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Politics

Americans' Trust in Government Institutions Hits a New Low

Plus: First-degree murder charges for the Illinois parade shooting suspect, breakthroughs in cloning technology, and more...

Eric Boehm | 7.6.2022 9:30 AM

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Congress institutions trust decline Gallup poll presidency Supreme Court public schools | Photo 207561919 / Building © Zimmytws | Dreamstime.com
(Photo 207561919 / Building © Zimmytws | Dreamstime.com)

Americans' confidence in major institutions like Congress, the criminal justice system, and the media has eroded in the past year, according to an annual Gallup poll. Of the 16 institutions included in the survey, Gallup reports that not a single one saw an increase in the number of respondents who say they "trust" that institution. Some of the declines, meanwhile, are quite striking. Just 23 percent of Americans say they trust the presidency, down 15 points from last year's poll. The Supreme Court saw an 11-point drop in trust, from 36 percent to 25 percent, this year (and the survey was taken before the recent Dobbs abortion ruling). Congress somehow managed to decline a bit further, falling from 12 percent to just 7 percent.

Even institutions that most Americans continue to trust, like small businesses (68 percent) and the military (64 percent), saw slight declines in this year's poll. Public schools, technology companies, and the media also lost trust with Americans this year, though not as dramatically as the more explicitly political institutions.

Source: Gallup (https://news.gallup.com/poll/394283/confidence-institutions-down-average-new-low.aspx)

Democrats' average trust in all 16 institutions fell by four points and Republicans' average trust fell by five points. It's the continuation of a long-running trend, though one that seems to have accelerated in the past two years—perhaps due to the number of institutions that had less-than-adequate responses to the pandemic.

"Notably, confidence in the major institutions of the federal government is at a low point, at a time when the president and Congress are struggling to address high inflation, record gas prices, increased crime, and gun violence, continued illegal immigration, and significant foreign policy challenges from Russia and China," summarizes Gallup senior editor Jeffrey M. Jones.

"We don't believe in anything any more," writes CNN's Chris Cillizza, who argues that declining trust in institutions shows how "a void has been created, which has led to a deep skepticism coursing through our culture."

But that seems like a backward interpretation of what's going on. Doesn't it seem more likely that fewer Americans trust institutions—particularly government institutions, ranging from Congress to public schools—because those institutions have shown they do not deserve to be trusted?

Government institutions are not the ancient deities of Neil Gaiman's imagination—they do not draw their power from the number of people who worship them. Indeed, the causality runs exactly in the opposite direction. Governments that accomplish useful purposes without causing too many new problems are rewarded with civic trust. It would be foolish for people to keep blindly trusting institutions that have repeatedly failed.

Trust must be earned, and institutions that earn trust are those that deliver on their promises. Amazon has an approval rating many times higher than Congress in no small part because people know that they can trust it to deliver products at low cost and on time.

The way to rebuild trust in our failing institutions, then, is pretty obvious. Instead of taking on new tasks for which governments are ill-suited—like the redistribution of resources or the imposing of virtue on society, as many on the left and right would like—those institutions should focus on doing the things they were created to do. Congress should balance the budget. The media should inform, not inflame. Public schools should educate children, not lock them out for two years.

Trust is earned by being accountable and functional. No wonder government institutions are polling so poorly.


FOLLOW-UP

The 21-year-old man, Robert E. Crimo III, accused of killing seven people and wounding dozens more at a Fourth of July parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Illinois, was charged Tuesday with seven counts of first-degree murder. Despite a history of promising violent action—police visited Crimo in 2019 after he threatened to kill himself, and later seized his knife collection after a family member reported other threats—Crimo was able to legally purchase the guns he allegedly used in Monday's attack.

JUST IN: Authorities describe prior contacts with Highland Park shooting suspect, including a 2019 incident in which a family member reported he said he was going to "kill everyone"; authorities removed knives, a dagger and a sword from his home, police said. pic.twitter.com/iMvoGnpKBj

— ABC News (@ABC) July 5, 2022

Two years ago, Illinois instituted a so-called "red flag" law along the lines of which President Joe Biden and a bipartisan group of lawmakers have called for passing at the federal level. The law allows police to confiscate weapons from otherwise law-abiding gun owners who are determined to be a threat to themselves or others.

In this case, like in many others, the red flag law on the books seems to have failed.


FREE MINDS

Dolly the sheep, the world's first successfully cloned animal, was born 26 years ago this week. But the technology remains ethically fraught and scientifically difficult, even though the potential to use cloning to save endangered species (or resurrect extinct ones) remains tantalizing.

Now there might be a breakthrough, reports The Daily Beast's Neel V. Patel:

In a new study published in Nature Communications, Japanese researchers have outlined a new technique used to clone mice from freeze dried skin cells for the first time ever. The new technique paves the way for facilities around the world (even in poorer communities) to engage in what's called biobanking: the storage of cells from certain animal species so they may be cloned later on should their numbers dwindle and their gene pools suffer from increased inbreeding.

As part of the study, the researchers freeze-dried skin cells from mouse tails and stored them away for nine months before attempting to make clones from them. Though the freeze-drying outright killed the cells, the researchers did some tinkering and learned they could still create viable cloned embryos by inserting the dead cells into mouse eggs where the nuclei were already removed.

Scientists were about to produce a total of 75 cloned mice using the new technique. Success rates ranged from 0.2 percent to 5.4 percent in various tests—not great, but a promising start—and the cloned mice were able to successfully breed with noncloned mice.


FREE MARKETS

Oil prices fell sharply on Wednesday, tumbling below $100 per barrel for the first time in months. Let's start with the good news, which is that falling oil prices (if they remain at these levels) will likely translate into lower prices at the gas pump in the near future:

Meltdown in wholesale gas prices today (white line) mean serious relief at the pump (yellow line) over the next couple weeks. pic.twitter.com/kAOw4kO7J2

— Ian Shepherdson (@IanShepherdson) July 5, 2022

The bad news, however, is that falling oil prices could be yet another signal of a coming recession. A recession would quell demand for oil and gas, canceling out the higher prices created by the war in Ukraine's effect on supply, The Wall Street Journal explains:

The war shows no immediate signs of winding down, but traders' attention is shifting to the possibility that a downturn in economic growth could cool demand for fuel. Consumer spending and industrial orders showed signs of slowing in data released last week, underscoring investors' building concerns about the possibility of a recession.

Maybe the White House can find some of those Bush-era "Mission Accomplished" banners in a box in the basement?

1. WH floats gas tax holiday
2. Economists/finance writers go nuts, decide admin has run out of ideas
3. Gloomy investors determine recession is inevitable
4. Commodities fall
5. Oil futures plummet
…
6. Gas prices fall on their own pic.twitter.com/mNeLvV1SAW

— Derek Thompson (@DKThomp) July 5, 2022


QUICK HITS

• The Food and Drug Administration has suspended its ban on Juul vaping products until the company's lawsuit challenging the ban can be heard in court.

• British Prime Minister Boris Johnson could be on his way out after two senior ministers resigned and said they'd lost confidence in Johnson's leadership.

• How the overturning of Roe v. Wade could shake up America's established political alliances.

• Is artificial intelligence going to be totalitarian?

• Never talk to the FBI give the FBI personal information about your children:

The #FBI Child ID app—the first mobile application created by the Bureau—provides a convenient place to electronically store photos and other vital information about your children so that it's literally right at hand if you need it. Learn more at https://t.co/qCvDsH9h0a. pic.twitter.com/HpaUzjDz2r

— FBI (@FBI) July 5, 2022

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

NEXT: Ukraine Fights On as Western Allies Waver

Eric Boehm is a reporter at Reason.

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  1. Fist of Etiquette   3 years ago

    Americans' confidence in major institutions like Congress, the criminal justice system, and the media has eroded in the past year...

    Tom Hanks was the final institution we had, and he blew it, too.

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        1. Rob Misek   3 years ago

          In unrelated news, people recognizing truth on the internet has reached an all time high.

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        You mean Onlyfans?

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      I loved his movie the last nigger on earth

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          1. This Is The Zodiac Speaking   3 years ago

            Don't you mean OnlyFans?

    3. RabbiHarveyWeinstein   3 years ago

      I still have faith in Chet Hanx and his White Boy Summer.

      1. Mike Laursen   3 years ago

        Ugh. Chet has a little too much in common with Robert Crimo III.

        1. R Mac   3 years ago

          Wow.

          1. JesseAz   3 years ago

            He can't help himself.

        2. JimboJr   3 years ago

          jesus christ you are broken. Not even close

        3. Mother's Lament   3 years ago

          "Ugh. Chet has a little too much in common with Robert Crimo III."

          Whew lad, that's a spicy take.

        4. This Is The Zodiac Speaking   3 years ago

          Crimo....what the fuck last name is that?

          1. Red Rocks White Privilege   3 years ago

            Dago.

            1. This Is The Zodiac Speaking   3 years ago

              I guess that was patently obvious

          2. Roberta   3 years ago

            We're in a comic book world. Criminal named Crime-O, what next, Dick Tracy?

            1. This Is The Zodiac Speaking   3 years ago

              Only with the laziest or unimaginative fucking comic writer of all time.

              "Well I don't want to pigeonhole him with his name...I need something more generic.."

    4. JesseAz   3 years ago

      He was hateable as the Colonel in Elvis.

    5. BigT   3 years ago

      Americans' Trust in Government Institutions Hits a New Low

      Perhaps because the Government's trust in the people has never been lower.
      See: Covid, lockdowns, mandates, 'vaccines', vaccine passports, closed parks, etc ad infinitum

  2. Fist of Etiquette   3 years ago

    ...CNN's Chris Cillizza, who argues that declining trust in institutions shows how "a void has been created, which has led to a deep skepticism coursing through our culture."

    Passive voice. He has no idea how that void came to be.

