Iowa Student Suspended for BB Gun Found in Car Parked Off Campus

KXXL

Another student has been suspended for a BB gun. Did he brandish it in the school halls? Show it off in a classroom? Was it a random search? No. But it did involve the parent of another child calling authorities. This time, a parent in Iowa saw the BB gun in a car that wasn't even parked on school grounds. Via the NBC affiliate in Waterloo, Iowa:

Dubuque Community School District director of school and community relations Mike Cyze said in a press release a parent noticed the BB pistol in the student's car and called police, who responded, located the student and confiscated the BB gun.

Cyze said there was never a threat to students or staff because the BB gun never left the student's car until police arrived and confiscated it.

"This incident is an important reminder that the school district and area law enforcement do not take the presence of these weapons lightly," Dubuque Senior High School principal Dan Johnson said to parents in an e-mail and voicemail that went out to all Dubuque Senior High School families this morning.

The school suspended the student even though there was no threat and the toy gun wasn't found on campus because, according to a district spokesperson, "there was a significant disruption to the learning environment and having the student on campus would have continued that disruption throughout the day." The suspension, the spokesperson said, could be followed by more "disciplinary action" after an investigation is completed. It's too bad disrupting the learning environment for students is something that could yield administrators a suspension the way it does for children

Comments

[John C. Randolph]

until police arrived and confiscated it

STOLE it, not confiscated it. When property is confiscated, that means there's a legal justification for taking it.

-jcr

[poloniusium]

confiscation: when the police steal things

[oldtimer]

Anyone else remember that scene from the movie Shenandoah where the horse procurer tries to make Jimmy Stewart an offer he couldn't refuse?
The youngest son asks what "confiscate" means and Stewart's one word answer is the most succinct movie definition I have ever seen.

[Drake]

I remember a similar scene in Lonesome Dove. Captain Call had the perfect response.

"I hate rude behavior in a man. I won't tolerate it."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snxME3CDtvI

[Fist of Etiquette]

"This incident is an important reminder that the school district and area law enforcement do not take the presence of these weapons lightly," Dubuque Senior High School principal Dan Johnson said to parents...

Uh, I suppose, in the sense that some dipshit soccer mom is going to freak out and set amped-up LEO on an unconstitutional warpath.

[kinnath]

It saddens me deeply that this level of derp has now invaded Iowa, the land of the nice, the bland, and the boring.

The derp must be flowing southerly and westerly this spring from the People's Republic of Wisconsin.

[brokencycle]

People's Republic of Wisconsin? WI is probably the most conservative of all neighboring states.

[BCG]

Amen. As an Iowan, I find this deeply disturbing. And I blame Illinois.

[R C Dean]

What laws were allegedly broken here? Are BB guns illegal for students to possess in Iowa? Do they have to be stored cased when in a car? If not, then the cop committed multiple felonies.

What school policies were allegedly violated here? Is there a policy against students having BB guns in their cars off-campus? If not, then somebody at the school needs to be ridiculed and abused before being fired and made to pay damages.

And what kind of fucktard goes out of their way to "disrupt the learning environment", and then suspend a student who did absolutely nothing to disrupt said environment for it?

[John]

If anyone followed the law the cops who confiscated that gun would be on the hook personally. They had no authority to do it and no reasonable officer could have thought they had the authority.

This has been true for a while now. They just don't fucking care./

[Hyperion]

Why does everyone so quickly forget about the unwritten, invsible super duper clause of the new Murika, the one rule to rule them all, the FYTW clause.

[Zeb]

Someone needs to at least point out what should happen. I think that if the police continue down the path they are on, they are going to lose the support of most people. It can only help to keep pointing out what's wrong.

[croaker]

Going to lose? Pretty much lost given the two "officers" that were fired in Texas.

[Hydra]

The cops probably dragged him out of class before they realized it wasn't a real firearm (because they needed him to open the vehicle). At that point they can't really just quietly put him back in class once it was discovered to be a BB gun.

The smart course of action would have been to have him report to the principal's office (or whatever) and have the cops confront him there, so that there would have been no disruption. But we know how that goes.

[Robert]

Apparently it was in plain view, because a complaint was made. Therefore it should've been possible for the police to identify it thru the glass as a BB gun without even a need to ascertain that it was a student's car, let alone which particular student.

[Hydra]

it should've been possible for the police to identify it thru the glass as a BB gun

Watch the video. Those look like real firearms. There's no orange tip or other indicator.

[Malvolio]

Is it unlawful to have a real firearm in a car?

[Hydra]

Within 1000 feet of a school it is, unless it's just passing.

[Contrarian P]

Is it unlawful to have something that looks like a gun in a car too? And I'm still trying to understand the magic of 1000 feet of anything. If you are parked by a school with a gun, porn, booze, or other prohibited material, does the offending contraband leap away, running cackling into the school, where it causes mayhem?

[UnCivilServant]

Its a sideways ban. There are so many areas with a 1000 foot exclusion zone that in a lot of metropolitan areas, there's nowhere that isn't in at least one. It was never about the school.

[Robert Ralph]

No they should have never bothered him in the first place. The police and school broke the law.

[Episiarch]

We rightly castigate the school administrators and the police for these idiotic situations, but parents deserve a shit-ton of the blame too. Whether it's pants-shitting pussy scum like the parent who called the cops in this story, or whether it's the parents of other kids in the school who don't scream bloody murder every time something like this happens, the parents have a lot of blame on them. They want their kids "safe" so they tolerate this shit unless it's their kid getting shafted. The cops do it because if they didn't and something bad happened, those same parents would be freaking out and calling for their heads.

Just another in the hundreds of reasons to never send your kids to public school. Private schools can do stupid shit too, but you get to choose your private school, so just don't choose one with moronic policies and administrators.

[John]

The morons are just responding to the incentives the idiotic parents created. If people would not take this shit much less stop demanding it, and vote school board members out of office and fire people over this kind of shit, it would stop happening.

These people are cowards who only know how to cover their own asses.

[Paul.]

, the parents have a lot of blame on them.

I can't disagree with this. And god I want to disagree with Episiarch on something.

But not only the parents who call 911, but the parents who stand idly by, gazing at their shoelaces while the son or daughter is carted off by brownshirts are also to blame.

[Tonio]

And god I want to disagree with Episiarch on something.

As do we all, Pablo. But there's always pizza, cars, music...

[Episiarch]

And god I want to disagree with Episiarch on something.

Both the first and fifth Star Trek movies are way better than people give them credit for.

Have at me!

[Paul.]

Has JJ Abrams made five star trek movies? I mean I liked the first one, Into Darkness was ok... but what happened to this three four and five?

[Episiarch]

Didn't he make those about your mom?

See, Paul, you found something to disagree with me on. Into Darkness was so bad that I turned it off after 10 minutes. You'd think being really stoned would have helped, but no...it made it worse.

When your film is so stupid that I find it idiotic even when high, you have a serious problem.

I did find the first Abrams one perfectly watchable, though.

[BakedPenguin]

Paul, we all want to fight with Episiarch. But man, you got to pick your battles wisely.

[Paul.]

Are you guys suggesting those bullshit Star Trek prequels with the Shatner dude are superior?

[Episiarch]

No, the ones with the Mulgrew chick.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

That episode where they devolve into newts was some of the finest television ever to grace the small screen. Riveting.

[Paul.]

No, the ones with the Mulgrew chick.

Ah, the ones with your mom in them.

[BakedPenguin]

To Into Darkness? The terrible Next Gen TV movies are better than that piece of shit.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

I still don't understand why Abrams and the writers thought it would work to literally copy, almost shot by shot, Spock's death in 'Wrath of Khan'.

It boggles the mind that they felt they could get away with such a clumsy ripoff of a legendary scene. Which is why I think they purposefully put it in there just to demonstrate their contempt for fans of the original series. It was like a giant middle finger to the Trekkers in the audience.

[Episiarch]

Dude, the whole movie (well, at least the 10-20 minutes I actually watched) was so clumsy in general that it was like a giant middle finger to everybody. I wanted to watch this movie. I wanted to see Cumberbatch's performance. But I just couldn't; that's how bad it was. The first one was stupid but fun. This one was just flat-out stupid.

I think I'm starting to learn that Abrams and being high don't mix well.

[Paul.]

It was like a giant middle finger to the Trekkers in the audience.

The image of angry Trekkies, shuffling and riding out of the theaters with their walkers and Rascals brings a smile to my face.

[Episiarch]

Have any of you seen Free Enterprise? It's pretty entertaining and Shatner playing himself as an asshole (how much is he acting?) is a lot of fun. Plus Audie England is pretty hot and at the end Shatner raps Mark Antony's soliloquy from Julius Caesar. Amazing.

[LiveFreeOrDiet]

Free Enterprise was a riot! I have known someone like each of those characters, including the guy with all the toys stored carefully in their boxes.
Never knew who Audie England was. According to IMDB I only ever saw one other thing she was in, an episode of Hercules. I'm not too sure I saw that episode, though.

[Episiarch]

Yeah, I'm surprised that movie doesn't get more love from Trek fans considering it stars Shatner, though I suppose it doesn't cast Trekkies in the best light, because the main characters are sort of assholes. Still, it's on my list of "ode to Star Trek" films along with Galaxy Quest (which is super fun and sweet).

[Jan S.]

Wait - what? Star Trek prequels??

You mean, like the ORIGINALS? Honey, "prequels" are films that are made after originals, and occur earlier in the storyline, such as the Star Wars episodes I, II and III. Those gawd-awful J.J. Abrams abortions are Star Trek reboots.

[cavalier973]

Are you a fan of Red Letter Media? Mike Stoklasa says that he either wants his sci-fi really slow or really exciting. He likes the first and fifth Star Treks because they are very similar to the TV show.

[Kevin47]

I dunno. If this was a parent calling 911 about a gun near a school, and the police coming by and saying "just a BB gun maam, and the student is old enough besides, so nothing to worry about." This would just be an example of a parent being overcautious.

As it stands, the parent who called 911 might be thinking this all got blown out of proportion.

[MJGreen]

"This incident is an important reminder that the school district and area law enforcement do not take the presence of these weapons lightly,"

I don't take the presence of margarine lightly. Does that mean I can just go around confiscating it from people?

"there was a significant disruption to the learning environment and having the student on campus would have continued that disruption throughout the day."

We wouldn't want that. Best to permanently disrupt this kid's education instead.

[croaker]

It wasn't even on campus, so what was being used for probably cause?

I know, I know, Fuck You That's Why.

[Hyperion]

This is beyond retarded. When I was a kid, we all had BB guns. I had one when I was 7 years old. I didn't know one single boy that didn't have one. No one was ever seriously injured, let alone killed by one of them. And no one even worried about this, no one ever ever TALKED about it.

We are a nation ruled by retards.

[AlmightyJB]

Don't forget pussies. Giant pussies. They make the pussies of yesterday look like rugged individualists. PUSSIES!!!

[Paul.]

Don't forget pussies. Giant pussies.

How can we?

[SusanM]

ha ha....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZNZYOQ_tt8

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

We used to have BB gun fights in college. I can't find any of the scars anymore...

[Paul.]

I can. Got one right here *checks* yep on my left calf. Got hit with a .22 calibre pump pellet gun.

I'm amazed I still have my eyesight.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

We wore ski goggles. I ruined 3 pairs.

We had a strict rule: Shoes without socks, gym shorts, and fitted white tshirts. Nobody likes the hero in a hoodie and baggy pants. You're a lot less likely to do something stupid when you are going to feel the pain.

Alcohol optional but recommended.

[Paul.]

We were too young for alcohol

Cheap seats: *YOU'RE NEVER TOO YOUNG FOR ALCOHOL*

Rule was, no aiming above the bread basket.

[Hyperion]

I've been shot numerous times. We would go out in the woods hunting small varmits and you never knew when things would go awry and it would turn into a BB gun war.

About the worst wound I've seen from one, was one time when I tried to shoot a coke bottle right beside of my sister, just to freak her out. She was standing on our front porch and I was far enough away behind a tree that she couldn't see me, I'm guessing about 50 yards. I shot her in the calf, and I know it had to hurt, was completely embedded. I got into a lot of trouble for that one.

[Bobarian]

We would have fights with our Red Ryders, which left red welts and occasionally broke skin.

Then I got my new Crossman pump gun. The first time I shot at somebody, it went through two layers of cloth and deep enough into his belly that it's probably still in there.

[SlV]

Shot your sister with a BB gun?
You're qualified to be president

[LiveFreeOrDiet]

No one was ever seriously injured, let alone killed by one of them.

No, but it was a wonder nobody lost an eye. A kid was using a V-shaped tree as cover to fire from. When he popped up I got him right between the tops of his eyebrows. He looked like a married Indian woman for two weeks.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Luckily the BB gun was sleeping and did not lift itself up, exit the car, levitate to school, and start shooting on its own wrathful volition.

[AlmightyJB]

I'm sure everyone pissed their pants in fear.

[Hyperion]

All that would have had to be done for that to happen, apparently, is for some kid to use his fingers to make a gun shape.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Don't even suggest that. It's frightening.

[gaoxiaen]

Or eat a Pop Tart the wrong way.

