250 U.S. Soldiers Being Deployed to Syria, Donald Trump Resists 'Toning It Down', North Korea Tests Submarine Missile: A.M. Links

• 

  KCNA

  President Obama will send up to 250 more U.S. soldiers to Syria as part of the war on ISIS.

• Ted Cruz and John Kasich will divide some of the remaining primaries in the Republican contest among themselves. Meanwhile, aides to Republican frontrunner Donald Trump promise he's going to "tone it down," but the candidate says he doesn't want to.
• Norbert Hofer of the anti-immigrant Freedom Party is the clear frontrunner after the first round of presidential voting in Austria.
• The president of Egypt urged citizens to "defend the state" ahead of planned anti-government protests.
• A Dutch journalist was arrested in Turkey while vacationing there for the crime of criticizng Turkey's president for cracking down on dissent.
• North Korea says its submarine ballistic missile test was a "great success."
• The top two nominations submitted by the public to rename Robert E. Lee Elementary School in Austin were the Donald J. Trump Elementary School and the Robert E. Lee Elementary School.  The Adolf Hitler School for Friendship and Tolerance came in seventh.

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

North Korea says its submarine ballistic missile test was a "great success."

Them saying it failed would be news.

[UnCivilServant]

Funny, my clock still read 8:59 when the Lynx appeared claiming it was 9.

NTP must be on th fritz.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Hello.

What? No links about how Prince changed my life without my knowing it? Or how he changed the trajectory of history and progress?

[Citizen X]

Why, are you trying to summon Heresiarch to dribble snobbery all over this thread?

[Steve G]

Yes, that was a great back and forth w/ Gilmore wasn't it

[Demoted Comment (Slammer)]

Henceforth all transgendered bathrooms shall be notated by a purple sign.

[UnCivilServant]

The mark of Slaanesh?

[Demoted Comment (Slammer)]

EXTERMINATUS

[Rhywun]

Expelliarmus?

[Thrackmoor]

KHORNE!! BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!! SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE!!

[Citizen X]

Oh great, another Hillary voter.

[Thrackmoor]

Why vote for the lesser of evils? Cthulhu!

http://www.cthulhu.org/

[Sepper]

A lightweight by the standards of the WH40k-setting.

I vote for the God-Emperor!

[Pope Jimbo]

Hello.

I have been ultra busy lately and haven't been able to comment lately. I was thinking of changing my handle and seeing if I could get Tundra to start thinking that I was really Prince.

Did go on a campus tour of NDSU this weekend with a parent/kid who were from Chanhasen and they said it has been ultra nuts there ever since he died.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

I'm reminded of Bacon's 'idols of the market' whenever I see people overdo celebrity death.

[Pope Jimbo]

My dyslexia made me read that as "Idiots of the Market" and I wondered why I would ever buy an idiot when so many seem to be wandering around in public free for the taking.

[Citizen X]

You should start a catch, neuter, and release program, Holiness.

[Pope Jimbo]

If us religious types aren't going to allow you to neuter a dog or cat, how on earth are we going to OK neutering idiots? Sure you could try to make it look like an accident, but God is going to see right through a cheap trick like that.

[Citizen X]

Can't you just put that chemical castration stuff in some Faygo?

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

I was thinking of changing my handle

The Artist formerly known as Pope?

[R C Dean]

This one. Do this one.

[Ch?d Whipper]

HAIL THE BISON!!!

[CatoTheChipper]

How about "The Commenter Formerly Known as Pope Jimbo"?

[Hyperion]

By doing 40k worth of opiates every month?

[Catatafish & Woodchips]

It's still a success even when they execute one of their generals.

"Let this socialist country resound with Song of Big Fish Haul and be permeated with the fragrant smell of fish and other seafoods!"

[waffles]

NO SPOILERS

[UnCivilServant]

On the "Minor issues with the new house" front, there are steel posts in the basement holding up the center line of the building. These posts have some corrosion near the base where they sit on the concrete. Step one in my remediation plan is obvious, scrape off and sand down the current corrosion. It's step two I'm having debates with myself over. As the basement is dry for most of the time (but subject to some occasional dampness as evidenced by the sump and the corrosion), I'm not sure the best prevention method to use.

As these are load-bearing posts, any treatment has to be done in-place. Any reccomendations from people who've had basements longer?

[Lee G]

Is the corrosion penetrating the metal or is it just surface rust?

[UnCivilServant]

It appears to be on the surface. The structural integrety is still instact, but it's past the point of just being spotted. The structural inspector didn't think they were likely to fail, but doing something to stop the progress would be a good idea regardless.

[UnCivilServant]

To be more precise, a screwdriver was able to remove flakes about an inch long and a quarter wide from the face of the post. It did not dig in.

[Lee G]

The issue will be corrosion at the interface between the support and the concrete as you cannot get to it to treat it. For the rest of the metal, find an industrial paint supplier (Sherwin Williams has specialty industrial stores) and get some good epoxy paint for that purpose. If you can't find one, West Systems epoxy will work and can be ordered online. I've used that product to restore corroding boat transoms.

You could also rent some post shores and support the beam on each side temporarily so you can replace the permanent post with a galvanized support.

[UnCivilServant]

I was wondering if a zinc anode around the base of the post in contact with the concrete would do anything useful.

[Lee G]

It should help

[Jerryskids]

If the posts are of the just a round post with a steel plate welded on each end type and aren't set in the floor, I would suggest jacking up the floor next to the posts one-at-a-time just enough to get each post out, take it outside and clean it up good and plan on flipping them upside-down when you re-install them. Before you re-install them, paint the bottom plate with tar, slip a piece of aspahalt shingle or tar-paper or something similar under it to avoid direct contact with the concrete. If the basement has flooding problems, that needs to be fixed but paint a ways up the bottom of the post with tar, too.

[db]

I second the epoxt paint recommendation. Make absolutely sure you prepare the surface properly for primer and paint. This is very important for preventing future issues.

Sand and/or grind all the rust off. Clean the bare metal with a solvent like acetone or MEK (WEAR PROPER PPE) and let it dry. Then etch the bare metal surface with an acid etch. You can buy these at good paint stores and sometimes Home Despot or Lowe's.

Once you have etched and rinsed the surface, dry it with air and do a water bead test. On a properly pepared surface, water will NOT bead. It will smoothly cover the surface. If it does bead, repeat the solvent wash and acid etch. Once it doesn't bead water, dry again with hot air and then prime immediately.

Sherwin Williams sells good metal primers and paint. Alternately you can get self-etching primers that do some of the work for you.

Try to get a look inside the metal post and see if you can see corrosion there. If you can you'll need to address that as well, possibly by replacing the post.

[Mr Drew]

I recommend as a step 1; get a dehumidifier. Get the kind that you can add a discharge hose to rather than having to empty a bin every day. They are roughly adjustable so you can set it and forget it (apologies to Ron Popiel) with worrying about waking up into a desert.

Either kind of post is very heavy gage steel so I wouldn't worry too much about the rust beyond clean, prime, paint.

Feel free to contact me directly if need be. I've been a full time real estate investor for most of my life so I've probably seen anything you might run across. My only price is, you being a government employee and all, put me near some of the other H&R guys when the camps open.

[Trshmnstr, terror of the trash]

This is exactly what my dad did in his basement. Then he ran the discharge hose into the sump well. There have been no humidity issues in the basement since then.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

North Korea says its submarine ballistic missile test was a "great success."

10,000 cranes took to the sky to guide it towards its target.

[Swiss Servator]

*applause*

[Fist of Etiquette]

A Dutch journalist was arrested in Turkey while vacationing there for the crime of criticizng Turkey's president for cracking down on dissent.

Streisand's Law.

[The Last American Hero]

So, no Citizen's United for Turkey.

[Meow-shawn!]

*Citizens

[Lord Humungus]

Hillary Clinton Rejects 'Endorsement' From Koch Brother

Hillary Clinton's campaign has responded to a recent ABC News interview with billionaire Charles Koch, in which the GOP donor suggested he might prefer Clinton over the remaining Republican candidates.

"Not interested in endorsements from people who deny climate science and try to make it harder for people to vote," the campaign tweeted on Clinton's account.

[UnCivilServant]

So she's just repudiated every democrat who's endorsed her?

[Rhywun]

make it harder for people to vote

I didn't realize the Kochs controlled the Democratic primary in Brooklyn.

[lap83]

No wonder liberals hate them so much!

[Rhywun]

I am curious what the hell she's referring to. How do the voices in her head think the Kochs are "making it harder for people to vote"?

[Free Market Socialist $park?]

She said it because everyone that likes her believes it. What she thinks of the statement is irrelevant.

[Tonio]

"Not interested in endorsements from people who deny climate science and try to make it harder for people to vote," the campaign tweeted on Clinton's account.

Try, LH, try. That word makes all the difference. And yes they are trying to do that through ALEC and their model legislation. NTTAWWT, of course, since you have to show government ID for lots of other things and it's a small price to pay for voter fraud.

[Bee Tagger]

A Dutch journalist was arrested in Turkey while vacationing there for the crime of criticizng Turkey's president for cracking down on dissent.

All he had to do was not dissent to avoid being arrested.

[Jerryskids]

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes, amirite? Jeez, how hard is it to exercise your freedom of speech by keeping your mouth shut?

[Libertarian]

The Dutch give the world weed and hookers, and this is how we thank them.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

The president of Egypt urged citizens to "defend the state" ahead of planned anti-government protests.

You know who else called on citizens to defend the state?

[Swiss Servator]

The French Assembly?

