Sunday Morning Yes, Yes, I Know, Links

I cannot believe that we’re entering the last stages of the football season. And the end of the year. Tempus is fugiting at an alarming rate, and we’re already preparing our “Best of 2018” lists. And speaking of lists, today’s birthdays include anarchist and proto-libertarian Peter Kropotkin;  physical chemist Fritz Haber; brilliant character actress and all-around decent human Margaret Hamilton; one of my favorite chemists, William “The Colonel” Lipscomb, who seemed to bring magic to every field he touched; and actor John Malkovich, subject of one of my favorite movies.

And on to the news.


The French once again show their solidarity with the Palestinians by engaging in riots and destruction as weekend activities.

From all corners of the country, French protesters — the vast majority of them men — came by the thousands in trains, buses and cars. But once together in the capital, the most concrete thing they shared was simply fury. Fury at President Emmanuel Macron. At taxes. At jobs that don’t pay the bills. At politicians they accuse of stuffing their own pockets. At the elite. At banks. At ‘the system.’ At life in general.

Don’t forget fury at McDonalds and Coca Cola! And love for Jerry Lewis!


Interestingly, the upheaval appears to be spreading to neighboring countries.

Belgian police fired tear gas and water cannons at yellow-vested protesters calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Charles Michel after they tried to breach a riot barricade, as the movement that started in France made its mark Saturday in Belgium and the Netherlands. The reasons for the protests are not entirely clear. Neither Belgium nor the Netherlands has proposed a hike in fuel tax — the catalyst for the massive and destructive demonstrations in France in recent weeks. Instead, protesters appeared to hail at least in part from a populist movement that is angry at government policy in general and what it sees as the widening gulf between mainstream politicians and the voters who put them in power. Some in Belgium appeared intent only on confronting police.

“Our children are hard-working people but they have to pay taxes everywhere. You can’t get housing anymore. It is not going well in Dutch society,” [protester] Ieneke said. “The social welfare net we grew up with is gone,” she said.

“The government is not there for the people. It is there to protect its own interests,” she said.

Smart lady, that Ieneke.


And while we’re on the subject of international chaos, in South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa says to Robert Mugabe, “Hold mah beer!”

The country’s National Assembly approved a proposal to change the constitution to make the so-called reforms legal in a vote of 183 to 77. This paves the way for land to be taken from farmers without giving any kind of compensation. Economic Freedom Fighters MP Hlengiwe Mkhaliphi argued land grabs must go ahead as she declared: “Your time is up, white people”.

I used to travel to South Africa on the regular, so I’m particularly saddened by how a vibrant country which was overcoming a legacy of actual racism has consciously decided to spin down the toilet. I’m guessing that my last trip there was my last trip there, and it’s time to stock up on Pinotage before that disappears as well.


I can’t say much about this story beyond, “There’s some things that even STEVE SMITH won’t rape.


This one will bring a smile to SP’s face.

A dog that survived the catastrophic wildfire in Northern California apparently protected the ruins of his home for almost a month until his owner returned. Madison was there waiting when Andrea Gaylord was allowed back to check on her burned property in Paradise this week.

Gaylord told news station ABC10 she couldn’t ask for a better animal. “Imagine the loyalty of hanging in in the worst of circumstances and being here waiting,” she said. “Their instinctual job is to watch the flocks and we’re part of them,” Gaylord said about her dogs. “It’s a comforting feeling.”

Since we own a dog which is a related breed with similar instincts and origins, we can absolutely imagine her doing the same thing. Good dog, Madison!


Old Guy Music. Of course. And this is a ballad of the original victim of #metoo, written and performed by a brilliantly clever and funny guy.

Comments

278 responses to “Sunday Morning Yes, Yes, I Know, Links”

  1. Scruffy Nerfherder

    I tired to read the headline concerning face tat woman, but she was too distracting in an inspiring primal panic kind of way.

    1. AlmightyJB

      Her police statement:

      “I feel pretty,
      Oh so pretty,
      I feel pretty and witty and gay,
      And I pity
      Any girl who isn’t me today.”

    2. I loved the caption:

      This is reportedly not the Ohio woman’s first arrest.

      You don’t say.

  2. Bob Boberson

    At taxes. At jobs that don’t pay the bills. At politicians they accuse of stuffing their own pockets. At the elite. At banks. At ‘the system.’ At life in general.

    This is troubling. I noticed this with the Occupy Movement and with many of the anti-Trump Antifa type protests ass well. There is no truly coherent message, just general protestations against myriad real and perceived injustices. Far be it from me to defend “the system” but this general dissatisfaction echoes the tenor of the French Revolution. They don’t really know what they want, all they know is they want to tear everything apart.

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder

      The morons on the political left think they can ride the wave. They’re going to end up getting smashed on the reef instead.

      1. straffinrun

        My guess is we’re entering the series of weak leaders stage that occurs before the right top man comes in to straighten everything out.

        1. Rhywun

          AND BY STRAIGHTEN EVERYTHING OUT, MEAN…

      2. Fourscore

        Unfortunately it’s impossible to cut spending without targeting someone’s sacred cow. Raising taxes obviously is a non starter. Only thing left is a war, a deep depression or possible add some zeros, seems to be a lot of them left. Coming soon to a country near you.

          1. straffinrun

            *NSFW*. Do I really have to do that on Sundays?

          2. Juan-Baptiste Emmanuel Seguin

            I’m at work.

          3. AlmightyJB

            Hmmm….

        1. Well the problem is that governments try to use wealth redistribution to provide for citizens on the lower end of the scale (among other things, of course; I’m being very charitable here) by taking wealth from the more productive. Not only is there loss on the value of the wealth transferred due to bureaucratic costs and so forth but you’ve now left the productive people with less money to put into the productive part of the economy, i.e. the market. In the very short term, the people on the receiving end are happier, but that fades as they come to see the assistance as their right, and then as just another reminder of how much less they have compared to other people. Now they’re clamoring for more, there are more people expecting public funds, and you have fewer people with wealth to transfer and less of it when they do. In other words, every time you rob Peter to pay Paul, you never satisfy Paul and you make Peter poorer. Eventually, you wind up with a whole bunch of angry Pauls and no Peters left.

          1. Akira

            True.

            It’s a big problem when people stop viewing the government as the guarantor of natural rights and start seeing it as the giver of free stuff. And it’s not like the free shit is in addition to natural rights; people actually start voting against the rights of others (e.g. “nobody needs to be that rich when some people can’t even afford a roof over their heads!”)

            I’m not sure how you’d solve this other than by making a Constitutional amendment saying that the government cannot facilitate any wealth transfer other than as remediation for some direct fraud or theft… But of course, there are plenty of examples of Constitutional rights that are flat-out ignored or “re-interpreted” until they’re meaningless. I can already see it now: “Everyone is entitled to a living wage, therefore employers who don’t pay a living wage are stealing from their employees, and we should tax rich people and give the money to the poor to make this right.”

