Playboy Bringing Back Nudes, Goodbye Michael Flynn Happy Valentine's Day: P.M. Links

• 

  Konradbak

  Nude photos will return to Playboy. And it's only President Trump's first month in office!

• University of Michigan student who propagated a hate crime hoax won't face charges.
• Read Lenore Skenazy's latest story about another absurd sexting prosecution.
• The FBI interviewed Michael Flynn in the early days of the Trump administration, meaning he could face charges of lying to investigators.
• Daryl Davis, the black writer and activist who persuades Klu Klux Klan members to desert the cause, has some advice for dealing with racist Trump supporters (not all Trump supporters are even racists, he notes).
• Happy Valentine's Day:

Roses are red

Violets are blue

Aggression's immoral

And so are you

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

...AND ROBBY WE LOVE YOU!

[Bacon-Magic <3 Hayek]

Happy Valentine's Day:

Roses are red

Violets are blue

Aggression's immoral

And so are you

Back at you, Robby.

[AlmightyJB]

"And so are you"

Sweet talker

[Episteme]

Nah, I have to be a good person, dogs like me...

[Playa Manhattan.]

I thought he was on vacation.

[Fist of Etiquette]

He was one minute to retirement.

[C. Anacreon]

obligatory

[Fist of Etiquette]

Exactly what I was expecting it to be.

[XM]

You like spoiled the best part of the movie.

[Rufus The Monocled]

Hello.

"...meaning he could face charegs of lying to investigators."

These interns. What are they good for?

It was the best of times it was the blurst of times...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no_elVGGgW8

[Bacon-Magic <3 Hayek]

Rufus!!! WTF? He doesn't even have a quote...

[Citizen X - #6]

As a Canadian, Rufus gives 15% less fucks than an American would.

[Bacon-Magic <3 Hayek]

He should at least say sorry about that...you know, the usual way Canadians say fuck off. Eh?

[Rufus The Monocled]

I have a caribou cock I carry around to fuck people with.

[Bacon-Magic <3 Hayek]

Huh, I thought you were going to say mooseknuckle.

[Bacon-Magic <3 Hayek]

I am first according to Fist's own made up rules...he failed to quote an article. And I have style.

[Citizen X - #6]

I know a Canadian who moved to Virginia who realized just how Canadian he was when he got cut off in traffic and caught himself yelling, "Sore-y!" at the guy who nearly ran into him.

[Fatty Bolger]

It's not real love. You're just infatuated with his post blowout confidence.

[Bacon-Magic <3 Hayek]

Nude photos will return to Playboy.

Oh yeah.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

The issue will feature Elizabeth Elam, who the magazine describes as an "unlikely amalgam of warmth, grit and obvious beauty."

That's just like me, I'm an "unlikely amalgam of warmth, grit and obvious" beauty.

/quote moved in pursuit of accuracy

[The Fusionist]

Interesting, "Elam" is "male" spelled backward.

[Atanarjuat]

Stage 1: "Who is Jack Elam?"
Stage 2: "Get me Jack Elam."
Stage 3: "I want a Jack Elam type."
Stage 4: "I want a younger Jack Elam."
Stage 5: "Who is Jack Elam?"

[The Fusionist]

Any relation to the naked chick?

[Aloisius Kohalich]

That's the good news. The bad news? They're all Hugh Hefner.

[Fist of Etiquette]

University of Michigan student who propagated a hate crime hoax won't face charges.

Let's just call it a training exercise.

[Bacon-Magic <3 Hayek]

Guess who isn't first? ^this guy

[Fist of Etiquette]

Messages of love and support are always more important than any other consideration.

[Bacon-Magic <3 Hayek]

I support your love of anus.

[OneOut]

He will always be first in my heart.

[Fatty Bolger]

He raised awareness, so if you think about it, we should really be giving him a medal.

[esteve7]

Shouldn't that have the same punishment as the crime?

[The Fusionist]

According to the article, it does, or would if she were convicted.

[(??o?)?? S?X?_|_]

For anyone interested, especially those who are considering stepping away from the Reason comments, whether temporarily or permanently, I co-admin a private email group strictly for the Reason commentariat. We've currently got about three dozen active members. It's Tulpa-free (with verification) and anonymous (unless you wish to voluntarily self-identify). For an invitation, email me with your handle, and we'll get you verified and added to the group.

We'll post this on the AM and PM links every day this week to give everyone a chance to see it.

[Bacon-Magic <3 Hayek]

^this

[C. Anacreon]

join all the cool kids!

[JR Robble Dobbs]

But, how will you prevent it from being an echo chamber. Like the saying, It is better that 10 guilty men go free than one innocent man jailed, I feel it is better to feel the pain of 1000 trolls, then to have that nagging doubt of "Am I challenged?"

[GILMORE?]

how will you prevent it from being an echo chamber.

are you kidding? Real Libertarians never agree with one another.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I disagree.

[Zeb]

There is plenty of diversity of (libertarian) opinion. It's nice to have a group where everyone is somewhat on the same page. The world offers plenty of opportunities to argue with progressives and trolls.

[Bacon-Magic <3 Hayek]

Says you! *agrees to disagree

[Curt]

I'll bite... What's the target audience? Is it for libertarians who are tired of all the trumpkins who've overrun H&R? Or is it for all the trumpkins who are tired of libertarians opposing statism/authoritarianism whether it comes from team red, team blue, or team trump?

