Government May Be Closed, But McDonald's Is Open: Reason Roundup

Trump's fast-food feast at the White House earned jeers, then backlash to the jeers. But who cares? This is comedy gold.

Burgers and a side of memes. It's a classic conundrum: You've invited the championship-winning college football team over for dinner, but your kitchen staff has all been furloughed because of your temper tantrum about a giant wall. What to do? Why, order some good old-fashioned American Food, obviously.

When asked by reporters, President Donald Trump wouldn't pick a favorite from the (cold!) fast-food smorgasbord he served Clemson University football players yesterday evening. Instead, he refused to differentiate between the McDonald's, Wendy's, and other burgers and fries served, repeatedly referring to it as simply "American food" and saying that he loved it all.

Trump was quickly condemned by some as "tacky" and "cheap," and then those folks were condemned by others for being snobs, and so on. (I'm not sure what cycle of the backlash we're currently in.) But with all due respect, who cares? This is comedy gold.

FREE MARKETS

News you can use! Read Reason Associate Editor Mike Riggs' feature from the February print issue:

I wrote a big thing about CBD, which is either a miracle cure or a marketing scam, depending on what kind of CBD you buy, who you buy it from: https://t.co/bBaXAUqExp

— Mike Riggs (@MikeRiggs) January 14, 2019

FREE MINDS

Kamala Harris and the return of the "Bernie Bros." As Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) gets ready to announce her presidential run, her fans have started rehashing rhetoric from the 2016 presidential election every time they see any criticism of her. Critiques of Harris are dismissed as simple sexism or racism, and often attributed to the nefarious Bernie Bros, who have allegedly regrouped and set their sights on Harris this time.

The anti-Kamala Harris campaign by the Sanders-oriented predominantly white "progressive" left has started. We all knew it was coming.

— Tom Watson (@tomwatson) January 14, 2019

Many a think piece back in 2016 characterized Bernie Bros as left-leaning white dudes who marginalized the concerns of women and people of color and dismissed women like Hillary Clinton (and now Harris) to signal socialist purity. But in practice, then and now, anyone can be dismissed by Democrats as a Bernie Bro if they criticize Clinton or Harris. And then as now, another common way to dismiss concerns about Harris has been to downplay them as petty, unserious, or representing an excessive concern with ideological purity. It's going to be a long year…

QUICK HITS

• Cato Institute Vice President Gene Healy pleads with folks to have some perspective:

Congress should rein in the president's #EmergencyPowers before a *competent* authoritarian comes along, I argue @CatoInstitute:https://t.co/dvBCl54J5a

— Gene Healy (@GeneHealy) January 11, 2019

• The trial of a theater director in Russia has celebrities there paying attention to crackdowns on freedom of expression.
• Los Angeles teachers are on strike.
• Make it stop, please:

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Instead, he refused to differentiate between the McDonald's, Wendy's, and other burgers and fries served, repeatedly referring to it as simply "American food" and saying that he loved it all.

All tariff-ic food!

[damikesc]

Trump has frequently said that he likes fast food.

And if people are unaware, college kids tend to eat a lot of that stuff as well.

[Juice]

Perfect for every day and special occasions and special every day occasions.

[grb]

Uh huh. This was the culinary equivalent of gleefully tossing paper towels rolls to desperate Puerto Ricans. Plus the foundation isn't operating anymore, and you know DJT wasn't going pony-up for catering from his hotel, a short hop away. These kids have a perfect season, which is brutally hard. They destroy the premier football program in the country (yea!!), which is still harder. And Trump serves them cold clammy Dollar Value Meals? In the bloody White House no less?

It's actually funny - every time you think you've got a handle on how loathsome a turd he is, the man still manages to surprise you. There were a bunch of us roaring with laughter at work - a Trump supporter was hunkered down at his desk keeping a low profile nearby. Shame'll do that to you......

[Rufus The Monocled]

Hello.

Like I said, Trump belongs in his own wing at the Smithsonian.

Holy moly....class it up a bit! Heck, even Olive Garden catering would have suffice!

/ducks.

[BestUsedCarSales]

I'm going to stand up and say that Wendy's is better than Olive Garden.

[Frank White]

+1

[TW]

I have to agree - I like Olive Garden once in a while (usually when they do their endless pasta bowl which really means order one to eat in and a second to take home) but I've never had a bad meal at Wendy's.

[loveconstitution1789]

Olive garden?

*Barf

You poor Canadians dont get good Italian food up there?

[Dillinger]

>>>good Italian food

they stopped in Saint Louis on the way up the Mississippi from New Orleans ... settled The Hill

[kevrob]

There are supposed to be some great Italian places in Toronto.

Just remember, "Pizza! Pizza!" in Canada isn't Little Caesars. 🙂

[damikesc]

I used to work at Olive Garden.