      3. The Last American Hero

        I dunno. Most of the old school commies did pretty well, and they had a soft landing when things fell apart.

    2. straffinrun

      I honestly can’t figure out if it’s incompetence or some deeper plot going on concerning Macron’s handling of the situation. When it starts, he says that he won’t bend to “thugs”. Then he tries to assuage them by delaying the tax hike for six months. That has to be the absolute worst way to diffuse the situation and so I’m wondering if the chaos is what he really wants. Or he’s just an idiot.

  3. actor John Malkovich, subject of one of my favorite movies.

    I didn’t know John Malkovich was the subject of Jaws.

    1. Old Man With Candy

      He may be many things, but a big rubber fish he ain’t.

    2. AlmightyJB

      “what we are dealing with here is a perfect engine, an eating machine. It’s really a miracle of evolution. All this machine does is swim and eat and make little John Malkoviches.”

  4. Scruffy Nerfherder

    Letters to the Local Rag: THERE SHALL BE NO FUN IN SCHOOL Edition

    It came to my attention that a W-JCC elementary school had a silent auction at which a “Fortnite session” with the assistant principal was auctioned off to students. A student won the auction, which allowed him to play during school hours with the assistant principal. Common Sense Media refers to Fortnite as a “rollicking survival-action game where players fight to the death” and “a combat based game with tons of guns and violence.” With more than enough violence in our schools and communities today, couldn’t our school leaders (administrators) come up with a better idea than fostering more violence in our schools? Students cannot write about, talk about, draw or enact the use of guns in school (for good reason), yet an elementary school administrator played violent video games with a student during the school day. This shouldn’t even be a thing. Shame on those who allowed this to take place.

    1. Bob Boberson

      I started off reading that in agreement. Why the hell are schools engaging in stupid wastes of time like letting kids ply video games. If you have nothing better for kids to do, turn them loose from glorified daycare and let them go be kids. Then the writer manages to miss the point entirely and start ringing their hands about evil video game violence……..just like a fundamentalist christian parent would have in the 90’s. The prog really are the new puritans.

      1. Count Potato

        “The prog really are the new puritans.”

        Progs are worse. At least Puritans had some of the good qualities of Christianity.

      2. Rufus the Monocled

        Not only that, they’re the new Creationists where science is concerned.

        1. Akira

          They’ve been economic creationists for a long time; they believe that everything is created by the government. Just watch their reaction if you tell them about spontaneous order…

          “B-b-but that’s CRAZY! It can’t just happen out of nowhere; the government has to have experts and regulations and stuff to make it happen!”

    2. With more than enough violence in our schools and communities today…

      Wow, the author stole a few bases there, methinks.

      1. Rhywun

        I mistakenly left CBS Sunday Morning running in the background and someone was droning on about “increasing anti-semitism in America!”. Uh huh.

        1. MikeS

          You mean like they wanted an increase, right?

  5. Scruffy Nerfherder

    Letters to the Local Rag: Are you (*#(^^( kidding me? Edition

    Today was declared a national day of mourning for former President George H.W. Bush. Would like to know why the Governor of Virginia, Ralph Northam, required state employees to go to work, depriving them of their opportunity to witness a very moving tribute to a man who served our country with great honor and dignity. It was a wonderful service with many moving and historic tributes. Why did Gov. Northam deprive all state employees of this important opportunity?

    1. Rufus the Monocled

      This same person will copy paste this for Dubya.

      It wouldn’t, also, surprise me this same person who will pay tribute to Dubya in the future, hated him with a passion and threatened to move or signed up to one of those websites apologizing to the world for his election.

      People may choose to forget their bull shit but i remember how the left and media acted under Bush.

      And it’s worth making sure to remind them of that every step of the way.

      1. leon

        In this case it sounds like a disgruntled State Employee who wanted to have an extra day off.

        1. Rufus the Monocled

          Or that.

          They want a day for everything now.

          1. Tres Cool

            Why do you always want people to work ?

          2. Rufus the Monocled

            I’m bad that way.

  6. SP

    Good dog, Madison!

    1. Old Man With Candy

      See, I was right.

    2. westernsloper

      That is a good dog. The other day I was driving home and passed a cattle truck (the tractor trailer version) and it was full of sheep. Poking out one of the holes in the trailer was the head of a Pyranese enjoying the breeze. I almost talked myself into getting a lab while I was laid up but the stoner I called never called me back. After talking to some people I might have a line on a Pyranese breeder who distributes to the sheep herders in the area. We shall see.

      1. Old Man With Candy

        Prepare for massive amounts of white hair everywhere. And the most delightful dog you’ve ever known.

    3. Bob Boberson

      It might be unfair of me to assume the worst but how is it that they are finding the dog after a whole month. I’m sure our helpful friends in the Federal government probably barred them from returning to the home until now but I would have full on killerdozer by now if it was my dog alone up there.

      1. Bob Boberson

        /Reads article after commenting, feels stupid

  7. Scruffy Nerfherder

    Letters to the Local Rag: Those Oui Forum letters aren’t going to write themselves Edition

    I’m 13 and looking for someone who can translate from English to French. I was sent a few questions for me to reply to from a magazine in France where they are doing an article on me. I want to make sure my replies are translated properly rather than using translation software.

    1. leon

      Kid thinks all the hot babes speak French.

      Controversial opinion: I don’t think French sounds beautiful. The only reason I could see that is in the occasional song where a French woman speaks some french. But conversationally it sounds hideous. I think Spanish (South American) is much prettier to listen to.

      1. It all comes down to associations for me. When I hear French, I think of insouciant brunette women with smoky eyes. When I hear Spanish I think of dishwashers, landscapers, and drug lords. But even after six years of French I tend to agree that Spanish is a prettier language, although I don’t mind French. For my money German is a particularly unappealing language when heard in conversation.

        1. Tres Cool

          Have some Lisa LeBlanc. Thicc, cute, and almost French.
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIMA0wLSwW4

        2. The Last American Hero

          German has all those K and V sounds, which sound harsh to the English ear.

  8. The Late P Brooks

    But once together in the capital, the most concrete thing they shared was simply fury. Fury at President Emmanuel Macron. At taxes. At jobs that don’t pay the bills. At politicians they accuse of stuffing their own pockets. At the elite. At banks. At ‘the system.’ At life in general.

    Why can’t they be like those famous French existentialists of yore, and sit in cafes drinking spoilt grape juice while smoking rancid cigarettes and ogling les femmes? It would be easier to clean up after them.

  9. westernsloper

    I can’t say much about this story beyond, “There’s some things that even STEVE SMITH won’t rape.

    Ya whatever, STEVE SMITH will shag anything.

    *Opens link……..Ghaaaa!!! Ok point taken.

    1. Tejicano

      Thanks for taking one for the team. I have become very click-averse. No Effing way I was going to click on that.

    2. straffinrun

      How’d you like to wake up next to that every morning? Probably lose a lot of weight.