[Hyperion]

BB guns haven't mysteriously assumed those super magical powers, yet, like real firearms, but we're getting there.

I mean, but everyone knows how dangerous toy guns are, hell, even food made into the shape of a gun is pretty dangerous. So just think, think how much more dangerous are these, these .... BB GUNS!

[cavalier973]

A Red Ryder LE BB Gun will freaking take a giant mutant apart with one shot. One. Shot. Seriously, it's almost better than the alien blaster.

[Taggart]

Even in states such as Virginia, which has a lot of guns and gun lovers, you run the threat of being charged with brandishing if you have a bb gun in your hand in public. You cannot legally discharge a bb gun outside of private property with the permission of the private property owner. So no running around in the woods like we did as kids.

[pogi]

That saddens me immensely. We lived in Hampton from 68-72 and my 3 buddies and I used to walk through our local neighborhoods with our BB and pellet rifles to the woods over behind the junior high school to go shooting. Hell, the cops used to drive by and wave as we were walking down the street.

I can't imagine being a kid these days. They are saddled with immense pressure not to break one of the infinite number of rules and/or laws designed to mold them into Perfect Model Citizens by the Edukation apparatchiks.

[Pro Libertate]

Well, see, when we get mandated trigger locks on all firearms, they'll eventually be computer-controlled. Then AI will develop, with the guns being controlled by such AI. Then all hell will break lose.

[Paul.]

An AI which can make moral decisions!

[poloniusium]

TOP COMPUTERS!

[Episiarch]

So...the Matrix?

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Don't worry about that, retards named Keanu would save us.

[Episiarch]

Something strange is afoot at the Circle K.

[LiveFreeOrDiet]

Something strange is afoot at the Circle K.

We just got those around here. They bought out a couple local chains that used to have so much junk in the they were reminiscent of caves inside. It's a big improvement.
It was a big surprise to see the sign, though. I remember seeing them out west, way back when cops carried .357 revolvers.

[Episiarch]

I'd never heard of them before I saw what I was referencing with that quote.

[Pro Libertate]

Whoa.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

The movie Youngblood was on one of the movie channels the other night and was surprised to see Kanoe in it. Watched that movie maybe 10 times before I even knew who Kanoe was (he was the goalie).

[Kevin47]

"Luckily the BB gun was sleeping and did not lift itself up, exit the car, levitate to school, and start shooting on its own wrathful volition."

It was owned by a student, not a DEA officer.

[AlmightyJB]

Why can't we just take over this country. 5 of us armed with squirt guns should do it. We can force everyone to do whatever they want.

[Duke]

That's what I'm thinking. A dozen North Koreans could swoop in and with single shot .410s take over at least five US states.

[Hyperion]

Yep. The progtards who were brave enough to come out of their basement, would be looking for the secret stash of weapons that the government hid just for them, in case the rednecks declare war.

The libertarians would be drinking beer, posting on Reason, and refusing to waste their ammo to help the progs and the state against the Norks.

The cops would run and hide in terror was soon as they realize that there are people out there who shoot back.

I figure we'd just wait for the Norks to do most of the damage, and then take out the Norks. Then, presto, Libertopia!

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Now you're thinkin'.

[Robert]

That's my boy, Norton Nork; you've done it again.

[sloopyinca]

Problem with your plan is that the Norks would stop at the first Kroger they came across and they'd never come out.

[gaoxiaen]

Kind of like a libertarian Charles Manson.

[Zeb]

Well, the pigs still have guns and even though they can barely hit the broad side of the barn, the don't seem to mind pulling the trigger until something is dead and there are a billion rounds sitting around somewhere for them to use.

[Paul.]

"there was a significant disruption to the learning environment and having the student on campus would have continued that disruption throughout the day."

I thought I saw a sasquatch in my neighbors yard. I wet my pants.

I sent the laundry bill to my neighbor because of the disruption he caused to my bladder.

[gaoxiaen]

I'm sure it was nothing like the disruption from the doggy gang bang on the school lawn right outside the window during art class in seventh grade. However, dog shooting wasn't so popular with police then.

[Duke]

It's hard for me coming from the deep south to wrap my head around stories like this. I also would imagine that a foreign country bent on invading us would read this and think, "wow, these Americans are pathetic little sissies -- we'll whip their asses.""

[Hyperion]

I'm pretty sure that the Muslims are already thinking that.

[croaker]

That's why they did what they did on 9/11, knowing the pussies would shit themselves sideways and do their work for them.

[Zeb]

A lot of the world seems to think that Americans are all heavily armed maniacs, so I'm not so sure about that.

[LiveFreeOrDiet]

It's hard for me coming from the deep south to wrap my head around stories like this

Hell, I'm from the People's Republic of California (and live in Virginia) and I'm right there with you!

[Archduke von Pantsfan]

Won't somebody PLEASE think of the Children!

[Toki Wartooth]

" The suspension, the spokesperson said, could be followed by more "disciplinary action" after an investigation is completed.

Well of course they need to investigate further. I mean if he had a BB gun in his car, he's only one step away from hi-jacking nuclear weapons and holding the world ransom for......1 Million Dollars.

[Episiarch]

Well, his next step was probably going to be to steal a vial of plutonium, make a nuclear bomb, and enter it in the New York Science Fair.

[Hyperion]

BB guns are a gateway weapon.

[Episiarch]

You know, I wonder sometimes if my references are too subtle.

[Hyperion]

He tells Paul to just give the bomb to the agents or "they'll lock you in a room somewhere and throw away the room.

Where's that 20 megaton bomb, young man?! We know you have it, empty your pockets!

[Toki Wartooth]

Is that a 20 megaton Bomb in your pants or are you just happy to see me?

[Kaptious Kristen]

Shoot someone? That's a vacation. Shoot a dog? Vacation. Beat the shit out of someone? Vacation.

Fuck someone? That's a firin'.

[Paul.]

We're talking about moral fiber, here.

By the way:

Two cops were fired after the texts of their on-the-job trysts were accidentally synced to wife's iPad.

So... not sure where to begin here, but all this stuff that's the rage with the twitter generation WILL come back to bite us. This auto-syncing of services is going apeshit and is very difficult to track even for seasoned tech professionals.

My daughter clicked something on her iPad and suddenly my ex-wifes text messages were coming across my microwave display and it took a significant effort to turn it off.

All of my various google accounts are starting to sync with each other, I haven't clicked on anything, and I'm constantly having to keep all my different accounts in my peripheral to make sure that my fucking text messages aren't showing up my goddamned google circles public page-- a google circles account I seem to be forced to have by having gmail, or using gchat or something.

OPen letter to the internets.

STOP
PLEASE PLEASE STOP
JUST STOP

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

"All of my various google accounts are starting to sync with each other"

How many google accounts do you have, and what sort of nefarious activities are you involved in exactly?

[Paul.]

Well, to be honest, I thought I had one.

Then suddenly my Youtube account 'became' a google account. Then suddenly I had two youtube accounts, one that had my old youtube account name, then another one that was mysteriously linked to my gmail account-- which was tied to Google Chat which, when it became 'Hangouts' synced itself to my SMS messages-- and a google circles thingy which I admit probably isn't a separate account but is 'linked' to the gmail. Or something.

All I know is, I wouldn't be surprised if you started getting my text messages from Episiarch, asking where my mom is.

[Carl ?s his privilege]

It sounds like you have two; one that you got when you created your Gmail address, and one that you got during the transition of YouTube to using Google Accounts.

Google Hangouts and Google+ (the "circles thingy") are not separate accounts.

You can have a Google Account without Gmail, but you can't have Gmail without having a Google Account. I don't remember when you ever could.

Anyway, it's mostly Google's fault for not making things clear and for being too conservative.

Also, last I checked Hangouts doesn't sync SMS, though I wish it did. It just gives you the option of viewing and sending SMS with its app.

[sloopyinca]

This is what you dumbasses with androids get.

[Carl ?s his privilege]

That has very little to do with anything.

[sloopyinca]

Well I guess my effort at trolling Epi with my iPhone got thwarted early. What's up with that, Carl?

[Carl ?s his privilege]

I don't know, but I fully support trolling Epi.

[Episiarch]

Hey Playa, do you know where Paul's mom is?

[Paul.]

Hey Playa, do you know where Paul's mom is?

that's probably now on my mom's facebook page.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Apparently they didn't have a picture of the man so they just did some random guy's picture?

[Kaptious Kristen]

Random guy?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

So I've outed myself as someone who doesn't recognize Ron Jeremy?

[Kaptious Kristen]

This appears to be the case

[Paul.]

To be fair, it's possible that NGKC gets his porn from Cinemax.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

I could have thought of a better comeback; good thing you didn't think of it.

[croaker]

There's a clip on youtube where the original Broadway cast of Avenue Q is doing "The Internet Is For Porn" with Ron Jeremy in the window behind Trekkie Monster.

[Paul.]

Alt alt text: Above is the BB gun, below is a Glock I accidentally shot myself with last week. Which is why I'm on desk duty.

[Duke]

I actually know two cops who shot themselves with their service weapons. Only two people I've ever known to shoot themselves. They remained on the force after the incidents too.

[Paul.]

Obligatory.

[poloniusium]

He was showing me the trigger pull.

[Almanian!]

OT: God the new "Footloose" sucks giant balls. Giant. Balls. Being sucked. I think my wife is watching this just to piss me off.

Also, fuck all of the people involved in the incident about the BB gun, EXCEPT the kid whose BB gun it is.

Fuck. Can't wait for the cops to come tase me, shoot my dog and steal all my guns from my car cause a neighbor was 'fraid when I head to the range.

[Hyperion]

OT: God the new "Footloose" sucks giant balls. Giant. Balls. Being sucked. I think my wife is watching this just to piss me off.

Women do that. My wife has watched Ghost at least 6 times.

The only defense is just to pretend you like it the first time.

[Kevin47]

I actually think Ghost is a really good movie. Smartly written, accountable to its own rules, and the director recognized Demi Moore is prettiest when she isn't trying to be pretty.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Footloose wasn't a good movie to begin with. Or at least to me it epitomizes 80s cheesiness in movies.

That being said, I somehow think, based on the stories Reason posts, that we are more likely to have town ban dancing today than back in the 1980s.

[Episiarch]

Footloose is famous and remembered for a few choice scenes, and little else. The filler was pretty mediocre. Basically people like it when he danced in the barn, when he taught Chris Penn how to dance, and the end scene. You know, the scenes that were basically music videos.

I doubt most people even remember that his love interest is Lori Singer (daughter of Beastmaster Marc Singer, also of V fame).

[Paul.]

For years after that movie, I hated Kevin Bacon. And I never saw Footloose. I saw the ads for it and said, "I hate that movie, and now I hate this newcomer actor I've never heard of... forever".

Interestingly, I think Kevin Bacon is one of the better actors around, has chosen some very interesting roles, and seems to be a generally all-around cool guy. I have forgiven him for a movie I've never seen.

[Dances-with-Trolls]

He seems alright. I think I know someone who knows someone that knows him.

[Kaptious Kristen]

+6 degrees

[Paul.]

Three degrees of Kevin Bacon?

[gaoxiaen]

Sorry. Crispy only.

[Hyperion]

I understand. It's sort of like when you, for the first time ever, hear just part of a song by the Bee Gees, and from that moment on, you hate them forever.

[Episiarch]

Footloose and Quicksilver had me disliking him a lot (his earlier work like Animal House were all too minor of roles to care). Imagine that, I hate a film about an angsty bike messenger.

It was Tremors and Flatliners that got me positive towards him. Those are pretty good movies.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

He gave a fine dramatic performance in Clint Eastwood's 'Mystic River' as well.

He's also married to Kyra Sedgewick and they apparently lost a substantial amount of their savings in Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme.

[Paul.]

Kyra Sedgewick and they apparently lost a substantial amount of their savings in Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme.

You read that "Famous people who got taken by Bernie Madoff" article, too?

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

There are several of those articles you can find on Google.

According to on article I read Steven Spielberg actually turned a profit from the scam since he got back more than he eventually lost when the scheme unraveled.

[Episiarch]

And what about Wild Things? Oh wait, it wasn't his performance I was interested in.

[sloopyinca]

In the short stretch of time where he did Mirder In The First, Apollo 13 and Sleepers, he was one of the best supporting actors out there.

[Paul.]

Yes. FUCK, we're back in agreement. How does this keep happening.

But yes, exactly, Tremors was (I think) where I was like, "This dude's aight."

And flatliners was one of those hipster 'gen-x' movies that I reluctantly watched (being a card-carrying member of gen x-- I guess). Didn't like the movie much, but I liked Kevin Bacon's character.

Now that you mention it, Flatliners was probably the movie where I got thinking positive on the Kay Bee.

[Kevin47]

I was like ten when I saw Flatliners. Was I a hipster?

[Paul.]

I was like ten when I saw Flatliners. Was I a hipster?

If you saw it when it was out and fresh, I'd say... I'm not sure what I would say. If you saw it when it was old, you were just checking retro stuff out. Like the little kids in their skinny jeans.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Tremors is the best B movie ever made.

