Twitter’s Redesigned Block Feature Is a Stalker’s Delight - Update: Twitter Reinstates the Block Feature

A very bad idea
Internet • Views: 35,289

Twitter has made a disastrous decision about their user interface, and Leigh Honeywell has one of the best posts on what it means, and how to get around it: Changes to Twitter’s Block Behavior - and a Workaround.

Twitter posted an update today to their blocking functionality. In my opinion, it’s a real step backwards for the usability of Twitter for anyone with a large number of followers, or facing any kind of harassment.

It used to be that when you blocked someone, it would force them to “unfollow” you, in addition to hiding them from your mentions. This is no longer the case:

Note: If your account is public, blocking a user does not prevent that user from following you, interacting with your Tweets, or receiving your updates in their timeline. If your Tweets are protected, blocking the user will cause them to unfollow you.

The obvious objection to my objection is “well your stuff is public anyway, they could just make a new account” - the thing is, this reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of 1) how people use blocking and 2) how harassers operate.

I’m hoping Twitter will rethink this decision. There’s already an outcry (see #RestoreTheBlock), and it’s going to get worse as more people find out that the block feature basically doesn’t work any more.

The old way wasn’t perfect at all, and determined nutjobs could get around it, but this new way equates to just giving up and saying, “Oh well, we don’t want the stalkers mad at us, so you’ll just have to deal with it.”

Twitter spokesperson Jim Prosser says Twitter made the change because it thinks it will cut down on the vitriol, anger, and resentful Jezebel articles that result from knowing you’ve been blocked. “Now when you block a user, they cannot tell that you’ve blocked them,” tweeted Twitter CEO Dick Costolo. “It was a longstanding request from users of block.”

“We saw antagonistic behavior where people would see they were blocked and be mad,” says Prosser.

In my NSHO, this is one of the worst decisions by an Internet company in a while. Twitter has a big problem with targeted harassment, and they should be thinking about how to make it more difficult for abusers.

Instead they’ve made it easier for stalkers to do their dirty work, because they don’t want to lose them as customers.

UPDATE at 12/12/13 7:44:57 pm

Well, that didn’t take very long! Twitter has now reinstated the block feature.

UPDATE at 12/12/13 7:49:41 pm

Jump to bottom

503 comments
1 The Ghost of a Flea  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 5:52:25pm

I’m a bit dim when it comes to Twitter’s business model.

Is it in some way profitable to make this change?

2 dog philosopher  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 5:52:47pm

lonely bloggers at night, stalker’s delight

nsa in morning, stalkers take warning

3 dog philosopher  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 5:53:08pm

re: #1 The Ghost of a Flea

I’m a bit dim when it comes to Twitter’s business model.

Is it in some way profitable to make this change?

twitter is not profitable - yet

4 Gus  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 5:54:10pm
5 jaunte  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 5:54:42pm

re: #1 The Ghost of a Flea

It will help provide more information to their paid advertisers, so they can tinker with their ads to make them more effective. They’re the ‘real’ users, from the board’s point of view.

6 Kragar  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 5:56:42pm

Coming next from the people who brought you Twitter’s block function, Optional Restraining Orders.

“You are ordered to stay 150 yards away from the subject, unless you really don’t want to.”

7 Justanotherhuman  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 5:57:18pm

Well, unless you have an absolutely solid reason for using twitter, close your acct as a protest.

They’ll get the message.

8 freetoken  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 5:57:26pm

re: #5 jaunte

It’s an important point. These internet toys - Twitter, Facebook, and so on, are the contemporary version of “Madison Avenue”. Commerce is the heart of these data collecting schemes. All the stuff that keep people entertained are there to, well, keep people entertained.

9 Gus  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 5:58:54pm

re: #8 freetoken

It’s an important point. These internet toys - Twitter, Facebook, and so on, are the contemporary version of “Madison Avenue”. Commerce is the heart of these data collecting schemes. All the stuff that keep people entertained are there to, well, keep people entertained.

That’s about it.

10 Charles Johnson  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 5:59:37pm

Obsessed stalkers are often the most enthusiastic and frequent users of services like Twitter.

11 jaunte  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:00:06pm
12 darthstar  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:00:48pm

Guess who I just refollowed?

13 jaunte  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:01:06pm
14 darthstar  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:02:16pm

Consensual skull-fucking is okay.

15 darthstar  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:04:54pm
16 Kragar  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:07:43pm

So, I would redo the twitter bird as an ostrich, except I suck at photo manipulations.

17 darthstar  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:10:41pm
18 Targetpractice  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:12:09pm

re: #13 jaunte

Lots of folks complaining about new twitter block, are MFs who blocked folks because they couldn’t handle some truth!

With impeccable logic like that, I can only presume this paragon of “truth” has been the subject of more than a few blocks.

19 darthstar  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:13:28pm

re: #18 Targetpractice

With impeccable logic like that, I can only presume this paragon of “truth” has been the subject of more than a few blocks.

I got blocked by one dude because I was just being an asshole. How can he handle the truth if he can’t handle an asshole?

20 Targetpractice  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:15:51pm

This new policy makes me think of the “ignore” feature on messageboards and chatrooms. It’s the equivalent of giving someone the silent treatment and hoping they’ll take the hint and go away, rather than just continuing to sit there and harass everybody else.

21 Charles Johnson  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:16:25pm

Sane people react to being blocked when they’re just being sane with amusement, and then they move on. They don’t react with rage and anger.

Twitter is caving in to the lunatics.

22 lawhawk  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:16:38pm

Awful decision on their part to screw around with one of the few protections that people do have against stalkers based on their interface. Hope they restore the old system, but since it comes down to money, the question is which is the bigger pile of money on the table - the pile of people who stalk, or those who are going to get fed up and find somewhere else to instant-post.

If enough high profile people complain, we might see them restore this before long.

In the meantime, it took but hours before Donald Trump posted his conspiracy theory about the death of the Hawaiian official who certified the President’s birth certificate:


Yeah, he did go there. He’s all but claiming that at Barack Obama was somehow involved in orchestrating the death of Loretta Fuddy, the person who certified his birth certificate was legitimate.

Orly Taitz was likewise on the case - calling on everyone to reexamine her evidence (which in my NSHO should send her to the funny farm).

23 Targetpractice  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:18:25pm

re: #21 Charles Johnson

Sane people react to being blocked when they’re just being sane with amusement, and then they move on. They don’t react with rage and anger.

Twitter is caving in to the lunatics.

More like they’re caving to companies buying ad space, who might see a loss in revenue if those stalkers go through with threats to stop using Twitter unless the policy is changed.

24 darthstar  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:21:39pm
25 Kragar  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:21:43pm

re: #22 lawhawk

26 Kragar  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:23:24pm
27 Targetpractice  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:25:20pm

re: #24 darthstar

[Embedded content]

And like Walker, he’ll no doubt make the excuse that he had no idea this was going on and that’ll be that. His fans, no doubt the same folks who think that a staffer not being aware of the time the president spent a couple weeks on his uncle’s couch in college, will assert that there’s no way Christie could have known that this was going on.

28 AlexRogan  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:27:08pm

re: #10 Charles Johnson

Obsessed stalkers are often the most enthusiastic and frequent users of services like Twitter.

They’re what my company (in its quest to increase customer satisfaction) would call “raving fans”.

Raving lunatics is what they are…

29 BongCrodny  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:27:10pm

re: #22 lawhawk

In the meantime, it took but hours before Donald Trump posted his conspiracy theory about the death of the Hawaiian official who certified the President’s birth certificate:

How amazing, the State Health Director who verified copies of Obama’s “birth certificate” died in plane crash today. All others lived

Yes, because there’s never been a coincidence in the entire history of the universe.

30 jaunte  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:29:27pm
31 AlexRogan  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:32:23pm

re: #20 Targetpractice

This new policy makes me think of the “ignore” feature on messageboards and chatrooms. It’s the equivalent of giving someone the silent treatment and hoping they’ll take the hint and go away, rather than just continuing to sit there and harass everybody else.

The thing is, most people with any sense knows that putting someone on ‘ignore’ knows that the offending posters, by and large, don’t take the hint and leave; they often stay and grief the board until the admins just can’t abide any more.

32 lawhawk  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:33:37pm

re: #26 Kragar

Because there are some people who can’t get vaccinated. They have egg allergies. Or their immune systems are compromised (like those with cancer or are taking immunosuppressants) or are too young to be eligible to take the vaccines.

These fuckers think that they know more about medicine than the experts, and they’ll put everyone they come in contact at risk of spreading communicable diseases that are preventable. These are the same fuckers who think that it’s perfectly fine to get chicken pox, even though getting it is an extremely unpleasant experience, causes lost wages for parents caring for their kids, and could be completely avoided with a vaccine.

Same with all the other vaccines - measles, mumps, whooping cough, etc.

All are making a comeback because these fuckers are refusing to give their kids protection from these diseases - ignoring the herd immunity that it confers by reducing the amount of the disease spreading around that could potentially infect someone.

Fuckers.

33 Kragar  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:33:56pm

re: #30 jaunte

Image: blockstrich.png

Gonna disseminate that on twitter if you don’t mind.

34 jaunte  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:34:25pm

re: #33 Kragar

Not at all, go ahead.

35 Charles Johnson  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:34:25pm
36 freetoken  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:34:50pm

Continuing from downstairs… I think one of the best presenters on climate change is Richard Alley, and he doesn’t disappoint this time either, giving a high level presentation:

Abrupt Climate Change: Overview, And Sea-Level Rise


Only 20 minutes and worth the time.

direct link:

cdnapisec.kaltura.com

37 AlexRogan  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:35:57pm

re: #22 lawhawk

Awful decision on their part to screw around with one of the few protections that people do have against stalkers based on their interface. Hope they restore the old system, but since it comes down to money, the question is which is the bigger pile of money on the table - the pile of people who stalk, or those who are going to get fed up and find somewhere else to instant-post.

If enough high profile people complain, we might see them restore this before long.

In the meantime, it took but hours before Donald Trump posted his conspiracy theory about the death of the Hawaiian official who certified the President’s birth certificate:

[Embedded content]


Yeah, he did go there. He’s all but claiming that at Barack Obama was somehow involved in orchestrating the death of Loretta Fuddy, the person who certified his birth certificate was legitimate.

Orly Taitz was likewise on the case - calling on everyone to reexamine her evidence (which in my NSHO should send her to the funny farm).

Trump and Taitz can just go STFU, STFD, and DIAF.

Their 15 minutes ran out eons ago.

38 jaunte  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:37:06pm

“…Why does this matter? Let’s look at the number of problems I’ve already imagined with the new policy, and I’ve only had about 2 hours to think about
…snip…
With the ability to retweet the blocker’s tweets, a harasser with a large following could continually share the victim’s tweets to send hordes of troll assistants to do the harassment via proxy.”
skullsinthestars.com

39 lawhawk  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:38:42pm

Twitter’s already facing a revolt:

40 dog philosopher  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:39:59pm

re: #38 jaunte

hordes of troll assistants

i foresee anti-troll laws to supplement other anti-harrassment legislation

your honor, let me cite the case of Cheeto vs Wingnut

41 RealityBasedSteve  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:41:08pm

re: #20 Targetpractice

This new policy makes me think of the “ignore” feature on messageboards and chatrooms. It’s the equivalent of giving someone the silent treatment and hoping they’ll take the hint and go away, rather than just continuing to sit there and harass everybody else.

As I’ve said before, I’m not on Twitter, but I certainly understand the change that has occured.

I wouldn’t be surprised if twitter doesn’t implement a “2 level block”, where the first level would be an “ignore” option (which it seems to be what they have moved to), and a second option to totally block that individual (which would be a rollback to the older implementation)

That way they can say “We listened to our valuable users and am making even MORE options available to protect your privacy and security”

That’s how I’d handle it, but then again I’m no PR expert.

RBS

42 jaunte  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:42:43pm
43 Targetpractice  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:43:54pm

re: #39 lawhawk

Twitter’s already facing a revolt:

[Embedded content]

“Sire, the peasants are revolting!”
“You said it! They stink on ice!”

//

44 Feline Fearless Leader  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:50:08pm

re: #41 RealityBasedSteve

As I’ve said before, I’m not on Twitter, but I certainly understand the change that has occured.

I wouldn’t be surprised if twitter doesn’t implement a “2 level block”, where the first level would be an “ignore” option (which it seems to be what they have moved to), and a second option to totally block that individual (which would be a rollback to the older implementation)

That way they can say “We listened to our valuable users and am making even MORE options available to protect your privacy and security”

That’s how I’d handle it, but then again I’m no PR expert.

RBS

Or they’ll have “New Block” and “Block Classic” available.
/

45 b_sharp  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:53:26pm

It’s no longer a block button, it’s a scroll on by button.

46 Gus  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 6:59:03pm
47 darthstar  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:02:07pm

Our very own Kragar wins the fucking internets tonight.

48 Pie-onist Overlord  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:02:24pm

HURR HURR Y U SAY I AM TEH RACIST, LOOK AT ALL MY NEGROES!!!!

49 darthstar  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:04:25pm

Is it cold in Denver or are the announcers just drunk? Brad Nessler can’t remember the name of the Denver quarterback, and he just slurred his post-half-time monologue.

50 Pie-onist Overlord  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:10:09pm

Here is Teh Blueberry Pie

It got a little bit too brown around the edges, because I forgot to put on the foil shield like I usually do.

51 darthstar  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:13:36pm
52 Uncle Obdicut  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:14:40pm

Okay, after a long and rather difficulty pregnancy, my sister-in-law has given birth to a healthy seven pound seven ounces girl. I haven’t talked about it on there but there was a lot of worry and problems around this, including the heart-stopping phrase ‘fetal distress’ but everything turned out fine, she didn’t even have to have a C-section, the baby is doing well and doesn’t appear to have the heart condition they were worried it was displaying.

Weirdest fucking thing was that they predicted it was going to weigh like ten pounds. And seven pounds seven ounces is exactly the weight I was.

I was really, really worried for my sister-in-law and this baby. She’s over forty. I feel like she just went on a long, dangerous journey, and she’s finally safe, for which I’m very glad.

No matter how awful this modern world we live in is, no matter how alienating, I think the greatest good it has is that far fewer women (still too many, I know) die in childbirth.

53 Gus  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:16:17pm
54 dog philosopher  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:17:52pm

re: #45 b_sharp

It’s no longer a block button, it’s a scroll on by button.

yah i remember that great old motown hit from the 60s, ‘scroll on by’

55 FemNaziBitch  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:22:35pm

re: #52 Absalom, Absalom, Obdicut

Okay, after a long and rather difficulty pregnancy, my sister-in-law has given birth to a healthy seven pound seven ounces girl. I haven’t talked about it on there but there was a lot of worry and problems around this, including the heart-stopping phrase ‘fetal distress’ but everything turned out fine, she didn’t even have to have a C-section, the baby is doing well and doesn’t appear to have the heart condition they were worried it was displaying.

Weirdest fucking thing was that they predicted it was going to weigh like ten pounds. And seven pounds seven ounces is exactly the weight I was.

I was really, really worried for my sister-in-law and this baby. She’s over forty. I feel like she just went on a long, dangerous journey, and she’s finally safe, for which I’m very glad.

No matter how awful this modern world we live in is, no matter how alienating, I think the greatest good it has is that far fewer women (still too many, I know) die in childbirth.

beebee!!!!!!

And how is Uncle Obdi doing?

56 FemNaziBitch  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:22:55pm

I start getting used to twitter and now this.

57 Gus  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:25:15pm

re: #52 Absalom, Absalom, Obdicut

Okay, after a long and rather difficulty pregnancy, my sister-in-law has given birth to a healthy seven pound seven ounces girl. I haven’t talked about it on there but there was a lot of worry and problems around this, including the heart-stopping phrase ‘fetal distress’ but everything turned out fine, she didn’t even have to have a C-section, the baby is doing well and doesn’t appear to have the heart condition they were worried it was displaying.

Weirdest fucking thing was that they predicted it was going to weigh like ten pounds. And seven pounds seven ounces is exactly the weight I was.

I was really, really worried for my sister-in-law and this baby. She’s over forty. I feel like she just went on a long, dangerous journey, and she’s finally safe, for which I’m very glad.

No matter how awful this modern world we live in is, no matter how alienating, I think the greatest good it has is that far fewer women (still too many, I know) die in childbirth.

friendsofunfpa.org

58 Pie-onist Overlord  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:26:15pm

re: #52 Absalom, Absalom, Obdicut

Okay, after a long and rather difficulty pregnancy, my sister-in-law has given birth to a healthy seven pound seven ounces girl. I haven’t talked about it on there but there was a lot of worry and problems around this, including the heart-stopping phrase ‘fetal distress’ but everything turned out fine, she didn’t even have to have a C-section, the baby is doing well and doesn’t appear to have the heart condition they were worried it was displaying.

Weirdest fucking thing was that they predicted it was going to weigh like ten pounds. And seven pounds seven ounces is exactly the weight I was.

I was really, really worried for my sister-in-law and this baby. She’s over forty. I feel like she just went on a long, dangerous journey, and she’s finally safe, for which I’m very glad.

No matter how awful this modern world we live in is, no matter how alienating, I think the greatest good it has is that far fewer women (still too many, I know) die in childbirth.

MAZAL TOV!!

59 Gus  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:27:31pm

Executives rushed into a meeting Thursday night at Twitter’s San Francisco offices to discuss the uproar, a rare event for a company that for the most part has historically been hailed for championing its users, who now number more than 250 million worldwide.

60 RealityBasedSteve  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:28:56pm

re: #59 Gus

>Executives rushed into a meeting Thursday night at Twitter’s San Francisco offices to discuss the uproar, a rare event for a company that for the most part has historically been hailed for championing its users, who now number more than 250 million worldwide.

Coming soon, New Block and Classic Block (tip ‘o the hat to FFL for that line).

RBS

61 AlexRogan  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:33:56pm

re: #59 Gus

>Executives rushed into a meeting Thursday night at Twitter’s San Francisco offices to discuss the uproar, a rare event for a company that for the most part has historically been hailed for championing its users, who now number more than 250 million worldwide.

The collective utterance emanating from the Twitter C-suite tonight: “Oh shit!”

62 The War TARDIS  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:36:57pm

OT, but Moffat said something that has gotten the Whovians all puffed up:

…is that “there’s a ‘fair bit’ of nudity,”

If this is actually true, it will be a first for Doctor Who.

63 FemNaziBitch  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:37:40pm

Policy: Twenty tips for interpreting scientific claims

Feelings influence risk perception. Broadly, risk can be thought of as the likelihood of an event occurring in some time frame, multiplied by the consequences should the event occur. People’s risk perception is influenced disproportionately by many things, including the rarity of the event, how much control they believe they have, the adverseness of the outcomes, and whether the risk is voluntarily or not. For example, people in the United States underestimate the risks associated with having a handgun at home by 100-fold, and overestimate the risks of living close to a nuclear reactor by 10-fold7.

going to page

64 Dark_Falcon  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:38:25pm

re: #10 Charles Johnson

Obsessed stalkers are often the most enthusiastic and frequent users of services like Twitter.

Concur. I don’t see any good reason for Twitter to enable Rodan and the rest of his miserable crew.

[waves to the Stalkers]

65 Gus  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:38:35pm
66 Charles Johnson  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:40:28pm

And now it looks like Twitter has backed away from the brink…

support.twitter.com

67 Lidane  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:41:22pm
68 Dark_Falcon  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:45:04pm

re: #66 Charles Johnson

And now it looks like Twitter has backed away from the brink…

support.twitter.com

Smells like… victory.

69 Belafon  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:45:14pm

re: #39 lawhawk

“The Twitter users are revolting!” “Yes, they are!”

70 FemNaziBitch  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:45:20pm
71 Amory Blaine  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:46:35pm

Hey guys. Stayin up in the hills looking over Louisville. Played Canon in D for everyone. Drinking some abominable concoction. High as fuck. Hope all is well with you guys.

72 Backwoods_Sleuth  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:47:27pm
73 Charles Johnson  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:48:08pm
74 Targetpractice  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:48:54pm

re: #70 FemNaziBitch

[Embedded content]

In reverting this change to the block function, users will once again be able to tell that they’ve been blocked. We believe this is not ideal, largely due to the retaliation against blocking users by blocked users (and sometimes their friends) that often occurs. Some users worry just as much about post-blocking retaliation as they do about pre-blocking abuse. Moving forward, we will continue to explore features designed to protect users from abuse and prevent retaliation.

