Tonight on The Independents: The Lawyer for Shaneen Allen, the Writer of That NYT Mag Piece, the Mom Who Claims Cannabis Saved Her Kid, Plus Iraq War, St. Louis Riots, Tony Stewart, Robin Williams, and After-Show

Gawker, just killin' it

Sometimes there's just too much news, like tonight, when Robin Williams is dead of an apparent suicide, Iraq is disintegrating (and the U.S. is escalating) by the minute, St. Louis stands at a knife's edge, and racing fans grapple with the possibility that an angry driver's deliberate actions took another angry driver's life. You'll be thankful by the time Topical Storm rolls around, is all I'm gonna say.

Tonight's live episode of The Independents (Fox Business Network, 9 p.m. ET, 6 p.m. PT, with re-airs three hours later) begins with an in-depth examination of the horror-show in Iraq, with Party Panelists  K.T. McFarland (former Reagan-administration deputy defense secretary) and Richard Grenell (former Mitt Romney foreign policy advisor). Robert Draper, author of that recent New York Times Magazine feature on libertarianism, will come on to talk about the interesting reaction that piece has generated. Then Evan Nappen, lawyer of the single mom facing 11+ years in prison for carrying a legally registered gun into a state where such activity is profoundly illegal, comes on next.

After the Topical Storm reprieve is some discussion about Tony Stewart and Robin Williams, and then Rachael Garner, mother of a toddler who she says had his life saved by cannabis, will describe her experiences. The show will end with Kmele Foster breaking down the mess in St. Louis.

The online-only aftershow begins at foxbusiness.com/independents just after 10.  will do what the online-aftershow does. Follow The Independents on Facebook at facebook.com/IndependentsFBN, follow on Twitter @ independentsFBN, and click on this page for more video of past segments.

Comments

[EDG reppin' LBC]

I was going to make a joke about the accompanying photo, but nevermind.

[db]

Some jokes die in utero.

[Heroic Mulatto]

*slow clap from an albino, a mulatto*

[Derpetologist]

+1 mosquito's libido

[Sudden]

I better get all apologies from you guys for all these puns or I'll need some damn lithium to cope.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Never mind.

[db]

From Molly's lips to God's ears.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Why is Andrew W.K. on Cavuto and not the Independents?

Losers.

[GILMORE]

Surrius

what, we're not cool enough? There's so much wrong with that.

[Headless Body of Agnew]

Robin Williams has apparently killed himself.

[Caleb Turberville]

Love Good Morning Vietnam and Aladdin.

I would normally say that I hate Good Will Hunting, but I think Robin Williams gave a spectacular performance nonetheless.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Good Douche Hunting.

[Trouser-Pod]

Shit. No love for Popeye, I see.

I was just wondering if anyone could pull it off now, the way he did.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Popeye was a train wreck.

[Caleb Turberville]

Popeye's a good one. I didn't think many people had seen it.

[Trouser-Pod]

I saw it twice (I think) when it came out. It is a train wreck, but still interesting.

Also, a pre-Dune meeting of Raban and Shadout Mapes.

[db]

Now there's a mashup I'd like to see.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

I love Robert Altman films. What makes them so good is that they all teeter between brilliant and trainwreck. In my opinion, Popeye teetered into trainwreck. And stayed there.

[BakedPenguin]

At least they picked the perfect actress to play Olive Oyl

[db]

I am convinced that that movie created the love of gangly, skinny brunettes with goofy voices and lack of physical grace that was to haunt me in my early 20s.

(Take *that*, Nancy.)

[Trouser-Pod]

If it hadn't been a fucking musical, I would like it much more.

The production design was spot-on, though.

[Bobarian]

I loved Popeye.

I said it.

[db]

Popeye was a lot of fun.

[Juice]

Maybe it's because I saw it in the theater as a kid and loved it, but I don't think Popeye is a trainwreck at all. I think it's a great movie.

[Homple]

I liked Popeye. Certainly libertarians should appreciate at least the tax man satire.

[Derpetologist]

Did he apologize for Patch Adams in his suicide note?

/It's OK. If there's a heaven, I'm sure he is enjoying the jokes that are coming from this.

[Caleb Turberville]

Williams was so hit and miss. For every Good Morning Vietnam and Aladdin, there's a Bicentennial Man and Flubber.

[Derpetologist]

Hit and miss is pretty good for a comedian. Most of them are just miss, miss, miss.

See Chris Rock movies for an example.

[Caleb Turberville]

Well, it's been miss, miss, miss for Williams since 2000.

If he was indeed suicidally depressed, I strongly suspect that the cancellation of his recent CBS show was probably the tipping point.

I remember seeing that he had gone back to rehab in July.

Not sure if this would be the type of thing to send him over the edge, but many a celebrity has had difficulty adjusting to the fact that their time in the spotlight was over.

[Caleb Turberville]

Example: See Jim Carrey.

[Cytotoxic]

He was good in 1 minute photo and that movie about post-mortem memory collection.

[Caleb Turberville]

I thought Insomnia was okay. I haven't seen it in a while.

[Cytotoxic]

Insomnai was good too. Not great but Williams should have done more of that stuff.

[Winston]

If he was indeed suicidally depressed, I strongly suspect that the cancellation of his recent CBS show was probably the tipping point.

That was my first thought as well. Hope that is what drove him to finally do it.

