STEVE SMITH *CANCELLED* EMERGENCY MORNING LINKS

STEVE SMITH THINK ALARM CLOCK GO OFF EARLY, OR MAYBE LOST RV HONKING HORN FOR HELP (STEVE SMITH HELP…BY HELP, MEAN RAPE). BUT IT NOT EITHER. IT TSUNAMI WARNING!  HIM CHECK INTERWEBZ AND SEE DANGER. SO HURRY UP AND MAKE LINKS FOR FUNNY GLIBERTARIAN PEOPLE NOT LIVE ON COAST. JUST AS STEVE SMITH FINISH… THEM CANCEL WARNING.

AT FIRST, STEVE SMITH HAPPY. IT NO FUN RAPING STRAGGLING SURVIVORS OF DISASTER. THEN STEVE SMITH GET MAD AT ENGLISH TABLOID. MAY HAVE TO BOOK TRIP TO LONDON TO VOICE DISPLEASURE TO STAFF. BY VOICE DISPLEASURE, MEAN RAPE. COULD ALSO TAKE OPPORTUNITY TO GO SEE NESSIE, UP NORTH. BEEN WHILE SINCE SEEN. USED TO BE WILD TOGETHER.

STEVE SMITH AND NESSIE IN GOOD OLD DAYS

 

BUT FUNNY GLIBERTARIAN PEOPLE NO CARE ABOUT THAT. THEY WANT LINKS. SO HERE LINKS, AND STEVE SMITH GLAD YOU NO HAVE TO RUN FROM BIG WAVE.

  • STEVE SMITH READ THIS…CAN ONLY SHAKE HEAD. WHAT GOING ON OUT THERE?
  • IF THEY WANT SNEAK IN SPAIN, STEVE SMITH EXCELLENT TEACHER ON REMAIN HIDING.
  • WHAT YOU SAY THIS …SMOKE AND MIRRORS? NOT WORK? IMPOSSIBLE?

STEVE SMITH GO BACK BED NOW. NEED REST. GO FIND RELIEVED CAMPERS LATER. BY FIND, MEAN RAPE.

Comments

585 responses to “STEVE SMITH *CANCELLED* EMERGENCY MORNING LINKS”

  1. Atanarjuat

    Hawaii governor didn’t know his Twitter password? If only he was as wise and well-prepared a statesman in that regard as Trump.

    1. Atanarjuat

      Popped my “first” cherry.

      1. Atanarjuat

        Now I know how Fist of Etiquette feels.

        1. Gay? And by gay I mean happy. I by happy I mean raging homo?

          1. Atanarjuat

            Fist is a ghey? OH…

          2. bacon-magic

            Fist is a non binary gender fluid asexual sadist. Polite too.

          3. mexican sharpshooter

            I thought Fist was a composite of multiple competing personalities, the dominant of group went by the name “Robby Soave.”

          4. The Sleeper

            Are you saying Fist was a TOS Staffer Sock? Gross.

    2. Grumbletarian

      I would have guessed ihatemyjob1

      1. AlexinCT

        At least he didn’t lose the codes to the nuclear football for 6 full months lie some president that liked to use chubby interns as humidors did back in the 90s…

  2. Huge pay package for Musk at Tesla, with ambitious goals

    STEVE SMITH GIVE HUGE PACKAGE. ALSO HAVE GOALS: TO RAPE EVERYONE ON PLANET.

  3. The Late P Brooks

    If we’re going to have a tsunami, can’t it at least hit the Chesapeake Bay?

    1. Old Man With Candy

      What do you have against Baltimore?

      Oh. Never mind.

    2. Chipwooder

      But Tidewater is one of the better parts of Virginia. What we need is an intensely localized tsunami to hit the Potomac.

      1. Bobarian LMD

        Something about eggs and an omelets.

        Because that would be the best omelet ever. The greatest.

    3. Tonio

      Richmond Glibs hit hardest.

      1. Chipwooder

        So long as the mighty waters of Echo Lake remain still, I’ll be ok.

    4. Hyperion

      Wrong coast.

    5. Scruffy Nerfherder

      Hey now, not cool

  4. Atanarjuat

    If Tesla had stayed small and focused on quality and filling the niche demand, instead of expanding so quickly (due to his “remake the solar system” ego) they made crappy cars, they might have been on to something. Actually I have no idea what I’m talking about, but losing their high tech mystique can’t be good for the brand.

    1. You’re saying they should be more Ferrari than Ford?

      1. Atanarjuat

        Yeah, I know nothing about the auto business, but the word-of-mouth fanboy PR seems to have died down.

      2. Atanarjuat

        I suppose supplying cars to the ultra-rich doesn’t save the world, though.

      3. Drake

        Yes. There is a lot of money to be made as a niche car manufacturer. Run it at the current size, squeeze out profit while reinvesting in quality and technology and letting things grow organically.

        That massive growth goal is a trap. That puts them directly up against a lot of companies in a rough market. Good luck competing for big volume against Toyota, Mercedes, BMW, Honda, Ford… at different price-points on quality, value, and technology.

        1. Bobarian LMD

          Actually there was no money to be made in selling those niche cars… the only actual money that was being made was in selling carbon offsets to CA industries and in government subsidies and kick-backs.

          But most of all it is a model for bilking woke investors of their retirement money in the worlds largest Ponzi scheme.

          By stock valuation, the company is worth as much as Ford.

        2. ChipsnSalsa

          Those companies have working factories to.

          1. Drake

            That’s my point. They also have lots of engineers designing reliable cars.

    2. PieInTheSKy

      But did they really expand?

    3. Drake

      I just looked up the price for Tesla’s cheapest sedan. It kind of looks like my Mazda 3 I use as a commuter car but costs between $12k and $20k more depending on options. And, there’s the whole hassle of charging the thing / inability to take it on a road trip.

      1. PieInTheSKy

        And here I though all USans have pickup trucks. Illusion shattered

        1. Drake

          I’ll probably own one some day when I semi-retire from professional life and have time to do more outdoors stuff. But right now I need cheap, reliable transportation every day.

  5. The Weird and Wildest Looks From Paris Men’s Fashion Week
    At Paris’ menswear collections, gender boundaries blurred with designers showing Samurai chic, weird waterproofs, velvet, frills, sequins, and soldiers’ outfits.

    

Silhouettes this season included a mash-up of suits and baggy outer-layers, mixed with street-wear, skirts, and scarves, all swirling into one flowing bundle of fabric. These creations were found alongside some more conventional, masculine designs, as well as the truly eccentric. 

For the latter, think the F/W2018 collection from Walter Van Beirendonck who presented one of the most striking shows of the week, with his weird waterproof looks that came in a bold range of colors.



    1. WTF

      Nothing but self-indulgent wanking.

      1. straffinrun

        Isn’t most wanking self indulgent?

        1. gbob

          I wank for humanitarian reasons.

        2. Brett L

          Just trying to keep the ol’ prostate healthy.

        3. Depends — does she like it on her tits?

    2. wdalasio

      Does anyone ever wear any of this garbage? Or do they just put it away when they’re done making their statement?

      1. Broady speaking, men’s fashions haven’t really changed much since the 1950s. The cut of the suit changes, the tie length/width changes… hair styles and (ugh) beards go in and out of style. T-shirts and *jeans are still everyday wear for a large swath of men.

        *btw, what’s up with the fancy pockets of jeans? It looks uh – feminine.

        1. leonadasiv

          Hey, it’s the only thing I’m doing to combat toxic masculinity, so hone me a break.

        2. The Elite Elite

          Whadda ya mean “ugh beards?” Beards are awesome and always stylish. I really wish I could grow one.

          1. Do neckbeards count? Because that’s all I can grow, minus the whispy weedy mustache and chin hair.

          2. The Elite Elite

            I can’t even get the neckbeard. I only have the mustache and chin hair.

        3. Chipwooder

          Yes. I’ve worn essentially the same clothes since the early ’90s – t-shirts, jeans, and flannel shirts on my own time, Dockers and button down shirts at work. I’ve added v-neck sweaters in recent years since I’m old enough now that I no longer care if they look dowdy.

          1. Lachowsky

            I have been wearing jeans, boots, and a t shirt nearly everyday since I was about 10 years old. Other than my legs being so white they would blind you if I exposed them, there is no downside to this attire. Comfortable, utilitarian, and not bad looking works for me.

          2. Drake

            I had to make a couple trips to Joseph Banks after my last promotion. Otherwise, yes.

        4. wdalasio

          It’s actually pretty funny, though. I hear women bitch about unrealistic expectations being set by the fashion industry, after which they follow up by blaming “the cis-hetero-patriarchy”. If straight, cis-gendered, men ran the fashion industry, the story above would read something more like this:

          And the real standouts of this year’s Paris Men’s Fashion Week were the same lines that were the standouts last year. And the year before. And the year before that. Brooks Brothers, Cabella’s, L.L. Bean and Levis swept everyone’s attention. The big, daring innovation this year came from Cabella’s, who added a right pocket flap to their flannel shirt line. And there was major buzz that, next year, some of the lines might come with ScotchGuard to prevent coffee stains. And all this sets the tone for the run-up to next month’s Women’s Fashion Week in New York, where the ongoing escalation of model breast sizes is expected to continue. This year, it’s anticipated that almost half of the models will be recognizably thicc.

          1. WTF

            I hear women bitch about unrealistic expectations being set by the fashion industry, after which they follow up by blaming “the cis-hetero-patriarchy”.

            Of course the fashion industry is actually run by women and gay men.

          2. AlexinCT

            I once had a women tell me that it was the patriarchy that was responsible for women having to pay more for things than men. When I pointed out no man would fucking waste money on shit that won’t get them laid, and most would refuse to pay for overpriced junk (with the exception of sports gear and apparel which women think is infantile anyway) and rather do without, and if women stopped competing amongst themselves about this shit – which is why women paid more – and did the same, she got pissed.

          3. The Last American Hero

            Way to Mansplain that situation.

          4. Charlie Suet

            It’s like when something undeniably goes wrong as a result of action by the state. If the Republicans can be credibly blamed, then they will be. If it happened on the Democrats’ watch, its the fault of society itself. It’s just tribalism and the refusal to admit that they themselves might be to blame. They can’t explain how patriarchy actually works, or in whose benefit it’s acting.

          5. Mojeaux

            Women don’t dress for men.

            We dress for other women.

          6. DOOMco

            I’m sure some percentage of men care a good deal what women wear.
            most couldn’t give a fuck.

          7. Mojeaux

            Sure they do. Dressing for women is competition for male eyeballs and intimidation. Men noticing and appreciating can be the primary goal, but generally it’s a display of superiority. As you say, most men couldn’t give a fuck what we are wearing and we know that.

            Me, I’m married and a hermit by nature. And I’m self-employed, so I spend my outdoors time in grocery stores and doctors’ offices. However, when I DO have reason to dress up, I’m not dressing for my husband.*

            *He notices when I wear red, so much he will actually ask me to wear the red dress instead of the one I like better. So I do. Also, I get a shit-ton of compliments when I do.

          8. Mojeaux

            I mean, “sure *some* percentage of men care a good deal what women wear.”

            I’m not disagreeing.

          9. DOOMco

            I’ve never overheard anyone say “I would have asked her out/ to dance/ for a drink, but in that outfit? nevermind!”
            I would agree we do like well dressed people. that seems true for both men and women.

          10. DOOMco

            oh, I totally agree.

      2. Trigger Hippie

        From what I’ve been told it subtly influences high end fashion worn by the public months after the fact. But I’m usually a t shirt and jeans guy so what do I know.

          1. egould310

            Noyce!

          2. Trigger Hippie

            I’ve been staring at that picture for five minutes and still can’t think of an appropriate response…

          3. Marvelous?
            Amazing?
            Balls-to-the-wall Fantastic?

          4. Bobarian LMD

            #B – Barry O’s fashion jeans combined with his daughter’s top.

    3. Tonio

      “soldiers outfits” Nope. Any male over age 12 wearing a uniform to which he is not entitled looks pathetic. Sure, you should be allowed to, but the rest of us get to shake our heads.

      1. Any male over age 12 wearing a uniform to which he is not entitled looks pathetic.

        That’s the main reason I joined the 501st; to qualify for the snazzy uniform.

      2. Drake

        Unless you are going hunting or to drill weekend, you just look silly.

  6. The Late P Brooks

    Tesla has had some difficulty meeting production targets. The company fell short of production goals for its new Model 3 sedan this month. Tesla made 2,425 Model 3s in the fourth quarter. That’s only a fraction of the 20,000 per month that Musk promised last summer when the car first went into production. Tesla has wrestled with production bottlenecks and now expects to produce 10,000 Model 3s per month at the end of the first quarter, and 20,000 Model 3s per month at the end of the second quarter.

    But the company, while recording ascending sales numbers, continues to lose money.

    Sounds like a scam.

    1. Private Chipperbot

      Tesla has had some difficulty

      Some? That’s like the being a little pregnant joke.

      1. AlexinCT

        Or part-time dead.

    2. Rufus the Monocled

      Any normal company…./makes slash throat gesture.

      Tesla is surviving based on nothing but an ideal. All I read about is how they miss this target and they promise that blah, blah. But the cars are amazing we’re told.