So it sounds less like they were doing it for monetary reasons and more like they just didn’t want to have to spend time working out a way to stop the very determined assholes who find ways around blocks.

75 dog philosopher  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:51:04pm

re: #59 Gus

>Executives rushed into a meeting Thursday night at Twitter’s San Francisco offices to discuss the uproar, a rare event for a company that for the most part has historically been hailed for championing its users, who now number more than 250 million worldwide.

apparently twitter is a large national entity comprised of people who squint and poke at devices and are known for their traditional literary form of texts in 140 characters or less

76 Varek Raith  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:51:55pm

re: #70 FemNaziBitch

[Embedded content]

Now fire whose ever bright idea that was in the first place.

77 Gus  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:52:45pm

Reverting the changes to block functionality

Earlier today, we made a change to the way the “block” function of Twitter works. We have decided to revert the change after receiving feedback from many users - we never want to introduce features at the cost of users feeling less safe. Any blocks you had previously instituted are still in effect.

In reverting this change to the block function, users will once again be able to tell that they’ve been blocked. We believe this is not ideal, largely due to the retaliation against blocking users by blocked users (and sometimes their friends) that often occurs. Some users worry just as much about post-blocking retaliation as they do about pre-blocking abuse. Moving forward, we will continue to explore features designed to protect users from abuse and prevent retaliation.

We’ve built Twitter to help you create and share ideas and information instantly, without barriers. That vision must coexist with keeping users safe on the platform. We’ve been working diligently to strike this balance since Twitter’s inception, and we thank you for all of your support and feedback to date. Thank you in advance for your patience as we continue to build the best - and safest - Twitter we possibly can.

78 FemNaziBitch  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:55:28pm

Whichever Lizard posted about the “Affluenza” case —Anderson Cooper has a bit on it.

79 FemNaziBitch  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:55:51pm

re: #71 Amory Blaine

Hey guys. Stayin up in the hills looking over Louisville. Played Canon in D for everyone. Drinking some abominable concoction. High as fuck. Hope all is well with you guys.

In New Albany?

80 FemNaziBitch  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:58:31pm

re: #74 Targetpractice

So it sounds less like they were doing it for monetary reasons and more like they just didn’t want to have to spend time working out a way to stop the very determined assholes who find ways around blocks.

I feel like I dodged a bullet.

81 Varek Raith  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:59:06pm
We believe this is not ideal, largely due to the retaliation against blocking users by blocked users (and sometimes their friends) that often occurs. Some users worry just as much about post-blocking retaliation as they do about pre-blocking abuse.

Your ‘solution’ was a victory for the abusers. Morans.

82 Charles Johnson  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:59:54pm
83 Amory Blaine  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 7:59:55pm

re: #79 FemNaziBitch

Somebody’s knob, Floyds knob. Fuzzy Zoeller lives down the street I’m told

84 RealityBasedSteve  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 8:01:35pm

Night lizards. Here’s a pic of a box I saw at wal-mart, somebody really needs to sign-off on the proofs before they send it to final press.
What goes Where?

RBS

85 FemNaziBitch  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 8:01:46pm

re: #83 Amory Blaine

Somebody’s knob, Floyds knob. Fuzzy Zoeller lives down the street I’m told

Been there many a time myself. Doing what you are doing.

Cold?

86 Interesting Times  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 8:02:46pm

re: #82 Charles Johnson

Well, whatever flaws facebook has, their block feature is the best I’ve ever seen - you don’t see anything from the person you block, and they don’t see anything from you. It’s as if your account ceases to exist from their POV. Now, I suppose they could retaliate by saying all kinds of nasty things about you on their own page, but they have no way of directly tagging or messaging your facebook account.

Why is it so hard for Twitter to do something similar?

87 FemNaziBitch  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 8:05:46pm

People are People everywhere

88 Gus  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 8:07:04pm

re: #87 FemNaziBitch

People are People everywhere

[Embedded content]

Yep. Another phallic snowman! // :D

89 Charles Johnson  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 8:14:15pm
90 Dark_Falcon  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 8:15:32pm

re: #87 FemNaziBitch

People are People everywhere

[Embedded content]

HURR HURR HURR, What global warming?!

Sorry, but you know that some jerks will spin the photo that way.

91 Eclectic Cyborg  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 8:17:49pm

re: #88 Gus

Is there a such thing as a non-phallic snowman?

92 Lidane  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 8:18:46pm

re: #90 Dark_Falcon

HURR HURR HURR, What global warming?!

Sorry, but you know that some jerks will spin the photo that way.

Of course they will. That’s the whole basis of climate change denial.

93 Eclectic Cyborg  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 8:20:52pm

How funny is it the global warming deniers are presenting winter weather in DECEMBER as evidence AGW is not happening?

94 Lidane  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 8:21:38pm

Having read the Fleming books as a kid, I can see the classic Bond fitting this. The new Daniel Craig version? Not so much.

95 FemNaziBitch  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 8:21:38pm
96 Kragar  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 8:23:32pm

re: #93 Eclectic Cyborg

How funny is it the global warming deniers are presenting winter weather in DECEMBER as evidence AGW is not happening?

“HAHA! SNOW!”

“And where the fuck do you think that extra water to allow it to snow came from, you dumbass?”

97 Gus  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 8:25:08pm

Speaking of which. High of 61 on Monday. I’m not complaining! Dear God we had a cold (freezing) snap for a whole week. I just about keeled over from the cold.

98 Lidane  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 8:26:35pm

re: #96 Kragar

“HAHA! SNOW!”

“And where the fuck do you think that extra water to allow it to snow came from, you dumbass?”

That extra water is the tears of the Baby Republican Jesus because gays evolution taxes atheists libruls Obama!

99 FemNaziBitch  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 8:26:41pm

re: #94 Lidane

Having read the Fleming books as a kid, I can see the classicc Bond fitting this. The new Daniel Craig version? Not so much.

[Embedded content]

Of course, we needed a study for this?

channelling Don Draper …

100 FemNaziBitch  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 8:26:55pm
101 FemNaziBitch  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 8:28:13pm
102 Dark_Falcon  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 8:29:46pm

re: #101 FemNaziBitch

The Butler Did it.

That’s just being a jerk. The store staff is going to have to reface that whole section.

103 FemNaziBitch  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 8:31:04pm
104 Gus  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 8:32:34pm
105 freetoken  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 8:35:44pm

TWITTER BOWS TO COMMUNIST NANNYSTATISTS!!

106 Gus  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 8:35:59pm
107 Gus  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 8:36:47pm
108 FemNaziBitch  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 8:37:48pm
109 The War TARDIS  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 8:39:34pm

re: #95 FemNaziBitch

This is why I know that history can go backwards.

110 FemNaziBitch  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 8:44:46pm
111 Eclectic Cyborg  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 8:45:24pm

re: #110 FemNaziBitch

You think it took them long enough? Ye gods.

112 The War TARDIS  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 8:46:29pm

re: #110 FemNaziBitch

Mormon Church: Catching up to the America of 40 years ago.

I’ll pay attention when they accept responsibility for the Mountain Meadows Massacre and the Utah War.

113 Kragar  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 8:50:26pm
114 Lidane  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 9:00:37pm

This is my shocked face:

Texas Lt. Gov. Hopefuls Voice Support For Creationism

Three out of four Republican candidates for Texas lieutenant governor said creationism should be taught in the state’s public schools at a debate in Waco Thursday evening.

All four men in the race said religion should play a larger role in public education when asked where they stood on the issue during the event hosted by the McClennan County Republican Party and broadcast by KCEN-TV. But only one, Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, stopped short of endorsing creationism in the state’s curriculum.

115 Gus  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 9:13:23pm
116 Targetpractice  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 9:14:22pm

To my total lack of surprise, it seems that the Senate GOP have announced their intention to filibuster the Ryan-Murray deal. Which means, should that filibuster hold, we’re back to square one. And looking at another shutdown and several days of the GOP dicking us around by saying how they won’t accept anything less than a clean CR that keeps the sequester cuts intact.

117 Amory Blaine  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 9:15:05pm
118 Charles Johnson  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 9:17:35pm

re: #117 Amory Blaine

Lie of the Year: ‘If you like your health care plan, you can keep it’

Lie of the year.

Politifact sucks.

119 piratedan  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 9:18:46pm

re: #82 Charles Johnson

[Embedded content]

I see this same disturbing tendency all over the place, people that are mean, disrespectful and have nothing better to do than derive some sort of satisfaction from denying someone else the ability to play a game, make a statement or talk to friends by being a dick. Why in the hell do people continue to allow bullying to go on? Cripes, this isn’t grade school or junior high, if someone is a miserable fuck, they shouldn’t be allowed to make someone’s elses life miserable just because of their own self loathing or lack of personal skills.

120 Targetpractice  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 9:18:55pm

re: #117 Amory Blaine

Lie of the Year: ‘If you like your health care plan, you can keep it’

Lie of the year.

A lie from three years ago, at the time rated “half-true,” now dubbed “lie of the year” by the same fuckwit who dashed off a missive a week back about how Democrats were in retreat from the White House over the ACA’s rollout and how Obama was in trouble of being abandoned by his own party.

121 piratedan  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 9:20:26pm

re: #118 Charles Johnson

Politifact sucks.

true dat… if they were on fire, I wouldn’t piss on those bastards…

122 wheat-dogghazi  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 9:22:22pm

re: #71 Amory Blaine

Hey guys. Stayin up in the hills looking over Louisville. Played Canon in D for everyone. Drinking some abominable concoction. High as fuck. Hope all is well with you guys.

The Highlands? iroquois Park area? The Knobs?

123 Kragar  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 9:22:51pm
124 wheat-dogghazi  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 9:26:48pm

re: #83 Amory Blaine

Somebody’s knob, Floyds knob. Fuzzy Zoeller lives down the street I’m told

Oh, now I know where you are. I used to live there.

125 Targetpractice  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 9:27:04pm

re: #123 Kragar

[Embedded content]

Have I mentioned lately how low my opinion of organized religion is?

126 Gus  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 9:28:40pm
127 The War TARDIS  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 9:31:53pm

So, I will be buying a poster of this.

People who know what they are doing, can you help me with all the choices. There are a lot of them and I am confused.

128 The War TARDIS  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 9:39:02pm

Since I seem to have killed the thread, I will try to help revive it.

Run…

129 Dancing along the light of day  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 9:39:40pm

re: #128 The War TARDIS

Far away…

130 The War TARDIS  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 9:44:25pm

re: #129 Dancing along the light of day

Wrong phrase. :P

131 The War TARDIS  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 9:46:26pm

Seriously though, I want help on this.

132 FemNaziBitch  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 9:54:10pm

re: #102 Dark_Falcon

That’s just being a jerk. The store staff is going to have to reface that whole section.

Puleezzz! Did it occur to you that they did that to take the picture and then turned the books back around?

133 Gus  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 9:54:17pm


Good night.

134 bratwurst  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 9:55:49pm
135 FemNaziBitch  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 9:57:20pm

Beyonce has a new album out.

136 The Ghost of a Flea  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 10:26:18pm

re: #110 FemNaziBitch

Now, you Know!
Mormon Church: Dark Skin a Sign of God’s Curse No Longer

That is a very strong reaction to Megan Kelly’s dumbassery.

137 FemNaziBitch  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 10:40:28pm

#praytoendabortion is now trending.

fuck!

138 FemNaziBitch  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 10:46:26pm

re: #137 FemNaziBitch

#praytoendabortion is now trending.

fuck!

Yeah, I’m a bit pissed

139 Targetpractice  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 10:47:21pm

re: #128 The War TARDIS

Since I seem to have killed the thread, I will try to help revive it.

Run…

Allons-y!

140 FemNaziBitch  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 10:56:08pm
141 FemNaziBitch  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 11:13:37pm

re: #137 FemNaziBitch

#praytoendabortion is now trending.

fuck!

I may tweet all night at this rate.

142 FemNaziBitch  Thu, Dec 12, 2013 11:17:43pm
143 Sol Berdinowitz  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 12:49:55am

re: #32 lawhawk

These fuckers think that they know more about medicine than the experts, and they’ll put everyone they come in contact at risk of spreading communicable diseases that are preventable. These are the same fuckers who think that it’s perfectly fine to get chicken pox, even though getting it is an extremely unpleasant experience, causes lost wages for parents caring for their kids, and could be completely avoided with a vaccine.

America always had an intellectual inferiority complex towards Europe and cultivated a tradition of mistrusting academics and scientific authorities.

Which can be a healthy thing in that it encourages new and novel approaches to problem solving. But I think we had this problem solved through science, statistics and applied medicines.

And when this intellectual Ludditism is hijacked by some sort of ideology and backed with dark money from cynical billionaires pursuing their own agendas, it has the potential to cause untold damage.

I am on the fence about chicken pox, aside from the lost wages for parents, it is a relatively harmless disease, and the earlier kids get it the milder the symptoms. I did not get it until I was 11 and it was nasty.

144 goddamnedfrank  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 1:16:44am

re: #143 Sol Berdinowitz

I am on the fence about chicken pox, aside from the lost wages for parents, it is a relatively harmless disease, and the earlier kids get it the milder the symptoms. I did not get it until I was 11 and it was nasty.

It kills something like 90 people every year and that’s just first order infection, double that number if you want to include shingles cases. A comprehensive vaccination program might not save that many lives in the grand scheme of things, but for comparison’s sake we’re talking about the average number of people killed in mass shootings per year.

145 ausador  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 1:28:22am

re: #143 Sol Berdinowitz

Don’t forget that once you are infected with the varicella zoster virus that causes chicken pox (and shingles) it is always inside you dormant in your nerve cells unless or until it reappears as a case of shingles.

The shingles vaccine only reduces your relative risk of getting shingles by about 50% and your risk of long lasting nerve pain after the shingles rash has disappeared (postherpetic neuralgia) by about 66%.

Isn’t it better to simply prevent any future problems almost completely by vaccinating children against the virus before they ever get the chicken pox in the first place?

146 Sol Berdinowitz  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 1:34:18am

You make a convincing case, I have had shingles twice now as an adult and it is nasty.

147 Lidane  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 1:51:25am

Meanwhile, in entertainment news:

148 Sol Berdinowitz  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 1:52:51am

re: #147 Lidane

She is just trying to distract us from the murdered Hawaiian registrar!!!

149 Justanotherhuman  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 3:41:07am

happy Friday the 13th, all you superstitious types.

Well, well, well, Twitter.

Just 4 days ago:

4:01 pm
Twitter closes at a record
by Laura Mandaro
Add a Comment

Twitter surged 9% to $49.14. Read more in tech stocks.

blogs.marketwatch.com

I suppose they got cocky, then figured out—oh, shit, we can’t lose all that ad revenue…

150 Lidane  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 3:57:58am


I’m reading this now. It’s one of the most incoherent, delusional things I’ve read. Wow.

151 Decatur Deb  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 4:19:23am

re: #124 wheat-dogghazi

Oh, now I know where you are. I used to live there.

So did I, on the last of the knobs, on the edge of Okolona. The knob was composed heavily of paleozoic crinoid fossils (indian buttons). You could scoop them up by the handful.

152 Sol Berdinowitz  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 4:19:24am

re: #150 Lidane

[Embedded content]


I’m reading this now. It’s one of the most incoherent, delusional things I’ve read. Wow.

Some poor bastard at the agency was given the task of writing this dispatch and knew that if he did not lay it on with a trowel, he would be accused of sympathizing with the victim…

153 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 4:39:52am

My son-in-law’s car in Jerusalem:


My daughter called yesterday, everybody there is going crazy. This is the biggest snowfall in 100 years. There are no tow trucks or snow plows. The power was out for six hours (“but the fancy tourist hotel across the street was all lit up!”)

The kids wanted to play outside but they had no snow boots, so she tied plastic bags around their shoes.

154 Sol Berdinowitz  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 4:45:43am

re: #153 Lord of the Pies

Meanwhile the Israeli town of Megiddo could truly declare this “Snowmageddon”

155 Justanotherhuman  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 4:48:03am

This seems even more risky than the stock market, IMHO.

European Union Warns on Bitcoin

dealbook.nytimes.com

“The E.U.’s banking authority said consumers needed to be aware that they were not protected through regulation when paying with Bitcoins. The digital currency is vulnerable to hackers, might lose its value and any misuse could prompt law enforcement agencies to close Bitcoin exchange platforms and keep consumers from accessing their investment, the European regulator said.

“Currently, no specific protection exists in the E.U. that would protect consumers from financial losses if a platform that exchanges or holds virtual currencies fails or goes out of business,” the European Banking Authority said, adding that it was looking into whether such currencies can and should be regulated.

“The warning comes after China last week restricted its banks from using Bitcoin as currency because of concerns about money laundering and a threat to financial stability. Germany said earlier this year that it would not recognize Bitcoin as a foreign currency and that gains from buying and selling Bitcoins would be taxable. Norway has been considering a similar stance.”

156 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 4:49:00am

My daughter told me that one of the things about moving to Israel is that she misses Christmas. “Not to celebrate or anything, but I always loved the lights and the decorations.”

I said, “the music too?”

“Oh no, the music is terrible!”

My daughters also love Black Friday shopping. I don’t know where they got that from, certainly not me. Maybe they inherited my mother-in-law’s bargain-shopping gene.

157 Justanotherhuman  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 4:49:01am

re: #153 Lord of the Pies

My son-in-law’s car in Jerusalem:

[Embedded content]


My daughter called yesterday, everybody there is going crazy. This is the biggest snowfall in 100 years. There are no tow trucks or snow plows. The power was out for six hours (“but the fancy tourist hotel across the street was all lit up!”)

The kids wanted to play outside but they had no snow boots, so she tied plastic bags around their shoes.

The hotel probably had its own generators.

158 Decatur Deb  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 4:54:39am

From Health & Human Services via Mother Jones:

This is a link to the .pdf of the hard-number status report on ACA from 1 Oct
through 30 Nov.


159 Flounder  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 4:58:23am

ah twitter. Just turn your phone off.

160 William Barnett-Lewis  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 5:00:01am

re: #158 Decatur Deb

From Health & Human Services via Mother Jones:

This is a link to the .pdf of the hard-number status report on ACA from 1 Oct
through 30 Nov.

aspe.hhs.gov

DD, what’s the procedure to follow to use the marketplace if the employer’s insurance is far too expensive (and has deductibles worse than Bronze as well)? I need to do it this weekend.

161 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 5:00:31am

WTF

162 Flounder  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 5:00:35am

re: #153 Lord of the Pies

We put the plastic bags around our socks, that way your feet stay dryer longer. Wow, what a childhood flashback. We never threw away bread bags either.

163 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 5:02:10am
164 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 5:02:52am

re: #162 Flounder

We put the plastic bags around our socks, that way your feet stay dryer longer. Wow, what a childhood flashback. We never threw away bread bags either.

Well I remember putting plastic bags on over my shoes so the galoshes would be easier to slip on.

165 ObserverArt  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 5:06:57am

Happy Friday the 13th Everyone!


I think. Let you know later this evening…

/

166 Uncle Obdicut  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 5:09:24am

re: #161 Lord of the Pies

WTF

[Embedded content]

I’ve seen that article (about how Jews are totes keeping Asians down) floating around for a long time now. It’s a really shitty article, as numerous people have proved, and has a clear and obvious anti-Jew bias. It’s the anti-Jew “The Bell Jar”, basically, using fucked up statistics to achieve a racist end.

167 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 5:10:31am

re: #166 Absalom, Absalom, Obdicut

I’ve seen that article (about how Jews are totes keeping Asians down) floating around for a long time now. It’s a really shitty article, as numerous people have proved, and has a clear and obvious anti-Jew bias. It’s the anti-Jew “The Bell Jar”, basically, using fucked up statistics to achieve a racist end.

I think you mean “The Bell Curve.” “The Bell Jar” IIRC was something by Sylvia Plath.

168 Lidane  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 5:12:22am
169 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 5:17:54am

Delusional Twitter hashtag: No wingnuts, You can’t #ImpeachObama by getting a bunch of retweets and Facebook likes.

170 William Barnett-Lewis  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 5:19:46am

bbl.

