'Staaaaar Waaaars, Nothing but Staaaar Waaars, Give Me Those Staaaaaaar Waaaaaaaars, Don't Let Them Eeeeend'*: P.M. Links

• 

  "Star Wars: The Force Awakens"

  You're already standing in line for tonight's opening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, aren't you? Aren't you? Does it even matter if we mention other news stories today? Maybe use the movie as an excuse to finally tie the knot.

• President Barack Obama says you can put away the light sabers and that there's no "specific and credible" threats of terrorism, though I think Americans are more concerned about the non-specific, secretive ones.
• Democracy for America, the group that tried to draft Elizabeth Warren to run for president, has overwhelmingly decided to support Bernie Sanders.
• Florida's supreme court has approved a medical marijuana ballot initiative for next fall's election.
• A California corrections employee who threw coffee at a Bay Area Muslim man who was praying at a public park has been charged with a hate crime.
• New trial dates have not yet been set for the police officer whose trial for his role in the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore ended in a hung jury.

* Confused millennials click here.

New at Reason

How South Park Saved Fair Use
'What, What (in the Butt)' set legal precedent protecting free speech rights. 
By Alexis Garcia 

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Live long and prosper.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Star Wars Spoiler:

Rosebud is a sled.

[The Hyperbole]

Willis's character was dead the whole time.

[PBR Streetgang]

Whatchu talkin' bout?

[Swiss Servator]

*applause*

[Gilbert Martin]

Also JR didn't get shot.

It was all a dream.

[cavalier973]

JR SHOT FIRST YOU CRETINS!!

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Hello.

Star Wars and Lou Reed.

Now there's something Reason can really work on.

[Citizen X]

"Take a walk on the Dark Side..." ??

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

I had the titular line in Star Wars.

[Fist of Etiquette]

NEVER SAY THE NAME OF THE MOVIE IN THE MOVIE.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

I'm just so tired of all these star wars...

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

That's the Millennial version of Bill Murray's Star Wars song.

Boy, I can't wait to get out of Africa.

[C. Anacreon]

Star Wars....and if there are wars....let them be star wars....la la la la

/most I can remember of Bill Murray's lounge act singing the Star Wars theme

[Just say Nikki]

So, who likes Trump? Yes, you guessed it: the most un-libertarian Republicans available:

Indeed, when we have investigated ideologically moderate voters' views on particular issues, we often found these views far from moderate. The very same people who support extremely conservative immigration policies also often favor extremely liberal policies on taxes and social spending, yet these people are called "moderates" because their extreme positions aren't consistently on one ideological side.
...
[W]e find (as did Michael Tesler) that conservatism on immigration strongly predicts Trump support.
...
Surprisingly, however, so do liberal views on taxes. Although it's unclear exactly what Trump's tax plan is, Trump's soak-the-rich rhetoric and failure to sign a pledge saying he won't raise taxes have led many to characterize him as more liberal than his party on this issue. And indeed, Republican voters with liberal views on taxes are more likely to be Trump supporters.

[Ted S.]

Peter King likes Trump?

[LynchPin1477]

You mean to tell me people don't fit onto a 2D political spectrum? Well, this is the first I've heard of it.

[Robert]

I bet you probably meant they don't fit on a 1-D political spectrum, but you're right, 2-D doesn't get at the essence of many of them either. For instance, many consider an elitist vs. populist scale to be of great, possibly paramount importance. LaRouche ranked ideologues between Aristotelian & Platonic. I think cluster analysis that avoids a priori scaling reveals the most.

[Pinky]

Perhaps, but don't you have to select some finite a priori set of dimensions, lest we all end up in clusters of size one?

[LynchPin1477]

You should get a hit from the increased parameter space in the Bayes factor.

PS
I did mean 1D, but it was late in the day so I was an idiot.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

There are political pockets that the mainstream media is either missing, ignoring or can't wrap their collective heads around.

I personally know people who are anti-corporation socialists who want to abolish the fed, believe the Healthcare system is run by pharmaceutical companies and most diseases are hoaxes perpetuated by same, they believe in organic macrobiotic diets because the food industry is utterly ran by the kochs, they want the EPA to ban all pesticide use, and yet they use ozone machines to clean the air in their homes of payhogens.

Where do these people fall? No idea. Somewhere in statism.

[Circle (formerly Square)]

Wow - it sounds like you and I know a lot of the same people.

[C. Anacreon]

If they also roll their eyes or get very irritable at any suggestion that their views aren't perfect and mainstream, then I know a lot of the same people as well.

[Crusty Juggler]

They also may refer to us libertarian-minded folk as "right-winger" or "liberal."

[paranoid android]

So we (libertarian-types) have been right all along that people want an alternative to the rigid policy positions of the Republicans and Democrats, we were just naive in thinking that the alternative they wanted was something other than "Please solve all of my problems, Daddy Government".

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

This.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

You know, I have to say, but believe part of Nick's much vaunted libertarian moment can be partially explained by trump's appeal. A bloc of voters that defy traditional norms who reject standard policy prescriptions by the two major parties.

[Mickey Rat]

The issue has always been the Gillespie has been trying to hope such voters were mostly libertarian oriented.

[The Last American Hero]

Wait, so was 1992 was another libertarian moment? Or a moment where discontent with Pepsi and Coke led a lot of voters to get a wild hair up their ass and vote for a rich business man that sometimes said crazy shit.

[Robert]

voters do not inherently care where candidates are located on a left-right ideological spectrum or whether they break with party orthodoxy. If voters primarily cared about these qualities, Trump and his libertarian rival Senator Rand Paul should have more similar levels of support because they both espouse ideologically mixed (or "moderate") platforms and break with their party on many issues.

But Trump's popularity, just like the popularity of his positions on particular issues, far outstrips that of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). It's probably no accident that the issues where Trump, unlike Paul, has broken with the Republican Party are the very issues where his positions are more popular than the party's orthodoxy. The candidates' positions on individual issues like these is what voters examine, not candidates' left-right ideology or whether candidates simply break with their party at all.

[Robert]

Or, as Marshal Fritz quoted Gary Trudeau, a bigot who eats brie.

[Just say Nikki]

Yep.

[Crusty Juggler]

You summarized it all very well.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

Hey, I wasn't naive about that.

[Robert]

Yet, when I scale myself on the current Project Vote Smart issues panel relative to Trump, he matches up w me 69%, only slightly behind Rand Paul's 70%.

[Cyto]

Did their thing. The questions were marginal at best. None of them other than the same-sex marriage question even approached capturing the issue, let alone my opinion on the issue.

They were way too broad and way too simplistic and way, way too "status quo" to capture the libertarian position (or the greens for that matter)

[Fist of Etiquette]

New trial dates have not yet been set for the police officer whose trial for his role in the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore ended in a hung jury.

Aim for a Christmas verdict date, so the rioters can get some holiday shopping in.

[Sevo]

Mike Rowe wonders if Bernie isn't a few bricks shy of a load:
"Mike Rowe calls Bernie Sanders 'knucklehead' over tweet"
http://www.sfgate.com/news/art.....702291.php

Much goal-post shoving and misdirection in the comments, 'cept for our Suellington!

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Personally, I think Sanders is far more retarded than Trump.

The things he says is so childish and ridiculous it's amazing he has support.

[RBS]

Um, Free Shit is always popular.

[waffles]

You couldn't pay me to take your shit.

[Crusty Juggler]

However, you can pay me.

[Lee G]

Still trying to get that fecal transplant to take, are we?

[Crusty Juggler]

I will accept your poop for a fee, that is all I am saying.

[Lee G]

Check your front porch shortly

[commodious spittoon]

He knows it's not topical treatment, right?

[Citizen X]

Shhh.

[Zunalter]

Or a suppository?

[thrakkorzog]

Back in the 18th century, before modern sewage systems existed, a few people got rich from carting off excrement and selling some of the byproducts. Think Harry King from from the Discworld novels. Some of these people were embarrased by their source of wealth, and vaguely claim they were in the import/export business. So the usual response was "Naw, you're taking the piss." So that's where that phrase comes from.

[Swiss Servator]

Nightsoil Merchant

[LynchPin1477]

Trump has a certain intelligence to him. It is intelligent intuition, as opposed to analytical or something he learned through education.

In that sense he is almost certainly smarter than Sanders. Sanders doesn't seem very intelligent, intuitively or analytically.

I do think Sanders is more motivated by a (horribly misplaced and distorted) sense of altruism. Trump seems to be motivated by a desperate need for attention.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Trump has a certain intelligence to him.

It's called 'animal cunning'.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

No, it's called 'class' babydoll.

[Cloudbuster]

"That's right. I've got class. Ask anyone. Loads of class. More than that loser, Jeb!"

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

I've got class coming out my ass... so much class.

[cavalier973]

It's s 42 to 3 ratio, in fact

[Sevo]

UUUUUUGE class!!!!!!!!!

[Heedless]

If someone describes themselves as having "class", they don't. Much as anyone who describes themselves as "hip"isn't.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

To be fair, most of his support comes from childish college students who dwell in their safe spaces and vote with their feelz.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

He believes in the economic equivalence of creation science.

[PapayaSF]

+1

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

They're both just blustering idiots, but Sanders seems to think he actually has it figured out.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

His supporters I'm surrounded by certainly think he does.

[PapayaSF]

And Sanders would cost us more money.

[Cytotoxic]

They'd both bankrupt America. What difference, at that point, does it make?

[Cloudbuster]

There are no viable candidates who would do a damn thing to stop the runaway train that is American government spending.

[Cytotoxic]

True but there is one who would ramp up free shit to 11 (Sanders) and another who would devastate production with Smoot-Hawley 2.0 and a variety of other asinine nonsense (Trump).

