Texas Cops Raid Teen Pool Party, Abortion Rate Down 12 Percent, Americans Distrust Supreme Court on Health Care and Gay Marriage: A.M. Links

screenshot/YouTube

• A video released this weekend shows McKinney, Texas, cops raiding a community pool party full of unarmed black teenagers, with one officer pulling his gun and throwing a swimsuit-clad teen girl to the ground; he has since been placed on leave.
• The U.S. abortion rate has dropped 12 percent since 2010, and numbers are also are down at the state level in almost all states, according to a new AP poll.
• Americans trust the U.S. Supreme Court more on free speech, voting rights, and death penalty issues than they do on cases concerning health care and same-sex marriage.
• In "the meth corridor of Iowa," judges grapple with inflexible and severe federal sentencing guidelines. 
• The suicide of a teenage inmate at Rikers is raising questions about prison abuse. 
• Seattle is installing ping-pong tables in parks "to deter prostitution" and other crime.
• See what happens when you don't call the cops? 

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

The suicide of a teenage inmate at Rikers is raising questions about prison abuse.

Rikers is probably just happy they got him out before he did it under their care. Or not.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

http://johncwright.livejournal.com/948214.html

"Conservative taste is taste. We stand for standards: melody in music, perspective in drawing and painting, soaring & sublime beauty sculpted in stone for architecture, plot and theme in storytelling, and so on.

We have the Saint John's Passion by Bach, the paintings of Bouguereau, the Cathedral of Notre Dame, and the Lord of the Rings by Tolkien.

Morlockery is untaste. They stand for scrawling graffiti on standards and urinating and vomiting and excreting on them. They stand for atonal cacophony in music, bleary visual mess in drawing and painting, inhuman blocks of concrete and featureless steel in architecture, dreary incoherent psychopathy in the written word."

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

As elitist as that article is, I will admit I find John Cage to be insufferable.

[Rich]

Name *one* thing he's done besides 4?33?.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

A bunch of interviews on NPR?

[Kaptious Kristen]

I have secretly wished since college that I had come up with that idea.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

You may prefer this: Morllockery and Progressivism as Futurism:

http://www.scifiwright.com/201.....-futurism/

[Lady Bertrum]

False choice.

[Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns]

John C. Wright's writing style annoys the ever-loving piss out of me. It's the 21st century - write with the language of your era, don't put on airs with this ridiculous faux 19th century prose.

There's also something completely hilarious about a sci. fi. writer getting all elitist like this given that the actual elitists look down on his entire field. I personally like sci. fi., it's just ridiculously obtuse for sci. fi. writers to brag about their aesthetic preferences when most of the people who gasp in awe at the Cathedral of Notre Dame would consider John C. Wright a total philistine, no matter how many pretentious words he writes about J.S. Bach.

[Illocust]

I don't get that. Sci-fi has always been the thinking man's literature to me. Its where people explore the human condition using fantastic settings. Hell, I haven't even seen anyone look down on it. I just hear people like you saying that people do.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Hell, I haven't even seen anyone look down on it.

Look up Margaret Atwood...

You: "A Handmaiden's Tale is excellent speculative fiction!"

MA: Nuh-uh, It's not sci-fi! I would never write sci-fi! How dare you imply that I write sci-fi! Is it because I'm a woman?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

No. It's because you're Canadian AND a woman.

[Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns]

This is a good point. Many writers will outright deny what they're doing is sci. fi., which is a pretty good sign that it isn't considered highbrow enough.

[Dweebston]

I go the other way with it. Atwood didn't write science fiction, Atwood wrote social fiction projected on a science-fiction setting. Which isn't exactly uncommon, but it still doesn't qualify as an exploration of science-related themes and implications. It's an excuse to explore one's own ideological priors by killing off most of humanity and using what's left as modelling clay. Oryx and Crake wasn't terrible and at least focused on man's hubris and downfall, but was terribly derivative and in any event just pushed the feminist pessimism of Handmaid's Tale.

[GamerFromJump]

She just considered it fact-in-waiting.

[CharlesWT]

"I have been a soreheaded occupant of a file drawer labeled 'science fiction' ever since, and I would like out, particularly since so many serious critics regularly mistake the drawer for a urinal." ?Kurt Vonnegut

[Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns]

"Hell, I haven't even seen anyone look down on it."

How often do sci. fi. novels get nominated for major literary awards, much less win them? The only time they win is when the sci. fi. elements are toned down and almost tangential to the story, like with Cormac McCarthy's The Road.

Genre fiction in general is looked down upon as not sufficiently literary, not just sci. fi. You should go read what Edmund Wilson had to say about detective fiction and horror.

[Sam Haysom]

Look I love detective fiction (and hate sci-fi so I can't really speak to it) but Wilsons point was absolutely on the mark- good writing is incidental to whether or not a mystery novel is compelling. His example of Dorothy Sayers was instructive. Yes she was technically a proficient writer, but her mysteries weren't that interesting so other mystery writers were a lot more popular.

[MoriahJovan]

Cormac McCarthy wrote a genre novel to make some money, as did Joyce Carol Oates with ZOMBIE. Elitism doesn't pay the bills. I haven't read either, but scifi aficionados I trust told me they were both derivative, not well written, and revealed neither knew the genres' histories or seminal works. And I would bet my last dime McCarthy and Oates are gnashing their teeth over having to do that.

[Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns]

"Cormac McCarthy wrote a genre novel to make some money, as did Joyce Carol Oates with ZOMBIE."

McCarthy has had like 5 bestsellers in the last 20 years and has had several of those optioned into movies, including All the Pretty Horses, No Country for Old Men, a terrible Child of God version made by James Franco, and The Road. I don't think he wrote The Road as a means of making money.

"I haven't read either, but scifi aficionados I trust told me they were both derivative, not well written, and revealed neither knew the genres' histories or seminal works. "

McCarthy wasn't trying to make a sci. fi. novel that would push boundaries of the sci. fi. genre, he was just using a post apocalyptic backdrop to discuss the same themes he's discussed in every other one of his books.

[GamerFromJump]

Between this and Handmaid's, I'm getting flashbacks to a college lit class that seemed to pick the dreariest possible shit to study. Between these two and The Bluest Eye, I was about ready to ask if we could PLEASE have something that didn't make me want to pop a dozen Prozac.

[lap83]

Any genre fiction is looked down on by literary snobs. Some genres more than others. Fantasy is probably snubbed more, but sci fi is up there.

Personally, I agree with the "thinking man's" label for the best science fiction. But not for all of it. Technically, Battlefield Earth is science fiction.

[Kaptious Kristen]

Bodice ripper romance is the most looked-down-upon form of fiction.

Bodice rippers helped me score very, very high on the language section of the SATs. The SATs use outdated and high-falutin' vocabulary, and so do bodice rippers.

[lap83]

Yeah, almost any kind of reading is great for vocabulary. I read lots of crap when I was a kid, but I always did great on spelling bees because I developed an almost photographic memory for words.