Our microwave won Employee of the Month for 5 months straight. The only Italian working there was the girl who rolled up the silverware and that I was fucking at the time. Your authentic Italian cuisine, by and large, were made by Puerto Rican ex-cons.

Ir was McDonald's with theme music.

[Bee Tagger]

Make it stop, please

politicians are allowed to like and do the things that will appeal to the target demographic just like the rest of us

[Yellow Tony]

Post your target demographic, faggots.

[Chipper Morning Baculum]

Young female teachers with a fetish for breaking the rules?

[loveconstitution1789]

Lefties who eat my "Organic" fruits and vegetables and pay me premium prices.

[Ron]

remember win the media was all supportive of Clinton when during his occasional jogs to make it look like he was exercising he would stop at a fast food joint and get a burger. TDS everywhere

[kevrob]

Phil Hartman as Clinton at Mickey D's...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYt0khR_ej0

[Bee Tagger]

The trial of a theater director in Russia has ceelebrities there paying attention to crackdowns on freedom of expression.

in soviet america court rooms we have the theater of the trial director

[Chipper Morning Baculum]

In Soviet Russia, freedom of expression cracks down on you.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Make it stop, please...

It's no beer-chugging kitchen Instagram post, but it's extremely humanizing. (In that she looks like the main character in the 'Cathy' comic strip in that screen grab.)

[Bee Tagger]

she will undoubtedly put forth the Act to Control Kleptocracy

[Yellow Tony]

Bruh. I temporarily unblocked javascript to watch a barely black woman try to act cool.

[Chipper Morning Baculum]

I am gonna wanna see some DNA results.

[loveconstitution1789]

That was 1/1024 cold blooded.

[Mickey Rat]

It has been too late to stop since Bill Clinton played sax on a late night talk show.

[Chipper Morning Baculum]

It depends on what your definition of sax is.

[TrickyVic (old school)]

Sax = cigar?

[loveconstitution1789]

"But I want to say one thing to the American people. I want you to listen to me. I'm going to say this again: I did not play sax with that woman, Miss Lewinsky. I never told anybody to lie. Not a single time. Never. These allegations are false. And I need to go back to work for the American people."

[Bee Tagger]

Congress should rein in the president's #EmergencyPowers before a *competent* authoritarian comes along

putin is more the 80s movie villain than i ever thought if he's surrounding himself with incompetent stooges

[TrickyVic (old school)]

Gov Cuomo is planning to use emergency powers to install more red light traffic cams at schools because the republicans let the program expire.

Principals over principles.

[Dillinger]

>>>because of your temper tantrum about a giant wall

who cares why? T closed the government! fucking lovely.

[Ryan (formally HFTO)]

The limo libs and progressives cannot allow Trump to keep his campaign promises. They hate the idea of his re-election, despite the fact that he's more libertarian than any president in decades. They can't stand a white man who doesn't hate his own country.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

Did he really promise to deliver an America in which every boy can grow up to be a national champion and be rewarded for his skill and effort with a cold Filet-o-Fish?

No wonder the backwaters are enthralled.

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

Arthur L. Hicklib's jealous that he wasn't able to get a free quarter-pound double stack.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

Who wouldn't be?

[Ryan (formally HFTO)]

Sorry Rev, it's about equality of opportunity, not outcome... most will never get the chance to hang with the president. Unfortunately for you and your beta male progressives, this country still runs on merit

[Fist of Etiquette]

The trial of a theater director in Russia has ceelebrities there paying attention to crackdowns on freedom of expression.

They weren't creative enough to realize the dangers of censorship until it threatened to bite them on their own asses? They're just like our ceelebrities here!

[Longtorso, Johnny]

How to create a backlash:

Flashback: Never Forget ? Democrats BOOED American Victims of Illegal Immigrant Criminals (Video)

[loveconstitution1789]

+10

[Bee Tagger]

Tom Watson (@tomwatson) January 14, 2019

get back to golfing you eminently nice man by all accounts

[Fist of Etiquette]

Critiques of Harris are dismissed as simple sexism or racism...

That's going to start ringing hollow as a rebuttal any day now, right?

[Crusty Juggler]

Wrong.

[Jerryskids]

It's not just "simple" sexism or racism, there's the much more complex forms of sexism and racism and the imaginary and delusional forms of sexism and racism as well.

[BestUsedCarSales]

Intersextionaracism.

[Anomalous]

^FTW.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Something's going on in Europe
The cities themselves have become very unequal, too. The Parisian economy needs executives and qualified professionals. It also needs workers, predominantly immigrants, for the construction industry and catering et cetera. Business relies on this very specific demographic mix. The problem is that 'the people' outside of this still exist. In fact, 'Peripheral France' actually encompasses the majority of French people.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

The Truth About France's Yellow Vests
What about the moral aspect? Needless to say, the Radar Business (the title of a book by Denis Boulard) is making France (even more?) a nation of scofflaws with no respect for the government. (If you think that Donald Trump's alleged use of the word "sh-thole" for third-world countries was racist and beyond the pale, you should have seen the number of?obviously, mainly white?Frenchmen referring to their own country on social media, as tens of thousands of 90 km/h signs were replaced by 80 km/h signs during the summer, as "un pays de merde.")

