It's Tax Day, Guilty Verdict in Aaron Hernandez Murder Trial, Gyrocopter Pilot Lands on Capitol Lawn: P.M. Links

• 

  Funny or Die

  A jury convicted former pro football player Aaron Hernandez of murdering a friend, Odin Lloyd. Hernandez once played for the New England Patriots.

• A Florida mailman landed his small gyrocopter on the U.S. Capitol lawn and was promptly arrested. The man, Doug Hughes, was attempting to deliver letters to Congress in support of campaign finance reform.
• Did you pay your taxes and file your returns? Read Matt Welch on Americans living abroad who have considered renouncing their U.S. citizenship over the matter.
• The Cato Institute's David Boaz suggests letting taxpayers decide which programs they would like to fund.
• The gravestone of Hillary Clinton's father was overturned. Vandalism is suspected.
• Funny or Die released a hilarious video about climate change denialism. Seriously, it's so funny. You won't be able to stop laughing. You may even die.
• The Washington Free Beacon on "A New Low for Journalism."

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Seriously, it's so funny.

I have doubt.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I was correct.

[Gene]

Yes you were, I would go so far as calling it decidedly unfunny, certainly preachy and patronizing.

[Sudden]

One has to also love the lack of self-awareness in criticizing the target of their unfunny skit for lack of scientific acumen while not providing any scientific data themselves nor even acknowledging the two decade long "pause" in surface temperature increases...

[Sudden]

We should probably ban this kinda corporate speech, amirite progs?

[Cyto]

I witnessed this "political humor disorder" in person at the Funny Bone comedy club in Atlanta back in the 90's. The headliner was a woman of the far left who's entire act consisted of "boy, those republicans are so stupid! Have you guys seen that Newt Gingrich? Wow, that guy is ugly. And stupid!

It went on like that for the full set. "Wow, that Bob Dole is EVIL! And Stupid!!" The youngish crowd of urban southern professionals gave her a few pity laughs in the first couple of minutes, but pretty quickly even the left of left people in the crowd sat there in stony silence. She was pretty shocked that her schtick wasn't working. Apparently it killed in NYC. The group I was with were uniformly left-democrats, and they considered walking out. She berated us southerners for being such right-wing hicks that we couldn't get her sophisticated and enlightened humor. A couple of the girls I was with worked for the Southern Poverty Law Center. If you can't get them with your "Right Wingers Are Evil" schtick, you pretty much lost it.

But for the true believers, that stuff is seriously funny!

[John]

Even they don't think it is funny. They just pretend it is as a form of social signaling. Saddam Husain used to have all of his toadies give him a standing ovation and then throw the first guy who stopped clapping in prison. The ovations would needless to say go on a while. This is something similar. If they didn't laugh the others might think they were disloyal.

[Pro Libertate]

I think most of what they do is social signaling.

[Sudden]

The headliner was a woman of the far left who's entire act consisted of "boy, those republicans are so stupid! Have you guys seen that Newt Gingrich? Wow, that guy is ugly. And stupid!

I know it was Margeret Cho's heyday back then, but why did you even bother?

[Juice]

This video is like the "It's better in Somalia" video. Not funny at all, but meant to make the choir sing "right on!"

[CatoTheElder]

Not just unfunny, but also unoriginal.

[Hey Nikki!]

Hillary not your ideal empowered woman? Well, you now have something in common with Jacobin! No, really, you'll agree with a bunch of it.

But maybe not this part:

All issues of wealth, power, and violence are also women's and LGBT rights issues. For instance, neoliberal economic policies of austerity and privatization disproportionately hurt women and LGBT individuals, who are often the lowest paid and the first workers to be fired, the most likely to bear the burdens of family maintenance, and the most affected by the involuntary migration, domestic violence, homelessness, and mental illness that are intensified by poverty.

[Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns]

It's like a game of Mad Libs. They just have to stick LGBT individuals in there no matter what the surrounding paragraph says, even if it makes no sense.

[jesse.in.mb]

You're just posting word salad to make me feel guilty for eating Chik-fil-A for lunch, aren't you?

[Zombie Jimbo]

Did you get the free tax day sandwich?

[jesse.in.mb]

Wait, was that an option?

*yanks pull cord on time machine*

I'll be right back.

[db]

Say hi to Warty Hugeman for us.

[Los Doyers]

Warty exists beyond time, db. He was Interstellar before it was mainstream.

[Trouser-Pod]

db, a day or two ago (they run together after a while), you mentioned working on Fallout 4, and a couple of us said we were interested in finding out about it, if you could tell us.

I never did see your response, and was wondering if you did talk about it. If so, and you can link to it, I'd love to read it.

[Los Doyers]

Fallout 4 is a black hole. I want my Red Dead Redemption 2 and I want it now.

[Cytotoxic]

Pfft RDR was not that good.

[Los Doyers]

Your taste is already the measure of what is objectively terrible, so this comment doesn't surprise me.

[Trouser-Pod]

Well, hells yeah on the RDR II. Sadly, after what the last two Fallout games produced, I kinda agree with the first part, but I still have hope, 'cause I'm a glutton for punishment, I guess.

[Cytotoxic]

FO3 was awesome.

[db]

Man I feel bad about that. I was lying to tweak people, that's all.

I can't say any more.

[Trouser-Pod]

No prob. It was an interesting choice for a lie.

[db]

I love the Fallout games and I get caught up in the fake hype sometimes too. I was just feeling evil I guess.

I can't say any more.

[Trouser-Pod]

I was just feeling evil I guess

Nah...I'd say "cheeky". It's all good.

[Sudden]

Per the terms of our wager, your consumption of Chik-fil-A negates our original terms and renders the bet null and void.

[jesse.in.mb]

You're gonna have to explain that one more fully. I don't remember Chik-fil-A ever coming into the negotiations.

I might need my legal council The Hon. Rev. Dr. Pl?ya Manhattan., JD, Esq. on hand to parse the specifics of the arrangement.

[Hey Nikki!]

I am happy to help by eating as many Chik-fil-A sandwiches as may be necessary.

[jesse.in.mb]

Don't do it! You'll get fat.

Seriously. They opened a Chik-fil-A up walking distance from work and some of my coworkers ballooned the fuck up.

Chik-fil-A is a sometimes food, even if I do love their spicy chicken breakfast burritos.

[Pan Zagloba]

What the dick is "involuntary migration"? Kidnapping? Forcible relocation, Trail of Tears-style? Being sent to the colonies as a punishment?

[All-Seeing Monocle]

It means you voluntarily chose to do it, but you didn't really want to. Just like involuntary wage gaps.

[Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns]

Right. Unless you're super excited to do everything you do on a daily basis, it's involuntary and therefore bad.

For example, I am involuntarily employed.

[Pan Zagloba]

Oooooh, it's doing something without enthusiastic consent?

Well if only she said so, now it makes perfect sense!
Of course, it's not her job to re-educate me, but hopefully there will be some kind of, oh, let's say outdoor communal living area which will provide such a service. The name escapes me...

