City in California Suing Hot Sauce Producer, Claiming Factory Odor Makes Area Uninhabitable

Reason

The city of Irwindale, California has filed a suit against Huy Fong Foods, the makers of Sriracha hot sauce, claiming that a nearby factory is causing a smell that is impossible to escape. According to city officials, residents have also complained of burning eyes and irritated throats.

From the BBC:

A California city has sued the maker of Sriracha hot sauce saying the factory's smell makes the area uninhabitable.

The city of Irwindale has asked a judge to prevent Huy Fong Foods from making the spicy condiment until the factory submits plan to reduce the smell.

Huy Fong representatives have said they are actively trying to fix the problem and have received no citations.

Sriracha sauce is sold around the world, and there was even a recent Sriracha festival in LA.

Irwindale officials say residents have complained of burning eyes, irritated throats and headaches and are unable to escape the smell even inside their homes.

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Comments

[Slammer]

I hope they move to Texas.

[Restoras]

I'm sure they'd be happy to.

[LarryA]

Want to bet if the company decided to move Irwindale wouldn't have some judge block it, because jobs?

I didn't think so.

[Francisco d Anconia]

Costs a shitload to move a production company.

You listen to these progs complain about exporting jobs. They have no idea just how bad it has to be here to make that cost/benefit work.

[Harun]

That is why in 99% if cases, production is out-sourced and not moved.

So, you make widgets in your factory in Ohio, and you are losing out.

You don't actually move your factory to China, hire staff there, etc.

Instead you close your own factory and then simply place orders to a factory in China to produce your products for you.

This is also why any attempt to "stop" factories from moving overseas is Quixotic...because very few plants actually "move."

In fact, if you stopped them from "moving" an importer would simply compete them to death anyways.

[montana mike]

It's fucking Cali, nimby central. I was working down there in Humboldt a decade ago and used to read the Santa Rosa paper.

Some people were against the building of a new Holiday Inn, they posited that Holiday Inn's were populated by pedophiles, I shit you not.

[fish]

These poor bastards are being sued and they just paid the UC Davis cop $38,000 for essentially doing the same thing....making the area uninhabitable.

[pmains]

I thought that Sriracha was made in Pico Rivera, which is several towns over from Irwindale. What a bunch of delicate doilies.

[jesse.in.mb]

Their offices are in Rosemead I think.

[Sigivald]

If you look it up, this factory is recently opened (within a year or so).

So these guys bought houses and then a hot sauce factory moved in, rather than the other way around.

Which makes the complaints rather less entitled and bitchy sounding, eh?

[Austrian Anarchy]

It is emitting a perfume like aroma, NOT an odor!

[RadicalCenter]

Exatly. IF the evidence shows that there is an actionable level of unpleasant odor and eye-watering emissions, why should the factory be allowed to impose on its neighbors that way? That's not libertarian.

It's difficult or impossible to quantify emissions of odors, etc., but at some point they become too much of an intrusion into other people's peaceable, safe, healthy enjoyment of their property (and of public property) and redress should be available in court under common law.

[anon]

Well, in libertopia, I'd just roll over with my tank and tell them to shut down or get shut down.

[JW]

Since robc isn't around...

COASE COASE COASE COASE COASE COASE COASE
COASE COASE COASE COASE COASE COASE COASE
COASE COASE COASE COASE COASE COASE COASE

[Live Free or Diet]

My thing is that when they do force them away, then they'll be crying about the lack of jobs, tax base, etc. I saw Petersburg, VA do exactly that with a bunch of tobacco companies. Seidenberg, Maclin-Zimmer-McGill, Export Leaf, Brown and Williamson, British-American Tobacco, and finally Star Tobacco. These companies once employed 2/3 of that city, and they were the highest-paying there too.

[InlineSkate]

There's a big difference between exiling companies because you don't agree with what they stand for and telling a company to clean up their act because they're making the area miserable to be in.

If your city smells like hot sauce and the air is irritating to the membranes what do you really gain by "protecting those jobs"?

Your tax base is going to move regardless if the area smells like shit.

[pmains]

Fair points. It would be nice to have the courts lock Mr. Sriracha in a room with the irritated citizens of Irwindale until they came to an agreement. If they can't agree on just compensation, Sriracha relocates downwind.

[Sevo]

"Which makes the complaints rather less entitled and bitchy sounding, eh?"

^ +1 steamed bun.

[Harun]

How many complaints are there?

If there are 100 houses and 3 complaints...well some people are overly sensitive.

Like pot smoke. I hate it. My wife hates it. Neighbors like to smoke it...trust me the cops don't care, so you have to accept it.

[Death Rock and Skull]

You called cops to complain about pot smell? Dick.

[Knarf Yenrab (prev. An0nB0t)]

This is Rothbard 101. Within a system of well-defined property rights, an individual or company may not aggress against a neighbor's person or property, period. The rooster company polluted its neighbors' air, so it's up to the co. to 1) pay damages and 2) clean up their emissions or negotiate a pollution contract with every party that might be affected by the pollution.

I'd recommend a better filtration system.

[Plopper]

I thought Rothbard 101 was this crazy idea of competing criminal law courts and enforcing police which will lead chaos. Of course there's mediation and private security, but what he talks about is about as workable as Communism.

Oh and that if you deposit your money in a fractional reserve bank voluntarily fully knowing they loan out their deposits like every bank has ever done since the dawn of time the NAP doesn't apply to you or the bank because Rothbardians' cognitive dissonance level is as high as progtards.

That being said a voluntary state I could buy into, but the state would still have the monopoly on criminal courts and criminal law enforcement and if you weren't a citizen who voluntarily paid taxes then you wouldn't get their protection.

Something like this maybe:
http://web.archive.org/web/200.....nton5.html

But that is not anarchy by any means.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Completely agree.

[Plopper]

Oh, and one more thing.