      1. Bob Boberson

        Thats assuming you dared fall asleep next to it

      2. Scruffy Nerfherder

        From chewing off your arm?

      3. Tejicano

        I’m sure there are plenty of empty caves still unoccupied in northern Arizona where I would prefer to live the rest of my existence alone rather than have that as any part of my life.

  10. The Late P Brooks

    The reasons for the protests are not entirely clear.

    Mass hysteria is contagious.

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder

      And fun!

      1. Sean

        It does make for some entertaining television.

        1. Scruffy Nerfherder

          Better than the Macy’s parade at least.

  11. Bob Boberson

    RE Tattoo face:

    after she allegedly shoplifted from a Walmart in Boardman Township, authorities told Fox 8.

    I got roped into being a bell ringer for the Salvation Army yesterday for a couple hours at a WV Wal-mart. It was everything you think it would be to include at least one dude with face tattoos. The experience filled me with even more Christmas misanthrope.

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder

      It’s a bold strategy Cotton

      Stokes’ lawyer, James Ellenson, said his client simply wasn’t in his right mind at the time of the shooting.

      Stokes tested positive that night for a combination of alcohol, cocaine, marijuana and Benzodiazepine — the drug found in anti-anxiety medications such as Xanax. Stokes testified that he was “drinking all night,” then smoked a joint that a woman laced with “a little cocaine.”

      Before trial, prosecutors reduced the charge from first-degree to second-degree murder. That’s because intoxication is a defense to premeditated murder, but not for second-degree murder.

      During closing arguments Thursday, Ellenson acknowledged Stokes committed the “senseless death.” But he still said the jury had a duty to acquit Stokes.

      Ellenson said that malice — the evil intent necessary for a murder conviction — requires that someone “be under the control of reason” at the time of the killing. But Stokes, he said, wasn’t acting rationally.

      “It’s not just about him,” Ellenson said. “It’s about the rule of law. It’s about everyone who lives in this country. You don’t decide the case based on emotion.”

      1. Scruffy Nerfherder

        Wasn’t meant to be a reply, but mixing benzos, marijuana, alcohol, and cocaine at Walmart is probably fairly common, so I’ll let it stand.

      2. Sean

        He was missing meth. That would have rounded out that chemical cocktail nicely.

    2. straffinrun

      Did they provide the pee stained Santa costume or you bring your own?

      1. Bob Boberson

        Whats this costume you speak of?

        /looks down at red velvet suit he’s worn since December 1st

        1. straffinrun

          I wind up wearing a Santa suit 3 or 4 times every year. Being a white guy and all, they just throw it at me. Already did it once this year at my kid’s recital.

          1. straffinrun

            I wish. More like this.

          2. Tres Cool

            +1 Annual Gift Man

    3. Chipping Pioneer

      This is reportedly not the Ohio woman’s first arrest

      You don’t say…

      1. Count Potato

        Shocking, isn’t it?

    4. The Last American Hero

      Good thing you went, we don’t need the Salvation Army MP’s spending time searching for an AWOL soldier.

  12. The Late P Brooks

    *solemnly salutes Bob Boberson*

    1. Bob Boberson

      *touches top hat brim in acknowledgment*

    2. Scruffy Nerfherder

      *throws loose change at Bob Boberson*

      1. Bob Boberson

        *gathers change into top hat, mutters “sucker,” and scurries off*

    3. He’s leaving like Evan?

      1. straffinrun

        So glad that guy is gone.

        1. Chipping Pioneer

          I missed that. Would a kind Glib catch me up, or refer me to the appropriate post?

          1. straffinrun

            Just play along. *Winks*

          2. Chipping Pioneer

            Oh, umm, yeah … I mean … eff that guy!

          3. leon

            Even had to go retread his tires or something. Everyone told him to make sure to check his thermostat.

          4. westernsloper

            They are deporting him from S Korea and he is being extradited to Thailand where he will be spending time in a prison outside Chang Mai. Maybe not that exactly but it is close.

          5. MikeS

            And he wants Nephilium to have his baby. Don’t forget that part.

          6. Nephilium

            I”m trying to forget that part…

          7. J. Frank Parnell

            He said he’s done hanging around antiquated WordPress 4.9.8 sites.

      2. Tejicano

        Bye’yonara!

  13. Sean

    Xmas shopping on Amazon, and stumbled across this https://smile.amazon.com/Cocks-Abreast-Hostility-Cock-Pack/dp/B00UNOGK48

    From the product description “Nearly 100% of the proceeds from every purchase will be converted into either single malt Scotch or small-batch Bourbon.”

    which of you Glibs is this?

    1. Tulip

      Ha! That shows up under Holiday Toy List: Kid Picks

  14. The Late P Brooks

    Calamitous tomfoolery

    Europeans have gone slackjawed at London’s political chaos, with normally demure diplomats comparing the process there to a slow-motion car wreck. They say they can offer little other than cosmetic tweaks that might help May save face with her own Conservative Party. And they have begun to accelerate their emergency planning to prepare safety nets that could avoid some of the humanitarian and economic chaos that might happen if Britain crashes out of the European Union on its deadline of March 29, with no other plan in place.

    “It’s taken many people time to understand that things really are as bad as they are in the U.K.,” said Lotta Nymann-Lindegren, a former Finnish diplomat who focused on Brexit issues and now works at the Miltton consultancy. “It’s been a real eye-opener that an issue like this can cause such domestic political chaos.”

    ————-

    Both sides are now drawing up emergency plans about how to minimize chaos if the worst happens. On the E.U. side, preparations have accelerated in recent weeks, as the depth of the British chaos becomes clearer, according to diplomats involved in the discussions. And on Friday, the British government warned of border disruptions for up to six months if the United Kingdom crashes out of the E.U.

    Within a matter of days, the E.U. and Britain could impose measures to allow planes to keep flying, medicine and food to continue flowing into the United Kingdom, and British citizens living in Europe to remain there. But any plans will be temporary, analysts say, leaving deep uncertainty.

    Chicken Little was an optimist.

    1. Tejicano

      With Trump-mania vs. terminal TDS writhing interlocked across the US political stage, Brexit-alypse about to consume the UK whole, and the French trying to figure when to erect the guillotines again I wonder when the Germans are going to jump in with something to entertain us all like it was 1933 all over again.

      1. Scruffy Nerfherder

        Members of this meritocratic managerial class not only share an increasingly homogenous social background and life experience, they have similar views. They are pro-free-market, but they also want people to behave in a certain way (they would rather not shout, though, hence the popularity of “nudges”). Their core belief is in the power of expertise and the notion that all will be well if Really Smart People (RSP) are in charge.

        Cass Sunstein looms large.

        1. Rufus the Monocled

          Progressivism, at its roots, is pretty much an elitist movement.

          Sooooo…..not surprising.

  15. The Late P Brooks

    A dispatch from the ministry of Plenty:

    According to USA Today, Uber’s director of public affairs said the wage increases would “lead to higher than necessary fare increases for riders.” Lyft similarly said the rules would constitute a “step backward for New Yorkers.”