[perlchpr]

It's really bad when Hillary Clinton is possibly the least terrible of the likely possibles.

[PapayaSF]

No, Hillary is worse than Trump. She's personally corrupt, and would appoint SC justices who would discover that, lo and behold, the Communist Manifesto has been residing in the Constitution all this time, and we just never realized it before.

[PapayaSF]

I don't think enforcing immigration law would "devastate production."

[Cytotoxic]

Yes it would, as well as civil rights.

Oh and you should have just stuck with the first three words in your post.

[OneOut]

Have you not yet noticed that your own country is so fucked up that you may soon be required to share your parents basement with some Syrian refugees ?

You should worry about the log in your eye before you worrry about the twig in th US's.

[Suell]

I love you too, Sevo.

[Sevo]

The editor got lost, but at least the list focuses on the money extorted from the population:
http://www.sfgate.com/national.....704777.php
Moonbeam's choo-choo makes America's Top 20! (Sorry, Casey)

[Rhywun]

No. 3 ? Second Avenue Subway ? New York, N.Y., How Much Has Been Spent: $20 billion

Don't get me started on this. In the old days every line was built directly under the street. It doesn't cost much and takes little time. But no, that's not good enough any more. They have to dig down hundreds of feet. So after 40 years, we get a grand total of three (3) stations.

[GILMORE?]

THIS IS WHY WE NEED MORE INFRASTRUCTURE SPENDING

[Robert]

BORING! Uh, I mean boring.

[Suthenboy]

The majority of those are infrastructure boondoggles. No wonder we keep hearing politicians talking about spending money on rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure.

I wonder if after these slimy fucking looters crash the country they will be hunted down like the Nazis were after the war.

[Pathogen]

I would imagine that most nations would shun "fugitives" whom were sought after by a heavily armed, highly unstable nuclear power, which also probably holds a significant amount of said nation's debt..

[Fist of Etiquette]

Maybe use the movie as an excuse to finally tie the knot.

I don't recognize droidsexual marriage.

[rts]

Electrogonorrhea: the noisy killer.

[Juvenile Bluster]

I don't think that video is endorsed by the Space Pope.

[Brett L]

What about RotJ Luke jerking it lefty?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Obviously we're more concerned with the incest than Luke enjoying The Hand of a Stranger.

[RBS]

I don't know. You gotta be pretty desperate to make it with a robot.

[Ted S.]

Old Man With Candy would hit VICI from "Small Wonder".

[Mindyourbusiness]

Do androids dream of electric sheep?

[gaoxiaen]

Only in New Zealand.

[Crusty Juggler]

You gotta be pretty desperate to make it with a robot.

*blocked*

[AnonCowHerd]

You haven't seen Ex Machina then?

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Would.

[Cloudbuster]

Did you *see* Daryl Hannah in Bladerunner? Yeah, I'm desperate for some of that.

[Cloudbuster]

Summer Glau's terminator from the Sarah Connor Chronicles? Yum.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

I think the PC term is robosexual.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Get married and you'll recognize it.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

DON'T. DATE. ASTROMECHS.

[Citizen X]

Racist!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Florida's supreme court has approved a medical marijuana ballot initiative for next fall's election.

OH NO IT'S FLORIDA MAN'S KRYPTONITE.

[Just say Nikki]

The specialest snowflake? Paintings of white Jesus made me cry, sue Met.

[SIV]

Do you know who else didn't think Jews were white?

[Trshmnstr, terror of the trash]

Murican?

[Doctor Whom]

The Black Hebrew Israelites?

[Citizen X]

Ha, they own most of northern Suffolk. I used to drive by their main temple regularly.

[Trshmnstr, terror of the trash]

It's like they just discovered the fact that cultures illustrate Jesus to look like themselves.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Ah, pro se lawsuits. Always the funnest.

[RBS]

Unless they have a motion right before yours and piss of the judge.

/has flashback to Tuesday morning.

[Juvenile Bluster]

And this again why I'm glad I only do transactional work, because I can laugh at that stuff from afar.

[commodious spittoon]

Do tell.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

What's not funny is the amount of time and tax dollars involved with getting them out of the system.

[Lee G]

I think it's a ploy to pick up easily manipulated SJW women.

[Shirley Knott]

That's redundant.

[SimonD]

but then you have an SJW woman on your hands... Yuck, I think I'd rather be robo-sexual.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Plaintiff suffered "emotional and psychological harm" from exposure to the offending art...

I had the same thing after the latest Fantastic Four movie. The suit is still pending.

[commodious spittoon]

How is a pleasant nap emotionally and psychologically harmful?

[Fist of Etiquette]

JOHNNY STORM WAS BLACK. DO I HAVE TO DRAW A MAP OF ME SPELLING IT OUT FOR YOU?

[Heedless]

And he wasn't Idris Elba. I'd vote for the plaintiff.

[Rich]

Plaintiff suffered "emotional and psychological harm" from exposure to the offending art

"Dismissed."

*** pounds gavel ***

[Trouser-Pod (The blowhard)]

If this shit is too much for his poor little heart to handle, I've got some bad news for him about the rest of his life, and the world at large.

[commodious spittoon]

Gavel pounding is triggering! Next time, use jazz hands.

[perlchpr]

*snerk*

[tarran]

On that site is one of the funniest videos I've seen in weeks.

Follow the Chicken, Dramatized

Here's the latest in the New York Times series "Verbatim," in which writer and director Brett Weiner has actors re-enact transcripts of legal testimony (verbatim). You may remember the first in that series, "What Is a Photocopier?" which I mentioned last year. That one was great.

This one is beyond great

Follow the Chicken

If you do decide to watch, please ensure you are *not* drinking at the same time the video is playing.

[GILMORE?]

Mocking the insane is always funny.

imagine how that might have been received (or how the nyt treated it) if the original character was black.

[waffles]

You PC bro?

[Ice Nine]

You SF'd the link. That was a crazy guy carrying on. Please repost the funny one.

[Cloudbuster]

The newspapers have been photographing John Kerry as if he's white.

[AlmightyJB]

+ Bill Murray

[Fist of Etiquette]

...though I think Americans are more concerned about the non-specific, secretive ones.

Concerned enough to want to arm themselves just in case?

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

No, but concerned enough to advocate doing away with the First, Second, Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments...

[SIV]

Does Amtrak still run an auto-carrier train along the Eastern seaboard?

[Just say Nikki]

Yes, from Lorton, VA to Sanford, FL.

[Citizen X]

In Shkreli news: ALWAYS read the fine print.

[Lee G]

That is phenomenally hilarious.

[Crusty Juggler]

If Dirt McGirt was still alive I could easily a heist happening.

[Citizen X]

Are you saying they're going to have to settle for a caper?

[Apatheist ?_??]

So, the guy withholding the only copy of an album millions of people want to hear turned out to be a complete dickhead. Who knew?

the purchase (which, because of a stipulation in the contract, can't be released for public consumption for 88 years)

Um....

[Just say Nikki]

He's allowed to let people listen to it for free immediately. He isn't allowed to release it to the public commercially for 88 years.

[Apatheist ?_??]

Well they probably shouldn't have said "released for public consumption" then.

[Just say Nikki]

The FBI has not, I repeat, NOT seized Shkreli's Wu-Tang album.

You had ONE JOB.

[Crusty Juggler]

Nikki does not enter the 36 chambers.

[Just say Nikki]

Never left, baby.

[Crusty Juggler]

Bring the motherfuckin ruckus.

[thrakkorzog]

Wu Tang ain't nothing to fuck with.

[Rhywun]

"Flippantly making semi-obscure cultural references on social media doesn't bode well for FBI's credibility"

"Jesus... who shit in your corn flakes?"

[Ted S.]

I was hoping for a Star Wars-free links. 🙁

[Citizen X]

These aren't the links you're looking for.

[Old.Mexican]

I have a bad feeling about this...

[Swiss Servator]

I TRUSTED THEM to fix the Links!

[Illocust]

The picture is setting off my OCD. Why is that droid built in such a way that it head is attached by less than a dime of contact. Why isn't the head concave on the bottom to attach more closely to the ball. I can barely stand to look at that thing.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Why isn't the head concave on the bottom to attach more closely to the ball.

Are you building a sex-bot?

[Illocust]

I've actually considered what I'd need to do that, but I'm pretty sure every engineer who has ever breathed has done the same.

[Tejicano]

With all the other un-explained, or purely theorized, forces used to propel and move vehicles in these movies floating a frying pan over a basketball seems rather ho-hum. As to why, well the lack of a bearing surface to clog or wear out seems to make a lot of sense.

[Citizen X]

My working assumption is that EVERY Hit'n'Run commenter is building a sex-bot.

[Mad Scientist]

It can be two things! Why shouldn't it?

[Sapient Mulch]

Exactly! Elegance of design.

[Tejicano]

Wha...? Building? You guys ain't finished yours yet?

[The Hyperbole]

that really depends on how strict your definition of Sexbot is.

[The Hyperbole]

and what you mean by "finished"

[Tejicano]

Well, I guess it is finished once you start to calibrate it.

[RAHeinlein]

Only the males...so, I guess 99.9%...

[Tonio]

I think that's the point - that even people who can't articulate the challenge of building something like that realize it's cool. Ima guess some type of wireless link between the head and body.

[Private Chipperbot]

The Force?

[waffles]

Magnets, how do they work?

[The Hyperbole]

tide comes in, tide goes out, you can't explain that.

[Juice]

It was designed personally by JJ Abrams.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Democracy for America, the group that tried to draft Elizabeth Warren to run for president, has overwhelmingly decided to support Bernie Sanders.

Tribe must send wampum to squaw with most potential but Runs From Choice is good runner up.

[Tonio]

Given that she's not running, this is unsurprising. Also, they are probably hoping that Sanders will get the nomination and choose Warren as running mate.

