Ferguson Grand Jury Verdict Reached, Obama Administration Tosses Out Hagel, FAA May Demand Drone Licenses: P.M. Links

• 

  Credit: World Can't Wait / photo on flickr

  The grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri, is announcing this evening its decision over whether Officer Darren Wilson should be charged for the shooting death of Michael Brown, so prepare to toss out your snap judgments through various social media outlets.

• President Barack Obama today gave a speech announcing Chuck Hagel is officially out as Secretary of Defense. Check out the pained smile on Hagel's face.
• After that Obama handed out a bunch of Medals of Freedom to various political folks and celebrities like Meryl Streep and Stevie Wonder.
• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared that women are not equal to men and that motherhood is more important than doing the work of men.
• Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) will introduce a resolution to formally declare war on ISIS.
• The Federal Aviation Administration may announce some extremely restrictive requirements for use of commercial drones, including licensing.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

President Barack Obama today gave a speech announcing Chuck Hagel is officially out as Secretary of Defense.

Meh. He wasn't even from Chicago. And he was a terrible bundler.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

And apparently the slow Ebola response was also his fault.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Republican. Figures he would be the obstacle to getting things done.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

BTW, how is that whole pandemic playing out? What's the death toll here in Murika? Still 3?

QUARANTIIIIIIIINE!

[RBS]

Lights PapayaSF signal

[PapayaSF]

Because caution is always a stupid idea when dealing with a contagious, not fully understood disease with a 70% death rate... *rolls eyes*

But it's still raging in Africa, and the WHO recently ordered 3 million hazmat suits, and various US government departments have ordered large quantities, too. So they don't seem to think it's over.

[Agammamon]

Caution is an excellent idea - when dealing with expanding government authority.

[PapayaSF]

I agree generally, but protecting the country from epidemics seems like a basic function of even a limited government.

[Agammamon]

I agree generally, but protecting the country from epidemics seems like a basic function of even a limited government.

And I agree, generally, but this issue isn't 'can the government quarantine' but 'at what threat level and with what evidence can they quarantine'.

You seem to be of the opinion that this should be at the governments discretion 'quarantine now and let the courts sort out the rights violations later'.

Historically - every time we've gone down that route its turned out that the threat was overblown and the quarantine (or internment or imprisonment in the different cases) was unnecessary in the first place.

I'd rather we didn't have a replay of the Japanese internment or the Alien and Sedition Acts.

[PapayaSF]

Historically - every time we've gone down that route its turned out that the threat was overblown

See American Samoa vs. Western Samoa during the Spanish Flu epidemic.

[Stormy Dragon]

and various US government departments have ordered large quantities, too. So they don't seem to think it's over.

Because we all know a government agency would never take advantage of a crisis to buy things it doesn't really need.

[PapayaSF]

There is that. We shall see.

[Cytotoxic]

It's raging less and less in Africa. Pant-shitters: 0

Everyone else: victory

[PapayaSF]

From today: U.N. to miss Dec 1 Ebola target due to rising Sierra Leone cases

[Old Man With Candy]

"Helluva job, Chuckie!"

[CatoTheElder]

He wasn't down with escalation of provocations of Russia and with the batshit crazy ideas of the R2P crowd.

IOW, he didn't play well with warmongers.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

After that Obama handed out a bunch of Medals of Freedom to various political folks and celebrities like Meryl Streep and Stevie Wonder.

What exactly is the criteria?

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Similar to the Nobel Prize.

[Protagoronus]

So we should expect mass imprisonment at the hands of Stevie and Meryl?

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Stevie will be the firing squad.

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

*narrows gaze, and puts on dark glasses*

[Fist of Etiquette]

I still don't get this. Seems incredibly pointless.

[Rich]

"Secretary Streep, it will be recalled, was awarded the Medal of Freedom in 2014."

[db]

Stevie Wonder disappoints me greatly. That the man who wrote "Superstition" can believe and say some of the shit he says is a darn shame.

[Injun, as in from India]

under Obama,

Presidential Medal of Freedom == Participation Trophy

[Tonio]

No, they are awarding it posthumously to some of the sixties era freedom riders killed by the KKK.

I try to ignore the cheapening of the medal out of respect for those recipients who really deserved it.

[wareagle]

that's what some used to say about the Nobel, too, before the Peace Prize in particular went full retard.

[Suthenboy]

Cheapening....good word for the effect Obumbles has on everything he touches, including the office he holds.

[Libertarian]

Speaking of cheapening:

"Pen Farthing, who founded a nonprofit that reunites soldiers at home with stray dogs and cats they took in during combat, has been named the 2014 CNN Hero of the Year."

I'm sure Kennedy is happy because uniform = hero.

[Stormy Dragon]

Based on:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L.....recipients

It's always been primarily an excuse for the President to hang out with celebrities, so it's hard to claim Obama is cheapening the award.

[AlmightyJB]

"What exactly is the criteria?"

Campaign contributions. Duh.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared that women are not equal to men and that motherhood is more important than doing the work of men.

"Republican Turkish President Recep..." -MSNBC

[AlmightyJB]

Which is it?

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Federal Aviation Administration may announce some extremely restrictive requirements for use of commercial drones, including licensing.

Fees! Sweet, precious fees!

[Tonio]

Licensing, which equals meddling, don't forget that.

[rts]

Canada becomes more unequal, but good policies could halt that: TD Bank

Governments should adjust taxes and transfer policies to make Canadian incomes more equal, because it's better for the economy in the long run, says a new study by TD Bank.

Theft is better for the economy... whodathunkit?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

In the long run.

Four roads I loathe and fitted for a progtarian puritan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBfE8nMxv-U

[Francisco d'Anconia]

In the long run.

We will all be dead.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

But author Craig Alexander says rising inequality is bad for the economy ? both because it leaves lower income people with less to spend and because it stalls opportunity for children and youth.

Huh?

[Paul.]

Theft is better for the economy... whodathunkit?

If I'm on the receiving end of the spoils, then as far as I'm concerned, yes.

[Fluffy]

I'm thinking they dragged this Ferguson thing out so long that it vitiated the rage and nothing happens.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Now that the Feds are involved, the chances of screwing up the response have greatly increased.

[RBS]

I can see my local news now:

"Local man shot by police"

-Late Monday evening a local african amercian man was killed by police, just hours after the Ferguson Grand Jury released their verdict...multiple paragraphs about Ferguson... Man was suspected of robbing several local convenient stores and had been on the run for several months.

[CE]

Releasing the verdict just after sundown seems like the first mistake. Why not 8 AM, when people aren't awake enough to get mad?

[PapayaSF]

I wondered if dragging it out would make it tougher for the outside agitators out-of-town activists, by running up their motel bills or getting their hosts anxious to kick them out.