Citoyens, la Patrie est en danger.

[straffinrun]

Every state ever?

[Citizen X]

Paul Revere?

[PBR Streetgang]

Barry and Levon?

[sloopyinTEXAS]

Johnny Rico?

[Juvenile Bluster]

The top two nominations submitted by the public to rename Robert E. Lee Elementary School in Austin were the Donald J. Trump Elementary School and the Robert E. Lee Elementary School. The Adolf Hitler School for Friendship and Tolerance came in seventh.

My favorite was "Hypothetical Perfect Person Memorial Elementary School"

[Citizen X]

You'd think Austin would have learned not to take naming suggestions from the public after the Fred Durst Society of the Humanities and Arts incident.

[Nativist, Racist & Xenophobe]

At least we know they'll never start renaming schools named for Thomas Jefferson, right? Right?

[Old Man With Candy]

THIS is why I loved Austin so much. I miss it terribly.

[Jerryskids]

"Jes?s Heriberto Christo de la Saltador Maldito"

[R C Dean]

I love that the same name is a front-runner for the new name.

[R C Dean]

Did "Schooly McSchoolface" make an appearance?

[Tonio]

^That would have been brilliant. And would have pissed off the SJWs, but they'd be hard pressed to find a reason why it was truly objectionable.

[Atanarjuat]

Actually, I think it was "Schooly McSchoolerson". The entire list of submitted names was hilarious.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Adolf Hitler School for Friendship and Tolerance came in seventh.

You know who else tried to influence his nation's youth?

[Swiss Servator]

OMWC?

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Ether is a strong influencer.

[Rich]

Ponce de Leon?

[Meow-shawn!]

This reply ruined my pants. I'll send you an invoice.

[Citizen X]

Diddy?

[Aloysious]

The Kool-Aid Man?

[Demoted Comment (Slammer)]

Socrates?

[Restoras]

Robert Baden-Powell?

[Crusty Juggler]

Joe Camel?

[B. Woodrow Chippenhaus]

King Randor?

[straffinrun]

Kermit Gosne.... Nevermind.

[Crackers Boy]

John Wayne Gacy?

CB

[Jerryskids]

Nicholas of Cologne?

[PBR Streetgang]

Roman Polanski?

[Free Market Socialist $park?]

Willy Wonka?

[Atanarjuat]

Trick Daddy?

[Lord Humungus]

Austrian government in shock as far-right triumps

Austria's government was licking its wounds Monday after a historic debacle that saw the opposition anti-immigrant far-right triumph in a presidential ballot two years before the next scheduled general election.

According to preliminary results, Norbert Hofer of the Freedom Party (FPOe) came a clear first with 36 percent of the vote, while candidates from the two governing parties failed to even make it into a runoff on May 22.

The result means that for the first time since 1945, Austria will not have a president backed by either Chancellor Werner Faymann's Social Democrats (SPOe) or their centre-right coalition partners the People's Party (OeVP).

You know who else something something...

[Catatafish & Woodchips]

The Artist Formerly Known as Adolph?

[Citizen X]

Archduke Franz Ferdinand?

[Nativist, Racist & Xenophobe]

They're not bad!

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ijk4j-r7qPA

[Notorious UGCC]

If you mean you know who else wanted to keep out the Muslims, how about Leopold I?

[Rhywun]

Everything's coming up "triumps" at Yahoo, I guess.

[Free Society]

"far right"

[Bee Tagger]

The top two nominations submitted by the public to rename Robert E. Lee Elementary School in Austin were the Donald J. Trump Elementary School and the Robert E. Lee Elementary School.

This still happened even after John Oliver totally eviscerated Trump?

[EMD]

It was an epic obliteration. A J.K. Rowling-worthy shutdown.

/mashable

[Fist of Etiquette]

Norbert Hofer of the anti-immigrant Freedom Party is the clear frontrunner after the first round of presidential voting in Austria.

Build ze wall.

[R C Dean]

Zees time, to keep ze pipple out, not in, ja?

[Lord Humungus]

Tracing the path of four terrorists sent to Europe by the Islamic State

On a crisp morning last October, 198 migrants arrived on the Greek island of Leros, all of them seemingly desperate people seeking sanctuary in Europe. But hiding among them were four men with a very different agenda.

The four were posing as war-weary Syrians ? all carrying doctored passports with false identities. And they were on a deadly mission for the Islamic State.

Two of the four would masquerade as migrants all the way to Paris. There, at 9:20 p.m. on Nov. 13, they would detonate suicide vests near the Stade de France sports complex, fulfilling their part in the worst attack on French soil since World War II.

The other two men would not make it that far.

[Restoras]

Obviously a false story. We have been assured by Open Borders this can't happen.

[SugarFree]

The other 194 are just biding their time.

[commodious spittoon]

They'll settle down in their banlieus, form closed, conservative societies, have children, then BAM. Second-generation home-grown terrorists.

These four simps just didn't get in on the long game.

[R C Dean]

Well, what's a few dead people, compared to adding a couple hundred to the welfare rolls?

[Rhywun]

What a bunch of far-right nationalists at the WaPo.

[Demoted Comment (Slammer)]

9/11 Memorial guards order kids to stop singing National Anthem

"You have to stop. This is considered a public demonstration!" one guard barked at the patriotic teens, their Waynesville MS music teacher, Martha Brown, told The Post.

The guards insisted the group needed a permit to sing, according to Brown.

"Some of the students were very upset and confused. I told the children, 'This is a place where you need to respect authority even if you don't understand it,'?" she said.

[kbolino]

This is a place where you need to respect authority even if you don't understand it

Why?

[Hamster of Doom]

Because America was founded by people who shut up and did what they were told, especially if it made no sense.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

O'er the land of the free, indeed.

[Rich]

Some of the students were very upset and confused.

"And stop that fucking *crying*, too!"

[Jerryskids]

New York Values.

[Rhywun]

Bullshit. It's a national memorial. Those are American values.

[commodious spittoon]

Two tone-deaf security guards at the 9/11 Memorial got tough with some wide-eyed middle-school kids

And now we're shaming men with partial deafness and children with congenital dilation. Classy, NYP.

[Old Man With Candy]

It would be great if there were Baltimoreans nearby to suddenly yell, "O!" at the proper moment.

[Juvenile Bluster]

A Dutch journalist was arrested in Turkey while vacationing there for the crime of criticizng Turkey's president for cracking down on dissent.

That Gollum-looking motherfucker sure gets a pass from the West on his tactics, doesn't he.

[Jerryskids]

He's agreed to keep a shitload of Muslim "refugees" from emigrating to the rest of Europe and fucking up the narrative - you're damn right they're going to kiss his ass in return.

[Free Society]

The term for what Erdogan is doing is 'extortion'. The proper term for those refugees then, is 'foederati'.

[commodious spittoon]

I read rectum.

[Free Society]

"Rectum? Damn near killed 'em!"

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

"The top two nominations submitted by the public to rename Robert E. Lee Elementary School in Austin were the Donald J. Trump Elementary School and the Robert E. Lee Elementary School."

Now there's a middle finger I like.

Unintended consequences are a bitch!

[Lord Humungus]

Man set to make $100,000 a year from personalised banana company

It's the simplest of ideas ? but a man who brings bananas to life with drawn-on faces and customised personalities is set to make his first $100,000.

Davonte Wilson of Plano, Texas is the brains behind Bananas Gone Wild ? a fruit firm with a difference.

Davonte creates customised bananas for $10 each, and brings them to life in his apartment (not literally, that would be terrifying) using a variety of glitter, fake beards and other resources.

[B. Woodrow Chippenhaus]

A guy making six figures doodling on bananas. I need to show this to people the next time they complain about capitalism.

[db]

There's always money in the banana stand.

[commodious spittoon]

Why go to a banana stand when we can make your banana stand?

Don't worry, these ladies have been nowhere near the bananas.

[EMD]

* wink wink *

[Jerryskids]

RACIST!

[R C Dean]

Please tell me he's got a banana in a hammock. Please please please.

[pan fried wylie]

That one is $20 and includes a parasol.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Krugabe: Hillary Clinton is the most qualified candidate EVER on economic issues

[Idle Hands]

Is he not aware that Gary Johnson is running for president?

[Rich]

Mrs. Clinton isn't just the most knowledgeable, well-informed candidate in this election, she's arguably the best-prepared candidate on matters economic ever to run for president. She could nonetheless mess up ? but ignorance won't be the reason.

She's already messed up with the server felonies.

[kbolino]

She could nonetheless mess up ? but ignorance won't be the reason.

This is the cleverest/most obtuse way to say she's corrupt as fuck I've ever seen.

[Jerryskids]

Already preparing the excuse for when her policies screw up the economy even worse - she was right but the wreckers/kulaks/GOP/Illuminati deliberately sabotaged her holy work. Basically the same as saying "if everything goes as planned, this will work" while jumping off the roof with a beach towel cape tied around your neck intending to fly like Superman. Yes, indeed - if everything goes as planned you can fly just like Superman. But planning to repeal the laws of physics ain't much of a plan.

[Rhywun]

This concerning the woman who is advocating an economy-destroying minimum wage - something Krugabe knows damn well.

[R C Dean]

the most knowledgeable, well-informed candidate in this election

I think he had to dig a pit to set the bar that low.

[CatoTheChipper]

If you studied her track record in trading pork belly futures, you'd have to agree that she is a world-class master of one particular technique to buy low and sell high.

[Libertarian]

For the love of god, will somebody PLEASE tell me why people think Hillary is so goddam smart? WHERE is the evidence for this belief?