171 Flounder  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 5:22:53am

re: #161 Lord of the Pies

I had trouble following the article, until I got to what Unz actually wrote:

It would be unreasonable to ignore the salient fact that this massive apparent bias in favor of far less-qualified Jewish applicants coincides with an equally massive ethnic skew at the topmost administrative ranks of the universities in question, a situation which once again exactly parallels Karabel’s account from the 1920s. Indeed, Karabel points out that by 1993 Harvard, Yale, and Princeton all had presidents of Jewish ancestry, and the same is true for the current presidents of Yale, Penn, Cornell, and possibly Columbia, as well as Princeton’s president throughout during the 1990s and Yale’s new incoming president, while all three of Harvard’s most recent presidents have either had Jewish origins or a Jewish spouse.

Unz is a hater

172 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 5:27:51am

re: #171 Flounder

I had trouble following the article, until I got to what Unz actually wrote:

Unz is a hater

That’s some industrial strength toxic hate.

173 Sol Berdinowitz  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 5:27:58am

re: #169 Lord of the Pies

Delusional Twitter hashtag: No wingnuts, You can’t #ImpeachObama by getting a bunch of retweets and Facebook likes.

[Embedded content]

Unfriended a FB friend for reposting the fake Obama student ID with the caption “let’s make it go viral!” as if spreading a photoshopped forgery was supposed to effect something beyond showing what a bunch of teaderps they all are

174 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 5:30:31am

It’s gonna be a fun day at work. Buncha folks are getting BSODs (probably the result of a corporate update that was pushed last night).

I didn’t get one…YET.

175 Lidane  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 5:32:47am

re: #148 Sol Berdinowitz

She is just trying to distract us from the murdered Hawaiian registrar!!!

And she succeded. WOW.

I downloaded her new album. Beyonce is on fire. It’s incredible. A complete artistic statement, and it’s openly, unapologetically feminist, sexual, and smart. The rappers and guest musicians on the album serve the songs instead of going off on tangents. Nothing feels like filler to me.

I haven’t watched the videos yet. I’ll get to them later. But this is really, really well done.

176 Sol Berdinowitz  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 5:35:28am

re: #174 Lord of the Pies

It’s gonna be a fun day at work. Buncha folks are getting BSODs (probably the result of a corporate update that was pushed last night).

I didn’t get one…YET.

Girlfriend’s company has been informed that five people from the Frankfurt office are gonna go, but which five is still TBA…

177 Romantic Heretic  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 5:40:55am

re: #103 FemNaziBitch

OMG, look at the face of #13

Reminds me of this.

178 Justanotherhuman  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 5:43:48am

Senate easily approves James to lead Air Force

thehill.com

Ugh, a Duke grad. On the other hand, if Kelly Ayotte tried to block her over some aircraft, she probably can get the AF cleaned up. James sounds extremely qualified and we know Ayotte isn’t.

saic.com

179 Decatur Deb  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 5:44:51am

re: #160 William Barnett-Lewis

DD, what’s the procedure to follow to use the marketplace if the employer’s insurance is far too expensive (and has deductibles worse than Bronze as well)? I need to do it this weekend.

You don’t have to do much more than start your account, submit an application. You will be asked if the employer has a program, and your ‘yes’ answer will trigger a requirement to fill a one-page description of it from the HR (needs employer EIN identification). You can go ahead with the process, but that form has to be submitted within 90 days. It can be done via mail, though I think one of our people has managed to scan and upload one electronically. You are eligible for ACA exchange plans if the employer plan does not meet the standard set by the law or if the plan is too expensive relative to your income—that’s about 9%, after a bunch of individual/family adjustments. Your state might have somewhat different rules, and you can get help/advice via a face-to-face outreach office or a phone number.

180 Flounder  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 5:45:29am

re: #177 Romantic Heretic

My chocolate broke into the pantry and stole a bad of powdered sugar this morning. Left the mess for the wife, I have to be at work!!!

181 makeitstop  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 5:48:44am

re: #169 Lord of the Pies

Delusional Twitter hashtag: No wingnuts, You can’t #ImpeachObama by getting a bunch of retweets and Facebook likes.

[Embedded content]

Clap harder!
/

But seriously - every fake outrage they threw against the wall failed to stick - SelfieGate, HandshakeGate, LieOfTheYearGate. Making an impossible demand via social media is sure to work!
///

182 Romantic Heretic  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 5:49:49am

re: #155 Justanotherhuman

This seems even more risky than the stock market, IMHO.

European Union Warns on Bitcoin

dealbook.nytimes.com

“The E.U.’s banking authority said consumers needed to be aware that they were not protected through regulation when paying with Bitcoins. The digital currency is vulnerable to hackers, might lose its value and any misuse could prompt law enforcement agencies to close Bitcoin exchange platforms and keep consumers from accessing their investment, the European regulator said.

“Currently, no specific protection exists in the E.U. that would protect consumers from financial losses if a platform that exchanges or holds virtual currencies fails or goes out of business,” the European Banking Authority said, adding that it was looking into whether such currencies can and should be regulated.

“The warning comes after China last week restricted its banks from using Bitcoin as currency because of concerns about money laundering and a threat to financial stability. Germany said earlier this year that it would not recognize Bitcoin as a foreign currency and that gains from buying and selling Bitcoins would be taxable. Norway has been considering a similar stance.”

I’ve been sort of following this. Mostly on Business Insider’s Facebook page. The anarchists, sorry, libertarians are loving Bitcoin. Because it’s free of government interference. Some believe it’s a new gold standard.

I point out that private currencies have major problems and then comes the being shouted at by the true believers: The Fed!!! Gold!!!! You don’t understand!!!! Commie!!!!!!!!!

The similarity between ‘libertarians’ and Marxists couldn’t be more plain.

183 William Barnett-Lewis  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 5:50:54am

re: #179 Decatur Deb

Thanks. Her works plan would be ~$800 a month out of ~$2400 for the two of us with really high deductibles. When I was browsing the other day it was about $100 a month with the subsidy we qualified for so I’ll run with that instead.

Probably better do it when the boy is at school. He hears me cursing Scooter enough as it is.

184 Justanotherhuman  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 5:52:16am

re: #182 Romantic Heretic

I’ve been sort of following this. Mostly on Business Insider’s Facebook page. The anarchists, sorry, libertarians are loving Bitcoin. Because it’s free of government interference. Some believe it’s a new gold standard.

I point out that private currencies have major problems and then comes the being shouted at by the true believers: The Fed!!! Gold!!!! You don’t understand!!!! Commie!!!!!!!!!

The similarity between ‘libertarians’ and Marxists couldn’t be more plain.

What similarity? : )

185 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 5:52:36am

Yay, the snowplow is coming down the street!

Photo taken in front of my daughter’s house. Building shown is the Dan Panorama tourist hotel.

186 Uncle Obdicut  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 5:53:21am

re: #167 Lord of the Pies

I think you mean “The Bell Curve.” “The Bell Jar” IIRC was something by Sylvia Plath.

Hah. Yes. Need coffee.

187 makeitstop  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 5:54:34am

Also, my Facebook wingnuts seem to be particularly irritated with Newsday this morning, and I’m not exactly sure why.

188 Decatur Deb  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 5:55:57am

re: #183 William Barnett-Lewis

Thanks. Her works plan would be ~$800 a month out of ~$2400 for the two of us with really high deductibles. When I was browsing the other day it was about $100 a month with the subsidy we qualified for so I’ll run with that instead.

Probably better do it when the boy is at school. He hears me cursing Scooter enough as it is.

I’ll be on the road most of the day—back tonight. This looks like your local navigator resource:

e4healthwi.org

If they are like us, they’re trying to maintain a recurring helper presence at libraries and churches.

189 Decatur Deb  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 5:57:53am

re: #185 Lord of the Pies

Yay, the snowplow is coming down the street!

Photo taken in front of my daughter’s house. Building shown is the Dan Panorama tourist hotel.

The one in Herzliya Pituach? My office was a few blocks from there.

190 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 5:59:17am

re: #189 Decatur Deb

The one in Herzliya Pituach? My office was a few blocks from there.

That’s on Keren Hayesod, just outside of the Old City.

191 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:00:28am

My daughter texted that the power just went out again, and Sabbath is just starting there.

192 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:01:02am

re: #185 Lord of the Pies

Yay, the snowplow is coming down the street!

Photo taken in front of my daughter’s house. Building shown is the Dan Panorama tourist hotel.

They must not salt or sand the streets with the same vehicles that do the plowing. But then again, I think it unlikely an Israeli city would have the salt storage that even the larger suburbs of Chicago have.

193 makeitstop  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:01:17am

Wow. Someone posted this on one of the threads about Megyn Kelly’s ‘white Jesus’ remarks:

And based on the origin of Santa (St, Nicholas) he was white, as was Jesus, since white is a synonym for Caucasian and they certainly weren’t Negroid or Mongoloid.

How do you even begin to reason with someone who honestly believes this shit?

194 darthstar  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:02:47am

What happens when you put trail riders on road bikes?

Youtube Video

Pretty impressive stuff. Mornin’ all.

195 William Barnett-Lewis  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:03:27am

re: #193 makeitstop

Wow. Someone posted this on one of the threads about Megyn Kelly’s ‘white Jesus’ remarks:

How do you even begin to reason with someone who honestly believes this shit?

You don’t. Just take a clue by 4 and clock them upside the head, then walk away. They aren’t worth the time beyond that.

196 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:03:55am

re: #192 Dark_Falcon

They must not salt or sand the streets with the same vehicles that do the plowing. But then again, I think it unlikely an Israeli city would have the salt storage that even the larger suburbs of Chicago have.

This is the biggest snowfall in 100 years, and they only get snow like once in five years. Snow removal preparation is not a high priority.

197 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:03:57am

re: #193 makeitstop

Wow. Someone posted this on one of the threads about Megyn Kelly’s ‘white Jesus’ remarks:

How do you even begin to reason with someone who honestly believes this shit?

You don’t. That person has very outdated ideas about ‘race’ and those need to be updated before any discussion could really occur. Suggesting a good book or website on the ‘human geography’ of the world is about all you can do.

198 lawhawk  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:07:29am

Greets and saluts from the NYC metro area. We’re supposed to get a bunch of snow in the area tomorrow, but we at least know how to deal with it. We’ve got snow plows, salt spreaders, and people who are accustomed to dealing with snows - even when we get more than a foot.

The same can’t be said for Israel, where other than a few spots in the Golan Heights get very little snow normally. The snowstorm hitting Jerusalem is one of the biggest in generations, and they simply don’t have the gear to clear roads. It’s a mess, and there are flood warnings through Tel Aviv because of rains. The roads between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv are shuttered. Ben Gurion was shut down for a time as well.

Jerusalem received between 30 centimeters and half a meter of snow by Friday morning depending on the area in the city. That compares to the rest of the country, including the North:

the North as of 9 am Friday only a few centimeters of snow had fallen. Overnight, between 50 and 70 millimeters of rainfall drenched the coastal plain and the Shfela region, accompanied by hail and thunderstorms. Flooding and water damage struck the area between Ashkelon and Netanya, the IMS said.

Strong rainfall will continue throughout the day Friday, while the unseasonably low temperatures will maintain the snowy conditions in central mountains above 600 meters, according to the IMS. Tens more centimeters of snow should fall, bringing the snow level potentially up to over 1 meter by Saturday morning.

In the North, snow will also continue to fall in mountains over 600 meters, though accumulating only up to about 10 centimeters by Saturday morning.

Due to the influx of cold air, sleet is expected to begin to cover Mitzpe Ramon by noon and turn into snowfall by the afternoon, the IMS said. In the evening, snow will likely fall over the Negev highlands, stacking to about 1 centimeter.

Heavy rain, accompanied by thunder and hail, will continue to drench the coastal plane, with risk of flooding in the region between Kiryat Gat and Hadera, the IMS said. Toward evening the Ayalon and Yarkon rivers may overflow after reaching full capacity.

The Jordan Valley, Judean Desert and Negev may also receive floods, and Road 90 will continue to face challenges, the IMS said.

Rain will continue through Saturday until it begins to weaken and eventually ceases by nighttime, the IMS reported. Snowfall in Jerusalem should turn to sleet by noon and stop by the afternoon. As the skies become clearer, however, the temperatures will remain cold, falling to below zero in many places and causing icy - “black ice” - road conditions, the IMS warned.

Also as a result of the storm, Israel has opened the crossing with Gaza to allow more fuel, pumps and other materials to enter.

—-
Math conversion:
50-70mm = about 1.5 to 2 inches of rain.
30 cm = just under a foot.
half a meter = about 20 inches.
1 meter = 39 inches.

In other words, we’re talking historic snowfalls.

199 lawhawk  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:13:37am

re: #192 Dark_Falcon

Most of Israel doesn’t have the salt spreaders or plows, because they normally don’t get significant snowfalls. Jerusalem is particularly tough to plow, especially once you get close to the Old City because of the extremely narrow streets.

The lack of plows, the lack of experience in dealing with this heavy a snow, all contributes to the slow response in clearing roads. But the priority (as with most other cities) is to clear main roads first, then secondary roads, and then tertiary roads. Roads that have priority include the main highways, streets like Jaffa Road (where the light rail runs), and roads adjacent to hospitals, fire departments, and police stations.

All that said, I wish I were in Jerusalem now compared to the snow we’re supposed to get here tomorrow. There’s something magical about the snow in Jerusalem. It mutes and transforms (that and I’d love to photograph the sites all draped in snow)…

200 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:14:03am

re: #196 Lord of the Pies

This is the biggest snowfall in 100 years, and they only get snow like once in five years. Snow removal preparation is not a high priority.

That was my understanding as well, though it did snow there last winter as well. But even so they wouldn’t have the capability found along the shores of the Great Lakes. Even so, I wanted to highlight part of Lawhawk’s post:

re: #198 lawhawk

Also as a result of the storm, Israel has opened the crossing with Gaza to allow more fuel, pumps and other materials to enter.

More proof, if any more were needed, that Israel is no ‘apartheid state’. Not that you need to be told, of course, but I try to use what opportunities present themselves to whack at that toxic meme.

201 wheat-dogghazi  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:14:37am

re: #182 Romantic Heretic

I’ve been sort of following this. Mostly on Business Insider’s Facebook page. The anarchists, sorry, libertarians are loving Bitcoin. Because it’s free of government interference. Some believe it’s a new gold standard.

I point out that private currencies have major problems and then comes the being shouted at by the true believers: The Fed!!! Gold!!!! You don’t understand!!!! Commie!!!!!!!!!

The similarity between ‘libertarians’ and Marxists couldn’t be more plain.

I’m dabbling in bitcoins mostly to see if I can make some money on its volatility, but I have serious doubts it’s going to be around very long. For one thing, governments and law enforcement agencies hate anonymous, or semi-anonymous currencies. Bitcoin fans live in their own little libertarian fantasy world, imagining that their pet currency can survive free of government interference. It’s not going to happen. Outfits like Coinbase are already following FinCEN regulations. Eventually, everyone will have to provide some ID to buy bitcoins, or trade online, and then it will become just another electronically traded commodity.

On the other hand, it does seem to be shaking up the normally torpid banking world. JP Morgan Chase may introduce its own digital “currency.” Western Union seems rather non-plussed, and PayPal has made it impossible to use PayPal to buy crypto-currency.

202 Lidane  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:15:59am

re: #187 makeitstop

Also, my Facebook wingnuts seem to be particularly irritated with Newsday this morning, and I’m not exactly sure why.

I’m looking at their site and don’t see anything that would set the nutters off today. Maybe it’s the op-ed saying that Obama shook hands with Raul Castro because good manners, or the one that called Nelson Mandela the conscience of the world.

203 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:16:27am

re: #199 lawhawk

Most of Israel doesn’t have the salt spreaders or plows, because they normally don’t get significant snowfalls. Jerusalem is particularly tough to plow, especially once you get close to the Old City because of the extremely narrow streets.

The lack of plows, the lack of experience in dealing with this heavy a snow, all contributes to the slow response in clearing roads. But the priority (as with most other cities) is to clear main roads first, then secondary roads, and then tertiary roads. Roads that have priority include the main highways, streets like Jaffa Road (where the light rail runs), and roads adjacent to hospitals, fire departments, and police stations.

All that said, I wish I were in Jerusalem now compared to the snow we’re supposed to get here tomorrow. There’s something magical about the snow in Jerusalem. It mutes and transforms (that and I’d love to photograph the sites all draped in snow)…

I wonder if they have plows they can fit to light rail repair trains. Those are fairly effective in use.

204 Lidane  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:16:55am

re: #197 Dark_Falcon

You don’t. That person has very outdated ideas about ‘race’ and those need to be updated before any discussion could really occur. Suggesting a good book or website on the ‘human geography’ of the world is about all you can do.

Well, that and pulling out a cluebat. Heh.

205 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:17:03am

re: #199 lawhawk

All that said, I wish I were in Jerusalem now compared to the snow we’re supposed to get here tomorrow. There’s something magical about the snow in Jerusalem. It mutes and transforms (that and I’d love to photograph the sites all draped in snow)…

Heh, just before Sabbath started, my daughter uploaded a whole bunch of photos to FB.

206 Sol Berdinowitz  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:19:01am

re: #197 Dark_Falcon

You don’t. That person has very outdated ideas about ‘race’ and those need to be updated before any discussion could really occur. Suggesting a good book or website on the ‘human geography’ of the world is about all you can do.

There is no reasoning with these people, all we can do is try to limit the damage they cause.

207 lawhawk  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:19:40am

re: #203 Dark_Falcon

The light rail and Egged bus services (the main bus system in Israel) are all off the roads because of the snow. They’re not running because of safety.

I doubt that they’ve got the equipment to run plows on the light rail in any event. They’ll just wait until the plows come through to clear the street entirely.

208 Sol Berdinowitz  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:19:50am

re: #205 Lord of the Pies

Heh, just before Sabbath started, my daughter uploaded a whole bunch of photos to FB.

Gotcha! Cannot shovel snow on the Sabbath!!! Or is that even covered by Talmudic Law?

209 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:20:33am

re: #201 wheat-dogghazi

I’m dabbling in bitcoins mostly to see if I can make some money on its volatility, but I have serious doubts it’s going to be around very long. For one thing, governments and law enforcement agencies hate anonymous, or semi-anonymous currencies. Bitcoin fans live in their own little libertarian fantasy world, imagining that their pet currency can survive free of government interference. It’s not going to happen. Outfits like Coinbase are already following FinCEN regulations. Eventually, everyone will have to provide some ID to buy bitcoins, or trade online, and then it will become just another electronically traded commodity.

On the other hand, it does seem to be shaking up the normally torpid banking world. JP Morgan Chase may introduce its own digital “currency.” Western Union seems rather non-plussed, and PayPal has made it impossible to use PayPal to buy crypto-currency.

That last is going to be the rudest surprise to the dudebros. If Bitcoin survives for a while, much of its trading will be done by large trading institutions, simply because those are the places that deal in currencies. I predict 2014 will see a number of dudebro stories saying “The Big Banks are taking over our Bitcoins!!1”.

210 Justanotherhuman  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:22:02am

Jerusalem is at 31 deg latitude. Savannah, GA is at 32. Hardly any municipalities in the south have enough snow plows, although salting is done on hwys and main sts, and major thorough fares may have one lane each way plowed. Neighborhoods and side streets are on their own when there’s a “major snow” of a couple of inches or more…

Just to get a perspective on it. We’re at 35 deg where I am, and seldom get a huge snow, or any at all except maybe a few flakes. The mountains are a different story here in NC, though

211 makeitstop  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:23:45am

re: #202 Lidane

I’m looking at their site and don’t see anything that would set the nutters off today. Maybe it’s the op-ed saying that Obama shook hands with Raul Castro because good manners, or the one that called Nelson Mandela the conscience of the world.

I’ll go with the Castro story, because one of MFW (shorthand for ‘my FB wingnuts’) called Newsday a ‘Communist rag.’

212 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:23:48am

re: #206 Sol Berdinowitz

There is no reasoning with these people, all we can do is try to limit the damage they cause.

Thus you recommend the book or site and move on. I agree with you that there is no point in getting bogged down talking to a willfully ignorant wingnut.

