The High Price of War, Obama Pushes Forward on Gun Regs, EPA Wants Cleaner Gas: P.M. Links

• 

  Photo credit: Looper5920 / Foter.com / Public domain

  A study out of Harvard calculates that the combined Iraq and Afghanistan wars will cost the United States between $4 to $6 trillion after future medical costs for veterans is factored in. Good luck paying for that, children of tomorrow!

• President Barack Obama is moving forward with his promised executive actions to bolster gun control policies even as new regulations in the Senate face a tough road.
• Outgoing Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood says it's a "done deal" for Chicago to get a $100 million federal loan to build six blocks worth of recreational activity along the Chicago River downtown. Remember that when the state goes crawling to the feds for a pension bailout.
• National Public Radio's famous Talk of the Nation show will be ending after 21 years at the end of June.
• The EPA is looking to for gasoline manufacturers to reduce sulfur and nitrogen oxides in their products to curb air pollution. It will also, obviously, increase gas prices.
• Union interests in California are looking to expand their reach. Shocking, we know. The targets this time are interpreters who work with the state's medical program for low-income families. The goal is to get these interpreters to pay union dues and also guarantee them $60 an hour in pay.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

President Barack Obama is moving forward with his promised executive actions to bolster gun control policies even as new regulations in the Senate face a tough road.

He's legislating more from the Oval than he ever did in the Senate.

[Raven Nation]

+many. Brilliant observation.

[wareagle]

so four years of being President Present were enough?

[Rich]

The president has used his executive powers to ... create a million-dollar ad campaign aimed at safe gun ownership.

But, ... sequester!

I can hardly wait: "Let me be clear. Safe gun ownership means no gun ownership."

[CE]

He saved the money for it by canceling the Easter Egg hunt on the Olympus lawn.

[Archduke Pantsfan]

National Public Radio's famous Talk of the Nation show will be ending after 21 years at the end of June.

Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?

[CE]

We have a national radio station?

[Virginian]

Anyone else see last night's Archer?

[Archduke Pantsfan]

no, spoiler

[Episiarch]

Yes, but I was really, really stoned. So...no?

[Alack]

Yep. Loved Pam in it, but I felt the plot twist was a bit obvious. I'm sort of meh on this season so far.

[Virginian]

Yeah this season is kind of meh. I watched the Heart of Archness trilogy and then the Burt Reynolds one on Wednesday...was laughing my ass off.

And I usually hate TV comedy.

[Episiarch]

Please tell me you've watched seasons 1 through 4 of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

[Virginian]

I watched a couple episodes. It's ok. I really just dislike comedy in general actually. Movies and TV both. With rare exceptions.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Yeah, I've never gotten the love for It's Always Sunny. The abortion episode was awesome, but the rest of it just felt like a waste of time. If I want to watch a bunch of adults act like idiot teenagers I can always go downtown on a weekend night.

[Episiarch]

Dude, season 4 of Always Sunny is the pinnacle of the show and is absolutely hilarious. Whether it's "Manhunters" or "Mac and Charlie Die" parts 1 & 2 or "The Gang Solves the Gas Crisis", it's just amazingly funny. If you haven't tried season 4, you really should.

WILDCARD, BITCHES! YEEEHAAAWWWWWW

[Auric Demonocles]

Once I was over at my friends house and he asked if I would do him a favor and drop off a laundry basket in his room while he took out the trash. A few hours later after I went home he asked why he founds his clothes all shoved under his mattress and my response was "Wildcard".

[Brandon]

Yeah, why?

[CE]

I thought the Smallville version of Oliver Queen was a lot better.

[Archduke Pantsfan]

How to buy a computer, 1993 edition

[Ted S.]

How to buy a computer early 1980s style

[Caleb Turberville]

http://www.al.com/living/index.....er_default

Happy Easter, everyone!

[Virginian]

Michael Vickers, a member of CenterPoint Assembly in Mobile, climbed out of a church van to take a picture of the sight. He had heard about the event from one of CenterPoint's members who had driven by.

"We came by to see it, and it's awesome ? a depiction of Calvary," said Vickers. "I'm going to take it and text it to our pastor. Maybe we can get the media person to put it on the screen Sunday."

Backwards Bible thumping hicks!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Sounds excruciating.

[Randian]

what you did there...I see it.

[kinnath]

Man - son of man - buy the flame of ever-life
(yours to breathe and breath the pain of living): living BE!
Here am I! Roll the stone away
from the dark into ever-day.

[Archduke Pantsfan]

Former Alberta Premier Ralph Klein has died.

[Archduke Pantsfan]

The rise of chocolate snobs

[Fist of Etiquette]

Dark chocolate, when not paired with mint, is disgusting. And any chocolate chip cookies made with anything but milk chocolate chips might as well be baked using the devil's turds.

[hamilton]

Oh stop. Dark chocolate and orange, or chili, are both really good combinations.

[Fist of Etiquette]

You, sir, are worse than Hitler.

[hamilton]

Just because I have refined tastes is no occasion to go all Godwin. I bet you don't even make your own mayonnaise.

[Xenocles]

You're worse than Space Hitler.

[Zeb]

And you don't like chocolate. Why not just say that?

[Rich]

Wait, what are you *really* talking about?

[NeonCat]

I'm going to go home and eat some 72% dark just to spite you.

Oddly, I like mint, I like chocolate, I cannot abide mint chocolate.

[Fist of Etiquette]

YOU ARE ALSO WORSE THAN HITLER.

[NeonCat]

I'm going to give myself a little chocolate Hitlerstache and think of you, FoE. And laugh, laugh while I enjoy dark chocolatey goodness.

[Episiarch]

Milk chocolate?!? He tasks me. He tasks me and I shall have him! I'll chase him 'round the moons of Nibia and 'round the Antares Maelstrom and 'round Perdition's flames before I eat milk chocolate!

[Shine on, Nikki Diamond]

This better make Fist the fucking WORST. I for one am disgusted.

[Episiarch]

It's appalling, but he's going to have to do even more than this to be worse than you, nicole.

[Shine on, Nikki Diamond]

Well if he likes milk chocolate, it's really only a matter of time, isn't it?

[Episiarch]

Don't worry, I'm counting down the hours until he reveals that he's a Brony. Then he will take your tiara from you.

[Shine on, Nikki Diamond]

This association of "worst" and "tiara" is really fucking with me, man. Now I don't even know if I want him to be worse.

[jesse.in.mb]

Whoa dude, insinuating that someone's a brony is pretty serious. Are you sure you want to go there?

[Episiarch]

Dude, it's me.

[jesse.in.mb]

That's really an irrefutable argument that this is a good plan. Carry on.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I never watched it or whatever, but I'm pretty sure My Little Pony is the most subversive thing Hollyweird every put out. I don't watch cartoons anyway.