But hey, they're announcing it on a week day, so maybe everyone will be too busy at their jobs to protest. (Kidding!)

[Anomalous]

PANTS UP! NO LOOTING!

[Stormy Dragon]

You'd think the implication that dressing in away you don't like makes someone deserving of being shot should make it obvious the people responsible for that board aren't worhty of support, but of course the people here love the slogan.

[PapayaSF]

Of course it's a play on the slogan "Hands Up, Don't Shoot." I tend to support people who do clever mockery.

[Stormy Dragon]

So what's clever about it?

[PapayaSF]

You don't think "Pants Up, Don't Loot" is a clever response to "Hand Up, Don't Shoot"? Well, then I can't help you.

[Stormy Dragon]

Given the original is a complaint about police violence, the only way I could see "Pants Up, Don't Loot" qualifies as a response at all (let alone a clever one) is if you're L&O Boner who thinks all police violence is really the result of the public provoking police officers. I'm sure Tulpa and Dunphy think it's hilarious, but it's not something a libertarian ought to find amusing.

But again, must people here are into the whole TEAM thing more than actual principles. Since the Fergusson protestors have been declared the other team, I'm sure a lot of people find it funny too.

Ha, ha, those black people trying to protest the government in saggy pants. Police shooting them is hilarious!

[PapayaSF]

Sometimes, I'm more into humor than Teams or principles. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEI2UUhVEn4 (the first bit)

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

So. Hagel. Case of a wannabe believer not being able to fit in or something else?

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

He expressed an opinion, which angered the Bringer of Light,

[Fist of Etiquette]

The grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri, is announcing this evening its decision...

Anyone care to guess which way it goes?

[PBR Streetgang]

Indict on manslaughter.

[Fist of Etiquette]

They're just going to have a third riot when he doesn't get convicted.

[Fist of Etiquette]

(Or I guess postponing this week's even manslaughter is enough to appease the masses.)

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Guess? I'm a betting man!

[Injun, as in from India]

I'm betting on indictment, trial, and then acquittal.

[PBR Streetgang]

Agree.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Charged with murder in the 1st degree?

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

No way. MB can't testify.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

The authorities wait until it's dark out to make the announcement, making it easier to riot.

[CE]

Yeah, whose bright idea was that? I would have announced it at 8 AM.

[PapayaSF]

I'll say no indictment, but if there is one, yes: manslaughter and no conviction.

[Gray Ghost]

No bill. Which is probably as accurate a guess as my ATS football picks this year. I.e., a coin flip.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) will introduce a resolution to formally declare war on ISIS.

Between this and the Bill Cosby scandal the only thing that could make this year more disappointing for nostalgic libertarians is if Bob Newhart joins ISIS and Paul drafts a letter of marquee and reprisal against him.

[Tonio]

...Paul drafts a letter of marquee and reprisal against him.

How theatrical.

[Doghouse Riley Jr.]

He just curtain-calls them as he proscenium.

[CE]

Will he reprise the role in the sequel?

[Tonio]

And for those who didn't see it earlier, the IRS has found some of the missing emails.

[Rich]

"They were right under the Higgs boson!"

[Injun, as in from India]

The missing emails will have a bunch of forwarded jokes, and Lerner will be charged with violating the Honest Services Act. Or something like that.

[Rich]

Prediction: "Charge Wilson with manslaughter."

[Francisco d'Anconia]

He'll be back on the job bright and early tomorrow AM.

Hell, he might even bag him another unarmed kid by noon.

[Tonio]

My understanding was that he was in negotiations with the police department to resign. Which totally telegraphed the outcome.

I was trying to figure out what leverage he had, but his moving away would presumably lessen the amount of rioting.

[wareagle]

"lessen the amount of rioting."

am I the only one who finds something wrong with the notion of rioting as a given? It's like saying Ferguson is populated by animals who don't know any better.

[Heroic Mulatto]

You're not the only one.

[Crusty Juggler]

At this point if they do not riot they are going to look like a bunch of bitches. They just have to riot. They have a rep!

[Ghost of Calvin Coolidge]

You lose.

[Ahem']

"It's like saying Ferguson is populated by animals who don't know any better."

Please refer to the 1% rule, that is all.

[Tonio]

My 5:01 was quickly written. Had I had more time I would have made it clear that it was my impression that the local (STL area) authorities believed that his moving away would lessen the chances of riots if no charges were brought by the grand jury.

[rts]

Man dies after being shot by Vancouver police

Police responded to a call about a distraught man standing in the intersection of East 41st Avenue and Knight Street waving a wooden two-by-four around and shouting loudly at around 5 p.m. PT, police said.

When officers arrived at the scene, police say they were confronted by the man who refused to comply with their instructions.

?In an emailed statement, Const. Brian Montague says police used non-lethal bean bag rounds in an attempt to disarm the man, "but he was eventually shot."

In all fairness, it does look like an assault 2x4.

[Brian D]

When will Canada implement common sense lumber control?!

[Bobarian (Mr. Xtreme)]

The Canadian Long Lumber Registry?

[John Titor]

Did you know I can just go into a Canadian Tire and buy a 2X4? I don't even have to show my ID!

[Agammamon]

Nobody needs 24in centers.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

it does look like an assault 2x4.

Does it have "that thing that goes up?"

[Agammamon]

Well, they did *run out of* beanbag rounds. What did you expect them to do then?

[Libertarian]

Get their hands dirty?

[The Last American Hero]

I've seen what Hacksaw Jim Duggan can do with a 2x4 - it's hard to blame them.

[db]

The grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri, is announcing this evening its decision over whether Officer Darren Wilson should be charged for the shooting death of Michael Brown, so prepare to toss out your snap judgments through various social media outlets.

I'm just preparing to sit in my bunker and hold out long enough to survive the rioting.

Not really, but the way this has been hyped, you'd think the news media are hoping for a race war to report on.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

I think the DOJ is hoping for that too. Any distraction they can find...

[PapayaSF]

"The Democratic Party didn't lose enough of the white vote in 2014. How about some race riots to make it even lower in 2016?"

"Good idea!"

[Notorious G.K.C.]

You think they aren't?

[db]

They certainly wouldn't admit it, and I would hope they would feel shame at the thought, but neither would they shrink from their noble duty to report on it and make a bunch of money and career-boosting stories.

[wareagle]

shame? the media? funny.

[waffles]

Did you say Race War!?

[Andrew S.]

They didn't get the one they wanted post-Trayvon, so...

[John Titor]

Are all of the black midgets going to fight all the white midgets?

[Rich]

Check out the pained smile on Hagel's face.

To be fair, that's his natural expression.

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

Trying to sneak a fart whilst heavily constipated.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"I Was Mugged, And I Understand Why...