[Not a True MJG]

Robby's Catholic?

[WakaWaka]

Yeah, but like the same way that you are 'libertarian' and not just a prog

[Not a True MJG]

I knew I shouldn't have changed my name.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Nude photos will return to Playboy.

Will they be somehow better than the ones you can find freely on the internet?

[Domestic Dissident]

I heard that, much like the republican party, there's going to be much less bush.

[Jerry on the sea]

And all that remains is a dry patch.

[BigT]

So they'll feature tactile photos? 3D images?

It'll give you something to grab.

[LurkinInaBuildin]

Looking at the pages of Playboy will presumably spare your pornography-contaminated personal computing device from getting you filed under "Porn Addict" at the giant spook cube/metadata storehouse currently being built in SLC, resulting in some small chance of your survival when America becomes a Mormon theocracy outright, and the last of the unbelievers are converted....to ash.

[John Titor]

If we're ranking theocracies, Mormon theocracy is probably pretty up there. Sure, no caffeine or alcohol, but they have enough science fiction writers that we'll be colonizing Mars and sending missionaries to Alpha Ceti 5 in a decade.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

I can't enjoy my sci-fi without a coffee enema.

[jesse.in.mb]

I thought I was the onl...

Oh you're joking.

*backs out of room slowly*

[BigT]

Cream in your coffee?

- Not recently!

[Citizen X - #6]

Nude photos will return to Playboy. And it's only President Trump's first month in office!

However, there's this thing called "the Internet" now...

[Rhywun]

I would to think that Playboy has better taste than the Internet.

[jesse.in.mb]

Nude photos will return to Playboy. And it's only President Trump's first month in office!

They left?

[Citizen X - #6]

I guess it is confirmed that no one was reading it for the articles, huh.

[jesse.in.mb]

I'm just amazed it's still being published at all.

[Citizen X - #6]

It would seem to have become superfluous.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

Is Playgirl still a thing?

[jesse.in.mb]

Apparently it still existed through the end of 2015. Winter 2016 is the last cover I could find and I can see why it died out if that's the level of beef they're bringing to the party.

[Microaggressor]

They finally figured out that people only said that as a joke.

[Rufus The Monocled]

"Nude photos will return to Playboy."

This making of America great again is gonna give me a stroke.

[Citizen X - #6]

It only takes one? Your poor wife.

[Lee picked the wrong week....]

I have to admit, that was a slick burn.

[Citizen X - #6]

That's how Rufus describes it, yes.

[Rufus The Monocled]

It's the over load that counts...of the stroke that is.

[jesse.in.mb]

Can You Be Friends With a Bear?

tl;dr: No

Grrizzly hardest hit.

[jack sprat]

+1 Timothy Treadwell

[jack sprat]

damn, I should have read the entire article first.

[jesse.in.mb]

I thought you were just being really dark.

[Hooha]

That would have been "-1"

[grrizzly]

That's not what I read on the internet.

[jesse.in.mb]

Because, You Know, Russia sums up my thoughts on that nicely.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

I don't think there are grizzlies in Russia. That's an American subspecies of the brown bear.

[grrizzly]

Grizzlies live in Alaska, which is historically Russian.

[John Titor]

That's not a bear, that's their son.

[LynchPin1477]

This seems relevant

Trigger warning: saddest drawing ever

[jesse.in.mb]

That really is sad.

[grrizzly]

It is. But bears can have friends. The evidence.

[jesse.in.mb]

That's really cute.

[OneOut]

Lions and Tigers...and Bears ?

Oh my !

[LynchPin1477]

This is also relevant

[Enough About Palin]

I remember 40 years ago watching Grizzly Adams on TV. Adams and the bear encountered a little girl lost in the woods whereupon a friend watching with me immediately -- in a Grizzly Adams voice -- said, "Don't worry little girl. Me and my bear are gonna fuck you." Still makes me grin thinking about it.

[Sir Digby Chicken Caesar]

Of course we can't. Not after we teach them how to ride bikes.

[Juice]

Nude photos will return to Playboy.

They need to call in Playboy Classic.

[Juice]

IT

fuck, just die

[AlmightyJB]

Yawn

[Juice]

I agree. Playboy is boring af.

[Slammer]

They could have small tits and untrimmed bush to make it interesting

[Tonio]

Happy VD, reprobates. In honor of which, I present the following:

First Commenter stepped onto the the ceremonial soapbox in the Great Chamber, his badge of office, an outsized analog shower clock, swinging to and fro from its rope and nodded to Mon?gasque Mercenary who narrowed his gaze at the crowd. The assembled commenters became uncharacteristically quiet. "Assholes," said First Commenter, "I've got some bad news for you all ? the dungeons are closed and we all have to leave. They've decided to go with unionized prog commenters; the desperate dregs of Gawker who will churn forth endless laudatory comments about Lakshmi's tattles.. They are even promoting the trolls to commenter trainees."

more...

[Bacon-Magic <3 Hayek]

Hey there Tonio!

[Bacon-Magic <3 Hayek]

I can't click on glibertarians at work. I'm signed up there though.

[Crusty Juggler - #2]

There is nothing "happy" about a venereal disease.

[Bacon-Magic <3 Hayek]

You're not happy, then?

[jesse.in.mb]

Someone clearly doesn't know the madness and euphoria of tertiary syphilis

[Citizen X - #6]

That someone would not be Crusty, however.

