A.M. Links: Hillary Voted Least Trustworthy in New Poll, Literature Nobel Awarded, NATO Warns of Russia's 'Troubling Escalation' in Syria

• 

  Credit: White House / Flickr.com

  According to a new Quinnipiac University poll, swing-state voters find Hillary Clinton to be the least "honest and trustworthy" of all leading presidential candidates.

• Belarussian writer Svetlana Alexievich has won the Nobel Prize in Literature.

• NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has warned of "a troubling escalation of Russian military activities" in Syria.

• "The three Republicans vying for House speaker will face off Thursday in a vote that could signal whether a caucus beset by infighting and tactical confusion can come together once John Boehner leaves office."

• Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has banned Iran from engaging in any further negotiations with the United States.

• Sepp Blatter, president of the world soccer organization FIFA, has been suspended for 90 days.

New at Reason

• Brickbat: Mexican Standoff By Charles Oliver

• Hillary's Gun Proposals Assault the Constitution Clinton wants to make gun manufacturers financially liable for misuse of their products and require background checks for all gun transfers. By Judge Andrew Napolitano

• Ben Carson and the Politics of Fantasy Not all surgeons are firmly grounded in the real world. By Steve Chapman

• Speak Now, Congress, or Forever Maintain the Status Quo A to-do list for the new Speaker of the House. By Veronique de Rugy

• The Baseball Commissioner Who Made Bush President The culture, politics, and economics of baseball in the Bud Selig era. By Anthony L. Fisher

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and don't forget to sign up for Reason's daily updates for more content.

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

...swing-state voters find Hillary Clinton to be the least "honest and trustworthy" of all leading presidential candidates.

And therefore the best go-getter to take the office.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

"Sepp Blatter, president of the world soccer organization FIFA, has been suspended for 90 days."

Oooo, look at me I'm shaking.

[invisible furry hand]

Well, 90 days plus stoppage time

[Citizen Nothing]

Well, 90 days plus stoppage time

Nice.

[Rhywun]

LOL

Does he get to continue taking bribes and kickbacks while he's on sabbatical?

[Jimbo]

It's PAID leave, you savage. My god, have you no humanity?

[Raven Nation]

Platini too.

[straffinrun]

When Sepp heard the news, did he roll on the ground and grab his shin?

[bacon-magic]

Goooooo ooooo oooooo al!?!

[Idle Hands]

This is actually a plus because it shows she has what it takes to deal with foreign governments.
/vox writer

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Being dishonest is actually being honest in the world of politics. They need the dishonest to save the honest!

/any progster.

[Free Society]

Liar You Can Trust /Hildog 2016

[Pope Jimbo]

I'm curious about the modifier "leading". Is there some other candidate way down in the polls who is ranked less trustworthy?

Wouldn't it be just as accurate to say "all presidential candidates"?

[Atanarjuat]

Journalists like to be gatekeepers, so they refer to their preferred candidates as 'leading'.

[Princess Trigger]

They're not going to ask about Alamanian or SMOD?

[LarryA]

According to a new Quinnipiac University poll, swing-state voters find Hillary Clinton to be the least "honest and trustworthy" of all leading presidential candidates.

Given the other nominees, that's like a Pulitzer of Prevarication.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

According to a new Quinnipiac University poll, swing-state voters find Hillary Clinton to be the least "honest and trustworthy" of all leading presidential candidates.

But you can always trust her to be dishonest.

[Raven Nation]

Alt-text to pic:

"I'm not the candidate you're looking for."

[Lord Humungus]

Man who called police saying he's 'too high' found in foetal position surrounded by Doritos and cookies

The 22-year-old man reportedly phoned police in Austintown, Ohio, to ask for help because of his intoxication which came about after he smoked too much marijuana, The Vindicator reported.

On attending the address at Westminster Avenue in the town on Friday at 5.20pm, the officer heard the man groaning from inside a room.

The police report recorded that the man was found lying "on the floor in the foetal position surrounded by a plethora of Doritos, Pepperidge Farm Goldfish and Chips Ahoy cookies."

[Rufus J. Firefly]

New slogan.

Doritos: The brand most trusted not by dentists but pot heads!

[SIV]

Millenials are ruining America.

[SugarFree]

PCP. He punched right through the windshield. See this scar?

[Illocust]

If you can make the phonecall you aren't too high. Also, sounds like this guy was planning to see just how high he could get.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

It was the rainbow colored Doritos that drove him to it. The gay mind-control drugs have a bad reaction to the homophobic ingredients in Gold Fish.

Because Peppridge Fahms Remembah.

[Rich]

A man who tips the scale at close to 800 pounds says he has nowhere to go after being kicked out of a hospital weight loss program for ordering pizza.

Now he rides in the back of an SUV while his father drives the roads of Rhode Island, looking for someone who can help.

Rides in the foetal position, no doubt.

[Dark Lord of the wood chipper]

I doubt an 800 pound man can get his knees anywhere near his chest. Unless his chest hangs down that far.

[Rich]

Bingo. "You could play soccer with those moobs, if you could run."

[Drake]

Probably looking for a remote area to dump his fat ass.

[Florida Man]

That is an effective weight loss strategy. Anyone else watch history Chanel's "Alone"?

[bacon-magic]

Great show.

[Illocust]

Dad, the only person who can help your son is you. Talk to the hospital staff. Ask them how many calories he needs a day (at that level of obese you need more than a normal person or some seriously bad shit can happen). Refuse to give him any more than that amount of calories. He is incapable of walking on his own. If you don't hand him the food he can't eat it. Buy him a game system to keep him entertained with all the money you save on food.

[Drake]

But no phone and no internet access to order food.

[Illocust]

He can order food all he wants, but they aren't going to deliver if Dad won't pay for it.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

looking for someone who can help.

Help what? Order more pizza?

[Tonio]

But were they the gay Doritos?

[Trump-o-Matic 5000]

Argh, you beat me to it!

[Trump-o-Matic 5000]

Were these gay Doritos or the manly hetero kind, like Cool Ranch?

[Elspeth Flashman]

I never thought of Cool Ranch as hetero. Maybe they are metro.

[Citizen X]

Cool Ranch is the cosmotarian of Doritos flavors.

[The Shrubber's Woodchipper]

Cool Ranch Doritos is the snack of choice on Brokeback Mountain.

[GILMORE?]

Tell me Jefe: would you say I have a plethora of Doritos?

[Crusty Juggler]

+1 Rape the horses and ride off on the men

[Greg Loves His Woodchipper]

It's a sweater!

[invisible furry hand]

A Saudi woman who filmed a clip appearing to show her husband groping their housemaid could face prison because of the nation's defamation laws.

more

[Idle Hands]

The religion of peace.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Some cultures aren't ready for social media.

[dan'o en barrel]

Tough gig for the maid. Resist too hard and she'll lose her job at best. Resist too little and she risks getting stoned to death in the name of "honor" after being raped.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Sepp Blatter, president of the world soccer organization FIFA, has been suspended for 90 days.

Which will last approximately three days.

[Illocust]

"According to a new Quinnipiac University poll, swing-state voters find Hillary Clinton to be the least "honest and trustworthy" of all leading presidential candidates."

Why are the Dems trying to run Hillary. Even her supporters should realize that outside their own party she even less popular than Trump. You'd think they'd throw their support behind someone who could actually win.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

It's a good question. I remember having to read a book in a poli sci class back in undergrad days that said that parties have really lost power and it's campaigns that call the shots now. Clinton has an organization apart from the party and no one has assembled one to really challenge her, and so while the Dem party establishment might start to see her as a sinking ship they can't do much unless some other candidate shows up to match her.

[Illocust]

I also wonder if its a bit not caring about this election. The main parties seem to have settled into switching off presidents every two cycles. Letting Clinton run and lose might keep people in her good graces without risking her actually getting more power to lord over them.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I don't think it's that, they know they're locked out of Congress control right now, they really need the Presidency. It's just that there's no one with her name recognition or organization stepping up. I'm betting the party bigwigs are freaking out right now at the idea that she's starting to slip in relation to an old frumpy socialist, but what can they do if noone else shows up?

[LarryA]

^This. Lack of viable alternatives.

Plus there's a 90% chance the Republicans will self-destruct and it won't matter who the D candidate is.

[Restoras]

Why are the Dems trying to run Hillary.
1. It's her turn
2. Hillary is married to Bill so it will be the same as having Bill in office

[Idle Hands]

She has tons of money and the largest/best organization going. Her ground game is unmatched she has completely dried up the donor base for the last 3 years to the point that democrat party officials were kind of pissed she was sucking money away from mid term candidates. Bernie sanders may win New Hampshire but come super Tuesday she will have an overwhelming advantage to large to overcome, due to her ability to campaign everywhere all at once.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

This is spot on I think. Sanders can win New Hampshire, maybe even Iowa, but on Super Tuesday he'll get blown out.

[Trump-o-Matic 5000]

I've seen reports that they've blown through a good portion of that money already, and I think you over-estimate the quality of the ground game, personally.

