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Politics

Will Donald Trump Be the Peacenik President? Was He Elected Dictator? And What's the Deal with Thanksgiving?

Subscribe to the Reason podcast (free!) and support Reason's efforts to make the world a free-er, fairer, more-fun place (tax-deductible!).

Nick Gillespie | 12.3.2016 10:05 AM

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Reason

About six weeks ago, we launched the Reason podcast, a daily conversation on all sorts of topics that lasts between 30 to 90 minutes that fits in your pocket (phone). You can check it out here or subscribe for free at iTunes (rate and review us while you're there).

We've always been interested in new ways of spreading the message of "Free Minds and Free Markets" and we've always taken delight in how technology and the breakdown of traditional gatekeeper institutions effectively deregulated the production and consumption of culture every bit as much as, say, interstate trucking was deregulated in the late 1970s. The podcast is one of the things we're asking you as readers of Reason.com to support during our annual webathon. Through December 6, we're trying to raise $250,000 to help cover the costs of our journalism—the print magazine, this website, Reason TV, and more.

We love what we do—and we can't do it without your help. That's why we're hosting our annual webathon through Tuesday, December 6. We're asking readers of this site to make tax-deductible donations in dollars and Bitcoin to Reason Foundation, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit that publishes our award-winning journalism in video, audio, and print form.

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In recent podcasts, we've talked with "renegade" historian Thaddeus Russell about why he thinks Donald Trump will be a "peacenik president," one less likely to indiscriminately bomb random countries (though Russell says Trump will be awful in the Middle East).

And we've talked with food historian Rachel Laudan about the origins of Thanksgiving as a uniquely American meal designed to give the finger to European elites.

And we talked with libertarian Republican Rep. Thomas Massie about how Trump wasn't elected dictator and it's well past time for Congress to assert its role as the first branch of government.

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NEXT: Indian Prime Minister's Shake Down of Private Wealth

Nick Gillespie is an editor at large at Reason and host of The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie.

PoliticsWebathonThanksgivingReason PodcastDonald TrumpThomas Massie
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  1. Sevo   8 years ago

    NYT discovers gov't dicking with the economy isn't a good idea:

    "Trump and Carrier: how a modern economy is like a parking garage"
    http://www.sfgate.com/business.....688320.php

    Headline missing from several years back:
    "Obama and Solyndra: how a modern economy punishes foolish 'investments'"

    1. The Fusionist   8 years ago

      I thought the economy was like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get.

    2. Tornado35235gsg35423ttg3gt3g3g   8 years ago

      These people are hard to take seriously

    3. Brochettaward|(((pants)))   8 years ago

      It really must be hard for most partisans to keep track of which side of an issue they are on that day. It's like that old line about the Soviets about how the future doesn't concern them because they know what's going to happen, but they never know what the past is going to be today.

      1. Sevo   8 years ago

        "You can change the past; you just can't change the future"

      2. Ted S.   8 years ago

        Let us talk about the future, for that is where we must all spend the rest of our lives.

      3. VG Zaytsev   8 years ago

        We've always been at war with EastAsia.

  2. SIV   8 years ago

    NO BUCK$ 4 CUCKS !

    1. Austrian Anarchy   8 years ago

      Do they even have a $4 option?

  3. DenverJ   8 years ago

    What can I get for $5?

    1. Swiss Servator   8 years ago

      1 large coffee, 2 donuts.

      1. Austrian Anarchy   8 years ago

        What slum are you in?

  4. Rufus The Monocled   8 years ago

    OT: Enjoy.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA_Yr6zE8VQ

    1. The Fusionist   8 years ago

      Well, the politician may not be a rapist, but he's certainly an adulterer.

      1. The Fusionist   8 years ago

        OK, maybe the rumors are bogus...maybe he's *not* an adulterer.

        That covers the possibilities.

        1. The Fusionist   8 years ago

          I can guess this much, they're not going to expel him from Parliament even if he is an adulterer (which maybe he isn't), unless they also think he's a rapist.

          1. The Fusionist   8 years ago

            To be clear, he might be an adulterer, and he might not be.

            I'd need better evidence than this woman to think he's a rapist.

            1. Rufus The Monocled   8 years ago

              Better? She's a nut case.

