Happy Made Bail Thursday Afternoon Links

Okay, just kidding. I didn’t have to make bail. I’ve just been busy fixing both of my cars, and having all of the HVAC ductwork in my house replaced. Sadly, all of my hooker and blow money is now gone. How the hell is your Thursday?

Wow. I don’t know what to say about this. Florida Cop convicted of attempted murder, manslaughter for shooting a man. Surely this is great day for actual justice when a cop can be tried and convicted the same as any other person who drives the wrong way up an exit ramp, jumps out of a car with no police markings on it, never identifies himself as a police officer, and shoots a person.

Banning speech is always wrong. Doxing is a trollistic thing to do, but let’s not make bad law to stop assholes from being assholes.

Who are we missing today?

There was a joke that was old when I was starting to drive in Houston that Texas drivers take the speed limit as a challenge, not a rule.

At least he died with someone touching his dick.

Wow, I listened to this album about a billion times in high school.

Comments

414 responses to “Happy Made Bail Thursday Afternoon Links”

  1. Jarflax

    Do you get a bulk discount on bonds?

    1. Jarflax

      Hey an actual first?

    2. Brett L

      Oh sure, you only have to give the bondsman 10% every time.

    3. Pope Jimbo

      Do you get a bulk discount on bonds?

      It Barrys.

  2. ChipsnSalsa

    Present!

    1. leon

      Coward. Either vote Yea or Nay

  3. The Other Kevin

    What an embarrassing way to die. Sounds like something from an Austin Powers movie.

    1. grrizzly

      I wonder if he lost all his money first.

    2. Count Potato

      True, and he’s had that same penis for 65 years already. You figured he would have been comfortable with it by now.

      1. Private Chipperbot

        He should have just had them amputate a few fingers so it seemed bigger.

        1. commodious spittoon

          I don’t care how rich you are, no woman will agree to that.

  4. Rebel Scum

    Florida Cop convicted of attempted murder, manslaughter

    He accidentally killed someone he was trying to unjustifiably kill?

    1. Brett L

      He tried and succeeded. Two charges.

    2. Juvenile Bluster

      I’m convinced the charges and the verdict are set up to get him cleared on appeal.

    3. Mad Scientist

      If he’s convicted of manslaughter, doesn’t that mean the other party died? And if so, why was he also convicted of attempted murder?

  5. PBRstreetgang

    Some pretty funny suggested questions for the Dem primaries. Highlights:
    Given the fact that the U.S. has greatly reduced its carbon emissions even as China, India and much of the rest of the Third World have been increasing their pollution, would you be willing to undertake military action against such nations in order to prevent climate apocalypse and the end of the world?
    Would you pledge right now not to try to “pack” the Supreme Court to dilute the conservative majority?

    If President Trump tomorrow identified as a woman, began hormone therapy and scheduled a sex-change operation, would you consider him the first female president of the United States?

    https://www.bostonherald.com/2019/03/05/howie-carr-some-debate-questions-dems-should-answer/

    1. Gadfly

      Wow, Howie Carr is behind the times with that sex-change question. In our modern, enlightened world one need only identify as a woman to be a woman: surgery and therapy are totally unnecessary. Trump could become the first woman president tomorrow. The fact that he hasn’t already become our first woman president indicates that his self-respect is still, surprisingly, greater than his troll impulses.

      1. Pope Jimbo

        Maybe if he loses to a broad in 2020, he could “transition” between the election and the inaugural?

        That might actually get him impeached. The wailing of him bragging on Twitter about how brave he is as the first woman president (and first trans president) would be epic.

        1. Gadfly

          Indeed. Plus he can also notch “first lesbian” as well. So many firsts.

  6. The Late P Brooks

    Chik-fil-a strikes again!

    A dean at Rider University in New Jersey is stepping down from her post after the school decided to drop Chick-fil-A from a list of possible campus additions. The school’s reasoning, says Dean Cynthia Newman, is an affront to her Christian beliefs.
    Rider announced in November that it would no longer consider the fast food chain as a new campus restaurant option “based on the company’s record widely perceived to be in opposition to the LGBTQ+ community.”
    The restaurant chain had previously been one of the choices included in a survey sent to students about potential restaurant vendors.

    ————–

    Administrators wrote in a campus-wide email that the move was an effort to be more inclusive and that the chain’s “corporate values have not sufficiently progressed enough to align with those of Rider.”

    ————-

    Contacted about the Rider University controversy, the restaurant told CNN:
    “Chick-fil-A is a restaurant company focused on food, service and hospitality, and our restaurants and licensed locations on college campuses welcome everyone.
    “We have no policy of discrimination against any group, and we do not have a political or social agenda. More than 145,000 people from different backgrounds and beliefs represent the Chick-fil-A brand.”

    Get woke, or go home!

    That’ll show those haters.

    1. invisible finger

      As has been said by others here in the past, quitting in an emotional huff hurts you more than it hurts them.

      1. Mad Scientist

        Yep. Now the get rid of Chik-fil-a AND an unwoke dean.

        1. Heroic Mulatto

          I believe she decided to still stay on as faculty, as she could “accomplish more” in that role concerning this.

    2. ChipsnSalsa

      Once again, Chik-fil-A is the only one looking good. They have their communications on point.

  7. Rebel Scum

    Who are we missing today?

    I don’t really care for T-Swift.

    1. Unreconstructed

      Wasn’t it Crusty Juggler that had the hots for T-Swizzle?

    2. Certified Public Asshat

      I would.

    3. Enough About Palin

      If I ever find out where Dora the Explorer lives…

  8. Raston Bot

    mold in your ductwork?

    i’m looking at either mold remediation or also a complete remove/replace. the price difference is… substantial.

    1. Brett L

      My stuff was 50ish years old, was leaking like a sieve and had already been patched numerous times. But seeing the shit in there when they cut it out was not pleasant. Its one of those things that sucks to do, but since I want to live in this house for at least 15 years until my kids are grown, I’ll just spend the money to get it done right and professionally. They also added a return in my office which is on the opposite side from the air handler and upstairs, so it was always the hottest room in the house. It would be nice if it stayed at the set temperature on the thermostat now.

      1. I’m hoping we can sell this house before we need to do that sort of thing. Leaky 25 year old Air handler and ducts in the attic, unconditioned basement, hardly any (50 year old) insulation in the walls. My electric bill this month for a 1300 sqft house is $370.

        1. Brett L

          Jeez. My August bill is less than that with almost double the square footage and a pool pump. We’ll see if there’s any savings on the bill this summer. The guys who did the repair told me not to expect too much.

          1. Our usage has recently shot up. Some of that is the inefficient heat pump, but we’re still using 40% more electricity than last winter. It also makes unhappy noises when starting up. It’ll probably crap out this summer.

            I should probably ask Yusef about whether it’s worth rerunning the ductwork or finding a different solution for conditioning the basement.

          2. Spudalicious

            Holy cow! My house is more than three times that size and I’ve never had an electric bill over $250.

          3. Chafed

            Come to California, we’ll fix that for you.

          4. Spudalicious

            My California house was 2500 square feet. This one is 4300. The utility bills are the same.

    2. OneOut

      Half water and half bleach in a spray bottle kill bleach.

      1. OneOut

        Kills mold that is.

    3. DenverJ

      Don’t replace your ductwork, clean it, it’s metal not porous. Then seal the joints- which would still need to be done after a new installation, anyway.
      20$ dollars worth of tape can save hundreds of dollars

  9. “Tulsi Gabbard Apologist”

    “Banning speech is always wrong. Doxing is a trollistic thing to do, but let’s not make bad law to stop assholes from being assholes.”

    Really don’t see how forbidding the publication of information about kids for the purpose of harassment is a “free speech” issue (the law specifies “those under 18” and for the intent of harassment).

    Maybe all harassment laws are violations of free speech, too

    1. Old Man With Candy

      As a criminal matter, yeah, they are. If there are damages, that’s what civil courts are for, just like for libel, slander, copyright infringement… “No law” means “no law.”

      1. “Tulsi Gabbard Apologist”

        So harassment is a violation of free speech? Seriously, I’ve never heard that before

        1. Brett L

          Posting information you believe to be true about someone on the internet does not rise to the level of harrassment.

        2. “Tulsi Gabbard Apologist”

          Copyright infringement can sometimes carry criminal penalties, too. I see the argument against that, as IP should probably not even exist. The harassment one seems like quite a stretch

        3. Heroic Mulatto

          From what I understand harassment is either assault/battery and/or credible threats to do so AND the threats or violence seriously scare or annoy the person. If you give somebody a noogie and they are seen laughing as you do so, that is not harassment.

          Again, not a lawyer but someone who has to know this when dealing with fuckhead college kids. There could be an important piece of this definition that I’m missing.

          1. “Tulsi Gabbard Apologist”

            So when they say harassment they mean “noogie”?

        4. Old Man With Candy

          Well, 1A is pretty clear. “No law.” Not “No law except…”

          For many years, there were laws against pictures of titties or saying “fuck” as part of a comedy act.

          1. Chipwooder

            shit fuck piss cunt cocksucker motherfucker and tits *said in a gravelly voice*

          2. Francisco d’Anconia

            I miss him!

          3. Old Man With Candy

            His bit in The Aristocrats! was the best part. Spud and I watched that one together and were gasping and in tears.