[Idle Hands]

We'll see,

[Trump-o-Matic 5000]

I think it's a combination of three factors. One branch of the party is so stupid/delusional that they honestly think she is the greatest thing to ever happen and anyone who disagrees is a retrograde TEATHUGLIKKKAN. Others are genuinely afraid of opposing the Clinton machine, lest they are unsuccessful in defeating her. A third recognizes the damage Obama has done to the party, accepts that this election is lost (barring an epically stupid move by Republicans, which is always a possibility), and is just staying out of the way.

[Jerryskids]

I thought the demographic science was settled - all the experts agreed after the last election that there just aren't enough rich white men to ever again elect a Republican president. The majority of voters being women and minorities and poors means the Dems can run whatever turd sandwich they want - Obama, for example - and they'll still win. Get ready for Biden/Clinton 2016. (OFA still has that magic database, don't they? Clinton wanted it but Obama is holding it back for Biden?)

[CatoTheChipper]

There's a fourth factor: She's a woman, and it's time for a woman to run for president.

[invisible furry hand]

A third of vegetarians own up to eating meat on nights out

Nothing like a greasy kebab when you're hammered

[Idle Hands]

Of course they do, they are the cream of the crop of smug douche-bags so it doesn't surprise me that they are also hypocrites.

[Tonio]

So, 1/3 = all.

[Idle Hands]

where did I say all,? Maybe I should have clarified that some are also hypocrites. Not all vegetarians are smug assholes who cast disdain and judgement on people who eat meat, I'm sure there are many, possibly most, who I would have zero idea and are genuinely nice people. But there are definitely a significant number who have an annoying martyr complex.

[straffinrun]

There are many who just despise plants.

[Idle Hands]

also 1/3 is a rather significant number.

[gaijin]

They just need a more nuanced word to signal their 'allegiance' to the right feelings about food. Maybe something like 'me-gan'...It's two steps removed from the strict orthodoxy of full on vegetarianism, but leaves room for occassional sins that a true vegan wouldn't dare engage in...sort of like the non-denominational churches that seem to pop up in odd places and focus on rock music and white teeth 'pastors'.

[gaijin]

seriously, wtf did I just post? Sorry.

[Atanarjuat]

I wonder what percent of the "I don't own a TV" crowd has worn out the entire box set of Gray's Anatomy.

[SIV]

Like non-smokers own up to smoking a cigarette.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Nothing has a face when you got your beer goggles on.

[Rich]

Obligatory.

[Illocust]

So they are either vegetarians for health or social reasons not moral ones. Though honestly, the moral ones have always been a little hard to buy. It always seems like general generic queasiness with firm intent to not look into the subject any deeper.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

If their moral reason is the suffering of the animals or what they feel is the right of the animal to live, what would they find if they 'looked into the subject any deeper' that would change that?

[Citizen Nothing]

When they see the bacon within Babe, it's all over.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

That'll do, CN. That'll do.

[Illocust]

The right to live believers are where it gets weird. Just like abortion, abstaining yourself but not working towards laws to ban others from doing what you see as murder makes it seem like your just generally queasy not an actual believer.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I'm not sure about that. You can think that something is a very difficult conclusion to come to though one that is ultimately in your mind correct, and that in that case you can think that you should be ruled by it but unwilling to advocate force to make others ruled by it.

Of course, there's also the fact that a fair amount of them might support such laws.

[Tonio]

"Always seems like..." Yes, from an outside perspective it might. Have you ever engaged one of them? You might be surprised at how deeply they've considered things.

[Illocust]

I have. One was showing obviously staged videos. Another was just queasy at the sausage making stage (not the killing of the animals, the grinding and such grossed her out). The other was just dumb and grew out of it eventually.

Believing animals have the right to live is a valid point of view that can be debated intellectually, so obviously there are people who have deeply reasoned their way into it. Feeling your way into the position also happens a lot. Especially with the young.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

That's well said. I grant that I've known vegetarians who had less than rational reasons for their positions. Of course, it's also true that a lot of people who eat meat do so rather unreflectively too, just because it's what's always been done by most people around them or because it's just personally pleasurable to them and they don't want to think about anything that would complicate that.

[Rhywun]

a lot of people who eat meat do so rather unreflectively too

Humans evolved to eat meat - it's not complicated. The only "reflection" needed is by those who choose to fight it for whatever reason.

[AlexInCT]

Actually most people that eat meat and other things do so because of simple biology. The best arguement about how stupid vegeterianism is in humans is your teeth. We have mixed teeth - both canines and grinders - for a real biological reason. Either you believe in science and evolution all the way, or you are full of shit.

[commodious spittoon]

It's an ethical thing; I don't believe humans should be treated like this.

[lap83]

+1 great sketch

[Pope Jimbo]

So 2/3 of vegetarians are lesbians and don't have to eat any meat after their date pays for a night out?

Of course those 2/3 lesbian vegetarians don't have to leave the house to "eat out"

[lap83]

I wouldn't be surprised if the number was really higher, and that's not a slight against vegetarians so much as pointing out that they're human. In the same way, some people may cheat on their partners or diets while they're drunk. They probably deeply regret it the next morning and don't want anyone to know. Why would vegetarianism be any different?

[Rasilio]

If they are eating meat like that then they are NOT vegetarians.

I know a few real vegetarians and when they do actually eat meat it literally makes them sick because their bodies have forgotten how to process the protiens . They could start eating meat again but it has to be a slow process of gradual acclimation by introducing steadily larger quantities of meat.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Is there any actual meat in a White Castle?

[invisible furry hand]

sometimes a roach crawls in and dies

[Lord Humungus]

Exclusive: Congress probing U.S. spy agencies' possible lapses on Russia

Senior U.S. lawmakers have begun probing possible intelligence lapses over Moscow's intervention in Syria, concerned that American spy agencies were slow to grasp the scope and intention of Russia's dramatic military offensive there, U.S. congressional sources and other officials told Reuters.

A week after Russia plunged directly into Syria's civil war by launching a campaign of air strikes, the intelligence committees of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives want to examine the extent to which the spy community overlooked or misjudged critical warning signs, the sources said.

[The Last American Hero]

There's so many different agencies, they probably figured somebody else had it covered.

[Atanarjuat]

Have the spy agencies ever surprised anyone by doing a better than average job?

[Jerryskids]

Is any government agency capable of doing their jobs (the job they are actually charged with doing) efficiently and effectively any more? Doesn't the Navy have more admirals than they have ships right now? I'm assuming all the agencies are in the same position since that's how bureaucracies work - there are a significant number of higher-ups whose real function is to dream up more merda taurorum busywork to justify their own jobs and justify higher levels of funding and staffing for their agency. At some point, the agency's primary function is to perpetuate itself and their stated function becomes not only of secondary importance but an actual impediment to achieving the goal of doing as little work as possible with the maximum amount of resources possible. I suspect most all agencies have long since passed that point because, as an agency's primary function becomes to purposelessly shuffle paper, it tends to attract the sorts of people who enjoy purposelessly shuffling paper and the slope of the transition from performing its stated purpose to actually thwarting its stated purpose is a rather steep curve.

[Mr Lizard]

It's hard to do your job when you're too busy spying on all us assholes

[Crusty Juggler]

It is not like your average Ruskie don't take a dump without a plan.

[SusanM]

+1 SSBN

[Fist of Etiquette]

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has banned Iran from engaging in any further negotiations with the United States.

Our next Speaker of the House.

[Swiss Servator]

Or O!'s Chief of Staff...

[invisible furry hand]

Playschool presenter lights up social media with his on-air project - which looks exactly like a bong

[straffinrun]

White House invite coming?

[Lord Humungus]

Underground fire 300 meters from nuclear waste causes St. Louis to hatch contingency plan

Beneath the surface of a St. Louis-area landfill lurk two things that should never meet: a slow-burning fire and a cache of Cold War-era nuclear waste, separated by just 300 meters.

Government officials have quietly adopted an emergency plan in case the smoldering embers ever reach the waste, a potentially "catastrophic event" that could send up a plume of radioactive smoke over a densely populated area near the city's main airport.

Although the fire at Bridgeton Landfill has been burning since at least 2010, the plan for a worst-case scenario was developed only a year ago and never publicized until this week, when St. Louis radio station KMOX first obtained a copy.

[Tonio]

How can they not just shut off the fresh air supply or flood the thing with CO2 or something?

And if this goes wrong the anti-nuclear crowd are going to make hay, just like a grabber does when there's a pile of dead children.

[Citizen Nothing]

Personally, I think we should ban landfill fires.

[Brett L]

Its a trash dump. It may be self-oxidizing.

[Swiss Servator]

They are doin' it wrong!

http://articles.chicagotribune.....extinguish

[Number.6]

Stopping an underground fire is a complex and uncertain business. The more worrying thing is that there's a bunch of radioactive waste so near to (1) a hole full of burning trash and (2) a large city.

And yeah. The anti-nuclear crowd will make hay - but in this particular case, they may just have a point.

[Free Society]

And yeah. The anti-nuclear crowd will make hay - but in this particular case, they may just have a point.

I don't think federal government mismanagement, negligence and outright disregard for the public is an indictment of nuclear power.

[Lord Humungus]

Obama administration has doubts that key Hillary gun proposal can work

When Hillary Clinton rolled out a series of new gun control proposals this week, one of the most newsworthy and controversial ideas she put forth was a vow to use executive action as president to fix the background check system if Congress refused to act.