[gaoxiaen]

Can't agree. The best B movie ever was Forbidden Planet. THAT definitely needs to be a remake.

[Kevin47]

Casablanca was a B movie. It is better than Tremors. Tremors is relevant to cinema as the first movie to be explicitly and adroitly self-concious. That's not nothing, but it also isn't Casablanca.

[dantheserene]

He's also a fairly good musician when he performs with the Bacon Brothers.

[sloopyinca]

So we've got a Footloose subthread, a The Manhattan Project subthread and someone mentioned a Sasquatch, which I will go ahead and turn into a Harry And The Hendersons reference.

It's not John Lithgow's birthday, people.

And FWIW, the best movie he was in has to be The World According To Garp.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

And FWIW, the best movie he was in has to be The World According To Garp.

Someone clearly hasn't seen New Year's Eve

[sloopyinca]

That looks an awful lot like a ripoff of a flick from the 80's or 90's. I can't remember the name of it, but that plot looks eerily familiar.

Epi, help me out with this one.

[Episiarch]

You're thinking of 200 Cigarettes. Which was pretty good.

[sloopyinca]

Poor Martha Plimpton. Poor, poor Martha Plimpton.

[Paul.]

Didn't New Year's Eve get utterly savaged on RT?

I remember reading the synopsis and nearly hurled.

[Almanian!]

THIS IS MY BB GUN! THERE ARE MANY OTHERS LIKE IT! BUT THIS ONE IS MINE!

er..."was"....till the cops stole it. lol wut?

[Otis B. Driftwood]

The article didn't mention whether or not it was an assault BB gun. Assault BB guns are extremely dangerous; they can fire explosive BB's with 10m kill and 20m maim radii, respectively. Furthermore, they are capable of assuming spontaneous sentience and unloading a disposable magazine into mobs of children and kittens. If the lad was only suspended, then Iowa must have some pretty loose gun laws.

[Hyperion]

All that? I thought all they had to do was be black and look scary.

[Dweebston]

You're making us all look racist.

More so than we normally look.

[Dances-with-Trolls]

"This incident is an important reminder that the school district and area law enforcement do not take the presence of these weapons lightly,

Except the part where, you know, it wasn't actually present on school grounds. Did someone pass a law that enrolment in public school requires a kid to give up the right to own a fucking BB gun? and the school district police powers to enforce it anywhere that the student is? Is "school grounds" no longer the school, but now anywhere a student happens to be at any given moment? W T F.

[Hydra]

My guess is the cops thought it was a real gun (they do look like real guns if you watch the video) and nabbed him for violating the GFSZA which of course is in effect within 1000 feet of school property.

[Agammamon]

You keep going on about how the gun looks - the most that does is get the cops off the hook for questioning him.

None of the other shit, *including* the confiscation is justifiable because 'oh it looks scary'.

[Tejicano]

Also - and except where a BB gun is a toy, not a weapon.

[gaoxiaen]

It'd like the hundred-mile-wide US/Mexico border area.

[gaoxiaen]

*It's

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

OT, but a Facebook friend of mine--who supported this ban--discovers the law of unintended consequences:

Before UCI's ban on cigarettes, I was able to open my office window and let in fresh air. Now with the cigarette ban, everyone is smoking outside my window because it is the perfect hiding place. I hate the cigarette ban. It did nothing for me.

[Dances-with-Trolls]

Let me guess the next part: Some kind of security sweeps to catch these renegade smokers, preferably with some kind of fine attached.

[RannedPall]

My favorite spot is the social science parking structure. And I suspect it's the preferred spot of many others, judging from the cigarette butts.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

That's where I park on school days. On Monday I inadvertently caught the guy parked next to me smoking the reefer as I was getting in my car to leave.

Maybe people will learn how unenforceable these bans are?

[poloniusium]

They'll always be unenforceable if you aren't willing to narc on the dopers!

[Agammamon]

Yeah Serious, do your part for a drug-free America.

[RannedPall]

I mean I rarely smoke at school, I'm more of a drinking smoker (Sudden can attest to this), so it's rare when I do smoke in the structure, but when I do, it's usually after a few beers at the pub. But you don't have to walk far into the structure to start seeing the butts (and not the butts of the cute Asians that do their dance practice there at night). But no, I don't think they'll ever learn.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Did you guys get it on or what?

[RannedPall]

Yeah, yesterday afternoon. Caught the happy hour at Green Hut Cafe on 7th and Flower in downtown. I had a great time. Which is why I keep crowing for some kind of SoCal meet up before I leave to Mordor (DC) on June 14th.

[sloopyinca]

Whoa, whoa, whoa. We're leaving for DC this weekend sometime. We're clamoring for a quick meetup perhaps tomorrow night.

Anybody got a wife or girlfriend that can watch our babies while we get tore up?

[Paul.]

Anybody got a wife or girlfriend that can watch our babies while we get tore up?

Just call a service. Should be one in the back of the local alt-rag.

[JW]

You're coming to DC and didn't get in touch with me?

I am disappoint.

[Hyperion]

So, I just downloaded this game on Steam because it was on sale. It's named Spec Ops. The Line. It has cult like reviews. Has anyone ever played it?

[poloniusium]

Yes.

[paranoid android]

WARNING: DO NOT SEEK OUT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THAT GAME

I swear, the less you know about it going in, the more you will get out of it. Just trust me.

[Hyperion]

Ok. I just wanted to know if it's really that good. I've been playing Crysis 3 and Farcry 3, but was in the mood for something else.

[poloniusium]

It's decent for what it is. I think it's a little overrated, mostly because the gameplay is just OK and the narrative is very heavy-handed.

If you were in the mood for something else, you shouldn't have gotten an FPS, though.

[Hyperion]

I meant something with a good story.

[Agammamon]

OK - its a mediocre shooter.

*SPOILER*

But the storyline will blow your mind once you realize its a commentary on bro-shooters, machismo, and the 'lone hero' mythos.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Yeah, if you know about the cross-dressing dwarf in advance it kind of spoils the whole...oops...

[Notorious G.K.C.]

State high court allows school voucher program to continue while a suit against the program proceeds through the courts.

http://www.wral.com/supreme-co...../13644760/

[Otis B. Driftwood]

OT: I followed the media link on the most recent Reason cop-kills-dog story and came across THIS fucking lunatic in the comment threads. Evidently, this psychopath harbors a deep loathing for libertarians and spends A LOT of time lurking around the Reason boards.

Any idea which handle he posts under?

[Episiarch]

That's Mary, dude. And yes, she still obsessively stalks the site and reads everything. Her obsession is boundless. Too bad registration fucked her utterly. HAHAHAHAHAHA

[Otis B. Driftwood]

Huh...I haven't seen that wretched gash post anything in eons. She did seem to be as crazed as this Kizone fellow, though.

[Hyperion]

I like the gay wedding cake, monocle guy, pot leaf, and satanic pentagram. Nice touch.

[Hyperion]

One of my posts is on there, lol. It feels like a badge of honor.

[Tejicano]

I feel othered tha she didn't quote me about anything. Jeez. what's a guy gotta do?

[Paul.]

I feel othered tha she didn't quote me about anything. Jeez. what's a guy gotta do?

Be like Epi. You do NOT want to go there. Never go full Episiarch.

[Archduke von Pantsfan]

Rush Limbaugh was awarded "Author of the Year" by the Children's Book Council on Wednesday, despite early protests of his candidacy.
When Limbaugh was named among the contestants for the 2014 Children's and Teen Choice Book contest, outraged liberals demanded he be removed from contention. But the book council refused.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Thank you for that. Nice to see a private entity tell the grievance mongers to fuck off when they throw a tantrum.

[gaoxiaen]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBHicyqMML4

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"Meet Dub the Doberman. He is well-groomed. He is polite, but he doesn't put up with any foolishness.

"Oh, look, it's Harper, the Hippie Hyaena! He thinks he's really cool with his shaggy fur and his outdated, discredited liberal political ideas.

"Now Harper insults Dub, calling him a teabagging racist.

"Look at Dub's sharp white teeth. Look at him sink those teeth into Harper's hideous hippie hide. Now Harper is bruised and bloody. Serves him right!"

[Archduke von Pantsfan]

Best picture of Rob Ford ever?

[Otis B. Driftwood]

What a horrifying specimen. He looks like he's about to blast off.

[Hyperion]

LMAO! Holy bejeebus, I can't fucking stop laughing. Dude looks like a freaking cartoon!

[Hyperion]

My gawd, my side is hurting from laughing too much, I can't look at that picture ever again. I love some of the comments:

That photo is fuckingtastic. Our mayor. I'm speechless

There has to be an award given for this photo ... there just has to be.

[poloniusium]

I can just imagine he's thinking "This stupid shit would be so much more fun if I had a 40 and some crack."

[VG Zaytsev]

His words adhered to those on the official pronouncement. With two exceptions. One, he omitted "Transsexual" from the end of the sentence which ? in its full form ? says that Toronto "welcomes, values and supports the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Two Spirited and Transsexual (LGBT) community."

WTF???

[poloniusium]

A blanket term for genders that weren't purely masculine or feminine in native american tribes.

[sloopyinca]

Fucking Shirley MacLaine and her damn advocacy.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"WHY IS THE PRO-LIFE MOVEMENT SO RIDICULOUSLY YOUNG AND GOOD LOOKING?"

http://www.firstthings.com/blo.....od-looking

[Agammamon]

Because people who have had kids now how important abortion is?

[Archduke von Pantsfan]

CLIMATE CHANGE

[Hyperion]

There's only 500 days left to save the RED SPOT!!!

[JW]

IT'S SHRINKING!!!

[$park? has had enough]

Can someone please explain to me why this kind of bullshit has to keep happening?

[poloniusium]

Because bitter clingers keep bringing DANGEROUS WEAPONS to school.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

The news report is pretty scanty (what does it say about 'journalism' that the story is essentially just the press release of the school?). From what little is there it sounds like the teen left for school and parked his car off school property but close to it. He had this BB gun visible in his car, a parent saw it, thought it was a real gun, freaked out and called the cops. When a kid leaves for school he's under the school's discipline, and instead of looking into the matter and saying 'ok, it was just a BB gun, we see' and leaving it at that they decided to suspend the kid for the 'disruption.'

[sarcasmic]

Always be aware of whatever is visible to someone looking into your vehicle.

That person might be a thief, a busybody, a cop, or whatever. The less they see, the less problems they will cause for you.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Sad, but good general advice.

[sarcasmic]

Locks keep honest people honest. They don't stop theives. Nothing visible combined with locked doors means no broken windows and nothing stolen.

[$park? has had enough]

Great, that doesn't really answer why though.

The stupid woman should have known it wasn't a real gun by the fact it didn't rear up and shoot her as soon as she saw it.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I imagine she ducked and covered.

[Paul.]

Well, not necessarily. There are some excellent repro-bb and airsoft guns these days.

What should have happened is when the cop found it was a BB gun, he should have smiled, said "Ah, it's just a bb gun" then maybe had a friendly chat with the young boy and said, "Some of these new fangled guns are very realistic, and they cause bladder failure in soccer moms. You might wanna keep this under wraps, and be careful because the next officer friendly might see that, also suffer bladder failure and kill everyone in the car, only to be rewarded with a paid vacation"

And then nothing else should have happened.

[l0b0t]

"When a kid leaves for school he's under the school's discipline..."

BULLSHIT!! Also, Fuck off slaver! When a child, who is is a registered student, arrives upon school property he is under the school's discipline; During travel in a conveyance that is not operated by the school or its contracted agents, the school has NO authority.

[DRM]

Because nobody's willing to support summary public executions of school administrators for this crap.

[Dances-with-Trolls]

/raises hand

[croaker]

Summary execution, no.

Bastinado followed by tar and feathers, yes.

[Rev Match]

The school suspended the student even though there was no threat and the toy gun wasn't found on campus because, according to a district spokesperson, "there was a significant disruption to the learning environment and having the student on campus would have continued that disruption throughout the day."

The only disruption was the stupid bitch that called the cops and then the cops displaying an utter lack of the least bit of intelligence by responding to it.

The suspension, the spokesperson said, could be followed by more "disciplinary action" after an investigation is completed.

WTF is there to "investigate"? And "more" disciplinary action? Really? For what, exactly? Not breaking any laws, moral or otherwise?

All the bs freakouts over guns are really damaging my calm.

[Hydra]

She probably called because she thought they were firearms. Watch the video -- they look like real handguns.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

So?

[Hydra]

Seriously?

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Yes, seriously.

[Duke]

Exactly. If stowing your firearm in your car (in plain sight for that matter) is a crime, show me the statute.

If not, shut up and go away.

[Rev Match]

She probably called because she thought they were firearms.

Even if it were a real gun, it would not matter and would still be nobody's business except the owner. Especially given that it was locked in the owner's car, and was not on school property. As I said, the owner broke no laws, moral or otherwise.

[Tejicano]

No joke.

What if a student saw some other student wearing a red shirt and reacted by screaming at the top of his lungs, knocking over desks and chairs, and running around like his hair was on fire. Should we discipline the guy in the red shirt?

I would say these people have lost their minds except it seems they may not have had anything to lose.