"Who am I to stand from my perch of privilege, surrounded by million-dollar homes and paying for a $60,000 education, to condemn these young men as "thugs?" It's precisely this kind of "otherization" that fuels the problem....

"The millennial generation is taking over the reins of the world, and thus we are presented with a wonderful opportunity to right some of the wrongs of the past. As young people, we need to devote real energy to solving what are collective challenges. Until we do so, we should get comfortable with sporadic muggings and break-ins. I can hardly blame them. The cards are all in our hands, and we're not playing them."

And, God help us: "Oliver Friedfeld is a senior in the [Georgetown] School of Foreign Service."

http://www.thehoya.com/i-was-m.....stand-why/

[Protagoronus]

At least that is an internally consistent world view from someone who wants government to steal more.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

The mugging:

"Last weekend, my housemate and I were mugged at gunpoint while walking home from Dupont Circle. The entire incident lasted under a minute, as I was forced to the floor, handed over my phone and was patted down."

If this is the kind of person who goes through Georgetown's Foreign Service school, I think I understand a lot about U.S. foreign policy.

[Injun, as in from India]

Someone is into madochism.

[Injun, as in from India]

Freudian typo?

[Tonio]

All the cool kids use HTML tags, Eddie.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

I don't have a small penis, so I don't have a compulsive need to prove my coolness.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Prove it.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

I would, but I'm nursing a black eye from the erection I had last night.

[SERENITY NOW!]

Well I hope the other guy's penis wasn't damaged.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

America's future.

[Suthenboy]

No, it isn't. That moron won't live a week in the real world. This is the kind of insanity that leads people to comfort polar bears or try to have a sit down with ISIS.

[JEP]

Did he publish his address and offer that anything he owns is up for grabs?

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

That's what I was thinking. It's not robbery if you have permission.

[RBS]

"I was just begging for it"

[The Laconic]

And that, ladies and gentleman, is what you call "the sanction of the victim".

[The Laconic]

ladies, a gentleman, and the rest of you hosers*

[PapayaSF]

If his girlfriend was raped, would he understand that, too?

Too bad the clich? that a conservative is a liberal who has been mugged hasn't applied to him. But maybe wisdom will sink in after a while.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"a liberal is someone who won't take his own side in a quarrel"

[Gray Ghost]

If his girlfriend was raped, would he understand that, too?

Amanda Kijera's Haitian ordeal didn't seem to change her mind.

That story's so bizarre, I wouldn't have believed it in a work of fiction. Not sure I believe it now.

[Andrew S.]

I am now unquestionably dumber for having read that.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

"The millennial generation is taking over the reins of the world, and thus we are presented with a wonderful opportunity to right some of the wrongs of the past. As young people, we need to devote real energy to solving what are collective challenges. Until we do so, we should get comfortable with sporadic muggings and break-ins. I can hardly blame them. The cards are all in our hands, and we're not playing them."

Sigh...this is why it would not surprise me at all if the country falls to pieces once the Milennials become more politically relevant. Guys like this weakling are inevitably the ones who end up in charge of the government when they hit their 50s, and the persistent white guilt complex that's been inculcated in them since they were born is going to make them a ripe, juicy target for people who only take left-wing PC seriously to the extent that they can exploit it for their own gain.

[wef]

Guys like this weakling are inevitably the ones who end up in charge of the government when they hit their 50s

No, it's worse. Guys like this will be the dupes who fund and elect and maybe serve under the manipulative, get-while-the-gettins-good sociopaths who know how to use the po-faced NPR blather designed for fools like this. What is Obama but a dorm room bullshit artist?

[Omni]

From the comments...

"I don't think people really understand what he was trying to convey in this article. Just shows the level of privilege many students have and how it blinds them."

If you disagree, it's just shows your privilege.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Al Sharpton: Rand Paul could hurt Democrats in 2016 by taking away black votes

The Rev. Al Sharpton says Rand Paul's efforts to engage black voters could present a strategic challenge for Democrats: If the Republican senator runs for president, fewer African Americans may be motivated to show up and vote against him.

The civil rights activist and TV host had breakfast with the Kentucky senator last week, and the pair discussed the need for criminal justice reform before disagreeing over how to deal with the immigration system.

Democrats have traditionally done well among African American voters, especially with Barack Obama at the top of the ticket. In 2016, Democrats will "need maximum black turnout in a lot of states," Sharpton told POLITICO.

"What I think is more dangerous for Democrats is, if a guy like Paul is out there, if he becomes the nominee, for argument's sake, he ? does not generate a turnout against him" among African Americans, Sharpton said. He added, "If he's able to neutralize his past image on civil rights, if he becomes the candidate ? and if you don't get a huge black turnout saying 'We're afraid [of him],'" that could be a pitfall for Democrats.

True: the best tactic Democrats have for their battered, constantly betrayed base of minorities is to scare them with horror stories about how awful the GOP is.

[Bobarian (Mr. Xtreme)]

God forbid some poor misguided black person might actually vote for him.

[Tonio]

See how much nicer that looks, and how much easier to read that is, Eddie? Also, keeps really long URLs from being broken when line breaks are inserted.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Oh you mean like this?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

I used to have a file with all the html commands, but burglars stole my computer and now it's too much of a bother.

[Tonio]

You're welcome.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

the best tactic Democrats have for their battered, constantly betrayed base of minorities is to scare them with horror stories about how awful the GOP is.

And it works. ANd they get quite a bit of help from the stupid party itself.

[PapayaSF]

It works among whites, too. Among the progs I know, it seems like fear of the GOP/conservative/libertarian boogymen is at least as strong a motivator as the glorious socialist future they imagine.

[Suthenboy]

"...fewer African Americans may be motivated to show up and vote against him."

That is one hell of an admission right there. Holy shit.

[PapayaSF]

Indeed.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

After that Obama handed out a bunch of Medals of Freedom to various political folks and celebrities like Meryl Streep and Stevie Wonder.

Medal of Freedom is a lame name for an award anyway. Say what you will about the Soviets, but Hero of the Soviet Union might be the coolest honor ever.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

The America: Fuck Yeah! Medal of Awesomeness

During the ceremony, they play the little-known *third* verse of the Star-Spangled Banner:

"And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!"

[db]

Ten score years ago, defeat the kingly foe
A wondrous dream came into being
Tame the trackless waste, no virgin land left chaste
All shining eyes, but never seeing

[Chorus:]
Beneath the noble bird
Between the proudest words
Behind the beauty, cracks appear
Once with heads held high
They sang out to the sky
Why do their shadows bow in fear?