[Winston]

So didn't he die from asphyxiation? Does that mean he hanged himself? And do we know it wasn't autoerotic asphyxiation?

[Juice]

I think World's Greatest Dad (2009) is a fine film and more people should watch other Bobcat Goldthwait-directed films. Shakes the Clown is a masterpiece and Sleeping Dogs Lie is a classic.

[MJGreen]

Yeah, World's Greatest Dad is good, and he's really good in it.

[Dammit, not again]

CB4 would like to have a word with you.

[Sudden]

No, he was a Giants fan. Therefore, his depression stemmed from the fact that the Doyers are killing it and Kershaw is the greatest ever.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Are you watching the game? What an inning. The Braves just took a giant shit in the eighth.

[Sudden]

No. I have no cable. I was planning on going to a bar soon, so I'll catch highlights.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

You can stream them. Be resourceful.

[Cytotoxic]

I can't believe this.

[Jerms]

Pryor, Carlin and now Williams are all dead, yet Pauly Shore is still around. Shit aint right.

[Jerms]

Pryor, Carlin and now Williams are all dead, yet Pauly Shore is still around. Shit aint right.

[Jerms]

Pryor, Carlin and now Williams are all dead, yet Pauly Shore is still around. Shit aint right.

[Derpetologist]

You can say that again!

[Cytotoxic]

He did!

[Matrix]

and again

[Derpetologist]

Huh. Bob Hope died 11 years ago and I never noticed.

[Caleb Turberville]

I remember watching the news when that story broke. I think he died on a weekend during the summer. Wasn't a big deal, but I remember the cable news networks devoting an entire weekend to the subject.

[PapayaSF]

All the original Ramones are dead, but Justin Bieber lives.

Amazingly, Maureen O'Hara (94) and Luise Rainer (104) are still around.

[Winston]

Maureen O'Hara

I really liked her in The Thin Man and Shop Around the Corner

[PapayaSF]

You are probably thinking of 1) Maureen O'Sullivan (mother of Mia Farrow), or 2) Margaret Sullavan. Different women. Maureen O'Hara was in The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Quiet Man, among many others.

[Winston]

It's a joke son. I used to get confused by their names.

[PapayaSF]

OK, a "whoosh" for me.

[WDATPDIM?!]

Maureen O'Hara. Nothin' wrong with that.

[db]

Wow, that pic is in pretty poor taste.

[WDATPDIM?!]

Who is it?

[Wasteland Wanderer]

Robin William's face 'shopped onto Kurt Cobain's body.

[WDATPDIM?!]

Thanks. I never woulda figured that one out.

[Jesus H. Christ]

Looks like Ron Paul's face shopped onto Cobain's body.

[Wasteland Wanderer]

Hmmm...could be. Does kind of look like Paul. I figured it was Williams because of the suicide connection

[Winston]

Looks more like an allusion to Kennedy comparing Paul to Cobain?

[Whahappan?]

It struck me as Ian McKellan's face on Cobain's body, but maybe it's Williams face morphed into Cobain's.

[C. Anacreon]

I immediately thought it was Ron Paul photoshopped as well.

[Mike M.]

Iraq is disintegrating (and the U.S. is escalating) by the minute

Funny how our resident Journolist shitheel Dave "Palin's Buttplug" Weigel hasn't posted here since his hero started bombing Iraq.

My guess is the DNC never bothered sending him the official talking points since they've all gone away on their summer vacations.

[Sevo]

"Funny how our resident Journolist shitheel Dave "Palin's Buttplug" Weigel hasn't posted here since his hero started bombing Iraq."

Oh, yes he has. He's convinced Obo's doing this 'cause BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSH!

[Caleb Turberville]

http://www.weeklystandard.com/.....00437.html

Well, University SGAs are acting like actual governments by harassing students until they pay their fees.

[GILMORE]

Re: Iraq

i hope its made clear that the "humanitarian" angle on the bombings were more or less just cover for our negotiating Maliki out of power in exchange for going more 'balls out' against ISIS

Basically, Obama's "narrow focus" but "open ended timetable" was so much bullshit for "we're making up the reasons as we go"

[WDATPDIM?!]

Basically, Obama's "narrow focus" but "open ended timetable" was so much bullshit for "we're making up the reasons as we go"

Same meaning, fewer words.

[mr lizard]

The best part is we can blame the hole catfuck on Barry. Cuz like he's had it for 6 years.

Disclaimer: the whole thing was doomed shit-flavored catfuck from beginning to end... Barry was just unlucky enough to be caught holding the bag when the shit sandwich dropped.

[Heroic Mulatto]

"Catfuck" is now my new favorite word.

[Cytotoxic]

I prefer 'fuckbucket'.

[Karl Hungus]

"Ratfuck" was a popular term when I was in the military. If you were messing around with someone else's belongings, or rooting through his wall locker or gear, you were said to be "ratfucking" that person's stuff.

[Trouser-Pod]

You serve with ol' Shreeky?

[Los Doyers]

Weigel is making more socks!!1!1!!11!1

[Dammit, not again]

Are linguists allowed to have favorite words? Isn't that like having a favorite child?

[Heroic Mulatto]

I dunno. I was an only child.

[Whahappan?]

And from a linguist that's high praise indeed!

[Sevo]

mr lizard|8.11.14 @ 8:48PM|#
"The best part is we can blame the hole catfuck on Barry."...

