Fed Not Sure Trump Will Be Good or Bad For Economy, Cuba Still Interested in Detente, 7 Earth-like Planets Orbiting Nearby Star: P.M. Links

• 

  NASA-JPL/Caltech

  The Federal Reserve remains unsure whether President Trump will be good or bad for the economy.

• The lead negotiator for Mexico with the Trump administration says the country will not accept individuals deported by the U.S. who are not Mexican citizens.
• Cuba is still interested in detente, senators who met with Raul Castro say.
• China continues its build up in the South China Sea, saying it has "indisputable sovereign rights" over the islands it occupies.
• A court in South Africa ruled the government could not withdraw from the International Criminal Court.
• Budapest dropped its bid for the 2024 Olympics, leaving only Los Angeles and Paris in contention.
• Astronomers say they've discovered seven Earth-like planets orbiting the star TRAPPIST-1.

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Astronomers say they've discovered seven Earth-like planets...

Each one ready to be FRACKED.

[DEG]

Earth First! We'll strip mine the other planets later.

[Not a True MJG]

...orbiting the star TRAPPIST-1.

IT'S A TRAP!

[Jerry on the sea]

orbiting the star TRAPPIST-1

Orbiting it drunkenly.

[__Warren__]

Aleling frequency Mr. Monk!

[Episteme]

If they don't (un?)officially name those seven after the seven pre-21st century Trappist breweries , we'll know just how very wrong this world is.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

Trap Fist of Etiquette?

[Fist of Etiquette]

If anyone can space trap me, they deserve to have me.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

Are you saying it would be a yuuuge accomplishment?

[Rufus The Monocled]

Hello.

Just enjoying my Buffalo Trace minding my own fucken business.

[Fist of Etiquette]

That's just Labatt in a rocks glass, right?

[Rufus The Monocled]

Oh shut up Sid.

[DOOMco]

I'm drinking wine, and I don't really know why.

[AlmightyJB]

I'll have a Chimay since we're talking Trappist.

[Zeb]

I forgot about Buffalo Trace. Good stuff.

I've been really enjoying a bottle of Woodford Reserve recently.

[Rufus The Monocled]

I bought a bottle of that shit in Delaware.

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

Look at Mr. Moneybags over here.

[Zeb]

Woodford Reserve is surprisingly affordable, in NH anyway.

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

Just disregard my comment. In college I went through a phase where I almost exclusively drank $10 bottles of Black Velvet.

[Conchfritters]

I exclusively drink bottles of Black Velvet. When I was in college, I exclusively drank bottles of Rhinelander and Special Export (although, as I mentioned several days ago, I don't think they exported it anywhere else except Iowa).

[DEG]

Booze later for me.

[jesse.in.mb]

My aunt heard that my roommate likes BT and got us some merch from her vendor. This bit is the best.

[AlmightyJB]

FoE will look good with an Alien head sticking out his chest.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I WILL LOOK GOOD REGARDLESS OF WHAT IS STICKING OUT OF WHERE.

[The Last American Hero]

Dibs on Caprica.

[CE]

All 7 within an orbit 5 times smaller than Mercury orbits our sun..... All they need is a really spring trampoline to achieve interplanetary flight.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Budapest dropped its bid for the 2024 Olympics, leaving only Los Angeles and Paris in contention.

Which one wants to ruin its economy more?

[$park? don't care bout yo mom]

Yes.

[$park? don't care bout yo mom]

Which would the Olympics masters prefer more, a Trump controlled US or a Le Pen controlled France?

[The Last American Hero]

Who's willing to write a bigger check?

[Not a True MJG]

Certainly, California has the money and resources to spare for such a spectacle.

[Fist of Etiquette]

You have to spend money to make money... for special interests.

[Libertarian]

Dam, that's harsh.

[paranoid android]

So what happens if Los Angeles gets the bid and sometime between now in 2024 it stops being Los Angeles, USA and becomes Los Angeles, Free State of Californiastan?

[#NotMyReason (Krabappel)]

More like People's Republic of Californiastan.

[Conchfritters]

It will be great when Herman Cain goes on TV and says it doesn't matter if he knows who the leader of the People's Republic of Californiastan-stan-stan is, or not.

[The Last American Hero]

Initially a win for the IOC, until it's 90 days before the games, the stadiums and trains still aren't built, and the graft money is running low.

[CE]

Just one more flag and one more national anthem.... How would "Hotel California" sound on the medal stand?

[some guy]

Californication would be better.

[CE]

Because LA freeways have so much extra capacity for special events?
And LA light rail avoids all the busy areas?

[Mike Laursen]

You're just envious because we're gonna have an awesome high-speed rail line to show off during the Olympics.

A line running between Corcoran and Modesto, ...

[chemjeff]

Budapest dropped its bid for the 2024 Olympics, leaving only Los Angeles and Paris in contention.

I am so rooting for the French on this one.

[Gene]

I hope they both say fuck it, we're not interested.

[Rufus The Monocled]

L.A. and Paris? Yawn.

Been there, done that.

[C. Anacreon]

Yes, I say, root for the French and boo da pest.

[Marty Feldman's Eyes]

please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please Dog let Paris win.

[Domestic Dissident]

Presenting, the Top Ten List of Rejected New Washington Post Slogans:

#10: "Fuck Trump."
#9: "Our polls are right, it's reality that's wrong."
#8: "We're the boss of you flyover country peons."
#7: "Barack Hussein Obama, mmmmm mmmmm mmmmm!"
#6: "Still great for lining your bird cage!"
#5: "Losing credibility since 1998."
#4: "Root for the local football team we won't name."
#3: "Hildog in 2020."
#2: "Also still great at picking up dog shit!"

And the #1 rejected new Washington Post slogan:

"Where Reason 'libertarians' really wish they worked."