When your money, your license, your job, your very livelihood are at stake, by a ruling ?lite (deliberately or otherwise) creating paupers and lawbreakers (see the Lao Tzu quote at the start of this article), and when, out of the blue, you receive a ticket in the mail for a totally uneventful drive a week earlier, then you effectively have little recourse but to resort to immorality or, at least, to some ingenuous solutions.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

. . . cars are more than just another way to get from point A to point B. They allow us to go wherever we want; whenever we want; with whomever we want. Think about it: with trains, planes, and buses, the routes are planned and the schedule is timed. Only cars allow you to be spontaneous. When you get behind the wheel, you are in control. (You are free.)

The very reason people love cars?personal freedom?is also why regulators can't stand them. Government?at all levels?craves control. And when it comes to your car, they want you off the road. So do the environmentalists with whom they have made common cause.

. . . [America's car culture is] not dying of old age . . . there's been a concerted push by government bureaucrats and environmentalists to transform car ownership from a source of pride to a source of guilt.

[damikesc]

As Instapundit has commented for a while now, the more the elite shoot down and ignore "respectable" disagreements (see the Tea Party), the people will start to flock towards less "respectable" means of expressing their dissatisfaction.

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

The funniest part about watching a movie like The Hunger Games is knowing that the actors and the residents of the Capital are the exact same class of people.

[Yellow Tony]

The government isn't "shutdown" enough if these shenanigans are still happening. Also, if you won a god damn championship, would you really want to spend your time with politicians? I'd like to believe Tim Thomas declined Obama's invitation because he had better things to do. I know I would if I didn't have the coordination of a fucked retarded walrus.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I'd go. After all, I'm paying for the building and its upkeep.

[Yellow Tony]

Holy shit, you have a job? Where do you find the time as Reason's most prolific shitposter?

[Fist of Etiquette]

The place where I work does a webathon every year and the online suckers dole out for me to be able to sit on my perfectly-BMI'd ass all day doing nothing but eating milk chocolate, posting on the internet and visiting public buildings.

[Chipper Morning Baculum]

Fist finally admits what we knew all along: he is a Reason employee.

[BestUsedCarSales]

He works for FEE actually.

[Chipper Morning Baculum]

I know I would if I didn't have the coordination of a fucked retarded walrus.

Holy shit, is Yellow Tony really Justin Long?

[OpenBordersLiberal-tarian]

More bad economic news.

The Next American Car Recession Has Already Started

The only question is ? Did Drumpf destroy the American economy through incompetence, or because Putin specifically told him to?

#DrumpfRecession
#UnbanPalinsButtplug

[Ken Shultz]

I blame Trump's "temper tantrum about a giant wall".

[Yellow Tony]

I can't imagine Trump caring enough to throw a temper tantrum. Also that shit is enervating too.

[Ken Shultz]

Well, ENB wrote it, and she works for Reason, so it must be true.

[Tu­lpa AKA "feeling smug"]

She's been having something of a slow motion tantrum over whor... excuse me "sex workers" for quite some time now, so just some projection on her part.

[Crusty Juggler]

I know! What is up with that? It's like she thinks a voluntary transaction between consenting adults should be legal. The fucking nerve!

[Tu­lpa AKA "feeling smug"]

As her mom you would know better than anyone was Lizzy a precocious child?

[Crusty Juggler]

Ha! Got me!

[Chipper Morning Baculum]

How dare you, Crusty will never be anyone's mom. The joys of childbirth are forever out of his reach.

[TrickyVic (old school)]

Trump is already a hated figure by those blaming him for it. What is it to him to let the shutdown drag out?

Pelosi could come out and take the high road claiming they care more about the people than Trump and that she will give the cry baby the money he wants so people don't suffer. But she just as interested in playing an ego game as Trump is.

I have my popcorn.

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

Pelosi could come out and take the high road claiming they care more about the people than Trump and that she will give the cry baby the money he wants so people don't suffer. But she just as interested in playing an ego game as Trump is.

I suspect it's less about her ego, and more related to the probability that she can't take a loss to Trump right out of the gate, or her colleagues will immediately move to replace her as Speaker. She's already had the Buck-Toothed Dancing Queen participate in a protest outside her office.

[TrickyVic (old school)]

Pelosi got AOC's backing for speaker. I don't think she will lose that. And so what if she did? It's her ego that wants her to keep that position. There are many dems that could be speaker.

[Ken Shultz]

It certainly isn't about principle. Pelsoi has no principle that prevents her from spending $5 billion.