The Obots are claiming BUUUUUUUUUSH!

[Cytotoxic]

Bombing ISIS to aid Kurdistan was in good sense, but shipments of arms waz more important and the Syrian YPG Kurds that came over the border into Iraq made a bigger difference than those two combined.

[Migrant Log Picker]

OT: New poster, fairly long time reader; sadly habeas dorkus who used to comment here passed away Thursday. Read his obituary yesterday in The Misssoiulian.

Never met him but we did exchange some emails. Had some good stories about being a libertarian writing for the local prog/rag. He was also a musician of some talent. RIP Mr Kelly.

[Jesus H. Christ]

He must have commented here before my time. Sad to hear we have lost a fellow traveler. Condolences to his family and friends.

[db]

He also used to post (long ago) under his real name.

[Heroic Mulatto]

I remember him.

May his memory be a blessing.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Before my time but sad tidings. Thanks for letting us know.

RIP.

[Los Doyers]

God rest his soul.

[The Bearded Hobbit]

I didn't recall habeas dorkus but I do remember a Jamie Kelly who used to post here a lot.

In fact, I think I corresponded with him offline. He worked at a newspaper in Missoula, not far from my folks.

RIP to a fellow traveler.

... Hobbit

[Migrant Log Picker]

One and the same hobbit, I'm a Missoula resident and new here but he was a voice of reason in the runaway progtopia that Missoula has become.

He was an insightful fellow and we will miss him. Far too young...

[Derpetologist]

The death of Kevin Ward- graphic

[Jesus H. Christ]

It's hard to make out exactly what the driver was trying to do. He didn't hit the guy head on, but he did not successfully avoid him either. Maybe tried to buzz him to intimidate and the kid took one too many steps forward? Hard to say. However, looks like Tony Stewart should probably never race again. Anywhere.

[Wasteland Wanderer]

From what I understand, those sprint cars are difficult to control and have very poor visibility out of the right side (the side that Ward approached from), due to the wing. Combine that with glaring lights and a dirt track, and it's quite possible Stewart never saw the dude, or didn't see him in time to do anything about it.

Frankly, I put it in the "play stupid games, win stupid prizes" category.

[Karl Hungus]

That's pretty gnarly. You do have to be a special kind of stupid to walk out onto a racetrack where cars are currently racing, though.

[db]

"The Lawyer for Shaneen Allen"

What, is his name to weird to print?

[WDATPDIM?!]

Bob Loblaw. Happy now?

[Marshall Gill]

What, is his name to weird to print?

You just changed my opinion on "SWATing" for that one. Better lock up the dog.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Prediction: Cleavage.

[Trouser-Pod]

Ehh....well, skin.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Raise a glass.

RIP, Mork from Ork!

[GILMORE]

Gotta love that Iraqi marksmanship

[Heroic Mulatto]

Every jihadi a drunken blind retarded rifleman!

[Cytotoxic]

I remember a quote from some Brit like 'the key to victory? Fight Arabs.'

[Derpetologist]

A nation of sheep-stealers. Petty, barbarous, & cruel.

[gaijin]

war, no war, or somewhere in the middle? Seriously?

[gaijin]

kill em all, but no boots on the ground, and it's a strategery.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Best military strategist? Valerie Jarrett. Duh.

[gaijin]

well, she does have all that experience in the chicago theater of operations.

[GILMORE]

We havent' done "diplomacy"? WTF are you talking about??

[gaijin]

you know, a negotiated settlement. We'll support a partial extermination of the jewish state if ISIL agrees to an inclusionary sjaria government.

[Sudden]

I realize that sjaria is a typo for Sharia, but I can't help but picturing it as some synthesis of Social Justice and Sharia. Not sure how that would work though. Only stone the rich gays to death?

[GILMORE]

"i'm really complaining about a straw man from decades ago..."

oh do shut the fuck up. where do they find these retards... he leaps from cliche to cliche to truism without saying ANYTHING of any substance... and 1/3 of what he says doesn't even make sense in light of the facts.

[Cytotoxic]

I'm not watching. Who's speaking about what?

[GILMORE]

The party panelist who is prone to cliches and massive overgeneralizations dares to criticise other people, then when challenged himself on some dumbass comment, defers that his gripe is actually like, 'old and stuff'

He said we need to do more 'diplomacy'

the question would be with WHO, fuckhead? ISIS??? Are you nuts? should we have made a better deal with maliki about security...?

And then he's like, 'oh, way back in the very beginning... with saddam'...

so fucking irrelevant he shouldn't be talking about foreign policy at all.

[Bam!]

Where are cable panelists grown?

[Ted S.]

On trees, just like spaghetti.

[Sevo]

Haven't seen that in a while; howled the first time I did.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Being a leader means arming ISIS and doing it with gusto.

[gaijin]

quite the ad there from stophamas dot com.

[WDATPDIM?!]

Some words don't make a whole lot of sense when run together.

[Fist of Etiquette]

THE JOOS ARE PAYING THE < I THE INDEPENDENTS'SES BILLS! That commercial.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Regardless of your opinion on the Israeli/Palestinian kerfuffle, you gotta admit buying air-time to spin a war is about as sleezy a fucking thing as you could do.

[Heroic Mulatto]

For those of us watching via internet stream, could you please summarize the ad?

