Have a Subsidized Thanksgiving, GOP Frets Over Libertarians, Unsafe Highway Safety Director: P.M. Links

• As it turns out, farm subsidies feature heavily in the traditional menu items on the Thanksgiving table. So dig into that tax-funded stuffing, knowing that you paid for it — twice.

• Not only did Gary Johnson pull 1.2 million votes in the presidential election, but large numbers of voters went Libertarian in key Senate races. That leaves the Republican Party wondering if it can lure those authority-averse voters to support a (hopefully) new and improved GOP in the future.
• The Federal Housing Administration is in a wee bit of trouble and just might need some cash to tide it over. How many billion can you spare?
• We'll be good, we promise, say French politicians after the latest credit downgrade for their country.
• In an effort organized by Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, seventy-three current and former police officers, judges, prosecutors and federal agents called on the federal government to respect marijuana legalization in Colorado and Washington. Good luck with that.
• Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick transferred Highway Safety Director Sheila Burgess over her slightly embarrassing history of repeatedly crashing into stuff and not stopping for cops.
• FOIA requests don't impress San Diego officials. They've become skilled at dodging questions regarding their use of drones.

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Comments

[Archduke Pantsfan]

Gobble Gobble Gobble.

[Doktor Kapitalism]

Does this count as a first?

[Enough About Palin]

Is that the The Gobbler signal?

[A Serious Man]

Is that the Goebbels signal?

[A Serious Man]

PETA opposes presidential pardon of Thanksgiving turkeys, says it,"makes light of the mass slaughter of some 46 million gentle, intelligent birds and portrays the United States' president as being in some sort of business partnership with the turkey-killing industry."

I think I'd prefer it if Obama killed turkeys instead of Pakistani children.

[Groovus Maximus]

I think that preference runs afowl of your average PETA-freakster, Erlich-ian worshipper.

[Archduke Pantsfan]

afowl

*blink*

[$park?]

He's just trying to ham it up. He's a doctor, so being a comedian on the side is just gravy. Frankly, he ought to keep his nose out of the punny business.

[Jeff]

I mashed potatoes the hell you are trying to say.

[Tonio]

Don't quit your day jobs, guys.

[Groovus Maximus]

Don't be so...ahem...stuffy, Tonio. I merely provided dressing to the post. -)

[$park?]

I think he relishes the chance to squash our fun.

[Groovus Maximus]

Nonsense. Tonio's a good egg, and if you think he would roll over the thread, you're out of your gourd.

[$park?]

Out of your gourd? Sorry doc, that's just a bit corny. Bad enough that I'll turnip my nose at it.

[Libertymike]

Well, I gobbled it all up and enjoyed it.

[gaijin]

Beets listening to serious political arguments.

[Mike M.]

I keep hoping that one year the sucker will peck the eyes right out of the SOBs head.

[AuH2O]

Aren't those the same bird that will drown in a rain storm because they are that unintelligent?

[A Serious Man]

That's a myth that only applies to very young turkeys.

Ben Franklin also wanted it to be our national bird because he thought the eagle was a bird of "bad moral character" because it scavenged and was associated with empire.

[Tonio]

And there's a big difference between wild turkeys (smart and wily) and domestic turkeys (dumber than shit).

[ant1sthenes]

Shows what Franklin knew about the future.

[Groovus Maximus]

"As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly...

[Bobarian]

The turkeys are hitting the parking lot like wet sacks of cement.

The humanity!

[hamilton]

This is possibly the funniest episode of any sitcom ever.

[Voros McCracken]

I think it's the best sitcom episode ever, actually.

[Voros McCracken]

Though the Taxi where Louie thinks Ignatowski is psychic (and has predicted Alex's death) is also great mostly because DeVito sells the classic scene at the end so well.

[Francisco d Anconia]

Couldn't get through the holiday without seeing that. It's a tradition. Thanks.

[Francisco d Anconia]

Of course no Thanksgiving is complete without this.

[Charlotte Sometimes]

They will also chase you round and round your jackass boyfriend's Chevelle because they are psychotic, feathered meanies.

[Brett L]

Yeah. Pick a fight with a big ol' wild Tom on his territory without a weapon and see what happens.

[Killazontherun]

Chicken hens, especially those that are an ethnic slur, in groups are damn vicious. Not that I don't relish kicking the shit out of something that attacks me first.

[PapayaSF]

I wish everyone would stop falling for PETA public relations stunts. They have a system: make a silly or outrageous demand that has something to do with animals, and get free publicity. Remember the campaign to rename fish "sea kittens" so that people wouldn't want to eat them? This is just the latest iteration.

[Ska]

Sea kittens just makes me think of pussy.

[$park?]

And if you think about it, sometimes the taste is similar.

[Libertymike]

Just ask Roger Moore about Maud Adams.

[Killazontherun]

Googling 'Roger Moore about Maud Adams eating her pussy' doesn't bring up anything relevant.

[Libertymike]

That's because he ate Octopussy.

[Killazontherun]

Octopus tastes nothing like fish.

[Ted S.]

In my experience turkeys are some of the dumbest birds out there.

[Archduke Pantsfan]

This cash machine is paying out.

[Rich]

machine was giving out twice the amount requested, BelleNews noted.

The bank indicated that customers who withdrew extra cash would probably not face any consequences since it was unlikely to accurately trace the exact amount of cash dispensed at each withdrawal

Emphases added.

