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Politics

Tonight on The Independents: Red Meat Wednesday, With Ron Paul, Nick Gillespie, Dave Barry, Andy Levy, and…John Bolton!

Matt Welch | 4.16.2014 7:53 PM

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The Welch reign of error in the hosting chair ends on tonight's The Independents (9 p.m. ET, 6 p.m. PT, on Fox Business Network, with repeats three hours later). But that's not why you want to watch this program. You want to watch this program because it's Red Meat Wednesday, and that means hulking slabs of libertariany goodness, quivering and bleeding right there on the plate.

Like…Ron Paul! The gentleman obstetrician from Texas gives us his take on the Bundy conflict in Nevada, talks about his threat to defy the Internal Revenue Service's orders that his 501(c)4 Campaign For Liberty disclose the names of all its donors, and defends publishing at the Ron Paul Institute website a Paul Craig Roberts essay with this sentence:

The conclusion is increasingly difficult to avoid that elements of the US government blew up three New York skyscrapers in order to destroy Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Iran, and Hezbollah and to launch the US on the neoconservatives agenda of US world hegemony.

Reason heartthrob Nick Gillespie will be on to slag Enemy of Freedom Michael Bloomberg, who's making news this week by A) announcing a $50 million spend to defeat pro-gun control politicians, and B) giving this quote to The New York Times:

Pointing to his work on gun safety, obesity and smoking cessation, he said with a grin: "I am telling you if there is a God, when I get to heaven I'm not stopping to be interviewed. I am heading straight in. I have earned my place in heaven. It's not even close."

Best-selling funnyman Dave Barry has given two of the most memorable interviews in Reason history: One to Glenn Garvin in 1994 (sample quote: "I don't have any insight or understanding on anything about the government. All I think is that it's stupid—which is the one perspective that's almost completely lacking in Washington"), and one that was memorable mostly to me because it involved gashing my finger on a Budweiser can and actively sucking up blood while he answered questions. Barry's on to talk about his new book, You Can Date Boys When You're Forty: Dave Barry on Parenting and Other Topics He Knows Very Little About.

The Party Panel tonight is the odd couple of TV's Andy Levy (Red Eye, super-libertarian) and…former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton! The two will talk (natch) about smoking weed, the New York Police Department's termination of its Muslim-surveillance unit, Rand Paul's foreign policy beliefs, and the big new Al Qaeda party video.

And finally, the lovely and super-chill independent Jedediah Bila—who, it was announced today, will be a regular co-host on a new four-ladies-against-one-dude Fox show called Outnumbered—will share with the class what she's learned this week while subbing in for Kennedy. Who will be back Friday, the end.

Check out The Independents Facebook page, follow us on Twitter, and click here for video of past segments.

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

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NEXT: Rand Paul: Is Explicitly Threatening Nuclear War Necessary to Run for President?

Matt Welch is an editor at large at Reason.

PoliticsThe IndependentsWorldWar on DrugsCulturePolicyRon PaulMichael BloombergRand PaulForeign PolicySurveillanceMarijuana
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  1. Jesus H. Christ   11 years ago

    John Bolton has never met a brown person he didn't want to kill.

    AAAANNNDD First!

    1. Jesus H. Christ   11 years ago

      I should say "he didn't want someone else to kill".

    2. Sudden   11 years ago

      I'm calling bullshit.

      There are plenty of tin pot dictators and aspiring juntas he would much rather install as leaders of a country due to cozy relationships for western interests.

      Adopting the "Dat's RACISSSS!!1!1!!" meme of the left does libertarians no service.

      1. Jesus H. Christ   11 years ago

        I'll admit I have not studied Bolton's entire career, but there seems to be no opportunity for violent conflict with non-whites that he opposed. Maybe he's not a racist. Maybe he's willing to "kill em all and let God sort it out", but he has no compunction against the mass slaughter of poor brown people under the flimsiest of excuses.

        1. Dances-with-Trolls   11 years ago

          I doubt the color matters at all to him. It's always seemed to me that his warboner throbs so badly all the time he doesn't care what he sticks it in it's just got to go in somewhere.

          1. Sudden   11 years ago

            Ya. I think he's pretty intent on mobilizing NATO toward the Ukranian front and going full WARBONER on the Ruskies.

            Russians were still considered white last I checked.

        2. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

          Dude. Right now he's advocating for war against Russia, which is a country dominated by an ethnicity largely composed of various white peoples. Likewise, he has no problem with African and Asian countries which are our regional partners in the GWoT. Bolton is not a racist -- he's an idiot.

          1. NebulousFocus   11 years ago

            ^ Yes.

    3. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

      John Bolton has never met a brown person he didn't want to kill.

      Sure he has -- the brown people fighting in our ranks, and the brown people living in client nations.

      For that matter, he hasn't met a white person he didn't want to kill either, provided that white person lives somewhere other than the safe quasi-protectorates we established in Western Europe.

  2. Grand Moff Serious Man   11 years ago

    Like...Ron Paul! The gentleman obstetrician from Texas gives us his take on the Bundy conflict in Nevada, talks about his threat to defy the Internal Revenue Service's orders that his 501(c)4 Campaign For Liberty disclose the names of all its donors

    Does the honorable gentleman live on a property that could be called a "compound" by the media when it falls under siege by the Feds?

  3. DEG   11 years ago

    I just finished a bottle of Lancaster Brewing's Hop Hog. Who's drinking what?

    1. RannedPall   11 years ago

      Scotch

      1. Raven Nation   11 years ago

        Can you be more specific?

        1. RannedPall   11 years ago

          Glenlivet 12 year. Because I'm a student and can't afford anything more expensive.

    2. Episiarch   11 years ago

      Fuck you, I don't get to have anything for 3.5-4 more hours.

      1. DEG   11 years ago

        That's not my problem.

        1. Episiarch   11 years ago

          Clearly I need to find a way to make it your problem.

          1. SweatingGin   11 years ago

            You silly west coast non-day-drinkers

            1. Episiarch   11 years ago

              I have to say that I miss my old East Coast Privilege(TM).

            2. RannedPall   11 years ago

              Hey, I'm from LA, and I'm drinking. And about to leave to get ingredients for dinner. Clam and white wine linguini.

              1. Episiarch   11 years ago

                And I'm still at work until 6 or later, then I drive home, then I go lift, and then I finally come home and get to have a drink. Here in Seattle we actually work, unlike you drunk Los Angelinos.

                (Man, I wish I could be already drinking.)

                1. RannedPall   11 years ago

                  Ha. Working in Seattle? Please. I wake up early, lift, then go to either school or work. And I am drinking the entire time. Everyone knows that the "workers" in Seattle are either in coffee shops or in seafood markets, tossing around their fish.

          2. DEG   11 years ago

            Good luck

            1. Episiarch   11 years ago

              I'm reporting you to the webmaster right now.

              1. DEG   11 years ago

                OK

    3. SweatingGin   11 years ago

      Homemade wine

    4. sarcasmic   11 years ago

      Cheap gin and Polar diet orange dry. Seriously. It's not bad.

      1. jesse.in.mb   11 years ago

        I seem to remember Polar grapefruit being delicious. It's been a long time though.

    5. Sudden   11 years ago

      When my time comes to drink (in a few hours), I'm looking at The Bruery's Trippel Tonnelleire. I'll be pairing it with a pasta carbonara probably.

      1. DEG   11 years ago

        If I could find their stuff up here in New England or in Pennsylvania, I'd pick it up. What I've read about them sounds good.

        1. Sudden   11 years ago

          I'd be happy to do a beer trade package at some point. I can send you a few different California craft brewers in exchange for some of the northeastern stuff I can't find.

          That said, my Bruery preservation society bottles are the ones I cannot part with.

          1. DEG   11 years ago

            I'm game. Selection in NH isn't as good as in Massachusetts, but between the two I have pretty good coverage for New England.

            This e-mail address is sort-of a throw-away account. I do check it, just not very often. dgroves140 at gmail dot com.

            1. sarcasmic   11 years ago

              You guys ever shipped beer before?
              Besides being illegal, it can get shaken up enough during transit for crimp caps to leak if not shipped vertical. I learned the latter bit the hard way. (Sent a bagged bomber stored sideways in a package to my dad, and it had leaked enough for the box to smell like beer when he got it. Didn't know at the time that it was illegal (not that that would have stopped me), and thankfully no one that cared noticed.)