              And yeah, if he's an adulterer it likely makes him the rule and not the exception.

              C'man Eddie. Let's not be naive!

              1. The Fusionist   8 years ago

                Why do you think I said it's unlikely they'd expel someone for adultery alone?

              2. Austrian Anarchy   8 years ago

                Ah, she needs a therapist and added a space.

          2. Brochettaward|(((pants)))   8 years ago

            I didn't read most of these comments. Are we talking about Ted Cruz?

    2. Zero Sum Game   8 years ago

      I do enjoy a good blood-boiling.

      The media and the public create something from nothing and ruin someone without a trial, without investigation.

      It is the job of the police to doubt both stories, to collect evidence that might convict or exonerate and present that to a court and for a court to decide. It is the job of the media to be skeptical too. They have a responsibility to the public to not whip it into a frenzy in order to deny someone the chance of a fair trial. It is the job of the public to presume innocence.

      Failure at all levels of society. The person I want to blame most is her, and she's doesn't deserve blame because she's a diagnosed crazy person. That is something that the media should have dug into and found out. It should be a requirement to assess the mental state of someone claiming rape if they have never undergone an evaluation before because the accusation alone is so damaging and government has a responsibility to get it right.

      1. Rufus The Monocled   8 years ago

        Pretty much all This.

  5. Austrian Anarchy   8 years ago

    Apparently Trump made (or took) a call with the president of Taiwan. Place your bets!

    A. Reason staff will condemn Trump for upsetting a time honored diplomatic tradition established by Jimmy FUCKING CARTER for God's sake.

    B. Reason staff will embrace the open acknowledgement of a government that at least gives a nod to liberty.

    C. Reason staff will shut up about it after accepting their new iPhones, designed by California Communists and manufactured by slaves in the PRC. Because a company from the ROC owns the factory.

    1. The Fusionist   8 years ago

      D. Reason does an article acknowledging that Trump did the right thing, while saying he's a HYPOCRITE for failing to also do an allegedly similar thing in a different area of public policy.

      1. Austrian Anarchy   8 years ago

        That is ia good one. Added!

      2. SIV   8 years ago

        Now this is a man who RTFAs.

    2. Hyperion   8 years ago

      E. There will be a Dalmia article saying that Trump did the right thing by taking the call, while at the same time saying how dangerous he is on immigration and trade and calling him a racist, xenophobe, sexist, bigot monster in the first sentence.

      1. Austrian Anarchy   8 years ago

        Is that before or after she gets her new phone?

      2. Zero Sum Game   8 years ago

        Did you notice that the comments on her most recent article are disabled?

        Someone doesn't want the commentariat to have a say. Once a leftist, always a leftist.

        1. Hyperion   8 years ago

          Are you kidding me? Ok, I have to go see this...

          1. Hyperion   8 years ago

            Just left a comment there, so not disabled.

            1. Zero Sum Game   8 years ago

              On this article? By what voodoo? I click on "Leave a comment" and the thing blows up.

              1. Hyperion   8 years ago

                Ok, when I peruse the articles, I don't even see that article... I have to look again.

                1. Hyperion   8 years ago

                  I see, that's not a H&R article, it's under archives, so wouldn't have comments.

                  1. Zero Sum Game   8 years ago

                    It is not marked as one that appeared in print/digital. I was unaware that there are some articles that can't have comments that aren't also from the published side of things (which is one expected exception).

                    Then it's just incredibly shitty coding to have the link appear there for leaving comments and explode when you click on it.

                2. Zero Sum Game   8 years ago

                  It's under the "New" section when you click on the button under "Top Stories." It will also appear in the list of articles written by her if you click her name.

              2. Austrian Anarchy   8 years ago

                Boom!

              3. Hyperion   8 years ago

                If you just click on the link 'view this article', it blows up.

                1. Zero Sum Game   8 years ago

                  I see that too. How can something get published to "archives" but have a date for today and not have the "from the January 2017 issue - view article in the Digital Edition" note at the top? Those don't even have dates either.

                  The links explode because they go to /blog/... not /archives/...

                2. Austrian Anarchy   8 years ago

                  Fixed now, as in it doesn't blow up.

                  Interesting editorial choice, placing it on the H&R page, it is the top article right now.