[rts]

B.C. homeless man Steve Borik wins lotto, but can't claim prize because he lacks ID

Steve Borik, 57, won $25,000 in July on a $8 Keno ticket he had decided to play on a whim ? a game he said he had never played before.

But he can't get photo identification without a birth certificate from his birth town of Montreal, Que., and he can't get a birth certificate without photo identification.

[Ted S.]

But he can vote in America.

[Citizen X]

Sure, but since he's Canadian it only counts for 85% of a vote.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

We're worth more than three-fifths!

WOO-HOO!

[The Last American Hero]

He had $8 for Keno but not enough money to get a copy of his birth certificate and photo ID - you know, the keys to getting access to employment and a whole host of social services.

[kinnath]

It is not money.

To combat fraud, you can longer get a copy of your birth certificate without a government issued ID.

You cannot get a government issued ID without another government issued ID or a birth certificate.

If you have been living in the streets for years, you are really fucked if you ever try to get back to a normal life.

[DenverJ]

I don't believe that's the case. Maybe in Canukistan, but I lost my ID and social security card when I moved about 5 yrs ago, and the county I was born in sent me a new birth certificate.
I was surprised to learn that they will only issue you a certain number of SS card replacements, after that, they won't give you a new one.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

How do they know he lacks ID. If he lacks ID, then it's just some dude claiming to be Steve Borik. If they know he's Steve Borik, then there are merely a couple of minor technical but newsworthy headline grabbing details between him and his money.

[tarran]

I've been geeking out over the Apollo missions these past two days.

Somebody put the entire Apollo 17 mission on the web in a manner that allows one to experience it as it happened.

The Last Mission to the Moon
A real-time journey through the Apollo 17 mission.
Over 300 hours of audio | Over 22 hours of video | Over 4,200 photos
Relive every moment as it occurred in 1972.

[RAHeinlein]

Great link - thanks.

[Tonio]

There goes my xmas holiday...

[Old.Mexican]

And then there's Apollo 18...

[Trshmnstr, terror of the trash]

I never saw it, but I thought it had promise as a campy horror story.

[DaveSs]

I hope this site lives beyond the duration of the mission.

This is incredible.

[Swiss Servator]

Holy crap...this is fantastic! Thanks for that!

[Rhywun]

I got The Carpenters.

While I probably won't partake, this is massively impressive.

[Pompey]

Lame. Event Horizon was way better and less dull.

[GILMORE?]

'Democracy for America, the group that tried to draft Elizabeth Warren to run for president, has overwhelmingly decided to support Bernie Sanders."

well, that's a shocking and unexpected development.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Don't reject the possible for the perfect.

[Fist of Etiquette]

A California corrections employee who threw coffee at a Bay Area Muslim man who was praying at a public park has been charged with a hate crime.

Was it decaf?

[Aloysious]

No, but it was Turkish.

[Rich]

She should have thrown apple tea.

[Jerry on the rocks]

Because the coffee was black?

[DJF]

I would think that throwing coffee at a person would be a crime even if you did not hate them. How about if they just dislike someone, is that a dislike crime?

[Crusty Juggler]

Confused millennials click here.

Good share. I was hoping the Bill Murray Netflix Christmas special starred Nick Ocean.

Just because, Nick Ocean's Jaws theme.

[GILMORE?]

I am not a fan of this guy at all...

...but the way media is covering this... seems to say more about media than about the guy's 'crimes'

'Pharma Bro' Martin Shkreli, detested CEO who jacked up price of AIDS pill, arrested on securities fraud charges

Noted - what the guy is 'detested, despised and reviled' for (all words used in the piece) were actually (AFAIK) nothing to do with the actual crime he's accused of.

"Shkreli rose to infamy earlier this year after Turing Pharmaceuticals raised the price of Daraprim ? a 62-year-old drug that fights against the life-threatening parasite toxoplasmosis and protects cancer and AIDS patients ? to $750 per tablet from $13.50."

Here's the thing - if the drug was that old... then shouldn't it be off-patent?... unless the FDA awarded it new, exclusive label-usage...Why couldn't a generic simply compete and put him out of business? I'm guessing its the FDA's actual fault for the lack of competition. But nooooooo, we can't blame that!?

Anyway, what they're actually charging him with is illegal use of funds (and fraud), and he's probably 100% guilty AFAIK.

But.... they also throw in a "Misogynist" at the end. Just for fun?

basically, it's like "10% news" in the piece, and 90% "Fuck this guy" editorializing.

between Chipotle suffering the wrath of e-coli, and this, Playa must be pleased

[Illocust]

My understanding for why competitors couldn't form is because the FDA requires trials to be run on the generic to prove it works exactly the same as the brand name. No following the same recipe and using the same process aren't good enough. You must run a trial.

[GILMORE?]

"FDA requires trials to be run on the generic to prove it works exactly the same as the brand name'

So the FDA arbitrarily grants monopolies to people unless competitors pony up tens of millions to "prove" a 62yr old pill does what everyone knows it already does.

but we're supposed to be pissed off at this little jerk instead of the FDA?

[Just say Nikki]

Why can't it be both? It takes two to rent-o.

[Citizen X]

You said it. Ain't no good guys in this fight.

[GILMORE?]

"Why can't it be both?""

because the media wouldn't dare suggest that?

[PapayaSF]

Tens of millions? I think it's more like hundreds of millions.

[GILMORE?]

Noted below = $2.5bn

With costs like that, regulatory arbitrage is ripe for exploitation.

[Just say Nikki]

Here's the thing - if the drug was that old... then shouldn't it be off-patent?... unless the FDA awarded it new, exclusive label-usage...Why couldn't a generic simply compete and put him out of business? I'm guessing its the FDA's actual fault for the lack of competition. But nooooooo, we can't blame that!?

Not quite. Other FDA regulations make it possible for pharma companies to control distribution of their drug to such an extreme extent that other firms are not able to get hold of enough of it to conduct the (more limited, because it's already approved) trials needed for them to be allowed to put it out themselves. That's the new thing to do: buy a drug that is off patent, or going off patent, and just make it impossible for anyone to buy enough of it for generics ever to be made.

[GILMORE?]

You say "not quite"..... then confirm that, yes... barriers to competition are entirely invented by the FDA?

[Just say Nikki]

Well, of course it's the FDA's fault ultimately. They do make the rules. But Shkreli was still able to take action to make those rules work in his favor (i.e., close the distribution down).

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Is it just me or does Shkreli come off as a creepy man-boy who growing up was always the "smartest kid in the room" that perpetually looks like he's smirking about a private joke he carries around?

[PapayaSF]

Not just you. Some people are just real-life embodiments of stereotypes.

[Rhywun]

Every photo I've seen makes me want to sock him in the goddamn face, so yeah.

[Lee G]

There were no FDA approved generics for Daraprim in the US which made it a ripe target for Shkreli. After he acquired it, he went to a closed distribution system, making it harder for competitors to legally acquire the drug for development. So yes, his ability to do what he did was completely dependent on the FDA regulations concerning development of generics. He played the system quite well.

[In League with the Dark Ones]

Here's the thing - if the drug was that old... then shouldn't it be off-patent?... unless the FDA awarded it new, exclusive label-usage...Why couldn't a generic simply compete and put him out of business? I'm guessing its the FDA's actual fault for the lack of competition. But nooooooo, we can't blame that!?

Recently, the FDA institute a new policy that requires drug trials for drugs that went to market before clinical trials were required in 1962. There was a grandfather clause that allowed companies that were producing the drug continuously since the policy went into place to keep producing it but if a company stopped producing it and wanted to bring it back to market, they had to go through full clinical trials for the drug at each strength proposed ? at an estimated cost of 2.5B USD.

Turing's competitors all stopped producing the drug, leaving Turing as the only producer. Shkrelli took advantage of the situation and jacked up prices.

Imprimis got around this rule because they are a compounding pharmacy and are covered under a different set of rules. They custom mix for each patient pyrimethamine with leucovorin which is usually prescribe along side with pyrimethamine. Compounding pharmacies aren't required to run drug trials.

[GILMORE?]

So, a longer version of "Yes". this was a situation the FDA legally created/enabled.

i presume that the actual demand-side of the marketplace would (eventually, at least) respond to a gigantic rise in the cost-per-pill by replacing the drug with some reasonable substitute.

I'm not sure why this guy was so reviled/despised/detested for 'taking advantage of rules' that were probably only going to net his company a few quarters of 'windfall profits' at best. Its not exactly a brilliant long term plan for shareholders either. I get that the media saw a great "LOOK AT THE EVUL WALL STREETS" narrative.... but you'd think at least someone, somewhere in the media might have offered an editorial pointing out, "This 'problem' was created by government policy"

[Sevo]

"i presume that the actual demand-side of the marketplace would (eventually, at least) respond to a gigantic rise in the cost-per-pill by replacing the drug with some reasonable substitute."

I think the problem here is that the testing is expensive enough that douchebag could lower his prices about the time the test get done and leave the testing company with no way to recoup the test costs.

[GILMORE?]

my point was more to the fact that most of these AIDS treatment drugs are used in 'cocktail' form

i.e. this particular drug was merely one of a dozen things people use in combination.

changing a recommended treatment regimen slightly to employ a less-expensive, less-ideal alternative drug (as opposed to a generic version of the same) isn't out of the question, obviously. There's no one forcing people to buy things at extortion-prices.

Regardless of whatever scenario you imagine... the guy's 'evil scheme' was never a particularly brilliant long-term plan

As regards the ethics of it.... actual fans of marketplaces tend to argue that people on the marketplace-margins (like, say "short sellers") who perceive flaws in the regulatory schemes like this, and who exploit them to their personal advantage... usually aren't blamed when other market participants are 'hurt' for failing to see the flaw and fix it.