[Rich]

Oooooh, it's doing something without enthusiastic consent?

Careful, that's RAPE under California law.

[Pan Zagloba]

And thus are women hardest hit by it! It all becomes so clear!

[Sudden]

So PIV then?

[edcoast]

Do they mean you might actually have to move somewhere to find a job? Really?

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Yep

[Jerry on the sea]

Corporate feminism, what is that even supposed to mean. These new marxists don't even know how to usurp the English language anymore.

[Pan Zagloba]

Let's see... Planned Parenthood is a corporation, and also considered feminist, so..

Abortions! The answer is always abortions!

[Sudden]

The more I see who is actually breeding, the more supportive I am of abortion.

[jesse.in.mb]

Would you care to invest in my startup: SnipStarter?

Help crowd fund vasectomies and tubal ligations for those who aren't yet aware that all of their friends, neighbors, acquaintances, clergy-persons, etc do not want them to procreate.

[Sudden]

If the government left me even a modicum of discretionary income to play around with, I would gladly fund your startup.

[Los Doyers]

Do you offer subsidies for us poorz?

[Tejicano]

That happened to my unemployed brother-in-law. After the fourth kid my mom and my sister (his wife) passed the hat in our family, my the doctor's appointment, and took him to get the snip - without really asking him much about it.

[jesse.in.mb]

That's excellent. I asked my junkie sister if she'd get snipped if I covered the costs, and she was shocked made a big deal about how horrible I am. She then called my mom to have her commiserate about how cold-hearted I am. My mom's response was "Wait, how much are they? I'll kick in half."

As much as they drive me nuts, they aren't all bad.

I've offered to cover the procedure costs for sterilization for 4 people now, but nobody has taken me up on it.

[Whahappan?]

SEE! SEE! I knew libertarians were secretly in favor of genocide via sterilization!!! Millhiser was right all along!!!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Comes with female stock options!

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Cato Institute's David Boaz suggests letting taxpayers decide which programs they would like to fund.

A la carte doesn't work for cable, how could it work for government???

[Trouser-Pod]

Plus, have you seen those people that go to cafeterias?!? Just selecting what they want? Ewww, Gawd, NO!!

[hpearce]

I'm afraid this "solution" by Boaz would probably only provide propaganda for the view that taxation is all your choice to decide about 😀

I doubt it wouldl actually modify things much.

[Injun, as in from India]

The Cato Institute's David Boaz suggests letting taxpayers decide which programs they would like to fund.

But.. but... ROADZ!

[Andrew S.]

If this were to come to pass, I'd earmark 100% of my tax payments for roadz.

[Sudden]

Fat chance. You can't possibly do that while reporting your occupation as "Somali Warlord" on the 1040.

[Pan Zagloba]

You can, it saves wear and tear on technicals.

[Andrew S.]

I do not report my occupation as Somali Warlord. I report it as business manager. It allows me to deduct the expenses of housing and feeding my orphan slaves (bulk gruel is surprisingly expensive, you know).

[This Machine]

Tangentially relevant.

[hpearce]

I suggest letting people keep their own property instead of taken by the state against the rightful owner;s permission.

[Hey Nikki!]

I know this will be hard to believe, but it's true: I've officially found the stupidest thing anyone has ever said about "American Sniper":

To those who simply say the movie's meant to be entertaining, I question whether any film centering on military combat and depicting so many war scenes should be watched for leisure

[LynchPin1477]

Richman is still stupider.

[bacon-magic]

Sheldon Richman makes Mike Tyson look as smart as Neil Dumass Tyson(not a fan of him, but he's accredited...)
My take on a Chappelle(sic?) show skit.

[Andrew S.]

You pick that out, when elsewhere in the article he compares it to Mein Kampf?

[Hey Nikki!]

That's definitely not uniquely stupid.

[John]

Even that doesn't compare to calling Kyle another Adam Lanza. Reason's own Sheldon Richman sets the stupid bar very high, too high for even college students to meet.

[Pan Zagloba]

And now the scales fall off my eyes! That's why Reason keeps publishing him - from time to time he sets world-class bars in journalism that you can't find anywhere else.

[Hey Nikki!]

I stand by my claim. The universal idea that people should not consume war-related media for entertainment is far more sweeping and thus dumber.

[John]

Its close. I didn't think anyone could challenge Richman but I have to admit you have found a contender.

[Hey Nikki!]

You have to go to the Ivies for this level of quality, that's for sure.

[Pro Libertate]

I'm not giving up Apocalypse Now.

[ant1sthenes]

It's not stupid, just racist. He's saying that Arabs are like first graders.

[Warty]

Obviously free speech on a college campus is enormously valuable and something colleges should ardently encourage. They should protect the rights of students and student-run groups to show and view almost any movie they want so that they're exposed to a wide range of viewpoints. There is a significant difference, however, between the university promoting free speech for its students and the university itself presenting only one particular viewpoint on an issue. If the university, as opposed to a student organization, sponsors an event and presents only one viewpoint, it is effectively weighing in on an issue and endorsing a particular opinion ? whether it intends to or not. For it is privileging one view at the expense of other views, which, without a university-authorized platform, get pushed into obscurity. The privileged view gets the limelight and, simply because of its prominence, people buy into it.

This is problematic because it's not the university's place to persuade its students or promulgate its own opinions. Its job is to create an environment where students' voices rule, not its own. Rather than nurturing a diverse symphony of perspectives that free speech policies attempt to achieve, Michigan drowned out alternative views by not giving them a fair shot of being heard.

Forget his execrable views and grievance-jargon, they're par for the course and to be expected. What bothers me is how terrible his writing is. Holy shit.

[Cytotoxic]

Rather than nurturing a diverse symphony of perspectives that free speech policies attempt to achieve

Hurble glurble wat?

[Steve G]

So "privileging" is a verb thing now? huh...

[MJGreen]

Has anyone told you that you're the worst?

[Hey Nikki!]

It does sound vaguely familiar...

[Warty]

Is this kind of thinking really normal among Normals? Do ordinary jerkoffs really only believe that art should only be allowed if it serves some social purpose? Disgusting.

[Hey Nikki!]

Ordinary jerkoffs want escapism.

[mr lizard]

I gotta go to Warty's to escape reality. I regret it every time

[Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns]

Given that American Sniper was the highest grossing movie of the year, I don't think this guy's position is particularly mainstream.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Does that include 'All Quiet on the Western'?

[HeteroPatriarch]

So what is the maximum number of war scenes allowed for leisure viewing?

[Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns]

Depends how racist they are. You're allowed 3 battle scenes if not racist but only 1 if marred by racism.

[Trouser-Pod]

I'd go with two.

Wouldn't want anyone to ruin their appreciation of the finer things.

[rts]

Hey kids, let's go to Liberland!

Liberland came into existence due to a border dispute between Croatia and Serbia. This area along the west bank of the Danube river is not claimed by Croatia, Serbia or any other country. It was therefore terra nullius, a no man's land, until V?t Jedli?ka seized the opportunity and on 13 April 2015 formed a new state in this territory - Liberland.

