Fire and Fury to Get TV Adaptation, Skyscraper-Sized Asteroid Headed Toward Earth, Woman-Less Last Jedi: P.M. Links

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  WALT DISNEY PICTURES/LUCASFILM / Album/Newscom

  Michael Wolff's book on the first year of the Trump administration, Fire and Fury, will be adapted for television.

• President Trump accused Russia of helping North Korea get around sanctions.
• Republicans in the House of Representatives are still looking for a short-term government funding bill that enough of them can support.
• Three quarters of the National Park Service's advisory board resigned, claiming Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke was unwilling to meet with them.
• Trump's Fake News Awards may happen later today.
• A dispute between a sheep farmer and the defense ministry in Romania over grazing near a NATO base has reached that country's highest court.
• A skyscraper-sized asteroid headed toward Earth will come close enough to be considered "potentially hazardous," according to NASA.
• Men's rights activists make a womanless cut of The Last Jedi.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

...will be adapted for television.

Please let it be Spike TV.

[Rufus The Monocled]

Hello.

"potentially hazardous," meteor huh.

Let it hit one of those shitholes. Amirite?

/high five.

[Bacon-Magic glib reasonoid]

Goodbye Canada, you were my favorite shithole.

[Rufus The Monocled]

So big and desolate Canada is, it can hit us and no one would know.

If a meteor crashes in frozen tundra does it make a sound?

[Bacon-Magic glib reasonoid]

"ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"
*the sound made upon impact*

[mad.casual]

"ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"

Is that an American "eh" as in, "It hit Canada... eh (shrugs)." or a Canadian "eh?" as in, "It hit Canada, eh?"

[Chipper Morning Baculum]

Like the sound of poutine hitting the floor.

[BestUsedCarSales]

Ah, the sound of Canadian fucking.

[EscherEnigma]

That just makes me think of that meteor hit in Russia a few years back.

[Unicorn Abattoir]

Or the Tunguska Event (1908 IIRC).

[EscherEnigma]

Nah. The specific one I'm thinking of was captured on a lot of dashcams. So naturally folks edited together dashcam footage of the meteor strike with footage of folks just driving around to make it look like the drivers were all "ho hum, gotta pick up the dry cleaning, little Timmy from soccer practice, oh look -giant flaming rock falling form the sky-, and I should totally reward myself with a donut, I've been good today".

[Sometimes a Great Notion]

Better make that sound in French 4 times louder then any other language.

[Chipper Morning Baculum]

Canada better apologize if the meteor lands there.

[zonevazo]

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[Fist of Etiquette]

Trump's Fake News Awards may happen later today.

Which may, itself, be fake news.

[Bacon-Magic glib reasonoid]

Fire and Fury to Get TV Adaptation

Fake movie.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Three quarters of the National Park Service's advisory board resigned, claiming Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke was unwilling to meet with them.

Good to know someone in DC can take a hint.

[Fist of Etiquette]

A skyscraper-sized asteroid headed toward Earth will come close enough to be considered "potentially hazardous," according to NASA.

Combine Armageddon and Unstoppable and you got yourself a hit.

[Aloysious]

Michael Wolff's book on the first year of the Trump administration, Fire and Fury, will be adapted for television.

Well that was fast. Really, really fast

[Rhywun]

Hollywood must be tripping over themselves to get a piece of this action. Does Meryl Streep do television? I don't know, but she does now.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Sounds like it's already one of the existing Trump parody shows.

[Sevo]

"Sounds like it's already one of the existing Trump parody shows."

CNN evening news?

[RT]

So, is this considered an "in-kind contribution" to the DNC? I mean, no matter when it comes out, I'm thinking it'll be timed for whatever election is coming up when it's released. Maybe I'm missing something, but it seems to be a perfect illustration of why campaign finance reform is such BS. Same with speech codes. Might not like who's in charge enforcing the laws.

[BYODB]

Kind of like how that show Madam Secretary was basically 'what if Hillary Clinton was perfect and a saint'?

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

But Tea Leoni is hot.

Part of the complete fiction of the show

[Ecoli]

It's basically a remake. CNN has already done it.

[Fist of Etiquette]

President Trump accused Russia of helping North Korea get around sanctions.

Does this mean North Korea is our new president?

[Aloysious]

Republicans in the House of Representatives are still looking for a short-term government funding bill that enough of them can support.

Resign. It's the only honorable thing to do, you useless fucks.

[Rich]

This. "Doing the People's business", my ass.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Michael Wolff's book on the first year of the Trump administration, Fire and Fury, will be adapted for television.

The Dotard to be played by Jonah Hill.

[Juice]

Not a Baldwin?

[Jerryskids]

To be produced by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. A puppet show, obviously.

[Stormy Dragon]

Does anyone remember That's My Bush? It's a shame it got cancelled when 9/11 happened.

[MP]

Lil Bush was better, but both sucked

[Fist of Etiquette]

Men's rights activists make a womanless cut of The Last Jedi.