IOW, if you believe that markets can fix themselves, this guy probably did the world a favor by pointing out how fucking stupid the current market regime is, if these sorts of actions were perfectly legal, and in fact enabled by the anti-competitive regulatory rules.

[Just say Nikki]

I believe the "cocktail" issue is a red herring here. The drug in question did not treat HIV/AIDS but one of the opportunistic infections AIDS patients get. I forget if it was Kaposis sarcoma or what.

[RAHeinlein]

It's past happy hour, so didn't confirm - but I believe toxoplasmosis. So, essentially, HIV/AIDS patients who want to change kitty litter are SAVED.

[In League with the Dark Ones]

It's past happy hour, so didn't confirm - but I believe toxoplasmosis.

Correct and patients should take leucovorin:

Pyrimethamine is the most effective agent and is included in most drug regimens. Leucovorin (ie, folinic acid) should be administered concomitantly to prevent bone marrow suppression.

[GILMORE?]

"The drug in question did not treat HIV/AIDS but one of the opportunistic infections AIDS patients get'

I'm not sure how that changes my point at all, unless you're suggesting this drug was the single and only viable treatment for that particular kind of infection.

I was simply pointing out that the sudden coup this dude achieved in his govt-created monopoly wasn't likely to produce decades of windfall profits.... as this drug, like any drug, generally have other substitute-treatments which (while they may have become less-preferred due to side-effects, duration of the regimen, other issues) can suddenly look more attractive again if the price of the 'better' drug skyrockets.

[OneOut]

Soon after it becamse news I read that he said art of his reason for doing so was to point out just that flaw.

Don't know if true or not.

[GILMORE?]

"he said art of his reason for doing so was to point out just that flaw."

At least that the best PR spin one can put on it.

I'm not in any way saying this guy isn't a screaming dickhead - all evidence seems to point that he is, and i would be pleased to see him do some time in prison for fraud, just for the lulz.

But my point was to highlight the insane degree of vituperation the media was directed at his particular business-move, which in essence, was both legal, and incentivized by the very stupid kind of regulatory controls that progs insist upon. People here have made the same claims about his essential 'wrongness', when you'd think libertarians, of anyone, would have a better appreciation of the value of revealing the idiotic flaws in regulatory systems, regardless whether it is motivated by the filthy 'short term profits' or not.

[OneOut]

Then we are in agreement.

The article I read after this first happened claimed that he said he was trying to point out the stupid FDA rules.

I wonder just how much product he thought he could sell at the new price ? Perhaps insurance comapnies would cover some of it but surely the copays would prevent most sales ? So maybe he was doing what he said which was pointing out the absurdity of them.

I'm not defending the guy. I don't know enough facts to go either way. I'm just sayin....

I didn't mean to call you Shirely.

[Sevo]

"IOW, if you believe that markets can fix themselves, this guy probably did the world a favor by pointing out how fucking stupid the current market regime is, if these sorts of actions were perfectly legal, and in fact enabled by the anti-competitive regulatory rules."

The market would fix itself, but in this case the market distortion may not get fixed, since politicos would have to admit they were wrong.
But I see your point regarding substitutions and *that* would probably be a fix that would work.

[In League with the Dark Ones]

It's easier to blame those that take advantage of the situation than those that created the situation ? especially if creating the situation was done "for our own good".

It also fits in with the narrative of "profit-seeking corporations = bad and captured regulators = good".

[Pathogen]

Maybe, the feds are hoping this jerkoff will catch a shiv in the ribs while touring general population.. before an actual journalist runs out of smug schadenfreude, and figures that out...

[Just say Nikki]

Dear Nation: never change. Sincerely, Speech Sis.

[John]

You are just concern trolling Nikki.

I think the Left's dropping the mask is a sign of desperation. They can feel power slipping away and are starting to panic.

[Ted S.]

"Speechbros"?

[Warty]

? In 2005, riots spread from Paris following the deaths of Zyed Benna and Bouna Traor? while fleeing the police. They spread as popular culture, finding a mass audience who could identify with their song?an audience unusually vulnerable to the constant violence of state and market.

An excellent beginning.

[Trshmnstr, terror of the trash]

I would make fun of the article, but there's literally nothing of substance to make fun of. It's all just hollow sophistry.

[Cytotoxic]

And bad writing.

[Fist of Etiquette]

0 Comments

AND KEEP IT THAT WAY.

[RAHeinlein]

Nikki, just this week you translated Finnish, please help those of us who aren't "down" with the latest slang - WTF is Speechbros?

[Just say Nikki]

Oh, you know, just privileged white cishetero shitlords who think you should be able to say whatever you want. Like we do.

[GILMORE?]

And what's a "shitlord"?

or is it just redundant

[Microaggressor]

SJW-speak for poopyhead.

[Swiss Servator]

A Night Soil Magnate

[Heedless]

Manure monarch

[JD the elder]

Damn, but that whole thing is hardly more than word salad. I had trouble following a coherent train of thought there. It's like a leftist took every thought in his head and threw it onto a page.

[perlchpr]

It's like a leftist took every thought in his head ass and threw shat it onto a page.

[Cloudbuster]

It's like a leftist took every thought in his head and threw it onto a page.

Naw, it wouldn't be that long, if that were the case.

[Pathogen]

It might of taken (S)H(it)e a week or two and multiple sessions to write, judging by the baffling lack of coherence. I think it was ghost written by that obnoxious word paperclip..

[Lee G]

Joshua Clover (@bookofriot) is a professor at the University of California, Davis, where he writes about poetry and economic crisis.

I feel a haiku about toilet-paper hoarders coming on.

[Trshmnstr, terror of the trash]

costs money to poop
mad at bougies for hoarding
now i wipe with rocks

[Zunalter]

Fluffy white tower
A symbol of my great wealth
You can't wipe with gold

[Quincy.]

Quilted double ply
My anus is decadent
The yanqui corrupts

[OneOut]

Venezula denies me
That which is common in the world
My asshole hurts much.

[Kevin Sorbos Manful Locks]

Wipe, scrape, and besmear.
The body's labor to print.
Bask in its glory.

[Tejicano]

It seems to me that racism across the board in US society is like the water content in a bunch of ingredients being cooked down to a sauce in a frying pan - just before the last of it boils off is when it seems to flare up the most. There could have been a quart of water in the pan minutes before but it's the last teaspoon boiling off that is the most dynamic.

I remember real racism in the military 35-40 years ago and see how far it has receeded in today's military, which is a reflection of US society. All the current hullablaoo about racism in America makes me think that those raising the fuss don't appreciate how much it has improved in the last couple generations. Perfect? No, but pretty damn good.

[OneOut]

This..

If I were a hiring agent for a company one of the mosts specific avenues I would look for is the children of black lifers in our military.

These kids have lived around the world and seen the world for what it is. They have seen their parents promoted based on how they perform rather than their skin color. Everyone of these young black kids I have been around are exemplary adults.

The best example of this in real life is the San Antonio Spurs Basketball Team.

If you disagree with that then I suggest you research their history and the history of their players.

It makes me wish that I was in charge of hiring for a major corp. I would hire the children of black armed service members until I got sued by my fellow white people and still continue until the lawyers made me stop.

Those young people have something to prove and they intend to do it unlike most children today.

[Tejicano]

One of the most amazing people I have ever met was raised by a black man who sent 30 years in the US Army. A renaissance man in many respects - but never loud about it. After a career in the Army himself saw where and how money was made (leagally, of course) and made his fortune.

[Kevin Sorbos Manful Locks]

If I were a hiring agent for a company one of the mosts specific avenues I would look for is the children of black lifers in our military.

Now all we need is a catchy slogan about how Black Lifers Matter...

[Migrant Log Chipper]

Hmmmm...no comments. Does that mean even Nation recognize a blithering idiot when they see one ?

[Migrant Log Chipper]

readers

[Tak Kak]

"A California corrections employee who threw coffee at a Bay Area Muslim man who was praying at a public park has been charged with a hate crime."

Just an overzealous prayer shamer.

[John]

And if a Muslim did the same to a Jew wearing a yamika, I am so sure they would be charged with the same crime.

[Tak Kak]

Hey, historically yarmulkes have been very triggering.

[JeremyR]

Here in St. Louis, there was a group of mostly black (I think the other was latino) that bead a Muslim man to death with a hammer

Hate crime? Don't be silly.

[Derpmaster General]

He was a Bosnian refugee right?

[Tak Kak]

I thought it didn't count because he was white.

[GILMORE?]

In other, "how news media shape stories" stuff...

...so they're arresting the idiot-friend of the San Berdoo shooter today.

And they really seem to prefer the goofiest photos of the guy they can find. Which is somewhat understandable. But sometimes you just look at things like This, and go, "Oh, news media. You just are so classy."

if its not the "HAY!! I BE CRAZAY!!"!-look, they're printing ones of him weeping uncontrollably while hugging a dog.

[Tonio]

So, WTF are they arresting him for? Stupidity? Bad choice in friends? Conspiracy? Illegal weapons transfer? Or is this latino-washing the incident so they can claim it was simple domestic terrorism, stop talking about islam?

[GILMORE?]

I believe he confessed that the purchase was on behalf of Sayeed, so the arrest is either 'straw purchase' or 'illegal transfer', which may be 2 different crimes (or both)

" is this latino-washing the incident so they can claim it was simple domestic terrorism, stop talking about islam?'

I don't think so. I just think the media finds him a colorful character and is milking him as an "accomplice" when he seems mostly a benign idiot.

[Tejicano]

Quit playing naive. You know that if there's any way they can split it into two charges that's the way he'll be charged.

[Rhywun]

Wasn't that guy a regular on SNL?

[GILMORE?]

