How NPR Tiny Desk Audio Engineer Josh Rogosin Mics the Drums

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Nothing earthshaking or outrageous or Trumpian about this one, but since (you may have noticed) I love to post those always-excellent Tiny Desk Concerts videos, here’s an interesting crash course in how to minimally mic a tiny drum set in a tiny studio that looks an awful lot like the Tiny Desk stage.

In honor of the fourth-ever Tiny Desk Contest, our intrepid Tiny Desk audio engineer Josh Rogosin goes deep on recording drums. The Contest closes at 11:59 p.m. ET on March 25, 2018, so get those last-minute submissions in to npr.org/tinydeskcontest!

Remember: You don’t need to have fancy audio equipment to make a great entry — just be yourself, and let your music shine through. Good luck!

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478 comments
1
darthstar  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:05:59pm
2
Kragar  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:06:59pm
3
gocart mozart  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:08:50pm
4
Amory Blaine  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:09:23pm

After rumors fly, Paul Ryan’s office says he’s ‘not resigning’

House Speaker Paul Ryan’s office is pushing back against a Republican congressman’s suggestion that the GOP leader would soon be stepping down.

Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong says, “The speaker is not resigning.”

The swift response from the Wisconsin congressman’s office Monday comes after Rep. Mark Amodei, a Nevada Republican, reportedly told a home-state journalist, “The rumor mill is that Paul Ryan is getting ready to resign in the next 30 to 60 days.”

5
Charles Johnson  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:09:29pm

re: #2 Kragar

Jacob Wohl is working hard to be the biggest right wing dumbass on the scene, but he has a lot of competition. It gets more like WWF every day.

6
JordanRules  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:09:35pm
7
lawhawk  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:09:38pm

re: #1 darthstar

Confirmation bias at play there. Ryan may be dirty. He may even resign, but I don’t trust Palmer Report as much as I can toss them in a midget tossing contest.

They’re playing to confirmation bias.

You’ve got right wing extremists in the GOP who want Ryan gone because he’s not enough of an extremist for their taste. That’s why we’re seeing reports he might resign.

That there may be another deeper scandal or reason isn’t yet public or suggested by the evidence we know thus far, though to be fair - Ryan know or has reason to know of Russia-Trump compromised persons and he did nothing except cover for them and gave Nunes all the rope he has.

8
lawhawk  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:11:04pm

re: #2 Kragar

Wohl, who’s lucky he wasn’t criminally charged over financial crimes, is a Trump wannabe barely out of diapers.

He’s a con artist who would fit in with Trumpworld. Brother from another mother (and who knows…. the way Trump played the field… just sayin’).

9
The Ghost of a Flea  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:12:12pm
10
lawhawk  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:12:28pm
11
Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:14:16pm

re: #2 Kragar

12
Backwoods_Sleuth  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:15:23pm

re: #9 The Ghost of a Flea

[Embedded content]

13
Sea Mexican!  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:17:51pm

re: #2 Kragar

[Embedded content]

If Trump is proof that God exists … do anyone knows where are the forms to apply to become an atheist?

//

14
William Lewis  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:18:03pm

re: #10 lawhawk

[Embedded content]

I’m going to presume 9 out of 10 of the commandments as well, but only because I don’t know of anyone he had killed…

15
Cheechako  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:18:31pm

re: #13 Sea Mexican!

If Trump is proof that God exists … do anyone knows where are the forms to apply to become an atheist?

//

Check with Anymouse.

16
Backwoods_Sleuth  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:18:40pm
17
Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:18:48pm

re: #13 Sea Mexican!

If Trump is proof that God exists … do anyone knows where are the forms to apply to become an atheist?

//

Atheists don’t have forms. You just need to burn your religious paperwork.

18
Amory Blaine  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:19:49pm

Very interesting video, thanks Charles.

19
Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:21:51pm

I’m watching Justice League Dark (2017). Much better than Justice League (2017).
DC live action tends to be a disappointment.

20
EPR-radar  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:22:00pm

re: #14 William Lewis

I’m going to presume 9 out of 10 of the commandments as well, but only because I don’t know of anyone he had killed…

It wouldn’t surprise me at all to learn of a suspicious death or two of people inconvenient to a Trump construction project. Trump probably dealt with the Mafia through intermediaries, but that’s not good enough, especially for one who would be president.

21
dangerman  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:22:21pm

re: #13 Sea Mexican!

If Trump is proof that God exists … do anyone knows where are the forms to apply to become an atheist?

//

No forms
We’re not that organized

22
Belafon  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:24:16pm

re: #21 dangerman

No forms
We’re not that organized

It would first require two of us to get together.

23
The Ghost of a Flea  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:24:47pm

re: #19 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis

DC’s animated universe is really good (ahem. with a few exceptions). Only reason I started paying attention to DC is because McDuffy and Timm, plus a bunch of great voices actors, made them so likeable.

24
Amory Blaine  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:24:56pm

I finally kind of have my practice room set up the way I guess I like, except for the acoustics. I have so many damn reflective surfaces that I can feel the waves bouncing in my head. For some reason voices (people talking) is the worst. I’m going to make a few broadcast absorbers out of owens corning and metal studs and hope that knocks the echo down a bit. Something like this made with corner bead or metal studs.

25
darthstar  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:27:11pm

New trauma toys are popping up all over the place. I took one from work to the ballpark to pick up my car today. Kind of cool. Just unlock it with your phone then leave it wherever. Someone else will take it next. Took me nine minutes to get the mile or so to where I left it. Cost me $1.50 for the ride.

26
Quoth the raven, Covfefe.  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:27:29pm

re: #24 Amory Blaine

I finally kind of have my practice room set up the way I guess I like, except for the acoustics. I have so many damn reflective surfaces that I can feel the waves bouncing in my head. For some reason voices (people talking) is the worst. I’m going to make a few broadcast absorbers out of owens corning and metal studs and hope that knocks the echo down a bit. Something like this made with corner bead or metal studs.

[Embedded content]

Acoustics is a fascinating study. Really, what you’re looking for is the frequencies that are the most obvious or annoying to you. The lower the frequency that is kicking your ass, the bigger your panels will need to be (until you get into the bass range, at which point you basically need to redo your walls). You can probably isolate this by using a frequency analyzer and looking for the peaks when playing or speaking. If it’s voices, my guess is going to be somewhere between 250 Hz and 2 kHz; that’s kind of the power band of human voices.

27
Belafon  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:27:44pm

re: #23 The Ghost of a Flea

DC’s animated universe is really good. Only reason I started paying attention to DC is because McDuffy and Timm, plus a bunch of great voices actors, made them so likeable.

In my opinion, if they would have just used the Justice League Animated Series as a template for live action, not only would they have had a solid story line, it would have been full enough to spin off movies of a number of characters.

28
dangerman  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:28:44pm

re: #22 Belafon

It would first require two of us to get together.

And then agree on exactly what it is we are …not

29
Backwoods_Sleuth  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:32:03pm

re: #28 dangerman

And then agree on exactly what it is we are …not

and then we just say, screw it, and have a drink.

30
darthstar  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:32:59pm
31
JordanRules  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:33:51pm

re: #29 Backwoods_Sleuth

and then we just say, screw it, and have a drink.

Perfect. I’m in!

32
Amory Blaine  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:34:05pm

re: #26 Quoth the raven, Covfefe.

Thanks for the tips. :)

Fantastic DIY Speakers for less than $30!

33
Belafon  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:34:43pm

Why atheism is not a religion, it would require two or more people to:
1. get together
2. agree on what atheism is
3. decide there’s a step three
4. agree to write it down
5. agree on what needs to be written
6. actually write it down
7. agree that they wrote what they meant
8. release it

34
Quoth the raven, Covfefe.  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:35:19pm

re: #32 Amory Blaine

Thanks for the tips. :)

[Embedded content]

I’m a semi-professional sound engineer on the side. While designing studio rooms is a little bit outside my realm of expertise, I know enough to be dangerous.

35
Stanley Sea  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:35:49pm

re: #16 Backwoods_Sleuth

[Embedded content]

250K owed for ROULETTE & a wife beater.

Cream of the crop there.

36
teleskiguy  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:37:24pm

re: #13 Sea Mexican!

If Trump is proof that God exists … do anyone knows where are the forms to apply to become an atheist?

//

You’ll have to fill out the form designating a denomination, with either The Atheist People’s Front or The People’s Front of Atheism. I checked “Other” and wrote in “Ski Bum Atheist Who Believe In Intelligent Life In Other Far Off Star Systems.”

True story. For my religion I’m in Kurt Vonnegut’s “Church Of Our Lady Of Perpetual Astonishment,” which is also acceptable in your non-religious paperwork that must be submitted to the Ministry of Holy Christ Almighty located somewhere underneath Virginia.

37
Backwoods_Sleuth  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:37:47pm

re: #35 Stanley Sea

250K owed for ROULETTE & a wife beater.

Cream of the crop there.

only the best, you know…

38
The Vicious Babushka  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:38:35pm

The Foxturds are TRIGGERED by Obama.

39
teleskiguy  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:39:57pm

re: #38 The Vicious Babushka

I’m not afraid of reading comments most of the time. I’m going to stay away from this one.

40
Targetpractice  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:40:01pm

re: #16 Backwoods_Sleuth

[Embedded content]

Wife-beaters, perjurers, and con-artists. Donny hires only the best.

//////

41
Backwoods_Sleuth  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:41:25pm
42
EPR-radar  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:42:42pm

re: #39 teleskiguy

I’m not afraid of reading comments most of the time. I’m going to stay away from this one.

I think it certain that this will provoke the deplorables to earn their name — once again — at great, tedious and astonishingly offensive length.

43
dangerman  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:43:55pm

re: #29 Backwoods_Sleuth

and then we just say, screw it, and have a drink.

While we don’t fill out forms

44
Backwoods_Sleuth  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:44:30pm

well, ok then…

45
Backwoods_Sleuth  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:45:34pm

re: #43 dangerman

While we don’t fill out forms

well, maybe we’ll fill out forms after a few drinks and laugh and laugh and laugh while we make up fake facts on the forms.

46
Backwoods_Sleuth  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:47:19pm
47
Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:47:29pm
48
dangerman  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:47:56pm

re: #34 Quoth the raven, Covfefe.

I’m a semi-professional sound engineer on the side. While designing studio rooms is a little bit outside my realm of expertise, I know enough to be dangerous.

Hmmm?

49
scottslemmons  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:48:06pm

re: #27 Belafon

In my opinion, if they would have just used the Justice League Animated Series as a template for live action, not only would they have had a solid story line, it would have been full enough to spin off movies of a number of characters.

Batman Animated, Superman Animated, Justice League/Justice League Unlimited Animated. Also I love the Brave and the Bold cartoon more than I maybe should, but they have that wonderful teamup with Batman and Abe Lincoln, so I think that’s a good excuse. :)

50
Quoth the raven, Covfefe.  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:48:58pm

re: #48 dangerman

Hmmm?

I can certainly make your head asplode if that’s what you want from your studio.

51
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:49:04pm

Stuck on the end of the dead thread, because I am behind:

Out in town this evening doing water tests. Every home I went into (and the gun shop) was playing FOX News. (Real awkward being in the gun shop right when they were railing on FOX about “gun grabbers” and such. We’ll just say the owner of the shop is not my biggest fan for me being on the village board.)

52
dangerman  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:52:15pm

re: #50 Quoth the raven, Covfefe.

I can certainly make your head asplode if that’s what you want from your studio.

I meant the danger(man)ous part

53
Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:54:04pm
54
Quoth the raven, Covfefe.  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:54:14pm

re: #52 dangerman

I meant the danger(man)ous part

Find the resonance frequency of your eardrums (or your skull), and then you can tune your room to amplify those frequencies (usually by adjusting the dimensions so those frequencies set up standing waves against the walls).

55
Targetpractice  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:55:11pm

re: #46 Backwoods_Sleuth

[Embedded content]

The press want to keep acting as if Trump is “Business As Usual,” that his presidency is not a deviation from the norm but instead just “different.” Thus they keep glossing over events that would have sunk any other presidency because the level of denial is so damned deep that is rivals the Challenger Deep.

56
EPR-radar  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:55:31pm

re: #54 Quoth the raven, Covfefe.

Find the resonance frequency of your eardrums (or your skull), and then you can tune your room to amplify those frequencies (usually by adjusting the dimensions so those frequencies set up standing waves against the walls).

Scanners?