So they took out Leia and Rey?

[Bacon-Magic glib reasonoid]

Heard one of them died...I hope they're happy.

[Fist of Etiquette]

NO SPOILERS

[OpenBordersLiberal-tarian]

What a bunch of whiny MRA losers. Rey is a way better character than anyone in that overrated original trilogy the GamerGate types love so much.

[mad.casual]

Rey is a way better character than anyone in that overrated original trilogy the GamerGate types love so much.

At the same time, Leia's surviving being blown out of the cruiser into free space was worse than whiny Darth Vader, Medichlorians, and Indiana Jones surviving a nuclear blast hiding in a refrigerator combined.

However, in the Star Wars of the sexes she's still above Jar Jar Binks, whom I presume to be male.

[BYODB]

As far as we know, people don't die in outer space in Star Wars. Ever see a space suit? Lets not pretend this didn't also happen in 'Guardians' and the new Star Trek franchise.

Not sure why, but Hollywood doesn't seem to understand how quickly you would die.

[BestUsedCarSales]

Yes, there is nothing realistic about Star Wars. It is a fantasy story, but it happens to take place in space more so than any hard science fiction.

[EscherEnigma]

To be fair, in Empire Strikes Back Han and Leia both left the Millenium Falcon with only breathers. Heck, the Millenium Falcon doesn't even have an air lock to the ship, it's just a ramp into their main hallway. So space not being instant death isn't new to the Last Jedi.

That said, no one really knows how quickly folks would die in space. We've got a lot of ideas of how fast (or slow) it would happen, ranging from debates over the vacuum, the cold, the heat, etc. and so-on, but it's not like we're going to send up a crate of puppies to the international space station and slowly eject them from an airlock and record how painfully or slowly they die.

And that said, seriously? Folks got upset over Leia going all "Superman" to get back to the ship? What whiners. That scene was awesome. I liked how it showed that even though she never got proper training, she is still a force user and always had the (unexplored) potential.

[Agammamon]

The Soviets would

[EscherEnigma]

Okay, I'll give you that. But they wouldn't let us see the tapes.

[Vaelyn]

Actually, I believe they did. I heard that the Soviets learned the hard way that you can survive about 30 seconds in hard vacuum. One of their cosmonauts got accidentally caught in an evacuated airlock once.

[mad.casual]

To be fair, in Empire Strikes Back Han and Leia both left the Millenium Falcon with only breathers.
...
I liked how it showed that even though she never got proper training, she is still a force user and always had the (unexplored) potential.

No, the whole thing, from both perspectives, rends all aspects of consistency within the story. As the story is being progressively told across storytellers, it's becoming less internally consistent. At this point, anyone who can say the word 'lightsaber' and 'force' is capable of being an effective or honorary Jedi, training or not.

While the whole 'suitless spacewalk' can conceivably be forgiven for not having a budget to do proper airlocks and an understanding in the relatively nascent space age, to progressively add in airlocks and then arbitrarily exempt some characters from needing them because... force? vagina? veers well into deus ex machina territory. Especially for a character who's already turned over command of the resistance and doesn't really serve any further purpose a couple of times.

Also, while there is a debate over how fast or slow it would happen, there is no debate over how quickly and instantaneously painful and debilitating it would be. Even in the atmosphere, getting blown out of an aircraft is not generally something you wake up from mid-fall and will yourself back into the craft.

[BestUsedCarSales]

to progressively add in airlocks and then arbitrarily exempt some characters from needing them because... force?

That seems like a pretty consistent application of the force honestly. It's magic. It does sort of whatever they need it to do.

[mad.casual]

That seems like a pretty consistent application of the force honestly. It's magic. It does sort of whatever they need it to do.

But it's not magic. Jedi still get gunned down by superior numbers and can still be killed when the Emperor flings them out a window or their proteges toss them down a maintenance shaft. It's supposed to take years of training by a Jedi Master for even relatively talented apprentice to master and be the crucial lynchpin on which people's very souls and the fate of the galaxy rests on. That Leia just happened to master the 'retrieve myself from space' trick seems exceedingly capricious and, again, for a character who's already served their purpose more than once.

It's like Jack Bauer got resuscitated from his heart attack and then survived a nuclear blast in a refrigerator to then use the Jedi mind trick for literally no plot or any other cinematic purpose.

[EscherEnigma]

It's supposed to take years of training by a Jedi Master for even relatively talented apprentice to master and be the crucial lynchpin on which people's very souls and the fate of the galaxy rests on.
Nah, that's just jedi propaganda in the prequels. As I, IV, V, VI, VII and VIII show, you can do all that with nothing more then a quick pep-talk.

[BestUsedCarSales]

Jedi still get gunned down by superior numbers and can still be killed when the Emperor flings them out a window or their proteges toss them down a maintenance shaft.