[WakaWaka]

"After an Eight Year Comma, We've Decided to Question Authority Again"

[$park? don't care bout yo mom]

Eight Year Comma

That's one long pause.

[WakaWaka]

I said what I said

[Bacon-Magic glib reasonoid]

,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Isn't that a Culture Club song?

Comma comma comma Comma comma comma Comma comma comma Chameleon...

[Enough About Palin]

No, the lyrics to the Cultur Club song are:

Become a come a come a comedian,
Bathos and screams,
Bathos and screams.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

There is a horrible colon joke there that I am not going to make.

[Bacon-Magic glib reasonoid]

Shoot the shit, just this once.

[XenoZooValentine]

Last time I took a dump, it felt like I lost half my colon in there.

So, I guess now it's a semicolon.

[C. Anacreon]

I took a dump in your colon once.

/Sandy

[Enough About Palin]

She spells it Sandi.

[C. Anacreon]

Dammit.

[chemjeff]

Whatever.

Personally I have never gone in for the MSM hate. As flawed as they are, we need a Fourth Estate to keep the government at least somewhat honest. Do they do a great job? No. Are they slanted to the left? Of course. But if it wasn't for them, would we even know of genuinely scandalous behavior taking place inside the government?

What is the alternative to no WaPo, no CNN, no NY Times?

[Rufus The Monocled]

Seriously, CNN can sink and close its doors and it wouldn't matter. Fuck them and their bull shit.

I promise one swear word per post today.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

But each swear word must be different. Also, you are risking your Canadian citizenship with this ploy.

[XenoZooValentine]

It's possible to be entirely in favor of a free press, and still criticize certain journalists and media as corrupt.

Just as I can be entirely in favor of the right to bear arms, and still think Adam Lanza was a fucking asshole.

(Insert "I see no difference" joke here at your convenience.)

[Rufus The Monocled]

Check out reasonable cocksucker over here.

/takes 'another swig of bourbon.

[chemjeff]

It's possible to be entirely in favor of a free press, and still criticize certain journalists and media as corrupt.

No you're right of course. And there have been absolutely actions for which members of the media deserve to be excoriated (Dan Rather for instance with his memogate crap).

But mostly what I see is just generalized anger directed at the press, not specifically directed at a particular event.

[OneOut]

Project Veritas is supposed to take a wikileaks like dump on CNN tomorrow.

Stay tuned.

[Libertarian]

"But if it wasn't for them, would we even know of genuinely scandalous behavior taking place inside the government?"

But, you're assuming that we *do* know.

[chemjeff]

Well I think we know more than we're willing to give them credit for.

For instance I am thinking about some of the investigative reporting that you might find on NPR. *YES* they are slanted to the left. But at least they have some investigative stuff and not just "OMG TRUMP".

To be honest I can't tell you what type of scandalous behavior that CNN has uncovered recently. But it's probably because I hardly ever watch CNN (or any cable news for that matter).

I guess my overall point is that if we don't have someone willing to dig up dirt on government, then we won't ever know what is really going on.

And a cynical person might understandably claim that the reason why Trump is being so hard on the press is to "prep the battlespace" for when some truly scandalous behavior does emerge. By pre-trashing the press, he will sink their credibility for when the scandals do start erupting.

[John]

Wow, the resident lefty troll likes the media. He is nothing if not predictable.

[chemjeff]

Wow, the resident Republican shill loves to misrepresent people.

Do you think that if you just call me "lefty" often enough that somehow it will become true?

Since when do lefties favor privatization of the schools?

In other words: fuck off, John

[John]

Yes, you don't mean to always hold leftist views. It is not your fault reality has a progressive bias.

We know.

[chemjeff]

WTF are you even talking about. Which "lefty views" am I supposed to be holding? Just because I don't go off the deep end in deranged hatred of "the Left" like you have done doesn't mean that I am some sort of doctrinaire Progressive.

IOW: fuck off again

[Conchfritters]

Art Bell?

[chemjeff]

Yeah see that's what I'm afraid of.

[Conchfritters]

Art Bell is harmless.... Except for that time he convinced the Heaven's Gate cult that there was an alien ship trailing the Hale-Bopp comet, and they all decided to check out in their jogging suits with $5 in quarters in their pockets for the interstellar toll booth.

[Enough About Palin]

But if it wasn't for them, would we even know of genuinely scandalous behavior taking place inside the government?

Wikileaks?
Project Veritas?

[DOOMco]

CSPAN?

[chemjeff]

An outfit like Project Veritas is only ever going to uncover corruption when it is committed by the left, and even then, it will likely stretch the bounds of what it considers "corrupt behavior" in order to drive clicks and donations. Which is absolutely fine for a partisan organization like that, by the way, regardless if it is on the left or on the right. But relying on dueling partisan investigative organizations to root out government corruption suggests that the best way for one side to hide its corruption is to flood the zone with aggressive reporting and investigating about the other side's corruption. That may be a good political tactic but it's horrible when it comes to actually reporting about what's going on.

And about Wikileaks - I don't know if this is a viable structural strategy for rooting out government corruption. I appreciate the corruption that they have uncovered of course.

[OneOut]

Project Veritas says they are going to show you what life without CNN will be like on Thursday.

[John Titor]

What is the alternative to no WaPo, no CNN, no NY Times?

New, better media that fills the void as the old media rots away. Allowing a blatantly dishonest, decadent and corrupt media to fester is the call for stagnation.

Destruction and creation, the endless law of the universe.

[Enough About Palin]

#2: "Also still great at picking up dog shit!"

The fuck?

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

Astronomers say they've discovered seven Earth-like planets orbiting the star TRAPPIST-1.

A new hope.

[Jerry on the sea]

Star Wars XXII: A new hope hop.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Is it an IPA?

[DOOMco]

they do have to travel pretty long distances...