57
Shiplord Kirel, Friend of Moose and Squirrel  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:55:36pm

re: #12 Backwoods_Sleuth

What a disgusting and ignorant lie. The NRA was not an advocacy organization before the 1960s and advocacy did not replace training and safety as its main focus until the right wing conspiracy kook faction gained full control in the infamous “coup of ‘77.” The shift was an obvious, and often overtly stated, reaction to the success of the Civil Rights Movement.

58
Backwoods_Sleuth  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:56:31pm
59
Quoth the raven, Covfefe.  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:56:45pm

re: #56 EPR-radar

Scanners?

Usually just a frequency analyzer, such as what I have on our sound board (or a more sophisticated version that I’ve seen on a mobile app, but I don’t trust my iPhone’s microphone that much). Find the pain point, and then adjust your room to amplify that specific frequency and you can make it _very_ painful.

60
retired cynic  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:57:58pm

re: #26 Quoth the raven, Covfefe.

Acoustics is a fascinating study. Really, what you’re looking for is the frequencies that are the most obvious or annoying to you. The lower the frequency that is kicking your ass, the bigger your panels will need to be (until you get into the bass range, at which point you basically need to redo your walls). You can probably isolate this by using a frequency analyzer and looking for the peaks when playing or speaking. If it’s voices, my guess is going to be somewhere between 250 Hz and 2 kHz; that’s kind of the power band of human voices.

We set up a musical auditorium in an old airplane hangar. It was, uh, bright. We bought a semi-load of rough cut half inch lumber that had been sitting outside on a trailer, and was a bit soft and part-way rotten. We did the walls in that, using 1x1 strips as batten. Used styrofoam sheets for the ceiling. It worked a treat. Bounced the sound around, softening it as it went. You could sit anywhere in there, and it was good.

61
JordanRules  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:58:04pm
62
makeitstop  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:58:35pm

So, Stormy’s lawyer apparently called Says Who Cohen a ‘thug’ on Anderson Cooper’s tonight.

I wonder if Cohen will be stupid enough to take the bait.

63
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:58:55pm

re: #13 Sea Mexican!

If Trump is proof that God exists … do anyone knows where are the forms to apply to become an atheist?

//

I’ll welcome you to the club. We have cookies.

64
EPR-radar  Mar 26, 2018 • 6:59:05pm

re: #55 Targetpractice

The press want to keep acting as if Trump is “Business As Usual,” that his presidency is not a deviation from the norm but instead just “different.” Thus they keep glossing over events that would have sunk any other presidency because the level of denial is so damned deep that is rivals the Challenger Deep.

In the few corners of the mainstream media that dare to whisper about Trump being grossly unfit for office, there is mostly a simultaneous denial that Trumpism and the Republican party are the same thing — movement conservatism perfected.

65
EPR-radar  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:00:33pm

re: #59 Quoth the raven, Covfefe.

Usually just a frequency analyzer, such as what I have on our sound board (or a more sophisticated version that I’ve seen on a mobile app, but I don’t trust my iPhone’s microphone that much). Find the pain point, and then adjust your room to amplify that specific frequency and you can make it _very_ painful.

I was joking about the gross exploding head scene in the movie. Seems on point (although taken to an extreme).

66
JordanRules  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:01:10pm
67
Shiplord Kirel, Friend of Moose and Squirrel  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:01:16pm

The ammosexual culture has a prime conspiracy theory, one from which all other gun nut bullshit flows: Liberals seek to take our guns so blacks can rampage freely through our communities. This, in turn, is the blacks’ reward for voting liberals into power.

There, I said it. It really is what they think, I have heard it in just those words many times. You can easily get ammosexuals to admit it. Nowadays, they include Muslims as well. Where else do you think the intrinsic link between fundamentalism and gun nuttery comes from?

68
Joe Bacon 🌹  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:01:19pm
69
Quoth the raven, Covfefe.  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:03:24pm

re: #65 EPR-radar

I was joking about the gross exploding head scene in the movie. Seems on point (although taken to an extreme).

You’re right. I couldn’t literally make someone’s head explode. The resonant frequencies wouldn’t be powerful enough to do that unless you amped the power up enough to kill the person through concussion directly. But it is certainly possible to set up a resonance that would be painful enough to do damage.

70
EPR-radar  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:05:17pm

re: #67 Shiplord Kirel, Friend of Moose and Squirrel

The ammosexual culture has a prime conspiracy theory, one from which all other gun nut bullshit flows: Liberals seek to take our guns so blacks can rampage freely through our communities. This, in turn, is the blacks’ reward for voting liberals into power.

There I said it. It really is what they think, I have heard it in just those words many times. You can easily get ammosexuals to admit it. Nowadays, they include Muslims as well. Where else do you think the intrinsic link between fundamentalism and gun nuttery comes from?

Perhaps unfairly, I’ve never been able to see the zombie apocalypse scenario as anything other than a thinly disguised race war fable.

71
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:10:33pm

re: #70 EPR-radar

Perhaps unfairly, I’ve never been able to see the zombie apocalypse scenario as anything other than a thinly disguised race war fable.

If you substituted zombie for “Hindu” in Camp of the Saints you would have a zombie novel.

72
scottslemmons  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:10:51pm

re: #70 EPR-radar

Perhaps unfairly, I’ve never been able to see the zombie apocalypse scenario as anything other than a thinly disguised race war fable.

As Stephen King says, horror is a conservative genre at its core. Doesn’t mean it’s bad, doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of liberals writing horror, but the default mode for the genre boils down to “The Other disrupts the status quo — shall we restore order or will the Other reign?”

73
EPR-radar  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:12:38pm

re: #67 Shiplord Kirel, Friend of Moose and Squirrel

The ammosexual culture has a prime conspiracy theory, one from which all other gun nut bullshit flows: Liberals seek to take our guns so blacks can rampage freely through our communities. This, in turn, is the blacks’ reward for voting liberals into power.

There I said it. It really is what they think, I have heard it in just those words many times. You can easily get ammosexuals to admit it. Nowadays, they include Muslims as well. Where else do you think the intrinsic link between fundamentalism and gun nuttery comes from?

This also neatly ties back into why the second amendment has that ambiguous militia clause in it. Obviously it was put there so that the individual states could limit the right to keep and bear arms as they saw fit by tying it (vaguely) to the militia. The idea that states in 1789, especially in the south, were in favor of an individual right to keep and bear arms is ludicrous. E.g. free blacks.

Unlike Scalia’s nonsense in Heller, this is what realistic originalism as applied to the second amendment looks like.

74
mmmirele  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:13:30pm

In criminal news, we have these two arrests.

First is Keith Raniere, the founder of the NXIVM cult which was mostly located in upstate New York and funded by two (woman) heirs of the Bronfman liquor fortune. You may have heard of this turd because he had women who joined a secret sub-group branded with his initials. You know, as with an electric brander branded. After authorities started looking into this, he disappeared to Mexico and was hard to track down because he went radio silent. However, he was eventually found at a $10K/week condo and deported. He’s currently cooling his heels in a Texas lockup, waiting for extradition to New York.

timesunion.com

And then we have William Strempel, who used to be the dean of the college of osteopathic medicine at Michigan State. He was arrested today on undisclosed charges, but probably, almost likely, related to Larry Nassar, the pervo gropo pedo sleazoid scumbag who assaulted around 300 girls or more. Anyway, Strempel basically allowed Nassar to continue running rampant by not requiring Nassar to follow protocols put in place in 2014 after a sexual assault investigation. Strempel is on record as saying that the girls lied and never believe the patients. There will be a press conference tomorrow where the charges will be disclosed.

freep.com

75
EPR-radar  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:15:34pm

re: #72 scottslemmons

As Stephen King says, horror is a conservative genre at its core. Doesn’t mean it’s bad, doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of liberals writing horror, but the default mode for the genre boils down to “The Other disrupts the status quo — shall we restore order or will the Other reign?”

That’s an interesting observation I hadn’t seen before. Thanks.

Zombie apocalypse is a much closer match to current US right wing obsessions than something like Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

76
Belafon  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:16:26pm

re: #63 Anymouse 🌹

I’ll welcome you to the club. We have cookies.

Are you buying them? Cause I’m kind of busy.

77
stpaulbear  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:17:30pm

Glad to see that this WaPo story has been in the ‘most read’ listings all day today.

A fake photo of Emma González went viral on the far right, where Parkland teens are villains

Gab, the Twitter-like social network that is a popular refuge for the alt-right, tweeted the animation on Saturday to more than 100,000 followers, then hours later asserted it was “satire.” It racked up more than 1,200 retweets. The still images, looking more sophisticated than the glitchy animation, went further, appearing to be taken as legitimate by some conservative-minded Twitter users.

The pushback seems to have gained more traction than the original images, although that means the original images are also spread wider.

Donald Moynihan, a professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, debunked the altered image, saying in a tweet: “Just a sample of what NRA supporters are doing to teenagers who survived a massacre (real picture on the right),” referencing a user named “Linda NRA Supporter” who posted the photo and whose account has since been suspended.

78
HappyWarrior  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:18:08pm

re: #77 stpaulbear

Glad to see that this WaPo story has been in the ‘most read’ listings all day today.

A fake photo of Emma González went viral on the far right, where Parkland teens are villains

It’s fucking sick.

79
Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:18:14pm

re: #66 JordanRules

Uber is suspended from autonomous vehicle testing after last week’s fatal crash.

Good plan. Uber is not using systems capable of on-road tests. While the real self-driving cars go thousands of miles without human intervention, Uber’s tech struggles to make it a couple of blocks.

They’re only allowed to do this because AZ is a state that chooses liberty over safety just about every time. This is reflected in their super-lax gun-laws, drivers-license laws that let you go decades without renewal, and letting completely untested tech onto their roads. A real state would have monitored them closely and shut them down when their cars failed to work.

Uber should leave this to the big boys, but their execs want self-driving cars now at the least expense, and the techs are trying to deliver when they should recognize their limits and say no.

The real driverless cars can avoid accidents like the one that got Uber’s self-driving tests shut down.

80
Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:21:35pm

re: #78 HappyWarrior

It’s fucking sick.

I wish Adam Baldwin didn’t feel the need to seek approval from wingnuts. It diminishes his work, making people think about how awful he is when we see him.

81
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:22:50pm

re: #76 Belafon

Are you buying them? Cause I’m kind of busy.

I’ll ask my wife is she’ll make them

(asking)

“Sure.”

82
HappyWarrior  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:23:39pm

re: #80 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis

I wish Adam Baldwin didn’t feel the need to seek approval from wingnuts. It diminishes his work, making people think about how awful he is when we see him.

Yeah I don’t get that either. I just wish people would look at what they post on Twitter or FB or whatever.

83
TedStriker  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:27:14pm

re: #66 JordanRules

[Embedded content]

re: #79 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis

Good plan. Uber is not using systems capable of on-road tests. While the real self-driving cars go thousands of miles without human intervention, Uber’s tech struggles to make it a couple of blocks.

They’re only allowed to do this because AZ is a state that chooses liberty over safety just about every time. This is reflected in their super-lax gun-laws, drivers-license laws that let you go decades without renewal, and letting completely untested tech onto their roads. A real state would have monitored them closely and shut them down when their cars failed to work.

Uber should leave this to the big boys, but their execs want self-driving cars now at the least expense, and the techs are trying to deliver when they should recognize their limits and say no.

The real driverless cars can avoid accidents like the one that got Uber’s self-driving tests shut down.

When you’ve lost Doug Ducey, one of the biggest GOP wingnuts in public office who’s not in DC and who giddily welcomed Uber’s testing with open arms saying, more or less, that CA’s regs (the ones that mandated extensive performance and safety documentation to the state DMV and others that Uber tried to sidestep, getting them shut down there) are too onerous:

Granted, this is only after a Uber AV hit and killed a pedestrian, but even he couldn’t ignore that.

84
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:28:20pm

Another water test appointment to go to … brb

85
Belafon  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:31:07pm

re: #77 stpaulbear

Glad to see that this WaPo story has been in the ‘most read’ listings all day today.

A fake photo of Emma González went viral on the far right, where Parkland teens are villains

The last lines show exactly who they are: Somehow Emma and David are too immature, but they guy who thinks guns are OK should be on more of their shows.

86
stpaulbear  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:32:38pm

re: #84 Anymouse 🌹

Another water test appointment to go to … brb

When your doing your water testing, can you get the tap running and then tell the homeowner that they need to watch the water for a while to see if anything unusual happens, then go into their living rooms and program the TV remote so that they can’t watch FOX news anymore?