[Tonio]

^This.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Syphilis in your what!?!

[Playa Manhattan.]

That's weird. Every racist I know voted for Hillary.

[Juice]

And let me tell ya, he knows a lot of them! 😉

[Juvenile Bluster]

...how many racists do you know?

[Playa Manhattan.]

No shit racists? Probably about 10 high school classmates. Some are blue collar Dems, others "tolerant" progressives.

[Atanarjuat]

Sadly, in the blue collar world, casual racism still exists.

[esteve7]

Well isn't identity politics by its very nature racist? You see people as groups not as individuals.

Also my prog friend talking about how great it is to 'punch up' and 'punch down'

You have some fucking complex if you believe you are a saint and can determine who it's okay to assault. More like you just want an excuse for your own prejudices

[Enough About Palin]

If a white woman marries a black guy, is she guilty of cultural appropriation?

[StartSpreadinTheFakeNews, Jr.]

(not all Trump supporters are even racists, he notes)

This is normally the point where I'd make the joke "How charitable of him.", except in the current environment it's like 98% serious.

[Rhywun]

Yeah, and watch the left eat him alive for going wobbly.

[esteve7]

Happy Single's Awareness Day!

[Ted S.]

Actually, that's April 14.

[esteve7]

Great a week after my B-Day

[Rhywun]

The day before mine.

[C. Anacreon]

IRS child, are we?

[Bacon-Magic <3 Hayek]

Some people have to pay the IRS any way they can.

[Rhywun]

They didn't take me 🙁

[Episteme]

Valentine's Day is only four days after my birthday, so I never get those birthday coupons that restaurant last send out to folks on their mailing lists ? it's been confirmed to me by managers at places that they have a blackout period around certain holidays so that folks won't use Free Meal deals for cheap dates or something; I used to at least get only a few-day window in lieu of the usual two-week window at most places, but now they just skip me.

This is why, IF married folks (of various sorts)?are going to get all those sweet federal benefits, those of us singles in long dry spells need some sort of relational Medicaid card so that we can qualify for birthday meals around Valentine's Day.

[creech]

Restaurants have no idea what your real birthdate is, so just make up something - and spread them out through the year - when you sign up for those e-mail offers.

[esteve7]

Great a week after my B-Day

[Fist of Etiquette]

The FBI interviewed Michael Flynn in the early days of the Trump administration, meaning he could face charegs of lying to investigators.

I mean, it's not like he has the importance of a Clapper.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Clap on, clap off?

[LurkinInaBuildin]

I highly encourage the Spook Industrial Bureaucrat Desk Jockey Intel Community to continue poking four-star military officers with sticks.

The US military exists to teach third-world heathens how to be good gay consumers and breeding stock for wealthy Americans. The sooner their moral superiors in the US intelligence community can instill this fact into the thick heads of the meat-headed military morons, the better.

Besides, I was re-watching American Beauty recently and was reminded that all loyal Marines and soldiers are secret closet homos anyway. Right?

[Pi Guy]

...Spook Industrial Bureaucrat Desk Jockey Intel Community...

SIBDJIC? Nope. It just doesn't roll off of the Alphabet Agency Tongue.

Now, maybe if the "J" was silent...

[Crusty Juggler - #2]

'My heart is gold, but my vagine is platinum': Corinne Olympios lures Nick Viall into bed on The Bachelor

The 24-year-old Miami business owner was feeling neglected after failing to gain a one-on-one date, so she sneaked off to seduce Nick in his hotel room.

'When I want something I get it, no ifs, buts or maybes,' said Corinne, who lives with her parents and has a live-in nanny to cater to her every whim.

I'm going to blow that room up,' she threatened.

'I definitely know how to turn on the sex charm,' she announced.

'I know how to make a man feel good, and I do it way better than anyone else because my heart is gold, but my vagine is platinum,' she boasted.

'Let's dive into bed,' she told Nick on arrival.

Just as they were getting down to business he pulled away.

'We're supposed to wait,' he told her.

Corinne was mortified.

[jesse.in.mb]

Are these fictional characters?

[Crusty Juggler - #2]

No, no ifs, buts, or maybes.

[jesse.in.mb]

I seem to remember an episode of The Bachelor or something like is where one of the girls snuck the guy off to give him a blowjob and they played the audio for the whole thing with the muffled noise text superimposed.

words words words [muffled slurping sound] word words

I'm so glad my current roommate watches a totally different type of garbage television.

[Playa Manhattan.]

It's reality TV, so yes.

[Bacon-Magic <3 Hayek]

Twat-blocked?

[Not a True MJG]

'Let's dive into bed,' she told Nick on arrival.

That's gotta hurt!

[paranoid android]

Nick will keep her in the final four just because he knows the TV gold that will come from her hometown date and meeting her nanny will be too good to pass up. He might even keep her in the final three just to bang her, because who could blame him? (Well, besides all the other women).

YES I WATCH THIS HORRIBLE TACKY SHOW AND I DON'T CARE WHO KNOWS ABOUT IT

[Crusty Juggler - #2]

Oh my.

[C. Anacreon]

Crusty Juggler is Sulu!

[Bacon-Magic <3 Hayek]

Crusty in his younger days practicing his sword strokes

[Certified Public Asshat]

So, the bachelor is a gay man?

[BigT]

No if's or ands, but plenty of butts!

[Not a True MJG]

Under-reported news with enlightening analysis from Michael Malice: Kim Jong Un's older brother is dead, possibly assassinated.