What you describe as Rothbard 101 sounds more like classical liberalism 101, where as my comment actually describes what Rothbard 101 really is.

[Plopper]

Oh, and with private security I should have also included bounty hunters, I got no problem with stuff like that or citizen arrests etc.

But the competing criminal courts, fucking LOL. Ayn Rand debunked that one very succinctly. Too bad I can't remember the quote now though.

Someone has to have the final say, unless you like warlords and feudalism that is.

[cavalier973]

"Doncha know that if you don't accept my preferred style of warlord, then you'll be ruled by a warlord, ya craaaaaazies!"

[Plopper]

So a supreme court is equal to a warlord?

Do you actually have an argument?

[AlmightyJB]

OT: Anyone need a constitution? We don't seem to be using ours.

http://www.nbc4i.com/story/238.....ta-centers

[Hyperion]

It's just a dusty old thing that no one can read anyway. It's like a hundred years old, man!

[fish]

Right.....! They "broke into" Google and Yahoo....and both are just horrified at this violation.

Sheesh.

[Michael S. Langston]

I'm not sure the Constitution covers this - as it doesn't matter where the company is based, but where the "crime" happens.

& while it was very likely a crime in the jurisdiction where the acts were committed, I'm not sure our Constitution outlaws intelligence gathering in other countries due to Constitutional rights.

& I don't say this with the idea that the "founding fathers never would've thought about it" - I write this as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and many others practiced intelligence. Further, at least a portion of the information they obtained was knowingly gathered/shared illegally.

As such, I don't think they wrote the Constitution to prevent what they firmly believed was necessary and useful when dealing with other nations.

Disclaimer: nothing written is meant to imply any agreement, opposition, or other opinion of NSA/administration activities - the comment is only about whether such acts are Constitutional.

[Michael S. Langston]

Though thinking more about this - it may well be unConstitutional as well.

If the US has signed any treaties banning or making it illegal to break into computers of other treaty signers, then I believe that holds similar weight to the Constitution itself.

But I assume no such treaty exists since Germany, along with other European nations, are publicly unhappy about US spying efforts and if such a treaty existed, they probably would've mentioned it by now.

Though a treaty like this may exist and there may well be reasons such acts are unConstitutional without such a treaty, but I still don't think so.

[Slammer]

They only read the Constitution if you put it in an email.

[jesse.in.mb]

Ha, I even beat 24/7 on this.

[Hyperion]

No h/t for you!

/The hat tip nazi

[jesse.in.mb]

Eh, I doubt Feeney was combing Shackford's PM Links for 24/7 ideas. Had Feeney posted the links and then this, I'd be readying the siege weapons and demanding a h/t.

[Hyperion]

Ha, No excuse! As a Beltwaytarian, you just check the NSA database to see if there are any links. Loading all of our comments directly into the NSA database, without the NSA having to make an effot, has it's perks!

[Hugh Akston]

One day I'll build a PM links out in the real world. Only when it's full will people realize that the doors lock from the outside.

[SweatingGin]

Oh yea? Well, I'll build my OWN PM links... With hookers! And blackjack!

[Almanian!]

I find your ideas intriguing, and would be interested in subscribing to your newsletter.

[anon]

If you can get me hookers and ... well, I guess I'd settle for blackjack... with my PM links, I'd be willing to pay for that.

[sarcasmic]

Oh yeah, well I posted it on the Morning Links. So nanny nanny boo boo!

[Hyperion]

OT: But, can this guy get anymore ridiculous? I didn't know. It wasn't me! I didn't do it! It was her! It was him! It was them!

Bad apple insurance companies latest to take blame

Obama added: "So there's no excuse for it, and I take full responsibility for making sure it gets fixed ASAP

Until it doesn't get fixed, and then... it wasn't me, I didn't say it!

[General Butt Naked]

Sometimes I wish the real world was like the internet.

When Dear Leader gets up and starts bullshit-ifying someone should just yell out, "citation needed".

For example:

Remember, before the Affordable Care Act, these bad apple insurers had free rein every single year to limit the care that you received or used minor pre-existing conditions to jack up your premiums or bill you into bankruptcy.

citation needed

[Sevo]

Hyperion|10.30.13 @ 6:14PM|#
"OT: But, can this guy get anymore ridiculous? I didn't know. It wasn't me! I didn't do it! It was her! It was him! It was them!"

Well, it took 30 days, but the GOP is now officially blamed:
"In the Texas appearance, Sebelius also pointed to a more likely reason behind the urgency to launch: politics, and in particular a government shutdown over the issue.
"A political atmosphere where the majority party, at least in the House, was determined to stop this anyway they possibly could ... was not an ideal atmosphere," she said."
The rethugs MADE them do it!
http://www.sfgate.com/news/pol.....932861.php

[Hyperion]

Umm, wasn't the hearing about the website? And so.... what ... 17 days of shutdown of 'non-essential' employees off the job killed a website that had been in development for 3.5 years?

There is no accountability left in DC. They have taken this abuse of their responsibility to an absurd level. This woman and her boss deserve to be the laughing stock of the universe, and the media who keeps shielding them from the scorn that they so much deserve, deserve even worse for themselves.

[General Butt Naked]

There's more...

Looks like in an extremely unsurprising turn of events, the administration is attempting to bully insurance companies from speaking out against o-care.

After insurance officials publicly criticized the implementation, White House staffers contacted insurers to express their displeasure, industry insiders said.
Multiple sources declined to speak publicly about the push back because they fear retribution.

But Bob Laszewski, who heads a consulting firm for big insurance companies, did talk on the record.
"The White House is exerting massive pressure on the industry, including the trade associations, to keep quiet," he said.

I'm totally shocked at this behavior. I really expect better from Obama and company.

[Rich]

It'd be a shame if insurance companies started going Galt.

[Hyperion]

It'd be a really, real shame, if we all started going Galt.