87
Shiplord Kirel, Friend of Moose and Squirrel  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:33:06pm

The zombie apocalypse scenario can certainly be a metaphor for racist anxiety, and there is no doubt they often take it that way. I think it is more universal than that, though, always serving as a metaphor for the specific prejudices and anxieties of the viewer or reader. To me, for example, the mindless brain eating hordes are a powerful metaphor for southern fundamentalists. For other readers and viewers, with different anxieties and fears, the metaphor represents a different threat. The zombie is always filtered through the perceptions of the viewer and becomes the feared “other,” whatever form that may take in the real universe.

88
scottslemmons  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:34:21pm

re: #75 EPR-radar

That’s an interesting observation I hadn’t seen before. Thanks.

Zombie apocalypse is a much closer match to current US right wing obsessions than something like Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

His full quote — from “Danse Macabre,” which is definitely worth reading, no matter how old it is: “I’ve tried to suggest throughout this book that the horror story, beneath its fangs and fright wig, is really as conservative as an Illinois Republican in a three-piece pinstriped suit; that its main purpose is to reaffirm the virtues of the norm by showing us what awful things happen to people who venture into taboo lands. Within the framework of most horror tales we find a moral code so strong it would make a Puritan smile.”

Which isn’t to say you can’t find horror that seems left-wing or liberal — but when you cut straight through to the bone of the story, they’re nearly always about the Other fucking with the status quo.

89
plansbandc  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:35:35pm

re: #21 dangerman

If Trump is proof that God exists, I want no part of religion. What absolute horseshit. My fledgling rebirth of faith is getting sorely tested.

90
The Ghost of a Flea  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:35:37pm

re: #87 Shiplord Kirel, Friend of Moose and Squirrel

Zombies are human-shaped armatures that you can kill without considering their humanity.

91
scottslemmons  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:37:34pm

re: #87 Shiplord Kirel, Friend of Moose and Squirrel

The zombie apocalypse scenario can certainly be a metaphor for racist anxiety, and there is no doubt they often take it that way. I think it is more universal than that, though, always serving as a metaphor for the specific prejudices and anxieties of the viewer or reader. To me, for example, the mindless brain eating hordes are a powerful metaphor for southern fundamentalists. For other readers and viewers, with different anxieties and fears, the metaphor represents a different threat. The zombie is always filtered through the perceptions of the viewer and becomes the feared “other,” whatever form that may take in the real universe.

The original “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” can be viewed as an anti-Communist metaphor or an anti-McCarthy metaphor, depending on whether you hated the Communists or the McCarthyites. I don’t know if that means it’s really skillfully made or if fear just naturally finds the path it needs to get to your brain…

92
coin operated  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:38:17pm

In response to Wohl….

93
scottslemmons  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:43:39pm

re: #75 EPR-radar

Zombie apocalypse is a much closer match to current US right wing obsessions than something like Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

Also I just twigged to this bit — I think “Dracula” is a decent fit for the current political climate. You can make it fit conservative or liberal fears very easily. It’s about a Foreign Devil who comes to the shores of Civilization to drain our sustenance and energy from our innocent children and convert them to his unholy cause! Or it’s about a Devious Eastern European Tyrant whose corrupting influence can turn our loved ones into bloodthirsty foes, all in an attempt to conquer the West!

94
goddamnedfrank  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:47:35pm

re: #90 The Ghost of a Flea

Zombies are human-shaped armatures that you can kill without considering their humanity.

There’s a reason that the bottom of the Uncanny Valley is compared to the hypothetical human response to being confronted with an actual real life zombie, they’re the epitome of the “other” against which what constitutes “self” is measured.

So it makes sense that a mythological quasi human insatiable cannibal that cannot possibly be communicated or reasoned with has also become a kind of shorthand cypher for intractable ideological conflict.

95
Belafon  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:50:02pm

re: #85 Belafon

The last lines show exactly who they are: Somehow Emma and David are too immature, but they guy who thinks guns are OK should be on more of their shows.

Another thing: If you read the article, it somehow describes these attacks on David and Emma as being effective. Among whom? It’s not like they have to convince wingers to turn on these kids, and the evidence I’ve seen shows that those that were supporting the kids are still supporting the kids.

96
Belafon  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:56:10pm

Every time Ted gets in front of people, he needs to be asked about this:

97
Sea Mexican!  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:56:52pm

re: #17 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis

Atheists don’t have forms. You just need to burn your religious paperwork.

Darn it! I knew I shouldn’t have thrown them to the trash.

re: #29 Backwoods_Sleuth

and then we just say, screw it, and have a drink.

Cool! I’ll bring the rum then.

re: #36 teleskiguy

You’ll have to fill out the form designating a denomination, with either The Atheist People’s Front or The People’s Front of Atheism. I checked “Other” and wrote in “Ski Bum Atheist Who Believe In Intelligent Life In Other Far Off Star Systems.”

True story. For my religion I’m in Kurt Vonnegut’s “Church Of Our Lady Of Perpetual Astonishment,” which is also acceptable in your non-religious paperwork that must be submitted to the Ministry of Holy Christ Almighty located somewhere underneath Virginia.

Ok, I’ll go get it.

re: #63 Anymouse 🌹

I’ll welcome you to the club. We have cookies.

Cool too!

re: #21 dangerman

No forms
We’re not that organized

Ah, I see your point. 😝

98
Jebediah, RBG  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:58:12pm

re: #97 Sea Mexican!

I kind of lean agnostic, so I just don’t know if I’ll be able to make it or not.

99
darthstar  Mar 26, 2018 • 7:58:57pm

I’m so happy baseball is finally here. Who is the President again? How’s she doing?

Oh, and of course we had a celebratory pre-game tailgater with the boys. Wet dogs on a bench seat…yeah, I’m like that sometimes…

100
Stanley Sea  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:01:54pm

re: #99 darthstar

I’m so happy baseball is finally here. Who is the President again? How’s she doing?

Oh, and of course we had a celebratory pre-game tailgater with the boys. Wet dogs on a bench seat…yeah, I’m like that sometimes…

[Embedded content]

Merle is so grown! Banjo looks great.

Don’t know if you’ve posted, or I’ve missed it, but damn. I’d read an essay on how they got to know each other & became buds.

101
Sea Mexican!  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:03:20pm

re: #77 stpaulbear

Glad to see that this WaPo story has been in the ‘most read’ listings all day today.

A fake photo of Emma González went viral on the far right, where Parkland teens are villains

There’s this quote that I find particularly idiotic:

“This is how you look when you claim Cuban heritage yet don’t speak Spanish and ignore the fact that your ancestors fled the island when the dictatorship turned Cuba into a prison camp, after removing all weapons from its citizens; hence their right to self defense,” said a post on King’s campaign page on Facebook. The post also included a photo of González at the podium Saturday.

This should be plastered all over Florida. 1) Not speaking Spanish hasn’t stopped anyone from claiming Hispanic heritage. By all means, Jennifer Lopez barely speaks Spanish and no one is trying to revoke her Puerto Rican creds. Same goes with hundreds of people from all walks of life. 2) That type of revisionism might not play well with Cuban’s oral history.

102
Stanley Sea  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:03:35pm

re: #99 darthstar

Also, someone with the photoshop skills, Merle’s face looks like a sly human side eye - first photo.

Get to work.

103
Stanley Sea  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:05:12pm

re: #101 Sea Mexican!

And Emma speaks Spanish.

Our neighbors/fellow citizens are trash.

104
calochortus  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:07:30pm

re: #101 Sea Mexican!

There’s this quote that I find particularly idiotic:

This should be plastered all over Florida. 1) Not speaking Spanish hasn’t stopped anyone from claiming Hispanic heritage. By all means, Jennifer Lopez barely speaks Spanish and no one is trying to revoke her Puerto Rican creds. Same goes with hundreds of people from all walks of life. 2) That type of revisionism might not play well with Cuban’s oral history.

This is a stupid arguement. Really, how many of us speak the language of our ancestors (if it wasn’t English?) I sure don’t speak Swedish, but my grandparents most certainly grew up speaking it and even Dad understood it pretty well. My lack of ability to speak the language does not negate my Scandinavian heritage.

105
darthstar  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:07:38pm

re: #100 Stanley Sea

Merle is so grown! Banjo looks great.

Don’t know if you’ve posted, or I’ve missed it, but damn. I’d read an essay on how they got to know each other & became buds.

They’re buds at the beach. Banjo’s still grumpy as hell at home. Signing them up for doggy daycare in Moss beach after they get their dog flu vaccine. Merle needs more stimulus. He’s destroyed two couches in recent weeks - one a three piece white leather sectional sofa - ate a corner of it while we were in Hawaii…and a sheep skin rug. He’ll be 10 months old next week…maybe. I can’t lose any more furniture.

106
Sea Mexican!  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:07:52pm

re: #103 Stanley Sea

And Emma speaks Spanish.

Why am I not surprised Rep. King-R is pulling stuff out of his *ss?

Our neighbors/fellow citizens are trash.

I’ll plead the 5th.

107
Jay C  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:08:24pm

re: #101 Sea Mexican!

There’s this quote that I find particularly idiotic:

This should be plastered all over Florida. 1) Not speaking Spanish hasn’t stopped anyone from claiming Hispanic heritage. By all means, Jennifer Lopez barely speaks Spanish and no one is trying to revoke her Puerto Rican creds. Same goes with hundreds of people from all walks of life. 2) That type of revisionism might not play well with Cuban’s oral history.

I’m curious as to what reaction the Cuban/Cuban-American community had to Steve King’s inane tweet? To me, it sounds vaguely like an insult/backhanded complement couched in inapt anti-Castro rhetoric. Which is strange, as most Republicans have tended to more-or-less exempt Cubans from their general anti-Hispanic prejudice - “victims of communism” and all that.

108
HappyWarrior  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:09:01pm

re: #103 Stanley Sea

And Emma speaks Spanish.

Our neighbors/fellow citizens are trash.

I think King ignorantly assumes she doesn’t speak Spanish since she doesn’t have an accent. King is such a demagogue douche. He’s a modern Jesse Helms or Theodore Bilbo.

109
mmmirele  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:09:13pm

I’m actually stunned Ducey suspended Uber’s ability to operate those cars here in Arizona. He’s such a “regulations are such a downer” kind of guy, I thought for sure that he’d be in Uber’s pocket. But apparently the evidence that Uber’s vehicles can’t even go a mile without an intervention maybe got his attention. (Waymo apparently has one intervention every 5,300 miles—but keep in mind, we don’t exactly know the standards.)

I’m actually relieved the cars are off the road.

110
HappyWarrior  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:10:08pm

re: #107 Jay C

I’m curious as to what reaction the Cuban/Cuban-American community had to Steve King’s inane tweet? To me, it sounds vaguely like an insult/backhanded complement couched in inapt anti-Castro rhetoric. Which is strange, as most Republicans have tended to more-or-less exempt Cubans from their general anti-Hispanic prejudice - “victims of communism” and all that.

Silence from Rubio of course. Cruz too. It’s such a stupid comment from the most ignorant bigot in Congress.

111
Stanley Sea  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:10:52pm

re: #105 darthstar

They’re buds at the beach. Banjo’s still grumpy as hell at home. Signing them up for doggy daycare in Moss beach after they get their dog flu vaccine. Merle needs more stimulus. He’s destroyed two couches in recent weeks - one a three piece white leather sectional sofa - ate a corner of it while we were in Hawaii…and a sheep skin rug. He’ll be 10 months old next week…maybe. I can’t lose any more furniture.

I KNEW you had stories. Fucking Merle!

112
darthstar  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:11:42pm

re: #102 Stanley Sea

Also, someone with the photoshop skills, Merle’s face looks like a sly human side eye - first photo.

Get to work.

Oh, I tried to video his side-eye today. Comes out of the water, drops the ball casually and then looks at me side-eye and nods at the ball as if to tell me to go pick it up as he walks on by.

Here you can see how he’s about 30% smaller than Banjo. Almost as tall though.

113
Jay C  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:11:55pm

re: #103 Stanley Sea

And Emma speaks Spanish.

Our neighbors/fellow citizens are trash.

¿Sí?

Didn’t know that: so King is not only a bigoted fool, but an incorrect bigoted fool, too.

¡Muy bien!