But the Obama administration has already taken a long, internal look at the same executive-action proposal Clinton has promised to undertake, and has doubts over whether it can be made to work in practical terms, according to current and former senior administration officials.

The administration is still looking at this idea, in the wake of Obama's announcement after the Oregon shooting that he has directed officials to "scrub" current laws for further actions the executive branch can take against gun violence, those officials say.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

When you've lost Obama on this..

[Tonio]

Meh. No love lost between Obama and the Clintons. At this point pretty much all presidents are in legacy-building mode. Also, allows Clinton to differentiate herself from Obama.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I see that, but on guns? Hard to imagine him finding a gun control measure objectionable on any grounds.

[commodious spittoon]

Doesn't go too far enough?

[Rich]

[Obama] has directed officials to "scrub" current laws for further actions

As opposed to "wiping" them?

[Tonio]

What, like with a dustcloth?

And I'm sorry, but she should have been slapped for that.

[Rich]

Slapped in handcuffs?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Much more enjoyable than watching them fail at banning guns again will be watching this war between the Clintons and the Obamas.

[Illocust]

No joke, the Obamas are getting blatant in their pot shots. They must be pretty certain she isn't going to win.

[Tonio]

I wonder if they know something. [Muttley laugh]

[Swiss Servator]

[Muttley laugh]

NICE.

[Rich]

Snuffles was nice, too.

[Number.6]

But no medal.

[Jerryskids]

Never forget that when Bush chided Obama back in 2008 about Obama talking out his ass about the WoT because Obama didn't know a few things Bush knew, Obama said it was Bush talking out his ass because, as a Senator, he got the exact same security briefings Bush got. After getting elected, Obama changed his position on a few things and admitted that, as President, he had learned a few things he didn't know as a Senator. But as far as I know he never apologized to Bush for claiming he knew as much as Bush and that Bush was an idiot for suggesting otherwise. So here we have Clinton claiming she's got an easy answer to a problem and Obama cautioning her that maybe the answer isn't as easy as it looks from outside the Oval Office. Is Hillary going to claim Obama's talking out his ass just as Obama claimed Bush was talking out his ass?

[Trump-o-Matic 5000]

Yeah, I'm really psyched for the last year of Barry's presidency. I think it'll hit the fan when Biden declares.

[The Shrubber's Woodchipper]

Obama administration has doubts that key Hillary gun proposal can work

Since when has the effectiveness of gun control proposals been a concern? Hasn't hoping they would do something been enough in the past?

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

An Englishman's guide to living in America: 50 Observations

Your daily dose of smarm.

[Zaytsev]

WTF is up with the Tip hating?

[Jordan]

I hate tipping too, particularly in situations where you aren't sure whether or not it's customary to tip. I can't handle that kind of responsibility!

[grrizzly]

This. Also, tipping devalues some of the services. You think Uber is great because you don't need to have cash and can pay through your phone? Think again. Uber drivers expect tips and they won't rate you 5 stars unless you tip. Don't forget to check if you have enough dollar and five dollar bills the next time you order Uber.

[Rhywun]

You can't put a tip on your card? That seems kind of stupid.

[grrizzly]

Nope. Lyft lets you add tips, but Uber is an international brand, so no tip option in the app. Go to the Uber driver board and check all the bitching and whining about non-tipping customers. I was absolutely disgusted when I discovered it.

[Rhywun]

Yeah, that's not cool. Nobody has a "right" to a tip.

[JD the elder]

Buh? I used Uber a lot, and I have never, ever experienced this.

[grrizzly]

Uber drivers are not allowed to request tips, though some make very obvious hints, and practically no one refuses tips (okay, once a Uber driver declined my tips).

Supposedly you can request your passenger rating through the uber website. If it's below 5 and you believe that you're a pleasant customer, then the reason is no tipping.

[Rhywun]

The smart set think it's uncivilized to reward people for their performance - the end result of a culture marinated in decades of socialism.

[Suthenboy]

You didn't see this bit? "5. The waiting staff are paid low hourly rates because employers have successfully tricked their customers into taking on a significant portion of their staffing costs."

In the mind of a socialist customers a restaurant that pays a living wage the customer is not paying the cost of staffing. The restaurant owner is providing a public service and paying for it all out of his own pocket. It is greedy, monocle wearing assholes like you that 'trick' the customer into paying for the service you provide.

Profound economic ignorance.

[GILMORE?]

""WTF is up with the Tip hating?"'

The greatest fear of the English is being embarrassed. Tipping causes them overwhelming social anxiety that they might be seen as too cheap or fearing they're overdoing it. Especially in cabs, where its not a 'set percent' but rather a social awareness that you round up to the nearest denomination + 2 bucks or so

[grrizzly]

It's not just the English. All foreigners loath tipping for the reason you described.

[Rhywun]

I dunno where you are but tipping in cabs is definitely by percentage in NYC. 15% is standard.

[GILMORE?]

And where/when did you learn this factoid? When they finally put credit card machines in cabs?

Maybe its been a while since you lived in manhattan, but for most people in the city, they're often just going 15-20 blocks, which will be still be in the single-digit-dollar range *(under 10), and typical gratuity is to round-up. which means the tip can be variable, and certainly not "15%" on any consistent basis. sometimes you throw the guy $4 on a $6 ride, sometimes you throw them $2 on an $8 ride. Its been that way forever. Of course, now that people can pay by card, it changes how people think about it, but that's only been the case since... 2009?

[Rhywun]

I learned it when I moved to NYC 18 years ago. I have never taken a cab strictly within Manhattan - only to the outer boroughs - so maybe the calculations are different.

[Number.6]

Well, there's factoring in how much danger money the poor bastards deserve.

[Antilles]

Odd. When I was there in 2001 I was told (by Brits) that I should NOT tip. I could offer to buy the bartender a drink, but leaving a cash tip was borderline insulting. Was I lied to, or have things changed that much in 14 short years?

[GILMORE?]

"When I was there in 2001 I was told (by Brits) that I should NOT tip. I could offer to buy the bartender a drink, but leaving a cash tip was borderline insulting"

Yeah. I never understood it either. Maybe they feel like you're treating them like a stripper. Or that there's some implicit suggestion that you're supposed to "get something" for the tip, or that you expect the guy to be nice to you because you left him your change. Its completely misunderstood in the UK

[Rich]

13. Although I admit it: a flyscreen is a good idea. I haven't had to kill a wasp or a moth for months.

WTF?

[Idle Hands]

5. The waiting staff are paid low hourly rates because employers have successfully tricked their customers into taking on a significant portion of their staffing costs. If you don't like the sound of that, all is not quite lost ? there is a socialist running for president this time.

Shocker, the man is an economic illiterate.

[Idle Hands]

49. Lots of people you don't expect to own guns or support the right to bear arms do.

50. No massacre, no matter how awful, will prompt Congress to tighten America's gun laws. There will have to be a wider cultural shift. Lots of people do care about this. But they're not sure exactly what to do.

lol.

[lap83]

introspection, how does it work?

[Rhywun]

employers have successfully tricked their customers into taking on a significant portion of their staffing costs

Yeah, this might be the stupidest thing I've read all year.

[Atanarjuat]

He thinks we all have beautiful teeth...haw

[AlexInCT]

Thats because of the sociaized dentist service in Gb that produces some serious horse faces I bet...

[Atanarjuat]

16. It's best to think of the police as a sort of occupying army and avoid them accordingly ? particularly if you are not white.

Actually, the man is quite astute.

[Drake]

Obviously living in a big East Coast city. The only people I tip in an average week are waiters and bartenders.

I did like the way he described our subway trains.

[Mr. Flanders]

"46. They have no universally agreed upon way of saying goodbye (a kiss on the cheek would be unforgivably inappropriate and borderline actionable). Most common is just to pause for a moment, perhaps give a barely perceptible nod or slightly awkward wave ... and then simply walk away."

I actually do wish we'd get on this. There should, like, be a law or something, man...

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

You mean you don't do a farewell slap to the groin?

[lap83]

A (very) rough guide to America from an Englishman in New York

So did he periodically take trips to America while he was living in New York, or..?

[Swiss Servator]

Apparently not.

[lap83]

I was teasing of course, but only partially. NYC can seem like a different country to many Americans

[GILMORE?]

I told every Brit who came to our company (they shipped them over to the NY office either for 3 months - and everyone ignored those people - or 3 years, depending on visa) that "NYC is not America"....

...."America".... (points dramatically west) "...is that way. A long way that way, past New Jersey. You'll know you're getting close when you pass your first Cracker Barrel, or a Billboard for a church"

The English are very good travelers and are generally unmoved, mildly amused by the small differences in US/UK life. They also liked traveling within the US and loved how enormous it was (though they thought small town America was sometimes 'sad' for mostly being 'a mainstreet & strip-mall' between farms, lacking the quaint-hamlet appeal of Europe)

It was a small-minded minority who repeatedly harped about the differences, as though that conversation hadn't gotten especially boring 5 minutes after they'd arrived.

They would find nothing more provincial than a yank who came to England and repeatedly made a fuss that people drive on the left, have large-denomination coins, and *dont tip*. Yet somehow its supposed to be clever the other way around.