The motto of Liberland is "To live and let live" because Liberland prides itself on personal and economic freedom of its people, which is guaranteed by the Constitution, which significantly limits the power of politicians so they could not interfere too much in the freedoms of the Liberland nation.

[PapayaSF]

Good luck with that.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Especially in THAT area.

[Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns]

http://liberland.org/en/main/

And look at how hot the residents of Liberland are!

[edcoast]

Both of them apparently.

[mr lizard]

Ya there's something for everyone on that page... Well except Steve Smith

[Brian D]

Who is needed in Liberland?
Liberland currently needs people who:

-have respect for other people and respect the opinions of others, regardless of their race, ethnicity, orientation, or religion
-have respect for private ownership which is untouchable
-do not have communist, nazi or other extremist past
-were not punished for past criminal offences

OMG IMMUGRASHUN REFORM NOW!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Know what this place needs?

A UNION! WHO'S WITH ME?

[jesse.in.mb]

Yeah, that's a thing. There are a lot of good looking people in the footprint of Yugoslavia.

[Pan Zagloba]

God, you ain't kidding. Wasn't easy for us losers on genetic lottery though 🙁

[Catatafish]

I love that it is 7 square kilometers.

[Cytotoxic]

I love that there was so much fighting there and in the middle of it they just...forgot a chunk of land.

[BigT]

Do they have an extradition treaty with the USA?

Maybe I should emigrate. Snowden, too.

[Juice]

The motto of Liberland is "To live and let live" because Liberland prides itself on personal and economic freedom of its people, which is guaranteed by the Constitution, which significantly limits the power of bans politicians

fixed

[Fist of Etiquette]

A Florida mailman landed his small gyrocopter on the U.S. Capitol lawn...

"Dom, bring a bullpup online."

[mr lizard]

Speaking of... Anyone seen Our Florida Man?

[Los Doyers]

Probably off skinny dipping in the Everglades with Chris Pratt.

[jesse.in.mb]

He was here yesterday, having failed to check his met-Chris-Pratt-who-is-excessively-dreamy privilege.

[John]

Has anyone else been watching the new BBC historical drama on PBS Wolf Hall? If you haven't, I highly recommend it. It is about the rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell.

[LynchPin1477]

The Tudors did it with more boobs.

[John]

The Tudors did it with boobs and making it into a soap opera. This is much better in my opinion. The Tudors was like watching Young and the Restless with Bodices.

[jesse.in.mb]

It's still a dramatization, just not as extreme of one.

[John]

I wanted to like that show but it never did anything for me. It was modern people running around in costume pretending to be in the past. They never captured the feel of how people spoke and acted. It was Dynasty set in London. I always thought it sucked.

[Enough About Palin]

"It was modern people running around in costume pretending to be in the past."

So like a Renaissance Festival?

[Pan Zagloba]

Give everyone 40 pounds more, and it's renfest or LARP.

[Catatafish]

John, you clearly have not delved into the WB dramatic masterpiece that is "Reign."

[Catatafish]

Sorry, make that the CW dramatic masterpiece. Which of course makes it even better than if it had been on WB.

[jesse.in.mb]

You bringing up that show triggers me.

[Catatafish]

It's history for tweens, Jesse. Why do you hate the tweens?

[jesse.in.mb]

Why do you hate the tweens?

The word "tweens" also triggers me

[Los Doyers]

Twinks*?

[Pro Libertate]

Same reaction. Couldn't even get through one episode.

[All-Seeing Monocle]

Sold!

[Hey Nikki!]

John, the books by Hilary Mantel are supposed to be truly excellent historical fiction. I really need to read them. I think it's a trilogy.

[BigT]

I couldn't stand the first one. But I like real history.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

"The Cato Institute's David Boaz suggests letting taxpayers decide which programs they would like to fund."

True story: I proposed this years ago in university in a discussion. The snickering and cries of 'you just can't do that!' were hilarious.

[Injun, as in from India]

Nothing gives a proggie a hard-0n more than having government point a gun at everyone's head and demanding money.

Force is proggie p0rn.

[hamilton]

Ta-Nehisi Coates almost, almost comes close to Enlightenment today with his essay noting that anything involving the police necessarily involves force,and that a large chunk of The Problem is the basic assumption that bringing in force as a first response is the proper solution.

Of course his solution is more government employees in the form of social work, because that is not force.

Baby steps. Baby steps.

[Sudden]

Baby steps. Baby steps.

Baby steps? Maybe baby goose steps with that one.

[Bam!]

A Florida mailman landed his small gyrocopter on the U.S. Capitol lawn and was promptly arrested. The man, Doug Hughes, was attempting to deliver letters to Congress in support of campaign finance reform.

Why didn't he mail them?

[BiMonSciFiCon]

He doesn't trust the postal service. But he's totally pro-Obamacare.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The man, Doug Hughes, was attempting to deliver letters to Congress in support of campaign finance reform.

Does he also collect his own urine in jars?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I can totally see Ted's Teutonic rage at the moment.

[rts]

[Canadian] Supreme Court rules against prayer at city council meetings

The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled the municipal council in the Quebec town of Saguenay cannot open its meetings with a prayer.

In a unanimous decision today, the country's top court said reciting a Catholic prayer at council meetings infringes on freedom of conscience and religion.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Great. Give the nationalists more crap to blame the Feds on.

Things aren't so good here. All the strikes, language garbage, welfare waste, now the stupid cap and trade thing (thanks for nothing California)...it takes its toll:

http://abacusinsider.com/marke.....4-edition/

[Pan Zagloba]

You are forgetting province-wide corruption/mafia scandal, Secular Charter and desire to make their own gun registry database.

So yeah, the worst!

(no Nikki jokes, please. We're discussing Canadian The Worst here)

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Mafia scandal. Bah.

Quebec Inc. corruption was already in place by the time 'les Italiens' came. They just took their cut and found an all too willing corrupted French-Canadian elite class. The Charbonneau commission was a farce in that they tried to make it look like a Mafia thing when in the end, it's really a French-Canadian issue.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

And boy do I have insider stories about SNC Lavalin.

[Pan Zagloba]

True, I should have said "criminal", Mafia has an ethnic element which wasn't particularly relevant.
I could have added "union" but I think "criminal" covers that....

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Regardless. All part of the game here. It's that bad.

[Pan Zagloba]

Oh, that reminds me. What do you think would be odds of the equivalent transit/sales tax referendum passing in Montreal:

http://mayorscouncil.ca/vote-yes/

Bonus awesome headline

Vote "Yes" Today to See Immediate Benefits in Surrey Tomorrow, Starting in 2016

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I'm really starting to hate the phrase 'protect the environment'.

Other than that, the odds are good given there isn't a tax we Easterners don't like.

[Pan Zagloba]

I was shocked when BC reversed the HST in a referendum (forced by the electorate against government wishes).