[Sevo]

"I'm totally shocked at this behavior. I really expect better from Obama and company."

Assuming Obo doesn't get another three of four terms, I hope someone has the guts to write about the pressure to lie about the train-wreck.

[Dave Krueger]

I grew up in Milwaukee back when it was the beer capitol of the U.S.

After a while you get used to the smell. It actually wasn't that bad compared to the rendering plant near my best friend's house. I suggest that Irwindale build themselves a rendering plant. It will help them appreciate the hot sauce factory a bit more.

[Hyperion]

I grew up in Milwaukee back when it was the beer capitol of the U.S.

Oh, yes, I remember, back in the good old days, when you could pretend any beer was good, no matter that it tasted like fermented horse piss.

Damned elitists had to ruin it, with their fancy imports and microbrews!

[Death Rock and Skull]

Coworker stepped on some half finished discarded beer can hidden under some tall grass by the side of the road, and the liquid splashed up on his pants. Shit stank like dog diarrhea from about fifty feet away. And that's how he got the name "Poo Pants", aka Rod Stewart (pooped 'em).

[Hyperion]

I'm sure he's ecstatic over being named Poo Pants.

Honestly, I love beer. But even if I leave an unfinished beer on the kitchen counter overnight and have to pour it down the sink the next morning, the smell is really bad. Stale beer smell is awful.

[General Butt Naked]

Any relation to MC Pee Pants?

[anon]

I grew up in Milwaukee back when it was the beer capitol of the U.S.

If "Milwaukee's Best" is any indication of the beer they produced, I'm so fucking happy it's not the beer capitol anymore.

[PM]

I suggest that Irwindale build themselves a rendering plant. It will help them appreciate the hot sauce factory a bit more.

A-fucking-men. When I lived in WA I used to play paintball at a place in the industrial district of the city I was living in, and there was a rendering plant just up the road. If the wind shifted the wrong way, goddamn. You would pray for the sweet relief of death.

[AlmightyJB]

I like their Sriracha but I prefer Huy Fongs Chili Garlic sauce. I love that stuff. Nice amount of heat.

[sarcasmic]

I agree. That chili garlic paste is amazing.

[Brandon]

Is this factory new?

[Hyperion]

It's in Cali. So, what are the odds of a 'factory' in California, being new? I mean unless they are making something totally unprofitable because no one wants to buy it, all the while being funded with a zillion dollars in federal subsidies.

[sarcasmic]

From what I read they moved to that location relatively recently, but they've been around for a while.

[Sigivald]

Yes, this particular factory is new (or at least "new making Sriracha rather than being some other thing").

(From the linked article: Huy Fong moved its factory to Irwindale, 20 miles (30km) outside Los Angeles, earlier this year. Before, it had two smaller factories in a nearby town.

So, like I said up above, it seems not too unreasonable.

People bought houses in Irwindale, where there wasn't a hot sauce factory.

A hot sauce factory moved in, and is stinking up the place.

They're upset about that.

As a libertarian who thinks that (observable, definite) externalities should be priced, I don't see a big problem with that, unlike the case of "moving in next to a factory that is already running and then demanding IT change"...)

[sarcasmic]

You've got a point. On the other hand, I'm sure they pay a shit-ton in property taxes, and they only operate three months a year. The article I read said they do all the production from Sept to Dec, then they're done.

I live near an egg farm that stinks like chicken shit. When the wind is right it's downright oppressive. Ah, the smell of low property taxes....

[Harun]

That seems very...strange. Why would you do all your production at once?

[anomdebus]

Harvest time? They only use peppers from one farm (last I heard).

[Generic Stranger]

That's when all the peppers are harvested. Gotta get 'em processed before they rot, and you can't grow peppers in winter.

[DJF]

Actually I would think they have a case even if they moved next to the factory after the factory was built. The home owners own the land and they have a right to not have the factory pollute their air. Once the smell crosses the property line then its an invasion the property owners property.

Its a classic example of the idea that you can wave your hand around all you want until it hits someone else's nose. Especially since the nose is on their own property.

[SForza]

Any thoughts on roosters? At what point is it noise pollution, and at what point is it just part of the baseline noise of the community?

[All-Seeing Monocle]

Irwindale officials say residents have complained of burning eyes, irritated throats and headaches

THAT'S HOW YOU KNOW IT'S WORKING

[BuSab Agent]

You can pry my Rooster sauce from my cold dead fingers...

[Francisco d Anconia]

You say you have cock sauce on your fingers?

[BuSab Agent]

Occasionally

[sarcasmic]

One fine day I was working prep in the kitchen at a Mexican restaurant, cleaning peppers. Basically that means splitting them and removing the seeds. Well, at some point I had to pee. I rinsed my hands off, but didn't bother with the soap. When I handled Mr Happy a strange thing happened. Turns out that the skin down there is as sensitive to capsaicin as the eyes and mouth. For about five or ten minutes I was reduced to writhing in a fetal position on the restroom floor. Luckily it was around three in the afternoon when restaurants have little or no business, so no one walked in on me. When the pain subsided I soaped up my hands and crotch, and returned to work with a valuable lesson.

[anon]

I found that out the easy way: Fingering my gf after eating hot wings.

[sarcasmic]

I had a chef tell me a TMI story about going down on his wife after an evening of snacking on habenero salsa.

Supposedly this one ended in a visit to the hospital.

[BuSab Agent]

Reminds me a friend who kept KY and Ben-gay in the same nightstand drawer. The night didn't end well.

[jesse.in.mb]

A friend of mine said that when he was younger he and his twin would try to slap Ben-gay onto each others' armpits or nuts.

I could never convince them to reenact for my entertainment.

[Old Man With Candy]

Yes, she made the same comment to me.

[Hyperion]

Closest thing I've ever done to that, lame in comparison, I agree. But, the first time I had crabs in MD, after I moved here, a woman I was seeing then, took me to a crab house. For anyone who is not familiar with MD crabs, they are coated with Old Bay, which a primary ingredient of, is cayenne pepper.