Watch the cities rise
Another ship arrives
Earth's melting pot and ever growing
Fantastic dreams come true
Inventing something new
The greatest minds, and never knowing

[Chorus]

The guns replace the plow, facades are tarnished now
The principles have been betrayed
The dreams's gone stale, but still, let hope prevail
History's debt won't be repaid

[Chorus]

[Rich]

REGALIA, n.
Distinguishing insignia, jewels and costume of such ancient and honorable orders as Knights of Adam; Visionaries of Detectable Bosh; the Ancient Order of Modern Troglodytes; the League of Holy Humbug; the Golden Phalanx of Phalangers; the Genteel Society of Expurgated Hoodlums; the Mystic Alliances of Georgeous Regalians; Knights and Ladies of the Yellow Dog; the Oriental Order of Sons of the West; the Blatherhood of Insufferable Stuff; Warriors of the Long Bow; Guardians of the Great Horn Spoon; the Band of Brutes; the Impenitent Order of Wife-Beaters; the Sublime Legion of Flamboyant Conspicuants; ....

[Rich]

Worshipers at the Electroplated Shrine; Shining Inaccessibles; Fee-Faw-Fummers of the inimitable Grip; Jannissaries of the Broad-Blown Peacock; Plumed Increscencies of the Magic Temple; the Grand Cabal of Able-Bodied Sedentarians; Associated Deities of the Butter Trade; the Garden of Galoots; the Affectionate Fraternity of Men Similarly Warted; the Flashing Astonishers; Ladies of Horror; Cooperative Association for Breaking into the Spotlight; Dukes of Eden; Disciples Militant of the Hidden Faith; Knights-Champions of the Domestic Dog; the Holy Gregarians; the Resolute Optimists; the Ancient Sodality of Inhospitable Hogs; Associated ... Sovereigns of Mendacity; Dukes-Guardian of the Mystic Cess-Pool; the Society for Prevention of Prevalence; Kings of Drink; Polite Federation of Gents-Consequential; the Mysterious Order of the Undecipherable Scroll; Uniformed Rank of Lousy Cats; Monarchs of Worth and Hunger; Sons of the South Star; Prelates of the Tub-and-Sword.

-- the late, great Ambrose Bierce

[BuSab Agent]

Oh oh! I want to be an Associated Deity of the Butter Trade, but barring that I'll take Lady of Horror.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Govermentisgood.com is a website, and it is absolutely terrible:

HOW THIS WEBSITE IS ORGANIZED
The War on Government. This section of the site chronicles the unrelenting assault on government being waged by conservative forces in this country. Articles describe how cuts in social programs and rollbacks of regulations have harmed the health, safety, and welfare of millions of Americans; how these assaults have taken place on many fronts ? in Congress, the administrative branch, and the federal courts, as well as on the state and local level; and how the right's radical anti-government agenda is out of touch with the views and priorities of most Americans.

Why Government is Good. This section describes how government acts as a force for good in society. One piece chronicles a day in the life of an average middle-class American and identifies the myriad and often overlooked ways that government laws and programs improve our lives. Other articles describe the forgotten achievements of government; how government serves as an instrument of "good works;" how public sector policies and institutions protect and enhance our freedoms; how a free market economy would be impossible without the elaborate legal and regulatory infrastructure provided by government; and why we need more ? not less ?government.

[Tonio]

"the administrative branch" Oh, that's delicious.

[Injun, as in from India]

I wish I had bought that domain name. It would be the best sarcastic site on the flipping planet.

[Bobarian (Mr. Xtreme)]

You mean it isn't already?

I didn't think anyone could say shit like that with a straight face.

[Tonio]

Keep the domain watch-listed, Hiawatha. Those things often start out strong but fizzle after a few weeks.

[PapayaSF]

Maybe try a variation: governmentisalwaysgood.com or governmentisneverbad.com

[Pinky]

...or ... imfromthegovernmentandimheretohelpyou.com

[The Immaculate Trouser]

More derp:

Many Republicans have even called for the wholesale dismantling of entire federal agencies. Their hit list includes the Environmental Protection Agency and the Departments of Energy, Housing and Urban Development, Commerce, Interior, and Education. And at a time when polls show that a majority of Americans want increased regulation of the energy industry, health care companies, and the financial industry, conservatives are saying they want much less oversight. As former Republican Representative Ron Paul once explained: "I don't think we need regulators." This kind of anti-government extremism has come to dominate the Republican Party.

Everyone knows what a towering figure of authority Ron Paul is in the Republican party.

Oh, and the best part?

A web project of Douglas J. Amy, Professor of Politics at Mount Holyoke College

Brilliant.

[Tonio]

He's a frickin professor of politics and he thinks there's something called and "administrative branch."

[Tonio]

AN, of course.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

You must be a professor of English at Mount Holyoke College. Heh.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

That reminds me of the joke about the two Jews.

One of them is reading an anti-Semitic newspaper, and his friend reproaches him for it. "Why don't you read a good Jewish newspaper instead of that anti-Semitic trrash?"

But the first Jew replies: "Look, whenever I read the Jewish press, I learn about pogroms, persecution and misery. But when I read the anti-Semitic press I find out that Jews run the economy and the culture and dominate politics. After a hard day's work, which would *you* rather read?"

[PapayaSF]

Nice.

[JEP]

Ron Paul once explained: "I don't think we need regulators."

That's not so much 'explained' as 'stated.'

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Can anyone name 7 good things that government has accomplished that I'd agree with?

Government fucked up everything it has ever come in contact with.

[PapayaSF]

I'm OK with the Bureau of Weights and Measures.

A good rule of thumb: if we had it in the 19th century, it might be a legitimate function of the federal government.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Okay. That's one.

[CE]

BWM is totally unnecessary. If we had it in the 19th century, we probably don't need it any more.

[The Last American Hero]

Except they still have us using inches and pounds instead of the more logical metric system.

[Isaac Bartram]

In what way is the CGS(metric system) more logical than the FPS("english" system)?

[Francisco d'Anconia]

In what way is the CGS(metric system) more logical than the FPS("english" system)?

It's about a billion times easier to use and all the units are based on 10 rather than how many chick peas you can shove up a donkey's ass or the length of the king's dick.

[PapayaSF]

I rate this comment as 5/8ths of a peck of donkey ass peas.

[Agammamon]

BWM doesn't have us doing this - its millions of ordinary Americans who determined (rightly, IMO) that the switch over would not provide benefits greater than the cost of switching.

Just because its a 'more logical' system doesn't mean that the benefits of using it are greater than the cost of changing a whole lot of signage (at a minimum).

Esperanto is a more logical language - but how many people do you see complaining that we've not switched over to it.

[PapayaSF]

As I recall the Whole Earth crowd had an argument against switching at the time. I think it was that the English measurements were more "human," and that metric wasn't as standardized as claimed. But don't quote me. I should be studying and not commenting, so no time to find links....