    The new rules, passed by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) on Tuesday, would raise hourly wages to $17.22 after expenses and impact the vast majority of the city’s 80,000 drivers.

    In a statement, TLC Chair Meera Joshi seemed to admit higher prices would result but said that New Yorkers were willing to absorb the costs.

    “Companies are saying paying drivers fairly will cause longer wait times and higher prices,” Joshi said. “But I believe all New Yorkers are willing to pay a little more and wait a little longer so the people transporting them are able to provide for themselves and their families.”

    Did it hurt when you pulled that out of your ass?

    1. leon

      The people are saying yes, but their wallets are telling me no.

    2. Rhywun

      seemed to admit higher prices would result

      At least we got this refreshing bit of honesty. Government hacks usually deny this.

  16. Tonio

    Good Morning, Glibs. First proper, as in sticking, snowfall today here in Richmond, VA. The usual mixture of joyful anticipation and pants-shitting hysteria which always accompanies snow in the South.

    Thanks for the video, OMWC. Funny song. Also, cutest cub ever.

    1. SoberPhobic

      Rain here (SC) but 5 miles north got 4 inches of snow

      1. Tonio

        Thanks!

    2. Tulip

      So jealous. All the snow is staying south of here.

    3. MikeS

      Looking forward to a pretty nice day in NoDak; Sunny, +25F with 8mph breeze.

      And 85% humidity.

      1. Don Escaped Texas

        Golf was rained out yesterday.

        1. dbleagle

          Sun is rising and the Trades are blowing. 75 went to the moon degrees (82 high expected) and winds are 18 knots. Going to be fun sailing.

  17. Scruffy Nerfherder

    So many jokes, so little time….

    Va. House Democrats elect Filler-Corn as new leader

    1. PieInTheSky

      stop linking news organizations to poor to comply to GDPR

  18. PieInTheSky

    CDU party members quit in protest at Merkel successor as split widens in Germany’s ruling party

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/12/08/cdu-party-members-quit-protest-merkel-successor-split-widens/

    Just a day after the CDU appeared to end weeks of infighting by voting in Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, known as “mini Merkel”, delegates at the party’s congress told The Sunday Telegraph of a wave of resignations among rank and file members.

    1. PieInTheSky

      Kramp-Karrenbauer is perceived as a moderate[17] or centrist Christian Democrat.[18] She has been described as socially conservative but on the CDU’s left wing in economic policy – germnany’s libertarian moment?

      Amid her party’s campaign for the 2013 federal elections, Kramp-Karrenbauer suggested Germany return to a top income tax rate of more than 53 percent, setting off a fierce debate in her party. In her view, Merkel’s predecessor Gerhard Schröder had gone too far by reducing the top rate from 53% to 42% in the 1990s.

      In 2015, she caused a public controversy by arguing that “if we open up [the definition of marriage] to become a long-term responsible partnership between two adults, then other demands can’t be ruled out, such as a marriage between close relatives or between more than two people, or even marriage between humans and animals.”

      Although she supported Merkel’s open-door migration policy in 2015, Kramp-Karrenbauer is in favour of tightening migration, she is against same-sex marriage and has argued for more restrictions placed on doctors carrying out abortion.

      But she also takes a liberal approach to other issues, voting in favour of a minimum wage, and supporting a women’s quota.

      1. Scruffy Nerfherder

        Germans seem to prefer to have manly women in charge.

        1. Bob Boberson

          +1 Frau Blucher

        2. leon

          As opposed to Republicans who like it the other way around.

          1. Suthenboy

            ^This, right here^

      2. leon

        “socially conservative but on the CDU’s left wing in economic policy – germnany’s libertarian moment?”

        No this is how you get Christian Socialists, flip it and you get Gary Johnson. So really libertarians have nothing to do with this.

      3. SoberPhobic

        In her view, Merkel’s predecessor Gerhard Schröder had gone too far by reducing the top rate from 53% to 42% in the 1990s.

        Too far? I’d be putting on a yellow vest if I had to pay that much.

        1. Rhywun

          And keep in mind that Schröder was from the SPD. The current ostensibly “center-right” party is now to the left of the “center-left” party of just two decades ago.

    2. Rhywun

      Good. She’s terrible.

  19. The Late P Brooks

    Their core belief is in the power of expertise and the notion that all will be well if Really Smart People (RSP) are in charge.

    “Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.”
    – H. L. Mencken

    1. Count Potato

      What if I play Black Flag, and begin shooting?

      1. Tres Cool

        +1 Henry Rollins

  20. Suthenboy

    “I’m particularly saddened by how a vibrant country which was overcoming a legacy of actual racism has consciously decided to spin down the toilet. ”

    To be fair, no one could have seen this coming.

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder

      Feeling snarky this morning I see.

      1. Suthenboy

        Rhodesia says yes.

    2. leon

      Couldn’t that be said about any country that elects Socialists and Communists?

    3. AlmightyJB

      2chili did a decent article on that a few days ago.

      http://reason.com/archives/2018/12/06/frances-high-taxes-breed-populist-revolt

  21. leon

    I finally told Google that l don’t want to see links to Think Progress or CNN. I like to try to be open minded, but I can only stand a constant barrage of blatantly biased stories posed as fact. If they gave me links to balanced places, I’d be good, but it’s always crap.

    1. SoberPhobic

      Are there any balanced places?

      1. straffinrun

        Should there be any?

      2. Suthenboy

        Guam?

        1. Tejicano

          You had to go there…

          1. leon

            Was Suthen a Marine? Only reason i know to go to Guam.

          2. Tejicano

            Truth is, I spent a few years as a Marine grunt. They never sent me to Guam but I have some reasons to go to Guam… mostly because I live on the same side of the globe.

          3. l0b0t

            This Florida boy was genuinely shocked at the number of Guamanian and Samoan soldiers encountered in the Army. Ft. Ord had churches that held services in Chamorro and Samoan.

          4. westernsloper

            I used to fly through Guam regularly to get to the other side of the planet. I hate long airplane rides, so when I could I routed myself through Hawaii, Guam, and then Cairns. Fuck sitting on a plane for 17 hours, I preferred to break it up..

        2. Jarflax

          Hasn’t it capsized yet?

      3. leon

        Fair enough, just don’t show me articles from one side alone.

  22. Don Escaped Texas

    This came so easy: five minutes tops; just wrote itself.