              1. DEG   11 years ago

                If I had shipped beer through the postal service (which is illegal as you say), I would have heavily wrapped the bottles in bubble wrap and shipped them not during the really cold or really hot weather. If I had done so, I would not have been caught and not had anything leak or break.

                All hypothetically speaking of course because it is illegal.

                1. sarcasmic   11 years ago

                  If you ever hypothetically do it again, I recommend you keep the hypothetical bottles vertical with a THIS SIDE UP sticker on the box.

                  1. DEG   11 years ago

                    I haven't hypothetically done that... but... it is a good idea for any hypothetical future endeavors. Thanks!

                2. Sudden   11 years ago

                  I'll touch base with you in a couple weeks when I have time for such endeavors. In the meantime, make note of anything you don't get out that way that is distributed in California and I'll make an effort to acquire such.

                  1. DEG   11 years ago

                    Will do, thanks!

    6. Dances-with-Trolls   11 years ago

      Bombay Sapphire and grape Gatorade. Refreshing.

      1. kibby   11 years ago

        That's a very interesting flavor combination.

        1. Dances-with-Trolls   11 years ago

          I discovered it as a bartender while working a very busy outside bar during the summer.

          1. sarcasmic   11 years ago

            That's a waste of expensive gin.

    7. BiMonSciFiCon   11 years ago

      Baker's, when the time comes. (After the gym, in time for the repeat)

    8. Derpetologist   11 years ago

      Whatever I can find at the gas station up the road.

    9. Matt Welch   11 years ago

      Dogfish Head.

      1. DEG   11 years ago

        Is this episode pre-taped or live? If live, my hat is off to you.

        1. Matt Welch   11 years ago

          You are all very close to figuring it out on your own!

          1. DEG   11 years ago

            I have to up early tomorrow, so I'm going to be able to stay up and watch the show. I'll read the thread tomorrow and find out.

            1. DEG   11 years ago

              erg... "so I'm not going to be able"

      2. Grand Moff Serious Man   11 years ago

        We are all still waiting for the show to go retro and allow the hosts and guests to drink and chain smoke on camera.

        1. Sudden   11 years ago

          Christopher Hitchens and William Buckley approve.

          1. PapayaSF   11 years ago

            Is that even legal these days?

            1. neoteny   11 years ago

              That's why I was surprised by that picture of Sebelius with a cigarette in her hand in a closed area.

      3. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

        4/25

        Arbor Day Song.

        Do it.

        1. Matt Welch   11 years ago

          It will definitely be suggested!

          1. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

            Your devotion to giving us fan service is appreciated.

      4. RannedPall   11 years ago

        Meh, the dogfish head 90 IPA is okay. I prefer the stellar stone IPA to dogfish. Or Pliny the elder.

        1. Matt Welch   11 years ago

          Sometimes you are in a circumstance with limited selections.

          1. sarcasmic   11 years ago

            So they were out of Miller Lite?

          2. RannedPall   11 years ago

            Nonsense, I thought all libertarians ran huge underground breweries and distilleries, all without permits. Least that's what teh universities taught me.

            1. PapayaSF   11 years ago

              I thought they just stole it from poorer, weaker people.

      5. Episiarch   11 years ago

        Uh, which Dogfish Head, Matt? IT MATTERS.

        (Not really, all their stuff is good. Have you had the Raison d'Etra?)

        1. DEG   11 years ago

          I'd be impressed if Matt drank a bottle of Immort Ale on air.

        2. Matt Welch   11 years ago

          The aforementioned 90 Minute Imperial.

    10. Bobarian   11 years ago

      Four Roses

    11. BigT   11 years ago

      Smuttynose Robust Porter

    12. BuSab Agent   11 years ago

      MD 20/20. Shut up!

  4. Grand Moff Serious Man   11 years ago

    Meanwhile, Paul the Younger weighs in on the Bundy Ranch situation

    Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) criticized the federal response to rancher Cliven Bundy, becoming the first GOP 2016 presidential hopeful to weigh in on the issue.

    Paul slammed the federal government's show of force in the dispute, which culminated in a standoff at Bundy's ranch between police and his supporters, including armed members of militia groups.

    Paul responded directly to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who accused Bundy of violating the law by allowing his cattle to graze without paying fees.

    "I think there's an opposite thing to what Harry Reid said, and that's the federal government shouldn't violate the law, nor should we have 48 federal agencies carrying weapons and having SWAT teams," Paul said Tuesday in a radio interview with WHAS in Louisville, Ky.

    Paul said Bundy's family had leased the land from the county government for generations until the federal government took control of it, and federal officials ought to return the land to local control...

    At the same time, Paul said Bundy and his supporters should settle their dispute in court.

    "Can everybody decide what the law is on their own? No, there has to be a legal process," he said. "But I think there is definitely a philosophic debate over who should own the land.

    1. Episiarch   11 years ago

      Amazing to see a politician whose first response isn't a veiled (or not so veiled) threat to someone defying the government in any way.

      1. DEG   11 years ago

        It is unusual, and in my darker moods I think that will prevent him from going anywhere beyond the Senate.

        1. Episiarch   11 years ago

          Only time will tell.

  5. SweatingGin   11 years ago

    I asked in PM links, and got one (1!) taker. Offering one last time.

    One-year paid subscriptions to Jeffrey Tucker's Liberty.me. I bought one at an early date, and it came with extras. It's a social network with forums/ebooks/chat/etc.

    I'll need a real name/email. Send it to: SweatingGin@pobox.com

    Two left, send a quick message with name/email and I'll get set.

    1. SweatingGin   11 years ago

      One claimed! Last one!

    2. SweatingGin   11 years ago

      Closed it out, emails sent to liberty.me folks, no clue how quick they'll be on that.

  6. Grand Moff Serious Man   11 years ago

    Princeton conducts scientific examination of US democracy, concludes we are really an oligarchy

    For their study, Gilens and Page compiled data from roughly 1,800 different policy initiatives in the years between 1981 and 2002. They then compared those policy changes with the expressed opinion of the United State public. Comparing the preferences of the average American at the 50th percentile of income to what those Americans at the 90th percentile preferred, as well as the opinions of major lobbying or business groups, the researchers found out that the government followed the directives set forth by the latter two much more often.

    It's beyond alarming. As Gilens and Page write, "the preferences of the average American appear to have only a minuscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy." In other words, their statistics say your opinion literally does not matter.

    That might explain why mandatory background checks on gun sales supported by 83% to 91% of Americans aren't in place, or why Congress has taken no action on greenhouse gas emissions even when such legislation is supported by the vast majority of citizens.

    At least things aren't completely awful.

    1. Episiarch   11 years ago

      Amazing how they completely fail to understand the difference between politicians being stopped from enacting something because of Constitutional restrictions ("mandatory background checks on gun sales"), and politicians enacting something even though the public supposedly doesn't want it (Obamacare, regulations, etc.).

      Of course, that's because they don't even seem to realize the US is supposed to be a federal republic and not a democracy, but expecting them to not be morons is asking a lot.

      1. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

        Of course, in the case of the two examples given it is fairly obvious why there has been no action taken:

        In the case of mandatory gun sales, it is because most people don't give a shit, and among the group that cares about the issue enough to vote on it, the gun-banners have far, far less support than the RKBA crowd does. IOW, the current state is a perfect expression of the public will insofar as 'the public' in ambivalent enough that it is fine with letting the people who care about the issue have their way on public policy.

        In the case of greenhouse gas emissions, it is that 'action on greenhouse gas emissions' bumps up against things that the public actually cares about -- taxes, transportation, and the price of consumer and household goods. So yeah, no shit 'action' hasn't been taken -- the people have decided that they prefer their money and cars, just like a dieter might make the choice that they prefer losing weight over eating chocolate cake (even though they like both). Again, not an example of democracy failing -- an example of democracy making a mature choice based on the options available.

        Ugh, I hate defending democracy.

    2. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

      The machinery of a representative republic protecting against the inherent irrationality of mob rule would be called an "oligarchy" by the idiots at Princeton.

    3. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

      Granted, I'm not really a fan of democracy in its universalist, messianic form -- but this is a fucking retarded study, given that all preferences are not equal. The preferences in question should be weighted in some manner before blithely asserting what the study wishes to state -- if there are 6 issues being considered, and the general public has strong preferences on 3 of them but cares very little about the other three, it makes more sense to evaluate the former issues and whether they are reflected in public policy than to take an unweighted average of all three and make some determination.