So, I didn't put my hands in her panties or grab her tits or anything before washing my hands. It was worse, I thought I had something in my eye and I so I tried to get it out. Fuck, never, ever fucking put your hands near your eyes after picking crabs, ever!

[Hyperion]

Oh, and BTW, a milf was nailed during this story... after, so STFU!

[anon]

Oh I know that greasy sympathy-fuck trick!

[Hyperion]

Well, whatever works at the moment dude, you know, it's all fair in war and fucking, or something like that.

[General Butt Naked]

I wouldn't brag about getting crabs from some old broad from maryland.

[anon]

Oh man, if it was in Maryland she was probably from Delaware. Now I do feel bad.

[Hyperion]

I've never dated anyone from Delaware. I didn't even know that anyone lives there.

[Cdr Lytton]

Well certainly not after Joe Biden's shotgun gets done with them.

[jesse.in.mb]

the first time I had crabs in MD

As a standalone sentence I was really concerned about the frequency with which you got crabs.

[sarcasmic]

I too thought it was a story about lice.

[Hyperion]

Blue crabs, Jesse. You eat em, and actually they are good. Stay focused. And all of you, stop fucking with me! It's not fair! I didn't do it. It wasn't me! It's not my fault! Where is that press secretary of mine to cover for me?

[General Butt Naked]

You eat em, and actually they are good.

This is getting fucking gross.

Jesus.

[Hyperion]

You poor fucking landlubber!

[jesse.in.mb]

We get it, you love crabs Hyp. Don't worry, everyone has their thing.

[Francisco d Anconia]

I was making some Chili after work. Wife had some African Cayenne in a bag which I sprinkled in with my fingers. Letting it simmer, I went to the bathroom and proceeded, without thinking, to take out my contacts.

FUCK ME!

[Hyperion]

So FdA? Did you get crabs in the process?

[Francisco d Anconia]

Already had em.

[SweatingGin]

Wait... Which one of you gave the other crabs?

[Hyperion]

Everyone in Murland has crabs, so why does it matter? I'm sure that Obamacare has it covered.

[anon]

I'm going against the grain on this one: If the neighbors of the factory are being affected against their will by a company producing (whatever), the company should have to pay restitution to those affected and cease & desist if so demanded. I hope (though I doubt it's actually the case) the city is just acting at the behest of its constituents.

I mean, I know I'd want some way to fight back against a neighbor that painted cars all day and night. I don't see this as any different.

[BuSab Agent]

Actually this kind of issue was pretty well settled by common law centuries ago. Whoever was there first prevails. So if you move next to a preexisting nuisance, you have to suck it up. It was already there. However, if a nuisance moves next to you, then you prevail. In which case, the libertarian thing to do is for the factory to pay compensation to the neighbors or move. Of course the state has mucked this solution up, so now it's decided by/for whoever has the most political clout.

[anon]

So if you move next to a preexisting nuisance, you have to suck it up. It was already there. However, if a nuisance moves next to you, then you prevail.

Well, yeah, that's kinda what I meant, I'm just a few too many drinks too deep right now.

[sarcasmic]

I don't go to meetings either. 😉

[Harun]

Compensation being one case of free hot sauce?

[BuSab Agent]

I would take it!

[anomdebus]

Against what grain? Most on-topic posters before you agreed with you.

[SweatingGin]

Proletariat radio had some great apologia for Obamacare this afternoon.

Humbert, who makes between $30,000 and $40,000 a year as a freelance fundraiser for non-profits, found a policy similar to her old one. The deductible is about the same, but the monthly premium of approximately $275 a month is about half what she paid before. And, she says, "I am very pleased with it."

"freelance fundraiser for non-profits"

I'm trying to parse what that means. What kind of job is that? Almost seems like a creative description for Amway or something.

As for that claim ? that nobody with insurance would have to give it up ? Humbert says she thinks the president was not fully informed.

Comrade Obama had no idea the wheat harvest was failing in the Ukraine!

[Sevo]

..."she thinks the president was not fully informed."

The buck stops over there somewhere!

[anon]

Syria?

[anon]

Benghazi?

[anon]

NSA spying on Americans?

[anon]

Americans being forced to buy products from corporations?

[Almanian!]

TEATHUGLIHADISTOBSTRUCTIONTARIAN HOMOPHOBES!

[Almanian!]

also, racist

[Francisco d Anconia]

IRS playing favorites?

[BuSab Agent]

57th state?

[Hyperion]

What kind of job is that?

The kind that doesn't contribute to society or the economy at all, but gets you some special doggie snacks from the party currently in power.

[anon]

I'm trying to parse what that means. What kind of job is that? Almost seems like a creative description for Amway or something.

It means she's a professional hobo and/or hooker.

NTTAWWT.

[PapayaSF]

Johanna Humbert is 53, so I'll bet her premium went down because several younger people had their premiums go up.

[General Butt Naked]

The article says that she's getting a subsidy as well. Which means that she's a $40,000 a year welfare recipient.

Remember folks, there is absolutely nothing left to cut.

[Warren]

Releasing waste into the commons is always going to make you vulnerable to regulation.

If they're making eyes water, I have no sympathy. Filter your exhaust.

[Sevo]

"If they're making eyes water, I have no sympathy. Filter your exhaust."

I'm taking the 'first-arrival' view.
If folks moved in after the factory, tough. If the factory moved in later, fix it or pay.

[SweatingGin]

Yup, first user, too.

As enjoyable as Sriracha is, they don't make me want to give a libertarian exception.

OWS? I might be willing to relax the NAP for the puppeteers guild.

[Harun]

You mean like run it through a big vat of milk? 🙂

[anon]

Also, I love how absolutely nobody has brought up the fact that there can't be failures like this in the free market.