114
darthstar  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:13:06pm

re: #111 Stanley Sea

I KNEW you had stories. Fucking Merle!

I never told you his first name. How’d you guess?

115
HappyWarrior  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:13:20pm

Let’s think about it this way. A sitting Congressman attacked a seventeen year old girl. That’s where we are abc King likely isn’t going anywhere.

116
Sea Mexican!  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:13:33pm

Going OT here …

To all tech inclined people: How useful are IT certification (in particular, the CompTIA ones) are for job hunting?

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

117
Eclectic Cyborg  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:13:52pm

re: #113 Jay C

¿Sí?

Didn’t know that: so King is not only a bigoted fool, but an incorrect bigoted fool, too.

¡Muy bien!

That’s usually how these people roll.

118
darthstar  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:15:03pm

re: #109 mmmirele

I’m actually stunned Ducey suspended Uber’s ability to operate those cars here in Arizona. He’s such a “regulations are such a downer” kind of guy, I thought for sure that he’d be in Uber’s pocket. But apparently the evidence that Uber’s vehicles can’t even go a mile without an intervention maybe got his attention. (Waymo apparently has one intervention every 5,300 miles—but keep in mind, we don’t exactly know the standards.)

I’m actually relieved the cars are off the road.

Having driverless cars kind of defeats the whole, “Sign up for our gig revenue opportunity” recruiting new drivers thing.

119
Sea Mexican!  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:18:17pm

re: #118 darthstar

Having driverless cars kind of defeats the whole, “Sign up for our gig revenue opportunity” recruiting new drivers thing.

[Embedded content]

Uber and Lyft are already looking for future revenue sources. They know that the so called gig economy will come crashing sooner than later.

120
HappyWarrior  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:19:00pm

King I have no doubt was a Know Nothing, 20’s KKK member, Nazi/Fascist apologist in a last political life.

121
retired cynic  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:21:30pm

re: #120 HappyWarrior

King I have no doubt was a Know Nothing, 20’s KKK member, Nazi/Fascist apologist in a last political life.

Follower of Grindelwald.

122
Stanley Sea  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:21:53pm

re: #114 darthstar

I never told you his first name. How’d you guess?

HA.

I can imagine.

Seriously, parent’s of a new doggo could video a funny/sad/mad as hell diary.

We’d love it.

123
scottslemmons  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:21:55pm

re: #109 mmmirele

I’m actually stunned Ducey suspended Uber’s ability to operate those cars here in Arizona. He’s such a “regulations are such a downer” kind of guy, I thought for sure that he’d be in Uber’s pocket. But apparently the evidence that Uber’s vehicles can’t even go a mile without an intervention maybe got his attention. (Waymo apparently has one intervention every 5,300 miles—but keep in mind, we don’t exactly know the standards.)

I’m actually relieved the cars are off the road.

If this had happened in Texas, our legislature would’ve already given Uber a medal and a contract to build self-driving school buses.

124
Skip Intro  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:22:21pm

re: #120 HappyWarrior

King I have no doubt was a Know Nothing, 20’s KKK member, Nazi/Fascist apologist in a last political life.

King was a Nazi. Still is.

125
darthstar  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:22:29pm

re: #116 Sea Mexican!

Going OT here …

To all tech inclined people: How useful are IT certification (in particular, the CompTIA ones) are for job hunting?

[Embedded content]

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

126
HappyWarrior  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:23:31pm

re: #124 Skip Intro

King was a Nazi. Still is.

Oh I know but I meant during the Rise of the Third Reich. He literally has their views on citizenship.

127
goddamnedfrank  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:33:17pm

re: #118 darthstar

Having driverless cars kind of defeats the whole, “Sign up for our gig revenue opportunity” recruiting new drivers thing.

I honestly don’t understand why Uber & Lyft are pushing this so hard, since after expenses their drivers are only making a median profit of $3.37 / hr. Now they can probably save more than that in aggregate through economy of scale, having their own garages, mechanics and large insurance pool and by selling the tech if (big if) they can secure lucrative patents, but all of that has to offset the cost of the cars and the increased overall liability.

And right now it’s all going the other way, Google is suing Uber over stolen IP. The tech Uber does have seems to be sub par at best, they’re just running their own software on top of other manufacturers’ cars, using other manufacturers hardware and with nothing much to show for it except for this gigantic PR crap sandwich.

128
Skip Intro  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:34:09pm

re: #126 HappyWarrior

I meant in a past life, if there are such things, he was a Nazi. A real one.
Today he’s the closest thing to a real Nazi in Congress. The district that keeps electing him is the mother lode of the Deploables.

129
Sea Mexican!  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:34:48pm

re: #125 darthstar

[Embedded content]

aSrBS7wGma3BkrS9Nrar4kPAmRk2dGWnGqCk8kZwIYmaQO790vxFIJDPBDOXIxci58xmSvU0MNI3EIqxlZodRzzu1Inq8XbhcJqVixukjwUpQ8+K9FvyLZKZpzpOGCqAqAgibv4pQGLM4yvc2Z3Siwrw02xPLUREgjjQdfIRP8extWm3kl/stDePExgSJeWakbbuV1n6JFmN1fnAQIn3iYIJb1TzPO29U+pa1ZIc8nSmL1Z1NBmsxw0j+MA5atVlhVbzCeIoFnukYVwyRHyRlJPQyTg4JZmEpQqnyyFaTOxBV8FKgVFJlfHNB44S2ri++7mU/oDYGI14Kr9EJTY1/REE9jN7gDej0x570/LJnwRVmb563UsCrfK1lFI8qbQa

130
HappyWarrior  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:36:22pm

re: #128 Skip Intro

I meant in a past life, if there are such things, he was a Nazi. A real one.
Today he’s the closest thing to a real Nazi in Congress. The district that keeps electing him is the mother lode of the Deploables.

Ah I see. But yeah he and those who vote for him are genuinely awful people.

131
Jason Munro  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:38:17pm

re: #112 darthstar

Beautiful dogos! I’m especially touched because the dark one is a blue heeler (or mix?), that reminds me of our newest family member, Sam. We picked him up from the shelter this summer. We think he is a blue heeler/german shepard mix, but we don’t know for sure (we really don’t know anything about his past). We kept his “shelter” name but consider it short for Samwise. He is the most chill dog I have ever encountered. Literally had him for a week before we heard him bark.

samwise
132
darthstar  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:38:18pm

re: #127 goddamnedfrank

Google bankrolled Uber…now they’re suing them?

133
goddamnedfrank  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:38:55pm

re: #127 goddamnedfrank

For example, just one super simple thing that Uber and Lyft get for free right now is that their drivers naturally park their own cars in off hours, and anything bad that happens to the cars when they’re not actively traveling with a fare or on the way to pick up a fare is covered by the driver’s own personal insurance plan. If these companies actually own the cars then they’ve got to pick up the tab on all that shit.

134
goddamnedfrank  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:40:44pm

re: #132 darthstar

Google bankrolled Uber…now they’re suing them?

Yup.

135
darthstar  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:41:20pm

re: #131 Jason Munro

Banjo’s a rescue red heeler - we think pure bred - from a cattle dog rescue.

Merle’s pure blue. Bred by a childhood friend up in true Northern California (about 4 hours north of San Francisco). Actually, some of my family refer to it as the State of Jefferson, but that’s a different rant.

136
LastYearsMan  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:41:22pm

re: #72 scottslemmons

As Stephen King says, horror is a conservative genre at its core. Doesn’t mean it’s bad, doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of liberals writing horror, but the default mode for the genre boils down to “The Other disrupts the status quo — shall we restore order or will the Other reign?”

That’s very much American horror. English horror OTOH has a strong tradition of “the evil was already long here and it came from us.” Which I guess could be seen as a liberal subtext.

137
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:41:51pm

re: #86 stpaulbear

When your doing your water testing, can you get the tap running and then tell the homeowner that they need to watch the water for a while to see if anything unusual happens, then go into their living rooms and program the TV remote so that they can’t watch FOX news anymore?

LOLOLLOLOLOL (::

All water tests done now. They go in the mail to the state in the morning.

Happy Epilepsy Awareness Day! No one in my family sent cards or called.

I got bleach in my eye adding it to the chlorinator at the well. (Despite wearing goggles.) The only available fresh water at the well is from the well itself, so I poured (arsenic-laden) water across my eyes to get the bleach out.

You know, they really ought to pay me for this job.

138
HappyWarrior  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:43:18pm

re: #136 LastYearsMan

That’s very much American horror. English horror OTOH has a strong tradition of “the evil was already long here and it came from us.” Which I guess could be seen as a liberal subtext.

Interesting never thought about horror that way.

139
retired cynic  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:43:49pm

re: #135 darthstar

Banjo’s a rescue red heeler - we think pure bred - from a cattle dog rescue.

Merle’s pure blue. Bred by a childhood friend up in true Northern California (about 4 hours north of San Francisco). Actually, some of my family refer to it as the State of Jefferson, but that’s a different rant.

We had one (blue). He needed a job. Without it, he was into everything. Like Fucking Merle.

140
Sea Mexican!  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:44:15pm

re: #127 goddamnedfrank

I honestly don’t understand why Uber & Lyft are pushing this so hard, since after expenses their drivers are only making a median profit of $3.37 / hr. Now they can probably save more than that in aggregate through economy of scale, having their own garages, mechanics and large insurance pool and by selling the tech if (big if) they can secure lucrative patents, but all of that has to offset the cost of the cars and the increased overall liability.

I think that’s the reason. Once people start connecting that they are not getting paid enough, their revenue will dry up.

And right now it’s all going the other way, Google is suing Uber over stolen IP. The tech Uber does have seems to be sub par at best, they’re just running their own software on top of other manufacturers’ cars, using other manufacturers hardware and with nothing much to show for it except for this gigantic PR crap sandwich.

Seems they keep making errors.

141
Jason Munro  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:49:01pm

re: #135 darthstar

They are gorgeous, thanks for the photos! This is my first dog since I was a kid - not sure why I waited so long :) Sam has a bad leg that slows him down (old break of some sort that did not heal correctly), but he is the sweetest thing on four legs. He loves people and other dogs. He was my youngest daughter’s birthday present, but honestly he is a gift to all of us :).

142
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:52:48pm

re: #104 calochortus

This is a stupid arguement. Really, how many of us speak the language of our ancestors (if it wasn’t English?) I sure don’t speak Swedish, but my grandparents most certainly grew up speaking it and even Dad understood it pretty well. My lack of ability to speak the language does not negate my Scandinavian heritage.

And Steve King would like to enact a version of the Nuremberg Laws for “anchor grandbabies” (and deport us - that’s one way to get rid of elected Democrats I guess).

I know almost no Polish, and I doubt Poland would take me. I’ll have to take my wife with me (she speaks Polish), or find asylum in a Spanish or Portuguese speaking country.

143
Interesting Times  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:53:10pm
144
FormerDirtDart 🍕🐀  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:54:00pm
145
Joe Bacon 🌹  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:57:55pm

re: #144 FormerDirtDart 🍕🐀

Let Arizona RepubliKKKlans be stupid enough to nominate Arpaio. It’ll be Roy Moore time there again letting Democrats pick up a Senate seat!

146
majii  Mar 26, 2018 • 8:59:41pm

re: #120 HappyWarrior

“King I have no doubt was a Know Nothing, 20’s KKK member, Nazi/Fascist apologist in a last political life.”

I sent him a tweet asking him if he’s ever heard of the 26th Amendment to the Constitution. Students who have completed courses in civics and U.S. history know the 26th grants 18-year olds the right to vote. King keeps embarrassing himself, but it doesn’t matter because those who support him are just as ignorant as he is. It’s a d*mn shame that someone is a member of Congress and asks why Americans can vote at the age of 18 but have to wait to be 21 to purchase a gun. The 2nd Amendment seems to be the only amendment he knows a little bit of something about. I say a little bit because he skips “the well-regulated militia” part of it.

147
Kragar  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:00:07pm
148
Amory Blaine  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:01:19pm

Blue Heeler is my favorite coffee to drink at home.

149
gwangung  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:04:06pm

One of the nascent memes among conservatives is that it’s VERY suspicious that the Parkland kids could raise all that money and be so organized with buses and be equipped with voter registration forms.

Makes me lauuuughhh. In an era of GoFundMes and Kickstarter (not to mention rich liberals), they’re suspicious of them getting money? And being organized? When they could look up what the civil rights movement did in the 60s? And just ask the BLM folks what they were doing?