[R C Dean]

She was a lawyer, and then a, umm, political wife, and then an invisible junior Senator from a deep blue state, and then the Sec State that ran up more travel miles than any other!

Why, her resume practically drips with brains!

[Fist of Etiquette]

...aides to Republican frontrunner Donald Trump promise he's going to "tone it down," but the candidate says he doesn't want to.

"I'm not an addict. I can quit anytime. I just choose not to."

[Demoted Comment (Slammer)]

Why You Probably Shouldn't Say 'Eskimo'

People in many parts of the Arctic consider Eskimo a derogatory term because it was widely used by racist, non-native colonizers

According to the Alaska Native Language Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, linguists believe the word Eskimo actually came from the French word esquimaux, meaning one who nets snowshoes. Netting snowshoes is the highly-precise way that Arctic peoples built winter footwear by tightly weaving, or netting, sinew from caribou or other animals across a wooden frame.

But the correction to the etymological record came too late to rehabilitate the word Eskimo. The word's racist history means most people in Canada and Greenland still prefer other terms.

[Notorious UGCC]

Well, there's 1,100 words to choose from.

Or is that snow?

[straffinrun]

My ice cream treat is now racist and sexist?

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

I've been saying for years now it's a matter of time before the Edmonton Eskimos of the CFL will get the Redskins treatment.

Our Eskimos are 'Dene' now.

[Libertarian]

"Redskins treatment." You mean guns and whiskey?

[EMD]

Smallpox blankets.

[Brett L]

Insert eskimo scene from Heathers here.

[commodious spittoon]

But "eskimo brothers" is still chill, yeah?

[gagster]

We are not Eskimos!

[R C Dean]

The word's racist history means most people in Canada and Greenland still prefer other terms.

I'm sure there's data to support this factual assertion.

Assuming its true, what's stopping them from using other terms today?

[Azathoth!!]

There's a 'racist history' to the word 'eskimo'?

Really?

I have never heard a single derogatory statement associated with the word. Not one. I have not heard it associated with stereotypes, or bigotry or anything like that. It has always been an overarching term for the people who live near the Arctic circle--a term often superseded by tribe names.

I'd love to see some proof of this--particularly considering that the Eskimo from Greenland they spoke to isn't offended by the term and seems, like me, to be unaware of this 'racist history'.

[Lord Humungus]

Coast Guard rescues Fla. man at sea in floating bubble -- again

Authorities say a Florida man bidding to reach Bermuda in an inflatable bubble has been rescued again by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Mark Barney said that long-distance runner Reza Baluchi was picked up Sunday off Florida and his "hydropod" was being towed to shore.

His rescue was voluntary.

#BreakingNews: Adventure runner's voyage ends after he violated a USCG order not to embark on his seagoing journey. pic.twitter.com/FxNUEawySO
? USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) April 24, 2016

[Catatafish & Woodchips]

Send him the gas bill for the cutter that rescued him. Maybe he'll think twice when he realizes retard comes with a price tag.

[straffinrun]

Poor man's version of this.

[Rich]

His rescue was voluntary.

Then the CG should have let him float on.

[SugarFree]

And we'll all float on down here.

[db]

A-buh, a-buh, a-Buddy-Boy!

[Libertarian]

Like the moon, the stars, and the sun?

[Lee G]

he violated a USCG order not to embark on his seagoing journey

What the hell?

[straffinrun]

I know. I like this guy.

[Brett L]

Why don't they just get him to sign a non-response document?

[commodious spittoon]

Because FHTW?

[Fist of Etiquette]

President Obama will send up to 250 more U.S. soldiers to Syria as part of the war on ISIS.

Surges ain't what they used to be.

[Crusty Juggler]

First Lady Targets Mississippi 'Religious Freedom' Bill in Commencement Speech

In her speech, the first lady also reflected on the heated political battles her husband has endured as president, and urged students not to fall into disarray over the "anger and vitriol" in the political environment.

"We pay endless attention to folks who are blocking action, blocking judges, blocking immigration, blocking a raise in the minimum wage. Just blocking," Obama said. "We are consumed with the anger and vitriol that are bubbling up, with folks shouting at each other, using hateful and divisive language."

Obama then revisited some of the vitriol directed towards her husband over his eight years as president, including the "birther" conspiracy theory widely promoted by GOP frontrunner Donald Trump just five years ago.

"And then there's the countless times when that language gets personal and is directed at my husband ?- charges that he doesn't love our country," Obama said. "The time he was called a liar in front of a joint session of Congress. The nonstop questions about his birth certificate and his belief in God."

Stop being such meanies!

[Night Elf Mohawk]

Don't want to be called a liar in front of Congress? Don't lie in front of Congress.

[commodious spittoon]

If you want to keep your word, you can keep your word. Period. As for me...

[gagster]

Yeah, if he didn't want to be called a liar, he probly shouldn't have done it quite so much.

[R C Dean]

What is it with Dem First Ladies and vast right wing conspiracies, anyway?

[Lord Humungus]

French finance minister denies twanging journalist's panties

They write that the journalist had bent over to pick up a pen when a "minister ... the occupant of Bercy (where the finance ministry is based)" said: "Ah, but what are you showing me here" and snapped the elastic of her unintentionally exposed underwear.

The incident had previously been published as part of a 2015 petition in the Liberation newspaper signed by dozens of female journalists denouncing sexism from male politicians entitled: "Get your paws off me!" However at the time no indication was given of who the minister was.

According to the authors of the book, Sapin's office brushed the incident off at the time, saying: "It was a schoolyard prank and the journalist flew off the handle."

[Notorious UGCC]

No footage of the incident, I see. Just a photo of the minister's ugly mug.

Cue the progs' lamentations of how Americans are such Puritans, and not as sexually enlightened as the frogs.

[Libertarian]

Well, if he DIDN'T twang 'em, he's either not French or he's not a government minister. Which is it?

[Demoted Comment (Slammer)]

Hot girl nipples make surprisingly good paintbrushes

Daniel Gill is an artist who uses women's naked bodies as tools for painting. Here is how he creates some of his work.

Hats off to you, Mr. Gill. Well done.

[Swiss Servator]

Isn't that more like "shirts off to you"?

[Idle Hands]

well we know what he sees during a rorschach test.

[straffinrun]

Then he goes home and makes his Jackson Pollocks.

[commodious spittoon]

You got issues, Quill.

[Crusty Juggler]

Art!

[Michael]

Art indeed. I've always believed that if you're a straight guy going to art school and you're not trying to exploit your field of study (especially if it's photography) to get hot girls naked then you're doing something horribly wrong. This guy appears to have mastered his craft spectacularly.

[Rich]

A Dutch journalist was arrested in Turkey while vacationing there for the crime of criticizng Turkey's president for cracking down on dissent.

"I meant, he's not cracking down *enough*! My Turkish sucks!"

[Swiss Servator]

"My Turkish sucks!"

Oh, you'll get plenty of practice sucking Turkish soon, Mr. Journalist...

/Turkish cops

[Lord Humungus]

Changes coming to Cracker Jack popcorn after 125 years

Fans of Cracker Jack popcorn will soon notice some significant changes to the snack.

After 125 years of combining caramel-coated popcorn and peanuts, the snack brand's famous "Prize Inside" is going digital.

Instead of toys, trinkets, riddles or jokes, the new surprises will feature a digital code that can be used to access baseball-inspired smartphone games.

[UnCivilServant]

Boo! I want my cheap plastic!

[straffinrun]

Me, I don't care if those ever come back.

[Libertarian]

tired of waiting for Swiss to show

*narrows gaze*

[Rich]

I agree. This digital shit is totally unacceptable. If I wanted that I'd buy Webkins.

[Rasilio]

Bah, they aren't even plastic anymore, just little pieces of cardboard

[Elspeth Flashman]

You just can't trust a kid who don't follow baseball.

[Idle Hands]

The top two nominations submitted by the public to rename Robert E. Lee Elementary School in Austin were the Donald J. Trump Elementary School and the Robert E. Lee Elementary School. The Adolf Hitler School for Friendship and Tolerance came in seventh

For all the bitching about lacking funds that school boards do, they really don't have a problem frivolously pissing them away.

[Lord Humungus]

This Guy Wants to Grant Asylum to All the Stray Cats in Israel

There are a lot of stray cats in Israel, and some see this as a nuisance. To address the issue, the Ministry of Agriculture, headed by Uri Ariel of the far-right Jewish Home party, currently castrates and sterilizes thousands of cats every year.

But in early November, Ariel sent a letter to the Ministry of Environment, claiming that the practice goes against the principles of Jewish law and the injunction to "be fruitful and multiply." He suggested that the million dollars spent every year on spaying and neutering the strays should instead be used to "transfer stray dogs and/or cats of one gender (all the males or all the females) to a foreign nation that will agree to accept them."

[Swiss Servator]

*raises hand*

/South Korea

[Demoted Comment (Slammer)]

*narrows strays*

[Pope Jimbo]

You are so gonna get narrow-gazed when Swiss comes back from lunch!

[Cdr Lytton]

I hope he brushes his grill after the kim chi.

[Swiss Servator]

*narrows gaze, flosses*

[Pope Jimbo]

Yes on dogs, no on cats
/Korean Bookie

[Notorious UGCC]

Why not establish a homeland for the cats, let them run the place as they see fit?

Of course, with their luck the Land of the Cats would probably be bordered on all sides by pit bulls, but you can't have everything.