[lap83]

"Billboard for a church"

haha. Or pro-life billboard.

My family lived in the middle-east for a few years when I was a pre-teen and we knew some English people over there. They had three kids approximately the same age as my brother and me and we were basically friends, but also mercilessly mocked each other with stereotypes and bad accent impressions. It was fun. Also a good education on how everyone tends to jump to conclusions from little information about people. The important thing is to be open to altering your initial views when new information comes in.

[GILMORE?]

One of my favorite "narcissism of minor differences"-moments was when a 3yr brit asked a 3month brit, "So, what are you finding notable so far"?

And the latter turned, and with the most serious face said, "The toilets. They don't go to the floor".

I turned and looked at both of them, asking, "...you don't mean you shit in a hole at home?"

"No, god, of course not... I mean the doors. The 'stalls' (booth), whatever."

I looked at the 3yr brit who seemed equally confused.

"The doors... don't go to the floor. yes?"

he finally splurts out, "Everyone can see your pants!"

(he meant one's underwear, bunched around one's feet, while one is dropping a deuce. the experience traumatized him utterly)

And when i went to london, a year later, one of the first things I noticed is that, indeed, the stall doors go all the way to the floor. Anything less would be uncivilized

[Rhywun]

NYC can seem like a different country to many Americans

And vice versa.

[GILMORE?]

I worked with brits for 8 years in NYC. In general they acclimatized wonderfully and loved most things about the US.

This guy is just writing for a UK audience and helping confirm biases

Tipping isn't even that big a deal in NYC, he's just a cheap cunt

Most public services like trains are as well built as in the uk, but poorly maintained... Because people have choices.

I found the things brits reacted to most was food culture in the US, and manners. Same was true with yanks in England.

Almost no Brit I knew actually drank tea.

More Brits smoked 10 years ago. This guy sounds like he's never left Manhattan.

[Number.6]

Ugh.

Can I just disown this miserablist, elitist fucktard right now? I've only read as far as point #3.

[Lord Humungus]

For Volkswagen, New Questions Arise on U.S. Injury Reporting

Volkswagen AG reported death and injury claims at the lowest rate of any major automaker in the U.S. over the last decade.

The numbers are so good that some industry experts wonder if they add up.

The average reporting rate of the 11 biggest automakers was nine times higher than Volkswagen's, according to an analysis of government data completed last week by financial advisory firm Stout Risius Ross Inc. at the request of Bloomberg News.

[The Last American Hero]

It's hard to get killed in a car accident when your car is stuck broken in your driveway.

[Mr Lizard]

Claw clap

[invisible furry hand]

Man dubbed Britain's fattest scrounger in hospital after suffering mini stroke weeks after starting his first job in four years

On the bright side, he and his wife had lost over 180lb between them and made love for the first time in a year - which got her pregnant.

[Swiss Servator]

Why did I click that? Why did I click that? Why. Did. I. Click. That?!

[Mindyourbusiness]

Masochism?

[Lord Humungus]

Toxic masculinity is tearing us apart: Christopher Harper-Mercer, 4chan and the fragility of America's alpha male

Wedged among the proliferation of dank memes, choruses of copycat threats, violent Pepe .gifs, and cries of "Beta Uprising," the 4chan forum /r9k/ might be closest to actually having an answer. According to the users, women were to blame for this rampage: If "the sluts" had just given it up to Mercer, he might never have gone on to murder innocent people. As horrible as 4chan may be, this claim is seemingly backed up by Mercer's own words. In the days leading up to the attack, he posted complaints on a number of online forums about being chaste against his wishes. In his rambling manifesto left at the scene of the crime, he reportedly wrote: "I am going to die friendless, girlfriendless, and a virgin."

Like Elliot Rodger, Mercer's frustration and rage at being a virgin likely contributed to his lashing out at innocent bystanders. But the real issue wasn't that Mercer was a virgin and that this whole thing could have been avoided with a pity-fuck. The problem is that Mercer?like the community that it seems he was a part of?felt that he wasn't a "real" man because of it.

TW: Salon

[Dark Lord of the wood chipper]

I've always wondered about something. If a woman marries a man with a hyphenated last name, but she also wants to hyphenate her maiden name with his, how does that work? Does she get 3 last names, does she just pick the husband's name she likes the best, is there some kind of general rule about which name she uses?

[Rich]

And what if her maiden name is *also* hyphenated?

Inquiring minds want to know!

[Dark Lord of the wood chipper]

Names within names within names.

[Swiss Servator]

+1 Feyd-Rautha

[Number.6]

Boutros-Boutros-Boutros-Boutros-Boutros-Ghali

[Tonio]

Because real men don't marry women with hyphenated last names. Just saying.

[Rasilio]

Err? She could easily have had a hyphenated last name since birth

[MetalBard]

I've wondered what happens to the kids the name. So the kid has a hyphenated name and then grows up and gets married, and adds another hyphen, then they have a kid who now has 3 hyphens who then marries, and has a kid who now has 4 hyphens etc etc.. Where does it end?

Ah who am I'm kidding no chick like that is ever getting married.

[Atanarjuat]

They've been doing that for a while in Hispanic countries. Someone should ask them.

[Illocust]

They have rules about which names get left off and which get added.

[Jerryskids]

If one of the names is Kennedy it always gets left on. A few centuries from now there will be millions of Blah Kennedy Blahs that aren't even as close as 20th cousin-in-law 14 times removed.

[Number.6]

Well, those particular bog Irish did get around, and they're only telling you they're 14 times removed.

[Rhywun]

This is what happens when a society loses its mind over imaginary "sexism".

[Number.6]

Heinlein, as usual, shows us the way not only for hyphenated names, but for alternative family structures.

Manuel Garcia O'Kelly-Davis

[Drake]

I call it "Terminal Virginity".

[Crusty Juggler]

Listen to Salon deems masculine, not those other people.

[Mr Lizard]

Your females really need to throw it out there a little more, just saying

[Crusty Juggler]

I find that whining about not getting laid leads to getting laid 100% of the time.

[Suthenboy]

Never change, Crusty. Never change.

*wipes coffee off of screen*

[Suthenboy]

"The problem is that Mercer?like the community that it seems he was a part of?felt that he wasn't a "real" man because of it."

Well, I guess he got one thing right.

"Toxic masculinity is tearing us apart: Christopher Harper-Mercer, 4chan and the fragility of America's alpha male"

Is this a headline for some other article? Because it doesn't match the text of the excerpt you posted. I am guessing that, as usual, the useful idiots at Salon are just spewing gibberish. I would go post a comment but I already know you can't unscramble an egg.

[invisible furry hand]

"The Mussolini children and grandchildren display a vivacious Italian attitude"

A new book traces the descendants of tyrants

[Swiss Servator]

You know who el...hey, wait a second?!

[Lord Humungus]

A Biden Presidency Would Be Grim News for Feminism
He's more "likeable" than Hillary. His record on women's issues is not.

If gender issues are Hillary Clinton's primary progressive strength, they're one of Biden's major weaknesses. It's not just the role he played in Clarence Thomas' confirmation hearings, when, as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, his treatment of Anita Hill enraged feminists. Biden let her be grilled mercilessly while assuring Thomas that he had the "benefit of the doubt," and even refused to let three witnesses who might have corroborated her story testify. That was almost 25 years ago, of course, and since then Biden has done several things to redeem himself, including championing the Violence Against Women Act. His decidedly lukewarm record on reproductive rights, however, is harder to dismiss as ancient history, particularly given the onslaught of anti-abortion legislation we're seeing all over the country.

[Restoras]

Well sure but think of the epic LULZ

[Tonio]

And another reason that a Biden candidacy would be great. The feministas would have to suck it up and vote for him. Epic lulz.

[Suthenboy]

They have no problem either ignoring or defending Islamic misogyny so I am sure they would provide endless entertainment defending Uncle Joe's groping and slobbering on underage girls.

[Jerryskids]

Despite Clinton's sliding poll numbers, a lot of feminists will be disappointed if the Democrats don't take a step forward toward gender equality by nominating a woman.

So if the Dems nominate Uncle Joe and the GOP nominates Fiorina, a lot of feminists will be voting Republican, right? Yeah, no, the feminists aren't in favor of 'a woman' in the White House, they're in favor of a cunt in the White House.

[lap83]

I still think Hillary would be worse for feminism

"You have achieved nothing apart from one thing. The fact that you are a woman means we will have no more women presidents because we tried one and she fucking sucked."

[invisible furry hand]

Niiiiiiice!

Ben: You listen to me, you little fucking turd's assistant, you don't threaten the administration, because we will fucking destroy you! We'll skin you like a squirrel, clean you out like a dirty fucking chimney, and wear you like a glove puppet with my fingers sticking out of your DEAD FUCKING EYEBALLS!
[beat]
Kent: I cannot endorse that message, but I do acknowledge it.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Rand Paul auctions off autographed copy of Clinton memoir

Rand Paul is re-gifting Hillary Clinton's book.

