Trump Gives First TV Interview as President, China Says It Offers 'Anchor of Stability', Elon Musk Wants To Tunnel Under Los Angeles: A.M. Links

• 

  ABC News

  President Trump gave his first television interview from the White House, telling ABC News' David Muir he "absolutely" thought waterboarding worked and doubling down on his claim of massive voter fraud. Reactions in Chicago to Trump's tweet about sending the federal government in to deal with the homicide rate range from skeptical to optimistic, with politicians looking for more money and residents talking about jobs.

• In an uncertain world, China provides "an anchor of stability and growth," its premier, Li Keqiang wrote in Bloomberg Businessweek.
• Al-Shabaab fighters stormed a hotel in Mogadishu, killing at least 28.
• Elon Musk wants to tunnel under Los Angeles.
• Academy Award-nominated Moonlight director Barry Jenkins says black people don't have to play slaves to win Oscars.
• Number 13 seed Venus Williams made it to the Australian Open finals.
• Season three of Rick and Morty is running late.

Comments

[Groovus Maximus]

Elon Musk Wants To Tunnel Under Los Angeles

Yes, I'm sure he does; what's the over on Euphemism? Phrasing?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Are we not doing phrasing?

[Just a thought not a sermon]

He's like Charles Bronson in the Great Escape!

[Episteme]

Do you want mole people? Because this is how you get mole people.

[Rufus The Monocled]

Hello.

"Elon Musk wants to tunnel under Los Angeles."

One thing at a time, Elon.

[Groovus Maximus]

"BUT I'VE GOT FIVE KIDS TO FEED!"

[Overt]

What happened to number 6?

(Yes I know it is supposed to be "what happened to number 5", but I work with what I've got)

[Atanarjuat]

Yeah, how he has so many projects going at once is incredible.

If you read the article, the expectation is Musk will sell the tunnel to Trump for his big infrastructure bill.

I'm wondering if having people in tunnels in an earthquake zone is the best idea.

[Rufus The Monocled]

Cronies are gonna crony.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Elon Musk is nothing but consistent. He'll suck up to whatever power there is in order to get his handouts.

[Idle Hands]

Ambitious, But I think DeCaprio or Mayer have pretty much laid all the pipe you can in that region.

[bacon-magic]

Grats of first Groovus!

[Bee Tagger]

Elon Musk wants to tunnel under Los Angeles.

Eventually the internet will just be a series of tunnels

[Swiss Servator]

*tubes gaze*

[Holger da Dane]

He is just laying the ground work for a new Morlock habitat.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Dibs on Robby's.

Body armor made from human hair?

[Chip Woodier]

Trump takes death threats seriously.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

281) Hey, have you heard? Sales of 1984 have soared since Trump's election! Boy, does that prove a point, because Trump's America after five days is exactly like the dystopia of 1984!

This is not at all, no nothing, like 2013, when sales of 1984 surged after news about the widespread surveillance conducted by Obama's NSA. (http://www.usatoday.com/ story/news/ nation/2013/06/11/1984-book-sales-jump- surveillance/2413433/)

Nor anything at all like the surge of sales in 2009, for the book's 60th anniversary! (http://www.thebookseller.com/ feature/book-show-business)

Actually, that last link is interesting, because it reports how weekly sales of 1984 went "leapt from 245 to 664" after the new 60th anniversary edition was released. So?weekly sales nearly tripled?to a few hundred copies. Another way of saying, sales for all but the biggest bestsellers are pretty low, and even a modest increase in book sales can be characterized as a "leap," a "surge", "soaring", "skyrocketing," etc.

[Rich]

Good. Everyone should read 1984.

[Rufus The Monocled]

Trouble it will go right over the heads of progressives.

Remember, what's blue to normal people is cashmere pink salmon to them.

[Rich]

So, 1984 is like the dress?!

[mad.casual]

No, the dress is like 1984.

[Zero Sum Game]

Especially the bit about Newspeak. They'd never concede that their "side" is perpetually engaging in it.

[Tonio]

^This. So. Much. This.

And just today Slate tells us to Stop Problematizing Academic Jargon!

[Brett L]

Slate, now worth $0.08/share, market cap of $6.1M. I think there are free weekly papers with larger market caps. (And readerships)

[mr simple]

I get it. Jargon is fun to make fun of. I myself have taken a swipe or two at the pendulous plums weighing down the proverbial tree of overintellectualization.

But now that we've just watched a sociopath with a fifth-grade vocabulary take the oath of office, I wonder: Is academic jargon verily so problematical vis-?-vis its labyrinthine potentialities qua trans-resistive reactionings?

Don't you see? Trump's so bad, he's made making fun of made-up, nonsensical jargon a problem! Is there no low he won't stoop to?

[Monty Crisco]

It won't go over their heads. They take it as a blueprint. The way North Korea is AmSoc's perfect society...

[Rufus The Monocled]

There's that.

[Princess Trigger]

+1 Junior Anti-Sex League

[DJF]

As a warning of the future, not as a training manual.

[gaoxiaen]

Yuge Brother is watching you.

[Episteme]

Huxley hardest hurt.

[Lord Humungus]

STEVE SMITH HAPPIEST MAN CREATURE ON EARTH!

Scientists have discovered the secret to happiness - and it's stripping off and getting naked

Casting off clothes as well as cares may be the key to happiness and well-being, research suggests.

Scientists revealed the naked truth after investigating the psychological effects of nudism.

They found that people taking part in naturist activities felt better about themselves, their bodies and their lives overall.

The more time they spent naked, or partially disrobed, the happier they were.

Lead researcher Dr Keon West, from Goldsmiths, University of London , said: "The naturists have been saying this for some time.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

I did a lot of drunk streaking in college, and I was pretty happy at the time.

[The Fusionist]

But what about the people who happen to see the happy naked people? What about *their* trauma?

[Mickey Rat]

Or those people who have to clean the chairs.

[Citizen X]

In an uncertain world, China provides "an anchor of stability and growth," its premier, Li Keqiang wrote in Bloomberg Businessweek.

I guess you can make that claim when your nation has existed in roughly the same form for almost 3000 years.

[DJF]

These are the good commies, who show how communist run corporations are part of the free market

http://tinyurl.com/zfrzxys

[John Titor]

your nation has existed in roughly the same form for almost 3000 years.

"Roughly" is the part that makes their claim absolute bullshit.

Hey, we got conquered by the Mongols/Manchus, but it's still China! CHINA NUMBAH ONE.

[John DeWitt]

Considering their population is getting close to 3000 years old, I'd say they're stable. So stable, they won't have a labor force capable of keeping the top heavy society from falling over. Jenga!

[John Titor]

So stable, their legitimate government sits around on an island while the mainland had centuries of culture wiped out!

[John DeWitt]

But enough about the British...

[Overt]

I read a story that said China's population crunch (unlike Japan's) may be wildly over stated. The article said that out in the country provinces, no one really ever enforced the One Child rule, so there are lots of undocumented girls and boys who were born while local administrators turned a blind eye.

It still creates some significant problems, since the population increases have happened out in the poverty-stricken interior of China while the affluent cities are running out of women. However, by letting off on these restrictions, you could see a lot of these pressures reduced.