I think it's about exactly what you say. She's trying to stop Trump from claiming a win. Trump does get himself into these situations. He basically did the same thing with the NAFTA renegotiation, demanding that Trudeau take it on the chin that he was giving in, when letting him save face might have gotten Trump more of what he wanted. Trump is doing the same thing with China. Let Xi save face, and claim a victory over America, and Trump might get what he wants. I think it really is an ego thing. It isn't enough to win. Trump wants them to go on camera and admit they lost to him.

All that being said, Pelosi could meet him all the way and give up nothing substantial. If the only reason she's opposing Trump on this is because she wants to prevent Trump from claiming a win, then she's a despicable piece of shit. How dare she put her partisan interests above those of the country? And I'm being dead serious.

I have little doubt but that it does have to do with keeping her job as Speaker. It'll be the same when Mueller's report comes in. She'll have to impeach Trump if she wants to keep her job as Speaker--even if she thinks doing so is bad for the country and bad for the Democratic Party.

[a ab abc abcd abcde abcdef ahf]

"Buck-toothed" had me thinking of Fauxcahontas at first.

Wouldn't if be just swell to have either of them as Speaker of the House? Comedy gold!

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

I'm surprised that the auto companies haven't come up with the most obvious solution for this--take their sedan models like they did their hatchbacks and station wagons, add about six inches of lift, call them crossovers, and start raking in the money.

[Dillinger]

700hp Mustang disagrees. Loudly.

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

While the Mustang is the only sedan that Ford is keeping, that's mainly because it can market special models for sale like the one you mentioned. They're hardly a powerhouse, but Ford won't drop them (for now) because the nameplate is too iconic.

There's no way the Mustang's sale numbers will ever come close to touching the F-150 or the Ford Explorer unless another major recession hits.

[$park? The Misanthrope]

It would be pretty cool if one day Trump did something so out of left field that the world's best Twitterers didn't know how to meme it.

[Yellow Tony]

Imitate McAfee from my dimension: do blow in the Oval Office while fucking hookers. The shitposters will be unable to do anything because they'd be filled with patriotic zeal like every other American; thus we unite and form another, more free government. A lovable libertarian will have to die for this though. (I hope it isn't Stossel again!)

[TrickyVic (old school)]

Press conference with him signing an executive order legalizing pot nationwide while smoking a joint with Elon Musk.

[Don't look at me!]

Dude! My hands are huuuge!

[Chipper Morning Baculum]

"Yo, I got it. Instead of a wall, we build a huge maze. Only the smartest Mexicans will make it through."

[TrickyVic (old school)]

A maze of maze?

[Chipper Morning Baculum]

Yes, but how do we get other-dimension McAfee here without letting in the fish people?

[Dillinger]

>>>anyone can be dismissed by Democrats as a Bernie Bro if they criticize Clinton or Harris

purity in the collective, dammit. gain votes through exclusion.

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

Instead, he refused to differentiate between the McDonald's, Wendy's, and other burgers and fries served, repeatedly referring to it as simply "American food" and saying that he loved it all.

He's definitely not bullshitting on that--Trump does love his cheap fast food. Should have stepped up his troll game a bit and gotten Chik-fil-a, though.

[a ab abc abcd abcde abcdef ahf]

What's fascinating is how the Dems can't realize what a PR home run he hit with that stunt. Almost the entire population eats fast food now and then, and knows it is tasty and cheap. If he'd done a fast food dinner for any other reason, it might look tacky, but to do it in response to furloughed fancy chefs, especially for college kids, was a stroke of genius.

And all the Dems do is draw attention to his genius and show how out of touch they are with ordinary people. Their publicity probably raised his poll levels a percentage or two.

I bet a lot of foreigners, even French, admire this stunt, even if they won't admit it out loud.

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

What's fascinating is how the Dems can't realize what a PR home run he hit with that stunt.

Even the SJW twerps at Sports Illustrated had to concede that the whole thing was no big deal--any college student with a brain is going to happily take advantage of free food, no matter where it comes from.

[Sevo]

"Report: Trump Discussed Pulling US Out of NATO Last Year"
[...]
"The US president floated the idea several times throughout last year out of frustration over NATO allies' refusal to increase military funding and compensate Washington for burdening most of the alliance's funding since its establishment in 1949, The New York Times reported Monday, citing current and former administration officials.
The NYT reported that pro-NATO officials within the administration were concerned that Trump might actually act on his threats and abandon the organization as members lagged behind his funding goals.
A US exit, the report suggested, would be "tantamount to destroying NATO".
In July 2018, when all NATO leaders gathered in Brussels for what turned to be a tumultuous summit, Trump told his aides that the alliance was a drain on US economy and he could no longer see what point it served.
Since 2014, when NATO severed ties with Moscow over the reintegration of the Crimean Peninsula to Russia, the US-led alliance has been deploying troops and advanced weaponry to the Baltic region to ward off what it calls possible "Russian aggression".
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?
nn=13971025001059

Tired of paying to defend the EUROs; out of NATO now!

