Wednesday Morning Links

One of you Glibs stayed at our house last night.  I won’t say who but I’ll give you a hint, my eldest daughter called him “weird”.

 

It’s still slow news season so the news stories are still sparse, but as always, I’ll do my best to dig up some for you.

 

According to the Census Bureau, the Blue State Exodus continues apace.

 

Moar shutdown drama!

 

U still mad establishment Republicans? Ya, u still mad.

 

 

Kanye is back on the Trump Train again!

 

 

Democrats still have a sad.

 

 

 

New CA laws going into effect in 2019.

 

 

That’s all I got for today.  I’ll leave you with a song and then go bid adieu to my Glib guest.

Comments

615 responses to “Wednesday Morning Links”

  1. Old Man With Candy

    You’re early.

    And would it be cheating for me to say who the guest was, since he and I have been PMing? (TBF, you and I have as well)

    My son also thought he was weird. But nice.

  2. WTF

    The best part about the shutdown drama is that the shutdown is unnoticeable to just about everyone as they continue to go about their lives.

    1. creech

      But trash is piling up at Zion or some national park. Oh, the humanity!!

      1. leon

        I din’t think Israel’s government had shutdown.

      2. dorvinion

        Don’t see why that would or should be. Dumpster pickup is as far as I’ve ever seen local trash haulers, not gov employees.

        As for the notion that ‘without rangers around to supervise, people are dropping trash on trails’ that’s a norm with or without rangers.

        Apart from those at the entrance/visitor centers, you often have to go looking for rangers if you want to find one.

        The only rangers I’ve ever seen on a trail are seasonal rangers or volunteer rangers conducting a guided walk.

    2. prolefeed

      The best part would be if it drags on and on and on, for several years … and then Trump vetoes any bill to give back pay to furloughed govt workers.

      1. Banjos

        I think we found our wall funding.

      2. Stillhunter

        Not all govt workers are idiots. My wife works harder than many people I know, regardless of employer.

        If that happens I would prefer knowing it was happening so she could find a new job rather than get strung along for years…

  3. leon

    According to the Census Bureau, the Blue State Exodus continues apace.

    Oh but they won’t move to Canada like they always promise.

    1. hate_speech

      Because Canada won’t take them. I remember an interview with Trudeau right after the election where some breathless reporter asked if all the people who hate Trump could move to Canada and he said no point blank. For just a moment, you could see something stir behind her eyes.

  4. IntraveneousWoodChipper

    Marking myself safe during the Government Shutdown 2019.

    Does anyone have any firm idea of the death toll yet? I haven’t seen any corpses in the street but I assume it must be only a matter of time.

    1. I thought everyone was already dead from Net Neutrality being yanked, and the tax cuts?

      1. IntraveneousWoodChipper

        Yeah I guess they must be hiding the body count from us. Between all these disasters surely they must be piling up?

      2. leon

        I heard 500,000,000 People were dying each day in the US Alone

        1. C. Anacreon

          All from “medication errors”, no doubt.

      3. Sean

        I thought everyone was already dead from Net Neutrality being yanked, and the tax cuts?

        Nope. The ‘bola got me. Or was it Zika? Being dead, my memory ain’t what it used to be.

        1. JaimeRoberto, Public Intellectual

          That’s because of the small head caused by the Zika.

      4. Scruffy Nerfherder

        Net Neutrality raped my dog.

        1. IntraveneousWoodChipper

          I lolled.

        2. straffinrun

          We need Net Neuterality for Scuff’s dog>

    2. ElspethFlashman

      So far the only evidence I have seen of the shut down was a notice from Bankruptcy court saying that certain kinds of “bankruptcy stays” were extended. So you’d have extra time to do stuff with cases I suppose.

      1. Rhywun

        I was playing around with some web service programming. The tutorial I’m reading hits the NOAA website. Instead of real data I got back some boilerplate about a “lapse in appropriation” and I was like WTF for a minute before it hit me and my day was ruined, ruined!

    3. Trials and Trippelations

      IRS webpage says the shitdown won’t stop it from taking estimated tax submissions. Yay!

      1. Stillhunter

        Those are ‘Essential employees’ dontchaknow.

        One reason it’s less painful is its a partial shutdown. For example people administering timber harvest contracts are still working. Not doing so obviously hurts the contractors since they need to stop working. I’m guessing it’s similar for certain other contracts deemed ‘necessary’.

  5. One of you Glibs stayed at our house last night. I won’t say who but I’ll give you a hint, my eldest daughter called him “weird”.

    NO, IT WASN’T ME.

    *glares at everyone*

    1. leon

      Damn.

      :Pays bookie:

      1. FOS

        Lol

    2. my eldest daughter called him “weird”.

      Well, that’s a useless piece of information. That could be any of the Tulpae here.

      1. straffinrun

        Not me. I’m not weird. I’m creepy.

      2. Trials and Trippelations

        Not me I am an FBI informant

        1. Trials and Trippelations

          That hates punctation

        2. So am I. Worst gig so far, over a decade of deep cover and what do I get? A lousy t-shirt.

          1. leon

            Hey there was that one exciting time when a few had made threatening comments to at near towards about a federal judge.

          2. Enough About Palin

            And that sheep enthusiast lawyer too.

          3. Trials and Trippelations

            Wait, are we actually all FBI informants?

          4. leon

            No, I work for the ATF

          5. Jarflax

            Then you can fuck right the hell off and die

          6. Atanarjuat

            No, he meant the convenience store!

          7. Rasilio

            You thing you got it bad? You could be the guy assigned to do the background checks on all woodchipper sales or even worse one of the guys on the team that monitors OMWC’s search history.

        3. OBJ FRANKELSON

          Wait a second… I thought we were all Russian bots, Да?

    3. Old Man With Candy

      Don’t glare, narrow the gaze!

      We told Wonder Dog that you were coming over. She does not think you’re weird. Bribery pays.

    4. BakedPenguin

      I fit the description, but I was in Florida last night.

    5. ElspethFlashman

      I prefer to say I am eccentric, as opposed to weird. Thank you very much.

      1. Tejicano

        I’m straight up weird. No reason to try to dance around it.

        1. Jarflax

          I am perfectly normal. Everyone else is weird.

    6. Enough About Palin

      I wonder if it might have been Sandi. She does travel a lot.

  6. leon

    Democrats still have a sad.

    I’m sick of people characterizing a whole year as shitty, just because of politics. I can get it if you have personal things that happen (deaths of family, etc.). As Libertarians, we never get what we want, but i can still say Last year was great.

    1. straffinrun

      Somebody somewhere made more money than me so 2018 was bad.

      1. Nephilium

        That’s a high bar for a good year.

  7. Pat

    I won’t say who but I’ll give you a hint, my eldest daughter called him “weird”.

    Well that narrows it right down.

    1. …to the entire Glibs Staff.

      1. And te Commentariat. And many of the lurkers.

      2. Old Man With Candy

        And commenters. I’m sure there’s a normal one but I haven’t met him yet.

        Who am I kidding, there’s no normal ones.

      3. Hayeksplosives is a she, so it wasn’t her.

    2. Well children just love me… and not in an OMWC way

      1. Rasilio

        Is that cause you like to carry them around on your back and do everything they say?

          1. Jarflax

            That strategy works for me also. Plus for the very little ones if you have a pullable beard and a pain tolerance you get bonus points.

  8. IntraveneousWoodChipper

    I’m legitimately upset at the idea of places like Texas being overwhelemed and fucked over by Blue Wave progs fleeing the shitholes they’ve created. If we lose places like that, what hope do the rest of us have? (Resident of People’s Republic of VA)

    1. WTF

      Yeah, the disturbing thing is that they flee the proggie shitholes they created, then go ahead and vote for the same party and policies that wrecked the places they fled.

      1. But this time will be different!

        A way to look at it is: state gentrification. Bad governance, high taxes, regulation, etc drives people out to a cheaper area. But no lessons are learned. Instead they want to bring San Francisco to Texas.

    2. PieInTheSky

      immigrants man fucking things up.

    3. invisible finger

      “Blue Wave progs fleeing the shitholes”

      Except for Austin it’s mostly retirees or younger people moving because of job offers.

      1. IntraveneousWoodChipper

        “Retirees and young people”

        Maybe I’m missing something but does that change the analysis? I’m afraid that retirees and young people are the two of the biggest Free-Shit brigade blocs out there.

        Hopefully I’m under-informed and/or being overly-pessimistic.

        1. DrOtto

          Unfortunately, I think you are spot on.

    4. Trials and Trippelations

      When Texas goes Blue. I think Utah will secede. It wouldn’t be ideal, but might be better than the reat of the country at that point

    5. Atanarjuat

      KDW said those migrants to Texas vote Republican at a slightly higher rate than native Texans. Obviously needs a cite, but I don’t think it’s a given that all the people leaving are firmly for the left.

      1. Trials and Trippelations

        Interesting

        1. Atanarjuat

          He said it in one of the most recent “Mad Dogs and Englishmen” episodes, unfortunately, as I binged a few of them on a road trip I can’t remember which one.

        2. Atanarjuat

          I think a good chunk of the people are oil and gas workers.

      2. Rhywun

        Doesn’t matter. As states like Texas and Florida become more crowded and “urban” they will get more blue regardless of the current team distribution.

      3. Gadfly

        Yes, that is what the exit polls from the most recent election indicated. Of course there may be a confounding variable there, as the exit polls were obviously not adjusted for demographic influences (i.e. I imagine 4th generation American native Texans vote R at a higher rate than 4th generation American new Texans). But it does still indicate that a majority of the Americans moving to Texas are moving there because they want something different, not just more of the same with a better job.

    6. Chipwooder

      They’re human locusts, and they are making me start to seriously contemplate fleeing Virginia.

      1. Trials and Trippelations

        NC needs moar glibs

        1. hate_speech

          Boy doensn’t it! Wake County at least.

    7. Rasilio

      well there is no guarantee that Texas is getting the fleeing blue staters. They could just be having more sex than everyone else

      1. There is also the possibility that the influx is more purple, as the policies squeeze out those whose interests are not served – red and blue alike.

      2. Banjos

        Considering blue staters are struggling with basic biology as of late, this very much could be the case.

    8. Don Escaped Texas

      places like that

      a so-con shithole punctuated by a bunch of blue cities, so Ohio without an income tax

      cost of living is low, but those tract houses start to delaminate in twenty years

      there are three real Texans in Brewster County somewhere . . . usta be anyways

  9. leon

    U still mad establishment Republicans? Ya, u still mad.

    Mitt Romney is a douche, and I’m pissed that he’s a senator. But is he Wrong about Trumps character?

    1. Slammer

      People voted for Trump in spite of his character, some because of his character.

      Obama had “character” aplenty according to the swamp.

      1. leon

        I’m not arguing what Romney is arguing, i don’t think a presidents character influences the general public’s character. Nor do i care much about it.

      2. PieInTheSky

        I am split as far as character goes. While I think it is good to be polite and have a bit of tact I think the issue is these things are often used to sugar coat shitty policies

        1. leon

          World’s most Honest Politician?

      3. WTF

        It cracks me up that people criticize Trump for his “tone”, but lying corrupt shitweasels like Obama and Clinton are not so bad because “temperament”. I prefer a blustering Trump being open about what he’s doing and rolling back taxes and regulations over an Obama acting “presidential” and screwing the country over.

        1. SandMan

          Amen to that!

    2. Trump is a horrible person with all the morals of an alley cat. But I would still take him over Mrs. Clinton, who is just plain evil.

      1. Drake

        I would also take him over a self-righteous douche-bag coward like Romney.

        With McCain, Flake, Ryan, and some of the other leading cucks gone, Romney seems to be vying for the job of head-RINO.

        1. Rhywun

          From one of the links:

          As [Flake] and other critics leave Congress, it is an open question who — if anyone — will take up the role of publicly criticizing a president who remains popular with Republican voters.

          Gosh, I don’t know. Who will dare speak up?? Already, the silence from Washington is deafening!

      2. Tejicano

        November 2016 in a nutshell

    3. Drake

      Romney just stepped onto Trump’s court.

      Trump Responds to Willard: ‘Be a Team Player and Win’
      https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/01/02/trump-mitt-romney-team-player-win/

    4. invisible finger

      “But is he Wrong about Trumps character?”

      Yes.

  10. Rebel Scum

    “President Trump made a serious, good faith offer to Democrats to open the government, address the crisis at our border, and protect all Americans,” Sanders.

    Team Blue thinks “compromise” means getting everything they want.

    1. Rebel Scum

      Also, Happy New Year!

    2. leon

      haha, I was thinking that was Bernie Sanders.

  11. “One of you Glibs stayed at our house last night. I won’t say who but I’ll give you a hint, my eldest daughter called him “weird”.”

    Way to narrow it down.

  12. Pat

    According to the Census Bureau, the Blue State Exodus continues apace.

    Terrific. “Welp, our states are completely and totally fucked up beyond repair. We better go somewhere else and vote for the exact same policies.”

    1. ElspethFlashman

      I have known a few people through the years who seem to do this, then come back home after screwing up in the new place. Move to Tennessee, get new job, get new girlfriend. Do same drunken bull shit, get fired, lose girlfriend. Move to new state (or back home for a while), repeat.

      1. Jarflax

        Virtually every person in an abusive relationship goes on to another abusive relationship. Virtually every deadbeat goes back to borrowing and spending after their bankruptcy. Virtually every drunk relapses. The ability to change behavior requires both recognition of the problem and the willpower to change. It is rare.

        1. Fourscore

          “Virtually every drunk relapses.”

          Guess I’ll go ahead and give up now. How about smoking? Best one outta two? I”m in.

  13. IntraveneousWoodChipper

    CBS morning news on the shutdown, shot of the closed Washington Zoo. Idiot host: “Are they still feeding the animals?”

    No, the animals will all die. Legitimately an idiot or simply a mendacious piece of shit?

    1. Slammer

      “Are they still feeding the animals?”

      Yes, to each other.