[CE]

Han Solo can make the TRAPPIST 1g run in under seven parsecs. If he lands on the right planet.

[Jerry on the sea]

No that will be Star Wars XXV: The IPA Strikes Back.

[Fist of Etiquette]

China continues its build up in the South China Sea, saying it has "indisputable sovereign rights" over the islands it occupies.

What's Chinese for Lebensraum?

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Rebensraum?

[$park? don't care bout yo mom]

ROR

[WakaWaka]

"The Federal Reserve remains unsure whether President Trump will be good or bad for the economy"

Better question: when has the Fed ever been good for the economy?

[Jordan]

The Federal Reserve remains unsure whether President Trump will be good or bad for the economy.

The notion that the Fed would have any idea about what is good for the economy is the funniest thing I've heard all week.

[John]

+1 quantitative easing.

[Sevo]

That darn climate change! If it doesn't mean permanent drought (actually well within a 40-year norm), it must mean killer storms!

"But Jan Null, meteorologist with Golden Gate Weather Services, said it's really hard to say if we're going to see a "wettest water year ever."
"There are so many different metrics you can use to measure the wettest water year," Null says. "In the Sierra, for example, the indices only go back to 1922. If we look at San Francisco, which has records going back to the Gold Rush, this year will probably barely be in the top 10. So it really depends on the length of the record and the variations up and down the state."
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/.....951020.php

[CPRM]

records? just count tree rings, and then write a simulation program that gives you the answer you want. Don't they know how to science?

[Chip Woodier]

Not to worry! Climate scientists can make "adjustments" to the data...that are scientific!.

[Zeb]

No shit.

It seems like the West has really long cycles of drought and a bit less drought. It may well be that the last 100 years when lots of people have been living there have just been an unusually wet time.

[John]

Or maybe it was unusually dry. Who knows.

[Zeb]

Indeed. Let's hope so, or things are going to be difficult for a lot of western cities.

[CE]

Actually, I think there's only one metric -- inches (or cm) of precipitation. The problem is that reliable records only go back 90 years.

[Bacon-Magic glib reasonoid]

Astronomers say they've discovered seven Earth-like planets orbiting the star TRAPPIST-1.

Neat-o! I've always believed humanity will perish if we are just confined to Earth.

[Shirley Knott]

Oddly enough, seven extra words in that sentence.

[Bacon-Magic glib reasonoid]

^Pessimist.

[Agammamon]

Humanity will perish if we insist on thinking that another planet is a worthwhile goal.

If it ain't computing or fusing, its just bending space.

[Bacon-Magic glib reasonoid]

Space in general will eventually be colonized. Not just planets.

[CE]

Trump will build his own planet. And make the Tatooinies pay for it.

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

Budapest dropped its bid for the 2024 Olympics, leaving only Los Angeles and Paris in contention.

Always wanted to go to an Olympics, either of these would be pretty promising.

[Fatty Bolger]

If I go to Paris, I'm not wasting my time on the Olympics.

[CE]

Assuming spectators aren't banned for security reasons in Paris.
In LA, everyone would yawn and stay home to avoid the traffic.

[White Tennis Balls, Jr.]

Sing along with me!

Well, Mr. Welch did do it
the commenters all flew it
with Palin's Buttplug braying all the while

Agile Cyborg's musings made us smile
And Milo Yiannopoluos was truly vile

We're talking Reason
From New York to DC
We're talking Reason
The latest cocktail party

Shaun King's perspective is unique
They're loving every anti-Trump leak
We're talking Robby,
Peter and the Shik

Well, sloopy's mom was beaten
by a power-tripping cretin
And Reason couldn't cover it at all

The story was too local
'bout the mother of a yokel
Cause we've got to talk about
Trump's latest Twitter brawl

We're talking Reason
From New York to DC
We're talking Reason
The latest cocktail party

The disaffected lefties can come dish
We're all getting our best and greatest wish
We're talking Jacket,
Bailey and the Fish

Now it's the current year
Hardly anyone's left here
besides the trolls and all the Tulpa socks

We're moving left, we're so damn hip
Police abuse, who gives a flip
It's all about the Antifa and go Black Blocs!

We're talking Reason
From New York to DC
We're talking Reason
The latest cocktail party

Let's all remember Bernie Sanders' creed
Deodorant is not a human need
Let's all have beaners,
Anal sex and weed

[Bacon-Magic glib reasonoid]

I would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

Hardly anyone's left here
besides the trolls and all the Tulpa socks

What am I, chopped liver?

[Bacon-Magic glib reasonoid]

Half liver, half human. I heard you can drink.

[White Tennis Balls, Jr.]

"Hardly anyone" not "No one but the trolls".

[Fist of Etiquette]

I will admit that I hope things pick back up here.

[Rufus The Monocled]

Motherfucker for putting that tune, Griffey Jr.'s inflated head, and Mattingly's sideburns in my head.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

That is excellent.

[DOOMco]

AHAHAHAA

[Conchfritters]

One of my favorite Simpson's episodes. Give me the mid-90s Simpsons, I'll let you have all the rest.

[C. Anacreon]

nicely done, blank-blank, jr.!

[White Tennis Balls, Jr.]

Thanks C., Chipper, DOOM. And to you Rufus, I laugh maniacally in your direction.

[Bacon-Magic glib reasonoid]

What the hell? I said I wanted to subscribe to your newsletter! That means I liked it.

[White Tennis Balls, Jr.]

Sorry, thanks to you as well. FWIW, your namesake is quite a help in my quest to become unfat.

[Bacon-Magic glib reasonoid]

Me too. Death to carbs.

[White Tennis Balls, Jr.]

Thanks C., Chipper, DOOM. And to you Rufus, I laugh maniacally in your direction.

[White Tennis Balls, Jr.]

Thank you too, squirrels!