[Libertarian]

Wouldn't Siam be the logical place?

[R C Dean]

They should be so lucky:

http://www.google.com/search?q.....4Q_AUIBigB

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Bernie's Real Legacy: It's Now Okay to Question Capitalism

Lenin and the Bolsheviks remain intriguing today, not to mention frightening, because of their abundant contradictions: How did a brilliant analysis of global capitalism in crisis, which seems almost eerily trenchant a century later, lead to such a dismal outcome? If capitalism is no longer to be viewed as the unalterable end-stage of history, and socialism is no longer an untouchable concept, maybe we can also get past the superstitious notion that every idea and insight that fed into the Russian Revolution inevitably produced the nightmarish Soviet state that followed. I feel quite sure that Bernie Sanders does not envision the overthrow of all political institutions or the seizure of all private property. His real relationship to the Bolshevik founder is a rhetorical and analytical one, and I find it implausible that Sanders is unaware of this.

I mean, we don't know for sure that next time 80 million or so people will be murdered by their governments. Why not take another crack at it?

[Monty Crisco]

"which seems almost eerily trenchant a century later"

FUCKING REALLY?!?!?! HOW SO?!?!?

IF the 20th century was ANYTHING, it was a total rebuttal of communism as being a functional philosophy and a vigorous verification of capitalism as the single best method of improving the lot of ALL people...

[CatoTheChipper]

Nonsense on stilts!

The history of the last century or so clearly demonstrates that capitalism, which is really just shorthand for private property rights, free markets, and rule of law, has lifted billions of people out of abject poverty, extended life expectancy, and resulted in human flourishing.

Of course, communism promised these seemingly happy outcomes and failed to deliver. Now we that such outcomes wreak havoc on the environment, and the so-called failure of communism to deliver material abundance is a feature, not a bug.

[CatoTheChipper]

Now we ... know ... such outcomes wreak havoc on the environment ...

[Citizen X]

Who the fuck is dumb enough to think that history even HAS an "end-stage"?

[mouses over link]

Oh, ok.

[Warty]

It's central to the socialist/progressive/whatever you want to call it. My enemies are on the wrong side of History, etc.

[Warty]

While my enemies are merely on the wrong side of....well, you know.

[Brett L]

I think everyone else in the world is on the wrong side of the Doomcock.

[R C Dean]

You can't be a utopian unless you believe history has an endstage.

And you can't butcher millions unless your goal is utopia.

Marxists are utopians. And, no accident, butchers as well.

[Demoted Comment (Slammer)]

I feel quite sure

Yep. You feel.

[Notorious UGCC]

It's scary in a way - Bernie didn't lose because the Democratic voters were indignant at the idea of an out-and-proud Socialist as president, they simply thought Hillary was more of a can-do pragmatist and anyway it's Her Turn and she's a woman.

[some guy]

She has the inevitability of Death.

[some guy]

Well at least they are willing to admit that the Soviet state was nightmarish. Baby steps, I guess.

[Brett L]

What is every failed economic system in the history of the world but a questioning of whether the self-organizing effects of voluntary exchange of perceived value are more efficient than other methods of allocating resources? Everyone should have to listen to Thomas Sowell's "Economics" (or read it) so they can have "the allocation of limited resources between competing uses" beat into their brains.

[Libertarian]

So NOW it's okay to criticize capitalism? If we got into this sorry state because it wasn't okay, then I don't want to know what happens next.

[Idle Hands]

Hey the Caps survived. Now they get to get smoked by the penguins.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Once the Flyers didn't score on that 5-on-3, followed up quickly by the Caps scoring, I knew it was over.

Neuvirth was standing on his head again, so at least we had that.

[Idle Hands]

Yeah that whole "penalty" thing really could have been bad. Neuvirth was filthy. Also I came away with a healthy dislike for Chenn and White, so there's that. You guys left everything on the ice.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

It's one of the great mysteries in sports. Why the Flyers never found a legit #1 goalie.

We'll see if Neuvirth is finally the answer.

[Rich]

The school's name was brought into question after the shooting in Charleston, South Carolina.

*** facepalm ***

[Lord Humungus]

No Doves will be crying...

Prince second-line: No dove release after urging from PETA

Prince will be celebrated in true New Orleans fashion with a second-line parade on Monday (April 25) afternoon.

The planned release of doves before the second-line, however, has been canceled at the urging of PETA, says organizer Martha Alguera.

"Prince was a huge supporter of PETA and a vegan-general animal advocate overall. Although we were going to use trained doves used at weddings and other events, we chose to not do the release as to not go against anything Prince stood for," Alguera stated in an email to NOLA.com.

[Monty Crisco]

Here's a tough question: who do you think is worse? Hillary or Michelle Obama?

[Juvenile Bluster]

Overall? Hillary. As first lady? Michelle Obama. If Michelle Obama runs for office my answer for the worst overall will change.

[Tonio]

AFAIK, Mrs. Obama has not submitted legislation or tried to act outside the understood parameters of First Lady (although she has pushed the limits); during her tenure as FLOTUS, Mrs. Clinton tried to push legislation through Congress - Hillarycare which was later rebranded as Obamacare.

[Crusty Juggler]

No Need for Holmes. Obama Sheds Light on a Winston Churchill Mystery.

How the Obama administration handles everything.

[Idle Hands]

Wow, they can't even be honest about something that is completely meaningless. These people are the worst:

The bust was returned "as a matter of course" by the new administration along with other art that had been on loan to Mr. Bush for display during his term in office, White House officials said. Dan Pfeiffer, the president's communications director at the time, blasted Mr. Krauthammer, calling his charge about the disappearing bust "100 percent false" and saying that "news outlets have debunked this claim time and again."

In a blog post labeled a "fact check" on the White House website, Mr. Pfeiffer wrote: "The bust still in the White House. In the Residence. Outside the Treaty Room."

Mr. Pfeiffer later apologized to Mr. Krauthammer after admitting that the bust outside the Treaty Room was, in fact, a different Churchill bust, given to President Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960s. Still, Mr. Pfeiffer insisted, the return of the Oval Office bust was "not something that President Obama or his administration chose to do" and was not "a symbol of President Obama's failure to appreciate the special relationship."

[Crusty Juggler]

Wow, they can't even be honest about something that is completely meaningless.

It's pathetic.

[Pope Jimbo]

Whew!

Looks like I will soon be safe in Minnesoda. We are planning on increasing the number of professions that require a license.

These eyelash technicians must possess an artistic flair and obsessive attention to detail. Yet despite the perils of sharp objects dancing millimeters from the delicate skin of an eyelid, the profession does not require a license that establishes standards of training and experience for lengthening eyelashes.

Now Minnesota legislators are debating whether to require licenses for a range of occupations including massage and music therapists, clinical lactation specialists, and eyelash technicians. These proposals are unfolding amid a national debate about the increasing appearance of licensure requirements in jobs that once required none.

Now I won't have to worry about amateurs causing mothers to cry over spilled milk.

[straffinrun]

I had a "clinical lactation specialist" T shirt in high school.

[Rich]

clinical lactation specialists

Nice band name.

[commodious spittoon]

clinical lactation specialists

Those who fail the licensing exam can go into art instead.

[Demoted Comment (Slammer)]

'Southern Momma' Who Shot Kids' Cell Phones Loses Custody of Teens After New Stunt

Someone reported the video to Coweta County Department of Children and Family Services. According to AJC.com, a social worker told Smith she had to sign a "safety plan" and agree not to use weapons in front of the children.

Smith refused to sign away her First and Second Amendment rights, she told AJC, and the department took away her two youngest teens.

In a follow-up video that appears to have been posted after her run-in with Family Services but before the teens were taken away, Smith seems to address the "safety plan."

"I've been told I can no longer use a gun or film anymore videos because it might damage my child," she says, before explaining:

"Yes, I blew up my children's phones. Yes, I burned my children's mattresses. I wanted my children's attention before it's too late for them to learn how to be a responsible, respectful adult."

[Citizen X]

Everyone knows that the hallmark of responsible, respectful adulthood is blowin' shit up on video.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

BURN THIS BITCH DOWN!

[commodious spittoon]

How outre!

[Brett L]

Destroying things of value is my God-given right.

[R C Dean]

Well, as long as they belong to you, yes, it is.

[Swiss Servator]

Enough goofing around. Back to work for me. When I check in at lunch time, I want lots of good commentary to read - OK?

[Citizen X]

I want lots of good commentary to read

I don't know how to break it to you, but this is Hit'n'Run, homie.

My thoughts and prayers are with you.

[Crusty Juggler]

Swiss must be losing it.

[Lord Humungus]

That hot cocoa quota is difficult to meet.

[Elspeth Flashman]

Not to mention punching the holes in the cheese.

[Demoted Comment (Slammer)]

The cowbell clappers need checking, too.

[Restoras]

You're all going to get detention for this.

[Swiss Servator]

*narrows gaze and slow claps simultaneously*

[bacon-magic]

Army knives need polished.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Well, I'm sure this story will please Papaya and John. We've been renting a commercial space to a Muslim-Tunisian and lately we've been getting complaints from other tenants about suspicious behavior and loud praying in the wee mornings - 4am. We reminded the tenant that the apartment is for living and not to be turned into a Mosque - which is against the law.

Anyway. It persisted. The guy and his son (who is a bleeping creep) keep smiling and lying to us. So now, along with one of the other tenants (who is a lawyer for a prestigious firm) we had to spend money and send a cease and desist order. Not only that, the building is up for sale and the agent (a friend of my brother-in-law and we do business with) is a non-practicing Muslim of Moroccan descent and he warned us that there's more than praying going on up there.

