I lost my voice today. If found, please return. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. My wife and kids are probably at her mother’s by now for the weekend. And Good Old Games just released a Win 7-10 compatible version of Diablo, so if you’ll excuse me…
Drones taking Lassie’s job?
This is the kind of empathy I expect from doctors.
Do you apes want to live forever?! Well maybe take metformin and/or rapamycin.
Sorry, guys. Man its a slow news day.
Comments
309 responses to “Friday Afternoon Links”
Can the drone tell me about Timmy and the well? NO!
What is up? I am NEVER first, I don’t even try to be first. You people are not doing your autistic desperation for validation correctly.
Switzy told us we had to let you win one time…
/whispers
You’re not supposed to tell him his name came out of the hat!
Hello, [PATIENT], I’m Dr. Fucknuts. I’m afraid I have bad news: you have [DISEASE] and probably only have [NUMBER] months to live.
I use WebMD to tell me I have cancer.
You and my wife. I need to block her phone from accessing that site.
Generalized achiness and lack of energy are symptoms of virtually every disease, and of aging. So you are old and have universae infectio
“her father had trouble hearing the doctor through the robot’s speaker”
Daughter: “The doc says Trump has just been impeached”
I should not have read that at work. My laughing is attracting attention.
Simpsons did it.
Futurama is now.
Admittedly, I find all of this hilarious.
As long as the drone can summon the townspeople if little Timmy falls in the River.
Slow news day?
The Utah state legislature on Tuesday decriminalized fornication, making it legal to have sex outside of marriage.
The Utah House passed legislation on a 41-32 vote, repealing the 1973 misdemeanor crime of fornication, or sex between people who are not married, Fox 13 reported.
Rejoice, fornicators!
Great, now even Utah will fuck me over.
WOOHOO!
Damn. Utah goes hard left.
This is the beginning of the USSA. It’s all over. Better start getting used to calling each other “comrade”.
32 voted against it?
Just the uggos
30 of whom were probably guilty of the crime they voted to keep on the books.
30 of whom were probably guilty of the crime they voted to keep on the books.
There’s an Alex Trebek joke there somewhere.
News? Here’s some local news.
NM wants to turn me into a felon
“
Republicans said Thursday that would start a petition that would allow voters to overturn the law. However, Democrats said that they don’t believe the petition could force a vote in this situation because it’s a public safety issue.”
Translation: We think we’ll lose that referendum so we won’t allow a vote.
You what else is a “public safety issue” and therefore not subject to debate with Democrats in power? Everything.
STEVE SMITH BIG FAN OF RAPAMYCIN.
Rape your what?
STEVE SMITH PRESCRIBE RAPMYACIN.
That’s a weird brand name for roofies.
It keeps everyone from rejecting his organ.
Awesome bedside manner. I’m a horribly asocial asshole and Keizer effortlessly blows that away. The conditional insincere apology from the spokesrat is just a cherry on top.
That’s why it doesn’t surprise me how many doctors think single-payer is a good idea. Arrogant. selfish pricks with an Occluded-Cortex understanding of economics AT BEST. If they don’t get paid from patient A, they just add charges to patient B.
Doctors and lawyers are notorious for assuming that their expertise carries over to other fields.
So are a lot of scientists (myself included!).
Laymen wave “Hi!” from the cheap seats.
Meanwhile, down on the troll farm…
Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team argued Thursday that if it’s forced to hand over millions of “sensitive” documents to Russian individuals as part of court proceedings, Russia could mine the material for operational secrets and use them against the U.S.
Prosecutor Jonathan Kravis made the argument at a pre-trial hearing for a case against a Russian firm accused of funding a St. Petersburg troll farm that allegedly conducted a widespread propaganda and disinformation campaign ahead of the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Kravis said that while most of the 3.2 million “sensitive” documents that have been collected in discovery for the case were relatively innocuous on their own, a shrewd reading of the whole lot could reveal important U.S. investigative secrets.
————
The argument is the closest the government has come yet to articulating a concern that legal and national security experts shared with ABC News back in October. They said then that Russia might be using the U.S. court system to gather intelligence on Mueller’s investigation or other U.S. secrets through the discovery process.
OMG they have weaponized the Sixth Amendment against us. It’s time to do some serious loophole-plugging. The Constitution has to go!
Yes, I’m sure the Russian firm had charges brought against themselves so they could see intelligence secrets. Boy are those Russians crafty!
Well, sounds like they need to drop the freaking case then.
No, no, Stinky! This is obviously a special case and we have to suspend that silly old Sixth Amendment in the case of the Russians.
But seriously, I’m looking for someone to seriously advance that as an argument. It will be interesting to see the contortions which they go through to justify it.
U.S. investigative secrets
You mean show the person and find the crime? I think the Russians figured that one out a long time ago.
Fuck you Bob, hand them over or drop the charges.
Kravis said that while most of the 3.2 million “sensitive” documents that have been collected in discovery for the case were relatively innocuous on their own, a shrewd reading of the whole lot could reveal important U.S. investigative secrets.