[JeremyR]

I've been re-reading old comic books since getting a tablet. Almost every issue has an ad for a BB gun, usually pitching the idea that the best way to get your parents to buy you one was being responsible, doing your chores, etc.

Now owning a BB gun is viewed as some sort of crime or aberrant behavior.

Whatever victories we've seen in gun laws, we're losing the cultural war about them.

[Hyperion]

Whatever victories we've seen in gun laws, we're losing the cultural war about them.

It's really hard to turn a war and start winning battles in the culture war, when your enemy controls the media, the schools, the court rooms, etc., etc. But we finally found the one thing that they don't control.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Who "controls the media, the schools, the court rooms?"

[sarcasmic]

Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Michael Savage.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Beck has the court rooms now too?

[sarcasmic]

The Blaze Network and Breitbart. They've got their spies everywhere. *shhhhh* They might be listening.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I wish they were talking, with that British lady accent. She sounds smart and cute at the same time.

[Paul.]

The Koch brothers.

[Suthenboy]

This kid is not being punished for what he did. He is being punished for how someone else feels.

These pearl clutching fucksticks are beyond contempt.

[Duke]

But you can rest assured that the woman who called the cops is holding her head up high in self-righteous smugness. Does she regret one bit what trauma she caused this child? Would Tony or Buttplug man? They're all one in the same.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

If she honestly thought they were real guns in a high school kids car I can give her a pass. I can not give a pass to the police, since upon learning they were BB guns they should have said 'Oh, OK' and slunk away. And the worst was the school, who, as Suthenboy says, decides to punish the kid because of other people's mistaken reaction.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

If she honestly thought they were real guns in a high school kids car I can give her a pass.

What the fuck are you talking about?

[Bo Cara Esq.]

If the woman thought this high school kid had a gun in his car?

[Francisco d'Anconia]

So?

[Bo Cara Esq.]

How old do you think a kid should be before he can carry around a gun unsupervised by an adult?

[Hydra]

Considering we had people defending the mom who gave her five year old a rifle (with which he immediately accidentally shot his sister), I don't think you're going to like the answer.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

18

To obtain a Montana concealed weapons permit, a person must: have been a Montana resident for at least six months. be a U.S. citizen. be at least 18 years old.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I think this kid was under 18 Francisco.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

A. How do you know? All it says was he's in high school.
B. How would the pearl clutching cunt who called the cops know that either?

I had guns in my car in high school on a regular basis (although not handguns). ON school grounds. The humanity!

This country is full of pussies.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

"A. How do you know? All it says was he's in high school."

Fair enough, I'll modify that to 'he's probably under 18.'

"How would the pearl clutching cunt who called the cops know that either?"

I am not sure she did. The car was not on school property, but close ('adjacent', and the students at the school could see the police responding to the vehicle). After highly publicized school shootings I can see why passing an empty car with a handgun in plain site might provoke a lady to call to have it checked out.

[gaoxiaen]

Right. It's difficult to go deer hunting without a rifle.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

I was hunting, BY MYSELF, completely unsupervised, at the age of 14.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Why did you quote the Montana code about 18 year olds?

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Because that's where I live and to show there are places in the world that have realistic expectations about such things.

18 is for concealed carry. Most kids here have been using guns since they were 10. They use guns unsupervised from their early teens. I'm guessing 1 in 3 vehicles here have loaded guns in them. Seeing a gun in a vehicle is not a cause for alarm, and anyone who thinks it is, is a ridiculous pussy.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

"They use guns unsupervised from their early teens."

Sorry, I think kids in the early teens handling firearms without adult supervision is a terrible idea. In my opinion this either does not show respect for a firearm and what it is capable of or does not realize the silly immaturity of early teens.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Sorry, I think kids in the early teens handling firearms without adult supervision is a terrible idea.

Well I think you are a wet behind the ears, snot nosed, little pussy, whose mommy coddled him until he was in his 20s, who knows absolutely NOTHING about the world he lives in, and hasn't kissed his first girl.

So really, anything YOU think, Bo, has about as much value as a steaming pile of shit.

Just because you were an immature, untrustworthy, irresponsible little shit-weasel, doesn't mean the rest of the world is or that they need to live by you ridiculously restrictive notions.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Francisco, unlike your boorish self I have always tried to be polite to you, but I can only imagine how pathetic an overweight, hyper-angry, simplistic man who seeks friendship and companionship on a libertarian political blog must be. I have probably 'kissed more girls' at one semester at the College of Charleston than you have in your entire, sad, chubby life. So, go back to your backwoods ways and angry rants old man, may they keep you warm and feeling smug as is your way.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

It's too bad me being a fat, angry, simple, friendless libertarian won't make you any less of a pompous, arrogant, ignorant, pussy kid.

Smooches

[Hydra]

Just because you were an immature, untrustworthy, irresponsible little shit-weasel, doesn't mean the rest of the world is or that they need to live by you ridiculously restrictive notions.

Maybe you were just an amazing prodigy, and the rest of the world isn't capable of getting along as you did?

[Duke]

How old do you think a kid should be before he can carry around a gun unsupervised by an adult?

For that question, you must turn in your fake courtesy title appended to your name.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

To ask someone how old they think a kid should be? Esquire does not mean 'mindreader.'

[Duke]

To ask someone how old they think a kid should be? Esquire does not mean 'mindreader.'

Way to push your luck Bo. You're now banned from commenting for two whole days. TWO WHOLE DAYS!!!

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Sorry, you have to be King, not Duke of H&R to do that.

[Agammamon]

14ish, or right around the age that he hit high school.

And - that's assuming the anyone *knew* it was a HS'er's car. Just because its parked *near* a HS doesn't mean its a student's car.

[Hydra]

That's a good point. The story makes it sound like she saw him getting out of the car, but that's not entirely clear.

I'd be pissed if I saw someone leaving handguns out in plain sight in their car too, just because I'd worry they'd be stolen by a criminal. Gun rights advocates are in love with the mantra that criminals get guns via theft regardless of what gun laws you have, but why don't we walk the walk too and urge people to protect their guns from theft.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

I'd be pissed if I saw someone leaving handguns out in plain sight in their car too, just because I'd worry they'd be stolen by a criminal.

Fucking drama queen. Lock the fucking door.

Remember gun racks?

[Hydra]

Wow, locking the door. I hadn't thought of that insuperable barrier to theft.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Yeah, because it's my responsibility to ensure others don't commit theft.

Tulpa, you are pathetic.

[Hydra]

Yes, it is. That this is treated as a controversial statement shows how whacked H+R is.

If you recognize that criminals use stolen guns to victimize the innocent, what does it say when you refuse to take steps to prevent your guns from being stolen.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

It's not my job to ensure the morality of the rest of the world, you fucking retard. I am NOT my brother's keeper and I am not responsible for someone STEALING my property. THEY ARE...idiot.

[Agammamon]

Arizona has this to say about juveniles carrying fire-arms

Juveniles fourteen years of age and up engaged in any of the following activities:
Lawful hunting or shooting events or marksmanship practice at established ranges or other areas where the discharge of a firearm is not prohibited.
Lawful transportation of an unloaded firearm for lawful hunting.
Lawful transportation of an unloaded firearm between the hours of 5:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. for shooting events or marksmanship practice at established ranges or other areas where the discharge of a firearm is not prohibited.
Activities that require a firearm related to the production of crops, livestock, poultry, livestock products, poultry products, or ratites or in the production or storage of agricultural commodities.

Lawful transportation does not preclude stopping somewhere else in the process. So a 14 year old could put the gun in the car he can't drive yet, stop off at school and then head to the range afterwards.

*Bringing it into the school* (which this kid did not do) is a whole different thing than simply having it in a vehicle, off-grounds.

[Hydra]

Depending on where the car was parked he could have been in violation of GFSZA. The law has an exemption for people passing by in a vehicle but he parked, so that wouldn't apply if he was within 1000 feet of the school.

[Suthenboy]

When I was in HS every damn car in the lot had a gun in it, mostly shotguns in plain view.

[Tejicano]

Wen I was in high school my ROTC class marched around campus with fully-automatic M-14's. Of course to get between the classroom and outside where we drilled we carried those rifles down the hall to the exit. Just a bunch of kids wandering down the hall with military-grade battle rifles. The way people expect these days expect that should have turned out you wonder how anybody survived.

[Hydra]

They probably weren't loaded, were they?

[Tejicano]

Tulpa, you always amaze me how many points of the compass from which you can simultaneously approach stupidity.

The biggest step in the threshhold to loading one of those rifles was teenage level common sense. No more. The ammo was common and possesion was not illegal - even on campus.

In this day and age nobody would care in the least if the gun was or wasn't loaded if the same thing were to occur at a high school. But you feel a need to bring it up all the same.

[croaker]

If I was that kid's father, there would already be Notices of Claim nailed to doors. Real doors. With real nails. Including the door of the cunt who called the police in the first place.

[poloniusium]

With a hammer and nails?! Where's my gasping couch?

[poloniusium]

fainting*

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Anyone seen Spider-Man 2? How bad is it? I would be going in with rather low expectations.

[LynchPin1477]

Loder reviewed it. He had a similar take as other reviews I read, which is that the story was disjointed and did not flow well. If you know anything about the comics, the ending won't surprise you but it will probably still piss you off. Or at least it should.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Thanks, I'll search for his review. It looks pretty disjointed from the trailers.

[Hydra]

According to the linked video, the student could be charged with a misdemeanor for having the BB gun in the vehicle. It's not stated how close the car was to the school, so the GFSZA may be an issue.

Also in the video, they showed the BB guns, and they look very similar to a real guns (one of them is a spitting image of a Glock). When I was a kid BB/airsoft guns had to have orange tips on the barrel, what happened to that requirement? In any case you've got to be a moron to leave guns visible in your car and walk away. At least put a blanket or something over them.

[$park? has had enough]

Nice slut-shaming...

[Episiarch]

Suck that cop dick, Tulpa! Slurp it up! You know you love it!

[Hydra]

I'm not really on the cops' side here. Thinking the cops acted suboptimally is not mutually exclusive with thinking the kid's a moron to leave something that looks like a gun in plain sight in his car.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Yeah, why would he have this crazy notion of privacy and property rights? Doesn't he know dickheads like you have ground that down to nothingness?

suboptimally

Sure you aren't Tulpa.

[Hydra]

You don't have a right to privacy for something you leave visible to the outside world on your car seat. That's not even a controversial statement.

[Agammamon]

Which has nothing to do with your support for hammering the kid.

Sure, it would be prudent to keep the gun out of sight - at the very least you don't want to get your window smashed from someone trying to steal it.

However, how do you go from that to supporting the extensive police involvement, suspension, and possible charges this kid is facing?

[Agammamon]

When you were a kid they did not *have* to have that. That's only a fairly recent set of laws in a limited set of jurisdictions.

Many *toy* gun manufacturers placed that on their guns because, even back then, cops would shoot anyone at the slightest provocation, but I've never seen a BB/pellet gun with a orange plastic tip.

And, legally speaking, it doesn't matter how realistic the guns look. That's a non-issue.

What is the problem here is someone saw a gun in a car and freaked out. Then the police got involved and freaked out, doubly so when they found just the slightest bit of leverage (the kid being a student) to be able to grind his face in the ground.

Had it been an adult *not* at the school then this would have gone away immediately once the cops realized they had no legal coverage.

[l0b0t]

The requirement for a blaze-orange tip on toy forearms is federal, but it applies only to importing the toys. Once the toys are in the US, there is no such requirement.

[l0b0t]

Or often, on toy firearms.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Mississippi passes a Religious Freedom Restoration Act modeled after a law passed by a bipartisan vote in Congress in 1993 and signed by Bill Clinton.

So the natural response is to hold a protest, admittedly a creative one:

"A group of chefs, including Oxford [Mississippi] restaurateur and author John Currence, in partnership with City Grit dinner club in Manhattan, is planning "The Big Gay Mississippi Welcome Table" dinner the night before the June 14 [Mississippi] picnic [in Central Park, NYC]....

""Mississippi is such an incredibly beautiful state," said [Art] Smith, restaurateur and former personal chef to Oprah Winfrey, who's also participating in the dinner. "It doesn't help Mississippi's image. For a state that has had this horrific past of racism, doing something like this only says to the rest of the world that it's still there. ? Food is peace. ? We are just having something to show that we don't agree.""

http://www.clarionledger.com/s.....t/8794199/

[Bo Cara Esq.]

It's almost like having different motives for the same action might make the situations different.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Ah, yes, Congress was motivated by benign up-twinkly progressive warm-fuzzy tolerance, while the state legislators who basically passed a carbon copy of that law are motivated by tractor-pulling, tobacco-chewing, homophobic, racist, meanie-ism.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Congress was motivated by Smith, Mississippi was motivated by Duck Dynasty.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Feelings! Intentions!

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Go To: Bo Cara Esq.|5.15.14 @ 8:44PM|#

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Get a room, you two! A private room.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

That's a pretty heavy sin for Eddie Playa, come on.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

OK. Get married first.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Let's not start that debate!

[Agammamon]

Bo Cara Esq.|5.15.14 @ 8:44PM|#

It's almost like having different motives for the same action might make the situations different.