[Archduke Pantsfan]

This log is on sale for $350!

[Citizen Nothing]

I'm sitting on a fortune!

[$park?]

And it's 100% handmade too.

[Sevo]

And it's 1/3-off!

[Andrew S.]

It's better than bad, it's good!

[Archduke Pantsfan]

It's big, it's heavy, it's wood!

[$park?]

It rolls down stairs,
alone or in pairs.

[Bobarian]

Over the neighbors's dog

[Brian D]

All kids love log!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L6Dpq5kY_A

[Belgian]

That's a joke, right?

[Archduke Pantsfan]

No, and neither are these cables.

[Enough About Palin]

I was a sound engineer. That's fucked up.

[Brutus]

Audiophiles are easily the most gullible people on Earth.

[Bobarian]

Steemp-pee, you eediot!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick transferred Highway Safety Director Sheila Burgess over her slightly embarrassing history of repeatedly crashing into stuff and not stopping for cops.

Well she's very aquainted with the subject matter.

[Archduke Pantsfan]

You wouldn't like him when he's angry.

[Doktor Kapitalism]

That's why I'd far rather be rich than famous. It's less bothersome.

[$park?]

According to The Sun, the final straw for Beckham came when a stewardess woke him up with a torch so she could take a photo of him.

Well no shit! I thought you weren't supposed to have an open flame on a plane.

[Tonio]

They mean flashlight. Damn Commonwealth usage [squints at GM].

[$park?]

*sigh* I know that Tonio. Are you going to be playing the part of Dr Buzzkill this evening?

[Doktor Kapitalism]

Do the Reason staff have some sort of contest to see who can post articles just before the P.M. Links?

[$park?]

I think they're trying to hit a deadline by throwing out articles they know nobody is going to read.

[C. Anacreon]

And then leave nothing for the weekends....

[Fist of Etiquette]

So dig into that tax-funded stuffing, knowing that you paid for it ? twice.

The deficit is a little dry.

[Archduke Pantsfan]

Ugly animals need love too.

[Doktor Kapitalism]

Is it just me or are those not particularly ugly?

[Enough About Palin]

That long-beaked echidna is cute as hell.

[Rich]

You're not *particularly* ugly, DK.

[Doktor Kapitalism]

You're too kind.

[Groovus Maximus]

Excellent alt-text, JD. -D

[Zeezrom]

Yes. Give him an extra slice of pie.

[$park?]

Human Rights Watch says "Please don't create Skynet."

The group, which is dedicated to protecting human rights against oppression and discrimination, issued the warning in a 50-page report titled "Losing Humanity: The Case Against Killer Robots." It argues that bans are needed against fully autonomous drones and sentry robots under development in China, Germany, the United States, Israel, and more. Such robots lack human qualities needed to keep them in check, the group says.

[Fist of Etiquette]

In an effort organized by Law Enforcement Against Prohibition...

I don't know what everyone is worked up about. Both Obama and Holder are on record from early in the term that they will respect states' rights on marijuana.

[PapayaSF]

And they are totally "my word is my bond" fellows.

[Coeus]

Ok, who snuck into the feministing comment system?

Rick
11.19.2012 at 2:44 pm | Permalink
Sorry, must've missed that one. I'm a new poster here. I've been following the RSS for a few months and have been educated on how evil successful white men are. I'm just trying to help my kids not be evil.

It's too late for me, I've already followed the 20th century's white male script and produce more than I consume, so I will continue to do so 'til "death do us part". But there is no reason I can't re-educate my children to the realities of the 21st century. My adult daughter (and this site) have educated me to the concepts of white privilege and rape culture. Acknowledging the problem is the first step, correct?

White male privilege won't go away until whites are a true minority. By encouraging them to not reproduce, I'm hastening the end of white male privilege. By encouraging my sons to not overproduce, I am helping to reduce the wage gap.

[Groovus Maximus]

Needz moar MALE GAZE apologia.

[Coeus]

He goes for a couple of hours. Drives 'em nuts. Well, more nuts than usual.

[Tonio]

Can't tell if serious.

[AuH2O]

There's a glitch in the Matrix!

[rho]

A++, would scroll through again.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Magnificent trolling by that one.

[A Serious Man]

Slate Double X blog: seamlessly combining faux outrage over teenage internet racism with patronizing sympathy for the underlcass kids who get caught.

[AuH2O]

Elmo Accuser Re-recant, because recanting made him look like a liar.

Well, jee, no shit.

And the reason I link to the AV Club, is not only because I read it first there, but also because Benghazi has become a punch line to some liberals. It just proves how evil and deranged those evil Rethuglicans are when it comes to Obama!

That offends me not only as a citizen, but as a comedian... because IT ISN'T A FUCKING CLEVER OR FUNNY JOKE! Its a masturbatory joke!

[T]

but as a comedian

Well, you're no Lindy West, that's for sure.

[Archduke Pantsfan]

What's the deal with Ovaltine? The mug is round, the jar is round, they should call it roundtine.

[AuH2O]

I actually do have a joke about how we should reconsider Eva Braun, because according to one historian she was once asked to sit on Hitler's face and defecate on his chest. Thus, she did literally what everyone else has only done figuratively: Shit on Hitler.

[AuH2O]

No one likes a good Hitler joke anymore!

[Archduke Pantsfan]

My Dog has no nose

[$park?]

I'll laugh when I actually see a good Hitler joke.

[hamilton]

When a good Hitler joke comes around you might have support for that statement.