Kim Jong Il's son, Kim Jong Nam, was found dead in Malaysia, reportedly murdered. There is perhaps no greater sign possible of the instability of the current DPRK regime. In fact, it was Jong Nam who was first groomed to succeed the Dear Leader. By all accounts, he would have tried to usher in enormous liberalization for North Korea?which is precisely why he was passed over. [...]

As an adult, Jong Nam published a book in Japan that was later translated into English (though almost impossible to find) entitled My Father Kim Jong-Il and I. The text is a series of interviews between Jong Nam and a Japanese reporter, explaining the Kim family relationship. During his father's lifetime, Jong Nam urged more openness in the North Korea, whereas Kim Jong Il said that, "If you want openness, open a window."

Under the ultranationalist Juche idea that reigns in the DPRK, Korean problems must be solved by Korean solutions. The liberalization that did wonders for China would therefore not be applicable to Korea.

[Juvenile Bluster]

You don't murder somebody by stabbing them with poisoned needles unless it's an assassination.

[Not a True MJG]

Accidents happen.

[John Titor]

Where do you live, the HITMAN universe?

[jesse.in.mb]

1 out of 5 stars. This acupuncturist is terrible. I am now dead. Would not visit again.

Wait that's a terrible Yelp review impression...

So there I was in Kuala Lumpur evading my brother's like totally barbaric regime when I just could not get rid of my neck pain from the flight. It was like so long, and the woman sitting next to me had the worst breath and the entertainment was broken for half the flight, but anyway, I had the worst crick in my neck and I went to find a decent acupuncturist, but I don't read Malay or Traditional Chinese characters because the Kim family long since banned the use of the Hanja preferring only Hangul out of deference to great King Sejeong, but anyway I found a place that had needles all over it and smelled like moxsa, I guess you might also see it as mugwort and I *assumed* it was an acupuncturist because what smells like mugwort and has a ton of needles. I went in and kept screaming at these two women that I was a paying customer and I needed needles in my neck, but they kept waving me away. Unfortunately neither of them spoke Pyongyang-dialect Korean, but I eventually waved a bunch of money in their faces and they jabbed me with a needle. Instead of feeling relief from the crick in my neck I started vomiting up blood. How bad of an acupuncturist do you have to be to cause projectile blood vomiting and now I'm totally dead. Thanks shitty acupuncturist place. I'd give it zero stars if I could, but I can't because dead.

[Bacon-Magic <3 Hayek]

But did they give you a coupon for a free visit?

[jack sprat]

Kim Jong-nam was once considered the heir apparent to Kim Jong-il, but fell out of favour in 2001 after being arrested at Tokyo's Narita Airport after trying to enter Japan on a forged Dominican Republic passport.

He told police that he had wanted to visit Disneyland with his family.

[Fist of Etiquette]

...(not all Trump supporters are even racists, he notes).

Wink wink.

[Jerry on the sea]

Religion of Peace Love: Valentine's Day celebrations on Tuesday were banned by authorities in parts of Indonesia and Pakistan, home to Asia's largest Muslim populations, saying the romantic tradition encouraged casual sex and ran counter to cultural norms.

[MythicalLibertarianWoman]

Basically a prime example of what the YA publishing climate is like these days. The gist: this author has a new YA fantasy novel coming out. Her main character is black. Her cover debuted last Friday, and it shows her main character in a pretty princess dress with like a dragon/snake thing wrapping around her. It's a really nice cover, and there's been a lot of push in YA for more diversity and especially for characters of color to be represented on covers (because a lot of times if the main character isn't white, they'll put like a symbol or something on the cover instead), so it's a big deal.

So you would expect people to be happy, right? Black princess-y character on the cover of a bestselling author's book. But no. There was outrage, because she's a white author, and apparently the Honor of being the First Person To Get A Cover Like This should have belonged to a black author. So now she must apologize and acknowledge/check her white privilege.

And then people don't understand why authors are now hesitant to write diversity.

[waffles]

Thank you for sharing the everflowing fountain of derp that is YA publishing. Derp-miners like you are risking your sanity to provide us entertainment. I applaud your bravery.

[esteve7]

There is no point trying to make these people happy, because they will never be happy. They are a fucking cult.

Also I find the term 'people of color' to be wildly inaccurate. All they mean is non-white and possibly non-asian.

[C. Anacreon]

And yet they turned down the chance to publish the YA novel "Ooga Booga meets the Vampires".

[Zeb]

I'd also think that "people of color" is kind of insulting to many of the people it includes. As if the only relevant characteristic is whether or not someone is white.

[Tonio]

Incentives, how do they work?

[John Titor]

Christ, I've got to get into the YA market. I can write power fantasies for young women in lazily put together dystopias/fantasy worlds too!

Sugarfree will co-author.

[mad.casual]

It's a really nice cover, and there's been a lot of push in YA for more diversity and especially for characters of color to be represented on covers (because a lot of times if the main character isn't white, they'll put like a symbol or something on the cover instead), so it's a big deal.

No offense to the author, or whomever is making the claim, but I don't believe it. More importantly or relevantly, I just can't care.

They have to have black girls on the cover of YA fantasy fiction in Africa. Moreover, who gives a shit at subdivisions lower than age-range and fiction?

The rage monsters made up a grievance and got outraged, acknowledging or indulging their made up grievance is not part of the solution.