    1. Illocust   3 years ago

      It's not completely his fault. Before the internet, there would have been no way for his viewers to know if he his things from them, unless they were personally involved in the situation.

      1. JimboJr   3 years ago

        ^ the internet and ability to fact check for oneself has pretty much made things a very bad time for even less partisan journalists, but for propagandists its a real pain in the ass.

        Hence why the only people left clinging to these outlets are the people that will happily accept the lies bc thats all they want to hear. Looking up the info for themselves would destroy their carefully crafter world

        1. Nardz   3 years ago

          https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/how-media-used-russiagate-conspiracy-theories-create-news-cartel

    2. Moonrocks   3 years ago

      Oh, he knows. It was bad and orange and, despite not being a biologist, he's sure it was a man.

    3. Overt   3 years ago

      The funny thing is that we were just discussing this in "The G-Word" review article over the weekend.

      You can just see Obama sitting in a board room, helping to pitch "The G-Word". "American trust in the government is at an all time low, you see? The problem is that the American people just don't know all the good things that the government does. So we will educate them on it!"

      The lack of self awareness here is just mind-blowing. People know the government. They get good helpings of it every day. The problem is that the bigger government gets, and the more they consume, the less they want it.

      This is, of course, the problem with all these claims of Misinformation. There is this general claim that if people just had access to the "Right" information, they would all agree. And of course this is nonsense in a country of 300 million people.

      1. JimboJr   3 years ago

        "The problem is that the American people just don't know all the good things that the government does. So we will educate them on it!"

        "People know the government. They get good helpings of it every day. "

        Imagine thinking people dont understand what the govt does after the 2 year COVID debacle

        1. Sevo   3 years ago

          "...Imagine thinking people dont understand what the govt does after the 2 year COVID debacle..."

          Now imagine Newsom running ads in FL comparing himself to DeSantis.
          Seriously, he's doing that and the Chron has him 'running the long game', as if this were some 5D chess.

          1. JesseAz   3 years ago

            Newsome is being asked if he had CHP security on his trip to Montana which is on California's no state funds can be used on that state law. He has refused to answer claiming revealing bmany information about his security details such as cost or who paid would be a security breach.

            1. Moonrocks   3 years ago

              This is the guy California voted for. Twice.

              1. Commenter_XY   3 years ago

                Newsome is the embodiment of the adage, "You truly deserve the representation you elect"

                1. Moonrocks   3 years ago

                  He's also the ultimate distillation of the establishment's aristocratic attitude. Yes, yes, we'll strike a blow for *checks notes* birthing person's rights! Just so long as it doesn't interfere with my holiday.

              2. BigT   3 years ago

                This is the guy California voted for. Twice.

                Stupid is as stupid does.

                Too bad they have ruined such a beautiful state.

                1. Stuck in California   3 years ago

                  It's all San Francisco and Hollywood. Hollywood you can't get work if you're not a Democrat (it's actually worse than that these days) and they have always had a bully pulpit. Los Angeles is reliably Democrat, regardless of who the D is. And the Bay Area has had massively outsized influence, increasing since the obama years as Tech was the only industry in the state making money. The bay area is uniformly captured by progressives -- no longer just Berkeley and SF -- and big tech controls new media and social media almost exclusively.

                  They also used their strength over the last fifteen years to gerrymander the elections so there often is no non-Democrat alternative on the ballot, even for areas that aren't reliably D. Republicans are too stupid to put up a fight. So a state of 40 million very diverse voices is ruled by a San Francisco progressive, and it's fucked up.

                  Be wary. It could happen to you, depending on the state.

                  1. Outlaw Josey Wales   3 years ago

                    That is why so many are leaving, including Pelosi, who plans to retire to .... Florida.

                    1. Stuck in California   3 years ago

                      Honestly, I don't care where the fuck she goes. As long as she goes.

                      The move to put Pelosi in charge of the Dems was one (of several) reasons we have the trainwreck we have in Washington. Super far outside the mainstream, and willing to burn her own party members down if they don't toe the line.

                    2. Earth-based Human Skeptic   3 years ago

                      No, we should give Pelosi a choice: Venezuela, North Korea, or the Sun.

                  2. Nardz   3 years ago

                    If anywhere ever needed a few mass shootings, it's definitely silicon valley

              3. This Is The Zodiac Speaking   3 years ago

                Newsflash: this is a prog controlled state. Recall all your loser relatives back to the lower 49 and we will revert back to our positions as thought leaders.

            2. MT-Man   3 years ago

              Probably did he was told to get out of hamilton more than a few times.

        2. Earth-based Human Skeptic   3 years ago

          But the COVID program showed that 10-20% of the population went all-in on the propaganda and begged for official salvation. Now government types are trying to figure out how to get more people like that, and eliminate those who resisted.

          1. This Is The Zodiac Speaking   3 years ago

            Easy...make it a requirement for your presence at work like Amazon did for test lab partners.

      2. Super Scary   3 years ago

        "You can just see Obama sitting in a board room, helping to pitch "The G-Word". "American trust in the government is at an all time low, you see? The problem is that the American people just don't know all the good things that the government does. So we will educate them on it!""

        "And you know what? Let's get that Adam Conover guy to help out with it. That guy doesn't suck at all!"

        1. JimboJr   3 years ago

          ""And you know what? Let's get that Adam Conover guy to help out with it. "

          Imagine unironically choosing him for this. He is the embodiment of smug "know it all" (while actually not knowing anything), "I fucking love science!!" liberals that most of the country hates. To choose him as the messenger shows they have absolutely no insight into their condition.

          1. Red Rocks White Privilege   3 years ago

            Remember in the old Smurfs cartoon how Brainy Smurf would constantly get thrown out on his ass because he was such an insufferable know-it-all know-nothing?

            Adam Conover is exactly like that. "Because Papa Government always says..." he snivels, right before he gets tossed out a window head-first.

        2. JesseAz   3 years ago

          It is a very Maoist act that the left is playing with.

      3. JesseAz   3 years ago

        Mises has a good article on how government has attempted to transition itself to "experts" in order to garner obedience and belief in government. You see many posters represent exactly what they discuss in the article on this website.

        https://mises.org/wire/why-progressives-love-government-experts

        1. Diane Reynolds (Paul.)   3 years ago

          The deeper question is why are so many people in higher education "progressives". And there's an answer to that. But I'm too lazy to type it here.

          1. Earth-based Human Skeptic   3 years ago

            You mean besides their multi-generation leftist in-breeding, extreme hubris about utopian societies and who should be in charge, pandering to delusional children, and knowledge that their very existence requires endless sucking on the public teat?

          2. Quo Usque Tandem   3 years ago

            Those who can, do....those who can't, do their best to fuck it up for everyone else.

          3. JesseAz   3 years ago

            Because a PhD in victim studies is useless in application so they have to promote their own employment industry in colleges. Why they keep making these useless classes part of general education.

        2. Overt   3 years ago

          Abrogating your responsibilities to Experts means never having to stand behind your actions. When you fail, "The science was bad. We've learned and will do better next time!" When you succeed, you are praised for seeing things through. When hard choices must be made, it's "What Science! Demands"

          1. BigT   3 years ago

            It's part of the general abandonment of personal responsibility.

            And for the politicians, it's a CYA "at least I did something" in an attempt to avoid any blame.

            1. Stuck in California   3 years ago

              Exactly.

              That's what bureaucrats do, though. Bureaucracy is all about nobody has to make a decision and nobody has to take the blame. CYA is not what I want in someone directing my life. I want someone remarkably close to my problems making those decisions. You know, like me.

        3. Quo Usque Tandem   3 years ago

          Thanks for that; "this ruling class of 'scientists and scholars'," indeed. Reminds me of the old Confucian system in China, and about as effective.

      4. Zeb   3 years ago

        One of the more stupid and annoying things about Obama was that he always seemed to think that if people only understood his policies properly everyone would be on board.

        1. Diane Reynolds (Paul.)   3 years ago

          That's been a very old trope of the Democratic party since... the 90s at least. Whenever they would get their asses kicked, they'd always come out and say (with the media's help), the problem isn't the ideas, it's the messaging!

          1. Zeb   3 years ago

            Sure. But Obama had a particularly condescending manner when he did it that really bugged me.
            No, dude, people actually disagree with you for real reasons.

            1. Earth-based Human Skeptic   3 years ago

              Like racism (or so we were told by every Obama fan boy and girl).

            2. Stuck in California   3 years ago

              I'm glad to read this.

              I always felt like he was scolding me, but I never knew what for. He just seemed like... well, a dick, to be honest. I sometime wondered if it was just me, but I heard one of his speeches recently and he still sounds like a condescending prick.

              He had such obsequious coverage from the press, too. All saying how smart and what a great speaker he was. Frankly, he was a terrible public speaker. Bad tone of voice when reading, and stammered and stuttered if he ever had to go off the cuff.

              1. This Is The Zodiac Speaking   3 years ago

                To be sure he is an arrogant asshole. If Ryan would have kept his dick in his pants we would never have had to suffer through this smug sophist's eight years

          2. Roberta   3 years ago

            It's a very old trope of everybody, including libertarians. We just have to communicate it better. And make people smarter. And have them pay attention.

        2. Overt   3 years ago

          I don't think this is unique to Obama, though he had a special knack for pushing this story in the most condescending way possible. After all, that was the whole notion of the "bitter clingers" comments he was making- these poor deluded people who are afraid of what we sophistocants are doing. We just need to show them the way!

          But again, I have seen this on all sides- "You disagree because you have been deluded by your teachers/MSM/Faux News/etc etc"

          1. Zeb   3 years ago

            Obama is probably just when I really started to notice it.
            And you are right, many people on all sides assume that people disagree because they are stupid or ignorant. Which is a good way to completely fail to understand things.

            1. Stuck in California   3 years ago

              That's what happens when folks go to their safe spaces and are not challenged by other ideas, too.