[Steve G]

Bureau of Indian Aff... ah, fuck it. Obvious troll is too obvious.

[Gray Ghost]

Can anyone name 7 good things that government has accomplished that I'd agree with?

NACA? (Aeronautics, not loans.) The National Science Foundation? At least at first?

This is tougher than I thought.

[CatoTheElder]

Government has done a reasonably good job at water treatment systems: potable water, sewage treatment, drainage, etc.

That is all.

Weights and Measures not so much. Otherwise the US would use the metric system.

[GILMORE]

"One piece chronicles a day in the life of an average middle-class American and identifies the myriad and often overlooked ways that government laws and programs improve our lives..."

...whether we want it to or not...

[PapayaSF]

And, of course, disregard all the many, many costs of regulation, both visible and hidden.

[Roger the Shrubber]

Government is good. Government is great. Thank Obama for our food. Amen.

[CE]

All those regulatory rollbacks and budget cuts.... we must be getting pretty close to anarchy by now, huh?

[Bill Dalasio]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared that women are not equal to men and that motherhood is more important than doing the work of men.

Let me play devil's advocate for a moment.

Is this anything fundamentally different from the unstated assumptions of the SJW crowd? If we are to buy that women aren't to be held responsible for their actions or choices, that they need to be subsidized, and that, in any conflict between men and women, it is the man who is to be held responsible, we have to work from the assumption that women are incapable of moral agency. If that's the case, I don't see where you can escape Erdogan's conclusion.

[waffles]

I'm still baffled by the SJW cry that access to something means government should pay for it.

[PapayaSF]

Both of you are assuming that the SJW/feminist worldview is logically consistent. It's not. If you think of it as a mixture of (some) valid but conflicting demands, social positioning, irrational tantrums, and self-serving tactics for political and personal advantage, it makes more sense as a whole.

[JEP]

It's constant, struggling attempt to make their idea of a perfect world jive with reality, and they think that government passing and enforcing legislation is going to make reality change.

[PapayaSF]

Don't forget the important role of hounding people out of jobs for saying the wrong thing and offending someone!

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Budwesier sales eclipsed by craft brew sales for first time

The self-proclaimed King of Beers is more of an afterthought among young consumers at Jake's and bars across the U.S.: Some 44% of 21- to 27-year-old drinkers today have never tried Budweiser, according to the brand's parent company, Anheuser-Busch InBev NV.

Young drinkers aren't the reason Budweiser volumes have declined in the U.S. for 25 years, from its nearly 50-million-barrel peak in 1988 to 16 million barrels last year. Light beers like its sister, Bud Light, have chipped away at Bud's share of the market for decades. Bud Light overtook it as the No. 1 selling beer in 2001, and Coors Light displaced it as No. 2 in 2011.

Craft beers and flavored malts such as AB InBev's Lime-a-Rita have contributed to a 9% decline in shipments since then.

The company has decided that persuading 21- to 27-year-olds to grab a Bud is the best chance to stop the free-fall. After years of developing advertising and marketing that appeals to all ages, AB InBev plans to concentrate future Budweiser promotions exclusively on that age bracket. That means it won't trot out the traditional Budweiser Clydesdales for this year's holiday advertising. It means February's Super Bowl ads will feature something more current than last year's Fleetwood Mac. It means less baseball and more raves with DJ group Cash Cash.

[paranoid android]

The company has decided that persuading 21- to 27-year-olds to grab a Bud is the best chance to stop the free-fall. After years of developing advertising and marketing that appeals to all ages, AB InBev plans to concentrate future Budweiser promotions exclusively on that age bracket.

*Overheard at a Budweiser board of directors meeting*

Exec: What if we tried making beer that...doesn't suck?

Chairman: You're fired. Instead, let's get a bunch of 50-year-old consultants in to design an ad campaign based on what they think 21-year-olds like.

[LynchPin1477]

The secret is making a beer that doesn't suck but is still as cheap as Bud.

[GILMORE]

Hello Yuengling

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Obama has cheapened that too.

[db]

Seriously? Has Obama made a public statement on Yuengling?

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

He gave it a Medal of Freedom

[Francisco d'Anconia]

They still make those old beers?

[PapayaSF]

You youngsters may be too old to remember this, but back circa the early '70s, there were concerns that the consolidation of the beer industry would result in just a handful of brands. (100 years ago, beer was a local and regional industry, a city like Cincinnati would have hundreds of breweries, and people bought beer for the home by taking lidded buckets to saloons to fill.)

But then (IIRC) Anchor Steam started up, and the whole craft beer thing took off.

It was yet another time when the inevitable and terrible forces of capitalism that the left worries about didn't pan out as feared.

[Cytotoxic]

Rand Paul is to be commended for his constitutional realistic approach to ISIS. It's working.

http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/231120143

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Well that didn't take long: Abolish All Fraternities

Now, in this moment, it is no longer convenient for the people who run colleges to allow rape to prosper at their fraternities, so they are discussing what might be done to curb it. But when the media attention dissipates?and it will dissipate?will the people who run colleges again find it more convenient to let a culture of unchecked sexual assault prosper at their fraternities? Why even risk that they will?

A supporter of the fraternity system might argue that merely eliminating fraternities will not end the problem of rape in and around college campuses. This is true. But because we cannot snap our fingers and erase rape does not mean that we shouldn't try and start that process by snapping our fingers and erasing fraternities. When it comes to combating sexual assaults on campus, we must start somewhere. Ending fraternities, it is clear, would be the most effective place to start.

If we eliminate fraternities, won't young men on college campuses just find somewhere other than fraternities to commit rape? Some will, and if you ever were looking for a reason to get behind the "ban men" meme, this would be it. But fraternities produce rapists at a rate much higher than the rest of the college population. It is not a coincidence. There are statistics, backed by common sense.

[waffles]

In my frat house we had a storage closet with a broken lock so we couldn't open it. On a drunken night after some campus discussion on sexual violence somebody spray painted "RAPE CLOSET" on it. The joke was that all rape happens in the closet and since the closet can't be opened there is no rape. On a walkthrough our university adviser did not see it that way. Some people.

[Andrew S.]

If I were to reply on Gawker saying that a far more effective way of eliminating rape on college campuses, especially when it comes to fraternities, would be to lower the drinking age to 18 and for people to watch how much they drink in large groups, how much worse than Hitler would I be accused of being?

[BiMonSciFiCon]

Your common sense, no shit advice would be given 4 Hitlers.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Why does one need a drinking age to begin with?

[PapayaSF]

If you included women in that advice, you'd be "blaming the victim."

[SusanM]

"Phi Kappa Psi, like all fraternities, exists to teach bad values to developing young men. Sent off to campus to educate themselves as individuals, fraternity members instead learn to subordinate their values and plans to a collective."