[Longtorso, Johnny]

If true: Trump should immediately and publicly state his apparent wish to withdraw from NATO so he can be promptly impeached, convicted, and removed from office.

[damikesc]

We should pull out of NATO so fast it'd make heads spin. Ditto the UN.

If we're going to be the Great Satan ANYWAY, why subsidize whiners?

[Sevo]

Yep, impeached for the high crime of not using taxpayer money to defend a bunch of ingrates.
That guy's got a winning argument right there, especially with that cocksucking female congress-critter, OBL and assorted other lefty ignoramuses.

[damikesc]

Nah. He'd be impeached for the crime of double plus ungood think.

And the clown was a prosecutor once...

[Tu­lpa AKA "feeling smug"]

"This is comedy gold."

I guess.

[Weigel's Cock Ring]

I don't know with 100% certainty if this is true, but a few people have told me that if the shutdown goes on a few days longer that some of our non-essential government personnel could potentially have their positions eliminated permanently.

Dear God, please let this be true!! If Trump can make that happen, he'll already be one our greatest presidents ever.

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

I don't know with 100% certainty if this is true, but a few people have told me that if the shutdown goes on a few days longer that some of our non-essential government personnel could potentially have their positions eliminated permanently.

Unless it's related to currently unfilled positions, that's sheer bullshit (note the "potentially" qualifier there). There's no way departments are going to start RIFing people over a one-month shutdown.

[damikesc]

Does it hurt to dream, though?

[Juice]

McDonald's has what players crave.

[Mongo]

Two all beef patties special sauce lettuce cheese pickles onions on a stripper's ass.

[Juice]

The hunger mutilator.

[Ska]

Fuck this, I'm going to Starbucks.

[loveconstitution1789]

Watch out for needles on property.

[Yellow Tony]

They also have was Samus craves too.

[BearOdinson]

Maybe the Russian director is being tried purely for political reasons. But the Atlantic article that was linked is just an emotion driven piece with nary a fact to be found. He is on trial for embezzling $2 million. The article didn't discuss any details about the charges.

And the rapper they mentioned in the article who got 8 days in jail (the horror) was in jail because he jumped on top of someone else's car and was singing. Maybe a little much. And I am sure Putin is an old school authoritarian. But, seriously nothing he is doing is remotely like Stalin.

[Robert]

All they quote is somebody's opinion that the charges were flimsy. You'd think a detailed piece like that would have something from, you know, an audit or anything we could actually judge by, rather than just character witnesses. John Chodes explained to me once that The Producers was inspired by real-life incidents that'd resulted in making it legally difficult to raise $ to fund prod'ns. Theoretically any biz could sell more shares than 100%, but something must make it harder to check on that in show biz.

[Rufus The Monocled]

"Tom Watson
?
@tomwatson
The anti-Kamala Harris campaign by the Sanders-oriented predominantly white "progressive" left has started. We all knew it was coming."

White "progressive".

Lol.

Fuck off douche.

[damikesc]

Aren't progressives like OVERWHELMINGLY white as all hell?

[Rufus The Monocled]

I have no idea what he meant.

I can't keep up with their identity rules and politics.

[Rufus The Monocled]

The comments aren't impressed either but then I saw this:

"More
We ignored them in 2016 and it allowed them to control the narrative. They were successful in smearing Hillary"

Yeah-k.

smh

[TrickyVic (old school)]

Hillary fans will never admit Hillary is good at making herself look bad.

[loveconstitution1789]

+10

[Ken Shultz]

"Aren't progressives like OVERWHELMINGLY white as all hell?

This is Heart of Darkness stuff. Yes, British Imperialism in Africa was supported by what we'd call progressives today--whose primary goal was to stamp out the slave trade at its source.

That even came across in the adaptation of Heart of Darkness called Apocalypse Now. He goes to Cambodia with good will in his heart, and when he gets there and realizes that he can't achieve his goals without massive and horrifying force--he doesn't go insane. He does the logical thing that's consistent with achieving his goals.

The progressives back in control say his methods are "unsound". Meanwhile, they're dropping napalm everywhere and leaving black troops to die on the front line.

That's a big chunk of what progressivism is about. White liberals imagining that they're striking a blow for the underclass of blacks, Latinos, gays, women, etc.--especially against the white lower classes--and using the coercive power of government to achieve their goals. There's something about white guilt that makes people extremely dangerous, and there's something legitimate in resisting the temptation to give in to collective guilt.