[Fist of Etiquette]

The lead negotiator for Mexico with the Trump administration says the country will not accept individuals deported by the U.S. who are not Mexican citizens.

Well that's not a very liberal immigration policy.

[VG Zaytsev]

What are they going to,do if we push them through the gate and slam it shut.

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

The lead negotiator for Mexico with the Trump administration says the country will not accept individuals deported by the U.S. who are not Mexican citizens.

The remaining options for deportees is Canada or taking their chances at swimming across the Pacific.

[Sevo]

"How Bay Area folks manage anxiety in the age of Trump"
http://www.sfchronicle.com/bay.....c9932453f4

Paywalled, but spoiler:
Act like whiny twits and get angry every time there's a reminder that the hag lost.

[Not a True MJG]

Gluten-free Whole Foods beer and a good handy-cry from an escort?

[Ra's al Gore]

Climate Models Are Warming Earth Two Times Faster Than Reality
..."So far in the 21st century, the GCMs are warming, on average, about a factor of 2 faster than the observed temperature increase," Dr. Judith Curry, a former Georgia Tech climate scientist who now runs her own climate forecasting company, wrote in a report for the U.K.-based Global Warming Policy Foundation...

[Fatty Bolger]

I guess reality isn't very scientific.

[Rufus The Monocled]

It just means it's 2x more realistic to these fucken assholes.

[The Last American Hero]

She does realize the science was settled, right?

[The Heresiarch]

Do you think anyone from Reason will remark upon the Secession of the Yokels? I'm sure they have to have noticed the drop-off in traffic.

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

Haha, are all the commentators also waiting for the "We're Sorry, Come Back to Us" article?

*holds his breath......dies*

[XenoZooValentine]

"We're sorry we made you hit us like that baby, please come back and hit it like this if you know what I mean."

[John Titor]

Most of us consider it a peaceful secession. I'm here doin' my missionary duties.

[Gene]

Hopefully they ignore it.

[Not a True MJG]

THEY ARE LEGION. REASON CANNOT FAIL TO NOTICE THEIR ABSENCE AND TREMBLE IN DESPAIR.

[XenoZooValentine]

I see them trembling in an-ti-ci-

...

...

...

-PA-TION!

[C. Anacreon]

remove the cause, but not the symptom!

[Agammamon]

Wait for it!

[Ted S.]

The story is too local.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

Comments don't drive traffic. Comments are generally in the single digits percentage range in terms of the total traffic.

[John]

They don't depend on traffic or ad revenues anyway. Reason magazine and the foundation are answerable to their corporate donors. At some point, I suppose no one reading the magazine or the website would cause their donors to put their money elsewhere. But even then, they would still function as a vanity project for the Kochs, who are unlikely to run out of money anytime soon.

[waffles]

Cato is the real daddy.

[John]

That would explain a lot. Cato is just appalling these days.

[OneOut]

I seem to remember Bezos made a significant donation this year.

[C. Anacreon]

Traffic does do a lot for a site, including giving it ranking among news or political websites, a position of relevance among political voices, and of course can help with ad pricing.

And I disagree with your claim that comments here don't drive traffic. While the number of people actually posting comments may just be a sliver of the overall traffic, from anecdotal evidence tons of people come to this site more to read the comments than even the articles themselves.

And drive away the usual, fun/interesting-to-read commenters, you'll drive away their readers, too.

No matter how the leadership is set up, at some point someone in authority will say "hey, howcome our web traffic has dropped off the table?" And perhaps someone might be forced to even try to fix it.

But by then, it may be too late......

[John]

While the number of people actually posting comments may just be a sliver of the overall traffic, from anecdotal evidence tons of people come to this site more to read the comments than even the articles themselves.

If that is true, and honestly I have no idea if it is, then yes, reason is in a lot of trouble. The exodus of commenters on this site has gutted the boards and made taken away any reason for a lurker to read them.

[mikey]

Longtime lurker here. Used to spend much of my web day here. Lurking now mostly on the other site. A number of us have shown up for a single "hello" post and gone back into the shadows.
Keep checking back in here hoping things will get better again, and I think they have improved. Glad to see others spending time in both places.
Read somewhere once that sites are mostly >90% lurkers and < 10% regular posters. Snark On

[This Machine Chips Fascists]

I predict, outside of a whistleblower, we will never know what effect all this has one way or another.

[This Machine Chips Fascists]

I've been hanging around places like this since 1998. I'v seen this before. A group of regulars start to think they are more important than they might be. Failure of TPTB to respect the tireless work of the regulars leads to building resentment and all that follows. I've seen a number of sites just flush the comments and start from scratch, or not.

[John]

I tend to agree with this Machine. Readers and commenters are disposable. I doubt it makes much difference. But, only reason knows for sure and they are not saying.

[John Titor]

A group of regulars start to think they are more important than they might be.

I think it's interesting that there's libertarians who seem to think it's narcissistic to be dissatisfied with a product and seek/produce alternatives.

[This Machine Chips Fascists]

Narcissistic isn't what I was thinking. More along the lines of people get very comfortable in a place and might mistakenly feel they own a stake in it and have a say in how things are run. When their plans fall through because they have no power to begin with, anger and resentment can lead to rash decisions. You are correct, we are all free to leave at any time. Free to return too.

I'm not defending Reason from its faults, these are known. I do appreciate the tolerance they display towards all stripes of commenters. Generally one has to just be the worst abuser of the rules to get punted.

I think, in general, we can judge how much Reason cares about what happens here by how much they engage us directly. Outside of a very few staffers, our interaction consists of someone getting nuked...without comment.

[This Machine Chips Fascists]

also, see my 1803 comment vvv

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

I think we over estimate our importance by a fair margin. Though the aura of butt hurt permeating through all the comment sections of the articles can't be good for newbies just finding the site.