              It also feeds and is fed by the 50 centers, who will purposely pick emotional and divisive issues and pound on them. Drowns out any reasonable discussion and keeps things at the level of "you're stupid" not "maybe you have a point, but have you also thought about this?"

    4. Mickey Rat   3 years ago

      It also implies that the decline in trust is a failure of the general public, not a failure of those who run the institutions to run them well and within their limits.

      1. Roberta   3 years ago

        Trust me: If they changed places, the same failure would occur, and would be complained about the same way by the erstwhile runners of the institutions. The problem is people, large masses of them.

        This decline in trust goes on its own momentum, no matter who does what, and I'm sure is being seen all over the world. People distrust institutions because they've heard other people distrust institutions, so the opinions are going to keep going down. Institutions were no better 100 or 1,000 years ago.

    5. Longtobefree   3 years ago

      I once explained to a public school graduate that writing to management required short, declarative sentences in the active voice, so they could understand; and got a deer in the headlights response.
      I updated my resume and started contract work, refusing all supervisory positions.

  3. Fist of Etiquette   3 years ago

    Trust must be earned, and institutions that earn trust are those that deliver on their promises.

    Legislators and governors, the medical establishment and pharmaceutical companies, and the president all promised to fuck us over for the ideology of money and power. I trusted that they would and they didn't let me down.

    1. Mike Laursen   3 years ago

      Pharmaceutical companies? What did they do to “fuck us over”?

      1. Claptrap   3 years ago

        COVID vaccine approvals, particularly in children, are a scandal waiting to happen.

        They may have also been strong supporters of the assorted vaxx pass regimes that were trialed last year; it certainly was in their financial interest to be. But being vaccinated and neither residing nor working in a major city, I didn't really follow that much.

        1. Zeb   3 years ago

          Pushing it for children is just fucking evil. They didn't even really try to show actual efficacy. It is almost certain to cause more harm than good in young children.

          1. Longtobefree   3 years ago

            https://babylonbee.com/news/elmo-dies-of-myocarditis-after-receiving-covid-vaccine

        2. RC   3 years ago

          All of the vaccine approvals have been "emergency use authorizations," which, according to the law, are only valid as long as there's no other treatment available...meanwhile the corporate media (brought to you by Phizer) and the government health establishment continue to ignore and/or denigrate all other treatment options for COVID.

          It's not about health, it's about money.

          1. Mike Laursen   3 years ago

            Other treatments, such as horse ointment?

      2. R Mac   3 years ago

        Caw caw!

      3. JesseAz   3 years ago

        Mike. Please inform yourself of the many examples of drug companies lying about side effects and studies to make a profit. This isn't esoteric information. They aren't angels.

        Covid vaccines for children are in fact a scandal.

        1. Earth-based Human Skeptic   3 years ago

          Mike is in his "I love Big Pharma phase" since he just knows how they selflessly saved mankind, and the Democratic Party. A few years from now (like he did in the past), he will hate Big Pharma since they exploit illness for profit selling drugs that should be provided as a human right.

      4. Fist of Etiquette   3 years ago

        You have got to be kidding me.

        1. Diane Reynolds (Paul.)   3 years ago

          When FoE makes a serious response... shit's 'bout to get real.

          1. JesseAz   3 years ago

            He is far right now.

          2. Fist of Etiquette   3 years ago

            Even if one believed the vaccines worked well, any libertarian-leaning individual would see the blatant cronyism at play in the authoritarian distribution scheme as beyond the pale. The question was disingenuous at best.

            1. R Mac   3 years ago

              “blatant cronyism at play in the authoritarian distribution scheme as beyond the pale”

              Dee’s gonna need a cite.

              1. JasonAZ   3 years ago

                LMMFAO!!!

            2. Mike Laursen   3 years ago

              B. S. about it being disingenuous. The pharmaceutical companies delivered a medical miracle in record time. They may have also influenced government policies to make more money (or maybe didn’t as much as you imagine), but even so that would have to be balanced by the amazing things they achieved.

              1. Earth-based Human Skeptic   3 years ago

                (I predicted this up-thread)

            3. Mike Laursen   3 years ago

              Maybe get outside the right wing echo chamber, where everyone else believes all the things you do.

              1. ElvisIsReal   3 years ago

                Your problem is that the actual data in the actual real world backs us up -- we don't need to 'believe' anything, the data speaks for itself.

                But once again, if it's perfectly safe the companies can live without immunity from harm, right?

                1. Mike Laursen   3 years ago

                  And like last time you said this, I agreed with you. Yes, they could live without the immunity.

                  (They have no incentive to give up the immunity, of course, as long as the government keeps offering it.)

              2. JesseAz   3 years ago

                I didn't think he would actually call fist right wing. Hilarious.

        2. Mike Laursen   3 years ago

          That isn’t conversation, Fist. If you had an actual point about pharmaceutical companies you wouldn’t be afraid to say what it is.

      5. Don't look at me!   3 years ago

        Fucking idiot.

    2. Nardz   3 years ago

      "Trust must be earned, and institutions that earn trust are those that deliver on their promises."

      Or, at the very least, don't lie constantly and keep lying after it's become obvious to almost everyone that they're lying.

      1. JasonAZ   3 years ago

        Lying Jeffy hardest hit.

  4. OpenBordersLiberal-tarian   3 years ago

    Good morning Peanuts! Are you enjoying this spectacular Biden economy as much as I am? Did you know liberal capitalist Larry Page made $3.71 billion yesterday? I'm a liberal capitalist too and I support the same political party he does. So when his wealth increases it proves how smart I am.

    #TemporarilyFillingInForButtplug

  5. Fist of Etiquette   3 years ago

    Congress should balance the budget. The media should inform, not inflame. Public schools should educate children, not lock them out for two years.

    I'm not voting for a representative who doesn't define problems for him to solve with my money and liberty. And I'm not clicking on a story that doesn't fulfill my craving for outrage. And I'm certainly not letting my child spread disease to our underfunded (I am told) educators.

    1. A Thinking Mind   3 years ago

      And perhaps people are tired of teachers complaining that they can't teach six-year-olds about gender reassignment surgery, or that certain teachers won't shut up about their gender fluid spouse and their brave and stunning journey. Young kids just don't need to know about their teacher's social life or personal story, they need very bedrock, basic information before you get to bigger concepts.

      And when public schools are hiding the fact that some kid wore a skirt so he could get access to the bathroom, in order to push their preferred policy of ungendered bathrooms, maybe people get really fucking tired of their children being some kind of social experiment.

  6. Fist of Etiquette   3 years ago

    Two years ago, Illinois instituted a so-called "red flag" law...

    Red flag harder.

    1. Mike Laursen   3 years ago

      In this case, they would have had to have red flagged earlier, not harder. If the law is only two years old, and the knife incident happened in 2019, well do the math…

      1. R Mac   3 years ago

        Poor Dee.

      2. JesseAz   3 years ago

        Do you... do you think red flag laws can only look at records past the passage date? Lol.

      3. HorseConch   3 years ago

        Red flag laws really worked out in Buffalo, didn't they?

      4. Don't look at me!   3 years ago

        Fucking idiot.

      5. Diane Reynolds (Paul.)   3 years ago

        Red Flag differentlier than the law we wanted Red Flagged?

        Man. You're gonna need some Ibuprofin after today's contortions.

        1. Earth-based Human Skeptic   3 years ago

          Nah, Mike is probably giddy with his own impressions of his clever rhetoric.

  7. OpenBordersLiberal-tarian   3 years ago

    "The bad news, however, is that falling oil prices could be yet another signal of a coming recession."

    LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

    Too bad Mr. Buttplug isn't here to debunk this because he's currently buying more private islands with his #BidenBoom money. He'd explain how terrific the Biden economy is by dismissing recession rumors the same way he dismissed inflation.

    #DefendBidenAtAllCosts

    1. Don't look at me!   3 years ago

      Wow! Went from buying Ferrari’s to buying islands. Nice.

      1. Mother's Lament   3 years ago

        He needs somewhere to store the extra spittin tobaccy and drilling rigs he purchased.

        1. Sevo   3 years ago

          Pretty sure turd has been permanently banned. The masochist's been coming here for years for a steady dose of scorn, and now he's just disappeared.
          If he's not banned, we can hope he took the advice to fuck off and die; if so, the world is a better place.

          1. R Mac   3 years ago

            He’s been posting as his socks.

          2. JesseAz   3 years ago

            He has been full time on his ali sock. Even he has become shamed by supporting biden for the last 2 years.

  8. Fist of Etiquette   3 years ago

    The bad news, however, is that falling oil prices could be yet another signal of a coming recession.

    You wanted the president to bring down gas prices. You didn't say he shouldn't spur a recession to do it.

    1. Ronbback   3 years ago

      the local radio news has been fawning over the fact that the price of gas has dropped 10¢, fuck that it needs to be cut in half to be even close to what it needs to be. but i always figured they would push it high and then claim we should be thankful it dropped a little.

      1. Mike Laursen   3 years ago

        They? Who are "they"?

        1. R Mac   3 years ago

          Stfu Dee.

        2. JesseAz   3 years ago

          The Biden administration.

          Deese initially responded, "What you heard from the president today was a clear articulation of the stakes. This is about the future of the liberal world order, and we have to stand firm." The comment caused a stir on social media.

          "[When] it comes to the gas prices, we’re going through an incredible transition that is taking place that, God willing, when it’s over, we’ll be stronger and the world will be stronger and less reliant on fossil fuels when this is over,” Biden said during a press conference in Japan following his meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

          I mean they have been pretty open about it.

          1. Don't look at me!   3 years ago

            How long should Americans tolerate high gas prices?

            Biden: “ As long as it takes”.

            1. Longtobefree   3 years ago

              Remember, remember, the eighth of November.