      1. Chipwooder

        Their vehicle output is not good, but their output of hopes and dreams remains staggering.

        1. WTF

          You misspelled “bullshit”.

      2. AlexinCT

        But the cars are amazing we’re told.

        The only people saying this are the usual “I need to have the latest new toys to be cool” idiots that paid huge money for the overpriced junk they got. Someone I know spent 90 grand on one of these things, thinking he would magically work his way around the fact that it needs to be recharged every 220 miles, making long trips a nightmare, if not impossible and ultra expensive, yet constantly told everyone how cool and great it was to own this car that was that he couldn’t afford to own. Then the computer panel broke one day, and since he had not plopped down the $5K they wanted to warranty that shit when he bought the car, he now is trying to sell the piece of crap, at a considerable loss, so he can avoid paying the $10K they told him it would cost to replace it. The one up side is that the car, because the panel doesn’t work, now does 240 miles before it needs a recharge. He was not happy when I told him he should put that in the add he placed to sell the car..

        1. Rufus the Monocled

          I know someone who had to beg someone in rural NY for a hand after his car needed a boost.

          He makes 300k a year and is a Teslabot.

    3. Charlie Suet

      John DeLorean with better PR.

      1. Chipwooder

        At least DeLorean raised funds for his company an honest way – by selling cocaine.

        1. Charlie Suet

          And by hoodwinking the Labour party.

    1. The Elite Elite

      Having recently finished a part about trade in Sowell’s Basic Economics, this makes me shake my head more than it would’ve before. Protectionism hurts us all.

      1. straffinrun

        Imagine how expensive solar powered washing machines are going to be now.

        1. *narrows gaze*

          /no racist

      2. PieInTheSKy

        Not all. Just most.

    2. Fuck. The solar panel thing is a small middle finger up to China…but the washing machine thing is a bigger middle finger up to all of us. Not like anyone buys those, eh Cheeto Mussolini?!

      1. leonadasiv

        Don’t worry, I learned how to make your own, cement cast, washing tub. Sure it’s not automatic, but think about all the people who could be employed scrubbing down clothes by hand.

      2. ChipsnSalsa

        Speed Queen sales will surge!

        also, they are great.

        1. leonadasiv

          And think about the rest m revitalization of the laundromat industry.

        2. Gustave Lytton

          I’m looking at a Speed Queen for my next washer purchase. I’m tired of the front load smell and constantly needing to clean it.

          1. ChipsnSalsa

            Get it, they are fantastic. It uses actual water to clean your clothes, and clean they will be.

            Get one.

            Really.

          2. I have a front-loading Samsung and no smell. It’s worked well.

    3. WTF

      Manufacturing companies – Whirlpool, a US-based maker of washing machines, and the solar firms Suniva and Solar World Americas – had complained to the ITC and it found in their favour.

      Fuck Whirlpool, try making a better machine. Several years ago we bought Whirlpool HE washer and Whirlpool dryer, and they both went tits up right after the warranties ran out and would have cost well over $500 each to repair (something with faulty computer control boards). So we replaced with Maytags, and they are still running trouble-free.

      1. Easier to lobby than make better machines!

        1. AlexinCT

          Manufacturers today can compile statistics that tell them when their product will go tits-up to within days of the actual event, and provide warranty service that practically always ends right at that time. It is wise to usually buy one extra year of warranty, just to protect yourself from this, since the cost for that extra year also mirrors exactly what they suspect it will cost them to fix the shit they know will fail.

          1. Scotticus Finch

            Wait, then why buy any warranty at all?

      2. hayeksplosives

        Agreed. The Whirlpool name used to mean something. Now it means “Stay away!”

        We bought Electrolux front loaders and love them to bits. Clothes age better too.

        1. Chipwooder

          After about 10 years with a front loader, we’re ready to go back to a top loader.

          1. AlexinCT

            Can I ask why? In general I bought the front loader to lower the use of water, and I have discovered that if you use the right detergent it does a better job than the top loader too.

          2. R C Dean

            We use Hex detergent in our frontloader, due to Mrs. Dean’s allergies to additives, perfumes, etc. And we leave the door open to let it dry out after doing a load of laundry. Because they have to be watertight, frontloaders don’t dry out after a load, which can lead to having a smelly washer. I’ve had frontloaders for probably 15 years; a few minor repairs as the first one got elderly, but never had to replace one (we’ve had two because we moved).

          3. Chipwooder

            That’s it. the smell. Nothing ever comes out of the washer smelling particularly clean.

          4. Use Persil detergent. It’s pricey but the clothes smell very clean after a cycle.

            We switched after noticing that the other detergents didn’t work as well. Our Samsung has the stupid little door (we got a deal on a floor model) so we leave that open just to help with the drying out.

          5. AlexinCT

            I have a well and my water is so acidic that I had to put an industrial water treatment system in front of it, which often results in smelly water.

            They have special cleaner packs you can purchase for these devices, and you just do an empty wash with that pack, and it cleans the thing out beautifully.

          6. Semi-Spartan Dad

            I bought a new washer fairly recently. It was an old school top-loader with an impeller. Lowes didn’t care many models of these. Pretty much everything doesn’t have an impeller anymore in the interest of being ‘energy smart’ or whatever it’s called. I read they don’t clean clothes at all though. Good enough for a childless office worker, but completely useless if you have kids playing outside or spend a lot of time yourself outdoors. I don’t know if that’s true, but was enough for me to steer clear.

            I bought a mid-tier GE dishwasher a few years ago. It doesn’t clean for shit. I’d rather it be an energy black hole and actually clean a dish. Bought a high end Samsung fridge last year. The ice maker arm snapped off within a week and I’ve had to restart it several times to get it to cool properly.

            The appliances in this house were ancient when we moved in so I’ve had to replace almost everything over the past few years. Still, the old ones must have lasted 20-30 years. The new ones really do an inferior job, but Hey, I save an extra 10 bucks a month on electricity! (though not after having to rerun the washer or dishwasher a couple times in a row).

          7. ChipsnSalsa

            The saleslady at the appliance store steered us away from the “no center impeller” washing machine into the Speed Queen mentioned above.

            she said to us “We shouldn’t be ashamed to show our best product.”

            I think I should send her some flowers or something.

          8. Chafed

            I think you told a bunch of nonsense about front loaders. My wife and I have 2 kids and have used a front loader for 14 years. It cleans at least as well as the old top loader and uses a lot less water. Just make sure your detergent is marked HE and you’ll be fine.

      3. Tonio

        Not to defend Whirlpool, but those faulty circuit boards could have been due to bad components. About ten years ago a global supplier of capacitors released a gazillion bad units. HP and Dell (among others) took huge hits for that. Manufacturer liability is limited to replacing the components.

        Samsung front loader has been great for me, but you have to always use Extra Rinse to get things properly clean. Damn hippies.

      4. Semi-Spartan Dad

        It’s not too bad to replace them yourself. The water valve cracked in my new Whirpool just two months after the warranty expired. I ordered a $36 part online and fixed it in 10 minutes. I’m sure that would have been a $200 repair guy job. Haven’t done a control board in the washer yet, but my wife fried the one in the oven. A new one was $100 and took about 20 minutes to replace. The control boards for washers should be even cheaper. I’ve learned the repair guy is just out to hose you.

        1. Lachowsky

          I had the fill valve in my dishwasher crack a few years ago. I got a new one for about 15 bucks and replaced it in about 20 minutes. I’m sure a repairman would have cost me close to the price of a new dishwasher.
          I was exercising my #knowhowtofixshit privilege

          1. ChipsnSalsa

            You should be taxed the amount of labor a normal repairman would have put into it.

          2. Bobarian LMD

            You-Tube is your friend on appliance repair.

            I’ve done washer, dryer, dish-washer and fridge repair off those.

            Correction: The transmission on my last washer went bad. I watched an hour long step-by-step walk thru of replacing it. At the last part of the video, the guy then says, “but you should never do this, the part costs almost as much as the washer, it will take you 3 hours to do, and they’re notorious for going back out”

            So I bought a new washer.

          3. Lachowsky

            You tube is your friend on a lot of things. I rebuilt the engine in my 03 silverado last year with information mostly from you tube videos.

            I have a buddy who works on vehicles on the side. In his shop he has a 50 inch tv monitor set up so he can watch instructional videos off the internet that tell him how to fix stuff.

          4. DOOMco

            Sometimes I’m amazed that my dad (and people his age or older) rebuilt his old car. Even the manuals and other books were not as detailed. crude drawings in my FSM for my FJ, I can’t actually imagine doing that much without forums and youtube.

          5. Lachowsky

            One of the advantages your dad, amd people older than him had was that engines were quite a bit simpler then.

            EFI is great, bit it’s beyond the grasp of your average gearhead. An old carburater engine is much easier to troubleshoot amd diagnose than a modern EFI engine.

          6. Pine_Tree

            Another advantage our dads and granddads had was that there was (mostly) way more open space under the hood (less electronics, longer hoods, etc.). Being able to see and get to stuff helps a lot.

          7. Oh yeah – did my first engine swap (going from a Chevy 305 to a 355) by reading on line and watching videos. It’s actually easy-peasy provided you have the right equipment / tools.

          8. pan fried wylie

            enough with all the fixsplaining.

      5. Lachowsky

        Where I live whirlpool used to operate a factory that employed 5000+ people. I work with a bunch of guys who worked there before the plant closed and moved to mexico. The guys that I know who lost their jobs when the whirlpool plant shutdown are the biggest trump supporters I know. They really buy into the economic protectionism part of his rhetoric.

      6. Gustave Lytton

        Maytag is owned by Whirlpool and has been for over ten years.

      7. CampingInYourPark

        Whirlpool owns Maytag

  7. The Late P Brooks

    You’re saying they should be more Ferrari than Ford?

    Maybe, if Enzo had gone into partnership with Rube Goldberg.

  8. Right-to-try laws are hazardous to your health–and now they’re backed by the Koch brothers

    Falling victim to a terminal disease is one of the ultimate human tragedies in its own terms. But congressional conservatives, egged on by libertarian ideologues and the Koch brothers, are working hard to burden these people with another layer of victimization in their last weeks or months of life.

    They’re doing so by pushing what has aptly been termed “a cruel sham”: a federal “right-to-try” law. State versions of such laws, which have been enacted in 38 states, purport to offer a last ounce of hope to the terminally ill, by allowing them to try drugs that have not fully been tested for safety and efficacy.

    On the surface, right-to-try laws look like humanitarian relief from regulatory barriers for last-gasp treatments. Under the surface, however, they’re insidious. They don’t offer patients any legal or financial safeguards, they don’t improve access to drugs, and their real goal — here’s where the Koch brothers come in — is to weaken drug regulations in a way that will hurt every American.

    Yeah, when I’m on my deathbed, my big concern is going to be making sure drug regulations are solid.

    1. straffinrun

      On the surface, right-to-try laws look like humanitarian relief from regulatory barriers for last-gasp treatments.

      I prefer to be pillow suffocated by a large Indian.

      1. AlexinCT

        Native or dot?

        1. Elizabeth Warren.

          1. AlexinCT

            Fake then..

    2. Suthenboy

      “Let’s just blow out that last candle of hope. Go ahead and die.”

      Misanthropy writ large. What is it with leftists and their desire for eugenics? I guess if you think of people as cattle the desire to cull the herd comes naturally.

      1. The Last American Hero

        That New Soviet Man ain’t gonna perfect himself. Do you even Commie, bro?

    3. leonadasiv

      Sometimes I wonder if they realize what they are arguing, because increasingly the left has been pushing the stupidest ideas: not paying taxes makes the poor poorer, allowing the terminally ill to try untested meds isn’t humanitarian, it’s a scam to make money off of people.

      And what for? To maintain the idea that we need Government?

      1. leonadasiv

        “and their real goal — here’s where the Koch brothers come in — is to weaken drug regulations in a way that will hurt every American.”

        I guess this answers my question: when you view everyone you disagree with as a cartoon villain, you obviously have the intellectual maturity off an 8 year old.

        1. robc

          The FDA has killed more Americans than it has saved.

          Current drug regulations are literally worse than doing nothing.

      2. Rufus the Monocled

        I think they’ve come to fervently believe that without government (even losing a single layer “it’s there for a reason!” civilization whither. it extends to the idea lower taxes means we become uncivilized.

        They don’t seem to realize they advocate we live vicariously trough the state.

        1. Lachowsky

          They just survived a whole weekend with government shutdown. You’d think they might start to figure out that it’s not necessary.

          1. Bobarian LMD

            C’mon man, the bodies haven’t even been cleaned up out of the streets yet!

            Do you know how much dead baby I had to wipe off my shoes at the front of our building?

            It was a lot, and I think it may have stained my top-siders.

            The horror… the horror.

            I barely could barely choke down my first cup of coffee.

          2. Bobarian LMD

            -1 barely

            dealers choice.

    4. Just to make sure I’m not misrepresenting the article, I’ve added some additional text:

      To begin with, the right-to-try campaign depends on the average voter or lawmaker being unaware that the FDA already has an expanded access program to serve the terminally ill who have tried all other possible treatments. Over the last decade, the FDA has received about 1,000 requests for access a year, and typically approves more than 99%. But it retains oversight of the treatments, including the physicians administering them, and can use the results of these treatments to judge the efficacy and safety of the experimental drugs.