        2. Austrian Anarchy   8 years ago

          This article? I commented. Latest I saw here.

          1. Hyperion   8 years ago

            Nope, he's talking about a different article, and it's not H&R, so no comments.

            1. Austrian Anarchy   8 years ago

              Now comments are open!

      3. Austrian Anarchy   8 years ago

        Meathead angling for a spot at Reason

    3. Austrian Anarchy   8 years ago

      Reason's delay in covering this Taiwan story is because:

      A. Saturday
      B. Ezra Klein hasn't told them what their opinion is yet?
      C. Both

      WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH THIS PAGE LOSING FOCUS FROM THE COMMENT FIELD?

      1. Hyperion   8 years ago

        D. We needz moar money!

    4. Austrian Anarchy   8 years ago

      F. Reason has a multi-part expos? on the horrors of conscription, featuring Taiwan.

  6. DenverJ   8 years ago

    I have to repair a two inch water main today. Outside. Think I'll wait until it warms up. Bejebus, it's cold this morning.

    1. DOOMco   8 years ago

      It is. i saw a crew working outside campus, looked like a water main. Cold and dark. I'm lucky and get to be inside. Good luck!

    2. straffinrun   8 years ago

      Go to this bodega. They serve virtue signalling.

      1. Zero Sum Game   8 years ago

        But then he'd have to go to the People's Republic of Boulder and deal with all the California transplants and hipsters. Better just to freeze your balls off working outside than put up with that.

        1. Zero Sum Game   8 years ago

          Ugh, now I see that the Bodega is in Denver. They're spreading.

          1. straffinrun   8 years ago

            There used to be a lot of scuzzy white males in Denver (full disclosure, I used to be one) so there's a firewall to the Boulder insanity there.

            1. DOOMco   8 years ago

              Boulder has a few libertarians around. Most seem to be retired electric and mechanical engineers.

              1. TheZenomeProject   8 years ago

                School of Mines folks, I'm guessing? Don't know too much about Boulder or CO in general, but from reading about it it doesn't seem all that different from any other collegiate echo-chamber around, maybe besides its sheer size.

                1. DOOMco   8 years ago

                  cu plays a huge role, and there's a lot of hippies here. most moved in, and most are of the super prog type. the older ones are real hippies- limited possessions, true lifestyle change. Back in the day, this place was huge for gov contracts. lots of nasa projects. the engineers seem to tend libertarian.
                  I moved here 3 years ago, so i might not have the best take.

                  1. TheZenomeProject   8 years ago

                    I was thinking about applying to grad schools in Colorado next fall, including Mines and CU; it's kind of a hotspot for geologists for obvious reasons, and I have a high tolerance for progs and hippies due to my daily exposure to Chapel Hill folks.

                    1. DOOMco   8 years ago

                      I like it here. plenty to do, good weather.
                      golden is cheaper to live in, but only by a margin. both are great schools.

                    2. Trials and Trippelations   8 years ago

                      Another NC Reasonoid!

                      I don't think Chapel Hill Town Council will be pleased to know that there are 2 libertarians living within the town limits.

                    3. TheZenomeProject   8 years ago

                      Considering that the GOP office was firebombed in the same county about a month ago, any conservative or libertarian living here probably should stay silent outside of Reason or maybe Breitbart until next year. And even after that, I'm not entirely sure that the derp wave will fully subside.

                    4. EDG reppin LBC   8 years ago

                      I grew up in Chapel Hill (infancy till 5 year old). I remember hippies, and especially "streakers". There was a midget that owned a hobby shop at the Eastgate shopping center that was a friend. We lived in a big apartment complex, and we used to go play in the woods. On the north side, there was a creek and we would watch the older kids catch crayfish. On the south side there was a big bamboo stand that we would run around. In the evening, 10's of thousands of birds would congregate in the bamboo. We'd pick blackberries, and watch them flock in. Be sure to check the blackberry for bird poop though.

                    5. EDG reppin LBC   8 years ago

                      A favorite pastime for kids was creating mischief, and avoiding Rudy, the apartment complex manager. We would climb across balconies and enter vacant apartments and run around. We would climb into the empty pool during winter and run around. That Rudy really hated kids. One time, a 3rd grader named Bo was picking on us younger kids. I was in kindergarten and I just blasted him in the mouth. Then I wailed away on him. He left the little kids alone after that.