Numbskulls.

150
The Ghost of a Flea  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:06:10pm

re: #149 gwangung

There’s an active choice to make the accusation while not making the comparison with, say, the Tea Party.

151
gwangung  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:07:19pm

re: #150 The Ghost of a Flea

Yup.

152
majii  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:07:32pm

re: #149 gwangung

“Numbskulls.”

They’ve bought into the meme that we’re always the ones who are looking for the government to give us something, but research and statistics indicate that they’re more dependent on the government’s largesse than we are. This doesn’t surprise me because they’re experts in projection.

153
goddamnedfrank  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:07:43pm

re: #140 Sea Mexican!

Seems they keep making errors.

Uber’s biggest flaw in my estimation is that they took the whole “move fast and break things” a little too literally and never really bothered to innovate anything. Honestly I’m not sure they’re even capable.

154
Joe Bacon 🌹  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:08:23pm

re: #150 The Ghost of a Flea

There’s an active choice to make the accusation while not making the comparison with, say, the Tea Party.

The same Teabaggers who were financed by the Koch Brothers are the ones posting the lies about Soros financing the kids!

155
scottslemmons  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:08:28pm

re: #136 LastYearsMan

That’s very much American horror. English horror OTOH has a strong tradition of “the evil was already long here and it came from us.” Which I guess could be seen as a liberal subtext.

That’s a good observation, and I think you could be right. What’s interesting is all the important British horror/weird/ghost story writers ended up being a major influence on H.P. Lovecraft, who turned all those somewhat more liberal tales into his extremely conservative Cthulhu Mythos, which then went out and infected most American horror writers and a few Brits…

This also reminds me a bit of something game writer/horror expert Ken Hite said in a game book at some point, about horror being divided between stories about the Bad Place (Haunting of Hill House, Psycho, The Shining, Texas Chainsaw Massacre) and the Invaded House (Cujo, The Exorcist, Halloween, Godzilla). The general British model for horror would thus trend toward the Bad Place, while the American model would favor the Invaded House. (Though you could find examples of both from either side of the pond.)

(I could talk about horror all freakin’ night. But I won’t.) :)

156
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:08:39pm

Jonathan Kay was once an admirable journalist, but has been going downhill for the past year or so and now appears to have hit rock-bottom - he’s decided to declare his total allegiance to the alt-right by becoming the editor of Quillette.

Jonathan Kay once ghost-wrote for Justin Trudeau. Now he’s pals with former associates of Ezra Levant, the obsessed and conflicted arch-enemy of Justin Trudeau. How sad.

But o my prophetic soul: I was just speculating yesterday that Quillette might be the beneficiary of Koch brothers money - this adds even more to the likelihood that Quillette is getting wing nut welfare, if not from the Kochs then from some other right-wing plutocrats. Kay’s star is descending, but he at least has had an actual career unlike the usual grad students and alt-right extremists and Koch brother hacks like Jonny Anomly who normally contribute to Quillette. I assume Quillette has to pay real money for Kay, although I assume the gig will be part-time.

(more)

mcclernan.blogspot.com

Quillette’s entry at Wikipedia suggests it’s a libertarian magazine “free from loaded language” of the left or right. It may have started that way, but has gone off into identitarianism (race-based politics).

Conservatives Love Playing the Victim (goes to The Outline, more at the link):

In an interview with Psychology Today last week, Claire Lehmann, the founder of the libertarian-leaning, academia-focused digital magazine Quillette, suggested that the website was a refuge from the political correctness and leftist bias that allegedly plague both academia and the mainstream media.

157
Joe Bacon 🌹  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:11:22pm

re: #152 majii

“Numbskulls.”

They’ve bought into the meme that we’re always the ones who are looking for the government to give us something, but research and statistics indicate that they’re more dependent on the government’s largesse than we are. This doesn’t surprise me because they’re experts in projection.

Listen to the callers that my coworkers and I deal with every day at Social Security—especially those on Supplemental Security Disability who yell at us about all them colored people goofing off on welfare. They don’t stop there because they yell demanding that we kick all the gays and Muslims off of welfare as well.

While they yell you can hear FAUX News, Jesus TV, Rush, or other Hate Radio jocks in the background.

158
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:13:03pm

re: #145 Joe Bacon 🌹

Let Arizona RepubliKKKlans be stupid enough to nominate Arpaio. It’ll be Roy Moore time there again letting Democrats pick up a Senate seat!

He ought to fit right in with mainstream conservatism then. He fits a proud tradition of Goldwater (Klan and Birch Society support), Reagan (announcing his candidacy at the site of slain civil rights activists), Hastert (convicted paedophile), Gingrich (divorced his wife who had cancer after cheating on her with a mistress), Moore (accused paedophile), &c.

159
Joe Bacon 🌹  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:15:04pm

re: #156 Anymouse 🌹

45 years ago I started college at Pitt. Even then they were yelling at left wing professors. Nevermind that the Economics Department was split 50/50 between Milton Friedman’s monetarists and Murray Rothbard’s Anarcho-Capitalists. Still remember a course on The Great Depression using Rothbard’s textbook which blamed Hoover ‘s creation of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation as opening the door for Socialism in America…

160
darthstar  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:16:04pm

Okay…this made me chuckle.

161
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:16:56pm

re: #159 Joe Bacon 🌹

45 years ago I started college at Pitt. Even then they were yelling at left wing professors. Nevermind that the Economics Department was split 50/50 between Milton Friedman’s monetarists and Murray Rothbard’s Anarcho-Capitalists. Still remember a course on The Great Depression using Rothbard’s textbook which blamed Hoover ‘s creation of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation as opening the door for Socialism in America…

I almost feel as though I lucked out in not being able to afford college … I got a much more liberal education in the Navy. (Almost. I really would have like physics, chemistry, or mathematics for a major.)

162
Kragar  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:17:00pm
163
The Ghost of a Flea  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:17:13pm

Background observation about Altered Carbon (not very spoilery).

Click to Reveal

Someone made a choice to put different versions of Saturn devours his children—the Goya and the Reubens—behind scenes at the end. It’s a nice little touch.

164
Joe Bacon 🌹  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:17:42pm

I’m just waiting for the Friday News Dump to see what’s going to hit the fan at Passover Seder time…

165
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:21:46pm

re: #147 Kragar

Would those be the same “forgiving” Evangelicals who slandered and smeared Barack and Michelle Obama, accusing them of all sorts of heinous things they never did? (Not just Evangelicals, almost every church had people in them doing the same.)

Bill Mitchell is lying. He knows better.

166
scottslemmons  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:22:30pm

re: #163 The Ghost of a Flea

Background observation about Altered Carbon (not very spoilery).

[Embedded content]

I think this has been linked here before, but this mini-doc on the Goya painting is damnably good.

The Most Disturbing Painting

167
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:24:14pm

re: #153 goddamnedfrank

Uber’s biggest flaw in my estimation is that they took the whole “move fast and break things” a little too literally and never really bothered to innovate anything. Honestly I’m not sure they’re even capable.

I seem to remember not three days ago I was catching crap here for arguing that the public roads should not be a test bed for unproven technologies… .

168
Joe Bacon 🌹  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:24:55pm

re: #165 Anymouse 🌹

Would those be the same “forgiving” Evangelicals who slandered and smeared Barack and Michelle Obama, accusing them of all sorts of heinous things they never did? (Not just Evangelicals, almost every church had people in them doing the same.)

Bill Mitchell is lying. He knows better.

The same Evangelicals who worship and adore the Wall Street Bull Statue. This is what passes for Evangelical Christianity today!

See how Evangelicals worship the Golden Bull of Capitalism in the name of their real God, Ayn Rand!
169
Stanley Sea  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:26:51pm

minor subtext, I thought erick son of left/kicked out of redstate to do the insurgent. I checked the time stamps.

return to the meaningful critique of these FUCKS

170
Kragar  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:28:55pm

re: #168 Joe Bacon 🌹

If only the bible had some sort of cautionary tale about auric bovines.

171
Joe Bacon 🌹  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:30:18pm

re: #170 Kragar

If only the bible had some sort of cautionary tale about auric bovines.

Ayn Rand never included that in the Bible used by evangelicals—“Atlas Shrugged”!

172
Stanley Sea  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:36:22pm

re: #166 scottslemmons

amazing

173
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:37:58pm

re: #170 Kragar

If only the bible had some sort of cautionary tale about auric bovines.

Well, see, it doesn’t say you can’t have a Lear Jet or a Mercedes-Benz.

“Oh Lord Won’t You Buy Me a Mercedes-Benz?”

Janis Joplin - Mercedes Benz with lyrics

174
The Ghost of a Flea  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:39:38pm

re: #166 scottslemmons

I like Goya a great deal, and his caprichos are very interesting and disturbing. The Black Painting are incredible, because they’re expressionist long before anyone else attempts it.

175
sagehen  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:40:10pm

re: #91 scottslemmons

The original “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” can be viewed as an anti-Communist metaphor or an anti-McCarthy metaphor, depending on whether you hated the Communists or the McCarthyites. I don’t know if that means it’s really skillfully made or if fear just naturally finds the path it needs to get to your brain…

“The Crucible” (Arthur Miller, 1953), on its face a story of the Salem witch trials, was an anti-McCarthy screed.

“Rhinoceros” (Eugene Ionesco, 1959) is about Nazis and other fascists.

176
goddamnedfrank  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:45:21pm

re: #167 Anymouse 🌹

I seem to remember not three days ago I was catching crap here for arguing that the public roads should not be a test bed for unproven technologies… .

No, you caught crap for making ridiculous hyperbolic broad claims about the industry as a whole not supported by the actual accident data. Yes, Uber seems to have vastly exceeded their capabilities in Arizona, that’s not an indictment of the overall current or future state of self driving tech, it’s an indictment of Uber and the Arizona government’s failure to properly oversee a program that exhibited prior warning signs. For instance, Google’s Waymo is somehow able to use the same LIDAR based self driving tech with an intervention rate that is 1/430th that of Uber’s. When you comb through the California DMV data you find that while cars with some level of autonomous function are involved in more accidents the vast majority of those accidents are caused by human error, either that of the car’s driver operating in conventional mode or the driver of the other car.

177
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:45:53pm

Woman dies from bee-sting therapy that Goop, Gwyneth Paltrow promote (goes to Ars Technica, psuedoscience claims a life):

A 55-year-old Spanish woman has died following repeated exposures to an acupuncture method that uses live, stinging bees instead of traditional needles, according to a recent case report in the Journal of Investigational Allergology and Clinical Immunology.

Further Reading
Defense of Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop offers case study on how to sell snake oil (goes to Ars Technica)

The painful and dangerous practice—called apipuncture—is generally peddled by nonmedical practitioners and, in recent years, has generated buzz among celebrities, most notably Gwyneth Paltrow and her chic lifestyle brand Goop. Paltrow and other proponents claim that insect venom can relieve a swarm of ailments, including inflammation, arthritis, generalized pain, scarring, and skin issues.

(more)

178
sagehen  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:51:55pm

re: #93 scottslemmons

Also I just twigged to this bit — I think “Dracula” is a decent fit for the current political climate. You can make it fit conservative or liberal fears very easily. It’s about a Foreign Devil who comes to the shores of Civilization to drain our sustenance and energy from our innocent children and convert them to his unholy cause! Or it’s about a Devious Eastern European Tyrant whose corrupting influence can turn our loved ones into bloodthirsty foes, all in an attempt to conquer the West!

Sorry to disagree, but vampire stories are always about sex. Specifically, female sexuality. Always.

179
teleskiguy  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:53:19pm

This shit is 17 months old (which is ancient in internet time) and it sits alone in a corner of crazy skier adrenaline junkies.

Extreme Skiing - Todd Ligare

180
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:55:44pm

re: #176 goddamnedfrank

I caught crap for noting the industry markets itself as making cars safer. If they are going to make such a claim for such a transformational idea for public transport, how bout they prove it first somewhere other than running over pedestrians.

Uber barrels into cities, states, and countries without permits or permission, has a serious problem with rape amongst its drivers, a culture in its company from top to bottom of harassing women.

It’s almost as if they don’t care for the law.

As for Google, its self-driving Lexus hit a freakin’ bus in 2016. The car was driving autonomously and the accident was assigned to the car, not the bus (the car broadsided the bus, fortunately at low speed). If they can’t see buses, pedestrians have no chance.