[MoriahJovan]

You ever read Susan Johnson's historicals, mid-'90s? She was straight porn, with historical and literary chops. Footnotes!

[Kaptious Kristen]

Like most romance readers, I was brand loyal to a small handful of authors. Bertrice Small was my favorite, with a little Jude Devereux once in a while.

I'm off fiction, though. I think the last fiction I read was the last Dan Brown novel (and I figured out the riddle that brought the story to Turkey right away, thanks to our professor on my study abroad program pointing out obscure and forgotten landmarks, such as Enrico Dandolo's burial site in Istanbul).

[MoriahJovan]

I was an omnivore reader back in the day (not so much anymore). Bertrice Small was the grande dame of anal and double-penetration. I can say that here, right?

[Heroic Mulatto]

There's also something completely hilarious about a sci. fi. writer getting all elitist like this given that the actual elitists look down on his entire field.

Fans are Slans, bro.

[R C Dean]

I like Wright's work.

I see nothing wrong with someone who works a field looked down upon by soi-disant elites having standards of his own, and applying them out loud.

But, de gustibus, etc.

[lap83]

He's just listing things he likes and calling it conservative. Yawn.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Everyone knows the best art is libertarian.

[HeteroPatriarch]

Actually, Slate knows the best only art is state-funded and offends the right people.

[The Sego Sago Kid]

They have the music of Scriabin

Is he implying Scriabin is "un-music"? Because if so, he is a stupid asshole and I hate him. Talk shit on Scriabin again and see what happens fucker

[MoriahJovan]

Thank you SO MUCH. I LOVE this.

[HeteroPatriarch]

Livejournal? Did he post a link to it in an AOL chat room?

[HeteroPatriarch]

This is hilarious:

Comment by someone:
Wednesday, May 20th 2015 at 2:20 pm |
The Johannes-Passion is by Bach. Mozart wrote liturgical works but no sacred pieces with narrative that I can recall.

Pretentious asshole gets corrected on pretentious assholeness.

[Ted S.]

Crusher's Island would be even worse.

[Brett L]

I always assumed Riker's Island would be like the Pirate Isle of Archer with Crusher playing the role of the anthropologist grad student.

[Slammer]

Seattle is installing ping-pong tables in parks "to deter prostitution" and other crime.

Ever had sex on a ping pong table?

[Steve G]

Speaking of Ping-Pong balls and prostitutes strippers....

[Swiss Servator, Nierezeit!]

No.

Go on...

[Longtorso, Johnny]

I've been paddled on one. Close enough?

[Kaptious Kristen]

Go on...

[Ska]

Worst fraternity beer pong tournament EVER.

[Charles Easterly]

Seattle: parks, ping pong tables, prostitutes, and Episiarch - what a town.

[gaijin]

and don;t forget....a $15 minimum wage!

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Play with these balls instead.

[straffinrun]

Yes, and was raped on one. That's why I carry it around.

[Spencer]

to be fair to your burden, hey are mostly on wheels, right? So, you'd roll it around?

[straffinrun]

I tried rolling it, but people kept raping me on it.

[Spencer]

you do have it folded up, right? fold it up.

[straffinrun]

You mean like Caitlyn? Good idea.

[Swiss Servator, Nierezeit!]

Late, but totally needed....

*narrows gaze*

[Charles Easterly]

Next you'll probably make a video and confuse both your detractors and supporters with an introduction which only has meaning for you.

[Steve G]

Will the video be titled, "Not a game of Ping-Pong."?

[Charles Easterly]

In French.

[Brett L]

I guess beer pong will lead to more free sex?

[Pope Jimbo]

I have always wanted to. Unfortunately I can't find a willing partner, so I am forced to flip up once side of the table and masturbate against it so I'll be ready for the big day when it comes.

[Enough About Palin]

TMI

[Homple]

This could be a proggie thing. Outdoor ping-pong tables, relics of the DDR, are still in many parks in the former East Germany. I never once saw anyone use them. The tables are made of concrete, of course, so they'll remain as monuments for a long time

[Fist of Etiquette]

...judges grapple with inflexible and severe federal sentencing guidelines.

SOFT ON CRIME.

[Bee Tagger]

Aw shucks, there's a kernel of truth to that.

[expat]

Corny

[Charles Easterly]

You should lend an ear: Bee is outstanding in his or her field.

[Old Man With Candy]

Who among us hasn't thrown a bikini-clad teenage girl to the ground?

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Hitler?

[Old Man With Candy]

Goddammit, TOO SOON!

[Ted S.]

Hitler isn't among us. I'd answer Jesse.

[Brett L]

Does the mankini count?

[Old Man With Candy]

Jesse has done it. She got between him and a cute redheaded guy. So... she had to go down (not in the good way).

[Steve G]

The Duggar's youngest son?

[Free Society]

But she was a black teenager, you racist.

[Steve G]

Eastwood mocks Caitlyn? SJWs Assemble!!
Seems like a good joke to me; was he supposed to finish with "What, too soon??"

[BakedPenguin]

That seems like a pretty mild joke for people to get that upset about.

[Steve G]

Exactly, these are the folks trying to push the 'crazy old guy' narrative ever since the empty chair bit flew right over their heads.

[Princess Trigger]

Comedy, even lame and light hearted comedy is a thought-crime.
Now report to your Junior Anti-Sex League for re-education.

[Slammer]

"What's THAT?"

[Libertarian]

"After staying out of the spotlight since that time he talked to an empty chair like a crazy person at the 2012 Republican National Convention, the four-time Oscar-winning actor/director stirred controversy yet again on Saturday."

Out of the spotlight? Apparently, yahoo news missed that little film he directed a while back, called American Sniper.

[WTF]

Yeah, but that doesn't help paint him as a crazy old coot.

[Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns]

It only made a couple hundred million dollars. Unless it makes over a billion, it's beneath Yahoo's notice.

[Idle Hands]

Such a nonstory, it was a joke.

[Charles Easterly]

You need to remain cognizant of some people's motives and fundamental belief symptoms, Idle:

Must,
Advance,
Narrative,
Harshly,
Always,
Totally,
Everytime,
Relentlessly.

[Tejicano]

All I read from that is - he's 85, still has a pair hanging, and doesn't GAF what anybody else thinks.

I like it. Every man should be like that at that point in life. I can't imagine going out with a whimper.

[Bee Tagger]

Americans trust the U.S. Supreme Court more on free speech, voting rights, and death penalty issues than they do on cases concerning health care and same-sex marriage.

What's their feelings on how little this matters?

[Swiss Servator, Nierezeit!]

Penaltaxerriffic!

[Fist of Etiquette]

...one officer pulling his gun and throwing a swimsuit-clad teen girl to the ground; he has since been placed on leave.

He was sick the day they taught deescalation at the academy. Or maybe it was Camera Confiscation 101 he failed.