      1. Jurassic World Evolution was on a pretty serious christmas sale ($13 or something) so I bought it. Now you made me think the Raptors got into the small herbivore pen…

        Wait a minute. It costs $64k per refil of a carnivore feeder, more if it’s live bait, but only about $40k to incubate one of the small herbivores. How many raptors can one of those feed?

        1. IntraveneousWoodChipper

          I loved the numbers in the dino-weapon auction. The fact that living, breathing T-Rexes were sold to international terrorists for less than the amount of money Pres. Obama sent the Iranians was hilarious.

          1. The one T-Rex I’ve made so far cost 2.8 million to grow. And hilariously rampaged through the crowd because no one noticed a five foot span of fence was missing when the pen was built. Ruined my track record of no fatalities.

    2. invisible finger

      Release the tigers.

      1. leon

        That would be good shutdown theater:

        “Unfortunately, due to the shutdown, Zoo officials were unable to lock the gates to any exhibit. And Animal control officers have been sent home.”

        As long as they paid some city official to pipe all the animals straight to the capital building.

        1. This was the exact ending to the CS Lewis space trilogy.

          1. Well, minus the pillar of fire consuming the entire city.

      2. Drake

        In the IRS, Commerce, Agriculture, Labor, State, Justice, Energy… buildings. We need more lions and tigers.

    3. Pope Jimbo

      That is a pretty apt metaphor.

      The zoo is filled with creatures who are supposed to represent their brethren out in the wild. But instead, sit around all day and are entirely dependent on others for their own sustenance.

      1. Pope Jimbo

        And also the fact that closing a zoo has almost zero impact on most peoples’ days.

        1. Private Chipperbot

          or why in the hell is the gov’t running a zoo in the first place.

          1. They regulated the private zoos to death.

          2. Pope Jimbo

            The govt has a monopoly on putting things in cages?

          3. Gadfly

            *opera applause*

          4. JaimeRoberto, Public Intellectual

            Does OMWC know?

    4. CBS morning news on the shutdown, shot of the closed Washington Zoo.

      For being closed, they sure have sent me a lot of marketing emails over the past week.

  14. BakedPenguin

    Democrats, who were prepared to oppose Trump on a number of policies and promised a slew of investigations into his actions…

    Oh good, we haven’t had enough of that. Meanwhile, there’s ample evidence Bitchy McBitchqueen has committed or allowed several felonies, but I guess she gets a pass.

    1. leon

      “Bitchy McBitchqueen”

      I’m… I’m starting to agree with Pie, we might want to cut down on the nicknames, or at least publish an official dictionary. Who the hell is this?

      1. BakedPenguin

        I was thinking of Hillary, although I do see how it’s ambiguous.

        And yeah, you’re probably right about the nicknames

        1. Sean

          In the context posted, I assumed Hillary. Made sense to me.

        2. Rebel Scum

          I think the nicknames are fun.

          1. Me too. Where else can you read the word “Rapesquatch”?

          2. IN STEVE SMITH DIARY?

          3. Enough About Palin

            AND BY “READ” MEAN RAPE.

          4. leon

            I Agree. No one is trying to take away your nicknames. We just need some common sense Nickname Control. No one needs a military grade nickname like “[REDACTED]” or “[NOW THAT’s JUST OBSCENE- Censor #11]”

          5. BLOCK INSANE YO MAMMA

  15. Scruffy Nerfherder

    SJWednesday: Migraines Are The Fault of The Patriarchy Edition

    In a series of 12 essays, The Gaslit Diaries identifies the cynicism young feminists often face when they express their opinions for what it really is: gaslighting. And this gaslighting does more than poison our dialogues. It often places women in life-or-death danger, and stunts much-needed progress on women’s rights by suggesting that we as a society have already reached the finish line, and those who continue to protest oppression are just unhinged “social justice warriors.” From the migraine epidemic that disproportionately affects women, to the correlation between anti-abortion laws and rising U.S. maternal death rates; from mounting advocacy for men accused of sexual violence, to the persistence of the gender wage gap, women’s everyday experiences within the patriarchy—and demands that we “prove” these experiences—have shown us the gendered nature of credibility. The adage “believe women” isn’t just about sexual assault: It’s about women’s condition, experiences, and the broad subversion of our voices.

    At least I know what’s giving me migraines now.

    1. IntraveneousWoodChipper

      “The adage “believe women” isn’t just about sexual assault: It’s about women’s condition, experiences, and the broad subversion of our voices.“

      Christ, what an asshole.

      1. WTF

        Asking for evidence is just a way to oppress women? Because evidence and facts are patriarchal? And she actually wrote that in all seriousness.

    2. leon

      Same people are all into gaslighting America when it comes to the Russian conspiracy.

    3. PieInTheSky

      those who continue to protest oppression – are jailed in Iran and Saudi Arabia and ignored by the liberal arts feminists whose greatest challenge in life seems to be the mythical pay gap and I assume a host of STDs

      1. Jarflax

        I would not assume the STDs. You are thinking the liberal arts feminists look like the actresses that jet around the world as their spokeschicks. Think more trigglypuff, less Emma Watson.

    4. Pat

      When you insist that things are happening which you cannot prove, and that asking for proof constitutes further evidence of these unprovable happenings, it’s actually you that’s gaslighting everybody else.

    5. PieInTheSky

      This is the stupidest thing I read in 2019, to make the cliche comment everyone makes at years start

    6. Slammer

      Can’t read your blog diary tonight, dear. I have a headache

  16. ElspethFlashman

    Local tech place shuts down, two months after federal raids. No one can comment on what raids were seeking.

    1. straffinrun

      So what’s the theory? Shell corp? Giving away computers with child porn on them? Of course they can’t explain what happened to them because the Feds will tighten the screws even more. Seriously, shouldn’t we get to know why they are being targeted?

      1. ElspethFlashman

        My theory was that it was kiddie pron. … But now my theory is that it could be that it was a non-profit with large negative operating budget, but has a large amount of property being used – servers, computers, etc, by others. So could be a shell corp.

        1. straffinrun

          Bitcoin mining? At least the authoritays aren’t leave us in the dark and causing people to think it’s a case of arbitrary targeting.

    2. Pat

      It’s obviously for our national security. Thank jehuty for our brave law enforcement keeping us safe!

    3. leon

      This happend to a Health Company ~ a year ago. I had a friend who worked there. Said he was at a big meeting, got up to go to the restroom, when he came out everyone was gone and just FBI Agents. FBI froze their assets, saying they had gotten a tip about “Securities Fraud”. The company went under. A month or two later, the FBI unfroze most of their assets.

      Never were told who made the tip.

  17. IntraveneousWoodChipper

    REP Nadler on the News blaming Trump for deaths of children at the border. As if he is literally knocking life-saving glasses of water from the shaking hands of children whose parents dragged them through insane and deadly conditions in search of Free Shit. Laughable.

    1. Drake

      I think he has a couple of immigrant kids hiding in his jowls.

  18. Rebel Scum

    Kanye is back on the Trump Train again!

    Make publicity stunts great again.

    1. Wouldn’t it be easier for Kanye to hate Trump? He’d be in the in-group in entertainment and as a black man, it would be expected. I think he’s serious and if he runs in 2024, it’s either as an independent or a Republican.

  19. Apparently, clubs now need to hire consent guardians – clearly we’ve misunderstood human sexuality

    One of the clearest imaginable examples of cultural capitalism is surely the commodification of our intimate life. This is a permanent feature of a capitalist society, but in the last decades it’s reached a new level. Just think about how our search for sexual partners and for good sexual performance rely on dating agencies or websites, medical and psychological help, and so on.

    House of Yes, in Brooklyn, New York, adds a new twist to this game: the intricate problem of how to verify consent in a sexual interplay is resolved by the presence of a hired controlling agent. The club is a hedonistic playground where “anything goes”. Time Out voted it as the second best thing to do in the world and The Sun described as “the wildest night club on the planet”.

    One of its most popular features is the introduction of “consenticorns”, people whose job it is to monitor the goings on and ensure no one’s consent is being violated. In the House of Yes, customers can do anything from naked hot tubs to drag wrestling, but they have to adhere to a strict consent policy, which is ultimately enforced by “consenticorns,” the “consent guardians” who wear light-up unicorn horns.

    1. PieInTheSky

      Just think about how our search for sexual partners and for good sexual performance rely on dating agencies or websites, medical and psychological help, and so on.- THERE WAS BETTER SEX IN COMMUNISM!!!!!!!!

    2. straffinrun

      “Time Out voted it as the second best thing to do in the world”

      Way to leave us hanging.

      1. Number One may surprise you.

        1. Jarflax

          It would surprise me if I made it through 59 pages of pop ups, autoplay video, and constantly resizing images to see it.

    3. Pat

      One of the clearest imaginable examples of cultural capitalism is surely the commodification of our intimate life. This is a permanent feature of a capitalist society

      I don’t think the people who ushered in the Free Love era were by and large capitalist, either actually or “culturally” whatever in the fuck that even means. I’m sure many of the people who dedicated their lives to completely upending cultural norms surrounding sex, abortion, and birth control in the ’60s would be bemused to find they were capitalist stooges all along.

      1. leon

        “commodification of our intimate life.”

        Honey, Sex isn’t being commodified, That’s prostitution. No this is just another form of insurance. And the Risk that is being protected against is wholy created by the socialist left…

      2. A Leap at the Wheel

        *shrug*
        Zizek defined the term a half decade ago, and this author is not using it in that formulation. I think its just a replacement for “late stage capitalism,” which replaced fascism. Aka “things I don’t like.”

      3. Rasilio

        Given that Stranger in a Strange Land was one of the primary if not the single most important influences on the growth of the free love movement in the 60’s I am not so sure you can say that

    4. Slammer

      Night out at the House of Yes with the consenticorns, then raped by the Uber driver on the way home.

      1. STEVE SMITH MORE LYFT FAVORABLE

    5. Scruffy Nerfherder

      I’m assuming the consenticorns are yanking it while “monitoring for consent”

      1. Brett L

        Nah, just tagging the blackout ones for later harvesting.

    6. Brett L

      How about, “if you don’t want to have sex, don’t get drunk at this club” — Its great advertising, too.

    7. “a new stage of capitalism in which culture no longer functions as a domain of ideological superstructure elevated above economy but becomes a key ingredient of the ever-expanding reproduction of capital”

      Meaningless Marxist PoMo bullshit confirmed.

      1. There was a lot of DERP there – could only quote a portion of it.

      2. Scruffy Nerfherder

        say what now?

  20. Scruffy Nerfherder

    SJWednesday: Moral Panics Over Cartoons Isn’t Just For Socons Anymore

    On the surface, Paw Patrol seems like harmless fun. However, the themes presented to the impressionable audience depict a misogynistic, conservative authoritarian fantasy.

    The cartoon presents a world where it is common practice for police to track people with surveillance drones. Its depiction of gender dismisses women’s position in the workplace and government. Finally, it builds a world where there are no social services, leaving citizens at the mercy of a private entity. In short, it is everything Trump’s Republican Party is pushing on the United States.

    1. WTF

      Finally, it builds a world where there are no social services, leaving citizens at the mercy of a private entity. In short, it is everything Trump’s Republican Party is pushing on the United States.

      Yeah, it was quite shocking when the Republicans used their control of the House, the Senate, and the Presidency to eliminate social services.

      1. Banjos

        Shit, I’d donate to Republicans if this was actually the case.

        1. WTF

          #MeToo

    2. leon

      medium? After seeing a bunch of programming articles that pop in my feed from medium, i have a new saying “Full of more bad ideas than a medium article”.

      1. Rhywun

        ^THIS

    3. Pat

      Put your gender-neutral 12th trimester fetus in front of the TV with teh entire Captain Planet series on a loop and shut the fuck up.

    4. “WRITTEN BY
      Walt D
      Dispatches from the belly of the beast – Lashed to the wheel of capitalism by the ropes of debt peonage. Striking back by fighting for solidarity.”

      Translation: I’m deeply in debt for a completely useless Marxist Grievance Studies degree so I make peanuts throwing temper tantrums online while waiting for Mommy and Daddy and/or Uncle Sam to bail me out of my shitty life choices.

    5. Rebel Scum

      there are no social services, leaving citizens at the mercy of a private entity

      And?

      In short, it is everything Trump’s Republican Party is pushing on the United States.

      If. Only.

      Leftists always make Republicans out to be anarchocapitalists but Republicans have never been such. There was a time that they were the big government party. They were and remain the party of mercantilism.

      1. “there are no social services, leaving citizens at the mercy of a private entity”

        As far as I know, the canine employees of Paw Patrol, Inc. have not let anyone die on their watch.

    6. Certified Public Asshat

      The cartoon presents a world where it is common practice for police to track people with surveillance drones.

      And that is unique to republicans?

    7. CPRM

      Its depiction of gender dismisses women’s position in the workplace and government.

      Huh?

  21. Stinky Wizzleteats

    “In 2019, kids’ menus will be seeing a health-friendly change. Milk — or non-diary milk substitutes — and water — sparkling is OK — will be the only options listed for little ones. If your tot wants a Coke or juice to go with their meal, they won’t be barred from getting one (we’re not quite a nanny state).”

    Not a nanny state? Yeah, right.

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder

      Left from this discussion are the following facts:

      Lactose Intolerance By Ethnicity

      1. East Asian 90-100%
      2. Indigenous (North America) 80-100%
      3. Central Asian 80%
      4. African American (North America) 75%
      5. African (Africa) 70-90%
      6. Indian (Southern India) 70%
      7. French (Southern France) 65%
      8. Ashkenazi Jew (North America) 60-80%
      9. Balkans Region 55%

      1. Slammer

        Milk really was a symbol for White Nationalism. Kek.

        1. Tejicano

          So there’s a reason why milk is white…

      2. Stinky Wizzleteats

        I guess if you’re lactose intolerant you can get soy milk or some shit which is, you know, freaking gross.