          4. “Tulsi Gabbard Apologist”

            Again, so harassment laws are wrong? That is the only thing I’m asking

          5. “Tulsi Gabbard Apologist”

            If you can’t say that harassment laws are wrong, which is a fine position if you hold it, then you really don’t have an argument here.

          6. Old Man With Candy

            Yes, I believe that harassment laws that deal with speech (as opposed to slapping, tickling, pinching…) are wrong on a basic constitutional level.

            I also believe that civil torts could potentially be applied.

          7. Old Man With Candy

            I should be clear that by “speech,” I mean verbal, written, pictures, or anything else that falls under 1A.

          8. “Tulsi Gabbard Apologist”

            Thanks. That’s a fair criticism and good points. I’ll have to think on that

          9. Old Man With Candy

            Don’t hesitate to whack me with counterarguments. I don’t offend easily.

          10. Spudalicious

            Don’t lie. You offend people all the time.

          11. Old Man With Candy

            Only dissipated leprechauns.

    2. Stinky Wizzleteats

      Just suing the dozer until they’re reduced to living under a bridge seems to be sufficient legal recourse to me.

      1. Stinky Wizzleteats

        “doxer” damn autocorrect

  10. The Late P Brooks

    He accidentally killed someone he was trying to unjustifiably kill?

    Nobody in the courtroom could actually believe he hit the guy on purpose. It must have been a warning shot gone astray.

    1. Unreconstructed

      So you’re saying they’re familiar with stormtrooper police accuracy?

      1. leon

        So your saying it was an astray bullet going straight…

    2. blackjack

      Um, that explains manslaughter, but not attempted first degree murder. There’s likely some minor benefit or the jury negotiated for this to get a hold out to come around.

  11. The Late P Brooks

    As has been said by others here in the past, quitting in an emotional huff hurts you more than it hurts them.

    She remains a tenured professor. It was probably just an excuse to get away from a bunch of tedious administrative duties.

  12. Juvenile Bluster

    I’m told this is real and not parody.

    Heather Caygle
    ‏Verified account @heatherscope

    Debate on anti-Semitic resolution now postponed as Dems make “minor tweaks” I’m told.

    Apparently some of the groups who weren’t mentioned as being targets of hate speech — including the Hispanic Caucus — felt left out and want to be added.

    The resolution released earlier today mentioned several groups including African Americans, Native Americans, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, immigrants But as @dnewhauser pointed out earlier, Latinos not mentioned despite @AOC raising specific concerns about that earlier this wk

    UPDATE: Dems added language on Latinos, LGBTQ community and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders as groups who have been targets of hate speech

    1. “Tulsi Gabbard Apologist”

      So, fine people on both sides?

      1. “Tulsi Gabbard Apologist”

        HR Whataboutism

      2. Juvenile Bluster

        More like “All lives matter”.

    2. ChipsnSalsa

      What about the Judean People’s Front though?

      1. PBRstreetgang

        Or The People’s Front of Judea?

        1. ChipsnSalsa

          Splitters. they can all die.

      2. Dr. Fronkensteen

        Those splitter’s? Forget them.

    3. Dr. Fronkensteen

      What about whites? men? Christians?

      1. Stinky Wizzleteats

        Who cares about those assholes?

    4. invisible finger

      Water it down enough so that Jew-hate barely registers.

      Idiots.

      1. Heroic Mulatto

        I think that’s a feature, not a bug, my man.

        1. Chafed

          This, sadly, is correct. It’s pretty clear they weren’t going to get anywhere is they only condemned antisemitism. Dem leadership had to make it a list. Now it’s a laundry list. It’s dispiriting.

    5. Mad Scientist

      They should add deep dish pizza to their list.

    6. Count Potato

      Pacific Islanders? I don’t even know a single slur for them.

      Anyway, why don’t they just say “everyone except whites and Christians”?

      1. invisible finger

        How does that waste money?

        1. Chafed

          Lol

        1. Count Potato

          “Pacific Islander

          Boonga / boong / bunga / boonie
          (New Zealand) a Pacific Islander [alteration of boong].[89]
          Brownie
          Someone of Hispanic, Indian, and Arab, rarely used as someone of Native American or Pacific Island descent.[52]
          Kanaka
          originally referred to indentured laborers from the Pacific Islands, especially Melanesians and Polynesians.
          Hori
          (New Zealand), an offensive term for a Māori (from the formerly common Maorified version of the English name George).[90]”

          Besides New Zealand, that’s an awfully weak list.

        2. Count Potato

          “Good ol’ boy
          A term used to describe Southerners, especially white, powerful people and their networks.”

          Making their way, the only way they know how?

      2. Gustave Lytton

        “Island time”?

    7. PBRstreetgang

      What about furries?

    8. The Other Kevin

      * waves hand furiously *
      Oooh! Oooh! I want to be recognized as part of the victim class too!

      1. MeToo! WHY DO THEY HATE VETS!!!!

        *snickers*

        1. Old Man With Candy

          Because vets work on horses, and horses are assholes.

        2. Jarflax

          Because you put them on a cold steel table, stick things up their butts and poke them with ouchy needles? Oh you meant veterans? Because you are running dog lackeys of the capitalists? Of course the same people who believe this about the vets, say things like “We came, we saw, he died.” Every single politician dealing with every issue purely ad hoc based on momentary advantage gets confusing after a bit.

        3. Brett L

          Vets oppress women by dying and leaving them widows and orphans. Herself even said it outloud. “Women suffer worst in war.”

          1. That whole thing should have gotten her laughed at from every direction…but it was fiercely ignored.

    9. Pope Jimbo

      At this rate, how long before even Trump Hate gets added to the list of wrongthink?

      1. commodious spittoon

        Be nice if House Republicans floated a one-line bill specifically condemning Omar’s antisemitism.

        1. Pope Jimbo

          Since it has no chance of being voted on/passed a resolution like that is right in their wheelhouse!

          1. Jarflax

            Not really, it might make the Socialists feel uncomfortable, and that wouldn’t be collegial enough for the Rs.

          2. Pope Jimbo

            You are right. Can’t be too careful when there is a cocktail involved.

    10. Gadfly

      I think the Dems have made a tactical error by broadening the language in their resolution. As others point out, it does not include some groups, including very large ones like “white people” and “Christians”. This leaves an opening for someone to introduce separate amendments adding these groups, amendments that have to be voted on by the Dems and therefor become part of their record. If the Rs get a bunch of Ds to vote against condemning bigotry against Christians, for example, they craft ex-nihilo a bunch red meat for bumping up turnout among their base. Now while it may seem trivial for the Ds to all vote for such amendments, a fair portion of their base would probably be upset, so the mere introduction of such amendments would put them between a rock and a hard place.

      1. But that would take cunning and smarts that TEAM RED does not seem to evidence.

    11. Tacit Rainbow

      They should just say, simply, “All Lives Matter”. That should save them some time reading it into the congressional record!

    12. Chipwooder

      What about the Tutsi? Laplanders? Basques? Bretons? Cornish? Montagnards?

      1. Count Potato

        Now you’re just making people up.

        1. Yeah. Mountaintards? Does he really expect us to believe that they are real?

          1. slumbrew

            That’s a typo. He meant Communards

    13. Fatty Bolger

      Wait, even white immigrants? Here legally? They need to close that loophole immediately.

    14. Drake

      Pacific Islanders? I don’t even know any racial slurs for them.

  13. Count Potato

    “Dozens of hospital nurses are ‘fired’ for looking at Jussie Smollett’s medical records without permission after arrived at ER with bruises and ‘scratches he gave himself’ following ‘hoax’ attack”

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6783829/Dozens-hospital-nurses-fired-looking-Jussie-Smolletts-medical-records.html

    1. ChipsnSalsa

      That’s an easy fire right there, no messing around on that stuff.

      1. Brett L

        Yup. I had to write custom audit processes for a medical records system. They don’t even fuck around a little on that.

      2. Yep – I once had to a take a special HIPAA (sp?) class because server backup tapes, at one time, were being stored where some medical records were.

        1. Juvenile Bluster

          Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. HIPAA. Not HIPPA, half you people on the internets.

          1. commodious spittoon

            I saw one them hippas fart at the zoo once.

        2. Fourscore

          I read that as Hippies, thought we were still talking about a protected class. So, we can still not like hippies? Is HIPPA the plural?
          Is that a full credit course?

    2. Raston Bot

      those Nigerian MAGA rednecks were just hitting him with his own hands while shouting, “why are you hitting yourself? why are you hitting yourself?”

      1. +1 little brother

    3. Rhywun

      I don’t get it. Why were they doing that? What is the takeaway from this supposed to be – that they were just burning with the need to see what’s up with the *cough* famous person on site?

      Or does this happen all the time and nobody ever gets in trouble for it?

      1. Count Potato

        I’m thinking it happens rather often when the patient is famous.

        1. Rhywun

          Right, but what about this case?

      2. Chafed

        Almost certainly the former. It’s idle curiousity and the chance to gossip.

        1. Rhywun

          So the one nurse who somehow happened to know who the fuck he is blabbed to the rest? I’m sure not buying that “dozens” of them knew.

          1. Count Potato

            Wasn’t this in a predominantly black neighborhood? He was on a show about the hip-hop business.

          2. Rhywun

            I couldn’t make a guess at the racial makeup of the nursing staff at whichever hospital he visited.

          3. Count Potato

            I’m engaging in speculation.