[Deep Lurker]

And then people don't understand why authors are now hesitant to write diversity.

Unless they're politically incorrect pariahs who publish independently or write for Baen Books. I've noticed that authors can have a lot of fun with diversity if they don't worry about being PC.

[waffles]

Taos sucks, don't go.

Seven years ago I taught ski school in the kinderkafig (which has had its named whitewashed to "childrens center"). I skied 108 days that season and became a much better skier. Last weekend I challenged myself to a buffet of my old favorites to see if skiers really do get better with age. The locals had plenty of whine to go around but the place has mostly changed for the better. I can confidently say it is the best non-backcountry terrain I've skied. I just hope the new owner keeps the Ernie Blake legacy alive or at least lightens up on trying to stamp it out entirely. The man was an inspiration.

[Playa Manhattan.]

Chair 14. You know where.

[waffles]

I fully plan on skiing in June this year. Squaw Valley's operations have been an absolute shitshow this season. I expect it will get better when the bay area forgets that there is still snow in the mountains.

[GILMORE?]

University of Michigan student who propagated a hate crime hoax won't face charges.

Well, that's a relief.

[Ted S.]

I suppose Susan Smith shouldn't have faced charges, either?

[GILMORE?]

he could face charegs

YOU HAD ONE JOB

[pogi chips for liberty]

Rico's hair is maintained by the life-force of Reason interns. It drains their ability to edit copy first.

[Crusty Juggler - #2]

What Are Your Rights if Border Agents Want to Search Your Phone?

The policies that give border agents the latitude to search or seize devices were used under the Obama administration, to much criticism. There's no available data to suggest that they are happening more under the administration of President Trump, though activists say they have anecdotally heard of more reports.

Can agents force you to unlock your phone or laptop?

No. But they can ask you to comply voluntarily and make the experience rather uncomfortable if you resist. Travelers must decide how much trouble they're willing to put up with.

You may end up losing your device, since agents could seize the device for weeks before it is returned. They could also copy the data. (That data must be destroyed "as expeditiously as possible" if it is not valuable, according to Homeland Security policy.)

[Lee picked the wrong week....]

expeditiously as possible

When speaking of government, that's a very loose term.

[Crusty Juggler - #2]

Mr. Elsharkawi, who lives in Anaheim with his wife and three children, said requesting legal assistance appeared to inflame his situation.

"I opened the doors of hell when I asked for a lawyer," he said. "They just started attacking me verbally. 'Why do you need a lawyer? Are you a criminal? What are you hiding?' "

After allowing the Homeland Security officer to examine his phone, he said, he was immediately released.

[GILMORE?]

Naked intruder at NBC Washington bureau bites man

also NBC-related =

OMG SNL Totally Killing It With Trump Humor

[Crusty Juggler - #2]

Police say a naked man assaulted another man at the entrance of NBC News' Washington bureau, then ran into the building and bit a man who helped stop him.

Another man told police he spotted the naked intruder running down the hall with building security in pursuit and helped stop him. Police say the intruder bit the man's arm.

Never help!

[jesse.in.mb]

Maybe they just wanted to wrassle with a naked stranger.

[Ted S.]

Naked intruder at NBC Washington bureau bites man

OK, which commenter was that?

[Chipwooder]

There's no way to ask this without sounding like a curmudgeon, so here it is - do many people other than media types still watch SNL? I only ask because I don't think I've watched it in at least ten years, and the people I associate with don't seem to watch it either, but it gets constant media attention.

[Crusty Juggler - #2]

SNL is having its highest ratings since the early 90s due to their Trump funnin.

[Bacon-Magic <3 Hayek]

It's called hate-watching. That and it is the Democratic Party's preferred advocate.

[kinnath]

My 81 year old father watches the opening skit then heads to bed. Does that count?

[BigT]

That is what I used to do, but about 15 years ago it got so political that I couldn't stomach even that any more. Lorne Micheals needs to die.

[pan fried wylie]

Staying up for Phil Hartman and Adam Sandler was part of my childhood, so I still catch the new episodes of SNL.

It's the same 5funnyminutes it's always been, mostly in Weekend Update.

Le plus ce change, le plus ce meme.

[JayU]

This is a spoon.

A what?

A spoon.

A what?

A spoon.

Oh, a spoon.

[GILMORE?]

Jesus Fucking Christ

was season 1 of True Detective not realistic enough for you? Read that story.

[Crusty Juggler - #2]

Kohlhepp, 45, faces murder, kidnapping and weapon charges. He is not charged with sexual assault. Spokesmen for the sheriff and prosecutor declined to address the rape allegations or whether more charges are forthcoming.

[GILMORE?]

i don't know what that means in context; you run with the charges you have the best evidence for. although yes, i would assume keeping a woman in a rape-cage and raping her every day SHOULD lead eventually to rape-charges.

[Lee picked the wrong week....]

So is the sexual assault charge not there because it's superfluous?

[GILMORE?]

maybe its because she's a gibbering mess who they don't think makes a good witness, and so are sticking with cases based on physical evidence.

[kinnath]

If they don't charge rape, they don't have to put her on the stand.

If they can get a murder conviction without putting her on the stand, then it is probably to her benefit.

[GILMORE?]

he's got the bodies of his victims buried in his own yard, so i think they got a few murders pretty sewn up.

I feel like this story would have gotten more press coverage if it wasn't for the fact that Trump is the most Evil Person Ever already.