Clinton said this week she sent her latest autobiography, Hard Choices, to her Republican rivals as a tongue-in-cheek way to explain her accomplishments as secretary of state. And Paul, one of those Republicans, is now auctioning off that book, promoting it on his online store as an opportunity to "GET YOUR OWN SIGNED COPY OF A GREAT FICTION BOOK!"

Paul placed the book -- signed by both him and Clinton -- on Ebay, and as of Wednesday evening it had attracted five bids and was available for $300. The auction, which includes a copy of Paul's new book, Taking a Stand, closes just before 2 p.m. Saturday.

Other Republican candidates have in return offered to send Clinton copies of their own books or said they would read Clinton's if she watched controversial Planned Parenthood videos.

Paul chose to take a shot at Clinton's record at the State Department on the title page of her book.

"Hillary, your refusal to provide security for our mission in Benghazi should forever preclude you from higher office!" he wrote in black ink before affixing his signature, according to a photograph in his online store.

Paul lists the item's condition as "brand new" and its subject as "fantasy."

Nice.

[Trump-o-Matic 5000]

The Paul campaign definitely gets an A+ in trolling

[Trump-o-Matic 5000]

No Trump?!?

[Lord Humungus]

Sex dramatically increases fertility

n the first paper, Lorenz and colleagues showed that sexually active women experienced greater changes in helper T cells and the proteins that T cells use to communicate, while in the second paper, they showed differences in antibody levels between sexually active and abstinent women.

"We're actually seeing the immune system responding to a social behavior: sexual activity," Lorenz said. "The sexually active women's immune systems were preparing in advance to the mere possibility of pregnancy."

The conclusions could influence advice on how often to engage in sexual intercourse for couples trying to get pregnant. It could also help treat people with autoimmune disorders.

[Elspeth Flashman]

So it's another way to stay healthy too, how nice.

[Jerryskids]

In the first paper, Lorenz and colleagues showed that sexually active women experienced greater changes in helper T cells and the proteins that T cells use to communicate, while in the second paper, they showed differences in antibody levels between sexually active and abstinent women.

Without reading the study or knowing enough about the particular T cells and antibodies they're talking about, I have to wonder how much this autoimmune response relates to the fact that the woman's body recognizes that it has living foreign cells inside it. Did they study gay men to see the response a man's body has to having another man's sperm inside him? Did they study the woman's body's response to having other forms of foreign DNA inside her? How sure are they that the response is entirely a matter of the body preparing to accommodate a pregnancy versus a matter of the body simply responding to a biological anomaly?

[straffinrun]

So they should have sex more often if they want to get pregnant. Groundbreaking.

[Rich]

500,000 Minnesotans speak a language other than English at home

German or Norwegian, DUH!

[Bo Cara Esq.]

We need to build a wall around that place.

[MetalBard]

No just California, New York, and New Jersey.

[Pope Jimbo]

Uffda! That is some kind of a deal, isn't it?

The good Norvegians like Sven and Ole have assimilated pretty well. The Finns ain't too bad either. The problem is the fucking Swedes. Them bastards need to be run out of the state.

[Drake]

From the sounds of things in Sweden, you may have a lot more inbound.

[KDN]

Related: Those Assimilating Immigrants
A new study finds they commit less crime and they learn English.

The report finds that roughly 85% of America's foreign-born population speak a language other than English at home. For most of these, that language is Spanish. But that's not the whole story. English-language proficiency, it says, may be happening even "faster now" than it did for earlier waves of mainly European immigrants. Today many people arriving already speak English, and second and third generations grow in proficiency.

Even in the large concentration of Mexican Americans in Southern California, by the third generation English has become their main spoken language. Only 4% of this third generation report speaking primarily Spanish at home.

The report also finds that the "increased prevalence of immigrants is associated with lower crime rates?the opposite of what many Americans fear." The incarceration rate for the foreign born is only a fourth of that of the native born.

[Lord Humungus]

Bernie Sanders is Ayn Rand's worst nightmare: He's changing how we view socialism ? and exposing free market parasites

The point is, "socialism" does not necessarily mean centrally planned economies, as most on the right believe. The original definition of socialism was something like this: the collective ownership of the means of production and distribution. In this sense, worker-owned businesses (i.e. worker co-ops) are very "socialistic," and Sanders has appropriately put forth a plan to increase worker ownership. The word socialism can also mean "Social Democracy" ? this is what best describes Bernie Sanders's philosophy ? which involves a market economy with socialistic programs. The most common example of this sort of economic system can be found in the Scandinavian countries, which have hardly "failed." Indeed, Scandinavian countries have all been previously ranked among the highest in the world when it comes to "ease of doing business," "global innovation," and "prosperity."

TW:Salon

[Bo Cara Esq.]

We've never to my knowledge had an avowed socialist doing this well in one of the big two's nomination contests. This is a sad Rubicon we're crossing here.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Free market parasites?

I didn't realize the free market coerces and steals from people like communism/socialism!

[SugarFree]

Indeed, Scandinavian countries have all been previously ranked among the highest in the world when it comes to "ease of doing business," "global innovation," and "prosperity."

And suicide. Which is OK is a doctor gives you drugs to do it, but bad if you do it yourself with a gun. Because the gun murders you or something.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

It's not the gun that murders you, it's the gun manufacturer, which is why they have to be liable in tort for gun suicides.

Or something.

[Brett L]

Please, the Danes have one family-controlled company that accounts for 30% of the GDP (the Moeller family who controls Maersk and the biggest grocery store chain and some of the pharma industry). Its pretty easy to do business with sister companies.

[Number.6]

Scandi-zaibatsus

[Matrix]

Scandinavian countries are hardly anything to emulate---high personal and government debt with low ownership of real property, and high prices and taxes on almost everything. And most people go into massive amounts of debt because everything is so highly taxed. So they have little to show for that debt.

Fuck those countries. They can keep their shitty programs.

[Suthenboy]

"free market parasites"

Not centrally planned but worker owned. So union bosses or elected officials will be making decisions and that is not central planning.

A market economy with socialist programs. That would be one where a person is allowed to keep 5-20 percent of their income and spend at their discretion and the other 80-95 percent is spent at the discretion of central planners.

Clearly useful idiots do not know the meanings of words. The entire article is gibberish. Every premise in it, every assertion, is propped up with breathtaking amounts of cognitive dissonance.

[Jerryskids]

There is a certain amount of "worker-owned" company going on now for the growing number of workers who have 401Ks invested in mutual funds. Of course, most any financial planner will tell you not to buy stock in your own company, not to put all your eggs in one basket whereby the company you depend on for a paycheck is also the one you depend on for your retirement. (And I suspect many workers, knowing how shitty the workers are at their company, don't need to be told twice not to invest in their own companies.) "Worker-owned co-ops" is one of those things that sounds like it might work real well but only if you have never met an actual human being.

[JD the elder]

This whole thing could be summed up as "words mean whatever we want them to mean! Socialism is exactly the same as welfare programs which is exactly the same as worker-owned co-ops!"

[Lord Humungus]

This is from 2014 but has been making the twitter circles:

How Privileged Are You?
Check(list) your privilege.

My score: You live with 61 out of 100 points of privilege.

You're quite privileged. You've had a few struggles, but overall your life has been far easier than most. This is not a bad thing, nor is it something to be ashamed of. But you should be aware of your advantages and work to help others who don't have them. Thank you for checking your privilege.

[Rich]

I stopped at I have never been told I am attractive "for my race."

[Lord Humungus]

whatever you say, white boy.

[SugarFree]

I've been told I was "Cute for a white boy."

[Mainer2]

Sometimes I picture Rich as an Argentine.

(that still makes me chuckle)

[Jerryskids]

I think I've only ever been told I'm attractive once in my entire life, but that was in reference to my gravitational field. I have also been told specifically that I am unattractive for my species.

[invisible furry hand]

My score is 51, which gets the same message as yours

[SugarFree]

44/100

[invisible furry hand]

No surprises there. Kentucky must take 20 points off instantly

[SugarFree]

And the atheism and not growing up particularly rich.

[Florida Man]

Same. Also growing up white in a black neighborhood.

[Citizen Nothing]

I got the identical score, SF. Must be the hillbilly/reading thing. But fuck that. I'm the most privileged person I know. True story.

[SugarFree]

Let's go out and oppress people some weekend!

[Citizen Nothing]

Bitchin. By the way -- I'm gonna be back in the Motherland next weekend. There's a team of friends running in the Bourbon Chase, which is a crazy 32-hour relay from Jim Beam to Lexington. I'm driving one of the support vans -- because I'm not a runner and I'm not insane. But then I repeat myself.

[SugarFree]

Well, shit. I'm out of town that weekend.

[Citizen Nothing]

That's ok. I'll be driving or drunk the whole time, anyway. (But not at the same time, or at least that's the plan.)

[SugarFree]

Sounds fun, though.

If you get anywhere near Paris or Georgetown, Windy Corner Cafe and Wallace Station (respectively) are both great places to eat. And if you stay in Lexington, argue for The Blue Heron, a steakhouse with the best fried chicken ever. Or County Club, a hipster BBQ place with great food.

[Citizen Nothing]

Thanks. I'll pretend I came up with the suggestions, though. As a travel writer, I have a reputation to maintain.

[SugarFree]

Understood.

[Mazakon]

I got 73 out of 100 so I guess that means I win?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Beat you by one.