???

[ColonelEngineer]

Former Phi Psi pledge here. I still have the book they give new guys. For the life of me, I can't find any of these "bad values" they speak of...

[seguin]

I'm surprised Gawker sees that as bad.

[Heroic Mulatto]

There are statistics, backed by common sense.

As opposed to statistics backed by data, of course.

Sounds legit.

[JEP]

That quote is pretty much admitting that they are confirming their bias.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

St. Louis woman buys gun to prepare for Ferguson riots, accidentally shoots herself in the head

A woman appears to have accidentally fatally shot herself in the head with a gun bought to prepare for possible Ferguson-related unrest, according to sources briefed on the police investigation.

The shooting occurred Friday night in downtown St. Louis, the city's Metropolitan Police Department said, in an area dominated by vacant lots beside a football stadium.

The female victim, identified in a police report as Becca Campbell, 26, was a passenger in a car involved in an auto accident. Her 33-year-old boyfriend was driving, the sources told CNN.

The boyfriend, who wasn't identified, told police that the couple had bought a gun because of fears of unrest related to the pending grand jury decision on the shooting of Michael Brown, the sources said.

He told investigators that as they drove late Friday night, the victim waved a gun, jokingly saying the couple were ready for Ferguson, the sources said.
He ducked to get out of the way of the gun and accidentally rear-ended another car. He said the accident caused the gun to go off and she was struck by a bullet in the head, the sources said.

The victim was rushed to a hospital but died.

Well there's a Darwin Award candidate.

[waffles]

Race war claims another victim.

[db]

That sounds a little too perfect.

[waffles]

You mean it could be a fake story to beat the drums against ownership of weapons for personal protection? I don't doubt people are this stupid but you could be correct.

[db]

I mean something more like what Warty says below. Most likely the guy either offed her on purpose or accidentally shot her.

[Agammamon]

I would say this story is a perfect justification for ensuring *everyone* can easily own a gun.

The faster people like this get taken down the better off we are as a whole.

[Warty]

Yeah, bullshit. He killed her or she killed herself.

[Gray Ghost]

What Warty said.

Is it wrong that my first impulse on reading the article was to laugh?

[Francisco d'Anconia]

She didn't reproduce. Where is the downside?

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Somebody got rear ended.

[Old Man With Candy]

We can all be thankful for Darwin.

[PapayaSF]

Looks like she was one of the protestors.

It could be that she was simply an idiot and had her finger on the trigger when the accident happened.

[Suthenboy]

I don't think I buy a word of that. I would be looking very, very hard at that boyfriend.

[Coeus]

I don't think I buy a word of that. I would be looking very, very hard at that boyfriend.

Poor trigger discipline can cause all kinds of misunderstandings.

[SERENITY NOW!]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared that women are not equal to men and that motherhood is more important than doing the work of men.

But what do Turkish Millennials think?

[Bobarian (Mr. Xtreme)]

But what do Turkish Millennials think?

Just the male ones, please...

[Winston]

But what do Turkish Millennials think?

Kill the Armenians and enter WWI?

[The Immaculate Trouser]

And now, the governmentisgood.com "solutions" page!

Living Wage Policies. Another approach to raising the incomes of the poor and working class is to pass local ordinances requiring that a "living wage" be paid by companies with government contracts or subsidies. The wage has usually been pegged to the amount that would lift a family of three or four above the poverty level. Cities like Baltimore and Los Angeles have passed living wage laws that have increased the wages of thousands of workers in those urban areas.

Can't see that going wrong.

Reducing High Corporate Salaries. Decreasing economic inequality may involve not only increasing the incomes of those on the bottom, but also putting reasonable limits on the income of those on the top. The salaries of top corporate executives have been ballooning while average wages have stagnated. U.S. CEOs currently make salaries that are over 200 times that of the average worker ? a much higher disparity than we see in most other Western countries.

Arbitrary takings of "high" salaries -- wow, governmentisgood! (.com)

virtually all Western European democracies have economic policies in place that create a more egalitarian distribution of the wealth and income. So in a very real way, those Americans who are working for these kinds of political and policy reforms are swimming with the historical tide, not against it.

FUCK EUROPE (.com)

[paranoid android]

Cities like Baltimore and Los Angeles have passed living wage laws that have increased the wages of thousands of workers in those urban areas.

"I've sold living wage initiatives to Los Angeles, Baltimore, and North Haverbrook, and by gum, it put them on the map!"

[BiMonSciFiCon]

Yeah I'm not sure I'd hold up Baltimore as a beacon of success.

[PapayaSF]

And what are the unemployment and poverty rates in LA?

[BigT]

To say nothing of the illegal aliens and others who are working off the grid for cash.

[John Titor]

Arbitrary high salaries totally don't exist in government bureaucracies.

[Agammamon]

No, no - they're not arbitrary because those government people totally have more degrees than the private sector and so are, obviously, worth more.

[The Other Kevin]

Writing misleading health care laws is a task WORTH $400,000.00.

[PapayaSF]

I believe his total consulting fees, from all the various entities of government (including the State Dept., WTF?) was more like $5 million. But he has been fired by two states recently.

[Agammamon]

I always wonder if people pushing for European policies have ever *lived* in Europe. Like, actually had to make a living there.

I lived there (but I didn't have to make a living - I was in the military and insulated from their taxes) in the late 90's (98-02).

Bottled water
No closets
Running the microwave and water heater could trip your house breakers.
No on-demand hot water
Metered local calls
Metered internet access

Most of Europe is a great place to visit - but if you ain't making bank you wouldn't want to move there.

[LynchPin1477]

I know plenty of Europeans and North Americans that have lived in Europe and that love(d) it. I'm sure I'd enjoy aspects of it.

But I think a fair number of North Americans the thinking goes "Europe has lots of old, pretty buildings. Let's adopt their politics!"

[The Immaculate Trouser]

I liked Europe while I lived there. Lots of places there would be great if you were single. But there is no question that in the US, the dollar goes a lot further than the Euro, it is less taxed in general, and (especially in the areas of real estate, food, and gas) living there with a family is very difficult, which probably has something to do with Europe's anemic birthrates.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

I lived in Stuttgart (USAF deployment). I was shocked that an engineer friend of mine was only able to afford a small one-bedroom apartment on a relatively high income. The only people I knew who had anything approaching normal house sizes were older people who had the houses in the family or prior to the 60s.

[PapayaSF]

In my experience, most progs heard nice things about Scandinavia in college in the '70s, and nothing they've heard on NPR since then has contradicted that, so they still think it's some sort of socialist paradise.

[wareagle]

anyone remember that massive repatriation of Americans back to their various mother nations? Me, either.

[BuSab Agent]

Belgium won't let me back in...course the family left there in 1820.