      Right-to-try laws are drafted to eliminate that oversight. Typically, they allow patients with irreversible terminal illnesses to try any drug that has passed its phase 1 clinical trials under FDA rules.

      Question – what’s the time for FDA to approve? How much does the added bureaucracy slow down the administration of experimental drugs?

      1. leonadasiv

        “Over the last decade, the FDA has received about 1,000 requests for access a year”

        Oh well that clearly is meeting the demand…

        1. Trigger Hippie

          It does make one wonder what sort of hoops you must jump thru just to be eligible to apply.

          1. Pope Jimbo

            I also wonder if they start monitoring docs who refer too many patients.

            Just like pain meds, do docs act in their own interest (not getting screwed by the feds) at the expense of their patients?

      2. Chipwooder

        And just as a reminder of how much of a blithering idiot Hiltzik is….

        1. whoops – and *pundits (both left and right) continue on even with their terrible track record.

          *my own predictive powers are spotty but I don’t make a living writing about ’em.

        2. Chafed

          Thanks for that. This looks like a news article rather than an opinion piece. I wonder if that sort of line blurring is contributing to the LA Times dropping subscription numbers.

    5. Old Man With Candy

      This is true evil. Not even a pretense of human caring.

    6. Chipwooder

      As if someone who will soon be dead anyway gives a flying fuck about the proper red tape being observed.

      1. Pope Jimbo

        Well, it is OK to let them cut through a bit of FDA red tape, but by doG they better not try to cut corners and use an unlicensed undertaker or buy a coffin from some rando on the internet!

    7. Raven Nation

      I wonder if the author saw Dallas Buyers’ Club and thought it was brilliant?

    8. Don’t be misled. “The purpose of state-level right-to-try laws was never really to help terminally ill patients,” observes medical myth-buster David Gorski. “It was to put pressure on lawmakers to pass a federal right-to-try law as a first big step towards weakening the FDA.

      The Lord Top Men have spoken! Rock and Roll D&D Right to try laws may seem innocent, but in reality they are an insidious scheme of the devil Kochs to corrupt the faithful and weaken the church FDA. We must resist this evil! Amen IFLS

    9. Hyperion

      How dare they let people just do what they want to!

      1. AlexinCT

        Sheep that are not herded might get in all sorts of trouble…

    10. R C Dean

      They don’t offer patients any legal or financial safeguards,

      Because when you are staring a lingering, painful death in the face, managing legal and financial risk is your top priority.

      they don’t improve access to drugs,

      Is this one of those “not giving is taking” type deals, where removing legal barriers to access doesn’t improve access?

    11. pan fried wylie

      they don’t improve access to drugs

      In the context of a drug trial, that’s exactly what it does. WTF?

  9. Suthenboy

    STEVE SMITH genealogy record?

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2708480/

    1. Bobarian LMD

      AMC doesn’t get rapey enough for STEVE.

      But neither does the Vivid PPV channel, so…?

  10. The Late P Brooks

    On the surface, right-to-try laws look like humanitarian relief from regulatory barriers for last-gasp treatments. Under the surface, however, they’re insidious. They don’t offer patients any legal or financial safeguards, they don’t improve access to drugs, and their real goal — here’s where the Koch brothers come in — is to weaken drug regulations in a way that will hurt every American.

    Hiltzik makes Krugabe look sane.

  11. Stillhunter

    Companies need to help people, wether they like or not.

    Founded by young computer engineers, Facebook, Google and other Silicon Valley companies have been happy to view their powerful inventions as neutral platforms. Once the posts are up, who cares where they come down? These companies have converted an engineer’s disregard for real-world outcomes into a libertarian ideology that belittles the harms that stem from their platforms and rejects rules and regulations meant to prevent those harms.

    (TW: NYTimes)

    1. leonadasiv

      Here’s my pre-concieved ideas of libertarianism, and now I’m going to use it to explain everything wrong in the world.

    2. straffinrun

      Words and bombs are exactly the same thing. That whole article is so ridiculous that it doesn’t need any rebuttal.

    3. Stillhunter

      As usual, the comments are all Trump/Russia, evil corporations, etc. I still don’t understand how people can be so obtuse and easily manipulated.

      1. leonadasiv

        Is it manipulation when they want to believe?

        1. Stillhunter

          But why do they want to believe? It seems to be a chicken/egg, nature/nurture sort of thing. What makes them different than me? Maybe you’re right. Maybe they are just born that way, but I’ve seen enough people change their mind (light bulb goes on) that I know it isn’t permanent for everyone. Hell most of us came from some sort of left/right path to become libertarian.

          Ah whatever, I’m just mad that I have to go back to work today. I was hoping for a good long shutdown so I could focus on ice fishing (this weekend we caught eel-pout, lake trout, and rainbow trout (rainbows stocked in an old iron mine pit)). That whole thing was a shit-show. Thousands of people spent hours/days reviewing/preparing the shutdown process. Then, yesterday morning all Federal employees had to follow the prepared shutdown process, only to be told they could come back to work today. What a colossal waste of resources. All because they can’t pass a budget without some fucking shit legislation attached.

          1. Semi-Spartan Dad

            All because they can’t pass a budget without some fucking shit legislation attached.

            I haven’t been following the procedural details closely, but isn’t this shutdown over a temporary bill to fund the government for just 3 more weeks? I don’t think there should be any temporary funding measures allowed. Pass an annual budget or shut it down.

          2. Stillhunter

            Honestly, I haven’t followed the details much either or my head would explode. The main issue has been the trade-off between funding the wall and the DACA thing. The bill signed yesterday is only good until Feb 2 or something. Then we do it all over again…

            Agree that they need to pass a freaking budget. I believe we haven’t had an actual budget since 2009, though they may have passed one in there during Obama’s term. It’s been all continuing resolutions with various reasons for the stalemate. I can’t keep up with house/senate rules, but I know there are some rules on passing budget bills with riders. But they do it anyway. I think at some point, when I finally get out of this job, I am going to become a hermit. Fuck em all.

          3. compgrokker

            Yes, it’s just a “stopgap” spending measure to fund the gov’t for 3 more weeks. DACA is not actually attached to the bill, but the dems were trying to get a promise that repubs would renew DACA if the dems voted for the budget, which had something about the wall in it. The DACA vote isn’t for another 3 weeks or so, when the bill sunsets.

            So, basically, it was “we’ll hold up temporary funding now, unless you promise to give us what we want in the future”. And, considering how close together the DACA vote and the budget vote will now fall, we’re likely to see this again next month.

          4. Stillhunter

            Exactly. I know most folks here have little sympathy for govt workers (myself included), but being a political football every so often is asinine. Fund it or don’t, but make a fucking decision and live with it. If they got rid of the Forest Service tomorrow, I would survive. It’s all so damn infuriating.

            At least a corporation has an economic reason to lay off workers. This is just theater.

          5. Pope Jimbo

            Who cares about the feds fucking shit up. What I want to know is where you are located at Still.

            The mix of fish and an iron mine make me think you might be one of us Chosen Minnesodans. I wouldn’t mind ice fishing for trout. I’ll leave the eelpout entirely to you.

          6. Stillhunter

            Yeah, I moved here 17 years ago from Eden (Sconnie) to go back to school for a forestry degree and never left. I’m up in Ely.

            I chunked and boiled the eelpout with the tail sections of the laker fillets last night. I like to cut the tails off since they cook faster thank the main body when baking/broiling. Anyway, boiled for 5 min in water with some salt added and dredged in garlic butter on the table (lemon too if you prefer). Poor mans lobster. Ok, not quite that good, but damn good nonetheless.

            That video is hilarious. You could see they were fishing for rainbows and other stream trout since they only had an 8 inch hole. it’s a damn nice fish, but pretty normal for Lake Superior. It’s not 40 inches, maybe 36. According to this conversion chart, a 36 incher is over 18 pounds and a 40 incher is over 26 pounds. Most inland lakers around here are smaller than that.

            Also, the people praising them for releasing it don’t realize it probably died from being brought up to the surface. They even talked about it ‘burping’. Yeah, that’s the air coming out of it’s air bladder. Hopefully it was able to expel enough to stay alive.

          7. Pope Jimbo

            Everyone tells me that they are good to eat (but the Iowegians will say that about bullheads too). My problem is that they creep me out too much when they wrap their tails around your arm as you try to unhook them.

          8. Stillhunter

            They are creepy and ugly, plus the weird brownish slime they have is kinda gross. But they are pretty easy to catch, can get decent size, and taste good. Enough offset for me, I guess.

          9. pan fried wylie

            they creep me out too much when they wrap their tails around your arm as you try to unhook them

            After Prometheus, no fucking way.

          10. Stillhunter

            Oh, here is my fish from Saturday

          11. Pope Jimbo

            Very nice. I have some buddies that go to the BWCA every winter and they do well on the lakers.

            I go salmon fishing every year out of Algoma, WI and we usually pick up some nice lakers there too.

            I much prefer smoked lake trout to smoked salmon. Salmon are much more fun to catch though.

          12. Stillhunter

            The snow machine in the background tells you I’m not in the BW. There are more and bigger fish there. We do well outside though too.

            I have friends from back home that go down closer to Milwaukee to catch big browns, among other things. I want to go some time.

          13. DOOMco

            nice!

          14. CPRM

            To get to Algoma you’re passing by me. Let me know when you head out there.

    4. Pope Jimbo

      an engineer’s disregard for real-world outcomes

      Uffda. Is it opposite day today?

      All the engineers I know only care about real-world outcomes. To an extreme degree.

      1. Chipwooder

        Must be that new SJW brand of engineering they’re talking about

        1. Pope Jimbo

          Aaaah. So the gentrification that results after a new bridge is built that makes a neighborhood more accessible is the sort of real-world outcome that they disregard?

          They didn’t do a pre-project assessment to see how the new road will affect the lives of left-handed trans native americans?

      2. R C Dean

        an engineer’s disregard for real-world outcomes

        I think you mean a social engineer’s disregard, etc.

        1. Pope Jimbo

          That makes sense now.

      3. Spartacus

        These are probably the same people who say that science is patriarchal.

        1. Akira

          There was an article arguing that math was racist because the linguistic origins of the terms are all from wypipo languages or something.

          1. pan fried wylie

            The numerals don’t count, or Indians are white people?

      4. AlexinCT

        Your mistake is in not understanding that for these twits the real world is whatever delusion they believe in, because reality will not be allowed to overshadow what they want things to be.

    5. PieInTheSKy

      I mean we haven’t yet recovered from that asshole who invented the printing press all those years ago without thinking of the harms and now this? Poor world

    6. PieInTheSKy

      But the left is not against free speech, no siree

      1. leonadasiv

        When you realize that hate speech isn’t free speech, and that hate speech is anything that makes you feel bad, then obviously, you can’t be against free speech.

    7. Facebook, Google and other Silicon Valley companies have been happy to view their powerful inventions as neutral platforms.

      Right, just ignore the ad-pocalypse, Facebook trying to crack down on “fake news” and push lefty news, Twitter suppressing wrongthink hashtags and banning/unverifying wrongthinkers, Google suspending the gmail accounts of wrongthinkers, the savage crackdown on James Damore’s memo by Google…

      What planet is this guy from?

  12. straffinrun

    Chelsea E. Manning‏
    @xychelsea @xychelseaを

    im running b/c our world should be better for everyone, always ???
    fascists/alt-right deserve no platform ❌? we stand opposed to them ✊?✊?✊?✊?✊? i took up an opportunity to gather intel on them b/c the ideology they peddle threatens everyone ???#WeGotThis

    1. Atanarjuat

      I had to Google to confirm that a person insisting on being referred to as “she” really puts her male chromosomes in her Twitter handle.

    2. Aww… it’s like reading the diary of a 12yo girl.

      1. straffinrun

        This one wouldn’t die in the closet.

        1. *fiercely narrows gaze*

      2. Hyperion

        Or a Miss American candidate.

        1. Business opportunity: The Trans-Miss America Beauty Pageant.

          All I require is 20% of your proceedings, which should be pretty close to zero.

    3. Old Man With Candy

      That’s a worse emoji mess than a late-night drunken HM post.

      1. The Elite Elite

        So what you’re saying is, is that Manning is HM’s newest fetish?

        1. *projectile vomits*

          1. bacon-magic

            *runs away from manning in sailor moon outfit “fighting” tentacle monster*

    4. Chipwooder

      Always three globes? I don’t get it.

      1. bacon-magic

        Caste system

      2. bacon-magic

        We are the middle Earth.

        1. Gustave Lytton

          Or Third Earth. Hooooooo!!!!!!!!

          1. CPRM

            Transform this decayed form to Chelsea The Ever Living!

      3. ChipsnSalsa

        They are different pictures, thus capturing all land mass areas of the world.

        Running for US Senate to be elected by a single state.

        Oi, my head hurts.

        ***You know who else wanted to capture all the the land mass of the world?***

        1. Akira

          Pinky and the Brain?

          1. Bobarian LMD

            narf

        2. Chipwooder

          The Phantom of Krankor?

        3. AlexinCT

          Galactus?

        4. bacon-magic

          Pangea

        5. Number.6

          The Chamco Brothers?

        6. DOOMco

          Risk players?