                    6. EDG reppin LBC   8 years ago

                      I kicked a wasp nest and they stung the shit out of my legs and ankle. We used to go to a shop called "The Shrunken Head" and my parents would make fun of hippies. We'd by Double Bubble green apple gum at the candy store next door, and my brother told me that those two dots were from rattlesnake fangs. Susi and Satomi Hayashi were my neighbors. I'd go to their apartment and we'd draw stuff. They had a bunch of pens and stationery with Hello Kitty and stuff. Don't go all the way down to the basement of the stairwell. If we were really good, at recess we could go and play in the woods. Don't sleep with Matchbox cars. Streakers!!

                      Chapel Hill circa 1969-1975.

        2. DOOMco   8 years ago

          hey! I'm only a little hipster.

          1. Zero Sum Game   8 years ago

            Wasn't an implication that everyone living there is a crazy leftist or hipster, of course. Just most of them.

            38.2% of Boulder County voted for ColoradoCare (amendment 69) [Source] which was slapped down incredibly hard across the rest of the state. Deep blue with a decent chunk of pinkos among them, without a doubt.

            1. DOOMco   8 years ago

              they are here, and they have numbers. 10 cents for a plastic bag. they passed the soda/sugar sin tax.

              1. Zero Sum Game   8 years ago

                The picture says it all.

                1. TheZenomeProject   8 years ago

                  Maybe besides the one holding that sign, the "men" in that picture don't look all that enthused to be there. Maybe they all got dragged in by their SJW girlfriends? (Probably)

                  1. DOOMco   8 years ago

                    wow, i missed that article.

                2. Libertarian   8 years ago

                  In 20 years those kids will be trying to run the country, just like these two:

                  http://images2.fanpop.com/imag.....84-344.jpg

      2. westernsloper   8 years ago

        Wow, that sign is disturbing.

        Are you people sure we have not reached peak stupidity?

        1. TheZenomeProject   8 years ago

          If you are seeking the peak of all things derp, you will never find it. Rolling Stone writers come pretty damn close, however: http://www.rollingstone.com/po.....ef-w453504

          1. westernsloper   8 years ago

            Granted, that is a stupid article, but I do have to agree with part of it. The people, including Trump, who say he won in a "landslide" need to do a reality check. There was no landslide there.

            The rest of it though. Stupid.

            1. TheZenomeProject   8 years ago

              Unlike Bush/Gore, however, it was an electoral college landslide because of those three Rust Belt states that he won. It was just an incredibly strange election overall.

              1. Austrian Anarchy   8 years ago

                The Watermelons have dropped one rust belt recount, PA.

            2. TheZenomeProject   8 years ago

              On a side note, I'm not fully sure if Trump really thinks that he won in a "landslide" or if he's just riling his base up by simply being himself. Either way, these writers need to get a life.

      3. CatoTheChipper   8 years ago

        The sign says that they value, among other things, "your class".

        I assume the sign means that they are welcoming to bums (aka, "the homeless") and will give them free baked goods and coffee.

        1. TheZenomeProject   8 years ago

          The social signaling that it provides gets the derp base to pay even more for stale, overpriced muffins and watery coffee! Socialist utopia is coming!..wait a second...

      4. GILMORE?   8 years ago

        There has been a lot of talk of safe spaces in the week since the election. Some feel they are necessary. Others feel they are not for a variety of reasons.

        the term i can't get out my head lately is 'intellectual dishonesty', and i think i probably need more words to describe these sort of common rhetorical-gimmicks that have become so ubiquitous

        in this case its another very popular one = suggest that you're 'presenting 2 sides' when you're really presenting one...

        ....or at least framing a debate as a question about whether something which exists is either good or bad...

        ....when in fact that debate is really about whether such a thing can even exist in the first place; the setup begs the question, assuming it in fact does...

        e.g."there's been a lot of talk about racism this year; some think America should stop being so racist, others think niggers should stop whining"

        Calling something a 'safe space' suggests that in regular life, everyone walks around insulting each other (*with no consequences!).... while the magic act of putting up a sign will somehow transform that area into an opinion-free neutral zone where good-behavior is proof that the policy is working.