      (That is one among many problems with the study.)

    4. Grand Moff Serious Man   11 years ago

      Yes, totally scientific and unbiased:

      And no, this isn't a problem that's the result of any recent Supreme Court cases ? at least certainly not the likes FEC v. Citizens United or FEC v. McCutcheon. The data is pretty clear that America has been sliding steadily into oligarchy for decades, mirrored in both the substantive effect on policy and in the distribution of wealth throughout the U.S. But cases like those might indicate the process is accelerating.

      "Perhaps economic elites and interest group leaders enjoy greater policy expertise than the average citizen does," Gilens and Page write. "Perhaps they know better which policies will benefit everyone, and perhaps they seek the common good, rather than selfish ends, when deciding which policies to support.

      "But we tend to doubt it."

      Yes, I should totally trust and rely on the people surrounding me in this library I am sitting in to dictate what freedoms I may enjoy and what kind of regulatory bullshit I must contend with on a daily basis.

      1. Derpetologist   11 years ago

        Is it bad if I say that rich people tend to be smarter and more enthusiastic about freedom and capitalism?

        The 90th percentile for income in the US is about $143,000.

        1. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

          As far as I have been able to ascertain, the super-rich have been a very weak sister when it comes to defending classical liberty -- both at home and abroad. The upper middle class (and the middle class more generally) has been more capable at such than those at the tails of wealth distribution, generally speaking.

          1. Episiarch   11 years ago

            The super-rich have very little direct or utilitarian motivation to defend classical liberty, because the super-rich will usually be completely insulated from restricted liberty. That's one of the perks of being filthy stinking rich. Unless they have a moral motivation (and let's face it, many people don't feel a moral motivation to defend liberty), why would they bother?

            1. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

              The super-rich have very little direct or utilitarian motivation to defend classical liberty, because the super-rich will usually be completely insulated from restricted liberty.

              Precisely. In Nicaragua many of the super-rich supported Ortega and the Contras when my dad was doing business there; they all lived in gated communities with private guards and literally no interaction with the outside world. The police never patrolled there, and their interaction with the government amounted to paying off/toying with the regime in power. There wasn't a chance in hell that they would ever be affected by anything short of full-scale communism and nationalization of those communities.

              1. PapayaSF   11 years ago

                Oh, I think they're being affected now....

      2. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

        Well, let's be fair. I don't think the researchers claimed it was "scientific". The journalists reporting it confused, as they always do, "empirical research" with "science/scientific research," which is a type of empirical research.

      3. sarcasmic   11 years ago

        Oh no! The rich and the corporations control the government! But the government is us! We the people! Except we don't control it (us, we the people), because it's been hijacked by the rich and the corporations! I know! Lets give government (us, since we are government) more power so it can control the rich and the corporations that control it, us, whatever. Power to the people!

        What could possibly go wrong?

        1. Coeus   11 years ago

          We need to put that in a bot that seeks out articles with the key words "oligarchy" "corporations are people" and "libertards".

          1. sarcasmic   11 years ago

            Except that you can't reason someone out of a conclusion they arrived at by emotion.

            1. Coeus   11 years ago

              True. I received an excellent example that today.

    5. Suthenboy   11 years ago

      That is a huge pile of steaming mendacity right there.

  7. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

    John Bolton and Ron Paul in the same show. Fuck, that's a recipe for some fine trolling of both sides, or foreign policy idiocy the likes of which has never before been seen by the likes of us.

    Also, the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity continues to be the gift that keeps on giving, generously obliging the left's need for quotes damaging to libertarianism by variously getting its dictator apologia on or (in this case) stroking the conspiracists' boners. So far, the one thing it seems to be guaranteeing is a lack of Peace and Prosperity for Rand Paul in the primary season.

    1. Calidissident   11 years ago

      The left or the neocon right? Or both, I guess. But I figure that the people most likely to agree with the Paul Institute's take on foreign policy, aside from that brand of libertarian, are far-left conspiracy theorists and paleocons. A lot of the Putin apologists on the web are left-leaning.

      1. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

        The left or the neocon right?

        Tbh, Paul and Bolton represent the paleo and neo rightists moreso than any particular element on the left... and they represent their respective camps quite poorly. Should be a fun night *rolls eyes*

        I figure that the people most likely to agree with the Paul Institute's take on foreign policy, aside from that brand of libertarian, are far-left conspiracy theorists and paleocons.

        I think the Putin-worship is more likely among paleo-cons than leftists, at least outside of the hard-left variety. Pretty much everyone who supports Putin outside of Russia is either a) some sort of Eurotrash white supremacist Nazi, b) Soviet romanticists, or c) Russian/Orthodox unionists. Chavez and other declared leftists are more to leftists' liking.

        1. Calidissident   11 years ago

          "Tbh, Paul and Bolton represent the paleo and neo rightists moreso than any particular element on the left"

          I know. My line was in response to your part about giving the left quote material. I think the neocon right would probably use it even more so.

          Paleocons may be more likely to support Putin, but they're also a much smaller group than leftists are. A lot of far leftists defend him out of an instinctive sense of anti-Americanism

          1. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

            Neocons would use it big time in the primary; leftists would use it in the general.

            'Look at those craaaaaaazy conservatives, now they're nominating 9/11 troofers!'

          2. Sudden   11 years ago

            Paleocons may be more likely to support Putin, but they're also a much smaller group than leftists are. A lot of far leftists defend him out of an instinctive sense of anti-Americanism

            Less and less support on the Left for Putin. He lost a big chunk of support when he dared cross TEH GHEYZ!

            1. Calidissident   11 years ago

              To be fair, I'm talking more on the fringes of the left. And the people may not be pro-Putin as much as defensive of Russian foreign policy out of a reflexive opposition to America or at least the US government's foreign policy

    2. Cytotoxic   11 years ago

      Ron Paul: neocons best weapon against his son and his politics.

  8. Derpetologist   11 years ago

    Behold the new low the Simpsons have sunk too:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkPcbvX5Fvo

    1. Coeus   11 years ago

      I kinda saw that as a swipe at the idiots yelling "wreckers". But perhaps I'm being too charitable.

      1. Derpetologist   11 years ago

        I guess the joke is Team Red is evil but Team Blue is inept?

        Weak.

        1. Coeus   11 years ago

          Yeah, given the leanings of the show, that's more likely than "they are all always lying" meaning I would have assigned to it.

  9. Derpetologist   11 years ago

    Here is the most long-winded version I have ever seen of the 2-part consensus/deniers-are-oil-company shills argument:

    The common misconception among deniers is that climate change science is coming from the government, which is just about as accurate as saying vaccination science is coming from the government, or evolutionary science is coming from the government. Just because the government accepts the widely researched scientific concensus on a subject and adopts policy to reflect that, does not at all mean that information is coming from "the government". Climate change has been widely researched since the 1970s, and ALL of the effects that were widely discussed then ARE happening now. We are seeing climate change happening, as predicted decades ago. The official position of EVERY government in the entire world has accepted the fact that not only is climate change real, but is being greatly exacerbated by human activity.

  10. Derpetologist   11 years ago

    Cont'd

    The ironic thing is that everyone that claims that this is all an agenda of the government's of all the world's nations is somehow rooted in some evil grab for power, when in fact the only entity fighting against the science is the most powerful corporations in human history. In fact literally every single source that refutes climate science can be traced back to the most wealthy and monied and nefarious interests in known history, big oil and coal. Literally every single source, there is not one credible source that refutes AGW that is not linked to the most monied interests of all. The very small amount of credible peer review scientists that actually do deny AGW, don't even deny It at all, they simply speculate that it may not be as bad as it has been thought to be, or that the amount of it being influenced by man is up for debate. But there is literally not one single credible scientific source in the entire world that flat out denies AGW. It IS happening, we see it in the strange weather extremes, the shifting on animal migratory patterns, breeding habits, growth patterns of fungi and plants. These are not things that have an agenda. Because I am out in nature all the time and speak with a multitude of biologists and nature hobbyists of all kinds and EVERY single one of them agrees that these changes are happening exactly as predicted, I have no reason whatsoever to even for a moment consider that oil lobbyists are right.

    1. Rev Match   11 years ago

      Are you sure this wasn't written by The Onion?

      1. Derpetologist   11 years ago

        Oh, how I wish it was...