I'm again shocked that public opinion is running 2:1 against. However, given that it's a mail-in ballot with no verification whatsoever (well, you write your birthdate and sign the "privacy" envelope) that lasts for two months, late Yes-surge wouldn't surprise me.

[db]

Yeah, a caP 9n stupid? I'll believe it when I see it.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I can totally see Ted's Teutonic rage at the moment.

[Raven Nation]

UEFA Spoiler alert - don't read further if you don't want to know.

Who thought Porto would bitch slap Bayern? Not me.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I'm not surprised.

They're a perennial performer at Champions.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

in Champions League that is.

[Andrew S.]

Pep Guardiola says "fuck it, I know half the fans want me to be replaced with Klopp, lets just make it 100%"

[Caleb Turberville]

http://iopscience.iop.org/2041-8205/715/2/L155

"THE IMPACT OF A LARGE OBJECT ON JUPITER IN 2009 JULY"

On the one hand, it's a little scary to know that there are potential impactors on collisional trajectories that we still do not know about. But on the other hand, it's nice to know that Jupiter acts as a shield against debris in the solar system.

[Raven Nation]

I was reading an older piece the other day (can't find it now) that demonstrated that Shoemaker-Levy significantly raised the amount of water in the Jovian atmosphere. That really got me thinking about just how damn big some of these comets are.

[Caleb Turberville]

In order to scar the Jovian surface, they have to be on the order of 0.5 to 2 miles across to be visible with Earth-bound telescopes.

[Caleb Turberville]

What's really scary is that the scars of Jovian impacts are comparable to the size of the Earth. Meaning a 1 km impactor is enough to devastate the entire surface of the Earth.

[Raven Nation]

Found it:

http://www.universetoday.com/1.....atosphere/

[BigT]

"Shoemaker-Levy significantly raised the amount of water in the Jovian atmosphere"

And the red spot has been shrinking. Related? Climate change (disruption)?

[MJGreen]

If interplanetary travel becomes feasible, the first person to reach Jupiter should claim ownership of the planet and then demand a tax on all Earth products. Because nothing made on Earth would be possible without the services his planet is providing. You didn't block that!

[Caleb Turberville]

No. What they should due is increase the density of Jupiter until it undergoes fusion ignition. Then, set up resorts and theme parks on the Jovian moons.

[Stormy Dragon]

Except for Europa. They definitely shouldn't attempt a landing there.

[Juice]

You'd have to increase the mass of Jupiter by a minimum of 75 times.

[Cyto]

Allright.... so there's this guy, see.... and he's got these 76 jupiters. No, no, forget where he found them... that's not part of the story. Anyway, he's got these 76 Jupiters, and he takes them and.... no, wait.... Uhm... So, he takes the 76 jupiters and....

I forgot how the rest of it goes... Anyway, it was really cool. And then there was nuclear fusion and stuff and it got all really bright and stuff. And aliens. Don't forget the aliens....

[BiMonSciFiCon]

The gravestone of Hillary Clinton's father was overturned. Vandalism is suspected.

What are the odds it's a progressive trying to make conservatives look badly?

[Injun, as in from India]

Remember the "Iron my shirt" guy from the 2008 Democractic primary? Obamabots thought he was a plant. Sorry I'm just too cynical at this point.

[Bam!]

Hillary Clinton's father was a Republican. My guess is that his spinning in his grave cause too much vibration and tipped the gravestone over.

[Pro Libertate]

She was a Republican.

[Injun, as in from India]

Funny or Die released a hilarious video about climate change denialism. Seriously, it's so funny. You won't be able to stop laughing. You may even die.

That was awful.

[John]

I think that someone should sue that show for false advertising. No one is ever funny yet no one ever dies either.

[Injun, as in from India]

Someone needs a response video to that called "Climate alarmist shrieking anxiety disorder".

[Injun, as in from India]

^to make a response video

[Injun, as in from India]

I think a better response video would be called "CO2 hypocrisy disorder".

It would show all the uses of fossil fuels: the morning toothbrush, polymer-based fabrics, industrial agricultural practices, cars, and planes ferrying everyday progressive hypocrites to the Bahamas for vacations.

And then contrast that with their shrieking demands for restoring the low-CO2 living standards of Madagascar to the United States of America.

F*** 'em.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Which made me think of this....

No one ever dies there...no one has a head....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47YAcpCa5dM

[Trouser-Pod]

Umm...what John said....

/damn refresh-how does it work?

[Trouser-Pod]

So, when does the Die part kick in for them? Seems like a Stoner's Pot Palace of epic proportions there.

[John]

I believe this is what we like to call a felony.

The first is that she was clearly aware that her private email account was a serious issue as far back as during her time at the State Department.

Secondly, she deliberately decided to not respond to the inquiry?waiting for officials at the State Department to do so well after she resigned, and even further after the deadline for a response. The actual deadline was Jan. 7, 2013.

The third major takeaway is that after Clinton was made aware this was an issue, she deleted upwards of 30,000 emails that she or her staff deemed to be private and not government-related. Since the full text of Gibbons' response to Issa at this time is unavailable, it's unclear what the official policy was?according to him?for preserving or archiving such records, or ensuring as Issa put it proper categorization of such messages.

http://www.breitbart.com/big-g.....r-inquiry/

[Rich]

This is what we like to call a felony.

However, we'll deem it a witch hunt.

[kinnath]

Ms Clinton should be in a cell awaiting trial.

[Pro Libertate]

Indeed. One of the major factors in the accelerated growth of government has been this idea that public officials should be held to lower standards than private citizens. Which is utterly insane and completely irrational, given the power they wield. Without accountability, nothing exists to stop these evil people.

I believe committing what might be minor crimes in private life should, when justified, be major crimes simply by virtue of holding public office. In other words, such crimes should get an "aggravated" in front of them, just like when battery involves an old lady, child, or cop.

[Steve G]

Great, now we just need a prosecutor with the balls to actually do something about it.

[Cyto]

Heh, that's funny. No, prosecution is not for these people. What we do with these people is appoint "special prosecutors" who's job is to dig about and provide fodder for partisan hacks and talking points for the cable news shows. People like this don't face criminal charges.

Real prosecutions are for the little people and for those who would oppose the right people.

[Derpetologist]

Spot the Not: Bands with wacky names

1. The The

2. Full Throttle Aristotle

3. Barney Rubble and the Cunt Stubble

4. Satanic Clown Orgy

5. Hitler Stole My Potato

6. Gee That's A Large Beetle I Wonder If It's Poisonous

7. Iron Prostate

8. Jehovah's Witness Protection Program

[John]

6

[Catatafish]

Agree. It's just a little too long.

PLEASE tell me #3 is real.

[Derpetologist]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISrY9poJ5Lw

[Cyto]

Some better naughty funk rock from Here come the Mummies - Pants

I'm coming in my pants (my shirt, and my best suit)
I hope that I don't come to soooooooooon!

[The DerpRider]

Well, I know infect me with your love. So I'll guess #7.