Winner = Best opening paragraph of any news-story you'll read all year:

" A man charged with killing three people and sexually assaulting a witness told a Mississippi judge Thursday it was all "a big mistake" that began when he hit a deer, and got worse when he took drugs and tried to find the road kill."

Judge = "dude, tell me about it. shit like that happens to me like *all the time*... ha ha ha, just kidding: no you get like 5 death penalties now."

[GILMORE?]

Should be 'sentence', but you get the idea.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

That is like 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' level of opening line.

[BigT]

"We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold."

[alldayray]

+1 this is bat country!

[Jerry on the rocks]

But is the deer all right?

[alldayray]

But he apparently denied the sexual assault, "Sure I killed those three people, but I would never sexually assault a woman! What kind of person do you think I am?"

[Free Society]

A California corrections employee who threw coffee at a Bay Area Muslim man who was praying at a public park has been charged with a hate crime.

Wouldn't some degree of hatred be involved regardless of whom you throw coffee on? Maybe assault charges should be enough, but I guess if you hate the person you assaulted then it must be a hate crime.

[Lee G]

If we must have hate crimes, I want love crimes too.

I loved her so much, I had to decapitate and mount her on the wall.

[Just say Nikki]

Love crimes went out in the 70s.

[Lee G]

Nah, in those cases, the husband was pissed off. I'm talking about doing it out of pure love.

[Rich]

Sapphire bullets of pure love

[Crusty Juggler]

The Steeldrivers wrote a song about how love causes murder.

[Unreconstructed (Sans Flag)]

I used to love her, but I had to kill her? Rings a bell...

[Aloysious]

Facederp quote of the day: " "No matter what they ever do to us, we must always act for the love of our people and the earth. We must not react out of hatred against those who have no sense." J.Trudell "

I hate it.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

That was posted ironically, I assume?

[Rich]

"We must not react out of hatred against those who have no sense."

*** without hatred, swats mosquito ***

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

"We must not react out of hatred against those who have no sense."

I take this to mean 'Don't kill facebook posters'.

[Tejicano]

A lot of Vietnam vets I know killed the NVA and VC they were fighting just to stay alive and often just because it was their job but really seemed to truly respect them all the same.

[OneOut]

Tejano

That is such is such a non PC statement I'm proud of you for making it.

In Texas there was once a group of people who were proud of their Texas heritage and the fact that their ancestors fought against Mexico during Texas's War of Independence.

They called themselves Tejanos and were well respected.

Freddy Fender was a social example of their independence.

I wonder where they have gone ?

[Tejicano]

One of the (many) lines from "Full Metal Jacket" that I will never forget :

"..after we rotate back to the world we're gonna miss having anybody around who's worth shootin' "

[GILMORE?]

Scientists developing device to clean mining-polluted water in mere-hours rather than years
- EPA accidentally sets dial to "poison" and turns reservoir into battery acid. Media blames Koch brothers

[Tonio]

Greenies will oppose it anyway because of the precautionary principle.

[Old.Mexican]

Or because it was never about the environment to begin with. It was about making Marxianism more palatable as a way to expiate your sins as virus of the world by becoming a pauperized shadow of a human. Selling Juche as a way to save the Earth, if you will.

[Cytotoxic]

Any use of graphene mentioned?

[GILMORE?]

France = A country mostly run by Socialists... yet the media mostly concerned with the threat from the "Far Right"

Its always "far right"..who is the 'moderate right'-party in France, again?

"""Voting for the National Front is now something almost ordinary""

Dwell on the fact that sentence is intended to 'frighten' readers.

Considered in the context of EU politics, Trump seems less of a novelty.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

It's ok, gilmore, we just passed a $1 trillion spending bill, and yet my local rag managed to get the words "tax cuts" in the headline as a major feature of the legislation.

[Old.Mexican]

As if the scare was about bringing back the Bourbon kings or something. No, it i just about a different brand of socialists.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

Mmmm....bourbon...

[GILMORE?]

*racist* socialists. And everyone knows 'racism' is right-wing.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

"Hey, you got your nationalism in my socialism!."

"Hey, you got your socialism in my nationalism!"

[Tejicano]

"Sehr geschmekt!"

[Rich]

Considered in the context of EU politics, Trump seems less of a novelty.

The YUUUUUGE right!

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Want depressing? I'll give you depressing.

I've had many clients from Italy and France (and Australia, and USA and Argentina and Africa and...)pass through my doors through the years.

While the latter will admit things are tough over there and acknowledge things are excellent here, they refuse or can't seem to connect the dots about why their countries are mired in such sclerosis. It's amazing to listen to them. Some do get it obviously and can pass our test but man, there are still too many who don't want to see the welfare state as the problem.

And this doesn't bode well because they'll just continue voting for that crap here.

[Cytotoxic]

FN is also socialist and anti-markets. They just blame the failure of those policies on foreigners and muzzies.

[XM]

I can't read this article because I fear spoilers - which is protected speech! There goes that constitution, ruining people's fun once more.

[Pathogen]

Free speech has limitz!! You can't shout out spoilers in the middle of a crowded theater!

[Gilbert Martin]

"Democracy for America, the group that tried to draft Elizabeth Warren to run for president.............."

By all means Lizzie should be drafted - to serve in the bomb squad defusing unexploded ordinance in Syria.

[Notorious UGCC]

Ordnance.

[perlchpr]

I dunno, she's a big fan of laws. We should involve her in exploding ordinances.

[Notorious UGCC]

Attention, nerds:

South Park is overrated.

Rush is just a band with some nice tunes.

Star Wars is a bunch of boys' adventure movies, two of them good, with a merchandising empire (as it were) to go with it.

I only read the first couple chapters of Dune then gave up in boredom.

I haven't watched Game of Thrones, it's just Tolkien with tits.

The last video game I played was Mario World, the 2D version.

So, anyway, Merry Christmas.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

"I haven't watched Game of Thrones, it's just Tolkien with tits"

Not quite. But that's how I introduce it to people I suspect will never watch it.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

Your Lord will judge you harshly.

[Cytotoxic]

Good God you fucking suck.

[Zunalter]

With that piss-poor existence, what is there possibly to be merry about?

[Suthenboy]

I am going to respond to you trolling me the way you responded to me trolling you Eddie.

[OneOut]

Excluding the South Park mistake ( yours not mine) I didn't know we had so much in common.

[Not okay]

Anything with tits is still tits. It's like saying that's just x with bacon.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

Super Mario World was da bomb, yo

[RAHeinlein]

"Friend" of San Bernardino attackers charged:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-35125435

[Crusty Juggler]

Men who look like lesbians who are friendly with Muslims are going to get profiled.

[GILMORE?]

"Mr Marquez is charged with plotting with gunman Syed Farook to attack a university in 2011 and 2012'

I hadn't seen that before. I assumed the charges were going to be solely for providing the guns.

Sort of pathetic; they had no evidence of any "prior plots" until he told them about them.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Yeah, if I were his lawyer, I'd have a field day with that.

[OneOut]

If I were his lawyer I would slap his face for talking to them without me.

Or at least charge him double for making my job harder.

Never. Never. Never talk to the fuzz without your lawyer. Nothing good can come from it. People think they may have a chance to appeal to the fuzz's good side and show them you're a good guy. That never works. Talking to the fuzz can only hurt you legally it can never help you legally.

Even if a cop tried to testify in your behalf it is ruled hearsay. If he testifies against you it is legally considered evidence.

Never talk to the cops before they read you your rights and never talk to them after uless you have a lawyer present.

When you are told that everything you say can and will be used against you they mean just that. It cannot be used in your favor because then it is considered hearsay.

[commodious spittoon]

President Barack Obama says you can put away the light sabers and that there's no "specific and credible" threats of terrorism

You know, every time he says something like this he's immediately proven wrong.

[Suthenboy]

Yeah, when I read that I figured we will have another attack within a week.

[Pathogen]

His hubris is our cross to bear..

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

Amazing solstice lights display.

[Crusty Juggler]

Whoa. Impressive.

[Cytotoxic]

When is solstice this year?

[BigT]

June 22

[Cytotoxic]

The other one.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Christmas lights are for closers!

[Cytotoxic]

David Rosenberg is a Canadian economist who IIRC saw the US housing crash coming. Here he argues that the US fed statement was not nearly as dovish as everyone says it was. The most interesting part was his list of what the fed did not talk about: strong dollar, emerging market turmoil, junk debt turmoil. Also interesting was his talking about Bernanke's speeches in 2003 about deflation running rampant and oil prices at $30. Things can change dramatically.

http://business.financialpost......hat-dovish

[DenverJ]

Who the hell didn't see the housing crash coming?

[OneOut]

Seriously. I sold my house earlier than would have been convienient for me because I saw it coming.

I woeked for a custom home builder at the time so mabe that gave me an insight since I had closed a hundred or so new home loans in the last year and saw the approvals of people with no cashflow getting loans I wouldn't have dared taken on.

I often wondered how these people ( our home owners actually had property to put up for colateral) expected to make the payments. Their land values qualified many of them for the loans but their incomes made a a lot of them unable to pay for the houses we built for them..

[Pathogen]

Krugman.. and a couple of remote villagers in the heart of the Amazon..

[Cytotoxic]

http://www.wsj.com/articles/ar.....1450365003

Macri of Argentina is liberating his country from capital controls. He let the Peso float ie stopped pretending it's worth more than it is. Misleading headlines say that the peso is 'crashing' when it really crashed eons ago and now the official rate is becoming the black market ie true rate. The central bank has, at least at one point, raised rates to 38%.

[OneOut]

I refuse to breach the paywall since the same content is usually free elsewheres.

The exercise raised a question in my mind though.

Anyone else notice how the US press seems to have quit writing about Venezuela as of late though. Oil in the doldrums and projected to drop further.