    2. Coeus   11 years ago

      when in fact the only entity fighting against the science is the most powerful corporations in human history. In fact literally every single source that refutes climate science can be traced back to the most wealthy and monied and nefarious interests in known history, big oil and coal. Literally every single source, there is not one credible source that refutes AGW that is not linked to the most monied interests of all.

      That is a bold claim. Where'd the quote come from?

      1. Derpetologist   11 years ago

        A Derpbook prog.

        I tried to talk to him about Roy Spencer and Michael Crichton to no avail.

        1. Coeus   11 years ago

          There's also Dr. Murray Salby

  11. Rufus J. Firefly   11 years ago

    Hello.

    Just in from my run.

  12. Spencer   11 years ago

    I listen on XM radio and I have to say that Matt hosting is WAY GODDAMNED BETTER than Kennedy- at least when it comes to listening and not looking...

    She's too kinetic and talks over the guests too much.

  13. Calidissident   11 years ago

    I see American showed up and went psycho in the thread last night. For a while, I was starting to think he might actually be Frazier Glenn Miller.

    1. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

      I was in a wifi dead-ish zone, so I didn't stick around for the show, but he really didn't take kindly to my observation that he was a likely candidate to shoot up Jewish community centers.

      I believe you say "lulz" in today's vernacular.

      1. Calidissident   11 years ago

        I posted in a thread on Sunday that the wikipedia description of Miller's views was a dead-on description of American's craziness.

        "He is an advocate of white nationalism, white separatism, and anti-Semitic theories; and a critic of homosexuality and Third World immigration into historically White nations."

        The description has now been edited and has removed the last part, and inserted something about him being a neo-pagan Odinist.

        1. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

          Motherfucker isn't even smart enough to be original.

          1. SweatingGin   11 years ago

            Point in davor of the unified troll theory?

            1. SweatingGin   11 years ago

              Favor, even

              1. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

                Perhaps. More testing needs to be done. Though, I think the Calabi-Yau manifold at the heart of the whole damn thing is LoneWacko.

                1. SweatingGin   11 years ago

                  Not Mary? Although I could see LoneWacko being behind American. White Indian as Mary or LoneWacko? Not so sure.

                  1. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

                    They could be working together.

      2. Virginian   11 years ago

        No the funniest part was when you were telling how you fucked white women. God he went nuts.

        Oh, and the Jews have apparently run the country since 1970. He told us so.

        I really wonder how someone like that manages to operate a computer.

        1. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

          the funniest part was when you were telling how you fucked white women. God he went nuts.

          Really? That's hilarious.

          1. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

            Apparently, since I am married to an Asian woman now, at no time in the past could I have slept with a woman of a different ethnicity.

            1. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

              Well, obviously not. You know how those Orientals can be.

            2. Calidissident   11 years ago

              I think he then tried to insinuate that you must have married her out of some fetish for submissive Asian women IIRC

  14. GILMORE   11 years ago

    The preview photo is convenient.

  15. Francisco d'Anconia   11 years ago

    INDEPENDENTS ASSEMBLE!

    1. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

      Independents assembling

    2. Derpetologist   11 years ago

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgmFycuRwAw

    3. Derpetologist   11 years ago

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWuaSww3JnA

  16. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

    So where do y'all go to watch TI on the internets?

    1. Rufus J. Firefly   11 years ago

      http://www.baqiworld.com/2011/.....ness-live/

      Courtesy of Notorious.

      1. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

        Very good, thanks.

        With the clips I've seen of Kennedy's shrilling, I have to wonder what fresh hell I'm subjecting my wife to by forcing her to endure an hour of it.

        1. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

          Kennedy's not here, man.

    2. Bobarian   11 years ago

      My computer?

  17. kibby   11 years ago

    Angel of Death is the most apt description of Nick I've ever heard.

    1. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

      Well, it is Passover. I hope you smeared lamb's blood on your door frame.

      1. kibby   11 years ago

        I could possibly get some bird blood if I let my cats out on the balcony. Is that sufficient?

        1. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

          I dunno, Ol' el-Shaddai is a stickler for regulations. Look what he did to Cain.

  18. Rev Match   11 years ago

    Red meat Wednesday

    I have bacon-wrapped steak. That is all.

  19. Bobarian   11 years ago

    Angel of Death. I LOL'd

  20. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

    Why is The Independents' intro filmed in the same pitch-black room terrorists use to force hostages to read their demands?

    1. kibby   11 years ago

      This is going into my Independents headcanon.

  21. Derpetologist   11 years ago

    One million dollars...

  22. Francisco d'Anconia   11 years ago

    Yeah, this isn't over.

  23. Smilin' Joe Fission   11 years ago

    The Ron Paul hue looms large

    1. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

      That's Cherenkov radiation.

      1. Smilin' Joe Fission   11 years ago

        Are you calling Ron Paul a beta male?

        1. Derpetologist   11 years ago

          He's certainly past his half-life.

        2. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

          No. Just noting that Jon Osterman hasn't aged well.

          1. Smilin' Joe Fission   11 years ago

            Thanks for just sending the top half of that image.

  24. Rev Match   11 years ago

    Privatize?! Welch, you Neo-confederate Separatist!

  25. Francisco d'Anconia   11 years ago

    I would like to see it managed by the states. Not privatized.

  26. Derpetologist   11 years ago

    Why exactly does the govt need to manage grazing land? The grass grows for free.

    1. Smilin' Joe Fission   11 years ago

      Carnies, because of god damn carnies.

    2. kibby   11 years ago

      Not if the government has anything to say about it!

    3. SweatingGin   11 years ago

      Jeez, you want just anyone to gambol across the plains?

      1. sarcasmic   11 years ago

        I hear it rains.

      2. Bobarian   11 years ago

        DO NOT INVOKE THAT EVIL!

      3. sarcasmic   11 years ago

        In Espa?a.

  27. Rufus J. Firefly   11 years ago

    The stream keeps cutting. Damn.

    1. kibby   11 years ago

      That sounds like a personal problem, man.

      (It seems to be working fine for me, hmmm.)

      1. Rufus J. Firefly   11 years ago

        Nothing the refresh button can't fix turns out.

        1. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

          That entire thread still works if you think of the "refresh button" as the prostate gland.

          1. kibby   11 years ago

            Well there goes my appetite.

    2. Smilin' Joe Fission   11 years ago

      Mine is working like magic.

      http://www.baqiworld.com/2011/.....ness-live/

    3. Rev Match   11 years ago

      The stream keeps cutting.

      That happens with age.

  28. Bobarian   11 years ago

    Wait until the Ron Paul Militia gets involved.

    1. Smilin' Joe Fission   11 years ago

      WHAT DO WE WANT? RON PAUL! WHEN DO WE WANT IT? RON PAUL!

      1. Derpetologist   11 years ago

        Ron Paul campaigns in whimsical jalopy:

        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auZCn13tgfs

        Ron Paul elected president of planet filled with tiny Ron Pauls:

        http://www.theonion.com/articl.....-bi,30286/

  29. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

    Uh oh, prepare yourselves for a fresh batch of Ron Paul crazy.

    1. Coeus   11 years ago

      I take it you're not a fan...

      1. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

        Eh, Ron's strong on the Ross Perot Effect, defined thusly:

        For every three things you agree with Ross Perot about, there exists a fourth thing he will blurt out so batshit insane that it erases all goodwill built from agreeing with the prior triad.

  30. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

    Yes, obviously Ron Paul does not endorse the position stated on the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity. Jesus Christ.

    1. Cytotoxic   11 years ago

      I didn't write those newsletters I just have my name on them!

  31. Smilin' Joe Fission   11 years ago

    Matt is learning the Kennedy cut off ways. Feel the Kennedy flow through you Matt.

  32. Dances-with-Trolls   11 years ago

    Did Paul manage to get through the whole interview without saying anything crazy? I had to step out.

    1. Coeus   11 years ago

      I didn't notice anything, but I'm answering emails at the same time I'm watching.

    2. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

      Hell no. Really fucking stupid answer on the 9/11 Truther nonsense published on his own site.

  33. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

    Oh good, John Bolton's next. I'm sure he'll be an oasis of reasonable and measured foreign policy insights.

    1. kibby   11 years ago

      You are so correct!

  34. Dances-with-Trolls   11 years ago

    Moar Drones in the first few seconds. Way to not waste a moment.