[gaijin]

"Hamas is using people as shields for the missles they aim at innocent israelis. This is barbarism. GIve to stophamas.com"

[db]

Can I accept donations to stop ISIS if I don't really intend to do anything?

[gaijin]

The IRS may need to assess your status.

[db]

Hmmmm. Not really sure which one I'd want to fuck with least.

[Wasteland Wanderer]

Hamas. At least it would be quick.

[Wasteland Wanderer]

Err....Hamas would at least be quick.

Need edit button...

[Sevo]

Either works.

[Derpetologist]

It condemns Hamas for using human shields and calls the viewer to sign an online petition.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Hamas killz Jooz. Hamas bad. Jooz good. Support teh Jooz! Cum to our webz sitez to give teh Jooz muny.

(Of course I'm paraphrasing.)

[Heroic Mulatto]

I see. Thanks.

[Ted S.]

They're not getting free air time to propagandize the way Hamas are.

[PapayaSF]

I didn't find the ad objectionable, either.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Santorum. Christie.

[gaijin]

Don Draper's puny younger brother?

[Bam!]

He kind of looks like the Mad Magazine guy.

[gaijin]

AEN!

[GILMORE]

Robert Draper: Kurt Loder wants his look back

[Fist of Etiquette]

Porfest. Terrible name.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Pyooority testez!

[Los Doyers]

How do I watch this online with no cable?

[Dances-with-Trolls]

Here.

[Dances-with-Trolls]

Or maybe not tonight. It's hit or miss.

[Los Doyers]

Well, so far it's been nothing but miss. *narrows gaze*

[Sevo]

Its ALL miss.

[Ted S.]

People actually watch The Independents?

[WDATPDIM?!]

I thought it was just a way to keep the commenters busy for a few extra hours each evening.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Let me stake out a section of Foster's front yard and see what he thinks about open borders. I will do things that will disgust even the strongest of stomach.

[PapayaSF]

Michael Jackson-level things?

[Marshall Gill]

I will do things that will disgust even the strongest of stomach.

You mean like you do to us every day?

[PapayaSF]

Oh no, not the full Hit + Run Treatment!!1!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Anyone who willingly enters New Jerksey deserves what they get!

[GILMORE]

The Independents Attire Review, 11 August 2014

SS Arapahoe-Edition

- Kennedy: We will name this, "The Bollywood-Special". We like it! Kennedy's patterned dresses are a mixed-bag in general, but this thing is pretty hip. My ex-GF was partial to 'saris' of similar make, and i'm still a softie for white girls wrapped in quasi-Indianish patterned silks. We give her +1 Bhangra MegaMix for the win

- Matt: Power Matt in da hizzouse. He's *not your grandfather's Big Brother*! (great-uncle?) We will be looking for this version of our Libertarian Totalitarian Overlord every Monday going forward, because we believe we may have identified a trend. A thought: given the recent penchant of proggy columnists to pretend that Libertoids are just uber-right wingers in hipster drag, maybe we should go for an alternate Power Tie color to confuse them? Proposals? I say: Flaming Pink.

- Kmele: Nice. We've argued that Kmele's more-colorful plaids are more problematic with ties, and this one - which is probably the most interesting and non-traditional shirt we've seen so far - is ideal as it is. We also like to point out how the Khaki blazer continues to provide such a fantastic semi-casual platform, something we think more people should give a try themselves. Its a great look.

Hoh??

[GILMORE]

although it may actually be more "Partridge Family" than Indian

[Derpetologist]

So in the official version of Warren G Regulate, they bleeped out all the words relating to guns and violence:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1plPyJdXKIY

[Ted S.]

I keep forgetting that song.

[Heroic Mulatto]

That's why VEVO sucks.

[GILMORE]

Oh, man. She's screwed. She got a former pro-wrestling promoter for a lawyer.

[Fist of Etiquette]

She's taking a big gamble finding 12 New Jerseyites who aren't total cunts.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Jersey sucks and so does Springsteen.

Fuck Jersey!

[gaijin]

Racist gun grabbers!

[GILMORE]

Ha ha ha.

[Karl Hungus]

Comedian Doug Stanhope on why prostitutes have it so much worse in an economic downturn:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT1AHDjzcsQ

If you're still at work, you might wanna wait till you get home.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Redd Foxx as an Austrian School pimp is hilarious.

[What's that smell?]

WOW!!! JUST WOW!!!

Maybe that's what it takes, that delivery, to reach the common lib voter.

WOW

[Fist of Etiquette]

Chris Christie is one of those cunts. If GOP primary voters choose an anti-2A and anti-property rights a-hole like him then they're officially as bad as Dems. THERE I SAID IT.

[Dances-with-Trolls]

Worse, actually, in that case.

[Derpetologist]

Don't call them cunts. They lack both the warmth and the depth.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Kind of a reverse Captain Hook.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Just like Mario Lemieux.

[Bam!]

Matt's afraid of things that fly? Is there anything he isn't afraid of?

[Fist of Etiquette]

The more you know...

[Francisco d'Anconia]

I'll bet he's from Jersey.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Easy with the blasphemy, Welch.

[GILMORE]

All he's talking about is CONTROL.

The unions have control. They might lose some. OMG!!! FREAKOUT!!

[Bam!]

That's cliche.

[Fist of Etiquette]

"That assman Kmele."