If a company blew a cool half a billion dollars for some shit that turned out not to work, there's no fucking way in hell it'd still be open for business.

Only in central planning are complete and utter failures (by corporations and people) rewarded. We exalt the absolute worse pieces of fucking shit to the top of the food chain, to feed off the productive.

FUcking god damn fuck I hate the world tonight. Time for more shine.

[SweatingGin]

Remember Flooz? Neither does anyone else.

Hmmm... Cargo-cult website/business. No clue what actually has to happen for it to be successful. Probably not even a definition if success for it. If they defined success, they'd risk not meeting it.

[Spoonman.]

I actually thought about Flooz yesterday. Why, I don't know.

[Hyperion]

We just interviewed a couple more developer candidates last few days. Last guy we interviewed, worked for the feds, last 20 years.

When one our guys asked him about requirements and the development process, he said something to the effect of 'Requirements, oh, well, um processes... I can't talk too much about that, we just move forward and keep a good attitude, hoping for the best results.'

I swear on the Aqua Buddha that I am not making this up. After the interview, we were walking down the hall and me and my 4 comrades were just sort of looking at each other silently, and then I said 'Healthcare.gov!' How does that happen?. It was sort of a classic moment.

2nd time we have interviewed an institutionalized government employee in the last 6 months, and all I have to say, is that these people are not living in the same universe in which consistently viable results are required.

[Francisco d Anconia]

You should witness the military acquisition system.

[Hyperion]

Can't imagine, although I have heard a few people I know, who were in the military, talk it about it some.

[SweatingGin]

Having supplied state universities, it's a lot of similar stuff there, too. Constantly changing requirements that can't be nailed down, sometimes impossible requirements, all kinds of insanity.

Large urban school district was the worst that I've worked with, though. 20 people on a conference call, all of them useless. Couldn't spell the name of the district right in the WHOIS record.

[Spoonman.]

After my wife worked for Houston Independent School District briefly she fervently wished she believed in hell. And that's not nearly the worst one.

[Hyperion]

Is JLP Blanco tequila any good, or is it crap? It give me buzz, I don't drink any hard liquor much, but today, I am celebrating something and a friend gave me this.

[Francisco d Anconia]

First blowjob?

Still can't get the taste out of your mouth?

I'll be here all night.

[Hyperion]

Nope, first time I fucked your mom. So, is this booze she gave me any good or do I have to ask her to give it back to you and bring me some good stuff?

[Francisco d Anconia]

She gave you booze? How much did you pay her?

[Hyperion]

I didn't yet, I'm waiting for you to tell me if it's any good, damnit!

[Francisco d Anconia]

Never had it. This guy says it's middle of the road.

I wouldn't pay her a penny over the five bucks she normally gets.

[Hyperion]

Yep, that's it. It tastes ok to me, but I'm not a good judge since I almost never drink liquor.

Only liquor I can comment on are a couple bottles of very high end cachaca, which is sugarcane liquor, that I have received as gifts the last few years. One of them I remember very well because it was so smooth that I could drink it straight, despite being 80 proof. I still remember the next day after drinking about 3/4 of the bottle. My wife was not happy with me. I guess I was 'silly', although I don't remember it. (:

[Francisco d Anconia]

I drink liquor almost exclusively now. I love beer, but I can't drink enough of it to get and maintain a good buzz.

[SweatingGin]

About the same here, although I'm starting to gravitate back to beer since hangovers have turned crippling.

Plus, despite all the yelling about cocktail parties, classic cocktails are awesome.

[Matthew Brown]

If you can't tell, then you're good. Same as with everything else.

If you have cheap tastes, you're LUCKY.

[Hyperion]

I guess I'm good, I just wondered if I got a shitty gift or not. If it was beer, I would be able to tell. Not a drinker of liquor.

[SweatingGin]

There's some amazing tequilas out there. Never heard of that one in particular, but I'm not usually a tequila drinker.

There are some out there you can sip neat like you would scotch. Don Julio 1942. Nothing like a cheap tequila.

[Hyperion]

I just looked it up and it's about $22 a 750ml bottle at the local store. That doesn't mean anything to me. But it sure will make you drunk! My problem is, I have all the right mixers here, but with my wife not being here tonight, I am not sure I am doing the mix right, and I keep forgetting to do the salt on the glass, which makes it better, grrrrr

[SweatingGin]

If you're doing a margarita, this is the recipe you want.

Shake, strain into an up glass.

[Hyperion]

Thanks. I still have most of this bottle, going to give it a try.

Ok, we have all the ingredients, trying this out...

One thing I noticed, is that my wife, when getting the salt on the rim of the glass, she doesn't use a lime, but she takes a stick of butter and runs it around the rim of the glass and then swirls it in a pan of salt. It's beautiful every time she does it. My try, not so good, but still acceptable.

[Hyperion]

Ok. I think I was adding too much lime juice. But I am still not getting what my wife does with it, she's a master of drink mixing, cooking, etc. But I don't pay too much attention to liquor since I don't enjoy the somewhat numbing buzz to the more mellow buzz I get with beer.

[jesse.in.mb]

I got a bottle of Casa Noble Limited Reserve Reposado as a gift 10 years ago and haven't been able to drink most tequilas since.

[sarcasmic]

I live near an egg farm, and that shit stinks. Stinks like chicken shit. Wind doesn't blow it my way that often, but when it does it smells like low property taxes.

We've got a group of homeowners trying to petition the town to do something about it. But unlike these folks, the farm was there first. I'm with the salmonella-laden shit factory.

I agree with those who say the complainers have a legitimate complaint. They were there first.

However the sauce factory only produces Sept to Dec, when the chilis are fresh. Don't know what they do the rest of the time. To force the factory to stop business right now might really fuck them up, but at the same time they are fucking with the lives of everyone downwind.

Dunno.

[sarcasmic]

By "complainers have a legitimate complaint" I'm referring to the hot sauce complainers, not the ones from my lame story.