  35. Francisco d'Anconia   11 years ago

    I don't know about you guys, but I'm afraid.

  36. Derpetologist   11 years ago

    Fighting war for over decade without winning is a good thing?

  37. Rev Match   11 years ago

    They should bring in Stossel to debate Bolton. And when I say "debate", I mean a battle royale of the 'Staches.

  38. Bobarian   11 years ago

    Burning Man?

  39. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

    More drones -- because obviously, we don't have enough aimless aerial missions in the ME going on simultaneously.

  40. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

    Vladimir Putin obviously has the same incentives in play wrt action as Al Qaeda. Good one, Johnnie boy.

  41. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

    Fuck you Bolton.

  42. Francisco d'Anconia   11 years ago

    Yes, Putin is in the Ukraine because the US is weak.

    1. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

      Wait, I thought Ukraine was weak...

  43. Derpetologist   11 years ago

    Russia conquered a territory and gets a card. Mr. Bolton, we cannot allow a bonus card gap!

  44. Derpetologist   11 years ago

    Russia conquered a territory and gets a card. Mr. Bolton, we cannot allow a bonus card gap!

    1. Rev Match   11 years ago

      RISK and Empire: Total War are cool.

  45. Bobarian   11 years ago

    Bila for the win!

  46. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

    Bolton: "Better to Remain Silent and Be Thought a Fool than to Speak and Remove All Doubt"

    Truer words were never spoken. Now please shut the hell up, John.

  47. Dances-with-Trolls   11 years ago

    Shorter Bolton: Do what we say to do or die.

  48. Rufus J. Firefly   11 years ago

    Man, Bolton really has it in for Paul.

  49. Bobarian   11 years ago

    I didn't think Rand's OpEd was that hard to understand.

    Oh and fuck off, Bolton.

  50. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

    Tonight on the Independents, John Bolton in a very special performance of Weekend At Reagan's!

  51. RishJoMo   11 years ago

    Sounds like some pretty serious business to me dude.

    http://www.GotsDatAnon.tk

  52. GILMORE   11 years ago

    The Independents Attire Review, 16 April 2014

    Grandcamp Go Boom-Edition

    - Matt: Ugh. Effort?: Zero. People who wear a tie to work are all mildly insulted. You're the host Welch. Look like you're *trying* at least. Grade: Incomplete

    - Kmele: A nice return to the Klassic-Kmele= Sportcoat-Master of the Universe. We continue to observe that the Matt/Kmele dynamic provides a virtual "Don't/Do" lesson every night. Kmele here auditions a classic Glen-Plaid patterned jacket in a utilitarian Tan/Khaki complimented with a brown knit tie. Brooks Brothers should be paying Kmele royalties: he's got the style, and they just *bite it*. Rating: Triumph of the Will

    - Jedidiah(?)= First off, I want to meet your parents, because apparently they're hillbillies who thought you were a boy. That aside: Whoa momma. Someone's come to the bar alone and is looking to leave...otherwise. Rating: Can I buy you a drink?

    - Andy Levy: Disclosure = I'm a 2-button light-grey suit guy, and I like pretty much any variation within reason. Looks great. More people should own one (sharkskin if poss), because they do 'casualish' better than any other shade of suit. Rating: Dry Martini

    - John Bolton: He gets these getups in the mail from the RNC. Rating: Weekly Standard

    Thank You

    1. Rev Match   11 years ago

      - Jedidiah...

      This. All of it.

  53. Derpetologist   11 years ago

    "Perhaps we didn't appreciate fully enough the depth of the hatred and the complexity of the problems that made the Middle East such a jungle."

    "The irrationality of Middle Eastern politics forced us to rethink our policy there ? If that policy had changed towards more of a neutral position ... those 241 marines would be alive today."

    -Reagan

  54. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

    And may Bloomberg reach the afterlife as soon as possible, yimakh shemo ve zikhro.

    1. Derpetologist   11 years ago

      I think someone should drive a stake through his heart after he croaks just to be sure.

      1. BuSab Agent   11 years ago

        Also cut off his head and put it between his legs.

        1. Army of the 12 Monkeys   11 years ago

          The "between his legs" part has already been covered, BuSab.

  55. BigT   11 years ago

    Bolton misrepresented Reagan as well. Reagan clearly enunciated our moral position, our principles, but did not draw red lines. And he didn't disclose plans. Perhaps, with the exception of 'tear down this wall.'

  56. Francisco d'Anconia   11 years ago

    Yay, Stossel.

  57. Smilin' Joe Fission   11 years ago

    Bunch of backbone-less isolationist LIBERALtarians here!

    /bolton

  58. SlV   11 years ago

    Spinnin' the MC5. Does Matt pick the music?

    1. GILMORE   11 years ago

      He's gone drunk with power since been giving the Host chair.

  59. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

    Anyone who thinks smoking marijuana is political is really, really overthinking it.

    1. Bobarian   11 years ago

      Anyone who uses this as an excuse for why they didn't do it in College is not remotely human.

    2. BigT   11 years ago

      It was a bit different back in the 60's since MJ was mostly available through the anti-war crowd. So there was some connection.

      1. jesse.in.mb   11 years ago

        That's something I've heard from people on both sides in the '60s.

      2. SlV   11 years ago

        They were ant-war in the 1960s because they were subject to the draft.

        1. BigT   11 years ago

          I was subject to the draft, but kind of ambivalent about the war. I was worried about all the deaths, but believed the domino effect since it seemed to have occurred in the 40's. What can I say, youthful experimentation!

  60. Francisco d'Anconia   11 years ago

    What an asshole.

  61. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

    John "Bomb the World" Bolton believes marijauna should stay illegal. Jeez, at least let me sit down before dropping a game-changer like that.

    1. Derpetologist   11 years ago

      ? We bomb the world!

      ? We drone the children!

      ? We are the ones who say bombs away!

  62. BigT   11 years ago

    Jedediah - I don't know if I'm for freedom until I see how it plays out. Dumbass.

  63. Derpetologist   11 years ago

    Tobacco is a plant. Marijuana is plant. If one is OK, the other should be OK. Anything else is bullshit.

    The End

    1. SlV   11 years ago

      I'm not OK with poison ivy.

      1. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

        I am.

      2. SlV   11 years ago

        Or Manchineel if I ever run into it.

        1. Ted S.   11 years ago

          A cross between Senator Manchin and an eel?

          1. SlV   11 years ago

            You disappoint me Ted S.

        2. BuSab Agent   11 years ago

          "It's listed as an endangered species in Florida."
          It fucking NEEDS to be an endangered species, if not already extinct.

  64. Francisco d'Anconia   11 years ago

    Let me guess where Bolton stands on this.

    1. Francisco d'Anconia   11 years ago

      SURPRISE!

      1. Smilin' Joe Fission   11 years ago

        He's very dynamic Francisco.

  65. Rufus J. Firefly   11 years ago

    Bolton wants a police state.

  66. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

    Mass surveilling? We mass uprooted and placed people in camps within living memory!

  67. Francisco d'Anconia   11 years ago

    Bolton, YOU ARE A PIG!

  68. Dances-with-Trolls   11 years ago

    Why not just have every Muslim in America wear a yellow crescent on their clothing, John?

    What a fucking evil prick.

    1. Bobarian   11 years ago

      That would be 'labelizing'?

  69. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

    Someone needs to get John a bowl.

  70. Rev Match   11 years ago

    Kate Upton is talking about her boobs.

    Well, there IS a lot to talk about.

    1. Smilin' Joe Fission   11 years ago

      She just wants to get it off her chest

  71. Bobarian   11 years ago

    Was that Matt giving Bolton a subtle 'STFU, you're wrong' across the table at the end?

    1. Army of the 12 Monkeys   11 years ago

      A bravura shutdown, not only worthy of Kennedy, but also enhanced by the complete absence of a snark bomb based on his 'stache.

  72. Coeus   11 years ago

    Holy shit, that was straight out of southpark.

  73. Francisco d'Anconia   11 years ago

    More than a mouthful is a waste.

    1. Soros' Wank-noose   11 years ago

      Utter horse-shit.

      The only wasted boobie is an unloved boobie.

      1. Coeus   11 years ago

        How about the one's on Chuck Schumer?

        1. Soros' Wank-noose   11 years ago

          Well....do you love 'em?

          1. Coeus   11 years ago

            Proggies with ban boners do.

