times more than he ever made; he never so much as finished 40 quarters of FICA payments, and his few contributions would have been infinitesimal.

    This is the problem: defense mechanisms and confirmation bias are the way of the world. Add that to weak education in economics and history, and we have a population of hopeless, idiotic, deserving types. This is our culture: zero critical thinking. I’m glad he hates socialism, but I’m shocked he doesn’t realize he would have starved without it.

    I wish I could give him a piece of my tax-paying mind; I’m glad he’s taken care of, but I call BS.

    .

    1. straffinrun

      He wouldn’t have starved without it. Charities have been around forever. If we need a gun pointed at our heads to feed paraplegics, then we may as well point the gun at our own heads.

      1. Don Escaped Texas

        That’s certainly true. But my hyperbole doesn’t undermine my accusation that he’s a posterchild beneficiary of the sort of system that he would ridicule.

        1. straffinrun

          That’s the problem, though. Once the state gets involved in every aspect of our lives, everyone could be accused of hypocrisy for advocating smaller government.

          1. Don Escaped Texas

            Ummmm…..okay, I give: his is, upon reflection, not the most obvious and excruciating case of hypocrisy I can recall. I’m as bad as he is for taking the standard deduction while paying for his every need?

          2. straffinrun

            I get your point, Don. I just wouldn’t use him as the poster child when we’ve got able bodied people hoovering up tax money while sitting at home watching Oprah.

    2. Gustave Lytton

      Well the soft socialism around here. The hard socialists in Europe and elsewhere would have just pushed him into the skip long ago along with the rest of the undesirables.

      1. Gustave Lytton

        Help me moderators, I’ve triggered the squirrels.

        1. westernsloper

          So it was your fault. Way to go.

  30. Derpetologist

    today in historical revisionism
    http://progressive.org/dispatches/black-panther-wakanda-a-model-for-the-world-180223/

    ***
    In imagining an African nation in total control of its land, people, and natural resources, the film presents a real history of pre-colonial egalitarianism in Africa and also the potential to reimagine a future where Africans control those resources. In my own culture in Western Kenya, in addition to each family having their own land to sow, we traditionally had a plot of open land available to anyone in search of food; only after the British arrived did structural (inescapable) poverty exist.
    ***

    So no poverty in Kenya before the British. Also, no mention of the British abolishing the slave trade in East Africa.

    1. Number.6

      Zimbabwe on the dark brown line, Dave.

    2. CPRM

      ‘It was better in the old days’ On this hippies, racists and conservatives agree.

    3. And no tribal warfare either.

  31. Number.6

    MODERATION?

    Doesn’t sound like *me* at all!

    1. I don’t know. Maybe the spam filter got annoyed at your investment advice.

      1. Number.6

        My NON-Investment advice.

    2. Drinking a fifth over two nights instead of one, *that’s* moderation.

    3. Yea, the spam filter’s gone crazy, it just moderated my comment wich consisted of the line “It’ll be in service before the F-35”.

  32. hayeksplosives

    This is how pathetic my life is right now. Inches of snow are falling in my town, so I ain’t going anywhere. (Just made a ridiculously good chicken cashew korma though).

    So I am watching LIVE!! the women’s curling gold medal match between S Korea and Sweden. The Swedish team has a girl that looks like a smart Scarlett Johanson. The Korean team has a lovely gal, the mastermind, wearing tortoiseshell glasses. She should be the next Bond Villian.

    1. Number.6

      Eva Stone?

    2. Not owl glasses? HM has a sad.

    3. straffinrun

      Koreans went from super narrow, rectangular eyeglasses 15 years ago, to these giant, circular panes of glass that cover 90% of their face today. Asians choice of eyewear is schizo.

      1. Rhywun

        So did I but that’s because I have bifocals whatever they call it now.

        1. hayeksplosives

          “Progressive lenses”–they don’t know that Progressive is a trigger word for libertarians. But it’s better than Transitions lenses I guess!

          1. Is that like a Feminist Lens, or a Marxist Lens?

          2. Rhywun

            That’s the one. I hate ’em. I only wear them to work. I switch to my old specs as soon as I get home. I can see anything closer than 2 feet but it’s a lot easier to see “around” my lenses than it is to read through the new giant goggle lenses.