    ‘Twas the month before Christmas, when all through the fam
    During brah-in-law’s surgery, most gave not a damn;
    His sons, by crack whores, were just getting laid,
    In hopes of contraband by which they get paid;
    Whose children were hiding under furniture and beds;
    While their bruises turned yellow and their noggins still bled;
    My sister working minimum, and I far away
    Was glad to have no truck with them for the day.
    When in my pocket, my phone blowing up,
    I s’pose I’ll read what’s down, wassup.
    As if I don’t know already the text,
    That Mother is sending about whatever’s next.
    Aren’t payments for healthcare by the governor paid?
    What’s left over after the high sheriff’s last raid?
    What on doG’s earth interrupteth my beer?
    Mom’s message today to read or to hear.
    Brah-in-law Wayne, he swamper, he hick,
    Thousand packs a year had made him quite sick.
    More rapid than NASCAR his wheezing it came,
    Untreated for months ‘til he’s finally lame:
    In surgery? At Vandy? Now what’s the deal?
    Oh it’s bad his lung, he’s too sick to steal!
    I guess I’ll give my mother a call
    To hear the latest calamity and all
    As leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
    It’s hard to believe that Wayne might really die;
    They dug out a part of a lung fill with goo
    After sawing out three ribs or was it two?
    They took every care with his blood and his tooth
    And the very next day he was back on the hoof!
    Oh ruinous news as I heard came flooding my tears,
    My sister will yet be stuck with him years.
    For months to come I bet you he lays,
    On the couch while his mortgage I pays;
    A bundle of toys I’ll truck up a sack,
    God knows that I ne’er’ll get anything back.
    His eyes—how glazed! he just found some booze!
    You’d think they’d close while he’s taking a snooze!
    His toothless mouth hung open, the fool,
    And the beard on his chin was soaked through with drool;
    A bit of a blunt had fell from his gums,
    As we surveyed his hut, me and Mums;
    As sad little sack that sat on a ridge
    Not a calorie to be found in the larder or fridge.
    He was hopeless and boney as I worked up a frown
    And I laughed to myself as I set off to town
    My credit card and I run with a cart
    And bought up half the town’s old Walmart;
    ‘Cause there’s no way that he’ll ever work,
    And someone’s gotta take care of this jerk,
    His children are hopeless I knows,
    The grandchildren wander about in no clothes.
    My sister, I guess, when she married this guy,
    Thought money and manna would fall from the sky.
    Our mother sagged, exhausted and blue;
    It’s not your fault Mom: she didn’t learn this from you.

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder

      I can feel the love in every line.

    2. westernsloper

      Excellent…………Good to see your cheer has made its way into the holidays.

      1. Don Escaped Texas

        I’m an ass: not remotely as nice as my persona above.

        The rest of it is simple slice of life.

        Now for coffee and the crossword.

        1. Fourscore

          You’ve been reading my diary again, haven’t you?

          1. Don Escaped Texas

            I don’t know what to do other than make light of it. Bluster and indignation are the only cladding I have. I decided that about a fourth of all people are hopeless; it’s like cancer: everyone loses someone dear; we watch them wear away. The math is a weird comfort: even the Yankees lose 30% of the time in their best year.

            It is horrible to care about people.

          2. Fourscore

            Talking to friends my age whom I thought had been the Cleavers in their lives I’ve learned that nearly every family has some frailties. Hardly a one goes unscathed. I certainly caused my folks some turmoil and both my brothers had difficulties in marital and financial situations that caused some lost sleep to my parents.

            My kids are in their 50s and I can only hope for the best in their futures. It’s up to them to take care and do what it is that will make them happy.

    3. straffinrun

      Is that the first draft of Cat’s Cradle?

      1. Don Escaped Texas

        Never read it. Slaughterhouse and Bluebeard. Tried to read the Trout stuff: worse than Updike.

        1. straffinrun

          Ice Nine’d my reference. Meant Harry Chapin.

    4. The Last American Hero

      I take it you are enclosing a copy in your Christmas Cards this year.

      1. Don Escaped Texas

        I wrote my oldest nephew he needed to get a real worky job in his Christmas card five years ago, and he hasn’t spoken to me since.

        My father and I disagree on this point. He believes in engagement and argues for keeping the lines of communication open; I understand that he can’t divorce his daughter. My view is that I wouldn’t give these people the time of day if I met them in the street; just because my sister married into and then spawned even more of this horror show doesn’t obligate me in any way.

        Family can’t come first if ignoring and disobeying the wise uncle isn’t part of the recipe. I’ll just be over here working and saving up for their coffins.

    5. Mojeaux

      *wild applause*

  23. leon

    https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/utahs-deserts-are-bee-hotspots/

    Call me what you want but crap like this drives me crazy. So if a president in his last 6 months declare some more land in some state ‘protected’ it must be treated as sacred forever, and if the next guy says “No” he is attacking protected lands.

  24. SoberPhobic

    If I get one more reminder that WordPress 5.0 is available, I swear I’m going postal.

    After 23 years in USPS, trust me, it’s not worth the price of ammo.

  25. The Late P Brooks

    Republican women, an endangered species?

    But the president remains popular with the base, resulting in a precarious balancing act for women in the party.

    That could pose a serious problem for the GOP as it tries to increase the number of female recruits in hopes of winning back moderate and independent voters in 2020.

    Stefanik, a 34-year-old rising star in the party, said she “hopes” those obstacles won’t discourage Republican women from running, and she’s plotting a mission to help get more female GOP candidates elected in the next cycle.

    Rep. Ann Wagner (Mo.), another leading female GOP voice, is in the process of developing a “suburban agenda” to stem the tide of Republican losses in the suburbs.

    I’m not sure I like the sound of that “suburban agenda” thing. It makes me think they’re going to chase after the maternalist for-the-children Do-Something voters. Law and Order. Drug war. Gun control. Global warming. Throw money at teh skoolz… all the things we need to do to get the country back on the right track. You know, like when Obama was President.

    1. Count Potato

      Why do you hate the children?

      1. dbleagle

        Have you ever met one? Shudderrrrrr.

  26. Count Potato

    “Kid Rock follows Tyler Perry’s example and pays off $81,000 worth of layaways at Walmart”

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-6475719/Kid-Rock-follows-Tyler-Perrys-example-pays-81-000-worth-layaways-Walmart.html

    That was very nice of him. Although he looks like Dr. Phil in that picture.

    1. MikeS

      Nashville? There’s going to be some very disappointed Michiganians.

      1. CPRM

        This Michiganis didn’t disinvite him from being in a parade, this is some PR for them suthernerereers.

        1. Don Escaped Texas

          There are more Southerners in a typical front office meeting of the Cleveland Browns than there are left in Nashville.

  27. Count Potato

    “Homophobic strap-hanger punches and tackles a woman- breaking her SPINE- on the NYC subway and calls her a ‘d**e’ after she saw a passenger kiss her on the cheek and thought she was a lesbian”

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6476379/Homophobic-strap-hanger-punches-knocks-woman-breaking-SPINE-NYC-subway.html

    Shit that didn’t happen?

    1. straffinrun

      Stap-hanger?

      1. Count Potato

        British headlines generally try to avoid less descriptive words like “man”.

        1. straffinrun

          Suppose a strap-hanger is a person on the train that is standing and holding the ring. Or a “man”. Shrug.

    2. SoberPhobic

      The suspect is described as 5-foot-11 and 220 pounds and is estimated to be between 50 and 60-years old.