We’ll have to let this one go. I am not convinced by their marketing scheme. I want to see government data showing how much safer they are when tested by the government as other cars are, not by the corporations themselves who stand to make a profit if they pass the tests. No conflict of interest there.

181
teleskiguy  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:55:46pm
182
majii  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:57:54pm

re: #173 Anymouse 🌹

“”Oh Lord Won’t You Buy Me a Mercedes-Benz?”“

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Anymouse. Janis Joplin is my favorite singer. The girl had soul. I’d rather listen to her than any other singer/group.

183
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:59:19pm

Alex Jones claims world war will be started by “leftists” (tm). He claims rich people are fleeing Texas.

Goes to Utah Outcasts (NSFW for language, 16:57)

Alex Jones Claims World War Will Happen Because Leftists™

184
The Ghost of a Flea  Mar 26, 2018 • 9:59:59pm

You know, I’m pretty tired of “immortality makes you an conscienceless dick unable to relate to other people” thing. It’s bargain basement existentialism, and (infuriatingly) is often put in the mouths of characters that don’t fucking die themselves.

The opposite—culmulative, compounding pain at the recognition of transience, because most people don’t live long enough to notice the pattern…leading in turn to deep appreciation of connections and moments—is just as compelling a possibility.

185
goddamnedfrank  Mar 26, 2018 • 10:01:13pm

re: #180 Anymouse 🌹

The thing is we already live in a country where well over 30K people die every year in automobile accidents, 39% of which involve alcohol. AIs don’t drink, they don’t get tired, distracted, or angry, and the bar for implementing the option of self driving functionality shouldn’t be perfection so much as “are they more reliable than the average person.” And if the tech is not there yet it is very, very close, your anecdotes notwithstanding.

186
scottslemmons  Mar 26, 2018 • 10:02:18pm

re: #178 sagehen

Sorry to disagree, but vampire stories are always about sex. Specifically, female sexuality. Always.

This is where I put the “Why not both?” picture, right? ;)

187
The Ghost of a Flea  Mar 26, 2018 • 10:03:24pm

And while I’m griping about stuff driven by Netflix viewing, can we get a cut of “Gangs of New York” that’s just Daniel Day Lewis losing his shit? Because the rest of that film is sort of pale by comparison.

188
sagehen  Mar 26, 2018 • 10:05:32pm

re: #184 The Ghost of a Flea

You know, I’m pretty tired of “immortality makes you an conscienceless dick unable to relate to other people” thing. It’s bargain basement existentialism, and (infuriatingly) is often put in the mouths of characters that don’t fucking die themselves.

The opposite—culmulative, compounding pain at the recognition of transience, because most people don’t live long enough to notice the pattern…leading in turn to deep appreciation of connections and moments—is just as compelling a possibility.

Spoken like a true Highlander: The Series fan.

189
JordanRules  Mar 26, 2018 • 10:09:45pm

This could be fun I guess.

190
JordanRules  Mar 26, 2018 • 10:11:42pm
191
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 26, 2018 • 10:13:56pm

re: #185 goddamnedfrank

The thing is we already live in a country where well over 30K people die every year in automobile accidents, 39% of which involve alcohol. AIs don’t drink, they don’t get tired, distracted, or angry, and the bar for implementing the option of self driving functionality shouldn’t be perfection so much as “are they more reliable than the average person.” And if the tech is not there yet it is very, very close, your anecdotes notwithstanding.

I’ll agree to they should be more reliable than the average person. A standard of better is much preferable to a standard of perfect (which might never be obtainable).

Now if we can have a disinterested government doing the testing, rather than the corporations which stand to profit (“more doctors recommend Camels than any other cigarette”), I would be much less sceptical about the issue.

(The issues of Uber muscling its way into cities and states and ignoring regulations, rapey drivers, and sexually-harassing managers are not anecdotes. They represent the company’s culture. Why should I trust that company at all?)

192
The Ghost of a Flea  Mar 26, 2018 • 10:14:37pm

Is “gwar” an adjective?

It needs to be an adjective.

193
goddamnedfrank  Mar 26, 2018 • 10:16:22pm

Since I’ve been somewhat shitting on Uber tonight let me acknowledge one very important thing Lyft and them do so much better than taxi companies, realize that black people’s money spends just as well as everyone else’s.

194
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 26, 2018 • 10:17:28pm

re: #192 The Ghost of a Flea

Is “gwar” an adjective?

It needs to be an adjective.

Gwar is a noun (the name of a band).

I suppose you could contrive an adjective from it: They have a gwarable sound.

195
scottslemmons  Mar 26, 2018 • 10:18:02pm

re: #184 The Ghost of a Flea

You know, I’m pretty tired of “immortality makes you an conscienceless dick unable to relate to other people” thing. It’s bargain basement existentialism, and (infuriatingly) is often put in the mouths of characters that don’t fucking die themselves.

The opposite—culmulative, compounding pain at the recognition of transience, because most people don’t live long enough to notice the pattern…leading in turn to deep appreciation of connections and moments—is just as compelling a possibility.

Neil Gaiman’s Sandman comics have a few non-dick immortals, particularly Hob Gadling.

196
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 26, 2018 • 10:20:58pm

re: #193 goddamnedfrank

Since I’ve been somewhat shitting on Uber tonight let me acknowledge one very important thing Lyft and them do so much better than taxi companies, realize that black people’s money spends just as well as everyone else’s.

That is one thing that Uber and Lyft seem to do well: The drivers don’t seem to discriminate. (Since an Uber or Lyft driver can refuse to accept a fare though, it’s hard to say if the discrimination comes in from never answering a call to an area in the first place.)

197
The Ghost of a Flea  Mar 26, 2018 • 10:21:36pm

re: #194 Anymouse 🌹

Gwar is a noun (the name of a band).

I suppose you could contrive an adjective from it: They have a gwarable sound.

I’d define it as something along the line of pantagruelian, but with more fake blood and tits.

198
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 26, 2018 • 10:24:21pm

After the frenzy of collecting water samples all day (including washing bleach out of my eyes with unfiltered arsenic/uranium water), I’ve decided that I’m sick of water for the day and have settled down to cheap whiskey in Kool-Aid.

199
The Ghost of a Flea  Mar 26, 2018 • 10:27:52pm

Insomnia currently means marinating chicken and starting Into the Badlands (having run out of Altered Carbon).

Hm. Somebody at a planning meeting was like, “how about half Mad Max, half wushu fantasy, but with a feel that’s sort of like if the extras from Gone with the Wind survived a societal collapse and rebuilt Tara as some kind of child-soldier feudal camp?”

And then the producer snorted some more powdered toad skin and was like, “yeah…greenlight it.”

200
sagehen  Mar 26, 2018 • 10:31:55pm

re: #198 Anymouse 🌹

After the frenzy of collecting water samples all day (including washing bleach out of my eyes with unfiltered arsenic/uranium water), I’ve decided that I’m sick of water for the day and have settled down to cheap whiskey in Kool-Aid.

“I never drink water. Fish fuck in it.”
— W.C. Fields

201
goddamnedfrank  Mar 26, 2018 • 10:36:43pm

re: #191 Anymouse 🌹

I’ll agree to they should be more reliable than the average person. A standard of better is much preferable to a standard of perfect (which might never be obtainable).

Now if we can have a disinterested government doing the testing, rather than the corporations which stand to profit (“more doctors recommend Camels than any other cigarette”), I would be much less sceptical about the issue.

(The issues of Uber muscling its way into cities and states and ignoring regulations, rapey drivers, and sexually-harassing managers are not anecdotes. They represent the company’s culture. Why should I trust that company at all?)

I’m not usually a free market champion but this emphasis on government testing isn’t conducive to rapid progress. Space X lands reusable rockets on their asses, NASA wasn’t about to do that on their own. Historically government testing of automobiles has never once led to new safety features, they’ve always been implemented first by the industry in production vehicles only to be mandated long afterwards. Seatbelts had been standard for ten years in US production vehicles before the government mandated all cars have them. It took another fifteen years for the government to mandate that people actually use them. It took 20 years between when the first airbags were installed in passenger vehicles and when the government mandated all cares have them. A lot of people hated both, thought they were unsafe, irrationally feared that seatbelts and airbags would trap them in a burning vehicle.

Yes, corporations have a profit motive but that works both ways, they want to get their products to market but they also need to limit their liability. Unlike gun manufacturers car makers aren’t insulated from wrongful death lawsuits, that alone gives them enough motivation to make their products truly as safe as possible.

202
JordanRules  Mar 26, 2018 • 10:45:52pm
203
BigPapa  Mar 26, 2018 • 10:48:06pm
204
Gus  Mar 26, 2018 • 10:49:50pm

I am the ghost of Christmas past!

205
Eclectic Cyborg  Mar 26, 2018 • 10:50:02pm

re: #202 JordanRules

So nobody matters in this country except citizens? Suddenly I don’t fucking count for anything?
This shit pisses me off so much and I’m here LEGALLY.

206
Gus  Mar 26, 2018 • 10:51:03pm

1.5 GBs left. Speak up!

207
Targetpractice  Mar 26, 2018 • 10:51:31pm

Holy fuck, the dead do walk!

208
Gus  Mar 26, 2018 • 10:52:00pm

They do.

209
Kragar  Mar 26, 2018 • 10:52:39pm
210
Gus  Mar 26, 2018 • 10:53:36pm

211
The Ghost of a Flea  Mar 26, 2018 • 10:56:35pm

re: #204 Gus

I am the ghost of Christmas past!

Hey. Hey. HEY

I run the ghosts around these parts. Go work your own street corner.

212
Targetpractice  Mar 26, 2018 • 10:57:18pm

re: #201 goddamnedfrank

I’m not usually a free market champion but this emphasis on government testing isn’t conducive to rapid progress. Space X lands reusable rockets on their asses, NASA wasn’t about to do that on their own. Historically government testing of automobiles has never once led to new safety features, they’ve always been implemented first by the industry in production vehicles only to be mandated long afterwards. Seatbelts had been standard for ten years in US production vehicles before the government mandated all cars have them. It took another fifteen years for the government to mandate that people actually use them. It took 20 years between when the first airbags were installed in passenger vehicles and when the government mandated all cares have them. A lot of people hated both, thought they were unsafe, irrationally feared that seatbelts and airbags would trap them in a burning vehicle.

Yes, corporations have a profit motive but that works both ways, they want to get their products to market but they also need to limit their liability. Unlike gun manufacturers car makers aren’t insulated from wrongful death lawsuits, that alone gives them enough motivation to make their products truly as safe as possible.

Let’s be honest, that’s true to a point. As we saw with the Pinto and other such projects, companies are focused on the bottom-line first and foremost. Ford knew that the design of the Pinto was unsafe, but they passed up the opportunity to fix the problem because it wasn’t “cost-effective.” Several multi-million dollar lawsuits changed the calculus, but by then the damage was already done. That’s why there’s warning labels slapped onto virtually everything now and we have publications like Consumer Reports, because the public trusts major corporations to look out for their safety to a point which is generally “Can we get away with not fixing this?”

213
Gus  Mar 26, 2018 • 10:58:00pm

re: #211 The Ghost of a Flea

Twitter finally died.

214
Gus  Mar 26, 2018 • 11:00:59pm

I think it’s funny. Twitter died.

215
Cheechako  Mar 26, 2018 • 11:01:52pm

re: #213 Gus

Good to see you back. Be sure to check in in the daylight. We all missed you.

216
Gus  Mar 26, 2018 • 11:03:44pm

re: #215 Cheechako

Thanks! Where can I insert an emoji!

Charles!

217
Targetpractice  Mar 26, 2018 • 11:04:45pm

Let’s also not forget that SpaceX would be burning a lot of money on proof-of-concepts and struggling to pay its bills without government contracts. Yes, Musk’s goals are noble and the work worthwhile, but the phrase holds as true today and it did in ‘57: “No bucks, no Buck Rogers.” If you want to know what happens without those contracts, just give Sir Richard Branson a call and ask him when can we expect Virgin Galactic to start its regular shuttle service.

218
Gus  Mar 26, 2018 • 11:04:50pm

I’m ready for the end of Twitter.

219
goddamnedfrank  Mar 26, 2018 • 11:08:51pm
220
Cheechako  Mar 26, 2018 • 11:09:28pm

re: #218 Gus

I’m ready for the end of Twitter.

I don’t miss it as I don’t twit.