[Heroic Mulatto]

People masturbate to this.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Take care, young ladies, and value your wine.
Be watchful of young men in their velvet prime.
Deeply they'll swallow from your finest kegs,
Then swiftly be gone, leaving bitter dregs.
Ahh-ah-ah-ah, bitter dregs.

[kinnath]

My favorite chocolate was 78% cocoa, but I could only get that in Amsterdam when I was passing through.

There are some good American chocolates in the upper 70% range that are good too, but I can't really enjoy them over much over 80%.

I had a French chocolate at 90% that was pretty much the same as chewing on unsweetened baking chocolate. Not my style.

Milk Chocolate is totally perverted by the introduction of milk.

[Randian]

They sell 70+ in your local Meijer, if you have one. World Market too.

[kinnath]

My favorite wine shop has a large collection of fine chocolates, but I can't go in there and just buy chocolate.

[kinnath]

Even Target carries Ghiradelli at 72% and 80+% chocolate. So it's not that hard to get good dark chocolate.

[Archduke Pantsfan]

They don't sell Ritter Sport in your town?

[hamilton]

I will say, however, that milk chocolate and bacon really work well together.

[Episiarch]

88% is my preferred level. Preferably with sea salt.

[Shine on, Nikki Diamond]

Yeah 88% with sea salt pretty much kills it.

[kinnath]

I remember reading a blog by some woman that worked in an office where everyone would pilfer each other's chocolates. She learned to enjoy eating unsweetened baking chocolate and no one would steal it.

[NeonCat]

Kinda how some people only smoke Marlboro Menthols?

[Cheradenine Zakalwe]

In high school I kept cases of warm Dr. Pepper under my bed because while my sisters weren't afraid to steal it from my room, they did refuse to drink it warm.

[Cheradenine Zakalwe]

You know who else objected to mixing dark with the wrong flavors?

[ant1sthenes]

Dark chocolate is the best chocolate.

[Entropy Void]

It is the "True Chocolate" ... all others are crap.

[Whahappan?]

Dark chocolate + red wine = bliss

[Archduke Pantsfan]

Why is it always a Honda and a oversized spoiler that has the loudest subwoofer?

[NeonCat]

Don't forget the fart-can exhaust.

[Brett L]

A friend used to refer to the rice rocket tips as "the angry bumblebee".

[Caleb Turberville]

http://variety.com/2013/film/n.....200330389/
Beverly D'Angelo and that guy from Community are in talks to make another Vacation!

[Archduke Pantsfan]

that guy from Community

Chevy Chase?

[Xenocles]

You mean the drummer from The Leather Canary?

[Virginian]

Senior Cruise Vacation?

[Ted S.]

I think they already made Senior Cruise Vacation, complete with Barney Miller and Lt. Cmdr. Data.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

I approve. As long as Beverly D'Angelo pops her top.

[Ted S.]

What was wrong with Vacation?

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Everybody loves a vacation.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Sorry, but any Vacation without Cousin Eddie is guaranteed to suck, and given Randy Quaid's unique legal issues, I doubt this is going to happen.

[Zeb]

That's funny. I didn't know about any of that.

[Jerry on the boat]

Meh, Chase should be doing another Fletch movie.

[NeonCat]

One based on an actual Fletch book, unlike the second Fletch movie.

[Caleb Turberville]

http://espn.go.com/dallas/nfl/.....ys-sources

Tony Romo signs a 6-year $108 million contract to bring much disappointment and confusion to the city of Dallas.

[Virginian]

Fun football money fact: Tom Brady earned the same amount last year as Mark Sanchez.

[hamilton]

How did Sanchez "earn" it?

[Episiarch]

I will never, ever understand Rex Ryan and the Jets. Just fucking put Timmy in already!

[Virginian]

They don't understand the sunk costs fallacy.

[Episiarch]

They don't understand that Sanchez is abominable.

[Pro Libertate]

The time is ripe, now that all of the pundits are universally trashing the Tebow's ability, forgetting that his winning percentage is beyond Sanchez' comprehension.

One interesting consequence of Tebow-sucked-Denver-won-despite-him is that it means that QB may be an overrated position. It's in vogue to say that about RBs, but that's only because of the current non-defense NFL, which allows so much passing that running is much easier, since everyone is worried about the pass.

Of course, I don't think Tebow sucks. He's crazy unorthodox, but he has something going for him. Maybe Jesus, not really sure.

[Episiarch]

Timmy shakes things up and get people worked up. That's good enough for me.

And the Seahawks have a defense. Just because the Buccaneers don't is no reason to get pissy.

[Pro Libertate]

That's only half-right. The Bucs had the best rush defense in the league. It's that other thingee they had a problem with. Thingee, what's it called? Punt defense?

[Xenocles]

(Very) Special teams.

[Virginian]

Oh so that means the Skins only had the 31st worst pass defense in the league last year. Great.

[Paul.]

The time is ripe

We went from the iron being hot, to the time being ripe. So confusing.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Of course, I don't think Tebow sucks. He's crazy unorthodox, but he has something going for him. Maybe Jesus, not really sure.

NFL coordinators just can't understand that Timmy's not a quarterback--he's a single-wing tailback that can throw a little bit. He's like Bobby Layne without the drinking problem.

You actually can build an offense around him, but it's not going to be the Madden-type aerial circus people are used to seeing now. It's going to be a grind-it-out Bill Parcells-style running game with a few hitches and slant patterns, plus the occasional go route, to keep defenses honest.

[Pro Libertate]

I, for one, would enjoy that. You could do it with Cam Newton, too, who throws better.

[CE]

Tebow Broncos playoff wins: 1
Manning Broncos playoff wins: 0

[Randian]

Tony Romo signs a 6-year $108 million contract

oh my god...Dallas has got to be the dumbest team in football.

[Xenocles]

Jerry Jones just got confused and thought he was signing the ribs guy.

[Proprietist]

Romo's a good QB, but he never has the right pieces to get anywhere. And he never will until Jerry Jones stops pretending he's an expert GM when he clearly isn't.

[Randian]

Romo is NOT a good QB. Please stop this talking point.

[Caleb Turberville]

He's been as prolific as E. Manning, Roethlisberger, and Philip Rivers and has a higher passer rating than Eli.

I don't know what to think of Romo, but he's certainly not a bad individual player.

[Pro Libertate]

Fuck no, please. Romo may have some stats, but he's lame.

[Randian]

And what has he done to warrant 20+ mil a year?

[Virginian]

Because teams who have the other pieces but no QB would sign him in a heartbeat.

[Pro Libertate]

Fuck if I know--he hasn't had a stroke while playing?

The truth is, getting a "franchise QB" can be a real bear, especially in these pass-happy days. Romo is just good enough to make it hard for Dallas to jettison his ass and start over. Also, Jones is a football moron and probably buys into the HE ONLY NEEDS MORE WEAPONS argument. Yeah, like a howitzer.