[hamilton]

Damn you, Sparky.

[Hell's Librarian]

That's not just any bad man. That's Hitler, and he's fucking your donkey!

[Tim]

Jerk Store!

[$park?]

Oh yeah! Well I slept with your wife!

[Sevo]

And bananas, what's with those? Peel one, throw away the bone and there's nothing left to eat...

[Brett L]

There is also, apparently, a second complaintant.

[Rhywun]

Yes, and out of nowhere he just realized how traumatized he is - and that $5,000,000 will make it all better.

[Fist of Etiquette]

We'll be good, we promise, say French politicians after the latest credit downgrade for their country.

Can they be much worse? Oui! Shore up the Frog economy with more confiscated wealth!

[Archduke Pantsfan]

I am torn over todays Champions League results

No spoiler.

[Rhywun]

God, I hope that means Chelsea lost. About to watch it now.

[Rhywun]

Well.

[Ted S.]

I think Bayern M?nchen have qualified for the knockout phase with one round to go. 🙂

[Rhywun]

A rematch of last year's final would be nice - if the correct result occurred this time.

[Archduke Pantsfan]

Barca won which angers me.
ManU lost, but they're already through.
Chelsea lost, I am happy.
Bayern only managed a tie against 10 valencians?
Tomorrow better be more fruitful.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Federal Housing Administration is in a wee bit of trouble and just might need some cash to tide it over.

Have they tried cutting Saturday deliveries and adding more junk mail?

[$park?]

More dispatches from the War on Christmas:

Freedom From Religion Foundation decides to be the biggest douchebag on the block.

The cross had been a fixture since the 1970s, Mayor Patrick Kitching said Monday. But after the Freedom from Religion Foundation, based in Madison, Wis., advised Kitching it would file a lawsuit demanding removal of the cross, citing separation of church and state, Kitching decided to not wage a losing and likely costly legal battle.

You can't go see a Christmas play in a school bus.

However, at least one parent objected to the field trip and contacted the Arkansas Society of Freethinkers, a self-described community of atheists, agnostics and humanists.

"The problem is that it's got religious content and it's being performed in a religious venue and that doesn't just blur the line between church and state ? it oversteps it entirely," attorney Anne Orsi told Arkansas Matters. "We're not saying anything bad about Charlie Brown."

[A Serious Man]

Why do so-called 'free-thinkers' have such a hard time letting people...think for themselves?

And then there's the fact that Linus' monologue where he reads from Luke is factually accurate, that story really is why there is a holiday called Christmas. Science H. Logic these people are assholes.

[Rich]

Why do so-called 'free-thinkers' have such a hard time letting people...think for themselves?

Because it's too hard to discuss their POV with people who will listen and laugh at those who will not.

[nicole, bitchez]

Why should some kids get to skip out of school (aka prison) if they agree to attend a religious indoctrination session?

[A Serious Man]

How is it a religious indoctrination session? Are you saying kids shouldn't be exposed to the fact that Christ Mass is associated with Christ Jesus?

[nicole, bitchez]

The play quotes from the Bible, saying that "Christ the Lord" is the "Savior," and it's being held in freaking Agape Church, whose "desire is to teach you the Word of God so that you can teach others." It's not clear what denomination they are, which suggests evangelical Protestant. I wouldn't trust them for a second not to go beyond what's in the text of Charlie Brown, either.

[nicole, bitchez]

I.e., Linus doesn't say "some people believe in supernatural entities, including an omnipotent God and his begotten son Jesus, whom they believe has the capacity to atone for the sins of other people, and for many of those people, the meaning of Christmas is..."

Christmas exists in my life. But "what Christmas is all about" for me has nothing to do with what Linus says in the play.

[A Serious Man]

I concede that the church veneue may be improper, but not the content of the play because of one Bible passage that tells a story that, again, explains why we have a holiday called Christmas.

Christmas exists in my life. But "what Christmas is all about" for me has nothing to do with what Linus says in the play.

That's an individual decision, and since it involves children, one for the their parents. The play is voluntary. We both want to abolish state schools, of course, but as long as the state isn't forcing them to attend I see no violation of the First.

[wareagle]

Linus says this is what Christmas is all about. He doesn't say this is what it is about and you have to believe every word of it or die.

These are the same kids taught by the least common denominators within the higher education system. Being in a church for ten minutes is going to be their undoing?

[Chris Mallory]

So, it really isn't Christmas. Gotcha.

[Rights-Minimalist Autocrat]

Are you saying kids in Arkansas aren't exposed to the fact that Christ Mass is associated with Christ Jesus if they don't get to go on this field trip?

[$park?]

I'm not sure why it would be bad for atheists to have a working knowledge of Christianity. It might give the parents something to talk about afterwards. I've talked with my children and explained my point of view then told them it was their job to make up their own minds on it. Why is that bad?

[wareagle]

why do I think the answer is the atheist version of "fuck you, that's why."

[Hell's Librarian]

My kid would want to go to get out of school regardless of the subject of the play (and I don't care if she is exposed to Christian beliefs), and I would view the entire topic after she got home as a decent subject-starter for a conversation about religion, morality, spiritual beliefs, etc.

Basically, as long as attendance is voluntary, I don't see what the big deal is.

[Jesus H. Christ]

What makes you think atheists don't have a working knowledge of christianity? I'm an atheist. I was, at one point, a "born again" Christian. In fact, reading the Bible was what turned me away from religion. Christopher Hitchens certainly had a deep knowledge of Christianity.