So. I suggested to my family we contact the police just in case. We were sent to the RCMP and lemme tell ya, that was an eye-opener what they told us. Long story short, building under surveillance now.

[Idle Hands]

weird. Are you going to be able to evict the people?

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Either we find a buyer or we kick his sorry ass out. It's a little wait and see. The agent said he's gonna have a chat with him.

Nor are we interested in cashing in our own chips - /wink.

[Rich]

Wow, Rufus! Keep us posted. God willing, you will get through this.

[Citizen X]

Inshallah!

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

We're not overly worried but it's a head ache and plays right into the stereotype. But we're not surprised. We've been hearing more of these tales.

My mother-in-law's neighbor rented out to Muslims and she just about lost it on them. She's a crusty, tough Ukrainian lady. She would tell us stories.

[Notorious UGCC]

"My mother-in-law's neighbor rented out to Muslims and she just about lost it on them. "

Sentences which start out like that usually end up with "and now she's raking in the dough working just two hours a week on the Internet."

Sorry to hear about your difficulties, prayers and best wishes.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Not overly worried. We'll let the cops handle it.

If they were up to no good, between the lawyer's letter and RCMP it should calm things down.

If not, well...

[Pope Jimbo]

OK, I see how that would make Papaya happy, but I missed where the fat chick comes into play. Why again is John going to like this story?

Did the fat wife fall through your substandard floor and hang herself by her burka?

[Pope Jimbo]

Or as we call it in the business: "burkina fatso"

[Citizen X]

I'm pretty sure that's racist.

[Citizen X]

...so i guess there's a little something for Irish, too.

[Raven Nation]

ISWYDT

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

I don't know if she's fat because she's covered head to toe. All I see are eyes.

Also, a little side bit, he kicked his wife out of that apartment (which was supposed to be for her well-being store) and installed his little shit in there.

[Monty Crisco]

"All I see are eyes."

Sooooooo, she's trying to seduce you?!?! You should probably rape her, because it sounds like she's asking for it!

[straffinrun]

Which is against the law, reminding the tenant or turning it into a Mosque? You should remind him in chalk next time.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

I like what the RCMP cop said in French in an almost dead-pan manner, 'Now whether it's simply a question of lacking class or something else...alright we'll monitor it.'

[straffinrun]

Not sure how much the Crown cares about that kind of stuff. Now First Nation women, that they care about.

[Old Man With Candy]

Did she learn that eyebrow treatment from Groucho Marx?

[EMD]

Sad, really, the rest of her (and the description of what she was wearing during the confrontation) isn't too shabby.

[Atlas Slugged]

the canuck version of the NSA did NOT already know of this? color me shocked

all kidding aside, hope you provide updates. I'm running for popcorn. Oh, sorry about your circumstances!

[Free Society]

That is interesting. Bad tenants are enough of a problem for a landlord and no one needs to compound that with an Islamic fundamentalist component.

[Jerryskids]

Victims group gets victimized, proving we're all victims now.

Victimizers rejoice: "We made a statement that we are not gonna get intimidated by and watch this terrorist group harass and incite fear and violence," O'Neal said. "We stood up to them today."

[Notorious UGCC]

"Nine counter-protesters were arrested, most for refusing to take their masks off, authorities said."

Wait, the *anti*-Klan people were wearing masks and got arrested under what I presume is an anti-Klan law?

[R C Dean]

[Crusty Juggler]

White people, you will not understand this article: Thelonious Monk: So Plain Only the Deaf Can Hear

Sometimes it seems the entirety of black American music is about this: trying to carve out a space unspoiled by the overbearing whiteness of being. Slave songs were coded messages about escape and freedom. Blues was filled with complex and culturally specific imagery. Jazz expressed an attempt to deconstruct and complicate American band music in a way that captured the violent and frenetic pace of life in northern cities. R&B beat with hidden messages about revolutions and uprising in the '60s. Then funk generated intergalactic imagery and a colorful form of mystical Egypto-alien visuals to create a world of inaccessible and separatist blackness.

[Crusty Juggler]

In the early '80s, hip-hop began as a tenement cultural collage, sly, transmutable, and infinitely self-referential. Run-D.M.C. took the disco goofiness of the Sugarhill Gang and planted it on cinder blocks in burned-out lots. N.W.A. took the Saturday morning b-boy cartoonism of Run-D.M.C. and infused it with the clear-eyed nihilism of the post-crack era. Biggie and Puff took the hole-in-the-shoes hoodism of N.W.A. and let the shit be platinum clean, razor sharp, and fabulous as fuck. Timbaland and Pharrell took Puffy's gold-plated pinky rings off and let it be nerd-core. Kanye decided you could be therapeutically self-reflective while dropping televangelist-level braggadocio. And then Drake just started bodying people as an unapologetically suburban singing nigga. These contradictions weren't just to be weird. They were meant to leave your ass behind. If you didn't understand how these things worked together, then it was not for you. Every moment of this progression consists of a black artist making something that challenges the norm and tries to give life to the specificity of their experience. Every moment imbues the maker with the power that comes when you create music that is direct, epic, and (most importantly) impossible to understand for people that don't live it. Doing things wrong is often how black people create their own freedom.

[Lee G]

Or maybe as hip-hop became more and more commercial and artists recognized that the persona mattered as much as (or more than) the music.

Whatever, the author is a nitwit.

[John]

Or maybe hip hop is like every other popular form of music for the last 50 years and image matters as much as the music.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Huh.

What does that make classical music?

[Hamster of Doom]

"Every moment of this progression consists of a black artist making something that challenges the norm and tries to give life to the specificity of their experience."

/damned good song

[Catatafish & Woodchips]

"These contradictions weren't just to be weird. They were meant to leave your ass behind.If you didn't understand how these things worked together, then it was not for you."

In other words, I'm going to inoculate my point from any criticism whatsoever by saying, "it's a black thang, you wouldn't understand."

[Eternal Blue Sky]

"Every moment of this progression consists of a black artist making something that challenges the norm and tries to give life to the specificity of their experience."

Nonsense. The best progression in rap music came from /Mongolian/ artists challenging the norm. Gee, Tatar, Ethnic Zorigoo, Fish Symbolled Stamp, THOSE are the rap groups who truly give life to the hip hop genre.

[John]

Slave songs were based on the call and response found in Baptist churches of the day. Blues was applying those principles to three chords on the guitar, a western instrument. Jazz arose after mulatto classical musicians were kicked out of the white halls they had been playing thanks to Jim Crow.

For trying to escape overbearing whiteness, black music sure seems to rely on white music for its creation a lot. Its almost as if the two cultures engaged in a back forth influencing each other in a positive way or something.

[Lee G]

The whole discussion is retarded. All music is built on the work of those who came before with very few exceptions. Almost everything we listen to in the West is descended from Bach and West Africa.

[EMD]

Wait, isn't music supposed to bring people together?

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

I love when cultural nationalists look for complexities where there is none.

Quebec are masters at this. It's a tactic to differentiate.

[Rich]

Then funk generated intergalactic imagery and a colorful form of mystical Egypto-alien visuals to create a world of inaccessible and separatist blackness.

That reminds me. Agile Cyborg made an appearance the other day.

[Hamster of Doom]

Inaccessible and separatist.

Not seeing it, really.

*quietly jams*

[Mustang]

You're right, I don't understand it. I am okay with that.

[Crusty Juggler]

Suit Aimed at Kanye West Begs Question: Are Tweets Legally Binding?

What a dick.

[John]

A tweet is nothing but a public statement. It absolutely can be binding under the right circumstances. The better question is if a tweet counts as a "writing" or as an oral statement.

[Rich]

How can it possibly be an oral statement?

[John]

Because the internet is different than writing on paper? I am not sure. But thinking that there is something different about a tweet than an email or paper that makes it more akin to an oral statement is the only argument I can think would apply here, because one absolutely could be binding.

[Elspeth Flashman]

I'd argue that is does substitute for writing - people tweeting understand that it can be seen by the world at large = publishing for all intents and purposes.

[kbolino]

people tweeting understand that it can be seen by the world at large

People know it; that they understand it is a proposition with shaky evidence.

[Warty]

What's the legal category for "a permanent record of the dumb shit you say without thinking about it"? Twitter is like everyone decided to have a court stenographer follow them around while they get hammered. It's insane.

[Raven Nation]

Twitter is like everyone decided to have a court stenographer follow them around while they get hammered.

*Enthusiastic applause*

[EMD]

This is so stolen.

[Irish ?s Lauren Southern]

So is this Austrian "far right" party actually right wing, or is this another of those situations where a bunch of socialists get called right-wing because they don't like immigrants?

[Citizen X]

What difference, at this point, does it make?

[EMD]

"What difference, at this point, does it make?"

It works for everything!

[sarcasmic]

Probably.

[straffinrun]

They have both ends of the spectrum in Europe, country and western.

[Warty]

European "far right" means nothing more than knuckle-dragging racial nationalism. We're called "liberals" over there, if we're called anything at all.

[Lord Humungus]

We are...

you are called a huge scary "man" who runs a dungeon.

[Warty]

I'm all man, baby.

[Hamster of Doom]

+1 hello sailor

[EMD]

I'm all man-baby.

[EMD]

I'm all man-baby.

[EMD]

Part Squirrel, too!

[Irish ?s Lauren Southern]

Yeah, but we're secretly far right because of our economic ideas and they're far right because they hate darkies, so really what's the difference? /things leftists think

[Notorious UGCC]

You know who else was right-wing and got called a socialist?