[mamabug]

I'm not sure it's 'white guilt' so much as a fetishization of the other. Progressivism seems particularly inclined towards the Noble Savage view of the non-white underclass. It's like they can hate poor whites because they should have worked harder but poor blacks are victims who have so much to teach us about blah-blah-blah.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

The libertarian case for keeping the government $$ flowing:

I'M A SENIOR TRUMP OFFICIAL, AND I HOPE A LONG SHUTDOWN SMOKES OUT THE RESISTANCE
Saboteurs peddling opinion as research, tasking their staff on pet projects or pitching wasteful grants to their friends. Most of my career colleagues actively work against the president's agenda. This means I typically spend about 15 percent of my time on the president's agenda and 85 percent of my time trying to stop sabotage, and we have no power to get rid of them. Until the shutdown.

Due to the lack of funding, many federal agencies are now operating more effectively from the top down on a fraction of their workforce, with only select essential personnel serving national security tasks. One might think this is how government should function, but bureaucracies operate from the bottom up ? a collective of self-generated ideas. Ideas become initiatives, formalize into offices, they seek funds from Congress and become bureaus or sub-agencies, and maybe one day grow to be their own independent agency, like ours. The nature of a big administrative bureaucracy is to grow to serve itself.

[Juice]

This needs to be repeated often.

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

Ideas become initiatives, formalize into offices, they seek funds from Congress and become bureaus or sub-agencies, and maybe one day grow to be their own independent agency, like ours.

Sounds like a Dept of Ed or Homeland Security employee.

[Chipper Morning Baculum]

Speaking of, where is John? Are we only worthy of his wisdom if he posts from his work computer?

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

If I recall correctly, his poasting output is dependent on how much work is actually taking place at the office. During periods where they're swamped, he disappears for long stretches. You can always track how busy his workplace actually is when he's going through one of his prolific comment periods.

[TrickyVic (old school)]

The bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy.

[loveconstitution1789]

+1000

[Mongo]

Trump should've brought in pizza pies from Comet Ping Pong Pizza.

[Rufus The Monocled]

Probably the worst cuck-ad yet courtesy of the SJW marketing department at Gillette. It's ingloriously terrible made more bizarre with the featuring of TYT's Ana Kasparian:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZUfJF1cwXo

I love the responses. Along the lines of 'My wife's boyfriend loves Gillette!'

[damikesc]

I'm glad to know that a company that heavily relies on me for their profits views me as such a problem.

[Ryan (formally HFTO)]

I wonder about this sort of thing all the time. The only reason I can think of that would make a company virtue signal this way is because men don't actually buy this stuff, it's mostly women buying for their man. P&G knows that women will see it, want their man to be like the guys in the ads, and buy based on that. Companies don't consider men viewing the commercials as consequential.

And why does this theory hold any water? Women make 80 percent of the consumer decisions.

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

The only reason I can think of that would make a company virtue signal this way is because men don't actually buy this stuff, it's mostly women buying for their man

Probably. "Hey baby, grab me a pack of razors while you're grocery shopping, will you?"

I'd be interested to see the actual stats, but there's been a shift the last few years among men towards safety razors and Dollar Shave Club-type of subscriptions because Gillette overplayed their hand of producing cartridge razors exclusively. Buying Gillette is basically saying that you're a sucker who likes to pay too much for razors.

[damikesc]

Dollar Shave Club is solid stuff. If it turns out to be owned by Proctor & Gamble, I'd be quite bummed.

[loveconstitution1789]

Dollar shave just got bought IIRC.

They were putting a serious dent in outrageous razor prices by poorly run mega corps..

[Ryan (formally HFTO)]

It would be interesting to see the stats. I don't think Nike took any hit for the kneeling stuff. Maybe it's all about being in the spotlight, good or bad.

I don't like the price but Gillette's handles seem to be way better. I don't do much boycotting but at the very least this makes me wonder what else is out there.

[Crusty Juggler]

the worst cuck-ad

[Ken Shultz]

"When REASON speaks of poverty, racism, the draft, the war, studentpower, politics, and other vital issues, it shall be reasons, not slogans, it gives for conclusions. Proof, not belligerent assertion. Logic, not legends. Coherance [sic], not contradictions. This is our promise: this is the reason for REASON."

---Lanny Friedlander

First issue of Reason 1968

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05.....ander.html

So, I guess now it's a lifestyle magazine?

[Yellow Tony]

Everything gets worse over time; be it your body, government, magazines, hobbies, etc.

[Chipper Morning Baculum]

What about my jokes?

[$park? The Misanthrope]

It's always been a lifestyle magazine.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Now it is an extended audition for the NY Times or The Atlantic.

[Ken Shultz]

Horseshit, it's always been a lifestyle magazine.

[$park? The Misanthrope]

Are you agreeing with me here?

[Ken Shultz]

It's horseshit that it's always been a lifestyle magazine.

[$park? The Misanthrope]

What kind of magazine did it used to be then?