[Rich]

black people don't have to play slaves to win Oscars.

And white people don't have to play masters, neither.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

Well, citation needed. What he meant was, black people don't have to play slaves to sell a lot of tickets. But if you want to impress the racist, liberal Oscar crowd, slavery is where it's at, along with chauffeurs.

[Rich]

"I've been acting for decades, and what do I have to chauffeur it?"

[Swiss Servator]

"along with chauffeurs"

Are they slave...drivers?

[Zero Sum Game]

*Holds up a mirror so Swiss Servator can narrow his gaze at himself.*

[Rich]

Yowsah!

[The Fusionist]

I'm still trying to get funding for my crossover between Driving Miss Daisy and The Fast and the Furious

[bacon-magic]

Bitch, get in, we going for a ride./Vin

[Fist of Etiquette]

...with politicians looking for more money and residents talking about jobs.

Wonder which will get their wish.

[Swiss Servator]

I was kind of surprised that Chicago politicians would be looking to cash in on something. Shocked, I was!

[Bee Tagger]

In an uncertain world, China provides "an anchor of stability and growth," its premier, Li Keqiang wrote in Bloomberg Businessweek.

I don't recognize the twitter handle "Bloomberg Businessweek." How would a political leader communicate through it if it isn't?

[Tyler.C]

Zing!!!

[Chip Woodier]

By "an anchor of stability and growth", of course he means military occupation of international offshore oil reserves.

[Lord Humungus]

The evolution of man(hood): Researchers reveal why humans developed reproductive organs larger than other great apes

Humans have a much longer and wider penis than the other great apes.

Even the largest of gorillas, more than twice as heavy as a human, will have a penis just two and half inches long when erect.

However our testicles are rather small. A chimpanzee's testes weigh more than a third of its brain while ours weigh in at less than 3%.

The relative size of our penis and testes is all down to our mating strategies, and can provide some surprising insights into early human culture.

Primates exhibit all sorts of mating behaviour, including monogamous, polygynous ? where males have multiple mates ? and multimale-multifemale.

[Rich]

Excellent illustrations, but possibly NSFW.

[John DeWitt]

So, we have small balls because we're in monogamous relationships? How is this news?

[John DeWitt]

Oh, wait...but our penis suggest otherwise.

[R C Dean]

That's to keep her in a monogamous relationship, if you know what I mean.

[Episteme]

I think that testes are so small because they've evolved to be harder to kick!

(although, honestly, give our species bipedalism and loss of fur, protecting the testes while taking advantage of them not needing to hang so low with less fur/increased sweating, certainly plays a role)

[The Fusionist]

"Even the largest of gorillas, more than twice as heavy as a human, will have a penis just two and half inches long when erect."

It's probably unwise to taunt the gorillas about this.

[Holger da Dane]

We now know what made Tarzan "King of the apes". Once you go homo sapiens, you never go back.

[PBR Streetgang]

"In an uncertain world, China provides "an anchor of stability and growth," its premier, Li Keqiang wrote in Bloomberg Businessweek." - I wonder where Thomas Friedman stands on this?

[invisible furry hand]

He'll only know once he's talked to a taxi driver in Shanghai

[Lord Humungus]

Australian Artist Creates Golden Clitoris Statue

If you've been waiting for the perfect piece of dorm room art, it's finally here. A woman in Australia has made a giant, golden clitoris statue and it's the decoration we all desperately need.

Ok, it's not exactly a decoration, it's actually a gorgeous piece of art with a super important message. According to BuzzFeed, artist Alli Sebastian Wolf made the giant, sparkly clit that she's dubbed the "Glitoris" to educate people on a misunderstood part of the anatomy.

"It's political and feminist, but also a celebration," Alli told BuzzFeed. "It's a hell of a lot of playful fun. Under the surface it's so much more. It's a glorious spaceship-looking creature with 8,000 nerves that can swell to three times its size in moments."

[Citizen X]

super important message

Mmhmm.

[Rich]

"The Golden Clitoris" is a nice bar, or something, name.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

Ancient Chinese novel?

[Libertarian]

Rumor has it that Trump is buying one and it will have an honored position next to the Churchill and MLK busts in the Oval Office.

[Rich]

"I love and respect women."

[Just a thought not a sermon]

How could this not have been in the protests on Saturday?

[Crusty Juggler]

What in the hell is a clitoris?

[Lord Humungus]

It's an imaginary place like planet G-Spot.

[Crusty Juggler]

I'm so confused.

[Citizen X]

"It's actually the same set of tissue as the penis, but it starts to form differently in the first trimester."

"Huh! What does it do?"

"You know how frozen turkeys have those pop-out thermometers?"

"Yikes!"

[straffinrun]

I've got a dozen of them in a pickle jar. I'll send you one.

[invisible furry hand]

Here's a SFW explanation

[invisible furry hand]

It's being exhibited at a local bar called the Bearded Tit. As its homepage bears a NSFW image, here is an explanation of its mission:

The Bearded Tit isn't just a place for drinking; it's also a place for venturing the new and showcasing the fabulous. With 5 exhibition spaces, a stage that hosts weekly art performances and an in-house open mind policy, there's always something new to stimulate your senses.

[Rich]

I'll bet *you* could come up with a *great* show, ifh!

[invisible furry hand]

Two days ago I saw a cabarate which featured someone shitting bricks and a young woman in a fluoro crop top and shorts rollerskating over bubblewrap. Leave it to the professionals, I say

[Rich]

It is difficult to compete with creativity like that.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

Early Australia Day celebration?

[Libertarian]

"Wolf made the giant, sparkly clit that she's dubbed the "Glitoris" to educate people on a misunderstood part of the anatomy."

It's not my fault it's misunderstood. Like most males, I've been fighting for access in order to do more research my entire life.

[DJF]

But remember everyone, you are not suppose to think of women as just a collection of sexual body parts

[gaoxiaen]

Right. Sammich tout de suit.

[Zero Sum Game]

Life continues to imitate South Park.

[commodious rebrands]

Women are funny. Get over it.

[ant1sthenes]

Chef, how do you make a woman like you more than any other guy?

[Episteme]

No one will be able to find the statue.

[Crusty Juggler]

Greenpeace activists hang giant 'Resist' banner near White House

Activists from Greenpeace unfurled a 70ft banner inscribed with the word "resist" near the White House on Wednesday morning.

Speaking from a crane 300ft in the air, where she was holding a rope keeping the banner up, Pearl Robinson, 26, described her view to the Guardian: "I can see the White House, where we now have a president who doesn't have the interests of the majority of the people."

The anti-Trump activist called the message "all-encompassing. We want Donald to know that we won't stand for the crony capitalism, for the assault on women's reproductive rights and the assault on the environment."

[Rufus The Monocled]

"...we won't stand for the crony capitalism,..."

Unless it's for green companies.

Go fuck yourself Greenpeace.

[Rhywun]

And when did "women's reproductive rights" creep into their mission statement?

[John DeWitt]

Never miss an opportunity...