And sometimes they move a planet. And sometimes they becomes ghosts. And sometimes they do whatever is needed for the plot. It's magic, they don't got to explain shit.

It's supposed to take years of training by a Jedi Master for even relatively talented apprentice to master and be the crucial lynchpin on which people's very souls and the fate of the galaxy rests on.

And they contradict this willy nilly. Both in the old films where Luke is becomes more powerful relatively quickly. And in the prequel trilogy where it becomes explicit that it mostly has to do with a genetic problem. And if it's something else later, then it's still magic. Because it's magic. Some things do magic better and try to make it a consistent system, but Star Wars never particularly did. The force was always hand wavy bullshit, with a smidge of eastern philosophy.

It's like Jack Bauer got resuscitated from his heart attack and then survived a nuclear blast in a refrigerator to then use the Jedi mind trick for literally no plot or any other cinematic purpose.

Except the reason for it is to show the strength of Leia's force sensitivity. It shows she's a wizard too.

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

Both in the old films where Luke is becomes more powerful relatively quickly

Wait, what? There's no part of the original trilogy where Luke becomes "more powerful relatively quickly" as if he's leveling up like a video game character. The first film shows him accessing his inherent force abilities to determine the best time to release the torpedoes, the second has him, a couple years later, doing a few tricks but still struggling before he ultimately gets his ass kicked by Vader, and the third sees him show up after exiling himself in training with Yoda for several years.

Rey, on the other hand, has apparently become the most powerful Jedi in recorded history without ANY sort of struggle, sacrifice, or lessons in personal growth, in the span of about a month.

Say what you want about the original trilogy, but at least it displayed a modicum of understanding about mythic archetypes and character development.

[EscherEnigma]

[...] then arbitrarily exempt some characters from needing them because... force?

Seeing as the force has let people control minds, wield lightning, perform physics defying acrobatic stunts, regularly defy gravity, out-pilot veteran pilots, make impossible skill shots, telepathically communicate at extreme distances, "feel" things that are light years away, absorb lightning, disintegrate their own body, manifest as ghosts, manifest as ghosts that look like they did twenty years before they died, somehow hide a child from one of the biggest tyrants in the galaxy by placing him with his only known relatives under his real name...

And that's before we even start with the "force" bullshit from the Last Jedi (lighting wielding ghosts? insanely-long-reach illusion? The mind-link thing? Illusory dice that persisted after death?)

So, uh, yeah. Given everything that the Force has already done, and that they continually show new tricks, this one really isn't going to phase me. Leia is awesome, and she can briefly survive in space. And if you have to blame her vagina for that, that says more about you then anyone else.

[mad.casual]

And if you have to blame her vagina for that, that says more about you then anyone else.

I'm not (exactly) blaming her vagina, kinda the opposite. 'Jump the shark', 'Nuke the fridge', 'Jack Bauer', 'Chuck Norris', etc. all males or male roles that connote ludicrous-beyond-campy badassery. She ascended to badass-hood back when she choked out Jaba the Hut, that she rose to the head of the rebellion is consistent with (the women of) the storyline(s). That she willed herself back into the air lock to not really effectively contribute to the plot was beyond terrible writing/movie making.

[mad.casual]

I'm not (exactly) blaming her vagina, kinda the opposite.

Actually, I'm not blaming her vagina at all. Neither the actress nor the character got much of a say as to how/why they got in/out of the ship. It was among the pinnacle of terrible writing/movie making and I'm guessing as to the writers' rationalizations.

[mad.casual]

That scene was awesome.

Right. That scene was awesome the same way 'nuking the fridge' and 'jumping the shark' were awesome.

[mad.casual]

Not sure why, but Hollywood doesn't seem to understand how quickly you would die.

I'm unsure of/don't recall the Star Trek scene (or scenes) you're referencing. The only Guardians scene I recall like this (skipping past non-human biology) there's at least the plausibility of an extremely cold atmosphere around a planetoid with extremely weak gravity.

Also, I'd say it's about 50/50 how quickly you would die vs. how instantaneously and permanently your sensibilities would sublimate. Your ocular fluid would evaporate almost instantaneously and your blood gases would percolate out through your eyes, quite possibly even if you didn't open them. Finding something within arms reach or using something already in your grasp? A dubious maybe. Squinting to see where you're going? Might as well try doing it while gouging your own eyes out.

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

Total Recall.

[I am garbage]

Jesus Christ you don't actually know any of that to be the case so stop bloviating you fucking clown.

"Your ocular fluid" you don't even know what it's called you stupid fuck.

[mad.casual]

Jesus Christ you don't actually know any of that to be the case so stop bloviating you fucking clown.

Actually, we kinda do know.

At NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center (now renamed Johnson Space Center) we had a test subject accidentally exposed to a near vacuum (less than 1 psi) in an incident involving a leaking space suit in a vacuum chamber back in '65. He remained conscious for about 14 seconds, which is about the time it takes for O2 deprived blood to go from the lungs to the brain. The suit probably did not reach a hard vacuum, and we began repressurizing the chamber within 15 seconds. The subject regained consciousness at around 15,000 feet equivalent altitude. The subject later reported that he could feel and hear the air leaking out, and his last conscious memory was of the water on his tongue beginning to boil.

Let's say the force granted you consciousness for lots longer than 15s, how well do you focus and wield it when you can feel the water (cold) boiling off your tongue? How long after your tongue dries out do you think it would take for your eyes to dry out and what makes you think the mechanisms that wet them would behave predictably.

[mad.casual]

I'm not exactly saying your eyes would bug out as in Total Recall but in well less than a minute assuming full consciousness and control in exiting the vehicle (rather than being blown out of it) you would be effectively unable to rescue yourself if you were even aware you needed rescuing. Even if the force somehow granted you consciousness, it still has to keep your eyes from drying out, stop you from being radiation burned, etc. Considering explosive decompression is overwhelmingly fatal, and overwhelmingly debilitating when not fatal, in a friendly atmosphere, the idea that you'd wake up just floating in space and decide to will yourself back to the airlock is beyond 'nuking the fridge'.

You likely could *be rescued* up to 5-10 min., but holding your breath would cause lung damage and not holding your breath means O2 leaves your blood as fast as you can inhale it and your heart can pump it. So, the timescale is little different than someone who's heart has effectively stopped pumping blood to their brain and saving yourself would be kinda synonymous with restarting your own heart.

[Mickey Rat]

One of the few that showed it plausibly was 2001 where Bowman enters Discovery through the airlock without his helmet sfter HAL refuses to open the pod bay door. That was 50 years ago and predates Star Wars.

[Agammamon]

Throughout two movies now Rey has accomplished nothing and overcome no obstacles through her own actions.

If this is what kids these days call a 'strong female character' - they can keep 'em.

I'll stick with Ripley and Leia.

[Kivlor]

You are just a bigoted misogynist, obviously, because if you weren't you'd understand that it's not about the "Hero's Journey". The very concept that there is a problem to overcome smacks of patriarchy and toxic masculinity. Those days are past. We are entering into a brave new era of storytelling where fighting and struggling for achievement rather than collaborating and finding consensus and agreement will finally be put into the dustbin of history.

[Mickey Rat]

Poe's storyline goes from mere idiot ball holding to incomprehensible.

[EscherEnigma]

And the admiral that took over the rebel fleet. I read that she was removed entirely.

[Kivlor]

Thank God. That alone would take this film from exceptionally terrible to mediocre.

[mad.casual]

Honestly between her and Phasma, I think it's refreshing that women are beginning to replace men in the part of "forgettable characters who's only role is to die".

Before you know it, The Empire First Order next Order will have a whole army full of *nearly* identical women who's sole purpose is to absorb laser fire for and be mowed down by more important characters.

[Kivlor]

I don't think you'll hear many complaints about from people like me RE: having some female characters who die or are solely there for that purpose.

The complaint is in how atrocious the writing was RE: her character. And the other female characters. They were all atrocious and cringey. It's not as much of an insult to the women who played them as it is to the writers responsible for the cringe they were cast into.

[mad.casual]

The complaint is in how atrocious the writing was RE: her character. And the other female characters.

Ah, yes. Reading this and your "Hero's Journey" plot above, agreed.

[mad.casual]

Er... post.

[JoeBlow123]

Poe should have been executed for insubordination and directly ignoring orders that led to the deaths of his comrades at first and latter should have definitely been summarily airlocked when he led a fucking mutiny. The Admiral later said he was a good guy and liked him to Leia? Dumb.

Also that Admiral sucked. She absolutely does not have to share her plans with anyone, but if you are asking people to die for you then you should probably say why. If Poe was a higher ranking guy she would have to tell him her plans if he is expected to carry out some sort of orders. Ultimately, it was unbelievable to someone who has sat through meetings and listened to higher up Navy types. Plans and orders are passed down the chain so people can know what to do, you are a shit commander if you hoard knowledge and plans that results in people dying.

The movie really did suck. It was more like a Transformers movie with incomprehensible, stupid plot lines and nice special effects more than a Star Wars movie with an internally consistent story.

[Aloysious]

Three quarters of the National Park Service's advisory board resigned, claiming Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke was unwilling to meet with them.

Downsize the government. Leave those positions vacant. Or appoint mannequins. Probably get better results.

[Chipper Morning Baculum]

Let's replace all government workers with mannequins. Or sexbots.

[Jimbo]

Raping robots have endless stamina, so I prefer a real life person fucking me over.

[Unicorn Abattoir]

Outgoing NJ Governor Chris Christie is the first NJ governor in 20+ years to not break a leg while in office.

Linked Here

The guys carrying his sedan chair probably weren't so lucky.

[Juice]

He knew which mob palms to grease.