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Peter Jackson's Restored WWI Footage Underscores The Flaccidity Of Today's Culture
In the span of 100 years, Britain has gone from producing men who were so eager to fight and die for their country that 16-year-olds lied about their age to enlist when the minimum age was 19, to teaching primary school boys that they can have periods just like girls and offering feminine hygiene products in boys' bathrooms. This phenomenon isn't unique to the U.K. U.S. colleges, like the University of Wisconsin, University of Minnesota, and Brown University offer menstrual products in their men's rooms, in the name of "menstrual equity" and as a sop to a miniscule "transgender" population.

Can any culture?British, American or any other?raise "rough men" ready to defend it against a ruthless enemy when it cannot even fix in the minds of its developing youth what their sex is? What would Winston say? I'll take Sgt. Jason McClary any day.

[a ab abc abcd abcde abcdef ahf]

Winston, who embraced Uncle Joe to defeat Adolph? Who backed war against Adolph for Adolph's invasion of Poland but not war with Joe for Joe's worse invasion which required invading the Baltics in the process?

That Winston? Better than Chamberlain, better than a lot, but hardly a first choice.

[loveconstitution1789]

Looks interesting.

Notice all the horrible teeth that most of the Brits had. They have bad teeth now but back then, they needed soft K-Rations just to eat with those gums.

[mrdane]

At least there's little doubt that he's unafraid to be unconventional and different.

That said, I'm sure one of many catering companies would have been more than happy to oblige.

[Crusty Juggler]

But with all due respect, who cares?

Agree.

This is comedy gold.

Disagree.

[Crusty Juggler]

Adam Gase CRAZY EYES Press Conference New York Jets Head Coach

[Chipper Morning Baculum]

Brilliant.

[Ken Shultz]

The ultimate solution to our problems with Facebook, of course, isn't politicians, violating the First Amendment, or invoking antitrust laws. It's consumer choice. And if we're looking at alternatives to Facebook, I'm becoming persuaded that Slack (or a Slack like competitor) may be the Facebook slayer.

The ability to integrate apps people already use (Skype, DropBox, etc.) is a great feature, but its primary virtues as a replacement for social networking from a consumer perspective derive from the ability to restrict access to your family's or friends' social network--to only the people you invite.

There's no spam coming into it. There's no fake news--unless you want it. No one else in the world can see your little social network unless you invite them. In Slack, you can exclude everyone else in the world except the people you invite from knowing anything about who is there, what they're saying, etc. Facebook can't do that. Facebook can't be that. Their stock would collapse if they stopped being an advertising platform.

Here's the solution to the problems associated with Facebook: Set up a Slack team for free and invite your friends and family.

[a ab abc abcd abcde abcdef ahf]

Won't work. Free slack groups are pretty small, if memory serves (could have changed since I last checked). You'd need separate groups for every little circle of friends -- probably several just for family alone, one for every hobby, every group of friends. Every organization would need their own Slack group.

You'd end up in dozens or hundreds of Slack groups. Sharing posts from one to another would be a disaster.

[Ken Shultz]

Works just fine for small groups, and being able to create more groups on the fly is perfect.

It won't get rid of Facebook completely, but that's not the point. Yeah, some people really want to interact with 5,000 followers and whomever Facebook sold their data to. That's not what everybody wants.

One Slack team for family. One for friends.

Not sure about the limit on number of users. The free version won't allow more than 10,000 messages. That's fine. The #Thanksgiving2019 thread on my family team can be purged after Thanksgiving 2019.

Generally speaking, I don't think I'd want more than 50 people in any personal Slack team, and I'm sure I'd rather interact with close friends and family in a non-public, non-email environment.

[a ab abc abcd abcde abcdef ahf]

Hadn't thought of short-lived groups like that. Good idea there, and the fact that groups can disappear is a bonus.

[$park? The Misanthrope]

The group that I D&D with has a Slack group setup that we use to coordinate game times and post our materials. It's quite handy.

[Crusty Juggler]

Brady-Belichick Lego Mural Inspires Peabody Students

[mpercy]

Trump's temper tantrum...

Last I heard, no bills to keep the government running have actually been passed, so Trump has not had to veto anything.

At this point, it's only his rhetoric that has cowed Congress...mostly because Mitch is doing Trump bidding, perhaps.

Until Congress passes SOMETHING and Trump vetoes it (or signs it), the blame is wholly on Congress.

Trump's just flapping his lips otherwise.

[Ken Shultz]

I think I see the problem.

You're focusing on what's happening and why, but that's not what's going on here.

You're supposed to be listening to how ENB feels.

Maybe they should change the name of the magazine to "Feelings".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyBcHUe4WeQ

[loveconstitution1789]

+100

[CptNerd]

Since the teaching of what used to be called "civics" has been replaced, the majority of people have no idea how government is supposed to work. I had some argue with me telling me that Trump's rejection of some kind of "bipartisan agreement" among Congressmen is the reason part of the Government is shut down. I tried twice to tell them that the House and Senate have to work out and vote for an identical compromise bill to send to Trump to sign or veto, that "bipartisan agreements" are meaningless. They ran away after that.