[Rufus The Monocled]

It's under the 'we reserve the right to move goalposts because we don't have principles' clause.

[Rasilio]

For proggies "womens reproductive rights" means free abortions for everyone. Free abortions for everyone means less babies. Less babies means less humans. Everyone knows humans are the root of all evil and are literally responsible for killing blessed mother gaia. Ergo supporting "womens reproductive rights" is pro environment.

[Free Society]

Do you really think for a moment that this activist actually knows what "crony capitalism" is? I'll bet you my children's college fund that he uses "crony capitalism" as a simple pejorative term for capitalism itself, as opposed to government directed allocation of capital to certain companies.

[Chip Woodier]

Ayup

[Tonio]

Are those people still there? Is Greenpeace compensating the construction company, etc, for lost revenue? What did the construction company do to Greenpeace?

[Lord Humungus]

Boston will get a Big Mac ATM on Jan. 31

The new Grand Mac features larger buns and two larger beef patties, while the Mac Jr. is a single patty burger. Neither make for good songs, but they're probably just as tasty.

The magic ? or secret sauce, if you will ? of the Big Mac ATM comes from its ability to pop out burgers without any visible staff or kitchen attached to the unit. Just pick the Big Mac of your choice the machine's touchscreen, Tweet out your swag (you've gotta pay somehow) and *BOOM* free burger.

When asked how exactly this will be pulled off, we received the following response via Vincent Spadea, local McDonald's owner/operator, "We can't give away all the secrets, but fresh Macs will be constantly loaded into the machine to ensure a high quality experience."

[chemjeff]

Excellent! Now is surely the time to raise the minimum wage to $15/hr! Amirite?

[Tyler.C]

"We can't give away all the secrets, but fresh Macs will be constantly loaded into the machine to ensure a high quality experience."

Fresh Mac's, do they think we stupid. We know there is no such thing.

[Crusty Juggler]

Holy Crap: The U.S. Team Actually Won the Bocuse d'Or

Team USA just took home the gold at the Bocuse d'Or, a long-running culinary competition in France that Americans have never really cared about, even though it's a pretty big deal among European gourmands. The event is held every two years in Lyon, the home base for sainted French chef Paul Bocuse, who created the competition three decades ago and still serves as its honorary president. This afternoon, the American team composed of Mathew Peters and Harrison Turone (both veterans of Per Se) crushed all the culinary competitors from around the world. Smell the victory, friends:

Trump wins, and Americans become winners.

[commodious rebrands]

American chefs take home award, eater.com wastes a paragraph complaining about how white and male they are.

[Lee Genes]

The greatest American evangelists of the event ? Boulud and Keller ? are high-minded, middle-aged white male chefs. The American teams are often comprised of people who work for Boulud or Keller (or other members of their culinary wolfpack). These have been, almost without exception, white male chefs from high-end kitchens. This does not look like an inclusive group. America's involvement with the event seems like an extension of the chef-bro boys club that so many people in the industry have been railing against lately.

What an asshole.

[Chipwooder]

Do these fucks add "bro" to everything now? Jesus, that's tedious.

[Free Society]

I'm getting so tired of winning, Trump was right. If he keeps this up, I'll be so sick of winning in four years that I'll have to vote for some Democrat so I can taste constant defeat once more.

[Lord Humungus]

and Slow-Motion Explosions!

New Michael Bay film features 'Trump-like' president in dystopian future

The next Michael Bay blockbuster will reportedly be a film about a dystopian future after a Donald Trump-like president bankrupts the U.S.

Universal picked up the rights Wednesday to the Bay-produced film "Little America," a futuristic adventure film set to feature a "Donald Trump-like" president, The Hollywood Reporter said.

According to The Hollywood Report, the film will be "set in a dystopian future where a Donald Trump-like president has bankrupt America and China has called in its debts. The Asian giant now owns America and many Americans have immigrated to China looking for work."

The film follows an American hired by a Chinese billionaire to go into a ramshackle U.S. ghetto to rescue his daughter. The Hollywood Reporter compared it to the 1981 Kurt Russell film "Escape from New York," which featured a similar storyline.

[Libertarian]

"a dystopian future after a Donald Trump-like president bankrupts the U.S."

hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha We were doing just fine until Trump won. Ignore that $200 Trillion of unfunded liabilities behind the curtain.

[Chip Woodier]

"a dystopian future after a Donald Trump-like president (who followed an Obama-like president that ran up the debt) bankrupts the U.S."

FTFY Well, not for you...but for someone.

[PBR Streetgang]

Michael Bay isn't much of a filmmaker, but that man knows how to make money.

[Lord Humungus]

I watched Transformers (II or III? - the one with Marky Mark) with my son - such dreck, well minus the girl in the shorty short shorts.

[Not a True MJG]

I think that was 4, actually.

[Atanarjuat]

But in this case, the anti-Trump crowd have been turning their noses up at his films for years. He's going to alienate the tractor pull crowd who watches his movies with this one. Seems like a gamble.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

I have a lot of respect for Michael Bay because he's pretty open about the fact that his movies are made for 14 year old boys because he makes a ton of money off of it. He's the opposite of the pretentious Hollywood auteur which I find kind of endearing.

And let's be real, J.J. Abrams has never made a movie as entertaining as The Rock.

[John Titor]

"set in a dystopian future where a Donald Trump-like president has bankrupt America and China has called in its debts. The Asian giant now owns America and many Americans have immigrated to China looking for work."

It's kind of funny how over the years Bay has gone from "AMERICA, FUCK YEAH" to "OH THAT SWEET, SWEET CHINESE MONEY" after Transformers made bank in China.

[Crusty Juggler]

The Benghazi movie did not compliment the American government.

[John Titor]

That's not old Bay though, old Bay is Armageddon American-flag-flapping-the-breeze-with-a-sunrise or Pearl Harbor Look-at-these-monstrous-Japs.

[Crusty Juggler]

Listen fella, I know my Bay, so I don't need the rundown; I was just agreeing with you.

Related: The Rock is an all-time great, and I will not tolerate dissent on that subject.

[John Titor]

Losers always whine about their 'best', winners go home and fuck the prom queen.

[mr simple]

What do you say we cut the chitchat, a-hole.

[cavalier973]

"And then Optimus Prime steps forward and gives a rousing speech: 'Freedom! America! It's good'."

~Nostalgia Critic, or possibly Chester A. Bum

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

My favorite part of Armageddon is the montage of the "Real America" watching news coverage of the impending disaster.

[Lee Genes]

Complete with sunbursts and flags.

[John Titor]

And the triumphant, we-shall-endure speech.

[Rhywun]

Does Hollywood even make movies for Americans anymore? Saw a commercial last night with Damon in some other China-slobbering thing.

[Chipwooder]

Sort of, but most of them manage to work in a China angle, such as in The Martian when the Chinese space agency comes to the rescue with rockets or whatever.

[John DeWitt]

Well, that is pretty American. He's the white savior, going to save the poor Chinese from dragons attacking their great wall.

[Rhywun]

Ah. It looked silly so I wasn't paying a lot of attention.

[commodious rebrands]

So a downscale yet much more expensive Man in the High Castle.