      3. Gadfly

        3. Central Asian 80%

        This one surprises me, as I would’ve thought that all those milk-drinking steppe nomads would’ve had more of an effect on the gene pool.

        Or maybe they were so tough they powered through life with lactose intolerance while subsisting on milk and cheese. This is my new head-canon.

        1. “Sure it ties my guts in knots, but we’ve got nothing else.”

        2. Jarflax

          Fermented horse milk is not the same as cow milk. The lactose is broken down. Also many of the folk listed historically consumed goat’s milk which for reasons I do not understand (hey I am a lawyer not a chemist) does not trigger the same lactose reaction.

          1. Gadfly

            Also many of the folk listed historically consumed goat’s milk which for reasons I do not understand (hey I am a lawyer not a chemist) does not trigger the same lactose reaction.

            Count me in the same boat. “Milk = milk” was my simple thinking, but you raise a good point that the type of milk would cause different effects.

        3. dorvinion

          I wonder how much of it was fresh, and how much was kefired.

          If I were to drink cows milk without taking lactase I’d be in a world of hurt for a few hours.

          I can drink a large glass of milk kefir though and be just fine.

    2. IntraveneousWoodChipper

      ““In 2019, kids’ menus will be seeing a health-friendly change. Milk — or non-diary milk substitutes — and water — sparkling is OK — will be the only options listed for little ones. ”

      Terrible fucking writing, that is.

      1. Atanarjuat

        Wild prediction: “little ones” still think sparkling water is gross.

        1. Because it is. They’ve taken out all the flavor.

          1. Not Adahn

            One needs a refined palate to appreciate the taste of carbonic acid.

  22. IntraveneousWoodChipper

    Michigan Law now has $10,000 fine and jail time for cyber bullying.

    Shit posting is now an actual crime. Holy shit the Founders are rolling in their graves.

    1. leon

      :Honestly contemplates shitposting every Michigan Legislature who voted for this:

    2. Slammer

      I hope they budgeted for searching all the proxys

    3. Stinky Wizzleteats

      They’re going down the British route I see.

    4. background:

      On Thursday, Gov. Rick Snyder signed into law a bill sponsored by Rep. Pete Lucido, R-Shelby Township that formally defines cyberbullying as a misdemeanor. Public Act 457 of 2018 will take effect in March.

      The law states cyberbullying is a crime punishable by 93 days in jail and a $500 fine. A “pattern of repeated harassment” is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Meanwhile, cyberbullying that is found to cause a victim’s death is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

      According to Lucido’s bill, “cyberbullying” is defined by “posting a message or statement in a public media forum about any other person” if both “the message or statement is intended to place a person in fear of bodily harm or death and expresses an intent to commit violence against the person” and “the message or statement is posted with the intent to communicate a threat or with knowledge that it will be viewed as a threat.”

      https://www.metrotimes.com/news-hits/archives/2018/12/28/cyberbullying-is-now-a-crime-in-michigan-punishable-by-jail-time

      1. leon

        There’s a special place in Hell..ena, Montana.

      2. Slammer

        “the message or statement is posted with the intent to communicate a threat…”

        The Bill (and this statement) itself is Guilty, it communicates a threat of jail.

      3. from that article comments:

        Pattern_Blind • 3 days ago

        One step cliser to hate speech laws, thanks Jews, Queers and other degenerates for trampling on the US Constitution/ Bill of Rights because your feelings and totalitarian control freak natures.

        You know this will only be applied selectively and be expanded to Furrie Oppression, Nambla Protection or speaking out against Islamic Extremism or Jewish Supremicists aka the Zionists. This law will only be used by the degenerates to protect their right not have their feelings hurt. Or after the fact when an autistic kid kills themselves for attention.

        1. leon

          Man… He really hit every demographic.

      4. straffinrun

        “the message or statement is posted with the intent to communicate a threat or with knowledge that it will be viewed as a threat.”

        Mind reading enshrined in law. Great.

      5. Nephilium

        Fuck, if Hillary had won, this might have been upheld by the Supreme Court. That’s (hopefully) one bullet dodged (it’s entirely possible the current Supreme’s will uphold this as well).

      6. Rebel Scum

        cyberbullying that is found to cause a victim’s death

        Speech kills I guess.

      7. Hyperion

        Is there no real crime in MI? Besides the obvious problems here, isn’t this a threat to hopelessly bog down the court systems? I can see cases being filed by the thousands on FB alone, the very first day. The Great Soccer Mom wars of 2019.

    5. +1 Lori Drew

  23. Pat

    Netflix pulls Hasan Minhaj episode critical of Saudi Arabia government

    Netflix rarely finds itself thrust into political debates like other internet giants, but it won’t enjoy that luxury in 2019. The streaming service has pulled the second episode of Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj in Saudi Arabia after the country alleged that it violated a cybercrime law barring content that threatens “public order, religious values, public morals, and privacy.” The episode is critical of the Saudi government’s apparent murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi as well as the war in Yemen, and suggests that both tech companies and the US as a whole should “reassess” their connection to the kingdom.

    1. Stinky Wizzleteats

      Good lord, the Saudis are determining what’s acceptable entertainment fare in the US now?

      1. leon

        Yup. Next they want to shutdown little house on the prairie for being too revealing.

      2. Old Man With Candy

        It only applies to stuff shown in Saudi Arabia. Not that the scare-mongers want that to be made clear…

        1. straffinrun

          That’s what I figured. At least it will be limited to fucking their own people.

        2. Heroic Mulatto

          I thought national sovereignty was a Good Thing (TM) now.

    2. Pope Jimbo

      Netflix rarely finds itself thrust into political debates like other internet giants

      I guess that is because they only do business with the right sort of people. From putting Susan Rice on their board or gave Obama a ton of money to produce content, Neflix has shown that they are one of the good guys.

      1. Their content the past few years has definitely drifted very far into the “woke” spectrum and their other offerings are getting crappier. I’m thinking of dropping them.

        1. Pope Jimbo

          I dropped them about six months ago. Three things: a) Vox has some series that is even dumber than their website, b) the Obama deal and c) finding out Susan Rice was on their board.

          Also I realized I was paying $8/mo for something I rarely used.

          1. Banjos

            The last reason is the real reason as to why. I rarely use the service, but my girls use it all the time.

            I don’t watch a lot of tv to begin with. I’m more of a Youtube video/podcast type. I’d dump my cable if Ken didn’t watch every sports channel in existence.

      2. leon

        “From putting Susan Rice on their board or gave Obama a ton of money to produce content”

        You know who the single biggest beneficiary of Net-Nuetrality was? Netflix… is it a coincidence that they gave Obama a bunch of cash…

    3. Drake

      Don’t visit a Saudi consulate Hasan!

      1. leon

        The Phone Call is coming from INSIDE THE CONSULATE!!

  24. straffinrun

    M’sian Wives Ask Authorities to Raid Prostitution & Gambling Dens to See If Husbands Are Visiting Them

    “Some say their husbands do not return home and ask us to raid the premises to ensure their spouses were not involved in immoral activities. They are persistent and repeatedly ask us to conduct raids. These raids bring relief to many and help curb the proliferation of such premises in the city, ” Hamidi said after their Operasi Mega 3.0 at Jalan Kuchai, Jalan Pudu, Jalan Raja Laut on January 1.

    1. If these wives are that controlling that merely not arriving home when expected makes them call the cops on unsuspecting businesses, no wonder the husbands don’t want to spend time with their wives.

      1. straffinrun

        My wife doesn’t care what I’m doing as long as I’m not having fun. It’s easier for her to guarantee that if I’m at home.

        1. In the documentary “Whore’s Glory” they interview a guy who credits his weekly visits to a Thai brothel with saving his marriage. Sounds like the cops shutting these places down are anti-family.

    2. Tejicano

      Boiled down: How can I cut him off if there is another source somewhere else.

      Hey bitch, you swore to be his – so back that up. If you changed that vow – swearing to be his – then don’t freak out when he sees that vow as broken.

      I don’t mean you have to put up with everything and anything – but you have to do more than just shut it down when it isn’t 100% exactly what you were thinking it was supposed to be.

      Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. But this is bad news that I have lived for far too long.

      1. “this is bad news that I have lived for far too long”

        Sucks man. “To have and to hold” is the sexual vow; man and wife are by no means sexually enslaved to one another, but unless there’s a damn good reason, it should be there if requested. Too many women either don’t take that vow seriously or don’t care about it and when the man steps out they’re shocked and hurt. Sorry lady, you broke the vow first.

        1. Gadfly

          Even Christianity, one of the most sexually restrictive religions/philosophies out there, has a command that married people not stop having sex with each other except for brief periods of mutually agreed upon time. It’s important enough that even the religion that venerates chastity recognizes the necessity of it.

  25. Rebel Scum

    Grandpa Gulag strikes again

    Bernie Sanders ✔
    @SenSanders

    We must look at climate change as if it were a devastating military attack against the United States and the entire planet. And we must respond accordingly.

    By bombing it?

    1. Pat

      It’s the only way to be sure.

    2. Nuke the Carbon!

    3. WTF

      By killing the “deniers”, of course. Or at least putting them in camps.

      1. Tejicano

        I’m just waiting to see that definition of “denier” starting to become defined a little more broadly.

    4. leon

      He’s right. Gaia is trying to kill us, and it’s time we fight back.

      RELEASE THE CARBON!

    5. Camps for icky people?

    6. Pope Jimbo

      Well bombing the rest of the world back into the stone age would probably cut CO2 emissions. (and nuclear winter probably helps too).

      Only the enlightened will be allowed to have technology! Panem now! Panem Forever!

    7. Certified Public Asshat

      People with more than one house have a larger carbon foot print, right Bernie?

    8. Oh, I have to imagine it’s devastating. Maybe then I’ll give a shit.

    9. Which one of his 3 houses did he tweet that from?

    10. He actually has a point about the Sears shit. Paying out bonuses while closing stores and going bankrupt isn’t a good look.

      1. dorvinion

        No, actually he doesn’t have a good point about Sears.

        As I understand it the bonuses are tied to how well they manage to keep Sears from going completely tits up.
        If they can turn things around, they get bonuses, otherwise they don’t.

  26. Blood And Freedom: Read Major Gaurav Arya’s Take On The Telegraph’s Article Slandering Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose

    When we quote history, context is important. Hitler was an evil man, and of that there can be no doubt. But the British were evil, too. They enslaved India for 200 years, causing death and destruction on an unbelievable scale. Winston Churchill’s signatures on a file ordering the withholding of grain, otherwise meant to feed India’s starving masses, just to feed the white Tommy, is a chilling reminder that when it came to naked self-interest, the British and Hitler were the same. Churchill’s signature cost millions of Indian lives. India’s contribution to the First World War and Second World War pushed India into penury. Famine led the way, followed by vultures.

    1. PieInTheSky

      Winston Churchill’s signatures on a file ordering the withholding of grain, otherwise meant to feed India’s starving masses, just to feed the white Tommy, is a chilling reminder that when it came to naked self-interest, the British and Hitler were the same. Churchill’s signature cost millions of Indian lives. – I have read stuff on this issue and it never seemed so clear cut.

      1. leon

        Same people will say that this is an instance of Capitalistic failure, will also gloss over how it wasn’t Stalins fault that the weather “sucked” in Ukraine.

        1. PieInTheSky

          While I do not doubt a lot of bad shit went down during colonialism, I have seen a lot of historical revisionism among nationalistic less developed countries to constantly blame everything on western Europeans. It is similar to the Romanians who claim ancient Dacians invented everything civilized. I find nationalists in these countries trying to support their nationalism by various such theories because deep down they see a lot in their great nation is shitty

          1. Heroic Mulatto

            I find nationalists in these countries trying to support their nationalism by various such theories because deep down they see a lot in their great nation is shitty

            Fixed it for you.

            Thank me later.

          2. Jarflax

            There is a touch of false equivalency in your correction there.

          3. Heroic Mulatto

            How so?

          4. Jarflax

            Manifestly some countries are more prone to blaming their historical failures on others. India attempting to blame ethnic strife and the caste system on the British, which has been a claim of the BJP, is simple nonsense. I have not heard U.S. nationalists attempt to blame slavery on some foreign devil.

          5. Heroic Mulatto

            Manifestly some countries are more prone to blaming their historical failures on others.

            I disagree. Every group has its “foreign devil”. Indeed, I’ve heard some U.S. nationalists defend slavery, at the time, by pointing out it was a common African practice and couldn’t have been conducted without the cooperation and participation of certain tribes selling off their POWs. Then again, this was at TOS, so its probable that my interlocutors were batshit insane. But the point stands.

            To be honest, I think it may seem that the 3rd world is more prone to blame their problems on the farang, gringo, or what have you just because we’ve become “noseblind” to the ways the developed world does the same exact thing.

          6. Jarflax

            I don’t know that pointing out the “cooperation and participation of certain tribes selling off their POWs” is blaming slavery on foreign devils so much as it is reacting to the lefts claims of special evil in America. At least to me the point is that yes, America has flaws in its history, some severe, but that it is grossly unfair to make the argument that America is worse than other nations because we had slavery when virtually every nation on Earth has a history of slavery.

            In other words the fact that every nation has done evil does not mean that all nations are morally equivalent. Isaiah 53:6 means we all fall short of perfection, not that George Washington is the moral equivalent of Stalin.

          7. Heroic Mulatto

            To be honest, I had Germany, France, etc. more in mind when I wrote that than the U.S., which has been relatively free of romantic nationalism compared to the rest of the world. And what I was trying to communicate is that many nationalists, regardless of origin, tend to fall into such chauvinism to deal with the cognitive dissonance they experience between their patriotism and the flaws they subconsciously recognize in their country but won’t verbalize.

            In short, real gangstas don’t flex nuts, because real gangstas know they got ’em.

          8. Jarflax

            Fair enough. Listening to Germans ‘discuss’ WWII history is somewhat surreal. The combination of what you are describing and their legal memoryholing of the nazis sort of eliminates any actual discussion of the period.