[Randian]

As Redskins fan, I know what it is to have a bad owner.

But at some point you have to look at the common element of your team and wonder if that is not the problem.

Let's check the highlight reel:
2006 - decent season and not his fault on the kicker thing
2007 - interception to lose the game in the 4th quarter
2008 - 44-6 loss to the Eagles with three turnovers
2009 - Three fumbles, a pic and six sacks

I mean, do we need to go on here? I cannot remember much of what he did in the 8-8 season in 2011 and last year was sucky too.

[Virginian]

Don't forget the must win game in DC last year. I was really worried, because the Boys looked good, and the Skins looked bad, and I thought the dream would die.

Then Romo threw the first stupid pick. And I turned to the people I was watching it with and said "OK, now that I know Bad Romo came, I know we're going to win".

[Randian]

oh yeah that's right...three picks in that one. When the Jackson one happened, I think I looked at my wife and said that Romo was the MVP for the Redskins.

[Episiarch]

It was so much fun watching the Seahawks pummel the Cowboys last season. Yeah.

[CE]

Nothing. 6 years for 108 is 16 mil a year, about right, except that he's 33.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Romo is this generation's Dave Krieg--a free agent QB who built a career of great stats and hardly any postseason success to show for it.

I'll grant that he's not a bad player. Several teams would take him in a heartbeat. But unlike Elway, he can't elevate mediocre talent to respectability and can't elevate good-great talent to championships. Everything should have fallen into place for them 3-4 years ago, but they didn't even sniff the conference championship.

[Too_Big_to_Fail]

Also, the best choke artists in the league when you just gotta get the TD.

[Virginian]

Eh, Romo is decent....on a good day, he's as good as 6th best in the league. Except he can be really really bad.

It would be nice if he had some pass protection. I mean, as a Redskins fan I want Jerry to live forever, but if I was running the Cowboys I'd try to get Romo some time in the pocket to work.

[CE]

Career passer ratings:

Tony Romo 95.6
Eli Manning 82.7

Career interceptions:

Tony Romo 91
Eli Manning 144

[Virginian]

2 Super Bowl Rings for Manning, zero for Romo.

Is that fair? No, not really. But fair is for children and liberals. I would rather have Eli Manning then Tony Romo. Because it's not just about numbers. The map is not the terrain.

[Proprietist]

Fifth best all-time passer rating. Staubach and Aikman both have said repeatedly he's one of the best QBs ever. He's not perfect, but the primary blame for the past few years has fallen mostly on defense (or last year, the offensive line). It's hard to be a great QB when your OL sucks.

[Pro Libertate]

I dunno, I've seen him play plenty, and he's just not impressive.

[Randian]

Passer rating is meaningless when you have one playoff win and you flame out in every meaningful game ever.

And the past few years? Romo has been there *seven* years and has had precisely *one* major win.

[Pro Libertate]

I'm not one to make too much of whether a QB has "won" playoff games or the Super Bowl, as there are a whole lot of players who don't take snaps that have to play well for those things to happen--play well all at the same time, too--but Romo has a certain extra chokey quality about him.

Eli Manning, for the record, is not even close to as good as his brother. I fucking hate that kind of thinking. Dan Marino sucked, too, right?

[Virginian]

If you had both Manning boys, you could use Peyton in the fall and then put Eli in during January. You would win every Super Bowl for five years.

[Proprietist]

And QBs are the only responsible party for whether a team wins or not? QBs' ability to do a good job is dependents upon a quality OL, recievers and running backs. Last year, we did not have a quality OL and our quality RBs were all injured. Not to mention half our defensive starters were out. And we still nearly made the playoffs.

[Randian]

In this league as it is now? They certainly are not wholly responsible, but they have a bigger share of it, TBS.

[Pro Libertate]

Romo doesn't suck as badly as some, but he's simply not the guy Dallas fans refuse to stop thinking he is.

I'd draft me a QB, if I were Dallas.

[Proprietist]

If you watch Cowboys games, Romo is basically running for his life from the moment the ball is snapped because the OL is so porous. I don't think Aikman or Staubach in their prime would even be able to go very far with the injury-depleted team we had last year.

[Pro Libertate]

That may point to what I think is one of his problems--slow release. Manning the Elder, for instance, has been most excellent during most of his career in getting rid of the ball quickly.

[Proprietist]

I mean, I'm much more of an NBA guy myself and the comparable logic is like saying "Derek Fisher was better than Derrick Rose/Deron Williams/Steve Nash because Fisher was the point guard on five championship teams." It's a team sport, and some mediocre players can win it all thanks to their supporting cast while some great players can't win much of anything if the supporting cast isn't there.

Also, our coach and GM are pretty terrible as well. Romo is one of the least of our problems in my opinion.

[Pro Libertate]

I'm surprised no one has ritually executed your owner, who is one of the worst.

[hamilton]

I hold no strict opinion on the Romo QB theory except that he is on my "QB's who won't win a Super Bowl" list. Along with Jay Cutler.

[Proprietist]

Well, they said that about Dirk Nowitzki until he finally got the right pieces to make it work.

[Pro Libertate]

He's no Trent Dilfer.

[Caleb Turberville]

All Trent Dilfer had to do was be better than Tony Banks, and then Jamal Lewis and Ray Lewis could finally be unleashed to win the Ravens as Super Bowl.

[Pro Libertate]

What was funny--and trust me, I'm a Bucs fan, so I know--was how well he played in that game. It wasn't his usual mediocre game; he put up some good numbers in that Super Bowl. The one thing he did well that season was not turn the ball over.

[hamilton]

I am now a complete convert to the theory that interceptions per attempt is one of the most useful predictors for QB success there is.

[Pro Libertate]

Statistically, I wonder how many points per average result from an interception? Just any interception, on average.

[Pro Libertate]

Sorry, not per average--on average.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

They also said the same thing about Elway, except it was conventional wisdom that Elway wasn't overrated, he carried mediocre teams to levels they never would have otherwise gone. It's telling that even the Romo apologists on ESPN don't ever say, "He's a Hall-of-Fame talent on a bad team."

Like I said, Romo is this generation's Dave Krieg. He's good, but he's not the one that's going to get your team to the next level.

[Killazontherun]

Good or not, he has never been a good fit for Dallas. He should have been traded years ago, and on the right team, say replacing Garcia/McNabb at Philly, a team with say a good defense but suck ass undisciplined offense in need of a leader, he may have had a better post season record.

[Archduke Pantsfan]

Whoever said it would the San Francisco 49ers, please come to collect your prize

[Virginian]

It was me. But this is old news.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Up next, Nnamdi Asomugha.

[playa manhattan]

Psssh! He's only 63% gay.
http://www.gay-or-straight.com/Nnamdi Asomugha

[playa manhattan]

Don't know why HnR did that to the link, just cut and paste the whole thing...