          3. Rhywun

            That’s the one. I hate ’em. I only wear them to work. I switch to my old specs as soon as I get home. I can’t see anything closer than 2 feet but it’s a lot easier to see “around” my lenses than it is to read through the new giant goggle lenses.

          4. Rhywun

            Sigh.

          5. straffinrun

            How many posts am I holding up?

          6. hayeksplosives

            Straff wins with that one.

          7. hayeksplosives

            SQUIRREL’D!

            Impressive. I usually get the “Oops, looks like you’ve already posted that” dealie-o.

          8. Rhywun

            Ha, I made a slight correction which fooled the duplicate detect-o-meter.

  33. Derpetologist

    I was thinking today about large the military’s share of the economy is.

    There are about 1 million active duty troops and about 1 million workers in the intel community. Then there are another million or so civilian employees and contractors who work for the DoD. And then there are all the people who work for companies that depend on the military like Lockheed and Raytheon. There are about a million of them. Then there are all the scientists and engineers who work on projects funded by the military.

    The military is at least 5% of the economy and I wouldn’t be surprised if was closer to 10%.

    This guy claims it’s about 3% of the economy.

    https://www.forbes.com/sites/lorenthompson/2017/05/08/eisenhowers-military-industrial-complex-shrinks-to-1-of-economy/#904a0bcbed1f

    1. CPRM

      I read today they are already paying to replace the F-35, because China.

      1. It’ll be in service before the F-35.

      2. Derpetologist

        Chinese generals on the state of their military:

        Excessive masturbation is hurting China’s military
        https://nypost.com/2017/08/25/excessive-masturbation-is-hurting-chinas-military/

        ***
        The Chinese military says excessive masturbation and too many video games are among the reasons its physical-test failure rates have reached an “alarming high.”

        The People’s Liberation Army is now dishing out advice after one city saw more than half its candidates — 56.9 percent — fail their physicals, according to the BBC.

        PLA found that 8 percent of candidates failed because of abnormalities found in their scrotum from sitting too much. Another 25 percent flunked because of blood and urine tests.

        It recommended that candidates follow 10 basic principles, including exercising more, cutting out fizzy drinks and booze, limiting computer games and masturbation, not getting a tattoo and drinking clean water.

        The advice was instantly mocked by users on social media microblog Sina Weibo.

        “Next year they’ll be asking for circumcisions!” said one user.

        The PLA has struggled to recruit new members, despite desperate measures to find candidates like releasing a rap recruitment video last year.

        The Ministry of Defense last month announced the PLA would be cut from 2 million to 1 million — a move that some believe is due to a lack of new recruits.
        ***

        I laughed and laughed.

        1. Excessive masturbation?

        2. Mr Lizard

          SMITH COUSINS NOT BELIEVE IN EXCESS

          1. SEA SMITH NOT KNOW WHAT PLA MEAN?

    2. Don Escaped Texas

      $600B out of $20T is pretty close. All those contracts and scientists and the burgers they buy are in the $600B.

      But there’s other stuff that looks like military that doesn’t count: USAID, CIA, foreign support to help them buy guns so we don’t hafta defend them.

      And it would be a lot larger if we paid fair market value for base rentals all over the world…that sort of thing.

      For what it’s worth, it’s been a tick under 10% since we got into VietNam, so except for WW2 it’s never been much larger than 10%.

      Lastly, $20T is beaucoup bucks. None of us could ever piss away even a percent of that. 330M folk averaging $60k….that’s a lot of cash.

  34. westernsloper

    If you do survive, be ready for the reality that some of the people on the lifeboat with you may not. Seek counseling for post-traumatic stress disorder if needed.

    Worthless wikihow. Not one tip on how to safely eat your deceased lifeboat mates.

    1. Is Tallulah Bankhead on that lifeboat?

  35. RegicidalManiac

    I’m drunk because I got a full ride scholarship to the UW MBA risk management program! Wasn’t expecting that at all!