For the most part, my kids attended private school. They even went to a private Christian High School. Those were my choices. It was private money (mine). I would not want public school funds (including busing) going toward a Christian themed play held in a church. That's a First Amendment issue. Not a huge one, but an issue.

[Stormy Dragon]

More to the point, the Bible is a signifcant work of writing from a purely literary standpoint. It's impossible to really understand a lot of the references in classic Western Literature without at least passing familiarity with the Bible.

Saying you don't know anything about the Bible is like saying you don't know anything about Shakespeare; it makes me think you're poorly educated.

[Kaptious Kristen]

Most of the atheists I know (myself included) know a lot more about Christianity than most Christians. Probably because we're exposed to all kinds of denominations and philosophies rather than just picking one and sticking with it for life. I have been to services in just about every Christian denomination there is, except for Mormon and Coptic (and probably some other more obscure ones that I'm not aware of). I've also read the Bible cover-to-cover, on my own time and with my own brain, rather than getting interpreted bits and pieces through a pastor. I'm not saying none of the Christians here haven't done the same, but a hefty majority of my practicing Christian friends are only exposed to the Bible through church once a week and on holidays.

[Kaptious Kristen]

P.S. I fucking love Christmas, including the Christy stuff. My favorite Christmas songs are inevitably the religious ones. If I had kids, I wouldn't have much of an issue with them attending a Christmas pageant. I would be very averse to paying for it, though.

[rho]

these people are assholes

Assholes find succor in belief and unbelief. Our job should be hucking rocks at either stripe.

[Xenocles]

I say we should put the Saturn back in Saturnalia.

Let's all remember the reason for the season: the periodic tilting of the earth's axis leading to a difference in daily sunlight exposure as the year progresses.

[Tonio]

Shorter Sparky and ASM: Wahhhh!

[$park?]

Tonio, I'm an atheist. I would say "just like you" but I'm not just like you. I honestly could give a flying fuck if people want to put Christmas stuff all over the city. I'm just fed up with the War on Christmas bullshit that the Christians think they're entitled to.

[A Serious Man]

Yes, because hearing the a story from the Gospel of Luke in the context of what Christmas is about may, Science forbid, irrevocably damage the minds of these kids.

[Robert S]

ITS INDOCTRINATION!!!!!!!!!!111!!ONE

[Heroic Mulatto]

Ok Robert, give me some of your tax money as a honorarium so I travel to your town and teach your kids about the Four Noble Truths and the Eight-fold Path of Buddhism.

[Hell's Librarian]

I wouldn't pay you tax dollars (and at least in my kid's school class trips seem to be paid for via donations to the PTA and direct parental input), but that would be pretty interesting, IMO. And again, my kid would go if only for the chance to get out of class.

[Heroic Mulatto]

I'm not arguing that the teaching of religion is in itself wrong, it's just that it should be done with tax dollars. Obviously, the real answer is to privatize education, we wouldn't need to have these discussions then.

[Heroic Mulatto]

*shouldn't

[AuH2O]

Another day, another look into Marcotte's slow descent into madness.

If businesses like Hobby Lobby successfully litigate this, it opens up a whole new door in allowing private businesses to opt out of all sorts of regulations on the grounds of religion, including anti-discrimination laws. They're basically saying they should be able to pay you less in benefits than everyone else is because they think sex is icky cuz Jesus.

The blatant opportunism of this contraception kerfuffle is astounding, actually. It's clear that anti-choicers have been trying to find an opportunity to attack contraception access and they think this is their chance.A bunch of Catholic non-profits are asking for an extension in having to comply with the contraception mandate, even though they already cover contraception in their insurance plan... Their plan was already covering a percentage of their employees' contraception costs, but now that it's going to be 100%, they're throwing a temper tantrum. It couldn't be more blatantly obvious that this isn't about some abstract principle, but simply an attempt to restrict women's choices however they can. After all, the only real difference between covering, say, 25% of it and 100% of it is that in the latter case, a woman's contraception choices won't be restrained by what she thinks she can afford.

[AuH2O]

Although, I think I finally figured Amanda out. She apparently went to St. Edward's University, a private Catholic college, and her first book was called It's a Jungle Out There: The Feminist Survival Guide to Politically Inhospitable Environments.

Knowing those facts, its kind of easy to figure out her insane hatred of the Catholic Church.

[T]

That's pretty funny. Why go to St. Ed's when UT is literally right down the road?

[Heroic Mulatto]

Why go to St. Ed's when UT is literally right down the road?

The same reason she thinks you should pay for her birth control.

[Lewisite]

"Knowing those facts, its kind of easy to figure out her insane hatred of the Catholic Church."

And here I thought it was an epic struggle between the forces of paint chips, bourbon & vicodin, and various factions of her cerebral fluids fighting for control over the battlefield of her mind, and Anti-Catholicism was just a clever smokescreen to mask the fact that actually, she's just a bitter asshole..plain and simple.

[A Serious Man]

She's just a subpar writer with the reasoning skills of an 8th grader and a tendency to project.

[Tonio]

Pot, meet Kettle; Kettle, Pot.

[AuH2O]

Tonio! I need a weigh in downthread, re:The Elmo guy's repeated dalliances with teenage dudes. See below.

[AuH2O]

Damn your quick finger!