        The very notion is insulting to people's intelligence. Its like the Tiger-Repellant Rock.

        This isn't even getting into the insane assumption that anyone can enforce 'goodwill'

  7. Playa Manhattan.   8 years ago

    Uh oh.

    People who are looking for the missing are encouraged to call the coroner's office. I've never seen an announcement like that before.

    1. C. Anacreon   8 years ago

      Wow, a horrible thing like this happens, about 8 miles from where I live, and I have to find out about it on a HandR link to a British news site?

      1. Playa Manhattan.   8 years ago

        You'll here a lot about it soon. I promise.

  8. Hyperion   8 years ago

    Again, I will not even speculate on what the Donald will do. But part of the fun here is that we don't know, right? So on paper the Trumputin appears to be a peacenik POTUS. We know that Hillary would be a war monger, so there's a 50% chance Trumputin will be better.

    The NYT are shitting their pants over Trump taking a phone call from Taiwan's leader. Keep on trollin, Donald, keep on trollin, it's great for the lulz. And for the record, I agree with him taking the call. Fuck China's commie leaders if they don't like it.

    1. CatoTheChipper   8 years ago

      I estimate that there's much better than a 50% chance that Trump will be better than Clinton would be.

      The problem with Trump is the fat-tail risk of his behavior.

      I'm not a fan of PJ O'Rourke's endorsement of Hillary, but he was right in saying that she would certainly be an awfully bad president within normal parameters, but Trump would be susceptible to errors far beyond normal parameters.

      1. TheZenomeProject   8 years ago

        Anybody that thinks that Trump is going to be worse or better than any other presidents in the past 25 years have no idea either way, but you're right that there is some small risk of him being catastrophically awful that Hillary doesn't have because of either real or perceived volatility. Either way, it'll be an interesting presidency and certainly not a boring one.

  9. Hyperion   8 years ago

    I'm frying bacon in back grease. Is that sinful?

    1. Hyperion   8 years ago

      Damnit! Bacon grease! How the hell did that come out as back?

    2. Austrian Anarchy   8 years ago

      Sinful? No.
      Beautiful, YES!

      1. Hyperion   8 years ago

        I'm seriously trying to decide what else to fry in this today. I have some big mushrooms, so that's probably next. Later maybe a steak fried in this?

        1. Playa Manhattan.   8 years ago

          Yes, mushrooms. And anything else that's absorbent.

          Next, throw in your green vegetables. Brussels sprouts, asparagus, etc.

          1. Swiss Servator   8 years ago

            Spargelzeit! I have never done that before....gotta try it.

          2. C. Anacreon   8 years ago

            Yes, mushrooms. And anything else that's absorbent.

            Will Bounty work? It's twice as absorbent as the other leading brand.

            1. Playa Manhattan.   8 years ago

              You know, I saw a disorder about that. On Dr. Phil.

              1. C. Anacreon   8 years ago

                I think I told you about the run-in I had with that asshole during the Hurricane Katrina evacuees work, right? I don't even think he's actually any kind of MD or PhD or any other degree where you can legitimately call yourself a doctor. He's a "Doctor" like "Doctor J" or "Dr. Dre" is a doctor.

          3. Hyperion   8 years ago

            Damn, that sounds good. I have some breaded okra too.

        2. AlmightyJB   8 years ago

          After your done frying with it, use it to make a rue for some milk gravy.

    3. CatoTheChipper   8 years ago

      The only sin is to waste good bacon grease.

      Bacon can be fried in bacon grease, as should just about anything else you care to fry.

      The trick to getting good bacon grease is to never fry at high temperature. You don't want burnt grease or burnt solids in the grease. And clarify and save the grease for use when cooking vegetables.

      1. Hyperion   8 years ago

        Nope, low temp only. I'm not going to burn it. I fried about a pound of bacon in that same pan last few days, and it was very fatty bacon, so I have lots of it!

  10. Bronson, Missouri   8 years ago

    Presumably at the very least, the media will report on whatever various entanglements we're involved with at any given time, which is a huge improvement from the current state. And perhaps they may even ask questions like, "what is it that you're actually trying to accomplish here is Syria/Yemen/Somalia/next shithole?" or even, "how are you measuring your progress?"

    Simply forcing the administration to have to answer questions like that would be a huge step up from the past 8 years.