[Eternal Blue Sky]

"after a Donald Trump-like president bankrupts the U.S."

We aren't already bankrupt??

Oh wait, does he mean fiscally or morally??

Oh wait, we're already bankrupt in both those ways...

[ant1sthenes]

Wait, a Chinese billionaire with a daughter? The guy couldn't afford to abort her for a proper heir or something?

[invisible furry hand]

Thank you to everyone who has offered their thoughts so far.

________________________________________________

Hit and Run Public Service Announcement

OK groovers, given that the next four years will be full of boring arguments about Trump and accusations of bad faith, TDS, and general lunacy, it seemed a good idea to get a record of how Hit 'n' Runners will mark Trump.

If you want to play, you have to set out:

(A) What Trump would have to do to be even a semi-success in your eyes

AND

(B) What Trump would have to do to be even a semi-failure in your eyes

Put your answers here, or email them to [e-mail]

I'll post this message every day this week, and then collate the answers and share the doc next week. You can then use this as a way to keep track of people's positions (and your own) so we don't get to pretend we had different criteria four years down the track.

[Tonio]

I'm not going to participate, but I appreciate your posting this and getting people thinking about it. While it's easy to come up with lists of actions (or inactions!) which might be considered successes or failures, there is a ton of things that are hard to envision (ie, natural disasters) that might define the administrations success or failure. Also, the good must be balanced against the bad, and the metrics for that get very complicated very fast.

[commodious rebrands]

A natural disaster will take place. This being a Republican administration, it and all consequent effects will be blamed on Republicans. At no point will any Democrat actually responsible for precipitating the event or botching the response be held accountable. I will bet my entire fortune on this playing out exactly as described.

[cavalier973]

Trump's response in such a situation will be to say something nonsensical, then when the media question him about his statement, he doubles down, then while the media starts trying to make hay, he throws Obama into Gitmo.

[Chip Woodier]

So, a semi-success then? (cuz you had not mentioned Clinton)

[jack sprat]

Semi-Success: He really does cut down regulations significantly. How is this measured? Instead of the increase in pages we have seen each year, the amount actually goes down.
Less wars (not a high bar)
War on drugs does not increase ( low bar but since AG nominee etc)
Semi- failure- more intervention abroad
no movement on improving business environment
authoritarian movements, not just rhetoric against immigrants, anti trade protectionism.
(trying to keep it simple)

[jack sprat]

I wish I had an edit button. Need a more real way to judge, not just line items on cutting regulations, need to think about it.

[Krabappel]

A. Work with Congress to significantly cut regulations and significantly lower or eliminate the corporate income tax. I don't know what would qualify as significant for regulations but for corporate income tax he needs to lower it to at least the top rate in Canada (15%) and the worldwide taxation system needs to be replaced with a territorial one (if he eliminates corp. tax this becomes irrelevant).

B. It will be a failure if he continues the same foreign policy of the last few administrations. He needs to end/significantly reduce US involvement in the middle east. If we're bombing 7 countries now, reducing it to only say, 2 (or 0 would be even better), would be a good improvement.

[GSL in E]

OK.

A) ACA repeal and replacement with a free-market health care system. Reduce American military activity abroad. Widespread economic growth and greater labor force participation via deregulation. Meaningful reductions in size and scope of the Federal government, possibly including abolishing Cabinet-directed agencies.

B) Killing economic growth through protectionism. Cracking down on civil liberties. Irresponsible pork/infrastructure spending. Getting the US military bogged down further in the Middle East. Proving the lefties correct by blundering the US into an ill-advised conflict in a moment of temper or careless Tweeting.

[GSL in E]

And yes, I realize these items are more "wish list" and "do not wish list" than semi-success or -failure. These are just easier to pull together.

[Libertarian]

So Trump, like Sean Hannity, is in favor of torture because it "works." I was under the impression that torture was bad because it was torture, not because it was ineffective.

[cavalier973]

You thought wrongly, cuck.

[Swiss Servator]

*alpha applause*

[Tyler.C]

Look the two parties are non ideological in the sense that they don't give a shit about morals. There only guiding metric is 'practically' and 'does this make the other team look bad.

[Crusty Juggler]

They also both really like executive orders.

[Atanarjuat]

To be fair, listening to Hannity's show is a form of torture, but it works in the sense that he remains popular. So I can see where he would get the idea.

[John DeWitt]

Well...war is a uniquely utilitarian enterprise. Kind of hard to apply the "no torture" Kantian principles to an activity where you are literally doing one bad thing (killing others) to prevent something supposedly worse. So doing another bad thing (torture) to prevent something supposedly worse just follows along.

Which is also why war should be a last resort and not the steady state...

[ant1sthenes]

To play devil's advocate, his argument seems to be not so much "Torture is okay", but "X is not torture, and therefore is okay". If you can attack the premise (X is not torture), the argument falls apart.

[Lord Humungus]

"You see here now I got me a big-block in dis here Chevy truck of mine"

Democrats hold lessons on how to talk to real people

Gathering in Sheperdstown, W.Va., Democrats were scheduled to hear from liberal political operative David Brock on Thursday, who ran a session called "Hold Trump Accountable" with Center for American Progress CEO Neera Tanden and Priorities USA CEO Guy Cecil. Earlier in the day, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) moderated a "discussion with Trump voters," according to a draft schedule obtained by POLITICO.

Manchin and nine other Senate Democrats are up for reelection next year in states that Trump won. Much of the event appears geared at figuring out how to turn people who supported Trump into Democratic voters in 2018.

Former Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear (D), along with Sens. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), held a session on "speaking to those who feel invisible in rural America," according to the schedule. Other sessions were along similar lines: "Listening to those feel unheard" and "Rising America ? They feel unheard too."

[Lee Genes]

How about "don't be condescending assholes"?

[commodious rebrands]

But how will you ever reform these ineducable yokel reprobates?

[Juvenile Bluster]

"Nah. We'll just keep insulting them. That will totally work next time."

[Suthenboy]

It is doubtful that those voters are going to forget being deplorable and irredeemable and threatened to have their coal industry crushed in only four years. Who is going unremember what these disingenuous idiots said when they said what they really think?

They shot their own dicks off.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Needs more celebrity videos.

[John DeWitt]

speaking to those who feel invisible in rural America

Pet peeve of mine for this very reason...you should never be speaking to anyone. Speak with them.

[GSL in E]

Reasonable people can say good and bad things about Obama's Presidency, but communicating with blue-collar folks was definitely one of his shortcomings. I don't think he had any sort of instinct for Bill Clinton's "I feel your pain" tactic. Partly because he's an elitist at heart, and partly because he's, well, really self-absorbed.

[Tonio]

Season three of Rick and Morty is running late.

You know what else runs late?

[Rich]

The trains, after Mussolini?

[Tonio]

Think closer to home both in space and time.

[commodious rebrands]

Say what you will about European fascists, at least they'd have the links up on time.

[Tonio]

[snappy salute]

[Rhywun]

Even today's Germans make the trains/planes/subways run on time. And they apologize if they're running late. I often remember that as I'm dealing with the appallingly shitty service everywhere in the US.