          4. Rhywun

            We’re Glibs. That’s what we do.

          5. Chafed

            I doubt it happened the night he came in. It probably happened after his story started falling apart.

          6. Rhywun

            OK, that is eminently plausible.

        2. OneOut

          Or locally personal and the ability to gossip or injure.?

      3. Brett L

        It happens after the last batch who got fired aren’t around to tell people what happens when the record audit report comes out.

  14. Rebel Scum

    Texas drivers take the speed limit as a challenge, not a rule.

    I have always considered them to be more like guidelines.

    1. Dr. Fronkensteen
  15. The Late P Brooks

    i’m looking at either mold remediation or also a complete remove/replace. the price difference is… substantial.

    Get a weasel ferret. They’re good at cleaning ductwork.

    1. Jarflax

      Goodbye mildew smell, hello musk.

  16. >>Texas drivers take the speed limit as a challenge, not a rule.

    Fastest I’ve ever gone – on a speedometer that probably wasn’t all that accurate – was in my ol’ 1968 Firebird: 135-140mph. This was out in the country racing a big-block 460-powered Ford LTD. I pulled away from him from the get-go, but the other driver wouldn’t give up. So being the stupid 17yo I was, I just kept jacking the speed up and up. The Firebird, needless to say, wasn’t cut out for that kind of speed and the front end was bobbing all over the place.

    Derp – is all I gotta say to my dumb teenage self.

    1. Dr. Fronkensteen

      Me Back roads of Iowa. Thought it was a straight road. It was a bit of an optical illusion. The road on either side of the ravine was even with each other and I didn’t realize the ravine and bridge was there. Got up to 105 mph. Ended up looking down the ravine onto a one lane bridge. The speed limit of the bridge was 5 mph. Thank God there was no one coming the other way. Went over the bridge at about 40 mph.

    2. Juan-Baptiste Emmanuel Seguin

      I topped out at 135…Dodge Spirit R/T. Felt pretty good too, until I remembered I was on a country two lane (Hwy 6 north of Waco) at dusk. Dumb, dumb move.

      Luckily, I didn’t hit any deer.

    3. slumbrew

      I briefly touched 130 on the Seaford–Oyster Bay Expressway early in the morning on a weekend, in a BMW 3.0 L my parents somehow acquired (a direct import, the instrumentation was still in German).

      I wish I had bought that car from them.

    4. Rebel Scum

      120 mph in a Mazda 6. Stopped by the speed governor. Only for a short time. The car was surprisingly well-mannered, but it had upgraded suspension (springs, struts, sway-bars).

      1. But Enough About Me

        145 k/h, downhill, on Highway 40/11 in David Thompson country between Saskatchewan River Crossing and Rocky Mountain House, in a Chevy Sprint. The spousal unit and I had eight cases of wine in the back (we’d been in the Okanagan) and were rushing back to Edmonton because our apartment-sitter phoned us that morning and told us there’d been a break-in of our apartment (she saw the open doors as she came into our building and wisely called the cops rather than just step inside).

        It’s only 90mph, but Sprints are just not designed for that. Not even the turbo versions. We were a bit panicked and not thinking clearly.

    5. I got up to 100 once: in a minivan on I-93 on the way back from Bill Clinton’s NH presidential primary.

      1. Spudalicious

        I’ve done “M” speed in an ambulance. That’s when the needle goes all the way to the m in mph. The speedometer topped out at 95.

    6. one true athena

      Me in my mom’s ’69 Datsun. I was so excited on the long straightaway in NM to be able to finally floor it. Speedometer went up to 140, so I decided I was gonna get it up all the way up. Put the pedal down. At 80 the car started to shake, and got worse as it crept a bit higher. The pedal all the way down — I could not go more than ~92. And I was afraid pieces were going to fall out, it was shaking so badly.

      It was a very disappointing ending to my teenage “drive fast, rebel” moment.

      1. Heroic Mulatto

        I like how you think, though.

    7. 117 on I-65 coming home from Purdue one night in my Ford Taurus. Hit the speed governor with plenty of revs left. It was only me and the trucks on the road.

      Speaking of speed governor, why the hell is it news that Volvo is putting a speed governor of 112 in their cars?

      1. Because fuck you, that’s why.

      2. dbleagle

        Short distances- In Montana on my way to Great Falls 105mph on multiple occasions on an open highway, in daylight with no weather.

        Sustained- around 160kph crossing Germany from Berlin to Ramstein on the Autobahn system one summer night in a Mercedes. I thought i was going fast, until after midnight to around 4am. That is when the “fast” cars came out to play. A succession of Euro speeds cars passed me going around 300+kph. It was impressive to see the lights appear behind me, a blur pass on my left and then red lights quickly pulling away.

        1. slumbrew

          When was this? 300+kph is seriously fast.

        2. Rebel Scum

          kph

          You probably also measure temperature in degrees-Commie.

          1. dbleagle

            The autobahn night ride was July 2011. German roads between the cities empty by 10pm but are still the same great surfaces and engineering. I was going about the standard speed for the few people who were out.

            kph because it was a German car and metered as such. But 32 is the freezing point of water and not swimsuit weather. Always!

        3. Old Man With Candy

          You’re making me nostalgic for Cosby’s 200 MPH.

        4. OneOut

          Me 120 +/- on the Atchafalaya Bridge going from Houston to N’awlins the week before Supper Bowl in 86 or 87.

          A black dot appeared in my side and rearview mirrors.

          I thought a state trooper might have flagged me from a plane as there are no shoulders for a unit.

          Seconds later I had my doors blown off by some version of the Porsche 911 or 930 turbo hell bent for N’awlins.

      3. Rebel Scum

        Speed governors suck. I am glad my Honda doesn’t have one. I haven’t done it will apparently (via YouTube contributor) get to 135mph before it loses steam. There were enough rpm left that if it had the power it’d probably do 150mph. The SI model is ok handling, but I’d want to tighten up the suspension a bit before trying that.

    8. Chipwooder

      Wowza. Fastest I ever did was about 110 on I-85 in Alabama, 1997. I had a rabbit to follow, and I was in a hurry to get to Montgomery because there was a cute girl I had met online who wanted to fuck me, and such girls were in exceedingly short supply in Charlottesville at the time.

      1. Chipwooder

        Oh, and the equipment was my trusty 1985 Prelude. Still my favorite of all the cars I’ve had.

      2. such girls were in exceedingly short supply in Charlottesville at the time.

        Girls who want to fuck in general, or specifically girls who wanted to fuck you? :-p

        1. Chipwooder

          Me. That was a particularly dry period even by my standards, hence my willingness to drive like ten hours spur of the moment.

          Epilogue – she and I stayed in touch over the years although we last saw each other in 2000, and it’s surreal now seeing her pictures on Facederp as a fairly frumpy housewife with kids who are now 18 and 20.

          1. Gustave Lytton

            *does mental math*

            Those ages do fit…

      3. 115 in a 1978 Chrysler Cordoba. Scared the crap out of me since it was basically 2 tons of metal hurtling out of control down the road.

    9. Spudalicious

      135 in my Mustang. 120 in a Firebird.

    10. Sean

      *raises hand*

      I’m apparently the dumbest one here. I’ve done far worse in two different cars on empty interstates. Yes, you can bury those speedometers.

      A 1971 warmed over Firebird 400 and a 2000 S4 that was X chipped.

    11. The Bearded Hobbit

      140mph on the back seat of a Norton Atlas. The speed limit was 70 so we were literally passing cars like they were standing still.

      Fastest when I was driving was 133 on I-40 in California.

      1. blackjack

        now we’re talking my language.

        I got my bike (the one in my avatar, although in an earlier incarnation) to about a half inch past the end of the speedo range. Speedo ended at 120, over by 5 o’clock-ish and I got the needle pointing straight back at 6. This was on i-40 before Needles, ca.

    12. Tundra

      My 1984 RX-7 GSL-SE was once driven at somewhere near 120 on 35W North toward downtown Minneapolis. At 2:30 in the afternoon. It was beyond retarded.

      1. Mad Scientist

        Many years ago, on the 5 northbound to Sacramento I was passed by a guy in a silver Maxima doing 125. Now there’s my kind of rabbit! I pulled into the left lane, bumped her up to 125, set the cruise control, and cranked the stereo. A few minutes or later I noticed a car catching up in the mirror. Since realistically that was only going to be one kind of car, I casually slowed and dropped back into the right lane. Black and white changed in behind me….then sped back up and rocketed past. Wshew! A few miles down the road there was the Maxima pulled over. I suspect the cop was already chasing him when I joined in. I think triple digits is an instant license revocation in California, so I decided it wasn’t worth trying that again. At least not on that road. But I did have occasion to bump that car against the speed limiter at 155 MPH once, just to see if I could.

    13. Francisco d’Anconia

      135

      89 Mustang 5.0 LX

      It was…uncomfortable…

      1. Spudalicious

        Lol! That’s the same exact car I did 135 in, down to the model year.

        1. Francisco d’Anconia

          Black…red interior?

          I miss that car!

    14. CPRM

      I got my 95 pontiac sunfire up to 120 once, that’s where the speedo ended and I was driving through woods, so I backed off in case a deer attempted suicide.

    15. DrOtto

      Indicated – 165mph 1987 Yamaha FZR750 on Houston 290 inbound HOV. Verified by MSP radar – 104mph 1977 Chevy Impala on I94 Eastbound in St. Paul.