          9. Don Escaped Texas

            the cognitive dissonance they experience between their patriotism and the flaws they subconsciously recognize in their country but won’t verbalize

            Well put. Here yesterday I admitted my clans killed the shit out of the Choctaw, but I ain’t giving the farm back, and I had to defend that for hours. Either we move forward as best we can from where we are or we re-distribute it all tomorrow and see where that takes us. But pretending that I don’t stand on the shoulders of genocidal colonialists would be insane.

      2. Rebel Scum

        it never seemed so clear cut

        Leftists don’t do nuance.

    2. IntraveneousWoodChipper

      I cannot consider anyone who writes a variation of “Hitler was evil BUT…” to be a serious person.

      To compare Churchill to Hitler as if they are somehow morally equivalent is simply assinine.

      1. Jarflax

        Hitler was evil but that does not fully convey the enormity of his crimes.

    3. Drake

      I would have thought the Indians (at least the Sikhs and Hindus) would be grateful that British colonialism halted the worst Holocaust in history.

      https://www.themysteriousindia.net/the-biggest-holocaust-in-world-history/

    4. Gadfly

      Winston Churchill’s signatures on a file ordering the withholding of grain, otherwise meant to feed India’s starving masses, just to feed the white Tommy

      While that definitely sucked for India, who in their right mind would expect a nation at war not to feed its troops first?

      Although the mindset of not prioritizing troops might explain why 90% of the colonial soldiers keeping India in subjugation were Indian – soldiers tend to prefer to fight for the side that will feed them.

  27. Scruffy Nerfherder

    Off to see the extortionist dentist….

    1. He needs a new yacht.

    2. Pope Jimbo

      Molar mechanic.

      I always give mine shit about how every other area of medicine has advanced tremendously and yet he is doing pretty much the same thing as they did a hundred years ago.

      1. Pat

        I would say there’s arguably been more advancements in dentistry than medicine in the last 50 years at least. Nifty new filling materials and adhesives, Invisalign, bone void filler, implants. Medicine hasn’t advanced in any practical way in my lifetime, to be honest. Probably around 500 new cancer drugs that will drag your body through living fucking hell to squeeze an extra few dozen weeks out of your life. And not much else.

        1. leon

          Yeah. I’ve been impressed with my dentist. Still expensive, but then again, the prices aren’t as distorted as the Regular Medical market…

        2. Pope Jimbo

          I guess my choppers have been pretty good because I haven’t needed any of those things. (I guess I could use invisalign, but I’ll live with my snaggle teeth).

          From seeing the advances in just hip replacements, I’d push back a bit on the idea that the other docs haven’t been doing shit.

          1. Pat

            I spent so damn long in braces that I read a lot of brochures in the orthodontist’s office.

            I hadn’t considered advancements in areas like hip surgery. So I guess it’s not quite as bad as I made it out on the medical front. In terms of cures and treatments for diseases though, it’s been abysmal in a lot of ways. Personalized genetic treatments were supposed to be as common as aspirin by now according to the hype. Instead we haven’t even had any new antibiotics approved in the last 20 years as our current arsenal becomes increasingly useless against evolved pathogens, cancer survival rates have stagnated, and average life span has actually shortened (albeit infinitesimally).

          2. A Leap at the Wheel

            Most internal medicine is like the AR-15 – We’ve wrung pretty much everything out of the platform that can be done without huge, paradigm shifting technology (like personalized medicine, data analytics, etc.) Most internal medicine improvements are by small degrees, not of type.

            Surgery and dental technology are not there yet. There are many more advances to be made, just based on what is in the pipeline we will see advances in kind for the rest of m lifetime.

            Mental health. lifestyle interventions, etc – that is the real stone-age bullshit. The medical profession is worse at it now than it was 25 years ago (with the exception of the proliferation of cognitive therapies.) The is a lot of data locked up in research, but it is all trapped behind ossified social structures what will have to radically change both in configuration and in world-view before it can be turned into treatment.

            So, in short, you are both right.

          3. Pope Jimbo

            That is the worst kind of right!

    3. Annoyed Nomad

      I had a 6-month cleaning & checkup with my dentist this morning. He gives me a discount since I pay out of pocket. My company offers insurance, but the out of pocket rate for two checkups/year, including x-rays, is less than the premiums.

  28. Slammer

    Madonna’s new ass

    1. Slammer

      grrrr *help me o edit fairy*

    2. “she’s been doing her squats”

      Ummmm, more like she’s been getting silicone injections, but what do I know?

      1. Pat

        What, you mean squats don’t give you the conical bra effect in your ass?

      2. Atanarjuat

        No, I’m pretty sure squats make middle aged women’s asses balloon to ridiculous proportions, while leaving all their other leg muscles untouched.

      3. Hyperion

        Squats? Is that what they call fix-a-flat these days?

  29. Pope Jimbo

    MInnesoda Democrats determined to lose control of house in new election.

    We’ve got ourselves a mini-civil war type of thing going on here. There is a clear split between the Twin Cities pols and the out state pols.

    The Twin Cities crazies are determined to push through gun control laws in the Minnesoda house. What they don’t seem to understand is that a) they don’t control the Minnesoda Senate, so this is an exercise in futility, b) that most of the DFL members from out state will get killed if they vote for gun control and c) most people will thank doG that the Senate was there to block gun control and vote for more GOPers next time.

    Emboldened by solid gains on election night, Minnesota Democrats plan to push hard for stricter gun laws at the Capitol this year.

    Expanding criminal background checks for sales and creating “red flag” protective orders will be near the top of their agenda when they take control of the House on Jan. 8. Democratic Gov.-elect Tim Walz, a gun owner once backed by the NRA, also supports the proposals.

    1. straffinrun

      “Red flag protective orders: This law would allow police or family members to petition a court to temporarily seize someone’s guns if they are deemed a threat.”

      No way I’d get a gun in that case.

      1. Where’s the redress for damages against the judge, cops and person making the accusation when there is no substance to the claim?

        1. straffinrun

          #Believemyinsanesister

      2. “temporarily”

        You’ll get your guns back when we’re good n’ ready to give them to you.

      3. Pope Jimbo

        I’m also excited to see the results when all those rubes out in the sticks have to start paying $$ to get a background check run when Grandpa decides he’s done deer hunting and wants to give it to a grandson.

        Or even better when people start getting felonies because they thought that background check was stupid and just gave the gun to their kid anyhow and then some nosy sheriff finds out about it.

      4. Jarflax

        You live in Japan, how the hell did you think you were getting a gun in any case?

    2. prolefeed

      “The Twin Cities crazies are determined to push through gun control laws in the Minnesoda house. What they don’t seem to understand”

      Look at it from the incentives perspective. They won their election, most of their constituents want this stuff, and so what if that fucks over their colleagues in the swing areas?

  30. The Late P Brooks

    “weird”

    That narrows it down.

    1. Do you want to see my coin collection? Or my record collection? Or my porn collection?

      1. straffinrun

        “Have you ever heard of Amway?”

        1. True story: At my last job, some woman was always trying to sell Amway products to everyone.

          She tries her spiel on me. And then I asked her how good are the Amway condoms. Conversation stopped.

          1. leon

            And you would have gotten in trouble for Harassment, even though she was the one harassing everyone else.

      2. Stinky Wizzleteats

        The correct answer is stamp collection…the weirdos are always about the stamps.

    2. Pope Jimbo

      Actually I think weird does narrow the field quite a bit. Most of you bastards haven’t seen weird in anything except the rearview mirror for years and years.

      Personally, I’d take weird as a wild bit of hyperbolic praise.

  31. Being an instathot is a long uphill slog. Nevertheless, these ladies persisted.

    http://archive.li/nNSjE

    1, 3, 11, 16, 21, 28, 35, 40, 41, 44.

    1. prolefeed

      50, 15 ,24 are my top three woulds.

    1. Pat

      If true then human carbon emissions should sort themselves out naturally. Trump literally cannot stop winning.

    2. Scruffy Nerfherder

      And those low oil prices are killing Venezuela, so there’s that.

    3. straffinrun

      Didn’t Chomsky come out and lambast Trump for pulling out of Syria? He used to be somewhat principled in his anti war stance, but that wing of the far left is toast. Fuck off.

      1. Yeah, suddenly my liberal FB friends are deeply concerned about the Syrians.

    4. Atanarjuat

      Apparently Chomsky came out against the Syria troop withdrawal as well. How that squares with the Literally Hitler thing, I don’t know.

  32. robc

    my eldest daughter called him “weird”.

    I stayed at your house last night?

    1. leon

      You started talking about the SLT again didn’t you?

    2. straffinrun

      I’m sure his daughter knows the word “asshole”.

      1. Old Man With Candy

        These little girls regularly drop f-bombs.

      2. robc

        Assholes can be weird too.

        1. straffinrun

          I’m not touching that. Literally.

    3. And by stay… mean sneaking in the middle of the night? And then sleeping on the sofa, waking up in the morning to puke on the floor, and then ask for breakfast?

      1. Nephilium

        But the glyphs carved on the fence said that it was OK!

  33. The Late P Brooks

    I watched The World’s Greatest Sinner last night. It’s no Doctor Strangelove (or The Loved One, for sure), but as an example of a weird mid-60s “cult” movie, it was worth watching.

    1. It’s terrible.

      1. I mean, it’s not even “so bad it’s good”. It’s just flat out awful.

  34. Savage Love: The new, prudish Tumblr is ruining my sex life

    I’m a 19-year-old bisexual woman really into orgasm denial and edging. With the recent Tumblr ban on all NSFW content, I have no idea where to indulge my kinks and find my community.

    I’ve never needed to go anywhere else to find porn, explore my sexuality, and be surrounded by supportive people—and now I’m at a loss. A few Google searches have been really disheartening. Clearly I’ve been spoiled by all the easily found porn made by women, for women on Tumblr. Hell, I’m used to it being made by bisexuals, for bisexuals. I feel like I’m 15 again, desperately scouring the internet for anything that applies to me. Please tell me where I can find my porn!

    1. Pope Jimbo

      If she sends me her email address I could help her out. I’m a pioneer in the community dedicated to female orgasm denial. (I didn’t choose the denial life, the denial life chose me)

      1. I have a feeling it won’t turn out the way you think it will.

    2. leon

      I’ve got a feeling that if you can’t find the Pron you are looking for on the interwebs… you are not trying, or incompetent.

    3. straffinrun

      You’re into orgasm denial and are complaining about a ban? Just flick your bean as you read the new TOS.

      1. Pat

        Hearty guffaw

    4. Heroic Mulatto

      With the recent Tumblr ban on all NSFW content, I have no idea where to indulge my kinks and find my community.

      It’s called “Mastodon,” lady.

      Jesus, do I have to do everything around here?

      1. Gadfly

        Jesus, do I have to do everything around here?

        I mean, you are the local subject matter expert on fetishes.

    5. Hyperion

      “The new, prudish Tumblr is ruining my sex life”

      I’ve got bad news for you, young lady, it’s just prudish all the way down.

  35. The Late P Brooks

    I’m a 19-year-old bisexual woman really into orgasm denial and edging. With the recent Tumblr ban on all NSFW content, I have no idea where to indulge my kinks and find my community.

    There must be a biker bar in town, or a spot behind the dumpster at a Quik E Mart on the wrong side of the tracks.

    1. prolefeed

      It’s like she’s never looked for porn at all, and never heard of FetLife.

      Being 19 and female, maybe that’s possible.

      1. Pope Jimbo

        I used to work with a very hot young gal who was dumb as a box of rocks. One of the jokes we used to laugh about was whether she understood that drinks in a bar weren’t free. Because I’m sure she never had to buy one in her life.

        1. Free drinks? Maybe she’s not as dumb as one thinks.

        2. I’ve seen some very bright rocks. Admittedly they were only ever green and emitted and eerie lambency. The sick plants and dead animals are totally unrelated.

        3. Not Adahn

          In high school, we convinced a cheerleader that spam was an animal and that my father had a taxidermied one on his wall.

          1. Pope Jimbo

            True Overheard Conversation From High School:

            Hot Girl #1: I heard you were going to study in France next year. How can you afford that?
            Hot Girl #2: I got some grants and I’ll also do some light house work
            Hot Girl #1: Are there a lot of light houses in France?

    2. commodious spittoon

      really into orgasm denial

      That’s my move!

  36. Nephilium

    Some good news to start off the year. For the first time in about 2/3rds of an Evan, some works are entering the Public Domain.

    1. Even though I thoroughly support copyright protection for my own work, I don’t see how it should last so long after the creator is gone. The only people benefiting at that point are rent-seekers who should go out and produce something on their own.

      1. Nephilium

        That’s the real issue. Even if we should have copyright, it should not last for a damned century. I’d also argue that there needs to be some sort of abandonment to allow works to enter the public domain.

        1. leon

          Used to be 28 Years and then you had to Re-copyright. 85% of holders would not do so, and so we could be seeing things from the 1990’s in the public domain.

          1. I thought it was 24 years.

          2. leon

            I’m just reading what the Website said.

          3. After some searching I’ve found that my memory was incorrect, it was indeed 28 years.

          4. Gadfly

            We really should return to that system. 28+28 means an author could get a good 56 years of profit from a work, so a one hit wonder could still make a living for an entire career but things would still enter the public domain at a reasonable rate.

    2. leon

      Yes we have not Copyright, we have not copyright today!

  37. Elizabeth Warren Compares Scrutiny Of Native American Heritage Claim To Obama Birtherism

    Warren’s website blames “the right-wing machine” for scrutiny of her heritage claims.

    “They have called Elizabeth ‘Pocahontas’ and used racist depictions of Native American history, culture, and people to make Elizabeth the butt of a joke,” the website states.

    “These actions not only dishonor Native people and their many contributions to this country, but perpetuate harmful stereotypes that Native communities continue to fight against.”

    “Show us your papers. Release your birth certificate. It’s all part of the right’s disgusting effort to use race-baiting and fear-mongering to distract our country and divide our people while they rig the system for the rich and powerful,” Warren’s site claims.