213 Lidane  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:24:51am

re: #208 Sol Berdinowitz

Gotcha! Cannot shovel snow on the Sabbath!!! Or is that even covered by Talmudic Law?

Wouldn’t it be considered plowing? I think that’s one of the prohibited activities.

214 lawhawk  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:25:22am

re: #210 Justanotherhuman

Temper the latitude location with the fact that Savannah is at sea level. Jersualem is at about 2500ft above sea level. That’s why Tel Aviv, which is roughly the same latitude, is seeing only rain, but Jerusalem is getting heavy snow (both in quantity and quality - it’s the heavy dense stuff and not the light fluffy kind) - same kind of difference between coastal Georgia and the inland hills/mountains of Georgia and Carolinas.

215 wheat-dogghazi  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:26:08am

re: #210 Justanotherhuman

Jerusalem is at 31 deg latitude. Savannah, GA is at 32. Hardly any municipalities in the south have enough snow plows, although salting is done on hwys and main sts, and major thorough fares may have one lane each way plowed. Neighborhoods and side streets are on their own when there’s a “major snow” of a couple of inches or more…

Just to get a perspective on it. We’re at 35 deg where I am, and seldom get a huge snow, or any at all except maybe a few flakes. The mountains are a different story here in NC, though

Back in ‘94, Kentucky got hit with 16 inches of snow right around the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. It paralyzed the state for a week. There weren’t enough snowplows for the trucks, so the highways were impassable. It came out days later that the State Highway Department did indeed have enough snowplows, but they were all sitting in a depot somewhere. Meanwhile, we had no power for three days, and thus no heat besides the woodstove. We had Coleman lanterns and a Coleman stove, so we were OK. Nothing like camping out in your own home!

216 Justanotherhuman  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:29:03am

re: #209 Dark_Falcon

That last is going to be the rudest surprise to the dudebros. If Bitcoin survives for a while, much of its trading will be done by large trading institutions, simply because those are the places that deal in currencies. I predict 2014 will see a number of dudebro stories saying “The Big Banks are taking over our Bitcoins!!1”.

Bitcoin is nothing but a “scrip” really. People generally distrust them. Gift cards are a form of scrip, some of which are never used. I’d rather just give people cash, even though it’s considered a bit vulgar, it’s far more spendable, and not restricted to one store, like those are, and you don’t have to worry about leaving money on the cards or overspending on them, plus there are no hidden fees with cash.

217 Sol Berdinowitz  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:30:41am

re: #216 Justanotherhuman

Gift cards are a form of scrip, some of which are never used. I’d rather just give people cash, even though it’s considered a bit vulgar, it’s far more spendable, and not restricted to one store, like those are, and you don’t have to worry about leaving money on the cards or overspending on them, plus there are no hidden fees with cash.

Money is like a gift certificate you can spend anywhere.

Store gift certificates would make a bit more sense if their purchasing power in the store or chain was more than their nominal value.

218 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:31:29am

re: #216 Justanotherhuman

Bitcoin is nothing but a “scrip” really. People generally distrust them. Gift cards are a form of scrip, some of which are never used. I’d rather just give people cash, even though it’s considered a bit vulgar, it’s far more spendable, and not restricted to one store, like those are, and you don’t have to worry about leaving money on the cards or overspending on them, plus there are no hidden fees with cash.

True, but businesses make dabble in a script if they think it to their advantage. Which makes me queasy, since I remember how badly that ended in Pullman, IL.

219 Justanotherhuman  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:31:51am

re: #214 lawhawk

Temper the latitude location with the fact that Savannah is at sea level. Jersualem is at about 2500ft above sea level. That’s why Tel Aviv, which is roughly the same latitude, is seeing only rain, but Jerusalem is getting heavy snow (both in quantity and quality - it’s the heavy dense stuff and not the light fluffy kind) - same kind of difference between coastal Georgia and the inland hills/mountains of Georgia and Carolinas.

Yes, but most of our mountainous areas are in the 33-35+ lat zone, not the 31. I can go west from here and run into snow in the mountains, while it’s clear here, of course—same latitude of 35 deg. 31 deg in on the east coast is southern GA and northern FL (Jax is 30 deg).

220 darthstar  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:32:44am

Twitter fixes the block feature and now everyone is talking about putting Beyonce on Mt. Rushmore?

221 FemNaziBitch  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:33:15am

How is it now?

222 wheat-dogghazi  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:33:49am

re: #209 Dark_Falcon

That last is going to be the rudest surprise to the dudebros. If Bitcoin survives for a while, much of its trading will be done by large trading institutions, simply because those are the places that deal in currencies. I predict 2014 will see a number of dudebro stories saying “The Big Banks are taking over our Bitcoins!!1”.

Well, China is preventing its banks from trading in bitcoins, and I reckon the Fed has imposed similar restrictions on US banks. The main trading sites are independent and private outfits, like mtgox,com and btc-e.com, which could disappear in a puff of smoke for any number of reasons.

Libertarians say the courts will take care of any disputes caused by fraud or negligence; therefore, there’s no need for regulation of the bitcoin markets. That’s their story now. I’m waiting for what the dudebros will say when they lose thousands of dollars when their fave bitcoin exchange closes up shop forever, or when their assets get frozen by some national law enforcement agency.

223 Mattand  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:35:44am

Heh, turns out non-conservatives can buy into the War on Xmas idiocy as well.

224 Lidane  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:36:17am

History, you’re doing it wrong:

225 Political Atheist  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:36:38am

re: #222 wheat-dogghazi

When I see bitcoins I think ” oh how cute, Dudebro Dollars”.

226 Sol Berdinowitz  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:37:51am

re: #224 Lidane

History, you’re doing it wrong:

[Embedded content]

It is a matter of faith that armed Jews could have prevented the Holocaust.

227 Mattand  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:38:55am

re: #199 lawhawk

All that said, I wish I were in Jerusalem now compared to the snow we’re supposed to get here tomorrow. There’s something magical about the snow in Jerusalem. It mutes and transforms (that and I’d love to photograph the sites all draped in snow)…

I just looked at AccuWeather. I’d love to know what’s in the atmosphere around Trenton that causes you guys up north to get snow, while we get slush.

228 Lidane  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:39:46am

Cue the RWNJ derpsplosions about Selfie-gate:

229 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:40:11am

re: #224 Lidane

History, you’re doing it wrong:

[Embedded content]

Wingnuts actually believe their own bogus memes simply because they have repeated them over and over and over.

230 Mattand  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:41:03am

re: #226 Sol Berdinowitz

It is a matter of faith that armed Jews could have prevented the Holocaust.

I’m always amazed at the offensive misreading of history that people like the NRA use to paint themselves as victims.

231 wheat-dogghazi  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:41:21am

re: #225 Political Atheist

When I see bitcoins I think ” oh how cute, Dudebro Dollars”.

Reality will sooner or later smack them upside the head. Trying to operate an anonymous financial network is an open invitation for less principled users to abuse it.

But I guess a true libertarian is OK with that.

232 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:41:34am

re: #226 Sol Berdinowitz

It is a matter of faith that armed Jews could have prevented the Holocaust.

Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, how did that work out?

233 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:42:21am

Also too: the nazis steamrolled over countries that had entire armies, including a whole bunch of guns.

234 FemNaziBitch  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:43:27am

re: #232 Lord of the Pies

Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, how did that work out?

It’s my understanding that the Jews were systematically disarmed by the Nazi government. For whatever reason, then Hitler came into power and they were “easy pickins”.

But I haven’t examined that meme in a long time.

235 Political Atheist  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:44:37am

re: #231 wheat-dogghazi

I’m bemused by bitcoin. It’s redundant. Non traceable money? Gold coins. Bitcoins are a pale digital imitation. Vaporware. No more real than a photo on a broken hard drive.

236 ObserverArt  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:45:58am

Got a question for the Lizard members. What antivirus programs do you use and recommend?

I need to load a new one as the one I’ve been using was taken over by Symantec and since that happened it has become cumbersome, intrusive and slow when it updates. I used PC Tools Spyware Doctor and it was fine up until about a year ago. I do not want Norton…never have liked it, even though I see it still gets good reviews.

Where I used to work we had TrendMicro and that was good in that you hardly knew it was there. So, that is one I am interested in.

I see Bitdefender Antivirus Plus seems to get good reviews, but have no idea as I’ve never heard of it and don’t know anyone that has.

So, what do some of you recommend or not? Thanks in advance for any responses.

237 darthstar  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:46:21am

re: #231 wheat-dogghazi

Reality will sooner or later smack them upside the head. Trying to operate an anonymous financial network is an open invitation for less principled users to abuse it.

But I guess a true libertarian is OK with that.

It’s a bit of a pyramid scheme. Someone with a shitload of money started bitcoin, got a few other people with a shitload of money to invest, and then they started handing them back and forth to create an ‘exchange’…that sucks in the marks - the people who will ultimately boost the value of bitcoins to its target price, at which point the initial ‘investors’ will pull out their profits and say, “That was fun…let’s see how long it survives on its own.”

238 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:47:20am

re: #237 darthstar

It’s a bit of a pyramid scheme. Someone with a shitload of money started bitcoin, got a few other people with a shitload of money to invest, and then they started handing them back and forth to create an ‘exchange’…that sucks in the marks - the people who will ultimately boost the value of bitcoins to its target price, at which point the initial ‘investors’ will pull out their profits and say, “That was fun…let’s see how long it survives on its own.”

Basically rent-seeking.

239 Justanotherhuman  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:48:00am

re: #235 Political Atheist

I’m bemused by bitcoin. It’s redundant. Non traceable money? Gold coins. Bitcoins are a pale digital imitation. Vaporware. No more real than a photo on a broken hard drive.

Yes, I’m amazed that some otherwise intelligent types actually think it’s a good idea and are willing to give them legitimacy.

240 Sol Berdinowitz  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:49:00am

re: #239 Justanotherhuman

Yes, I’m amazed that some otherwise intelligent types actually think it’s a good idea and are willing to give them legitimacy.

It fits into an ideology that says that all government-regulated currencies are evil. And money is all about belief…that is how it got started, as devotional scrip for temples.

241 darthstar  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:49:32am

re: #236 ObserverArt

Back when I was on Windows I used AVG - it was free and pretty good - none of that spamware you get from McAFee or Norton with constant offers of upgrades for $29 or reminders that you haven’t bought everything you need for protection.

Option B: also free - Get Ubuntu, install Open Office for doing MS compatible stuff, and don’t look back.

242 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:49:51am

re: #224 Lidane

History, you’re doing it wrong:

[Embedded content]

The ABC article that is the ultimate source has troubles of its own, describing New Jersey has having “enacted only incremental measures” regarding guns since Newtown, while failing to note that the magazines Adam Lanza used were already illegal in the Garden State. The big anti-gun bill in New Jersey was centered on a ban on .50 cal rifles, and Governor Christie vetoed the bill because the rifles it would ban are not used to commit crimes and have never been used to commit a crime in New Jersey.

I also do not approve of jersey City asking potential suppliers if they “would commit to preventing its weapons from appearing in violent video games.” That last would potentially exclude Colt for allowing the M4 to be shown in the hands of the US Marine Corps in a game.

244 HappyWarrior  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:51:43am

re: #224 Lidane

History, you’re doing it wrong:

[Embedded content]

If I were Fulop, I’d have a hard time not wanting to hit the stupid son of a bitch for bringing what my family went through in the Holocaust into the debate. Leave it to the NRA to again be classless assholes in this debate.

245 darthstar  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:52:11am

Word.

246 FemNaziBitch  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:53:43am

Oh yes, Beyonce has a new albumn out.

247 Justanotherhuman  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:55:45am

re: #245 darthstar

Word.

[Embedded content]

Has that person been committed, ever? jeeeeez, the drama—can’t stand it.

Wouldn’t want to be that tied up in a celeb.

248 RealityBasedSteve  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:56:29am

re: #193 makeitstop

Wow. Someone posted this on one of the threads about Megyn Kelly’s ‘white Jesus’ remarks:

How do you even begin to reason with someone who honestly believes this shit?

You can’t. You really can’t because their worldview and thought processes are SO different from yours that you aren’t even speaking the same language, even if you use the same words.

RBS

249 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:57:28am

re: #232 Lord of the Pies

Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, how did that work out?

It gave the SS a serious bloody nose and diverted more than 2 divisions worth of troops who otherwise could have been employed on the Eastern Front. It was ultimately ground under, but those who fought and lost their lives died better than they would have otherwise and they made the Nazis bleed.

250 First As Tragedy, Then As Farce  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 6:58:37am

For those who care about the recent changes to Twitter’s block feature:

Previously blocked users who re-followed your account after the initial changes are still following you after the reversion to previous behavior.

I realize that doesn’t make the slightest bit of sense. It’s not you, it’s me.

1. In the Beforetime, when you blocked a Twitter user, it forced them to un-follow you and prevented them from following you again.
2. Twitter made changes that allowed blocked users to follow you anyway.
2a. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.
3. Twitter reverted those changes, so that users you block are now once again prevented from following you.
BUT!
4. Previously-blocked users who re-followed you during the period when the changes in step 2 were in effect were not automatically removed from your followers when step 3 happened.

So, if you have crazy people stalking you who might have taken advantage of step 2 to continue with their craziness, check your followers list, because they might be there again. I *think* all you have to do to fix the problem is unblock them and then block them again.

We now return to our regularly-scheduled broadcast.

251 First As Tragedy, Then As Farce  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:01:39am

re: #235 Political Atheist

I’m bemused by bitcoin. It’s redundant. Non traceable money? Gold coins. Bitcoins are a pale digital imitation. Vaporware. No more real than a photo on a broken hard drive.

Also an utterly brilliant money laundry.

252 Sol Berdinowitz  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:02:30am

re: #248 RealityBasedSteve

You can’t. You really can’t because their worldview and thought processes are SO different from yours that you aren’t even speaking the same language, even if you use the same words.

RBS

As I posted earlier, you cannot argue with them, just try to limit the damage they do. I suspect that she does not even believe this bullshit herself, she is just appealing to the sentiments and intellectual level of her target audience.

253 lawhawk  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:03:29am

re: #232 Lord of the Pies

What a massive history fail to think that if the Jews had firearms they could have stopped the Nazis in Germany.

The Polish army disintegrated against the Nazis in under a month; the entire country was overrun in weeks, with the Soviets invading as well. Nearly half of all Holocaust victms lived in Poland, which had a standing army protecting it.

The French army had superior equipment as compared to the Nazis, but they lost to superior tactics in under two months time. The British and Allied army remnants were thrown off the Continent at Dunkirk.

The Nazis then invaded Russia, capturing enough territory to encompass another bunch of Jews living there - in total, nearly 5 of the 6 million Holocaust victims were in Russia and Poland.

Russia had a huge standing army, complete with tanks, planes, and division upon division of infantry.

The Soviets had a larger military than the invading Nazis by all metrics, but the Nazis had the advantage of surprise and superior tactics at the outset. The Soviet response was to trade land for time to regroup and attack.

Despite the larger numerical size of the Soviet military, it was nearly defeated and sieges were laid upon the biggest cities in the USSR - Stalingrad, Leningrad, and came within shooting distance of Moscow.

And yet these idiots think that a few Jews with guns would have stopped the Holocaust?

254 wheat-dogghazi  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:03:43am

re: #237 darthstar

It’s a bit of a pyramid scheme. Someone with a shitload of money started bitcoin, got a few other people with a shitload of money to invest, and then they started handing them back and forth to create an ‘exchange’…that sucks in the marks - the people who will ultimately boost the value of bitcoins to its target price, at which point the initial ‘investors’ will pull out their profits and say, “That was fun…let’s see how long it survives on its own.”

Indeed. Most of the available bitcoins are owned by a tiny fraction of the total bitcoin population. It’s not exactly a Ponzi scheme, in the strict sense of the term, but more like playing a big Monopoly game with someone who already has enough cash to buy up the whole board, plus a few more.

255 FemNaziBitch  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:04:50am

bbl

256 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:06:28am

re: #245 darthstar

Word.

[Embedded content]

Here’s a smackdown of a celebrity you might enjoy:

The chief of police in a small Ohio town is taking a big swipe at Kanye West, warning the megastar to, “Check yourself, before you wreck yourself.”

This comes just days after West compared the danger of his work to that of police officers and soldiers in war, telling a radio host he puts his life “literally” on the line each day.

SNIP

Brimfield police chief David Oliver calls West ignorant and “as misguided as they come,” saying “entertainers thinking they are something more than just entertainers” is “part of the problem in the world today.”

“I know it is supply and demand and the demand for your services is high,” Oliver wrote to West in an open letter posted Thursday morning on his department’s Facebook page. “I get economics. What I do not get is you EVER comparing what you do for a living to our heroic military members, who are always in harm’s way… and my brother and sister police officers who have to go to work carrying weapons and wearing a bullet-proof vest to protect themselves.”

In the open letter, rife with sarcasm in many parts, Oliver suggested West “abandon [his] career as a super star and join the military.”

“Since you are accustomed to danger … I would like you to volunteer to be deployed in Afghanistan or one of the numerous other forward locations where our men an[d] women are currently serving.” Oliver wrote. “When the Taliban starts shooting at you, perhaps you could stand up and let the words flow. It could be something like ‘I’m Kanye West, wearing a flak vest.’ I’m sure they would just drop weapons and surrender. You could quite possibly end all wars, just from the enemy being star-struck.”

Read the whole thing.

257 geoffm33  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:06:55am

re: #225 Political Atheist

When I see bitcoins I think ” oh how cute, Dudebro Dollars”.

Which dudebro is on the bitcoin coin?

258 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:09:25am

re: #257 geoffm33

Which dudebro is on the bitcoin coin?

Each Dudebro gets to put his own picture on his own bitcoins!

259 Lidane  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:10:14am
260 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:10:52am

HURR HURR 1939 ALL OVER AGAIN!!!!111!!
Except for the invasions of other countries and the murder of millions.

261 makeitstop  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:10:57am

re: #252 Sol Berdinowitz

As I posted earlier, you cannot argue with them, just try to limit the damage they do. I suspect that she does not even believe this bullshit herself, she is just appealing to the sentiments and intellectual level of her target audience.

The odd thing is the guy who posted that original comment about ‘white = Caucasian’ is by all indications a smart guy, relatively young and reasonably well-informed.

But he does consistently defend the wingnut position, all the while rhetorically detaching himself from the arguments he’s making, which is pretty infuriating. It’s almost as though he believes the arguments he’s making, but is somewhat embarrassed to be making them. Weird.

262 HappyWarrior  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:11:26am

re: #259 Lidane

[Embedded content]

“Sometimes you just get so caught up in the fervor of working with every Jewish man, woman, and child to prevent the world’s gentiles from ever achieving success that you take things a little too far, and that’s exactly what happened with Jeff yesterday.”
Hahaha

263 HappyWarrior  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:13:01am

re: #260 Lord of the Pies

HURR HURR 1939 ALL OVER AGAIN!!!!111!!
Except for the invasions of other countries and the murder of millions.

[Embedded content]

Yeah because health care reform is just like decimating Poland’s population. Fucking fuckwits and their complete disregard for actual history. You want to argue ACA isn’t good policy? Fine but don’t liken it to the Nazis, you miserable bastards.

264 Dr Lizardo  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:13:18am

re: #241 darthstar

Back when I was on Windows I used AVG - it was free and pretty good - none of that spamware you get from McAFee or Norton with constant offers of upgrades for $29 or reminders that you haven’t bought everything you need for protection.

Option B: also free - Get Ubuntu, install Open Office for doing MS compatible stuff, and don’t look back.

I run Ubuntu; never crashed yet. I use LibreOffice for doing the MS compatible stuff.

265 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:14:44am

HURR HURR DEMOCRATZ IS TEH REAL RACISTS!!!!!!
Wingnuts prove this by citing stuff from 150 years ago.

266 wheat-dogghazi  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:16:11am

re: #241 darthstar

Back when I was on Windows I used AVG - it was free and pretty good - none of that spamware you get from McAFee or Norton with constant offers of upgrades for $29 or reminders that you haven’t bought everything you need for protection.

Option B: also free - Get Ubuntu, install Open Office for doing MS compatible stuff, and don’t look back.

I use Clamwin. It’s open source, and pretty barebones in terms of its UI, but it gets the job done.