[This Machine Chips Fascists]

The ratio of freakshows to reasonoids has certainly been skewed. Plus the free time I have now I can spend checking out the competition. D'oh!

[CPRM]

for unique traffic, sure. But each comment is a click, as well as each refresh to see new comments. Just think how many clicks FOE gives just getting ready for the lynx. So, it depends which metric the ad revenue comes from.

[John]

I saw a link a while back to some site that monitors web traffic and ranks sites based on the number of hits. The link was to the National Review page and it showed how NRO basically dropped off a cliff and went from in the top 500 to below 3000th over last summer. So web traffic can drop if a site alienates its readership enough. I have no idea if that has happened to reason.

[Episteme]

Of course, part of that was when NR switched to Facebook commenting. As a formerly-active poster on stories there under my Disqus account, I noticed how many folks said that they were either stopping commenting (and thus no longer clicking back on previously-read stories) or even stopping reading the site so often. That's not to say that things like the split among pro-Trump and anti-Trump sites on the Right didn't likely feed that drop in traffic, but it does point out how loss of those folks responding to stories affects overall clicks.

[Fist of Etiquette]

A SINGLE CLICK. They post them at the same time every day. Why do people think constant refreshing is necessary???

[XenoZooValentine]

Maybe they're not using their hands...

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

Cause I'm not a techno wizard / CHEATER!!

[waffles]

Because not everyone is H&R's secret IT guy. I see what you really are, Squirrelmaster!

[OneOut]

They do not post them at the same time every day.

/jealous second poster

[Lord_at_War]

Comments don't drive traffic.

What do you think the fund-raising goal will be next year- and do they reach it?

[Chip Woodier]

Where did people go again?

[mr simple]

Out for smokes. They promised they'd be right back.

[paranoid android]

I'm sure it's just pandemonium over there. Frantic calls are being made to reporters at Breitbart asking how reason can be more like them so the yokels will love them again. KMW cries herself to sleep at night wondering how she lost the respect of intellectual titans like Eddie and Papaya. Gillespie runs in and declares that the only way to reverse course is a new cover with a full-length photo of the staff curb-stomping an illegal immigrant.

[John]

Either that or they just have Gillespie go into his top desk drawer and get the Koch family credit card to pay the pills.

[Bacon-Magic glib reasonoid]

pay the pills.

I came over here just for that. Thank you, John.

[DOOMco]

I don't think those are the only people we've lost. I don't think that's what they want to see from here.

[Bacon-Magic glib reasonoid]

^This. The commenter migration might just be a metric for overall viewership.

[Episteme]

I've noticed a drop in the number of quotes and citations from Reason articles that I see elsewhere in the media. Ironically, while the site/magazine reaches out to the Left, it was folks like National Review, Red State, and Instapundit that tended to actually link to the site in stories.

[jesse.in.mb]

If it's Eddie and Papaya shouldn't it be a gay immigrant or maybe an immigrant dressed as Abraham Lincoln?

[Bacon-Magic glib reasonoid]

+1 Log Cabin Republican reference.

[John]

A gay, transgendered Muslim refugee dressed as Thomas Jefferson or maybe Ayn Rand. An appearance of such a person at the reason offices would be heralded as the dawn of a new age; the age of Progressitarianious.

[jesse.in.mb]

I'm not sure what that has to do with Papaya and Eddie's particular hangups, but sure.

[John]

Nothing. It has to do with reason's hangups.

[jesse.in.mb]

*Puts on wire rimmed spectacles and lights a pipe*

Tell me more about these hangups, John.

[This Machine Chips Fascists]

See, this is why I'm here. Kindness.

[OneOut]

*insurance accountant pushes green visor up and denies John's therapy treatment costs under Obamacare and writes a script for some feel good pills instead.

/

[Not a True MJG]

Welch is Twitter DMing anonymous youtube personalities about bringing their keen insight and concise presentations to ReasonTV.

[John Titor]

Ah. I see the tribalism phase is already setting in.

[Zeb]

The cool kids have their own site now. I can't remember who the Yokels are supposed to be.

I kind of enjoy the lower comment count Reason. Feels less frantic.

[John]

The Yokels don't have their own site. I am the more notorious Yokel and they didn't invite me.

[Bacon-Magic glib reasonoid]

I think everyone is invited...just don't be a troll.

[waffles]

I thought Yokels were the libertarians with serious and sometimes unlibertarian reservations about immigrants and abortion. Also they despise cocktails.

[The Heresiarch]

I don't know who the yokels are supposed to be but I liked the sound of "Secession of the Yokels" and stuck with it. They should call their new site "Mons Sacer" to stick with the shtick.

[Episteme]

There's always more legroom after they liquidate the kulaks!

[CE]

I'm a yokel, and I'm still here.

[Juice]

I doubt they notice a drop because 15-20 people decided to stop commenting. I'll bet most of them still visit the site without commenting anyway.

[Bacon-Magic glib reasonoid]

Ed,
Great alt-text. If anyone is looking to buy, please contact me.

[John]

http://heatst.com/world/texas-.....ial-media/

Ladies and Gentleman, your preschool teacher of the year.

[Bacon-Magic glib reasonoid]

So...would/wouldn't?

[John]

She is pretty cute. It would be all fun and games right up until she beheaded you for disrespecting Muhammad.

[Bacon-Magic glib reasonoid]

What if I gave her the Dirty Bacon...it's like the Dirty Sanchez but you put bacon in their mouth instead of poop under their nose?

[waffles]

That's actually kind of wholesome.

[Bacon-Magic glib reasonoid]

Bacon is good.

[Zeb]

And, as I think you suggested the other day, quite possible the key to world peace.

[XenoZooValentine]

Waiting for the inevitable circlejerk about the oppression of this teacher, after Robby does an article and says "Of course, calling to kill some Jews is deplorable" and everybody who doesn't post here anymore flips their toupee.