[Chipper Morning Baculum]

He was also the only one not to find a horse's head on his bed during his term.

[Unicorn Abattoir]

That's right, it's the 20th anniversary of the Lewinsky scandal.

[Tony]

I think we can safely downgrade that to a kerfuffle, given what's going on now.

[Maven Houlihan]

It's not named Hamner-Brown is it?

[Fist of Etiquette]

A dispute between a sheep farmer and the defense ministry in Romania over grazing near a NATO base has reached that country's highest court.

I liked better the way they settled this in Open Range.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Republicans in the House of Representatives are still looking for a short-term government funding bill that enough of them can support.

Maybe they should only fund the lowest common federal denominator: defense.

[EscherEnigma]

Like, government definition of "defense", or the actual definition of "defense"?

'cause I don't think anyone would contest that the military should continue to protect our borders, but a lot of the stuff we actually do is more honestly labeled "offense" then "defense".

[Sometimes a Great Notion]

And you know education is a national security issue because if the troops can't read then they may hit the wrong button. Point being anything and everything .can be labeled as national security.

[EscherEnigma]

Sure.

But yeah, I don't think anyone is thinking to themselves "mwa ha ha, I'll wait for the government shutdown between those foolish Democrats and Republicans, and then I'll stage my attack! They'll be helpless to stop me until they pass a budget! Mwa ha ha!"

And if we're realistic, we all know that in the case of a government shutdown most of the military is still going to show up. Sure, I'll? hear grousing up and down the halls when their paychecks aren't deposited, but they'll get their back-pay when the continuing resolution comes through and so-on.

So I'm kinda very of skeptical that actual defense is in peril, regardless of political grand-standing.

[BYODB]

The only thing that can realistically threaten the United States is a full-bore nuclear strike. Turns out, it's really damn easy to sink ships full of troops from basically anywhere in the modern era.

[BestUsedCarSales]

It's mostly grandstanding. I remember during the last one a friend of mine tried to work. Said they didn't have to pay him, but that he had stuff to get done. They had people there, on duty, to stop him from doing work. Like, military personnel.

[EscherEnigma]

Yeah. We're capital-funded over here so it doesn't affect most folks on our base, but generally speaking there's a determination of whether any given worker is "mission critical" or not, and if you're not, you get sent home (but you still have to come in and check your e-mail to see if you're working that day or not). It's a huge pain.

But actual "defense" functions, folks watching in radar towers, pilots ready to scramble jets, that sort of thing? All "mission critical", and they all continue working.

And at the end of it, the folks that worked get paid, and the folks that were sent home get administrative leave.

[Agammamon]

Don't forget food security - if people don't have enough to eat they will resort to terrorism.

[Rich]

You can expect Earth to go through a mini ice age following the impact with an object of that size, according to researchers. Average temperatures around the world would fall by 8? C, and Earth would become a much darker, colder, and drier place.

You say that like it's a bad thing.

[BYODB]

Maybe we could release more CO2 to offset all those people that would otherwise freeze to death?

/sarc

[Telcontar the Wanderer]

I TOLD THEM MY PYROMANIA WOULD SAVE THEM ONE DAY I TOLD THEM BUT DID THEY LISTEN? NOOOO, ALWAYS "STOP SETTING MY ARM ON FIRE" THIS AND "PLEASE PUT OUT THE FLAMES CONSUMING MY FEET" THAT

[BestUsedCarSales]

If I can't believe Explosions in the Sky then I have nothing else to believe in.

[Rich]

"I feel confident that we will not shut the government down and that there will be a DACA fix before March," he told NBC News. "I feel confident enough that both are going to happen that I don't even consider the other option" ? a shutdown or DACA deportations.

IOW

[Telcontar the Wanderer]

President Trump accused Russia of helping North Korea get around sanctions

Let the contest to determine Putin's schoolyard-insult nickname begin!

To start things off, I nominate "Unclad Vlad", "Very-Bad Vlad" and "Baddy Vladdy".

[Rich]

OK! I'll say ... "Vladimeerkat".

[Telcontar the Wanderer]

Ooh, ooh, I've got it!

"Mere Vladdy!"

Joint operation!

[Rich]

And don't forget to dust this off!

[Slumbrew]

Goddamn you, Rich - beat me to it by moments (same image and everything)

[Rich]

Well, if *you* want to answer to the GRU ....

[Bacon-Magic glib reasonoid]

Putin closet

[Ecoli]

We ruv u vrad

[Telcontar the Wanderer]

I appreciate hopefully-in-jest racism as much as the next shit-noble of the libertarian shit-gentry, but we're going for Trump's stance here, not Kim's.

[Ecoli]

I guess I should have read the article.

If making fun of a murderous dictator with bad hair cut is off the table, then we are right and truly screwed.

[Telcontar the Wanderer]

"In jest" it is, then.