267 Mattand  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:17:05am

re: #260 Lord of the Pies

HURR HURR 1939 ALL OVER AGAIN!!!!111!!
Except for the invasions of other countries and the murder of millions.

[Embedded content]

What’s really amusing is that the creator of the sign has no problem misappropriating the slaughter of millions to make his point, but couldn’t bring himself to write out the word “shit”.

268 RealityBasedSteve  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:17:38am

Great Kitty Video for a Friday…

CATS AND WATER
Youtube Video

My kitties are the reason that I can’t have my little waterfall desk piece on the desk… They would keep messing with it. They are also the reason I can’t put a glass of water on my nightstand. They drink out of it.

RBS

269 Mattand  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:19:09am

re: #236 ObserverArt

Got a question for the Lizard members. What antivirus programs do you use and recommend?

I need to load a new one as the one I’ve been using was taken over by Symantec and since that happened it has become cumbersome, intrusive and slow when it updates. I used PC Tools Spyware Doctor and it was fine up until about a year ago. I do not want Norton…never have liked it, even though I see it still gets good reviews.

Where I used to work we had TrendMicro and that was good in that you hardly knew it was there. So, that is one I am interested in.

I see Bitdefender Antivirus Plus seems to get good reviews, but have no idea as I’ve never heard of it and don’t know anyone that has.

So, what do some of you recommend or not? Thanks in advance for any responses.

For my Windows-using dad, I went with Nod32. Seems to be fairly unobtrusive and light-weight.

270 Justanotherhuman  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:19:48am

re: #260 Lord of the Pies

HURR HURR 1939 ALL OVER AGAIN!!!!111!!
Except for the invasions of other countries and the murder of millions.

[Embedded content]

How can those people even show their faces? I’m afraid if I ran into that, I would spit on the ground right in front of them.

Even if they stooped to beating up an old lady, I’d sue their asses for all they’re worth—which, unfortunately, is probably nothing because they’re Tiny People.

271 HappyWarrior  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:20:20am

re: #267 Mattand

What’s really amusing is that the creator of the sign has no problem misappropriating the slaughter of millions to make his point, but couldn’t bring himself to write out the word “shit”.

Kind of like Bryan Fischer won’t swear on Twitter but wants to blame every single homosexual for the Nazis evilness because Ernst Rohm was attracted to men. Ah the wingnut mind.

272 Bulworth  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:20:49am

re: #265 Lord of the Pies

“Always”. Confirmed. FACT. //

273 HappyWarrior  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:21:23am

re: #270 Justanotherhuman

How can those people even show their faces? I’m afraid if I ran into that, I would spit on the ground right in front of them.

Even if they stooped to beating up an old lady, I’d their asses for all they’re worth—which, unfortunately, is probably nothing because they’re Tiny People.

It actually makes me violently angry to see signs like that. These people are likening health care reform- legislation for the record that’s making it easier for people to afford health care to crimes against humanity including some of my own relations.

274 lawhawk  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:21:34am

re: #265 Lord of the Pies

Yeah, now adjust all those “statistics” by geography, and you’d see that the same places that opposed slavery are the same places that support Obamacare. The places that supported slavery are the same places putting voter restrictions, abortion restriction, and oppose Obamacare. Southern states - now represented by GOPers - are primarily responsible for the same outcomes in both instances.

275 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:22:43am

Wingnuts have their talking points and their prepared scripts and nothing will make them deviate, even when hammered repeatedly by actual facts.

HURR HURR MLK WAS A REPUBLICAN!!!!!
HURR HURR REPUBLICANS PASSED TEH CIVIL RIGHTS ACT!!!!!
HURR HURR LBJ WAS A RACIST WHO SAID TEH N-WORD!!!11!!!
HURR HURR DEMOCRATZ FILIBUSTERED TEH CIVIL RIGHTS ACT!!!!!
HURR HURR STROM THURMOND SAW TEH ERROR OF HIS WAYZ!!!11111
HURR HURR STROM THURMOND LOVED THAT BLACK GIRL WHO HAD HIS BABY BUT RACIST DEMOCRATZ KEPT THEM APART!!!!!!!

276 HappyWarrior  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:22:45am

re: #274 lawhawk

Yeah, now adjust all those “statistics” by geography, and you’d see that the same places that opposed slavery are the same places that support Obamacare. The places that supported slavery are the same places putting voter restrictions, abortion restriction, and oppose Obamacare. Southern states - now represented by GOPers - are primarily responsible for the same outcomes in both instances.

Seriously. It’s like they’re willfully obtuse to the fact that the Radical Republicans were definitely the liberals of the day. Those Democrats were conservatives. It always amuses me that they post shit like that and then you hear them later claiming that Lincoln started all the problems we now face as a nation. Pick a narrative fuckwits.

277 Lidane  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:23:21am

With all the internet chatter about Beyonce’s new album, hopefully some good will come out of it. Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED Talk about why everyone should be feminist gets sampled on one of the tracks, and Adichie is suddenly getting a lot of notice because of it.

Here’s the full talk:

Youtube Video

278 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:24:31am
279 HappyWarrior  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:24:46am

I mean I just love how the wingnuts will never stop to remind you that Robert Byrd was a KKK member but the Republican Party had Jesse Helms as a big part of it for years and Helms unlike Byrd never got over his racism. The bigoted son of a bitch even talked about whistling Dixie in Carol Moseley Braun’s face till she cried.Not sure if the shitty coward ever actually did it but Jesse Helms is a huge part of why the Republican Party is toxic to African Americans and other ethnic minorities. Byrd should be criticized but the difference is his party grew up with the times, while Helms’ did not.

280 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:26:18am

When you mention that David Duke is a Republican the response is HURR HURR BUT HE WAS A DEMOCRAT FIRST!!!!1!!!!

281 Mattand  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:26:30am

From TPM: GOP Struggle Widens As Boehner Rebukes Hard Right:

Cheering him on are mainstream Republicans who angrily watched for three years as hard-right groups exercised remarkable clout in the party, the Congress and elections. Tea party-backed nominees helped the GOP win control of the House in 2010, but they also lost several Senate races seen as winnable, keeping the Senate in Democratic hands.

Would that be the same mainstream Republicans who were gutlessly convulsing on their fainting couches over these mouthbreathers, but voted for them anyway?

Cry me a fucking a river.

282 Justanotherhuman  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:27:45am

re: #281 Mattand

From TPM: GOP Struggle Widens As Boehner Rebukes Hard Right:

Would that be the same mainstream Republicans who were gutlessly convulsing on their fainting couches over these mouthbreathers, but voted for them anyway?

Cry me a fucking a river.

The Republicans made their own bed.

Let them die in it.

283 Varek Raith  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:28:20am

re: #278 Lord of the Pies

[Embedded content]

I love the smell of desperation in the morning.

284 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:28:22am

Wingnuts can’t even stick to their own narrative.
HURR HURR BUT OBAMA IS ALSO TEH COMMUNIST!!!!!!1

285 HappyWarrior  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:28:58am

re: #281 Mattand

From TPM: GOP Struggle Widens As Boehner Rebukes Hard Right:

Would that be the same mainstream Republicans who were gutlessly convulsing on their fainting couches over these mouthbreathers, but voted for them anyway?

Cry me a fucking a river.

The same and it’s why I don’t feel bad for the GOP establishment who has buyers’ remorse with the TP wing of the party. Oh, maybe you should have realized that these guys were no ideology except Obama bad Nazi!

286 Varek Raith  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:29:42am

re: #281 Mattand

From TPM: GOP Struggle Widens As Boehner Rebukes Hard Right:

Would that be the same mainstream Republicans who were gutlessly convulsing on their fainting couches over these mouthbreathers, but voted for them anyway?

Cry me a fucking a river.

Image: Stephen-Colbert-Popcorn.gif

287 First As Tragedy, Then As Farce  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:36:09am

re: #253 lawhawk

What a massive history fail to think that if the Jews had firearms they could have stopped the Nazis in Germany.

The Polish army disintegrated against the Nazis in under a month; the entire country was overrun in weeks, with the Soviets invading as well. Nearly half of all Holocaust victms lived in Poland, which had a standing army protecting it.

The French army had superior equipment as compared to the Nazis, but they lost to superior tactics in under two months time. The British and Allied army remnants were thrown off the Continent at Dunkirk.

The Nazis then invaded Russia, capturing enough territory to encompass another bunch of Jews living there - in total, nearly 5 of the 6 million Holocaust victims were in Russia and Poland.

Russia had a huge standing army, complete with tanks, planes, and division upon division of infantry.

The Soviets had a larger military than the invading Nazis by all metrics, but the Nazis had the advantage of surprise and superior tactics at the outset. The Soviet response was to trade land for time to regroup and attack.

Despite the larger numerical size of the Soviet military, it was nearly defeated and sieges were laid upon the biggest cities in the USSR - Stalingrad, Leningrad, and came within shooting distance of Moscow.

And yet these idiots think that a few Jews with guns would have stopped the Holocaust?

It also ignores (and insults) the Warsaw uprising.

288 RealityBasedSteve  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:36:44am

re: #281 Mattand

From TPM: GOP Struggle Widens As Boehner Rebukes Hard Right:

Would that be the same mainstream Republicans who were gutlessly convulsing on their fainting couches over these mouthbreathers, but voted for them anyway?

Cry me a fucking a river.

Right now there is a tea party guy who is running against Lamar Alexander in the primary here in TN. One of the things that helps the TP types is that primary voters tend to be HIGHLY MOTIVATED individuals. If you take your typical moderate centrist (Or Mod-Left / Mod-Right) voter they tend to be the ‘get along - go along’ willing to compromise type. They probably don’t like everything their Rep / Senator has done, but all in all, he’s ok with them. The TPs view anything that isn’t in lockstep with their rigid views as unacceptable. They vote in primaries, moderates less so.

Couple that with the highly gerrymandered safe districts so common today and you have the perfect storm where a small group of ideologues can inflict their view on the majority.

RBS

289 Feline Fearless Leader  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:36:56am

re: #153 Lord of the Pies

My son-in-law’s car in Jerusalem:

[Embedded content]


My daughter called yesterday, everybody there is going crazy. This is the biggest snowfall in 100 years. There are no tow trucks or snow plows. The power was out for six hours (“but the fancy tourist hotel across the street was all lit up!”)

The kids wanted to play outside but they had no snow boots, so she tied plastic bags around their shoes.

Are all the Russian immigrants laughing behind their hands at this?

290 RealityBasedSteve  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:38:10am

re: #289 Feline Fearless Leader

Are all the Russian immigrants laughing behind their hands at this?

and are the Somilian immigrants in wonder?

RBS

291 HappyWarrior  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:39:29am

re: #287 First As Tragedy, Then As Farce

It also ignores (and insults) the Warsaw uprising.

Right and there were other uprisings too. Plus, the NRA acts like the Nazis were somehow unique as an occupying forces that didn’t allow the citizens to have guns. The Nazis’ evil isn’t an indictment on gun control, it’s an indictment of how religion and race are used to create people of other backgrounds as “others”. As I said, if I were the mayor, I’d be furious at the NRA idiot who said what he did. Debate the law all you want but leave the man’s family suffering during the Holocaust out of it and the NRA and the other Holocaust cheapers(people who compare everything they dislike to the Holocaust and Nazis) do it continuously.

292 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:41:03am

re: #291 HappyWarrior

Right and there were other uprisings too. Plus, the NRA acts like the Nazis were somehow unique as an occupying forces that didn’t allow the citizens to have guns. The Nazis’ evil isn’t an indictment on gun control, it’s an indictment of how religion and race are used to create people of other backgrounds as “others”. As I said, if I were the mayor, I’d be furious at the NRA idiot who said what he did. Debate the law all you want but leave the man’s family suffering during the Holocaust out of it and the NRA and the other Holocaust cheapers(people who compare everything they dislike to the Holocaust and Nazis) do it continuously.

These same idiots also co-opt the evil of slavery to complain about HURR HURR TEH INCOME TAX!!!111!!

293 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:41:42am

re: #281 Mattand

From TPM: GOP Struggle Widens As Boehner Rebukes Hard Right:

Would that be the same mainstream Republicans who were gutlessly convulsing on their fainting couches over these mouthbreathers, but voted for them anyway?

Cry me a fucking a river.

Well it worked, didn’t it? 169 Republican members of Congress voted for the budget deal and only 62 voted against it. 73% of those Republicans who voted on the bill voted in its favor. The bill got passed, so don’t backbite about it.

(Democratic numbers were 163 in favor, 32 opposed)

294 HappyWarrior  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:42:09am

re: #288 RealityBasedSteve

Right now there is a tea party guy who is running against Lamar Alexander in the primary here in TN. One of the things that helps the TP types is that primary voters tend to be HIGHLY MOTIVATED individuals. If you take your typical moderate centrist (Or Mod-Left / Mod-Right) voter they tend to be the ‘get along - go along’ willing to compromise type. They probably don’t like everything their Rep / Senator has done, but all in all, he’s ok with them. The TPs view anything that isn’t in lockstep with their rigid views as unacceptable. They vote in primaries, moderates less so.

Couple that with the highly gerrymandered safe districts so common today and you have the perfect storm where a small group of ideologues can inflict their view on the majority.

RBS

Excellent observation. And I think this is why the GOP is in trouble. These crazy candidates are going to keep on running and winning these primaries but at the same time they’re going to be losing most of the elections that they run with them too.

295 Dr. Matt  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:42:41am

Megyn Kelly appears to be MIA. Coincidence? Fox host misses own show after racial comments on Santa and Jesus

296 HappyWarrior  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:42:56am

re: #292 Lord of the Pies

These same idiots also co-opt the evil of slavery to complain about HURR HURR TEH INCOME TAX!!!111!!

That’s another thing that gets me violently angry. Yeah because having to pay income tax= forced servitude. Even more insane that these people read fuckwads like John Derbyshire who complain about films like 12 Years a Slave being “abolitionist porn.”

297 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:44:06am

re: #296 HappyWarrior

That’s another thing that gets me violently angry. Yeah because having to pay income tax= forced servitude. Even more insane that these people read fuckwads like John Derbyshire who complain about films like 12 Years a Slave being “abolitionist porn.”

After paying income tax, the super wealthy are still….super wealthy.

How the fuck does that slavery thing work?

298 HappyWarrior  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:44:09am

re: #295 Dr. Matt

Megyn Kelly appears to be MIA. Coincidence? Fox host misses own show after racial comments on Santa and Jesus

Kelly’s an idiot like pretty much everyone else on Fox. Really Megyn, Santa Claus (St. Nicholas) was from Turkey and Jesus Christ (if he existed) was from the Middle East. Someone put it this way on Facebook that it was like Kelly actually thinks the portraits of Christ you see in homes are photographs.

299 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:44:12am

re: #291 HappyWarrior

Right and there were other uprisings too. Plus, the NRA acts like the Nazis were somehow unique as an occupying forces that didn’t allow the citizens to have guns. The Nazis’ evil isn’t an indictment on gun control, it’s an indictment of how religion and race are used to create people of other backgrounds as “others”. As I said, if I were the mayor, I’d be furious at the NRA idiot who said what he did. Debate the law all you want but leave the man’s family suffering during the Holocaust out of it and the NRA and the other Holocaust cheapers(people who compare everything they dislike to the Holocaust and Nazis) do it continuously.

Concur, but please do note that the issue at hand was a questionnaire Jersey City is requiring of firms seeking to contract with the city’s police department to supply firearms and their accessories. Municipal law is not at issue.

300 Dr. Matt  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:45:06am

re: #298 HappyWarrior

Turkish and Jewish men are clearly nothing but run-of-the-mill whitebread. Duh.

301 HappyWarrior  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:45:28am

re: #297 Lord of the Pies

After paying income tax, the super wealthy are still….super wealthy.

How the fuck does that slavery thing work?

Not only still super wealthy but wealthy than ever. I mean damn it’s so stupid. Obama’s income tax plan isn’t even that radical. 1960’s conservatives would have loved it.

302 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:46:59am

re: #298 HappyWarrior

Megyn Kelly is actually not an idiot, but she’s been playing on TV ever since she got her own show. The thing is she’s on after Sean Hannity and she’s trying to keep his audience from switching channels after Sean says “Let not your heart be troubled.” (while forgetting the meaning of that phrase).

303 HappyWarrior  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:48:26am

re: #302 Dark_Falcon

Megyn Kelly is actually not an idiot, but she’s been playing on TV ever since she got her own show. The thing is she’s on after Sean Hannity and she’s trying to keep his audience from switching channels after Sean says “Let not your heart be troubled.” (while forgetting the meaning of that phrase).

You play an idiot on TV, you’re an idiot to me. And I guess idiot isn’t the right word, perhaps “pathetic tool” is a better way to describe her and her colleagues on that network.

304 First As Tragedy, Then As Farce  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:49:30am

re: #236 ObserverArt

Got a question for the Lizard members. What antivirus programs do you use and recommend?

I need to load a new one as the one I’ve been using was taken over by Symantec and since that happened it has become cumbersome, intrusive and slow when it updates. I used PC Tools Spyware Doctor and it was fine up until about a year ago. I do not want Norton…never have liked it, even though I see it still gets good reviews.

Where I used to work we had TrendMicro and that was good in that you hardly knew it was there. So, that is one I am interested in.

I see Bitdefender Antivirus Plus seems to get good reviews, but have no idea as I’ve never heard of it and don’t know anyone that has.

So, what do some of you recommend or not? Thanks in advance for any responses.

At work, we use TrendMicro. I swear to “Bob”, it’s the Barney Fife of antivirus programs. It regularly flags completely legit files as viruses (it seems to particularly hate compiled Autohotkey executables) and lets all sorts of cheesy malware in without the slightest peep. But corporate paid eleventy-thousand dollars for the site license, so it MUST be good, right?

If you’d like a commercial product, I strongly recommend NOD32. It’s accurate and easy on system resources. If you’re looking at a free product, Avast is hard to beat.

AV-Comparatives is a good resource for evaluating various products.

Symantec/Norton and McAfee are garbage, and always have been.

305 Justanotherhuman  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:49:52am

re: #288 RealityBasedSteve

Right now there is a tea party guy who is running against Lamar Alexander in the primary here in TN. One of the things that helps the TP types is that primary voters tend to be HIGHLY MOTIVATED individuals. If you take your typical moderate centrist (Or Mod-Left / Mod-Right) voter they tend to be the ‘get along - go along’ willing to compromise type. They probably don’t like everything their Rep / Senator has done, but all in all, he’s ok with them. The TPs view anything that isn’t in lockstep with their rigid views as unacceptable. They vote in primaries, moderates less so.

Couple that with the highly gerrymandered safe districts so common today and you have the perfect storm where a small group of ideologues can inflict their view on the majority.

RBS

Do you think the arrest of Ryan Loskarn is going to have any effect on Alexander’s campaign? I tend to think probably not.

306 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:51:46am

re: #305 Justanotherhuman

Do you think the arrest of Ryan Loskarn is going to have any effect on Alexander’s campaign? I tend to think probably not.

307 Dr. Matt  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:52:45am

re: #302 Dark_Falcon

Megyn Kelly is actually not an idiot, but she’s been playing on TV ever since she got her own show. .

Prove it. Yesterday’s comments (and her history) clearly and strongly refute your attempts to apologize for her.

308 RealityBasedSteve  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:54:48am

re: #305 Justanotherhuman

Do you think the arrest of Ryan Loskarn is going to have any effect on Alexander’s campaign? I tend to think probably not.

I don’t think it will. The fact that Alexander dropped him (suspended W/O Pay) as soon as the news broke is in his favor. Loskarn was well placed in the GOP organization, was a professional staffer and I’m sure didn’t creep around like a “Chester the Molester”. Other than possibly a very tiny temp. bump down it will probably be pretty much a non-factor in the race. Of course, I’ve been wrong before. (Want to buy a beta-max player?)

RBS

309 Varek Raith  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:58:01am

Forgive my crassness, but it amuses me that people are upset to find that Jesus was in fact, not white.

310 piratedan  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 7:59:42am

re: #309 Varek Raith

Forgive my crassness, but it amuses me that people are upset to find that Jesus was in fact, not white.

who knew that the color palette associated with your symbolism would matter so much?

311 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:00:31am

re: #307 Dr. Matt

Prove it. Yesterday’s comments (and her history) clearly and strongly refute your attempts to apologize for her.