[wareagle]

I like the way she thinks women's choices involve other people's money. Contraception is not that big a deal. My girls have managed to handle it without either govt assistance or a parental bailout.

[AuH2O]

wareagle, if the plan only covers 25%, she'll never be able to afford a diamond IUD, and will be the laughing stock of her masturbation class!

[ant1sthenes]

Oh no, it will be harder for government which specific sorts of free shit companies will provide for their employees in lieu of money that they could spend how they pleased! Workers will start choosing how they spend their income instead of having the employer and well-intentioned progressives hash it out without them! Disaster!

[VG Zaytsev]

After all, the only real difference between covering, say, 25% of it and 100% of it is that in the latter case, a woman's contraception choices won't be restrained by what she thinks she can afford.

Well shit,

in that case Uncle Sam better cover 100% of all of my desires lest some of my choices are constreined by what I think I can afford.

[Rich]

a taxpayer bailout "all but certain." But the reality may be even worse.

Like, we'll *have* to attack Iran!

[A Serious Man]

Georgia man arrested after walking around pretending his Taser was his penis.

[Archduke Pantsfan]

Fess up, which of you was it?

[Bobarian]

It wasn't me, I was pretending my penis was a taser.

[Dr. Frankenstein]

Somewhat OT but

Isn't Rock Star video leaving money on the table by not having a Grand Theft Auto title about the other side of the law. Something like Abuse of Power.

[Sudden]

That is a great idea.

[AuH2O]

Also, the Elmo guy has fully resigned Sesame Street, as another accuser has come out and said the guy buggered him when he was 15.

I mean, I know that older dude-teenager is much more common in the gay community, but the dude is a troll, right?

Any gay reasonoids care to weigh in? Epi?

[Tonio]

I know that older dude-teenager is much more common in the gay community

More common than in what other community?

Citation, please.

[AuH2O]

It's just what I've heard anecdotally. The basic explanation being that when your 16, you might not be ready to be out to your peers or family, so you end up dating older guys who are already out. I mean, the kid in the UK version of Queer as Folk is 15, and in the US version he's 17.

[Doctor Whom]

The basic explanation being that when your 16, you might not be ready to be out to your peers or family, so you end up dating older guys who are already out.

That's all news to me.

I mean, the kid in the UK version of Queer as Folk is 15, and in the US version he's 17.

Then it must be true.

[Rhywun]

so you end up dating older guys who are already out

Or much more likely, you end up dating nobody until college. At least, that was mine and most every other gay dude I know's experience.

[wareagle]

in the hetero community, as we've all seen, it tends to result in the uber hot teacher going to jail and the guy being THE MAN among his buddies.

[Enough About Palin]

Chicken-hawk no doubt. He's really no different from Sandusky, but I got $1,000 no on tries to go after Sesame Street Productions (or whatever the name is) over this like they did Penn State.

[AuH2O]

I'd say he's much different than Sandusky. He went for younger, but still post-pueberty guys. Sandusky fucked children.

[AuH2O]

I mean "creepy" like 80 year old-20 year old creepy. I'm not saying that this guy preys on young boys- just that he seems to have a fetish type thing for teenagers. Which, when your in your 40s, its one thing to think "Man, that 16 or 17 year old piece of ass" and another to think "And I will have a relationship with them".

I mean, it may be technically illegal, but its not an ahistorical relationship. Just one I find weird to have today.

[rho]

Sarkozy's brother is dating one of the Olsen twins. It's not 40yo-16yo, but the age difference is broadly similar.

I think most people find that weird.

[Groovus Maximus]

I agree. Dating one of the Olsen twins is really creepy.

On a serious note, it has been suggested that the ideal age spread is "Half-plus-Seven" as some kind of "cultural cut-off" in romantic relationships.

[Killazontherun]

Look. I fucked the living shit out of 40 plus cougars in my teens and twenties. Now I'm in my 40s turn about is fair play.

My wife is a decade younger, but we have no age related problems. Cousin Levi is close to twenty years older than his wife of nine years. He's in his mid fifties.

The youngest I've dated was twelve years younger. When I was 31 there was a nineteen year old half-Navajo cutie in my life. She started out as my weed dealer, and then things got interesting.

[Heroic Mulatto]

She started out as my weed dealer, and then things got interesting.

Please tell me it involved a string of bank robbers and high speed car chases with explosions.

[Killazontherun]

Have you ever averted a robbery by ignoring the guy with a gun to your head, and then drowning his voice out by raising the volume on the car speakers?

Those were interesting times.

[Heroic Mulatto]

I can imagine. I think you're the only person I know of to save their life with "la la la, I can't hear you!"

[Killazontherun]

To be fair, I did owe the guy some money, so I knew he wasn't going to shoot me.

[Ted S.]

I didn't know Michael Bay was a half-Navajo girl.

[Coeus]

I agree. Dating one of the Olsen twins is really creepy.

Italics misplaced.

I agree. Dating one of the Olsen twins is really creepy.

There. Fixed it.

[SIV]

You wouldn't date an Olsen twin? They're hot AND Billionaires.

[Coeus]

You wouldn't date an Olsen twin? They're hot AND Billionaires.

I don't find them hot. And as for being billionaires, well, that depends on what they buy. I bet they still mooch drugs. But getting a dual harmonica on my johnson from identical twins is on my bucket list. Hence the emphasis on one.

[Ted S.]

I bet they still mooch drugs.

You don't think people get to be billionaires by paying for their drugs, do you?