If the results are the same, what do the intentions matter?

I don't give a pass to people who fuck up their work, no matter how good there intentions were.

Intentions are fucking irrelevant - what you actually *produce* is what's important. Nice guy, who cares? Good father, fuck you, stay home and play with your kids. You wanna work here, you *close*.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Bill Clinton is like, "hey, I signed a religious freedom act, too, why can't those chefs hold a protest at the Clinton Museum while I'm visiting? I mean, sometimes I get hungry."

[Bo Cara Esq.]

There's a Clinton Museum in Mississippi?

And, there's a Clinton Museum?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

William J. Clinton Presidential Center

http://www.clintonfoundation.o.....ing-center

So...should we engage in a lengthy debate over the meaning of the word "museum"?

[Irish]

YES! Please do! These conversations between you two are the only reasons I get up in the morning.

After a long, hard day's work I like to settle down with a nice glass of scotch and think to myself 'I wonder what Eduard and Bo have to say about abortion today.'

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"When you think about Chicago, the first food item that probably comes to mind is deep dish pizza. It's indeed here, and it's delicious....

"...Who serves Chicago's best deep-dish pizza is a controversial subject around here. There's also an ongoing "pizza war" between Chicago and New York over whose pizza style reigns supreme. Chicago's deep dish pizza is definitely not like a regular pizza ? it's a thick pie of melted mozzarella cheese, maybe some crumbled Italian sausage and pepperoni (or go vegetarian with green peppers, mushrooms and spinach) and it's all topped with a layer of chunky tomato sauce."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/.....d/9119143/

[Bo Cara Esq.]

"I like to settle down with a nice glass of scotch "

That's your problem, vodka goes much better with those discussions.

[LynchPin1477]

Is this the evening open thread? Do I care? No, I am going to go OT.

Free Society asked a question as the Santorum thread from this morning was petering out: What aspect of human nature is anarcho-capitalism inconsistent with? I found that harder to answer than I thought I would, but I have something that I thought I would throw out there for the sake of discussion.

Human beings are social animals that form tribes with hierarchical power structures. We tend to disapprove of harm done to a fellow member of the tribe. We are more tolerant, sometimes even eager for, harm done to other tribes.

On the individual and small group level, peace is maintained by alphas that command authority. Since individuals usually don't like to commit systematic violence themselves, these alphas generally have to mediate minor disputes. At the inter-tribal level, violence seems easier to motivate.

(cont.)

[LynchPin1477]

(cont.)

But any sufficiently large tribe will consist of a hierarchy of smaller tribes. How do you maintain peace between them? Affiliation with the larger tribal group helps, but only insofar as that is a more highly valued tribal marker. In practice, there is something of an alpha tribe which encompasses all the others within some sphere of influence. Government fulfills that role in convenient fashion -- it stakes out a territory where it claims jurisdiction and serves to keep order among the other tribes in that territory. Affiliation with that government is an important tribal marker itself. What identifies government as an alpha is its exclusive power to use force within its territory. Like any alpha, it doesn't tolerate challengers.

Anarcho-capitalism breaks down not at the individual level, but at the inter-tribal level. It tries to replace a single alpha tribe (and in the process, removes a broad affiliation that is useful for helping to maintain peace among tribes) with many competing alpha tribes (i.e., protection agencies) coexisting and using force to maintain order within the same territory. Such a situation is untenable and inevitably leads to territorial disputes that will end in one PA claiming sole authority in a given area. At which point, you once again have government.

[$park? has had enough]

Now name one government in all of human history that hasn't ended in (or is headed for) disaster.

[LynchPin1477]

Define disaster. I said this in the earlier thread -- it is sometimes easy to lose perspective. I know I'm guilty of that. But every day I can get up and do pretty much everything I would want to do without worrying about the government harassing me. And I even live in Canada right now! I may not be happy with the way everything is going right now, but I'm not ready to say we are headed for disaster.

[$park? has had enough]

Have things been getting better or worse? I'll admit I don't know how Canada is going, but I do know which way the US is going.

[Irish]

Canada is unquestionably freer than America is. It's not even close at this point.

Except maybe Quebec, but that's not really part of Canada. It's more like West France.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Canada? You're kidding, right?

[Irish]

No.

Canada's a great example of a country liberals have convinced themselves is left-wing because it has a single payer healthcare system. I'd rather start a business in Manitoba than California.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

This is the same Canada with nationalized health care, socialist style, much stricter gun laws and that have Human Rights Tribunals for people like Mark Steyn who say mean things?

[Episiarch]

Have you been to Canada or do you know any Canadians? Canada has lots of freedom issues of its own. It is absolutely not "unquestionably freer" than the US. That's asinine.

They're both pretty fucking bad. Where Canada really sucks is in the areas where the US at least has the Bill of Rights. If the cops want to search your car after pulling you over? Fuck you, they can without a warrant. They want to come in your house and inspect whether you have your guns locked up properly? Fuck you, open up, bitch! And so on.

[Irish]

Canada's free speech laws are atrocious. I agree.

As for your comment about cops in Canada, I would much rather deal with a Canadian cop than an American one. Let's talk about the number of Americans locked up for non-violent drug offenses compared to Canadians.

Canada's incarceration rate is 120 per 100,000. America's is 743 per 100,000. Given that the biggest impact a cop can have on your freedom, outside of killing you, is to throw you in a cell, I'd say America's policing is a much greater threat to a citizen's liberty than Canadian policing.

[Hydra]

A lot of those people in the US are justifiably in prison (ie for victimful crimes which we have more of here due to ... well a lot of reasons). But leaving that aside you're talking about a 0.075% chance of peril as opposed to 0.012%. That's not much difference.

[LynchPin1477]

a lot of reasons

Do tell...

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Fuck you Tulpa. That is all.

[Irish]

31 million people currently living in America have been arrested for drug related crimes - approximately 1 in 10 Americans.

Also, half the people in federal prison are there on drug offenses.

You're using numbers incorrectly when talking about the incarceration rate. It isn't just an issue of .075% vs. .012%. These things compound. If every single year America is incarcerating .063% more people than Canada, then after a decade or two, we will have imprisoned a drastically higher proportion of the population than have the Canadians.

That's why such an unbelievably high percentage of Americans have spent at least a little time in prison. You can say 'well, at any one point only .075% of the population is imprisoned' but since the average life is made up of 20-30,000 days, your odds of being imprisoned at some point is far higher than the .075% incarceration rate.

[Hydra]

These things compound. If every single year America is incarcerating .063% more people than Canada, then after a decade or two, we will have imprisoned a drastically higher proportion of the population than have the Canadians.

Not quite. A lot of those people are serving more than a year in prison; it's not a fresh draw from the population every year.

In any case, it's blatantly clear how to avoid going to jail for drug crimes: don't do or deal drugs. Very few people's lives will be harmed by going drug-free. Being forbidden to defend yourself or speak in a way that may offend someone is another matter.

[LynchPin1477]

Some things have been getting worse (thanks Obamacare!). Some things are getting better, like gun rights. I see reason for cautious optimism on issues of military adventurism. If I'm really in a good mood, maybe even the tax code. We'll see.

[$park? has had enough]

Well that's pretty good so far then, or at least not utterly horrible. It will be interesting to see what happens when the US tips over though.

[Episiarch]

What is a government? It's merely a situation where we still have warlords and rulers, it's just that most of us pretend that we have all these rules in place and that there is rule of law, not rule of man. Government is the mass delusion that we're not in the state of basic human anarchy, which is our normal, natural state. Do you speed? Do you smoke pot even when it's illegal? Have you ever stolen something? Did you ever drink underage?

Humans ignore rules all the time. They basically ignore them whenever they feel like it and can get away with it. This is normal. Pretending that there is some mystical "rule of law" is what is abnormal. When a powerful person gets in trouble with the rules, do they apply? Not usually.

A "government" doesn't actually have a monopoly on force, it just claims the right to it. Tons of violence and force actually go on under the government's nose. Governments only exist as long as enough people buy into the lie that they're legitimate or fearful enough.

There really are no such things as governments. There are gangs and warlords of various stripes, and some of them claim to be "governments" as a way of getting people to view them as the legitimate authority, but at the end of the day they're all the same thing.

[Hydra]

I agree with you that, at a certain pixelated resolution, democratic constitutional governments are not unlike warlords. They do claim monopoly on force, yes, and this is an important thing to be aware of.

However, it's not justifiable to view them always at that rough resolution. The US government allows itself to be completely torn down and replaced every 4-6 years (aside from SCOTUS which has very little independent coercive power). True the electorate does not take the opportunity to do so, but that's not a fault of the government, it's the fault of the people for putting up with it.

Warlords and gangs don't allow themselves to be replaced without a fight. An actual physical coercive fight, that is. That's a very important distinction.

[Episiarch]

Did you say something, Tulpy-Poo? Because I could give less of a shit you pathetic scumbag.

[Hydra]

I am not Tulpa. I am not anybody.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Cut off one head, two more take its place!

[Episiarch]

You're certainly a moron, Tulpy-Poo, if you think we believe your laughably pathetic denials. God damn you're stupid. Somehow your abject stupidity continues to top itself. At least it's entertaining.

[$park? has had enough]

'I like you, Greek,' he said. 'I'm going to do you a favor. What's your name?'

'My name is Nobody,' I told him.

[LynchPin1477]

But I think it is a legitimate point.

[Hydra]

Of course it's a legitimate point, which is why Epi is doing the ad-hom thing.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

The ad-hom thing is because you objectively suck. Kill yourself.

[$park? has had enough]

When the majority of the people become dependent upon the government for their happiness, of course they are going to do their best to maintain it. The government has near unlimited power to make people dependent on it for their happiness.

[Hydra]

Agreed, there are some malignancies that democracy is prone to (as is every form of govt). They just take longer to develop than anarchy's problems do. The US took 150 years to get to Wickard logic... I'd give an an-cap setup two weeks tops before it reverted to warlordism.

[$park? has had enough]

Didn't someone once say that democracy is nothing more than mob rule? Right before trying to make something that was not a democracy. Which pretty quickly devolved into something that is pretty close to a democracy.

[Agammamon]

Exactly what part of the US government gets torn down and replaced every 4-6 years?

Its certainly not the regulatory agencies that have the most impact on your life.

[Hydra]

Congress and the prez, whose members face election at least every six years, could obliterate every regulatory agency tomorrow if they wanted to (save perhaps the ones specifically mentioned in the constitution).

[Agammamon]

Uhm, no they couldn't.

1. The president has absolutely no statutory authority to close down a regulatory agency. And as a practical matter he has extremely limited control over *any* of these agencies - mainly limited to selecting, firing, or threatening to fire the agency head.

2. *Congress* could defund an agency or even eliminate one - this is true. But, again, as a practical matter, once an agency is created its forever. There's always a group of people in Congress that get direct, concentrated benefits from the existence of an agency while the others face diffuse cost.

[Hydra]

But, again, as a practical matter, once an agency is created its forever.

Because the people put up with it. If a majority of people said they wanted every non-constitutional agency closed down and voted accordingly, within 6 years they would be closed. That doesn't happen, of course, but it's not the fault of the system, it's the fault of the people.

[l0b0t]

"If any man think these Disorders in Popular States were but Casual, or such as might happen under any kind of Government, he must know, that such Mischiefs are unavoidable, and of necessity do follow all Democratical Regiments; and the Reason is given, because the Nature of all People is, to desire Liberty without Restraint, which cannot be but where the Wicked bear Rule; and if the People should be so indiscreet, as to advance Vertuous Men, they lose their Power: for that, Good Men would favour none but the Good, which are always the fewer in Number; and the Wicked and Vicious (which is still the Greatest Part of the People) should be excluded from all Preferment, and in the end, by little and little, Wise Men should seize upon the State, and take it from the People." -
from Patriarcha: The Natural Power of Kings (1680) by Sir Robert Filmer

[poloniusium]

A rational anarchist believes that such concepts as 'state' and 'society' and 'government' have no existence save as physically exemplified in the acts of self-responsible individuals.

One of my favorite parts of the Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

[Hydra]

Too bad you don't have the luxury of populating your anarchy solely with rational anarchists.

[croaker]

Sure we do. But you won't like what happens to those who don't get with the program...

[Agammamon]

But any sufficiently large tribe will consist of a hierarchy of smaller tribes. How do you maintain peace between them?

You engender an interlocking system of mutual debt, obligation, and need. IOW get these MF's to trade amongst each other. As the good book says - if goods don't cross borders, soldiers will.

[LynchPin1477]

Hmm. Maybe. I can see examples and counterexamples in international relations. The U.S. trades with Europe, but share a lot of culture. We get along well enough with Saudi Arabia despite clear differences, but they also aren't much of a threat. The best example is probably China, but it remains to be seen if that relationship will remain peaceful as China becomes large enough to challenge U.S. power.

[Agammamon]

Well, there's the example of the Soviet Union, who was large and powerful enough to challenge us. Yet we both traded with them *and* didn't actually get into a war with them.

Then you can look at us and Japan, who we *did* get into a war with (and dropped nuclear bombs on - if anything is going to cause a nation to hold a grudge you'd think it'd be something like that), yet today are pretty much best buds due to extensive trade ties.