This has got to be some of the more mendacious BS I’ve heard out of the government in awhile. First off, if they were innocuous, why were they deemed “sensitive”? Secondly, why should the methods used to investigate for a criminal prosecution be a state secret?
I so enjoy watching Mueller’s easy layup indictment turning around and biting him in the ass.
So Meuller wants to convict somebody on evidence he won’t show anybody?
Sounds legit.
I assumed this would be the music link today.
I done been on a Melvins kick today.
The Melvins
I use WebMD to tell me I have cancer.
Just as long as it’s not lupus.
It’s not lupus
Lyme disease?
That’s just the compassionate type of care that Kaiser has been know for for many years. Take a number, have a seat. The robot will see you shortly.
As a sci-fi fan, I *want* a robot telling me the bad news. And not just some dude talking through a monitor and speaker, please.
I want an AI, like Poe in Altered Carbon. I’m thrilled he’s coming back for season 2.
There’s a season 2?!! Sweet.
The problem isn’t the bedside manner, the problem is all the event triggers.
“Since you’re going to be dead soon, your account has been closed. Please pay in full before you expire.”
The check to the funeral home is supposed to bounce.
IIRC Kaiser was the first HMO and a supporter of the original Clinton plan.
Yes. Kaiser Health was started to provide a health care system to Kaiser Steel employees, which was based out of the Bay Area.
And now I am off to watch Captain Marvel, when I return I will share my new wokenschmertz with you misogynistic rebrobates.
My son watched it last night and said it was pretty good. He didn’t think it pushed the “girl power” thing too hard or anything like that.
Good luck, We’re all counting on you.
Surely, he’ll like it.
He will and don’t call him Shirley.
TIL:
Quotes from the movie Zero Hour! (1957)
Any truth to this?
I’d have to dig deep into the actual experimental design and it’s been a very long time, but the more stuff you measure at once the more subjects you need – and that goes up multiplicatively. Also, he’s not doing a double-blind study where some patients get placebos and others get real drugs, and the person doing the patient evals doesn’t know which group the patients are in.
I suspect that the regulatory agencies strongly prefer studies done by academics as opposed to sole practitioners.
I’m also quite suspicious of FDA and NIH and their entrenched bureaucracies. ‘Nuff said.
I was mostly wondering about the reviewers being biased against aging studies as a whole.
I was mostly wondering about the reviewers being biased against aging …
That, too. See my last paragraph.
But they are standing on procedure as a pretext.
Who will save us Hickenlooper!
Hickenlooper, who announced his bid earlier this week, told supporters in Denver it was “essential” to defeat Trump in 2020.
He cast the president as a divisive figure with harmful policies, and pledged to move the country forward by bringing leaders together.
“We have every right to live in a land that’s the home of hope,” Hickenlooper said. “But these days, that’s not how it feels in America. It feels like we’re living in a heaving crisis – years in the making – spawned by dysfunctional politics – and defined above all by this president.”
“Donald Trump is alienating our allies, ripping away our health care, endangering our planet, and destroying our democracy.”
————-
If elected, Hickenlooper vowed that his first act would be to rejoin the Paris Climate on the first day of his presidency.
He laid out additional goals, including developing a “green economy” and combatting climate change, closing loopholes and increasing taxes on the wealthy and pushing for “universal, affordable” health care.
“I’m running for president because the only way to end the Trump crisis of division is with a leader who knows how to bring people together and get things done,” he said.
Sounds legit. This guy is totally a uniter, not a divider. He hates us because he loves us.
And maybe he should take a few minutes to watch the weather before he goes crazy on that green new deal stuff. I hear there’s a little bit of snow up in the high country, contrary to whatever he’s been reading.
Why does “bringing people together” always consist of passing the entirety of the Democratic Party platform?
Because you’ll love their programs. If not you have false consciousness. Besides everyone loves free stuff and a clean environment.
You spelled pogroms wrong.
*spit take*
Poverty knows no bounds
When people are together, it’s easier to pick their pockets.
Because Democrats are the people. It’s right there in the name. Everyone else is an unperson.
With a soupçon of ceding national sovereignty to international bureaucrats.
I know what will do it!
Do these people walk out the door and see fire raining from the skies? How deep does the delusion go?
Well, the few who survived the net neutrality holocaust see that, yeah
I am already so sick of the “destroying democracy!!” soundbite.
Especially considering that there is no “democracy” to destroy.
That guy is such a shithead.
I used to think he was “moderate” due to his relatively business-friendly stance, but he got more and more lefty as time went on and now he’s going harder left to try and align with the rest of the Jackasses.
Chickenpooper Hickenlooper!
Friday Funbags continues on!
http://archive.li/AJieL
Mega love pillows for your entertainment.
I don’t get the popularity of the #4 look, “I’m wearing glasses to look smart, and tattoos to look like an idiot”.
“I want you to think I’m both smart and edgy”
Also, #7 looks like Alyssa Milano
I saw no need to proceed any further than 1 and 2
67 is trolling for Creosote
Not with that cheap-ass cotton/synthetic weave rope she’s got going on she isn’t. I’ll take # 2 though. Yum.
There’s some fine woman flesh in there. 1 wants me, I can see it in her eyes. 20 is a silicon life form.