  74. Coeus   11 years ago

    Why is someone without hips down on her boobs?

  75. Derpetologist   11 years ago

    Train selfies- South Park did it!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaKo3g19E9Y

  76. kibby   11 years ago

    I feel your pain, Kate Upton.

    1. Coeus   11 years ago

      Is it in the lower back, or the shoulders?

      1. kibby   11 years ago

        Little of this, little of that.

        1. GILMORE   11 years ago

          Should squat more.

    2. GILMORE   11 years ago

      I want to feel your pain, Kate Upton.

      1. Rev Match   11 years ago

        I want to feel what causes your pain, Kate Upton.

    3. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

      *does the dog listening to something head tilt*

      1. kibby   11 years ago

        I should know better than to make these sorts of comments by now.

        1. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

          Yes, you should.

  77. Rufus J. Firefly   11 years ago

    Ticket tearer at the Cinema that's where I saw Matt!

    Now it all makes sense.

  78. Bobarian   11 years ago

    Dad: Son, he should have kicked you a lot harder, Dumb-Ass!

  79. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

    I'd choose titties over confidence, Jedi.

    Jus' sayin'

  80. Francisco d'Anconia   11 years ago

    I want to mute John Bolton.

  81. Rev Match   11 years ago

    Why are you emulating Kennedy, Matt?? You were doing just fine!

    Ps.
    Market solutions, FTW.

  82. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

    "The sexiest trait in a woman to a man is confidence."

    True, if by 'confidence' you mean 'fat', and by 'a man' you mean 'John'.

    1. Bobarian   11 years ago

      "The sexiest trait in a woman to a man is confidence low self-esteem."

      FTFY

    2. SweatingGin   11 years ago

      "I find the most erotic part of a woman is the boobies."

    3. GILMORE   11 years ago

      Is "confidence" French for 'Tits'?

      1. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

        Yes. Just the other day, I complimented my wife on her heaving, voluptuous reserves of confidence.

  83. Francisco d'Anconia   11 years ago

    Did you guys know Barack Obama got a Nobel Prize?

    Nuff said.

    1. Rev Match   11 years ago

      Did you guys know Barack Obama got a Nobel Prize?

      Wasn't it also a PEACE prize?

    2. jesse.in.mb   11 years ago

      Was it in social sciences for finding new and innovative ways to continuously disappointing your supporters without losing them?

  84. GILMORE   11 years ago

    I don't know if this is real or not but it is AWESOME

    http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LudJ.....rugman.jpg

    1. SweatingGin   11 years ago

      By 2005 or so, it will become clear that the Internet's impact on the economy has been no greater than the fax machine's.

      1. Bobarian   11 years ago

        Don't sell the Fax short. It's coming back!

        1. jesse.in.mb   11 years ago

          It's HIPAA compliant.

          I would spend the rest of my life smashing fax machines Office Space style and die happy.

  85. Derpetologist   11 years ago

    I think this pic clearly shows Paul Krugman's next career move:

    http://www.therazor.org/images/krugman_blofeld.jpg

  86. PapayaSF   11 years ago

    So Paul Craig Roberts is a 9/11 Truther? Jeebus.

    1. OldMexican   11 years ago

      So is Van Jones, yet Kmele is not asking CNN's president Jeff Zucker if he agrees with Van Jones or if by having him work there represents a tacit agreement with his views about 9/11.

      Right?

  87. GILMORE   11 years ago

    I've never read anything by Dave Barry in my entire life.

    Which I think is like, a record or something.

    I also don't have cable. which freaks people out.

    1. SweatingGin   11 years ago

      How do you know when someone doesn't have cable?

      Don't worry, he'll tell you.

      1. GILMORE   11 years ago

        Thank you for noticing.

      2. GILMORE   11 years ago

        Honestly, it usually doesn't happen that way. Its when the "Game of Thrones"/"sopranos"/"Breaking Bad" convo starts rolling and someone looks at you and you have to shrug, and go, "I have no fucking clue".

        its not like fucking vegan or something.

    2. Bobarian   11 years ago

      He used to have a article in the paper that was pretty hilarious... a long time ago.

    3. Dances-with-Trolls   11 years ago

      That's a shame, because he is frequently LOL funny. When I was a kid my dad would read his sunday column to me and my sisters. I think that was helpful in developing an understanding of how absurd the world often is.

    4. Francisco d'Anconia   11 years ago

      I don't either. It's satellite.

  88. GILMORE   11 years ago

    I TOLD YOU MATT WAS IN A BAND

    He's been hiding it.

  89. Francisco d'Anconia   11 years ago

    Yes, Michael Jackson sucked just as much as the Biebs.

  90. Coeus   11 years ago

    Has Barry got parkinsons?

  91. Francisco d'Anconia   11 years ago

    Nick was raped by priests? Did I hear that correctly?

    1. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

      No, he was raped by beasts. You need your ears checked.

      1. Bobarian   11 years ago

        STEVE SMITH to be exact.

        Father STEVE SMITH, so priest/beast.

        1. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

          STEVE SMITH: Beast Priest would make an excellent HBO biopic.

          1. Bobarian   11 years ago

            Or a CBS Crime Drama... Sort of like 'Touched Inappropriately By an Angel'

  92. GILMORE   11 years ago

    What the fuck was that?

    "5 mins of 'talking to someone about some random shit'"

    new segment on the show.

    Admittedly, an improvement on "5mins of Kennedy talking Girl Talk with a quasi-celeb"

    1. Rufus J. Firefly   11 years ago

      Kennedy talks to Suzi Quattro about things 'n stuff.

      1. SlV   11 years ago

        I didn't miss Suzi Quattro did I?

      2. Ted S.   11 years ago

        They're foolishly laying their hearts on the table and stumbling in?

        1. SlV   11 years ago

          You're not on my good side tonight, Mr. S.

          Can the Can

    2. Notorious G.K.C.   11 years ago

      I'm jealous of anyone who hasn't read Dave Barry, because you have a treat ahead of you! Just go to your local library and help yourself to his Oevre.

      He's much funnier on the page than live. He's even funnier than I am.

  93. Rufus J. Firefly   11 years ago

    My Protestant Pentecostal cousin (may he rest in peace) once told me it doesn't matter what you do in this life no matter how good in order to get into Heaven. The only way you can do that is to 'accept Jesus in your heart.' Never quite latched on to that notion.

    Do you accept Jesus, Bloomberg your narcissistic billionaire blowhard?

    1. Bobarian   11 years ago

      If by 'accept', you mean 'believe you are'.

    2. Derpetologist   11 years ago

      A Frisbeetarian would say that Bloomberg's soul will try to get to heaven, but is doomed get stuck on roof somewhere.

    3. Palin's Buttplug   11 years ago

      Down here is Dixieland that is the prevailing standard to get to Heaven.

    4. jesse.in.mb   11 years ago

      OT: Anybody cross stitch?

      Apparently there are Tom of Finland cross stitch patterns. I bring this up because of the stamps yesterday or monday.

      1. jesse.in.mb   11 years ago

        Crap, that was meant to be it's own thing, Tom of Finland and Pentecostalism shouldn't be left that close together. The snakes get feisty.

        1. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

          The snakes get feisty.

          This means two things...

          /ifyouknowwhatimean

          1. Coeus   11 years ago

            Yes, that was the joke.

          2. jesse.in.mb   11 years ago

            /andido

      2. BuSab Agent   11 years ago

        Thanks Jesse! I know what I'm getting myself for mother's day :))

        1. jesse.in.mb   11 years ago

          I figured someone would enjoy that. I absolutely should've guessed it'd be you.

          1. BuSab Agent   11 years ago

            The best part will be working on it in places sure to cause awkward conversations about gay porn...like family dinners and school board meetings.

            1. jesse.in.mb   11 years ago

              I would love to be a fly on the wall for those conversations.

  94. Rev Match   11 years ago

    "Sitting in, Welch? This is YOUR show.

    1. MJGreen   11 years ago

      All he needs to do is reach out and take it.

      Bring us Kennedy's head, and claim your right, Welch!

    2. Rev Match   11 years ago

      *"Sitting in"*...

      1. BigT   11 years ago

        Kennedy should do the intro and the setup for each section and then shut up. She is good at the hype, not so much as the discussion.

  95. Palin's Buttplug   11 years ago

    And finally, the lovely and super-chill independent Jedediah Bila?who, it was announced today, will be a regular co-host on a new four-ladies-against-one-dude Fox show called Outnumbered

    Same title and format as a porn series.