[jack sprat]

Links when Robby does them?

[Tonio]

^Winner.

[jack sprat]

hooray!
*takes a bow

[Swiss Servator]

THE MOURNING LYNX?!?!?!

All too often.

[Citizen X]

Links when Fisher has to step up at 10:30 and post them because Robby didn't?

[Krabappel]

Me, every morning.

[Rasilio]

Womens periods after a Steve Smith encounter?

[Crusty Juggler]

Abortion Foes Aim to Compete With Turnout for Women's March

But a new sense of urgency, anxiety, and maybe a little envy has accompanied this year's event, with anti-abortion organizers suddenly realizing they had a tough act to follow.

"We're definitely pulling out all the stops this year to try to get people to come," said Amelia Irvine, president of Georgetown Right to Life at Georgetown University in Washington.

This year, the University of Notre Dame, the famed Catholic college in Indiana, is sending 700 students on 13 charter buses, one of the largest campus contingents, said Emily Burns, vice president of communications with Notre Dame Right to Life.

She said that she and many of her club members shared many of the feminist goals of the women's march, such as preventing sexual assault and violence against women, and were uncomfortable being seen as in competition with the women's march.

[Crusty Juggler]

At Georgetown University, which is a Catholic and Jesuit college, Ms. Irvine is expecting only 30 to 40 students to attend the March for Life, despite her group's efforts. Some students who would have wanted to attend could not, she said, because Friday is a class day and the university would not excuse absences from classes or labs to attend the march.

The numbers appear far lower than Georgetown's turnout for the women's march, said Ms. Irvine: "Our entire school basically went."

[Idle Hands]

Do you know how far M St. is from the mall? Add that to the fact that there is no metro access, it's a surprise they got that many.

[Juvenile Bluster]

It's 9:22 (at least by my clock), and Georgetown still sucks.

[Rhywun]

Our entire school basically went.

Doesn't sound like the Catholic message is reaching many of the students, given that the "women's march" was largely about, if any single topic, abortion.

[Lord Humungus]

Border fences work

Compare that to the 15-foot double-layered fence in the San Diego corridor and you will see why we need that version in other areas of the border. The Department of Homeland Security has gotten away with short-changing the fencing because Congress essentially gutted the Secure Fence Act in 2006, granting the DHS secretary discretion to waive the double-fence requirement and a number of deadlines. Consequently, the success actualized in the Yuma sector was never allowed to take root elsewhere.

The Yuma sector contains most of the remaining double-layer fencing with razor wire, including areas with triple layers and a 75-foot "no man's land." Not surprisingly, it has worked. Apprehensions have declined 96% since 2005 ? falling from 138,438 to 5,902 in fiscal year 2014. And again, the double-layer fencing in Yuma and San Diego only cover a fraction of the sector. But they also have other areas with solid single-layered fencing. The other border sectors containing a sizable amount of effective single-layer fencing are El Centro and El Paso, and they have seen a dramatic decline in border crossings as well, although they are not as locked down as Yuma.

[Atanarjuat]

I listened to Mark Levin on the way home last night. It was funny to hear him quote "fixed fortifications are a monument to man's stupidity" and rail against big government infrastructure spending, and then immediately say "but the border wall is good spending and will be effective".

[chemjeff]

Yeah it is funny to hear the cognitive dissonance on the right nowadays. They have invested heavily in the narrative that government spending is bad, government screws everything up, etc., etc. But it's clear from this recent election that they don't really mean it. What they really mean is, "government spending is bad, except when it's wrapped in a giant American flag, and in that case, BRING ON THE TAXES"

[Eternal Blue Sky]

"Apprehensions have declined 96% since 2005 ? falling from 138,438 to 5,902 in fiscal year 2014."

Or just lazier patrolmen spinning their lack of apprehensions as success.

[yet another dave]

Wouldn't it be cheaper and more efficient to lay a 75 ft mine field?

[SimonD]

or...

The illegal entrants just going somewhere else to cross where there isn't a big freakin' wall in the way.

[Lord Humungus]

Bangladesh man arrested at 27th wife's home on 25th wife's complaint

Speaking to bdnews24.com, Tania said she married Yasin in 2011.

After the birth of a daughter, she discovered she was not the only wife of her husband.

In fact, she was "his 25th wife!"

After she came to know of this, she managed to trace the name and addresses of 17 of her husband's spouses.

She claimed Yasin has two daughters with his second wife, one son with his third wife, one son with his seventh wife and a daughter with his 24th wife.

She said after their marriage, Yasin cited work as an excuse to often stay away from home.

Too much energy.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

"she managed to trace the name and addresses of 17 of her husband's spouses."

But he still has 8 left! This is a man with a back-up plan.

[Libertarian]

Bangladeshis, the Florida Men of Asia.

[Lord Humungus]

Dead body in Mexico City turns out to be discarded Xmas tree

Drug gangs in the country commonly dump the corpses of their victims in public as a way of sending warnings.

So when residents in the rough eastern borough of Iztapalapa saw a bulky bag wrapped in packing tape, they called police. Images of the bag also quickly circulated on social media.

Mexico City police said Tuesday that they sent forensic officers to the scene, but when they opened the bag all they found was the tree.

[Monty Crisco]

In America when you see a bag wrapped in tape (in January) you assume its a Christmas tree someone discarded, in Mexico they assume it's the murdered (and probably tortured) body of a drug cartel victim. This is the PERFECT illustration of how well the war on drugs works...

[yet another dave]

Not sure, I'd say it depends on the neighbourhood, in the US that is, in Mexico yea definitely a dead body.

[ant1sthenes]

The war on drugs that is taking in place in America, where we expect the bag to be filled with a Christmas tree? That... doesn't make sense. Mexico being a hole is more complex than just the war on drugs.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Elon Musk wants to tunnel under Los Angeles.

Terrible idea. Hasn't he ever seen the movie "Volcano"?

[Lord Humungus]

or THEM! (of course those sewer tunnels were already there).

There's a movie that needs a good remake.

[Krabappel]

Good god was that movie awful. The worst was the end where everyone is gray and covered in ash and the kid says "we're all the same color!".

*groans*

[Rich]

Horrific three-hour rape streamed on Facebook Live

Actor Kills Himself On Facebook Live

BAN FACEBOOK!

[Eternal Blue Sky]

Seriously, Facebook really didn't think through this new idea of theirs.

[Eternal Blue Sky]

Seriously, Facebook really didn't think through this new idea of theirs.

[Lord Humungus]

My Crappy Book is out.

On Friday - and through the weekend - it will be free so I will post the link again tomorrow. And then I won't bother y'all again.

Feel free to hate it, love it, mock it, or whatever you want. Leave a review - bad or good - or just ignore it. It's no skin off my back.

[John Titor]

Paul Westwood

I loved your Command and Conquer games.

[(((Renegade)))]

Anything in there about DHTs?

[cavalier973]

Something about a plague. It doesn't devolve into Sugarfree horror, does it?

[cavalier973]

I went ahead and purchased it. I better enjoy it as much as the cup of coffee I might have had, instead.