The last I head from the US press about Venezula was 7 or 8 months ago when toilet paper was not to be had and flights out of the country were being used in currency manipulation efforts to survive in some way.

[Cytotoxic]

It wasn't paywalled when I linked to it. If you want to read about it just look up Argentina in the Google News.

Venezuela's elections got a lot of press in general not sure about in US news. I don't watch TV news.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Trump: Putin endorsement is a 'great honor'

Trump has repeatedly praised Putin's toughness and said he would be able to cut deals with him.
And Thursday afternoon, Trump expressed gratitude for the kind words.

"It is always a great honor to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond," Trump said in a statement. "I have always felt that Russia and the United States should be able to work well with each other towards defeating terrorism and restoring world peace, not to mention trade and all of the other benefits derived from mutual respect."

Trump said back in October that he and Putin would have a great working relationship. "He does not like Obama at all. He doesn't respect Obama at all. And I'm sure that Obama doesn't like him very much," he said. "But I think that I would probably get along with him very well. And I don't think you'd be having the kind of problems that you're having right now."

[Zunalter]

Apparently one fascist appreciates another.

[BigT]

Trump will hit the Reset button with Russia.

[OneOut]

If he does I bet he at least hires someone who translates it correctly.

if the person he hired to do that failed I think that that person would at least suffer the consewuences for the mistake.

YOU'RE FIRED !!

[Cytotoxic]

Unless he were a sycophant. Trump himself can make up thousands of cheering American Muslims on 9/11 and he hasn't fired himself.

[OneOut]

If he works for Trump or Obama, Hillary or whomelse he is going to be a sycophant. That's the way the worls works for the most part.

If Trump is elected President the press will no longer be a lapdog of the government but will revert to the watchdog that the 1st amendment was designed for.

If Trump is elected President the Congress will once again assume it's constitutional position as a backstop against executive power.

Considering that you claim to be Canadian why don't you focus your efforts on fixing your own fucked up country where in some cities Muslims have their taxpayer funded public housing restricted to Muslims only ?

[Cytotoxic]

"If Trump is elected President the press will no longer be a lapdog of the government but will revert to the watchdog that the 1st amendment was designed for.

If Trump is elected President the Congress will once again assume it's constitutional position as a backstop against executive power."

That's a whole lot of wishful thinking projected as faux-clairvoyance.

"Considering that you claim to be Canadian why don't you focus your efforts on fixing your own fucked up country where in some cities Muslims have their taxpayer funded public housing restricted to Muslims only ?"

Unfortunately, a lot of bad American ideas tend to float up to Canada. I also would like a place to escape to if an ice age happens or worse Trudeau starts acting like his dad. Keeping American not totally fascist is a pre-req for that escape.

[Homple]

OneOut's points about the press and congress don't require clairvoyance, only hindsight on press and Congressional behavior since the start of the Nixon administration.

[OneOut]

"Unfortunately, a lot of bad American ideas tend to float up to Canada.

Oh Yeah ?

As of yet no Muslim only public paid for housing exists in America so that isn't a bad American Idea that has floated up to Canada.. That's just a bad Canadian idea. No need to blame America for that one.

". I also would like a place to escape to if an ice age happens or worse Trudeau starts acting like his dad. Keeping American not totally fascist is a pre-req for that escape.

Let me teach you a lesson goofball. My life isn't built around your desire to do anything. Simply becaue you think that your needs supercede any Americans's rights to vote however they choose bothers you because of what you wish, then I say make other plans. Go to South America. Go to Central America.

Or better yet fix your own fucked up country and stop your incessant whining about ours.

Over and fucking out.

Got it ?

[OneOut]

I see you've been absorbing the MSM's talking points of Trump being a fascist.

[Cytotoxic]

It's not just a talking point. It's truth.

[OneOut]

Did you get tht talking point from Media matters or HuffPo ?

I have heard that Gawker and Salon have some other keywords for you to spout about Trump.

[Cytotoxic]

No I got that from listening to Trump. You should try to avoid mind-reading aka 'Johning'.

[Cytotoxic]

Thug endorses wanna-be thug.

[Dr. Fronkensteen]

You know what other thug praised another thug?

[Zunalter]

Tupac?

[GILMORE?]

grrrrr

[Zunalter]

You only have yourself to blame, I had a 15 minute lead time...

[The Hyperbole]

grrrrrr

[GILMORE?]

I HAD TO LISTEN TO A FEW TUPAC SONGS TO BE SURE!!

[The Hyperbole]

Don't be so hard on yourself, 15 minutes late sure, but at least you had a link.

[Zunalter]

True, trolling youtube for the perfect link took at least 11.5 minutes.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

If you're not first, you're last.

[OneOut]

Don't encourage F.O.E.

His head is already so big it has trouble fitting through the character limits at Reason.

And he is not the Boss of me!

[GILMORE?]

Tupac?

[Suthenboy]

He is probably right.

[Cytotoxic]

You're right. We'd have new, even more horrible problems.

[OneOut]

We ?

[Cytotoxic]

Yes. He's against free trade.

[Cytotoxic]

You're right. We'd have new, even more horrible problems.

[OneOut]

Trump is not my first choice for Prezzy.

I would rather have him than all of the other candidates except one.

If Trump is elected the press will go back to being a watchdog of the government rather than the lapdog it is now.

Congress will once again take it's rightful place as a buttress against executive power.

And all will be well and we can sleep at night because the vision of our Founding Fathers will once again work as designed.

[Cytotoxic]

You left out the unicorns.

Seriously, you're every bit as delusional as the Obama supporters in mid-2008. And apparently as pro-fascism or more so.

[Tejicano]

Not 100% sure but at least Trump doesn't have the Daley machine backing him up (like Obozo did). He may be a capitalist powerhouse but on the US political landscape he's a lightweight. And his positions are toxic to so many elected officials that gathering support for any one of them could probably end up a lot like herding cats. He will spend 4 years blathering about lots of crap - probably changing his tune on a bunch of it - but enacting very little.

Hitlery is much more dangerous because her goals are toxic to liberty AND she has the machine behind her to enact policies which a lot of elected officials can support long enough to get them signed into law. In addition, she has the chutzpah to simply EO a lot of stuff that she wouldn't get support for.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

The only positive of a Trump presidency would be him bringing to the office of the presidency the level of respect and dignity it truly deserves.

Hillary would run into the same problems as Barack Obama with a Republican Congress so she'd also be stymed and forced to rely on legally dubious executive actions.

[Tejicano]

And when has "legally dubious" been as much as a speed bump to her?

[OneOut]

All of your comments eplin exactly what I am saying.

If Trump were elected President we sould see the government behave exactly as the Framers planed.

Congress would go ape shit about funding his moves.

The SCOTUS would suddenly remember that the Constitution was the law of the land.

It would be uuuuuuuuuugggggeeee !

[Robert]

I didn't expect a SCTV reference in a headline from Mr. Shackford.

[commodious spittoon]

Meet @awfulfantasy:

"The Elves were singing a long forgotten song. Well, mostly forgotten. They forgot the lyrics, so it was mostly humming until the chorus."

"'Yo momma is so freakishly tall,' started Rado the Hobbit, 'she's a three-fourthling!'"

"The Orc smiled at the Bowman, 'You missed!' 'Check again,' said Bowman Pat. The Orc turned around to see. Pat frantically tried to reload."

"The wicked Storm King summoned a massive downpour on top of the heroes. Jellena readied her axe, 'Let's end this King's rain.'"

"The elf took out his bow and put it on the wrapped present (a ribbon bow not a weapon bow (the present was a bow, though (the weapon)))."

"Suddenly, the assassin had Justica by the throat! 'Lord Demono has a message for you,' he whispered. 'AM I BEING DETAINED,' asked Justica."

[commodious spittoon]

"They were perfect for each other. He was strong, brave, intelligent, heroic, honorable, funny, and empathetic, and she was pretty."

"Ed ran into Bren's bedchamber to see his son's pet Direwolf had killed him and was eating his corpse, because that's what wild animals do."

"'Finally, we have Gunner Rhea,' said the Space General. 'Now unopposed, we penetrate the Yuran forces and attack. Yuran Nation will burn!'"

"Owen, you must hide this baby, at all costs, from Anakin Skywalker."
"Okay. Should we continue to call him Luke Skywalker?"
"Seems fine."

"And for Gimli, son of Gl?in, who requests but a single strand of my golden hair,' said Galadriel, 'I give a restraining order.'"

"I waited patiently for my fortune as Seer Thomas looked for visions in the flames. 'I see fire,' he told me. 'Fire is in your future.'"

[commodious spittoon]

TW, the author(s) is/are (a) lefty twat(s) who can't apparently bear not to slip sanctimonious and rather unfunny Standard Progressive Talking Points into their otherwise decent feed.

[commodious spittoon]

And by rather I mean predictably, because you'd have to have the gland responsible for finding drivel like Job Stewart funny, which progressives seem to develop spontaneously.

[Trouser-Pod (The blowhard)]

Job Stewart

Heheheh...he is a job, alright.

[OneOut]

" 'Let's end this King's rain"

Is this some kind of climate change screed ?

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Strangely constructed sentence, but... ok.

All this, while the city can't build apartment buildings fast enough. Where people flood real-estate open houses with checks in hand.

All this money, and yet. And yet.

These are anxious times. Mass shootings, police shootings. Congressional threats against Planned Parenthood. The presidential race.

http://www.seattletimes.com/li.....our-phone/

[Rhywun]

the city can't build apartment buildings fast enough

As if the residents WANT this.

[commodious spittoon]

"These are anxious times," says a person who enjoys living in the most leisurely era humanity has ever known. He then proceeds to rattle off items of extremely low probability or significance, as if to underscore how little he has to worry about. Hobgoblins of remote danger loom before his eyes, he beholds the terrible spectacle of people thinking thoughts differing from his own; indeed, the possibility that someone with opposing opinions may well hold office haunts him.