[Sevo]

Are they doing anything on Iraq now? Looks like Obo has found the new Solyndra:

"Obama welcomes new Iraqi leaders as 'step forward'"
http://www.sfgate.com/news/pol.....ationworld

He's so good at picking winners!

[GILMORE]

Or he just alienated huge swaths of Shiites who were convinced the americans were now gone and they could consolidate power.... possibly resulting in the US facing potential threats from people within the actual Iraqi army as well as ISIS

he's a fucking genius, Obama

[Sevo]

I'm pretty sure someone keeps telling him there must be a winner in there somewhere, and he'd just dumb enough to think it's true, hoping *this* pick is the right one.
No, dumbass, there are no winners there. Every last one of them wants to kill every other one who wants to kill the first one. These are not rational people; they're all losers.

[PapayaSF]

I don't think Obama is trying to pick a winner. He's doing something like trying to avoid being a loser while righting historical wrongs.

[Sudden]

I just watched that ISIS hour long snuff video/propaganda film that someone posted over the weekend. It was pretty much an hour of them executing anyone and everyone who ever cooperated with us.

America is a shitty friend.

[PapayaSF]

Sadly, this is often true.

[Sudden]

I gotta pick a bone with you Papaya. You claimed the other day, based on my wording, that I didn't believe in the expansionist aims of ISIS to have a global caliphate. I very much do believe that it their end goal (hell, that video I referenced they talked about taking Italy and Spain, which is part of their five year plan).

I just don't know that I give their ambitions any credibility.

[GILMORE]

yeah.

I think most people seem to think that these guys are cannon fodder for Sunni power-players.

ie. likely will be turned on before they fully consolidate control of any given region

Still, I'd still probably want to bomb them either way

[PapayaSF]

I'm sorry if I misread what you wrote, or wrote something that wasn't clear. I understand what you are saying, but I give far more credence to their ambitions. Like Communists in early 1917, they exist all over the world, and nobody thought they'd shortly control Russia, and a huge portion of the globe a generation or two after that. There are just too many Muslims, and too many of them are fanatics, or supporters of fanatics, or just not willing to stand up to fanatics, for me to dismiss their ambitions.

[Sevo]

"Like Communists in early 1917, they exist all over the world, and nobody thought they'd shortly control Russia, and a huge portion of the globe a generation or two after that."

For all its failings, Russia (and the USSR) was a proto-technological country; they had industries capable of producing the machines of war.
I'm not seeing anything like an analogy. There is nothing the Muslims use in war that isn't bought.

[PapayaSF]

Yeah, it's not shaping up to be another Communism vs. the Free World sort of war either cold or hot. That doesn't mean they can't do an incredible amount of damage, without having traditional industrial power. Muslims have lots and lots of money to buy things, a billion people who are (nominally) on their side, and at least 10% of those people would like to see a win for Hamas/ISIS/Taliban/etc.

[PapayaSF]

Related.

[Sevo]

From the link:
"Michel Gurfinkiel is the Founder and President of the Jean-Jacques Rousseau Institute, a conservative think-thank in France,"
Whaaaa?!

Anyhow, I wondered through 7 or 8 paragraphs and it seemed to be French naval-gazing.
Was there a particular point you thought was of value? I can't see the French attraction to Islam as much different from the French attraction to Marxism; both are merely rejection of Western logical thought. No great surprise from those fascinated with German romantic thought; even the Germans have finally learned to treat that as weekend drinking conversation.

[PapayaSF]

Add up the anti-Semitic riots, the leftist deference to "multiculturalism," and the respective birthrates of Muslims and non-Muslim French. In 50 years there's a good chance that, if the wrong side wins their civil war, Islam will be the official state religion of France.

[C. Anacreon]

50 years? I'll be surprised if it takes 25.

[GILMORE]

yes and yes.

put simply - between 2008 and now, he had multiple opportunities to prevent where shit is.

Not only did he not do that... but what he's doing now is probably the surefire way to take things to an even worse place.

The whole 'we'll bomb people, but only if...' deal is never smart.

We should do it if it is IN OUR INTERESTS. We shouldn't be making our foreign policy contingent on other political groups acting against their own. because it is inevitably untenable, particularly if the longer term goal is "stability"

[Jesus H. Christ]

You have a link?

I may never watch it, but I like the option.

[GILMORE]

#17 in 'things you don't do on TV' =

Never transition from jokes about awesome Brazilian booties to the recent death of a great American.

[PapayaSF]

They should have saved the booty segment for last.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

PC Matic is made by Americans who speak English? Really?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Si.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Quick burial at sea.

[Bam!]

Kennedy is looking at Mork's shirt and thinking, "That'll make a great dress."

[Fist of Etiquette]

Yet another Happy Days spinoff.

[Bam!]

Kennedy turned Robin William's death into a story about her.

[GILMORE]

well that's usually what people do with 'loss'.

[PapayaSF]

Nothing wrong with what she did. If you have a connection with someone who has died, you tell the story.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Ouch for Kennedy's brothers.

[BigT]

My daughter went to Interlochen with Williams' son. Apparently they had a super dysfunctional family.

[GILMORE]

Interlaken, Switzerland?

The Eurail-ticket college-kid party town?

[BigT]

Interlochen Arts Academy in northern Michigan. Robin was there a couple of times in camo trying to be inconspicuous.