#2
And #1 and #3-#99, but not #96. I want #49 on the fourth of July. I’ll need some extra time with #94. Additionally I’ll need a 6 cases of water and some snacks.
“Raise your hand if you thought that the Alexandria jail would hold Maria Butina, Paul Manafort, and Chelsea Manning, all at the same time.”
https://twitter.com/emptywheel/status/1104081359662911488
What are they doing in Egypt? Or does AOC have some kind of “Warty basement”?
“Chelsea Manning jailed for contempt after refusing to testify in WikiLeaks grand jury investigation
WASHINGTON – Chelsea Manning, the former Army intelligence analyst who spent four years in prison for providing information to WikiLeaks, was jailed Friday after she refused to testify before a grand jury investigating the anti-secrecy group.
U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton ordered Manning into custody following a brief hearing that was partially closed to the public. Manning had warned that she objected to the grand jury’s inquiry and said she would refuse to cooperate.”
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/03/08/chelsea-manning-jailed-refusing-testify-jury-wikileaks/3103289002/
I remember being a teenaged, miserably depressed, Army Private (stick it out kids, it gets slightly better once you make NCO; I’m happy (I guess) that my depression manifested as heavy drinking and promiscuity) so I have some sympathy for Manning. The refusal to participate in the grand jury proceedings, however, might be the first thing I respect the kid for.
teenaged, miserably depressed, Army Private (stick it out kids, it gets
slightlybetter once youmake NCOget your sham shield+1 E-4 Mafia
Or, in the Marines, the Lance Corporal Underground
[raises hand] Me, Sir.
Because the feds don’t have a detention facility nearby and the Alexandria Jail has a lot of experiencing housing high profile federal prisoners for which they charge the feds a pretty penny.
Should we just call it the “Château d’If”
Some good news out of Texas! It looks like a cop may actually get in trouble for lying under oath.
Not a real cop.
Doubtful.
“In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate but equally important groups: The police, who frame innocent people, and the district attorneys, who get them thrown into jail. These are their stories.” DUN DUN
Sometimes I love lawyers. Make the fucker incriminate himself. That’s delightful.
Fucker.
Earlier I joked that “International Women’s Day” was some commie thing. It’s not a joke.
Um…
They had some work thing – “male allies” were invited. Pass. Double-pass, given that it’s some commie bullshit.
Why is this everywhere this year, all of a sudden? Someone behind the curtain is pushing this crap.
I blame the first Deadpool movie.
Why does “bringing people together” always consist of passing the entirety of the Democratic Party platform?
All rational, fact-loving people agree. If you don’t agree, you hate democracy, and you’re a wacko.
Just because you’re a whacko doesn’t mean you shouldn’t hate democracy.
I hate democracy. It leads to totalitarianism. That’s why we’re not a democracy.
The Utah state legislature on Tuesday decriminalized fornication, making it legal to have sex outside of marriage.
So when I was living there, I really WAS committing three felonies a day.
OMWC needs reading glasses.
It’s still a felony if they are eight-years old.
The potato gets it.
I figured he just didn’t read the article.
Too busy fornicating.
Too busy
fornicatingmasturbating.Fixed it for you.
You got my invite!
PM Zoolander’s ever-evolving scandal continues to amuse me, and CBC is there to answer important questions:
‘Trudeau? Scandal? I don’t believe it’: As controversy rocks Canada’s PM, the world winces — then shrugs
It looks like he’s at least stopped the Harridan Exodus from his cabinet. GJ, Hair Boy.
It’s not often you get somewhat to cheerfully admit what a blind, ignorant moron they are.
This. At least you Yanks have a coastal divide if you ever want to cull the herd. With us it is a stark North/South divide that is about to tear the country apart. Wait just a second…
Move along, Citizen! Nothing to see here. Oooh that irks me to no end. Fucking Trudy-bots. It wasn’t much different back in the early 70’s before Pierre got a bloody nose from the Separatists at either end of the country.
I’ll tell you something, the over-40 Canadian AOC contingent is making me root for Zoolander. I wish he’d find his balls, chop off the locks and go redpill.
I thought at first that Babylon Bee started covering Canadian affairs.
Nope. Clown-car politics are our stock in trade.
Fuck. It wont quit raining. After a four year drought I swore I wouldn’t complain about rain, so I am not complaining. Dammit
Our precip is decidedly more frozen right now. When does spring start?
Agreed. Six feet of snow in my yard.
We set some records for snow and rain in February. We’ve turned to corner and spring is on it’s way.
Huh. I have to mow my front yard tomorrow. The back yard is still brown because it is a different type of grass. The previous homeowner did not take care of it well. My goal this spring and summer is to try to fix it.
I believe 2018 was the rainiest year on record in MD. It’s raining here again too 🙁
Relevant
For those of you from Wisconsin who are fans of Wallace and Gromit.
Also relevant
“The most anti-Semitic cartoonist in this country is a) Not Ben Garrison; and b) Jewish”
https://twitter.com/neontaster/status/1104070134933716993
Where are muh labels?!
Vox gonna Vox.