[John Titor]

Least the True Detective asshole was doing it all for the Elder Gods.

[Chipwooder]

Todd Kohlhepp is a weird kind of anomaly. I'm not aware of any serial killers who were sexual sadists yet also committed a mass shooting.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Shit JB's prog friends post, or the one that finally got me to block somebody on social media.

"Life is better under leftist government. People are healthier, more secure, and more connected to their community and government. Leftism is good government. Leftism means better things for everyone. Even a flawed, compromised version is preferable to this ravenous nightmare that wants to put all against all, where the winners get to inherit the ashes. No political system relying on misery is a just one."

[GILMORE?]

please don't share your misery with us; i come here to get away from stupid of that kind.

*its not working, you might have noticed.

[Juvenile Bluster]

I'm a cruel person (otherwise I wouldn't be a libertarian). I suffer, y'all suffer. It's only fair.

[GILMORE?]

Fair cop.

[Juvenile Bluster]

The above was quoted from this article

The article really needs to be read to be believed. It's such a pile of derp it makes your average Everyday Feminism article look libertarian by comparison.

[Chipwooder]

"1.The national Democratic Party has moved so far to the right in an attempt to curry favor that it abandoned all of its traditional bases and relied on holding them hostage by exploiting fears of Republican government. This backfired."

PROG HARDER!!!!!

[american socialist]

Because the dems were really left wing before? Since when?

They have taken a hard left recently and kicked out all the moderates.

This has to be parody.

[Azathoth!!]

so, you got the handle back.

did you announce it?

or was that 'jill not hill' stuff the announcement?

[Rufus The Monocled]

/drops menthol cigarette from lips in stunned disbelief.

[John Titor]

I assume they forget about this whole thing. And that's the nicer part of the deal.

[Tonio]

Leftism means better things for everyone.

Well, not exactly everyone.

[Not a True MJG]

Why would the capitalists who control everything want a system that only gives them ashes?

[american socialist]

Socialism is great for equality! (just ignore the equally poor part)

[Bacon-Magic <3 Hayek]

Happy Valentine's Day:

Roses are red

Violets are blue

Aggression's immoral

And so are you

This better be Robby's valentines to Shihka.

[GILMORE?]

(not all Trump supporters are even racists, he notes).

Robby finds this surprising, remains skeptical, because Journalism.

[Bacon-Magic <3 Hayek]

To be sure.

[John Titor]

Happy Horny Werewolf Rapist Day.

[jesse.in.mb]

Is the rapist happy, horny and a werewolf, or does the rapist go after happy horny werewolves?

Perhaps the happy rapist only rapes horny werewolves?

[John Titor]

I don't know, ask the Romans, they're the ones who came up with the Horny Werewolf Rapist parade.

[Bacon-Magic <3 Hayek]

Is that part of the Romulus/Remus myth?

[John Titor]

I believe the fertility part is linked to the she-wolf, but it was apparently also a Roman-version-of-Pan thing as well (who had a temple in the cave that the she-wolf supposedly nursed those two).

[Bacon-Magic <3 Hayek]

STEVE SMITH WILL BE YOUR HUCKLEBERRY *RAPES WOLF*
HMMMM, NOT AS TENDER AS HIPSTER BUT IT WILL DO

[????? ????]

SharePoint: worse than Hitler, or worse than Hitler and Stalin combined?

[Rhywun]

I have limited exposure but yeah, none of it was pleasant.

[????? ????]

Thankfully I am just working with it as a user, not as a developer or admin or whatever.

[GILMORE?]

(looks it up)

a MS document management system?

[????? ????]

Conceptually it doesn't seem like it should be so bad. But in practice it's a half-baked mess that makes everything much more difficult than it needs to be.

[Crusty Juggler - #2]

Just edit the document in your browser. Goodness.

[Rhywun]

OK, it's good at that. My new company is using it for project management, a task for which it is singularly poor. My old company used it strictly for document management, and I was the lucky winner of the task to move that to the new company. Headaches ensued.

[GILMORE?]

So, an MS product then

[LynchPin1477]

I am grateful we have project managers for that.

[Crusty Juggler - #2]

Nude photos will return to Playboy.

For old times sake I am going to snap one off to a Land's End catalog.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Good, because Crusty has a hot date tonight.
....a date.
...dinner with friends.
....dinner alone.
...watching TV alone.
...alright, he's going to ogle the ladies in the Victoria's Secret catalog.
...Sears catalog.

[american socialist]

So that writer in the links doesn't apparently know white liberals who are paternalistic to black people? Cause that is actually the only racism i see....it is the patronization and paternalism. Now sure there are folks who don't like blacks but treating them like they are kids is a different form of racism that i would say is more prevalent now

The KKK is only relevant now thanks to media being hysterical about them while ironically saying they are worried about their influence (hint they are lying and really want hysterics to drive hits)

[Meh.]

I think that has a lot more to do with class/education than genuinely thinking people of color are incompetent, per se. They unintentionally perpetuate the racism they claim to be fighting by enforcing policies that discourage hard work and its result - social mobility. But yeah, to your point, you think they would be able to recognize "institutionalized racism" when they see it. The book "White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America" has some really interesting takes on this. It starts slow and the author outs herself as progressive at the end, but it's still interesting to see how a leftist views the classism-disguised-as-racism issue.