[Cdr Lytton]

He showed up for the "Nice Day? How to get more paid time off and not burn vacation time." seminar instead.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Scientists May Have Lied To Promote EPA's Global Warming Agenda
Scientists may have lied about the EPA's involvement in a recent study put out earlier this year claiming Obama administration regulations on carbon dioxide emissions will save thousands of lives every year.

Emails obtained by the blog JunkScience.com's Steve Milloy show Harvard University and Syracuse University researchers involved in the study consulted with the EPA while conducting their study, contradicting their previous statements the study was done independently of the agency....

[sarcasmic]

How can the scientists arrive at the correct conclusion unless the EPA tells them what it is?

[Swiss Servator, Nierezeit!]

Consensus denier!!!

[Ted S.]

Scientists May Have Lied To Promote EPA's Global Warming Agenda

No shit, Sherlock.

[Illocust]

The stupid thing is, that they probably did do the research independently. Someday people will realize that the cover up is worse than the scandal. Admit you talked to the EPA and explain exactly what you spoke to them about. Then no one can gotcha later on.

[R C Dean]

Admit you talked to the EPA and explain exactly what you spoke to them about. Then no one can gotcha later on.

That assumes what they talked to the EPA about was innocuous.

[Free Society]

Scientists May Have Lied To Promote EPA's Global Warming Agenda

You mean to tell me that the consensus scientists are really just court intellectuals in thrall to whatever conclusions the tax dollars happen to subsidize? Unpossible!

[BigT]

Why Skeptics (ie Shermer et al) hate climate skeptics.

Certainly the amount of CO2, a greenhouse gas, in the atmosphere is increasing. All else equal that will cause temperatures to increase. Skeptics [ie Shermer] argue that it is appropriate to go with our best scientific understandings when there are areas of doubt. As a society that's a good plan, but that doesn't mean we should not continue to question our current "best" understandings. Many [climate] "skeptics" have promoted fears and described consequences of CO2 emissions that contradict IPCC reports and go much further than can be justified by best our current scientific understandings. Perhaps with science as with magical thinking some embrace fears of climate change because they do not want to accept that weather is random and that bad things can happen for no reason. Consistent with their role in regards to scams and hoaxes, many [Skeptics] still see the task for skeptics as coming up with answers and explanations. Maybe the desire for impressive answers leads to excess certainty and an over-reliance on experts to quell doubts. Unfortunately today not enough Skeptics see the value of critical thinking when it leads to an honest "I don't know".

Shorter: ego.

[R C Dean]

All else equal that will cause temperatures to increase.

That's some good science, right there.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Everyone Hates Harvard
...Hedge fund manager John Paulson personally took home nearly $4 billion in 2007 after convincing banks to create securities of sub-prime mortgages he could bet against. Now Harvard, which originally passed on an opportunity to join alum Paulson in his big bet, is also reaping the rewards of the nation's financial crisis as it renames its engineering school the "Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences" after receiving a staggering $400 million donation from Paulson, the largest gift in the university's history. Quartz argues that Paulson's $400 million Harvard donation just reinforces inequality. Author Malcolm Gladwell took to Twitter to voice his distaste (sampling: 1. "It came down to helping the poor or giving the world's richest university $400 mil it doesn't need. Wise choice John!" 2. "If billionaires don't step up, Harvard will soon be down to its last $30 billion." 3. "It's going to be named the John Paulson School of Financial Engineering.") And, in Everyone Hates Harvard, Philip Greenspun notes that even WSJ readers reacted with vitriol to the news. "I would have thought that Paulson would be a hero to market-following WSJ readers," remarks Greenspun, "not a villain."...

[Ted S.]

Malcolm Gladwell, it's none of your fucking business how much Harvard "needs" or doesn't "need".

[Spencer]

but if we only all studied for 10 thousand hours, we wouldn't need harvards...

[Charles Easterly]

I actually know what that means.

[Doctor Whom]

You don't necessarily need that much of an endowment when children are hungry in this country.

[Spencer]

even fat kids? I mean, they're always hungry...

[robc]

What is the about Paulson convincing the banks? He thought it was a horrible idea. Which is why he shirted them.

[GILMORE]

"What is the about Paulson convincing the banks?"

Look up "Abacus". Or here.

Most people familiar with the issues tend to blame Goldman Sachs, not Paulson & Co, for any conflicts of interest.

The accusation is that Goldman specifically got a 3rd party involved in the transaction solely for the purpose to provide cover for their secondary interests (selling derivatives to Paulson who was shorting the instruments he himself built) and prevent relevant disclosures to the customer of the securities, which is called "structuring".

Paulson's role isn't squeaky clean either, but is less clearly at odds with law. He effectively built securities designed to explode, and then bought massive amounts of insurance on them. Goldman however enabled the whole process by being the middle-man which designed the insurance policies and sold the time-bombs to foreign banks under cover of 3rd party who misrepresented their role as an 'advisor' to the deal.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Americans trust the U.S. Supreme Court more on free speech, voting rights, and death penalty issues than they do on cases concerning health care and same-sex marriage.

And the last two being so very enumerated in the Constitution.

[Bee Tagger]

The government shall not infringe upon a people's right to engage in culture war.

[Free Society]

The government shall not infringe on the a people's right to be conscripted into the culture war.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Someone should have warned them.
The Daily Mail has a heart rending story* about some recent immigrants to the UK who ended up in prison because they didn't fully understand the local laws and customs. New to the country and in dire need of money, the immigrants set out to use promises of love and commitment to con local Brits out of half of their stuff.

In the case detailed by the Mail the mark (Mrs. Hardman) had recently acquired nearly 400,000 pounds the old fashioned way, in a divorce. After buying a new home for 200,000 pounds, Hardman still had 190,000 pounds left. The new immigrants were able to con her out of 170,000 pounds with false promises of love and commitment, but failed to follow local law and custom when doing so. As a result, the men are now in prison....

[Catatafish]

I'm trying to figure out if "Nigerian" when mentioned in the context of a scam has now overtaken "Romanian."

[Coeus]

"As a result, the men are now in prison"

Isn't the US working to make this an easier con?

[sarcasmic]

James May and Richard Hammond to turn DOWN ?4million deal to carry on with Top Gear: They'll team up with Jeremy Clarkson for a new Netflix show instead
James May and Richard Hammond have shot new scenes for Top Gear
The BBC is planning to broadcast the two remaining shows in the series
However, US broadcaster Netflix is keen to poach them for a new car show
Chris Evans has admitted his is shooting a Top Gear film on Tuesday

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....stead.html

[WTF]

I am so happy Netflix will have it.

[Catatafish]

*nodding aggressively*

[Spencer]

Jeremy Clarkson is a twat.

[Restoras, BHS]

Yes but he is great entertainment.

[WTF]

And an incredibly entertaining one.

[JW]

And?