One piece of information is that we are still cooking quite a bit, but another piece of information is that even in the past, Americans weren’t cooking all their food. They were often relying on low-income women of color to cook a lot of it, and they still are.
Yeah, I’m gonna have to see some fuckin’ citations on that one. Pretty sure my Italian and Irish and German immigrant ancestors in NYC and Hudson County weren’t employing “low-income women of color” to cook for them.
“A lot” is a wonderful term. Take all the “ethnic” low-income households where the lady of the house cooks, add the “ethnic” female employees in food services, top it off with “ethnic” cooks/servants that the affluent-ish use and presto – “a lot”. Could be 5% of the meals, could be 2%, but in a country of 300+ million that eats 3-4 times a day (and eats much), that is definitely “a lot”.
I think they should change their slogan to Vox: The Best Kind of Correct.
Or the Krusty brand motto: It’s not just good, it’s good enough!
Vox: The Insufferable Twat of a Niece at Thanksgiving Kind of Correct
“I don’t know anyone who
voted for Nixondidn’t grow up with a maid.”Go fuck yourself, Vox.
Vox shilling its racism and sexism again. It’s disturbing how open the left is about its fetishized bigotry these days.
“I think that a man is partially measured by the size of his balls. I was challenged to wear this obvious woman’s hat and to wallk through Nassau’s largest mall, and Bahama is the most homophobic country on earth. I will turn this hat into the most masculine thing in the world.”
https://twitter.com/officialmcafee/status/1104113707490164736
“A man walks down the street wearing that hat, people know he’s not afraid of anything.
Not even afraid of wearing white before Memorial Day. Definitely do not Eff with.
Doesn’t count in the tropics.
“you kinda look like my wife…. she ugly to, but has a great heart”
I laughed
His banter with his followers is almost as funny as his posts.
“Why Some Republicans Voted against the ‘Anti-Hate’ Resolution”
https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/why-some-republicans-voted-against-the-anti-hate-resolution/
Because it blamed white people for all that’s wrong in America?
Not only would I vote against that, I would tell them to kiss my white ass.
They have some serious balls pivoting like that. I hope it bites them in the ass.
This is one of those things where I can’t understand how anybody can defend them. Instead of telling the crypto-nazi to shove it, they do everything possible to avoid such a thing.
Yep. They turned it into a weapon against the GOP. Aren’t they clever.
Since most of the GOP reps voted “for”, yes. Yes they are.
Up next, a vote on the When Did You Stop Beating Your Wife Act.
Pretty much that.
Wow, that entire resolution is such an incoherent mish-mash of ideas it deserves to be taught as a prime example of how not to write something by committee.
Nothing left to cut.
“Exclusive: Grand jury returns 16 felony counts against Jussie Smollett ”
https://www.cwbchicago.com/2019/03/exclusive-grand-jury-returns-16-felony.html
Wow. The guy is a race-baiting douche but 16 felonies seems excessive.
One for every word in his fake statement?
Based on the article, it sounds like once for every time he changed his story.
The guy’s an asshole and he deserves to get in trouble but this seems like overkill. Maybe piling on the charges to encourage a plea?
I’ve never got why so many people are so deeply invested in this circus.
Because if the incident had been real it could very well have started a race riot. It is often suggested in these pages that persons making fraudulent accusations should be liable for the jail time for the act for which they were making the accusation.
I agree that the charging seems a little excessive, but suspect they want him to plead rather than have this go before a jury.
No it wouldn’t have, and the proof is that it didn’t, you think the race rioter were waiting around for proof? They didn’t wait in Ferguson. This case is virtue signaling all the way around.
That’s not including possible federal charges.
He needs to learn that only the Chicago Police Dept gets to fake evidence this blatantly.
He’s really being punished for making fools of the smug famous and powerful people who fell for his scam.
Jussie’s getting a real lynching now.
He tries to draw attention to systemic racism and they put him in prison for it. Y’all are white devil’s.
Damn your nimble fingers!
I really hate FB. I do. But damn, I just sold a set of books I didn’t think would get any bites within an hour of posting it for sale on their marketplace. Set of Harry Potter hardbacks–people coming out of the freaking woodwork immediately. I can’t do that well on Craigslist and I usually do pretty well on Craigslist.
I’ve got some killer deals there furnishing my house. Like estate sale antiques for chump change. I love it.
I’ve always been a Craigslist girl, but DANG! The response was IMMEDIATE.
“Craigslist girl”
?
Ummmm… ?
How much is a Craigslist girl?
$20, same as downtown.
Oh, please. I may be easy, but I ain’t cheap.
So your street name isn’t “Divine Brown”?
More like “Heidi Fleiss Way.”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-6787457/Elle-Fanning-reveals-sought-role-Teen-Spirit-sing.html
would
“Ilhan Omar unloads on OBAMA saying he had a ‘pretty face’ and got ‘away with murder’ in fresh provocation to her own Democratic party after anti-Semitism row”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6787847/Ilhan-Omar-unloads-OBAMA-saying-saying-pretty-face-got-away-murder.html
Finally, something Omar said makes sense!
OK, I’m going to put something out there.