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

Look lady, who controls the Holy Land, has and will forever be, according to God's will.

[This Machine Chips Fascists]

She's been fired,

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

Do you know that in Chinese crisis and opportunity are the same word?

[This Machine Chips Fascists]

Yeah? What about Arabic?

[pan fried wylie]

No, "arabic" is a separate word in Chinese.

[__Warren__]

ENDEMIC PATRIARCHAL RACISM!!!

[waffles]

"How was the copper wire invented. They threw a penny between the two Jews." she also tweeted.

Am I a monster because I laughed?

[DOOMco]

no, you're just a nazi now.

[waffles]

I'm not down with her "lolacaust" schtick but the generic jew humor is probably ok and might even be funny if a rabbi were saying it. I think when you talk about jewish stereotypes you are tasteless but ok. When you laugh about killing then you've crossed a line.

Still, I wouldn't type any of the above in an account that had my name or face associated with it.

[DOOMco]

yeah, I was just fuckin around. Jokes are jokes, and some things really aren't.

[C. Anacreon]

Damn, still only up to the penny jokes?

Hey teacher, why did the Jews wander in the desert for forty years?

Because one of them dropped a quarter.

[Zeb]

You're a monster because you didn't copy the "LOLACHAUST" part.

[waffles]

But I didn't find that part funny.

[Zeb]

It doesn't add to the joke. But for some reason it really amused me (in a perverse, WTF sort of way).

[Not a True MJG]

Revealed: Zeb's an edgelord.

[John Titor]

I've heard that joke about the Dutch for years.

[Zeb]

LOLACHAUST

That's got to become some kind of meme. Almost as good as the triple parenthesis thing.

[Fatty Bolger]

The Federal Reserve remains unsure whether President Trump will be good or bad for the economy.

They should stick to that stance. With every President. Forever.

[John]

How about the Fed doing its job and being good for the value of the dollar?

[__Warren__]

Pictured: The Fed's approach to monetary policy.

[John]

That is awesome.

[jesse.in.mb]

Budapest dropped its bid for the 2024 Olympics, leaving only Los Angeles and Paris in contention.

Fuck.

Although last time we hosted we just reused existing venues instead of building new and were (one of) the last city(ies) to come out ahead from hosting. But still, fuck.

[John]

The US Olympic Committee has said that if LA doesn't get the 2024 games, they are not putting in a bid for the 2028 games. That it is either good news or bad news. If LA doesn't get it, it means the US might never be afflicted with the Olympics again.

Sadly, however, chances are the IOC will not want to let go of the potential for graft and corruption that comes with the US bidding on Olympic games and will likely give it to LA to keep the money flowing.

Sorry.

[__Warren__]

Squeeze everything into Hermosa.

[jesse.in.mb]

I wonder if they'd put in light rail from LAX to the Beach Cities if they did that. I know there's a current project for light rail to connect in with the airport that will get a (slightly) accelerated timeline if we end up pulling the Olympic bid, but it'd be from the NE.

[__Warren__]

Down PCH then onto Aviation?

[jesse.in.mb]

No idea at this point. The Aviation/LAX station was supposed to connect with the airport, but was blocked by a pro-bus Marxist group and cab driver unions back in the day*. The Redondo Beach station cuts too far east to be useful for beach traffic, and the old trolley right-of-way is a lovely green belt down through Valley/Ardmore.

*I'm not entirely sure that it'll be connected now, it might be an Expo Line spur they're planning to put in.

[__Warren__]

Ol' Valley-Ardmore, I miss driving down there.

[jesse.in.mb]

I always forget you were from this area.

[Zeb]

If I were in charge, the Olympics would only happen in places that already have the facilities.

But of course, that would severely curtail the opportunities for graft and bribes to IOC members. And is probably racist.

[Free Society]

Foreign minister: Mexico 'will not accept' unilateral U.S. immigration proposals

Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said Wednesday that Mexico "will not accept" the imposition of new U.S. immigration rules, according to media reports.

The foreign minister also said he would not hesitate to take the issue to the United Nations to defend what he called the rights of immigrants, Reuters reported.

The Foreign Minister added "Mexicans have a human right to go wherever the fuck they want, however they want, anytime they want. Fuck your laws, I'm telling the UN on you!"

[John]

But Americans have no right to come down here and own property or do anything but stay a few days at a resort.

[Fatty Bolger]

Mexico talking about "the rights of immigrants" is pretty hilarious.

[OldMexican Blankety Blank]

Re: Fatty Blogger,

Mexico talking about "the rights of immigrants" is pretty hilarious.

I don't know this "Mexico" guy you say said something about immigrants, but I can tell you the fact that the Mexican government's hypocrisy on the matter gives you no justification to argue that immigrants have no rights.

[John]

Sure. But it does give us the right to tell them and other Mexicans to shut the fuck up about it. Go fix your own country before you start bitching about ours.

[Fatty Bolger]

I checked again just to be sure, but I missed the part where I supposedly made that argument. Care to point it out for me?

[Conchfritters]

^Pretty much this. My sister in-law's brother snuck into Mexico from Honduras, on his way to a roofing job in North Carolina. He was arrested by the Mexican police and then was flat out handed over to Los Zetas for a kick back, who robbed and beat the poor guy before dumping him off in a safe house in the desert in Texas. Mexico strikes me as one of the more horrific places to be if you are an illegal alien in their country.

[This Machine Chips Fascists]

We should send the CIA in there to set those people free. They could stand up a moderate Free Mexico Army in no time.

[Pompey:? Class Mothersmucker]

+

[OldMexican Blankety Blank]

Re: John,

But Americans have no right to come down here and own property or do anything but stay a few days at a resort.

Americans can come to Mexico and own property. San Miguel de Allende is full of retirees from the US, for instance.

Stop making stuff up, John. You sound like Tony...