    5. R C Dean

      i took up an opportunity to gather intel on them

      All that data he dumped was “intel” on “fascists/altright”?

      Sure, Brad. Whatev. I mean, everyone already knows you are delusional.

      1. Chipwooder

        The alt-right of 2006, I guess?

    6. Raston Bot

      “no platform” is antithetical to 1A. fuck Manning.

      1. Bobarian LMD

        fuck Manning.

        Not with STEVEs dick.

  13. TW: Salon via Alternet

    Sexual assault on airplanes is way too common, and #MeToo could change that

    Over the past year, airlines have increasingly come under fire for racist incidents — and now, for sexual assault. Though incidents of sexual assault and harassment on airplanes are far from new, the first week of 2018 has already seen one story break about a woman sexually assaulted on a Spirit Airlines flight. As 2017 brought more attention to the occurrence of harassment, all eyes are now on corporate airlines for their failure to appropriately address the abuse.

    The International Air Transport Association stated that worldwide last year there were 211 incidents of “inappropriate sexual behavior.” Of those, IATA said less than 50 percent were subsequently sent to the authorities and airlines are unable to file charges in these instances. Thus, a spokesperson told Reuters they “believe under-reporting occurs.”

    Isn’t the TSA enough?

    1. Suthenboy

      No mention there of who is doing the assaulting, but complaints of racism. Isnt this the same magazine that published a complaint about #MeToo’ers going after brown people? “We were supposed to stay laser focused on college educated white men” they admitted.

    2. Private Chipperbot

      211 incidents

      There were 3.6 billion passengers flying in 2016. I wouldn’t say it’s common.

      1. Rufus the Monocled

        And how many of those were really bad?

        More often than not, in my experience, it’s the passengers acting like assholes.

        1. Rufus the Monocled

          As shitty as airlines can be.

          1. Private Chipperbot

            Yeah. I imagine half of them were couples on their way to Vegas getting randy on the flight.

          2. The Elite Elite

            +1 Mile High Club

    3. Hyperion

      If the TSA wore pussy hats, everything would be safe again.

      1. AlexinCT

        I think I am gonna run for congress and use this as my motto…

    4. Playa Manhattan

      “Over the past year, airlines have increasingly come under fire for racist incidents”

      False. Unruly passengers have tried playing the race card. Only a small percentage of the population falls for it.

  14. The Late P Brooks

    Repent- the End is Nigh

    A volcanic eruption Tuesday sent rocks raining down on a Japanese ski slope and triggered an avalanche that killed a soldier and injured at least a dozen others.

    Mount Kusatsu-Shirane, an area about 120 miles north of Tokyo known for its ski slopes and hot springs, erupted at 10 a.m., sending a huge plume of black smoke into the sky.

    Videos shot by the local tourism association showed black rocks hurtling through the air, with skiers and snowboarders still on the slopes.

    What good is an electrified car when the very Earth has turned against you?

    1. Yeah that’s Godzilla.

    2. It would make Olympic skiing more interesting.

      1. Pope Jimbo

        An even better idea to make it more interesting is to make the skiers the targets for the people competing in the biathlon.

        1. Raven Nation

          Is there something wrong with me? I laughed at that.

          1. Spartacus

            Since the skiers are all white, it is perfectly OK to laugh. Unless they are LGBTQ, in which case you need to publicly abase yourself and report for re-education immediately.

          2. mexican sharpshooter

            Nah. I laughed too.

        2. egould310

          Like the beginning of The Spy Who Loved Me https://youtu.be/NVBPoGcuLK4

    3. commodious spittoon

      Every news site autoruns worthless supplementary videos, but WaPo can’t embed the video?

    4. pan fried wylie

      Mount Kusatsu-Shirane, an area about 120 miles north of Tokyo known for its ski slopes and hot springs

      Perhaps it should have been known for being a volcano, jus sayin.

  15. straffinrun

    Gov. David Ige said on Sunday that he could not access his Twitter account on the morning of Jan. 13

    I’m guessing Podesta knows it.

    1. leonadasiv

      Well then the Russians know it!

    2. Like he couldn’t get on TV if he tried.

  16. LJW

    “WHAT YOU SAY THIS …SMOKE AND MIRRORS? NOT WORK? IMPOSSIBLE?”

    I have a feeling there will be a Scorsese movie on Musk in the future. And we all know how Scorsese movies end.

    1. Slow motion something-or-other with a 70s soundtrack?

  17. The Late P Brooks

    The International Air Transport Association stated that worldwide last year there were 211 incidents of “inappropriate sexual behavior.”

    I immediately assume the overwhelming majority of those were consensual friskiness, rather than forcible sodomy. What’s wrong with me?

  18. Shpip

    Florida Man KOs two brawling sailors.

    Don’t mess with code enforcement, yo.

    1. straffinrun

      “I started to talk to the males and then I got punched in the head,” the code enforcement officer said, according to arrest reports. “Then the other guy put me in a choke hold so I put them both on the ground.”

      This guy had to be picking at his teeth with a toothpick as he told that doozy.

    2. Brett L

      19 and 20, they were probably giving him a fifth of liquor head start. Seems like a fair fight.

      1. Bobarian LMD

        They were drunk and laying on the ground before he even got there,

        Was the choke hold applied to his ankle?

        Heroic!

    3. Private Chipperbot

      The code enforcement officer advised police he went to check on the two men,

      Code Enforcement out at 12:30am?

    4. Chipwooder

      Clearly, they need a Code Enforcement SWAT team

    5. The other linked stories are very Floridian:

      More: Melbourne police: ‘Sand Flea Jesus’ pet thief stole identity upon arrest

      More: Melbourne police arrest man after snake snatching

      1. Pope Jimbo

        snake snatching

        #HeToo

      2. Brett L

        You know Melbourne is like Huntsville, AL. Everyone is either a rocket scientist or a dirt farmer.

        1. Spartacus

          I grew up near Melbourne. Before Harris built its HQ there, it was mostly populated by ex-servicemen who had been stationed at Patrick and couldn’t figure out what to do after enlistment ended.

      3. egould310

        From Melbourne, Australia; here is Dick Diver playing an acoustic jam from their latest album “Melbourne Florida” https://youtu.be/XVEPJ8-oXZk

    6. Spartacus

      I am very disappointed nobody has made any Sailor Moon jokes yet.

      1. Bobarian LMD

        Because anime is weird?

        1. Spartacus

          Because one of the sailors is actually named Moon:

          Tyler Moon, 19, and Colin Corbett, 20, were each charged with battery on a law enforcement officer…

  19. LJW

    Verizon Weighs Sports Gambling as Legalization Nears

    Do people really expect the Supreme Court will rule in favor?

    1. PieInTheSKy

      The question is is online poker next?

    2. I actually do. The case in question (Christie v NCAA) is less of a gambling case than a federalism case, but because of PASPA’s horrible wording if it’s struck down then there is no federal sports gambling prohibition (state gambling prohibitions would still apply though.) Since it’s federalism and not “commerce clause” or “real” gambling legislation, expect the more right wing of the Court to side with Christie. The two cases that Christie relied most heavily on (New York v US and Printz) Kennedy sided with the federalism side and there’s no reason to expect him to deviate here. That’s 4 votes, and in the oral argument Roberts seemed quite sympathetic to Christie and Bryer and Ginnsburg somewhat sympathetic (though it should be noted the latter two dissented in Printz). I’m personally expecting a 5-4 or even 6-3 decision in favor of Christie and sports gambling.

  20. The Late P Brooks

    Re: the right-to-try piece.

    If a government health service like the VA or British NHS were running treatment experiments on unknowing/unwilling patients, I cannot help but think Hiltzik and his ilk would be perfectly okay with that, because Greater Good. But an individual patient, giving informed consent, is destroying the fabric of society.

    1. leonadasiv

      Not just destroying society, but trying to kill others by making medicine less safe! And safety is the most important! Nothing before safety, nothing outside of safety!

    2. Grumbletarian

      Don’t spend your money on something that might extend your life. Die quickly so that the estate tax can claim a bigger slice of the pie.

      /gubmint

    3. Semi-Spartan Dad

      Running experiments without consent? How about the NHS allegedly intentionally killing a large number of young children, selling their organs, and stockpiling thousands of others unknown to the families.
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alder_Hey_organs_scandal

      In any sane world, that would have been the end of the NHS and there would have been a large number of them in prison. Not a word about it

  21. ‘What Feminism Is’: the 2017 Séan Ó Faoláin Competition winning piece by Louise Nealon concerns the fallout from a sexual encounter

    The hairs on his chest are smoother, more innocent than the curls on his head all crispy from hairspray. I can picture him sprucing himself up inside the frame of a mirror, pursing his small mouth and flirting with his own eyes. Whenever I try to visualize men with no clothes on, they’re mostly Ken dolls, but he carries himself so well that I could imagine it before I saw him naked. That’s how I knew I was attracted to him.

    The sex is supposed to make me feel better. I close my eyes and wait for him to bash me into the corners of my head, but it feels like he’s trying to shove a sleeping bag into the corner of a hot press and it keeps sagging and falling out. As the tempo of his breathing gains momentum in one ear, I hear my mother’s voice in the other telling me not to look at him: A watched kettle never boils. My eyes stay closed. I’m finally beginning to take my mother’s advice. She has an encyclopedic knowledge of the phrases that are written under the red and white tear-off calendars she keeps on the window ledge of her kitchen and enjoys applying them to my life whenever I’m in the midst of an existential crisis.

    1. straffinrun

      TL;DR. Too Long, Dick Retracted

      1. Private Chipperbot
    2. leonadasiv

      “but it feels like he’s trying to shove a sleeping bag into the corner of a hot press and it keeps sagging and falling out. ”

      Soooooo… Was she raping him?

      /Runs away

      1. STEVE SMITH GRIN.

      2. Raston Bot

        whisky dick?

      3. Bobarian LMD

        Ohhh!!

        Stuff your huge sleeping bag into my corner of a hot press, you sagging ken doll!

        *Does anyone no where to submit for the worst sex scene literary award? I seem to remember Morrisey being not nearly as bad as this in an article at TSTSNBN.

        1. Bobarian LMD

          *know where

        2. Number.6

          Yeah,
          WORST . EROTICA . EVER

  22. PieInTheSKy
    1. Somebody warn Hiltzik!

    2. The Last American Hero

      But enough about their Olympic team…

  23. PieInTheSKy

    Clinical trial finds blood-plasma infusions for Alzheimer’s safe, promising

    In a small safety trial based on preclinical work by a Stanford researcher, participants receiving blood plasma infusions from young donors showed some evidence of improvement.

    https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2017/11/clinical-trial-finds-blood-plasma-infusions-for-alzheimers-safe.html

    The value of young blood is well known in Romania

    1. +1 Elizabeth Báthory

    2. Mojeaux

      +1 Elizabeth Bathory

      1. leonadasiv

        Are there now two of them?

        1. Only one has the little mark over the “a”.

          1. commodious spittoon

            I believe it’s called a diacritic.

            I will however die a pedant.

      2. tarran

        Any mention of Elizabeth Bathory must have a link to this work of art:

        Elizabeth by Ghost

        1. Gordilocks

          Or this fucking killer piece of music –

          https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MbldM7JEIeE

    3. Grumbletarian

      Nobody needs more than one Elizabeth Bathory.

    4. robc

      Considering it runs thru my family, I want to see as many advances in this field as possible in the next 30 years.

      Unfortunatly, too late for my Dad.

      1. DEG

        Same here. Too late for my grandmother. Some of my relatives and I are wondering if one or both of my parents might be getting Alzheimer’s. One of my uncles on my mom’s side might have it.

        1. Bobarian LMD

          I would wonder if this would also help with straight senile dementia?

          My FiL is progressing through this very slowly.

    5. Rufus the Monocled

      +1 Elizabeth Bathory.

      1. Trials and Trippelations

        +1 Elizabeth Bathory!

    6. Private Chipperbot

      +5 Elizabeth Bathory.

      1. DEG

        Can we get a +6? +6?

  24. Pussy Nadal quits once he falls behind in the fifth.

    1. Chipwooder

      Least appealing Bond Girl EVER

      1. *rises to begin prolonged and thunderous ovation*

  25. PieInTheSKy

    Oxford University is giving students extra time to finish exams because women are ‘adversely affected by time pressure’

    http://www.businessinsider.de/oxford-university-gives-students-extra-time-to-finish-exams-2018-1?r=UK&IR=T

    1. Rufus the Monocled

      ‘So what you’re saying is’….women can’t be journalists because of deadlines?

      /Cathy Newman.

      1. leonadasiv

        It seems to be what you are saying…

        /What he should have said. (Ok maybe not, he did pretty well in his own)

      2. PieInTheSKy

        Speaking of Why Can’t People Hear What Jordan Peterson Is Saying?

        https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/01/putting-monsterpaint-onjordan-peterson/550859/

        Some people can …

        1. Raston Bot

          it’s Conor.. who will be promptly drummed out of The Atlantic over this.

        2. DOOMco

          I just watched that interview this morning, too.
          I enjoyed what he said. It was a little sad watching her not even try to listen to what he was saying in the interview.

        3. “My first introduction to Jordan B. Peterson, a University of Toronto clinical psychologist, came by way of an interview that began trending on social media last week. ”

          Where has Conor been?