[Trump-o-Matic 5000]

There's three separate questions about being called slurs for homosexuals. What the fuck, why am I taking this?

[Trump-o-Matic 5000]

Which definition of "rape" are we using? The traditional one or the one that includes any nonconsensual touching or words? Crap. Why am I still taking this?

[Trump-o-Matic 5000]

51/100! Suck it, unprivileged losers!

[Juvenile Bluster]

It's Buzzfeed, so it's probably the one where if somebody thinks of you while they jerk off, it's rape.

[Trump-o-Matic 5000]

Okay, I definitely should have checked "yes" for that one, then.

[MetalBard]

Wait but what if you imagine them having you in some sort of bondage scenario? Is it still rape? Am I a serial rapist?

[SugarFree]

I have never been called a "dyke."

Probably because of my beard privilege.

[Trump-o-Matic 5000]

I've definitely been called a dyke in elementary school before any of us had any clue what it meant. We just knew it was an insult.

[SugarFree]

I don't think PC Principal thought about that quiz very hard. There's not a straight guy alive that hasn't been called every insult for homosexuals that has ever existed.

[Lord Humungus]

Exactly - fag, homo, and queer were uber-insults in the 80s

[MetalBard]

Just tell PC Principal to stop being such a fag.

[Rhywun]

I stopped at "I am white".

[Rhywun]

Ah, fuckit...

40. Tremble before my unprivilegedidity.

[Florida Man]

49/100. So I can start telling people to fuck off if they mention my privilege, right?

[Idle Hands]

43/100

[Idle Hands]

I'm so poor and stupid I should probably be a nascar driver.

[Florida Man]

You wanna go shoot some rats out back by the dumpster?

[Citizen X]

He's already got plans to smoke cigarettes while loitering in front of the 7-11.

[Idle Hands]

Way ahead of you, you bring the whip-its and I'll bring the spray paint.

[KDN]

"I have never been mocked for my accent"

Honestly, who would actually check this off? Everybody gets mocked for their accent at one time or another. No matter what region you're from there is some other region out there to whom you sound like an asshole.

Also fun: "I've never been told I sound white." I've had the opposite happen to me many times, because I have a blackish name and I apparently sound like a black dude over the phone.

[Juvenile Bluster]

55/100. I'm surprised it wasn't higher.

[Idle Hands]

How the fuck does someone even get halfway through that, there was a question about whether your parents were married and whether you had ever heard the term you've been randomly selected for a passport check?

[Juvenile Bluster]

Especially since "I have traveled internationally" is another one on there. So if you have traveled internationally you're privileged, and if you haven't, you've never heard that about passport checks and thus you're privileged.

(that reminds me, I need to renew my passport)

[Rhywun]

I have both "traveled internationally" and "studied abroad"--as an exchange student. How is that "privileged"? My mom had to take in an extra kid for a year in order to be rid of me for the year after. Taxes paid for the rest.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

A few of those questions could easily be interpreted differently.

For example, 'have you ever gone to bed hungry?' Well, yes, last night in fact. I was too lazy to make something and don't like going to bed soon after eating.

Or 'were you ever called a terrorist?' This is more subjective since we know some progs think white people with guns and privilege are essentially 'terroristic'.

[Trump-o-Matic 5000]

Yeah, I've gone to bed hungry dozens of times because I didn't feel like going to the grocery that day and we were out of anything I could easily make before bed.

[CatoTheChipper]

You're right! We've all been called "terrorists" by progressives!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

74. "You're quite privileged. You've had a few struggles, but overall your life has been far easier than most. This is not a bad thing, nor is it something to be ashamed of. But you should be aware of your advantages and work to help others who don't have them. Thank you for checking your privilege."

Suck my dick.

[Trump-o-Matic 5000]

All hail Rufus, the most privileged among us!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

/blows kisses.

[Illocust]

48/100 I think working my ass off so I could afford to pay for a psychiatrist and my own medications upped my privilege scores. Funny how that works.

[Drake]

"I have never questioned any of my identities"

That is how I become such a master spy.

[Citizen X]

41 out of 100: You're Not Privileged

This is awesome. It means i get to lecture all y'all about how hard life is for me, if i feel like it.

[Sapient Mulch]

14 out of 100: Underprivileged

We'll be instituting a privilege tax shortly.

[Trump-o-Matic 5000]

Shut and respect your superiors, Sapient! You'll speak when spoken to!

[Jerryskids]

14 out of 100? You lucky bastard! Rufus has to live every goddamn day with a 73 - do you have any idea how privileged you are in not to bear that sort of terrible burden? DO YOU???

[Sapient Mulch]

Well, to give credit where credit is due, past exchanges with John and others like him helped me to remember a whole bunch of those situations I'd managed to forget, so I didn't have to check the boxes. Experiences like that help me to always remember my place in the universe.

Thank you to every entitled, bigoted, self important, silver spoon carrying, golf club attending, elitist, pompous, judgemental, close minded, misogynistic, homophobic, ass sniffing, ivy league, statist loving asshole with control issues for assuming the greater burden for me.

[Warty]

You live with 60 out of 100 points of privilege.
You're quite privileged. You've had a few struggles, but overall your life has been far easier than most. This is not a bad thing, nor is it something to be ashamed of. But you should be aware of your advantages and work to help others who don't have them. Thank you for checking your privilege.

I absolutely have an eating disorder. Bigorexia. The struggle is real.

[Sapient Mulch]

I absolutely have an eating disorder. Bigorexia. The struggle is real.

I know of some reparative therapy groups that would be more than happy to help you overcome that and make the right choice. They don't hate the eater, just the eating.

[Warty]

The right choice is to get huger, right?

[Swiss Servator]

EAT - DEADLIFT - EAT

[Sapient Mulch]

Oh, Warty. It's worse than I thought. Fight the inner demons Warty! Help is on the way!

[invisible furry hand]

What colour ribbon ought I wear to show my support?

[SugarFree]

Beef.

[Citizen X]

Brown.

[Warty]

Spray-tan.

[Sapient Mulch]

What colour ribbon ought I wear to show my support?

This seems most appropriate.

http://www.baconromance.com/im.....38_500.jpg

[See Double You]

44/100. I'm unprivileged, bitches.

[Suthenboy]

37.

Get that? I am a southern white male and I am NOT PRIVILEGED.

I think there might be something a little fucked up about the premises behind that test and what it tests for.

[Number.6]

These kinds of discussions always remind me of this. (SFW)

[Antilles]

Scored 26 (You're not privileged at all). But that doesn't matter because I'm a straight, white male and I'm free to do anything and be as successful as I want. Right?

[Aloysious]

23/100

I've never felt underprivileged in my life.

The people who created this thingy are obviously nuts.

[Number.6]

That's because the cisheterowhitepatriarchy have indoctrinated you, and you're suffering from false consciousness, you poor thing!

[Mazakon]

Rand Paul: "We should arm commercial pilots"

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Sanders retort: Commercial pilots? All pilots should be government pilots!

[Jordan]

Only government officials should be allowed to fly, anyway, carbon sinner.

[american socialist]

Whatever we do we shouldn't have any rules on people who fly commercial airlines

http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/05/.....lot-death/

[Jordan]

Whatever we do, when something bad happens, we should definitely respond with government violence.

[Trump-o-Matic 5000]

THATS THE BEST IDEA EVER AMSOC!!!! ILVOE YOU!!11!!!11!!!!

[Swiss Servator]

WE NEED A RULE TO FORBID DYING!

[See Double You]

Whatever we do we can't miss an opportunity to grow government power.

[Lord Humungus]

'Americans destroy others': actor Depardieu rails against US

"The US? They're a people who have constantly destroyed others," the 66-year-old actor railed in a broadcast Thursday by Paris radio station France Inter, taken from an interview he gave the day before to Russian journalists in Moscow.

"They fought each other, destroyed the Indians, after that they perpetrated slavery, then there was the civil war," he said.

"After that, they were the first to use the atomic bomb...No, I prefer being Russian."

He added: "If the Europeans stopped listening to the Americans, well, I'd be a lot happier."

something something Stalin

[Trump-o-Matic 5000]

Or the Russo-Japanese War. Or Lenin. Or...ah, what the use?

[Crusty Juggler]

For all of the United States' foreign policy mistakes (and there may have been a few), I would think the average European would shit their sous-v?tements if the U.S. took their ball and went home.

[Florida Man]

If was was running for Prez I would promise to defund defending Europe. The left would love the cut to military spending. The right would love sticking it to the Euto-trash and libertarian would like the principle.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

But you'd get Neo-Cons attacking you for leaving Europe prey for the Russian Bear and liberals saying you're reneging on our international responsibilities.

[Florida Man]

Neocons support welfare for lazy Europeans.

Libs are undermining our sovereignty.

Rhetorical judo go!

[MetalBard]

But what about the lovely German waitress and he her job outside of Rammstein air force base? Who will take care of her kids now?

And yes has stupid as that sounds it has been used as an argument for why we need to maintain our bases in Europe, because it props up the local economy.