[R C Dean]

Tito?

[Free Society]

Far right is euphemism for deriding one's opponent as racist et cetera, because he favors some kind of immigration policy other than the one where you pay third-worlders with an average IQ of 85 to colonize you. There may or may not be anything "right wing" about these parties, I find there's usually not.

[Azathoth!!]

You tell me-- if the Democratic Socialists and The People's Party are being referred to as "centre right", what's the likelihood that the Freedom party is any further right than maybe "centre left"?

[Raven Nation]

Economics question: I was given some pro-Modern Monetary Theory material by someone who *knows* my views on the free market are archaic. I've read enough about MMT that it seems to be mostly another way for Top Men to manage the economy.

However, in the early part of this material, the author argued that the sum of domestic private deficit/surplus + government deficit/surplus + foreign surplus/deficit must equal zero (at least that's what I think he was arguing, my economics lingo is pretty basic). That is, say for the sake of argument, the foreign figure is zero, if government is running a $2 billion deficit, then the overall private economy must have a $2b surplus. This was presented as a presupposition without a lot of explanation. On the surface, it seemed pretty, um, absurd, to me but was wondering if this is actually a basic economic viewpoint that I've missed.

[Lee G]

There was someone who used to post on here (Draco I think) that was constantly pushing the monetarist stuff. I never looked at it long enough to fully explain it, but it always seemed to me that they were glossing over the fundamentals with sweeping generalizations. Lots of waving hands and the sort.

[Raven Nation]

Yeah, that seems correct. Although MMT is, apparently, not Friedman-style monetarism.

[UnCivilServant]

This assumes no one, anywhere, adds value to anything.

[some guy]

And no one, anywhere, ever subtracts value either.

[Hamster of Doom]

The magical self-balancing ledger.

[John]

It makes perfect sense. There is only so much money out there. So if the government spends $2 billion more than it takes in and has to borrow the difference, that $2 Billion dollars goes to the government where it would have been invested elsewhere. Instead of buying stocks or corporate bonds, investors loaned it to the government. That affects the country's larger account balance. There is a given demand for private investment. The money has to come from somewhere. If we are running a trade surplus, then the money the government is eating up can partially or entirely come from that. If we are running a deficit, then more cash leaving the country than is coming in creating a larger imbalance. The imbalance is made up one of two ways, either the country runs an equal surplus in foreign investment or the government prints the money. Either way, since there is only so much money out there, it has to equal zero.

[sarcasmic]

Dude, trade deficits are in fact a good thing. It means you're importing more stuff than you are exporting. Think of it on a household level. Are you better off if you import more stuff than you export from your home, or worse off? Are you not better off for having a trade deficit with the grocery store? After all, what have they ever bought from you?

[John]

Trade deficits are not necessarily good or bad. You have to pay for those things you are importing. If I run up $30,000 on a credit card, I get all that great stuff in return for case. I am running a household trade deficit. Eventually, however, I will have to pay the bill.

The same thing is true for nations. Yeah, trade deficits can be good. It can mean your economy is healthy and people want to sell you things and effectively lend you the money via foreign investment to do it. Eventually, however, it stops being such a good thing. The bill has to be paid.

Before we went to a fiat currency, trade deficits were no big deal because they didn't last forever. Eventually, the economy would slow down run out of money and the deficit would disappear and turn into a surplus. This was also associated with an economic downturn. But it all worked out even in the end. Now, we just keep printing money and borrowing money and putting off the inevitable reckoning. That is not a good thing.

[Restoras]

That is certainly the conventional thinking. But I'm still not certain it's a good/bad situation. The country running the trade surplus against our deficit is stuck holding dollars and has to invest in dollar denominated assets, these days typically government bonds as our spending is obviously out of control. The problem with that is not who owns the debt (ok, maybe if one entity owned a big enough tranche it could be a bad thing...) but that the debt exists at all. If The US weren't running massive deficits and couldn't buy dollar denominated debt it would have to buy something else with the dollars.

There was a crap-ton of hand-wringing and pearl clutching in the late 80s and early 90s about the trade deficit we were running with Japan - and the Japanese buying up a ton of US real estate. It all came to nothing. Is the situation that different now?

[John]

There was. And you could argue that it turned out badly for both countries. It turned out badly for Japan. Japan is the text book example of how running a trade surplus for too long ends badly. Japan protected the hell out of its own market and manipulated its currency to make imports expensive and its exports cheap. This stunted the growth of their domestic market and caused it to go out of balance and be too invested in exports. You can't manipulate your currency forever. Eventually other countries took efforts to counter the Japanese and the value of the Yen went up towards its natural value. This is what caused the Japanese crash in the 1990s. Much of their export industries were based on the advantage of an artificially low Yen and not on any real comparative advantage. When the Yen went back up, those industries died, because Japan had no domestic market to grow or take up for the lost exports. Japan still hasn't recovered from that.

Meanwhile, the US has a great consumer market, but it has lost industry after industry to first Japan and then China and now other places as those countries all decided to build their economies the way Japan did. The situation is completely artificial and everyone is being harmed by it in the long run. Industries are not moving because of comparative advantage like they are supposed to in the free market. They are moving based on which country is manipulating its currency.

[Restoras]

We've lost more industries and jobs because of uncompetitive labor prices taxes, and in the case of Detroit, inferior products that failed to address consumer demands, not because of the trade imbalance.

[Restoras]

s/b "uncompetitive labor prices and uncompetitive taxes"...

[John]

Detroit died for that reason. The US as a whole has a great auto industry. It is just not based in Detroit anymore. That, however, is in no small part the result of US protectionism. The US slapped tariffs on imports and foreign car companies had to start building their cars in the US if they wanted access to the market.

For all of the worship of "free trade", the fact is there wouldn't be much of a US auto industry left had Reagan not given companies a reason to build here. Was that a good or bad thing? That is a pretty complex question and whatever your answer not so simple as "free trade uber alles" would suggest.

[Restoras]

Yes fair to say that government edicts had a hand in causing foreign manufacturers to build plants here - though I wonder how much transportation costs had a hand in that, not to mention local tax breaks.

The Big Three exist now in part because they became more competitive with foreign manufacturers. It seems part of Detroit's problem is there is no need to be based their as a car manufacturer - not to mention the massive local disincentives.

[Brett L]

I'm not sure the Opium Wars count as "no big deal", but that was in no way a free-market problem. The trade deficit did eventually get resolved and tea grows all over the world.

[CatoTheChipper]

I greatly prefer to have a net trade surplus. Sure, I want to have a trade deficit with the local supermarket and wine shop. But, since I'm self-employed, I want a huge trade surplus with my clients, the bigger the better (employees prefer the same relationship with their employers.)

The net trade surplus becomes savings, which can either earn interest or be used as investment. If I have a net trade deficit, I have to borrow money and pay interest which is a practice that I avoid like the plague unless necessary for profitable business investment.

The point is that your statement leaves out the trade surplus that an employee/contractor has with his employer/clients. For people in the workforce, this is typically their largest single category of trade.

[John]

That is because it was an analogy to make a point. The point is the money has to come from somewhere. You cannot run a trade deficit forever.

[sarcasmic]

These theories tend to ignore the difference between money and wealth, and they tend to ignore foreign investment.

[straffinrun]

Interesting. I just listened to this debate with Bob Murphy and an MMT dude" the other day. In the Q and A a guy complains that Bob Murphy was being rude. I believe it's the same guy on Fox that was laughing at Peter Schiff in 07.

[straffinrun]

Yeah, it's Mike Norman at 1:07:10

[Rasilio]

Over time yes this must be true.

Basically every Debt is counted as an asset by the Debtor.

That said, there can be time dislocations that make the realization of that asset or debt or both disappear for a little while

[R C Dean]

I guess my question is, so what? If it *must* sum to zero, then its a tautology.

And, this reads to me like an income statement. What about capital? How does it account for capital flows?

[Mickey Rat]

Was not Melisandre glamorous last night?

[Hyperion]

What's a Melisandre?

[Lord Humungus]

someone that nerds of a certain type like to jack off to?

[Restoras]

Not if you saw the closing scene last night...

[Lord Humungus]

way to other Crusty Juggler

[Jordan]

Preet sets his sights on Derp Blasio:

Mayor de Blasio and his top aides coordinated an illegal fundraising scheme to help elect Democrats to the state Senate in 2014, the top investigator at the state Board of Elections accuses in a blockbuster memo that recommends the DA investigate City Hall.

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. One who no doubt supports all manner of campaign finance regulations. Preet may be a piece of shit, but he sure is good at taking down other pieces of shit.

[Crusty Juggler]

Preet may be a piece of shit, but he sure is good at taking down other pieces of shit.

Apparently. Is Cuomo next?

[Restoras]

Preet better be careful - he might end up swimming with whatever is in the East River these days.

[commodious spittoon]

Kramer?

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Takes one to know one but at least he has the guts to do it.

[Irish ?s Lauren Southern]

Non-binary student in Britain tells Barack Obama she has no rights.

""We literally have no rights .?.?. I really wish yourself and [Prime Minister] David Cameron would take us seriously as transgender people," the questioner said to Obama."

It's increasingly difficult to take trans activists seriously.

[Crusty Juggler]

Literally none.

[Monty Crisco]

She LITERALLY has no idea what "literally", "rights" or "have" means....

[Irish ?s Lauren Southern]

I LITERALLY can't think of a single right trans people don't have in either the US or England.