[Rich]

Family of Michael Brown says it is requesting 4-and-a-half-minute period of silence in Ferguson before protests.

OK ......

[Andrew S.]

It's because he apparently spent 4.5 hours sprawled out on the street before the police got their story together enough to have the body moved.

[Crusty Juggler]

I can't imagine why the populace does not have 100% trust in the police department.

[PapayaSF]

How about a 4.5 week period of silence?

[AlmightyJB]

4 and half minutes! But I wanna protest now:(

[Clich? Bandit]

Hey, NY Meetup anytime soon? I am going to the city this weekend.

I need options.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

"He didn't comply so I shot him."

"The suspect didn't comply so he shot him. It's procedure."

[The Late P Brooks]

Speaking of ad hoc justice, here's a question:

Has an angry mob of Clevelanders hunted down the cop who shot that kid "brandishing" a bb gun and hung him from a lamppost?

If not, why not?

[Andrew S.]

Easy. That's far too kind as compared to what should happen to him. For example, it's missing the part where he's hung from piano wire tied around his genitals.

[BigT]

The CLE media are blaming the gun for looking like something that should be illegal.

[GILMORE]

"After that Obama handed out a bunch of Medals of Freedom to various political folks and celebrities like Meryl Streep and Stevie Wonder."

Whut

Recipients =
" Tom Brokaw, actress Meryl Streep, musician Stevie Wonder, Ethel Kennedy, and retiring Democratic Rep. John Dingell, the longest-serving member of Congress. "

Wait... what about the japanese kid who can eat more hotdogs than anyone? I mean COME ON!?

I thought that the "Medal of Freedom" was reserved for bureaucrats who had gloriously fucked something up so royally that the Admin was forced to pretend that they'd 'done their best despite adversity'.

i.e. Paul Bremer, Michael Brown... maybe Eric Shinseki?

If I were Steve Wonder, i'd be like, "Motherfucker: I'm the greatest musician of the second half of the 20th century, and apparently that's no better than being "Abner Mikva": 'a guy who managed to never get a job in the private sector'?

[paranoid android]

If I were Steve Wonder, i'd be like, "Motherfucker: I'm the greatest musician of the second half of the 20th century, and apparently that's no better than being "Abner Mikva": 'a guy who managed to never get a job in the private sector'?

The guy has too much class, he doesn't want to lose the Higher Ground.

[Winston]

Michael Brown

You Know Who Else received a medal for being shot by the police?

[GILMORE]

There is more than one Mike Brown

"By the time he resigned from FEMA, Brown had already been discharged from his functions as coordinator of the federal efforts in New Orleans and Gulf Coast by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and was sent back to Washington to continue FEMA's central operations. Bush, who had appointed Brown in 2003, praised Brown shortly after the storm hit, saying infamously "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job,"[16] but later deflected questions about the resignation, except to deny having discussed the resignation with him."

[Old Man With Candy]

"Heck of a job, Brownie!"

[CE]

John Dingell gets a Medal of Freedom for serving a law time in Congress and reducing our freedom? That would be like giving the Nobel Peace Prize to.... on, never mind.

[Andrew S.]

My wife told me today that, while volunteering at our daughter's school, she witnessed one boy pretend to shoot another boy with a deadly finger gun. The other boy, clearly traumatized, feigned death in order to stop the vicious assault.

Now, the question. Do you think I should take this to the Principal? Or maybe the media? And of course I should be notifying the police, right?

[paranoid android]

Anything short of giving a speech to the United Nations about it would just be abdicating your responsibilities as a parent and a citizen, obviously.

[Coeus]

Spyware. Literally.

Experts don't know where it came from, and aren't quite sure what it does.

But they do know this: a newly-uncovered cybersecurity threat wasn't your typical credit-card stealing operation. It appears to be a government spying tool, and is "groundbreaking and almost peerless."

Regin, as they've dubbed it, is malware that has been lurking in computers around the world for as long as six years, according to Symantec (SYMC, Tech30), the cybersecurity firm that produces Norton Antivirus.

"Its capabilities and the level of resources behind Regin indicate that it is one of the main cyberespionage tools used by a nation state," Symantec said Sunday, explaining that "development took months, if not years, to complete."

The researchers said little to answer several key questions: Who designed it? How widely has it spread? What has it scooped up? What are the risks?

They said Regin has been discovered in at least 10 countries and was most heavily concentrated in Russia and Saudi Arabia.

The United States was not among the countries listed by Symantec.

Who wants to bet that it isn't the US gov? Any takers?

[Coeus]

The malware was installed on the computers of companies around the world, but it wasn't searching for business secrets. When a target was selected it searched airline computers to find out where the target was traveling. It scoured hotel computers to find his room number. And it tapped telecommunication computers to see who he was talking to.

"They were trying to gain intelligence, not intellectual property," said Symantec analyst Vikram Thakur.

[PapayaSF]

Clever! If terrorists ever switch to Macs, we're screwed.

[Timon 19]

Macs are just as vulnerable. And they're used by smug hipsters.

[PapayaSF]

No, Macs aren't really just as vulnerable. The Windows world has orders of magnitude more malware.

[Coeus]

I think he means in this case. Which is true. I'm betting that the airline databases aren't on either platform.

[Carl ?s the level]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared that women are not equal to men and that motherhood is more important than doing the work of men.

Which is why he also announced that his government would be funding research to finally turn men into mothers.

[Coeus]

has declared that women are not equal to men and that motherhood is more important than doing the work of men.

So he's a feminist?

[Knarf Yenrab!]

The Federal Aviation Administration may announce some extremely restrictive requirements for use of commercial drones, including licensing.

This is the only way to ensure that the flight paths of the drone cartel commercial airliners remain safe from competition civilian drones.

[PapayaSF]

ThinkProgress editor knows how 'white people prefer to kill others'

Ian Millhiser: "We all know that white people prefer to kill others by getting the Supreme Court to take their health care away."

[Knarf Yenrab!]

Let's play the Racist! Game: substitute "Asian" for "white" in every socialist/progressive slur and guesstimate, on a scale of 1-10, how offended the author would be had he read it. Then the same treatment for "black" for "white."

[Stormy Dragon]

The passive-aggresive serial killer: he just ignores his victims until they are driven to suicide.

[Knarf Yenrab!]

During my chat with Justice Thomas this past weekend, we agreed that he would do everything in his power to take Ian Millhiser's healthcare away. Thomas said that he would chat with Antonin Scalia--another WASPy mofo, just like us two--and get him on board with the conspiracy.

Ian (a suspiciously white name, leading me to wonder just how many people he's murdered) will never be able to see a physician again because three white men conspired against him.