[Lord Humungus]

Thank you..

[Free Society]

I'm not big on fiction, but I will get a copy because in MY BOOK, you're alright.

[Ecoli]

Haven't read it, but I love the "end of world, huge pandemic that weeds out almost everybody theme".

I will give it a go.

[DOOMco]

I will resd it asap!

[bacon-magic]

Amazon doesn't accept paypal?

[Flawgic]

I bought it too.

[John Titor]

China provides "an anchor of stability and growth," its premier, Li Keqiang wrote in Bloomberg Businessweek.

If anyone's still wondering why we can freakout about Russia but hold China to no standard whatsoever, accepting blatant Chicomm propaganda bullshit like this is part of the reason.

[Rufus The Monocled]

While taking an accounting class in university, the professor advised us all to learn Japanese because...well you know, they were buying up America. No sooner did she say that, it devolved into a prolonged recession and the Jap threat receded. Of course, I was having none of it and found it preposterous.

Now, the new theme is China is gonna overtake America.

It won't.

[John Titor]

Well at least with Japan Western media weren't blatantly taking state-run propaganda news as fact. China Uncensored on Youtube is a pretty good channel that details how completely dysfunctional China is, with stories that just aren't reported in the West (and, as the producers of the show point out, a lot of that has to do with major Western media sources having that sweet, sweet China money rolling in).

[AddictionMyth]

Trump just needs to abolish the minwage and too-generous government benefits so that the kids in Chicago are forced to work. Funneling more money into 'law enforcement' will only make the violence worse. Why? Because when you arrest thousands of people for 'gun possession', they will get radicalized while in prison to a life of crime (much like kids in Europe are islamicized). And secondly you indoctrinate them into 'mental illness': "Your violence is caused by PTSD and other early childhood trauma and brain malfunctions." LOL - that will not end well.

Stop making up excuses to round each other up. This game has become tiresome.

[AddictionMyth]

I mean - I'm tired of paying for you guys to round each other up (and sometimes kill each other). Get a hobby.

[AddictionMyth]

And tired of paying you guys to threaten to kill me when I point it out.

[Ken Shultz]

"Season three of Rick and Morty is running late.

It should take as long as it needs to take.

[Lord Rollingpin]

Just like Robby's links.

[Ken Shultz]

Robby's links aren't worth the wait.

[Free Society]

What, you don't like Robby's self-references and links about stories that he'd already written about that day?

[Tonio]

Covered above, Ken.

[(((Renegade)))]

Al-Shabaab fighters stormed a hotel in Mogadishu, killing at least 28.

Presumably they used roads to get there?

[Tonio]

But NPR said this morning that they were on the verge of forming a stable government (Somalia, that is).

[ant1sthenes]

Maybe they meant the government finally had established control over the buildings where they keep their horses?

[Crusty Juggler]

elling ABC News' David Muir he "absolutely" thought waterboarding worked and doubling down on his claim of massive voter fraud

Is this more of that epic trolling, or is he just being inexplicably retarded?

[cavalier973]

What difference, at this point, does it Make America Great Again?

[Lee Genes]

He's either providing a massive misdirection while he dismantles Obama's legacy or he's retarded.

[(((Renegade)))]

Not mutually exclusive.

[straffinrun]

Wouldn't it be great if it were both?

[Chip Woodier]

Even if it were both, it's still a win on dismantling Obama's "legacy". It isn't a shame to have a retarded president. The last couple of administrations have shown that it's not a handicap.

[Swiss Servator]

Maybe both?

[paranoid android]

I don't see what's inexplicable about it.

[Zombie Jimbo]

Trump vs Media:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-k5J4RxQdE

Trump may be from Manhattan but he acts more old style Brooklyn.

[The Late P Brooks]

Academy Award-nominated Moonlight director Barry Jenkins says black people don't have to play slaves to win Oscars.

Well, I'm glad we've cleared that up.

[GSL in E]

Didn't Denzel win for "Training Day" like, several years ago?

[A Thinking Mind]

Forrest Whitaker won an Oscar for his portrayal of Edi Amin. Jamie Foxx won an Oscar for portraying Ray Charles. And Denzel Washington won for Training Day.

These were all over a decade ago. In fact, I can't find any black male who has WON an Oscar for playing a slave. All I could come up with was Levar Burton's Emmy for "Roots."

[A Thinking Mind]

Addendum: Forgot "Best Supporting Actor" category.

Adding to the list is Cuba Gooding Jr for "Jerry McGuire." But more importantly, Denzel Washington in "Glory," in which Denzel did play an escaped slave.

Beyond that, though, no other black male has played a slave and won an Oscar.

[invisible furry hand]

Sophisticated celebrations for a sophisticated country:

Cockroach and 'dunny' races, Vegemite finger painting and the best 'bushman's beard': The unique ways we celebrate Australia Day

[Crusty Juggler]

The event started in 1981 when two old punters were arguing at the hotel's bar over which local suburb had the fastest cockroaches

And bush dancing and thong throwing? Goodness.

[Rich]

This year's event encompasses 14 races including a steeple chase where roaches must climb over strips of garden hose to the finish.

Until PETA steps on bans it.

[Juvenile Bluster]

The only good bug is a dead bug.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

Happy Australia Day! Can't you just toss some meat on the barbie to celebrate, or is that too much like a normal day? Are there Australian patriotic songs? (Waltzing Matilda? Something by AC/DC? Oh God, it's not "Beds are Burning," is it?) Fireworks? Are kangaroos involved in all this somehow?

[invisible furry hand]

Lamb on the barbie for Australia Day is kind of a thing. We don't sing patriotic songs, thank God, although I suppose if you get enough drunk Aussies together we'll sing Khe Sanh (which is about a Vietnam vet with PTSD) or the rather stirring Flame Trees, both by Cold Chisel. The closest we get to a musical tradition on Australia Day is Triple J's Hottest 100 (you vote for the best songs of the previous year, and the results are revealed on this day)

[Lord Humungus]

I have two Cold Chisel albums in my collection.

I have a real weakness for this song

[Tonio]

Public Service Announcement: On an earlier thread, Hihn referred to someone here as one of the "top 25 fascists" among the commentariat, and has not responded to requests for that complete list. Please pressure him on this. Thanks.

[Crusty Juggler]

Don't worry Tonio, you are in the top 20.

[Tonio]

Thanks, Crusty. But I was aiming higher.

[Citizen X]

That's a pretty bad Hihnfection in there. Stay frosty, everybody.

[John Titor]

*Reads list, finds self not on it, throws down program and storms out of awards ceremony.*

[Tyler.C]

You know I was looking forward to seeing that thread. But knowing he went and raped it makes me think twice.

[John Titor]

Also, for the record, Hihn goes around calling other people fascists while once declaring that Jews are "the most barbarian people to ever walk the earth."

I'm dead serious.

[Cis Species Lord of Feces]

Any link to that comment? Not that I would doubt it, but it seems like a useful thing to have in my back pocket.

[John Titor]

Sorry, it was "They are the most barbaric people in world history."