      2. Moonrocks   3 years ago

        Hey! You'd better thank Big Brother that the chocolate ration was raised to 20 grams gas price was dropped 10 cents.

      3. JesseAz   3 years ago

        Don't worry. Biden's EPA is going after energy again. See last week with the lease actions and going after ozone for the largest energy fields in the US.

    2. Super Scary   3 years ago

      Omelets, broken eggs, etc etc

      1. Diane Reynolds (Paul.)   3 years ago

        Yeah, but where's my omelet?

        1. Earth-based Human Skeptic   3 years ago

          Look who thinks they are in the inner party.

        2. Super Scary   3 years ago

          No omelets for us. Eat the bugs.

    3. Earth-based Human Skeptic   3 years ago

      Hey, nothing will cut CO2 emissions like a total crash of industrialized society.

      1. Stuck in California   3 years ago

        Likewise, nothing will crash industrial society so totally as a far too rapid change to zero CO2 emissions.

        So, it's win win for some people, right?

  9. MatthewSlyfield   3 years ago

    "Is artificial intelligence going to be totalitarian?"

    What the public thinks of as artificial intelligence (how it gets portrayed in fiction (books, movies) is a unicorn (a mythical beast that doesn't exist).

    What can actually be achieved with existing computer technology that gets called AI by the industry is (in comparison to the public view of what AI is) the rough equivalent of gluing a horn on the forehead of a dog and calling it a unicorn.

    1. Social Justice is neither   3 years ago

      Given what you say but to answer the question posed, yes AI will be totalitarian and racist and sexist because it will provide for revealed preferences not the spoken desires and those things are fundamental to the human condition. The unicorn part would be AI capable of making decisions not from what people vote for or choose but what is truly best despite that given the AI's recognition of it's own limitations.

      1. MatthewSlyfield   3 years ago

        "The unicorn part would be AI capable of making decisions not"

        Explicitly programmed for by the developer of the AI in question.

        AI that actually exists is incapable of being totalitarian, because it is just a tool, it's no more good/evil than a hammer.

        1. Nardz   3 years ago

          Just wait until it gets control of the drones and nukes

          1. Chuck P. (The Artist formerly known as CTSP)   3 years ago

            Again, it will just do what it is programmed to do. Hail Hydra.

            1. Diane Reynolds (Paul.)   3 years ago

              Well, that's a bit like saying Tesla programmed its cars to run into the backs of parked fire trucks on the freeway.

              I know, I know, computer programs ALWAYS do what the programmer told them to do.

        2. Unable2Reason   3 years ago

          Image having an extensive talk with HItler in your native tongue and him calling you by name and answering. Now imagine everyone in the world being able to do the same thing.

          It's just programming.

      2. Overt   3 years ago

        "The unicorn part would be AI capable of making decisions not from what people vote for or choose but what is truly best despite that given the AI's recognition of it's own limitations."

        That would...you know...be totalitarian. If people don't make choices for themselves, then power has been invested in the AI to control their lives.

        1. Stuck in California   3 years ago

          That would be a fucking nightmare.

          I don't want what is best, I want what I want.

  10. Fist of Etiquette   3 years ago

    The Food and Drug Administration has suspended its ban on Juul vaping products until the company's lawsuit challenging the ban can be heard in court.

    Better to appear to do so willingly than to have it imposed from a court.

    1. Earth-based Human Skeptic   3 years ago

      Where's Governor Hochul when we need her?

  11. Fist of Etiquette   3 years ago

    British Prime Minister Boris Johnson could be on his way out after two senior ministers resigned and said they'd lost confidence in Johnson's leadership.

    He's got the long covid, cut him some slack.

    1. Don't look at me!   3 years ago

      What? The 100% safe and effective with no downsides vaccine failed?

      1. Zeb   3 years ago

        Boris had it before vaccines.

    2. Sevo   3 years ago

      The walls are closing in,

  12. Fist of Etiquette   3 years ago

    How the overturning of Roe v. Wade could shake up America's established political alliances.

    You have Bette Midler coming out as a TERF. It's a brand new day.

    1. JimboJr   3 years ago

      and Macy Gray!

      bigots under every bed!

    2. Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf   3 years ago

      I relish the oncoming TERF wars. My money's on Self Destruct, the three year old which has been promising so much since the much-touted Woke Trans Kids began faltering at the half mile marker.

    3. JesseAz   3 years ago

      She already apologized.

      1. JimboJr   3 years ago

        im sure she has "educated herself" and realized that she was hurting trans lives

        1. JesseAz   3 years ago

          She at least blamed the tweet on the NYT based on an article she read.

      2. Diane Reynolds (Paul.)   3 years ago

        Well, that's too bad. I was hoping after she pulled off the road, she'd stay pulled off like the real feminists did. Eh well.

      3. Earth-based Human Skeptic   3 years ago

        More material for Chappelle and Gervais.

    4. Fats of Fury   3 years ago

      But still a liberal democrat. She's a TERF and serf.

  13. Fist of Etiquette   3 years ago

    Is artificial intelligence going to be totalitarian?

    Skynet welcomes all humans into the tent.

    1. Fist of Etiquette   3 years ago

      The very best leaders think in binary terms.

      1. Don't look at me!   3 years ago

        Sounds transphobic.

  14. Fist of Etiquette   3 years ago

    ...provides a convenient place to electronically store photos and other vital information about your children so that it's literally right at hand if you need it.

    The same FBI that hosted Playpen servers? Pass.

    1. Rev. Arthur L. Kuckland   3 years ago

      In case you forget what your child looks looks like

      1. Spiritus Mundi   3 years ago

        Or have pictures on your phone.

      2. Ronbback   3 years ago

        most parents have a phone with a thousand pictures of their kids by their side all the time i don't think they need an app from the FBI. however I believe the same people that wear mask everyday will be all for this and those who don't will be looked down upon as not caring parents who should have CPS called on them and schools will probably make it a requirement of enrollment. this is Americas version of China's social tracking for your own good.

    2. Chuck P. (The Artist formerly known as CTSP)   3 years ago

      Where possible, we may give you more specific guidance at the point of collection regarding how your personal information may be used or disclosed.

      You can't get to the ToS for the app until you download it. Downloading an app from the FBI seems parallel to inviting a vampire into your house and then asking him what he might like to drink.

      https://www.fbi.gov/privacy-policy

  15. Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf   3 years ago

    at a time when the president and Congress are struggling to address high inflation, record gas prices, increased crime, and gun violence, continued illegal immigration

    "Struggling"?!? Inflation and high gas prices are a direct result of Biden policies, predicted results. Increased crime owes most of it to the pandemic lockdowns and BLM riots, mostly in Democrat cities and states.

    Struggling my ass. Governments aren't struggling with what they caused, they are trying to cause more of it.

    As for "gun violence", fuck off. It's another name for "increased crime". Listing the same thing twice doesn't make it twice as bad.

    Fuck off, media whore.

    1. R Mac   3 years ago

      One almost thinks Reason doesn’t realize they are part of one of the institutions that people have lost faith in, and that they’ve played their part in that.

      1. Earth-based Human Skeptic   3 years ago

        Give them a break. Because they promote hooking, ass sex, free weed, and the occasional free market policy, Reasonistas consider themselves free-spirited "libertarians" in the Democratic tent.

    2. Diane Reynolds (Paul.)   3 years ago

      As for "gun violence", fuck off. It's another name for "increased crime". Listing the same thing twice doesn't make it twice as bad.

      Yeah, well said. I'm really tired of people talking about the increase in crime and then the media sticks their retarded heads through the door and say, "And an increase in gun violence too!"

  16. Union of Concerned Socks   3 years ago

    Fuck Joe Biden.

    125 days.

    1. Don't look at me!   3 years ago

      Fuck Joe Biden

    2. Moonrocks   3 years ago

      Fuck Joe Biden

      1. Commenter_XY   3 years ago

        Please go, Brandon.

  17. Moonrocks   3 years ago

    I guess nothing's going on in the Netherlands.

    1. Don't look at me!   3 years ago

      Nobody needs 27 kinds of crops.

      1. Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf   3 years ago

        Nobody needs 27 kinds of tulips.

        Next up, Australia and New Zealand start a new South Seas Bubble.

    2. Super Scary   3 years ago

      They'll probably have a dedicated article for it in the next few days.

      1. Mother's Lament   3 years ago

        A month from now when the protesters are all arrested and their bank accounts frozen.
        Reason will tut-tut about it but note "both sides"

        1. Super Scary   3 years ago

          Sounds like a perfect chance to bring up Jan 6th again! Can't wait!

    3. Nardz   3 years ago

      Reason's mission isn't to promote liberty, it's to cover for totalitarian leftism and spread their propaganda.
      Freedom protests that target the ruling globalist cabal are best ignored.

      1. Nardz   3 years ago

        https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/dutch-farmers-block-food-distribution-centers-bust-undercover-cops-during-protest

        1. Chuck P. (The Artist formerly known as CTSP)   3 years ago

          Protests over a government imposed reduction in bullshit. How ironic is that?

          1. Nardz   3 years ago

            I'm proud of the Dutch for flinging it back at them

    4. Ronbback   3 years ago

      starving people to save a planet. this is not unusual a while back Denmark kicked some native tribes out of their African homeland so they could cut down the native trees so they could plant climate correct trees. Luckily the tribes came back and burned that shit all down. F 'ing crazy what these climate woke people will do to save us from a natural occurance.

      1. Nardz   3 years ago

        It's not to save us, it's to destroy our lives and exert power.

        1. Chuck P. (The Artist formerly known as CTSP)   3 years ago

          You know who else thought people who have too many cows are a danger to society?

          1. Moonrocks   3 years ago

            Hindus?

          2. Claptrap   3 years ago

            The plains Indians? Akbar the Great?

          3. Earth-based Human Skeptic   3 years ago

            Chick-fil-A?