[John]

They can only own property outside of "restricted zones", which is pretty much anywhere you would want to live. They have to set up trusts to own property.

Under Mexican law, illegal immigration is a felony. The General Law on Population says, "A penalty of up to two years in prison and a fine of three hundred to five thousand pesos will be imposed on the foreigner who enters the country illegally." (Article 123)

Mexico has nasty immigration laws. Everyone knows that. Stop fucking lying Mexican. Go lie to other Mexicans who might be dumb enough to believe it.

[OldMexican Blankety Blank]

Re: John,

They can only own property outside of "restricted zones", which is pretty much anywhere you would want to live.

The second part is your opinion.

They have to set up trusts to own property.

That's a far cry from "they cannot own property".

Mexico has nasty immigration laws.

It also has gun restrictions and stupid regulations. So what? Why are you arguing with a Tu Quoque? Did you run out of sound arguments all of a sudden?

[John]

It's horrific immigration laws mean that no one in the Mexican government can say a damned thing about our laws. That is the so what.

And owning land in a foreign trust is not owning land. it is renting it.

[OldMexican Blankety Blank]

Re: John,

It's horrific immigration laws mean that no one in the Mexican government can say a damned thing about our laws.

I can. I'm not in the Mexican government and I believe the immigration laws in both lands stink, as they're premised on the same thing: Economic Central Planning.

And owning land in a foreign trust is not owning land. it is renting it.

Imbecile! Are share-holders "renting" a company?

Has Trumpism muddled your brain that much?

[Homple]

Instead of bitching about US immigratiin policy, the Mexican government should consider why their country, with its good climate, arable land, abundant natural resources and access to the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, is such a shithole that a large fraction of its population will do whatever it can to leave.

[John]

It's not a shit hole for the elite who live there. And they are the only ones who matter.

[Homple]

True. Nice for that elite to have an easy way to not only export potential trouble makers, but have those troublemakers send back $billions in remittances.

There's everything for the Mexican elite to like in the current system and they are wild to keep it operating as is.

[OldMexican Blankety Blank]

Re: Homple,

True. Nice for that elite to have an easy way to not only export potential trouble makers, but have those troublemakers send back $billions in remittances.

Your bigotry is rotting your brain, Homple. Immigrants are not troublemakers, for one. There's no real advantage for the Mexican economy when there's a net exodus of talent to other countries (albeit there's a net INFLUX today) because an increase of the labor pool means an increase in productivity. The remittances are all fine but

The reason why the Mexican economy is still not as productive as the one in Canada or the US is because of a very complicated set of rules that undermine Property Rights and the sanctity of Contractual agreements. But that does not mean it is a "shithole".

[Free Society]

It has all of those things as well as sitting next door the most advanced economy in the history of the world, to trade with and to learn from. Yet still their government drives their society's dick into the dirt at every opportunity.

[OldMexican Blankety Blank]

Re: Homple,

Instead of bitching about US immigratiin policy, the Mexican government should consider why their country, with its good climate, arable land, abundant natural resources and access to the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, is such a shithole that a large fraction of its population will do whatever it can to leave.

It's not a shithole and it is NOT true that a "large fraction" of the population wants to do whatever to leave. People who want to live are simply responding to their own sense of self-worth and want to MAXIMIZE their profit by offering their labor somewhere else. Why exactly do you think that equates to "Mexico is a shithole" is a mystery to me unless I factor in your bigotry.

[John]

People who want to live are simply responding to their own sense of self-worth and want to MAXIMIZE their profit by offering their labor somewhere else.

And why can't they do that there? Because it is a shit hole that treats everyone who isn't part of the caucasian elite like a fucking animal.

[OldMexican Blankety Blank]

Re: John,

And why can't they do that there?

BECAUSE THEY DON"T WANT TO, JOHN. Do you understand that concept? They're human individuals of will. Maybe in your collectivist wet-dreams they don't exist. But those are the only ones who step on this good Earth - individual humans of will.

Because it is a shit hole that treats everyone who isn't part of the caucasian elite like a fucking animal.

The "caucasian elite"? What the heck are you talking about? You know NOTHING, John.

[John]

Yeah, they don't want to. Who are you fucking kidding? They leave their families and risk their lives to get to the US because they just don't feel like working in Mexico. Yeah, that is it.

And you know exactly what elite I am talking about. The Spanish elite that has run that country for 500 years. The people in Mexico City and the people in the Mexican government and the tops of society don't look like the Mexicans who come to the US. Why? Because they are caucasian and of Spanish descent and not Indians. The Mexicans who come here are Indians and have been on the ass end of the Spanish since Cortez first got off the boat.

You know that or you are lying about being a Mexican. Stop lying either way.

[Pompey:? Class Mothersmucker]

Little known fact: Old Mexican is actually from Zimbabwe and Opus Dei did 9/11.

[OldMexican Blankety Blank]

Re: John,

They leave their families and risk their lives to get to the US because they just don't feel like working in Mexico. Yeah, that is it.

Yes, that is it. There IS work in Mexico. People migrate from the South to the North to work., They migrate from the East to work in Mexico City or Guadalajara. There IS work. But people risk coming to the US because THEY WANT TO, because they feel the investment will be profitable. You just want to believe they're escaping from East Germany, but that's your bigotry talking, not your rationality.

And you know exactly what elite I am talking about. The Spanish elite that has run that country for 500 years.

What? There's no "Spanish" elite!

The people in Mexico City and the people in the Mexican government and the tops of society don't look like the Mexicans who come to the US.

AND? Do you want me to point out how different are people in San Jose, California from the people I saw in Louisville, Kentucky, or Tuscaloosa, Alabama?

That doesn't mean anything, except that now you're resorting to RACE BAITING, for some reason I can't fathom.

[Fascist loofa-faced shitgibbon]

You think you can win a debate with fancy-ass block quoting?