[Harun]

Thank you for the explanation as to why they only run production for 3 months...that was going to bug me.

[JidaKida]

lol you gotta be kidding me. Seriously?

http://www.PlanetAnon.tk

[David E. Gallaher]

Many years ago down in Tennessee, where, if it were not for kissin' cousins, we would have had no entertainment at all, for a thrill, we'd drive slowly past the Old Black Joe sauerkraut factory... and breathe deeply.
This would have been in Hohenwald, home of the Snip, Snap and Bite Cafe.

[Hyperion]

So, what else happened with that mountain dew bottle, after the spinning?

[Hyperion]

First of all, comrades. I, in due recognition of this being the last story of the night, dub it late nite links of the day. Unless some sneaky Beltwaytarian(sneaky bastards they are), sneak in a later story, just to be the sneaky bastards that they are, you know.

And second. I have taken to watching Ancient Aliens on H2, because it gives me a feeling of being more grounded in reality than anything I hear out of our mainstream media or the Obama administration.

So, when are we getting real late nite links? Listen, you Beltwaytarians, we deserve late nite links! It's a right I tell you!

[Pompey]

That tequila is going down easily I see.

[Hyperion]

It's werkin, comrade.

[General Butt Naked]

Here's a talking points memo article about obama's speechifying today in boston.

The commenters are shrieklike in their slurpitude towards Dear Leader.

Why does the President have to do this? Why can't reporters act with minimum ethical discretion and get the story right, the first time, and every time? Just asking why we can't be reporters again, and stop being stenographers for whoever our sources happen to be.

Yup, that's right. The evil right wing media is trying to kill Dear Leader. To the camps with 'em!

[Old Man With Candy]

Our daughter was keeping up a string of texts to us during that show. I kept asking her why the hell she was wasting her life watching this, even for amusement and a feeling of superiority, and her response (minus the "asshole," "fuckhead," "senile dickwad," and similar epithets) was to ask me why I wasted my life watching the Three Stooges.

[Irish]

A collection of euphemisms reporters came up with to obfuscate the fact that Obama lied.

Favorites:

"sweeping generalizations that can be contradicted by individual experiences"

5. Josh Barro, Business Insider:

"never a reasonable promise?yes, that statement is proving false ? and it's a good thing."

Lies are good if they are in service to the revolutionary truth.

Jesus Christ, Josh. Did you father teach you nothing?

[General Butt Naked]

From the Barro article:

America doesn't have a free-market health care system and hasn't for decades. With taxpayer subsidies so embedded in everybody's plan purchasing decisions, taxpayers have a legitimate interest in ensuring that health plans serve the public interest, not just private interests.

If anything, the biggest problem with the ACA is that too many people are getting to keep their existing health plans.

All for the state, the state for all!

[Irish]

The first paragraph is a good point. We already have an unbelievable amount of government control over health care.

I just don't know how he jumps from "Our system is screwed up due to tax payer subsidies and the third party payer problem" to "Let's give out even more subsidies and exacerbate the third party payer problem."

I don't think Barro thinks his positions through quite as well as dear old dad.

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

That's what really galls me. I can point to a myriad of ways the government regulates insurance, healthcare, and drugs even before ACA and the proggies still insist that we need more government control of healthcare

[Rich]

"I take full responsibility for making sure it gets fixed ASAP."

Even if "ASAP" is *never* -- Mission Accomplished!

[Hyperion]

My favorite is: Every other civilized country on earth has socialized healthcare, why can't we? Costs are lower!

Gawd, this is irritating. How many of these squawkers have lived in any of these 'civilized' countries with socialized healthcare? Please, drop the talking point and tell us why this is so great? Anyone? Tell us why it is so great?

[Irish]

Throughout virtually all of history 'every civilized country' believed imperialism was not only okay, but was an active mandate from God.

Arguing from consensus is the debate style of five year olds and morons. No wonder the left likes it so much.

[Hyperion]

I have the inside scoop on the socialized healthcare for at least one country. Holding my peace on that for now. But it is NOT what they think it is. And I have a feeling that this will prove exactly what they do not want it to. Unless they really believe that lowering the costs for some, increasing it for some, and trashing the quality for all, is a good thing.

[Irish]

There's no one more provincial or less worldly than a modern liberal. They think they're well educated and knowledgeable, but outside of their little gentrified neighborhoods they really do not have much understanding of anything.

I mean, read the article I posted below. The New Republic, left-wing political magazine, published a 2000 word article about working in bed while pantsless. I cannot imagine a libertarian or conservative political magazine publishing something so vapid and meaningless.

[Hyperion]

New Republic. That's all you had to say. The NEW outlet for left wing stupid.

[Hyperion]

New Republic. That's all you had to say. The NEW outlet for left wing stupid.

[Snark Plissken]

Well, I live in a country with socialized medicine and it's not that bad actually. Not that I ever really use it, but the kid gets good pediatric care. They seem to get by paying very low wages and the hospitals aren't exactly glitzy.

[Irish]

Not that I ever really use it, but the kid gets good pediatric care. They seem to get by paying very low wages and the hospitals aren't exactly glitzy.

That's the crux of the issue. In England, they've recently had a large number of issues which have actually led for calls for NHS 'reform.' This came to a head when a woman was staying with her mother at a hospital and her mom was not given pain medication for something like 4 hours while she was suffering. The woman then saw that patients were not being fed and that some of them were lying on beds that had been soiled and no one bothered to clean up.

If you don't have to use it that often, it isn't a particularly big deal. It just becomes one when you see the inefficiencies and a loved one of yours isn't getting treatment due to poorly run hospitals.

[Snark Plissken]

Why is that the crux of the matter? That I don't use it? My kid uses it a lot, the wife does occasionally, inlaws have had hip replacements, heart surgery. It can be pretty mediocre for sure, but no horror stories. I suspect it works much better than the NHS, though I've no idea how bad the NHS actually is. Czech Republic is rather small and homogeneous and I suspect that helps socialized systems work better.