    2. leonadasiv

      Is it giving men extra time? Because if so, then doesn’t this just validate and enable procrastinating?

      1. Bobarian LMD

        If you wait until the last minute, it only takes a minute to get it done!

        All hail procrastination!

    3. Grumbletarian

      Women are just as good at men at everything, but women need longer to do the same tests as men because time is sexist.

      1. LJW

        I believe Einstein built an equation for that.

        1. Private Chipperbot

          E=PMS2

          1. Rufus the Monocled

            OH NO YOU DINT!

      2. DEG

        A woman I used to know who was studying to be a lawyer once called logic “white male patriarchy”.

    4. Grumbletarian

      And I would hope that anyone can declare that they identify as female right before the test begins.

    5. WTF

      Oxford University admits women can’t do math as well as men, need extra time.

      1. Akira

        I love how Lefties and Left-leaning organizations always use explicitly sexist premises in their arguments.

        Women don’t perform well under time constraints? Well, given that most jobs involve deadlines of some kind, wouldn’t it be perfectly rational to discriminate against women in hiring or compensation? Wouldn’t it be totally justified for there to be a wage gap since women apparently underperform when they’re told that something must be done by such and such a time?

    6. robc

      Wouldnt that just mean the tests will be made even longer?

    7. Ah, so the students will have even more time to procrastinate before frantically scrambling at the last minute like they always do?

    8. The Last American Hero

      It’s been well known for centuries that women take longer to get going…

  26. That’s just Tulsa…

    Mysterious smell covers Tulsa

    People across Tulsa said they smelled something strange in the air Monday night, but officials told FOX23 that they don’t know what’s causing the odor.

    Area residents throughout the area took to social media to voice their complaints about the smell, which they described as similar to gasoline or burning rubber.

    1. Private Chipperbot

      Going to guess it’s probably gasoline and burning rubber.

      1. compgrokker

        Or something similar.

        1. mexican sharpshooter

          Like tires?

    2. Brett L

      Is that not what Tulsa smells like?

    3. The Elite Elite

      We’re all Tulsa.

    1. WTF

      I’m not appropriating anything, I’m eating food I like you absolute fuck

      Lulz

      1. Brett L

        Nobody likes tofu. This person is obviously an oppressor.

        1. Old Man With Candy

          My mapo tofu would change your mind.

          And burn the fuck out of your asshole the next day.

          1. Private Chipperbot

            And burn the fuck out of your asshole the next day.

            Assuming mapo is an alternative term for roofie.

          2. Bobarian LMD

            Friction burns.

        2. Deep fried tofu with Thai peanut sauce is pretty good. Of course just about anything – within reason! – is good deep fried.

          1. ChipsnSalsa

            Clearly you haven’t been to the Minnesota state fair.

          2. Akira

            I was at the Mini-soda state fair one time when I was younger. The theme seemed to be food on a stick. Every single edible item sold was on a stick. My uncle bought a “pie on a stick” out of curiosity for how such a thing was possible, and it was a slice of pie on a plate… With a stick jammed in the pie.

    2. Pope Jimbo

      A perfect summation of where we are today.

      1. I like you
      2. What? You don’t agree with me on some issue?
      3. I hate you!

      1. DOOMco

        yes.

      2. PieInTheSKy

        But seriously, how bereft of real world problems are these people to care about such utter meaningless crap?

        1. Chipwooder

          Precisely. When humanity is no longer concerned with starvation or freezing to death, these are the idiocies they occupy themselves with,

      3. Rufus the Monocled

        And sometimes depending on circumstances…

        4. Rape!

      4. Playa Manhattan

        I disagree with #1

  27. Drake

    Steve Smith wouldn’t like marriage.

    Sex and Marriage: 6 Statistics That Might Surprise You

    1. WTF

      STEVE SMITH SAY WHY BUY COW WHEN RAPE IS FREE?

      1. *opera applause*

    2. Pope Jimbo

      5. Fifty percent of men say they would not have married their partner if their marriage did not involve sex.

      I was surprised that the percentage was so low. I would have thought it would be closer to 99%.

      My gut is telling me though that the gal who wrote this thinks the number should be much lower. It is a shame that so many men are pigs who insist on having sex and not just adoring and cuddling their wife. Am I being too cynical?

      1. Grumbletarian

        What women want out of marriage is perfectly sensible and you should hate yourself for not agreeing.

        What men want out of marriage is absolutely disgusting and you should hate yourself for not agreeing.

      2. Stillhunter

        I call BS on that statistic.

        My gut is telling me though that the gal who wrote this thinks the number should be much lower. It is a shame that so many men are pigs who insist on having sex and not just adoring and cuddling their wife. Am I being too cynical?

        No, not cynical. I’m sure she thinks it should be smaller. I’m fascinated that people are still trying to push the ‘civilized’ narrative of modern humans. After all the advancements humans have made in the world, in the end our main purpose is to procreate, not get married.

      3. Drake

        The woman in the embedded video was pretty even handed about it.

    3. Number 6 will shock me!

  28. PieInTheSKy

    Demos: Male celebrities receive more abuse on Twitter than women

    https://www.demos.co.uk/press-release/demos-male-celebrities-receive-more-abuse-on-twitter-than-women-2/

    – 2.54% of the tweets containing the @ username of male public figures contained abuse, compared to only 0.95% of the tweets received by prominent women.
    – Over 1 in 20 (5.19%) of the tweets sent to male celebrities included abuse, compared with 1 in 70 (1.37%) aimed at female celebrities.
    – Journalism is the only category where women received more abuse than men, with female journalists and TV news presenters receiving roughly three times as much abuse as their male counterparts.
    – Men were much more likely to troll public figures via social media. Three-quarters of the abuse received by prominent men, and over 60% of abuse received by women, was tweeted by men.
    – Piers Morgan, Ricky Gervais and Katie Hopkins were three of the most likely celebrities to receive abuse.

    I wonder if the Journalism bit is mostly due to that one ENB sammich post

    1. trshmnstr

      Who is Katie Hopkins?? I legit don’t know.

      1. PieInTheSKy

        some cunt?

        1. leonadasiv

          Well now you’re just adding to the abuse.

      2. Chipwooder

        British columnist for the Daily Fail, writes a lot of anti-immigration stuff

    2. Drake

      Why would anyone want a Twitter account?

      1. PieInTheSKy

        If you don’t like have one it’s like you don’t even exist gramps

    3. Rufus the Monocled

      Why Gervais?

      Never mind.

      I don’t give a shit.

      1. mexican sharpshooter

        Better question: Fuck Gervais, why not tell him how much he sucks?

        1. Drake

          He makes me laugh when he shows up on XM with Jim Norton. On awards shows, not so much.

          1. He’s very funny and a good storyteller, but sometimes lets his atheism and typically left-leanings get in the way

  29. The Late P Brooks

    Just like pain meds, do docs act in their own interest (not getting screwed by the feds) at the expense of their patients?

    Crazy talk!

  30. Hawaii governor lost his password?

    That ain’t nothin’

    1. WTF

      No, TRUMP is the most irresponsiblist EVAR!!11!!!!!

      1. I guess Trump loses the Biscuit at least twice a day.

        Trump: “Hey, Pence! That little card fell out of my shirt pocket and dropped in the toilet–again!”

        Pence: ….

  31. Derpetologist

    Glass Elephant Nearly Shattered After Sen. Collins Makes Shutdown Negotiators Use ‘Talking Stick’
    http://insider.foxnews.com/2018/01/22/susan-collins-glass-elephant-nearly-shatters-during-talking-stick-government-shutdown

    ***
    A Republican senator introduced a “talking stick” into government shutdown negotiations to try to keep the peace, but it ended up nearly shattering one of her figurines, according to several reports.

    Sen. Susan Collins of Maine hosted a bipartisan group of senators in her office to discuss how to put an end to the government shutdown.

    She reportedly made fellow legislators use a ceremonial Native American “talking stick” when they wanted to speak – in order to quell possible disruptions.

    Senators could only speak if they were in possession of the “talking stick.”

    However, things went slightly awry when a top Democrat interrupted a Republican, who then tossed the stick in the liberal’s direction in jest, causing damage to one of Collins’ decorations.

    Virginia Senator Mark Warner allegedly interrupted Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, who was talking while in possession of the stick.

    Upon the outburst, Alexander reportedly tossed the stick “forcefully” in Warner’s direction clipping and chipping Collins’ glass elephant.

    Those in the room reportedly laughed off the incident, and Collins replaced the “talking stick” with a rubber ball to prevent any further damage to her office.
    ***

    1. Private Chipperbot

      They’re like the slow kids at school.

      1. Pope Jimbo

        They were the slow kids at school. They are still slow, they have just graduated.

        Seriously, if someone tried to use a talking stick in one of my meetings, I would scornfully tell them to shove it up their ass. What adult does shit like this?

        1. The Elite Elite

          A friend of mine who teaches at ITT Tech recently told me the administration did something like this, except a stuffed animal instead of a stick. He refused to participate. It truly is sad.

        2. What you do is take the stick and throw it out the window.

          1. Pope Jimbo

            Maybe scratch your balls and ass with it and then pass it on?

    2. leonadasiv

      I remember a group of boys trying to do the same thing, didn’t work out either, and a piggy ended up getting smashed.

      1. Private Chipperbot

        +1 LOTF

    3. World’s. Greatest. Deliberative. Body.

    4. Stillhunter

      Robert’s Rules hardest hit.

    5. commodious spittoon

      They didn’t have a conch handy?

    6. Charlie Suet

      Unfortunately even after the elephant was chipped they still weren’t able to talk about it.

      1. Derpetologist

        *sensible chuckle*

    7. Raston Bot

      if Lamar beat him to death with the stick, then it would’ve been a happy day for Virginians. and i’m still waiting for Warner to declare he’s running for the presidency only to discover that his kind is no longer wanted by the party.

    8. This is why I prefer the talking pillow.

  32. House of horrors: Parents’ ‘weird’ sex life revealed by sister

    The father accused of torturing his 13 children once willingly drove his wife interstate so she could have sex with another man they had met online so she could “sow her wild oats”, her sister has revealed.

    David and Louise Turpin were each charged with 37 counts of torture, abuse and false imprisonment last week after police found their children tied up and malnourished inside their Southern Californian home.

    Now Louise’s sister, Teresa Robinette, has revealed details about the couple’s sex life, including that they marked the anniversary of her affair by sleeping together in the same hotel bed.

    1. Chipwooder

      What a world it is when two severely-fucked up people like that find each other and create a life together so horrifying that I’ve stopped reading the stories about them.

      1. Rufus the Monocled

        Seriously.

        And I can’t take that salad bowl hair anymore.

        1. Michael

          That dude’s photos give off a really bad Phil Spector vibe.

  33. A Fuggin White Male

    You know, I kind of don’t mind a little protectionism in the short term. Ultimately, free trade is more desirable, but maybe the United States has to “Go Galt” for a decade or so while the rest of the world gets its shit together. We’ve propped up far too many failing states. Our companies have given them just enough commerce and foreign aid to get by. Fuck that. They need to fail.

    If I had my way, the only countries we’d by trading with are countries that have a deep respect for and strong protection of individual rights and private property.

    1. Derpetologist

      “If I had my way, the only countries we’d by trading with are countries that have a deep respect for and strong protection of individual rights and private property.”

      That narrows it down to a dozen countries or so.

      1. A Fuggin White Male

        I think you’d be lucky to find a dozen countries that have A) codified free speech and freedom of the press as absolute, and B) cannot deprive one of liberty or PROPERTY without legitimate due process.

        Shit, just the free speech thing already rules out Canada and most western European countries.

        America is so unique, it’s incredible.

        1. WTF

          Yeah, I don’t think anybody else actually meets “A”.

        2. Floridaman

          Which is what makes it so terrible that some people want to throw that freedom away and join the herd of other countries.

    2. Lachowsky

      I disagree. Free trade is good even when we are trading with shitholes. Our companies have given them commerce which is good for them and us.

      The foreign aid bit has nothing to do with free trade. Cut it all off. I’m good with that. But, allowing free trade between people is essential to the creation of wealth in our country, regardless of what the foreign country we are trading with is doing.

    3. Lachowsky

      Also, a little protectionism is nothing more than a little tax. I don’t like taxes. I would not be in favor of increasing them.

    4. robc

      While I don’t support the idea, I once came up with the concept of a liberty tariff, using the Freedom House scores (which are 1-7 on two scales, with 1 being the best and 7 being North Korea).

      Tariff % = (score1^2+score2^2)-2

      So a 1,1 country would have no tariff, basically western europe and canada and etc.

      A 7,7 country would have a 96% tariff, which would basically mean we wouldnt trade with them.

      Israel is a 1,2. That would mean 1+4-2=3% tariff.
      Jamaica is a 2,3. That would be 4+9-2=11% tariff.
      China is a 7,6. 49+36-2=85% tariff. That would kill trade with China.

      Like I said, I don’t support it, because tariffs hurt the country assessing them, but I like that concept more than industry by industry and country by country.

    5. Urthona

      Disagree. There are never advantages to tariffs.