          4. Nardz   3 years ago

            The old guy in Virgil's Aeneid who was still so amped up after winning a boxing match that he punched his prize bull right in the head when it was presented to him?

          5. Fats of Fury   3 years ago

            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_have_two_cows

    5. ElvisIsReal   3 years ago

      https://simulationcommander.substack.com/p/take-a-lesson-from-the-dutch

  18. Rev. Arthur L. Kuckland   3 years ago

    This is what you wanted bohem

    1. Moonrocks   3 years ago

      I'm sure his strategy will pay off. Any day now...

    2. Sevo   3 years ago

      This sort of stuff reminds of that woman whining about what O-care did to her insurance costs: 'I knew somebody was going to have to pay for it, but I didn't think it was me!'.
      My question is: "Who did you vote for?".

      1. Earth-based Human Skeptic   3 years ago

        Sigh. Two big dots that the woman will never be able to connect.

        (And to be fair to her, almost all progressives I have met can't do cause and effect.)

    3. Commenter_XY   3 years ago

      Boehm the birdbrain reluctantly voted for this. The birdbrain should be reminded of this in every story he writes.

      1. Diane Reynolds (Paul.)   3 years ago

        Well then he's reluctantly getting what he voted for.

    4. JasonAZ   3 years ago

      ADULTS BACK IN CHARGE!!!

  19. Longtobefree   3 years ago

    " . . . at a time when the president and Congress are struggling to address high inflation, record gas prices, increased crime, and gun violence, continued illegal immigration, and significant foreign policy challenges from Russia and China,"

    *Engage truthful edit function*

    at a time when the president and Congress are struggling to address the inevitable consequences of their policies; high inflation, record gas prices, increased crime, and gun violence, continued illegal immigration, and significant economic, military, and foreign policy challenges from Russia and China,"

    1. Mike Laursen   3 years ago

      How did any Presidential administration or Congress cause increases in gun violence? Crimo's shooting a bunch of people is the fault of ... Crimo.

      1. JesseAz   3 years ago

        The VP hasn't supported bail funds or defend the police during the BLM riots?

      2. R Mac   3 years ago

        Defund the police had no effect on crime? Allowing left wing paramilitaries to riot unopposed throughout the country had no effect on crime? Locking people down for up to two years, particularly teenage boys, had no effect on crime?

        You’re a fucking idiot Dee.

      3. Earth-based Human Skeptic   3 years ago

        Promoting official messages that just being male is wrong?

  20. A Thinking Mind   3 years ago

    Not Surveyed: Americans Trust In Data Provided By Pollsters.

    I did peek at the chart and noting stands out too much, but it's still reliant on the self-selecting group of people who answer their phones.

    1. Mother's Lament   3 years ago

      Who tend to be Democrats according to a recent study, so who knows how low the real figures are.

      1. JesseAz   3 years ago

        Usually 3-5% based on polls vs elections.

        But these polls are more showing the ignorance of the population.

        In the last abortion roe v Wade thread 52% were against the USSC decision overturning it, yet 72% of the same population polled supported 15 week abortion bans.

        1. JimboJr   3 years ago

          which really speaks to the fact that they have done some work with their messaging campaign.

          They have convinced people that overturning Roe = abortion banned, despite the fact that the most ardent pro-aborts live in areas where there will be no restrictions. The conservatives very correct message of "no it just means the states get to choose, as it was supposed to be" has not gotten through at all it seems

    2. Super Scary   3 years ago

      "Not Surveyed: Americans Trust In Data Provided By Pollsters."

      An important note to make. i feel like the trust in these polling services started to deplete around 2016. By 2022, I am sure there are people ignoring nearly all forms of political "polls."

    3. R Mac   3 years ago

      Several years ago I actually answered one out of curiosity. As the survey went on the questions got more and more leading, to where I didn’t agree with any of the possible answers, and most of the premises of the questions themselves. I eventually gave up and told the pollster to fuck off and hung up.

      1. markm23   3 years ago

        My first experience like that was 22 years ago. The telephone poll was designed under the assumption that everyone was frightened nearly to death of something and ready to give up their freedom, so the thing to be determined was whether we'd rather give it up to Bush or Gore. There was NO way to choose freedom.

        When I cut it off, the pollster wailed, "But stopping invalidates the data." I said, "Good!"

  21. A Thinking Mind   3 years ago

    "We don't believe in anything any more," writes CNN's Chris Cillizza, who argues that declining trust in institutions shows how "a void has been created, which has led to a deep skepticism coursing through our culture."

    It's probably because several institutions push false narratives in 2020 to win an election. They showed themselves willing to advance outright lies to score a few political points in the short term, at the cost of long-term credibility. That was a price they intentionally paid and now they're reaping the rewards. Guess what? When you compromise your integrity, it takes a lot of major changes and hard work to restore faith.

    Conservatives have always believed the media was providing a ton of spin, but they used to believe that at least the basic facts they were getting were accurate. They believed the media wasn't outright fabricating nonsense. They no longer believe that. Now that nobody believes they're even operating from the same objective reality, it's difficult to trust anything.

    1. JimboJr   3 years ago

      the media all but admitted the gameplan was "get Trump out by any means necessary" and they are surprised we now all look at them like an opinion blog rather than hard news.

      1. A Thinking Mind   3 years ago

        It's not just the news media. The entire state of New York was covering up their numbers, and the CDC was complicit. Because it would look bad to show that New York's authoritarian policies were causing more deaths than they were preventing. The government itself lied because so many entrenched bureaucrats hated Trump.

        And Trump deserves a lot of hate, but he's not worth destroying your integrity over.

        1. Mike Laursen   3 years ago

          I can see that harming your trust in government, if you lived in the state of New York. But conservatives outside the state of New York went looking for a state that misreported numbers, so they could latch onto it as a talking point.

          1. Mother's Lament   3 years ago

            So what. Really Mike, so fucking what.
            How does someone else looking for misreported numbers change the fact that they MISREPORTED THEIR FUCKING NUMBERS!

            1. Earth-based Human Skeptic   3 years ago

              Mike: "But using the truth to make well-intentioned authoritarians look bad is mean!"

          2. Marshal   3 years ago

            A good test to identify the honest commenters is to consider whether they've ever applied their implied standards to their allies, or just to their enemies. I've never read Laursen claim Republicans did something wrong but it doesn't matter because liberals looked for it.

            1. JesseAz   3 years ago

              Bit democrats are doing their misinformation in good faith. Benevolent authoritarianism is fine.

          3. JesseAz   3 years ago

            And here Mike ignores the long history of The Resistance and Trump Russia.

            Nothing bedside covid has ever been wrong with government Mike?

          4. Moonrocks   3 years ago

            Oh, so if I don't live in New York, the CDC's diktats don't apply to me?

          5. Commenter_XY   3 years ago

            The People's Republic was even worse. Our idiotic governor managed to kill more nursing home patients than NY.

            Phuck Phil Murphy.

            1. Nardz   3 years ago

              And we really haven't discussed enough the fact that docs were killing people that would've survived by immediately putting everyone on vents.
              Really juiced that death count early on.

          6. JimboJr   3 years ago

            it was also one of the first big centers where COVID got bad, and had daily national attention.

            So those conservatives have a good fucking point

          7. R Mac   3 years ago

            Yeah nothing happened here in Michigan that harmed trust in government. God damned Dee, give it a rest.

          8. Zeb   3 years ago

            Yeah, and it was a state that was trying to pretend it was an example for the country. That had Fauci saying they "did it right". Yeah, that should be scrutinized by people from other states.

          9. ElvisIsReal   3 years ago

            LOL we have a whole heap of complaints with Cuomo, starting with killing his own people by throwing covid-postive patients into nursing homes, infecting all the at-risk at once.

            That he lied afterward is only part of the scandal.

            1. Mike Laursen   3 years ago

              Do you live in New York?

        2. tracerv   3 years ago

          Why does Trump deserve a lot of hate?

          Yeah, he's a dick but was a pretty good President.

          1. BigT   3 years ago

            Trump deserves hate for being a crude, insensitive person who couldn't hold his tongue or his tweet. With just a bit of decorum he could still be President. That's deserving of hate.

          2. A Thinking Mind   3 years ago

            Well I can go through several reasons I hate him. Keep in mind, these apply to 95% of all politicians, so my hate for him is within normal parameters.

            He's a bloviating asshole. He takes credit for things he didn't do (eg the vaccines). He's ridiculously ego driven, willing to accept shitty policies if they're offered in a way that massage his ego. He's not truly for capitalism, he's more for cronyism, making deals with regulatory bodies for bigger businesses that don't necessarily help small businesses. He pretended he was going to make a huge difference in terms of the swamp, but he left easy wins on the table, like pardoning Snowden and Assange.

            Appointing Gorsuch was a huge win, but Kavanaugh was weak, as was ACB. Jeff Sessions was terrible. Bill Barr wasn't much better. I do believe he was out of line in asking Pence to do something that Pence lacked have the power to do (this doesn't mean I think he committed a criminal act, but I do think it was harmful for the process of elections).

            Trump was more authoritarian than he should have been in response to the pandemic. He was happy to wield the big hammer, he asked for lockdowns, he criticized people like Kemp and Desantis who refused to stay locked down when it was clear the lockdowns weren't actually doing anything. He listened to Fauci. And he used the heavy hand of executive orders plenty for things like tariffs, invoking the Defense Production Act because, like most presidents, he's a statist who thinks the economy can be centrally planned and dictated.

            He waited way too fucking long on stuff like Afghanistan. The withdrawal should have been negotiated in year 2, so he could actually get troops out on his watch, instead of just making promises he'd have to wait on his successors to carry out.

    2. Cronut   3 years ago

      Bullshit. Americans believe in plenty of things. They just no longer believe in the things the progs want them to believe in.

  22. A Thinking Mind   3 years ago

    The 21-year-old man, Robert E. Crimo III,

    I can't believe Reason just assumed this person's gender.