Then again, if you think the ability to sue a business for saying you have to use the men's bathroom when you really want to use the women's bathroom, I guess you're being oppressed.

[Hyperion]

I really don't get this entire bathroom thing. It's funny how I lived almost my entire life and there was no crisis involving someone being oppressed because they want to dress up as the opposite sex and use the public restroom of that gender, and society sort of frowns upon that. I mean, what is the deal here? Why would anyone want to do that if they're not just being a perv?

I mean I'm about as socially liberal as you can get, more so than most of my 'liberal' acquaintances, but I have an issue with some fucking perv being able to dress up as a woman and get to use the women's bathroom.

There's only one solution. We need a third public restroom. It will just have a question mark on the door and be for those who are currently confused about which gender they are. We will mandate that all businesses pay for that and get it done immediately.

[John]

The whole thing is insane. Okay, you are a guy who thinks you are a woman and it bugs you to use the bathroom with other men instead of your real "gender" whatever that is. Okay, women are bugged by being in there with a guy who thinks he is a woman. Why do your anxieties take precedence over theirs? No one ever bothers to explain that. They just call anyone with a different opinion a "bigot" and assume that their preferred group should win.

Reason has just been appalling on this issue. They actually claim that taxpayers should have to spend money on extra bathrooms to accommodate this shit in schools and public buildings. Because nothing says "libertarian" like saying I should have to pay to indulge your preference.

[Rasilio]

Here is the thing, if you are a guy who feels like a woman.

And you are dressed and presenting as a woman, and you sit down to pee how would any woman in that restroom know you were a guy?

That's right, they wouldn't

On the other hand walking into the mens room dressed and presenting like a woman is going to make some guys uncomfortable and in certain circumstances could easily be dangerous.

The you are forgetting that there are also FtM trannies too. So those women who "feel uncomfortable" sharing a restroom with a man are still not helped becasue you are still going to have "guys" with beards and every other external feature of a man (and in some cases if they have had surgery even a functioning penis) walking into the womens room and using it.

[tarran]

Do you think trans people will really obey this law?

After these stupid laws get put in place, the number of dick checks going on in people walking into men or women's restrooms will stay at 0.

The people pushing these laws are instantiating a type of retarded thinking which goes "if there's a law against people doing something, they'll magically stop."

[John]

Tarran,

If they don't and no one notices, then what is the big deal? The issue only arises when someone does. And then, I think they have a right to have the person ejected.

[Eternal Blue Sky]

"if there's a law against people doing something, they'll magically stop."

^This!! It's just more stuff symptomatic of the #DoSomething age we live in. People just want to pass the law to signal that they have Done /Something/. The fact that what they've done accomplishes nothing doesn't matter, because they can feel good about themselves.

[John]

People can always skirt any rule. Yeah, if you are a convincing tranny, you no doubt can get away with using the other gender's bathroom without any incident. To me though, that makes this whole thing even more stupid. You are right, we can't check your DNA at the door. So the rule now is effectively "you can do it if you are convincing enough and don't cause any issues for people to notice". That to me seems like the right rule. The only time the issue arises is if the person is causing an issue with people. And when that happens the other people should win.

Everyone obsesses about bathrooms but that is really not the big deal. The big deal and the real goal behind the activists is showers and dressing rooms. There, there is no way to pass. And they want it to apply even to kids. So, the 12 year old boy goes and dresses and showers with the girls because he has decided he is a girl. Seriously, you think that is anything other than insane?

[tarran]

I think laws about bathroom use *are* insane.

I think the only sane policy is... the guy who owns the batrhoom decides who gets to use it and when. And if people violate his/her/xer/xis/lmnopqr's rule, eviction as trespassers.

Then, if a school has a trans student who is kicking up a fuss, the school administration can decide how to handle that individual case. And if the kid isn't satisfied, the parents can find a school that will accommodate the kid. Hell, you could start a trans-friendly school with free hormone therapy on campus and cater to all the trans kids in the city, and everyone else can fucking get on with their lives.

[John]

I think the only sane policy is... the guy who owns the bathoom decides who gets to use it and when.

I agree. But when someone violates whatever rule they set, people ought to be able to call the cops. And property owners who run a public business ought to have to tell their customers whatever the rule is.

And you can start whatever school you want. I am talking about public schools. And as long as we have those, the parents ought to be able to enforce a rule that best fits their needs.

[Rasilio]

They do and no further laws are required.

You follow my rules or you lose the right to be on my property.

Hey he broke the bathroom rule.

Sir, please leave and do not return or I will call the police and have you arrested for trespassing.

See, no new laws required

[Eternal Blue Sky]

"So, the 12 year old boy goes and dresses and showers with the girls because he has decided he is a girl. Seriously, you think that is anything other than insane?"

You think requiring 12 year old boys to strip down, crowd into a room, and shower together along with their possibly gay or bisexual class mates and in front of the grown adults put in charge of the school shower room is anything other than insane??

Yeah, letting trans people use whatever shower room they want in public schools is insane. But it's only insane because the CURRENT setup is pretty fucking insane.

[commodious spittoon]

Everybody wears bathing suits under their gym clothes. The suit you choose to wear determines where you shower.

[John]

Yeah, letting trans people use whatever shower room they want in public schools is insane. But it's only insane because the CURRENT setup is pretty fucking insane.

Insane is a relative term. I am sure you do think it is insane but that is because you are a nut. The rest of the world is just fine with it and doesn't owe you or any other nut accommodation.

[lap83]

But that would make the trans people feel othered. We need to force people to accept them and punish teabaggers.

[Rasilio]

The problem with your thinking is that the Perv can ALWAYS dress up like a woman and access the women's room because as a general rule restrooms do not have gender inspectors posted at the door so laws against it are not going to stop the perv.

What they will do however is to criminalize the non perv trans gender person using not just the bathroom of their preference but most importantly the bathroom that happens to match their outward physical apperance at that moment.

People complain because they are worried about guys who look like Sons of Anarchy rejects using the women's room, problem is when you ban transgender use of the restroom you still get exactly that as there are people who were born women who take hormones specifically to look like men.

So you still get "men" in the women's room.

The North Carolina law is even worse because it specifically requires people to use the restroom of their gender at birth, so it means that someone who has had full gender reassignment surgery must use the opposite restroom from the one that matches their genitals. It literally requires some people in possession of a penis to use the women's room.

The correct law (to the extent that there even should be a law, a social convention would be best) is that everyone should use the restroom that best matches their outward appearance so as not to distress or discomfort others any more than necessary.

[Rasilio]

If you look like a chick, use the womens room. If you look like a dude, use the mens room. If you look like Pat and no one can tell use whichever restroom you feel like using.

[Irish ?s Lauren Southern]

"The correct law (to the extent that there even should be a law, a social convention would be best) is that everyone should use the restroom that best matches their outward appearance so as not to distress or discomfort others any more than necessary."

I agree. The problem with that though is that you'll then end up with questions about whether someone really looks like a man, etc.

Plus, what if someone was born looking masculine but they're a woman?

[Irish ?s Lauren Southern]

Actually, the proper answer is to have no laws regarding what bathrooms transgender people can use. Why should the state be involved at all?

[commodious spittoon]

Why should the state be involved at all?

Because, in the culture war, it's never about finding compromises or making concessions. It's about using the law to beat your opponents into submission, even though it merely breeds resentment and antipathy.

[Rasilio]

Dress, hair style, makeup and similar superficial features

Those are generally how we make spot decisions on whether someone is a man or a woman.

And like I said, if you are so androgynous looking that a reasonable person can't tell then it doesn't really matter which you use because everyone will assume you are the gender of the restroom you chose to use.

[John]

You have to criminalize it to some extent or private property owners can't have the rule they want. If I run a business and some guy uses the women's restroom, what can I do about that except kick him out and if he won't leave call the cops and have him arrested for trespassing? And even if I kick him out, its too late. He has already done it. If I run a business and have a sign that says "men" and "women" on the bathrooms and some guy ignores it, hasn't he in a sense trespassed on part of my property? If I invite you in my house, does that give you a right to go into my bedroom if I have the door closed and a sign that says "guests do not enter"?

And how do you enforce any rule in public buildings without there being some kind of sanction to those who violate them?

[Rasilio]

But that is exactly it.

Why do we need to criminalize and punish the act of using a restroom?

If all you do in there is the standard use of a restroom (Piss, Shit, Wash your hands, and use the mirror to check your appearance) then at the end of the day who cares which one you used.

If you are an asshole and you chose to use the restroom that did not match your apparent gender and made someone uncomfortable then again it is not at all clear that you have committed any aggression to the point where criminal or even civil charges would be appropriate. The best response it to simply kick that person out of that venue on threats of trespassing charges. If they repeat the offence a permanent ban might be in order which means you could then have the arrested just for entering the building.

The only issue arises when you get someone who is an actual bad actor who uses the access to that restroom to commit assault or invade someones privacy by surreptitiously filming them but you don't need to criminalize their use of the bathroom to punish that as those things are already crimes.

[John]

it is not at all clear that you have committed any aggression to the point where criminal or even civil charges would be appropriate.

Trespassing isn't an aggression? If you come in my back yard and don't touch anything and just stand there, have you not committed a crime? I think you have. It is a trespass. You are on someone else' property without permission from the owner.

The issue is I own the bathroom and I said men can't go into the women's restroom. You are trespassing when you do that and I should be able to call the cops.

[Free Society]

respassing isn't an aggression? If you come in my back yard and don't touch anything and just stand there, have you not committed a crime? I think you have. It is a trespass.