[invisible furry hand]

Got a stupider argument for you... here we have penalty rates for a lot of workers, which means experienced wait staff must be paid up to $50 / hr on a Sunday or public holiday (unsurprisingly, it's hard to find open cafes or restaurants those days). The leader of the Labor party said on the weekend that penalty rates must be retained, because workers rely on that money to pay the fees for private school.

[Swiss Servator]

When I was at Kaiserslautern, in 1997, they had a demonstration outside the 21st TAACOM HQ - "Yankee Stay Here". They were protesting the fact we were even thinking of leaving. Ha!

[Crusty Juggler]

That was before you people elected that cowboy Bush! You crazy Americans and your lust for war. Get out!.

Wait, Russia is kind of scary...and this ISIS thing has me worried...do you mind staying for awhile?

[Elspeth Flashman]

That is actually a really good idea. But it wouldn't go anywhere.

[Rasilio]

No, better is to offer to continue it ONLY if those European countries pony up their "fair share" and call the countries we're paying to defend welfare countires.

[Citizen Nothing]

You know what other European stopped listening to the Americans?

[Swiss Servator]

Mario Draghi?

[Trump-o-Matic 5000]

Mario Mario?

[Zaytsev]

Isn't he the guy that moved out of France when they raised in income taxes - but now he's a Stalinesque commie?

Riiiiiiiggghhhhhtttt.

[Atanarjuat]

His critiques might have held some weight if he hadn't favorably compared us to the Russians... Who are using military force in several countries as we speak.

[Atanarjuat]

Actually, he gave the interview in Russia to Russian reporters. It may have been under duress.

[Swiss Servator]

In Russia, interview presses you!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Yes, because the French were such fucking peaceful peaceniks.

Go fuck yourself you piece of shit.

[JD the elder]

Yeah, seriously. The FRENCH are going to lecture us on human rights? He should have given that rant in front of some Vietnamese and Algerian folks (not to mention some Greenpeace folks).

[Suthenboy]

Fat, slovenly, gluttonous Frog is enlisted by Putin to spew propaganda in return for either staying in the country, keeping his money, or both.

At least he isn't coming here.

*double thumbs up*

[Jerryskids]

I'm assuming he was very very drunk. Or is he really not aware that France was right there alongside the Brits in killing off the Indians and importing slaves into their Caribbean empire, that the French Revolution and the guillotine was really a thing, that Robespierre and Napoleon and Petain were all real people? Plus the French invented mayonnaise, and French cooking has killed more people than atomic bombs, but probably not as many as the Russians.

[Warty]

Suspension Lifted For Pickerington Teacher After Homicide Charges Dropped

Well there's a headline you don't see every day.

[Citizen Nothing]

Sounds like her husband needed a good drivin'-over.

[Lord Humungus]

Ben Carson Is Right on Guns

The left has a second amendment problem. It believes that the right to abortion and gay marriage are fixed in the Constitution ? somewhere or other, you'll just have to trust them ? but the black-and-white guarantee of the right of individuals to own guns is a big misunderstanding.

On this issue, the left doesn't particularly like or comprehend the country it lives in, especially that it was founded by men who distrusted government and sought to limit it by protecting certain essential individual rights, including gun ownership.

...

They have their own articles of faith: It's crazy to believe that gun rights were meant in part to protect us from the government (or, relatedly, that there is a right to revolution). The Second Amendment is an anachronism and ink blot. And anyone who tells you otherwise, like Ben Carson, is a kook.

[american socialist]

Victims of gun violence are such whiny assholes...

http://www.nytimes.com/video/o.....yer-region

[Florida Man]

You mean the strick NYC gun laws didn't protect her kid? I'm shocked.

[american socialist]

Guns are banned in NYC?

[Juvenile Bluster]

Unless you're well connected or rich. And even then it doesn't always help (see: Burress, Plaxico)

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

If he'd had a better season, he'd a been alright.

[Florida Man]

So you support a total gun ban? So old people and women should take their beatings and rapes and shut the fuck up.

[american socialist]

I didn't say that. I'm for democratic elections and for the freedom of elected officials to act in response to a public health crisis.

I'm not planning or, really, even desiring to have a shoot out with the federal government so this particular issue isn't front-and-center for me like it is for some of the Alex jones' types here at reason.com. Yes, I'm familiar with the writings of Emma Goldman, but that shit basically violates the NAP so it's a no go for me.

[Jordan]

I'm for democratic elections and for the freedom of elected officials to act in response to a public health crisis.

Yes, I'm familiar with the writings of Emma Goldman, but that shit basically violates the NAP so it's a no go for me.

"I was against the NAP before I was for it."

[Trump-o-Matic 5000]

I AGREES AMSOC ITS SOOOOO MUCH BETTER TO NOT VIOLATE NAPS BY HAVING THE GOVWERNMENT TAKE EVERYONES PROPERTYS!!!! THANK YO UFOR YOUR AWESOME CONTRIBUTIOSN TO HTIS DISCUSSION!!!!111!!!

[american socialist]

Hi, if we are going to start buildings walls in America, can I live on the side where gang bangers and anti-government nut cases do not have a legal right to carry concealed weapons? Pretty pleeze?

[Sevo]

american socialist|10.8.15 @ 10:12AM|#
"Hi, if we are going to start buildings walls in America, can I live on the side where gang bangers and anti-government nut cases do not have a legal right to carry concealed weapons? Pretty pleeze?"

WE?
You're a whiny twit, scared of your own shadow, and WE are going to build you a wall?
Here's a shovel; start digging.

[Jordan]

Hi, you can already choose to live in Chicago or NYC.

[See Double You]

There are literally over 100 countries with stricter gun laws to choose from, AmSoc. How about you pick one of those and leave the rest of us alone?

[Suthenboy]

Yes you can. Hop on over the wall to Meh-heeco.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

You mean Mexico? Go ahead.

[Number.6]

Surely Venezuela - they're living the Bolivarian Dream don'tcha know?

[Sevo]

american socialist|10.8.15 @ 9:55AM|#
"... I'm for democratic elections and for the freedom of elected officials to act in response to a public health crisis...."

That's nice. Now go find one, dipshit and quit whining.
BTW, paid your mortgage yet? Or are you still sticking it to everyone else?

[Restoras]

The only public health crisis I see around me every day is obesity, and that is entirely self-inflicted.

[Florida Man]

And the votes are in. Most Americans don't vote for total gun bans. You lose. Enjoy your democratic process.

[american socialist]

So, if my city in California votes to outlaw possession of all guns we can do that and not have the NRA wave the 2nd amendment in our face? I'll be sure to tell the mayor... This is big news. I mean BIG.

[Sevo]

american socialist|10.8.15 @ 10:15AM|#
"So, if my city in California votes to outlaw possession of all guns we can do that and not have the NRA wave the 2nd amendment in our face?"

No.

[Swiss Servator]

Fucking Federalism, how does it work?

[SugarFree]

You guys need to stop giving this fuckstain the attention he so desperately craves.

[Number.6]

You know who recently craved attention?

[american socialist]

"Fucking federalism"

Is this the place where right-wingers acknowledge that there's a place for national laws that establish norms for how things should work in the States? Hallelujah... I'll be sure to favorite this URL.

[Sevo]

american socialist|10.8.15 @ 10:32AM|#
"Is this the place where right-wingers acknowledge that there's a place for national laws that establish norms for how things should work in the States? Hallelujah... I'll be sure to favorite this URL."

Lefties seem to think purposely 'misunderstanding' statements works as debate, and I'm sure given the level of most debate on the left it does between lefties.
Doesn't work here, dipshit.

[See Double You]

In a way, the Constitution represents what a true majority wants given the process required to amend it, which is why individual states can't shit on the liberties protected by the 14th Amendment. So you lose again, AmSoc.

[OldMexican]

Re: American Stultified,

So, if my city in California votes to outlaw possession of all guns we can do that and not have the NRA wave the 2nd amendment in our face?

Newsflash: A Marxian imbecile assumes people need the NRA to remind them that they have a natural right to possess firearms.

"Government grants us rights", assumes Marxian.

"Who gave government the right to grant rights?" asks someone with brains.

"Why, the people!" replies the Marxian, with a classic circular-thinking move he learned at college, where the "smart" people dwell!

[Florida Man]

Go ahead. Vote for whatever you want. The second isn't stopping anything. If it was there would be no infringements on gun rights.

[Trump-o-Matic 5000]

The Left only values democracy when people agree with them.

[OldMexican]

Re: American Stultified,

I'm for democratic elections and for the freedom of elected officials to act in response to a public health crisis.

Those two things contradict each other. Did you notice that?

No, you didn't. Marxians never see their own contradictions.

Ugh. Ok, let me explain. Why do you vote? To get the people you want elected. What people do you want to elect? People who think just like you and are going to act according to your interests [this is inevitable, by the way.] So, in reality, they don't have the freedom to act in response to a public health crisis at all. They're supposed to be beholden to the wishes of the voters.

If they really had the freedom to act like they wanted, then what would be the point of electing them? Why have elections in the first place?

[See Double You]

the freedom of elected officials to act in response to a public health crisis.

So much Orwellian bullshit in one dependent clause!

Anytime the left hates something, that something is a "public health crisis," and it's the state (via public officials) that has the "freedom" to "cure" it.