Not an apology, an analysis. Over the past year she’s called out a moderate number of falsities that an idiot would have ignored. But my centerpiece for her not being IQ-stupid was her epic smackdown of Karl Rove on election night 2012.

But her not being stupid doesn’t mean she is not spreading stupidity in an attempt to attain and maintain the ratings needed to keep her show. In many ways that’s actually worse.

Would you please take back the downding now?

312 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:01:58am

With Many Police On Strike, Looters Hit Argentina’s Stores

Chaos is visiting the Christmas season in Argentina, as police in many regions have refused to work until they get a pay raise. The lack of law enforcement has spurred looting in which at least five people have died and hundreds more have been injured. Some shop owners have taken up arms to defend themselves.

In Chaco province, the casualties include police deputy superintendent Cristián Vera, who died after being shot by looters in a supermarket, .

Photos of the looting depict stores with broken windows and metal security bars wrenched open. Some stores were forced to close ahead of the upcoming holiday.

“The violence has spread to 19 out of 23 provinces, and local news describes shocking scenes: A shop owner was killed when looters set his store on fire,” NPR’s Lourdes Garcia-Navarro reports. “Banks, supermarkets, retail businesses and public transportation have shut down in many cities.”…

313 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:02:53am

re: #308 RealityBasedSteve

I don’t think it will. The fact that Alexander dropped him (suspended W/O Pay) as soon as the news broke is in his favor. Loskarn was well placed in the GOP organization, was a professional staffer and I’m sure didn’t creep around like a “Chester the Molester”. Other than possibly a very tiny temp. bump down it will probably be pretty much a non-factor in the race. Of course, I’ve been wrong before. (Want to buy a beta-max player?)

RBS

Which is as it should be. Senator Alexander should not suffer for his aide’s misdeeds unless he either knew about them or had a good indication and chose to ignore it. If neither of those things is true, then the senator should rightly be in the clear.

314 HappyWarrior  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:03:08am

re: #311 Dark_Falcon

Not an apology, an analysis. Over the past year she’s called out a moderate number of falsities that an idiot would have ignored. But my centerpiece for her not being IQ-stupid was her epic smackdown of Karl Rove on election night 2012.

But her not being stupid doesn’t mean she is not spreading stupidity in an attempt to attain and maintain the ratings needed to keep her show. In many ways that’s actually worse.

Would you please take back the downding now?

That’s actually why I actually kind of agree with you. I think she’s worse than dumb. A dumb person can learn. Kelly, who I believe is a trained lawyer knows better than this. So, yeah it is actually worse. Kind of like the old debate about who’s worse the genuine bigot or the bigot for play, the answer to me is always the latter every time.

316 HappyWarrior  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:05:01am

re: #309 Varek Raith

Forgive my crassness, but it amuses me that people are upset to find that Jesus was in fact, not white.

Ha, I don’t think you’re being crass at all. But it’s sad that people think A) Christ looked exactly how he did in the portraits of him that were painted hundreds of years after he allegedly lived by Western European artists and B) somehow think him not being that is an issue. Christ is Christ. His teachings would still have validity if he were a homosexual poet from the Castro.

317 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:05:33am

re: #312 Gus

With Many Police On Strike, Looters Hit Argentina’s Stores

A photo from that article shows a shopkeeper using his own shotgun to defend his property and livelihood:

Image: argentina_shotgun_loot_wide-b1e0b0072e6f3379432f82e03be8e0f0a01789d5-s40-c85.jpg

An armed shopkeeper stands outside his shop after it was looted in San Miguel de Tucuman, Argentina, on Monday. The country’s government dispatched federal police to trouble spots as looting spread early this week.

318 HappyWarrior  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:06:07am

re: #315 Varek Raith

Jon Stewart: The Real St. Nick ‘Probably Still On The No-Fly List’

As is Jesus and the other key people in the Bible. But then again, the audience Kelly is pandering to are the same people who get furious at the word “Allah” even though Eastern Christians use that word too.

319 Lidane  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:06:31am

re: #309 Varek Raith

Forgive my crassness, but it amuses me that people are upset to find that Jesus was in fact, not white.

There are centuries of white supremacy based on the idea that Jesus was a white man. It’s not an easy idea for some folks to get rid of.

320 HappyWarrior  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:07:25am

re: #319 Lidane

There are centuries of white supremacy based on the idea that Jesus was a white man. It’s not an easy idea for some folks to get rid of.

It’s related to Christian Identity nonsense I believe, common in circles of white supremacy where Christianity and white supremacy are matching concepts.

321 Lidane  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:09:31am

re: #320 HappyWarrior

It’s related to Christian Identity nonsense I believe, common in circles of white supremacy where Christianity and white supremacy are matching concepts.

Sure, but it also goes back further. Running the world was the White Man’s Burden, after all. He had to go and colonize the rest of the world and impose his religion and his beliefs on everyone else because Jesus was a white man.

322 HappyWarrior  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:10:37am

re: #321 Lidane

Sure, but it also goes back further. Running the world was the White Man’s Burden, after all. He had to go and colonize the rest of the world and impose his religion and his beliefs on everyone else because Jesus was a white man.

Yep, that too.

323 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:17:05am

Jesus is still a cold case. Habeas corpus. I mean, people are still looking for Noah’s arc too.

324 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:17:49am

Still can’t find his dad and his body disappeared after burial.

325 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:20:19am

re: #312 Gus

With Many Police On Strike, Looters Hit Argentina’s Stores

This story could also be titled “The Perils of Peronism”.

;)

326 Mattand  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:21:52am

re: #309 Varek Raith

Forgive my crassness, but it amuses me that people are upset to find that Jesus was in fact, not white.

If it turns out he did exist, Jesus would have looked more like Borat than the bass player in California 60’s jam band.

327 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:21:56am

re: #325 Dark_Falcon

This story could also be titled “The Perils of Peronism”.

;)

Kirchnerism. How many years has it been now? I’d have to check.

328 Backwoods_Sleuth  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:22:06am

Snowing in Cairo…

329 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:23:34am

re: #325 Dark_Falcon

This story could also be titled “The Perils of Peronism”.

;)

10 years. Her husband started office in 2003. She won the election soon after his death.

330 Eclectic Cyborg  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:24:09am

re: #312 Gus

Think about how many guns are in this country, then imagine how a similar scenario (striking police) might play out here in America.

Scary.

331 Backwoods_Sleuth  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:24:30am

Also in Damascus.

332 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:24:35am

re: #327 Gus

Kirchnerism. How many years has it been now? I’d have to check.

The names change, but the DERP remains the same.

333 Eclectic Cyborg  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:25:38am

re: #328 Backwoods_Sleuth

Snowing in Cairo…

[Embedded content]

CATASTROPHIC GLOBAL WARMING ALERT

Fun fact: The movie “The Day After Tomorrow” opened with, of all things, a snow storm in New Delhi, India. I know, not exactly Cairo or Syria, but still quite reminiscent.

334 wrenchwench  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:26:39am

Searching the data base.

335 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:26:48am

re: #332 Dark_Falcon

The names change, but the DERP remains the same.

Pretty much. Might be time to start babbling about invading the Falklands again or maybe raise taxes on a bunch of unsuspecting ranchers. :D

336 HappyWarrior  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:27:06am

re: #328 Backwoods_Sleuth

Snowing in Cairo…

[Embedded content]

It’s going to be a cold winter here in Va. Had some time to kill last night after work so I made a smart investment for a change and bought a pair of gloves.

337 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:27:56am

Where’s Lawhawk?

338 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:28:23am

re: #331 Backwoods_Sleuth

Also in Damascus.

[Embedded content]

Double edged sword: The snow will favor Assad’s forces in ground movement (Russian tracked vehicles are designed to be able to cope with snow and that is also true for many Russian wheeled military vehicles), but at the same time the bad weather will ground the fight-bombers and gunship helos that have been beating the heck out of the rebels.

339 HappyWarrior  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:28:24am

re: #334 wrenchwench

Searching the data base.

[Embedded content]

Good reason to be glad that I did my undergrad research in the digital age and not just because I have worse handwriting than your average 12 year old.,

340 Mattand  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:29:19am

re: #293 Dark_Falcon

Well it worked, didn’t it? 169 Republican members of Congress voted for the budget deal and only 62 voted against it. 73% of those Republicans who voted on the bill voted in its favor. The bill got passed, so don’t backbite about it.

(Democratic numbers were 163 in favor, 32 opposed)

“Moderate” Republicans voters seated a House that voted nearly 50 times to destroy the ACA after it was passed, when it was clear that it would never happen.

They also voted for the fuckwits who shut down the country for 3 weeks.

John Boehner made a conscious decision to pander to the absolute worst elements your party and the US has to offer, in order to fuck up the Scary Black Muslim Athiest Commie’s™ presidency.

So, no, I’ll backbite plenty. You don’t get to complain about how much the meat grinder hurts your hand as you continually shove it in there.

341 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:31:24am

re: #330 Eclectic Cyborg

Think about how many guns are in this country, then imagine how a similar scenario (striking police) might play out here in America.

Scary.

Maybe but I doubt there would be this kind of looting. Argentinians are known for rioting after things like a train or bus accident.

342 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:31:42am

Or when a train is late. RIOT! Um, no thanks.

343 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:35:23am

re: #341 Gus

Maybe but I doubt there would be this kind of looting. Argentinians are known for rioting after things like a train or bus accident.

I’d argue Americans riot less because of all the guns. Since a major riot here would be deadly, people are less likely to spark one.

344 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:37:01am

re: #343 Dark_Falcon

I’d argue Americans riot less because of all the guns. Since a major riot here would be deadly, people are less likely to spark one.

Yeah, but we don’t riot for late trains. :D

345 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:37:24am

Train’s late. Only one thing left to do… RIOT!!!

346 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:37:28am

Wingnut projection like an IMAX.
Uh, who is all about CONTROLLING WOMEN’S PRIVATE PARTS?
Hint: NOT “Liberals”

347 HappyWarrior  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:38:55am

re: #346 Lord of the Pies

Wingnut projection like an IMAX.
Uh, who is all about CONTROLLING WOMEN’S PRIVATE PARTS?
Hint: NOT “Liberals”

[Embedded content]

Coming from the people who support sodomy laws ladies and gents. People who support sodomy laws bitching about “control.”

348 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:39:53am

English: The 1949-50 winter was unusual in Israel. In February 1950 extreme weather conditions developed leading to a cold wave which caused snowfall along the coastal area (Tel Aviv, Haifa and their metropolises) and the lowlands, a rare phenomenon which has not reoccur ever since.

commons.wikimedia.org

349 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:40:27am
350 Justanotherhuman  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:45:03am

re: #320 HappyWarrior

It’s related to Christian Identity nonsense I believe, common in circles of white supremacy where Christianity and white supremacy are matching concepts.

Well, when I was a kid (back when Christ was), pictures of him depicted him as blond and blue eyed, like this:

Image: 51ip4SOgVBL._SY300_.jpg

That picture was on a lot of walls, esp in the south.

351 Backwoods_Sleuth  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:45:36am
352 lawhawk  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:46:02am

re: #337 Gus

Where’s Lawhawk?

[Embedded content]

I’m on the case. Brought in the camera, and have spotted a few places where I should be able to get a few good images. The spot I used to take shots of the Enterprise flying isn’t a good viewing point because 3WTC is now situated there. The transit hub construction also blocks some of the vistas, so I found another spot a block away that should do the trick.

I’ll get about three attempts to get the shot. *fingers crossed*

353 Justanotherhuman  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:47:44am

re: #351 Backwoods_Sleuth

[Embedded content]

That looks a lot like heavy canvas.

354 Backwoods_Sleuth  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:50:25am

In Ramallah.

355 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:52:56am
356 Mattand  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:55:51am

deleted

357 Feline Fearless Leader  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:58:59am

Hmm. Five AH-64s just flew over this section of Philly at fairly low altitude.

358 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 8:59:39am
359 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:00:19am

Friday the 13th.

360 wrenchwench  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:01:25am
Official Selection:
Austin Film Festival
Florida Film Festival
Mecal International Film Festival of Barcelona
LA Shorts Fest
Woods Hole Film Festival
Interfilm Berlin Film Festival
The Bicycle FIlm Festival

Vimeo

361 Mattand  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:05:13am
362 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:06:59am

re: #357 Feline Fearless Leader

Hmm. Five AH-64s just flew over this section of Philly at fairly low altitude.

You’re safe, as you are Feline Overlord Approved.

363 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:07:24am

1 year after Newtown, Teh Crazy:

364 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:08:26am

They have this fantasy, unsupported by real life, that GOOD GUYS WITH TEH GUNZ SAVES TEH DAY!!!!!

365 HappyWarrior  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:08:27am

re: #363 Lord of the Pies

1 year after Newtown, Teh Crazy:

[Embedded content]

Yeah let’s give first graders guns. Nothing bad could come of it.

366 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:09:19am

HURR HURR MICHIGAN WOMENS HEAR IS UR “RAPE INSURANCE” AR-15!!!!!!!

367 Justanotherhuman  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:12:11am

Just kill me now.

HELP US FEEL ALL GRIFTY THIS CHRISTMAS WITH THIS GORGEOUS SARAH PALIN GOLD COIN

happynicetimepeople.com

368 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:13:55am

Can this Twitter user be reported for threat against the President? (Look at avi)

369 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:15:38am

What is rape insurance?

370 Dr Lizardo  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:17:30am

re: #367 Justanotherhuman

Just kill me now.

HELP US FEEL ALL GRIFTY THIS CHRISTMAS WITH THIS GORGEOUS SARAH PALIN GOLD COIN

happynicetimepeople.com

The staff at The Onion is no doubt deskflipping as we speak.

Yep……shoot me now.

371 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:17:46am
372 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:19:26am

Is today the first day of the 12 days of Christmas?

373 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:20:12am

re: #372 Gus

Is today the first day of the 12 days of Christmas?

Did UPS bring you a partridge in a pear tree?

374 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:20:49am

re: #373 Lord of the Pies

Did UPS bring you a partridge in a pear tree?

Nah. A lump of coal. Of course. I could burn that for heat. :D

375 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:22:09am

re: #371 Lord of the Pies

Something forced on Michigan women by teabaggers.

Thought that was the case. Weird.

376 lawhawk  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:22:27am

re: #373 Lord of the Pies

Did UPS bring you a partridge in a pear tree?

UPS has informed me that the shipments of 12-days-of-Christmas related packages has been delayed due to snow in Jerusalem. They are sorry for the inconvenience, but hope that all 12 days will arrive in time for Christmas day. ////

377 Justanotherhuman  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:22:51am

re: #368 Lord of the Pies

Can this Twitter user be reported for threat against the President? (Look at avi)

Sick MF and the followers, too.

378 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:23:18am

*FACEPALM*

379 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:23:21am
380 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:23:25am

re: #368 Lord of the Pies

Can this Twitter user be reported for threat against the President? (Look at avi)

I’d argue ‘yes’. Placing the word ‘Rope’ under a picture of a black man can be considered a threat, given the history of lynching in the United States.

The asshole also has the ‘obama as a witch-doctor’ photoshop, an image made memorable because the defense of it by Iron Fist led to his banning from LGF, which was the trigger event of the Great Flouncing of 2009.

381 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:23:40am

Wonder if that explains his erratic behavior.

382 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:24:11am

re: #377 Justanotherhuman

Sick MF and the followers, too.

I tried using the Twitter report abuse feature but they don’t have an option for reporting threats against the POTUS.

383 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:25:22am

Well, my TIME Magazine memes were popular. Where’s mah free dinners and beer? //

384 Justanotherhuman  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:25:31am

re: #375 Gus

Thought that was the case. Weird.

Alex Wagner doing a segment on it on MSNBC in a minute.

385 Eclectic Cyborg  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:25:34am

re: #382 Lord of the Pies

Does the Secret Service have a Twitter account?

386 Eclectic Cyborg  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:25:50am

re: #383 Gus

Budweiser or Coors?

387 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:26:13am

re: #386 Eclectic Cyborg

Budweiser or Coors?

Fat Tire.

388 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:27:34am

re: #385 Eclectic Cyborg

Does the Secret Service have a Twitter account?

@SecretService

389 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:29:50am

I’m going to plug a Page by RWC. Please read it and comment on it.

390 Justanotherhuman  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:33:39am

Well, here’s a bit of good news.

Hagel: All states complying with same-sex benefits

bigstory.ap.org

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon says that all states are now complying with new rules allowing the same-sex spouses of military members to get ID cards in order to claim benefits.

“Nine states, including Texas, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi, initially defied the Pentagon by refusing to allow National Guard facilities to issue the ID cards, triggering sharp criticism from Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

“Officials have worked to bring all the states on board.”

Now if we could get all states on board for SSM.

391 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:34:25am

If the Secret Service were really secret shouldn’t their name be ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ? [Note, this is a joke Secret Service.]

392 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:36:36am

»◐▫◑«

393 Mattand  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:40:44am

re: #366 Lord of the Pies

HURR HURR MICHIGAN WOMENS HEAR IS UR “RAPE INSURANCE” AR-15!!!!!!!

Man, I just saw that on Rachel Maddow’s show. Sickening.

394 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:41:13am

Oregon police crack down on racist gangs in ‘Operation White Christmas’

Earlier this week, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon arrested over 40 white supremacists in what it calls “Operation White Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas,” Oregon’s U.S. Attorney Amanda Marshall said in a statement. “Here’s a gift from the U.S. attorney.”

I love that name! Operation: WHITE CHRISTMAS is the perfect name for giving the beliefs of white supremacists a well-deserved backhand.

395 Killgore Trout  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:41:34am

Not really “news” but a statement of the obvious
Obama’s Syria policy is pretty much dead, and there are few good options

396 Mattand  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:41:52am

re: #357 Feline Fearless Leader

Hmm. Five AH-64s just flew over this section of Philly at fairly low altitude.

Probably for the Army-Navy game this weekend.

397 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:42:01am

re: #393 Mattand

Man, I just saw that on Rachel Maddow’s show. Sickening.

Now I’m glad that all my kids moved out.

I will stop bugging my daughter to move back here because she can buy a house cheap. Stay in the crappy walkup apartment in Brooklyn.

398 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:43:08am


What a douche.

399 lawhawk  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:43:25am

CNN trying to gin up controversy over the phase-out of incandescent bulbs in 2014 (40 and 60w); 75 and 100w bulbs were phased out in 2013. The federal law was enacted in 2007, and designed to improve energy efficiency and would save people over the long term as they adopt the more efficient CFL or LED bulbs.

Home Depot notes that people have taken to buying the efficient bulbs, and put out a map showing who’s opting to buy the bulbs in greatest frequencies:

thinglink.com

Home Depot has been selling 60/65 watt equivalent LEDs for around $7.50 (less if they’re on sale). I’ve started shifting to LEDs from CFLs or the incandescent bulbs in those fixtures that have dimmers. Already seeing a savings on my power bill. It’ll be a few years before I completely shifted to LED given that the CFLs are long-life bulbs too. But watching my power bill get cut by another 20-30% or more month after month? Yeah, that’s good stuff.

400 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:43:30am

DERP
This kid was banned from YouTube apparently for making violent threats against gays.

401 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:45:25am

re: #395 Killgore Trout

Not really “news” but a statement of the obvious
Obama’s Syria policy is pretty much dead, and there are few good options

Killgore, you be trollin’.

402 lawhawk  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:46:25am

re: #395 Killgore Trout

The FSA has basically imploded and Islamists backed by the Gulf States have coopted those that were fighting for the FSA. That includes some segment of Islamists who align with al Qaeda. So, no good options there, and the West/US cutting off the funds means that the Gulf States will hold greater sway.

It also means that Turkey and Saudi Arabia may attempt to fund opposition that hews closer to their goals - and that’s not necessarily the same thing for the other.

Beneficiary for all this? Assad - splintered opposition means he can potentially pick off the opposition groups over time, but it’s been a stalemate situation for some time. Assad can live with that - he’s still in power after all, but the country’s residents are going to continue to live in a meat-grinder.

403 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:48:55am

re: #400 Lord of the Pies

DERP
This kid was banned from YouTube apparently for making violent threats against gays.

[Embedded content]

Bryan Fischer is enabling a violent-minded bully, which is depraved. That’s the only word I can use to describe his giving a platform to that rotter.