Am I the only one who thinks that Omar is…like….super fucking hot? And I was *shocked* to discover that she’s 37. I also find AOC to be hot, which…I really wish that people/the media would admit that that’s the only reason she was elected and is in the news.
But Omar…uh. I’ve got a very weird boner right now. Maybe I can fuck the stupid/evil out of her. All of us in a threesome would probably shatter the earth with the power of everyone’s mutual Hate Fuckery.
Am I alone on this? People here frequently talk about AOC’s attractiveness, though some disagree in degree. But I don’t recall anyone saying anything about Omar.
She’s good looking for sure. Better than AOC also. Plus I think hijabs are hot.
“‘Bikini barista’ coffee shop in California has license revoked after city council deems outfits too revealing”
https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/bikini-barista-coffee-shop-in-california-has-license-revoked-after-city-council-deems-outfits-too-revealing
Those outfits look OK to me. If they don’t like them they can just avoid buying stuff there.
What are you some kind of crazy anarchist? You just can’t let consumers make choices for themselves. People will die!
New Puritans.
Chick in video still is hawt
But Hooters, Tilted Kilt, Twin Peaks totes okay. Picking winners and losers I guess.
outfits too revealing
They look fine to me (and “revealing” is kindof the point). Are these nannys going to move to ban the wearing of bikini’s on beaches? Because that is the next logical step.
No, but that’s not evil capitalists exploiting female bodies. Disproportionately black and brown bodies from lower income groups. Our minorities!
“House votes in favor of illegal immigrant voting
House Democrats voted Friday to defend localities that allow illegal immigrants to vote in their elections, turning back a GOP attempt to discourage the practice.
The vote marks a stunning reversal from just six months ago, when the chamber — then under GOP control — voted to decry illegal immigrant voting.
“We are prepared to open up the political process and let all of the people come in,” Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat and hero of the civil rights movement, told colleagues as he led opposition to the GOP measure.
The 228-197 vote came as part of a broader debate on Democrats’ major legislative priority this year, HR 1, the “For the People Act,” which includes historic expansions of voter registration and access, as well as a major rewrite of campaign finance laws.
The measure would have had no practical effect even if it had passed. Illegal immigrants — and indeed noncitizens as a whole — are not legally able to participate in federal elections.”
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/mar/8/house-votes-favor-illegal-immigrant-voting/
I swear the Dems are turning into a different strain of the Stupid Party.
I never got the Evil Party vs. Stupid Party thing. To me it’s always been a Chinese restaurant menu.
With 535, you get eggroll!
Why don’t we just send absentee ballots to all 7 billion people on Earth?
After the uprising of the 17th of June
The Secretary of the Writers’ Union
Had leaflets distributed in the Stalinallee
Stating that the people
Had forfeited the confidence of the government
And could win it back only
By redoubled efforts. Would it not be easier
In that case for the government
To dissolve the people
And elect another?
So, follow the Canadian example and unlink state, municpal and federal election days?
No, seriously, it will cut down on fraud, waste, attract people who care about one and not all, and actually save time overall, not only for voters but for getting the results out.
The trouble with America… is that it’s full of Americans.
Why shouldn’t localities be allowed to decide who can and can’t vote in their local elections? Is federalism only for pot, guns, hookers, and abortions?
That’s what George Wallace wanted to know!
But that was for bad reasons. This would be for good reasons!!!!!
I’m all for letting people do things for the wrong reasons. I’d let racist not serve blacks and homophobes not bake cakes. So long as they are not forcing others to bend to their will It ain’t no skin off my nose.
Because it only goes one way.
FWIW, indirectly, those with the vote decide who gets to vote . . . and always have.
Its curios that the Media is applauding the house for passing all the measures fated to fail, rather than raking them over for not being serious and for being obstructionists.
You know like the 10-12 congress.
“just realized captain marvel opened on international women’s
day corny ass shit”
https://twitter.com/shoe0nhead/status/1104112045312696322
Can someone recommend a good book on the Russian revolution?
Bolshevism for Dummies
Stalin: Paradoxes of Power 1878-1928 by Stephen Kotkin. You’ll see the entire thing and how the commies interacted with each other. Once you are done you can move to his second volume “Stalin: waiting for Hitler 1929-1941”. Volume three is not published yet.
Thank you.
Warning: I have the first volume. It is very long and tedious. Not an engaging read for most of it.
I’m getting ready to start The Unknown Stalin now. That is supposedly more readable.
Doctor Zhivago?
The Art of the Deal?
Democracy
Whycome we no let teh childrenz vote?
…that’s to everyone’s benefit. It’s not just that younger people deserve a voice in public affairs. A lower voting age would also help correct some of the disadvantages of the current limit. Older teenagers face unusually high hurdles to voting. Often they’re at a residential college or otherwise living on their own for the first time, which can mean having an unfamiliar group of politicians to vote for and against. Even the offices up for election may be very different from what they grew up with. Add to that the distractions of college life or a new full-time job (or both), and it’s not really surprising that the youngest voters have abysmal turnout rates.