[Jerry on the sea]

For sure not #1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz50N2_tCCg

[HeteroPatriarch]

5. I hope

[Derpetologist]

Behold: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74oVTd6R5D4

[Enough About Palin]

I don't know the answer, but I would go see a band called Covered in Doghair.

[Derpetologist]

4 is the Not.

Prize for the winners: the big list of wacky band names

http://sam.hochberg.com/bandname.html

Behold the suck of #6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzOX0HrYnlI

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Washington Free Beacon on "A New Low for Journalism."

"Look at the traction the local reporter got out of the random business owner's refusal to serve a hypothetical gay pizza wedding. How can we get that kind of heat?" Pulitzer Prize, here they come!

[John]

This is the new America. Commit a thought crime and have the local media and the mob show up at your door.

[Derpetologist]

Spot the Not: Non-military groups with military names

1. Peace Corps

2. Love Army

3. Friendship Brigade

4. Joy Brigade

5. Peace Navy

6. Love Corps

7. Salvation Army

8. Friendship Navy

[Jerry on the sea]

Joy Division.

[Derpetologist]

That isn't one of the choices! I assume you are referring to this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kippumjo

[Jerry on the sea]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuuObGsB0No

[The DerpRider]

What? No Vagina Coastguard?

[Derpetologist]

That would make a fine addition to the other Spot the Not.

[Trouser-Pod]

Unfortunately, there probably would never be a Village People-type song for the USVC

[Trouser-Pod]

Sorry, USVCG

[GR8IPAZ]

Derprider,

The members of Uncle Sam's Confused Group might appreciate this.

[Derpetologist]

And the Not is #8 (belch).

The Friendship Brigade was East Germany's answer to the Peace Corps.

[Rich]

The Cato Institute's David Boaz suggests letting taxpayers decide which programs they would like to fund.

OK, I'll modify my experiment: Asking the Person the Street to name *one* government program thay would cut fund.

I predict the answers will be along the lines of "Uh, Social Security, I guess."

[Rich]

*they*

*** gets coffee ***

[Pan Zagloba]

From the "new low on journalism"

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) ? "A female shouldn't be President," is a direct quote from a Dallas woman's Facebook page.

Several people have responded to Rios' post on Facebook. Some supporting her views and others criticizing them.

Only explanation: someone lost a bet and had to post an article from The Onion.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

My wife doesn't like female sports reporters.

She's very conservative that way.

[Catatafish]

I have no problem with the concept of female sports reporters. I have an immense problem with Holly Rowe as a sports reporter. She demonstrates zero knowledge of sports and has a face like a broken down saddle.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

There are many people like her - or the 'him' equivalent.

[HeteroPatriarch]

ESPN has hired Olbermann twice. Sports knowledge is clearly not relevant to sports reporting.

[Steve G]

I don't mind them, but now that they seem to have outnumbered the men, it just seems like blatant pandering and/or reverse discrimination.

[Juice]

Well, the constitution refers to the president as "he" and never "she" so...

[waffles]

Nothing matters. Everything is meaningless.

[Derpetologist]

Language is meaningless!

Nothing is true!

This statement is false!

[jesse.in.mb]

Solomon said it better:

I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and like grasping the wind.

[Enough About Palin]

GAY'S CAN'T QUOTE SCRIPTURE!!!!111111!!

[jesse.in.mb]

🙁

Can we quote Shakespeare in a way that's vaguely meta and on topic?

Mark you this, Bassanio,
The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.
An evil soul producing holy witness
Is like a villain with a smiling cheek,
A goodly apple rotten at the heart:
O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!

[Enough About Palin]

You do know I was kidding?

[jesse.in.mb]

Yes. Were I offended I wouldn't have used an emoji or quoted Shakespeare in a way that compares me to the devil.

[Enough About Palin]

You've met Shakespear?!

[jesse.in.mb]

No, but that sounds like a great way to spend the afternoon

*yanks pull cord on time machine*

I'll be right back.

[Peachy rex]

I'm getting a little worried about you and your time machine... is this show going to end with you as King with a 98% approval rating and your equivalent of Kate Moss as your doting Queen?

[Los Doyers]

doting Queen? See Chris Pratt comments above.

[jesse.in.mb]

I wonder how hard it would be to restructure the western sexual aesthetic along lines I find more palatable.

*yanks pull cord on time machine*

I'll be right back.

[Peachy rex]

Just don't do anything to Kate Moss... she was damned fine in that episode.

Feel free to punch Shakespeare in the face, however.

[jesse.in.mb]

Did I miss a really specific culture reference? I do that with alarming frequency.

Also, I will send Willy a knuckle sandwich and let him know it's from you.

[jesse.in.mb]

Wait, yes, Blackadder?

[Trouser-Pod]

+1 subtle plan

[Peachy rex]

Blackadder Back and Forth, to be precise.

[The Late P Brooks]

For instance, neoliberal economic policies of austerity and privatization disproportionately hurt women and LGBT individuals, who are often the lowest paid and the first workers to be fired, the most likely to bear the burdens of family maintenance, and the most affected by the involuntary migration, domestic violence, homelessness, and mental illness that are intensified by poverty.
.
All I hear is Charlie Brown's teacher when you people post this gibberish.

[John]

the most likely to bear the burdens of family maintenance

WTF? They are gay.

[Rich]

This *is* the Twenty-First Century, John.

[Hey Nikki!]

That's why that's exactly what I highlighted above. It's hilarious.

[John]

So if I or my wife gets sick, I can just call on a gay person to take care of us?

[Rich]

In other Florida Man news: Florida man high on flakka attacked officer, said he was God, had sex with tree

My favorite part of the article:

[RECOMMENDED: Man bit dog's eye off, cops say]

[Warty]

Bullshit. At most he dry-humped the tree. And as every high school sophomore knows, dry-humping is not having sex.

[Rich]

Anyway, Paul McCarthy did it first.

[PapayaSF]

From the current Drudge headline: Campaign staff DROVE 'ordinary' Iowans to Hillary's first campaign stop - including health care 'lobbyist in training' who was an Obama campaign intern and Biden chauffeur

Fake Twitter followers, fake Facebook likes, fake "real people" at campaign stops: she's off to a good start.

[Injun, as in from India]

Throw in some silicone implants and Botox while we're talking about fake things!

[Rich]

She should just point out that the deleted emails were fake and be done with it.

[Bam!]

And you know what? The voting public at large will not give a fuck.

[kinnath]

This will not last long. Iowans are notorious for demanding access to candidates during the run up to the caucuses. They get really pissed when they are being "handled".

[Pan Zagloba]

And Gregory Potemkin looks from above and thinks "dudes, that's a bit much."

[MJGreen]

By 2016, she'll be speaking to stadiums packed entirely with the same paid plants, and then wonder why she only got 3,000 votes.

Now that's a Funny or Die video.

[Suthenboy]

Jebus. She really is just a straight-up grifter.

[Steve G]

This is getting hillar-ious. Running a circa 1991 campaign in 2015 with the internet age in full swing. This is not going to go well for her.

[HeteroPatriarch]

Why do you think she supports net neutrality?