      I think they left forgot something in their description, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.

      1. leon

        You want them to assume zer gender? They already assumed zee’z age.

        1. SoberPhobic

          Prior to reading, I assumed “white male”, so half right.

          But upon further review: Had it been “wm” it would have said so in the headline. My bad.

    3. Rhywun

      That guy looks like every crazy person you see pushing people into the path of a train or a truck. But now that it’s a “hate crime” it will get lots more attention.

    4. The Last American Hero

      Shit that doesn’t happen when I take my car instead of public transit.

    5. J. Frank Parnell

      No, that was just the Captain Marvel trailer.

  28. Count Potato

    I might as well keep posting this.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1U0SGLTDEfk

  29. Rufus the Monocled

    I’m glad people are awakening to the fact that climate change is a cottage industry for the connected. I hope it’s that anyway.

    Again. One simple signal they can send is to stop jet-setting like they do in private jets. Show people you’re serious. Scolding, lecturing and saying the world will end won’t cut it.

    The day they started calling skeptics ‘deniers’ and when murmurs began about suggesting putting people in prison for disagreeing was the day I realized these people have an agenda.

    Language matters. If you’re gonna use Salem witch-hunt language, I’m going to question your motives further. If you’re going to ask for the imprisonment of people it tells me your argument is less than weak.

    1. Tejicano

      Are people really coming around on this, starting to catch on that this is all a scam? I, admittedly, am on the other side of the world and may have missed this. Where are you seeing a sea change on this issue?

      1. Rufus the Monocled

        France for starters. If it’s about that.

        Here in Canada the carbon tax is where some people raised an eyebrow or two. It forced them to actually inform themselves beyond the media narrative.

        But you’re right, people have a bad habit of disappointing me. So it may just be a blip….

        1. AlmightyJB

          Gas taxes were the mistake because they hit everyone. The key is to only have taxes that the poor don’t have to pay and then make as many people poor as possible and tell them the taxes screw the rich. These people are amateurs.

          1. Rhywun

            ^This

            I’m beginning to think that what we’re seeing in France is the government running out of other people’s money. Thus the need to tax the shit out of gas and wrap it in “save the earth” nonsense as a cover.

  30. Tundra

    The dog story is heartwarming and all that, but why the fuck would you bug out and leave the dog behind in the first place?

    Suthen, I saw your dog story yesterday and had to laugh. The same thing happened to some friends a couple weeks ago. The stray has a chip, but the contact information appears to be bad. It’s been fun to watch the progression:

    “We have to get her back to her owner.”
    “Huh, they don’t seem to be around anymore.”
    “She’s a really nice dog…”
    “But we don’t want another dog right now.”
    “You should see her catch the frisbee!”

    I’m betting she’s permanent.

    1. Tulip

      My first thought too. How did she get left behind? She’s a good dog that deserves better.

    2. MikeS

      If this is like another story I read, they had goats or sheep or whatever the dog was tasked with protecting and the dog refused to leave the flock when the family fled.

      1. Not Adahn

        Yeah, that’s why I’m not on the same Pyr bandwagon as OMWC. They are cute, fluffy, and brave, but not very obedient or driven to please their owners.

        1. MikeS

          In the breed’s defense, they are bred to show unconditional obedience and servitude to their flock. The funny beast on two legs is just there to feed them.

        2. Old Man With Candy

          1. Not Adahn

            Which is why any number of breeds are superior. I prefer dogs that are capably murderous but socially aware enough to recognize and wiling enough to follow their owner’s lead.

  31. Count Potato

    “America’s New Religions

    So what happens when this religious rampart of the entire system is removed? I think what happens is illiberal politics. The need for meaning hasn’t gone away, but without Christianity, this yearning looks to politics for satisfaction. And religious impulses, once anchored in and tamed by Christianity, find expression in various political cults. These political manifestations of religion are new and crude, as all new cults have to be. They haven’t been experienced and refined and modeled by millennia of practice and thought. They are evolving in real time. And like almost all new cultish impulses, they demand a total and immediate commitment to save the world.

    Now look at our politics. We have the cult of Trump on the right, a demigod who, among his worshippers, can do no wrong. And we have the cult of social justice on the left, a religion whose followers show the same zeal as any born-again Evangelical. They are filling the void that Christianity once owned, without any of the wisdom and culture and restraint that Christianity once provided.”

    http://nymag.com/intelligencer/amp/2018/12/andrew-sullivan-americas-new-religions.html

    Andrew Sullivan is still alive?

    1. straffinrun

      Not gonna click on the link because I don’t want to ruin that excerpt. Fine the way it is.

    2. Stinky Wizzleteats

      He’s right though, although the left is much worse in my opinion. Take alook at Tim Cook’s speech to the ADL, it was full of religious affect and fervor. Most people have to believe in something and this is what we have now unfortunately.

      Cook’s full speech if you can stomach it:
      https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uondWaj6efo

      1. straffinrun

        I watched that. Made me want to puke. It’s filled with empty platitudes and soaring rhetoric that would make Obama blush.

        1. Stinky Wizzleteats

          I couldn’t bring myself to watch the whole thing because I thought I was going to stroke out. It was one of the worst speeches I’ve ever seen in both delivery and content.

          1. straffinrun

            Styx brought up the point that anyone who looks for moral guidance from corporate heads is insane. Of course they are cut throat people and thank God they exist, but moral betters they aren’t.

          2. Same goes for politicians.

    3. AlmightyJB

      The sanctimony that comes with the fervor is infuriating.

    1. As if everyone doesn’t do that…

    1. AlmightyJB

      It was inevitable.

    2. Now that’s just depressing.

    3. Tundra

      That’s depressing. Thanks, tuber.

  32. Ignore the pointless prattling about cosmology in the captions and focus on the titties.

    http://archive.is/XNcbl

    Any. All. I’ll be in my bunk.

    1. AlmightyJB

      Good God. Too many to list.

    2. All of them, but #3 is looking at me like she’s got me pretty much figured out, and she’s absolutely right. If I were in a rowboat with #8 I’d probably last three…um…strokes before I fainted dead away from the vapors. Also, that for eternity might be a pretty decent heaven.

    3. straffinrun

      Our universe in on trillion years turns back into one big bang.

    4. PieInTheSky

      not all those tits were originally created as such

    5. Count Potato

      #16, even though she doesn’t have soul

      but not #43 because her soul is possessed

    6. prolefeed

      32 appears to be a chubby girl with the boobs that usually come with that. NTTAWWT

  33. Count Potato

    “Democratic Congresswoman-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez misquoted the U.S. Constitution while threatening to run for president on Thursday.

    According to a recap in Politico’s Playbook, Ocasio-Cortez was doing a Politico photoshoot at Harvard University when she and a photographer joked about a potential presidential run.

    “You can’t even run for president for another six years,” the photographer said, pointing out that Ocasio-Cortez just turned 29 years old.