    1. Pat

      Having to substantiate your own claims is racist.

    2. leon

      Yes the people making fun of the Lilly White Grandma claiming to be Native American on employment forms are the racists.

    3. Atanarjuat

      Streisand Effect

    4. WTF

      So, the people mocking the false claim of racial identity are the racists?

    5. Rebel Scum

      Release your birth certificate.

      This is relevant to do given that one of the two legal qualifications to be president is to be a natural born citizen.

      to make Elizabeth the butt of a joke

      She did that to herself.

      perpetuate harmful stereotypes

      Stereotypes are humorous. Lighten up, Francis.

    6. DrOtto

      So Hillary was a right winger when she started the birth certificate thing?

    7. It’s Fauxcahontas. Or Lieawatha, please.

      1. Rhywun

        Sitting Bullshit was my favorite.

  38. The Late P Brooks

    I’m also excited to see the results when all those rubes out in the sticks have to start paying $$ to get a background check run when Grandpa decides he’s done deer hunting and wants to give it to a grandson.

    “The transfer was denied. You can’t give a rifle to a 14 year old. No, you can’t have your money back.”

  39. straffinrun

    Google Bans Gateway Pundit From News Search

    Review Complete: Site Rejected
    Thanks for your interest in sharing your content via Google News. Unfortunately, we can’t include your website in Google News at this time.
    Before you request inclusion again, review our content policies and technical guidelines. You can also visit the Google News Help Forum, where Google News employees and publishers often share helpful tips and expertise. Members of the forum may provide specific suggestions and feedback for your website.

    “Helpful tips”.

    1. leon

      You know who is on Google News…

      Jalopnik, Vox,…

  40. The Late P Brooks

    You can also visit the Google News Help Forum, where Google News employees and publishers often share helpful tips and expertise. Members of the forum may provide specific suggestions and feedback for your website.

    Go left, young news man.

    I can’t help but notice the google nooz coughs up content from places like Slate and Salon and Vox and Newsweek at about a about ten thousand to one higher frequency rate than any “right wing” sites.

    1. LJW

      And no matter how much I block those sites they continue to pop up in my Google news feed.

      1. Why are you using a google news feed?

        1. LJW

          Because as much as I hate the agenda they push, it’s the easiest feed to use, and I’ve still been able to manage it so I get the sites I trust. Unless you have a better alternative.

          1. I just bookmark the sites I trust and visit them individually.

          2. Pat

            Is RSS still a thing?

          3. Nephilium

            It’s still a thing, but it’s not really supported anymore. I used to have a nice RSS feed that scrolled along the bottom of my browser, with new stories highlighted to stand out.

          4. Pat

            Yeah, I used to have an RSS reader built into my email client, but I rarely used it, and when it disappeared I didn’t even really notice. I figured it might have been deprecated since I almost never see the little icon on any websites anymore. Kind of too bad.

          5. They current design philosophy is assume everyone ditched their real computers in favor of tiny handheld screens with limited data plans. Having something make an http call every five to fifteen minutes eats up data and bandwidth.

          6. dorvinion

            If RSS were to ever cease working I have no idea what I’d do.

            I don’t exactly have a ton of sites I read or follow, but it would be annoying to have to check each one individually for new content.

          7. Rhywun

            Yes, I use it every day. My browser has an add on – you just enter “glibertarians.com” and it finds the RSS feed for you.

          8. GLIBS AND GLIBS ONLY BITCHES!!!

  41. LJW

    In 2019, California workers gain on pay and working conditions. Employers say it will be costly

    “For workers, “2018 was a stellar year” for protections passed into law, said STEVE SMITH, a spokesman for the California Labor Federation”

    Sweet mother of God, he’s worked his way into the union business!

    1. leon

      STEVE SMITH LEARN THAT UNION SCREW WORKER AND WORKER SMILES. AND BY SCREW MEAN…

    2. WTF

      In 2019, California workers gain on pay and working conditions.

      Except of course for those workers who will get laid off due to the rising costs this imposes on businesses.

      1. Pope Jimbo

        And even if you keep your job, you will be working more to cover for the saps who got canned.

    3. ElspethFlashman

      Every YEAR STELLAR FOR STEVE, IFKWIM.

      1. RAPE UP 23.5% THIS YEAR. GOOD RETURN FOR INVESTORS.

        1. WTF

          AND BY “RETURN” MEAN…..

    4. Gadfly

      “STEVE SMITH, UNION BOSS” sounds like it has all the makings of a new series…

  42. The Late P Brooks

    History’s greatest monster

    Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called President Donald Trump an “amoral” person and said he’s “the worst President we’ve ever had” in an interview with The New York Times Magazine published Wednesday.
    “Trump is an interesting person. He is not immoral but is amoral,” Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said in the interview. “Amoral is when you shoot someone in the head, it doesn’t make a difference. No conscience.”
    Reid, who retired in 2017 at the end of his fifth term, told the magazine that Trump “is without question the worst president we’ve ever had.”
    “We’ve had some bad ones, and there’s not even a close second to him,” he said, according to the magazine. “He’ll lie. He’ll cheat. You can’t reason with him,” he added.

    Yup.

    1. leon

      “He’ll lie. He’ll cheat. You can’t reason with him”

      Yeah like that time he claimed the Democrats Presidential Candidate hadn’t paid taxes in years…

    2. Atanarjuat

      After 5 terms in Washington, he finally comes across a bad person, and must speak about it publicly.

    3. Pat

      He’ll lie. He’ll cheat. You can’t reason with him

      This is the same Harry Reid who went into congress as an out of work lawyer and left with a 12 million dollar fortune, right?

    4. Pope Jimbo

      Reid: Mr. CNN, what we are dealing with here is a perfect white supremacist, a nazi supremacist. It’s really a miracle of evolution. All this white supremacist does is enslave minorities and kill children and make little alt-right nazis, and that’s all.

    5. Not Adahn

      Some time, I’d like to her one thing bad about Trump that wasn’t worse about LBJ. Just one.

      1. Trump is from New York.

      2. Pope Jimbo

        Hmmm……

        Is not liking dogs worse than liking them, but then picking them up by the ears?

    6. Plinker762

      Does he have doll’s eyes too?

  43. The Late P Brooks

    Why are you using a google news feed?

    What else is out there which might be better? Yahoo nooz?

    Haha, I crack myself up.

    1. ElspethFlashman

      I’ve been fixing a banking / computer problem for my mom. This means that I spent time looking at her browsers, etc. Zomg, is the shortest way to put it.

      1. Nephilium

        No one needs 37 browser add-on bars.

        As a serious recommendation, get Malware Bytes and run it on the machine and make sure it’s clean too.

        1. Second this recommendation. Also make sure the anti-virus software – if any! – is updated.

        2. ElspethFlashman

          Thanks for the tips. I also changed her facebook notifications so she’s not getting an email every time someone posts. . .

  44. LJW

    Texas, Florida see big population gains, while New York, Illinois see big losses, Census Bureau data show

    “It’s taxes. It’s corruption. It’s politics,” Mary Miller, a former Illinois resident, told the Chicago Tribune, explaining why she moved to Florida. “And I don’t mean Republicans or Democrats. It’s all of them.”

    This comes off as it’s all of them but maybe the Democrats will be different in this red state so I will vote for them here.

    1. Pat

      She’s got a good point though. All 6 Republicans in Illinois are pretty scummy.

    2. Certified Public Asshat

      How soon until Florida starts taxing individual income?

    3. I think the media is drastically underestimating the deep resentment of the Uniparty. I see that term used on both left and right-leaning sites.

  45. Atanarjuat

    https://www.foxnews.com/politics/us-israel-official-quit-un-agency-unesco-claiming-anti-israeli-bias.amp

    I don’t know anything about UNESCO, but apparently we quit funding it during the Obama administration.

    “The State Department couldn’t comment because of the U.S. government shutdown.”

    The good news keeps coming!

  46. prolefeed

    Warning — Some might be NSFW and all but 10 appear to be Thicc:

    https://thesexier.com/big-booties-photos/

    If you only have time for three, try 4, 8, 24

  47. The Late P Brooks

    Reid added that he disagrees with former FBI Director James Comey’s frequent comparisons between Trump and a mob boss.
    “Organized crime is a business,” he told the magazine, “and they are really good with what they do. But they are better off when things are predictable. In my opinion, they do not do well with chaos. And that’s what we have going with Trump.”

    If anybody is qualified to comment on the business practices of mobsters, it’s a former Senator from Nevada.

    1. Pat

      This is just the easy stuff. Dude is up to his asshole in corruption in this state. As are all of his piece of shit children.

  48. ElspethFlashman

    Ask a silly question department : read in a police report today “Officer V asked the suspect why he smokes crack, and he replied ‘It’s what I do.’ “

  49. The Late P Brooks

    Why kids can’t read

    Jack Silva didn’t know anything about how children learn to read. What he did know is that a lot of students in his district were struggling.

    Silva is the chief academic officer for Bethlehem, Pa., public schools. In 2015, only 56 percent of third graders were scoring proficient on the state reading test. That year, he set out to do something about that.

    Because the “degreed educators” running the schools are a bunch of incompetent self-serving frauds.

    What did I win?

    1. They’re also likely using common core reading which is almost custom designed to cripple a person’s ability to become fully literate.

      1. leon

        Common Core gets a worse rap than it really should. A lot of it actually is about achieving actually reasoning/understanding around basic mathematics rather than just rote memorization of an algorithm. Mostly the implementation fucked up. All the memes of the “confused” parents are because all the parents only learned how to go through the algorithm, and never learned why. If you ask most adults today why they have to “borrow” when subtracting, you’d get a blank stare. It never occurred to them to think about why they have to do it, they were just taught as kids that they have to do it that way.

        1. Mojeaux

          Some people don’t think that way and don’t learn it until after powering through the algo with rote memory. Being able to understand WHY it works that way isn’t as important as being able to do it relatively quickly. For those people who CAN think and understand that way, well, yay for them, but it cripples everybody else.

          1. Scruffy Nerfherder

            This

            I have post-graduate level math under my belt and have been helping three kids thru the process. I hate Common Core because it treats all kids the same way. Most kids just need to learn the rote memorization first and then can obtain some level of understanding after they are comfortable with it. Only a small percentage benefit from the theory and can absorb it at the beginning. Common Core attempts to treat them all as able to deal with the theory aspect right from the start.

            Nevermind that the materials are just plain shitty with mistakes galore.

          2. leon

            I actually agree with you in part. I think learning the Algorithm is important because it eliminates trying to learn two difficult things at once. But its a bit silly that you could ask someone who went through calculus, but they couldn’t explain why you borrow when you subtract. Like i said, i think the goals of Common Core are actually laudable, but the execution is flawed.

          3. Mojeaux

            I went through calculus. I don’t care why you borrow. I only need to know that it’s how the process works.

          4. Jarflax

            I am terrible at following rote. If I understand what is going on, why you borrow, why multiplying exponents is done by adding them, etc. I can work out the rote by reasoning my way through what is happening in the problem, rote only works as long as you remember all the steps.

          5. Mojeaux

            Correct. But for those of us who rely on rote memory, trying to teach the theory on a very short timeline guarantees we will never get the theory or the right answers to advance to the next section, much less the next grade level.

          6. Mojeaux

            What I mean to say, is that it is correct for the way you learn, not that it is correct as a teaching tool across the board.

          7. Jarflax

            I was not disputing your learning preference, just pointing out that any universal method is going to fail some people. I do tend to think the default should be to explain, then if the child struggles show them the rote steps method; not the reverse where you teach everyone the rote and only explain if the student asks for it because I tend to think you should never default to ‘just do it the way I told you’.

          8. Gadfly

            I don’t care why you borrow. I only need to know that it’s how the process works.

            I am terrible at following rote.

            I do think that the majority of people are in the first category. Ideally, the teacher would teach rote but be able to competently explain theory to the few kids who bothered to ask “why”.

            Or we could stop trying to create a one-size-fits-all education system, but in that case I want to try aerial bacon and see if it tastes better than the terrestrial kind.

          9. Mojeaux

            To add: I also have a degree in English. I don’t need to know the where froms and whys and meanings of how a word is put together, prefixes and suffixes and what they mean and where they come from. I only need to know how to arrange the words to communicate effectively. It’s interesting, but unnecessary.

          10. Heroic Mulatto

            Being able to understand WHY it works that way isn’t as important as being able to do it relatively quickly.

            Important to whom? Well, sure, if the goal of education is to produce Subservient Corporate Cog #3891-Z, then yeah, rote performance of a skill is most important. Some of us, however, believe education should have different goals. We need some John Taylor Gatto up in this bitch.

          11. Mojeaux

            Important to getting through to the next section and the next grade level on time. Corporate Dronism isn’t going to go away or get looser for people who don’t get it on schedule.

            I had to drag both my children through this. One caught on, but only after he’d memorized rotely. The other never did, but she can add and subtract, multiply and divide.

            Some of us, however, believe education should have different goals.

            Some of us do. Some of us have to work with what we’ve got, though.

          12. Heroic Mulatto

            Important to getting through to the next section and the next grade level on time.

            That’s more of an issue of the current hegemony of the Carnegie Unit vs. competency-based education and mastery learning than it is a teaching methodology and outcomes issue. Fortunately, there is growing inertia around CBE, with plenty of opportunities – public and private.

          13. Scruffy Nerfherder

            As my first boss’s boss explained to me, “Not everyone is suited for or capable of designing an electronic product, just like not everyone is suited for manually assembling said product, now get the fuck off the assemblers’ bench and let them do their job.”

            That is not a judgement of the assembler or designer.

          14. +1 The world needs ditch diggers too!

          15. Heroic Mulatto

            That’s confusing the issue, though. It’s not a debate about the limits of intelligence, but the nature of the educative process. Even for a manual assembler, you can just tell him to torque something to a particular amount of foot-pounds-force and leave it at that or you can tell him you torque it to the particular amount because if you over-torque it, the gear breaks. The latter produces more resilient and anti-fragile systems, in my experience.