[Tom Bombadil]

8 photos of Trump with fast food and every accompanying joke lame af.

ENB claims both "who cares" and "comedy gold"

ENB = F-

[Ryan (formally HFTO)]

"Who Cares?"

The only people whose opinion mattered yesterday was the players. And they loved it.

I'd love to eat a big mac with the president, any president. I wish ENB could step out of the bubble to notice that most of America feels the same way

[a ab abc abcd abcde abcdef ahf]

What makes you think that isn't the comedy gold she was referring to?

The comedy gold I understood was the overblown reaction, not the fast food itself.

[$park? The Misanthrope]

No! ENB is a big dumb-butt and always has the worst possible intentions. Plus she's a woman therefore evil.

[Ryan (formally HFTO)]

I didn't see her mention how obviously cool this would be for millions of Americans. Of course it's hilarious to have fast food by candlelight. Of course the reaction will be overblown, Trump was involved.

All I'm saying is this was something fun and positive, but you couldn't tell based on the above.

[a ab abc abcd abcde abcdef ahf]

Couldn't tell, so you chose the pessimistic view.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

Bruce Springsteen has it figured: Some day we'll look back at this and it will all seem funny . . .

Clemson is lucky that table wasn't loaded with Slim Jims, chewing tobacco, discount energy drinks, and more Slim Jims.

[Ryan (formally HFTO)]

Lucky?

You ever meet any dude from the south? They'd love that.

Your ignorance is astounding. Keep it coming you bigoted loser

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

You might be right about that. Obama made me miss Bill Clinton.

[Sevo]

"Bruce Springsteen has it figured: Some day we'll look back at this and it will all seem funny . . ."

No, we'll look back at your assholery and see it as pathetic.

[OpenBordersLiberal-tarian]

"Funny"? I'm disappointed in your lack of compassion for the immense suffering Drumpf has caused for marginalized groups. He's literally ripped immigrant children from their parents' arms, tried to turn this country into The Handmaid's Tale through his attacks on abortion access, and employed hurtful racist language like "shithole countries."

There's nothing funny about any of this. On the contrary, it's a tragic human rights disaster.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

America has enough strength and momentum to overcome the Trump administration. In a few years, it will be nothing but bad (albeit amusing, in some respects) memories.

[Tom Bombadil]

"When asked by reporters, President Donald Trump wouldn't pick a favorite from the (cold!) fast-food smorgasbord he served Clemson University football players yesterday evening. Instead, he refused to differentiate between the McDonald's, Wendy's, and other burgers and fries served, repeatedly referring to it as simply "American food" and saying that he loved it all."

99.999999% of the time all this stuff is called "fast food", why is it his job to differentiate it?
Did he really not differentiate it? Did he call the fries pizza, and call the pizza burgers?
Is it newsworthy he didn't pic a favorite?
Is it too late to donate money to REASON?

[Tony]

Yeah, I don't care how black I am, if I come to the White House I want some fucking White House food, dammit.

[Ron]

Actually I'm surprised they didn't try to make the food choice as a racial afront to the players

[loveconstitution1789]

Give it time, Ron. Give it time.

Once this stupid shit like ENB pulled about McDonalds doesn't work, the media will try other narratives.

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

Yeah, I don't care how black I am, if I come to the White House I want some fucking White House food, dammit.

Yeah, but you're not black.

[Tony]

I come all the way to the White House and I get food I can get for $5 by driving for 2 minutes from my own house? What a fucking asshole.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

That's a lot of tweets.

[Ron]

gotta admit president Big Boy was funny

[baryan]

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[loveconstitution1789]

Burgers and a side of memes. It's a classic conundrum: You've invited the championship-winning college football team over for dinner, but your kitchen staff has all been furloughed because of your temper tantrum about a giant wall.

if ENB didnt have TDS so bad, so might objectively write that Congress is having a temper tantrum about a giant wall fence too. The Democrat majority in the House does not want it. The GOP majority in the Senate does. The President does. Trump's supporters mostly do want the fence.

[$park? The Misanthrope]

If you weren't such a useless troll someone might care what you "think".

[loveconstitution1789]

Poor troll SparkY, doesn't understand that nobody cares what SparkY thinks.

[Crusty Juggler]

Good one.

[$park? The Misanthrope]

Poor troll doesn't even know how the reply button works. Poor sad Trump sock troll.

[loveconstitution1789]

Poor SparkY wishes people talked to him rather than OVER his troll posts.

[Pro Libertate]

When I was a EOP fellow, there was a McDonald's on 17th, famous for Bill Clinton's snacks. Is it still there?

[Titanian]

You're too good for this place.

[Quality Beef]

Kid fucking is great.