[JEP]

You could almost turn that into some type of TV show. Take news articles and act them out in short skits. Call the show Liberal Thinking.

It'd be a lot like Drunk History.

[Agammamon]

Huh.

And all this time I was thinking it was running people over in parking lots and 'overseas contingency operations' that were our favored methods.

[Lord Humungus]

You know who else handed out medals?

[CE]

Abraham Lincoln?

[John Quincy Addingmachine]

The IOC?

[Coeus]

Straight white men

Young Jean Lee writes by listening. When she started working on Straight White Men, she took advantage of being a playwright in residence at Brown University.

"I asked a roomful of women, queer people and minorities, 'What do you want straight men to do? And what do you want them to be like?' " she recalls.

Lee wrote down all of the answers. It boiled down to this: They wanted the straight white male character to sit down and shut up.

"When you hear that around the table, you just feel yourself sinking slowly into the chair," remembers James Stanley, who plays the character created from the list. The character, named Matt, is a sort of idealized straight white male. He works for a not-for-profit and is guided by a sense of trying not to ? in his words ? "make things worse." Lee and Stanley workshopped the character in front of the students. Who hated him.

"Hated him," Lee said, clearly still surprised. "And I realized that the reason why they hated him was ? despite all their commitment to social justice ? what they believed in most was not being a loser. [Matt] is exhibiting behavior that gets attributed to people of color: not being assertive, not standing up for himself, always being in a service position."

[paranoid android]

The character, named Matt, is a sort of idealized straight white male. He works for a not-for-profit and is guided by a sense of trying not to ? in his words ? "make things worse."

I can only imagine the Herculean effort it must take on the part of every single person involved with this project to keep their heads from exploding at the realization of what racist dolts they are.

[GILMORE]

I am shocked - SHOCKED!! - that SJW, when given the opportunity to create their "ideal white male", ended up with something they ended up completely loathing.

Because PROJECTION

[PapayaSF]

They wanted the straight white male character to sit down and shut up.

What a coincidence: that's what straight white men want women, queer people and minorities to do, too.

[Knarf Yenrab!]

Not true. They are welcome to remain standing.

[CatoTheElder]

I don't even mind if they talk ... as long as they have something intelligent to say.

[JEP]

[Matt] is exhibiting behavior that gets attributed to people of color: not being assertive, not standing up for himself, always being in a service position."

I don't see people of color this way at all. I guess I do in terms of I wish women and minorities and would stop buying into the idea that they're oppressed. I know it happens, but so many people go looking for it when it's not there and it ends up being a self fulfilling prophecy.

[Coeus]

That part was a little bizarre. He's struggling to understand. He doesn't realize that they're just sexist and racist. In his mind, there must be some other explanation for why they hate white men regardless of how they act.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Recall that Brown just had a big controversy over whether Wendy McElroy should speak in a debate over rape - students who were butthurt over McElroy's presence were invited into a "safe space" blah blah

http://reason.com/blog/2014/11.....hol-is-not

[BigT]

Global Warming News:

IN 2002 some of the warmists were predicting a very significant decline in lake effect snow downwind of the Great Lakes. Oops!

These criteria were applied to daily grid point data from the GCMs for two periods, the late 20th Century and the late 21st Century, to determine the relative frequency with which heavy lake-effect conditions were predicted. Surface conditions favorable for heavy lake-effect snow decreased in frequency by 50% and 90% for the HadCM2 and CGCM1, respectively, by the late 21st Century. This reduction was due almost entirely to a decrease in the number of occurrences of surface air temperature in the range of ?10 to 0?C, which in turn was the result of an increase in average winter air temperatures. Other surface conditions favorable for lake-effect snow occurred at about the same frequency in the late 21st Century as in the late 20th Century, suggesting that lake-effect rain events may replace lake-effect snow events.

Here, again, with a picture and map.

[PapayaSF]

The alarmist crowd has a new explanation now, so instead of less snow, global warming is producing more snow.

[CE]

Predictions are much easier after stuff happens. Like now they can blame heavy lake effect snow on global warming.

[Fluffy]

Antarctic Sea Ice Getting Even Fucking Thicker Than We Thought

[GILMORE]

The alt headline could be =
'Climate Science' Wrong Again: More Evidence We Don't Know Shit

"The discovery adds to the ongoing mystery of Antarctica's expanding sea ice. According to climate models, the region's sea ice should be shrinking each year because of global warming. Instead, satellite observations show the ice is expanding, and the continent's sea ice has set new records for the past three winters. At the same time, Antarctica's ice sheet (the glacial ice on land) is melting and retreating."

DENIER SCIENCE KOCH MONEY?!

[GILMORE]

Alt-Alt-Headline =

Correction: African American Climate Scientist Misinterpreted =

"I'd thought he said he was digging some thick ice floes; it turns out he said something similar about 'hoes'"

[Notorious G.K.C.]

NPR is trying to explain how Bob Hope was funny despite his homophobia, etc.

[Agammamon]

Well, he was.

You can be a horrible person and a great entertainer. Really, its almost a requirement.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

I'm still giggling at George Carlin's joke about Porky Pig raping Elmer Fudd.

[PapayaSF]

I'm still annoyed when I learned that in making one of his films, he found that Hedy Lamar was getting laughs, and he had the script changed so that it didn't happen. He was already a big star by then, so it just seems petty to sabotage a film that way. But I still like him despite that.

[GILMORE]

Homophobia? Have you seen the Crosby/Hope 'buddy films'?

Fuck NPR.

[Knarf Yenrab!]

Bob Hope was born in 1903. That generation and even the one that followed are noted for despising Japs and talking about jungle music. That he called someone a fag in jest at the age of 85 doesn't strike me as particularly offensive given his generation, anymore than Thomas Jefferson owning slaves is particularly offensive given his generation.

While it's a pity that previous generations weren't as enlightened as us perfect denizens of the 21st century who received our social and political wisdom from God, maybe, just maybe, Hope's views developed largely as a consequence of his influences. And when future generations of people who don't get their meat from slaughtered animals look back on us as a bunch of immoral savages, maybe some of them will see the same.

Or maybe they'll just preen about what wonderful people they are relative to the ignorami who came before. That seems the standard approach.

[PapayaSF]

Very true. I really dislike that sort of historical fallacy, which has a name I've forgotten, but means to project the morality of one's own time backwards, usually in order to condemn. It's just amazingly unaware, as if you have the Perfect Viewpoint and someone in the future won't do it to you.

[Pink Cosmotarian]

"Raaaaaaacist!!"

[db]

Bitchin' drone killings! Bitchin' drone killings!
Hellfire on your lawn
Bitchin' drone killings! Bitchin' drone killings!
The bride was just a pawn

[db]

Yeah. A *finger* improperly on the *trigger* caused the gun to go off.