  96. Rufus J. Firefly   11 years ago

    Nick has some set of hair. Like my brother.

    Hey, I quoted from 'Paradiso' in the PM links about Bloomberg.

    /narrows eyes.

  97. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

    If there is a God. Thus, Bloomberg has committed the sin of question God's existence, and by his religious beliefs, shall have his neshma condemned to oblivion.

  98. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

    Good God, this show sucks. The host is boring, the interviews are unfocused, and there's zero interest to come back after the commercials (which, as it so happens, are marginally more tolerable than the actual show). What kind of Faustian bargain will I have to make with Satan to get that hour of my life back?

    1. Rufus J. Firefly   11 years ago

      Leave Welchois alone!

    2. Bobarian   11 years ago

      As somebody says nearly every night, "Firing Line, for the ADHD Crowd".

  99. SweatingGin   11 years ago

    "What is the political category he (Bloomberg) falls into?"

    Fascist?

    1. Rufus J. Firefly   11 years ago

      Nanny.

  100. GILMORE   11 years ago

    The Jacket has had its annual Waxing.

    1. Bobarian   11 years ago

      That's shoe polish, the same thing he uses in his hair.

      1. GILMORE   11 years ago

        I thought the hair was titanium-laced Carbon Fiber.

        Learn something new every day.

        1. Bobarian   11 years ago

          That's what he uses FOR hair.

  101. Francisco d'Anconia   11 years ago

    His hair is perfect.

    1. Rufus J. Firefly   11 years ago

      Ah---ooooo!

    2. Whahappan?   11 years ago

      Huh, I'd like to meet his tailor.

  102. Rev Match   11 years ago

    Do you know what would help more?..Teaching that "aggression" is, inherently, wrong.

  103. Francisco d'Anconia   11 years ago

    Anyone notice that Fist is never around when Nick does live teevee?

    1. kibby   11 years ago

      ...Oh my gosh.

      1. Dances-with-Trolls   11 years ago

        Plus the whole GoT spoilers rant...

        1. Dances-with-Trolls   11 years ago

          Damn, read that wrong. Derp.

    2. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

      That's because Fist is... the goddamn Batman! Obviously.

      1. Fist of Etiquette   11 years ago

        I'm the hero Hit and Run needs, not the one it wants.

        1. Archduke von Pantsfan   11 years ago

          did you survive the Penguins game!

          1. Fist of Etiquette   11 years ago

            Barely. Just like the Pens.

  104. GILMORE   11 years ago

    NYC politicians fatal flaw is thinking they might possibly understand anything outside NYC. The only upside of this is knowing he will be $50million poorer as a result.

  105. Rufus J. Firefly   11 years ago

    Ah. Elastica.

    1. SlV   11 years ago

      Booooo! Cultural Appropriation

      1. Rufus J. Firefly   11 years ago

        Cool.

        1. SlV   11 years ago

          Elastica could have done much worse than plagiarizing Wire.

          1. Army of the 12 Monkeys   11 years ago

            Wire sucked back then, and I don't miss them now. That riff might be the only decent thing they ever did for music, if only because Elastica stole it and amped it up.

            1. SlV   11 years ago

              lol!11!

              12XU

              1. Army of the 12 Monkeys   11 years ago

                Yeah, that's just a Black Flag song missing Greg Ginn's guitar solo. Not a fan.

  106. jesse.in.mb   11 years ago

    It's weird to hear someone say Torrance on TV. Unless we're talking about Torrance PD shooting Asian women who may be Chris Dorner.

    1. kibby   11 years ago

      He really did look like a petite Asian woman, though.

      1. jesse.in.mb   11 years ago

        Not really, but he did look like TWO petite Asian women moving independently in a blue truck of a different make and model.

        1. kibby   11 years ago

          Well you can't ask people to verify information before blindly shooting! What are you, some kind of crazy person?

          1. jesse.in.mb   11 years ago

            It was a little awkward that it happened a few blocks from my bicycle route to work. I mean if two Asian women could be Christopher Dorner, why couldn't a stocky bearded white dude on a bike?

            1. kibby   11 years ago

              Well steer clear should such a situation arise again. Serious Man & I will be very upset if you don't attend our eventual wedding.

              1. jesse.in.mb   11 years ago

                I spend a week away and you go from blaming me for a hopeless romance to inviting me to a possible wedding?

                Clearly I should spend more time sleeping my way across Europe and less time here.

                1. Coeus   11 years ago

                  Clearly I should spend more time sleeping my way across Europe and less time here.

                  Clearly, but you needed this to convince you?

                  1. jesse.in.mb   11 years ago

                    Of course not. I'm just stacking up justifications for splurging on the next trip.

                    1. Warrren   11 years ago

                      Splurging? Yeah you were.

                2. kibby   11 years ago

                  What can I say, he's very charming.

                  1. Grand Moff Serious Man   11 years ago

                    Yep.

      2. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

        I mourn Dorner just from the fact of his kickass manifesto that included a massive page and a half-long paragraph of single-space 10 point font shout-out to his favorite porn stars. Apparently, he was really into Gianna Michaels. I think Lisa Ann made the list too.

        1. Coeus   11 years ago

          I get the first one, but the second example confuses me.

    2. Calidissident   11 years ago

      I thought they were Hispanic? There names were, although they still could have been Filipinas

  107. Rufus J. Firefly   11 years ago

    'There's no culture there' is the drivel of a dumbass who knows nothing about culture.

    Montrealers are notorious for saying that about Toronto.

    1. Atanarjuat   11 years ago

      And/or the drivel of a petty insecure person who feels better looking down on others.

  108. Bobarian   11 years ago

    Because Bill Nye is a partisan?

    GET THE FUCK OUT!

  109. SweatingGin   11 years ago

    Ugh, Lou Dobbs fatigued

  110. GILMORE   11 years ago

    Jededia will soon be replaced by her cousins Jethro, Cletus, and Rose of Sharon

    1. SweatingGin   11 years ago

      Dakota?

      Ellie Mae?

  111. Rufus J. Firefly   11 years ago

    Gentlemen,

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxVlN-LzIks

    1. Rufus J. Firefly   11 years ago

      Hm. I think I'll dedicate the song to Bloomberg.

      Dear Mr. Fantasy, make us all happy.

  112. Bobarian   11 years ago

    ahh, dobbs.

  113. Coeus   11 years ago

    First one I've watched. that was a bit of a disjointed mess.

    1. Dances-with-Trolls   11 years ago

      For TI that show was a model of decorum and structure.

      1. kibby   11 years ago

        It really was. Are we just so used to trainwrecks that we hold nights like tonight up as shining examples?

        1. Army of the 12 Monkeys   11 years ago

          Well, yes, actually. Matt's really killed it this week, though I enjoy Kennedy's edge-of-madness style, in moderation.

          If only we could create a hybrid, combining Kennedy's edgy snark, rapid-fire cultural references, and vocal intonation skills (Australian accents aside), with Welch's sober analysis, cerebral, open-ended interviewing skills, and the so-subtle-you-might-miss-it non-personal fuck yous delivered to the truly deserving.

    2. SweatingGin   11 years ago

      Obviously you've taken too much ritalin. Or not enough. Whichever.

      1. kibby   11 years ago

        Someone needs Ritalout.

        1. SweatingGin   11 years ago

          crap, how'd I miss that? Ritalin/Phil Collins was a hilarous South Park, and I must have never watched it all?

          1. kibby   11 years ago

            It's all that gin, man.

      2. Coeus   11 years ago

        Dextroamphetamin, actually.

        1. SweatingGin   11 years ago

          Ah, delicious, dissociative cough syrup!

          1. Coeus   11 years ago

            No, that's Dextromethorphan.

            1. SweatingGin   11 years ago

              the joke went whoosh, but it wasn't very good.

  114. GILMORE   11 years ago

    DAAAAHHBSSS!!!

  115. PapayaSF   11 years ago

    INDEPENDENTS DISASSEMBLE!

  116. Francisco d'Anconia   11 years ago

    Aftershow tonight?

    1. kibby   11 years ago

      Nope.

      1. Ted S.   11 years ago

        No Kennedy, no sexy aftershow.

        1. Sevo   11 years ago

          Hard to get interested in a gal with raccoon glasses. Not as bad as tats, but certainly a 'statement'.