[Jerry on the sea]

Interesting Champions League results. No spoilers. Well except of course that no English team is still in the running.

[Caleb Turberville]

http://iopscience.iop.org/1538-3881/143/3/73

"THE SUN WAS NOT BORN IN M67"

Sorry, folks. The Sun most likely does not originate from the M67 cluster. Apparently, the only way the Sun could have gained escape velocity from the M67 cluster is if it was flung out by the interaction with a binary star system. Unfortunately, such gravitational mechanics precludes the existence of a planetary system.

[waffles]

Stop it! STOP IT! I've had enough of your monstrous nihilism for today!

[Caleb Turberville]

You sound disappointed. We'll find our stellar nursery one day, Waffles. M67 isn't our home.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

So say we all.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Fuck this. Until they reinstate Pluto to full planet status, astronomy can suck my balls!!!

[Stormy Dragon]

Eris is bigger than Pluto. If you make Pluto a planet again, you have to make Eris a planet too.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

I'm cool with that. Sounds like a planet party! As long as Eris exhibits planetary motion.
http://youtu.be/044k3_tyGo8

[Los Doyers]

*inserts Uranus joke and runs*

[db]

So very well played.

[Cytotoxic]

Pluto is not a planet and it never was one.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

i hate you.

[HeteroPatriarch]

You're Canadian, nobody cares what you think.

[Pan Zagloba]

You're Canadian, nobody cares what you think.

This includes other Canadians.

[Juice]

It's a round thing that primarily orbits the sun. It's a planet. And so is every other round thing that primarily orbits the sun, including Ceres. But, they are so small. So they are called midget planets, I mean dwarf planets. Oh, excuse me, I'm told that they prefer to be referred to as "little planets."

[NotAnotherSkippy]

Gravitationally different, trans-planets. And they should be allowed to go to any solar system they self-identify with.

[ant1sthenes]

Welp, there goes our plan to get Obama into the presidency of the M67 cluster.

[Palin's Buttplug]

http://newstimes.augusta.com/n.....nage-party

The woman said Lehnardt continued to describe the incident stating she played naked Twister with the teens and had sex with an 18-year-old and her daughter's 16-year-old boyfriend, according to the report. The woman said Lehnardt also claimed she showed photos of herself and her boyfriend having sex and other pornographic material to her daughter.

Lehnardt was released from the Columbia County Detention Center after posting a $3,200 bond, according to jailers.

[Andrew S.]

Normally, I'd say something snarky, but I actually appreciate that you linked there instead of to the Gawker version of that article.

[Sudden]

Agreed. Shreik, we give you blessing to call us all BUSHPIGS and CHRISTFAGS today.

[Carl ?s the level]

EU Formally Accuses Google of Antitrust Violations

[Injun, as in from India]

Can the EU sue itself for moving towards a Europe-wide monopoly on force?

[John]

No but the Russians can.

[Raylan Givens]

We dug coal together.

[Raylan Givens]

Art, show 'em your tits.

[Crusty Juggler]

Down on All Fours Mobile Grooming "The Experts of Doggy Style"

[Crusty Juggler]

Down on All Fours Mobile Grooming "The Experts of Doggy Style"

[BiMonSciFiCon]

I tried it on and it fit.

[MJGreen]

Beautiful. It's sad Elmore Leonard didn't live to see it. The hat was his one major problem with the show.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

I wanted to buy one at a hat store once, but for some reason I didn't look quite as cool as the Deputy U.S. Marshal.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

When it is acceptable to discuss what happened? I think the show played a trick on the viewers but I don't want to discuss because it'll give something away.

[Crusty Juggler]

Do it now! DO IT! All the cool kids are doing it...

[MJGreen]

That little detail on his hat was a mean trick. I was 99.8% sure everything was OK, but noticing that did make me anxious.

[Winston]

Funny or Die released a hilarious video about climate change denialism. Seriously, it's so funny. You won't be able to stop laughing. You may even die.

Can't tell if sarcasm.

[Carl ?s the level]

Not surprising.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Poe's law.

[The Late P Brooks]

Nothing matters. Everything is meaningless.
.
When everything is a story, nothing is a story.

[Carl ?s the level]

The Name of a Pie Led to the Most Fractious Debate in Google History

One day in 2008, a Google employee sent Chief Executive Larry Page the following email:

"This is from the menu today. If there is no good answer or action from the company I will quit in protest."

The employee was referring to food being served at that moment in the cafeteria of Google's Mountain View, Calif., headquarters. It was called "Free Tibet Goji-Chocolate Cr?me Pie."

That email ended up finding its way to a companywide list. Dozens, then hundreds, and finally more than a thousand emails followed, in what was at the time the longest email-chain debate in Google's history. Internally, those watching from the sidelines called it a "kilothread" and noted that it was also the fastest thread in Google's history to exceed 100 responses.

Ugh.

[R C Dean]

If there is no good answer or action from the company

Such as what?

Throw them all away? Bring free slices to every employee? what?

[HeteroPatriarch]

The Google cafeteria is already free.

[Hey Nikki!]

There's no question, though, that the chef knew this would be inflammatory when he did it. I don't blame people for getting pissed and wanting to know if Google has an official corporate "free Tibet" position or what.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

What's his problem? It was free wasn't it?

[Sudden]

Hillary Clinton was CC'd on the email upon claiming her throne position at the State Department. The print out of that email, some 30,000 pages in total, was the one document handed over following her recent email scandal.

[Caleb Turberville]

http://www.sciencedirect.com/s.....7911607495

"Lonesome galaxy: The Milky Way in 1000 billion years"

Apparently, after Milkomeda merges with the rest of local group, the rest of the universe will drift beyond a cosmological horizon, beyond which we will forever be isolated from the rest of the universe.

[Caleb Turberville]

Of course, there's seems to be a small chance that the Solar System could reach escape velocity and be ejected from the Milkomeda remnant.

In that case, we may be truly isolated.

[jesse.in.mb]

...Dude. Do you need a hug?

[Caleb Turberville]

As an introvert, I welcome our universal isolation.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

The fault, dear Jesse, lies not in our stars, but in ourselves.

[Jumbie]

I sense an intelligence behind this

Frederik Pohl

[waffles]

I can't take it anymore Caleb...I....*sobs uncontrollably*

[Sudden]

We're libertarians. We're already isolated.

[MJGreen]

"Well, here I am." - Milky Way

[Cytotoxic]

There's an idea going around that the 'red shift' of almost all the other objects in the universe is not due to expansion but some property of the universe. I can't find the link but it was calling the Big Bang into question. It wasn't fringe it's a real contention.

[BigT]

There's this:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/new.....lider.html

A physicist told me recently that time dilation is directional, implying the red shifts are being misinterpreted and the universe is not expanding. I don't have the link, sorry.

[Juice]

1000 billion? You mean a trillion?

[The Late P Brooks]

A Florida mailman landed his small gyrocopter on the U.S. Capitol lawn and was promptly arrested.
.
Did he blow his brains out? How am I supposed to know if he's serious?