[Kivlor]

Men's rights activists make a womanless cut of The Last Jedi:

"Cut out most shots showing female fighters/pilots and female officers commanding people around/having ideas."
"NO HALDO (sic)! She simply doesn't exist. Her whole subplot doesn't exist. The Kamikaze is carried out by Poe. ( = Poe dies.)"
"Leia never scolds, questions nor demotes Poe. He is a respected and very skilled high-ranking member of the resistance."
"When there's a scene where a woman is cut in making some important statement that can be substituted by another statement by a guy, then she gets cut out. Works pretty well actually."
"Wookie eats the Porg, or at least isn't interrupted in trying to do so."
"No green milk." (What the fuck)

1. Nowhere is there any evidence this was a "MRA" project. This is completely the projection of the author.
2. This actually sounds like a much better version of the movie. Like it might actually be watchable without endless cringe.

[Domestic Dissident]

Dow jumps 323 points, closes above 26,000 for first time in its 121-year history.

Making America great again, one share at a time.

[Rich]

"there is a danger that the U.S. stock market could accelerate so quickly that it decouples from the economic fundamentals most analysts think currently underpin it."

"Indeed, it could create a virtual black hole that would swallow up the economic space-time continuum, broken windows and all."

[Rufus The Monocled]

Black holes don't exist pal.

[Rich]

That's why it's a *virtual* black hole.

Economics 101.

[Juice]

economic fundamentals most analysts think currently underpin it

I have no idea which economic fundamentals most analysts think underpin stock prices besides supply and demand of the stocks themselves.

[BYODB]

I'm sure reducing the corporate rate and the expectation that money will be 'repatriated' in the billions has nothing to do with it...

[Juice]

Yes, but the repatriation isn't what changes a stock's price. The only thing that can change it is supply and demand of the stock itself. Well, that and manipulation. Maybe the expectation that a company will have increased earnings will increase demand for the stock, but it's not guaranteed. That's all I was saying.

[Jerryskids]

Some analysts think there's no economic fundamentals underpinning the stock market already. The sole investor responsible for the rise in the Dow has been Janet Yellen, and she can't keep shuffling them chits much longer.

[Juice]

Yes, but what about adjusting for inflation?

[Calidissident]

It's funny, I don't recall you crediting the president for making the country great again through stock market growth between 2009 and (January) 2017.

[Rufus The Monocled]

Stock markets did well despite anemic growth under Obama. GDP is stronger under Trump and it's still performing well.

Economic fundamentals don't underpin shit anymore like they used to.

I reckon.

[Calidissident]

I don't really disagree. I'm just pointing out the hypocrisy of partisans crediting every bit of good economic news to the president when their party is in power, and doing the opposite when they are not. Obama fans did the same thing.

The president has some influence over the stock market and to a lesser extent the economy, but not nearly as much as people often make it out to be. I think Trump's promises and some of his actions have boosted the stock market somewhat, but we were in a bull market before him as you point out, so it's disingenuous to make it all about him. And I'm more skeptical skeptical of any president having more than a marginal effect on economic growth in year 1. The overall 2017 GDP growth numbers will depend on Q4. We did clear 3% annualized in Q2 and Q3, but Q1 was only slightly over 1%, so the overall annual number will likely be similar to Obama's best years, which were between 2.5% and 3%.

Lastly, if there is a recession in the next 2-3 years, Mikey will be the first person to stop crediting the state of the economy to the president. And partisans on the other side will make the opposite switch.

[Rufus The Monocled]

I agree.

Leaders get too much blame on the downside, and too much credit on the upside.

[GILMORE?]

I don't recall you crediting the president for making the country great again through stock market growth between 2009 and (January) 2017.

First of all, trying to correlate "who is president" with "stock market growth:" is fucking stupid and no one should ever do it.

If you really want to try and claim some political catalyst for growth, you can maybe offer *specific policies* that said president implemented (or promises to), and correlate the 'election' and subsequent implementation to growth.

but just attributing it to 'the person' like they're some kind of wizard who makes the sun shine with a wave of their hands is stupid. markets go up over time. Presidents are in offer when it happens. the two things usually have nothing to do with one another.

**footnote: if you really want to talk about "obama", however.... markets did not regain the losses they suffered during the 2008 election until 2013. You can't really credit the Obama era with "growth". It was "recovery" for the most part. and slow at that

[GILMORE?]

"presidents are in office"

you might as well credit al gore w/ the internet

[Domestic Dissident]

I'm really just mocking Dipshit Dave Weigel, mister Calistatusquo.

And the market only started doing well under Obama in the last year or two, after six to seven years of the worst economic recovery since the Great Depression.

[Stormy Dragon]

Men's rights activists make a womanless cut of The Last Jedi.

Remember, they are totally just interested in protect the equal rights of men and are not in any way reflexively misogynist.

[BYODB]

And remember, you must always judge a group by it's lowest common denominator.