    Ocasio-Cortez then claimed that the Constitution only places a presidential age limit on men and threatened to run for president if Republicans don’t pass the Equal Rights Amendment.

    “No, not for a long time. Thank God,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “Although we’ve been joking that because the Equal Rights Amendment hasn’t been passed yet, the Constitution technically says he cannot run unless he’s 35. … So what we’ll do is we’ll force the Republican Party to pass the Equal Rights Amendment by threatening to run for president.”

    https://dailycaller.com/2018/12/08/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-misquote-constitution-president/

    Maybe we should stop calling her She Guevara? Ernie Lynch was a super-genius compared to this bimbo.

    1. PieInTheSky

      The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex; – isn’t that already a thing in the savage lands of the Americas?

      1. Count Potato

        Pretty much, although there are plenty of laws, policies, and government programs that favor women.

        1. This. I would think prog groups would oppose such an amendment because you’d see an avalanche of lawsuits against Title IX, family courts, the Selective Service etc.

          And companies would probably quit hiring as many women.

    2. CPRM

      I want audio!

    3. Stinky Wizzleteats

      She’s good at appealing to her super leftist district and that’s all that matters.

      1. prolefeed

        More precisely, she’s good at appealing to the hardcore lefties who turn out in the D primary, since that is the election in this district.

    1. PieInTheSky

      i dislike popcorn. how about hazelnuts?

      1. AlmightyJB

        Popcorn is merely a delivery vessel for butter and salt.

      2. CPRM

        How about meeting halfway with corn nuts?

        1. Rhywun

          Corn nuts are vilest substance on earth. So, sure.

      3. Tulip

        What?! I now have to re-evaluate all I know about you.

    2. Count Potato

      “In marked contrast, though, when it was discovered that Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign was guilty of violations involving nearly $2 million – an amount that dwarfs the $280,000 in Cohen’s case – the Obama Justice Department decided not to prosecute. Instead, the matter was quietly disposed of by a $375,000 fine by the Federal Election Commission.”

        1. Count Potato

          Snopes has been over-taken by progs.

    3. MikeS

      John Dean (of Watergate fame) came out and said the House has no choice but to start impeachment proceedings. It’s funny how the left love a former Nixon confidant when he says the right things. And by funny I mean not funny (or surprising) at all.

      Actually, the left’s hate for Nixon in general makes me shake my head. He crossed off a lot of to-do’s on the left’s wish list.

      1. Gustave Lytton

        Maybe that’s part of it. Kneejerk conservatives were/are too busy defending him from attacks to call him out for the leftish shit he pulled.

    4. Rhywun

      I’m surprised the Southern District of New York has room in its busy schedule to take time away from its overarching mission to shake down Wall Street and “Big Oil”.

  34. Count Potato

    “Multivariate revisit to “sex beyond the genitalia”

    Given our empirical evidence and the multivariate intuition depicted above, we cannot help but disagree with the concluding statement in the abstract of Joel et al. (1), “… human brains do not belong to one of two distinct categories: male brain/female brain” or their statement that “…brains do not fall into two classes, one typical of males and the other typical of females.…”

    A simple multivariate analysis using the same data suggests quite the opposite: Brains are indeed typically male or typically female.”

    https://www.pnas.org/content/113/14/E1966

    1. I hope they’re ready to be unpersoned.

  35. westernsloper

    Let the impeachment begin.

    For the first time, prosecutors have tied President Donald Trump to a federal crime, accusing him of directing illegal hush-money payments to women during his presidential campaign in 2016.

    I brought this up yesterday as I have heard a non disclosure agreement for something that happened prior to a campaign is not a campaign expenditure. I know I live in a bubble, and there are many lawyers who disagree with that, especially the ones working for Mueller, but Not an Economist replied this FEC violation is charged often. Does anyone know of a case? The only one I can find similar is when John Edwards backers paid off the chic he was banging. He beat the FEC violation charge in court.

    It is my understanding that if the non disclosure would have been sought regardless of the campaign and it was not paid with campaign funds it is not a campaign expenditure. Who knows how many bimbos Trump has had sign non disclosure agreements throughout his life. As to the question can a sitting President be indicted? Ask the Justice Department. They say no.

    1. AlmightyJB

      Like the Dems need a valid reason to impeach Trump. It will be some variation of he’s a poopyhead. They’re children.

    2. They really, really want him to win in 2020 don’t they?

      Voters will not take kindly to a kangaroo court impeachment and it will give Trump so much Twitter-ammo they won’t know what hit them. This is going to backfire badly.

    3. Rhywun

      So after two years of investigation they come up with the same nothingburger they’ve been trying to use to take him down from the start? Nothing new at all?

  36. Tundra

    Minneapolis Strikes a Blow for Affordable Housing by Slashing Zoning Restrictions

    The case for cutting back on zoning restrictions unites economists and housing policy experts across the political spectrum. That includes both pro-free market experts and prominent left-liberals such as Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman, Matthew Yglesias of Vox, Yale Law School Professor David Schleicher, and Jason Furman, Chair of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers. In addition to greatly increasing housing costs, zoning also cuts off many poor and lower-middle class Americans from valuable job opportunities, thereby also greatly reducing economic growth. As Grabar points out, many zoning restrictions (including many single-family home rules of the sort repealed by Minneapolis) were enacted in large part because of a desire to exclude African-Americans and other minorities. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey notes that “Minneapolis has a long history going back 100 years of redlining and intentional segregation. We literally have maps at the city that identify north Minneapolis as a slum for blacks and Jews.” Both liberals concerned about expanding opportunities for the poor and racial minorities, and conservative and libertarian property rights advocates have good reason to support abolishing zoning rules that make it difficult or impossible to build new multifamily housing in many major cities.

    This will not do what they think it will do. Welcome to Detroit-on-the-Mississippi.

    1. PieInTheSky

      What do you mean?

      1. Tundra

        Housing and zoning are not the problem in Minneapolis. Absurd taxes, an out-of-control bureaucracy and business crippling policies are. They think changing the zoning will miraculously erase these issues and have people rushing back into the city.

        Ain’t gonna happen.

        1. See Double You

          I wouldn’t go so far as to say that zoning is not a problem, at least from a property rights perspective. In just about every municipality it is. It’s certainly not the only reason, of course; zoning is part of a cluster of similar local-government problems, including what you listed.

        2. Rhywun

          Allowing a wider variety of housing types seems like a step in the right direction to me.

          1. Gustave Lytton

            It’s about densifying housing and forcing people to abandon their cars. I’m all for letting the free market decide how to respond to people’s wishes, but this isn’t it. It’s central planners trying to force soviet housing on people that don’t want it if they had another choice, wrapped up in a cudgel of SJW rhetoric.

          2. Rhywun

            I don’t see any “forcing” anybody to do anything in that article. I get that you don’t like those sorts of neighborhoods but lots of people do and it sounds like the current zoning prohibits that. Why would want to restrict what the property owner can build if he sees demand for it?