  117. Rev Match   11 years ago

    I propose that the current composition of the show stands, and Kennedy provides street/outside interviews as a correspondent/contributor. (Kennedy will also, head the segments with the returning commie, providing she saves her "attack dog" instincts for him.)

    1. Sevo   11 years ago

      Has she dumped the 'raccoon' specs?

    2. Army of the 12 Monkeys   11 years ago

      No love for Myerson here. I think he's a great guest. He's the guy that will take the opposite stand from yours, just for the sake of the conversation.

  118. Sevo   11 years ago

    So did Nick fly from Oxford, OH to NY to tape the show?

    1. SweatingGin   11 years ago

      He was on by video.

  119. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

    Q to all of you who liveblog this show regularly:

    Did Matt take your family hostage, and threaten to subject them to his fashion sense unless you watch every night?

    Did Matt bind Reason subscribers (DRINK!) to forever spend their days as loyal TI viewers using a blood hex?

    Are you one of the 144,000 Elders of Zion who receive their orders through coded messages being transmitted via The Independents?

    Is it slightly more tolerable when Kennedy is monologuing, John Galt-style?

    Why the hell do you watch this every night?

    1. SweatingGin   11 years ago

      Oh come on, it's not that bad.

      It's the most libertarian show on TV. It's pretty ADHD, but by this time of night, I for one don't need deep thoughts.

      The thread is excellent, snarking and all.

      The fast pace grows on you as your attention span disappears.

      1. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

        The thread is great, I'll agree with that.

        As for the show...

        The thread is great, don't you think?

    2. jesse.in.mb   11 years ago

      It's objectively good. You just have broken tastes.

    3. Francisco d'Anconia   11 years ago

      Watch what?

    4. Bobarian   11 years ago

      The live-blogging is it's own form of entertainment?

    5. Rufus J. Firefly   11 years ago

      Better than watching a lot of stuff and plus the thread.

      1. Army of the 12 Monkeys   11 years ago

        If I could split-screen a live update of this blog and the show at the same time, I totally would. Though I'd probably go blind. By choice.

        1. Coeus   11 years ago

          I was doing that on one of my monitors. Answering emails on another and running RDP on a third. I don't think I've commented on here without multitasking in years.

    6. GILMORE   11 years ago

      Raymond Shaw is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I've ever known in my life.

      Wait, what were you talking about?

      1. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

        Surely, you must have meant Run Run Shaw.

        1. GILMORE   11 years ago

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAGaYi2Kem8

          Hypnotism

          1. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

            The Internet hates Hawkgirl

    7. Sevo   11 years ago

      The Immaculate Trouser|4.16.14 @ 10:08PM|#
      "Q to all of you who liveblog this show regularly:
      Did Matt take your family hostage, and threaten to subject them to his fashion sense unless you watch every night?"

      I don't watch, but I don't watch anything on TV that doesn't keep score or lap times.
      But I don't think it's a bad idea. Most people seeing it (all 5?) prolly never had any idea that there are political opinions that don't support the free shit or the stupid party.
      And AFAIK, you have to make a TV presentation aimed pretty low to get an audience. Look at the Daily Show.

      1. Rufus J. Firefly   11 years ago

        Watching the NHL playoffs?

        1. Ted S.   11 years ago

          My team isn't in the playoffs. Why should I give a shit?

        2. Sevo   11 years ago

          "Watching the NHL playoffs?"

          The "scoring" is required but not sufficient.

      2. The Immaculate Trouser   11 years ago

        Well, I just feel the show should take some cues from popular entertainment -- Game of Thrones, to pick a name out of a hat. Kill some of the main hosts, some tasteful Kennedy full-frontal nudity/lesbian debauchery with Mary Katherine Ham, and end the season with the gruesome double execution of special guests Jesse Myerson and Michael Bloomberg.

        1. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

          And a better theme song.

          1. kibby   11 years ago

            I wish my ex hadn't ruined saxophones entirely for me.

            1. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

              All saxophones? Or a certain type? Don't tell me he was one of those soprano sax douchebags.

              1. kibby   11 years ago

                He played them all (depending on the band that night), but I only ever encountered the soprano once when he was trying to get a certain sound in a recording.

                1. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

                  A pansaxual? It was doomed from the start, honey.

                  1. kibby   11 years ago

                    If only I'd known you back then! You could have warned me!

            2. Coeus   11 years ago

              Don't feel too bad. Bill Clinton has broken a lot of hearts.

              1. kibby   11 years ago

                & ew.

              2. Grand Moff Serious Man   11 years ago

                Goddamn you, Coeus. How am I supposed to ignore that image?

                1. Coeus   11 years ago

                  You could always go the Family Guy route and sleep with Bill to even the score.

            3. Sevo   11 years ago

              kibby|4.16.14 @ 10:56PM|#
              "I wish my ex hadn't ruined saxophones entirely for me."

              I had an ex who looked really good in red undies, and ya know, I've learned to like 'em again.

              1. kibby   11 years ago

                Maybe someday. The sound just grates on me now after having to listen to them so much!

                1. Sevo   11 years ago

                  kibby|4.17.14 @ 12:07AM|#
                  "Maybe someday...."

                  It's your life, not that of your ex. Take control or yield it.
                  I know people in their 50s who blame their parents. Tough; no one gets perfect parents. Time to live your life.

      3. Cytotoxic   11 years ago

        I thought the ratings were alright?

  120. OldMexican   11 years ago

    Tonight on The Independents: Red Meat Wednesday, With Ron Paul, Nick Gillespie, Dave Barry, Andy Levy, and...John Bolton!

    Ah, non-"brutalist" libertarians cavorting with neo-cons! Will wonders never cease.

    1. Heroic Mulatto   11 years ago

      What do you mean by "brutalist"?

      1. jesse.in.mb   11 years ago

        He's talking about libertarians who were made of concrete in the '60s in overtly ugly forms. Clearly.

        1. BuSab Agent   11 years ago

          Are you talking about the ones often mistaken for post offices?

          1. jesse.in.mb   11 years ago

            Exactly. Or Boston City Hall.

            1. SlV   11 years ago

              It's hard to do a simple high rise urban parking garage without the brutalism.

              1. jesse.in.mb   11 years ago

                Weirdly Gizmodo had a thing on non-boring parking structures two days ago.

                http://gizmodo.com/three-of-th.....1563088194

            2. BuSab Agent   11 years ago

              This is one of those brutalist libertarians near me. And for added shits and giggles this is a photo of it new. It has not improved with age.

              1. Warrren   11 years ago

                Why not put a facade that looks like buildings on them?

        2. Apatheist ?_??   11 years ago

          This abomination is a residential college at my alma mater.

          1. jesse.in.mb   11 years ago

            The science building at my college.

            I can't find pictures of the old library but it had that concrete cheese-grater thing over the windows on two sides.

            Oooh and there are references to Whittiergate, the Whittier College scandal website which references me in a footnote:

            'Letter' to Quaker Campus by a student cavalier about the safety of others and the honor of his school, one Jesse[.in.mb], who appears to know more than he's telling

            Heart. warmed.

  121. Archduke von Pantsfan   11 years ago

    These Ducks sure can fly.

  122. Warrren   11 years ago

    So I did a GIS for sunburnt tits and got some fun images.

    1. kibby   11 years ago

      .....Why? (Do I even want to know?)

      1. BuSab Agent   11 years ago

        No. But it really doesn't matter. Tits are their own reward.

      2. Warrren   11 years ago

        I give a gift and get questioned?

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

        1. kibby   11 years ago

          Well some of us can just look in the mirror & satisfy that need. So...

          1. Warrren   11 years ago

            I think the degree of need is somewhat different. They're your tits so I can't imagine they do anything special for you.

            1. kibby   11 years ago

              True. But I still like them. =D

  123. Grand Moff Serious Man   11 years ago

    The thread's dead baby. Thread's dead.

    1. Snark Plissken   11 years ago

      Last man standing!

    2. widget   11 years ago

      Recent DNA testing suggests that Hitler's mistress, Eva Braun, may have been part Jewish.

      http://www.inquisitr.com/12121.....-ancestry/

      No thread really dies, even when invoking Hitler.

      1. Steve G   11 years ago

        word

      2. Army of the 12 Monkeys   11 years ago

        I wonder if DNA testing will someday reveal my Methodist/Presbyterian roots on a blog somewhere.

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