    1. Hyperion   8 years ago

      Which will further cement the notion, with the public, that the mainstream media are gigantic hypocrites.

  11. straffinrun   8 years ago

    CNN reporting on Alex Jones reporting on Trump getting info from Alex Jones. I'm too drunk for this shit, but it's fun.

    1. Hyperion   8 years ago

      As crazy as Jones can be, I wouldn't say he makes shit up out of thin air any more than CNN does.

      1. straffinrun   8 years ago

        Alex Jones pumps out the content daily. CNN took a few things Alex had said and then juxtaposed it with things Trump had said, making it look like Alex is Trump's puppet master.

      2. TheZenomeProject   8 years ago

        Infowars is Slate for right-wing people. Trump probably doesn't get influenced by them any more than Obama gets from Slate.

        1. straffinrun   8 years ago

          CNN vs Infowars. I'm loving it.

          1. DOOMco   8 years ago

            two derps enter, only one can leave!

            1. TheZenomeProject   8 years ago

              Does the derp cancel each other out or do they magnify and form a peak if they meet in the same room? I bet on peak, but again there's no such thing as peak derp.

              1. Swiss Servator   8 years ago

                "Focused, concentrated derp like can burn through stainless steel like a flamethrower through a wall of toilet paper!"

              2. DOOMco   8 years ago

                not sure. is infowars an antimatter?

                1. TheZenomeProject   8 years ago

                  Possibly, we should try to harness its power and use some of it on Vox and Mother Jones' writers. Either the derp gets so concentrated that it fissures or it mutes it all out.

            2. Austrian Anarchy   8 years ago

              Two derps, one screen.

    2. CatoTheChipper   8 years ago

      CNN hates it that their ratings have fallen so low that even Alex Jones is a competitor.

    3. Ted S.   8 years ago

      Alex Jones is beyond the pale, but Van Jones?

      Says a lot about the Beltway Class.

  12. DEG   8 years ago

    A short video about Coober Pedy, South Australia

    The best part is where the narrator talks about blasting himself a new room when he could get away with. "The cops don't like it when we blast in town."

  13. DEG   8 years ago

    Tunnels under Naples

    A short film about some tunnels under Naples. Originally built as an escape route, they have been put to different uses over the years.

  14. DEG   8 years ago

    Car mechanics charged for being "uncertified" to perform car inspections

    Four mechanics who work for the North Country's largest auto dealer ownership group face numerous misdemeanor charges stemming from a 6-month investigation into practices involving automobile inspections, New Hampshire State Police announced Friday.

    The four worked for either Berlin City Ford or Berlin City Chevrolet, which are located in Gorham.

    The charges involve inspections performed by mechanics who were not certified by the New Hampshire Division of Motor Vehicles, according to Staff Sergeant Andrew Player.

    Live Free or Die!

    1. DOOMco   8 years ago

      "She saw that even though it was her own private property, she would be forced to take it in for a state inspection!"

      1. AlmightyJB   8 years ago

        The mob always gets its cut.

    2. Francisco d'Anconia   8 years ago

      The horror!

      I can only assume that people are dying by the thousands in the the 31 states that don't require vehicles be inspected.

      1. Austrian Anarchy   8 years ago

        What is really hilarious is the tards who live in states that require inspection, even insurance, assume every other freaking place in the country does too!

        Look back at the lame justifications for ACA. You can't throw a rock without hitting one that says something like "since everybody is required to have insurance to drive ..."

        NH and a handful of other states require cars to be registered, no matter what. Now THAT bullshit shows up as arguments for gun control! Had to banish a Facebook tard, who is in some aspect of the insurance business, for being an annoying ignorant ass about the issue. Where we both live, you do not have to register a car unless it is used on a public road.

        And you sure as shit do not have to have a driver's license to own a car here either. Yet, that is more bullshit that gets tagged onto gun control 'arguments.'

        1. Francisco d'Anconia   8 years ago

          What is really hilarious is the tards who live in states that require inspection, even insurance, assume every other freaking place in the country does too!

          I was about 7, growing up in the People's Republic of Pennsylvania. Dad was giving the old Dodge Dart a tuneup, getting it ready for its yearly inspection, when I asked him why inspections were required. His Reply:

          "Son, can you imagine how dangerous the roads would be if people were allowed to drive anything they wanted to on a public road?"