[LynchPin1477]

Did we actually trade much with the Soviets? Before my time, but I assumed we did not. How much can you attribute the lack of open war to the fear of mutual destruction? We fought plenty of proxy wars. Without nuclear weapons, do they turn into direct conflict?

The post-war relationship with Japan and West Germany has always intrigued me because it seems so damn odd. But it was post-war. Both countries were devastated, occupied, had democratic governments installed, and were thrown economic lifelines by the U.S. to help them rebuild. It is a fascinating but sufficiently complex situation that I'm not sure you can attribute it to trade, and definitely not trade alone.

[Agammamon]

We did a fairly decent amount of trading with the SU - not a lot considering its *size* but a lot considering the shitty state of their economy for the entirety of their existence.

That trade opened up lines of dialogue in addition to giving 'normal' people a glimpse of what the Russians were like, doing a decent job of deflating both attempts to paint the Soviets as inhuman *and* communist sympathizer's attempts to paint the SU as some sort of burgeoning utopia.

Humans are naturally xenophobic and lack of trade means lack of peaceful, mutually beneficial contact between groups. That means that its easy for powermongers to use propaganda painting the outsider as an enemy that they will protect you from.

[MJGreen]

So why do we not have a single world government yet? Do you anticipate having one soon? I don't see why it's inevitable that one 'tribe' will end up reigning over all.

[LynchPin1477]

Because people from different cultures won't accept outsiders ruling over them. But there are international bodies that exist among countries with similar cultures. The EU, NATO, IMF, Word Bank, just to name a few. None of those are fully fledged governments (though the EU has been trying to move further in that direction), but they do have some power through mutual agreement.

I don't see it happening soon, but IF the the world became culturally homogeneous enough, I could see a stable, single world government emerging.

[Agammamon]

Actually, the EU is an outside body being forced on a group of nations with very dissimilar cultures.

One of the EU's biggest stumbling block to usurping the authority of its member governments is the fact that each of its member nations has some really good (in their eyes) historical justification for hating all the others.

They've been running campaigns for well over a decade stressing 'we're all Europeans' and its still not taking.

Plus, GB's stubborn insistence to not fully join (and its threats to pull out of the EEC) are helping hold it at bay - mainly because the British actually believe in obeying the law as written (and so pay attention to that sort of thing) vice the continental tendency to simply ignore or pay off an official when the law is inconvenient.

[cw]

OT: The Koch obsession is almost comical: http://www.politicususa.com/20.....dment.html

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

The First Amendment does not give mega rich billionaires like the Koch brothers more free speech than other Americans. The problem with the Republican argument that money is speech is that it ignores all reality. Money is not speech. Money is money. The Koch brothers aren't buying free speech. They are attempting to buy control over the democratic process.

There is literally zero logic in that paragraph. And these people think of themselves as intellectuals.

[LynchPin1477]

They are attempting to buy control over the democratic process.

Their doing a pretty shitty job of it. I'd recommend direct, under the table bribes if this really is their goal.

[Carl ?s his privilege]

We at the [government agency] sincerely support freedom of speech.

However, money is not speech. As such, we hope you do not mind that we are seizing all of Politicus USA's assets.

Cheers!

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

I'm confused. So, the Koch Brothers get to vote multiple times?

[Irish]

They don't have to, since we are all their puppets.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I wonder, why so much focus on the Koch's and not Sheldon Adleson? He seems more directly involved in politics.

[Irish]

Calling your opponents 'Adleson whores' doesn't have the same witty double entendre we've come to expect from progressives.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Adelson "ladles on" the money?

[MJGreen]

Yes, I'm sure the Kochs are very, very scared. A constitutional amendment, prompted by Harry Reid? The Koch brothers better run for it!!

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

I know I have a horrible habit of posting infantile comments, but about those Columbia University rapists lists...

MsBJns ? 5 hours ago
Good for them! Now, watch the law suits commence by the boys that were named. Claiming they were never arrested or charged and this is causing them pain and suffering.

LubecLou NorellEckmel ? 3 hours ago
How do you know they've been wrongfully accused? They have an adequate remedy at law - they can sue for libel if they can PROVE by a preponderance of the evidence they didn't rape.

Lea Tapp B.J.D ? 4 hours ago

Only 3% of rapists ever see a cell. Women have the right to protect themselves and to speak openly about the crimes committed against them.

Also, that list is not a court of law.

xshainax ? 10 minutes ago
Just a matter of time until the MRA starts to whine saying the men are being unfairly punished or something equally as stupid.

heidi jo bean ? an hour ago
Rape culture. We tell women "don't wear this, or don't wear that" instead of teaching young boys from the get go to not rape or objectify women. Why not teach rape prevention in every level of school and make it mandatory attendance for all male students?

That last one is always my favorite. Men rape because they don't know it's wrong! One wonders if they think this applies to other crimes.

[Irish]

That last one is always my favorite. Men rape because they don't know it's wrong! One wonders if they think this applies to other crimes.

If we just went to bad neighborhoods and said 'Everyone! No more murder! Murder bad!' all our crime problems would be solved.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"Why not teach rape prevention in every level of school and make it mandatory attendance for all male students?"

Would gay male students have to attend? What about male students who identify as female?

[Agammamon]

The gayz have to attend *twice*

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmw.....Homosexual

[Carl ?s his privilege]

they can sue for libel if they can PROVE by a preponderance of the evidence they didn't rape

He/she/it not only believes in the virtues of proving negatives, but that preponderance of evidence constitutes proof.

[cw]

Preponderance of the evidence is a standard of proof, the lowest one I can think of.

What's sickening is that this simpleton is demanding a person accused of rape prove they didn't do the crime. The accuser is the one who needs to prove the crime happened.

What's scary is how universities are turning what should be a criminal matter, with the requisite protections and high-burden-of-proof standard, into an administrative matter with the lowest burden of proof possible.

[Carl ?s his privilege]

I know. I meant proof in an epistemic, not legal, sense. Sorry.

[cw]

I kinda sorta figured that's where you were going, in which case I agree, but just in case you weren't...

[Bo Cara Esq.]

If the punishment is dis-associating with the customer, why should it be more than an administrative matter?

[cw]

I guess the problem I have with it is that a school ends up taking the alleged rapist's property (i.e., keeping his tuition dollars after his expulsion) based on the lowest-evidence standard over a matter that is typically resolved with the highest-evidence standard.
At least in the case of quasi-public entities, one shouldn't be so easily dissociated from the entity.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

The student has a contractual relationship with the school, they give them a student handbook with all the rules and procedures.

I think the argument about public entities is a stronger one though.

[cw]

I think one could argue that schools have as much of a duty to ensure due process for their accused students as they do to ensure their safety. That's why I believe this should be a criminal matter handled by the police.

[cw]

I guess the problem I have with it is that a school ends up taking the alleged rapist's property (i.e., keeping his tuition dollars after his expulsion) based on the lowest-evidence standard over a matter that is typically resolved with the highest-evidence standard.
At least in the case of quasi-public entities, one shouldn't be so easily dissociated from the entity.

[SweatingGin]

Carl: last weekend you had a reply to me on net neutrality, but the thread was dead before I got back to it.

I go tibfoilhattish, but, iirc, .gov (FTC) has used mergers to require surveillance capabilities before allowing the merger. AT&T or Verizon, iirc.

My suggestion is that net neutrality allows one more lever to coerce surveillance, just like merger approvals.

Also, major ++ to the one who suggested in the earlier NN thread that NSA just intercept routers and load a NN firmware.

[Carl ?s his privilege]

I was actually thinking about that discussion on the toilet today.

I was mostly thinking about technical capabilities.

I agree that net neutrality regs could serve as a lever for increasing influence over other aspects of telecom companies' operations. However, I think that ISP-level surveillance is so pervasive already that giving the NSA any more "levers" would have little appreciable effect.

[SweatingGin]

I was actually thinking about that discussion on the toilet today.

Lulz.

I'm sure the technical capabilities are there. Still, it doesn't hurt for them to have the option to nail someone who tries to offer a privacy-enhancing ISP or something. They've probably compromised most everyone already -- offering an anti-surveillance ISP would be a great differentiator/draw for a hammer. Just 'cause they don't need the lever now doesn't mean they won't want it in the future.

Along the same lines, I listened to Surprisingly Free with Ladar Levison (Lavabit guy) earlier today, very interesting podcast.

[Carl ?s his privilege]

That last one is always my favorite. Men rape because they don't know it's wrong! One wonders if they think this applies to other crimes.

This comes up a lot around these parts.

Let's be fair: they don't mean threaten-with-a-knife-rape, knock-out-with-a-roofie-rape, etc.

They mean those things, plus a man having sex with a woman when she is drunk. And they are right -- "we" are not widely teaching boys not to do that.

I didn't learn that until I began attending an expensive private university (thanks Mom and Dad!).

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Where is that? I attended a cheap public university and learned the same thing.

[Carl ?s his privilege]

IT'S A SECRET!!!

If you are desperate to know you can email me.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

I was warned that you might try to seduce me.

[Irish]

Try?

[Carl ?s his privilege]

Try?

Speaking of "rape-rape"...

[Carl ?s his privilege]

Yeah, tarran won't email me either.

*runs off sobbing*

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

What are you hoping to get out of the relationship?

[Carl ?s his privilege]

Dick pics. Don't you know how this works? Do we need to summon jesse?

[jesse.in.mb]

Still waiting on those, bro.

[poloniusium]

I'm pretty sure many women attending college would be upset if men stopped having sex with them when they (the women) were drunk.

[Irish]

It's now 69 years since the Nazi regime collapsed. Let's recall the bloodlust of unfettered capitalism & the courage of those who fought it.

[Irish]

Think Progress: Colion Noir must be a puppet of the white man who was created by the NRA.

[Hydra]

His name does translate to "black sharecropper" in French. Well, if you remove the first "i".

[Irish]

I hear that if you run Bible verses through a computer which randomly jumbles up the letters, it can predict the future.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I thought you got healed.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

So I'm 8 miles from the ocean and its 100 degree outside. Last I checked with kibby she was in the New Mexico desert where it is 83. Something generally wrong with that.

[Carl ?s his privilege]

I saw you trolling Salon's Lind article the other day.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Yeah, they make it real easy given how utterly clueless they are about libertarianism.

[RannedPall]

It's like I said yesterday, we've got some Vegas style heat, but with nowhere near enough booze and cocaine.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

8 miles from the ocean? Where would that be?

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

And I think you mean Sonoran Desert.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

I think I've mentioned before that Seal Beach is 8-10 miles away from where I live.

And no, it's actually the Chihuahuan Desert that extends into New Mexico and West Texas. But she is nonetheless in a desert that is in New Mexico, so not an inaccurate description.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

In New Mexico? OK then. Driving to Ohio?

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

I don't remember the exact route she's taking but it involves driving through a whole lot nothing in the Texas panhandle and Oklahoma.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Happy Birthday, L. Frank ("Wizard of Oz") Baum!

Your great-grandson Roger has written an Oz book and a movie studio has bought the rights -

"Fans of the Oz books will see familiar faces - Dorothy and Toto - but also new characters such as the wicked Jester (voiced by Martin Short), the heroic Marshal Mallow (Hugh Dancy), the wobbly owl Wiser (Oliver Platt) and the ancient tree Tugg (Patrick Stewart). Baum's plan was to use the original characters from his grandfather's books to bridge his works to the original tales, but he then add new characters and events even if they didn't line up exactly with the original books."

Yes, Patrick Stewart!

http://www.bellinghamherald.co.....s-his.html

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"SYRACUSE, N.Y. - City officials plan to seize the tax-delinquent house where "Wizard of Oz'' author L. Frank Baum met his future wife, fueling hopes among Oz-lovers that the once-stately West Onondaga Street property could become a tourist attraction honoring the author.

"The Greater Syracuse Land Bank plans to acquire the historic house after the city completes its tax foreclosure. Then the land bank will work with a private foundation dedicated to Baum to assess the feasibility of renovating the structure as a museum-like home for the foundation, said Katelyn Wright, executive director of the land bank."

http://www.syracuse.com/news/i....._baum.html

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Syracuse? Are you trolling Bo?

[RannedPall]

On this fucking ridiculously hot day, I find myself drinking Ritual: Extra Red once again, and (not desperately!!!) making my way through Tinder.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Red Hook Long Hammer IPA. By the pool. No relief. Air 92, pool 89.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

You guys suck!

I haven't had a drink in 6 weeks.

[SweatingGin]

I don't believe you.

I've been working under the assumption that if the Mrs. has half a glass out of a bottle of wine, it means I didn't drink the whole bottle.

I didn't drink the whole bottle.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Diet.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

What's the weight now, and was it worth it?

[Francisco d'Anconia]

I've lost 25 lbs.

It's worth it. I'm still a fat pig, but I feel much better.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

It sounds like you're done. What's your target? I got down to 187 (@ 6'), and that's enough for me.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

I want to lose 40 (190). Which is still 20 more than I should be.

[Hydra]

Fuck, I just got a new barrel from Mossberg for my 930 and it doesn't quite seat properly. WTF!