[JW]

Don't know why HnR did that to the link

Becasue it's an URL and there is a space in it.

[jesse.in.mb]

wow, that's shockingly bad web design.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Barack Obama is only 64% gay.

Mitt Romney is 71% gay.

Interesting.

[Archduke Pantsfan]

Fred Durst is 67% gay.

[jesse.in.mb]

But you can watch him bang some chick in his sex tape. The one where he makes his o-face

[JW]

And 100% moron.

[jesse.in.mb]

I thought we were waiting for a currently playing NFLer to come out.

[Randian]

That's what I thought too.

[Fist of Etiquette]

... Chicago to get a $100 million federal loan to build six blocks worth of recreational activity along the Chicago River downtown.

Is this the circus in bread and circuses?

[Coeus]

More of the dreaded CULTURAL APPROPRIATION!!!

Question: If a tree falls in the woods, and there's no one to hear it, will a feminist still bitch about it?

[Heroic Mulatto]

But our privilege as collegiate scholars allowed us to present ourselves in that way without the same push back we may have received if we were just black girls playing double dutch in a predominantly white community park.

Yes, because it's such a common occurrence in the America of 2013 for little black girls to be harassed for playing jump-rope in an imaginarily- segregated playground.

[Emmerson Biggins]

If I had any idea wtf that said, I'm like 85% sure I'd disagree with it.

[NeonCat]

If a tree falls it is probably because a member of the Patriarchy cut it down. Our wymyn's collective will gather around the tree in a candlelight vigil. We'll all have labryses in case you're in a raping mood, which you will be since you're a MAN.

[PapayaSF]

Sometimes it's your lived experience, but if it's not, please stop for a moment to consider your privilege and what role you may be playing in the appropriation of someone else's exploitation.

That exploitation is mine! Don't you dare take it!

I learned the terms "ratchet" and "twerking," and yet I feel dumber.

[Heroic Mulatto]

I learned the [term] ...."twerking," and yet I feel dumber.

That's because you haven't used the term "twerking" in a youtube search yet.

[Shine on, Nikki Diamond]

HM, help the man out. This is just wrong.

[jesse.in.mb]

And now I've googled, and I know.

[Heroic Mulatto]

We'll have to start Papa SF nice and slow....

[General Butt Naked]

What the fuck? Some asshole brought a camera into my garage.

That was supposed to be a private party.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

"In my study of communist societies, I came to the conclusion that the purpose of communist propaganda was not to persuade or convince, not to inform, but to humiliate; and therefore, the less it corresponded to reality the better. When people are forced to remain silent when they are being told the most obvious lies, or even worse when they are forced to repeat the lies themselves, they lose once and for all their sense of probity. To assent to obvious lies is...in some small way to become evil oneself. One's standing to resist anything is thus eroded, and even destroyed. A society of emasculated liars is easy to control. I think if you examine political correctness, it has the same effect and is intended to."
? Theodore Dalrymple

[Coeus]

Awesome. THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS!!!

[Shine on, Nikki Diamond]

OMG they can take my twerking from my cold, dead...yeah that's not sounding right. But seriously fuck that shit.

[Shine on, Nikki Diamond]

On the other hand it is a totally valid part of my lived experience so maybe I am already in the clear.

[NeonCat]

We'll have to check with the judges, but we're pretty sure you have failed to check your privilege.

[Randian]

She's white so duh.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Dude, what Neon is saying is that nicole needs to upload some videos of her twerking....DON'T RUIN THIS FOR ME!

[Shine on, Nikki Diamond]

The internet is clearly not a safe space for white girls to twerk, HM. Nah nothing will stop that from happening someday.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Until that day comes, I'll just leave this here.

[NeonCat]

I think the judges would, in fact, demand this. They need to determine if Nikki D is displaying enough, ah, cultural sensitivity and checking of privilege, probably in slow-mo, so make sure the videos are well lit.

Don't blame me, the judges are why there are no women libertarians.

[Caleb Turberville]

http://timesdaily.com/stories/.....ons,204386

"President Barack Obama pressed Congress on Thursday not to forget the heartbreak of the Newtown elementary school massacre and 'get squishy' on tightened gun laws, though some lawmakers in his own Democratic Party remain a tough sell on an approaching Senate vote to expand purchasers' background checks."

[Fist of Etiquette]

That crisitunity is slipping from his grasp.

[Coeus]

In defense of crying at work.

In hindsight ? what the hell? How did I develop a work ethic that made puking on my editor more acceptable than crying in front of him? Oh right. My internalized sexism. In our macho, ultra-competitive, tough-as-nails working culture, dealing with my problems, personal or work-related, by binge drinking and puking was far more professional than crying at my desk. Or, for my immature self, it seemed more professional. I had absorbed the machismo without questioning it. Meanwhile, I doubt that the boss who was so gracious about me puking on his shoes, and who today remains a friend, would have thought I was a lesser person had I shown some vulnerability through tears. Or through some other, more "girly" behavior. No decent person would.

[Virginian]

There is a difference between crying at work, and crying because of work. If you're going through some shit, and it overwhelms you at your office, that's one thing.

It's an entirely different thing if you cry because you don't feel like doing the work, or because you "feel" (always feeling, never thinking) that someone is "unfairly" criticizing you, then you're just being an unprofessional baby.

[Coeus]

There is a difference between crying at work, and crying because of work. If you're going through some shit, and it overwhelms you at your office, that's one thing.

Not if you're a guy. I just lost my grandmother. If I had cried, I guarantee I would have taken a prestige hit. A woman would not have.

[General Butt Naked]

Even Hitler cried when he lost his Granny. What kind of monster are you?

[Coeus]

The kind who works in the oil field. (and I did cry, just not at work).

[NeonCat]

Oily monsters are the slipperiest kind.

[Marshall Gill]

There is nothing wrong with a man crying....as long as it is in private.

[CE]

Man up and drink it off. But don't drive afterward.

[Coeus]

I tend to handle my strongest emotions in the bathtub with a bottle of Gentleman Jack.

[wareagle]

Union interests in California are looking to expand their reach. Shocking, we know. The targets this time are interpreters who work with the state's medical program for low-income families.
-----------------
unless my math is off, the $60 an hour in desired pay is nearly 125K per year. Did I say fuck CA?

[Virginian]

Especially since people who can speak both Spanish and English are such a rare commodity in California.

[Heroic Mulatto]

*sigh*

To be a medical interpreter you need to have excellent knowledge of medical and scientific vocabulary in both languages, and some knowledge of medicine in itself. So, yes, medical interpreting in a rare commodity.

I'm not even going to touch the fact that you assume it's just Spanish.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

This. My parents both do court and medical interpretation for a living since my dad retired from the military, and it's a specialized skill set (especially simultaneous interpretation).

[Ted S.]