          Living in my 5th state without a safety inspection. Yeah, dad, I can imagine.

          1. Austrian Anarchy   8 years ago

            Three years or so ago I tried to submit an article to a Cosmotarian publication about the centennial of the driver's license. Which I view roughly the same way we both view these stupid State inspections.

            The response from the muckety-muck was roughly the same as your father's.

  15. DEG   8 years ago

    A short story about one of the planes sent out to find the Japanese after the attack on Pearl Harbor

    In videotaped accounts he gave over the years, Wes Ruth said he grabbed his coat that morning, jumped into his convertible and sped with the top down for the airstrip.

    "I drove as fast as I could because ? I was concerned about getting strafed," he said.

    As he neared the runway, the battleship USS Arizona had just blown up about a quarter-mile away. Pellets of gunpowder ejected from the blast began to fall from the sky.

    "It was snowing powder pellets about as large as my finger," Ruth said in a talk he gave in 2011. They fell in and around his car.

    As the Japanese attack ended, the Americans wanted to locate the fleet from which the enemy planes had come. Ruth was ordered to go find it. "You take the first plane, the JRS," he said a senior officer told him.

    He got into the plane with co-pilot Emery C. "Pappy" Geise, 35, radioman Oscar W. Benenfiel Jr., plane captain Amos P. Gallupe and two other sailors, according to the Smithsonian.

    Before they left, the senior officer presented them with three old Springfield rifles for protection. "We would have to shoot through the windows," Ruth said.

    1. Mike Schmidt   8 years ago

      Great story. Thanks for sharing

    2. DOOMco   8 years ago

      wow, i had no idea.

  16. DEG   8 years ago

    "Robby's Hair Plugs" is on the donation scroll now. Nice!

  17. DEG   8 years ago

    A shipwreck sheds light on Pheonician trade routes

    A team of divers has ventured 110 metres deep in the Mediterranean Sea to explore a 2,700-year-old shipwreck.

    The Phoenician ship is about 50ft long and lies a mile off the coast of Gozo.

    It dates back to the first part of the 7th century BC, making it the oldest wreck ever found in the central Mediterranean.

    Researchers have now uncovered new artefacts in the wreck which have helped shed light on possible trade routes for the mysterious Phoenician merchants.

  18. ????? ????   8 years ago

    Until yesterday I didn't realize how many experts on Sino-U.S. relations are on Twitter.

    1. Playa Manhattan.   8 years ago

      Yes. The Jimmy Carter doctrine. It's very important.

      1. Austrian Anarchy   8 years ago

        Yes, sacred and cannot be torn asunder.

  19. Derpetologist   8 years ago

    File under: No, dig up, stupid!

    Jann S. Wenner of Rolling Stone didn't bring up the topic of Fox News. President Obama volunteered it in an interview right after Hillary Clinton's loss to Donald Trump. Asked whether he thinks the United States is a progressive country, Obama replied that Democrats are having trouble reaching white working-class voters.

    "There is a cohort of working-class white voters that voted for me in sizable numbers, but that we've had trouble getting to vote for Democrats in midterm elections," said the president. "In this election, [they] turned out in huge numbers for Trump. And I think that part of it has to do with our inability, our failure, to reach those voters effectively. Part of it is Fox News in every bar and restaurant in big chunks of the country, but part of it is also Democrats not working at a grass-roots level, being in there, showing up, making arguments."

    1. The Fusionist   8 years ago

      And part of it *is* Democrats making arguments..."argle bargle basket of deplorables white women are stupid, white guys are racists argle bargle."

    2. C. Anacreon   8 years ago

      And apparently there's some conspiracy where Fox News has been coercing and/or bribing every bar and restaurant in flyover country to play their channel. Because, no doubt, the hicks are too stupid to change the channel for something they'd rather watch.

      It couldn't possibly be that people actually prefer to watch Fox News -- perhaps because although they clearly slant to the right, they do bring in credible alternate viewpoints to debate, unlike CNN or MSNBC most of the time. And Fox will actually cover stories the Left would prefer you wouldn't think much about.

      The Left are just going to keep pointing fingers until they're in a circular firing squad.