[Kivlor]

From the link:
Uploaded to The Pirate Bay yesterday by an anonymous user, the "The Last Jedi: De-Feminized Fanedit" is, according to their own description "basically The Last Jedi minus Girlz Powah and other silly stuff".

Nowhere is the person who did this described as an MRA, except in the mind of the author of the article. The author literally just accuses him/her of being an MRA and the logic for this seems to be "Well they edited out the wimminz so they must be an MRA. Checkmate bigots."

[Eek Barba Durkle]

It's amazing that people don't see this for the satire it is.

[EscherEnigma]

Eh, Poe's law.

It might be satire, but if so, it's indistinguishable from the complaints of folks that are sincere.

Take Kivlor for example! Is this satire? Does he really hate all the women in the Last Jedi? I can't tell!

[Kivlor]

Am I satire or serious? Little column A, little column B.

[Stormy Dragon]

Popehat rule of goats applies.

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

Does that Rule have an Internet Number?

[Kivlor]

Hard to really tell for me, even after re-reading it. Maybe it's because I'm not familiar with the author. Seems like something I would expect from Jezebel, Salon, or any feminist on the street.

[EscherEnigma]

http://www.al.com/news/index.s....._to_7.html

Hope that link works. One day I'll figure out which HTML tag for hyperlinks works on this site.

Anyway, long-story-short, the Alabama state senate passed a bill to get rid of marriage licenses! And instead, probate judges will just "accept affidavits" that folks are married. So different form, same consequence.

Ironically, this actually removes a "conscience exemption" for Alabama probate judges, as before they could decide whether or not to hand out marriage licenses. Under this, they would not be able to do that, and the part that makes it legal is folks giving the affidavit to the judge, so they can't deny it anymore. So that's funny too.

[BYODB]

+100,000 Sister Wives?

[EscherEnigma]

Nah. You still have to sign an affidavit that (among other things) asserts you're not married.

The most substantial part really is that they're basically removing the conscience exemption that allowed probate judges to avoid gays. But as far as who can get married? Same ol', same ol'.

[BYODB]

But as far as who can get married? Same ol', same ol'.

About what I figured. No one is interested in allowing people freedom of marriage. Perhaps we should illustrate the incest laws are anti-Muslim?

[EscherEnigma]

Eh. The thing about sanguinity and marriage is that while most states in the US would refuse first-degree pairs (so parent/child, siblings, or grandparent/child), they'll still recognize such a marriage performed elsewhere in most cases.

About the only time someone is going to bring up "this marriage is invalid because they're siblings!" is in an acrimonious divorce where the primary bread-winner is trying to argue against dividing assets and/or alimony because they weren't "really" married.

But 99% of the time, if you can find somewhere else that will marry you, state governments will recognize it.

So the more likely one to actually change laws would be polygamy/bigamy, as the state does care about that. Heck, we've had cases where Muslim diplomats were coming over and were forced by the State Department to chose which of their wives was the "real" one.

[BestUsedCarSales]

Justice will never exist until I can marry my dog and cat together.

[EscherEnigma]

Are you saying you want to be married to your dog and your cat, or that you want to marry your dog to your cat?

'cause the later is A-OK. I mean, being non-humans they don't have any legal rights or responsibilities, and the only actual change would be changing your pet's name on registration if you're in a place that requires you to do so, but unless you've got a purebred stud or dame, no one's gonna care.

If it's the former, may I suggest you go to India? I heard a story about a guy that was caught screwing a goat, and his punishment was to buy the goat and marry it. His main complaint was that he had to wait for the goat to die a natural death before he could find a woman to marry.

[Tony]

Well I think the moral of that story is don't get caught fucking goats in India.

[BestUsedCarSales]

The latter. I just don't want them to be living in sin, you know?

[EscherEnigma]

Oh then yeah, you can totally perform a wedding for your pets. Heck, Jack Whats-his-name of Masterpiece Cakeshop even does cakes for pet weddings.

[mad.casual]

first-degree pairs (so parent/child, siblings, or grandparent/child)

Two of these are first degree pairings, the other is somewhere between a semantic and a syntax error.

[Telcontar the Wanderer]

< a href="link" >

[EscherEnigma]

Yeah, that's what I expect form html, but it consistently doesn't work here for me and I don't know why. But sure, I'll
try again.

And according to my preview window at least, it formats it as a link but doesn't actually link.

[BYODB]

It could be too long, I believe reason limits link length.

[EscherEnigma]

Here's trying it with a tiny url. I've tried these before to similar disappointment.

But hey, it just worked in the preview window. So here's hoping.

[Telcontar the Wanderer]

Amateurs.

[BestUsedCarSales]

Now it's all one united Resistance fighting without inner conflict and that's much more satisfying to watch.

What I've always wanted from my cinema, is minimal conflict. Conflict scares me. Especially if I feel it's coming from a vagina.