One of my Russian professors did simultaneous interpretation, specializing in arms control. Once, at a small function dealing with some jargon other than arms control, she had a brain fart, and the US Ambassador supplied her with the correct word. 🙂

[The Immaculate Trouser]

That's funny. I was part of a missions trip with my church, and the guy who usually interprets got sick. I subbed in as English-to-Spanish simultaneous interpretation for my pastor. Two hours in, and my brain broke. Five minutes later, the audience was baffled that the gringo pastor was telling them that Lucifer was worthy of praise. Good times...

[playa manhattan]

There are no such requirements to be a Medi-Cal interpreter. There is no training or certification, just a 30 minute interview. I have a friend who does it part time (over the phone as needed), and he said demand is roughly 90% Spanish....

[playa manhattan]

To clarify, this is for the Medi-Cal independent contractors, not salaried interpreters....

[Heroic Mulatto]

I don't know much about Medi-Cal, but if what your friend is saying is true, as a language professional, I am shocked. To be honest, I find it highly unlikely that California would get away with having uncertified medical interpreters due to the risk of being sued if a medical term isn't translated accurately. And while I'm sure Spanish is a high demand language with a fairly large pool of interpreters to choose from, the people with the skills in languages like Cantonese, Vietnamese, Lao, and Hmong are going to be a bit harder to find.

[Marshall Gill]

Which medical terms are patients using that require translation? They come in and although they can't speak English, they know medical terminology? They don't say "it hurts here" but go into a lengthy anatomical explanation?!

Since English is my first language should I need a translator to explain all the fancy talk? Should I require a layman to expert interpreter when I see a doctor?

[Heroic Mulatto]

Which medical terms are patients using that require translation? They come in and although they can't speak English, they know medical terminology? They don't say "it hurts here" but go into a lengthy anatomical explanation?!

Umm...it's more for translating the doctor's instructions.

Should I require a layman to expert interpreter when I see a doctor?

Assuming the doctor can speak English, the doctor has both the linguistic knowledge and the medical knowledge to explain the terms in language you'd understand. An average translator might have the linguistic knowledge but not the medical knowledge to correctly choose the right word or phrase.

But you knew that already. You just wanted to play the cranky "we don't need any of that thar fancy talkin'" shtick.

[jesse.in.mb]

Eh we've had some awkward moments where I'm asking a basic question and someone just isn't ready to translate pins-and-needles. I've also had problems where folks have interpreted "sharp" pain as a judgement of severity rather than a qualitative one. That's just on the pain side. There's a delicate art to asking questions about urological symptoms in a way that's accessible but not crass.

[Heroic Mulatto]

There's also the fact that different cultures express pain in different ways, and have different views on the permissibility of expressing one is in pain.

[jesse.in.mb]

Also fun is having a lady translator ask a devout Catholic if and how frequently he engages in onanism. AWWWKWAAARD

[Marshall Gill]

An average translator might have the linguistic knowledge but not the medical knowledge to correctly choose the right word or phrase.

Actually, there was a recent article (perhaps even here) about one of the Administrations nominees and Tom Coburn's disapproval of this idea. Dr. Coburn practiced medicine for over 20 years without ever requiring a specialist translator and had treated many people who did not speak English as a first language.

How many people pay for such translators out of their own pocket?

[Marshall Gill]

http://www.nationalreview.com/.....ina-trinko

[Heroic Mulatto]

Tom Coburn's disapproval of this idea. Dr. Coburn practiced medicine for over 20 years without ever requiring a specialist translator and had treated many people who did not speak English as a first language.

Umm...the dude couldn't even avoid misunderstandings when dealing with patients who spoke English...

A sterilization Coburn performed on a 20-year-old woman, Angela Plummer, in 1990 became what was called "the most incendiary issue" of his Senate campaign. Coburn performed the sterilization on the woman during an emergency surgery to treat a life-threatening ectopic pregnancy, removing her intact fallopian tube as well as the one damaged by the surgery. The woman sued Coburn, alleging that he did not have consent to sterilize her, while Coburn claimed he had her oral consent. The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed with no finding of liability on Coburn's part.

[Marshall Gill]

So instead of reading about how mandatory medical translators actually hurts the poor you googled to see if you could find dirt on Coburn and the best you could come up with is a 22 year old claim that was dismissed with no finding of liability on his part?

[Heroic Mulatto]

So instead of reading about how mandatory medical translators actually hurts the poor

I think we're in agreement that mandatory anything drives up costs.

But the claim you and Coburn are making that its not necessary to be able to speak to and understand what your doctor is saying is ludicrous. And it's not "dirt" Coburn removed both fallopian tubes. That is not in dispute. The fact is that his patient said she didn't give consent for him to do that and he claims she did. This misunderstanding occurred in the same language. Regardless of if Coburn was at fault or not, imagine how much messy the lawsuit would have been if English wasn't his or his patients first language?

If I were a doctor and I had to treat a patient who spoke English poorly, or not at all, I would insist on having a medical translator to cover my ass against a malpractice suit.

[Marshall Gill]

You just wanted to play the cranky "we don't need any of that thar fancy talkin'" shtick.

No, it was the ole "I sure hate paying for other people's 'necessities'" shtick.

I am sure that being a medical interpreter requires specialized skill. I am absolutely unsure how it is funded without coercion. Laws requiring insurance companies to include it in their coverage count as "coercion", in case you didn't know.

[Heroic Mulatto]

I am sure that being a medical interpreter requires specialized skill. I am absolutely unsure how it is funded without coercion. Laws requiring insurance companies to include it in their coverage count as "coercion", in case you didn't know.

Ok, but that is a completely unrelated argument to your OP.

[Marshall Gill]

Ok, but that is a completely unrelated argument to your OP.

No, it isn't. It is the basis for my argument, not your strawman that there was nothing the average person couldn't have explained to them about medical procedures.

There are few areas of human existence where a professional with knowledge and expertise would not be valuable.

Since you didn't really answer I will assume that the number who pay for this with their own money approaches zero?

[Heroic Mulatto]

Which medical terms are patients using that require translation? They come in and although they can't speak English, they know medical terminology? They don't say "it hurts here" but go into a lengthy anatomical explanation?!

Since English is my first language should I need a translator to explain all the fancy talk? Should I require a layman to expert interpreter when I see a doctor?

I don't see word in your two original paragraphs that possesses even a slight semantic connection to concepts like "money," "taxpayers," or even "cost".

But, then again, what do I know about words? I'm just an assistant professor of Applied Linguistics.

Since you didn't really answer I will assume that the number who pay for this with their own money approaches zero?

I don't know. Your guess is as good as mine. Again, I don't think we disagree about how it shouldn't be legislated to be mandatory, but I cannot agree with you that the field of medical interpreting possess little or no utility.

[Virginian]

Not assuming anything. But I do think that the majority of customers for interpretation in CA would be looking for Spanish-English interpretation. I don't think I'm wrong on that.