It's true that it's a crime. It's also true that, at least in the example you give, it's a trifle of a crime. If I'm walking down the street I and remove a blade of grass from your yard, is that theft? Sure, so the question is then, does this warrant some kind of dispute resolution or criminal proceedings?

In the absence of some kind of larger and more sustained transgression, it's hardly a crime worth opening your window to yell at the guy, let alone bringing prosecutors, cops and lawyers into the mix. These sorts of ultra-low level offenses should be handled by private social forces, not legal forces.

[Rasilio]

"The issue is I own the bathroom and I said men can't go into the women's restroom. You are trespassing when you do that and I should be able to call the cops."

Tresspasser: Oh I'm sorry sir, see I am trans-gendered and was dressed and presenting as a woman so it did not occur to me that I qualified as a man by this owners definition.

Officer: Ok, well then be on your way and don't let it happen again.

You'll note I did not say it was not aggression, I specifically said it was not aggression significant enough that criminal or civil charges would be appropriate. There is a very big difference.

In otherwords you are dead wrong, no new law is required, you as a property owner can have whatever rule for bathroom use you want and if you catch someone violating it you have an obligation to inform them that their rights to the premises have been voided and they are not actually guilty of any crime until they refuse to leave the premises in a timely manner.

That however is not what you want, you want the use of the bathroom itself criminalized, and note since that crime will not require a business owner to file a complaint that law can still be used against someone who used the "wrong" rest room in a place where the ownership allowed them to. All it takes is an over zealous prosecutor with an axe to grind. But then, we know that would never happen would it?

[John]

That is bullshit. If I have a sign that says "women and no Trannies" on the door and the tranny ignores that, he has committed trespassing. He should go to jail if I want to press charges. You guys only think it doesn't matter because you refuse to admit I have the right to do that. If I can't send you to jail for coming on my property, then I don't really own the property, or at least don't if we have a government.

[Rasilio]

IF the sign on the door said that then he would be trespassing by entering the restroom and you could press charges for that trespass.

Now that said, since there is not actually any economic harm caused to you his punishment for that offense would be trivial and you would be entitled to no compensation but if that was your policy and it was clearly marked, as stupid of a policy as it is you could use the law to enforce it and under existing law that person would be slapped with a misdemeanor trespassing charge.

So again you are just wrong, no additional law was required specifically outlawing trannie use of the womans room. All of the laws needed for a property owner to enforce his terms of use already existed.

[B. Woodrow Chippenhaus]

I presume the speaker was immediately arrested for speaking to its betters, sentenced to a term in jail without a trial, had their property seized without needing a warrant...

[B. Woodrow Chippenhaus]

Also, i wish people would take identity-fluid people seriously too. For example, this morning I identify as Tom Brady, but I might be someone else tomorrow.

[Rasilio]

Does that mean that while you were identifying as Tom Brady you could have sex with Giselle and it would be all good because you identified as her Husband?

[R C Dean]

We literally have no rights

Well, you and everybody else on that island. What makes you special, again?

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

The CBC asks 'Does the media have a dangerous crush on Trudeau?'

Oh my how far we've fallen to even ask such vapid questions?

And the answer is 'duh'.

Also, thanks for nothing Reason. I can't get 'Little red corvette' out of my head.

[SugarFree]

Baby, you much too fast.

[John]

He is the Canadian Obama. Wow does that say a lot about both the US and Canada.

[Hyperion]

Yeah, except that the USA really is a libertarian paradise if you compare it to Canada.

[Irish ?s Lauren Southern]

I honestly can't tell if this is a parody.

There was a dinner for black women Claremont Mckenna. The dinner was opened up to *all women of color,* at which point several black women claimed that other non-white women were invading their safe space.

"Many black female students did not approve of this change. "There have been several complaints by Black womyn about the BLOC event that is happening on Friday and from what I have seen, it seems to me that the men of BLAM wanted to explicitly make sure that the womyn who felt oppressed and not welcomed by the structure and advertisement of 'Dinner for the Sistahs' felt loved and wanted to create an actual safe space for Black womyn?with the input of Black womyn," stated Ashley Land (PO '16). "In my honest opinion, I feel like the dinner is being half-assed, it is last minute, it is devaluing black womyn by not even letting them have two hours with them as the focus (when the event was originally created for Black womyn?like how you gonna make the event called Dinner for the Sistahs when the word 'sistah' is historically seeded with Black womyn in mind???).""

This sounds too ridiculous to be true, but I googled the people named in the article and they're real students at Claremont McKenna. So if this isn't true, they're basically libeling people.

[SugarFree]

"I misspell words to feel special."

-Ashley Land

[Crusty Juggler]

wom?yn
?wimin/
noun
plural noun: womyn

nonstandard spelling of "women" adopted by some feminists in order to avoid the word ending -men.

Ha.

[kbolino]

Ashley Land (PO '16)

They consolidated all the "studies" degrees into a single Political Officer program? How retro Marxist.

[Juvenile Bluster]

A bunch of Okies from Muskogee seize $53k cash from man. Same old story. They stop him, call in the drug sniffing dog, drug sniffing dog "alerts", search finds no drugs, they seize the cash anyways. This time after it hit the news that they seized a bunch of cash going to an orphanage and a church, they issued an arrest warrant based on the officer's say-so and no evidence.

As always, IJ is on the case, because they're awesome. I need to make another donation to them.

[creech]

Officer should be sent for re-training (at his expense and no pay during his absence) and dog retired to a good home.

[Jerryskids]

"We thought America was the best in the world," he said. "But unfortunately this happened, and it made us [think] like American police are the same as our police in Burma."

Oftentimes, the corrupt police in other countries don't pretend they're not crooks so there's that difference.

And, oh yeah, goddammit so much.

[Loki]

The top two nominations submitted by the public to rename Robert E. Lee Elementary School in Austin were the Donald J. Trump Elementary School and the Robert E. Lee Elementary School. The Adolf Hitler School for Friendship and Tolerance came in seventh.

That's some epic trolling right there. Almost restores some of my faith in humanity.

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[Rockabilly]

If the GOP was really the party of limited government, King Obama would have been impeached years ago for his numerous and well documented violations of the US Constitution.

Sad to say but the GOP is full of impotent girlie men too busy going to fancy pants DC elite parties, drinking fancy girlie drinks like 'screaming orgasym,' and eating quiche, rather than reigning in King Obama's imperial edicts and commands.

[UnCivilServant]

The house is 104 years old, and I do not remember if it was adjustable.

[Zeb]

And if it's not adjustable, it's probably filled with concrete. It's not too hard to replace the fixed columns either. But you should be good with just cleaning and painting them, it sounds like.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Know what was a circus? The end to that Wild game!

[Pope Jimbo]

I was scaring them with stories about how Graceland turned into a tourist trap that permanently lures in tons of rubes each year.

They weren't pleased with the idea that they will have to put up with the silliness permanently.

[Rhywun]

"Princeland". That property seems to have plenty of room for a couple roller coasters. I like it.

[Jerryskids]

You can replace the posts if need be - use a shorter post and a bottle jack next to the old post to jack up the floor a fuzz, just enough to get the old post out and a new one in. If the rust is not too bad, sand it down and use a good rust-proof primer and some epoxy paint on it.

[Pope Jimbo]

Maybe instead of a "Jungle Room" there will be a "Tundra Room"?

[Pope Jimbo]

Holy Shi-ite! You read the comments on the Strib? I knew you were tough, Tundra, but not just how tough

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

That was the happiest losing coach - Torchetti - I've ever seen in an after game press conference.

[Crusty Juggler]

Don't forget Louis Prima.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Heaven knows I don't want to light up the 'over rated' brigade but personally, I think The Beatles were more original than any other group people tend to put above them. Looks at Zeppelin and the Stones.

Completely a sound unique to them - and spare me about their early recordings. We know they were influenced by American rock'n roll but they evolved from that.

[some guy]

And the giant horns are standing idle. Nobody wants an idle horn.

[Citizen X]

SOMEBODY'S gotta keep an eye on all that Nazi gold.

[Raven Nation]

*Reads Rufus's comment. Yells at women and children to get off the street before the shooting starts.*

*Note: protecting women & children is neither an endorsement or criticism of said comment.

[R C Dean]

Completely a sound unique to them - and spare me about their early recordings.

I think their mid to later stuff was really a melding of rock and English music hall sound. Sgt Pepper is the most obvious example.

Nobody else did it like them. So, yes, unique.

[John]

I always respect people who do things that shouldn't work but somehow do. For example, Eleanor Rigby is a rock and roll song that uses a string quartet as its backing band. That shouldn't work. Yet, it is one of the best and beloved rock/pop songs ever done. The Beatles did a ton of songs like that. Another example is When Doves Cry. That is an R&B song that doesn't have a base on it. Listen to it sometime. The song has no base. R&B is all about base and drums. You should not be able to write a great R&B song without a base, yet there it is.

The Stones were not as innovative as the Beatles but are still worthy of a lot of respect. They more or less perfected rock and roll. A song like Gimme Shelter isn't innovative in the way Eleanor Rigby is, but it has perhaps the best chord progression of any rock song ever written. The stuff Richards did with open tuning and the sound he achieved in song like Jumping Jack Flash and Street Fighting man was wildly innovative and would be respected today even if it hadn't been popular.

[EMD]

Jungle Love Room. You can hang out in there all Morris Day long.

[Cdr Lytton]

Sign me up! I've got the time.

[R C Dean]

Nobody wants an idle horn.

So true.