[C. Anacreon]

True story: one of the Getty sons stole pot from me. Over 20 years ago. So no, billionaires do not pay for their drugs.

[rho]

I think some study found the ideal to be about a 5-year age gap in male/female marriages.

All I know is that I fully support inappropriate relationships among the famous and almost-famous so that I have an opportunity to quietly judge while I stand in the checkout line.

[Killazontherun]

I don't think Epi is so much gay as it is that he puts on a blind fold, throws a dart and whatever it hits, he fucks. Sometimes it is a bowl of dill slices, sometimes its a dude. It's about being consistent and being true to your internal creed no matter what.

[AuH2O]

Jezebel: The Internet "Culture of Niceness" does not extend to women

If you're a woman with an internet presence, you need skin as thick as a redwood trunk to deal with the barrage of insults and threats that you'll unquestionably receive from misogynist trolls who want you to stop writing about topics that men also like to write about, or stop writing about feminism, or just stop writing, period. This has always been the case, but it's not getting better for most women I know. In fact, it seems to be getting worse.

Ask any woman with an email address or commenter handle, from Anita Sarkeesian to any 12-year-old with a Formspring; I've never met a single one who wasn't somehow affected by negative feedback that focused specifically on her gender, not her work. Women are edged out of practically every popular internet forum that isn't specifically "for women," from Reddit to the skeptic community. High school girls kill themselves because of cyber-bullying. Facebook refuses to delete photos glorifying rape culture even though they'll censor, say, tribal women in Senegal or breastfeeding moms. For every Creepshots or "Is Anyone Up?" that finally gets shut down, another one pops up.

In before "Tell that to any Soccer Mom"!

[$park?]

High school girls kill themselves because of cyber-bullying.

No, they kill themselves because they're fucked up losers that don't know how to deal with reality.

[AuH2O]

And isn't a lot of this bullying coming from other girls?

[nicole, bitchez]

Only because rape culture forces us to compete for men.

[AuH2O]

nicole, get it right. We use rape culture to keep you in line, to make you fear that any time you are alone with a man, we might rape you. You are competing for the MALE GAZE!

God, sometimes I just wonder if your only pretending to be a girl.

[nicole, bitchez]

So do I, Goldwater. I'll try harder next time.

[Groovus Maximus]

MALE GAZE! Now, get with the pogrom...err...program, Womyn! -)))

[protefeed]

So do I, Goldwater. I'll try harder next time.

Threadwinner!

[Auric Demonocles]

Dude, she's a girl. Why would you expect her to be able to remember concepts more complex than "execute that recipe"?

[nicole, bitchez]

Ugh is that in response to the one I posted yesterday? UGH!

[nicole, bitchez]

I also just have to say that I have blamed the horrible, horrible culture of niceness on women and their increased use of the internet over the years. So what gives?

[Hell's Librarian]

What internet culture of niceness? The internet is absolutely notorious for the huge number of jerks inhabiting its dark recesses.

[Brett L]

Compared to usenet forums, I find it disgustingly civil these days.

[$park?]

Hey, fuck you pal!

[Anonymous Coward]

I can safely ignore the entire article because the premise is flawed. There is no "Culture of Niceness" on the internet. The internet is a place of verbal savagery and rhetorical barbarism that would make the most libertine Romans blush.

Personally, I wouldn't have it any other way. Grow a tougher skin or GTFO the tubes.

[Marshall Gill]

It simply shocks me today that so few people, apparently, have not heard the nursery rhyme Sticks and Stones

When my children come to me to complain about something negative someone has said to them I ask them "but it bounced right off of your sticks and stones shield, right?" and then I remind them that "Something someone says can not hurt you unless you allow it to"

Now, I will admit, H&R isn't for the faint at heart but still...

[AuH2O]

Y'know, it's been months before I did a "For the Ladies" but here it is:

Shirtless Hugh Jackman

[Zeezrom]

I had a huge ackman once...

[Hell's Librarian]

I rather like Hugh... but not in this picture. ;P

His stint as Van Helsing pressed some of my buttons, however. _

[Hell's Librarian]

GDI, no greater-than symbol, Reason?!

[Mike M.]

The White House is now claiming that it was DNI head James Clapper who edited the original intelligence assessment on Benghazi.

[T]

Someone I know said the whole Broadwell affair was a spillover of a fight between Clapper and Petreus. He appears to be right. Hmm.

[AuH2O]

And thus we have the person who is going to be thrown under the bus for this. Hail Obama!

[Rich]

James Clapper, the Director of Defense Intelligence of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence

It's Directors of Intelligence all the way down.

[Anonymous Coward]

Looks like Barry and Valerie Jarrett have found a willing sword-faller-oner.

[Killazontherun]

If you think Jarrett anywhere near the real decision making, I have some mint condition electrum plated golf clubs to sell you.

[Killazontherun]

Jarrett lets Barry anywhere near

That got cut off when I went back to add the superfluous extra 't' to her name.

[Ted S.]

DNI: Do not investigate?

[Archduke Pantsfan]

Big 10 now Big 14 and counting

[AuH2O]

This shit is getting so ridiculous, and no one can stop it because the NCAA is at the mercy of the schools, and not the other way around. I know this isn't very libertarian, but someone may need to pull a TR on these asses soon.

There was actually a good piece on Grantland today about how this ultimately hurts the Big 10 because while it extends its regional reach, the NE doesn't help recruiting at all:

http://www.grantland.com/story.....nd-rutgers

Sloop's going to love that piece, BTW.