[C. Anacreon]

Interlaken, Switzerland? The Eurail-ticket college-kid party town?

Is it still that? I remember having that exact experience (and it was a great couple of days) in Interlaken at a youth hostel while Eurailing in the summer of 1983.

[Sevo]

Coke'll do that.

[Sudden]

DONT BLAME COKE!

[Sevo]

OK, how about they guy who snorts it and can't seem to control his habit?

[Los Doyers]

Willpower, man. Willpower.

[Sevo]

Yeah, but if it's a constant struggle, maybe it's time to put it down.
I can smoke a cigarette now, put it out and forget about smoking for months at a time. When I had them around, it was more trouble than it was worth.
If some folks have coke, they *cannot* have it; they have to use it.

[GILMORE]

Asshole party panelist uses opportunity to say more stupid shit.
WHERE DO THEY GET THESE PEOPLE!?!

Fox must have like a dozen 'super-douchebags' on retainer because they give audiences something to be angry about.

[GILMORE]

The thing about Robin Williams is that he was a One of a Kind.

he wasn't 'really good at something'. He WAS something.

[Derpetologist]

Ever heard of Jonathan Winters?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwWDa1xPTPA

[GILMORE]

Good point.

They were similar, although winters wasn't exactly the same thing. His energy level was 1/10th scale.

[Derpetologist]

So, the difference was cocaine.

Makes sense.

[GILMORE]

I didn't say that, I was saying they probably were in the same genus, but different species.

Winters thing was more cerebral and lower-key. Williams was ADD crazytown.

Coke was definitely part of it. But he kept that aspect even when not tweaking.

[Sevo]

"But he kept that aspect even when not tweaking."

Let's just say no one seemed sure of that.

[Juice]

After Mork and Mindy ended, I always wanted Robin Williams and Jonathan Winters to do a buddy sitcom together. It might work but it has the possibility of being awful.

[Sevo]

..."I always wanted Robin Williams and Jonathan Winters to do a buddy sitcom together. It might work but it has the possibility of being awful."

And Kennedy could play the 'thoughtful, calming' part, right?

[Whahappan?]

Sublime.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Jonathan Winters & Robin Williams in Funniest Moments on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show

[Fist of Etiquette]

No bumper music all night? That's as reverential as the silent clock when a major character died on 24.

[gaijin]

I liked Robin WIlliams work and all that, but I dread the next several days of over the top public grieving and remembrances.

[Los Doyers]

Don't go on Facebook.

[Sudden]

That's a pretty good rule of thumb to follow on any day.

[Los Doyers]

I get back the 23rd, are you available to get oysters and drink beer the week following?

[Sudden]

Possibly. I have a crazy report due right after Labor Day, so I might be hard pressed to carve out time in that last week of August. But after Labor Day, I'm free.

[Los Doyers]

Ok, let's play it by ear then. My new job lets me work from wherever, so my hours are flexible.

[Sudden]

Director of Orphan Recruitment for the Kochs?

[Los Doyers]

How did you...no. Well, they aren't orphans anymore when they reach my desk.

[Sudden]

Now that you got yourself a Koch Industries job, you can afford The Water Grille oysters and beer instead of that low class Green Hut Cafe stuff.

[Los Doyers]

Heh, took my ex to Water Grille last valentine's day. Their cioppino is excellent.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

I've got family in town Labor Day week. But keep me in the loop about oysters and beer.

[Los Doyers]

Definitely, although I don't have your email. Jesse has everyone's email, though, so feel free to badger him.

[All-Seeing Monocle]

Avoiding mass media for a work-week is surprisingly easy, therapeutic even.

See also: royal weddings and royal babies.

[Sudden]

Robin Williams, ever the caring man, offed himself on a Monday so that office drones the world over could bury themselves in work and thereby avoid all the glowing obits in his honor.

[GILMORE]

Jesus, now we're speculating on NASCAR murder?

[WDATPDIM?!]

It's the perfect crime.

[Fist of Etiquette]

You don't always hit the breaks to avoid a situation.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Or, in auto lingo, brakes.

[GILMORE]

tell my mom!

[Los Doyers]

Finally got a stream. If Matt had a skinnier tie, it would at least match with his spectacles.

[GILMORE]

Everybody's an expert

[Los Doyers]

I ain't tryna muscle in on your attire review racket, geez, leave it to a New Yorker...

[GILMORE]

Dats Neu Yawkah!

[Los Doyers]

Yeah, yeah. Yankees suck and I've had better hot dogs at Dodger Stadium.

*takes cover*

[GILMORE]

You make the mistake of thinking i'm even a baseball fan, or that NY'rs are sensitive about critics.

the obnoxious NY'r reaction to critics is, 'you just want to be me'.

[Los Doyers]

Heh, next time I'm in Brooklyn, the beers are on me.

[WDATPDIM?!]

Prostate acting up again?

[Los Doyers]

I was waiting for that one.

[Sevo]

I'm sure you *didn't* get it from several of us.

[Los Doyers]

You're all old farts, so I'm sure you were all thinking it.

[Sevo]

Get off my lawn!

[GILMORE]

Cops? or Looters?

I didn't realize this was an either/or issue

[Los Doyers]

The former's royal fuck up is leading to the latter's crazed looting.

[Bam!]

Can I pay money to have one of those cats destroyed?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Uh-oh. Foster is going to blame the blacks. I just know it.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

I hate ASPCA commercials.