No, you twit, you're just a nervous ninny.

[Tejicano]

"...living in the most leisurely era humanity has ever known"

I believe that many kings of old would have given it all up just to be the average Joe in 21st century America. Not just the ability to stay Death's hand by disease more often than not but the comforts and luxury which all have come to expect. It would boggle their minds to know that there could ever be such an age.

[commodious spittoon]

It would boggle their minds to know that there could ever be such an age.

So too the fatuous, almost preening affectation of existential anguish over, or despite, this embarrassment of riches. Look, I'm given to bouts of anxiety too, and frankly I haven't got a lock on my place in the grand scheme; but I don't try to parlay that weakness into some farcical statement about the world or myself like so many HuffPo bloggers, and I don't beat minor political episodes into raging Manichean struggles with personality-defining stakes. I mean, not often. At least I don't publish articles pretending that federal funding to Planned Parenthood is a terribly consequential, sleep-depriving question of national ethos for a troubled time. Jesus Christ, grow up.

[GILMORE?]

Words. Post structural. Feels. Logic is patriarchy. Why?

"Instead of telling you why you should give to their campaign, though, I'm going to pose a question: Why shouldn't you?"

DONT MAKE ME NEED REASONS. MONEY IS NOT THE ANSWER. WHICH IS WHY YOU SHOULD GIVE SOMEONE ELSE MONEY. IF YOU ASK WHY YOU HAVE NO SOUL. YOUR TAXES DONT DO ENOUGH. WHY? BECAUSE THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH TAXES.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Song of the day.

[commodious spittoon]

How many of you losers and losettes are queuing up for that stupid movie?

*swigs protein shake, flexes bicep*

[Heroic Mulatto]

Fuck that, there's a Splatfest starting tomorrow night.

[sarcasmic]

Um. I just watched that. It was awful yet oddly hypnotic.

Do you have a newsletter?

[Heroic Mulatto]

Yes.

[sarcasmic]

The 80s called. They want their "Yes" back.

[Heroic Mulatto]

"Fresh" has made a comeback

Deal with it.

[sarcasmic]

You win.

[sarcasmic]

The 90s called. They want to fight the 80s for it.

*Drains another beer, puts a bag of popcorn in the nuke*

[Cytotoxic]

That sounds like something involving a lot of bodily fluids.

[sarcasmic]

Not I.

*swigs beer, cracks neck, and immediately regrets it*

[__Warren__]

I'll wait for the Netflix.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

There are no losers or losettes. Or maybe you haven't been keeping up with modern science?

[commodious spittoon]

*noogies Diane/Paul on xer noggin*

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

I'll see it in a few weeks when it's actually possible to get tickets. It apparently is pretty good, but then again everyone said that about Mad Max: Fury Road which sucked something awful.

[Cytotoxic]

Really? I haven't seen it. You're the only one who I've heard a really neg review from.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

It was just non-stop action sequences and loud noises. It was kind of cool for the first 30 minutes and then it just became obnoxious and grating.

Like, I realize that's what people primarily want but if I don't understand the story or care about any of the characters it gets really hard for me to enjoy the movie, especially when it's just sensory overload with the action set pieces.

[AlmightyJB]

It was one giant chase scene. I thought it was great but my expectations were low. It's Mad Max, I wasn't expecting The Godfather. Charlize Theron was a welcome surprise.

[commodious spittoon]

It's not going to bring back your youth, but other than that it's a stellar popcorn flick.

[OneOut]

It'll stream before too long and the beer is cheper at home and the food is much better.

[AlmightyJB]

I want to see it on big screen. I have no problem waiting for dollar theater though.

[Tejicano]

Not I - but since my 7 year-old is bouncing off the walls in anticipation I am going. Well, that, and because I can see it at a local Navy base for US$10 for my entire family of 4.

[Rhywun]

Glad to see my taxes covering the important stuff 😛

[Pathogen]

Why do you hate America?

[Tejicano]

Anything to keep him (my 7 year old) interested in the English language.

Besides, I'm a pretty cheap date. I learned Japanese entirely on my own so as long as I am in uniform that's two Japanese linguists Uncle Sam doesn't need to pay to train (me plus the one who would replace me).

[sarcasmic]

There once was a girl from Brighton,

Whose boyfriend said "My that's a tight one!"

She said "You poor soul!

"You've got the wrong hole!

"But there's plenty of room in the right one!"

[__Warren__]

"Nah, I'm good."

[sarcasmic]

"But Honey! Don't you see the tattoo? It says 'EXIT ONLY!'"

[__Warren__]

"Pass the butter."

[Jerryskids]

Since when has the NFL had Power Ranger teams? What the hell am I watching here?

[JeremyR]

NFL's new idea to sell more jerseys. "Color Rush" they call it, where the whole uniform is mostly one color.

AFAIK, it's only been on Thursdays, and not all of them.

[Rhywun]

I don't watch a lot of football but I like soccer uniforms that are all one color. I don't like "busy" designs.

[Heroic Mulatto]

The new Monday Night Football theme should have given you a clue.

[sarcasmic]

Wow, dude. You are a dork. No wonder you're a libertarian.

[Sevo]

Uh, Starwars?

[Suell]

It's like Ketchup v Mustard.

[Pathogen]

Only a card carrying commie would choose Ketchup...

[GILMORE?]

One of the greatest lines in cinema

[sarcasmic]

There once was a man from Madras,

Whose balls were made out of brass.

In cold, windy weather,

Those balls banged together,

And sparks would fly out of his ass!

(hope he doesn't have gas)

[Suthenboy]

Brass doesnt spark.

How do you like that snark?

[Sevo]

I think you need 18 more syllables.

[cavalier973]

My Christmas Music Playlist.

Hit the "mix'em" button and let 'er go.

[Quincy.]

The was once a man from al-Raqqah,
who rooted for this chap Abu-Baqr.
He didn't give two fucks
Riding his pimp Hi-Lux,
and then a Kurdish girl shot him dead.

[Sevo]

Vegas paper bought by GOP supporter, lefty SF paper afraid it might be biased as a result:

"The Latest: Vegas newspaper seller defends Adelson buy"
[...]
"A media analyst says the sale of the Las Vegas Review-Journal to the family of billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson could be a sign of a new breed of newspaper owner: the political buyer."
http://www.sfgate.com/news/us/.....704835.php

Naah! No existing paper is 'political'!

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

There was nothing political about the New York Times running a gun ban editorial on its front page. Nothing at al

And just you never mind that Sheldon Adelson's political opinions are more popular held than the people who write for America's paper of record.

[Sevo]

Dunno what your local rag is, but I'm in the habit of gagging over the SF Chron with my coffee in the morning. The editorial staff there sees questioning whether rent control should be extended to all rentals as 'centrist'.

[Hyperion]

Well, to be fair, then probably think Mao and Stalin were centrists.

[Sevo]

You could read some of the stories as if...

[Hyperion]

I dunno, but that article earlier about Harvard and the placemats is so fucking creepy I can't even...

[AlmightyJB]

My favorite thing on the placemat was to "Clarify the difference between good intentions and the impact"

So does Harvard now reject all leftest ideas?

[Sevo]

I'm sure it comes with a helping of 'spin' to make it work.

[AlmightyJB]

Watching these elitist Ivy league colleges take up the fight against white priviledge and patriarchy reminds me of those cartoons and movies where the mob catches up to some group they're after and a squirrely member of that group jumps over to the mob side and yells let's get them.

[commodious spittoon]

That's a great way to put it, although I think it better captures the poor sods in administration they manage to corner and from whom they coerce a statement of solidarity. Too many of those ivy league elitists didn't have to be convinced: they jumped at the opportunity to mob on behalf of the poor minorities they trampled in their zeal to appear on camera righteously condemning Western culture.

[Tejicano]

Yeah, it's like the mountain climber who summits everest then looks around in feigned surprise saying "Whoa! Who put this mountain here?"

[Arizona_Guy]

Not sure about now, but the LVRJ used to have a fairly libertarian editorial page.

[Sevo]

And for some cheer:

"Today marks the 112th anniversary of powered flight. It was December 17, 1903, when Orville Wright flew the Wright Flyer over the beach at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina."
http://www.travelpulse.com/new.....thers.html

McCullough does a good job of making them human and also admirable:
http://www.amazon.com/Wright-B.....mccullough

[Hyperion]

They couldn't do it today. For instance:

It All Started With A Toy

Did you get the proper license and permits for that thing!

A Coin Toss Put Orville in the History Books

Illegal gambling!

I've visited several museums of industry, including more recently the one at the Smithsonian in DC and the one in Baltimore. I always spend hours in wonder of what unrestrained humans achieved back then. All of it would be impossible today. If we had the bureaucratic nightmare in place in the stone age that we have today, we'd still all still be chipping stone tools and living a simple live of subsistence.

[AlmightyJB]

Oh we might still find our way back to that if the luddites have their way

[Sevo]

You're right, but it's the sort of ultimate 'broken window' for mankind to have to learn to fly again.

[AlmightyJB]

I was watching Ancient Impossible earlier and kind of amazing how the Romans had used so much concrete in their construction and it basically fell out of widespread use until the last century. They've recently just discovered their formula for marine mix concrete and have been amazed at how excellant and durable it is. 1000 years ago. Crazy.

[AlmightyJB]

It's funny to see these distopian futures laid out without electricity and modern conveniences. But it's not like we're going to forget how electrcity works. Yeah after some major calamity like an asteroid or whatever it would take time to rebuild but I just can't picture the world resorting back to medival times and not bouncing back much quicker.