[SweatingGin]

Does it have to be stored in a safe based on muzzle velocity?

[Hydra]

Huh?

[SweatingGin]

Ask Rollo.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

I'm sure you can still swallow it.

[Hydra]

I didn't realize the significance of this till I saw the pro-suicide comment above. Nice.

You do realize that no one on the Internet is really anonymous when push comes to shove, and your comments here are likely to be quite troublesome for you should certain legal situations arise. Not my doing, I merely foretell.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Why do you keep coming back? Do you really have nothing else?

[Hydra]

Same reason you do, for the chicks.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

You should totally get my clearance revoked. Good luck.

[Hydra]

They probably don't like you mentioning that you have a clearance in random places on the net either.

Again, I'm not going to do anything to anybody. Just giving you some friendly advice.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

"They" don't. But I never mentioned the nature of my work, as per the power point presentation.

[$park? has had enough]

ooooooooooooooooohhh, you done put your foot in it now, Playa.

[Agammamon]

No, no they won't.

[Hydra]

I wouldn't want to be a defendant claiming self-defense and have the prosecutor share with the jury a bunch of examples of me telling random strangers on the Internet to go kill themselves.

Again, it has nothing to do with me, I just consider it a sad thing that people get into these ruts. But people should be careful.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Ruts? Project much?

[Episiarch]

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Look out, Playa, Tulpy-Poo is threatening you!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Even his "threats" are pathetic!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[Hydra]

There are no threats in anything I wrote.

You're probably scared of lab mix puppies too.

[Hydra]

I'm not the one following people around and telling them to kill themselves or "fuck you".

But you're not the only one. There are a crapload of people I've noticed in my relatively brief time as a commenter who better hope they never face a prosecutor who knows they posted here. Especially on the anti-cop threads.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Really? Your brief time as a commenter?

[Episiarch]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

in my relatively brief time as a commenter

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[sloopyinca]

There are a crapload of people I've noticed in my relatively brief time as a commenter who better hope they never face a prosecutor who knows they posted here. Especially on the anti-cop threads.

Um, why? Because we exercise our right on an open forum in a relatively anonymous fashion (for most of the people)? What, should I shit my pants if I'm ever accused of a crime because I have said all cops that don't actively stop crimes their brotherss from breaking the law are scum? Or that I have said on many occasions that I hope dunphy (you remember him, Tulpa) meets an accident on his next "tour of duty"?

Let them try to bring up any of that as evidence. No judge worth his salt would allow unsubstantiated comments on an internet forum as evidence to an anti-cop bias.

[Hydra]

I'm not talking about merely disbelieving the claims of police, I'm talking about the people stating that they support (or even stating that they would personally commit) violence against cops, and people responding positively to those statements. Look at today's "puppycide" thread for some choice examples.

[Irish]

I'm not talking about merely disbelieving the claims of police, I'm talking about the people stating that they support (or even stating that they would personally commit) violence against cops, and people responding positively to those statements.

Which is not illegal and as such could not be admitted into a criminal defense case.

Here's a random example of a state's illegal threat law.

A "criminal threat" is when you threaten to kill or physically harm someone and

that person is thereby placed in a state of reasonably sustained fear for his/her safety or for the safety of his/her immediate family,

the threat is specific and unequivocal

Point me to the person who can reasonably be placed in 'reasonably sustained fear for his safety' based on an impersonal threat in an internet forum or the person to whom said threat is 'specific and unequivocal.'

[Hydra]

Which is not illegal and as such could not be admitted into a criminal defense case.

Remind me not to hire Irish as a defense attorney.

[Irish]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA!

Yeah, why would you hire a defense attorney who actually understands the concept of an illegal threat?

You should hire Hydra, who would shriek impotently and claim everyone in the courtroom was trying to murder him.

[Hydra]

I would not hire a defense attorney whose plan for my defense was based on the idea that evidence cannot be brought up in a criminal trial if it involves legal acts on the part of the defendant.

[Irish]

It cannot be brought up in a criminal trial if it is prejudicial to the jury and has no relevance to the facts of the case at hand.

I'm having a difficult time figuring out how internet posts about hating cops would ever be relevant or non-prejudicial. Unless I was on trial for killing a cop and I literally said 'I would murder this police officer' there is no chance. Even then, a good defense attorney could probably kill that evidence.

I'd love you to point me to all these people going to jail because they made angry posts on a police brutality video. I'll wait.

[gaoxiaen]

Might work to get out of jury duty.

[fuck you tulpa]

.

[Irish]

But you're not the only one. There are a crapload of people I've noticed in my relatively brief time as a commenter who better hope they never face a prosecutor who knows they posted here. Especially on the anti-cop threads.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA! Seriously?

I'll tell you what. I'll give you some time to do some legal research and get back to me with the statute that allows a prosecutor to throw you in prison based on random internet postings.

I could literally write a post saying 'If someone killed this pig, I wouldn't convict' and there would be nothing illegal about that statement.

I wouldn't want to be a defendant claiming self-defense and have the prosecutor share with the jury a bunch of examples of me telling random strangers on the Internet to go kill themselves.

Which would not be admissible, you fucking moron, because what he said can in no way logically be construed as a threat. Moreover, I don't know how saying 'kill yourself' to an internet stranger could ever be admitted into a fucking self-defense case.

You should look up the phrase 'admissible evidence' particularly as it pertains to 'relevance' and not being unfairly prejudicial.

[Hydra]

Prior comments (verbal, written, internetted, etc) are very relevant and admissible if the case turns on the defendant's attitudes and motivations (as in the case of GZ last year).

[Irish]

You mean the case where he was found not guilty?

I'd also like you to point me to the point where Florida prosecutors used prior internet postings of George Zimmerman's in an attempt to get a conviction.

There's also this aspect of the trial:

udge Nelson ruled that Martin's school records, history of marijuana use, fights, and photos and text from the teen's phone should not be mentioned during the trial. The judge did say that she might change her mind during the trial if the subjects become relevant.[87]

The judge ruled that Martin's prior criminal behavior was not admissible in a possible self-defense case, including actual fights that he got in. She did say it could be brought in if it were deemed relevant, but realistically it would have taken a major fuck up on the part of the prosecution to allow that to happen.

Fights were not allowed into a trial that hinged on whether or not Trayvon Martin started a fight. And you think a nebulous internet 'threat' directed towards no one in particular would be admissible evidence?

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I hate to be 'that guy' again, but apart from Tulpa v. 3.0's concern trolling about prosecutorial use of H&R postings, I have to wonder why so many people feel so cavalier about H&R's rather plain "We invite comments and request that they be civil and on-topic" request. I guess some people want to 'one up' everyone in impressing the popular guy in the clique by telling someone he is arguing with to kill himself, but such disregard for our hosts' requests (as well as just basic human decency and how that kind of thing reflects on readers views of libertarians) seems like really jerk moves to me.

[Irish]

I guess some people want to 'one up' everyone in impressing the popular guy in the clique by telling someone he is arguing with to kill himself

Or maybe he just got fed up with Hydra concern trolling. No, you're right. Playa's just trying to get us cool libertarian kids to like him. Definitely.

I have to wonder why so many people feel so cavalier about H&R's rather plain "We invite comments and request that they be civil and on-topic" request.

Well, it's a good thing you've never gotten into off-topic discussion with Eduard about abortion. That would be a really 'jerk move.'

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Yes Irish, suggesting someone kill themselves and threadjacking are equivalent.

[Irish]

Yes Irish, suggesting someone kill themselves and threadjacking are equivalent.

You're the one who based your concern trolling on the terms of use of an internet forum. Since that term of use agreement also happens to mention 'on topic posts,' your obvious hypocrisy on the subject is definitely something I should needle you over.

If you don't want me to be pedantic, you probably shouldn't bring pedantry into the conversation.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Again, if you think it is merely 'pedantic' to think someone is violating terms of use by inviting another person to kill themselves, I guess we just see things differently.

There is an entire world of normal, real human interaction out there outside of the internet. The next time you engage in that, invite someone present to kill themselves and see how that goes over. Perhaps we mix in different circles, but that is kind of frowned upon in my experience.

[Dances-with-Trolls]

I hate to be 'that guy' again,

Then. Fucking. Don't.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Sorry, but I think libertarianism and H&R's image, not to mention basic human decency and my hosts' requests as to how I act on their property, is more important than one-upping the gang on roasting some (deservedly) unpopular commentator.

[sloopyinca]

I have to wonder why so many people feel so cavalier about H&R's rather plain "We invite comments and request that they be civil and on-topic" request.

First off, they are inviting is to be civil and on-topic. They're not demanding it like many other sites do with their comment censoring. Second, if you were around for the Joel Pile episode, you'd know that that was put up as a hedge against liability for the Reason Foundation to prevent them from paying out if one of us called someone a sheep-fucker.

As for civility, we are pretty civil here compared to the real world. People swear, they rant and they rave. It's part of life, and its sure a hell of a lot more civil than actually carrying out violence, which occurs in the real world with all too much regularity.

So sit back, read and enjoy our civil fucking conversation about these prick cops and pants-shitting school admins that would rather fuck this kid's life up than to let an opportunity to get their rage-boners go by.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

"As for civility, we are pretty civil here compared to the real world. People swear, they rant and they rave."

I have never heard someone invite another person to kill themselves in actual, real human conversation. Sorry.

I also take the 'invites' of my hosts seriously, it goes with my devotion to property rights.

[Hydra]

I also take the 'invites' of my hosts seriously, it goes with my devotion to property rights.

Quite right. I'm constantly accused of being an autist, yet these folks don't seem to understand that "request" is not always to be taken literally.

[sloopyinca]

I have never heard someone invite another person to kill themselves in actual, real human conversation. Sorry.

Obviously you've never tried to walk past an AFSCME picket line, or tried to ride your bus to school and had striking teachers lob rocks the size of a baseball at the window...or cut the brake lines. I'm also sure you've never protested peacefully and had a cop drag you by your feet to a paddywagon. Well I have, shithead. And I can tell you its a hell of a lot worse than having someone on here call me a cocksucker.

I also take the 'invites' of my hosts seriously, it goes with my devotion to property rights.

An invitation is not a demand. They know what these comment pages hold and they know it falls right in line with "free minds and free markets". If they demanded we all behave according to an arbitrary definition of civility, then we would either adhere to their policy or we would leave and go elsewhere. But we most certainly do abide by their TOS's.

You know what? You're a fucking prude and a moral scold. You should go suck start a shotgun.

[Hydra]

Obviously you've never tried to walk past an AFSCME picket line, or tried to ride your bus to school and had striking teachers lob rocks the size of a baseball at the window...or cut the brake lines.

Nice standards you have.

So in your personal life, if you go to a party and the host says, "I ask that you not drink the milk in the refrigerator," you feel perfectly free to go and drink the milk in the refrigerator because it wasn't explicitly forbidden, and the host has not thrown people out of the party in the past. See how many parties you get invited to. (oh wait, here comes the predictable retort... yawn, people)

[Bo Cara Esq.]

"Well I have, shithead. And I can tell you its a hell of a lot worse than having someone on here call me a cocksucker."

Not only is this comment characteristically bizarre (calling someone a c*cksucker=inviting them to kill themselves), but are we supposed to live up to the standards of your tormenters here?

"An invitation is not a demand."

You are like the exact opposite of a close reader. They say "We invite comments and REQUEST that they be civil and on-topic." Perhaps you should look up the capitalized word.

[poloniusium]

Watch out, Bo is gonna backtrace you.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Get over yourself.

What is going on at Reason that asking people not to invite people to kill themselves is so controversial? None of the Reason writers write like that. There are just nuts using the comment boards of the website for their own selfish, nutty aims.

[poloniusium]

I can't imagine why someone who serially uses sockpuppets to argue in bad faith and posts shit day after day after day would engender hostility. It's a pretty safe bet that Tulpa is a psychopath.

For fucks sake, his sockpuppet is complaining about pseudonymity. YEA. You're defending that kind of crazy from vitriol. If you keep up that kind of bullshit, no one will have you unfiltered.

Just filter Tulpas tulpas. Much, much better than going down the rabbit hole with them.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I can't be emphatic enough, I am not defending the bizarre behavior of Tulpa (who keeps making up handles to post on a website he disagrees with). I am just saying that no matter how bizarre the object, we should adhere to our hosts requests and not wish death upon him.

[sloopyinca]

You know what, bo? When you've been on here for nearly a decade or you've had the personal interaction many of us have had with the writers, either off-site or IRL, then you might have an inkling into what they are like and what is acceptable to them.

I've never once seen a real commentator be banished or even reprimanded except for during the Joel Pile episode. Before that fucking asshole threatened the Reason Foundation, the disclaimer was nowhere to be found. And IIRC Gillespie made a personal plea to us when the disclaimer was put up, explaining what precipitated it. Since Pile was satisfied, there's not been a peep out of the Reason staff, either here or in person, for one of us to watch what we say...except for Mary shitting up the entire site for a while.

You are speaking from a very high horse but you are very uninformed. And you may want to move onto a more sanitary and "clean" site. I am afraid your sensibilities may not be up to snuff here. Try HuffPo. They censor a lot of stuff over there. It's politically more your speed as well.