[R C Dean]

I can't be the only one who saw "gyrocopter lands on Capitol lawn", and didn't immediately think of this:

http://surbrook.devermore.net/.....copter.jpg

[Winston]

Made me think of It Happened One Night or W.C. Fields...

[Sudden]

my first thought

[GILMORE]

That's weird, I actually thought it would be like this

[db]

That's an autogyro, not a gyrocopter.

[Andrew S.]

Somehow, I'm on the mailing list for the Miami Democratic Party. Got this e-mail earlier:

Today, we're standing together to fight for $15 an hour for fast food workers, home care and childcare providers, college and university faculty, retail employees, airport workers, and anyone else struggling to get by regardless of industry or location.

Today (April 15)
5:30pm
Greather Bethel AME
245 NW 8 Street, Miami, FL 33136

Join this movement to demand livable wages for workers! #FightFor15

I so wish I could've made it. Wanted to hold up a sign that said "I join the fight for higher unemployment" and see how long it took me to get thrown out.

[jesse.in.mb]

"childcare providers" = babysitters or people who work at daycare? Because I'd be entertained to see Suzie the neighbor's daughter calling in her union reps on that.

[Suthenboy]

I'd be entertained to see Suzie the neighbor's daughter doing a number of things, but maybe not that.

[jesse.in.mb]

Jeez Suthen, she's only 15 and a half!

[Los Doyers]

That AOC sounds about right for those backwater dixie rebels.

[jesse.in.mb]

He just needs to wait six months is all I'm saying. Or at least get the neighbors to sign off on a consent to let them get hitched.

[Suthenboy]

Geez jesse, what did you think I was talking about? You just reflexively think I was being lascivious. Thanks for the vote of confidence in my character.

I meant....uh...watching her do her algebra homework. Yeah, thats what I meant.

[jesse.in.mb]

Sure, algebra.

[Juice]

I know people who work in childcare. Really it's "early childhood education" and it's not a bullshit term. They really do treat it like school. Anyway, they make around that, like $13-16 hr. But that's in DC.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Probably assaulted and thrown out.

[Suthenboy]

Thrown out? Dude, the Dems have become the party of the American Fascist. Thrown out means getting your ass whipped.

[Raven Nation]

Here's what fast food companies in Kiwi-land are dealing with:

Zero hour contracts

Warning: auto-start video.

[jesse.in.mb]

I sent a picture of an automated ordering kiosk from a Berlin McDonald's to a prog friend of mine when the debate was going on in LA with the caption "This is what a high-wage fast food worker looks like"

He was, of course, not amused.

[This Machine]

"This is what a high-wage fast food worker looks like"

That's gold, Jesse! Gold!

[Sudden]

Stop stealing ourTHEIR JERBZ machine!

[Cytotoxic]

I am totally going to copy that.

[jesse.in.mb]

There's also a lot of sputtering if you point out that this ad started airing A LOT during that time.

[Suthenboy]

"I normally work 28, 26 or 30 hours. It suits me. They only gave me 22 hours this week. It's not fair."

I agree because life is all about being fair.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

That's what these idiots don't grasp.

Scream for 'higher wages' but you'll get less hours.

[Juice]

She earns only $15.05 an hour.

Working at McDs, you should be kissing their ass for paying you so much.

[GILMORE]

I don't understand.... they want "guaranteed hours"?

I actually read (speed) through the article, but it seemed composed of quotes of whinging Kiwis, "BUT I *WANTS* MOAR!!"

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Why $15? Why not $20 or $50? It is, after all, a pernicious right-wing myth that the minium wage destroys jobs, right?

[hpearce]

It's no myth unless you really believe raising the minimum to $1000m an hour will have no impact !.

And if you do believe it will have impact, the question for you is defining and telling us at what point things "return to normal". When things become politically acceptable to promote the myth ? 😀

Or do we just take your word that they eventually will .

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Re-calibrate your Sarc-O-Meter. Or upgrade to the Sarcasmotronic 2600, with TurboSnark technology!

[R C Dean]

It's no myth unless you really believe raising the minimum to $1000 an hour will have no impact !.

Raising the minimum wage to $1,000/hour would set off an economic catastrophe, which would naturally be responded to by the Fed with a gargantuan binge of money printing ("when all you have is a hammer"), followed by inflation, so that before too long it would be the inflation-adjusted equivalent of $10/hour.

So there's your return to normal, baked right in.

[hpearce]

You avoided the question by positing someone or thing would interfere with zombie wars.

Try actually answering the question as to whether it would have impact other than positing someone will come in and stop it like GOD coming down from the skies 😀

Of course these god-like excuses for saving the day do come in handy ... don't they 🙂

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Seriously? Maybe you are new here? Sarcasm and cynicism are the general tone of the comments.

[Stormy Dragon]

Most of us aren't cynical, we're jaded!

[Private FUQ]

Just a suggestion for you and any other new person here. Lurk for about 6 months before commenting. You won't look so completely fucking stupid when you make a comment. I lurked for almost 2 years and still miss the sarc.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

'Somehow'. Sure, Andrew. Sure.

[Andrew S.]

My father did it, I know. He still can't believe I turned out this way.

I just stay on it for the occasional giggles.

[Jumbie]

Since the action has moved to the PM links for the night, I'm posting this response to PapayaSF from the Hirsi Ali thread...

When Muslims reach 10% of the population, they will increase lawlessness as a means of complaint about their conditions ( Paris ? car-burnings) . Any non-Muslim action that offends Islam will result in uprisings and threats ( Amsterdam ? Mohammed cartoons).

Guyana ? Muslim 10%

OK, I just had to take a look outside my window, cuz my ass is sitting in the middle of Guyana right now and up til dinner time none of that shit was going on here.

Muslims in Guyana enjoy the reputations of shady mercantile misers and that's about it. Because they tend to stick together. Kinda like jews in Europe.

Also I have some experience with Trindidad (5% muslim) and it's nothing like you describe either with no demands for forced Halal etc.

Considering that the two counties on your list that I have personal experience about aren't how you say they are, I have to suspect the rest of your list isn't too accurate either.

[GILMORE]

I went at looked at his original source, and I think the argument verges on "batshit crazy"

It would be fine to point out that the growing size of the muslim population in historically mono-cultural, developed Western nations will inevitably bring about some conflict (as it already has in the Netherlands, Sweden, France, elsewhere)... but the formulaic suggestion that all muslim populations inevitably aim for the totalitarian overthrow of the domestic culture strikes me as coo-coo for cocoa-puffs.

[Cytotoxic]

This particular line of BS originates from Mark Steyn. It's his religious conviction that if Muslims get over a certain percentage of the population then the 'pathologies' of Muslim societies appear. Complete crap.

[GILMORE]

cite?

The actual argument linked to has the following source

"The following is adapted from Dr. Peter Hammond's book: Slavery, Terrorism and Islam: The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat"

You're saying mark steyn made that up, and wasn't just quoting Dr Crazy Pants?