[Homple]

I don't think it's bigoted to point out that there are many seriously bad off areas in Mexico with many very poor people living in them. "Shithole" is impolite, but not inaccurate.

[John]

No, it is not. Apparently Old Mexican thinks we are all stupid gringos whose idea of Mexico is vacationing in the Yucatan. He must be shocked to hear foreigners who know the family secrets.

[OldMexican Blankety Blank]

Re: Homple,

I don't think it's bigoted to point out that there are many seriously bad off areas in Mexico with many very poor people living in them

There are very bad areas here in Houston where I wound not dare tread. What exactly is your point, Homple? That there are poor people in Mexico? Of course there are! That there are problems? Of course! Does that justify your bigotry against immigrants? You tell me.

[Juice]

Well, compare those shitty parts of Houston with Ciudad Juarez.

[OneOut]

Mexican immigration of the lower caste to the US has acted like a pop off valve for Mexican aristocracy to avoid revolution of the untouchables.

[DOOMco]

Please be Paris please be Paris please be Paris.

[AlmightyJB]

No doubt that will be interesting

[DOOMco]

It might go really well for em, and I hope it succeeds wherever it's held. I just don't want to watch millions go down the drain for some sort of nationalist sporting convention.

[Voros McCracken]

High level Nazi power struggle turns violent

[__Warren__]

I was born a Red Skull man, and I'll die a Red Skull man!

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

*pulls Swiss' severed head from a sack and lifts it high to administer the ultimate narrowed gaze*

[AlmightyJB]

What game is that?

[Voros McCracken]

There's a link in the description:

Sniper Elite 4 - Target F?hrer

[AlmightyJB]

Cool thx

[Austrian Anarchy]

China continues its build up in the South China Sea, saying it has "indisputable sovereign rights" over the islands it occupies.

Good, so now they can leave Taiwan alone. Hopefully this new Trump guy will announce that we are out of the UN and the ROC can have our seat at the Security Council if they wish.

[Pompey:? Class Mothersmucker]

New Hampshire becomes the newest State to adopt "Vermont Carry." Control freaks, municipal police chiefs (I repeat myself), hoplophobes, and other maniacs hide under their comforters as their world disintegrates.

[DOOMco]

I love Vermont Carry.

[Pompey:? Class Mothersmucker]

This new governor is off to a strong start.

[Zeb]

I wish he was better on legalizing cannabis, but otherwise he's probably about as good as could reasonably be expected.

[Pompey:? Class Mothersmucker]

I expect this position to, uh, evolve as NH becomes the only non-decrim State in a sea of jurisdictions that have strong decriminalisation or recreational programmes set up. It's not that I'm predicting that he's some kind of stealth pro-MJ guy, I just recall how strategically he set himself up on positions during and leading up to the GOP primary.

[Zeb]

I think you may be right. It has to happen before too long for the reasons you state. He seems like a pretyt pragmatic guy.

[Zeb]

Fuck, yeah!

[mr simple]

"The Constitution is very clear, and the chiefs of police need to grow up," said Republican Rep. John Burt. He added, "That's why they're mad: They can't abuse the public anymore."

Oh snap!

[Enough About Palin]

More than 100 women pack Mpls. tattoo shop to get inked with 'Nevertheless, she persisted'

[Pompey:? Class Mothersmucker]

Hahahahahaahahahahahahaa!

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

Whenever I see MN news on the net it's always so facepalm worthy.

[Not a True MJG]

That is sure to be a relevant and respectable tattoo five, ten, even twenty years months weeks from now.

[Pompey:? Class Mothersmucker]

Such a great conversation piece, and by that I mean, normal person repellent.

[NOT a Naked Intruder]

"I finally found something meaningful enough to put permanently on my body," said O'Reilly, 41, of Minneapolis.

OK, sweetheart: If, in 41 years, the only quote worthy of permanently printing on your skin is from a politician, you are dumber than advertised.

I suggest these lemmings were repellent prior to inking.

[Not a True MJG]

And remember, the politician was Mitch McConnell.

These hip leftists are tattooing the Turtle's words onto their body.

[AlmightyJB]

It's nice when they label themselves. Saves time.

[Zeb]

Ugh. Why did I bother finding out what that means?

[B.P.]

These folks have really convinced themselves that they're heroic victims fighting oppression.

[This Machine Chips Fascists]

On another thread someone called them civil rights reenactors and live action role players. Seems accurate, especially re the enraged soccer moms.

[Zeb]

Those poor, oppressed Senators and Harvard professors.

[Agammamon]

1. That's great. And really - given the emphasis the Trump administration puts on this subject I don't even understand why any of them would have thought this was appropriate in the first place.

2. I'd love to see the US ICE being forced to produce evidence that a deportee is a Mexican national.

3. I don't know what Mexico is going to do when ICE just pushes people through the border gate and closes it behind them. Are they going to keep them in the sorting area ala that dude stuck in a French airport? Gonna have to build a bigger building.

[John]

They are stateless refugees. Turn them over to the UN.

[OldMexican Blankety Blank]

Re: Agammamon,

I don't know what Mexico is going to do when ICE just pushes people through the border gate and closes it behind them.

What "Mexico" (the government) will do is probably nothing, except not detain them, just help them get back. It's going to be an interesting yet in the end unproductive game that El Trumpo will be playing, if he goes ahead with it.

[Ken Shultz]

I'm digging this quote from the CNN article about the exoplanets:

"The researchers believe that TRAPPIST-1f in particular is the best candidate for supporting life. It's a bit cooler than Earth, but could be suitable with the right atmosphere and enough greenhouse gases."

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/22/.....very-nasa/

It's a little cooler than Earth, still suitable for life, and could be made better by greenhouse gases?

Somebody must have forgotten to clear that article with the political officer before it went live.