        3. PieInTheSky

          this is no magic bullet but overall its a step in the right direction

    2. See Double You

      I see TOS is doing what it can to appeal to the left; notice, e.g., how they name individual lefty economists but not free market ones. Bold strategy, Cotton.

    3. CPRM

      Are they slashing restrictions on apartments and business as well?

      1. Tundra

        Haha!

        Good one!

        1. Fourscore

          Its not any better in Deplorable Land out in the woods either. Don’t get me started.

    1. MikeS

      The decision was met with lots of backlash from users who view the site as a safe space to explore their identity and sexuality through not safe for work (NSFW) content.

      That’s a very political way of saying “they like to look at picture of cocks and/or pussies”.

      1. Stinky Wizzleteats

        Porn is Tumblr’s biggest business from what I’ve seen, it’s like PornHub disavowing nudity. This move is just nuts on their part.

        1. MikeS

          I wonder when things will cum to a head?

          1. It’s a tough pill to swallow.

          2. CPRM

            When this thing blows it’s going to be a massive load to deal with.

          3. Gustave Lytton

            Someone’s going to have to clean it up.

    2. Count Potato

      https://www.newgrounds.com/

      That’s some modern web design.

      1. Not Adahn

        Holy shit! Newgrounds still exists? What about Geocities, or Tripod?

  37. See Double You

    Why Trump is likely to be indicted by Manhattan US Attorney

    And this was too good not to quote:

    This was the offense centering on Playboy model Karen McDougal. It involves David Pecker, a longtime friend of the president and of Cohen. Pecker runs American Media, Inc., which controls the National Enquirer.

    That can’t be his real name, can it?

    1. See Double You

      Goddamn broken link. Try this.

    2. LJW

      So they’re going to indict him on campaign finance charges, then I presume they will attempt to get Trump to perjure himself.

    3. CPRM

      Remember the big huff last week that he didn’t walk across the street to meet GW, but was driven? I’m sure if he’d walked they would have tried to impeach him on a j-walking charge, so that was a smart move.

    1. Stinky Wizzleteats

      He was what, fifteen or so? Thank Christ Twitter et al didn’t exist when I was that age.

      1. See Double You

        Twitter is cancer. If you tweet, you may as well lick the Elephant’s Foot.

        1. straffinrun

          At this point, anyone still using it deserves what happens to them. How many examples do you need before you stop? If my kid joined Scientology I’d be less worried.

    2. straffinrun

      The internet is the ultimate honey pot. People thought it was cool having this unregulated space to say pretty much whatever you wanted and no one was getting in trouble for unpopular ideas. Then it changes the mobs come out and comb through what people said years ago or what a dumb 15 year old said when he thought it didn’t matter. Imagine if the govt or these mobs got a hold of a machine that could go back 30 years and capture every conversation anyone ever had.

    3. Enemy of the people seems a tad hyperbolic in this case, malicious and sensationalist sure, stuff that used to be left to the likes of The Enquirer. But then again we bitch about this stuff while flocking to read it. You get more of what you reward etc….

      1. Rhywun

        We are broken and gluttons for punishment. I’ve tried to limit it myself in small ways – I won’t touch a Guardian link, for example.

        Miller makes a good point though. I’ve been debating de-Facebooking myself – if anything, it’s a good idea to erase your past before shit like this happens to you.

      2. straffinrun

        He was 15. Can’t buy smokes, but…

    4. MikeS

      Why is Miller bringing race into it? I think he waters down his valid argument by throwing race into it. Especially in this situation; it’s not like we just witnessed the first black person winning the Heisman.

    1. CPRM

      Ethiopia on our border? Damn I was hoping for Somalia so I could flee to libertarian paradise.

    2. Rhywun

      Whew, I don’t have to pack my bags.

    3. Count Potato

      Looks like Canada and Australia are hogging a lot of space.

    4. See Double You

      India and Ethiopia would border the U.S.?

      *racists come out of the woodwork*

  38. Count Potato

    “Tennessee Supreme Court rules Cyntoia Brown must serve 51 years in prison before she’s eligible for release”

    https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1071264631262494720

    The comments are retarded. Allegedly, she lied about her age, then shot him in his sleep, and stole his money, guns, and his truck.

    1. Tres Cool

      “Cytonia” sounds like an affliction you get a lot of antibiotics for.

    2. MikeS

      Rationable
      ‏ @berationable
      Dec 7
      Replying to @thehill

      I don’t get it. (From an outsiders perspective) Americans have the right to bear arms for self defense, but if they use those weapons for self defense, they get life imprisonment?

      Makenna Marty
      ‏ @MakennaMarty
      Dec 7

      Yes, if you’re female, and especially if you’re brown or black. Misogyny, racism, and systemic oppression are still so pervasive here.

      Says the young woman going to medical school.

      1. Mojeaux

        With reference to gun grabbers, she is not wrong.

      2. See Double You

        Yes, if you’re female . . . .

        Umm…

        “If she hadn’t had a weapon, there’s no telling what could have happened. But she stopped the crime. She solved the crime for us, and she came out a winner.

        “Very few people, even cops, go through situations like that, and she’s kind of a hero to us here today,” [Sheriff] Clark added.

        For getting into med school…

  39. Mojeaux

    @Tres from last night’s thread:

    Agile Cyborg is what drugs do when they want to get fucked up.

    That made me laugh and laugh.

    1. Tres Cool

      I really miss him.
      So many times when I was merely lurking on TOS, Id see his lengthy comments and just think “Ill have what he’s having”. Its tough to pin down a favorite, but….

      Agile Cyborg|2.1.15 @ 9:46PM|#

      Sara Palin hates having your dick inside her eternity hole but she does imagine this on the reverse. While eating a bologna sammich bro.

      1. Mojeaux

        It’s the bologna sammich that sells it.

  40. Rhywun

    I just de-Facebooked, de-Twittered, and de-Googled myself. I feel better already.

    1. Tres Cool

      You can do it!

    2. MikeS

      Wow. Awesome.

      Were you active on them, or just had an account? I ask because I have Twitter and FB, but I don’t ever almost never comment on anything. I just have them to view what other people are doing. Example; a lot of smaller companies (like small breweries) have eschewed traditional websites in favor of FB pages. It drives me crazy, but it is what it is. So I have an account so I can follow them.

      1. Rhywun

        Not active on any of them any more. Just did it to keep anything potentially career-ending away from the prying eyes of apparatchiks and HR departments. That football player story really opened my eyes.

  41. The Late P Brooks

    Actually, the left’s hate for Nixon in general makes me shake my head. He crossed off a lot of to-do’s on the left’s wish list.

    No kidding. I’m amazed the Democrats haven’t appropriated money for a 100 foot tall statue of him on the Mall. EPA, OSHA, untethered the dollar (fiat money, FTW!) wage and price controls, it’s all stuff they couldn’t live without.

    Oh, well. Ride ten thousand horses, and they don’t call you a cowboy. But- you fuck one sheep…