[Rich]

Hospital charges $9,000 to bandage cut finger

$8,200 for the emergency room visit, $180 for the shot, $242 for the bandage and $8 for the ointment, plus hundreds of dollars for the nurse practitioner.

W.T.F?

[Sudden]

Hmmm.... these outrageous charges couldn't be because of all the freeloaders that show up to the ER for a cough and get good ol' FREE SHITZZZZ! I mean medical care, right?

[Sevo]

Wonder what they'd charge if competition meant they had to post the rates and they were paid by the injured party.
I'll bet it would look a LOT different.

[Juice]

Linda Schwimmer of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute said the right price for getting a finger bandaged should be $400 to $1,000.

Really? I might understand charging $100 to walk in the door and about $50 for the bandage/shot and I would still consider it a mild gouging.

[Sevo]

Juice, I gotta ask: WIH is "gouging" and HIH is it possible?

[Dweebston]

For all you know it's why he needs the bandage in the first place. It's a vicious cycle.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

[citation required]

[Fist of Etiquette]

Uh, they explained what happened. Cops were right, dead dude was wrong. The police chief knew that before he even spoke to the shooter.

[Sevo]

'dude was dead wrong.'

'Cause that's the way it went.

[GILMORE]

that photo montage was not exactly 'supporting' Kmele's argument

[GILMORE]

Ah!! ASHLEY!

[GILMORE]

ISIL sounds like a vaginal itch creme

ISIS sounds fucking scary, like Hydra. So i'm sticking with that

[Heroic Mulatto]

You know what other violent terrorist organization bent on world domination was based out of a desert stronghold?

[GILMORE]

COBRA? I TOTALLY GUESSED COBRA BEFORE I CLICKED!

[Sevo]

Convince me I wanna click on that.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Don't click on it. Click on this instead.

[db]

Nod?

[Heroic Mulatto]

I'm pretty certain ISIS is just Arabic for Kane.

[Wasteland Wanderer]

If Archer doesn't do a bit next season about ISIS stealing their name, I will be disappoint.

[Fist of Etiquette]

YEAH WE GOT THE JOKE.

[GILMORE]

Nothing in American politics is "very foreign policy oriented"

Americans want

*tough talk
*strong defense
*people to like us

it is largely rhetorical. Actual FP is not 'news' for most people. which is why most people are pretty retarded about it, and can't tell the difference between Neorealism and Wilsonianism.

[Fist of Etiquette]

And now we have to deal with terrorists. THANKS, REAGAN.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I zoned out. Did she say Robin Williams was a member of ISIS?

[Heroic Mulatto]

Yes, she did.

[GILMORE]

Is kennedy making the case for the international convention on Genocide? Because that's pretty much saying, "Non intervention? meh, fuck it". Because its the one 'get out of jail free card' that allows for any country to intervene militarily.

[Virginian]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKmys-Tys90

[Heroic Mulatto]

Dinosaucers was the shit.

[GILMORE]

remarkable

They didn't interrupt kennedy before she finished her signoff

[Fist of Etiquette]

And not cut off.

[Raven Nation]

Posted this late on the PM threads - Syfy is producing a series based on Scalzi's Old Man's War universe:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.c.....ama-723323

Story is a little confusing but it seems they are focusing on Ghost Brigades which, in my opinion, is the weakest of the three books.

[Winston]

Unless it involves robotic lava sharks with lasers on their heads erupting from volcanoes I don't care.

[Raven Nation]

You may be disappointed:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.c.....ras-687454

[GILMORE]

"The network shifts away from broad dramas and B-movies to its genre roots as it attempts to find the next "The Walking Dead" or "Game of Thrones."

Firefly reboot?

[Raven Nation]

Be nice, but probably have to use a different cast. Can't imagine Fillion or Baldwin working for Syfy $$.

[GILMORE]

The money angle occurred to me the second i typed that.

They were big budget. plus, they'd want more just for the rights.

[PapayaSF]

I liked the first book quite a bit, but Scalzi has become such a promoter of social justice warrior derpitude that I stopped reading him. He's one of the people helping to destroy science fiction and fandom by deciding that it's all racist/sexist/homophobic and needs to be "reconstructed" along PC lines. Fuck him.

[Raven Nation]

Yeah, I kind of knew about his SJW bent. But, I read The Last Colony first and enjoyed it enough that I read the first one and thought it was even better. In fact, I would put Old Man's War in my trilogy of three best sci-fi combat books along with Starship Troopers and The Forever War.

However, I was disappointed with Ghost Brigades. I don't feel a need to read anything else by him.

[PapayaSF]

I will certainly try to watch the Syfy series, though. They did pretty well with the Dune mini-series, and they need to be rewarded for doing real SF instead of campy Sharknado stuff.

[Whahappan?]

Another annoying thing about a lot of modern syfi is the global warming bullshit that permeates it.

[Irish]

So Barack Obama released a statement about Robin Williams but he doesn't appear to have spoken about Ferguson, Missouri yet.

Priorities.

[GILMORE]

Our president has the intellectual seriousness of Gawker.

i'd blame his PR people, but he chooses them.

[Sevo]

Valery has yet to tell him which way the wind it blowing on that issue.
And they're looking for a narrative that'll allow them to blame Bush for the Obots' talking points.