      1. Derpetologist   8 years ago

        In their minds, the only reason people don't vote for them is because they've been brainwashed by the Evil Reichwing Noise Machine, which can only be defeated if it is completely silenced.

        If only they could be exposed to the message of light from the One True Party, they would cease their wickedness and join the brethren in the flock of the chosen few.

      2. Tornado35235gsg35423ttg3gt3g3g   8 years ago

        What bars and restaurants show news? And if they have tvs they are on silent

        1. Tornado35235gsg35423ttg3gt3g3g   8 years ago

          And sports exclusively

  20. Hamster of Doom   8 years ago

    I was GOING to post a comment on Dalmia's latest. She did a good freaking job. You know, it's been a source of honest frustration that I wasn't getting Reason's hot take on the Modimunny Apocalypse. It's kind of big, relevant news and we do have Dalmia.

    And then she turned it up to eleven and broke the knob off.

    But that assumes that India's bloated, corrupt, and inefficient government can spend other people's money better than they can. In truth, the government will waste the new funds while rich people, whose wealth has been confiscated, will cut back consumption and lay off their employees.

    But I can't. Because comments on that article are fukkered.

    Reason, it's a good thing I love you.

    1. Playa Manhattan.   8 years ago

      Fixed now.

  21. BonnieELadner   8 years ago

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  22. xanelas   8 years ago

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  24. Rockabilly   8 years ago

    Will The Donald not inherit King Barry's Most Royal Imperial Crown?

    Will The Donald make up his own Secret Kill List or will He inherit King Barry's?

  25. padupov   8 years ago

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  27. mipapecexi   8 years ago

    just before I saw the receipt that said $7527 , I accept that my mom in-law woz like actualey making money in there spare time from there pretty old laptop. . there aunt had bean doing this for less than twentey months and at present cleared the depts on there appartment and bourt a great new Citro?n 2CV . look here....... Clik This Link inYour Browser

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  28. Hyperion   8 years ago

    See why drugs and Mexican are bad?

  29. DEG   8 years ago

    Yes. Ouch.

  30. Hyperion   8 years ago

    Nope. Typing bacon somehow turned out back and I'm completely sober, just coffee and bacon this morning.

  31. Hyperion   8 years ago

    Yes, Oakland because drugs and Mexicans. Don't worry though, Commissar Sessions is on the way to save the day.

  32. Austrian Anarchy   8 years ago

    Sounds like Oakland needs to adopt a building and fire code. Maybe some zoning too.

  33. Hyperion   8 years ago

    Thanks for the tip!

  34. DOOMco   8 years ago

    now i want lunch

  35. DOOMco   8 years ago

    I guess its the whole drive an older classic, wear flannels thing.

    the 3 row aluminum has me running about 20 degrees cooler, and plenty of heat in the cab now. yours in the garage yet?

  36. TheZenomeProject   8 years ago

    Hipsters want to think that they're the rugged, handy, outdoors-oriented type, but spend most of their time at indie coffee shops combing their beard and choosing Instagram filters. I don't have a solid grasp of the commentariat yet, but you sound like you have nothing in common with them.

  37. DEG   8 years ago

    Restoring those cars would probably be more work that I'd be willing to do, though if someone pulled it off, I'd like to see the finished products.

  38. DOOMco   8 years ago

    luckily, they dont use much. town uses a spray that isn't brine, but the chemical is escaping me.
    shes starting a little slow, I'm going to adjust the timing a bit. some starter fluid does the trick if I'm late/lazy. I would get a block heater, but my apartment has no exterior outlets.
    steering rack should be a fun project! new foam for seats or are you looking to replace?

  39. DEG   8 years ago

    You're welcome!

    As I get older, I like working on cars less and less. I still like cars though.

  40. DOOMco   8 years ago

    it's great till its not. i really should get a cheap subaru or something as a backup.

  41. DOOMco   8 years ago

    Beautiful. I looked at putting a seat heater in, seems easy enough and can make a fall day a little easier without the top. $60 on amazon.

    the salt eats my family's cars in vermont. just rots a car in a few years.

  42. C. Anacreon   8 years ago

    So you're implying that if you were Canadian, you'd be drunk by now?

  43. Hyperion   8 years ago

    Well, I would probably live in Canada, so yes.

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