[sarcasmic]

Guns, cleavage and Abraham Lincoln! Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! teaser shows the epic conclusion will be as absurd as ever

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....-ever.html

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

The bikini and assault rifle photo looks like it came straight out of an old Soldier of Fortune mag.

[Rich]

Makes you want to wrestle her to the ground, don't it?

[Spencer]

makes we want to wrestle something...

[sarcasmic]

Canadian, Dutch and German tourists who posed naked on top of 'sacred' mountain are blamed by Malaysian government for causing earthquake that killed 16
The magnitude 5.9 earthquake on the sacred Mount Kinabalu killed at least 16 people on Friday, and at least two others are still missing
Ten holidaymakers stripped on the south peak of the mountain a few weeks ago and took photographs that recently emerged on social media
Deputy Chief Minister of Sabah Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan said 'There is almost certainly a connection' between the tourists and the earthquake

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....ntain.html

[BardMetal]

Woah careful there Malaysian government. You remember what happened the last time someone blamed Germans for something that wasn't their fault?

[Spencer]

They won a world cup?

[Swiss Servator, Nierezeit!]

And I mistook Malaysia for a fairly modern nation...

[Agammamon]

I don't know *how* you could possibly have done that.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Don't get me started on the Saudi Arabia of the East.

Actually, do. I'm getting a sinus headache so I could use a the opportunity for a rant.

[Derpetologist]

At least they aren't sacrificing goats as a form of aircraft maintenance. I'm looking at *you* Nepal:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6979292.stm

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Did they split the goat and taxi the plane between the halves?

[UnCivilServant]

Ave Machina.

/tech-priest

[VG Zaytsev]

And it worked!

The airline said that after Sunday's ceremony the plane successfully completed a flight to Hong Kong.

"The snag in the plane has now been fixed and the aircraft has resumed its flights," senior airline official Raju KC was quoted as saying by Reuters.

[Princess Trigger]

The science is settled!

[sarcasmic]

He's nuts! Flavor Flav behaves bizarrely as he hands out pretzels and peanuts to passengers on Southwest Airlines flight

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....light.html

[Ted S.]

They only just figured that out now, and now 25 years ago when he started wearing a giant fob watch around his neck?

[Cdr Lytton]

Yeahhh!! Boiii!! Yo Chuck, you hungry?

[PBR Streetgang]

He'll have these snacks handed out by the Time he Gets to Arizona

[sarcasmic]

Kate Moss 'called pilot a basic b**** as she was led off easyJet flight for swigging vodka from her cabin luggage after being refused alcohol' on way back from Sadie Frost's 50th birthday party in Turkey
Supermodel Kate Moss escorted from easyJet flight EZY2232 by police
No arrests after flight landed at Luton Airport from Bodrum, Turkey
Moss was returning from luxury spa break to celebrate Sadie Frost's 50th
Fellow passenger says model was refused drink and got into a row

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....urkey.html
Brings her own vodka on the plane? That's my kind of woman.

[Idle Hands]

You know who else is a "basic bitch"? Kate Moss never understood the appeal.

[Beautiful Bean Footage]

Hitler?

[Homple]

Supermodels fly on EasyJet these days?

[Kaptious Kristen]

This. WTF was Kate Fucking Moss doing on SleazyJet?

[sarcasmic]

Drinking vodka. My kinda woman.

[Slammer]

Little Darlings strip club

The signs have slogans like "Now auditioning the class of 2015? and "Pay your way through college."

Brilliant. I approve.

[Mickey Rat]

"Too old"
- Ser Meryl Trant

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Zeb?

[Stannis the Mannis]

Good morning, everyone. Good day for a BBQ, right?

[Mint Berry Crunch]

You're the worst character ever, Stannis.

[Rich]

Hello, Mr. Wilson!

[Fist of Etiquette]

NO SPOILERS

[Restoras, BHS]

The writers are doing a good job of narrowing down the characters worth following.

Did the twitterverse explode in outrage over the fate of Shireen? Or was it just Sansa that everyone loved so much?

[WTF]

Just Sansa. Because Sansa getting banged by Ramsey is worse than being burned alive.

[Restoras, BHS]

Why am I totally not surprised.

[Mint Berry Crunch]

Rape is worse than murder. Don't agree? Then you're a "rape apologist"!

[Restoras, BHS]

Was Sansa even raped? I don't recall her saying no or putting up any kind of struggle - she just bent over and took it.

[Lady Bertrum]

Did she actively and repeatedly consent?

Then it was rape.

[BardMetal]

Well Ramsey is one ugly dude.

[BardMetal]

"A video released this weekend shows McKinney, Texas, cops raiding a community pool party full of unarmed black teenagers, with one officer pulling his gun and throwing a swimsuit-clad teen girl to the ground; he has since been placed on leave."

Another one of these police stories where there really are not any good guys. The teenagers were trespassing pieces of shit, and the cop did what cops usually do, totally freak out and escalate what was a non-violent situation.

[Elizabeth Nolan Brown]

The teenagers were invited there by friends who belonged to the pool

[BardMetal]

Well now I'm hearing two different stories.

[UnCivilServant]

The story I heard is that a portion of the non-residents were invited, but another portion broke in uninvited (even climbing the fence to enter).

[Rich]

The video makes it clear they were cousins!

[UnCivilServant]

Which they and which video. I know of at least three videos, and that was a rather large gather for a family picnic

[WTF]

I didn't see that confirmed in the article. Is there another source confirming that they had a right to be there?

[Stickler Meeseeks]

Benet Embry, a black man and resident of this neighborhood, posted on his facebook account the events that led up to calling the police. Here is an excerpt from his page:

"Look, I LIVE in this community and this ENTIRE incident is NOT racial at all.....A few THUGS spoiled a COMMUNITY event by fighting, jumping over fences into a PRIVATE pool, harassing and damaging property. Not EVERYTHING is about RACE. WE have other issues that NEED our attention other flights of made up make believe causes."

He also said this about the news coverage: "I've never seen such irresponsible reporting and miss management of media resources in my life,"

[Stickler Meeseeks]

From the same facebook account, Bryan Gestner, another resident, added, "This was a Twitter party that turned into a mob event. Jumping pool fence. Assaulting 2 security guards, attacking a mother with three little girls. The video doesn't show everything." He says that the kids were drinking and smoking weed and they would not listen to any of the adults around the pool. "This isn't about race. This is about outside kids invading our neighborhood and had no respect for authority or the residents here. I have a target on my back now and I have been threatened by these punks that they are gonna shoot up my house when all I did was try to control the mob and actually tended to the girl and the boy that had a bloody lip."

[Stickler Meeseeks]

Gestner alleges that these same kids came back into the neighborhood Saturday night. He says that they were "kicking in people's front door, stole a truck and crashed it into many vehicles. They vandalized dozens of cars and were stealing things."

Elsewhere Gestner says: "I commend the officer for handling this situation."

[Dweebston]

Incredibly, it might be one of those cases in which race is tangential but cops are still unproductive, overreacting drama queens. But we can totally make this mostly about race, anyway.