[Brett L]

I have no words to tell you how pleased I will be to see college athletics destroyed by the greed of the schools.

[Libertymike]

College football, and for that matter, all collegiate sports, would fare much better without the NCAA.

Centralized authority is ALWAYS BAD.

[Invisible Finger]

I don't see why the NCAA should be hailed as some sort of brake on greed, they practically invited it with their specious enforcement of their own stupid rules. Here's hoping a couple conferences start their own sanctioning body and tell the NCAA to go to hell.

Also, why would the existing schools give a flying fuck about NE recruits? Where was this "analysis" when the ACC brought in NE schools? Weinreb sounds like the typical NE bigot who can't stand the thought of the unhip midwest.

[wareagle]

the ACC brought in schools like Syracuse for their basketball programs. It remains a hoops league and building on Duke/Carolina/etc helps extend its reach, particularly in the one and done era. NE puts out some basketball guys.

[Belgian]

The ACC can be forgiven for bringing in schools that are at least somewhat near the Atlantic Coast. The Big Ten is supposed to be a midwestern league, but it is now competing with the Big East for the biggest joke among the major conferences.

[AuH2O]

Yeah. The Northeast neither produces football guys, nor has college ever been really big there. This is a pure TV market expansion move, not a gain fans move or a gain recruits move. It also doesn't help the Big 10 that they now suck in bowl games.

[Belgian]

The Big 10 gets fatter, slower, less relevant.

[Warty]

Jesus Christ. It was bad enough when Penn State was admitted. But fucking Rutgers? Fuck me.

[The Late P Brooks]

That leaves the Republican Party wondering if it can lure those authority-averse voters to support a (hopefully) new and improved GOP in the future.

Haha, you slay me, Tucille.

[Anonymous Coward]

Until the Neocons are completely defanged or excommunicated from the GOP, there will be no compromise and no peace between the libertarian set and the GOP. The Socons are a lesser evil, but they can be reasoned with (to an extent). The Neocons, however have as big a power fetish as the proglodytes and statists in Team Blue. The loyal soldiers of Team Red keep buying the Neocon shit because they wrap it up in national greatness, "FOR DEMOCRACY!", and "BABY JESUS!"

[rho]

That leaves the Republican Party wondering if it can lure those authority-averse voters to support a (hopefully) new and improved GOP in the future.

Not if the Democrats nominate Obama II, if reason staffers are anything to go on.

[Killazontherun]

Deval Patrick, in 2016? Would I ever!

[Coeus]

Tearing down the racial hierarchy.

I don't want to reverse the racial hierarchy. I want to take it apart. I want to change the course of human evolution. People say that racism is endemic to human beings. That we hate the stranger. That we need to protect ourselves. That we're going to behave tribally because that's who we are.

But I don't think we have to live that way. I don't think that we have to refuse to answer the door when a mother whose children have been swept away by a hurricane knocks on it asking for help. I don't think that we have to be sheared down to the thing that is least important about us, our skin color. I think we can be actual full human beings. And I think that we can change the way that human beings see each other, not by applying some bankrupt concept of color blindness that has no grounding in reality, but by demanding what we really want, which is the taking apart of the racial hierarchy.

Ok, haven't read the full transcript yet, or seen the video, but anyone want to suggest a way to do what she might be talking about? I will almost guarantee that her solution is behaving tribally.

[rho]

"More for me, less for thee. More from thee, less from me."

[wareagle]

if she wants to tear down the racial hierarchy, I suggest an evening stroll in south side Chicago, many parts of Detroit, south central LA, and much of DC. I am sure all the proud citizens there will see her as a sister in the larger cause.

Maybe if people stopped amplifying race and racism, it would die for lack of oxygen.

[Doctor Whom]

While we're at it, I want my commute to be entirely downhill both ways.

[Ted S.]

My grandfather went to school with MC Escher. For him, the walk really was uphill both ways.

[ant1sthenes]

The obvious solution is fucking outside your race, so that in a few generations you can't actually tell what race anyone is just by looking.

[Lost_In_Translation]

As long as we're still cool with no fat chicks...

[Mad Scientist]

Anything not prohibited is compulsory. So you're probably gonna have to lay a lot of fat chicks.

[Heroic Mulatto]

I'm Heroic Mulatto, and I approve this message.

[Lost_In_Translation]

Simple...we need new strangers...alien invasion anyone?

[Rhywun]

I want to change the course of human evolution.

You know who else wanted to change the course of human evolution?

[Coeus]

L. Ron Hubbard?

(sweet, got to use that one two days in a row)

[Trespassers W]

Sure, we might offend a few of the bluenoses with our cocky stride and musky odors - oh, we'll never be the darling of the so-called "Grand Old Party" who cluck their tongues, stroke their beards, and talk about "What's to be done with these Libertarians?"

[Archduke Pantsfan]

Obesity gene may fight depression

[Generic Stranger]

Fat Bastard disagrees.

[Coeus]

Obesity gene may fight depression

Shit, why couldn't I have had that one? Mine just makes my clinically depressed ass fat if I don't work out every goddam day.

[Archduke Pantsfan]

Meanwhile, in Russia, man thinks he's a car.

[Groovus Maximus]

In former Soviet Russia, traffic drives YOU!

[Coeus]

Fark response to a Reason article thread!!!