404 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:49:40am

Here’s an idea. Like Egypt, maybe the Syrians can figure out what to do about what’s going on in THEIR country.

405 Mattand  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:49:55am

re: #399 lawhawk

CNN trying to gin up controversy over the phase-out of incandescent bulbs in 2014 (40 and 60w); 75 and 100w bulbs were phased out in 2013. The federal law was enacted in 2007, and designed to improve energy efficiency and would save people over the long term as they adopt the more efficient CFL or LED bulbs.

Home Depot notes that people have taken to buying the efficient bulbs, and put out a map showing who’s opting to buy the bulbs in greatest frequencies:

thinglink.com

Home Depot has been selling 60/65 watt equivalent LEDs for around $7.50 (less if they’re on sale). I’ve started shifting to LEDs from CFLs or the incandescent bulbs in those fixtures that have dimmers. Already seeing a savings on my power bill. It’ll be a few years before I completely shifted to LED given that the CFLs are long-life bulbs too. But watching my power bill get cut by another 20-30% or more month after month? Yeah, that’s good stuff.

I’ve seen that on my electric bill as well. On the flip side, I know people who refuse to buy CFLs as a political statement.

406 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:50:06am

The world can take care of the refugees, etc.

407 Kragar  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:50:10am
408 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:50:30am

re: #402 lawhawk

The FSA has basically imploded and Islamists backed by the Gulf States have coopted those that were fighting for the FSA. That includes some segment of Islamists who align with al Qaeda. So, no good options there, and the West/US cutting off the funds means that the Gulf States will hold greater sway.

It also means that Turkey and Saudi Arabia may attempt to fund opposition that hews closer to their goals - and that’s not necessarily the same thing for the other.

Beneficiary for all this? Assad - splintered opposition means he can potentially pick off the opposition groups over time, but it’s been a stalemate situation for some time. Assad can live with that - he’s still in power after all, but the country’s residents are going to continue to live in a meat-grinder.

Assad’s people are winning now, since the Iran-funded mercenaries available to Assad are more effective at actual fighting then the Islamists.

409 Dr Lizardo  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:51:54am

re: #394 Dark_Falcon

Oregon police crack down on racist gangs in ‘Operation White Christmas’

I love that name! Operation: WHITE CHRISTMAS is the perfect name for giving the beliefs of white supremacists a well-deserved backhand.

And people say the police don’t have a sense of humor.

When I lived up in that area, the nearby city of Lake Oswego was known locally as ‘Lake No-negro’. To say it was a lily-white is an understatement, but then again, that’s pretty true in general for the Portland Metro area.

410 Justanotherhuman  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:53:43am

re: #399 lawhawk

CNN trying to gin up controversy over the phase-out of incandescent bulbs in 2014 (40 and 60w); 75 and 100w bulbs were phased out in 2013. The federal law was enacted in 2007, and designed to improve energy efficiency and would save people over the long term as they adopt the more efficient CFL or LED bulbs.

Home Depot notes that people have taken to buying the efficient bulbs, and put out a map showing who’s opting to buy the bulbs in greatest frequencies:

thinglink.com

Home Depot has been selling 60/65 watt equivalent LEDs for around $7.50 (less if they’re on sale). I’ve started shifting to LEDs from CFLs or the incandescent bulbs in those fixtures that have dimmers. Already seeing a savings on my power bill. It’ll be a few years before I completely shifted to LED given that the CFLs are long-life bulbs too. But watching my power bill get cut by another 20-30% or more month after month? Yeah, that’s good stuff.

I probably won’t have to buy any CFLs or LEDs for a long time, thanks to the free CFLs I got from Duke Energy (they were shipping out boxes if you called for them).

I can use the 75W equiv in the lamps, can’t I, since they only put out 20W, even though they’re rated for 60W?

411 lawhawk  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:55:34am

re: #405 Mattand

I don’t quite get the “political statement” part? The willingness to pay more for lighting- electric consumption? That’s a political statement? It’s a bottom line statement of fiscal responsibility.

Yeah, libertarians/conservatives don’t like the idea of the government telling them what to do. They complain that the market should take care of this.

The market is already doing this - the law just hastened the arrival, and it benefits everyone. Lower power costs, utilities don’t have to build new power plants, the emissions are reduced, and lower pollution, plus property owners don’t have to constantly replace light bulbs, especially in hard to reach places.

But math is hard….

412 Killgore Trout  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:56:56am

re: #402 lawhawk

The FSA has basically imploded and Islamists backed by the Gulf States have coopted those that were fighting for the FSA. That includes some segment of Islamists who align with al Qaeda. So, no good options there, and the West/US cutting off the funds means that the Gulf States will hold greater sway.

It also means that Turkey and Saudi Arabia may attempt to fund opposition that hews closer to their goals - and that’s not necessarily the same thing for the other.

Beneficiary for all this? Assad - splintered opposition means he can potentially pick off the opposition groups over time, but it’s been a stalemate situation for some time. Assad can live with that - he’s still in power after all, but the country’s residents are going to continue to live in a meat-grinder.

This seems to be the White House’s new line of thinking….
Obama Advisor: ‘Extremism’ Could Be Key to Ending Syrian Civil War -

Deputy National Security Advisor Antony Blinken turned that logic on its head: The growing role of extremist groups may actually be a good thing for bringing the conflict to a close, he said.

…the radicalization of the conflict may create a shared interest among world powers to bring the war to an end. The growing prominence of radical groups has “begun to concentrate the minds of critical actors outside of Syria” and may strip the Bashar al-Assad regime of the key international backing that has so far helped to keep him in power.

“The Russians have a profound interest in avoiding the emergence of an extremist Syria, a haven for extremist groups,” Blinken said. “Many of Syria’s neighbors have the same incentive, and of course we have a strong reason to want to avoid that future.”

All this points to a possible “convergence of interests” among world powers to back a negotiated solution to the conflict. “The test will be coming up in January,” Blinken said,

I have a hard time seeing this working out well. In the end it just means a strengthened Assad, leaving Russia and Iran with a well entrenched puppet in the region.

413 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:57:57am
414 Pie-onist Overlord  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 9:57:58am

re: #411 lawhawk

I don’t quite get the “political statement” part? The willingness to pay more for lighting- electric consumption? That’s a political statement? It’s a bottom line statement of fiscal responsibility.

Yeah, libertarians/conservatives don’t like the idea of the government telling them what to do. They complain that the market should take care of this.

The market is already doing this - the law just hastened the arrival, and it benefits everyone. Lower power costs, utilities don’t have to build new power plants, the emissions are reduced, and lower pollution, plus property owners don’t have to constantly replace light bulbs, especially in hard to reach places.

But math is hard….

I especially enjoy the spectacle on “Earth Day” when the wingnuts TURN ON EVERY LIGHT & APPLIANCE IN THE WHOLE HOUSE & KEEP IT ALL ON FOR THE WHOLE HOUR!!!!!!

Dumbass who do you think will pay for that?

415 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:00:19am

re: #412 Killgore Trout

This seems to be the White House’s new line of thinking….
Obama Advisor: ‘Extremism’ Could Be Key to Ending Syrian Civil War -

I have a hard time seeing this working out well. In the end it just means a strengthened Assad, leaving Russia and Iran with a well entrenched puppet in the region.

Antony Blinken is blinkered in his thinking. Islamist crazies make a conflict much harder to end, because they’re On A Mission From God and thus are largely immune to conventional peacemaking and deterrence. Even if they leave Syria, they’ll be a menace to the world for years to come.

416 lawhawk  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:00:20am

re: #410 Justanotherhuman

Wattage is the electric power required by an appliance or device. That figure represents the max that the recepticle/fixture can handle.

Lumens is light output. That’s why you compare output between bulbs using lumens. A 12w LED can produce 800-900 lumens, which is equal to what a 16-20w CFL produces, or a 60-65w indandescent.

So, you can replace the bulbs with the same lumen output, or you can increase the lumen output while staying below the wattage max.

Handy dandy comparison chart.

417 Mattand  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:02:41am

re: #411 lawhawk

I don’t quite get the “political statement” part? The willingness to pay more for lighting- electric consumption? That’s a political statement? It’s a bottom line statement of fiscal responsibility.

Yeah, libertarians/conservatives don’t like the idea of the government telling them what to do. They complain that the market should take care of this.

The market is already doing this - the law just hastened the arrival, and it benefits everyone. Lower power costs, utilities don’t have to build new power plants, the emissions are reduced, and lower pollution, plus property owners don’t have to constantly replace light bulbs, especially in hard to reach places.

But math is hard….

This is the “We’re not conservative, we’re independent” crew I often bitch about. They literally see this as “Hurr durr, Obama is forcing us to buy CFLs, we’ll show him.”

These people also refused to get their kids inoculated against H1N1 a few years ago, because they just “knew” that the government was wrong about the potential for pandemic. That’s the mindset you’re dealing with here.

418 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:04:54am

re: #417 Mattand

This the “We’re not conservative, we’re independent” crew I often bitch about. They literally see this as “Hurr durr, Obama is forcing us to buy CFLs, we’ll show him.”

These people also refused to get their kids inoculated against H1N1 a few years ago, because they just “knew” that the government was wrong about the potential for pandemic. That’s the mindset you’re dealing with here.

Standard anti-government dudebro fare.

I won’t The Man tell me how to live!!1

419 Mattand  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:06:07am

Okay, America, explain to me again how my governor is the Great Bipartisan Uniter Who Will Save Us All:

Gov. Christie announces top Port Authority official has resigned after GWB flap

Christie may not have personally ordered it, or even knew about it. But he hired people that would fuck over NJ residents because their duly elected mayor wouldn’t kiss Christie’s ass.

If this is what passes for a moderate Republican, this country is still in deep shit.

420 Feline Fearless Leader  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:07:33am

re: #410 Justanotherhuman

I probably won’t have to buy any CFLs or LEDs for a long time, thanks to the free CFLs I got from Duke Energy (they were shipping out boxes if you called for them).

I can use the 75W equiv in the lamps, can’t I, since they only put out 20W, even though they’re rated for 60W?

Hmm. I still have 100W incandescents of my mother’s. (Which makes them over a decade old.) Should I E-bay those, or just await a visit from the Obama Energy Police?
// ;)

421 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:08:04am
422 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:09:28am

re: #419 Mattand

Okay, America, explain to me again how my governor is the Great Bipartisan Uniter Who Will Save Us All:

Gov. Christie announces top Port Authority official has resigned after GWB flap

Christie may not have personally ordered it, or even knew about it. But he hired people that would fuck over NJ residents because their duly elected mayor wouldn’t kiss Christie’s ass.

If this is what passes for a moderate Republican, this country is still in deep shit.

Where’s the proof that the closure was politically motivated?

Lawhawk, your input would be appreciated.

423 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:09:51am

B. L. U. E. A. N. G. E. L. S. are GO!

424 calochortus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:12:08am

So, oddly, my decision earlier this week to put off a bunch of routine housework until the end of the week, sounded better then than it does now, when the work has to be done. But I’m treating myself to a second cup of coffee and an hour here on LGF, so all’s right with the world.

425 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:12:14am

re: #421 Gus

[Embedded content]

In that vein, here’s some progress for the F/A-18 Hornet’s successor:

F-35 completes Block 2B weapon accuracy trials

426 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:12:21am

Should be 4 minutes to WTC. 3 now.

427 Killgore Trout  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:13:20am

re: #415 Dark_Falcon

Antony Blinken is blinkered in his thinking. Islamist crazies make a conflict much harder to end, because they’re On A Mission From God and thus are largely immune to conventional peacemaking and deterrence. Even if they leave Syria, they’ll be a menace to the world for years to come.

Agreed. I also think the “shared interest” concept here is a mistake. Asssad would probably love to allow US drones to fly around wiping out Islamist linked rebels. Just because we share a common enemy doesn’t necessarily mean we should become allies.

428 Feline Fearless Leader  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:13:20am

re: #421 Gus

[Embedded content]

And the Blue Angels used to use the flying bricks* back in the early 70s. That must have been fun for acrobatics.

* - F4 Phantom referred to as “proof that if you have big enough engines even a brick can fly.” Also the only aircraft used by both the Blue Angels and the USAF Thunderbirds.

429 piratedan  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:13:27am

Youtube Video

for today’s mood music, a Nick Lowe BBC Four concert from 2007

430 Kragar  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:15:02am

Good news: I got a bonus

Bad News: I don’t get it till New Years

431 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:15:07am
432 GeneJockey  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:15:34am

re: #411 lawhawk

I don’t quite get the “political statement” part? The willingness to pay more for lighting- electric consumption? That’s a political statement? It’s a bottom line statement of fiscal responsibility.

Yeah, libertarians/conservatives don’t like the idea of the government telling them what to do. They complain that the market should take care of this.

The market is already doing this - the law just hastened the arrival, and it benefits everyone. Lower power costs, utilities don’t have to build new power plants, the emissions are reduced, and lower pollution, plus property owners don’t have to constantly replace light bulbs, especially in hard to reach places.

But math is hard….

It’s raging against any hint of conserving energy, or doing anything that conservationists would approve of. I struggled with it for some time, trying to understand how CONSERVatives could object to CONSERVATION.

Then I finally realized that there is no core set of principles behind modern conservatism. It’s now just being against whatever they think liberals are for. Though this is most sharply apparent since Obama’s election, it was there for a long time, in things like how they praise their ‘thinkers’ - “Drives Liberals crazy!”, etc.

433 Mattand  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:16:23am

re: #422 Dark_Falcon

Where’s the proof that the closure was politically motivated?

Lawhawk, your input would be appreciated.

Read the article, particularly the last paragraphs. There’s also a link at the bottom.

There’s also this NYT article: nytimes.com

and this one:
nytimes.com

434 Feline Fearless Leader  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:16:36am

re: #432 GeneJockey

It’s raging against any hint of conserving energy, or doing anything that conservationists would approve of. I struggled with it for some time, trying to understand how CONSERVatives could object to CONSERVATION.

Then I finally realized that there is no core set of principles behind modern conservatism. It’s now just being against whatever they think liberals are for. Though this is most sharply apparent since Obama’s election, it was there for a long time, in things like how they praise their ‘thinkers’ - “Drives Liberals crazy!”, etc.

It’s like the end of the “Asshole Song”. Going out and doing stuff simply in an attempt to piss other people off. Real life trollin’.

435 calochortus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:16:43am

re: #416 lawhawk

Wattage is the electric power required by an appliance or device. That figure represents the max that the recepticle/fixture can handle.

Lumens is light output. That’s why you compare output between bulbs using lumens. A 12w LED can produce 800-900 lumens, which is equal to what a 16-20w CFL produces, or a 60-65w indandescent.

So, you can replace the bulbs with the same lumen output, or you can increase the lumen output while staying below the wattage max.

Handy dandy comparison chart.

More lumens! I’m always looking for more lumens as my eyes age.

436 GeneJockey  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:17:36am

re: #435 calochortus

More lumens! I’m always looking for more lumens as my eyes age.

Well, there’s the lumen of your intestines, but that’s pretty dark.

437 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:18:50am

Candy came from out on the Island…

438 calochortus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:19:35am

re: #432 GeneJockey

Yeah, there’s an awful lot of how thrifty gran’pa was, and how they learned at his knee to recycle tin cans into a new buggy whip, immediately followed by “Let’s waste energy. That’ll show ‘em!”

Just a bit of cognitive dissonance.

439 calochortus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:20:39am

re: #436 GeneJockey

I had to Google that. LGF is always educational.

440 piratedan  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:20:45am

re: #432 GeneJockey

It’s raging against any hint of conserving energy, or doing anything that conservationists would approve of. I struggled with it for some time, trying to understand how CONSERVatives could object to CONSERVATION.

Then I finally realized that there is no core set of principles behind modern conservatism. It’s now just being against whatever they think liberals are for. Though this is most sharply apparent since Obama’s election, it was there for a long time, in things like how they praise their ‘thinkers’ - “Drives Liberals crazy!”, etc.

over at Balloon Juice, this concept is referenced as Cleek’s Law which states that modern Conservatism is simply taking the opposite position of whatever Liberals are for, updated daily. Any other reason or logic is no longer needed.

441 GeneJockey  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:20:58am

re: #434 Feline Fearless Leader

It’s like the end of the “Asshole Song”. Going out and doing stuff simply in an attempt to piss other people off. Real life trollin’.

Definitely. One of the things they love to say about Palin is that Liberals are afraid of her.

While this is true, it’s not for the reasons they think. It’s not that we’re afraid if she runs, she’ll be so popular with the electorate that they’ll elect her. That ship sailed right around October 2008 and has since disappeared beyond the horizon.

No, we fear the “Black Swan” event, where she gets elected because the Dem nominee turns out to have a John Edwards-level scandal AFTER the convention.

442 Justanotherhuman  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:21:03am

re: #416 lawhawk

Wattage is the electric power required by an appliance or device. That figure represents the max that the recepticle/fixture can handle.

Lumens is light output. That’s why you compare output between bulbs using lumens. A 12w LED can produce 800-900 lumens, which is equal to what a 16-20w CFL produces, or a 60-65w indandescent.

So, you can replace the bulbs with the same lumen output, or you can increase the lumen output while staying below the wattage max.

Handy dandy comparison chart.

OK, so since the 75W equiv CFLs are only 18W, I can use them in normal 60W incandescent fixtures, amirite?

Meanwhile, since I don’t need to buy bulbs except for that 6 light, 40W, strip in the bath, I will buy LEDs for it (I already have 2 CFLs in it, the rest are incandescent). They are the globe type, not the curlies.

LEDs do sound preferable to CFLs, so thanks for the information! After xmas, I will probably look for some LED xmas lights on sale as well for next year.

443 GeneJockey  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:23:03am

re: #440 piratedan

over at Balloon Juice, this concept is referenced as Cleek’s Law which states that modern Conservatism is simply taking the opposite position of whatever Liberals are for, updated daily. Any other reason or logic is no longer needed.

As a former Balloon Juice lurker, it may have been there that I saw it expressed.

Funny, I seem to prefer the blogs of recovering Wingnuts more than the dyed-in-the-wool Dems.

444 HappyWarrior  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:23:34am

re: #441 GeneJockey

Definitely. One of the things they love to say about Palin is that Liberals are afraid of her.

While this is true, it’s not for the reasons they think. It’s not that we’re afraid if she runs, she’ll be so popular with the electorate that they’ll elect her. That ship sailed right around October 2008 and has since disappeared beyond the horizon.

No, we fear the “Black Swan” event, where she gets elected because the Dem nominee turns out to have a John Edwards-level scandal AFTER the convention.

To conservatives, pissing off liberals means more than actually getting shit done which frankly is the core of everything that’s wrong with modern conservatism. The other problem with modern conservatism is how increasingly anti-intellectual it’s become. I still remember Santorum calling President Obama a “snob” for thinking all American children should get some form of higher education beyond high school. That doesn’t even get me started on how Darwin is syonamous with Hitler in many conservative circles rather than being seen as being like a Gailleo or Newton.

445 calochortus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:24:59am

re: #442 Justanotherhuman

OK, so since the 75W equiv CFLs are only 18W, I can use them in normal 60W incandescent fixtures, amirite?

I do it all the time.

446 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:26:25am

re: #444 HappyWarrior

I consider your characterization of conservatism overly broad. some conservatives do enjoy messing with liberals far too much, while these are some of the most vocal on the right they are representative of the whole or even most of conservatism.

447 Justanotherhuman  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:27:06am

re: #431 Gus

[Embedded content]

Jesus, he never liked his trachea? He’s got more problems than his probably-not-that-protruding adam’s apple.

448 GeneJockey  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:27:33am

re: #438 calochortus

Yeah, there’s an awful lot of how thrifty gran’pa was, and how they learned at his knee to recycle tin cans into a new buggy whip, immediately followed by “Let’s waste energy. That’ll show ‘em!”

Just a bit of cognitive dissonance.

The same folks who go on and on about how the 2008 financial crisis was caused by poor colored folk who were greedy and spend beyond their means, and brag about how they are so much better than that, then turn around and say they’re going to buy a huge gas-guzzling truck, just to show the environazis.

These, BTW, are the same folks who say a Prius is stupid because they need to haul lumber. Not stupid FOR THEM, but rather stupid FOR ANYONE.