  17. * car has the rare 160mph speedo option, probably worth more than the entire rust bucket.

  18. Count Potato

    “NEW VIDEO: The truth about sex reassignment surgery and why I’m NOT getting it (for now)”

    https://twitter.com/MsBlaireWhite/status/1103747151975276544

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1ZWX5r_0MI

    1. Brett L

      There are some things I do not wish to be more informed about.

      1. leon

        There are too many things that i want to be informed on that i can’t waste my time being informed on the vast majority of things.

  19. Spudalicious

    Billionaire dies getting his dick enlarged. Joohs are hung like cashews. It is known.

    1. Pope Jimbo

      hung like cashjews

      Welcome to Glibs, Congresswoman Omar.

      1. Spudalicious

        I’m a better troll than she is.

    2. Way to ruin the cashew chicken I was was going to make for dinner.

      1. Spudalicious

        Oh, it won’t just be today. For the rest of your life, you’ll think about this thread whenever you see a cashew.

        1. Meh, I’m over it already. (((dick))) Chicken back on the menu!

          1. Spudalicious

            Larf!

          2. Kidding aside I made this, Chef John may be an insufferable ass when it comes to anything but cooking but damn the man can put a recipe together.

  20. Gadfly

    Who are we missing today?

    No one. A proper Glib will outsource their stalking.

  21. Count Potato

    “Whole Foods reportedly cuts worker hours to make up for its new $15-an-hour wage

    After Amazon raised its company-wide wage floor to $15 last year, workers at Whole Foods are seeing their hours slashed.”

    https://www.fastcompany.com/90316370/whole-foods-reportedly-cuts-worker-hours-to-make-up-for-its-new-15-an-hour-wage

    This is my surprised face.

    1. whiz

      Whole Foods denies it. I wonder if WF decided to cut hours of their less productive workers, and it’s those workers who are complaining.

  22. The Late P Brooks

    CNN ponders the future of making things

    In recent years, the federal government has poured money into a lively collaboration between academics and industry focused on preserving US manufacturing for the next generation. And plenty of existing companies are adopting other new technologies to get leaner and more productive. But even if they succeed, the thousands of solid, middle-class jobs that local residents could get from GM with just a high school diploma probably aren’t coming back.

    Rather, the new manufacturing industry will require a smaller number of highly-educated engineers, programmers and machine operators — the types of skills that today are in short supply not just in the US, but around the world.

    ——————-

    The point to all these endeavors is to create a flexible manufacturing base that can adapt to customers’ needs quickly, rather than the rigid assembly line at the now-shuttered GM plant in Lordstown. That plant is configured to only be able to manufacture one model of car, and shifting to something different would require millions of dollars of investment, plus months of idle time.
    Incorporating additive manufacturing is also a way for smaller Youngstown companies to remain resilient and make products at a lower cost, so that when downturns come or a large client moves away, they can pivot to other markets. Factories like a large aluminum can manufacturer have gotten in touch with Youngstown State to see if there are ways they can incorporate 3D printing into their operations.

    “They know their world is going to change too,” said Jim Tressel, president of Youngstown State. “Don’t know how. But they know, like Thomas Edison said, ‘there’s a better way, find it.’”
    If Youngstown can turn itself into a 3D-printing manufacturing base, it will still be smaller scale and more distributed, rather than relying on enormous tent-pole companies of years past. It won’t be as visible to the outside world — but it will be less vulnerable to the whims of any one institution.

    We’ll see. Hopefully they won’t get bogged down in a morass of whizbang bullshit and venture capital vaporware.

    1. Heroic Mulatto

      the thousands of solid, middle-class jobs that local residents could get from GM with just a high school diploma probably aren’t coming back

      This assumes these jobs “went” somewhere. Your average Asian auto factory worker with only a voc-tech education isn’t living a middle-class life.

      When your average Q-tard MAGAot looks around and asks “Where muh country gone?!?,” your answer should be “Your country done gone because one can live better on welfare and/or disability than a Chinese auto factory worker.”

      1. commodious spittoon

        What have you got against Q’s tiddy links?

        1. Heroic Mulatto

          Other than killing Thicc Thursday?

          1. commodious spittoon

            y u lie tho

          2. Chafed

            Q didn’t kill it. You stopped posting to the consternation of many. Man up HM. It’s time for you to get back in saddle.

            If you don’t then it’s your own fault Spud keeps posting Demi Rose links.

      2. Pope Jimbo

        Unless you have a bad case of Yellow Fever.

        That MAGAot who is into Asian chicks is totes envious of those Chinese auto workers because they are literally up to their necks in Asian gals.

        1. Heroic Mulatto

          Except the for massive gender imbalance thing after years of aborting girls or just leaving them to die from exposure from the 1 Child Policy.

    2. Chipwooder

      Jim Tressel is the president of a college now??

      1. Raven Nation

        Yeah, that caught my eye too.

      2. spqr2008

        For several years now. He took some advisory job in 2012, then was promoted.

  23. Juvenile Bluster

    Somewhat meta, but Balko had a nearly fatal heart attack last week. Glad to see he’s ok.

    https://www.facebook.com/538952026/posts/10155846448802027?sfns=mo

    1. Ed Wuncler

      I don’t agree with a lot of his stuff outside of criminal justice reform, but am happy that he’s okay. He more than anyone else, helped me change my mind about how terrible our justice system can be at times.

      1. Chipwooder

        He absolutely did that, which is why it’s such a shame that he’s turned into a jackass about a lot of things these days.

        Still excellent at his core competency, though. Gotta give him that.

    2. Raston Bot

      tl;dr keep baby aspirin handy and pop a few if you have chest pain.

      1. Count Potato

        If you seriously think you are having a heart attack, call 911.

        1. Spudalicious

          Call 911. One of the first things the medics are going to give you is three baby aspirin.

          1. Count Potato

            Not necessarily. It’s way more complicated than that.

          2. Spudalicious

            If it’s deemed cardiac in nature, baby aspirin is one of the first line drugs administered, unless you are allergic or have a bleeding disorder. If your blood pressure supports it, sublingual nitro spray will also be administered.

            A web forum isn’t the place I’m going to put in the effort to detail treatment protocols. The point is, call 911 if you think you’re having a heart attack. Don’t go eat some baby aspirin and then consider making the call.

      2. Fourscore

        I’ve been taking an 81 mg aspirin for 30 years, on the advice of my brother-in-law, an MD. I asked him if he took one and he said “No” and he died about 7-8 years ago, same age as me, but death was Parkinson’s.

        1. Spudalicious

          If you’ve never had a stroke, or a heart attack, it really isn’t necessary.

          https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/is-taking-a-daily-aspirin-really-necessary-2/

        2. Fourscore

          One of the side effects for me is that my blood and skin are thin, if I get a minor scratch or cut it will bleed quite a while. The backs of my hands are discolored from slight bruises, blood forms under the thin layer of skin and the skin stays discolored, probably forever. I had a blood clot in my leg some 40 years ago but none since I went to the aspirin.

          1. Spudalicious

            Yeah, it can be a double edged sword.

    3. commodious spittoon

      Only 43, according to Wikipedia.

    1. The Other Kevin

      This really is the best timeline.

    2. Heroic Mulatto

      Why you recycle my links, mang?

      1. Spudalicious

        You’re assuming I read what you posted.

        1. Heroic Mulatto

          I see where you click when you sleep.

      2. People click on your links?

        1. Chipwooder

          Only the phony tough and the crazy brave

      3. Count Potato

        I think I posted the Guardian article days ago.

  24. Count Potato

    “I can no longer recognize what is parody”

    https://twitter.com/TheLaurenChen/status/1103489282868682759

    1. Count Potato

      “I am going to unfollow anyone who posts anything positive about Nancy Pelosi. Nancy Pelosi is a white feminist. White feminists are white supremacists. Nancy Pelosi is a white supremacist. And if you idolize Nancy Pelosi, you may as well declare allegiance to David Duke.”

      https://twitter.com/sairasameerarao/status/1103073229168496640

        1. Pope Jimbo

          Uffda. That is very funny.

          1. Pope Jimbo

            Crap, clicked post too soon.

            If Trump doesn’t tweet something about this, he’s missing out.

            Remember the shit fit the MSM had when Trump didn’t disavow Duke fast enough? I bet they apply the same standard here.

      1. Chipwooder

        She’s…..doesn’t know what white supremacy actually is, I take it.

        1. Being white is white supremacy, because we’re totes not a racist movement here on the intersectional left.

          1. Chipwooder

            Mark Steyn said something once about this sort of thing that resonated with me: if you reduce every white person to their skin color, and treat this skin color as some kind of indelible stain which forever tarnishes said person with a sort of original sin that can never be expunged……why wouldn’t you expect that to create a white identity movement? Are you actually trying to inspire a true white racial identity?

          2. Suthenboy

            Yes, they are
            That’s the purpose of identity politics (political bigotry)
            Divide and conquer

          3. Drake

            It’s kind of funny they trying to force us all into a new Klan. If the plan succeeds, then what?

          4. Drake

            I thought being White was white supremacy because everyone knows were are supreme?

            I bet it’s the Neanderthal DNA.

          5. Spudalicious

            Fake News. The Supremes were black.

  25. prolefeed

    At least he died with someone touching his dick.