I also realize medical interpretation is a specialized field. But I think that there are plenty of intelligent, already bilingual people in CA who could learn how to do the job. Which would drive down prices.

[Heroic Mulatto]

But I think that there are plenty of intelligent, already bilingual people in CA who could learn how to do the job. Which would drive down prices.

All the more power to them. And while having more interpreters would allow employeers to offer lower wages, I think that the demand for their services will increase, due to a growing immigrant population and those aging 1st generation immigrants who are now getting senile and forgetting English, as their second language.

[jesse.in.mb]

I tried to convince the daughter of a Vietnamese patient to do medical translation instead of nursing. The daughter was already familiar with most of the terms, was fluent in both languages, was eloquent and had the most soothing voice I've ever heard. She thought I was being funny.

[Virginian]

I had a similar experience. A girl from Qatar was getting some bullshit degree in DC with me. I told her she should go work for the CIA. Fluent Gulf Arabic in 2007...they were paying out the ass for that.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Indeed. If I had a chance to live life over, I'd specialize in Farsi/Dari/Tajik and work for the Intelligence community.

[CE]

You're forgetting overtime, benefits, pension and accrued OT.

[Caleb Turberville]

http://money.cnn.com/2013/03/2.....&hpt=hp_t1

Less smog or lower prices?

[NeonCat]

Isn't it worth it to extend the lives of 2000 people a year by a few years more, maybe?

[Greg F]

Isn't it worth it to extend the lives of 2000 people a year by a few years more, maybe?

If they were real lives rather then the dubious statistical projections coming out of the EPA.

[Archduke Pantsfan]

Folk singer Michelle Shocked held a silent, sit-in protest outside Moe's Alley in Santa Cruz after her show there was cancelled.

The Santa Cruz Sentinel is reporting that Shocked arrived at the venue wearing a mask and with tape across her mouth. The words "Silenced By Fear" were written across the tape and hastily written signs posted next to the performer invited people to pick up markers and write their own messages on the white one-piece outfit she was wearing.

[NeonCat]

She has every right to her opinions, Moe's Alley has every right not to have her perform there.

[NeonCat]

I really wish people would stop giving so much weight to the opinions of celebrities. Just because someone plays a game well, sings well, acts well doesn't necessarily make them a genius with special insight on the world.

I also wish celebrities would stop taking themselves (and especially their politics) so seriously.

I am well aware neither will change anytime soon.

[Virginian]

In medieval times, actors, bards, etc. traveled about the land, performing for scraps and offal and sleeping in barns.

It was a more sensible way to treat them then the way we do now.

[Sevo]

Exactly.
These people are the court fools moved up a couple of centuries.

[Zeb]

For the most part I agree, but when you are a folk singer presenting yourself as having a message that people should hear, I can't blame people for judging you on your opinions.

[Proprietist]

And she has the right to protest on the street in front of their club. So everyone's right here.

[Ice Nine]

Looks like she has really stirred a lot of indignation and support.

[Archduke Pantsfan]

Is modern life making us ill? Yes, say those who suffer from electrosensitivity. Are they cranks, or should we all be throwing away our mobile phones?

[Agammamon]

They're cranks.

[The Late P Brooks]

The EPA is looking to for gasoline manufacturers to reduce sulfur and nitrogen oxides in their products to curb air pollution. It will also, obviously, increase gas prices.

Just don't call it a gas tax!

[The Late P Brooks]

Anyone else see last night's Archer?

Yes.

I laughed. A lot.

[RightNut]

combined Iraq and Afghanistan wars will cost the United States between $4 to $6 trillion after future medical costs for veterans is factored in.

So its less than 2 years of federal spending? Almost seems like a deal.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Now For Some Of That Loving and Respectful Love and Respect From Amanda Marcotte That We've All Come To Love and Respect:

The long-standing opposition to abortion rights post-Roe has nothing to do with the haste in which the Supreme Court moved to protect women's rights. Let's give our opponents the dignity of assuming they aren't that stupid; their opposition to women's rights is genuine, and not a temper tantrum over process[...]

The reason is that conservatives are obsessed with appearances, far more than liberals, who tend to have an ideal of reconciling reality and appearances[...] That's why conservatives are fond of abortion bans. Abortion is a private medical choice, and so it's easy enough to secretly get an abortion while publicly denouncing abortion rights.

[...]

Once same-sex marriage is legalized, it's going to be impossible to reconcile that with the conservative impulse towards hypocrisy.

She really is a bottomless twit, isn't she?

[Episiarch]

Wow, there's a mindbending amount of projection in there.

[Shine on, Nikki Diamond]

How did you leave this part out?!?

This kind of social hypocrisy is held by both right and left?for instance, both Democrats and Republicans use drugs while supporting drug prohibition?but tends to be more of a thing for folks on the right.

"We're all hypocrites, but you're a bigger hypocrite than me!" Wow that's some convincing stuff.

[Coeus]

If you read FARK, that's been their line since the rise of the great and powerful Ob.

[Episiarch]

Why, oh why, would I ever read FARK?

[Coeus]

For the same reason you watch the monkeys drink their own piss at the zoo.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Marcotte has broken my brain. I can't even tell which are the worst parts and which the most reasonable for you normal people.

[NeonCat]

Can a bird gambol in Beaver County, PA?

http://www.wpxi.com/news/news/.....er-/nW7LK/

So far, the answer seems to be yes.

[PapayaSF]

North Korean Photo Reveals 'U.S. Mainland Strike Plan'. Targets include Austin, Texas. Also, Kim Jong Un uses an iMac.

[playa manhattan]

Ha! He doen't even have the 27" iMac!

[NeonCat]

Let's offer him one in exchange for resuming peacefulish relations.

[Irish]

That's cute. They think they have missiles that can go all the way to Austin.

[Coeus]

They'd better watch out with that shit. Texas don't play.

[Irish]

I'm pretty sure that if they actually managed to fire a missile into Texas, we wouldn't actually have to use our regular military. All we'd have to do is drop a bunch of Texas rednecks into North Korea and they'd take care of it for us.

All it would cost is gasoline for the helicopters, since I'm pretty sure the Texans would come pre-armed.

[Coeus]

we wouldn't actually have to use our regular military. All we'd have to do is drop a bunch of Texas rednecks

That is our regular military. Or at least 14 percent of it.

[Rich]

The CDC has since awarded a contract to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), which this spring will soon begin looking at ... whether ... access to guns can be used to reduce violence.

Keeping an open mind on CC, I suppose.

[Bingo]

http://www.azcentral.com/news/.....uling.html

"the Beaties had not proven that their marriage is recognizable under Arizona state law, which describes marriage as between a man and a woman, and therefore cannot be legally dissolved."

Expect this to happen more frequently in the future.

[Eduard van Haalen]

So the state of Arizona won't impose same-sex marriage on *itself,* but is happy to impose it on private parties like wedding photographers.