    1. Number.6

      Hearty congrats!

    2. westernsloper

      Congrats, If you need pointers on how to manage risk while drunk I have some.

      1. Tres Cool

        Me too. Never fall for the “Its OK- Im on the pill” line. Wear a condom.

        1. Jesse wants to know if you’ve tried homosexuality.

        2. Derpetologist

          The check is in the mail, it was like that when I got here, I’ll respect you in the morning…

      2. Tres Cool

        …which is no doubt the funniest comment anyone ever made, ever. You’re laughing your tits off by now…..

        Aw shit….the server machine ate my joke!

        1. It’s OK; your joke wasn’t very funny.

    3. CPRM

      Which UW? Wisconsin or Washington?

      1. U of Wakonda, that’s why he was not expecting it.

      2. RegicidalManiac

        Wisconsin!

    4. DEG

      Congratulations!

    5. Tulip

      Congratulations!

    6. hayeksplosives

      Fan-fucking-tastic!!

      Great way to go to college!

    7. RegicidalManiac

      Thank you all! It wasn’t my first choice, but the Risk Management program at Wisconsin is world class and a full ride is a full ride.

      Apologies for being slow on responses, I unexpectedly have a social life with a couple of UW grads and my fiancee.

    8. egould310

      ???

      1. RegicidalManiac

        You’re risking a cat butt, posting that set of emojis here.

  36. Rhywun

    I’m getting weird squirrel-related problems here.

    1. I lost two of my comments to moderation.

      1. Number.6

        Ha Haaaah! You too!
        /Nelson Muntz

          1. hayeksplosives

            I am getting unusually long delays on comments and refreshing.

            I guess we’re just that popular.

  37. Rick C-137

    Help me glibgods! I’ve got a comment in moderation.

    1. LJW

      Glib mods demand a sacrifice!

      1. Rick C-137

        Prepares orphans.

        Kali Ma! Kali Ma! Kali Ma!

  38. LJW

    CDC employee vanishes after feeling sick and leaving work early

    Sounds like the plot of a Zombie apocalypse movie. Either that or he had something on Hillary.

    1. westernsloper

      ” A Harvard Graduate, Cunningham has played a pivotal role in addressing past public health emergencies — including the Ebola and Zika viruses.

      Yep, patient zero.

  39. commodious spittoon
    1. commodious spittoon
    2. straffinrun

      Won’t play. Got another link?

      1. commodious spittoon

        The new link is awaiting moderation. I found it searching “Mitchell & Webb train crash” on youtube. Charles Cooke brought it up while discussing the Florida high school students.

          1. Gilmore

            huh. does same thing.

    3. CPRM

      Never got that before, “big exclamation point, this video is unavailable”

  40. Tres Cool

    I gonna give up and watch David Tennant Dr Who, if this keeps up

    1. Gustave Lytton

      I gave up on the remake Doctor Who a while ago.

      Meanwhile, old Doctor Who, in spite of the left wing writers and actors and sometimes not very disguised storylines, is still quite enjoyable. Watched Inferno this morning.

      1. Rhywun

        I binged on the latest season before the Xmas special and it wasn’t as bad as I expected even if there were no standout episodes. That said, I probably won’t rush to watch any new episodes like I did back in the day.

      2. Tres Cool

        Tom Baker rocks it.

        For the remake, Ecclestone and/or Tennant or GTFO

        1. Rhywun

          Agree on all counts.

          Though Capaldi was better than the material he was given. The only memorable episode he got was the one where he was trapped in that castle-thing for a billion years.

          1. Tres Cool

            Capaldi was just annoying to me. Ill still argue that Hugh Laurie woulda been an excellent substitution.

  41. Derpetologist

    Pat Condell has some choice words for the YouTube thought police:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA0GQNtI8lQ

    1. westernsloper

      I wish he wouldn’t beat around the bush and just speak his mind.

  42. AlmightyJB

    Would be funny if they now get a warrant for home computers and bust dad for something.

    http://nbc4i.com/2018/02/24/dad-worried-about-gun-posts-turns-sons-phone-in-cops-find-child-porn/

    1. AlmightyJB

      Awaiting moderation? That’s like walking in my regular bar and being ask for a credit card.