    These would have been a better rental choice

    Barely SFW

    1. prolefeed

      This is what happens when linking while 420d

      Take two

      1. Spudalicious

        I didn’t make it past 4. Uffda.

    2. Rebel Scum

      #3, girl on the right.

      1. Spudalicious

        #metoo

  26. The Late P Brooks

    More:

    Despite technological advancements that have cut down on the man-hours involved in manufacturing, the industry says it’s in dire need of workers, because the economy is doing well and a generation of people who went into the profession decades ago is now retiring. Last fall, the job openings rate climbed to its highest point on record, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    That scarcity of trained workers, in turn, fuels further attempts to squeeze humans out of the process.
    Taylor-Winfield is a Youngstown-based company of 87 people that’s been around for more than a century making tools and systems of tools for manufacturers all over the world. It has an R&D lab with sensors and lasers that allows teams of robots to turn out products with almost no human touch.
    “What we hear time and time again is that hiring people throughout the country is difficult,” said the company’s president, Frank Deley. “So once we figure out the process, we figure out how to automate it.”

    It’s a good thing the education system is working overtime to crank out Sociology majors.

    1. invisible finger

      At their website, they have an opening for “President”.

    2. Gustave Lytton

      Ahhh, the old retirement cliff story. Gets trotted every couple of years. Usually it’s something like 1/3 of employees will be retiring in the next ten years just like the Dilbert panel about 40% of sick days are on Monday and Friday.

  27. Pope Jimbo

    A fairly local story that I am linking to only because I want to spike Tundra’s blood pressure.

    We have an abomination of an organization called the Met Council. All the members are appointed by the governor and have tons and tons of power. This body is in charge of a lot of things and spends money exactly how it feels. All without ever needing a vote from any taxpayer.

    My guess is that it exists because it is the perfect tool for Big Government Statists (right or left). The Met Council can do all sorts of things without worrying about being re-elected. The pols can tell the outraged tax payers that they hate the Met Council too, but what can they do?

    A perfect example of this is light rail transit. The Met Council spends billions on this boondoggle. If any pols were actually voting on it, they’d get bounced pretty quickly. But since it is done by these unelected people, there really is no way to reign this crap in.

    1. Pope Jimbo

      Who am I kidding? Even if the Met Council was elected, I doubt tax payers would actually punish these wastrels.

      Exhibit A is that Minneapolis has a new Resilience Officer.

      He will lead citywide resilience-building efforts as part of Minneapolis’ partnership with 100 Resilient Cities – Pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation. Harris’ work will focus on “shocks and stresses” including topics such as lack of affordable housing, climate adaptation needs and the impact of economic inequality within community. Harris will work to ensure alignment with some of the initiatives already occurring in the city relating to continuity of operations planning and business disaster recovery planning.

      1. Chipwooder

        Gentlemen, we’ve got to protect our phony-baloney jobs! Harrumph, harrumph!

    2. Fourscore

      Its things like that that make me feel good about living in the woods. We do have elected people pulling the same shit but at least they are answerable to the voter, not that itmakes any difference. The power of the incumbency is always visible.

      If only the “right people” would run for office

    3. Tundra

      Thanks a lot.

      Timely, though. I noticed the other day that one of those special transport van services has the Met Council badge on it. I am soooo bummed your buddy lost. He’s the first pol I’ve ever heard actually recommend shutting that scam down.

  28. The Late P Brooks

    Balko had a nearly fatal heart attack last week. Glad to see he’s ok.

    TDS-induced apoplexy seems more likely. Glad he pulled through. He has a good body of work.

  29. Count Potato

    “Ilhan Omar Shouldn’t Get a Pass

    The left should condemn Islamophobia, Trumpism, the Israeli government’s policies, and the congresswoman’s anti-Semitic comments.”

    https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/03/ilhan-omar-anti-semitism-dual-loyalty-trump.html

    TW: Slate?

    1. commodious spittoon

      “Reject Islamophobia and anti-Blackness! Oh, and, um, think critically about antisemitism. But only because the right weaponizes our antisemitism!”

      You’ll be shocked how little I doctored that sentence.

    2. grrizzly

      How quickly the things change. I almost forgot that Corbyn’s immediate predecessor as the leader of the Labour Party was Jewish.

  30. Juvenile Bluster

    This is the Democrat resolution that started as one condemning antisemitism. What a goddamn joke.

    “Whereas white supremacists in the United States have exploited and continue to exploit bigotry and weaponize hate for political gain, targeting traditionally persecuted peoples, including African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other people of color, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, the LGBTQ community, immigrants, and others with verbal attacks, incitement, and violence…”

    1. Count Potato

      So antisemitism is only bad if white people do it, thereby excusing Ilhan Omar.

    2. Chipwooder

      Ilhan Omar is a white supremacist as well as someone who married her brother to evade immigration laws? Well, I’ll be a sonofbitch,

      1. Pope Jimbo

        She can so so many things that you think a tampon company would hire her as a spokeswoman.

    3. Rhywun

      LOL that can’t be real

        1. invisible finger

          When has CNN ever posted anything real?

          1. Juvenile Bluster

            They’re a mouthpiece for the Democratic Party, so I assume that anything they report on that front is real.

        2. Rhywun

          I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at their total lack of shame by now but… wow. They might as well be resolving to re-elect Donald Trump next year.

          1. invisible finger

            That’s why I called them idiots upthread.

        3. Steve King, living his brand.

    4. Gadfly

      That wording still leaves an opening for an enterprising Congressman to try to insert “Christian” into that list and watch the fun that ensues. After all, given the history of this country, more Christians than Muslims, Hindus, or Sikhs have been targeted by white supremacists.

      1. Gustave Lytton

        You could replace white supremicists with Democrat politicians above and still be historically accurate.

  31. Count Potato

    “Number of teens seeking treatment for gender dysphoria has increased tenfold since 2010

    This exponential growth cannot be due solely to greater awareness about gender diversity. The number of American adults who identify as transgender has doubled in the last ten years to 6 in 1000. The fact that the numbers pertaining to children are showing a tenfold increase or higher in a shorter span of time speaks to other factors being at play.

    From a scientific standpoint, transitioning can be beneficial to some adults and children who are post-puberty, but clinicians in the field aren’t able to do their jobs properly anymore, due to the current political climate. Without a proper psychological assessment, many children who are suffering from other mental health conditions—like autism, borderline personality disorder, and trauma, as well as suicidal ideation—are transitioning instead of getting the appropriate support they need.”

    https://www.thepostmillennial.com/number-of-teens-seeking-treatment-for-gender-dysphoria-has-increased-tenfold-since-2010/

    1. Heroic Mulatto

      Well, they are putting chemicals in the water are turning the frigging frogs gay.

      1. invisible finger

        It ain’t just the French.

    2. The Other Kevin

      I’m going to put this bluntly. It is a fad. I’ve seen it in my own kids and their classmates.

      1. invisible finger

        Your kids are in music theater?

      2. Heroic Mulatto

        In my day, being gay wasn’t cool.

        1. Spudalicious

          Happiness was frowned upon?

      3. The Other Kevin

        The youngest is, but she’s not the one who claims to be transgender. The 18 year old thinks that because she’s been attracted to both boys and girls, she’s “gender fluid”. She has classmates that insist on being called by alternate pronouns. There wasn’t one time in my daughter’s life that she indicated she would rather be male, until all this became a hot topic.

        1. commodious spittoon

          18, eh? You sending her to Hillsdale?

        2. invisible finger

          Sounds like she’s just trying to push as many buttons as she can until she find the ones that piss daddy off.

          Step-kid’s high school music theater had two “trans” kids although I got the impression that one of them was purposely doing it to mock the other one. I never bring up the topic though, hearing any brainwashing would just piss me off. To each his own – as long as they keep their hands off mine.

          Step-kid is in college now and being a private, Christian-based college there don’t seem to be any trans that I’ve seen. Step-kid is extremely happy, and I’m sure it’s partly because the PC brainwashing is way toned-down compared to public high school (I’m sure it’s not completely eliminated).

        3. The Other Kevin

          I think it’s more pushing mom’s buttons than mine. She’s been going to therapy for years and it’s never become a serious topic of discussion (we do talk to her therapist). But I get the idea a lot of kids find it cool and edgy. As someone said before, trans is the new goth.

          1. invisible finger

            Probably true. Step-kid wanted to see a therapist senior year of HS. She hasn’t even mentioned therapy since starting college. High School can be quite the toxic environment, regardless of the socio-economics of the neighborhood. God didn’t intend for teenagers to be locked up and infantilized. I have a couple of nieces that loved high school, but now that they are adults (and one teaches high school!) they kind of regret not having (non-summer) jobs during their school years that would’ve put them in the adult world sooner. I know the step-kid loves the fact that she has an off-campus job to go to a couple days a week.

          2. God didn’t intend for teenagers to be locked up and infantilized.

            *nods rabidly*

            One of my biggest parenting goals is to get my daughter involved in things that expose her to a world beyond a cohort of kids within a 2 year band of birth dates. Insecurity is much less daunting to go through when you have exposure to people who aren’t busy marking their territory and blowing everything out of proportion as is wont in high school.

          3. leon

            I’ve almost always worked with people older than I, and I think it had contributed a lot to my maturity.

        4. Gadfly

          The 18 year old thinks that because she’s been attracted to both boys and girls, she’s “gender fluid”.