[GILMORE]

Also worth noting = the author there is an evangelical christian....

which is basically saying "Muslims are trying to do what we're trying to do!!" ( 'Convert everyone' = as per my below point, minus the Enlightenment bit)

[PapayaSF]

Just because the guy is an evangelical doesn't mean he's wrong about Islam. And it's been quite a while since Christians had the equivalent of Boko Haram or ISIS or Al Qaeda, so I don't think your attempt to make them equivalent works.

[Cytotoxic]

That's irrelevant to Gilmore's equivalency.

[PapayaSF]

You're wrong, because a modern Christian sticks to non-violent means of conversion, while Muslims use often kidnappings, threats of death, taxes, etc.

[GILMORE]

lol

yes, there is that.

at least the Christians don't kill you when you change your mind

[Cytotoxic]

I know Mark Steyn likes to repeat this bullshit about Muslim immigration leading to the 'pathologies of Islam' on many occasions. Conservaderps love their pseudo-scholar 'analysis' of Islam ex Geller.

[GILMORE]

and not to give any credence to any particular batshit argument...

but it is a fact that both Christianity and Islam are at root, effectively "monopolistic" religions which basically consider the existence of other faiths 'unacceptable'

the difference being, that Christianity went through the 'reformation' and then the 'enlightenment', which ended the 'one version' of Christianity view, and then separated religion from the state...

...and Islam has not.

Neither here nor there, but its a fact.

[Stormy Dragon]

I'm reminded of P. J. O'Rourke's comment that the genocide in Bosnia was particular odd because neither side had been particular religious, so you ended up with all the people who never bothered to go to church trying to kill all the people who never bothered to go to mosque.

[GILMORE]

"you ended up with all the people who never bothered to go to church trying to kill all the people who never bothered to go to mosque."

Yeah.

Read "The Bridge on the Drina" - one of the greatest books of the 20th century... which charts ~400 years+ of history in the balkans, and the neverending conflict between so-called 'christian' and so-called 'muslim' sides, which really had next to nothing to do with religion, and much more to do with geography, demography, and it being the meeting-point of 2 major empires since the byzantine era.

I read it in college during the whole Clinton intervention, and it blew my mind, man. Seriously though, it was the book that made me fascinated by world history, international affairs, 'regional/civilization'-conflict, etc. It is one the "5 best books" i've ever read. Nobel prize winner, etc..

[PapayaSF]

It's more than that. The Bible was written by dozens of people "inspired" by God, in a handful of languages over hundreds of years. There's a lot of room for interpretation. On the other hand, the Koran exists in Heaven, in that exact slightly-archaic Arabic, and was dictated to Mohammad. Not nearly as much room for interpretation.

Plus, the Bible has the whole "render unto Caesar" thing, while the Koran has no church/state separation.

[Cytotoxic]

Not true. There are lots of 'hadiths' that also inform Muslims and the sects vary on which ones they believe in.

The 'room for interpretation' bit is moot. It doesn't matter, there is always some religious authority saying IT MEANS THAT. It's up to the populace's ability to think for itself.

Plus, the Bible has the whole "render unto Caesar" thing, while the Koran has no church/state separation.

This again made no difference in the dark ages and won't make a difference now.

[PapayaSF]

Yes, the Koran gets interpreted. That's not what I mean. I mean the range of possible interpretation is narrower. And it is, due to the "inspired by" vs. "dictated by" distinction and the translation issue. Muslims do not believe a Koran is really a Koran unless it's in the original language of Allah, while nearly all Christians read the Bible in translation.

Christian belief in the separation of church and state isn't perfect, but it's made a big difference for hundreds of years now. There's nothing equivalent in Islam.

[Cytotoxic]

The 'range' is exactly the same in Islam and Christianity ie infinite. The people can and will interpret it as they please. Ahmadi Islam and other crazy sects exist aplenty.

The translation problem is a problem, especially in illiterate hellholes like Afghanistan where the Saudi-sponsored Imam gets to be the sole interpreter of the local text. They need a reformation, and internet translations are giving it to them.

Christian belief in the separation of church and state isn't perfect, but it's made a big difference for hundreds of years now.

That 'belief' has existed exactly as long as the Enlightenment.

Getting back to the root: there is no "Islamification" happening in Europe or America or anywhere with a Muslim minority. Period.

[jesse.in.mb]

Entertainingly (and only as a footnote, I don't have any dog in the inspired/dictated debate), there's a movement dating back at least to the '30s commonly dubbed King James Only-ism, which holds that the traditional KJV is the ONLY acceptable translation and that all other translations are trying to serve the satanic and gay agenda (these are of course the same thing in the corners that believe this stuff). The 22 year old New Age Bible Versions: An Exhaustive Documentation of the Message, Men & Manuscripts Moving Mankind to the Antichrist's One World Religion swept through my family's church and many others in the mid-'90s and had everyone throwing out their NIV Bibles because the Holy Spirit had guided the translators of the KJV and Satan had guided the translators of anything else.

[PapayaSF]

As I said in the earlier thread, the article I quoted may be a bit too simplistic about the groupings, but I think the general conclusion holds: the higher the percentage of Muslims, the more likely they are to cause problems. Clearly the countries with the "best" Muslims tend to have low percentages of them, while all the high-percentage-of-Muslims countries suck.

[Stormy Dragon]

the higher the percentage of Muslims, the more likely they are to cause problems

Well yes, but only because it's a tautology. As members of group X become more common, it's more likely that people causing problems will be members of group X.

[PapayaSF]

No, not a tautology. The increase in problems is (on average) greater than the increase in percentage population. As a tiny fraction of the population, they rarely cause trouble. Once they are a large percentage of the population, they cause more problems. Once they are a majority, their countries become oppressive hellholes.

The association of Muslims with violence is not some "Islamophobic" fantasy. Look at all the violent conflicts in the world today: in most of them, there are Muslims on one or both sides. And that's rarely (if ever) because they are being persecuted by non-Muslims.

[Cytotoxic]

So your response to Jumbie disproving your point is...to repeat your point ad verbatim. Of course.

[PapayaSF]

He didn't "disprove my point." I quoted a long list of countries that pretty much shows that (on average) the more Muslims a country has, the suckier that country gets. He had issues with two countries on the list, which he thinks don't show the level of Muslim unrest that their percentage would indicate. Fine. As I tried to say, I don't think it's a rock-solid linear correlation. It's sociology, so there are many variables. It's quite possible that the 10% of Muslims in Guyana are less trouble than the 10% in Kenya. (Note that Kenya now has the level of Muslim violence the author attributes to a 20-40% Muslim population, so the correlation can be off in the other direction, too.)

However, it seems pretty obvious that the author's general conclusion holds: the countries with "good Muslims" tend to have proportionately very few of them, while the countries with the most are oppressive hellholes, and a lot of the countries in the middle have a lot of turmoil coming from their Muslim population. The overall correlation of Muslims with violence and sucky countries looks pretty solid to me.

[adolphowisner]

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[Sudden]

I'm also going with 4. I'm assuming this was one of the names ICP toyed around with though.