[Tejicano]

Not sure. I wonder how many generations it would take for all that word-of-mouth technology to become mere mythology. All it will take is a few semi-charismatic assholes to get a majority of people to believe the remaining technological artifacts were "signs from the gods" - ie: not possibly man-made - and civilization could take a hard right into darkness.

[Homple]

Have you read A canticle for Liebowitz?

[AlmightyJB]

I haven't

[Tejicano]

Heck, for much of the 20th century a few thousand Soviet and Chinese "leaders" kept much of the human race locked in a late 19th century state of existence all for an ideology.

[Hyperion]

We're working on it. More than 40 years ago we landed a man on the moon, several times. Now with 100x the technology we had then, we can't get out of low earth orbit. What more proof do we need?

[Hyperion]

if the luddites have their way

I've determined that there really is no difference between progressives and luddites. Therefore the term proglodytes is perfect.

[Whahappan?]

But at least there'd be no Global Warming.

[Galactic Chipper Cdr Lytton]

Dammit! Now I feel guilty for not going there when I was in NC.

[__Warren__]

So the state run electric company in Nigeria cannot provide the people there with a stable flow of power. They don't have much base load and peak load is damn near impossible for them.

The population has adapted by buying small, not very expensive gas-powered generators for their homes and shops to help get past outages.

And to help solve this problem they government there is looking to improve the electric company....ha ha ha no, they've decided to ban the import of small, not very expensive gas-powered generators for air-pollution and safety reasons.

[Sevo]

"they've decided to ban the import of small, not very expensive gas-powered generators for air-pollution and safety reasons."

Gaia will be smiling.
Jack was here last week, flogging some supposed 'market-oriented' column in Forbes, claiming 'new innovations' out of Germany since they've pretty much crippled their power-generating industry.
Well, the major innovations were 'making consumers also generators'; yep, back yard blast furnaces for steel, right? And 'adapting demand to supply', which is a four-word excuse for "RATIONING!", you twit!

[Suthenboy]

Adapting demand to supply?

Whoever said that should be punched in the mouth.

[Tejicano]

Do you mean in the original Russian or Mandarin?

[AlmightyJB]

Time for them to go kidnap some more Chevron employees.

[Krombopulos Carl]

* Confused millennials click here.

Who's Bill Murray? Is he that old guy in Wes Anderson movies?

[__Warren__]

*smack*

[Krombopulos Carl]

Oh, sorry. He was that old guy in Zombieland, too.

[Pathogen]

He was the head greenskeeper for a country club back in the late 70's/early 80's.. the gophers got him..

[straffinrun]

No hangover at work this morning. Probably was still drunk. Bonenkai (end of year party) season is a bitch. Merry Christmas!

[Suthenboy]

Three words, straffin'.

Hair.

Of.

The.

Dog.

Wait, that is four words. Four words, straffin'.

[__Warren__]

"There are THREE words!"

[Tejicano]

Straffinrun - check your mail. You open for an evening next Tue or Wed?

[Suell]

I just found out the the ABC (bureaucratic board in charge of booze) is going to shut my friends parents bar down for 10 days starting just after Xmas. They wanted to do so on the 24th but didn't have any agents working that nite and asked my friend's dad if they could do it on the 23rd instead. He told them to fuck off so they are doing it the Monday after now.

The whole incident stems from three years ago when the local cops went in and started asking everyone in there for id. They have a doorman who cards everyone because this is a common happening there. There was one 20 year old girl in there who did not have a drink but when the cops asked her claimed she didn't have an id. The doorman said "bullshit, she showed me an id." The cops didn't have a female officer available to search her so they basically gave her a ticket and didn't do anything to the bar. The ABC one year later wants to hit them with a 20k fine and close them for a month. Friend's dad fights it the whole way and actually wins the case. This is not even a regular court, but an ABC court. It set a precedent (Mcgovern v. ABC) that the ABC cannot just go through old police cases and randomly fine people who have not been judged guilty. They did not like this at all and have been on a harassment campaign against the bar trying to shut it down. I am so fucking mad about this.

[GILMORE?]

These are government agencies man. They need to justify their existence. Unless they bribed the right people (through the right lawyer) they will be made example of.

Out of curiosity= what kind of municipality? small town, small city, big city?

[Suell]

San Mateo County. The ABC is a state board, but they have different offices. The really galling part (though not surprising to libertarians) is that there is no court case won by the state or even a violation given by the police when it originally happened.

[OneOut]

"They need to justify their existence. Unless they bribed the right people (through the right lawyer) they will be made example of."

I have told my friends for years that Meico os a mre democratic country than the US. They don;t understand.

In Meiso if you have a problem with a car title you can pay a bureaucrat $2 dollars and the problem goes away.

In the Us if you try to encourage a bureaucrat to do their job you go the jail.

Ony the rich can bribe governement workers in America.

In Mexico anyone with $2 dollars can do so.

[Knarf Yenrab!]

Jeff Tucker wrote a great piece on Marion Barry a year or two ago in which he lauded Barry for his corruption. In a corrupt city filled with corrupt bureaucrats, a bar that gets shut down on health or some other bs charge can be reopened for a minimal palm greasing. In a city filled with a smattering of earnest nazis (in CA's case, a combination of earnest, smug, and vindictive nazis), you get tossed in prison for trying to bribe a heroic state employee who's protecting the public good.

Same with judges. Imagine how much better off the whole world would be if judges handing out sentences for pot or heroin allowed themselves to be bought off for a couple thousand dollars instead. Alas, Babylon.

[Suell]

I wonder if reason would be interested in a feature on this case. This couple is in their 70's and has worked their asses off their whole lives and now are about to be screwed out of their retirement.

[Rhywun]

OMG but what about the 20-year-old children????!!!!

[Suell]

They are indeed, children, and must be protected. The benevolent state sees to that.

[Hyperion]

After all that time, we finally managed to do it! Progress!

/The proglodytes

Stay libertarian, my friend.

[Fun at Parties]

Proud I still haven't see DiCraprio in Titanic to this day and with all the hype revolving around Star Wars I might take a pass on it too.

[cavalier973]

Watch the three Bad Lip Reading videos for Star Wars.

[Fun at Parties]

Maybe later. I did enjoy the bad lip reading of the republican convention but most of them are pretty meh. ATM I'm busy trolling Star Wars nerds the best way possible by telling them how the Force is a religion. Since most of them are neck-beard atheists they go ape over hearing that.

[widget]

I watched Titanic alone at the movie theater. My girlfriend at the time, and my wife, has never let me forget I didn't ask her to come with me.

[Matrix]

I just finished watching The Force Awakens. The Force needs to go back to sleep.... I am a fan of the series. I loved the original trilogy. I liked the prequels well enough, but acknowledge the major problems with them, read some of the comics and other stories, watched the Clone Wars movies and show and enjoyed them.

Watched this movie and thought it was garbage. It was basically A New Hope, only I have no hope after watching it. I am seriously stunned that this movie is getting so many rave reviews. I was disgusted. I really want to wake up from this awful nightmare.

[Pathogen]

Tell us how you REALLY feel.

[Matrix]

JJ Abrams destroyed another great franchise.

Don't get me wrong. I liked the Star Trek movies, but I don't really think of them as Star Trek the way the TV shows and previous movies were. They just seemed like sci-fi action movies with little substance and completely absurdities that flow here and there--like, how the fuck does a cadet become captain of a star ship above senior officers?

There was very little redeeming in this film.

[Knarf Yenrab!]

JJ Abrams destroyed another great franchise.

Haven't seen it yet (waiting for that pirated torrent to avoid the hordes of normies) , but that's what I was expecting despite Kasdan's influence (LK is at least 25 years past his sell-by date IIRC Grand Canyon) and the Little Miss Sunshine guy.

MI:3 was fine. Had its moments, like the cool Hoffman opening or Cruise reading lips at a party or sprinting full speed through the street. Star Trek was ok; had its moments, with a few awful ones like the truly awful swollen hands slapstick. ST2 the same. Abrams is workmanlike and not terrible, but expecting him to suddenly crank out Nolan-level popular entertainment seemed a high bar. I suspect he's just a really reliable company guy who gets popular product out on time and thus is popular with executives. Like an improved Michael Bay.

[JPyrate]

So a typical JJ Abrams movie. You know what. Just start watching " The Expanse" from SYFY. Enjoy some real space opera, and science fiction.

[Lord Rollingpin]

Thanks for the tip, that looks interesting.

[JPyrate]

Well it seems another Reason writer got i to Agile's personal stash. =)

[JPyrate]

*into

[Adam Wildavsky]

Still confused, millennials? I can't say as I blame you. This is the Bill Murray link you've been looking for:

http://videosift.com/video/Bil.....s-from-SNL

[GILMORE?]

Its not their fault; NBC combs through Youtube and gets any SNL material removed

[Knarf Yenrab!]

Yes, Virginia, SNL was just as funny back then as it is today.

[JPyrate]

OPA !!!! OPA !!!! OPA !!!!!

[In League with the Dark Ones]

500!

[Ted S.]

Who framed Rosebud Rabbit?

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Coincidentally, it's also the nickname I give my sphinchter.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

Rosebud was originally a transformer. The last reel of Citizen Kane was going to be high-flying robot pornography.

[Tonio]

Not just you, Bob. 😉

[Warty]

Well...no, he can still be a piece of shit. The kid who SWATs someone is a piece of shit, but isn't really the fundamental problem.

[Trshmnstr, terror of the trash]

^This

[GILMORE?]

And a misogynist!

[GILMORE?]

""SWATing seems like a very different thing""

its also a crime

[JeremyR]

He's still fucking over people. Yeah, he's using government as the way to do it, but he's still being an asshole himself

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Wadda ya mean, 'was going to'?

Somebody hasn't watched the director's cut.