          Do they not teach about the “B” in “LGBTQ” anymore?

      4. JaimeRoberto: Gentleman, Scholar, French Tickler

        My son’s roommate is a chick who thinks she’s a dude. Maybe it’s legit, maybe it’s a fad. I don’t really care as long as xe pays the rent on time.

        1. Sean

          Does she pee standing up?

        2. It could be an elaborate ruse to keep their uptight landlord off their backs (so to speak) a reverse Roper-Farley Maneuver.

          1. Rhywun

            I always thought that setup was ridiculously old-fashioned for the late 70s, until I learned it was adapted from an older British show.

    3. Something, something more of what you reward, less of what you condemn.

      1. Tundra

        Fe…

  32. The Late P Brooks

    Speaking of people who won’t STFU and GTFO

    Amid increasing calls for a tax on the wealthiest Americans, former President Barack Obama told a largely corporate audience at an event in Utah that he doesn’t “enjoy writing checks to the Treasury Department any more than you do.”

    ——————-

    Obama released his tax returns when he was commander in chief, something President Donald Trump has not done. For Obama, the public scrutiny meant that he didn’t take a deduction.

    “I couldn’t exercise any loopholes. Whatever the maximum rate is, I’m paying,” he said.

    While his tax bill may be high, Obama said he has been “so blessed by this country.”

    “For me to be able to pay my fair share of sustaining this amazing nation so kids coming up behind me are going to have the same opportunities that I do, is something that I insist upon,” said Obama.

    —————

    Obama warned that businesses must be socially responsible or risk alienating a younger generation of customers who are making purchasing decisions based on how they feel about a brand.

    “If you talk to Malia and Sasha and their cohort, if you are a company that doesn’t care about non-discrimination and not having sexual harassment in your company, and is unconcerned about climate change, you are going to start losing customers at some point,” said Obama.

    Yeah, whatever.

    1. Chipwooder

      How about now, Barry? Taking deductions now?

      1. Pope Jimbo

        Yeah, that was my first thought too. I bet he totally said that those vacations that Michele went on were the same as taxable income and paid taxes on that.

        We both know, though, that this will become an oft repeated talking point on the Left. They will talk about how Obama is totes cool because he didn’t take deductions. Just like the Warren Buffet talking point that he pays less taxes than his secretary.

    2. “Their product sucks, no customer support and they are losing money like crazy…but they have a huge book of sexual harassment rules and a green policy!”

    3. Rhywun

      Look at that fucking stage. We are going to have to live with this cult for the rest of our goddamn lives.

      1. slumbrew

        Christ, that’s awful. ME ME ME.

        As an aside, wearing white high-tops with your suit makes you look like a douchebag.

        … time passes …

        Oh, looking like a douchebag is apparently his look.

        1. Rhywun

          Jesus, you’re not kidding.

    4. leon

      Legal deductions are not loopholes asshole.

      Re: Ryan Smith and qualtrics. He’s not even the douchiest Utah Tech CEO that goes to Jessie James of DOMO. I have worked with qualtrics though, and I’m astounded that what amounts to a academic research tool (most of their customer base is university’s) was bought for 8BB

    5. Francisco d’Anconia

      “For me to be able to pay my fair share of sustaining this amazing nation so kids coming up behind me are going to have the same opportunities that I do, is something that I insist upon,”

      How do you feel about paying other people’s fair share?

      1. leon

        The fair share argument is dumb on many levels, but one that bothers me in particular is that it is just asserted that whatever amount the government decrees is your fair share, or short of it. They treat it like they are indebted to government and will never be able to repay,in a quasi-messianic way. It goes against the idea of fairness completely . If it was truly just then we would be able to at least calculate the benefits and costs and then determine what we owed.

        1. Francisco d’Anconia

          In my perfect world, I’d take what the Government spends, divide by the entire population and that’s your “fair share”.

          1. That’ll be $12,500 per person for this year, and $68,750 per person to pay off the debt.

            Now that we have the fedgov out to the way, we can figure out the state and local tax cost.

          2. Dr. Fronkensteen

            So as I have two dependent’s that means I owe 37,500.00

            Shame about that pesky food budget.

          3. Francisco d’Anconia

            I figure, if the government did nothing except protect individual rights, you could run this country on a trillion bucks a year. That’s be just over $3k for every man woman and child. That’s doable. It would incentivize small government as any increase affects everyone and hurts the poor the most.

          4. If all you do is knock out SS, Medicare, and other “mandatory” welfare programs, you’re down to $1.5T. If you start chipping away at defense, EPA, Doe, etc, you could be down below $1T without breaking a sweat.

            One Glib wrote about the minor cuts you could make to the budget and get to a massive reduction without even feeling a pinch. I wish I could find the article.

  33. The Late P Brooks

    How about now, Barry? Taking deductions now?

    His non profit foundation has accountants who handle all that. He just signs the return.

  34. Pope Jimbo

    What really sucks about the Omar kerfuffle is that you would never know there was a problem if you relied on the local paper. You would think that the reporters here would be really working the local angles.

    No one has asked any other Minnesoda Congressperson if they support Omar’s words. Or what about Future President Amy Klobuchar? What are her thoughts?

    I read one column in the B section of the Strib yesterday where the columnist sort of said Omar was naughty, but made sure to point out that there were a lot of garbage people on the other side.

    And I am also very tired of hearing her apologists bring up that she has “received death threats”. As far as I know the only death threat she received was someone wrote “assassinate Ilhan Omar” on a bathroom stall in a truck stop. That isn’t the most credible threat I have ever heard. Fucking Jussie Smollet put more work into his death threat letter than that.

    1. Please let that become the standard for measuring death threats. “oh, that threat was only 2 Smolletts”

    2. wdalasio

      Or what about Future President Amy Klobuchar? What are her thoughts?

      There’s no way in hell they’ll let that question get within 50 miles of her. They aren’t going to put her in the position to choose between alienating other Democrats or alienating the general public.

  35. The Late P Brooks

    Anothervoice cries out in the wilderness

    Abigail Disney, heiress to The Walt Disney Company, railed against CEOs collecting too much pay and is demanding Americans start taxing the wealthy.

    The granddaughter of Roy Disney, who-founded the namesake company alongside his brother Walt, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Thursday “Jesus Christ himself isn’t worth 500 times his median workers’ pay.” Disney, 59, took shots at current Disney CEO Bob Iger, who recently agreed to a new payment contract that reduced his maximum potential yearly pay to a mere $13.5 million. She is a longtime critic of U.S. income equality, particularly between corporate executives and average workers, and last month signed onto a New York “millionaires tax” proposal.

    “If your CEO salary is at the 700, 600, 500 times your median workers’ pay, there is nobody on Earth, Jesus Christ himself isn’t worth 500 times his median workers’ pay,” the heiress and filmmaker told CNBC Thursday. “CEOs in general are paid far too much.”

    Feel free to give all your money to the United States Treasury, you dumb cunt.

    1. Juvenile Bluster

      Remember that the “median worker” income versus CEO income that’s required to be in a company’s proxy statement is a bullshit calculation, especially for international companies. The median worker at McDonalds is a part-time employee in a store in Poland. What the hell does that tell you about anything?

    2. slumbrew

      Getting lectured about proper pay levels by an heiress is rage inducing.

      1. 1st gen builds; 2nd gen maintains; 3rd gen destroys

        1. slumbrew

          As my grandmother put it “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations”.

    3. commodious spittoon

      Once again—given that I disagree with much of what the feds have taken on as their prerogative, and what little is legitimately in their purview, they do poorly—why do I want them to have more of anyone’s money? It’s not hurting me if Abigail Dumbass has a fortune tucked away in her bloomers, but the feds would sure as shit weaponize that cash against me.

    4. Unreconstructed

      While I do believe CEO pay (and corporate board membership inbreeding) are decidedly out of control, the *last* thing I’d argue for is more federal oversight. Hell, I’d be willing to bet that all the regulation is what leads to some, if not much, of the corporate inbreeding and the CEO pay shenanigans.

    5. Scruffy Nerfherder

      As a shareholder of Disney, she has a proper criticism.

      As a moral arbiter, she does not.

    6. Fatty Bolger

      You’ll still be first against the wall, sweetie.

      1. Raven Nation

        You mean second, right? After the Marketing Department of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation?

  36. The Late P Brooks

    Getting lectured about proper pay levels by an heiress is rage inducing.

    She feels guilty.

    Witness her anguish! Validate her empathy!

    1. Gadfly

      I miss the days when the proper way to express one’s guilt was to retire to a monastery. Better for everyone involved, really, than this modern day flagellant-by-proxy that so many love to indulge in.

      1. Raven Nation

        Or imitate John Profumo:

        “Filled with remorse, Profumo never sought to justify himself or seek public sympathy. Instead, for the next four decades he devoted himself to Toynbee Hall, a charitable settlement at Spitalfields in the East End of London. He began by washing dishes, helping with the playgroup and collecting rents. Later he served with the charity’s council, eventually becoming its chairman and then president – the only other person to have held that office was Clement Attlee.

        From his tiny office at Toynbee Hall, Profumo kept up a ceaseless flow of letters to anyone who might be able to speak, give money or do anything to assist the charity in its work of helping the poor and down-and-outs in the East End. Largely through his efforts, Toynbee Hall became a national institution.”