The problem is that voting is habit-forming. If most citizens begin their voting lives by missing elections, it can establish a lifelong pattern of non-participation. If kids vote for the first time in high school, however, the odds are better that they’ll get to the ballot box — with their parents, with their friends, perhaps with encouragement from their schools.
The best case against younger voters rests on the idea that elections are meant to reach the best decisions, and young people tend to be less informed and have poor judgment. But that’s not a very democratic notion in the first place. And we don’t exclude other groups of voters for those reasons. If we want experts to determine policy, we’re better off establishing an aristocracy of some sort. In a democracy, we can’t guarantee that our decisions will objectively be the best ones — but we can try to allow everyone to express their preferences and advance their interests.
What the fuck- would it really change anything? It’s not like the current process has produced a more perfect union. Let 12 year olds vote.
young people tend to be less informed and have poor judgment…And we don’t exclude other groups of voters for those reasons.
And maybe we should. Bring back wealth and/or income tests. It’s a proxy for someone able to handle their business and think ahead.
The original franchise was: “the people who vote are the people that will pack shoulder to shoulder with other voters and ram an iron spear into the face of an opposing phalanx, and who will do so wearing a heavy bronze suit of armor that they purchase and maintain with their own funds.”
In other words, voting in the Greek city states meant you were physically strong enough to endure battle, morally willing to risk your own life in service to the polis, and are competent and hardworking enough to acquire the surplus capital to acquire the means to fulfill their civic obligations.
There is no perfect system, but to me the two qualifications for the franchise should be civic virtue and competence.
Or, in Athens, “poor assholes who will row the galleys, and also sit on the deck in light armor shooting arrows at the other side and hopefully not catching them.”
Like phalanx, but if your ship goes down the most you can hope for is that your side wins so they can collect your body for a funeral.
Yep, but the issue with that became that the landless rowers had no source of wealth other than plunder and combat pay, so they would vote for war and empire. The hoplites wanted to fight a sharp decisive battle and return to their farms. The sailors of the Athenian fleet needed to sail, fight, plunder, and conquer.
How about “No!”, “Fuck No!” and “Go Fuck Yourself No!”. I’ve no interest in allowing an entire population of voters who already live off of another population of voters to enter into the system.
The best case against younger voters rests on the idea that elections are meant to reach the best decisions, and young people tend to be less informed and have poor judgment. But that’s not a very democratic notion in the first place.
Democracy is not inherently virtuous. And trying to expand the suffrage to an inexperienced group of people who are forced by law to spend their days in government propaganda centers smacks of trying to tip the scales in one direction.
Smacks of? It is about as blatant a power grab as you can imagine. The only competition being the DC Statehood movement that’s ramping up again.
Here’s an idea: restrict voting to local elections. You can vote for local reps and that’s it. Local reps vote for state reps. State reps vote for federal reps. And federal reps elect the president. Basically, take the way the Senate worked originally and apply it across the board.
It’s been done.
Damn. Jussie Smollett just got nailed by a grand jury with 16 felony counts.
https://abc7chicago.com/jussie-smollett-indicted-on-16-felony-counts-by-grand-jury/5177586/
I hate that other potato. He needs to be boiled and mashed.
Potato on Potato violence. Sad. Tasty but sad.
I’m fried at that guy.
You just need to use your eyes.
i always thought Canadian competitor to Florida Man would come from Cape Breton. Colour me shocked.
‘More stupid than it was criminal:’ Judge frees Halifax brothers involved in border standoff
OT: got married about half an hour ago.
Way to go man.
Now go to the hotel and punish her.
We want pics
Sorry for your loss?
Congratulations! Shotgun wedding?
Remember, When someone is killed the first person the police investigate is the spouse.
Seriously. Hope this is the start of a wonderful marriage and congratulations.
Always lawyer up. Never talk to the police without one.
And don’t cash the life insurance right away!
And don’t up the life insurance 6 weeks before.
Congratulatons and My Condolences!
Congrats! Let me know if you need any marital advice on what not to do. I’ve got plenty of experience in that.
woo hooo!!!
And you’re here telling us about it?
*imagining prole on his phone at his wedding reception during the best man’s speech*
Congrats?
My daughter is in the middle of a divorce so it looks like a wash for the statistics.
I’m kind of worried about prolefeed’s marriage. Married only a 1/2 hour and he is already on the web talking to other people.
Not a good start.
Seriously Congratulations.
At least it’s family friendly site.
Congratulations. Does she know about your secret life here?
Congratulations! It’s all downhill from here.
おめでとうございます!
Congratulations!
Congratulations?
Go OT on the new wife. Congrats.
Pics?
Congrats! And you didn’t forget about us.
The English are so by more sophisticated and civilized than Americ—
UK will eventually fall and when it does it’s not going to be pretty.
Magical
Often the main barrier to launching a coop is simply lack of knowledge—worker cooperatives aren’t just a fluffy hippie social experiment, they’re viable businesses with a track record of promoting civic-minded sustainable enterprises. What worker-owned cooperatives offer is simply this: a stake for each worker in the future. Based on a structure centered on shared equity and worker autonomy, the business model, which hews to a principle of “one-member-one-vote” workplace governance, intrinsically guarantees that each worker profits in tandem with their labor. The key difference from the conventional corporate model is that workers share in the equity and direct how funds are reinvested, be it in pay raises and pensions, new hires, or investing in tech upgrades and staff training.