          16. A smart person I know described the goal of education (as opposed to training, for instance) as helping people make sense of the world around them. Knowing that 2 + 2 = 4 is good, but it doesn’t help you when you see 2 + 3. Knowing why 2 + 2 = 4 means that when you see 2 + 3 you know that it equals 5.

          17. Heroic Mulatto

            Exactly. It’s being able to apply that knowledge to deal with novel situations and contexts when they come up.

          18. Scruffy Nerfherder

            I don’t think we disagree that much in reality, my main objections with Common Core have always been its’ lousy implementation and the foolhardy attempt to treat all kids as if they learn in the same manner, which is fundamentally untrue.

            I’ve looked at many of the math worksheets and said to myself, “I see what they’re getting at, but holy shit is that a bad way to explain it and it’s confusing the hell out of my kid.”

          19. Jarflax

            On this subject I I pretty much am in HMs camp. Understanding is inherently superior to memorization. Yes people have different levels of intelligence and not therefore we each have different limits to our understanding, but to the extent possible the goal should be to give kids understanding rather than memorized knowledge. It lasts longer and has wider application.

          20. The latter produces more resilient and anti-fragile systems, in my experience.

            I agree. As somebody who works in a field where the answer is always that we do things certain ways because that’s how we’ve always done them, I could use a bit more thoughtful reflection on the whys from my coworkers.

            As you stated, HM, the purpose of education drives the method of education.

          21. I was the opposite, especially regarding math. I’ve always been weak in math, and it’s because I’ve always gotten stuck on needing to know the “why” behind something before I progressed to the next step. “Just do this and you’ll learn why you do it later” was never good enough. I excelled in history, French, and English, because it was easy for me to perceive them as systems and thereby understand what I was learning. Everything made sense, even when there were exceptions to rules. Interestingly, the only math class I ever got an “A” in was geometry; you proved everything from square one so there was never a “just trust me and it’ll make sense later” moment.

        2. CPRM

          Working with Common Core that kids around here get, it seems to be about guessing and trying rather than knowing what you’re doing or why.

      2. kinnath

        I read all the common core criteria in the Math section. It’s just a bunch of goals of what should be achieved by a certain age/grade level.

        The teaching materials associated with common core are produced by independent for-profit organizations. This is where the real bullshit appears. The handful of samples that I reviewed were terrible.

        1. ^This. Common Core and NGSS got a lot of shit because of the administration they happened under and because people who were against school choice initiatives used implementation of CC or NGSS as an argument in favor of public schools over charter or private schools, and because Obumbles incentivized adoption of CC standards by tying them to federal education grants and so forth.

          Neither set of standards impose a particular curriculum, nor do they espouse any particular pedagogy. They are just a set of standards. Now, people who get excited about them tend to also be big fans of constructivist pedagogy, and that’s not everyone’s cup of tea. Also, implementations often suck, but that’s not because the standards themselves are flawed.

    2. leon

      Jack Silva didn’t know anything about how children learn to read. What he did know is that a lot of students in his district were struggling.

      Silva is the chief academic officer for Bethlehem, Pa., public schools.”

      But we definitely can’t leave education to the private sector…

      1. R C Dean

        He doesn’t know how children learn to read. He doesn’t know how reading is taught in his school district. Yet he is the chief academic officer. And his director of literacy apparently has to be told to find out how children are being taught to read.

        Words just fail.

        1. WTF

          That district is clearly not spending enough money on schools.

    3. Nephilium

      Could it be that they got rid of phonics? So many children never getting the chance to hear the word diphthong.

      1. A Leap at the Wheel

        There is a strong trend to return to reading/riting/rithmatic, including phonics. My kids public school in a not-at-all upscale area spends a lot of time on RRR and very little time on anything else.

        The pendulum always swings back.

        1. Nephilium

          For more data points, my small Catholic grade school did phonics in grade school, the girlfriend’s public grade school did not. We both graduated high school in the same year. I should ask the nephews if they’re doing phonics at some point.

        2. dorvinion

          Got a kid that is halfway through kindergarten and phonics is again a big part of the way they are being taught, though they do still have a list of sight words.

        3. Mojeaux

          Ohio just passed a law that put cursive writing back on the curriculum.

          1. “Here’s a squiggle with no discernable features. Yes, there are letters in there, we swear it.”

            Cursive is slower to write, harder to read and doesn’t have anything in its favor other than being the style to use when you have a fountain pen around.

          2. leon

            “harder to read”

            I thought that was the point. It covers up peoples horrible spelling.

          3. A Leap at the Wheel

            I literally have a fountain pen on my desk and used it three times already today.

            Also, cursive in the curriculum is stupid. Its a nice skill, like saddle making or cookie decorating that maybe belongs in a high-school level arts program.

          4. Ooo, fancy.

            I have to bring my own pens if I want any that write. Because theft of working writing utensils is an issue, I don’t bring any valuable pens to work.

          5. A Leap at the Wheel

            Its just a Pilot Metropolitan that takes ink cartridges. It isn’t better in any dimension than the Papermate Liquid Expresso pens I’ve been using for 10 years, But I get a little glimmer of enjoyment out of it for no apparent reason.

            Sucks that you have stuff stolen at work. A good pen is like a good razor. Something about the tactile experience of a tool that’s 50% heavier than it strictly needs to be.

          6. wdalasio

            Cursive is slower to write…

            Huh? I’ve never found this to be the case. I can write a sentence in cursive in about half the time it takes me to print the letters. Your pencil/pen never leaves the page.

          7. I write in a cursive/block letter hybrid – mixed in with my own version of shorthand – that takes the least amount of time. Of course no one else can read it very easily but its great for note taking.

          8. Drawing a horizontal line with a few up or down bumps is not writing out a sentence.

          9. Mojeaux

            I write in a cursive/block letter hybrid

            Same.

          10. What is this writing bullshit you guys keep talking about?

            /millennial

          11. Rhywun

            Now all they need is teachers who are able teach it.

    4. Certified Public Asshat

      We are homeschooling. I will admit, I was a little uneasy when my wife wanted to do it since she has an information systems degree (I know). But, teaching a kid to read seems to be as simple as taking them to the library and letting them pick out whatever they want to read. My son is pretty fluent as a first grader and it’s because he wanted to read Captain Underpants books.

      1. Nephilium

        Spider Robinson tells the story several times of how his mom taught him to read. She would let him pick out comic books that she would read to him, then would stop at the climax (to start dinner, run errands, or some other excuse), leaving him alone with the comic (with words and pictures to help out). For me, it was Sesame Street, Electric Company, and lots of books sitting around the house.

      2. invisible finger

        I’ll repeat it ad nauseum: I was taught how to read and do math when I was 3 or 4 by a 9-year old who’s only interest in doing so was so that she could play “bitch teacher” after spending 6 hours earlier in the day having to listen to “bitch teacher”. So the material she used was her 3rd or 4th grade textbooks. We just had fun. When I went to first grade, I finally understood that “bitch teacher” was the norm and not the exception and why my sister hated school so much.

      3. ChipsnSalsa

        I can not stress this enough. Find what your child likes to read and just keep shoveling those books into the house. What they like will change, if they learn to enjoy reading, they will be reading what they enjoy.

        My now 10 year old did not enjoy reading at 7. She was given a lot of what her brother had read before and didn’t read it. We found what she liked and she read it faster than we could get it from the library. Now she doesn’t like to read the same sort of genre, but is on to having 3 or 4 chapter books on her plate at once.

    5. CPRM

      I taught 2 of my nieces to read before they went to school, and one of my nephews got the basics before school. I have no idea how the school teaches the other kids. I just know school taught me to hate reading.

      1. A Leap at the Wheel

        High school English turned me off of reading anything other than Dragonlance an REH for a half a decade. Before that, I was reading all kinds of shit, and it wasn’t till I was out in the real world for a while that I started reading like what you see in my posts in the What Have We Been Reading columns.

        1. My reaction to high school english was to start writing so I could have something entertaining to read.

          1. Jarflax

            I am finally getting around to reading Gruefield 18, so far I am enjoying it.

      2. Urthona

        Having school teach your children reading is an excellent way to ensure they never perform above the curve.

        1. ^^^

          Reading was something that I loved from a young age. If it weren’t for primary school doing its darndest to beat that love out of me, I’d pay have a better appreciation for the classics. I think that a love of reading is the single biggest leg up in life you can give a kid.

          We’re working hard with the 1.5 year old to inculcate a love of reading. Her attention span is about 3 seconds, so it comes in spurts, but we are starting to see fruits of the effort. She will occasionally get in a reading mood and want us to read 2 or 3 books in a row to her.

          1. dorvinion

            Since about age 2 we’ve read to our kid about every night. The more you do it, the more they seem to want it.

            Ours is almost 6 and capable of reading the little kid books by herself, but she still wants someone to read to her before bed.

            We’ve graduated to novels now at least (thankfully). About halfway through the Hobbit currently.

  50. The Late P Brooks

    Silva didn’t know what to do. To begin with, he didn’t know how students in his district were being taught to read. So, he assigned his new director of literacy, Kim Harper, to find out.

    Cleanse it the old fashioned way. With fire.

    1. commodious spittoon

      But that’s with a chief academic officer. Imagine how much worse it’d be without him.

      1. invisible finger

        We’d have a bunch of children spending the day learning what they want to learn and having independent thought. The horror!

  51. LJW

    Complete crapshoot on this question, but I figure there’s some smart fellers in here so I’ll ask you all. Anyone familiar the Bavarian army ranking from WWI? I’m reading though copies of handwritten personnel sheets and I came across an abbreviated rank I am not familiar with. The abreviated word appears to be “Trinb.” Whoever wrote it did so in a hybrid Kurrent/Sütterlin format. I know it’s a random question, but I’m exhausting all my resources.

    1. No luck with my search. You may want to try here?
      http://histomil.com/index.php

      1. or any other military history website, a further search shows that one is a little inactive.

    2. Rhywun

      Could it be “Trieb.”? Sütterlin “e” looks a lot like “n”. “Trieb” is a word that can mean “impulse” or “transmission”…

      1. Jarflax

        Try here. The closest I see is Trompeter

      2. Don Escaped Texas

        I had the same question: some trends survive, but prewar (WW2) writing in DE isn’t obvious to some American eyes. If the image can be pasted up somewhere, I could take a look.

        1. Rhywun

          I would go further and posit that Sütterlin is completely illegible to almost all Americans (and probably Germans under the age of 65 or so too).

          1. kinnath

            Fuck. I thought 16th century German was bad.

          2. Apparently you can write a squiggle and call it German.

          3. Don Escaped Texas

            You said it better. I’ve written so many severe things here lately that I had dialed that one back.

            When beginning in technical Deutsch, I had a lot to learn, and a certain bit of this did influence my lettering; I always cross sevens and tail back nines, but I only use a two-stroke eins for German eyes. I heard of a German plan to eliminate Arabic numerals, but no details were forthcoming!

            Fraktur is cool.

    3. Brasidas

      Could be a specialist job title.

  52. The Late P Brooks

    teaching a kid to read seems to be as simple as taking them to the library and letting them pick out whatever they want to read.

    Reading that NPR article makes it sound like the educrats set out with the specific goal of designing a curriculum which would prevent children from ever learning how to read.

  53. R C Dean

    Its a freakin’ snowpocalypse in my front yard this morning.

    1. Nephilium

      That’s more snow than I’ve seen here in Cleveland this year.

      /Nelson laugh

      1. R C Dean

        Its odd, living near the mountains in southern AZ. We see snow on the mountains every year, and the weather forecasts include a prediction about what altitude will see snow (“it will snow down to 4,000 feet tonight”, that kind of thing). This is the first time in four years it has snowed at my house, but by the time I got halfway to work, there was no snow at all. We live right on the edge of town (literally – I can walk to the national park in 15 minutes). The ground is warm enough that its not really sticking much, but I would say we got 3″ at my house.

        1. Nephilium

          We’ve had one real snow fall that stuck this year, but it was also right at 32 degrees. So the snow stuck on the grass, and on the trees, and houses, but did not stick on the sidewalks or the streets. Best snow possible, then it all melted and it went back to raining over Christmas.

          Today we’re in the mid-30’s with fog and clouds. Still no snow on the 10 day forecast.

        2. Hyperion

          I can’t remember seeing even a flake of snow yet this winter.

    2. kinnath

      I survived the blizzard of ’85.

      I arrived in Phoenix in Aug ’85. That fall they had the first recorded “measurable” snow fall at the airport in 50 years or so.

      The “I survived” T-shirts were on the market a few days later.

    3. So far this is some of the least snow I’ve seen in Michigan, but it happens once in a while. I’m sure January and February (and March) will be payback time for all us dimwitted folks living in the Mitten State.

      1. CPRM

        2010/11 had less snow. It was colder in Dallas for the Superbowl than it was here. I just don’t want another April like last year, that was bullshit.

    1. R C Dean

      This individual was employed as a supervised resident at our hospital from July to September 2018.

      Hard to know, but that could have just been a standard clinical rotation, so she wasn’t “fired” at all. Doesn’t say where she is now. For a resident to get actually fired could mean loss of her doctor “learner’s permit” (residents aren’t actually fully licensed, at least not in all states, and instead have a permit or similar to do residency work under supervision) and/or getting kicked out of the residency program altogether (it varies).

      1. commodious spittoon

        Yep, I misread. Is it appropriate to refer to a resident as a doctor?

        1. R C Dean

          Yeah, you can call them doctor.

        2. Urthona

          They are a doctor, yes.

      2. leon

        What are you, some kinda hospital lawyer?

    2. I once had a doctor who got her medical degree from a school in Pakistan (which was also her nationality). That made me feel a little uneasy, even though my current doctor is also a Muslim but with better bedside manners; and easier on the eyes.