        Granted his inherited wealth meant he didn’t have to find a high-paying job but still.

      2. Dr. Fronkensteen

        Or to leave your lands to the church after you died.

        https://vimeo.com/67079694

    2. Suthenboy

      All she said was “don’t come after me, I’m one of the right-thinkers”
      That’s always what it is about

  37. Raven Nation

    Interesting story about events around the East Germany/West Germany World Cup game in 1974: https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/47456049

    1. Rhywun

      I love Cold War tales. And I wasn’t aware of this match. No way the Ossis didn’t cheat their way to those wins, though.

      1. Raven Nation

        First world cup I was aware of. Big deal for us because Australia made it for the first time.

        What surprised me was that there was a combined Germany team until 1964.

  38. Scruffy Nerfherder

    The rumors are not true. I did not die on the surgery table.

    1. slumbrew

      *grumbles, pays out other Glibs*

    2. commodious spittoon

      But was the procedure a success?

      1. Scruffy Nerfherder

        You can just call me John Holmes now.

    3. straffinrun

      Hope you’re doing well, bud. Any hot nurses?

  39. leon

    Holder thinks the next Democratic president should pack the court. Remind me again why the people intent on cementing their power and ideology are the ones who stand for democracy.

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder

      Oh he stands for democracy all right.

      It’s the constitutional republic he can’t tolerate.

      1. Dr. Fronkensteen

        The ignore millennium of thought on the subject gambit.

      2. leon

        Even a true Athenian Democrat would see packing the court as a blatant power grab used to cement a parties power.

    2. Ed Wuncler

      That’s how the Left works. If they can’t win the game, they try to change the rules. Democracy is great until the wrong people vote for the wrong person.

    3. robc

      In a dozen administrations, the court stands at 831 members.

  40. The Late P Brooks

    As a shareholder of Disney, she has a proper criticism.

    You don’t expect honesty, do you? I suspect she would much prefer to see that money going into her pocketbook, instead of Igers. She just needs the veneer of concern, to mask her avarice.

  41. Unreconstructed

    OT: Inspired by earlier discussions of DUI, I thought a bit, and realized that while I believe in the “no harm, no crime” principle, and I don’t truly think government licenses for driving are a Good Thing ™, I also believe that anyone driving a motor vehicle in a dangerous manner should probably be stopped before hurting others if at all possible. So how, exactly, could one “square the circle” on this issue. My modest proposal: police can pull over impaired (by any means – drugs, alcohol, sleep deprivation) drivers, and prevent them from driving further. The old “drunk tank” concept is useful here, along with a parking lot (near the drunk tank! that’s important) where the vehicle would be towed. Impaired drivers would pay the cost of the night in the drunk tank (which would be *far* less secure than a jail, as these aren’t criminals), the cost of the night in the lot (which should be a fair market parking cost similar to local conditions), and the tow. Benefits: less crippling economic/administrative penalties for those who screwed up, same (or better?) safety on the roads, and the net cost to taxpayers should go down as well. Cons: *maybe* more risk from the hardcore drunk drivers.

    I’m sure some of y’all will point out things I’ve missed, but I think it’s an interesting starting point for discussion.

    1. I mentioned in the prior thread that just because your right to swing your arm ends at my nose, it doesn’t make going “whirlygig” in a crowded ballroom anything but aggressive. “but he hasnt actually hurt anybody!!” yeah, mainly because everybody is ducking out of his way.

      At what point have I ducked out of the way enough times to consider your whirlygig arms an aggression?

      Personally, I think reckless driving laws should be strictly enforced. If you’re in a shared public space being a dangerous nuisance in a 2T ball of steel, I have no problem calling that criminal. Take away the license, lock them up if egregious enough.

      The unresolved question, in my mind, is what to do when the reckless driving is due to drinking (or cell phone use or some other “premeditated” condition). Should there be an up charge for drinking a bunch without a way to get home as opposed to driving super aggressively because youre late for a meeting? I lean toward yes, but that’s an emotional reaction of mine.

      1. Tundra

        Define reckless. There are a lot of us with a lot of driving experience. Is me driving 100 in a well maintained car reckless? I watched an old guy get on the highway this afternoon at 20 mph. To me, that’s reckless.

        I just don’t see how you can do it without stomping on perfectly competent drivers who pose no threat.

        1. There is always going to be blur around the edges, and there will always be skepticism because you’re relying on an idiot cop to make the determination, but simple stuff like the inability to keep a lane, repeated panic braking, etc are easy enough to detect and end.

      2. DenverJ

        2 tons? The frame and suspension alone of my ram 2500 van probably weighs 3 tons. I think all told the vehicle probably weighs 5 tons with my tools in it.
        No point, just braggin’

      3. Unreconstructed

        Thing is, that in your analogy, if someone were to take the whirlygigging individual out of the ballroom *before* they made contact with anyone, and put them in a place where they could sleep off the uppers (or calm down from the hyperness, or whatever), then why would you call it criminal? There’s a huge difference between drunken idiot “dancing” stupidly and someone actively, intentionally swinging his fists, and both deserve different reactions.

        What really made me think about this was EF’s description of her client’s position. I actually rather agree with her client – unless there were (uncompensated) damages to someone other than the client, what is the crime?

        Also, I firmly believe that anyone that causes another’s death while driving (whether from impairment, stupidity, or any other cause) deserves to be charged at the exact same level as someone who did that through any other method. So manslaughter, etc., as appropriate, based on the facts of the case.

        1. if someone were to take the whirlygigging individual out of the ballroom *before* they made contact with anyone, and put them in a place where they could sleep off the uppers (or calm down from the hyperness, or whatever),

          I’m not against that as a solution for the occasional fuck up. The issue is when he comes back every Tuesday, has ended up crashing through a table twice, and is making it quite difficult for everybody else to dance the foxtrot.

          In a private setting, the owners of the establishment will very quickly tell the guy that he’s no longer welcome to come. The drunk tank idea doesn’t really have an analogous mechanism.

      4. Mad Scientist

        Drunks are at least trying to pay attention. I’ll take them over someone texting and driving any day of the week.

        1. I’ll cosign this one. I thought the drunks were bad back in TX, but the self absorbed cell phone assholes here in DC take the cake.

    2. Raven Nation

      This is intelligent, thoughtful, practical, and compassionate.

      So it will never happen.

  42. Stinky Wizzleteats

    Good lord is Paul Krugman pathetic:

    https://mobile.twitter.com/paulkrugman/status/1103387664114507776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1103387664114507776&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Face.mu.nu%2F

    A literal apologia for antisemitism as long as it’s coming from the correct side. God I can’t stand that guy.

    1. Count Potato

      Does he have some sort of brain disease? At one point he had enough intelligence to win a Nobel prize.

      Even if you want to ignore the KKK were Democrats, and the Nazis were socialists, how do you explain away the antisemitism of the Soviet Union as “not on the left”?

      1. Breet Pharara

        Krugman is very intelligent. He put a ton of work into getting the Nobel, but his real stroke of genius was parlaying that into a gig where all he has to do is see what the Dem talking points are and explain why they are right in a pseudo-intellectual manner. That’s a much easier job and pays rather well.

        1. straffinrun

          I forget the guy’s name, but Krugman is that “scientist” in Atlas Shrugged that provides intellectual cover for authoritarians in the government.

        2. Fatty Bolger

          Krugman is very intelligent. He put a ton of work into getting the Nobel

          It’s just so hard to believe, based on what he’s done since. Are we sure he didn’t steal it from somebody else? I could see that. It would make so much more sense to me.

          1. Akira

            You may have heard of the Contra Krugman podcast by Tom Woods and Bob Murphy (if you haven’t heard of it, you’re missing out on a great libertarian podcast).

            They like to dredge up old textbooks and articles written by Krugman in the ’90s, and during that time, he actually sounds like a middle-of-the-road economist. He actually describes arguments from both sides on things like minimum wages, so we know that he does understand that there are perfectly good reasons to be against it; the opponents are not just evil and stupid.

            But that’s exactly what he writes today – that anyone who opposes Democrat Party goals is stupid and evil. I understand that people change their minds about politics, but you can’t turn right around and accuse everyone of horrible motives when you yourself held those same views a short while ago.

            He’s definitely angling for a cabinet appointment by a Democrat president. Now that the Drumphenfuhrer is in office, he’s apoplectic. Tom and Bob have had a lot of fun dissecting his deranged rants lately.

    2. straffinrun

      That easily could have been written by The Babylon Bee.

  43. slumbrew

    Nation’s Gen Xers Announce Plan To Just Sit Back And Enjoy Watching Boomers, Millennials Tear Each Other To Shreds

    “We kinda have it made,” Ganders added. “We get all the benefits of the boomers’ unsustainable social programs and get to be a little bit lazy like the millennials, and yet they skip right over us and blame the other guy.”

    The Bee’s rise has been impressive. They make me LOL with regularity.

    1. Tundra

      LOL!

      Gen Xers did state they have one regret they will take full responsibility for: allowing grunge music to spread unimpeded.

      It’s a fair cop.

      1. Stinky Wizzleteats

        Meh, I still like grunge.

        1. Chipwooder

          You can have my Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, and Screaming Trees when you pry them from my cold, dead hands

      2. Rhywun

        Feh. The millennials have way more to answer for on the music score.

        1. Mad Scientist

          Grunge may be shit, but at least it contains ZERO autotune. That horrible fad is all on millennials.