Darth_Lukecash
2012-11-20 12:19:48 PM
Let me get this straight: Reason believes when a majority of people voted for altruistic self interest - it's wrong because its not what the 1% rich free market people want?

Wow. If this is a sample of Reasons logic, I dare say their website name leaves them open to a false advertisement lawsuit.

Because helping out your neighbor and yourself isn't very American, is it?

[wareagle]

Because helping out your neighbor and yourself isn't very American, is it?

actually, doing that is very American. It's the govt taking your money by force and telling you it's to help your neighbor that is un-American. But, it's an Obama voter. There is no point arguing.

[Trespassers W]

Altruistic self interest?

[Auric Demonocles]

I take this drink with less enthusiasm than the J sub D one I took this morning.

[Calidissident]

Of course we all know all rich people just love themselves some free market. They can't stand bailouts, subsidies, the Fed, regulations that crush competitors, or any other government privileges they may get

[Archduke Pantsfan]

John McAfee says he is hiding in plain sight in bizarre disguises as police seek him in relation to murder in Belize

[Belgian]

You mean like your link?

[Archduke Pantsfan]

grumble!

http://news.nationalpost.com/2.....in-belize/

[Hell's Librarian]

He sounds mentally ill, regardless of whether or not he actually killed that guy.

Speaking of which, has anyone proffered a motive for the murder? I haven't seen one.

[fish]

Love triangle consisting of McAfee, McAfee and McAfee! Dude is seriously sprung!

[PapayaSF]

Supposedly McAfee had a bunch of loud dogs, the victim had complained about them, and the dogs were killed shortly before the victim was.

[rho]

I look forward to the South Park version of this story.

[Hell's Librarian]

Haha. I was trying to think of a way to describe this entire string of events, and that is just about perfect.

[PapayaSF]

It's obviously a future Law and Order storyline.

[Killazontherun]

He's ah jackin' it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LKcsB8OMw8

[Killazontherun]

Mittens is looking a little Michael Douglasish from a certain movie there.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4xob.....medium.jpg

His lips seem to be saying, 'lost to that goddamned Obamaphone!'

[fish]

Now if he can only stumble on the bag of untraceable guns he can start the festivities!

Fitty sen....fitty sen!

[Archduke Pantsfan]

Mittens at Disneyland.

[The Late P Brooks]

If this is a sample of Reasons logic, I dare say their website name leaves them open to a false advertisement lawsuit.

DRINK!

And- let me guess; by "altruistic self-interest" he means, "I want to stick my hand in your pocket and spend your money on things I approve of."

[waaminn]

That looks liek its gonna be good dude. Wow.
http://www.Go-Anony.tk

[PapayaSF]

^Flag as spam.

[el esc?ptico]

^ Flag as spam flagger

[PapayaSF]

^Threading fail.

[C. Anacreon]

^Failing thread.

[Tulpa (LAOL-PA)]

In case you feel like barfing

State and local employees have nearly universal coverage under defined benefit plans, despite some recent moves to introduce a defined contribution component. Public employees recognize that their counterparts in the private sector may feel that public pension benefits are too generous relative to private sector benefits and, therefore, public pensions should be scaled back. Therefore, the future security of public sector workers hinges on private sector workers having access to a retirement system that ensures adequate retirement income. In response, the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems (NCPERS), the largest trade association of public sector funds, released a proposal in 2011 to build on the public sector infrastructure to provide a plan to uncovered workers in the private sector. That proposal provided the impetus for recent California legislation.

It's so great for the private sector workers that they have to opt out if they don't want to do it, and can only do so during a brief window every two years.

[Sevo]

..."released a proposal in 2011 to build on the public sector infrastructure to provide a plan to uncovered workers in the private sector."...
More FREE shit!

[PapayaSF]

"We don't want anyone to be upset that our pensions are bankrupting governments, so let's set up a system in which everyone can join us in bankrupting them!"

[American]

Libertarians are "authority averse." That's not what libertarianism means to me. Authority is having control over money or knowledge. A libertarian society would include mass inequality, millionares, scientists, religous freedom, inequal personal relationships, ect. All would be called "authoritarian" by the left. And it is. Libertarianism is an authoritarian ideology.

[triclops]

Libertarians are "authority averse" to the version of authority that mainstream politicians ascribe to.
To so many of them, the only legitimate authority is the state, and anyone who has any power that did not come from the state has illegitimate power/authority.

[Calidissident]

I don't think you know what the word authoritarian means in a political context

[American]

Ask anyone what "authority" is, they will say "control over something." A minister is in a "position of authority," there is "scientific authority," ect. A man might tell his wife and children to "respect his athority." That is what the word "authoritarian" means to the left, and that is why they say they oppose it.

[Coeus]

Ask anyone what "authority" is, they will say "control over something." A minister is in a "position of authority," there is "scientific authority,"

Are you retarded? When the fuck is a "scientific authority" somone who is in charge of science? English isn't your first language, is it? A minister is a "spiritual authority". Do you know what that means? It means they know a lot about the topic, and you would be wise to listen to them. You still have a choice. Government authority, however, is "do what I say, all the time, or I will shoot you". You ever heard of a minister or scientist doing that?

[Robert Jordan]

Nobody need fret over anything political.

2012 was the last chance to so much as slow down the debt train, and it has come and gone. (Even if the outcome had been different, not much would have changed anyway.)

The country can no longer be diverted from its impending collision with financial ruin. Break out the ouzo, we are become Greece.