[Dweebston]

"I've never seen such irresponsible reporting and miss management of media resources in my life,"

He doesn't watch much news coverage, then. Good man.

[Stickler Meeseeks]

yeah, this claim seemed like a bit of a stretch.

[VG Zaytsev]

He also said this about the news coverage: "I've never seen such irresponsible reporting and miss management of media resources in my life".

He obviously doesn't have much first hand experience with 'journalists'.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Right now things are a little bit he said, she said, but the fact that out of the 20 teens detained, only one was brought back to the police station suggests that most them might have had a right to be there.

I, for one, look forward to the acrimonious debate on this topic based on the few bits of information we have.

[Stickler Meeseeks]

From the facebook account of Michael Cory Quattrin, another resident of this neighborhood who witnessed the incident in TX.

"Facebook friends and family ? PLEASE HELP! That (now viral) video of the officer in McKinney subduing a girl in a bathing suit was in OUR neighborhood. The situation was NOT what is being reported?

"A DJ setup in a public space next to the private pool in our neighborhood on Friday and played loud explicit (F-bomb) music for multiple hours (it is unclear if he was invited by a resident as no one has claimed responsibility). The teenagers (both black and white) were being brought into our neighborhood by the carload because the DJ was tweeting out invites to a "pool party" for $15 (obviously unauthorized by our neighborhood). The teens began fighting with each other and pushing their way into our private pool. Some were jumping our fence.

[Stickler Meeseeks]

"The security guard was accosted when he tried to stop the beginnings of this mob scene. Some residents who live around the park/pool area tried to come out and settle things down. The teens started yelling racial slurs at our neighbors and started assaulting people and property (throwing bottles at cars and attacking a mother at the pool with 3 young children). The first officer on the scene was by himself. At that time, the party had grown to a large, aggressive crowd. As the officer arrived, many teens started running through our neighborhood. Many of the teens were being very aggressive and yelling at the officers as more arrived.

[Stickler Meeseeks]

"This was a very dangerous situation for the officers AND the teens/residents not involved. The news media has refused to hear the neighborhood's side of this story. The video being distributed is only a very small segment of what happened. This information being distributed by the media and others is extremely distorted and in some cases outright lies.

"PLEASE HELP US STOP THE BROADCASTING OF THIS IGNORANCE. The media is trying to make it look like our neighborhood is a white's only, racist area. Anyone who has spent even a few minutes in our area knows this is an outright LIE.

[Stickler Meeseeks]

"The unfortunate result is that our neighbors are now being threatened. We have also had cars and property in and around the park area vandalized this weekend. Unfortunately, the press and social media are trying to enflame the situation.

"I am asking for your help for my family and my neighbor's safety?PLEASE, PLEASE do not rebroadcast any of these lies.

[Stickler Meeseeks]

Elizabeth, would you please provide the evidence that the cops arrival in this community constitutes a raid?

[VG Zaytsev]

The teenagers were invited there by friends who belonged to the pool

The pool owns people?

Texas really is weird.

[Heroic Mulatto]

What? You've never played Starcraft?

[Beautiful Bean Footage]

That's be completely normal in Soviet Russia, however.

[Vernon Depner]

Yeah, the headline was wrong?the cops did not "raid a pool party"; they were called when a large group of crashers refused to leave a private party. But, yeah, the "escalation of force" shit in this situation just made things worse and potentially deadly. But all the officers went home safe?that's what's important.

[Cyto]

Based on the comments at the news sites, it looks like one mom lost her mind and got in a fight with one of the teen girls (physical fight). There is a video of this altercation. Mom looks pretty bad. Maybe it was over who was invited to the party. Who knows.

Either way, the way that police handle a "people won't leave my party" call is to show up and after having the responsible party explain the situation, they then escort the unwanted attendees out. That's it.

They do not run in like they are apprehending the James gang and begin detaining everyone who looks funny to them.

I thought the kids looked pretty much like normal suburban kids. Not really doing anything wrong, and ready to interact respectfully with the police. Too bad they forgot that their mission was to restore order at a gathering where a couple of people had gotten out of hand. They were so freaked out that some teenagers took off when they saw the police show up that they forgot everything except "you must re-spect my au-thor-ah-tai!"

[straffinrun]

Yeah, it doesn't really matter whether they were invited or not in light of the cop's badge rage.

[Catatafish]

It doesn't matter insofar as that particular cop's behavior is atrocious and would get any one of us thrown in the clink. But there are quite a few people postulating "white cops, black kids" in an upper-middile-class-largely-white neighborhood as if the police had no business there at all (not saying that's what you are saying, straff). If people are actually trespassing, it's entirely appropriate to call the cops.

Unfortunately, one of those cops was Corporal Cockgobbler.

[straffinrun]

Of course a case of cop rage will automatically become a reason for (let's just skip the interim 5 steps) taking money from someone and limiting free association. I have begruding admiration for these warrior's ability to keep their eye on the brass ring.

[Catatafish]

Well, clearly the only rational solution to petty tyrants with guns abusing their power is to limit their interaction with the public.

"The public is hereby ordered to stay in their homes!"

[Free Society]

"A video released this weekend shows white McKinney, Texas, cops raiding a white community pool party full of unarmed black teenagers, with one white officer pulling his black gun and throwing a swimsuit-clad teen black girl to the green ground; he (whitey) has since been placed on leave."

I added some journalistic integrity to the excerpt. Just so no one gets confused.

[straffinrun]

Brilliant.

[Tejicano]

Yeah, but what color was the boathouse?

[Kaptious Kristen]

If you're not thinking of this, you're un-American.

[WTF]

+1 Baby Ruth

[Rich]

While several of his canvases hang on the wall, eight more lie unstretched on the floor, where visitors are welcome to handle them. One recent weekend, museumgoers walked on them and wrapped themselves up in the canvases like they were cloaks; cameras snapped away as tourists posed.

Well, yes. But is it *art*?

[UnCivilServant]

No.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

I'm not averse to modern art, but Murillo is awful.

[R C Dean]

But is it *art*?

Sure. Bad art, but art nonetheless.

[Rich]

New York man says fortuneteller scammed him out $700K

According to the man, those payments included $80,000 for an 80-mile bridge she said would trap evil spirits into another realm, a $30,000 Rolex she claimed would cleanse the sins of his past and $40,064 for a Tiffany diamond ring to "protect his energy," along with other payments totaling as much as $40,000.

Gosh, I hope he, um, "got some".

[Ted S.]

If the guy was stupid enough to go to a fortune teller, he probably deserves to be parted from his money.

[Swiss Servator, Nierezeit!]

She used her second sight and saw he was an easy mark...

[Charles Easterly]

Therefore... she's authentic?

[Agammamon]

I'm reaching out to the lawyers here for some legal help.

I'm looking for a lawyer in the federal Southern District of New York that can help me defend against a possible criminal complaint against me.