  34. Derpetologist

    Air Force deploys A-10s to Afghanistan to ramp up Taliban fight
    http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/01/23/air-force-deploys-10s-to-afghanistan-to-ramp-up-taliban-fight.html

    ***
    The U.S. Air Force has deployed A-10 Thunderbolt jets to Afghanistan for the first time in more than three years to provide close-air support for American and Afghan troops — the latest sign of escalating military operations and deepening U.S. military involvement by the Trump administration against the Taliban, more than 16 years after the 9/11 attacks.

    “As we’ve applied increased pressure on the Taliban and their revenue sources with precision airpower, we’ve gained considerable momentum in our effort to force them to reconcile or face defeat,” said Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian, head of U.S. Air Forces Central Command, in a statement to Fox News. “As U.S. advisors move closer to the front lines in support of our Afghan partners, this additional airpower will give them the decisive advantage necessary to advance with confidence.”

    The newly arrived A-10s flew their first combat missions in Afghanistan less than 24 hours after arriving at Kandahar Airfield on Friday, January 19. The jets are from the 303d Expeditionary Fighter Squadron from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri.

    In addition to the A-10s, Air Force Central Command has sent more MQ-9 Reaper drones, and HH-60G helicopters used by Air Force special operations forces for combat search and rescue. The additional jets and helicopters will report to the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing at Bagram Airfield, located an hour north of Kabul.
    ***

    1. WTF

      Jesus H. Christ, can’t we just leave that shithole to fuck itself?

      1. It would be cheaper to build a giant Thunderdome over the entire country.

  35. Nephilium

    More people are pushing back against the SJW’s.

    Jon Malin, current artist of Marvel’s Cable series, has attracted widespread criticism and condemnation following a controversial tweet comparing “social justice warriors” to Nazis.

    1. leonadasiv

      You can’t do that, only WE are allowed to do that!

    2. Chipwooder

      They are the thinnest-skinned motherfuckers, I swear.

    3. Pan Zagloba

      Ethan Van Sciver, a comic book artist, has done an hour-long interview with him which is pretty interesting. Jon called himself “libertarian-leaning” which I found surprising. He also basically said “if they get me fired and ostracized, I don’t care, I’ll go back to construction work.”

      Too bad he and mah boi Ed Brisson are leaving Cable soon. They both deserve more, higher profile work.

  36. PieInTheSKy

    So in more important news The yellow-billed loon (Gavia adamsii), also known as the white-billed diver was discovered living in Romania for the first time by local ornithologists. Looking at the Wikipedia map, it is way out of it’s range. I blame global warming.

    1. Maybe they were fleeing the Hate Birds, The Birds That Hate?

    2. egould310

      Damn! I’d be happy to spot one here in SoCal.

  37. Derpetologist

    Mom slams Twitter after abortion troll uses her disabled daughter’s image
    http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2018/01/22/mom-slams-twitter-after-abortion-troll-uses-her-disabled-daughters-image.html

    ***
    Disability advocate Natalie Weaver has slammed Twitter for not promptly clamping down on an account that used an image of her severely disabled child in a pro-abortion tweet.

    ”Just received an email that Twitter doesn’t think a person using my child’s image as the poster child to ABORT & to weed out all the “defectives” in utero is a violation. Why? Bc they won’t recognize hate toward ppl w/ disabilities in their regulations/reports,” Weaver tweeted on Monday.

    Weaver had reported a tweet by the @OBSIDIANSMOAK account that used an image of her 9-year-old daughter Sophia. “It is okay to think that every child matters however a lot of them do not hence the amnio test which should be a mandatory test and if it proves negative and the woman does not want to abort then all bills accrued after that is on her and the father,” said a post accompanying the tweet.

    Twitter told Fox News on Monday evening that it suspended the account. “When we make a mistake, we work to ensure it’s quickly corrected,” a Twitter spokeswoman explained in a statement emailed to Fox News. “Our team reviewed the report again and suspended the account in accordance with the Twitter Rules.”
    ***

    1. Juvenile Bluster

      Meh. I can’t disagree with her. This isn’t political; you have to be some amazing degree of asshole to do that.

      1. Mojeaux

        Also, the level of Twitter’s hypocrisy and sympathy toward progs and SJWs is breathtakingly blatant and unrepentent. What’s good for the prog goose should be good for the non-prog gander but that is not so.

  38. DOOMco

    So, whats new?
    After the government shut down and with net neutrality gone, I couldn’t get online.

    1. Not many of us left – after killing fields opened up with the tax cuts.

      1. DOOMco

        I’ll dust off the HAM radio and try to contact the survivors to the north

      2. commodious spittoon

        Was hoping the nonsense would drag on all week for no better reason than more dystopian post-shutdown stories like trshmnstr’s.

        1. Bobarian LMD

          Alanis Morrisette sure went dark.

      3. Plastic bag shortages are the worst.

  39. Derpetologist

    Felony charges dropped against N. Carolina student who toppled Confederate statue
    https://www.thecollegefix.com/post/41210/

    ***
    The district attorney in Durham, North Carolina has dropped all felony charges against a North Carolina Central University and seven others in the case of a toppled Confederate statue last summer.

    The Daily Tar Heel reports Takiyah Thompson and cohorts still face a trio of misdemeanor charges including “defacing a public building or monument and injury to real property.”

    Thompson didn’t waste any time blasting the fact that not all charges were dismissed.

    Last August, an NC Central University professor suggested Thompson should get a scholarship for her act of vandalism, lauding “her ability to use her political-science education to the benefit of the community.”
    ***

    1. Chipwooder

      Even if you’re in support of her actions, I’m not sure how that used her political science education. Did they have a class on statue-toppling?

      1. Scruffy Nerfherder

        It’s called Fighting The Man 101

    2. R C Dean

      You get more of what you reward . . . .

    3. Lachowsky

      “Thompson should get a scholarship for her act of vandalism”

      In my teenage years, I vandalized a thing or two. Where muh scholarship?

    4. commodious spittoon

      I didn’t realize poli-sci is even more useless than just resume filler for a job filling coffee cups.

  40. Derpetologist

    Islam-citing professor suspended for bizarre classroom behavior
    https://www.thecollegefix.com/post/41190/

    ***
    An adjunct professor of astronomy has been suspended for antics in class so bizarre that students fled the room and the police were summoned.

    According to Fox-4, students in attendance said Mashburn “talked about the Koran and the moon and the dark night,” appeared incoherent, “and never discussed anything astronomy-related.”

    “Mostly he was talking about different things of the Muslim faith,” [student April] McLeod said. “I was in class for about five minutes. He kept messing with his pocket and you could tell there was an object in the right-hand pocket. And whenever he went to pull out his hand, I started having this really bad feeling and jumped up and ran out of the classroom.”

    Speaking to Fox-4’s Brandon Todd from his apartment balcony, Mashburn didn’t understand why his students were concerned:

    Todd: Are you aware that you scared some of those students?

    Mashburn: Why should they be afraid?

    Todd: Well you wouldn’t show your face.

    Mashburn: Many people do not show their faces. And in many countries, they do not show their faces.

    Todd: Well here in America, we tend to usually show our face when we are a professor at a college. That’s typically the standard.

    Mashburn: Oh, yes. But I do not answer to your standard. I am not a Christian. I am not a Jew. I’m a Muslim.

    Mashburn repeatedly deflected questions and several times said his teaching of astronomy goes hand in hand with Islam.

    Todd: When you interviewed with Tarrant County College to get this job, did you explain to them your teaching philosophy?

    Mashburn: I keep it secret. I keep it safe. I do my best, but I am tired of hiding in the shadows. I am tired of fearing their law. I fear Allah.

    Todd: What do you have to say to those students who were frightened enough last night they had to call 911?

    Mashburn: I do not know why they fear me. Why are they afraid? I’m a man who covers his face in his hand. I offer you nothing but the Koran a book and the universe. The universe is in my hand right here. You can look at it.
    ***

    1. commodious spittoon

      Is there some other, maybe Canadian meaning of toboggan that isn’t a sled?

      1. Derpetologist

        fun fact: the word toboggan comes from the Micmac word for sled.

        1. commodious spittoon

          So the guy literally showed up with a toboggan slung over his back?

          Anyway, this feels like a cynical bid to sue the university for discrimination. Clock Boy all growed up.

          1. compgrokker

            Isn’t a toboggan a knit winter cap? Although, saying “cap” and “toboggan” is confusing, so I’m not sure.

          2. MikeS

            You’re thinking of a toque.

  41. MikeS

    One of my BookBub Kindle deals for this week is this book:

    A World Undone by G. J. Meyer

    I was reading the reviews and ran across this one-star review:

    The ending was a big letdown. I feel like the author goes out of her way to set things up for a sequel and this detracts from what is otherwise a great story. I mean, the great powers of Europe are locked in a death struggle for almost the entire story, and just when you think one country has the upper hand things change in ways no sane person could predict. Seriously, the plot twists are amazing. Then the reader is introduced to side plots around the globe in places like the Arabian desert, Gallipoli, submarines in the Atlantic, the Russian revolution and more. Every reader will have a favorite side and characters, there are dozens to choose from. It is storytelling on par with Ice and Fire and Lord of the Rings.

    But, in the end, absolutely nothing gets resolved, America just shows up in the last 5 minutes and the Germans are steamrolled into an unconditional surrender. I feel like Its so obvious that the author caved to the publisher’s (or who ever bought movie rights) desire to squeeze a trilogy or at least a sequel out of this thing. Mark my words, Germany is going to make a comeback Just like Gandalf and Megatron did.

    And one more thing, I bet that whole thing in the Middle East is going to get spun off into it’s own series.

    1. PieInTheSKy

      I think trying to make viral amusing amazon reviews is a literary genre in itself

      1. MikeS

        They should get their own awards. Call them the “Zonies,” maybe

    2. WTF

      That’s pretty funny.

    3. That’s not even the worst of it. At the end America is gearing up for the final invasion of Japan. The stakes are high, a big land invasion, both sides are trying to get Russia to support them, it’s quite possible millions will die, maybe even some of the side characters we know. Then the author just pulls a deus ex machina out of nowhere ad Japan just surrenders. No foreshadowing at all, and completely ridiculous. Oh sure, America was secretly working on a 2 billion dollar superweapon and no one noticed. Worst ending ever.

      1. MikeS

        Ahh. You’ve read the sequel, I see.

    1. Rufus the Monocled

      Ouch.

      Dry your eyes.

      1. Lachowsky

        To add a bit of extra hurt for me. I bought my mother tickets to go see him in Oklahoma City last november. My brother and my mom and I were going to go. I ended up getting stuck at work on the night of the show. My brother’s wife went in my stead. That was his last tour. shit.

    2. Gustave Lytton

      No longer coming to (a venue in) America?

      1. Lachowsky

        Sick burn Gustave.

        https://youtu.be/QQLWF_ItzYs

        1. Gustave Lytton

          Ok, I’ll put this here as penance:
          https://youtu.be/Ql4IiP__5ck

          The first Neil Diamond song I heard and still my favorite.

          1. Lachowsky

            I love that one
            Johnny Cash covered it and did a fine job.

            https://youtu.be/-OVHnWyDmdw

          2. Lachowsky

            That song could be the anthem of the modern MGTOW movement. Neil was ahead of his time.

          3. whiz

            Great song.

            Unlike the one they play incessantly at our school’s sporting events — Sweet Caroline — which I’ve gotten rather sick of.

      2. Turn on your heartlight, you callous bastard.

  42. Pope Jimbo

    The more you know… the more you get pissed off.

    I didn’t realize that you are barred from possessing a gun if you are only charged with a felony. I thought it was only convicted felons (and misdemeanor domestic violence) who couldn’t own a gun.

    Weapons possession charges against a University of Minnesota professor were suspended Monday, and the man has agreed to pay $500 and sell 14 pistols he bought over a 17-day period last summer.

    Doesn’t that sort of break the “innocent until proven guilty” idea we have in our country?

    Also: The felony charge was for undervaluing his retirement fund in divorce proceedings.

    1. Semi-Spartan Dad

      Must be state law. VA is trying to pass a bill now to allow firearm reinstatement for non-violent felons.

      1. Stillhunter

        Something is off. Don’t ask me how I know. This is the internet…

        1. Stillhunter

          I realize I should clarify. I don’t think it’s even a state law.

          1. Stillhunter

            I should have read the story *looks down and kicks pebble*

            The reason he couldn’t by firearms was because his felony charges were still pending at the time of purchase. That is a no-no according to Fed law.

    2. Lachowsky

      Come on Jimbo. If it saves just one life.

      1. Spartacus

        Whenever I hear someone say that seriously, I tell them they need to surrender their driver’s license, because they might hit somebody one day, and if it saves just one life…

    3. MikeS

      Love your new avatar

      1. Pope Jimbo

        I had my usual luck gambling and was the furthest off from the NFC championship. So Pie got to pick a new avatar. He was pretty generous in victory.

        1. MikeS

          I am too lazy to go back and look, but I was pretty close to being the loser. I think I only guessed a few points less than you

  43. Left Hand of Radar

    SNOW DAY! NO WORK FOR ME!

    1. PieInTheSKy

      why? do you not own a shovel?

      1. Juvenile Bluster

        Unfortunately he screwed up last snowfall and half his orphans lost hands to frostbite. Going to take time to replace them.

        1. Bobarian LMD

          How long does it take to attach a hook?