  54. The Late P Brooks

    I found this little tidbit in a WaPo tearjerker about teh Shutdownz:

    The Kennedy Center and Ford’s Theatre operate in a gray area: Neither uses federal funds for performances, so those will go on as scheduled, but the Kennedy Center’s hours are slashed, because the government pays for essential services, such as cleaning and security, and the National Park Service-run museum at Ford’s Theatre is closed.

    Ford’s Theater, site of the assassination of an American President is still open and operating?

    In these new and enlightened times, when something bad happens, the site is razed, and every effort is made to erase it from living memory.

    Unless, of course, Trump were to be bumped off prior to the expiration of his term. The site of his demise would likely be turned into a shrine to freedom and enlightened bravery.

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder

      The Kennedy Center is just an arena for Democratic circle jerks anyway. Let the DNC pay for it.

    2. Gadfly

      Ford’s Theater is indeed still operating: I’ve even seen a play there when I visited relatives in the DC area. The booth where Lincoln was killed is preserved and roped off, with a picture of him (in fine health) hanging there, but other than that the theater has moved on. I agree with you that this whole movement to destroy or memorialize an entire site of a tragedy is a bad trend. Very superstitious, IMO.

  55. PieInTheSky

    Trudeau’s environmental record on the line in Canada election year

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/02/justin-trudeau-environmental-record-canada-election-year

    “The good news for the prime minister is that when you ask Canadians who they think would make the best prime minister, he still has a comfortable advantage over Conservative leader Andrew Scheer,” said Nik Nanos, a Canadian pollster. “The bad news is that leading up to the next federal election right now, it’s basically a coin toss between the Liberals and Conservatives.”

    Canadians have shown an increasing concern for the environment, but in a country largely dependent on resource extraction, the results are often messy.

    1. Rufus the Monocled

      Pretty much.

      Scheer is far more better suited to lead. But he’s basically a RINO. Trudeau doesn’t lead, he emotes and dictates.

      Maxime Bernier for me.

      1. Rufus the Monocled

        Not only is the debate about pipelines pointless given it’s key to our economy; it’s immoral to deny it because so many jobs depend on it.

        I’ll take it a step further in describing the Canadian mindset.

        Our resources – to extract, refine, manufacture equipment – mostly began with British capital and then American. Canada didn’t invest in itself referring to off load that responsibility to others.

        Colonials to the end.

        1. Rufus the Monocled

          preferring

      2. PieInTheSky

        Rufus I sometimes get a feeling you are not fully satisfied at the state of Canadian politics, although I may be wrong.

        1. Rufus the Monocled

          Not with the Trudeau liberals I’m not. Correct. Culturally is for another discussion.

          But on a wider scope, Canada pretending it doesn’t need pipelines is a pipe dream of stupidity.

          It’s important to this country and I’m afraid too many politicians play politics with this to court the enviro-vote.

  56. slumbrew

    I’m actually working today, but swung by because I believe you will enjoy this:

    New Bar in [Town]

    Who else is excited for the new cocktail bar?

    I’m talking about the one opening up in [historical building] in [up-and-coming neighborhood]. If you haven’t heard the buzz on [local news site] or [social media place], it’s time to crawl out from under that rock, because it sounds like it’s going to be [hyperbole].

    1. PieInTheSky

      Using Sriracha in the article is a mistake I think. It is no longer that hip. It has appeared in supermarkets in Romania.

    2. Stinky Wizzleteats

      Not bad, I’m going there after work.

  57. Hyperion

    I was getting a little worried about Africa, due to the recent goings on in South Africa. But appears they have found their salvation. Alternative math.

    Woke Math

    Hey, I’m pretty sure Paul Krugman uses this, and he has a prize.

    1. PieInTheSky

      due to the recent goings on in South Africa – I can never tell what to believe about that place

    2. commodious spittoon

      Does Woke Math let me call down lightning on my adversaries?

      1. No, but it lets you believe there are people who can.

      2. Hyperion

        As a practitioner, if I say it does, you best believe me to avoid some smiting.

    3. Part of the first “Woke” Engineered Lunar Lander?

    4. Stinky Wizzleteats

      “Decolonized math”

      Note to self: Do not hire any freshly graduated South African engineers (or anything really, math is kinda important).

      1. Hyperion

        Democrats should be all over this. I’m pretty sure I can pay for all the free stuff we want with some decolonized math.

    5. Ed Wuncler

      So at DePaul probably around 8 years ago, there was a group of black students who protested that forcing commerce students to take Business Calc 1&2 and Business Stats was discriminatory because a lot of black students (their words) weren’t taught mathematics in high school and therefore were shut out of the commerce program. They wanted the School of Commerce to make the requirements optional for students.

      Luckily when the alum and members of the Board of Trustees caught wind of this they in a rare move shut that shit down immediately. Even the students were pissed (including myself ) because we had to take those classes and for others to get a pass was bullshit and unfair.

      Social justice especially among black activist groups aren’t for justice or equality whatsoever. What they want are exceptions and the lowering of standards because they have been convinced that they can’t complete on the same level as whites.

      1. CPRM

        The math teachers I had in HS were terrible, my white ass had to go remedial in college.

        1. Ed Wuncler

          Mine were too but I would have rather eaten a can of SPAM and washed it down with two shots of Malort before asking the school to drop the math courses. I hated Math but knew that I needed to have the discipline to study extra since it wasn’t my strongest subject.

        2. PieInTheSky

          I romania private tutoring is the norm for all who can afford it

      2. invisible finger

        “and therefore were shut out of the commerce program. ”

        I’m pretty sure DePaul knows exactly what the typical CPS high school course offerings are, after all it’s mostly a commuter school. DePaul offered pre-calc courses when I went. So if your chosen major/program required something and you weren’t up to snuff, you could use an elective to get up to snuff.

        Also, that’s what junior college is for.

        1. Mojeaux

          Also, that’s what junior college is for.

          I am a HUGE believer in junior college.

          1. Ed Wuncler

            Me too. If I could do it all over again, I would have went to one of junior colleges in the area.

          2. invisible finger

            It’s amazing how high school guidance counselors poo-poo junior college. Must affect their compensation/resume.

          3. Heroic Mulatto

            Nothing that rational. It’s purely prejudice/culture. My step-dad was an admission rep. for a large trades school. The guidance counselors were the gatekeepers to the school. Regardless of having a 97% job placement rate, with the average graduate making 70-75,000 in his first year, you’d be surprised at the barriers many guidance counselors placed in front of my step-dad getting in to the schools to educate students about this option.

          4. Raven Nation

            Some of it is (recent) history. In some states, Jucos became the destination for those whose SATs didn’t hit the minimum for entrance to a 4-year school. But now a lot of states require admission to the 4-year state school for anyone with a HS diploma. So, I doubt there’s much difference between the students in an intro class in either place.

            Nonetheless, the idea persists that Juco is where weaker students go.

          5. invisible finger

            Sounds like something a significant annual donation to the school would have fixed.

          6. Heroic Mulatto

            I think that’s illegal for the same reason my step-dad couldn’t earn commission per student enrolled.

          7. What, you don’t know how to properly embribe an employee of the district?

          8. invisible finger

            “Nonetheless, the idea persists that Juco is where weaker students go.”

            I wonder if that’s starting to change. The step-kid was in music and theater programs in high school and every spring the final performance pamphlets listed the seniors and their future plans. So I saw these things for four years and the last year there seemed to be an unusually large number of students listing JC as their next stop. And this is a middle-to-upper-middle community so I think sticker shock is starting to affect the smarter kids/parents into looking at JC as an option. There doesn’t seem to ever be an issue with JC credits transferring. Where you start doesn’t matter as much as where you end.

          9. invisible finger

            “I think that’s illegal ”

            Not at my high school. They used to have trade tracks and I’m certain most of the tools and whatnot were donated rather than purchased by the district. The school ended those tracks when the union realized there were too many people going into the trades and suppressing wages. The rural area my mom lives in still does it that way at the high school but there’s no danger of getting too many tradesmen there.

          10. Raven Nation

            Invisible finger: I think you’re correct. In the state where I teach, the Jucos offer many of the same courses as we do and we’re required to transfer the credits (think intro courses like US History & World Civ.). The pricing is a huge factor in choosing Jucos. And, with the glut of History PhDs, the instructors at the Jucos often have the same training as those who teach at 4-year schools.

        2. Ed Wuncler

          That was what they did for me. I didn’t bomb the math entrance exam but wasn’t stellar so they made me take a remedial course before I was able to take Pre-Calc.

          1. invisible finger

            The students’ first mistake was agreeing to take the racist entrance exam.

          2. CPRM

            Nobody told me there were entrance exams, so they made me take remedial English. The prof apologized by the end of the semester, and when I transferred it changed to English 101 (not sure how or why)

    6. Rhywun

      I made it as far as “racist legacy” [agreed] “means unequal outcomes today” [logic fail] – and bailed. It just means they will do everything to ensure “equal outcomes” at the expense of anything that will actually work.

    7. Scruffy Nerfherder

      To most mathematicians, the value of the discipline remains embedded in its rigorous standards of deductive proof. “I do think that as a driver for mathematics it is very important, and that’s something we should hold onto,” says Laurie. Bernhard Weiss, a philosopher at the University of Cape Town, agrees that the necessary truths of pure mathematics are foremost: “Unless you see through the applications to the central core, then you’re not getting at mathematics.”

      Yet an opposing view regards mathematics as an evolving work-in-progress whose truths are dependent on culture and invented, rather than universal and discovered. Mathematics, in this view, developed as a result of problems that needed to be solved: the development of geometry to help ships navigate, or the invention of statistics to support the insurance industry.

      Over-application of postmodernism. It takes a special kind of stupid to say that since there are some things we can never know the truth of exactly, there are no things we can ever know to be fundamentally true.

      1. Pope Jimbo

        Look, I’ll be down with anyone who’s culture has a math system that models the real world better than the current one. I’ll switch in a minute to one that has the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter end up in a whole number with no call for some fancy greek symbol.

    8. Pope Jimbo

      One October evening, a predominantly black group of first-year students gathered around whiteboards

      I don’t think they are as woke as they could be after reading that.

      Black marker on blackboard = A’s for everyone!

    9. Gadfly

      But appears they have found their salvation. Alternative math.

      It’s amazing to me that so many developing nations decide to try for an alternative way instead of determining to beat the first world at their own game. Japan should be a great example for them to follow, but so few do. Japan was a backwater, was bitch-slapped by the westerners, then instead of turning inwards decided to westernize like crazy (while maintaining the core of their own culture) and became a powerhouse. Others can do it, too.

      1. But, but, that takes WORK!

  58. BakedPenguin

    YouTube set up a playlist for me, and I was irritated it didn’t include this (Cracker – Low)

    Whatever. They had The Donnas, so I can forgive a lot of sins.

  59. CPRM

    A question to the Vapers, how do you carry around your mod? Damn thing is too heavy to just toss in a pocket like a pack of cigs.

    1. R C Dean

      Give it to your pack orphan to haul around?

    2. commodious spittoon

      Roll it up in your shirtsleeve.

    3. dorvinion

      For my VV/VW box I just throw it in a pocket.

      But then, I wear cargo pants most of the time anyways and there are plenty of big pockets.

      Inside jacket pocket in winter.

    4. libertarianjoe

      Just get yourself a nice pod vape and some nicotine salts. Way smaller devices (think Juul-sized).

      I use a Suorin Air, that has worked great for me. No bulky box mods to lug around.

    5. Count Potato

      My mod (without the tank) is smaller than than a package of cigarettes. Without the battery, it weighs less than than a package of cigarettes. Anyway, even with a 2 mL tank and a battery, it’s small and light enough to easily fit in a pocket. Just make sure you lock the fire button so it doesn’t go on accidentally.

  60. Raston Bot

    Louis CK’s new full set..

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8Nc3x_TkF4

    glad he’s back. maybe he can save the state of comedy.

    1. PieInTheSky

      5 minutes in and i found something that can be interpreted as racist

      1. Raston Bot

        around 23m he’s eviscerating the pronoun police and teen activists.

      2. Hyperion

        So, the question is ‘How long before he’s apologizing like a quivering blob of jelly before the high inquisition of the PC?’. That’s the only question I have.

        1. PieInTheSky

          I think he is past that. Which I respect.

          1. Hyperion

            I hope so. We could definitely use a few more of those.

      3. commodious spittoon

        His homily on big black cocks is pretty woke.

    2. PieInTheSky

      Louis C.K.’s Parkland joke is what happens when comedy fails

      https://edition.cnn.com/2019/01/02/opinions/louis-ck-parkland-joke-fails-thomas/index.html

      Ricky Gervais is one of several comedians who have commented on the Louis C.K. leak (he didn’t name him, but it seems safe to assume the reference), tweeting: “Please stop saying ‘You can’t joke about anything anymore.’ You can. You can joke about whatever the **** you like. And some people won’t like it and they will tell you they don’t like it. And then it’s up to you whether you give a **** or not. And so on. It’s a good system.”

      It’s not that good a system, though. The problem with the argument that you can joke about what you like as long as you’re cool with people’s reactions is that it’s not a system that would realistically sustain itself if everyone took advantage of it, because barely anyone would actually keep their cool. It also just assumes a level of entitlement and disregard for the feelings of others which — mostly — is the station of wealthy men for whom processing constructive criticism is almost always too much effort.

      I am convinced. We need a panel of SJWs to decide for us what is funny

      1. Hyperion

        I believe MI has this situation covered. He puts his hate speech online. Some maladjusted snowflake hears it and offs himself. C.K. winds up in court on murder charges. This shitshow is just getting warmed up.

        1. PieInTheSky

          MI?

          1. Michigan – cyberbully laws, I assume

          2. PieInTheSky

            I was thinking Mobile Infantry

          3. Jarflax

            Michigan (postal abbreviation)

          4. PieInTheSky

            I generally know the abbreviations od US states but for some reason did not reaize this is what this was about

          5. Hyperion

            Yeah, MI just decided to experiment with their very own version of UK style hate speech law. Because god knows we need more school children with criminal records.