  43. hayeksplosives

    Public plea:

    When is the men’s hockey gold medal game tonight, and where is it airing??? I have Direct TV.

    1. Raven Nation

      NBC Sports Net 11pm Eastern.

    2. Rhywun

      My cable schedule shows 10:30PM on NBC Sports Network. What is it, Germany and somebody…? I could be convinced to watch that, ja.

      1. Rhywun

        It also shows ending at 2am. I assume that means a LOT of fluff. Ugh, I can’t tolerate that.

    3. Raven Nation

      NBC Sports Network 11pm Eastern.

      1. hayeksplosives

        THNAXX!! Watching the last part over herbal tea.

        1. Rhywun

          Great game so far.

          1. Rhywun

            And I jinxed it.

          2. Rhywun

            UM GOTTES WILLEN!

          3. hayeksplosives

            LOLZ

          4. Rhywun

            SCHEISSE

  44. Rhywun

    OK, you win, squirrels. Pleasant evening, reprobates. Adios for now.

    1. westernsloper

      I just got a 503 Guru Meditation error. I can only assume it was due to my deep and meaningful comment.

  45. westernsloper

    In honor of the latest Mueller indictment I have moved from Cutthroat Porter to a Moscow Mule. I owe my knowledge of such a beverage to this site. Because you are all Russian bots of course. I will also say that the best/most complete coverage of the Broward school shooting I have seen I dead thread read in the comments here.

  46. Rhywun

    Hoping for another Miracle on Ice here.

    1. Gustave Lytton

      I have whisky on the rocks. No miracle, just pulled it out of my cupboard.

      1. Rhywun

        Your whisky is probably doing better than Germany is.

        1. hayeksplosives

          My vodka kicks both Germany and Whisky’s ass.

          1. Rhywun

            My vodka is kicking my ass.

        2. hayeksplosives

          Totes wearing my Russian national team jersey right now (WCH, Artem Anisimov, not playing in the Olympics). Don’t make me explain too much. It’s a good looking jersey, and the Russkies did us all a big solid at Stalingrad back in the day.

          1. Rhywun

            I’m digging Germany’s jerseys – sehr „scharf”.

          2. hayeksplosives

            Here’s their usual jersey when they are allowed to rep Russia instead of “Olympic Athletes from Russia”.

          3. Rhywun

            Nice eagle! Though I like the Germans’ stylized version too.

          4. hayeksplosives

            My pic is fuzzy, but it’s the Russian double headed eagle> I can’t believe the quality of the embroidery on this thing. It’s gorgeous.

          5. Rhywun

            Boo

          6. hayeksplosives

            Well, I am a few percent Russian, so I take a little pride.

            But the Germans did an awfully nice job. I expect to see a few of these guys in the NHL next year.

          7. Rhywun

            I was struck by the number of ex-NHL players. I think they said 4 for Germany and 15 (!) on the Non-Doping Athletes From Russia side.

          8. Rhywun

            I did the exchange student thing in Germany – it’s my home away from home that I haven’t visited in forever.

          9. hayeksplosives

            I’ve been to Germany many times; my previous husband was a German. My impression of German individuals is mostly favorable, but my personal history makes it impossible for me to say Go Germany!’

            Glad you had a good time.

  47. hayeksplosives

    FUCKENAY!! Russkies win the gold in hockey. Well played, guys.

    Nice job to the Silver medal Germans too.

    1. Rhywun

      Miracle canceled. Schade.

    2. grrizzly

      That was so close. Germany looked really good.
      Also nice that after rooting against Russia for a few years, I was firmly on the Russian side for this victory.

  48. l0b0t

    Just got home from work. My shift was rough; many new SKUs arrived for which I have absolutely no shelf space. Oh well… time to tuck in to this Sea Legs Baltic Porter from Uinta Brewing Co.’s Crooked Line. It is quite nice, flavorful, crisp, rather dry with a nice mouth-feel. I find it a wee bit pricey ($13 at my NYC local) but I’m glad I tried it.