      2. Pope Jimbo

        Oh he has a shovel, but he lives in the city so his car was towed during our snow emergency.

        It is one of the benefits of living in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Having them declare snow emergencies and towing cars.

        1. Left Hand of Radar

          Got rid of my car for just that reason. It’s so nice to hear those tow trucks going to town on a Snow Emergency day and not giving a fuck. No stress for me today!

  44. Gurls.

    http://archive.is/EYUK8

    I’m going to clone an army of 5.

    1. MikeS

      5 soldiers isn’t much of an army.

        1. Chipwooder

          YUUUUUUUUUUUUUT

    2. Stillhunter

      Ahhh…the calming power of hot chicks with nice tits. I’ve come down off the ledge now. Rough morning…

    3. DEG

      13 and 94 excluded from the orgy due to stupid piercing.

    1. Pope Jimbo

      I love when pols pass laws in regards to technical matters.

      I wonder what crony will become the new NN compliant ISP for Montana (and will simply connect to the major carrier’s backbone where NN is not enforced)?

      Do the pols think that the local ISP has cable/fiber connected globally?

    2. Stillhunter

      The Republican FCC voted to dismantle those rules in December.

      I didn’t realize agencies were partisan.

      1. Bobarian LMD

        I didn’t realize agencies were partisan.

        Somebody has not been paying attention to the news.

    1. Anyone going to Wewelsburg tonight? I hear they have some great strudel.

      1. Chipwooder

        Come for the strudel, stay for the runes!

    2. The Other Kevin

      I keep wanting this to go somewhere, to have someone be held accountable. But I’m not holding my breath.

      1. Pope Jimbo

        If James Clapper lying to Congress on TV isn’t enough to get someone thrown into prison, nothing is. Fuck Clapper is regularly trotted out to be an expert on NSA shit. Does any mainstream pol or pundit even care about his perjury?

        1. Drake

          I’m always shocked when he appears on those shows. Am I supposed to believe him this time? I assume every word out of his mouth is a lie even if he isn’t touching his face.

  45. Derpetologist

    Let’s see how CNN spins this:

    Black unemployment is at a record low. But there’s a lot more to the story.
    http://money.cnn.com/2018/01/23/news/economy/black-unemployment/index.html

    ***
    The unemployment rate for African American workers has never been lower — another sign of the strength of the economy.
    Still, at 6.8%, black unemployment remains well above the rate for white people, at 3.7%. That disparity is deeply rooted and a continuing cause of concern for economists and advocates.

    Scholars attribute the disparity to a combination of factors: Hiring discrimination, lower educational attainment, and a higher rate of people with criminal records, who are barred from many occupations.

    There has been improvement over the years. In 1990, only 11.3% of African Americans had four-year college degrees, compared to 22% for whites, according to Census data. In 2017, those numbers had risen to 24% and 34.5%.

    Still, the racial unemployment gap hasn’t receded much. One reason, experts say, is that white and black job applicants are still treated differently. Many studies, which typically test employer reactions to similar resumes with white and black-sounding names, have documented this disparity.

    The stubborn disparity, Quillian says, underlines the continuing relevance of affirmative action programs in many fields. Other scholars have recommended government-created job programs to make sure people don’t fall out of the labor force if the private sector won’t hire them.

    Some jurisdictions have banned employers from asking up front about an applicant’s past criminal convictions, in order to make sure they’re not discriminated against.

    Columbia has one of its lowest unemployment rates ever, but poverty in the city remains high, often for people who already hold down a job. He worries what might happen if the economy tanks again, especially for those on the fringes of the labor market.

    To help build incomes, Matthes would favor raising the minimum wage locally, but the state of Missouri, where the minimum wage is $7.85, bars cities from doing so.

    “What we’ve learned very slowly is that our choices create poverty,” he said. “You might gain some ground, but it’s not permanent.”
    ***

    The patient ails- more leeches!

    1. Mojeaux

      I don’t think anybody in the KC area has paid minimum wage in years. It’s always well above, especially fast food joints.

    2. commodious spittoon

      Many studies, which typically test employer reactions to similar resumes with white and black-sounding names, have documented this disparity.

      I thought this has been pretty well debunked.

    3. Scruffy Nerfherder

      “What we’ve learned very slowly is that our choices create poverty,”

      He at least got that much right.

    4. WTF

      “What we’ve learned very slowly is that our choices create poverty,”

      Well yes, people generally are poor because they make bad choices.

      1. Drake

        People make bad choices because they don’t have enough government making the choices for them.

    5. Spartacus

      Other scholars have recommended government-created job programs to make sure people don’t fall out of the labor force if the private sector won’t hire them.

      Here’s my program: government benefits should be paid daily. If you want your debit card topped up, you have to be at the unemployment/AFDC/whatever office by 9 am every day.

      1. Pope Jimbo

        That is step 1. Step 2 is to report to the same place at 5 pm to complete the transaction.

        1. Bobarian LMD

          Step 1a. Hand applicant a tool for conducting needed manual labor.

      2. Semi-Spartan Dad

        That’s good start, but here’s my program. Be at a designated field by 8 am every day. Dig a trench by 4 pm with minimum requirements for depth, width, and length based on age and gender. Fill in trench from 4-5 pm. Get paid for the day if your trench fulfilled min requirements.

        You’d see the amount of people on the dole shrink by 95% within a week.

        1. Pope Jimbo

          I don’t even think you have to make them dig the trench. I bet the dole would shrink by 90% if you just made them show up and clock in/out each day.

        2. The Last American Hero

          Ah yes, the Holes method of welfare.

    6. Akira

      Some jurisdictions have banned employers from asking up front about an applicant’s past criminal convictions, in order to make sure they’re not discriminated against.

      I thought we were talking about racial discrimination, not rational discrimination based on past behavior.

      1. WTF

        Disparate impact. I shit you not.

        1. Akira

          Oh, I know. The entire anti-discrimination movement went completely off the rails when they decided that “disparate impact” is the same thing as being blatantly racist.

  46. R C Dean

    Oh, this is priceless:

    Senate Bid Could Land Chelsea Manning Back In Prison

    Manning remains an active duty soldier while his convictions are on appeal, though he is on excess leave and in “a non-pay status.” He still has a military ID card and remains eligible for many military benefits, including medical care.

    Dru Brenner-Beck, retired Army judge advocate general and president of the National Institute of Military Justice, told The Daily Caller News Foundation that on the face of it, Manning is prohibited by Department of Defense regulations from running for office while serving in an active-duty capacity. The only exception is if Secretary of Defense James Mattis grants explicit permission, a power that cannot be delegated by a secretary to anyone else.

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder

      It’s a bizarro world

    2. Drake

      What a moron.

      1. R C Dean

        I wouldn’t put it past Mattis to publicly refuse an exemption and have Manning’s superior order him to drop his candidacy or drop his appeal and resign from the military.

    3. Lachowsky

      I wonder how mad dog james Mattis likes his new title of “Secretary.” Seems a bit emasculating.

      1. R C Dean

        I don’t think he’s insecure about his masculinity, myself.

        1. Lachowsky

          You’re probably right.

          Iosif Vissarionovich dzhugashvili’s formal title was general secretary.

        1. Lachowsky

          That’s funny as hell.

          God bless satire.

        2. Drake

          I like it – but if Mattis is moving his command to the Wisconsin, that bitch is going to be re-commissioned.

          Feel the power of this fully operational BATTLESHIP!

    4. RAHeinlein

      Finally, some good new about “Chelsea”

  47. DOOMco

    Hows Austin Texas?
    got a cold call the other day.

    1. SandMan

      Austin is the Seattle of TX.

      1. DOOMco

        eh, I’ve lived in Boulder. prog havens seem pretty normal to me.

  48. DOOMco

    Small car manufacturers can do just fine.
    Caterham does pretty well. Does someone own lotus?

  49. Last night I was watching “Mysteries at the Museum” which is about as popcorn fare as one can get. One of the *episodes was about Patty Hearst and her involvement with the Symbionese Liberation Army.

    Question – how much longer before the left goes full on “revolutionary” terrorist – again?

    * the episode was specifically about the M1 Carbine that she used; calling it, if my memory serves me right, a “machine gun that could fire 1200 rounds a minute”.

    1. DOOMco

      They did shoot at people in office while they played baseball.

    2. R C Dean

      I thought M1s were semi-auto.

      1. Bobarian LMD

        A service M2 carbine was the automatic version of the M1. Wiki says capable 850-900 rpm rate.

        Standard mag was 15 rounds, but 30 rnd mag was available.

        So 1 or 2 seconds of fire then reload.

    3. commodious spittoon

      I fully expect the next phase for the resistwats remnant is some Weatherman shit. Scalise was just a start, mark my words, they’ll be building bombs if they don’t take back Congress this year. Hopefully they’ll have the same talent for it.

      1. DOOMco

        If they tackled Rand while he mowed his lawn, will they go after libertarians and republicans in the streets, too?

        1. Raston Bot

          i’m assuming Rand has a concealed carry piece on him now.

          1. Lachowsky

            I’m assuming resistance morons can’t handle a firearm or build a bomb.

    4. Chipwooder

      1200 rounds a minute? That would require some awfully quick mag exchanges!

    5. Derpetologist

      The M1 Carbines used in the Korean War had a full auto setting.

      Wiki sez the max rate of fire is 750 rpm, which is the cyclic (theoretical max) rate of fire. The practical, sustained rate of fire for an M16 is 12 to 15 rpm.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1_carbine

      An M249 light machine gun has a practical sustained rate of 100 rpm and a max rate of 800 rpm.

      If you try to shoot faster, the gun will overheat and jam.

  50. KibbledKristen

    My 4-hour forced vacation is over.

    I received the Big Ball o’ Blame on my desk because my bad employment karma apparently caused the shutdown.

    1. Lachowsky

      You are going to receive back pay for that 4 hours. No worries.

      1. Gustave Lytton

        KKis a contractor. I’m sure the paying agency will find a way to keep the money. ‘Oh no, FAR doesn’t allow us to dIburse funds for work not performed’ while throwing no work checks at inhouse employees.

        1. KibbledKristen

          Yep. Even though the contract is forward-funded, I’m sure may company will keep the 4 hours I was forced out.

          Also, I did not receive one. single. email. from my company, except for a brief one on Friday which referred to a completely different contract and did not apply to me.

  51. robc

    School shooting at Marshall County HS in KY. 1 dead, 7 injured right now.

    It is far western part of state, other side of lakes. Its basically Missouri.

    1. Lachowsky

      This time we will finally get common sense gun control

      1. Bobarian LMD

        It is now up to two and 14.

  52. KSuellington

    There is one less fluegelhorn fluegelhornin’ today.

    RIP Hugh Masekala
    One of my favorites from him.

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Tp_S3QOJk90

  53. Lachowsky

    Over Christmas, my dad gave me a bunch of beer that he brewed. It’s all in grolsch bottles that he wants back. My wife has a cricut machine that can make some pretty good labels. I want to send him his bottles back woth good labels on them. The best I can come up with is-

    Honest John’s libations. Botulism free or your money back.

    Any suggestions glibs?

      1. Raston Bot

        “Bottled at the Dump” caused a visceral reaction. sounds like a perfect start to ruining a batch.

    1. Pope Jimbo

      I was going to suggest Beaver Liquors, but then I saw this. Bunghole Liquors is much better.

      Also, putting labels on the bottles before he brews again might be a big pain in the ass for him. Not sure how he sterilizes, but he might have to remove the labels before he uses them again.

      Maybe give him the labels to attach post-brew?

      1. Stillhunter

        There used to be a Beaver’s Liquors here in town. The name design was all big letters except the apostrophe S, making it look like Beaver Liquors from afar. New owners changed it. I had a sad.

        1. Spartacus

          We have one of these about 10 miles from where I live. Yes, they sell t-shirts.

          1. Stillhunter

            There is also a DICK’s HEADShop not far from me. Sign looks like DICK HEADS from afar.

    2. Nephilium

      I’d supply the labels, but not attach them to the bottles. Depending on his cleaning/sterilization process, they could cause issues.

      1. R C Dean

        Yeah, he’ll almost certainly remove/lose the labels before he can refill them. Send the labels loose.

    3. Raston Bot

      the homebrewing dads on my street are the Old Boys’ Inebriation Society for Appreciation of the American Ale. feel free to start your own chapter of our club. you are expected to cuss at speeders on your residential street in a most ungentlemanly fashion. other than that we’re a pretty big tent: we have both “types” of people.. AR owners and AK owners.

    4. Number.6

      Bad to the Bung?

      Dad’s Old Nutbuster?

      Concrete Bottomed Elephant Ale?

    5. Atanarjuat

      I don’t have anything to add, but that’s funny.

    1. DOOMco

      Yay, guilt by association!

    2. Just Say’n

      Jesus. Even Jordan Peterson is ‘problematic’? For no other reason than the fact that he doesn’t buy SJW talking points. Time for cosmotarians to just admit that they are watered down progressives

      1. DOOMco

        His entire career is based on these social interactions. I’m fine with people disagreeing with him, it is a softer science. but it’s just silly to pretend he just spouts alt right talking points.

        1. Just Say’n

          Let’s face it, anyone who does not buy SJW talking points is ‘alt-right’ now. The word has no meaning. Fischer lumped in Jordan Peterson and Michael Malice as some sort of ‘alt-light’ crap that he just made-up.