          6. PieInTheSky

            i thought you had a bit in your constitution against that

          7. Hyperion

            You forget about the FYTW clause. It takes precedent over all the others.

          8. Hyperion

            Precedence over, damnit.

      2. Rhywun

        Too much derp in that quote to process.

      3. I’d love to hear Louis but Nitrous Oxide, Jr. is getting annoying.

  61. The Late P Brooks

    So at DePaul probably around 8 years ago, there was a group of black students who protested that forcing commerce students to take Business Calc 1&2 and Business Stats was discriminatory because a lot of black students (their words) weren’t taught mathematics in high school and therefore were shut out of the commerce program.

    Were they actively prohibited from taking some sort of remedial course(s) to get up to speed for the required business math? Because that would be discriminatory.

    1. Ed Wuncler

      Nope. From what I remember, if you didn’t do so hot on the math entrance exam, they required to take remedial courses. The Black Student Union knew this of course but wanted something to bitch about and didn’t want to abide by the same standards.

  62. Fatty Bolger

    I’m old enough to remember when Mitt Romney was an “arch-conservative” who was going to put women and minorities in chains.

    1. CPRM

      And put dogs in cages on top of every car.

    2. Hyperion

      That was when he was running for President against the anointed one. He said some racist math stuff, like 47%.

    3. Plinker762

      He put women in binders!

  63. BakedPenguin

    Cities in Dust.No connection to modern America, obviously

  64. The Late P Brooks

    Don’t forget the pony

    These House Democrats will have an even bigger bullhorn in Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent and champion of Medicare-for-all. Sanders’ plan calls for creating a health insurance program that would be run by the federal government and would cover all Americans, supplanting today’s job-based policies that cover roughly half the nation. The effort, which would roll out over four years, would cover all medical care, as well as dental and vision with no premiums and few out-of-pocket expenses. The bill Sanders released in 2017 called for consumers to pay up to $250 for prescription drugs.
    Sanders acknowledges his plan would be pricey — in the trillions of dollars range — and involve raising taxes on businesses and people. But he says Americans would still come out ahead because they would no longer have to pay premiums, deductibles or co-pays.

    Sounds legit.

    1. >> in the trillions of dollars range

      well at least he is honest.

      and I’m sure there will be plenty of people who won’t mind the extra taxes, provided it is less* than the premiums, deductibles and co-pays.

      *hello, NHS!

      1. Rhywun

        FFS, several lefty states have already trial-ballooned this nonsense and even they paled at the numbers. This isn’t going anywhere nationally either.

      2. Hyperion

        How many people do you know who pay 25-30% of their income in insurance premiums? None? Yeah, me too. I’m telling you, all we need to make this work is some post-colonial math.

        1. Last time I checked monthly healthcare *premiums (via the Michigan State Bar) for my family would almost be equivalent to my mortgage payment, so roughly 25% of my current income. That’s not something I can afford if I left my job to start a business or something like that. Frankly it sucks. And I know a NHS-style system would also suck, but I could see it’s selling points to a misinformed public.

          *maybe these are higher than I think?

          1. Hyperion

            For my wife and I, from private employer, I think it’s around 10%. I need to look, but that should be pretty close.

          2. Hyperion

            Oops, I was way off. It’s around 6%.

          3. Oh I agree with you – only pay a small amount of my income currently for insurance; because the rest is being paid by the company. If I self-insured, it would be a lot more.

    2. Pope Jimbo

      Ah yes, the European model. You pay an extra 30% of your gross pay in taxes so that you can get “free” healthcare. Never mind that your premiums used to only be 10% of your gross. But health care is free!

      I used to have that argument all the time with the Germans I worked for. They would always crow about how their health care was free, but refuse to acknowledge that they were having way more taken out of their pay than it would have cost to simply buy their insurance on their own.

      And it drives me nuts that to get rid of Obamacare you have to come up with a totally new plan. Couldn’t you just get rid of everything and let people figure out what works for them? Or at the very least make the tax benefits that currently are employer based, be individual based?

      1. Silly Jimbo, that was never the objective.

      2. Hyperion

        “so that you can get “free” healthcare”

        IF you can get it. Remember you are a number and that number represents costs and we must control costs. Too young? Die. Too old? Die. Too expensive? Die.

        1. Pope Jimbo

          Report to the oven room?

          Most of the Germans were OK with that. You could say it is in their national DNA.

          1. Hyperion

            You have to wonder if every country in the EU had a program where you report to the oven room on your 40th birthday, if CNN would be saying ‘Every civilized country has common sense over room control!’.

          2. “The new Logan Act has raised the age to Thirty.”

          3. Rhywun

            Fun fact: in the book it was 21.

          4. Incrementalism. It’s as if you don’t even tyranny.

    3. Don Escaped Texas

      all medical care

      Buzzwords destroy meaning; tropes take over and no understanding is possible; that’s what I try struggle to explain to my CommieMommie. “Medical care” isn’t a thing unless by that you mean a market of various services that buyers select from (who often have interesting financial programs that deliver cashflow when the buyer suddenly needs the service). There’s no “system;” there’s just a fight and no agreement that equates the necessity and guarantees the distribution of both pre-school inoculations and knee replacements for 95-year-olds; the utility of those services is a judgment call, an economic elasticity curve, not a right.

      When we start talking about things in economic terms, we will stop lying to ourselves and the facts often reveal themselves; this stuff is obvious, so easy:
      1/ “You can keep your doctor.” No you can’t, and you never did: fucking BSBC kicked your favorite doc off the plan three years ago and will do it again next year. Been asleep twenty years?
      2/ “Death panels!” Of course there are death panels; again, there always were. You buy a Chevy policy and get a Cadillac disease = Prudential killed me. Happens every day and twice on Saturday.

      This isn’t politics: it’s money. The government will turn your healthcare, at best, into D-Day: basically, if there’s a break in the weather, get the job done at incredible expense with corpses all over the place, and if you get assigned to attack that pillbox (pardon the pun) up the bluff, well buddy, it’s been nice knowing you and I’ll take real good care of your sister. Then comes ACA and all the screaming:

      3/ “I can’t afford to have or even use ObamaCare!” You never could afford shit, you nobody. Healthcare as described by our economy today is one sixth of income! Did you think adding a bureaucracy would lower that fraction!?1? And if you make less than the average household income, it is an even bigger bite for you. We’re talking $7k out of $42k for easy math . . . per person! If you could’t write that check before Obama, you still can’t, so you better get a job where the real and total cost of your neighbor’s cancer radiation and your other neighbor’s heroic-end-of-life-procedure is diluted and subsidized beyond your ability to even see or feel it.

      Until people start talking about healthcare in realistic economic terms without government interference (not that that really exists), they’re not remotely ready to discuss nanny-state healthcare.

      1. R C Dean

        Of course there are death panels; again, there always were. You buy a Chevy policy and get a Cadillac disease = Prudential killed me. Happens every day and twice on Saturday.

        Actually, I’ve never seen this happen. Not once. I have never seen an insurer refuse to pay for care on the basis of its futility (“medical necessity” is the closest you’ll get, and that’s mostly about the order of treatment options and speed of escalation). For a serious condition, the only real limiting factor in your health insurance isn’t going to be the condition itself, its going to be the cap on total benefits.

        There are for-profits and non-profits who will refuse transfers if there isn’t a payor in view, but that’s not Prudential killing you. That’s health care providers declining to lose significant sums of money on you.

        1. Don Escaped Texas

          we generally agree, and I know you know your business
          and I’m not gunning for hospitals, insurance, or even Obama, and I’m not endorsing nor refuting public health programs
          I just want to talk about economics in economic terms instead of the FoxNews hysteria, and I used some street language

          I didn’t mean real death panels re futility; I was using a shortcut and putting the Glib in Glibdotcom. I rather meant cap on total benefits; you put it better that way … and that’s where we agree entirely: if you burn through most of your lifetime coverage on your first bout of cancer, you’ve got a good shot of busting the policy on the recurrence. That’s all I mean, and this scenario definitely happens every day somewhere. The point of the policy (to me) is to weather huge bills; if my bill is one day in ICU too long, that could be very bad for someone with no reserves or friends.

          And lots of “healthcare” is or isn’t covered here or there, but people refuse to view it as a market with utility questions. Spectacles are seldom covered, which makes perfect sense. But cochlear implants for a senior are not covered in any way anywhere that I know of, but many, many seniors think that should be in the bucket; for them, if it ain’t covered it’s like buying a new car with a donut spare (or no spare!): not what I had in mind.

          I was letting the Gov have her poetic license; I’m not a fan of hers at all, but I am simply annoyed that healthcare isn’t discussed in terms of money and markets.

    4. Rebel Scum

      on businesses and people

      Businesses don’t pay taxes. They transfer that cost to the consumer.

  65. The Late P Brooks

    Also, that’s what junior college is for.

    To teach the stuff they used to teach in high school?

    1. invisible finger

      Yes.

      Of course, high school is there to teach the stuff they used to teach in 7th and 8th grade.

  66. Count Potato

    “Currently, only businesses with 50 or more employees are required to provide a sexual harassment training course. By Jan. 1, 2020, businesses with five or more employees will need to do the same. ”

    Wow.

    1. Heroic Mulatto

      Why would one train employees to sexually harass people?

      1. Pope Jimbo

        Let me mansplain that for you Slippery Tits….

    2. Hyperion

      No talent family members and friends of crony politicians need jobs also.

    3. Jarflax

      Why do you want the hotties at small companies to go without their due share of male attention?

    4. Scruffy Nerfherder

      As a business owner who is happily under the 50 employee federal limit right now…

      FUCK

      1. PieInTheSky

        the secretary or the HR lady?

        1. Scruffy Nerfherder

          I don’t have either.

          DOUBLE FUCK

          1. Well, good on you for avoiding the HR scam.

            But what kind of shitlord doesn’t have a secretary to harass?

          2. Jarflax

            The kind that has a personal assistant.

          3. commodious spittoon

            Maybe he’s gay.

            DOUBLE MISOGYNY FOR THE BONUS POINTS

          4. Are you saying all secretaries are automatically women?

          5. commodious spittoon

            I merely implied.

  67. Count Potato

    “Now the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control can issue licenses for cemeteries to sell booze if they’re over 100 years old and designated monuments by the city of Los Angeles, among other criteria (AB 1217).”

    What?

    1. “Can you make a carve out for my business?”

      “Hrmm, that’s a tough one… we’ve got to put in a lot of conditions no one else can meet”

    2. invisible finger

      But what about the sexual harassment of the corpses? Do necrophiliacs really need the liquid courage?

      1. Pope Jimbo

        Dead drunk =/= consent!

        How many more sexual harassment training sessions do we have to mandate for you shitlords?

  68. The Late P Brooks

    several lefty states have already trial-ballooned this nonsense and even they paled at the numbers.

    Vermont came up with a number in the trillions, as I recall. A small state with a comparatively healthy population. Just imagine what it would cost in Illinois.

    1. Hyperion

      They tried it in Cali too. Didn’t make it to a vote after they had to tell the tax payers they’re getting a 30% tax hike.

  69. Maybe it was the shitty cars?

    GM’s decline truly began with its quest to turn people into machines

    But pure anti-authoritarian defiance wasn’t the strike’s impetus. In the workers’ own words, their chief aim was “to be treated like American workers, human beings,” according to Cowie, “and not as pieces of profit-making machinery.”

    This novel attitude toward work soon earned a catchy new name: “Lordstown syndrome,” as Business Week had called it, was the talk of the country in publications ranging from The Nation to Playboy. While Newsweek hailed the strike as “industrial Woodstock,” the Wall Street Journal editorial page—hardly a friend of labor—bemoaned the dehumanization of Lordstown workers in an editorial titled “The Soul Must Panic.”

    GM execs were panicking too, no doubt. By mid-March, the lost output, including 50,000 unsold Vegas, had already cost an estimated $150 million (around $916 million today), according to the New York Times. With Vega production hanging in the balance, GMAD was forced to concede more than could usually be expected under the reign of Godfrey. Many of the workers laid off in 1971 were given their jobs back. Those suspended for disciplinary reasons were rehired with back pay. In essence, the factory reverted to pre-GMAD conditions—though the assembly lines maintained their top speed of 100 cars per hour, according to reports from Bryner in Working and coverage of the factory by The New York Times. Sufficiently satisfied with the terms, Lordstown workers voted on March 26 to end the strike. The next morning, 22 days after the strike began, they were back making Vegas.

    1. Heroic Mulatto

      This is the place on the “U” where Trumpism and Progressivism meet.

  70. PieInTheSky

    The University of Michigan Has At Least 82 Full-Time Diversity Officers at a Total Annual Payroll Cost of $10.6M. That Would Support Full In-State Tuition for 708 Students.

    https://twitter.com/Mark_J_Perry/status/1079564863435870208

    1. Hyperion

      Dumb people need jobs too. What are you going to do with them? Make them cops? *shudder*

  71. PieInTheSky

    Dry January? This is the worst time to give up booze

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jan/02/dry-january-alcohol-booze

    1. Rhywun

      This 30-days-hate for every sinful behavior that the nanny-state disapproves of is really starting to grind my gears.

    2. Hyperion

      There’s no worst time to give up booze. There’s also no best time.

  72. BakedPenguin

    Apropos of nothing:

    Damn, I used to HATE HATE HATE The Smiths. Then, the last time I used LSD (about 25 years ago) someone put on How Soon Is Now. I really have to say, that song is as good or better than Floyd when you’re tripping.

    1. Rhywun

      I love the Smiths but got really, really sick of that particular song.

      1. BakedPenguin

        I wont recommend my personal method of getting to like it. But if you happen to be tripping…

        1. Rhywun

          Circa 1990 They Might Be Giants was my go-to back in the day. I already liked it, but it got way better.

          1. BakedPenguin

            I’ll always love Ana Ng. Matter of fact….YouTube…