—————-
The foundation of the cooperative is an idea for a business that produces material and social good together, which in turn also does good for workers’ communities. This principle, reflecting an ethical framework known as the “solidarity economy,” is put to practice in ventures like the Queens-based eco-friendly cleaning company Pa’lante, which is cooperatively run by a group of housekeepers who merge environmental concern with labor empowerment. Or the driver-led Union Taxi coop of Denver, which also mobilizes against the expansion of exploitative ride-sharing apps.
—————-
The equity principle of worker-owned cooperatives could be especially crucial for communities of color, as a path toward expanding community investment and closing the abysmal racial wealth gap. A community-based cooperative can be a vital economic on-ramp for women, immigrants, and people of color historically excluded from entrepreneurship. So far, the cooperative sector is roughly 63 percent people of color, up from 59 percent in 2015.
Go for it. If you can make it work, good for you, but… The idea that this is a scaleable model is completely out to lunch. A handful of housemaids pooling their efforts is one thing. A factory is another thing entirely.
And, of course, don’t forget to genuflect in the direction of the marginalized community of your choice.
Good luck to them.
The infighting as a hierarchy inevitably develops can get ugly. Poor bastards.
Yeap, and as the 10% who do most of the work and take on the most responsibility start to resent the 90% who don’t.
-1 20th Century Motor Company
“The key difference from the conventional corporate model is that workers share in the equity and direct how funds are reinvested, be it in pay raises and pensions, new hires, or investing in tech upgrades and staff training.”
Yeah investment in capital vs labor is where this stuff breaks down.
Imagine some hippie coffee shop run as a coop. Let’s say its in downtown Minneapolis. One day, Congresswoman Omar holds a rally. It’s a great rally, there are big torches and huge crowds and there’s this German chick filming the whole thing. Lot of people. The coffee shop calls in all the members of the coop, they sell out of everything and rush deliver more and just do a booming business that day. They end up with an extra 10,000 bucks of basically windfall profit. Now, one of the ten people says “Hey this is the time to get a second espresso machine, replace those two wonky fridges, and buy patio furniture to put out front to add seating.” Three people quickly sign on, but the other six are in favor of just dividing up the 10,000 and splitting it evenly as a bonus, because they worked SSOOOO HARDDDD that day. Democracy wins the day!!!
Then four months later, they have long lines because they only have the one espresso machine, so they can’t move customers through. The fridge holding all the eggs, meat, and cheese for breakfast sandwiches has died, so they are down to just baked goods and drinks, and the coffee shop down the street is leaching away business because they have outdoor seating and its a beautiful summer. Those customers keep going to the shitlord coffee shop thats run as a “for profit business” because they have quick service and bagel sandwiches and outdoor seats.
I see nothing wrong here. If they all have equal shares in equity then it’s their right, to the exact amount of said share, to trade possible future profits for windfall now. No different from 60% of shareholder voting to sell out to Big Corporate Entity, even if 40% know they can make the business worth 15% more in 12-18 months.
There is nothing magical or strange or inherently unstable about worker-owned businesses, until you get outside parties involved to cover for their failures.
My point is not “they shouldn’t be allowed to have coops” it’s more “there’s a reason that coops struggle mightily and it’s not because The Man Conspires Against Them or Muh Racism.”
Most people want to collect a paycheck and go home. Those people sell their labor for a fixed price. If they had the desire and/or the ability to run a business, they would do so.
What you said, plus the lack of risk involved in just being a worker.
“and there’s this German chick filming the whole thing”
Lol I see what you did there
Drones taking Lassie’s job?
I love dogs. I own a dog. If I never hear another fucking Collie it would make me happy.
Unexpected skills shortages
Some 46,000 automotive service technicians and mechanics will be needed to fill roles through 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, at a time when the skills gap and worker shortage is particularly acute for blue-collar jobs. As economic growth is expected to continue in 2019, so too is a labor shortage both blue-collar and low-paying services occupations, a recent study from The Conference Board found. Baby boomers are aging out of the workforce at the same time the pool of available labor has become more educated, and thus less interested in blue-collar jobs.
“In the U.S., more than most other advanced economies, the American dream is to go to a four-year college and not have a manual job. For a while it was a not a problem because there was no shortage. Now, there is a big shortage, and people with a bachelor’s degree are just not interested in those jobs. There is a stigma connected to manual labor that is very hard to break,” said Gad Levanon, chief economist at The Conference Board. The report says the shortage will be most visible in transportation, production, health-care support, food services, cleaning and maintenance occupations.
You don’t suppose that “stigma” has been largely manufactured by the educrats running the schools, who have for decades been hectoring their students to go to college, do you?
Go to college. Rack up a bunch of student debt. It’s okay. Society just can’t have too many sociology majors.
it’s their utter contempt for the working class.
Blue collar and manual labor aren’t synonyms unless your an economist for the Conference Board.