[colorblindkid]

20 years and we still don't have any movies about any Clinton scandal. It took 60 fucking years and the death of Ted Kennedy before we got a Chappaquiddick movie. One month after a admittedly full of bullshit book and we have a TV series based off it.

I fucking hate Hollywood with a passion.

[Stormy Dragon]

Primary Colors (film)

[Tony]

Conservatives are welcome to compete in what is, after all, a very market-oriented business. It's not liberals' fault they can't make good art.

[Palin's Buttplug]

I fucking hate Hollywood with a passion.

Conservatives have always hated Hollywood as well as:

Higher education/universities
Atheists
Secularism
New York City
Science
Muslims
Mexicans
Really all minorities
Womens suffrage
equal rights
civil rights

oh what the fuck the list is too long

[Tony]

They do like cake. (Not gay cake though.)

[lap83]

Tbh, even the LGBT-ers don't seem to like gay cakes. Otherwise why would they be so determined to get
ones made by Christian conservatives?

[Tony]

Maybe Christians make the best cakes. They certainly make the best genocides, so who knows?

[Telcontar the Wanderer]

Only with atheists like you and me leading them.

[Telcontar the Wanderer]

Okay, maybe technically more a "inconsistent deist" than an "atheist like you and me", but still, a very anti-Christian one.

[BestUsedCarSales]

New York City

Everyone really should.

[Tony]

You can just say New York.

[BestUsedCarSales]

I'm fine with that. I'm fine with saying the Northeast.

[Ska]

Your hate drives me to excel.

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

... and You, Weigel.

EVERYONE hates you.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Hey jackass, why don't you hate conservatives?

This IS a libertarian site, right?

After YEARS of talking about cutting the size of government the GOP Congress and POTUS are still spending more and more and planning for more spending. Gillespie cited $200 billion in new spending yesterday.

WHY DON'T YOU HATE CONSERVATIVES?

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

Hey, Assjack, I hate Theocrats.

Whether it is blue laws, calls for censorship, net neutrality, 3.2 beer, national speed limits or just general worshipping at the teat of the government, I hate authoritarians.

I am a Minarchist.

And you are a Progtard Theocrat.

Fuck off, Slaver.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Fuck you, liar.

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

Is that all you got, Proggie?

You taking lessons from Britches?

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

I wear your insults as a badge of honor, you WaPo Cockswoggler.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Did you see the movie about Sarah Palin?

Now that was good. And don't tell me about "liberal bias" since the advisors were all GOP.

Sarah was going to call the Queen of England to discuss Iraq...!!!!!!!!! You can't make that shit up!!!

Conservatives are fucking stupid assholes.

[Tony]

I hope they get that guy from The President Show to play Trump. His impression is uncannily realistic.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Did Bitcoin Just Burst? How It Compares to History's Big Bubbles

It dwarfed the Nasdaq Composite Index's gain during the headiest days of the 1990s. Going further back, it comfortably outstripped the Mississippi and South Sea bubbles of the 1700s. It even topped the Dutch tulipmania of the 1630s, though that last comparison should be taken with a grain of salt given the scarcity of recorded tulip values. (The chart includes prices for just one varietal; consistent post-peak figures were unavailable.)

Bloomberg

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

I go to sleep for 10 minutes, bitcoin loses over 30% of its value.

Then they hold a bitcoin conference in Miami, and the one form of currency they don't accept is... wait for it...

[Juice]

Can you pay for a gold conference with gold coins?

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Bitcoin was sold as a currency. The bitcoin conference has admitted that bitcoin is not a viable currency because of the designed-in problems with network congestion.

The North American Bitcoin Conference, which will take place in Miami next week, is no longer allowing people to pay for tickets with cryptocurrencies due to "network congestion and manual processing" issues. The ticketing page for the conference notes that it had accepted such forms of payment up until 14 days before the event, but that bitcoin transactions would not be possible for last-minute buyers because of "print deadlines."

If there was say, a Liberty Dollar Conference, I'd be concerned if they didn't take payment in Liberty Dollars.

Bitcoin is, by bitcoins own proponents, becoming like "investment diamonds".

[GILMORE?]

""Fire and Fury, will be adapted for television.""

I really hope it will be set in the Game of Thrones universe

[lap83]

In the game of thrones, you fire or you get furious

[Palin's Buttplug]

Harley Barber, Alabama sorority sister from N.J., expelled for racist videos

Barber posted the videos to her "finsta," or "fake" Instagram, a type of secondary account users sometimes create to show a less filtered image of their lives than a curated, straight-forward Instagram.

The videos went viral and sparked outrage, prompting sorority Alpha Phi to give Barber her walking papers hours before the University did the same.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.s.....ideos.html

[mad.casual]

Would.

[Bubba Jones]

The lesson of the movies is that the Jedi are the source of all evil.

[buybuydandavis]

"Three quarters of the National Park Service's advisory board resigned, claiming Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke was unwilling to meet with them."

Unelected and unaccountable board resigns.

So much winning!