          1. Count Potato

            Autotune is the worst.

      3. Sean

        Certainly more accurate than anything on CNN.

      4. straffinrun

        I lol’ed but… Not all grunge is the same. Pearl Jam to STP. Can’t compare the two.

        1. Mad Scientist

          I certainly can’t compare those two bands because I can’t tell the difference between them.

          1. straffinrun

            Are all Mad Scientists insane?

          2. Count Potato

            Almost all “mad scientists” are actually mad engineers.

          3. Sean

            ?

      5. Heroic Mulatto

        Grunge is nothing compared to the fucking ska revival.

    2. They kind of stole this from SNL: Millennial Millions

  44. straffinrun

    Manafort gets 4 years.

    Before he announced the sentence, Ellis made a point of stressing that Manafort “is not before the court on anything having to do with collusion with the Russian government.”

    https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2019/03/07/paul-manafort-former-trump-campaign-chair-sentenced-xx-years/3080729002/

    1. commodious spittoon

      Dems need to run a train on Ellis’ private life to figure out whether how he’s compromised.

    2. commodious spittoon

      “T. S. Ellis” is surely no accident.

      1. straffinrun

        Russian collusion? Show me the proof rock.

  45. commodious spittoon

    MIT publishes a paper on the tendency of nonconformist hipsters to look alike. A man takes great umbrage with the theory, and with the publication’s use of his photo and characterizing him as a hipster. He’s not the model in the photo.

    Seems a little too pat, but funny if true.

    1. straffinrun

      Hey, he identified as the hipster in the photo so doesn’t that count?

    2. Old Man With Candy

      That is delightful.

    3. Rhywun

      LOL

    4. Scruffy Nerfherder

      I guffawed.

      What an ass

  46. Sean

    Speaking of reality tv…Love it or List it is a guilty pleasure of mine.

    1. You know those 2 fuck, right?

  47. straffinrun

    Slut shaming and homophobic in one headline. Good job Jezebel.

    Jezebel
    @Jezebel
    Martin Shkreli reportedly being total fuckboy from prison

    https://mobile.twitter.com/Jezebel/status/1103780514555707394

    1. Breet Pharara

      Remember, rape is the worst thing ever, totally evil. Unless it’s prison rape (which happens more than rape outside of prisons). That we can openly joke about and wish upon others.

      1. Akira

        I don’t understand why prison rape is allowed to occur.

        It’s pretty simple, really: House them in single cells, and NEVER let multiple inmates be unsupervised and unobserved. Yes, it will require a higher ratio of guards to prisoners, but that can easily be mitigated by ending the incarceration of non-violent drug offenders (just for a start). And if an inmate is found guilty of rape, they get a long period in solitary confinement. The “activists” might cry foul, but it’s better to put one person in solitary than have all the others be in constant fear of rape.

        This is yet another case where people have pushed to reform prisons but have not thought through the consequences and end up with an even worse situation than before.

        1. straffinrun

          Makes you wonder if the authoritays turn a blind eye to it in order to scare the shit out of people and keep them in line. Or at least they don’t see it as a problem worth solving.

          1. Breet Pharara

            No one cares and the guards are union and government so no accountability anyways. Why bother stopping it? Too much effort really.

            Bit of a pet issue for me because it is so prevalent and so evil and yet is literally never mentioned as a problem in this country.

          2. straffinrun

            Male tears are delicious. Don’t be a snowflake you MGTOW incel.

          3. Breet Pharara

            Your words…they hurt.

          4. blackjack

            No. It makes me wonder what exactly Akira has done that’s causing him to worry about getting Smithed in prison.

          5. Akira

            I think there’s definitely some of that. There’s a huge adverse selection going on with prison staff, and the sadistic officers go on to become lieutenants, captains, deputy wardens, and so on. There are some highly conscientious people I worked with at the prison, but there are also some of the worst people you will ever meet.

            Another issue is that too many people in the general public subscribe to the attitude that “if you’re in prison, you must have done something to deserve it”.

            To me, sending someone to a place where they are very likely to get raped is an 8th Amendment violation.

          6. blackjack

            I found myself vacationing at L.A. county a few times in the 1980’s and the staff were straight up gangsters. It’s run by the sheriffs and the jail staff was mostly roid addicted rageaholics who were delighted to inflict extreme physical abuse on even the most harmless inmates. They’ve been in trouble for it recently and even sheriff Baca got a prison sentence (though he’ll never actually serve it.)

          7. Rhywun

            I wonder if there’s any cultural component to this. As in, are prisons in nice, high-trust nordic or teutonic countries like this…?

          8. blackjack

            Dunno, but I’ve seen one of those “Behind Bars” shows from Russia, and the guards were the nicest guys you can imagine. They carried the luggage for the inmates, who had luggage, btw, and seemed like they were actually mostly human to them.

            Maybe it’s cliche, but I’ve always thought that it’s human nature to become sadistic when placed in a guards position. Like the experiment in Berkely. I’ve know a bunch of cops and they most definitely take on the traits of the criminals they work with. If you spend all day immersed in gang culture, some of it sticks.

        2. Agreed. It reminds me a lot of the double standard between the 14 year old girl getting bonked by her PE teacher and the 14 year old boy getting some from his hot English teacher. Boys and men being sexual taken advantage of is looked at very differently than girls and women.

          1. Raphael

            +1 South Park “Nice”

        3. Rhywun

          Because sadism, is the only explanation I can come up with.

          1. I like that this is a place where we can joke about rapey cryptids, but we also have compassion for victims of actual rape in all its forms.

  48. Akira

    OT: Is anyone familiar with high-frequency algorithmic stock trading firms and what effect they have on the market?

    Someone I know is thoroughly convinced that they are evil and “ransacking” the economy. As usual, when something is reported in the mainstream media as being horrible, there’s usually another side to the story that completely contradicts it or at least throws a wrench into the notion that it’s pure evil. Any thoughts?

  49. commodious spittoon

    Four beers. Six bucks. Hot bartenders. I love this place.

    1. Raphael

      Heaven is a place on Earth. I’m very jealous of you right now.

      1. commodious spittoon

        Granted, it’s Pabst. For some reason buck fifty Pabst is their thing.

        1. Raphael

          Fair enough, but still sounds like a solid deal in general. (deletes taste buds)

    2. commodious spittoon

      Although these women are young enough to be my hot younger girlfriend.

    3. straffinrun

      Depends on the music.

      1. commodious spittoon

        Didn’t really notice it except “Eyes Without a Face.” It’s my Desperado.

  50. Count Potato

    “Schakowsky (D) Defends Omar’s Anti-Semitic Comments: ‘She Comes From a Different Culture’

    “This is not a conversation that we ought to have on social media and in the public…” Schakowsky explained on MSNBC. “The majority of us are — vast majority are going to be voting for a resolution that I hope puts this to bed, that says, yes, as a Jew, anti-Semitism is a huge deal, the anti-Semitic acts are up 50 percent over last year.”

    “But Islamophobia is also a huge problem,” she continued, “and I want to tell you that Ilhan Omar is under tremendous attack, death threats. I think maybe she needs some security. And why? Because I think, in part, the Republicans and the media have blown this up to be much more than it is.”

    Schakowsky revealed Omar had apologized to her, “not only … for the words that she has used, but she apologized personally to me as a Jew.””

    https://freebeacon.com/politics/schakowsky-d-defends-omars-anti-semitic-comments-she-comes-from-a-different-culture/

    Yes, a culture that hates jews.

    1. Breet Pharara

      “But Islamophobia is also a huge problem”

      Is that the whataboutism I’ve been hearing so much about?

    2. Raphael

      Isn’t this what they would call the bias of low expectations? It’s her culture’s fault she done think that way.

      1. Raphael

        By “this” I mean the article title/content.

    3. straffinrun

      As a [insert irrelevant identity here in order to claim superiority over those who would object to opinion despite having a reason based objection]…

    4. slumbrew

      Yes, a culture that hates jews.

      Precisely.

    5. Rhywun

      Ilhan Omar is under tremendous attack, death threats

      Uh huh, sure. Let me guess: sternly worded tweets.

      1. Akira

        This “death threats” thing rustles my jimmies.

        Do they understand how casually death threats are sent over the Internet? There are, um, certain anime-themed image boards where stirring up that kind of trouble is their raison d’etre. A politician in the news complaining about death threats is practically the gold standard of hilarity.

        I noticed on the Christine Blasey-Ford Wikipedia article (which seems very biased) that she claims that she had to move because of death threats. So she received death threats, and moved at some later time (possibly using that near-million dollars from the GoFundMe account) and now claims that the two are connected.

        What percentage of death threats received over the Internet are actually followed up with action?

        1. Breet Pharara

          I’m going to hunt you down a kill you Akira.

          (pst, share that sweet GoFundMe money with me)

        2. Trials and Trippelations

          “What percentage of death threats received over the Internet are actually followed up with action?”

          Depends. Is a FBI agent helping and funding the threatner’s plan?

    6. So if one comes from a culture that Muslims hate, then so-called Islamophobia is OK.

    7. Rhywun

      Why the fuck is Congress even wasting time on this shit?* Nothing good could possibly come from it. And it was inevitably going to backfire in their idiot faces. The stupid party should just say “Nope, we’re not playing along with your little reindeer games.”

      *This is a rhetorical question