    1. Mother's Lament   3 years ago

      Xe dressed as a woman for the shooting and even donned a wig.

      https://nypost.com/2022/07/05/highland-park-parade-shooting-suspect-robert-crimo-wore-womens-clothing-cops/

      Reason is transphobic. That's the only explanation.

      1. A Thinking Mind   3 years ago

        How long until this whole shooting is memory holed?

        1. Nardz   3 years ago

          C'mon, no need to memory hole- the guns did it.

        2. Mike Laursen   3 years ago

          Because Crimo was seen in women's clothes, and therefore he's part of the Left, and therefore will be memory holed? Is that the logic behind your comment?

          Don't forget that Crimo was also seen at MAGA rallies and draped in a MAGA flag.

          1. Mother's Lament   3 years ago

            Nobody mentioned the left in this thread, but you charged in on your white steed anyway.

          2. Marshal   3 years ago

            It's revealing Laursen doesn't mention Crimo wore antifa symbolism as well. That's how propagandists work, they provide only a sliver of the story.

            1. JimboJr   3 years ago

              wore antifa symbolism, and looked like a standard issue green/pink haired freak that is:

              - almost ubiquitous at Antifa rallies in Portland/Seattle etc.
              - almost non-existent among MAGA folks

            2. A Thinking Mind   3 years ago

              Look, maybe this guy will turn out to be a Trump supporter. I actually don't like the team games that get played with mass shooters because mass shooters, regardless of what "team" they're on, are not representative of anything except being mass murderers. It's not emblematic of a larger idea or else we'd have 5,000 mass murders every day.

              I just am already seeing the media being very quiet about some things this particular shooter has posted and said.

              1. Marshal   3 years ago

                I actually don't like the team games that get played with mass shooters because mass shooters,

                Hold them to their own standards. Since they previously asserted mass murder is driven by hateful politics (against them) be sure to ask whether their hateful politics drove this guy to murder. Continue until they repudiate their prior accusations.

                Holding them to the same standard is the only way to force them to stop the double standards. Although note, they're smart and dishonest enough they will just avoid the subject entirely. That's how you know they're not just stupid, they're propagandists.

                1. Nardz   3 years ago

                  Hateful politics was the explicit motive of Waukesha parade killer

                  1. R Mac   3 years ago

                    Who?

                    — Most Americans

                    1. Earth-based Human Skeptic   3 years ago

                      High five!

                      -- Most Media

          3. R Mac   3 years ago

            Caw caw!

          4. Diane Reynolds (Paul.)   3 years ago

            Don't forget that Crimo was also seen at MAGA rallies and draped in a MAGA flag.

            Was he seen at MAGA rallies draped in a MAGA flag by the same people who saw those high school boys attack that native American drummer who was just standing there, minding his own business?

            1. JesseAz   3 years ago

              He wore a Trump flag in a picture appearing to support them committing suicide. Abd he dressed as Waldo based on a Jimmy Kimmel joke at a trump parade.

              His Twitter has many instances of him calling to lock up trump.

      2. Commenter_XY   3 years ago

        ENB will be along shortly to explain why it is all good = Crimo

        It will be some sex thing.

    2. Fats of Fury   3 years ago

      Crimo looks like the bearded lady in a Circus freak show.

  23. Mother's Lament   3 years ago

    "The Supreme Court saw an 11-point drop in trust, from 36 percent to 25 percent, this year (and the survey was taken before the recent Dobbs abortion ruling)"

    To the Democrats horror the Dobbs ruling didn't affect the Republican or Democrats poll numbers one bit and the Democrats still went down, but Eric's still going to imply it did elsewhere.

  24. A Thinking Mind   3 years ago

    A recession would quell demand for oil and gas, canceling out the higher prices created by the war in Ukraine's effect on supply, The Wall Street Journal explains:

    Wait, what exactly created higher gas prices? I seem to recall them rising before the invasion started. The GRAPH posted with that tweet shows them going up even before the invasion (before the invasion caused a spike).

    Perhaps it would be fair to say that higher gas prices are driven by bad policies AND an ongoing, which exacerbated an already existing problem.

    1. Mike Laursen   3 years ago

      You are probably right about that, but the public doesn't do well with complex explanations.

      1. Mother's Lament   3 years ago

        It isn't complex and the public does just fine.

        1. Marshal   3 years ago

          He confused "the public" with "the leftist base". The problem isn't complexity, it's that ideologues refuse to believe anything that conflicts with their fantasies about how the world works.

          1. Earth-based Human Skeptic   3 years ago

            Leftist base and their circle-jerk partners in leftist media. Narrative uber alles!

          2. Nardz   3 years ago

            "The problem isn't complexity, it's that ideologues refuse to believe anything that conflicts with their fantasies about how the world works."

            See: Mike Laursen

      2. A Thinking Mind   3 years ago

        So, if the drive is only to simplify, why focus on the thing that is definitely not the fault of current policy? Why not simplify it to the thing that is definitely the fault of policy?

        1. Mike Laursen   3 years ago

          Good point.

      3. JesseAz   3 years ago

        Mike. You may be closer to the mainstream public than most here.

      4. R Mac   3 years ago

        Here’s Dee excusing incorrect information that supports the administration’s narrative, because people can’t handle the truth if it’s too “complex”. And in this case, “complex” means prices actually rose before the event the rise is being attributed to occurred. So complex!

        But she’s not a lefty.

        1. JesseAz   3 years ago

          Biden has used the very same voters are dumb talking point.

          1. Earth-based Human Skeptic   3 years ago

            Biden got that from Obama.

      5. Zeb   3 years ago

        Most of the public is quite capable of that level of nuance. It's the press who think they are idiots (or don't want them to have too much information).

        1. R Mac   3 years ago

          Mike Liarson is straight up lying here. Since when has his position been “it’s too complex to give all the information”?

          It’s literally the opposite of how he usually discusses issues here.

          1. Earth-based Human Skeptic   3 years ago

            So crafty!

      6. Don't look at me!   3 years ago

        Fucking idiot thinks he’s the only one to understand things.

    2. Commenter_XY   3 years ago

      Boehm is a fucking liar, in addition to being a fucking birdbrain.

  25. Marshal   3 years ago

    It's the continuation of a long-running trend, though one that seems to have accelerated in the past two years—perhaps due to the number of institutions that had less-than-adequate responses to the pandemic.

    It's not just the pandemic, it's also wokeness becoming visible in the institutions which most Americans interact with the most. But I guess Reason's editorial stance is still that wokeness isn't happening.

    1. Spiritus Mundi   3 years ago

      I think they have moved on to it is happening but it is a good thing based on their defense of grooming during 'pride' month.

      1. R Mac   3 years ago

        It’s just culture war bullshit, so best to ignore it and just let the progressives have their way.

        1. Nardz   3 years ago

          A much more accurate motto for Reason than "free minds, free markets"

          1. R Mac   3 years ago

            A bit wordy, could use some work.

            1. Nardz   3 years ago

              "No (culture) war; yes progress"

              1. R Mac   3 years ago

                “No (culture) war (pushback); yes progress”

                1. BigT   3 years ago

                  Prog harder!

  26. Mother's Lament   3 years ago

    "Joey, have you ever seen a grown man naked?
    Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?"

    Disney-Marvel Unveils Gay Version of Spiderman

    1. A Thinking Mind   3 years ago

      Peter Poker?

      1. Chuck P. (The Artist formerly known as CTSP)   3 years ago

        Peter Packer. It was right there...

        1. A Thinking Mind   3 years ago

          I dropped the soap on that one.

    2. JasonT20   3 years ago

      We see an example of why trust in institutions is low right here. When your side is spending so much time making you afraid to acknowledge that gay people exist, you don't see that they aren't doing jack shit to solve the real problems that actually affect your lives.

      Florida's GOP sure did a lot of work making sure that white kids aren't made to feel bad about slavery or that they might learn that not everyone is heterosexual and gender binary, but they needed a special session to deal with the property insurance crisis which won't have any real affect on premiums for at least a year. Oh, and the special session had to deal with Disney's special district first, since they (belatedly) had the gall to criticize that law passed during the regular session and say that they'd stop giving money to politicians.

      1. Red Rocks White Privilege   3 years ago

        Lefty bullshitter bullshits again.

        You're just assmad because your side took a few Ls and put the brakes on your historic determinism.

      2. Nardz   3 years ago

        LOL

      3. R Mac   3 years ago

        “making sure that white kids aren't made to feel bad about slavery”

        Why should the government make white kids feel bad about slavery?

        1. A Thinking Mind   3 years ago

          Because they could have stopped it but didn't.

      4. Mother's Lament   3 years ago

        Do you actual believe all the horseshit you just posted, "JeffyT20", or are you just trolling?

  27. Quo Usque Tandem   3 years ago

    "—those institutions should focus on doing the things they were created to do. Congress should balance the budget. The media should inform, not inflame. Public schools should educate children, not lock them out [or indoctrinate them]."

    In what world? The only way anyone is going to see any degree of accountability from any organization or system is to keep it as local as possible, and or market driven [you don't deliver, someone else will]. Otherwise it's gong to be FYTY.

  28. Nardz   3 years ago

    https://twitter.com/TuckerMax/status/1544684137315028997?t=3UdzAQ8zGqoB-STx2BwsPA&s=19

    Dutch Farmer Strike started b/c the Dutch Government cut nitrogen emissions by stealing farmers land and putting them out of business.
    No really.

    Two summaries (linking foreign media b/c US media isn't covering): [links]

    The Dutch Farmers reacted the way you'd expect: they got pissed and protested.

    So the Dutch government is now trying to kill them.
    No, really: [link]

    Another video of Dutch police violence: [link]

    There are tons more you can find, the point is, the Dutch Government feels totally OK using lethal force against people they are openly stealing from and oppressing.