And then he accuses me of being anti-Semitic because I reject the Biblical account of the Jews massacring the Canaanites as unsupported by archaeology, genealogy, or history in general.

[John Titor]

Wait my mistake, that second part was in another dumb thread about Hihn's anti-Semitism.

[Citizen X]

Yeah, but Michael Hihn was there.

He is very, very old.

[Cis Species Lord of Feces]

My thanks.

[Lord Rollingpin]

He called the Jews out on committing 'mass genmocide'.
You can't get much worse than genmocide.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

Shades of Daniel Schorr reading out Nixon's enemies list on air, only to discover he was on it while reading.

[Idle Hands]

How many different ways can you spell Ron Paul?

[Swiss Servator]

Will do!

[Lord Humungus]

Is it me? *readies the Skrewdriver album to be played at maximum volume*

[chemjeff]

Can I be on the list? I could use some new snappy Hugo Boss outfits.

[Homple]

Fasching is a lot of fun. What's the problem here?

[DOOMco]

I knew anti gummint was fascist.

[Citizen X]

Oh sweet, i made the list! That's going on my resume.

[Citizen X]

It's funny how the proportion of "fascists" to "people who don't take Michael Hihn seriously" is 1.

[Kurmudgeonly Kristen]

Guten Morgen, Mistst?cke.

It's a good thing work is going well this week, because other shit sucks.

[Swiss Servator]

Gr?ezi.

'tis a pity - I'd rather work was no good and everything else was fine.

[Ken Shultz]

"President Trump gave his first television interview from the White House, telling ABC News' David Muir he "absolutely" thought waterboarding worked"

Just for the record, my libertarian objections to waterboarding are not just over the question of whether it works.

Incidentally, my objections to shoving bamboo shoots under people's fingernails or putting their dicks in a vice aren't just about whether they work either.

[Monty Crisco]

GAvin McInnes savages the "million woman march"... hilarious.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sREyrKc7EiQ

Linda Sarsour - a MUSLIM feminist?!!? IS that possible?!?!?

[Ken Shultz]

Gavin McInnes, isn't that the guy that played Captain Stubing?

[Chip Woodier]

The only good Gavin was Gavin Milarrrrrrrrrrr.

[Crusty Juggler]

Gavin throwing girl punches at a protestor.

I assume it's a setup in some way, but who knows.

[Not a True MJG]

How dare you, he's masculine af. Look at the beard!

[cavalier973]

Muslim feminists wear their hijab in the left instead of in the right. As you are facing them.

[Monty Crisco]

Yeah, because a hijab and "women's rights" so TOTALLY are reconciliable....

P.T. Barnum, thy heir is Linda Sarsour....

[Rhywun]

*moistens pencil tip, adds to list*

[Citizen X]

Well, THAT'S in the history of my work computer now. I'll probably get asked to do a bunch of stuff for the firm's Diversity Committee, so thanks for that.

[cavalier973]

The things one must know, these days.

[Kurmudgeonly Kristen]

So a big birthday ending in "0" is coming up in 5 years. I want to take a fabulous trip somewhere and go whole hog, first-class all the way. Where should I go? And in no way is Rio or Sao Paulo on the list - those places are an introverts' nightmare. Things I like to do: eat, fish, ski, lounge, loaf, nap, and see pretty scenery.

Some options I've thought of:
-Morocco
-New Zealand/Oztralia
-Nepal
-Chile/Argentina
-Eastern Europe (Prague, Budapest, Sofia)
-Somewhere decadent in the Caribbean or South Pacific

[Juvenile Bluster]

New Zealand/Oz. Not close.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

Iceland

[John Titor]

She wants an introverts' vacation, not drink and get laid.

[Kurmudgeonly Kristen]

Drink, no. Getting laid...by a Viking. That could definitely be on the table. As it were.

[John Titor]

I'm not sure about the men, but the girls in Reykjavik are very...friendly.

[Citizen X]

They're desperate to reproduce with someone who they're not related to. Iceland is not a very big place.

[Kurmudgeonly Kristen]

There won't be any "reproducing" going on with me!!

[Monty Crisco]

"There was no mating going on!"

-Skipper Penguin of Madagascar

[Citizen X]

"I can't go to France! With their tax rates?!?"

[John Titor]

Way to make me freak the hell out about little John Titorssons Citizen X.

[Citizen X]

Don't worry, illegitimacy ain't no thang in Iceland.

[Kurmudgeonly Kristen]

Don't worry, illegitimacy ain't no thang in Iceland.

When I say it's for a birthday ending in "0", I ain't talkin' 'bout 30. Or 40. So that whole babymamma thing is kinda off the table.

[John Titor]

illegitimacy ain't no thang in Iceland.

Says you, I'd want to do right by my bastards. Give them land and ensure they're married to someone of proper status. Also, inform them of the whole "family history of these horrible diseases" thing.

[Zombie Jimbo]

That was beautifully phrased.

[Tonio]

There is plenty of introverty stuff to do there. Pony trekking. Jeeping. Kayaking (both ocean and river).

[Tonio]

I'd be very careful about MENA unless the situation improves dramatically.

[Kurmudgeonly Kristen]

Morocco seems pretty even-keeled. I would avoid Tunisia & the rest, though.

[Monty Crisco]

Oman. Gorgeous and totally safe...

[Kurmudgeonly Kristen]

The only thing I can picture as far as the Gulf goes is a layover in Dubai for a couple days (having flown in on Emirates A380 first class). Otherwise, not that interested. What goes on in Oman? Is there a lot to see there?

[Timon 19]

I second Oman. Wish I had spent more than the 2 hours I had driving around the northern parts (which looks so much like what Mars would if it had our atmosphere - in a good way!).

Also, if you're doing the Gulf, try Abu Dhabi. Dubai is a giant theme park, with all the attendant annoyances about a theme park, plus a bunch of others. Abu Dhabi actually resembles a real city, but with lots of (yes, mostly artificial-like, but still) things to do. Also cool if you like city architecture.

[straffinrun]

What's wrong with Japan? You can do all of that and feel like Godzilla.

[Kurmudgeonly Kristen]

Japan is a "maybe" for me...the cities are quite crowded and places like Mt. Fuji are also. I had considered skiing there, though. I hear it's pretty amazing.

[Lord Humungus]

Visit the Suicide Forest?

[John Titor]

Too crowded.

[straffinrun]

A lot of people, but they're Japanese so they won't bother you. The skiing isn't as good as Vail or even Copper Mtn, but it's good.

[Monty Crisco]

Japan is not a great place for tourists that don't speak Japanese or are heavily invested in the culture. It is crowded, most of it was bombed flat in WW2 so it is all fairly new architecture and urban (Kyoto and Nara excepted) and it doesn't have a LOT of beautiful natural scenery - AND IT IS EXPENSIVE AS FUCK.
There are probably better places....

[Swiss Servator]

Costa Rica

[Kurmudgeonly Kristen]

How many shots do I need to go there? I watch a lot of Monsters Inside Me

[Lord Humungus]

Old friend of mine went to Costa Rica and picked up a parasite which made him lactose intolerant. Hmm...

[Monty Crisco]

Are you shitting my tits?!?!?