The left's thorough abuse of the English lexicon is a crime against humanity.

[KDN]

Yes, for all practical purposes. Unless you're a cop.

[Jordan]

So you admit that gun control measures don't work? Great.

[Restoras]

Guns are banned in NYC?

For law abiding people, they basically are. But you knew that already.

[Jordan]

You're not even trying anymore, comrade.

[Zaytsev]

Time to ramp up Stop & Frisk, right AmSoc?

[KDN]

That's the Post's conclusion. For this and everything else.

[Juvenile Bluster]

You know, there's a really great burger + beer place in downtown Fort Lauderdale called "American Social", and now I think of your nonsensical ramblings every time I go there.

[Lord Humungus]

Hillary adopts new 'goth' look to appeal to youth

Fearing that her popularity among young voters has fallen to a critically low point, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has adopted a so-called "gothic" look to appeal to millennials whom her advisors describe as suffering from angst and alienation.

"We were hemorrhaging support to that [expletive] hippie Bernie Sanders, so we put drab ol' Hillary in front of a mirror and asked ourselves some really tough questions, like if her style really speaks to today's disaffected youth," said David Gibbons, a longtime Clinton strategist who, as a high school student in the early 1990s, wore only black and went by the name Raven.

Clinton showcased her new look at an event in Iowa on Wednesday, speaking at a 4-H club while dressed in an Edwardian corset, a lacy black dress, knee-high studded boots and a variety of occult jewelry.

satire duh

[Juvenile Bluster]

I was worried that was going to devolve into SugarFree's smutfic.

[SugarFree]

Ew.

[Number.6]

So, she's retained Helena Bonham-Carter as her fashion consultant?

[Crusty Juggler]

To the person on here who recommended Ben Rich's Skunk Works: thank you, I really enjoyed it. A business/leadership story combined with Cold War history that was engrossing? Fantastic. As a way of saying thanks I offer to send you dick pics.*

*Or I will not send dick pics, your choice.

[Derpetologist]

Last night, I watched part of a movie called Frankenhooker, which is about a mad scientist who uses body parts from dead hookers to rebuild his dead girlfriend. He gets the hookers to kill themselves by giving them "supercrack". I stopped watching the movie after I heard that part.

According to wiki:

Frankenhooker's initial release was delayed because of difficulty obtaining an R rating from the MPAA; the director recalls that one representative of the ratings body actually said, in a phone call to the production company's secretary, "Congratulations, you're the first film rated S." And she said, "S? For sex?" And they said, "No, S for shit." To his dismay, Henenlotter's conservative parents insisted on attending the film's premier in New York City; Henenlotter expressed surprise that they were not offended by the exploitative elements.

Guy should have hired Sugarfree as a co-writer.

Also, I've noticed that on Crazy Socon radio, the say the phrase "aborted baby body parts" with the same rhythm as "rubber baby buggy bumpers". It's weird.

[GILMORE?]

"He gets the hookers to kill themselves by giving them "supercrack". I stopped watching the movie after I heard that part."

Are you kidding!? it was just getting good. Is it on Netflix?

[SugarFree]

"aborted baby body parts"

At least he didn't build his hooker out of these. Who's the mad scientist now?

[Elspeth Flashman]

So you're saying he lost mad-scientist points due to not making hooker-baby-bot?

[SugarFree]

Of course. But I guess you try and focus on the "science" part. Harrumph.

[Number.6]

I fucking' LOVE science!! Eleventy1!!!

[Sevo]

CA legislature channels Alice Waters; food is too damn cheap:

"California poised to be 1st state to outlaw human antibiotics in livestock"
http://www.sfchronicle.com/foo.....557430.php

Paywall, but you get the idea.

[Drake]

So what happens if your pig gets sick?

[SugarFree]

Ship it to Alice Waters.

[Sevo]

With an invoice.

[Sevo]

And if only we'd listened to Jack, we might have had another week or so:

"Christian group: The end of the world is? TODAY"
http://blog.sfgate.com/morford.....end-today/

Ooops! Wrong sect!

[Rasilio]

"NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has warned of "a troubling escalation of Russian military activities" in Syria."

This should have been titled...

Nato speaks up in an attempt to show that the organization is still relevant

[Swiss Servator]

The Eastern European members are finding it quite relevant - they are quite nervous about Russia. Why Germany, France, Belgium, et al bother to even belong anymore is beyond me.

[Drake]

The UK is rapidly fading as a meaningful member too.

[Pan Zagloba]

There's good eating at NATO shindigs, extra administrative positions for civilians and military, conferences and trips, various prizes and recognition, streamlined toy procurement, and hey, if some shit happens, you can outsource fighting to mongoloid Americans. Also, you can tell your voters you are keeping said mongoloid Americans from destroying the world, as they would do unmonitored.

[CatoTheChipper]

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has warned of "a troubling escalation of Russian military activities" in Syria.

So what? Putin has been warning about a troubling escalation of US/Nato military activities in Syria for many years. Dumbass Americans may not know it, but the Russians were in Syria first, and Syria is a lot closer to Russia in both geography and historical ties. And, of course, the Syrian regime's support of the US in Gulf War I and its studied neutrality in Gulf War II has gone down the memory hole.

As an old anti-communist, I am now often astounded at how often I now think the positions taken by the Russians and Chinese are more reasonable than those taken by the US. It's not that I think the Ruskie and ChiCom positions are necessarily good, though Putin's peace play when Kerry made his verbal gaffe was morally superior to Obaba's rush to war in Syria a couple of years ago. As the master of a state, the Russian government is inherently immoral. Whether the Russian government is more or less loathsome than the US government depends on the issue and is often difficult to ascertain. The only consistent difference between the US government and Russian government in issues of foreign affairs it that the former is far more stupid than the latter.

[Mike M.]

Some fucking animal has tried to kill Spencer Stone by stabbing him in the chest several times.

I can take a good guess as to what religion this waste of DNA probably is.

[invisible furry hand]

Nope - we have The Cook's Companion, which seems to be a similar concept. Bloody useful it is too

[Jordan]

Sounds intriguing. I have the America's Test Kitchen cookbook (New Best Recipe), and I think it covers some of the same ground. I think it's great.

[Suthenboy]

I live in Louisiana. The whole state is a food lab.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Minnesota is less blonde these days, eh Tundra?

[straffinrun]

My younger brother befriended a Hmong kid when they were 6. He ran around in Wisconsin winters in flip flops until my mom got him some moonboots. He still wore shorts with them though.

[Citizen X]

What about Canadian, eh?

[Rich]

IIRC, one serious analysis concluded the best solution to "airline safety" was providing every adult passenger with a baseball bat.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Speaking of baseball, caught the Cubs-Pirates game and Jake Arrieta is a baseball Demigod. Wow.

[Zaytsev]

McCaskill on morning joke said that Hillary supported the concept of the trade deal, but not the actual agreement as negotiated.

IOW - Hillary agrees with Trump that our leaders are idiots that make really really bad deals.

(and yes apparently Hillary thinks that observation applies to herself too)

[Crusty Juggler]

You watch that for the blonde, milfish, statist, don't you?

[SugarFree]

It was before that song. 9th grade dance, a cute black girl wanted to dance with me. Her friends teased her so much she wouldn't dance with me a second time.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Don't give a shit about the Leafs. Barely care about the Habs.

Babcock clearly is a good coach but I remain disappointed Team Canada having overlooked St. Louis at the Olympics! That whole things was silly. There should never have been an issue. You make a spot for the guy; especially considering he was way better than Kunitz and Sharp at the time.

I know, I know. Spoiled milk. They won gold. Still. Not a way to treat such a great player in my view.

[Juvenile Bluster]

I feel bad for the Pirates. Last year they get to the Wild Card and face MadBum. This year it's Arrieta.

[KDN]

There hasn't been someone as locked in as Arrieta in a long time. He's obviously inhaled more steroids than any normal person should.

[Evan from Evansville]

And I'm soooooo happy!

Cubs are very good this year. We're I think a better team than the Cards at this point in the season. That serious is going to be absolutely nuts.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Agreed. The home crowd was so pumped for them, not really giving up until late in the game, as they watched him buzzsaw their team. It was kind of heartbreaking to watch, though certainly impressive.

[Trump-o-Matic 5000]

Yeah, that's a shame. As long as the Mets go down in the first round (preferably by sweep), this embittered Nats fan will be satisfied.

[straffinrun]

Which one? Joe?

[Citizen Nothing]

You pansy commies get the fuck off my lawn!

[KDN]

The Bucs' crowd is fantastic. That town bleeds for its team in a way I've yet to see in any other city. It's really impressive. Even though I didn't particularly like Pittsburgh as a city, I loved that park. Just a great gameday experience from top to bottom.

[MetalBard]

I wonder if he started the whole "I can't hear you!" thing they do at concerts to get the crowd screaming louder?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Yeah. Be careful of the Habs too.

[Jerryskids]

Aren't Labs food in Louisiana, too? They'll eat about anything that runs or swims or crawls or oozes, some of it while it's still running or swimming or crawling or oozing. I love boudin but I'm pretty sure the idea that crayfish have an edible portion is just a practical joke and I ain't touching the Bayou Brunswick (AKA Whatyagot) stew.