At least the avowed SSM states are more consistent, imposing SSM on themselves *and* private parties.

[ant1sthenes]

That's pretty rampant bullshit, SSM or no. A wedding isn't a legal status, it's a celebration of an event that for many is religious or which has religious connotations (much like funerals, births, etc.), and even secular weddings still tend to draw a lot of their traditions from the old religious weddings. Even within the very limited respect for civil liberties our current system features, it should very definitely be a case of religious freedom.

I can only imagine the bitching and moaning if the law forced an atheist to cater to, say, an Easter egg hunt that didn't once mention Jesus.

[Killazontherun]

The High Price of War, they never learn Obama Pushes Forward on Gun Regs he never gave enough of a shit to learn, EPA Wants Cleaner Gas they stopped learning sometime during the second Nixon Administration

[Brandon]

Krugman: There is no debt problem, we are cheating our children by not spending enough. Also, infrastructure! And record profits! Idle money!

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03.....c=rss&_r=0

MSNBC: Treasuries are a bubble about to burst because of too much debt.

http://money.msn.com/top-stock.....24d5bad7bc

Can you guess which one uses any actual numbers?

[Red Rocks Rockin]

I'm surprised MSDNC even admitted it.

[Whahappan?]

Yeah, this morning I was watching/listening to MSNBC while making breakfast and Chris Hayes was on and they were discussing the debt, debt ceiling, trillion dollar coin, etc. and I was shocked by the economic foolishness put forth. One so-called economist literally said "we can't default on our debt because we can print money."

[The Immaculate Trouser]

USPS Discrimination Against Atheism?

If you've ever wondered whether or not you're "that kind of atheist", read the link above. If you rolled your eyes, you're OK. If you find yourself nodding along, please find help.

[General Butt Naked]

The postal service and self-righteous atheists; can't I hate both?

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Sounds like a plan.

[playa manhattan]

They might make pretty comfortable shoes, but I doubt they are "ridiculously comfortable".

[Xenocles]

Lost me at "shoes for people who don't believe in gods." Though I suppose it's possible there were some bad apples abusing the marked packages.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

I kind of hope that there's an equally worked up theist outfit in Germany that does the same type of thing. Balance of the universe, and all that.

[Alphonse]

Do the shoes have soles?

[Professional Target]

USPS Discrimination Against Atheism?

I lack faith in the USPS's ability to discriminate effectively.

[Bingo]

Those are damn nice looking shoes. Maybe I'll pick up a pair (with non-branded tape of course).

[Ted S.]

I had a much bigger problem with the fact that instead of using text, they put text in a photo.

They can go fuck themselves if they think I'm going to read such shit.

[Sevo]

OT
Of course there are no gay NFL players:
"Kwame Harris talks about being gay in the NFL"
http://blog.sfgate.com/49ers/2.....n-the-nfl/

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Harris appeared in his first interview since an alleged assault of an ex-boyfriend publicly outed the former NFL offensive tackle.

Showing that even gay professional athletes can be abusive assholes.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Not sure if anyone's checked out MRUniversity recently, but they have 5 courses (one of which is on the Eurozone crisis). All are of excellent quality: http://mruniversity.com/courses/eurozone-crisis

[playa manhattan]

http://www.myfoxny.com/story/2.....-more-mail

US Letter Carrier buries 35,000 pieces of mail in his yard instead of delivering them, spends all day drinking instead...

[Archduke Pantsfan]

Hello, Newman

[NeonCat]

Well, now we know what happened to the atheist shoes?

[jesse.in.mb]

How did he only get 130 hours of community service. Isn't every letter a Federal offense or some such nonsense?

[playa manhattan]

Ask Sloopy. He is a professional when it comes to federal mail crimes (such as fucking up celebrities' mail boxes).

[jesse.in.mb]

I will, what's the appropriate incantation to summon Sloopy?

"Cops are helpful, well-intentioned, public servants!"

Or something like that.

[Virginian]

Michigan is the finest school in the nation.

Hipsters are the voice of a generation.

[Xenocles]

Dunphy's right.

[jesse.in.mb]

Artisanal mayo

[Irish]

When baby Reason grows up, she will marry Dunphy's first born son, a police officer like his dear old dad. Dunphy's son, having previously graduated from the great University of Michigan, spent a year after graduation living in the posh section of New York City, where he met Lena Dunham and she taught him the art of making artisanal mayonnaise.

He also has a scraggly beard and wears ironic flannel.

[jesse.in.mb]

We're trying to summon him Irish, not cause him to have some fatal hypertensive event.

[Professional Target]

Isn't every letter a Federal offense or some such nonsense?

First Class, yes. Standard ("bulk mail"), no. Others, I don't know.

[Jerryskids]

I don't think letters themselves are an offense, it's the particular combination of letters that causes offense. Like USPS, EPA, OSHA, IRS, for example, are pretty offensive letters. I don't think we will ever see them as a federal offense, though - maybe more like a crime against humanity.

[Ted S.]

He's a quasigovernmental worker. Surely you know they're above us.

[Coeus]

An article on Wired in which the word "microagressions" is used seriously.

Bonus: links to SPLC for credibility.

[Bingo]

God, popular "tech culture" is disgustingly beta and feminized. Which is no surprise since 90% of tech people spent their teenage and college years as kissless foreveralone virgins.

[Virginian]

Yeah, the SWPL tech people are very very annoying. I really would like a tech blog that just gave me the latest tech news without the bullshit.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Agreed, but in this case the OP was written by "an Assistant Professor of Communication and Media Studies at Fordham University". In other words, exactly the sort of person you expect to miss the point.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Rather than attempting to discern whether Richards was in the right or the wrong

Yes, why write a 50-word paragraph describing why Richards was wrong when you can spin an entire article about talking about the Deeper Meaning of an immature bully being canned for acting unprofessionally and at cross-purposes with what her job requires.

[General Butt Naked]

I love when people, and it's mostly tech people that should know better, dare the internet to make their life hell, and then are shocked, SHOCKED, when they get taken up on it.

Like that security guy that basically challenged anonymous in a blog. I'm not saying it's right, but dangit you should fucking know better.

[Xenocles]

Resolved: Every account of a microaggression should be tagged with #firstworldproblems.

[Coeus]

Just noticed this linked in the story:

Timeline of anti-women incidents in tech and gaming.

It has such gems as:

Ubuntu Warty visual theme

In October 2004, a preview version of the first release of Ubuntu (nicknamed "Warty Warthog") included imagery, created specifically for Ubuntu, which included nude photographs of three models (two women and one man). The imagery was not overtly sexual, but one of the images was of the three models embracing while naked (at least, from the waist up). The imagery became available as the default desktop art for backgrounds and login screens and was thus viewed by a large number of preview users. A few days later, following an extensive community debate, a meeting was held to decide how to respond, and the images were replaced with more abstract ones. Mark Shuttleworth acknowledged responsibility for the original decision to use the images

[The Immaculate Trouser]

If it's offensive and nude, Warty is bound to be involved somehow.