And the thing about the KKK, yeah, it's crazy that it still exists, but the disproportionate media coverage seems designed to reinforce that the right is evil. If A = B and B = C, then A = C? if the KKK is evil, and the KKK endorsed Trump, then you must be evil if you support Trump too!

[american socialist]

I think the KKK is a bunch of federal agents spying on each other.

[This Machine Chips Fascists]

I wonder how many alphabet soup agency investigations are closed with the notation, "Subject was determined to be [REDACTED] of another USGOV agency."

[american socialist]

I do notice they get angry when blacks don't vote how they think they should

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWqMYqFI2tg

[esteve7]

well by that measure, Communism is Evil and Communists endorsed Hillary, so Hillary is Evil

Yeah you don't see the progs arguing that

[Meh.]

Nooo, communism only seemed evil because when it was tried, the wrong top men were in charge! Hillary is light itself! Duh.

A guy I went to high school with goes to Harvard now, and he openly supports and sings the praises of Marxism. One of the smartest people I know thinks Marxism is the answer. Nothing makes sense anymore.

[esteve7]

he must not be as smart as you think he is. 100 Million People dead in the last century proves him wrong

[Not an Economist]

There is a saying that goes something like this, " something so wrong only an academic can believe it".

Some people (far too many) believe there are people who are smart enough and knowledgeable enough to make all the decisions for the populace.

When I started thinking about that is where I started leaning towards being a libertarian. I'm pretty smart. I realized I wasn't smart enough to decisions about what is best for 2 or 3 people (actually I'm not sure I'm smart enough to make what is best for myself). And nobody is smart enough to know what is best for everybody.

But some people think there are people smart enough. And some even see that person in the mirror.

[LynchPin1477]

I highly recommend listening to this interview with Daryl Davis.

[GILMORE?]

Mentioned in the previous thread, but only getting around to it now -

Eli Lake's story about the canning of Mike Flynn

this seems like it should have merited a mention @ H&R (on the blog)

The interesting nut seems to be less 'the charges' (flynn lied and was fired), but rather how info about Flynn got
distributed around DC - people

Selectively disclosing details of private conversations monitored by the FBI or NSA gives the permanent state the power to destroy reputations from the cloak of anonymity. This is what police states do. ...
...
The fact that the intercepts of Flynn's conversations with Kislyak appear to have been widely distributed inside the government is a red flag.

Basically - someone in the intel community decided to leak intercepted comms?

This would be a case of the "deep state" using its intelligence powers for baldly political aims. Not that this wasn't generally known before, but it an example that seems to be getting extremely specific. So far as to use intercepts of private communications. How much of a leap is it before they start leaking internal govt emails?

iow, how far have the gloves come off? Because it seems like every day that another institution becomes openly political. The courts are basically already there. What's left?

[Bacon-Magic <3 Hayek]

Open rebellion.

[Rufus The Monocled]

Meanwhile, the left went nuts over Comey and the emails claiming he hijacked Hillary.

[GILMORE?]

those emails were acquired via subpoena, through a court.

this is not the same thing

[paranoid android]

this seems like it should have merited a mention @ H&R (on the blog)

Shackford mentioned it in his piece earlier, albeit as an aside.

You know, it kind of reminds me of something I read...I think Assange said it, back before he went stir-crazy from his stay in the Ecuadorian embassy. I'll see if I can find it, it was something about the proliferation of leaks would eventually a power structure to turn on itself in an effort to clamp down and stop the leaks. I wonder if that's what we're seeing here? I don't like the idea of the CIA blackmailing the civilian government, if that is indeed what is going on here, but a government completely consumed by its own internal struggles is one that will have a harder time coming up with new ways to screw over the smallfolk.

[The Fusionist]

"a government completely consumed by its own internal struggles is one that will have a harder time coming up with new ways to screw over the smallfolk."

Really? Because I can think of a government which was wracked with internal struggles and yet still had energy to spare to screw normal people over.

[Jerry on the sea]

Except in this case it could as well have been Mike Pence who has done the leaking...

[Bacon-Magic <3 Hayek]

Smallfolk get trampled when giants wrestle.

[mad.casual]

Yeah, pretty much every attack involved in the infighting is a direct voiding of individual liberty (even if only in service to the public).

[GILMORE?]

Let me add =

i'm not a regular reader of Eli Lake, but my impression of him is that he's not prone to conspiratorial thinking/argument. so this sounds far more concerning coming from him.

[BigT]

Was it legal to tap Flynn's phone? Did they have a warrant? FISA? And if it was FISA, the American citizens identities are supposed to be protected.

A crime was committed - by the government.

But who the fuck cares? You won't hear anyone say that on the MSM and likely not the talkradio people.

[The Fusionist]

"How would Daryl Davis go about arguing against, say, a ban on Muslim refugees?"

Good question for those who are disappointed at the administration's failure to impose such a ban.

"The Ku Klux Klan claims to be Christian. These people who are supporting this travel ban?most of them are Christian, too."

What travel ban? The hypothetical ban on Muslim refugees or the executive order Trump actually issued?

[The Fusionist]

I would think the best argument against a ban on Muslim refugees would be, "Donald Trump decided against such a ban, what do you know that he doesn't?"

[Meh.]

Your argument seems convincing and undeniably logical to me, but that's probably because our mentality forces us to separate church and state. It's hard to discuss this with my conservative Christian family and friends since (as quoted in your post) most of the Trump voters I know voted for him for religious reasons as opposed to actual politics. They don't see Islam as a legitimate religion, due to the whole "Ishmael was Abraham's illegitimate son and almost ruined God's plan" thing, and I feel like I don't know enough about apologetics to make a good case.