[GILMORE]

its become clear that Obama's people are all 100% political, and 0% 'policy'.

to the degree that he's more concerned with how Robin Williams death, and his comment on it, may impress people....

....but seems to have zero concern how people are impressed by the fact that he has apparently declared Iraq War 3.0 from the golf course.

i know foreign policy is low on people's agenda, but that is straight up retarded.

[Sevo]

..."but seems to have zero concern how people are impressed by the fact that he has apparently declared Iraq War 3.0 from the golf course"...

'Yesterday, a day which shall live in infamy because of the groundskeepers mistake on the 8th hole...'

[PapayaSF]

"If I had hundreds of sons, they'd look like the rioters and looters in Ferguson."

[GILMORE]

Also apropos of nothing:

I've mentioned to people before that i've spent part of the summer catching up on tons of "stuff I'd never watched/seen" in movies/TV over the last decade or so; notably, lots of Superhero/Action movies (done and mostly disappointed), documentaries, and the 'big-budget cable TV-series' - Breaking Bad, Lost, Deadwood, GoT, etc. and now, 'the Wire'.

out of everything, i'll say 'the wire' is the best thing i never saw. Im finishing season2. Its very very well done. breaking bad is maybe #2, but i got really bored with season 5 as a tack-on.

anyway. there's that.

[Raven Nation]

Tried Burn Notice?

[GILMORE]

No.

never seemed that interesting to me. the actor is someone i recognized from ...something else, and i never liked him. Just instinctual distaste.

i read the profile on IMDB and it seems a little A-Team meets CIA-loner

[Raven Nation]

I was skeptical when a friend recommended it but got hooked. That said, to each his own of course.

[PapayaSF]

I know what you mean, but I enjoyed that series. E.g. intimidating a bad guy by setting a small can of thermite on the hood of his custom vintage car, and having it burn through to the pavement.

Plus, Gabrielle Anwar and Bruce Campbell.

[Raven Nation]

intimidating a bad guy by setting a small can of thermite on the hood of his custom vintage car

Yeah, that ep was in the Top 5.

[Dances-with-Trolls]

It's one of those shows you like in spite of yourself. It just has something that keeps it appealing.

[Virginian]

I've been doing the same thing. Did The Wire, and then Boardwalk Empire. Now gonna do Deadwood I think.

[GILMORE]

Oh, yeah = I forgot about Boardwalk. I'm going to have to try that.

The wire is the best thing i've ever seen. So much more 'mature' than most television. and i don't mean cursing, violence, titties and drugs. Deadwood had 10X as much of all those things, and it was about as 'mature' as a daytime soap opera with cowboy hats*. 'mature' as in, they (try to) show things as they actually are.

(that said, Deadwood was good for what it was.... its just not as good as either Breaking Bad or The Wire)

one of the biggest disappointments for me was Lost. Christ, who ever thought JJ Abrams was 'clever'? its like formulas on top of more formulas. Cliche-Island. I quit in season 3, and that was well after i started getting pissed off with it.

[PapayaSF]

I watched the first few minutes of the first episode of Lost. After the plane crash, people were running in terror from one of the plane's engines, which was still running, sitting on a wing pylon, firmly and vertically planted in the beach sand. I laughed and changed the channel.

[Dances-with-Trolls]

Deadwood might be my favorite TV show, ever. It's a shame it was cancelled before it was concluded. I've spent the odd weekend here and there with a bottle of whiskey and a Deadwood marathon. 🙂

[Raven Nation]

That sound you just heard was most of MLB passing out and hitting the floor: the Royals are in first place in August.

[Winston]

It's 1985 all over again! Where's McFly when you need him?

[Moe19]

Long suffering KC resident says Hallelujah

[Almanian!]

You guys hear that Lou Reed died recently? Wonder if Gillespie will write about it...

[SIV]

Lou Reed

motherfucker!

[Sevo]

OK, maybe it was just, well, poor aiming?

"Chief: Police killed California robbery hostage"
[...]
"The results of a preliminary ballistics report show that police in the city of Stockton fired the 10 bullets that struck Misty Holt-Singh, 41,"

Or maybe the cop was blind?

[Sevo]

Oops, link:
http://www.sfgate.com/news/cri.....681892.php

[PapayaSF]

Cripes, they hit her ten times? Not exactly being careful there.

I wonder if we know the legal status of Martinez, Renteria, and Ramos?

[PapayaSF]

Ah, Norte?os. Celebrate Diversity!

[SIV]

The important thing is all the officers went home safely.

[Sevo]

And with their retirement benies intact!

[Sevo]

Anyone still here?
CA supremes blow off 'advisory' crap:

"State Supreme Court yanks Citizens United measure from ballot"
[...]
"The measure, Proposition 49, was placed on the ballot by Democrats who control both houses of the Legislature.
[...]
A lawsuit by the conservative Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association argued that Prop. 49 was invalid because it was only an advisory measure that would not change state law."
http://www.sfgate.com/news/art.....682420.php

Even the CA supremes have limits on 'the feelz'.

[Jesus H. Christ]

The ?? Supremes have had one or two decent rulings lately. It's very odd, and making me uneasy.

[Sevo]

OTOH, the 9th blew another one earlier this week.
I think it's something in the water.

[userve32]

Lets jsut roll with the punches. Wow.

http://www.AnonWays.tk