[jesse.in.mb]

That's insulting, The pictures of the two ladies were fully nude and the guy was wearing pants or something.

Link to offending images

[Coeus]

Here's another vile crime against womankind:

In 2007, Marvel Comics released a collectible statue of Mary Jane Watson (Spiderman's girlfriend) in a ludicrous and provocative pose, leaning over a bucket of his dirty clothes.

[Jerryskids]

I had assumed coming from Wired that 'micro-aggressions' referred to reading stuff so aggravating it made you want to punch your computer.

And I was right.

When considering the dismal numbers of women (as well as African-American and Latino men) in tech, the meritocratic presumption is that these minorities aren't good at or interested in technology; otherwise, there would be more of them.

If we admit there are structural barriers to entry, and a culture that actively discourages and women and men of color from participating, then it logically follows that technology is not a meritocracy.

Yes indeed. If. If we admit that most tech companies are run by battery-operated fart machines it logically follows that battery-operated fart machines run most tech companies, too.

Begging the question is begging the question.

[ant1sthenes]

In answer to the headline's implicit question: same reason as people hate the Stasi or whatever. No one enjoys having to look over their shoulder all the time to make sure innocent words won't get them put on the rack. If so many women weren't agents for the merciless Progressive Inquisition, they might be received more warmly by the natives.

[Coeus]

Who wants to feel like a dirty old man?

[jesse.in.mb]

That Dora the Explorer is a hot piece of ass.

[Coeus]

Question: Does humping a mascot who's supposed to be human make you a furry?

[jesse.in.mb]

I don't know, but I just started going down the wikipedia-hole starting with furry-fandom.

There are soooooo many links that could be followed.

[jesse.in.mb]

Plushophilia?

Anne Lawrence has proposed that sexual arousal that depends upon imagining one's self as plush or "representations of anthropomorphic animal characters in animated cartoons" be termed autoplushophilia.[10] Paraphilic interests that involve being in another form have been referred to as Erotic target location errors.

[Coeus]

Erotic target location errors.

Good band name.

[Hyperion]

For some of us, feeling like a dirty old man, is the norm, thank you.

[JW]

She's almost built as much as the she-spawn's best friend, who is 14.

I keep reminding myself how grateful I am that she's not my daughter. I'd run out of shotgun ammo.

[Coeus]

If I Admit That 'Hating Men' Is a Thing, Will You Stop Turning It Into a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy?

Worlds funniest human dips her toes into victim blaming.

Read part 4. It's fucking hilarious.

[NeonCat]

That's really damn funny because I had my Gawker community commenting privileges revoked because I commented on Jezebel about violence towards men in advertisements. IIRC I was accused of false equivalency or some such shit.

[Episiarch]

I'm impressed by your masochism in reading this stuff. But also horrified.

[Irish]

I don't think it's really masochistic, because it doesn't upset me. Personally, I'm so astonished by how miserable all of these eternally angry and outraged people must be.

It makes me glad I'm not them.

[Episiarch]

It doesn't upset me, I just cannot imagine wasting my time to read pure drivel. Let's see, I could play Borderlands or I could read Lindy West. It's a tough choice...

[Irish]

Lindsey West's mind is more of a wasteland than the world of Borderlands. Every time you read an article of hers, it's like traversing some vast, apocalyptic hellscape from which there can be no escape, and there is no hope for anyone who finds themselves trapped within.

[Episiarch]

See, at least in Borderlands I can get a good loot drop. Plus it has Tiny Tina.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Lindy gets in a good loot drop after every 8000 calorie meal, if you know what I mean.

[Irish]

Wait, her name is fucking "Lindy?" I assumed it was Lindsey. Lindy? That sounds like something I'd name a dog.

Then again, I'm pretty sure Lindy West's parents did use it to name a dog.

[Episiarch]

Lindy "The Skag" West

[The Immaculate Trouser]

I only just got around to playing the first Borderlands (Steam sale FTW), and it's fucking great. Can't imagine how good Borderlands II is -- but I'm too damn cheap to buy it outside one of those killer Steam sales.

[Episiarch]

Borderlands II is basically just more Borderlands I with slightly different character classes and a few tweaked things to improve gameplay. Just finish the first one and all the DLCs and by the time you're done the second one will hopefully be on sale.

Also, Golden Keys. I have 25.

[Irish]

Also, Golden Keys. I have 25.

Fucking selfish libertarians, always hoarding golden keys while other, often more meritorious, players get so few golden keys.

The golden key gap is a true tragedy.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Borderlands is keeping me entertained and I don't get a ton of time to play, so I can hold off until the next sale.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Can't speak for Coeus, but I work a gummint job. It's laughing at Lindy West or finding some other way to keep myself busy.

[Xenocles]

I've taken to hanging out on the secret government Twitter as a means of wasting time.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Us libertarian fifth columnists in government are much more effective as apathists than as intentional saboteurs.

[Coeus]

I do many things at once. And I read very fast. Adding another window to the pile isn't much of an imposition, and I derive pleasure from reaffirming how stupid and immoral those in direct political opposition to me are.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

I used to multitask, but I'd just get done with my work that much faster -- sticking me in the same quandary.

Still, if the government wants to pay me improbably large amounts of money to do about a half-day of work, I'm not going to complain too loudly (Standard Libertarian Disclaimers about government apply).

[Xenocles]

It's even better when you aren't hourly and you don't need to account for your time.

[Coeus]

Yeah, but I work in the private sector.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

False rape accusations discredit rape victims, which reinforces rape culture, which is part of patriarchy.

Wait, I thought there was no such thing as a false rape accusation. And if there is, then how can defending against specious rape claims be part of the rape culture? And how can there be a rape culture if there is no such thing as "rape denialism"?

[ant1sthenes]

Don't bother, it's like getting religious fundamentalists to give up on the Bible by pointing out inconsistencies in their view. They can always just dig down to a new level of absurdity to avoid changing their minds.

[Eduard van Haalen]

"Give Me Back My Jesus," from Bach's St. Matthew Passion:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hUjGSAcLy4

[Eduard van Haalen]

David Daniels sings "He Was Despised" from Handel's Messiah:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEU5ORNsG1U

[Eduard van Haalen]

The Passover Story, by Metallica:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5lXEFdZAmU

[Eduard van Haalen]

Louis Armstrong performs "Go Down, Moses"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP5EfwBWgg0

[Coeus]

Sexual assault hotline flyer is hilariously wrong.

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. ? The number for a phone sex line ended up on a flyer for the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

The number was mistakenly listed as a hotline for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. The flyers were handed out to crime victims for years.

[SumpTump]

Think the US will ever start minding its own business? Yeah, me either lol

http://www.GoneAnon.tk