[The Fusionist]

That's interesting...I really don't know a lot of Trump voters, but I meet a lot of their opposite numbers, and tend to discount their hyperbolic descriptions of Trump voters.

If the people you know want a Muslim ban, is the terrorist thing involved in their thinking? That is, if there wasn't a jihadi branch of Islam wanting to blow up the U.S. and countries with which America is at peace, would they be so much for a ban?

[Meh.]

I don't know if you will see this since it looks like the thread's been dead for a couple hours... but yeah, I think the terrorist thing would be most of it. I never asked the second question, so I can't say for sure, but they don't seem to have any issue with Buddhists, Hindus, or immigrants of any other religion, so I'd assume not.

[The Fusionist]

Very enlightening, thank you.

[Bubba Jones]

Serious question. What did Flynn talk about with the Russians that compromises him?

Did he jump the gun by talking to them before he was confirmed?

And what is with the blackmail angle? Isn't that removed by punishing the info?

[american socialist]

Yea someone mentioned flynn is the appetizer but trump is the entree. So wouldn't this tip off trump?

[ant1sthenes]

There needs to be blood to justify revenge. Now everyone knows the score -- the government's intelligence agencies are openly using their mass surveillance capabilities to influence politics to their advantage. If they're willing to do this, are they also blackmailing Congresspersons? Would that explain why they can hack their computers and perjure themselves without consequence?

Permanent government officials engaging in lawless conduct (violations of the espionage act, not to mention the fourth amendment) to further the agenda of their elected masters is bad enough. Doing so in order to subvert, destroy, and/or control them is called a "coup". Depending on the scale of the leaks and the implications for national security and the integrity of democratic control of state institutions, Trump might be entirely justified in bringing in the military to shutter the civilian intelligence agencies and the NSA, sort through all of their systems, purge and prosecute all of the leakers and plotters, and strip the agencies of most of their unconstitutional surveillance authority (and shutter the FISA courts as well) to make it harder for them to launch a coup in the future.

[Juice]

If we get all these details, then maybe it's a sign that this will be the Most Transparent Administration Ever.

Just not willingly.

[GILMORE?]

Strange things encountered in the endless pursuit of records

- this cover; and its kind of a jam too.

- this cover, AND the batshitness of the ... "Auralgraphic Experience"? which seems to predate "Plunderphonics" by a decade or so. Its more 'hippy' than most experimental stuff, but it feels less dated than other things of its ilk.

- This record, whose cover seems sorta 'par for the course' of he 1970s, but holy jesus it sounds 30 years ahead of its time. It sounds like it could have been the Chemical Brothers, but its a swedish jazz band?

If you can't tell, i am pretty convinced the mid 1970s was the high point of music and remains a bottomless pool of crazy great stuff.

[The Fusionist]

Pope Francis, Per?n, and God's People: The Political Religion of Jorge Mario Bergoglio

[The Fusionist]

"NEW HAVEN >> Yale University's Calhoun College will be renamed to honor Grace Murray Hopper, a Yale alumna who was a "trailblazing computer scientist, brilliant mathematician and teacher, and dedicated public servant," Yale President Peter Salovey announced Saturday....

"[Salovey] pointed out that [Hopper] coined the phrase "bug" to refer to software glitches....

"[Salovey] said a prime reason for deciding to rename Calhoun was because his strong stand in promoting slavery are "at odds with the values of this university." His views "hardened over his life," Salovey said Saturday, and at the end of his life Calhoun went so far as to repudiate the Declaration of Independence's promise of liberty for all.

""Unlike other namesakes on our campus, he distinguished himself not in spite of these views but because of them," Salovey's announcement said....

"...the statue of Calhoun as one of eight "worthies" on the side of Harkness Tower will remain."

[Fatty Bolger]

What's this really about? Certainly not the reason given. The entire college is named after a slave trader.

[BigT]

Down the memory hole!

[american socialist]

I would like to give props to reason today for only having half the articles about trump. Big improvement. I was getting fatigued especially if it was the same story over and over (like the EO travel ban)

[Clich? Bandit]

Well, I know I am late but I just caught up on the sloop thing. I must agree...it is sad and disappointing. I had already pared back my participation since they banned me as spam (whatevs) but now I must leave for good. I was going to donate a larger sum this year since I need the write off but Ducks Unlimited will now be the beneficiary. Boy this sucks but I just can't believe the mag has lost even me.

p.s. I know no-body cares, but in case anyone does there it is.

Ten long years

[jesse.in.mb]

*kicks can sullenly*

I care, CB, I care.

[BigT]

Another one bites the dust!

Where my homies go?

[DOOMco's Ref Chipper]

Best wishes, CB

[Jumbie]

So there's some kind of commentariat drama/exodus?

Can someone fill me in? I literally spent the last 3 months half blind, so I wasn't paying attention to the comments.

[The Fusionist]

Reason has been going downhill.

Many of the staff have TDS.

Dalmia, on her Twitter account, has been contextualizing and moral-equivalencizing about left-wing violence.

One commenter's mother - a nurse concerned about an injured student athlete - was roughed up by the police but Reason doesn't think it's a story worth covering.

So various commenters have been shaking the dust off their feet.

And donations are down.

[greasonable]

This is just a test