221
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 26, 2018 • 11:19:03pm

re: #205 Eclectic Cyborg

So nobody matters in this country except citizens? Suddenly I don’t fucking count for anything?
This shit pisses me off so much and I’m here LEGALLY.

I’m really starting to think I would like to take your place in Canada, at least when I am depressed about all this.

Then I see people like Eric Holder, or the teenagers holding a fifty-mile march from Madison to Janesville to rally in Paul Ryan’s hometown for gun safety measures, and I’m reminded that conservatism has always eventually failed in this nation.

(I’m a fifth columnist right in the heart of Redstatia.)

222
Targetpractice  Mar 26, 2018 • 11:20:40pm

When it comes to things like self-driving cars, I think Ian Malcolm: “Yeah, yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn’t stop to think if they should.” I think there’s a niche for self-driving vehicles, most likely in the transportation industry where insurance companies could argue that the safety of replacing drivers with computers outweigh any inherent dangers. But I doubt even major insurance companies are going to rush to mandate self-driving cars become standard anytime in the next 20-30 years. Seatbelts and airbags made sense because if they failed, the damage done was no worse than without them.

223
thecommodore  Mar 26, 2018 • 11:21:02pm

Your daily dose of derp.

224
Targetpractice  Mar 26, 2018 • 11:23:22pm

re: #223 thecommodore

Your daily dose of derp.

[Embedded content]

Now send him back a picture of a gay couple kissing at their wedding and watch his head explode instead.

225
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 26, 2018 • 11:23:39pm

re: #222 Targetpractice

When it comes to things like self-driving cars, I think Ian Malcolm: “Yeah, yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn’t stop to think if they should.” I think there’s a niche for self-driving vehicles, most likely in the transportation industry where insurance companies could argue that the safety of replacing drivers with computers outweigh any inherent dangers. But I doubt even major insurance companies are going to rush to mandate self-driving cars become standard anytime in the next 20-30 years. Seatbelts and airbags made sense because if they failed, the damage done was no worse than without them.

I can’t wait for some hacker to hijack a car and run it down the wrong side of a freeway, because a company cut corners on software engineering.

226
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 26, 2018 • 11:25:07pm

re: #224 Targetpractice

Now send him back a picture of a gay couple kissing at their wedding and watch his head explode instead.

The right to love shall not be infringed.

227
Targetpractice  Mar 26, 2018 • 11:30:57pm

re: #225 Anymouse 🌹

I can’t wait for some hacker to hijack a car and run it down the wrong side of a freeway, because a company cut corners on software engineering.

You want a scary scenario? A hack on a foreign government’s payroll being paid to release a virus that would shut down every car with an active internet connection. Right now it’s not a scary scenario, but 10-20 years from now? You will probably bring an entire country to a halt.

228
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 26, 2018 • 11:37:55pm

re: #227 Targetpractice

You want a scary scenario? A hack on a foreign government’s payroll being paid to release a virus that would shut down every car with an active internet connection. Right now it’s not a scary scenario, but 10-20 years from now? You will probably bring an entire country to a halt.

I still haven’t figured out how a driverless car would work around here. On services such as Google Maps or Mapquest, most of our county roads are not shown. I have a state gazetteer for driving out in unfamiliar areas here. (My village’s streets are on such services, so I presume you could get to my house.)

If roads are not shown on Internet mapping services, I presume they don’t appear on devices in your car to show you a route to your destination.

I presume the question of driverless cars being a big thing replacing regular cars won’t have a significant impact for the rest of my life. (Perhaps we could put chain tracks in roads, similar to some trolleys or car washes, then cars could use those. Lower tech, harder to hack.)

229
Targetpractice  Mar 26, 2018 • 11:49:46pm

re: #228 Anymouse 🌹

I still haven’t figured out how a driverless car would work around here. On services such as Google Maps or Mapquest, most of our county roads are not shown. I have a state gazetteer for driving out in unfamiliar areas here. (My village’s streets are on such services, so I presume you could get to my house.)

If roads are not shown on Internet mapping services, I presume they don’t appear on devices in your car to show you a route to your destination.

I presume the question of driverless cars being a big thing replacing regular cars won’t have a significant impact for the rest of my life. (Perhaps we could put chain tracks in roads, similar to some trolleys or car washes, then cars could use those. Lower tech, harder to hack.)

My mother has an old GPS from 2012 that has no built-in internet capabilities, you have to pay money to update the onboard maps and it hasn’t been updated in years. It still shows stores in its memory that shut down years ago and doesn’t know ones that opened since. Compare that to my Galaxy S7, which uses Google Maps and is updated practically on the hour and yet can still get lost and confused if i take a side-street not programmed into it.

I strongly suspect that as the demand becomes an issue, companies will rise to meet it. If the tech becomes widespread enough that it counts for a significant portion of the cars on the road, better and more accurate maps will become less a luxury and more a necessity if companies wish to make more money.

230
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Mar 26, 2018 • 11:54:37pm

re: #202 JordanRules

Following the Trump Administration’s decision to include a citizenship question on the 2020 census, @EricHolder announced “We will litigate to stop the Administration from moving forward with this irresponsible decision.”

This again highlights an issue that has become a rhetorical hobbyhorse for me:

In a lot of nations, you have to have a registered address and have to be able to demonstrate that you are a citizen or legal resident.

This makes it a lot harder for undocumented immigrants to establish themselves, as this proof of citizenship/residence is needed to sign a lease, an employment contract, open a bank account, register a car, enroll a child in schools, apply for social services, etc.

And it would most likely greatly reduce the need for a border wall…

231
JordanRules  Mar 26, 2018 • 11:59:01pm

re: #230 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

This again highlights an issue that has become a rhetorical hobbyhorse for me:

In a lot of nations, you have to have a registered address and have to be able to demonstrate that you are a citizen or legal resident.

This makes it a lot harder for undocumented immigrants to establish themselves, as this proof of citizenship/residence is needed to sign a lease, an employment contract, open a bank account, register a car, enroll a child in schools, apply for social services, etc.

And it would most likely greatly reduce the need for a border wall…

That would not address why they want a wall or why a wall has always been stupid. I don’t care if undocumented folks get bank accounts and other services.

232
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Mar 27, 2018 • 12:01:53am

re: #231 JordanRules

That would not address why they want a wall or why a wall has always been stupid. I don’t care if undocumented folks get bank accounts and other services.

I am for comprehensive immigration reform. Controlling our borders is part of it, regulating the immigrants who come here is also part of it.

We are not willing to address those issues and some of our politicians (including our President) have come to resort to dramatic but basically unjust and often inhumane methods of detention and deportation.

233
wheat-dogg  Mar 27, 2018 • 12:11:08am

re: #184 The Ghost of a Flea

You know, I’m pretty tired of “immortality makes you an conscienceless dick unable to relate to other people” thing. It’s bargain basement existentialism, and (infuriatingly) is often put in the mouths of characters that don’t fucking die themselves.

The opposite—culmulative, compounding pain at the recognition of transience, because most people don’t live long enough to notice the pattern…leading in turn to deep appreciation of connections and moments—is just as compelling a possibility.

One of the main plot elements of Altered Carbon is that the Meths (Methuselah people) have lost all their empathy for the common people, who don’t have the money to afford storage and re-sleeving (new bodies). The Meths consider themselves above the law and normal social norms. The approach is more nuanced in the book than in the TV series, however.

Really, it’s a metaphor for the current disdain many of the 1% have for everyone else. At least, that’s what I think.

I favor the idea that someone who’s immortal, or at least longer-lived than the rest of us, would be more of a positive influence on society than a negative one, like the McLeods of the Highlander universe. Some of that idea comes out in the AC series, as Takeshi was born 150 years earlier and has seen enough shit to be a decent human being.

234
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Mar 27, 2018 • 12:16:07am

Fear of death, fear of mortality, fear of missing out are major shaping factors in human nature. If those are altered or removed, god knows what people will develop into

235
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 27, 2018 • 12:21:22am

re: #229 Targetpractice

My mother has an old GPS from 2012 that has no built-in internet capabilities, you have to pay money to update the onboard maps and it hasn’t been updated in years. It still shows stores in its memory that shut down years ago and doesn’t know ones that opened since. Compare that to my Galaxy S7, which uses Google Maps and is updated practically on the hour and yet can still get lost and confused if i take a side-street not programmed into it.

I strongly suspect that as the demand becomes an issue, companies will rise to meet it. If the tech becomes widespread enough that it counts for a significant portion of the cars on the road, better and more accurate maps will become less a luxury and more a necessity if companies wish to make more money.

They’ll have to put in cell service here first. /s

At the moment, Google Street View has old pictures of our town uploaded (my house is shown as white with a satellite dish on it; the dish was removed and we repainted our house cream right after we moved here). The front of the house only shows our giant spruce trees (they block the view of our house from the street).

Another problem would be how often they update their maps. I imagine Google can’t afford to run cars down every road.

Playing around with Google Street View, when you get to the northernmost street in the village, it will not let you go further north on the county road toward Alliance. (You can’t find the town cemetery using it, because that is a further mile north.)

236
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 27, 2018 • 12:24:01am

re: #230 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

This again highlights an issue that has become a rhetorical hobbyhorse for me:

In a lot of nations, you have to have a registered address and have to be able to demonstrate that you are a citizen or legal resident.

This makes it a lot harder for undocumented immigrants to establish themselves, as this proof of citizenship/residence is needed to sign a lease, an employment contract, open a bank account, register a car, enroll a child in schools, apply for social services, etc.

And it would most likely greatly reduce the need for a border wall…

It also makes it harder for citizens who are homeless. I was disenfranchised from 1996 to 2007 because I had no legal address (my car didn’t count, and I didn’t have my car after it was destroyed in a tornado). But our Constitution doesn’t say “you must have a home” to vote.

Hence I could not vote for President Obama in 2008, because I had not yet “established” my home in Oklahoma (according to Oklahoma).

237
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Mar 27, 2018 • 12:24:06am

re: #235 Anymouse 🌹

The road ends at the top of our village, beyond that it is all forest service and agricultural roads that are not legal thoroughfares, although everybody around here uses them. And they do not appear on any GPS.

238
Lupin  Mar 27, 2018 • 12:25:30am

re: #233 wheat-dogg

I favor the idea that someone who’s immortal, or at least longer-lived than the rest of us, would be more of a positive influence on society than a negative one, like the McLeods of the Highlander universe. Some of that idea comes out in the AC series, as Takeshi was born 150 years earlier and has seen enough shit to be a decent human being.

Robert Hedrock from A.E. Van Vogt’s The Weapon Makers. Francis Sandow from Roger Zelazny’s Isle of the Dead. R. Daneel Olivaw from Isaac Asimov’s Robots/Foundation series.

239
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 27, 2018 • 12:25:38am

re: #237 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

The road ends at the top of our village, beyond that it is all forest service and agricultural roads that are not legal thoroughfares, although everybody around here uses them. And they do not appear on any GPS.

That kind of shows the drawback of driverless cars in rural areas. Someone coming here could not go to the village cemetery (or anywhere north of the village), since the roads (county roads, all legal) do not appear on maps (never mind Street View).

240
wheat-dogg  Mar 27, 2018 • 12:26:16am

re: #234 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

Fear of death, fear of mortality, fear of missing out are major shaping factors in human nature. If those are altered or removed, god knows what people will develope into

The same assortment of personalities we have now, I figure. Some people learn as they grow older. Others stubbornly remain the same. Yet others become worse human beings. It’s the economics of life extension that few bother to consider. Now, most people stop working by age 70, and either live off pensions or the kindness of their families or live in poverty. What happens if people could now live to be 200? How long would they be allowed to work? How would younger people enter the workforce? If life expectancy doubles, how would that affect national social welfare programs designed for a maximum age under 100?

On a smaller scale, that the situation in China now. There is no real social security program for the vast majority of seniors, which means they live with their families usually. Their kids are their social security and medicare plans. But seniors are living much longer than before, well into their 80s, which puts a lot of pressure on their kids (remember the one-child policy?), who may not be equipped to handle a senile loved one.

Imagine dealing with a senior citizen who’ll be around for another 100 years.

241
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Mar 27, 2018 • 12:27:09am

re: #236 Anymouse 🌹

It also makes it harder for citizens who are homeless. I was disenfranchised from 1996 to 2007 because I had no legal address (my car didn’t count, and I didn’t have my car after it was destroyed in a tornado). But our Constitution doesn’t say “you must have a home” to vote.