        2. Gilmore

          it’s just silly to pretend he just spouts alt right talking points.

          No one’s saying that. its that “bad people like him, therefore he is bad”

          Its the stupidest form of criticism in the world. And Libertarians, more than anyone, should be aware that ‘alternative political philosophies’ attract the rejects from elsewhere. Reason has ‘associations’ with everything from Alex Jones to Holocaust Deniers, racist newsletters! Paul Craig Roberts! They Defend Malheur Militiamen!!!

          *Of course* Peterson is going to attract alt-righties. Anything that takes the hard-left down a peg will attract alt righties. The fact that they like his shit and promote him is to be expected – not some suspicious association which tarnishes him.

          And Peterson, contra Fisher’s assertion, HAS publically denounced the racists and identitarians who sometimes cheerlead him. I started following him a few months ago, and he had a long dustup on twitter where he excoriated all his racist follows and told them to fuck off, he’s not providing them any cover. Fisher pretends he never does this because he’s never looked.

          1. KSuellington

            In that interview that Peterson did with the Dutch guy recently he specifically mentioned that he was a bit reticent to continually have to call out the wacko elements because he knew that the left would use that against him too. It’s all too easy to imagine the proggie squeals of “look at Peterson, he has to call off his racist followers all the time so he doesn’t look so bad!!!”

      2. Chipwooder

        Well, since he likes to play the guilt-by-association game, I’ll point out that Anthony L. Fisher, in addition to Reason, also works for The Daily Beast and Buzzfeed, both of which are at least left-leaning. Thus, Anthony L. Fisher is a leftist.

        See? It’s fun!

      3. commodious spittoon

        Not just that. Follow Fisher’s logic here: the guy is drummed out of academia by illiberal ideologues, he becomes a minor internet celebrity among people similarly disenchanted with cultural intolerance, but because some of those people flirt with repugnant ideas, Peterson is guilty of fomenting a bigoted backlash. Not the Marxists in academia, nor their slavish devotees on campus, but Peterson, for finding traction within the “out group” after being drowned out by braying mobs when he tries to engage civilly in the “legitimate” sphere. And then Fisher has the temerity to suggest that Peterson’s fans are also slavish cultists.

        1. DOOMco

          exactly!!!!
          /That lady, half of the news on his last interview, and Fisher

        2. Just Say’n

          I don’t think someone who writes for Reason should be playing the ‘guilt by association’ game. I mean they are closer to neoconservatism at this point than anything resembling libertarianism. They employ Cathy Young who advocated trade sanctions against Russia for reasons (which was also their cover story). And they provide writing space for Brink Lindsey who has never seen a war that he didn’t support. And they are solely fixated on open borders and free trade, while reducing government is a side project. That seems closer to the thinking of the Weekly Standard than anything else. National Review is more dedicated to less government than Reason at this point

          1. DOOMco

            They also have been seen hanging around with alt righters.

          2. Just Say’n

            Yeah, when Robbie wrote an article calling Gavin McInness alt-right I laughed, because Matt Welch had just done his podcast literally the previous week. I guess Welch is alt-right now too

    3. Raven Nation

      A Fisher response from further down the thread: “I’d buy [the idea he’s weaning alt-right supporters by offering them an alternative view] if he exhibited 1/100th of the outrage he has for SJWs, amorphously-defined postmodernism, and “Cultural Marxism,” on the eugenicists, conspiracy theorists, and white supremacists he finds so much less threatening.”

      Shit, really Fisher?

      1. Criticisms are tailored to the audience you’re speaking to. If I’m talking to liberals I’m criticizing the welfare state, talking to socons, it’s the social issues.
      2. “Amorphously-defined”: you mean like the term “alt-lite” you just invented?
      3. Fisher is the guy who permanently crapped all over his own rep with the “Trump’s travel ban caused this grandmother to die” post at TOS.

      Hey Fisher: “‘I’d buy the idea you’re a libertarian if you exhibited 1/100th of the outrage you have for Peterson, Trump, et al on SJWs, gun-grabbers, and #metoo bullshit.”

      Fisher’s TDS was the most disappointing one I saw at TOS.

      1. Just Say’n

        “eugenicists, conspiracy theorists”

        Are we pretending like SJW are not big supporters of eugenics and conspiracy theorists? How’s that Russia, Russia, Russia narrative working out? Or maybe we can read another ‘woke’ article about how evil it is to have kids.

        What a joke

      2. DOOMco

        In that interview, he even defined what he didn’t like in cultural marxism. The lady then freaked because he was ok comparing it to Mao.
        does no one know what he means when he says authoritarianism?

      3. Chipwooder

        Oh, it was Fisher who wrote the “Trump killed Grandma” story? Yeah, fuck that guy.

    4. Gilmore

      And what do you think has inspired the “I’m working on something?”

      Why do you think Reason has suddenly decided that Peterson deserves attention? Is it because his book is coming out and they plan to review it? No, its because of this interview – BECAUSE he’s suddenly being seen as legit by people in ways he hadn’t before. it was Ok to just not talk about him before, or to allude to him w/o judgement in the cases like the Wilfred Laurier story where – in every angle that mattered, they were entirely on the same side as his own argument, but never mind that – but now he’s rubbing the ‘regular media’ wrong, well time to character-assassinate.

      He even admits he has no real background w/ Peterson, but needs to do ‘deep dive’ on his shady associations… i.e. GO LOOKING FOR SOME. because that’s the story they want to tell. no other angle of interest.

      1. commodious spittoon

        Anthony Fisher is the Sabrina Erdely of TOS.

        1. Chipwooder

          Interestingly enough, his own website touts his association with The Daily Beast ahead of Reason. He’s the kind of media success story Robby and ENB are shooting for – someday they too will join the true guild and leave their embarrassing ties to libertarianism, tenuous though they may be, behind.

          1. Pan Zagloba

            +1 Weigel

  54. Just Say’n

    https://twitchy.com/samj-3930/2018/01/23/delete-your-account-larry-the-cable-guy-calls-paul-nehlen-out-for-nasty-anti-semitic-tweet/

    Paul Nehlan: How do I express anti-semitic opinions while couching these opinions in some kind of bad biblical understanding of scripture?

    1. robc

      Okay, ummm, I fail to see the problem from a biblical perspective.

      1. Just Say’n

        I cannot speak for all Christian denominations, but the larger ones do not believe that non-Christians are immediately condemned to damnation. The Catholic church (the largest Christian denomination), for instance, reiterated in Vatican II that non-Christians are not immediately condemned and that even those who are not Christian, but still achieve ‘grace’ (a sticky concept that distinguishes Catholics from Protestant ‘through faith alone’) may reach salvation

        1. robc

          I was about to add on that that statement sounds like a typical evangelical christian statement.

          The more mainline denominations, not so much.

          My point being, I don’t see anything particularly ant-semitic about it (other than mentioning them specifically, but he added the “and others”). It is pretty much standard teaching in evangelical denominations.

          1. Juvenile Bluster

            Given Nehlen’s history (and it’s a pretty long history), he doesn’t get that benefit of the doubt.

          2. robc

            I no nothing of his history, but reading that tweet totally in isolation from any context, I see no problem with it.

          3. Just Say’n

            Let’s just say that Twitter theology is the worst theology. Nehlan does have a checkered past, but even discounting that and viewing the Tweet alone opens up a whole trove of theology that Nehlan doesn’t seem to be able to grasp or explain on a platform strictly designed for ‘hot takes’

          4. robc

            Twitter X is the worst X.

            X really doesnt matter, its still true.

        2. Chipwooder

          I can’t speak to all Christian denominations. As I was raised Catholic, I do know what the Vatican teaches, and that is that Jews are NOT automatically condemned to hell. I checked Wiki since I haven’t attended Mass in quite a while (my wife is Lutheran and has a rather dim view of Catholicism, so in the interest of domestic peace we attend Lutheran church) and it affirms what I thought:

          On December 6 the Pope issued a statement to further emphasize that the Church continued to support its traditional stance that salvation was available to believers of other faiths: “The gospel teaches us that those who live in accordance with the Beatitudes–the poor in spirit, the pure of heart, those who bear lovingly the sufferings of life–will enter God’s kingdom.” He further added, “All who seek God with a sincere heart, including those who do not know Christ and his church, contribute under the influence of Grace to the building of this Kingdom.” On August 13, 2002 American Catholic bishops issued a joint statement with leaders of Reform and Conservative Judaism, called “Reflections on Covenant and Mission”, which affirmed that Christians should not target Jews for conversion. The document stated: “Jews already dwell in a saving covenant with God” and “Jews are also called by God to prepare the world for God’s Kingdom.” However, many Christian denominations still believe it is their duty to reach out to “unbelieving” Jews.

          In December 2015, the Vatican released a 10,000-word document that, among other things, stated that Jews do not need to be converted to find salvation

          I’m sure there are evangelical sects that are very much on board with the all-Jews-go-to-hell belief, but it’s certainly not a universal thing in Christianity.

          1. Just Say’n

            That’s my point. Yes, there are Christian denominations that teach everyone who does not follow Jesus is condemned, but that would also include fellow Christians as other denominations have incorrect views in their estimation. This is a minority opinion within Christianity.

            Also, the Catholic church has never taught that other faiths were immediately condemned, as the Church has long believed that salvation was through ‘grace’ and not ‘faith alone’. A major disagreement between the Catholic and Orthodox churches versus the wider Protestant churches.

          2. robc

            I don’t think “incorrect views ” of other denominations is condemning by any serious protestant denominations. Despite the jokes about “sssssshhhhh, be quiet, the Baptists think they are the only ones here.”

          3. Just Say’n

            I agree. No serious protestant denomination condemns other Christian denominations. I speaking of the small off-shoots

          4. Chipwooder

            I’m not an expert, but from attending Lutheran services they seem to kind of split the difference – salvation comes from God’s grace, but His grace is given through faith alone. If you truly have faith in your heart, you will be in God’s grace.

          5. Chipwooder

            In any case, I’ve long had a nagging feeling that humans, being the flawed, sinful creatures they are, have a highly imperfect understanding of God, and that the true nature of God as revealed in the hereafter will be significantly different than what we believe it to be. Just a hunch of mine.

          6. robc

            I dont know of any serious ones that believe “all-Jews-go-to-hell”, just the Jews that don’t also accept Jesus.

            If the letters of Paul teaches anything, it is that becoming a Christian doesn’t make a Jew not a Jew.

            In fact, one of the earliest church debates was over whether a gentile had to first convert to Judaism before he could become a Christian. Peter answered that one clearly. But he was also clear that Jewish Christians didn’t stop being Jewish.

          7. Raven Nation

            In fact, some theologies argue that ALL the Jews will be saved. As I recall, at the Second Coming, Jews will instantly recognize Christ as the Messiah and turn to him.

          8. Number.6

            Pascal was one of (((them)))?

            Who knew?

    2. Juvenile Bluster

      Why the fuck is Nehlen the guy that has to be going up to try to primary Paul Ryan?

      He ended up with something close to 14.88% of the vote last time, which would’ve been funny.

      1. Chipwooder

        Because good candidates rarely try to challenge entrenched incumbents. Even if you run a strong campaign, once you lose an election, you get a “loser” label. Lose two and you’re generally finished as a viable candidate. Thus, you get cranks like Nehlen.

  55. R C Dean

    For some reason, the empty vending machine in the White House press room came to mind this morning, along with a thought:

    The Troll-In-Chief should make sure it is restocked only with Michelle Obama-approved healthy snacks, like carrots and celery and shit. They would hate it, but what could they say?

    1. DOOMco

      That would be hilarious.
      I enjoyed his tweets while the womens march was happening.

  56. DEG

    The governor of Hawaii wanted to inform the public that they would not die in a ballistic missile attack — but he forgot his Twitter password.

    Did someone steal the post-it note?

  57. DEG

    After reading the Elon Musk story, I realized I’m in the wrong business.

  58. commodious spittoon

    Sow the derp, reap the derpwind. It must be galling to have to issue an apology to all those mouth-breathing sub-sapient shit-throwing ragemonkeys you despise so much. I wonder whether his wife had his balls in the wringer while he hammered out his mea culpa.

    1. CPRM

      That’s some nonapology there.

      1. Chipwooder

        “I am deeply sorry that I made the mistake of telling you fucking idiots exactly how I feel about you. Henceforth, I will duly keep my true feelings buried deeply within my head.”

    2. Chipwooder

      Hah…..hard to think of anyone who better fits the desciption of “fucking idiot” better than a businessman who knowingly, publicly proclaims his hatred of his own customers.

      1. commodious spittoon

        And then, rather than using it to springboard his appeal to lefties, indelibly associates his product with stupid, gullible conservatives. That’s some good work there, Lew.

        1. commodious spittoon

          While implying that his product may be a scam. 10/10 would lol again.

      2. Number.6

        Headline:

        SCOTTEVEST CHANGES BUSINESS FOCUS WITH NEW MARSHALL PLAN

        or

        MARSHALL RULES DECLARED AT SCOTTEVEST

        1. commodious spittoon

          *doffs vest, dons *narrowed gaze**

    3. Gustave Lytton

      I’d like to disagree but anyone who buys one of those vests is a fucking idiot.