There are also private hospitals here.

[Irish]

The New Republic continues its long and storied history of journalistic excellence.

As I Lay Lying
Standing desks are taking over, so I worked from bed to protest

Certain events seem inevitable only in retrospect. For instance: Was it determined the moment I decided to work from bed for an entire week that I would not be wearing pants come Thursday? OK, probably. Four days seems the right amount of time for the logic of pantslessness to break the will of anyone who resists it.

(Snip)

Christopher Buckley, meanwhile, approved of my experiment. "My all-time favorite position is on a couch," he wrote:

And not just any couch: a particular couch that seems to conform to my back?with laptop. The problem is that laptops tend to get hot and one's ... how to put it, delicate parts end up getting rather toasty. But I suppose poached testicles are preferable to carpal tunnel. Either way, one must suffer for one's art.

(Snip)

My water intake dropped to almost zero, which I never noticed until I went outside on some errand and found myself desperately thirsty after a few minutes of leisurely walking.

I'm beginning to see why Michelle Obama's "Drink Water" campaign is so necessary. Without it, all of the New Republic's writers would die of thirst.

[Snark Plissken]

Hey Michelle, the body's homeostatic thirst feedback mechanism has been refined by millions of years of evolution. Why not just trust in it? This obsession with telling people to drink 8 liters a day and carry a fucking water bottle when one venture's out to check the mail is as much an example of the stupidity of Top Men as anything else.

[Snark Plissken]

It even managed to kick in for this neckbeard as soon as he got off the couch, unfortunately.

[Hyperion]

Wow, I always wanted to know why Libertarians are so bad. And now I know!

Libertarians, BAD! Republicans/Democrats Good!

LOL, read the comments for extra derp!

[Irish]

That's bizarre too because DC is actually generally sympathetic to libertarians, at least compared to other right-wing sites.

I guess they'll sympathize with our philosophy so long as we completely jettison our principles and vote Republican come election time.

[Hyperion]

Irish, I mean... read the fucking comments... they don't have any idea what a libertarian is. I wanted to actually register for the site and try to educate them, but I was too busy at work...

[Francisco d Anconia]

You aren't registered to Disqus? Dear Zod man, do you live in a bubble?

[Hyperion]

Nope, I'm not. These days, I only post here. I work, a lot...

[Irish]

First comment:

Trylogic ? 3 days ago ?
Big government is big government whether it comes in through the door on the left or the door on the right.
60 3 ?Reply?Share ?

That's the top rated comment. Seems to be on our side.

Texas Chris Wigglesworth ? 3 days ago ?
Because Reason.com isn't libertarian, they're Beltwaytarian.

for true libertarianism, you have to go to LewRockwell.com.

Hell, this sounds like something some of our very own puritans would say, and it has 23 thumbs up and zero thumbs down.

There are a good number of pro-libertarian comments on there, and they're some of the top rated in the comment section. I don't know if you're reading a different comment section than I am, but it seems like there's a pretty good split between pro-libertarian and anti-libertarian.

lungshot ? 2 days ago ?
Because Jesus told people to take care of the poor, not create laws that steal from people to do so.
13 ?Reply?Share ?

Douglas Mortimer lungshot ? 2 days ago
It is one thing to care for the poor, which we are obligated to do. It is another thing to force people to finance overbloated welfare programs that do not address the issue and in the long run denigrate the poor. Why people cannot see that these are two separate issues baffles me.

Other than the word obligated, the above comments make sense to me. Where is this hardcore anti-libertarian bias that you're seeing?

[jesse.in.mb]

When did Beltwaytarian become a thing? Hyperion's been using it all night, and now it's in that comment.

[Irish]

When did Beltwaytarian become a thing?

Probably around the time they realized Cosmotarian sounds fucktarded. Once they realize that Beltwaytarian also sounds fucktarded, I wonder what new word they'll come up with.

[Hyperion]

OMG, you guys are making me laugh so much, and that's even before the possible Rand Paul blockage of the '' confirmation...

[Hyperion]

Haha, Jesse, apparently you did NOT read that article on the DailyCaller. Pay attention, guy, and stop blaming it on the Hype.

[jesse.in.mb]

Are you talking to the one posted up at 10:34? You'd be using it for at least 4 hours before that.

[Hyperion]

Nope, Jesse. That article is classic derp. I suppose I have to be the one to do the research, again, before you have to hear it more.... sigh....

[Hyperion]

Are you talking to the one posted up at 10:34?

Jesse, do you think that if I came up with that, that I would not be proclaiming proud ownership? Really? Late to the party? Enjoy, love ya bro.

[Hyperion]

Good gawd man, did they erase all of the anti-libertarian comments? Sure, there is a time gap, but the comments were classic statist and anti-libertarian earlier today. Glad to hear that i't changing in our favor.

[John]

Republicans just don't get that libertarians care deeply about the culture war and social issues and that is the primary sorts of issues they vote on. At some point you would think the dems would figure that out and throw them a bone or two on economics and get their votes. As for the republicans, sucks to be them since there are probably more socons than libertarians. Maybe they can run on welfare or something that soft liberals would like and libertarians would not like and be willing to ignore so it wouldn't matter if the socons got pissed and left

[Hyperion]

I didn't understand what you just said.

Are you saying that Libertarians have no place in either party?

Sure, with the Dems, I agree they have no home now. But Republicans? At least there are a few of us and there is hope.

[VG Zaytsev]

He's butthurt over the Cooch hate.

I'm not butthurt by it by I do agree with him that there's a lot of culture war in cosmos beltwaytarians.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Eh, conservatives and libertarians can get along pretty well so long as neither group really talks too much to the other about their aesthetic preferences (which is most of what social issues are).