Someone willing to cut a break on fees or work pro bono - even to provide help/advice while I go pro-se.

I don't want to go into details here but if you can help, shoot me a message at Agammamon at gmail . com and I'll forward you the details.

[tarran]

Aggamemnon,

give these guys a call: Coughlin Law Group. At a minimum, they'll point you in the right direction.

[Derpetologist]

The other day on Morning Joe, Mika Polish-name-ski was interviewing a guy about how rich people are fleeing Rhode Island because of higher taxes. The look of confused frustration on her face was priceless. Haven't found the clip yet, so here is one of her running away in tears when she is informed of what furries are:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tp76cHN2FDU

[BigT]

Why college professors are afraid to teach millenials.

In the past, students complaints focused on actual teaching or bias in the classroom, issues which deal with the teacher's actions and can at least form the basis of coherent criticism of behavior or teaching methods. Now, Schlosser knows that complaints can have little to with objective reality but with how the student perceives it.

He worries that an accusation will involve a lack of sensitivity to one individual's "feelings," or as Schlosser puts it, "some simple act of indelicacy that's considered tantamount to physical assault ? center[ed] solely on how my teaching affected the student's emotional state." Even if the instruction delivered is "absolutely appropriate and respectful," any wounded emotions will "get a teacher in serious trouble" on today's college campuses.
[]
The purpose is to impose each individual's concept of social justice without actually doing any work traditionally associated with the concept. It's easier to demand the cancellation of "an Afrobeat band because their lineup had too many white people in it" than it is to work to harmonize different cultures in the same space. It's about enforcing identity over ideas, or entirely replacing ideas with blizzards of ever-changing boundary lines of victim constituencies.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

I wish we could dump these whining brats in the middle of Syria for about four months so they can see how good they really have it.

[Tejicano]

Almost as necessary - run them through a three month course with Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, or some adequate substitute provided by the US Marine Corps and see what comes out the other end.

[The Late P Brooks]

The NYT has a nice piece (too lazy to link- find it yourself) about the shadowy cabal of right wing think tanks, wealthy industrialists and talk radio hosts who will impose a Scott Walker Presidency on America and destroy all the unions.

We're DOOOOOOMED.

[WTF]

But does Walker have any TRAFFIC TICKETS in his past?

[VG Zaytsev]

Rumor has it that he once borrowed $2,000 to buy a washer and dryer combo.

[Lady Bertrum]

As opposed to a shadowy cable of left wing think tanks, wealthy tech and financial industry CEOs, unions, the media, and academics who will impose a Hillary Clinton Presidency on America and destroy America?

Heads you win; tails I lose.

[Idle Hands]

Clinton Donated $100K to New York Times Group the Same Year Paper Endorsed Her:

The Times' editorial board endorsed Clinton against Democratic challengers John Edwards and Barack Obama on January 25, 2008, writing that she was "more qualified, right now, to be president."

At the time, there were reports that the Times board had leaned toward endorsing Obama, but was overruled by then-chairman and publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr., whose family controlled the paper. Sulzberger's cousins and Times Company directors, Lynn Dolnick and Michael Golden, chaired the New York Times Neediest Cases Fund in 2008.

The Clinton Family Foundation did not list the specific date the donation was made in its public tax disclosure forms. Neither the Times nor a representative of the Clintons responded by press time to a request for comment. Clinton ended her presidential campaign on June 7, 2008.

[Rich]

The Clinton Family Foundation did not list the specific date the donation was made in its public tax disclosure forms.

FAKE SCANDAL!

[straffinrun]

Grey lady privilege. Also, I don't think her campaign ended in 08. I don't think it will ever end. We'll see her corpse on the debate stage in 2036.

[Not a Libertarian]

Seattle is installing ping-pong tables in parks "to deter prostitution" and other crime

Apparently the Seattle City Council has never met a Bangkok prostitute.

[Rich]

Or used Aqua-Net!

[The Late P Brooks]

Well now I'm hearing two different stories.

INCONCEIVABLE!

[Slammer]

Was this posted?

Owner: Standoff house in Greenwood Village is "destroyed"

Shoplifting suspect flees police, hides in private home, fires on police, place is fucking DESTROYED by cops.

[Brett L]

What's that 70s film where they shoot the house to shit while Easteood(?) escapes through the crawl space underneath?

[Crusty Juggler]

Death Hunt

[Lady Bertrum]

Every film Eastwood made in the '70's including Play Misty for Me?

[Lady Bertrum]

Also, Skyfall.

[JW]

You philistines.

LETHAL WEAPON 2 is the correct answer.

[Idle Hands]

The Gauntlet

[R C Dean]

Lessee, I re call Sondra Locke in that scene. . . .

Got it: The Gauntlet.

[Stickler Meeseeks]

Girl gives blow job to guy so drunk he blacks out, she later accuses guy of rape, Amherst throws guy out from school, discovered later that gal is a lying p.o.s.

http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/22770/

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Only 21 months after her encounter with Doe did Jones file a complaint with the university, after a member of the university's Special Oversight Committee on Sexual Misconduct encouraged her to do so.

What the hell?

[Stickler Meeseeks]

Those texts from her to others about the "encounter" are fucking priceless! They also totally undo her whole story.

[Matrix]

Sounds more like she was the one who sexually assaulted him if he passed out.

[Cdr Lytton]

Only women can be raped and only women can give (or withhold) consent. It says so right there in Title IX.

[Stickler Meeseeks]

Serious question: how is a blow job even possible when the blowee is passed out?

I am asking for a friend.

[Heroic Mulatto]

I'm guessing because sexual arousal is the domain of the parasympathetic nervous system.

[Stickler Meeseeks]

I think you are overlooking the phenomenon known as "whiskey dick."

[Xeones]

So they did it Asleep Style?

[Ted S.]

I hope the guy sues and wins the entire endowment.

[Free Society]

And in a potentially explosive claim, the suit alleges the university has "targeted male students of color" like Doe since changing its sexual misconduct policy. Jones' allegations were the first to be investigated under the new policy.

It's raccccccccist. Being rapey and sexist isn't good enough to scare the campus liberals. Gotta use the R word or your defense will get no traction.

[Beautiful Bean Footage]

Intersectionality!

[The Late P Brooks]

The look of confused frustration on her face was priceless.

Mika's range of emotion seems to run from haughty progressive scorn to befuddled progressive butthurt.

[Rich]

Cynical Rich says this whole thing was scripted.

[BakedPenguin]

The Iowa meth story is pretty sad. Read it only if you want to start your week on a depressing note.

[lap83]

I thought this takedown of the (mostly) crappy GOP candidates was entertaining. Also reassuring considering it came from conservative Townhall
Why are these People Running for President?

Some of them have an occasional good idea. Some mean well. But the simple fact is that none of these candidates is going to win, and therefore their candidacies are a distraction and a waste of time and focus. Santorum and the Pataki are just jokes. Dr. Carson's candidacy is disappointing. Huckabee actively makes the GOP look bad. Graham is sinister, and Jeb is actively destructive. His ego trip could very well blow up the GOP because the base is never going to turn out to choose between Hillary or the guy who hung a medal around her neck.