449 Kragar  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:27:37am

They finally released some Night Lords Raptors.

Me gusta.

Image: night-raptors3a.jpg

450 William Barnett-Lewis  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:27:37am

re: #425 Dark_Falcon

In that vein, here’s some progress for the F/A-18 Hornet’s successor:

F-35 completes Block 2B weapon accuracy trials

The Hornet will still be flying when the last F35 is broken up at Davis-Monthan.

451 HappyWarrior  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:28:13am

I honestly don’t know what it’s going to take conservatives to realize that the old ways are done and rigid social conservatism isn’t a winner in 21st century America. Obama is the first president since Reagan to get over 50% of the vote in both elections. They need to do more than “rebrand” they need a full out makeover but instead of trending towards the social center or even the center right of the social issues, they’ve gone and nominated people like Cuccinelli for governor in a state that they’ve seen go from once being a sure thing for them to being more of a battleground state. They need to embrace the changing demographics not bitch about a past that never was.

452 Kragar  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:29:00am

Keep in mind, those models are maybe 1.5” tall at most.

453 GeneJockey  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:29:03am

re: #439 calochortus

I had to Google that. LGF is always educational.

One of my son’s friends has a brother named Lumen. We had a good chuckle about that.

454 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:30:04am

re: #447 Justanotherhuman

Jesus, he never liked his trachea? He’s got more problems than his probably-not-that-protruding adam’s apple.

My personal take is that Jenner has some transgender issues he’s working through.

455 GeneJockey  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:30:36am

re: #452 Kragar

Keep in mind, those models are maybe 1.5” tall at most.

How come? Somebody use ” instead of ’ on a drawing on a cocktail napkin?
/////

456 HappyWarrior  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:30:39am

re: #446 Dark_Falcon

I consider your characterization of conservatism overly broad. some conservatives do enjoy messing with liberals far too much, while these are some of the most vocal on the right they are representative of the whole or even most of conservatism.

Fair enough but my point is too many conservatives care more about antagonizing liberals than presenting an agenda for conservatism. You need more intellectuals and less Rush Limbaughs in your movement. You had that in the past and that’s why conservatives were able to have success in the recent past but ever since Obama’s been nominated and then elected, it’s been more about “How can we piss off liberals.” I second what’s already been said about Palin that many cons love her because “liberals hate her”. Conversely, I liked the Biden pick for Obama because Biden had demonstrated at that time in 36 years in the Senate a profound understanding for the issues important to the American people.

457 GeneJockey  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:30:55am

re: #454 Gus

My personal take is that Jenner has some transgender issues he’s working through.

Bruce TransJenner?

458 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:32:49am

re: #441 GeneJockey

Definitely. One of the things they love to say about Palin is that Liberals are afraid of her.

While this is true, it’s not for the reasons they think. It’s not that we’re afraid if she runs, she’ll be so popular with the electorate that they’ll elect her. That ship sailed right around October 2008 and has since disappeared beyond the horizon.

No, we fear the “Black Swan” event, where she gets elected because the Dem nominee turns out to have a John Edwards-level scandal AFTER the convention.

This is also why I implore people not to try to get the ‘other side’ to nominate crazy candidates: Because if their own sane candidate turns out to have taken a bribe, then everyone is stuck with the crazy person actually holding the office.

(Although in the case of a presidential nominee, a major scandal after locking up the nomination would be pretty bad as well, since it would throw the nomination open at the convention.)

459 Justanotherhuman  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:32:56am

All righty.


Does this mean Boehner isn’t running again? : )

460 GeneJockey  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:33:31am

re: #446 Dark_Falcon

I consider your characterization of conservatism overly broad. some conservatives do enjoy messing with liberals far too much, while these are some of the most vocal on the right they are representative of the whole or even most of conservatism.

We ain’t talking about you, since modern Conservatives would not consider you one of their own. Conservatism - which was never so much a principled position as simply a reaction against change - has now become just a reaction against a PERCEIVED enemy, “Liberalism”.

461 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:33:48am

re: #450 William Barnett-Lewis

Baloney.

462 Targetpractice  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:34:27am

re: #422 Dark_Falcon

Where’s the proof that the closure was politically motivated?

Lawhawk, your input would be appreciated.

Where to begin?

Officials On George Washington Bridge Closures: There Was No Traffic Study

This is looking more and more like the various “John Doe” investigations around Walker, that his closest confidants and political allies are being found crooked, but Scotty keeps denying any direct connection.

463 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:34:56am

re: #459 Justanotherhuman

All righty.

[Embedded content]


Does this mean Boehner isn’t running again? : )

I think they’re just setting the date for the State of the Union Address.

464 Targetpractice  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:36:02am

re: #450 William Barnett-Lewis

The Hornet will still be flying when the last F35 is broken up at Davis-Monthan.

Sounds ‘bout right. There’s MiG-21s around decades after they were deemed “obsolete,” wouldn’t surprise me that there’s F-18s flying well after the F-35 has been send to the scrappers.

465 GeneJockey  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:36:19am

re: #458 Dark_Falcon

This is also why I implore people not to try to get the ‘other side’ to nominate crazy candidates: Because if their own sane candidate turns out to have taken a bribe, then everyone is stuck with the crazy person actually holding the office.

(Although in the case of a presidential nominee, a major scandal after locking up the nomination would be pretty bad as well, since it would throw the nomination open at the convention.)

However, this very thing has allowed the Dems to keep the Senate in the face of universally expected loss in two successive elections. Still, there are 100 Senators and only one President.

466 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:36:48am

Everyone always hates the latest fighter jet. People made fun out of the F-18 when it was set to replace the F-14. It’s tradition.

467 HappyWarrior  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:36:50am

re: #460 GeneJockey

We ain’t talking about you, since modern Conservatives would not consider you one of their own. Conservatism - which was never so much a principled position as simply a reaction against change - has now become just a reaction against a PERCEIVED enemy, “Liberalism”.

Right and this is why I usually indicate I’m talking about modern conservatism when I talk about the train wreck of reactionarism that we have grown to bear witness to. I’d even say President Obama is more of a conservative than anything that’s come out of the Tea Party. The Tea Party to me are reactionaries whose vision of America is driven by a past that never was.

468 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:37:21am

Same like when the F-4 was set to replace the F-8.

469 Flounder  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:37:28am

re: #431 Gus

that is for his gender re-assignment surgery.

470 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:38:05am

re: #466 Gus

Everyone always hates the latest fighter jet. People made fun out of the F-18 when it was set to replace the F-14. It’s tradition.

The F-16 took a similar amount of criticism when it was being introduced.

471 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:38:36am

re: #469 Flounder

that is for his gender re-assignment surgery.

Is he going to do that? I haven’t read anything about it. Not like I keep up.

472 piratedan  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:38:40am

re: #446 Dark_Falcon

then feel free to demonstrate where ideals of liberals and conservatives dovetail and are reflected in legislation for the common good. The problem appears to be that for the vast majority of issues, Conservatives don’t believe in a common good, or that being common deserves any kind of attention whatsoever. I’ll cite cuts in food stamps, SNAP, the extension of unemployment benefits and butchering the post office…

473 Flounder  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:38:42am

re: #454 Gus

o hey, look at that, late to the party ;)

474 Justanotherhuman  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:38:48am

re: #463 Dark_Falcon

I think they’re just setting the date for the State of the Union Address.

I don’t think so. The State of the Union is usually given to a joint session, usually held in the House, but it doesn’t have to be.

I think this is different. An address to the House on Boehner’s invitation.

475 lawhawk  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:39:11am

re: #413 Gus

Well saw ‘em both heading north and south. Wont catch them for the third pass heading south though.

Didn’t get the timing right on the southbound pass - so no photo. Got photos on the northbound pass, but think it’s not particularly a good shot. No real good place to frame them with all the construction equipment and capture the WTC and the Blue Angels.

But it was the first time seeing them in person, and that was pretty impressive. Much faster pass than the Enterprise, which was also kinda surprising …and not considering the higher speeds and agility of the planes involved).

476 GlutenFreeJesus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:39:34am

re: #467 HappyWarrior

Right and this is why I usually indicate I’m talking about modern conservatism when I talk about the train wreck of reactionarism that we have grown to bear witness to. I’d even say President Obama is more of a conservative than anything that’s come out of the Tea Party. The Tea Party to me are reactionaries whose vision of America is driven by a past that never was.

The “modern” conservatives of today… it basically boils down to wanting the complete opposite of the Black President, regardless of their similar goals years ago.

477 Targetpractice  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:40:27am

re: #466 Gus

Everyone always hates the latest fighter jet. People made fun out of the F-18 when it was set to replace the F-14. It’s tradition.

There’s usually a reason behind traditions. The Super Hornet is an improvement over the first-gen Hornets, but it is no replacement for the Tomcat. Reality is that, if Cheney had not ordered the tooling for the Tomcat destroyed in his infinite dickishness, they could have built a new generation of F-14s that would still be flying today.

478 GeneJockey  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:40:44am

re: #466 Gus

Everyone always hates the latest fighter jet. People made fun out of the F-18 when it was set to replace the F-14. It’s tradition.

“They’ll still be flying SE5a’s when all the Sopwith Camels have been broken up for kindling!”*

*yes, I know the Camel didn’t replace the SE5a. Shut up.

479 William Barnett-Lewis  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:40:59am

re: #461 Dark_Falcon

Baloney.

It’s trying to be too many things for too many buyers and is going to make, in the long run, the F111 look like the best aircraft of the 20th century. I really think It’ll have a fleet career rather like the F7U, presuming it ever gets to squadron status, and the Hornet will keep flying on rather like the B-52 despite how many replacements now?

480 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:42:32am

My feet are cold, my hands, my legs. This is awesome. [Grumbles to self.]

481 geoffm33  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:43:32am

re: #418 Dark_Falcon

Standard anti-government dudebro fare.

Are we still doing band names?

482 HappyWarrior  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:44:27am

re: #476 GlutenFreeJesus

The “modern” conservatives of today… it basically boils down to wanting the complete opposite of the Black President, regardless of their similar goals years ago.

Which is why at heart we’re not really dealing with an ideology here but rather a reaction. A reaction to an America that calls a son of a Kenyan immigrant, Mr. President and with increasing support wants to treat LGBT Americans as equals.

483 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:44:44am

Incorrect post deleted.

484 GeneJockey  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:44:57am

re: #480 Gus

My feet are cold, my hands, my legs. This is awesome. [Grumbles to self.]

Do you have a bird you like to hold, or are we not talking a Dr. Seuss book?
////

485 Targetpractice  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:46:42am

re: #479 William Barnett-Lewis

It’s trying to be too many things for too many buyers and is going to make, in the long run, the F111 look like the best aircraft of the 20th century. I really think It’ll have a fleet career rather like the F7U, presuming it ever gets to squadron status, and the Hornet will keep flying on rather like the B-52 despite how many replacements now?

The Navy has long memories, and remembers what it was like trying to turn a light bomber into a fighter jet. It just don’t work. This time, they’ve got the exact opposite problem, trying to replace dedicated bomb trucks with the Air Force’s latest toy jet. Stealth is of limited value when the mission profile calls for lugging large amounts of heavy ordinance. And the Navy flies twin-engine aircraft for a reason, and it’s not because they look pretty.

486 lawhawk  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:46:49am

re: #466 Gus

Everyone always hates the latest fighter jet. People made fun out of the F-18 when it was set to replace the F-14. It’s tradition.

The F-14 had Top Gun, so there was an attachment to it, but the Navy found that it was heavy, very expensive to maintain, and didn’t perform well in certain environments. The F-18 was a step towards having a single platform for multiple missions, meaning the Navy could reduce costs and could consolidate equipment in carrier mechanical areas.

The F-35 is expensive to acquire, so the DoD will try to keep it around for a while, but they dispensed with the F117 fairly quickly so who knows what they’ll do with the F-35. It will depend on how time the airframes have on them whether the F-18 outlives the F-35 (though they’re transitioning to the Super Hornet, so upgrades may keep them going).

487 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:49:46am

re: #486 lawhawk

The F-14 had Top Gun, so there was an attachment to it, but the Navy found that it was heavy, very expensive to maintain, and didn’t perform well in certain environments. The F-18 was a step towards having a single platform for multiple missions, meaning the Navy could reduce costs and could consolidate equipment in carrier mechanical areas.

The F-35 is expensive to acquire, so the DoD will try to keep it around for a while, but they dispensed with the F117 fairly quickly so who knows what they’ll do with the F-35. It will depend on how time the airframes have on them whether the F-18 outlives the F-35 (though they’re transitioning to the Super Hornet, so upgrades may keep them going).

We’re still going through that mega-stealth jet phase. The F-14, F-18 are all low tech compared to the F-35. Eventually the F-35 will be replaced by UAVs.

488 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:50:41am

re: #485 Targetpractice

The Navy has long memories, and remembers what it was like trying to turn a light bomber into a fighter jet. It just don’t work. This time, they’ve got the exact opposite problem, trying to replace dedicated bomb trucks with the Air Force’s latest toy jet. Stealth is of limited value when the mission profile calls for lugging large amounts of heavy ordinance. And the Navy flies twin-engine aircraft for a reason, and it’s not because they look pretty.

The F-35B (the VTOL/STOL version) will be faster and safer than the AV-8B Harrier. The Navy needs a Harrier replacement, which is part of why they are sticking with the F-35.

489 lawhawk  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:53:27am

re: #422 Dark_Falcon

It certainly appears that the decision was politically motivated to go after Fort Lee. The hearings so far have indicated that there was no plan for how to address the closure, no warning to commuters, and that the effect of the study could have been done with a computer simulation, avoiding the problem altogether.

No one specifically said it was politically motivated, but the reading between the lines is highly suggestive.

The alternative is that there was gross incompetence.

That Christie canned Baroni today, and accepted the resignation of Wildstein effective end of the year, also shows that this was politically motivated. Christie’s trying to limit the political fallout.

The Port Authority is a den of political appointees by design - NY and NJ both designate appointees, so people who are politically connected are chosen for top spots - and the positions are essentially evenly split between NY and NJ appointees.

The surprising thing is that Christie canned Baroni today, but had no problem keeping on NJ Transit’s James Weinstein, whose rail team put the rail fleet in a position to be flooded out during Sandy costing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage, reduced the rail schedule for months, and no one was fired - there was one person who was demoted, but that was a minor underling.

490 Targetpractice  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:56:53am

re: #483 Dark_Falcon

Cheney did that because Boeing had just bought McDonnell-Douglas and tried to stick the government with an outrageous upgrade price. Cheney therefore had the tooling destroyed to make clear that he would reject that sort of shenanigans and that firms that engaged in them would pay the price.

Sadly, he did not insist on continuing that sort of policy when he became vice president.

Wrong manufacturers, Dark, the F-14’s a Grumman bird and Northrop didn’t acquire them until ‘94. The upgrade cost would have been half the cost of building new Tomcats, which itself would have been cheaper than the Super Hornet has been over the life of the program even though more have been built. Cheney acted in the tradition of Robert McNamara, killing programs that he didn’t personally agree with and then making up the excuses afterward.

491 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 10:58:24am

Once the USAF and USN goes all UAV that’s it I’m done with military aviation. I have no interest in unmanned flight unless it’s RC airplanes.

492 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 11:00:17am

If I go to an airshow I want pilots. If I go to an auto race, I want drivers. UAVs are like having robots run a marathon race or a robot playing music.

493 Targetpractice  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 11:02:33am

re: #488 Dark_Falcon

The F-35B (the VTOL/STOL version) will be faster and safer than the AV-8B Harrier. The Navy needs a Harrier replacement, which is part of why they are sticking with the F-35.

Dark, there’s three variants of this turkey, the Navy’s is the F-35C. It’s supposed to be an F-18 C/D replacement as the fleet’s bomb truck. Except a bomb truck means it carries lots of ordinance, which becomes impossible with the F-35 unless you bolt on pylons. As doing so rendered the entire purpose of stealth moot, what the Navy is getting is a piss-poor replacement for a piss-poor plane.

494 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 11:03:15am

re: #490 Targetpractice

Good catch on the F-14’s builder. Post #483 deleted.

495 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 11:04:18am

re: #493 Targetpractice

Dark, there’s three variants of this turkey, the Navy’s is the F-35C. It’s supposed to be an F-18 C/D replacement as the fleet’s bomb truck. Except a bomb truck means it carries lots of ordinance, which becomes impossible with the F-35 unless you bolt on pylons. As doing so rendered the entire purpose of stealth moot, what the Navy is getting is a piss-poor replacement for a piss-poor plane.

I thought the VTOL version was the B but the catapult launched version was the C. Not so?

496 Targetpractice  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 11:10:10am

re: #495 Dark_Falcon

I thought the VTOL version was the B but the catapult launched version was the C. Not so?

You’ve got the lettering right, but while the Navy and Marines are politically joined at the hip, their desires for the B & C are at odds. Marines want it mostly because they badly need a Harrier replacement and have badly wanted a VTOL capable of supersonic flight for decades. The Navy wanted no part of the program to begin with, but got drug along because the DoD told them that it would have bring total costs for the program down and also because tough shit, the Air Force wants it badly and so you’re going to make do.

497 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 11:14:09am
498 Gus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 11:16:35am

Gotta warm-up and regroup. Later.

499 Dark_Falcon  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 11:17:50am

re: #496 Targetpractice

You’ve got the lettering right, but while the Navy and Marines are politically joined at the hip, their desires for the B & C are at odds. Marines want it mostly because they badly need a Harrier replacement and have badly wanted a VTOL capable of supersonic flight for decades. The Navy wanted no part of the program to begin with, but got drug along because the DoD told them that it would have bring total costs for the program down and also because tough shit, the Air Force wants it badly and so you’re going to make do.

Thank you for confirming my understanding. As for program costs, those are a matter of long-standing frustration for me and the way the F-35 program was able to evade the oversight regime it was placed under is just sickening. It would have cost a lot less had oversight been kept tight for the whole of the procurement process.

500 Targetpractice  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 11:23:34am

re: #499 Dark_Falcon

Thank you for confirming my understanding. As for program costs, those are a matter of long-standing frustration for me and the way the F-35 program was able to evade the oversight regime it was placed under is just sickening. It would have cost a lot less had oversight been kept tight for the whole of the procurement process.

That’s a feature, not a bug, of more DoD weapon procurement. It’s not really helped when you’re relying on the same manufacturer for two of your major fighter projects. And trying to cram three disparate and totally unrelated job descriptions into the same bird certainly didn’t help matters either. No telling what operational costs will be like when they reach service and start having to deal with issues like salt-water corrosion, high turnaround, and actual combat.

501 GlutenFreeJesus  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 11:40:09am

re: #482 HappyWarrior

Which is why at heart we’re not really dealing with an ideology here but rather a reaction. A reaction to an America that calls a son of a Kenyan immigrant, Mr. President and with increasing support wants to treat LGBT Americans as equals.

How dare we!

502 RealityBasedSteve  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 11:51:11am

re: #439 calochortus

I had to Google that. LGF is always educational.

genejockey even knew about predatory moon snails. :)

RBS

503 Feline Fearless Leader  Fri, Dec 13, 2013 12:22:37pm

re: #454 Gus

My personal take is that Jenner has some transgender issues he’s working through.

You’d think that his step-daughters provided issues enough.


This article has been archived.
Comments are closed.

Jump to top

Create a PageThis is the LGF Pages posting bookmarklet. To use it, drag this button to your browser's bookmark bar, and title it 'LGF Pages' (or whatever you like). Then browse to a site you want to post, select some text on the page to use for a quote, click the bookmarklet, and the Pages posting window will appear with the title, text, and any embedded video or audio files already filled in, ready to go.
Or... you can just click this button to open the Pages posting window right away.
Last updated: 2023-04-04 11:11 am PDT
LGF User's Guide RSS Feeds

Help support Little Green Footballs!

Subscribe now for ad-free access!Register and sign in to a free LGF account before subscribing, and your ad-free access will be automatically enabled.

Donate with
PayPal
Cash.app
Recent PagesClick to refresh
A Closer Look at the Eastman State Bar DecisionTaking a few minutes away from work things to read through the Eastman decision. As I'm sure many of you know, Eastman was my law school con law professor. I knew him pretty well because I was also running in ...
KGxvi
2 hours ago
Views: 70 • Comments: 1 • Rating: 1