    This is BIG. It goes way beyond the politics of a small European country.

    The Dutch are the WORLDS 2ND BIGGEST AG EXPORTER (after US).

    Why'd the Dutch Government do this?
    To meet EU "climate goals."
    No seriously.
    Unelected bureaucrats made up numbers, and here we are.

    They KNOW this is going to starve people around the world.
    How can I say that for sure?
    They are already trying to justify and rationalize.
    Look at this--on the UNs website!
    [Link]

    And this is not remotely the end. This is only the beginning.
    So many indications this is intentional and created by some sort of plan: [link]

    [Thread]

    1. Chuck P. (The Artist formerly known as CTSP)   3 years ago

      For those of us at the high end of the social ladder, ending hunger globally would be a disaster. If there were no hunger in the world, who would plow the fields? Who would harvest our vegetables? Who would work in the rendering plants? Who would clean our toilets? We would have to produce our own food and clean our own toilets. No wonder people at the high end are not rushing to solve the hunger problem. For many of us, hunger is not a problem, but an asset.

      Holy motherfucking fuck! The UN goes Full Orwell.

      https://www.un.org/en/chronicle/article/benefits-world-hunger

      1. Mother's Lament   3 years ago

        Cripes!

        That's an article you'd expect to see in the Onion or the Bee, not by the UN.

        Where's Jeff and White Mike to tell us it's just conspiracy theories again.

        1. Earth-based Human Skeptic   3 years ago

          Again, they are not even trying to hide it any more.

          1. Nardz   3 years ago

            Yet we meekly march along

          2. ElvisIsReal   3 years ago

            Now they are. The page is gone.

      2. Claptrap   3 years ago

        That's not full Orwell. It's boilerplate Marxism about wage slavery, implying that hunger only exists because of the selfishness of the wealthy.

        1. Chuck P. (The Artist formerly known as CTSP)   3 years ago

          Except it doesn't read as an accusation, it reads as justification. With the tiniest bit of editing, if I had attributed it to O'Brien in 1984, few people would question it.

          Ending hunger globally would be a disaster. If there were no hunger in the world, who would plow the fields? Who would harvest our vegetables? Who would work in the rendering plants? Who would clean our toilets? We would have to produce our own food and clean our own toilets. Hunger is not a problem, but an asset.

          The article is only 6 paragraphs. Well worth the minute it will take to read it.

          1. Claptrap   3 years ago

            I read the whole thing before posting. The guy's accusing me of not doing more to alleviate global hunger because doing so would degrade my standard of living. Which is ridiculous (but you know that).

            We in developed countries sometimes see poor people by the roadside holding up signs saying "Will Work for Food". Actually, most people work for food. It is mainly because people need food to survive that they work so hard either in producing food for themselves in subsistence-level production, or by selling their services to others in exchange for money. How many of us would sell our services if it were not for the threat of hunger?
            More importantly, how many of us would sell our services so cheaply if it were not for the threat of hunger? When we sell our services cheaply, we enrich others, those who own the factories, the machines and the lands, and ultimately own the people who work for them. For those who depend on the availability of cheap labour, hunger is the foundation of their wealth.

            1. Chuck P. (The Artist formerly known as CTSP)   3 years ago

              LOL! I was going to read it again, but the UN has taken the article down.

        2. A Thinking Mind   3 years ago

          Yeah, that's what this is. It's the set-up for saying "Rich assholes are the problem," in a prelude to offering a way to dismantle capitalism.

          The need to actually be fed is a good thing, by the way. It's the driving baseline of economics-you want to eat, so you work to get food. Once there became a bit of separation between the work you were doing and how it produced food, humans came up with the idea of currency, but it still amounts to the same thing.

          And the desire to never be hungry has driven humans to get REALLY good at the science of producing food. We're efficient as fuck, so efficient that it's easier to eat too much than not enough in the modern world.

      3. Zeb   3 years ago

        And the Dutch prove all of that wrong. They are one of the wealthiest countries in the world and have a huge agricultural sector. The only reason agriculture isn't more automated is that the cheap labor is available.

      4. R Mac   3 years ago

        It’s been taken down.

        1. Earth-based Human Skeptic   3 years ago

          So it never happened?

    2. Mother's Lament   3 years ago

      I've said before in other comments, pay close attention to this Americans. What is happening in the Netherlands, Canada, Australia and Sri Lanka are all dry runs for the main event, which is you.

      And again, the constitution will not protect you. They will completely ignore it. Canada has equally strong constitutional protections, but the Liberal Party and Liberal Party appointed judges are simply ignoring it.

      1. Nardz   3 years ago

        Correct

      2. Chuck P. (The Artist formerly known as CTSP)   3 years ago

        Just like COVID restrictions were a dry run on the disenfranchisement of the American kulaks, people who own small businesses or own rental properties. They have proved they can shut down businesses and tell tenants they don't have to pay.

        Well, and what about the policy of dekulakization? Can we permit dekulakization in the areas of complete collectivization? This question is asked in various quarters. A ridiculous question! We could not permit dekulakization as long as we were pursuing the policy of restricting the exploiting tendencies of the kulaks, as long as we were unable to go over to a determined offensive against the kulaks, as long as we were unable to replace the kulak output by the output of the collective farms and state farms. At that time the policy of not permitting dekulakization was necessary and correct. But now? Now things are different. Now we are able to carry on a determined offensive against the kulaks, break their resistance, eliminate them as a class and replace their output by the output of the collective farms and state farms. Now, dekulakization is being carried out by the masses of poor and middle peasants themselves, who are putting complete collectivization into practice. Now, dekulakization in the areas of complete collectivization is no longer just an administrative measure. Now, it is an integral part of the formation and development of the collective farms. Consequently it is now ridiculous and foolish to discourse at length on dekulakization. When the head is off, one does not mourn for the hair.

      3. A Thinking Mind   3 years ago

        Except Canada does have a built-in clause that says, "But we can always suspend any freedoms if there's sufficient cause."

        It's happened in the US, of course, but our constitutional protections are actually a good bit more robust than Canada's.

        1. Mother's Lament   3 years ago

          The clause you're referring to wasn't successfully invoked as it never passed the conditions. Also, it doesn't actually suspend constitutional rights.

          So the Liberals are in clear violation, but are plowing ahead regardless. The Democrats will do the same and the robustness of your constitutional protections are irrelevant.

      4. Marshal   3 years ago

        And again, the constitution will not protect you. They will completely ignore it. Canada has equally strong constitutional protections, but the Liberal Party and Liberal Party appointed judges are simply ignoring it.

        America has a long history of ignoring constitutional protections. For example we're guaranteed equal protection of the law, unless leftists don't want it.

  29. Nardz   3 years ago

    https://twitter.com/ConceptualJames/status/1544492718818222081?t=uEuTdTjf9pCXrkstt9QlMg&s=19

    They're going to score your food and limit how much of it you can buy accordingly.

    [Link]

    1. Moonrocks   3 years ago

      Is it just me, or has there been a lot more attention than usual on the food supply this year?

      1. Don't look at me!   3 years ago

        Look at how many food processing plants have caught fire.

        1. JesseAz   3 years ago

          Covid causes instantaneous combustion. Stop being anti science.

        2. Cronut   3 years ago

          All those emissions will now be counted in the CO2 score of any types of food processed at those plants.

        3. Earth-based Human Skeptic   3 years ago

          Nice baby formula plant you have here. It would be a real shame if anything happened to it.

  30. Diane Reynolds (Paul.)   3 years ago

    Public schools, technology companies, and the media also lost trust with Americans this year, though not as dramatically as the more explicitly political institutions.

    Interesting phrasing.

    1. Outlaw Josey Wales   3 years ago

      They said it the way they meant it.

    2. Dillinger   3 years ago

      syntax intended.

  31. Nardz   3 years ago

    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/07/06/bidens-doj-sues-arizona-requiring-proof-american-citizenship-vote/

  32. Diane Reynolds (Paul.)   3 years ago

    Public schools should educate children, not lock them out for two years.

    Or groom them.

    1. R Mac   3 years ago

      Actually Reason’s good with the grooming, you dirty pouncer.

      1. Earth-based Human Skeptic   3 years ago

        Which grooming? Open borders? Ass sex? Free weed?

        Certainly not free markets.

        1. Nardz   3 years ago

          Yes

  33. Diane Reynolds (Paul.)   3 years ago

    The 21-year-old man, Robert E. Crimo III

    The news seems to be quiet about this shooter's background or motive, I'm thinking I now have my answer as to why.

  34. Earth-based Human Skeptic   3 years ago

    "It would be foolish for people to keep blindly trusting institutions that have repeatedly failed."

    Foolish, or classic Democratic progressive utopian policy?

  35. Diane Reynolds (Paul.)   3 years ago

    • Is artificial intelligence going to be totalitarian?

    Don't worry, there won't be any artificial intelligence (as most people think of it) likely in our lifetime. Or the next several lifetimes. So you're stuck with the old human totalitarianism for now.

    1. Mother's Lament   3 years ago

      When it does arrive it will be augmented to our own minds and not as a standalone. Like adding another processor and extra storage.

  36. Earth-based Human Skeptic   3 years ago

    "In this case, like in many others, the red flag law on the books seems to have failed."

    Well, then, just red flag harder.

  37. Earth-based Human Skeptic   3 years ago

    "Is artificial intelligence going to be totalitarian?"

    Why not? Every other kind of "organized" intelligence turns out to be authoritarian. See: human history.

    1. Dillinger   3 years ago

      it's like nobody's seen Battlestar Galactica

      1. sarcasmic   3 years ago

        Wasn't that a documentary about a coffee chain?

        1. Dillinger   3 years ago

          Lorne Greene. Best death ever.

          1. Earth-based Human Skeptic   3 years ago

            Hop Sing!