[Kaptious Kristen]

Just watched the "Rebuilding Ground Zero" episode of Penn & Teller Bullshit. Pataki is way more of a fuckwad than I thought,

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Students at UCLA vote leftist, anti-Semitic student government out of office:

http://legalinsurrection.com/2.....-election/

[Slammer]

A tweet from one of the losers:

"They hate me because I'm a brown Muslim woman. They hate me because I have passed divestment on this campus." - Aaliya Khan, Gen Rep

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Once more a leftist projecting onto others her hatred of political opponents.

[Heroic Mulatto]

"They"

[Kaptious Kristen]

Lots of Muslims have realized they can easily co-opt the proggie "movement" because the progs have made Muslims into a powerless special social class.

Like this woman.

[Heroic Mulatto]

I guess, whereas, Pepsi Cola is the drink of the cowardly, decedent, kuffar, Diet Coke is the drink of those willing to martyr themselves for paradise.

I blame the Barbies Ms. Ahmad were given as a child

[Slammer]

Krugman: "I Do Not Think That Derp Means What You Think It Means"

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

You may believe that I am evil or stupid, or evil and stupid. But derp means something specific: it means always saying the same thing, regardless of circumstances, and regardless of past errors.

Well he is correct in that he isn't consistent.

[Derpetologist]

Krugman should have consulted with an expert before writing this piece.

[Mike M.]

"Tony" has been trolling us a little too long.

[Spencer]

Did you see where he reveled in the Texas economy slowing a bit?

What a maroon.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Please tell me he didn't go there.

Does he not realize he was inducted in Reason's Derp Hall of Fame, like, a long time ago?

Didn't he get the t-shirt?

[Free Society]

When has Keynesian orthodoxy not been his proscription?

[Kaptious Kristen]

I'm kind of seeing the writing on the wall where I work (the Obama appointees hate us and want to get rid of this contract. Before you yell "Huzzah!", they want to replace us with their personal cronies, not save the taxpayer a coupla bucks).

So I was thinking to snail mail my resume around far-and-wide to a bunch of liberty-type organizations. Do people even do that anymore? The reason I want to snail mail is that I can address it directly to HR/hiring manager, instead of it getting lost on the inbox of a "general contact" email.

[Spencer]

Even mail will get put in a bulk pile- most likely.

[Cdr Lytton]

Just hit up the cocktail circuit. You like cosmos, right?

Seriously though, have you culled through those type of organizations to see what jobs they're posting and if any match up with your background & skills? Not as great as referrals, but a step up from cold calling HR. Or for that matter, figure out who runs the part of the organization you want to work for regardless of any opening and send your cover letter/resume to that person and bypass HR.

[tarran]

Kristen,

The first step is to start networking... Pick two industries that interest you and attend their events. The first places you go to might not be that useful in and of themselves, but they will make it easier for you to start sussing out the lay of the land. For example, a meetup group may be a worthless bunch of losers, but talkign to the members you might find that there is a group charging 50 bucks to attend their monthly events, and the people paying that money will be worth talking to.

Also, email Jeffrey Tucker at liberty.me. He loves to make introductions.

[Kaptious Kristen]

Thanks tarran!

[lap83]

1. Tell everyone you know that you're looking for a new job (maybe not publicly on social media if that jeopardizes your job, but through personal messages or word of mouth)

2. Use LinkedIn and Google to find the email addresses of non-HR managers in the relevant department

3. Research the organization to find out if there is a problem they have that you can solve, maybe connected to some new thing they're trying out, then politely but confidently tell them how you can make their jobs easier

[Kaptious Kristen]

Well, Mercatus could use some help with their web site, fo' sho!

[Cdr Lytton]

Another thing to keep in mind is can you afford it? Generally low & midlevel positions in non-profits are going to pay below comparative private sector and federal jobs. There's a reason that non-profits, particularly ideologically focused ones, have large numbers of young people working for them with corresponding high turnover.

[Kaptious Kristen]

I'm not interested in policy-oriented jobs. People in the tech fields are generally hired based on their experience and are paid similarly, regardless of the organization (not-for-profits pay a little bit less, but again, tech is apples and oranges compared with policy type jobs). Everyone needs sys admins and web developers.

[Dweebston]

The U.S. abortion rate has dropped 12 percent since 2010, and numbers are also are down at the state level in almost all states, according to a new AP poll.

Women and minorities hardest hit?

[Catatafish]

STEVE SMITH TROLL CLAIRE MCCASKILL GOOD!

http://twitchy.com/2015/06/07/.....publicans/

[The Late P Brooks]

I saw that Krugabe thing earlier. The best part is where he claims there is much less "derp" on the left than on the right.
Yup.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Parole board: Pistorius has suffered enough, release him already

http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/08/.....index.html

[Brett L]

So you'd say he has a leg up on the parile process?

[Swiss Servator, Nierezeit!]

*narrows gaze*

[Derpetologist]

Found this in that lush derp jungle known as rationalwiki:

The main problem with the idea is that during a recession the government would be forced to make ends meet by raising taxes and drastically cutting spending, which would make recessions much longer and more brutal than necessary.

Right, because when that was tried in 1920, the economy went into a tailspin vs. the rapid recovery under FDR's stimulus policies.

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/B....._Amendment

[Dweebston]

That place is a malaise of navel-gazing derp and toxic levels of smug. Why would you bring that here?

[Derpetologist]

The same reason Hillary climbed Mt Everest: Because it is there.

[straffinrun]

A lot of nutpunches today. Here, cleanse your palate

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Japanese game shows are the best

[Derpetologist]

The great minds of rationalwiki on the merits of fiat currency:

Paper money (backed by a sensible government) has an advantage over gold in that, while being intrinsically worthless, it is at least cheap to make, as opposed to gold which is intrinsically worthless and requires a massive mining and smelting infrastructure to extract and form into ingots which then do nothing but sit in vaults for the rest of eternity.

link

[sarcasmic]

A site that calls itself rational uses the term "gold bugs." Yeah. Sure. Whatever.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

You know why else gold sucks? It's too heavy.

[Lady Bertrum]

Huh. "(backed by a sensible government)"

sensible government = oxymoron

[sarcasmic]

sensible government = a gang of thugs who promise to rob future generations to pay their debts

[R C Dean]

Yeah, that's where I fell off the turnip truck.

[straffinrun]

One is backed by threats, the other is backed by inherent value. Which one you think a govt would choose?

[Free Society]

The ease of fiat's production and the difficulty of gold's production are precisely what makes one better than the other. I'll leave it to the "rational" minds to figure out which is which.

[R C Dean]

Precisely. The fact that gold has to be essentially manufactured is what keeps its total supply roughly in line with the size of the real economy. It more or less self-regulates as a money supply.