[Trshmnstr, Grump Apprentice]

What you did there... i see it.

[cavalier973]

You should crowd fund your vacation with the idea of writing a travel guide for introverts.

[Kurmudgeonly Kristen]

Now here's an idea!!

[Tonio]

Srsly.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Chile. If money is no problem they have cruises that take you to the tip of South America near Cape Horn. Glaciers, penguins, seals and such. It's the dream honeymoon my fianc?e and I wish we could afford.

[Kurmudgeonly Kristen]

I was thinking something along those lines. Maybe a few days in Ushuaia, perhaps a fishing charter if they have that kind of thing, and a cruise to the Antarctic.

[robc]

Bora Bora.

Its pricey.

We are moving to a new house shortly (construction is almost complete) and I have promised the wife two weeks in Tahiti and Bora Bora after it is paid off.

[Kurmudgeonly Kristen]

Nice! Yeah, a tropical island with 5-star resorts would not be bad.

[robc]

Plus, glass floors in the rooms so you can watch the fish and sharks underneath you!

[Monty Crisco]

+1 End of the original "XXX" movie

[robc]

Our 1 year old may be out of college before the new house is paid off, but hopefully we get there before I turn 70.

[AlmightyJB]

I would go with NZ/OZ no doubt. Chile/Arg would be 2nd. Way behind those would be EE or the isles.

[Tyler.C]

If you go to South America, Argentina can be fun, by Buenos Aires is pretty dirty. I've never been to Chile but have heard that is nice. Personally I love Uruguay.

[Kurmudgeonly Kristen]

It's really unfortunate that Turkey is such a mess. I have been there 3 times, and every time I was young & poor. Now I'm old and have a little $ and the country has gone to shit. I always wanted to stay in the Four Seasons in Istanbul (which used to be the prison from Midnight Express), shop til my bank account was drained, see the northeast (the Switzerland of Turkey) and Capadoccia. I would not feel comfortable doing any of that at this point.

[Kurmudgeonly Kristen]

The British Isles may also be nice...would like to go to the Highlands, Snowdonia, Scilly Isles, Shetlands, Stonehenge, plane spotting at Heathrow.

Also the Cananananadian Maritimes, possibly.

[John Titor]

Dollar's doing terrible right now, best time to come up here as an American is now.

But there's going to be a bunch of 150th anniversary celebrations, so maybe not introverty enough?

[Kurmudgeonly Kristen]

Ooh! Or what about the Eastern Adriatic coast?

[Citizen X]

+1 Old City of Dubrovnik

[Free Society]

Austria or Croatia. But seriously, Austria.

[commodious rebrands]

Netherlands, as pitched to Trump's America.

[GSL in E]

Kauai.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Salon Media is being sold for a mere $6 million.

This news via @iowahawkblog, who, as always, had a great take on it.

David Burge
?@iowahawkblog

For $6 million you could buy the entire @Salon media empire, or a midsize farm in Iowa

[Rich]

The man is a National Treasure.

[John Titor]

Hmm tough call. Farm in Iowa's a good deal, but rebranding Salon as a libertarian publication? Very tempting.

[Lee Genes]

Buy it, rename it saloon, and focus on gambling, drinking and shooting. Far more profitable.

[AlmightyJB]

Header on every page should be confederate flag. Just for fun.

[robc]

Or rebuild Colonel Steve Austin.

[Monty Crisco]

Thread winner.

[robc]

I couldnt believe it went uncommented on for this long.

[Lord Humungus]

We can turn Salon into a SugarFree/Agile Cyborg jazz fusion website.

[robc]

I wonder if we could get $6MM from a kickstarter to turn it into that.

[Tonio]

Ongoing pants-shitting from Slate. Yesterday was the worst day ever in Trump's America. And while they may be right about that, I suspect that there will be a long series of even worse days.

[Lee Genes]

These media outlets are in a race to see who can be the most hysterical. It's not long before they start really calling for open violence and not just tacitly condoning it.

[Tonio]

^Sadly, this. Explains so much.

[Free Society]

Seems like they've already done this by tirelessly characterizing rioting, destruction and assault on political foes as "protest".

[Kurmudgeonly Kristen]

Every day is the worst day of my life.

[DOOMco]

That's messed up

[GSL in E]

Can you just, I don't know, zonk me out so that I don't know Trump is President? Can I just think I've been fishing for four years?

[mr simple]

Fannie Mae backs Blackstone debt

So we have a government program intended to help lower where people afford to buy a house (SLD: it shouldn't exist in the first place) now helping millionaires buy up houses to rent to the lower classes. Totally free market. Great stuff, really. This is the road to fascism, not ignoring reporters or stopping government agencies from trying for a couple weeks.

[Lee Genes]

what

the

fuck

[The Fusionist]

I have to admit that the current Pope has been something of a disappointment.

Pope Francis says populism reminds him of Hitler, except Latin American populism, which is awesome

[John Titor]

You know what you need to do Eddie.

[robc]

Pope Edward I?

[John Titor]

God no, I was just thinking of trying to get Benedict his job back.

[Monty Crisco]

An ACTUAL Hitler youth!!

[mr simple]

Defenestration?

[The Fusionist]

Bad Popes are nothing new...Boccacio had a story about someone who joined the Church because only the true Church could withstand so much corruption and not be destroyed.

[Free Society]

It's what they get for electing a South American socialist to the Vatican. I wonder if the Church will ever recover from this infection of social justice.

[Monty Crisco]

THEY NEED JUDE LAW!!!!

[commodious rebrands]

Infants with two fathers suffer identity confusion, research shows.

[DOOMco]

His list is "John, CrustyJuggler, Tonio, John Titor, jubistar, Citizen x, Francisco D'Anconia, ace-m82, Swiss Servator, MarkLastName and all my many stalkers"

[Lee Genes]

jubistar?

[DOOMco]

I feel left out.

[Citizen X]

Jubistar is his great-granddaughter. He thinks she's a bitch because she never wrote him a thank you note for the $5 he sent her as a college graduation present.

[DOOMco]

"Oh. Cool. Most of a pint."

[John Titor]

Suck it losers, I'm top five! I'm literally Himmler!

[DOOMco]

Who are you, who are so wise in the ways of anti government fascism?

[John Titor]

The best part is I haven't really talked to Hihn in about a year, it's just a waste of time, but I still get top billing. Man holds a bloody grudge.

[Citizen X]

Jesus, what did you say to him? I piss in his Wheaties every time he shows up and i'm only number 6.

[SugarFree]

I'm not even on the list.

[The Fusionist]

Ah, but, I'm told...never mind, that would be a SPOILER.

[John Titor]

Called him senile and stupid a lot, told him to learn how to write like a mature, rational adult, reposted his anti-Semitic rants a couple times when he was screaming at other people, broke down and dismantled a bunch of his anti-Israel and anti-Jew arguments, pointed out that the only person here really discrediting libertarianism is the madman screaming about bullies. All of which was clearly part of my long term plan to invade Poland.

[SugarFree]

It's almost like you're the one who told him to drink from the wrong Holy Grail.

[RichardBrixey]

Nice article!