Funny thing is, SoCons actually have a decent intuition on what is and is not an aesthetic value. Pretty much the one thing that SoCons vote on (abortion) is not an aesthetic value. In contrast, I've seen many libertarians reject the Pauls on account of their apparently sincere Christianity (which is the perfect example of an aesthetic value). There are also some undeserved attempts to equivocate certain constructed equality petitions with standard libertarian non-coercive politics (e.g., gay marriage).

IMO it would be fairly easy for both groups to find common ground with one another, as neither group is particularly well-served by the current R tastemakers.

[SugarFree]

Pretty much the one thing that SoCons vote on (abortion) is not an aesthetic value.

It's good that you wanted this late to say something this silly.

[Death Rock and Skull]

Tonight's South Park was pretty good, I felt, for comedy AND libertarian reasons. Let's just give a pass on "Stand Your Ground" for now because I don't think we'll ever understand what exactly they were trying to say.

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

Does anyone really want Boston to feel happiness? I don't.

[Hyperion]

The city?

It's a bastion of progressiveness and the climate is shit on your sandwich. What hope is there in wishing?

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

I'm going to have to not watch Sportscenter for the next few days to avoid all that Boston Strong bullshit that's going to be regurgitated ad nauseum.

[Hyperion]

I've noticed that it's not only me, but that your favorite sports teams are not necessarily tied to your current location.

Oh, and fuck Jan Brady and the Patriots.

[Kid Xenocles]

Ha! Fuck all y'all!

[Knarf Yenrab (prev. An0nB0t)]

Not to worry, as it's far from certain that Puritan-haunted Boston knows what happiness is.

[Tman]

HAHAHAHA SUCK IT HATERS. THREE RINGS IN TEN YEARS. IM RUNNING OUT OF CHAMPAGNE.

[Francisco d Anconia]

Okay. I've gutted it out through the hideous season 3 of BSG. I'm on season 4 and just got to Earth. But I swear to Christ, if I see 1 fucking flying motorcycle, I'm turning it off for good!

[jesse.in.mb]

Was season 3 the one with Fat Lee Adama? I don't recognize fat Jamie Bamber as canonical.

[Francisco d Anconia]

Yes. Fat Apollo and loopy fucking Starbuck.

[jesse.in.mb]

Oy, do we have a way of doing spoiler warnings on H&R? Like white text or black background?

can this be read without copying and pasting?

[Francisco d Anconia]

We finally really did it. You Maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!

[Sevo]

"But I swear to Christ, if I see 1 fucking flying motorcycle, I'm turning it off for good!"

Just got Pipes "The Russian Revolution". ( http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb.....ds=russian revolution pipes&sprefix=russian+rev,stripbooks,171 )
Only 40 pages or so into it, but he admits that an honest historian cannot treat human activities as earthquakes or hurricanes; to do so is to renounce human moral agency. And it seems he is more than willing to identify thugs and doesn't like them.
Prolly better than most any TV series.

[Jordan]

The Cleveland Browns make an appearance in the series finale (well they might as well have, anyway).

[Jordan]

Is season 3 the one where they won't shut the fuck up about the War On Terror, er Cylons?

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

Season 4 does have one last awesome story arc.

But after that you best brace yourself for disappointment.

[jesse.in.mb]

ON Topic: I just heated up some freezer gyoza only to realize I had no sauce to dip them in. a little sesame oil, soy, mirin, ground sesame and a whole lotta sriracha and I was good to go.

[Knarf Yenrab (prev. An0nB0t)]

http://nationalinterest.org/bo.....gogue-9282

Amity Schlaes delivers on a review of Berg's Woodrow Wilson biography. I never tire of watching paleos and libertarians drag Wilson's corpse from the grave for just one more thrashing.

[Hyperion]

Because no one seems to believe me, not sure why:

It didn't happen, I didn't say it

Yeah, look, these morons are trashing us libertarians throughout the comments, not even having any idea what a libertarian is. And yes, beltwaytarians is our new label....

[jesse.in.mb]

FTA:

Intolerant? Let me give you a good example of what happens when someone like Cucinelli drags his morals into the public square. As attorney general, Cuccinelli fought to get a wrongly-accused man out of jail ? and focused on compassionate conservative issues like human trafficking and child pornography. (If you doubt his sincerity, his youngest son is named Maximilian William Wilberforce Cuccinelli ? after Maximilian Kolbe and William Wilberforce.)

It's kind of horrible that fighting to get a wrongly accused man out of jail should be an act of moral heroism to libertarians.

I'd also like to know if we're talking women being abducted from Hmong villages on the border of China trafficking or the more broadly defined version that includes all prostitution. That nuance makes a huge difference between being a mensch and being a nanny with too much time on his hands.

[Harry A. Ness]

I live not too far from this factory. Irwindale is one of those industrial/factory areas. It's not like a real city. According to wikipedia it's got 1422 people. Compare that with it's neighbor, that is smaller in size (area), Baldwin Park which has about 75,000 people. So if you live in Irwindale, being around a factory or weird smells, or loud noies (trucks and gravel pits) is a part of life. It's also home to Miller Brewing, which you can smell from far away; not to mention how it pollutes the entire country with crappy beer.

What I find amazing is how big that factory is. "650,000-square-foot (60,000 sq m) factory just to process and bottle its Sriracha. One of the few data points Tran will reveal about Huy Fong is that it processed some 100 million pounds (45 million kilograms) of fresh chilies last year over the course of its harvest season, which lasts only 10 weeks and provides for the entirety of the company's yearlong Sriracha sales."

http://qz.com/132738/the-highl.....hot-sauce/

[JidaKida]

OK now thats the most absurd thing I have EVER heard!

http://www.PlanetAnon.tk

[Xmas]

Places outside the US I've seen Sriracha and consumed hot sauce:
Copenhagen, Denmark
Taipei, Taiwan
Johannesburg, South Africa

Can anyone else add to the list?