[Hydra]

I have a hard time believing that people who post here actually behave this way in real life. Epi would be starving in the street rather than living the high life of a superstar address parser if he called anyone he disagreed with a retard and accused them of sucking dick of whatever group they disagreed about.

Presumed anonymity is a stronger disinhibitor than intravenous everclear.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

"I have a hard time believing that people who post here actually behave this way in real life"

You have a fake conversation with people where you assume 3 different personalities, and then when they get irritated with you, you tell them you were "offering a different perspective"?

Unless you have some sort of situation that merits sympathy, I would gladly tell you to off yourself in real life.

[sloopyinca]

Epi would be starving in the street

Um, what makes you think he's not?

[Agammamon]

So wait, are you saying you're planning on 'committing suicide by Playa'?

[Hydra]

Where am I supposed to have said that?

You guys love to make shit up don't you.

[Agammamon]

I wouldn't want to be a defendant claiming self-defense and have the prosecutor share with the jury a bunch of examples of me telling random strangers on the Internet to go kill themselves.

So you've got a guy who told you to kill yourself, you're concern that that statement would come back to haunt him in a self-defense trial suggests to *me* that you're planning on doing something crazy that will make him think that he has to kill you to save his (or someone else's life).

Suicide by Playa.

[Irish]

You clearly haven't been to the Hydra School of Law in which any vaguely threatening thing said on the internet is automatically admissible in a court of law regardless of what the case is about.

As a result, if you facetiously said 'kill yourself' to someone on the internet and later defended yourself against a home invader, your decade old internet post will be used to throw you in the hoosegow.

[Hydra]

You have a rich imagination, to which my explicit statements contradicting your theory are no obstacle.

Things you do to person B can be brought up as evidence in a trial for something you allegedly did to person A. Particularly in self defense cases.

[fuck you tulpa]

.

[SweatingGin]

You do realize that no one on the Internet is really anonymous when push comes to shove, and your comments here are likely to be quite troublesome for you should certain legal situations arise. Not my doing, I merely foretell.

No longer Tulpa-esque. Good Evening, Mary.

[Hydra]

I guess I'm a Rorshach test now.

If we wait long enough you'll think I'm Ed Asner, I suppose.

[fuck you tulpa]

.

[Agammamon]

You're more like Rorshach.

Hrm, Hydra's Journal, May 15th 2014

All the libertarians looked up and cried 'Leave us alone' and I whispered

No.

[Hydra]

And I don't claim (or want) to know anything about anybody's private personal information, just saying that situations where that information would be dug up and exposed by hostile parties do exist.

[fuck you tulpa]

.

[Duke]

So I guess this wore out old thread is what passes for a chat room around here. I thought Reason had like three or four hundred writers at large. Huh. I guess expected more somehow.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Not everyone is here. "Thursday" rhymes with "thirsty."

[Carl ?s his privilege]

Kinda-sort NSFW (there is a sex doll present): http://imgur.com/KSPTP5u

Some things can't be unseen...

[poloniusium]

I have no words.

[LynchPin1477]

I just laughed hysterically. Talk about desperate for attention.

[Carl ?s his privilege]

Talk about desperate for attention.

Not what I was talking about. Read the text.

[LynchPin1477]

Exactly. Rogan is such an attention whore.

[poloniusium]

Yea, my mind seeing something when prompted is a lot less disturbing than seeing someone in a sequin leotard fellate a blowup doll.

[Carl ?s his privilege]

a lot less disturbing than seeing someone in a sequin leotard fellate a blowup doll

I wasn't the least bit disturbed. What does that say about me?

[poloniusium]

Probably that you're from the internet.

[SweatingGin]

I thought for sure it would be the guy from Vice that I briefly mistook for our buddy Gavin.

Vice guide to something in Japan with Love Doll. Obviously NSFW.

[SusanM]

Is it possible to diagnose an entire country with Asperger Syndrome?

[poloniusium]

God bless Japan.

[sloopyinca]

You guys know that Lucy is a contributor over at "Vice" now?

[Archduke von Pantsfan]

DON'T TALK ABOUT LUCY

[BunkerBill]

Dubuque, where I live. Not surprising, this town is a College Town and Leftist Social Worker's Wet Dream.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Why I Filmed My Abortion

[MJGreen]

I want attention and it will be great for my career.

[Drake]

Without clicking I'm going to guess attention seeking whore?

[Duke]

...but what I really wanted to address in my video is guilt.

Our society breeds this guilt. We inhale it from all directions. Even women who come to the clinic completely solid in their decision to have an abortion say they feel guilty for not feeling guilty. Even though they know 110 percent that this is the best decision for them, they pressure themselves to feel bad about it.

I didn't feel bad. I do feel a little irresponsible and embarrassed about not using birth control. I mean, Emily, wake up! What are you doing? I was going against the advice I give to patients all the time. So I had them put an IUD in after the abortion. I was able to learn and move forward. And I am grateful that I can share my story and inspire other women to stop the guilt.

I own Hitler's Table Talk. It is not as disturbing as this.

[LynchPin1477]

Even though they know 110 percent that this is the best decision for them

The fetus, that they may or may not consider a separate rights-bearing person but may very well feel an emotional connection with anyway, on the other hand...

[Duke]

I simply cannot reconcile the emotional disconnect people like her have regarding abortions.

You know, it's almost like they're narcissistic or something.

[poloniusium]

I found out I was pregnant in November. I had been working at the clinic for about a year. It was my first pregnancy, and, full disclosure, I hadn't been using any kind of birth control, which is crazy, I know.

So I tracked my ovulation cycle, and I didn't have any long-term partners.

I'm just going to interpret this to mean she was having sex with multiple partners without any form of protection. Didn't you know, you can only get pregnant when you're in a long-term relationship.

To her credit (for some of us), it was a 1st trimester termination.

[sloopyinca]

To her credit (for some of us), it was a 1st trimester termination.

If only that irresponsible assclown were able to have performed a 77th trimester abortion. The world would likely be a better place.

Wait, is that civil? On-topic? Aw, fuck it. I stand by what I said.

[Agammamon]

You know, I'm not Pro-Life (nor strongly pro-abortion, or Pro-Choice as they like to be called) but if you're fucking arou - uhm, I mean have no long term partners and you get pregnant because you were too stupid and/or lazy to use birth control then 'society' has a perfectly legitimate reason to 'breed this guilt'.

While I support your right terminate the pregnancy, that support is very much contingent on you being responsible enough to take the decision seriously and use the basic fucking precautions that would make an accidental pregnancy a rare occurrence (rather than the inevitable result of your actions).

This is not a situation to feel a little embarrassed about, its a pretty major fuck-up.

[Tejicano]

This is one of the main reasons I believe abortion should be available. People this stupid, irresponible, and just plain fucked up should never be raising children.

[sloopyinca]

Speaking of guns..real ones!...Mother Jones goes full fucking retard.

And I mean FULL fucking retard.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Saw that reposted on Raw Story where the derp is 10 times worse. They're just sore losers.

Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action, has faced a continuous barrage. "For me, the question is always, 'Why does this person want to kill or rape or silence me?'" she says. "I think the answer is that this issue touches a cultural nerve based on gender, geography, and other politics. There are pundits who make a good deal of money encouraging this type of anger."

Once again, it's projection all the way down. They just have to believe their opponents are as amoral, dishonest, and low as themselves.

[Duke]

I think the answer is that this issue touches a cultural nerve based on gender, geography, and other politics.

Nailed it. That's the only reason I can think of to keep and bear arms -- gender, geography and other politics. And I can't think of any other reasons to own guns for that matter.

[SusanM]

What the group[Open Carry Texas] hasn't publicized are some of its members' more degrading antics. In March, a group of them held a "mad minute" at a firing range, pulverizing a female mannequin with a hail of bullets. They positioned the figure with her hands raised in surrender, naked from the waist up. Afterward, they posed with the bullet-riddled mannequin, her arms blown off and her pants down at her ankles. "Mad minute" is a military expression referring to a burst of rapid fire, and Open Carry Texas members have often referred to Moms Demand Action as "mad moms."

Again, how's about just being careful who you all nominate as poster children?

[poloniusium]

I must have missed the convention.

Being collectivized is fucking tiresome.

[Duke]

Aelfgifu clemans ? 6 hours ago
Anyone who thinks it's okay to openly carry a gun in public is not just immature and irresponsible, but mentally disturbed. They should not have guns in the first place.

Aelfgifu ? 3 hours ago
unless their job requires it .....

Clearly, they have thought out their opinions thoroughly.

[sloopyinca]

Somebody needs to introduce those imbeciles to this little nugget.

[Duke]

Law enforcement officers beat their wives or girlfriends at nearly double the rate of the rest of the population, and trying to control that is not only difficult for the victims but potentially deadly, experts say.

That is indeed a troubling tidbit. But anyways, like I was saying about guns, only cops should have them.

/The Left

[Archduke von Pantsfan]

I'm sure you're all very busy, I just wanted to write to you to remind you: IT'S COLOMBIA, NOT COLUMBIA!

[Hydra]

I hope you never go on trial for cocaine dealing, because this will totally be admissible.

[fuck you tulpa]

.

[Agammamon]

Heh, that's pretty funny, I don't care who you are.

[Archduke von Pantsfan]

Impossible Biology of Godzilla

[Archduke von Pantsfan]

Ugh
the Psychology of Facebook unfriending.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

I unfriended a high school classmate of mine after he got arrested for sex with a minor. For the second time. I assume he knows why.

[poloniusium]

The primary reason for unfriending is "polarising comments".

The Echo Chamber must be built!

[Archduke von Pantsfan]

Smuggled pictures from North Korea

[poloniusium]

This is going to be depress/enraging, isn't it?

[poloniusium]

Well, just bleak.

[Agammamon]

The North Korean officials hate when you take this kind of picture. Even when I explain that poverty exists all around the world, in my own country as well, they forbid me from taking pictures of the poor.'

If you can't take pictures of the poor in NK, then who's left to take a picture of?

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Since this thread can't get anymore confusing: Transgender model Carmen Carrera poses nude as both Adam and Eve

[Archduke von Pantsfan]

that's something alright.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

The kicker is nobody knowing whether she has male genitals or not.

[poloniusium]

She pulls it off.

errrr, wait...

[Apatheist ?_??]

I applaud her doctors.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

**insert Jack Nicholson quote**

[Archduke von Pantsfan]

Blade Runner 2 Officially Looking To Bring Back Harrison Ford

[sloopyinca]

Man, why can't the make good sequels like Glengarry Glen Ross 2: Blake's Boogaloo?

Obligatory!

[sloopyinca]

I apologize to the editors and staff of Reason for this off-topic and profanity-laced video. It's not only wholly inappropriate for a libertarian site but it is an offense to the sensitive ears of a few of our newer posters.

Please accept my sincerest apologies and look forward to the new, cleaner sloopy in the future.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Fuck that annoying little prick. God he's grating.

[sloopyinca]

Because he's the troll Reason deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we'll mock him. Because he can take it. Because he's not our troll. He's a morally superior guardian. A watchful pedant. A Dark Troll.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

A Dark Dork Troll.

FTFY.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

I'm guessing Sean Young won't be returning.

[Archduke von Pantsfan]

Time is a harsh mistress indeed

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

I don't know, she might show up anyway in a homemade costume to lobby for the role.

**that's not a joke, she actually did that to Tim Burton on the set of 'Batman Returns'

[Agammamon]

It'll suck. Either they'll let Ridley Scott get his hands on it and he'll turn it into something 'inspred by' blade Runner (and completely incomprehensible except for those parts that are asinine - see Prometheus and Robin Hood) or they'll Abrams it up into a spectacle with hawt actors with good chemistry, good set design, and a WTF script.

[Archduke von Pantsfan]

Brazilian anti-World Cup protests hit Sao Paulo and Rio

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Night kids.

[Archduke von Pantsfan]

Brand new boy's names included Rydder, Jceion, Hatch, Tuf, Lloyal, Xzaiden, Charger, Kyndle, Power, Warrior, Kaptain, Subaru, and Vice

[jesse.in.mb]

I'm going to view "Kyndle" and "Subaru" through the lens of aspirational naming from Freakanomics. Now I'm going to think of how much a Kyndle costs and weep for America.

[Old Man With Candy]

Guys, I won't be around for the morning links, but you need to watch a REAL political debate.

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

[RishJoMo]

You got to be kidding me. People taking this terrorist nonsense WAY too seriously.

http://www.YourAnon.tk

[Glockslinger]

More "zero tolerance" nonsense. If the BB gun is otherwise legal and the student is not prohibited from owning/possessing it, then why the confiscation? I hope that he gets a great lawyer who rips 'em a new one.

[Mark Malone]

Mike Donohue, School board President
Home address and phone
2019 Wedgewood Drive, Asbury, Iowa 52002
P: 563/599-3667
[e-mail]

Main District Offices

2300 Chaney Road
Dubuque, Iowa 52001
Phone: [phone]

Reception Area Fax: [phone]
Main Fax: [phone]
Curriculum Office Fax: [phone]
Superintendent's Office Fax: [phone]
[e-mail]