[Free Society]

How someone could promote an idea like that as though it were sound economic thought and still have enough brain cells to piece a complete sentence together tells me that he's arguing in bad faith. The only people who have any business believing in that monetary theory are sinister banksters or certifiable retards.

[Stickler Meeseeks]

Why we shouldn't read western philosophers? They're white males, of course!

http://www.spiked-online.com/n.....XWhnk9Vikp

"The privileging of identity politics within the academy means that campaigns such as 'Why Is My Curriculum White?' are treated with the utmost seriousness."

[Free Society]

White males seem to be wired for abstract thought and philosophy in general. Somewhat culturally and somewhat genetically, but the difference is there. As a result, entire fields of study and schools of thought are discarded owing to a lack of "diversity". Black students, Muslims or others with a vague cultural tendency towards accepting the myth of intransigent white racism, will ostracize members of their own group for any perceived inclination towards these fields or these thinkers. To the detriment of all mankind no doubt.

[tarran]

White males seem to be wired for abstract thought and philosophy in general.

I disagree with this. I think the wiring for abstract thought and philosophy is the product of human brains being stimulated in certain ways during development and the reaction of the neuroplastic properties of the human brain.

Cultures throughout the world have periods where valuable or profound philosophical works are produced. Many of these cultures are alien enough to an American that we may recoil with confusion at the premises of the work or find the answers they provide to be repellent*.

I think that classical liberalism hit the nail on the head as to what sorts of rules produce the most prosperous society a given set of people can achieve, but I doubt that it was the product of some racial or genetic component so much as a happy confluence of beneficial cultural institutions, from touchy Viking ideas of honor to Greek philosophical ideas and Christian ethics.

*I'm looking at you confuscianism!

[Free Society]

I think that classical liberalism hit the nail on the head as to what sorts of rules produce the most prosperous society a given set of people can achieve, but I doubt that it was the product of some racial or genetic component so much as a happy confluence of beneficial cultural institutions, from touchy Viking ideas of honor to Greek philosophical ideas and Christian ethics.

To this very day, Asian students, even when we control for the family's culture, are overrepresented in fields like mathematics and engineering and underrepresented in fields like philosophy, law and 'sociology'. Law professors have noted that Asian students in their class have had a harder time passing examinations that required writing and arguing abstract concepts. There is a difference, partially cultural and partially genetic.

Many of these cultures are alien enough to an American that we may recoil with confusion at the premises of the work or find the answers they provide to be repellent*.

Confucianism is actually one of the better philosophies of social order to ever come out of the east. It's profoundly compatible with many ideals that heretofore had been considered principles primarily in western philosophy.

[The Late P Brooks]

They hate me because I'm a brown Muslim woman.

Let's take a moment to consider an alternative explanation. Maybe they hate you because you're a fucking retard, and utter naught but strident idiocy.

[Derpetologist]

Projection, thy name is rationalwiki:

Perhaps one reason they are so uncomfortable with empiricism is that Austrian economists are more interested in defending the political ideology of libertarianism than they are in advancing economic understanding,[5] and rigorous testing can sometimes undermine deeply held political beliefs.

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Austrian_economics

[Kaptious Kristen]

advancing economic understanding

WTF does this even mean?

[sarcasmic]

It's emotive language. It doesn't mean shit other than "I feel superior."

[Free Society]

""individual human beings act.
The first part of that assertion is simple enough to grasp, but what does it mean to act? One possible definition of act says it is to "perform an action." This seems to be as far as most Austrian school thinker take this.

Human Action: A Treatise on Economics by Ludwig von Mises.

[Free Society]

That's an excrpt from derpy wiki. Not von Mises' book...

[The Late P Brooks]

Paper money (backed by a sensible government)

Assume a can opener.

[Swiss Servator, Nierezeit!]

*applause*

[The Late P Brooks]

rigorous testing can sometimes undermine deeply held political beliefs.

Those East Germans had the right idea. It just wanted a bit of fine tuning.

[Derpetologist]

Behold the priceless butthurt of MSNBC over the obvious consequences of high taxes.

[Ted S.]

Perhaps instead of nut-punches, perhaps H&R can spoil the day by saying somthing stupid like "I love you".

[Kaptious Kristen]

First time I heard that song it was a punk version. Can't remember who, though. Sex Pistols?

[JW]

You posted the wrong version.

[Spencer]

These boots are made for nutpunches?

[Charles Easterly]

Nad Pounders.

Now available in low heels.

[Spencer]

we'd have to research what Balko's high school sports jersey number was so we could put it on the heel.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Looks like they're gonna need some replacements.

/cue wah, wah.

[PBR Streetgang]

Alex Chilton would be so disappointed in him

[JW]

I was going to go to the show in DC, a few weeks ago, but waited too long for tickets. I'll see them next time around.

D'oh.

[Charles Easterly]

Nice.

[Kaptious Kristen]

I'd really, really love to work at the Mercatus Center. DC has 100s (maybe 1000s) of different meetup groups - I'll see if there's a professional libertarian type one. But as a bigtime introvert, these things are not my style.

[tarran]

I too am an introvert (hence my social life being conducted almost entirely in writing), and at first going I found the idea of attending networking events very intimidating.

Often, though, the trick is just to walk up to someone and tell them your name and ask them theirs and what they do. The listening part is easy. 🙂

Just be warned that free networking events attract desperate losers, so you have to be ruthless to prevent them from trying to accrete onto you.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Just remember that introverts are only introverted with people that they don't know. An introvert among friends looks and acts just like an extrovert.

All you have to do is get past the initial awkwardness, it's like acting a part until it feels natural.

[Kaptious Kristen]

I don't use profanity in professional settings, unlike Obama's cronies that have taken over this bureau. They really are ignorant and crass. They give a great insight into how scuzzy this Administration really is.

[Charles Easterly]

Thanks he good read, Tundrarian.

From the article: "'I couldn't believe you'd make us do this,' one veteran cop told Mallery. 'I was at the point where I thought everyone was a shithead. Now I realize you can find good people even on the most hardened blocks. You've rejuvenated my career.'"

Impressive.

[Kaptious Kristen]

Cool - I'll look for ones with fees, and I'll see about attending a seminar or conference here & there.

The good thing about working in a technical field, though, is the only thing that really matters is what I know and how long have I known it.

[The Sego Sago Kid]

+1 Op Ivy reference.

Scriabin and Operation Ivy in the same thread! Best AM links ever.

[Lady Bertrum]

The good thing about working in a technical field, though, is the only thing that really matters is what I know and how long have I known it.

Damn you brainiacs with your "skills" and "knowledge". In my field the only thing that really matters is how completely you can intimidate/embarrass your clients into spending more money then they can afford/have.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Excellent advice, tarran. Spot on.

[Tak Kak]

Government Issue?

[Swiss Servator, Nierezeit!]

So....ever consider working for a Swiss company?