  38. Mother's Lament   3 years ago

    Lori Lightfoot today: "The toxicity in our public discourse is a thing that I think we should all be concerned about."

    Lori Lightfoot last week: "F*ck Clarence Thomas!"

    [video]

    https://twitter.com/townhallcom/status/1544369239854833665

    1. JimboJr   3 years ago

      the proper response to her would be "fuck off racist cunt"

      1. Earth-based Human Skeptic   3 years ago

        Or, "Beetle Juice!"

        1. R Mac   3 years ago

          Just don’t say it three times!

      2. This Is The Zodiac Speaking   3 years ago

        "Someone needs cock" - Chicago Tribune

        God that would be epic

  39. Zeb   3 years ago

    Well, the loss of trust in institutions gives me some hope for people. Anyone who lived through the last 2 years and hasn't lost trust in those institutions has something very wrong with them.

    1. sarcasmic   3 years ago

      Why just the last 2 years? I lost trust in government institutions back in the 90s, and nothing has happened since then to change that.

      1. Zeb   3 years ago

        Sure, for those of us who pay attention to that sort of thing. But after the last few years, when it was impossible to ignore actual negative effects on everyone's lives, no one has any excuse for putting any trust in political/government institutions.

        1. Dillinger   3 years ago

          half the People doubled down on the trust during the Covids.

  40. Dillinger   3 years ago

    >>Americans' confidence in major institutions ... has eroded in the past year

    lol Left cheats an election, *still* loses Supreme Court cases for two weeks, and now loses confidence in the major institutions ... Crimea River

  41. Dillinger   3 years ago

    >>The way to rebuild trust in our failing institutions, then, is pretty obvious.

    dismantle and start over?

    1. creech   3 years ago

      Sounds good. What is your plan?

      1. This Is The Zodiac Speaking   3 years ago

        Gubernatorial races decided by wet t shirt contests

        1. R Mac   3 years ago

          Have you seen my Governor (Whitless)? No thanks.

          1. This Is The Zodiac Speaking   3 years ago

            You all knew what you were, or were not, getting

        2. Earth-based Human Skeptic   3 years ago

          Or wrestling.

          #BringBackJesseVentura

          1. This Is The Zodiac Speaking   3 years ago

            Feinstein is Fabulous Moohlah

      2. Dillinger   3 years ago

        >>What is your plan?

        entirely fewer institutions.

        1. This Is The Zodiac Speaking   3 years ago

          As long as In N Out is on the Keep list

  42. Roberta   3 years ago

    The hell of it is the realization that if the people answering the poll sat in Congress, their approval ratings at this time would be just as low. For that matter, the same would probably be true of 535 foreigners if they were installed in Congress.

  43. This Is The Zodiac Speaking   3 years ago

    What the fuck ever happened to John? Was he really Shikha?

    Or Emo Goth Fonzi's sock puppet?

    1. R Mac   3 years ago

      Well, IIRC, he was an attorney for the government, who was against The Party. So most likely suicided.

      1. This Is The Zodiac Speaking   3 years ago

        Autoerotic or jumped into the gears of a combine?

      2. This Is The Zodiac Speaking   3 years ago

        I remember when ENB used to come into the comments and scold him.

        To be sure, as much as she is, rightly, vilified her being in the comments was like the queen showing up at a tour of the palace.

    2. Mother's Lament   3 years ago

      I miss John.

      1. Dillinger   3 years ago

        word

      2. Union of Concerned Socks   3 years ago

        Me too. Rufus as well.

        1. This Is The Zodiac Speaking   3 years ago

          He logged serious fucking hours here. I pictured him looking like a cross between John Bolton and Col Sanders

  44. JasonT20   3 years ago

    Republicans have spent the last several decades saying that government can't do anything right. They then do everything that they can to prove that to be true once in office.

    1. This Is The Zodiac Speaking   3 years ago

      With respect to certain services and aspects of civic life. And if the opposite view is gov't does everything the best way possible, I'll stick with skepticism

    2. R Mac   3 years ago

      Keep sucking that authoritarian cock.

      1. This Is The Zodiac Speaking   3 years ago

        If he wanted to stop he wouldn't gather at the glory hole

    3. Brian   3 years ago

      Blaming the last two years of Democrat governance on wreckers is very pathetic.

      1. Mike Laursen   3 years ago

        The crazy relief expenditures started during the Trump Administation. He insisted on having his name on the inflation-driving checks.

        1. Brian   3 years ago

          We didn’t have rampant inflation during the Trump administration.

          I’m sorry, but voters hold the people in power responsible. That’s how democracy works.

          1. Mike Laursen   3 years ago

            Gee, massive spending started during the Trump Administration couldn’t possibly be having effects now.

            1. Brian   3 years ago

              If voters want to punish politicians for spending too much money, democrats really don’t get a pass.

              Of all of Trump’s policies, “He spends too much money!” Was never uttered by a single Democrat.

              1. Mike Laursen   3 years ago

                Yes, and worse is that no Republicans have ever said, “Trump spends too much money.”

                Our country is going downhill because Red Team members don’t hold their own fellow team members accountable, and Blue Team members don’t hold their own fellow team members accountable.

                1. Brian   3 years ago

                  To be fair, the Biden years suck a lot worse than the Trump years.

                2. JasonT20   3 years ago

                  Our country is going downhill because Red Team members don’t hold their own fellow team members accountable, and Blue Team members don’t hold their own fellow team members accountable.

                  That's mostly due to the negative partisanship effect. Partisan voters tend to dislike the other side much more than they like the candidates on their side. The exception to this are the candidates that draw lots of attention for themselves without actually proposing any workable policies, and end up having some sort of personality cult going. Among Republicans, you see this in people that Dan Crenshaw called performance artists (though he didn't name anyone specific, he was talking about some of those in the Freedom Caucus).

                  If people will always "hold their nose" in order to vote against the side they hate, then that is giving candidates every incentive to focus on demonizing the opposition and fearmongering about what the other side will do if they get power rather than doing anything productive when in office. Voting for the "lesser evil" should obviously be extremely undesirable, as you end up with "evil" in office no matter what. (Cthulu 2024 - Why vote for the lesser evil? Vote for the greatest evil! No Lives Matter)

                  If you don't want politicians in office that spend too much money, then don't vote for anyone that does. That's the only way to send a message to them that you really care about that. If there are other things that they do that you like that are more important to you, then fine. Admit that spending is less important than those other things.

    4. Union of Concerned Socks   3 years ago

      Plagiarizing P. J. O'Rourke will get you nowhere.

    5. Earth-based Human Skeptic   3 years ago

      Um, you might be cited for plagiarism.

      “The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it.”

      Parliament of Whores, by P.J. O'Rourke

  45. Tony   3 years ago

    The libertarian-Republican alliance is finally bearing fruit. People hate institutions so much they're going to establish genuine fascism, camps and all. I hope you're proud of what you've accomplished in the name of individual liberty.

    Institutions don't do anything. People do things. The Koch network has been spending its money for one purpose: to eliminate democracy so that people like Charles Koch can get away with stealing the national wealth, and fucking children for all I know, without the meddling of the pesky feds.

    They don't want small government. They want a government so weak they can steal it for themselves. I tried to warn you.

    1. This Is The Zodiac Speaking   3 years ago

      OBL is Tony now?

    2. Brian   3 years ago

      “People hate institutions so much they're going to establish genuine fascism, camps and all.”

      The “fascists everywhere!” tell us how you know you’re dealing with a closet communist.

      1. Red Rocks White Privilege   3 years ago

        Especially the invocation of "democracy," which really means "marxism."

        1. This Is The Zodiac Speaking   3 years ago

          I second that.

      2. Libertariantranslator   3 years ago

        It says Tony looked in the mirror and saw the initiation of force "justified" by appeals to altruism and arm-waving.

      3. Libertariantranslator   3 years ago

        It says Tony looked in the mirror and saw the initiation of force "justified" by appeals to altruism and arm-waving.

    3. Marshal   3 years ago

      People hate institutions so much they're going to establish genuine fascism, camps and all.

      The leftists commenters here (who pretend not to be leftists) routinely mischaracterize the right as claiming the left is setting up camps as a way to discredit the right as paranoid. It's revealing literally none of them will criticize a fellow leftist when his paranoia drives him to literally make that claim.

      Frothers Unite!

      1. Mother's Lament   3 years ago

        Every time a lefty like Tony fires off an accusation, you know that it's what they're up to. He can't fathom that the enemy wouldn't be doing what he wants to do.

    4. EISTAU Gree-Vance   3 years ago

      “People will die!….” Lol.

      Yeah tony, you’re always trying to warn people about your nonsense paranoia. Nobody cares.

  46. This Is The Zodiac Speaking   3 years ago

    Also, where is K-K-K-K-Ken?

    1. Dillinger   3 years ago

      ya. Chumby too.

    2. Mother's Lament   3 years ago

      He and Nardz got into stupid fights with each other, and he went somewhere to cool his head. Hopefully he comes back when the Ukraine thing is over.

      1. This Is The Zodiac Speaking   3 years ago

        We should have a meetup at Reason HQ

  47. zhadum   3 years ago

    I find it hilarious that the phone in the photo for the FBI child ID app is an old iPhone 4 (which would only be capable of running iOS 7.1.2 - when the current version is 15.5)

    1. This Is The Zodiac Speaking   3 years ago

      Well if it helps you sleep at night, the FBI deploys Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro devices internally. They are all about simplicity so re-using dated content is par for their course.

      But they have a fleet of 32K+ flagship Pixels

      1. Union of Concerned Socks   3 years ago

        Did they get the regular retail Pixel 6, or the special government $1 million one?

        1. This Is The Zodiac Speaking   3 years ago

          Rooted units with BT and NFC forced open

          /Actually they are the most prolific users of Accessibility features. They're a fucking pain to work with because they won't send logs ever. And any engineers who assist them MUST be Americans; full citizens at that

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