The kid* that took over the shop when my auto mechanic retired is making money hand-over-fist. He even has two or three guys working for him.
*and I mean “kid” . I’d be surprised if the guy is 30
When my wife retired from her housekeeping business we searched all over to find someone she could recommend to her clients. The work is not strenuous, you can set your own hours, and get paid the same day you work. Couldn’t find a single person to take over.
I’m a mechanic. I do better than you think.
I don’t doubt it in the least.
An old friend has a son who was thinking of a career. According to my buddy, graduates of Automotive Electronics school are offered big bucks on graduation. And this school was 18 months (I think) opposed to 4 years.
Hell, yes.
I’ve noticed a number of auto shops that used to be open Saturdays are now closed on the weekends. I assume it’s because they are having a hard time finding mechanics.
Real work really sucks. I hit the books so I wouldn’t be broken before 50 like lots of my relatives. No one has worked harder than me to make labor safe and simple, and I promise you still don’t want four decades of it. I respect work so much I did as little of it as possible.
Oh, I gotta ask: is there some defined value for “shortage?” To my mind it’s a social, emotional state that has no universal and obvious threshold that the BLS has any business opining upon.
Central planners gonna central plan, Don. Sometimes it with an iron fist and sometimes its with an iron fist disguised as subsidies and fines.
I guess what I’m saying is that when I wish to note that “the real price of X went up 10% in the immediate trailing 12 months,” I simply say “the real price of X went up 10% in the immediate trailing 12 months.”
As others have mentioned, the government has meddled in the market and it’s come back to bite us in the ass as was inevitable. The BLS can claim they are just compiling data and making an observation on a trend. Truth is the government uses that data to support more intervention.
American dream is to go to a four-year college and not have a manual job
Less and less for humanities degrees, though.
So there is a demand and no supply of these blue collar workers? I call BS. The music festival in Austin brings a mall parking lot of young people, Mexican, black and in between with some of the most unusual cars in the world. Gull wing doors, booster shocks, super paint jobs. These kids come from small towns, big towns and cities
to show off their skills, art and craftsmanship. Mostly self educated, passed from father to son, big brother to younger brother.
I see ads on TV promoting schools that are teaching mechanical skills of all sorts. The stigma is in the minds of the Gad Levanons
One of my biggest regrets is wasting 5 years getting a degree (getting drunk and chasing girls) instead of becoming a mailman or garbage man or something like that. I could be retiring now with a pension.
the coffee shop down the street is leaching away business because they have outdoor seating and its a beautiful summer. Those customers keep going to the shitlord coffee shop thats run as a “for profit business” because they have quick service and bagel sandwiches and outdoor seats.
Awwww, I love a happy ending.
*sniffles*
Mmmmm. “Brother Thelonius” from North Coast Brewing.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/112/30282/
I hit my 20 year mark at my current job this week. Holy shit, time flies by fast.
twenty years it’s been since the first time I quit a real job
Congrats. I got shit-canned 2 weeks before my 20th anniversary.
I’m more fire proof than a government employee. I’d have to take a dump on the owners desk and pistol whip him before my job might be in jeopardy.
And sorry for the screw job you got…
I just want to get through the next two or three years on mine. Week 1? Tolerable.
61North, if you happen to check in tonight, can you send me an email? I lost all my email info in a disk crash. If you cached the messages about Alaska travel that you sent to me, can you re-send them?
Thanks. Hope to see you in September.
West Virginia Passes Bill to Start Treating Gold and Silver as Money
Well, we may be slipping down the slope to socialism, but not without a few obstacles to slow us down.
Almost heaven, West Virginia.
The Fed-gov still taxes capital gains and at a “collectibles” rate.
It will be interesting to watch markets trying to perfect perfect paper or digital means of exchanging deed to bullion reserves. The ebb and flow between workable systems, rising brand confidence, then horrible crashing failures. some day
I thought that a lot of the “tax avoiders” were based on the point that the Constitution specifies “gold and silver” and US currency is based upon, “You fucked up; you trusted us”.
Guess we got a new post coming soon, so I’ll just plop this here. Q posted a Jordan Peterson link yesterday in which he points out that life for men and women had been a shit sandwich throughout history. Feminists will harp on about how men had all the power at home (silly claim to me) and that war is man thing. No equilibrium was achieved between men and women in the power struggle. Just men bad. As if you could physically defend your territory by nagging your enemy to death. Feminists honestly think that if women were physically stronger the world would’ve been better or even significantly different? Maybe I’m missing something in their argument, but the whole idea seems ridiculous.
Yup. It’s almost like most feminists have never been married. At least, not a functional marriage.
White people are the most intolerant group in America, survey finds.
Wait, that’s educated, urban-dwelling white people.
Of course, Robby adds, political intolerance isn’t the same as racial intolerance. “If someone has particularly awful political views, it’s not necessarily wrong to show them intolerance.” To be sure, Rob, which is why I’m especially intolerant of people who treat ethnic minorities as hapless victims of circumstance, robbed of autonomy and living at the mercy of all the phantom racist whites hiding around every other corner, inflicting intergenerational damage by directing psychic hate rays at them.