Hence I could not vote for President Obama in 2008, because I had not yet “established” my home in Oklahoma (according to Oklahoma).

I do not know how homeless people in Germany register themselves. But the point is, everyone should have a valid universal and free ID that allows them to vote and access social services.

That alone would greatly alter the administrative landscape and make the US a less attractive destination for undocumented aliens.

242
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Mar 27, 2018 • 12:28:49am

re: #240 wheat-dogg

Imagine dealing with a senior citizen who’ll be around for another 100 years.

Kurt Vonnegut addressed that in a short story: also the issue of overpopulation, people are no longer dying to make room for the next generations…

243
wheat-dogg  Mar 27, 2018 • 12:30:05am

re: #241 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

I do not know how homeless people in Germany register themselves. But the point is, everyone should have a valid universal and free ID that allows them to vote and access social services.

That alone would greatly alter the administrative landscape and make the US a less attractive destination for undocumented aliens.

Everyone in Sweden gets a national ID number within a few days of being born (or of being admitted as a legal resident). Without that ID, you can’t open a bank account, rent an apartment, buy a home, see a doctor, go to school, vote, or (naturally) pay your taxes.

244
wheat-dogg  Mar 27, 2018 • 12:33:47am

re: #242 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

Kurt Vonnegut addressed that in a short story: also the issue of overpopulation, people are no longer dying to make room for the next generations…

I think I remember that story.

I’m not sure doubling our life expectancy would be a good idea, overall. I personally would not mind living to be 200 if I could remain healthy enough to be mobile and independent. Living a long life while being confined in a bed or an old folks home would definitely not be very appealing.

In fiction, the super-old generally seem to be healthy and well off financially. I doubt that would be true in real life, though.

245
goddamnedfrank  Mar 27, 2018 • 12:40:01am

re: #233 wheat-dogg

One of the main plot elements of Altered Carbon is that the Meths (Methuselah people) have lost all their empathy for the common people, who don’t have the money to afford storage and re-sleeving (new bodies). The Meths consider themselves above the law and normal social norms. The approach is more nuanced in the book than in the TV series, however.

Really, it’s a metaphor for the current disdain many of the 1% have for everyone else. At least, that’s what I think.

I favor the idea that someone who’s immortal, or at least longer-lived than the rest of us, would be more of a positive influence on society than a negative one, like the McLeods of the Highlander universe. Some of that idea comes out in the AC series, as Takeshi was born 150 years earlier and has seen enough shit to be a decent human being.

My issue with AC revolved more about how the technology of Stacks moves the locus of human consciousness from the brain to what is essentially an instance of computer code. So when a person needle-casts to another world or is re-sleeved into a new body the brain that they inhabited is erased and the information that is their personality and memories is written to a new stack/brain combination inside a new sleeve.

This is operationally similar from the transporter technology in Star Trek, which is essentially a murder machine that destroys people and then meticulously recreates an identical simulacrum of the original. In other words the immortality being offered is a hoax in that there is no continuous instance of consciousness.

246
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Mar 27, 2018 • 12:42:59am

re: #243 wheat-dogg

Everyone in Sweden gets a national ID number within a few days of being born (or of being admitted as a legal resident). Without that ID, you can’t open a bank account, rent an apartment, buy a home, see a doctor, go to school, vote, or (naturally) pay your taxes.

Which makes it difficult for undocumented aliens to get established. Right now, America is running around in circles, unevenly applying a patchwork of often unjust and even inhumane methods to try to control immigration.

That is not a sign of a modern, industrialized state.

247
wheat-dogg  Mar 27, 2018 • 12:45:51am

re: #246 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

Which makes it difficult for undocumented aliens to get established. Right now, America is running around in circles, unevenly applying a patchwork of often unjust and even inhumane methods to try to control immigration.

That is not a sign of a modern, industrialized state.

The USA is still midway between modernity and antiquity in many respects.

248
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 27, 2018 • 12:46:49am

re: #241 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

I do not know how homeless people in Germany register themselves. But the point is, everyone should have a valid universal and free ID that allows them to vote and access social services.

That alone would greatly alter the administrative landscape and make the US a less attractive destination for undocumented aliens.

I agree with universal ID cards. (Wingnuts don’t.)

That said, I had a retired military ID issued by the government, a birth certificate issued by Michigan, and even a tourist passport when I was homeless. It was the lack of address that meant I could not vote.

249
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 27, 2018 • 12:49:46am

re: #244 wheat-dogg

I think I remember that story.

I’m not sure doubling our life expectancy would be a good idea, overall. I personally would not mind living to be 200 if I could remain healthy enough to be mobile and independent. Living a long life while being confined in a bed or an old folks home would definitely not be very appealing.

In fiction, the super-old generally seem to be healthy and well off financially. I doubt that would be true in real life, though.

My maternal grandmother used to tell a story about her father, where he was asked if he could live another hundred years, what would he live for? He allegedly answered “I want to live another hundred years to see what damn fool hats women are wearing.”

250
wheat-dogg  Mar 27, 2018 • 12:52:00am

re: #245 goddamnedfrank

My issue with AC revolved more about how the technology of Stacks moves the locus of human consciousness from the brain to what is essentially an instance of computer code. So when a person needle-casts to another world or is re-sleeved into a new body the brain that they inhabited is erased and the information that is their personality and memories is written to a new stack/brain combination inside a new sleeve.

This is operationally similar from the transporter technology in Star Trek, which is essentially a murder machine which destroys people and then meticulously recreates an identical simulacrum of the original. In other words the immortality being offered is a hoax in that there is no uninterrupted continuous instance of consciousness.

My question revolves around the psychological shock of waking up and being in a new body, and the physiological issues of adapting to a new set of bones, reflexes and musculature. Those aspects are glossed over with the usual kind of SF hand waving to get to the main story, of course, but the series did at least have a child re-sleeved into the body of an old woman (because that was all the family could afford) and showed the shock of the child and the family when they met.

Re-sleeving does open some interesting avenues in criminal justice, which the book explores. The dead could come back to confront their killers and be witnesses at their trials. Does not seem to reduce the murder rate, however.

251
wheat-dogg  Mar 27, 2018 • 12:53:50am

re: #249 Anymouse 🌹

My maternal grandmother used to tell a story about her father, where he was asked if he could live another hundred years, what would he live for? He allegedly answered “I want to live another hundred years to see what damn fool hats women are wearing.”

Did he ever go the Kentucky Derby? That’s about the only place women wear fancy hats at nowadays. He’d see baseball caps and cowboy hats, or no hats, otherwise.

252
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Mar 27, 2018 • 12:55:06am

re: #248 Anymouse 🌹

I agree with universal ID cards. (Wingnuts don’t.)

That said, I had a retired military ID issued by the government, a birth certificate issued by Michigan, and even a tourist passport when I was homeless. It was the lack of address that meant I could not vote.

Lots of dudebros don’t either. It is a moot point, I cannot see them being introduced any time soon short of a massive national disaster befalling us.

But until we do, we will have to find other, less efficient and more costly ways to control our borders and keep track of who is here legally and illegally.

253
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 27, 2018 • 1:00:23am

re: #251 wheat-dogg

Did he ever go the Kentucky Derby? That’s about the only place women wear fancy hats at nowadays. He’d see baseball caps and cowboy hats, or no hats, otherwise.

Well, my wife wears big floppy hats with flowers on them, but she is an exception to many women today who do not wear hats at all.

He’d’ve likely had a disappointing last fifty years or so.

254
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Mar 27, 2018 • 1:02:19am

re: #253 Anymouse 🌹

Well, my wife wears big floppy hats with flowers on them, but she is an exception to many women today who do not wear hats at all.

He’d’ve likely had a disappointing last fifty years or so.

I think hats went out after Audrey Hepburn…

255
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 27, 2018 • 1:04:33am

re: #254 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

I think hats went out after Audrey Hepburn…

My wife didn’t go out with Audrey Hepburn.

My mother wears a turban most days. My sister frequently wears baseball caps.

256
Single-handed sailor  Mar 27, 2018 • 1:06:31am

re: #254 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

I think hats went out after Audrey Hepburn…

The end of hats.

257
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 27, 2018 • 1:06:43am

Well, in honour of Epilepsy Awareness Day, I just took my meds. /s

My wife set up a Patreon page to fund my apologetics fails page on her Website. I guarantee you we will see no money from this.

She put up some funny “prizes” for various levels of support, the worst for $500/month - she’ll put me on YouTube to do these. (Eeek.)

258
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Mar 27, 2018 • 1:08:29am

re: #256 Single-handed sailor

The end of hats.

[Embedded content]

I also had Jackie’s pillbox hats in mind as well…but I cannot remember hats being fashionable after that save for a brief late 60’s thing with floppy wide-brim hats.

259
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 27, 2018 • 1:10:27am

re: #256 Single-handed sailor

The end of hats.

That’s a nice hat.

Around here with all the men in cowboy hats (regardless of whether they work on ranches and farms or no), I stand out in my trilby hat made of paper from a person in Alliance. (For a paper hat, it’s pretty tough. I’ve had it for five years.)

I also have a black trilby hat for formal occasions that my wife bought from a haberdasher in Poland (handmade felt black trilby).

260
Single-handed sailor  Mar 27, 2018 • 1:28:30am

I think this is my style of hat. I’ve been a jeans and t-shirt guy all my life.

Tilley Hats

261
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 27, 2018 • 1:30:15am

I’m out for the night.

Rebecca Shoenkopf announced on Wonkette that on their return from the March for Our Lives in Washington, they will be stopping in Denver on April 4.

Since I have to get my car’s air conditioner fixed anyway, that gives me a chance to show up and say “hi” from the fifth columnist living in the reddest House district in the nation.

Having read about their “drinky thingies” in the past, I imagine it would be fun.

262
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 27, 2018 • 1:47:18am

I ran across a saved E-mail from PBS.

When they were running the Ken Burns documentary on the Vietnam War I couldn’t watch (but many people here gave me a synopsis, thank you), I went and filled in their “share your story” page, which they published. The link to my story is behind the privacy bar.

Nypqv9vMCYiz/pkDCU1eGc38rCKfOdo8QXd/nl3J6gFWets6guyrHBsfGKQk+oAWkgJO7usjH4yCGKwfLiskYV8+auOXD3uyoY4KMZS1Rex3Zq1fdKFDsyw0oGG73WTzIDrHrqwfyYUsyEP+4aE5tCaFUbYt7trDCgThfm4DzlU=

263
Single-handed sailor  Mar 27, 2018 • 2:20:05am

So I hear something thumping around in my attic, or on the roof. I think maybe that squirrel that’s been trying to chew his way in has done it. I go outside with a flashlight expecting to find nothing, instead I see a barn owl standing on the ridge of my roof. He might be eating something. I assume all that thumping earlier was him killing his prey.

264
wheat-dogg  Mar 27, 2018 • 2:42:22am

re: #263 Single-handed sailor

So I hear something thumping around in my attic, or on the roof. I think maybe that squirrel that’s been trying to chew his way in has done it. I go outside with a flashlight expecting to find nothing, instead I see a barn owl standing on the ridge of my roof. He might be eating something. I assume all that thumping earlier was him killing his prey.

Tenderizing it

265
Dr Lizardo  Mar 27, 2018 • 3:06:54am

Regarding that horrific fire in Kemerovo, Russia - Czech media is reporting that locals there in Kemerovo are calling bullshit on the official statistics; they’re saying the number is far, far higher than what’s being officially reported and the local and national governments are trying to pull a fast one.

Czech media noted - quite rightly - that the previous Soviet government downplayed the Chernobyl disaster until the Swedes went public that they’d noticed alarmingly high levels of radiation and they’d been able to trace it back to Ukraine. Then the Soviet government fessed up as to what had happened.

Let’s also recall the Russian government’s initially hamfisted response to the loss of the Kursk.

Long story short - minimizing catastrophes is, unfortunately, in character with the Russian government. Sad but true.

266
Danack  Mar 27, 2018 • 3:19:12am

re: #127 goddamnedfrank

I honestly don’t understand why Uber & Lyft are pushing this so hard, since

I believe Lyft are pursuing it mostly because Uber are pushing it so hard, and if self-driving tech does work, Lyft wouldn’t want to be left too far behind.

Uber are pursuing it, not because they think it will work, but far more of a ‘maybe the horse will sing’ piece of logic.

Uber’s business model is pretty much crap. They’re losing a whole bunch of money, and are only available to offer a service because most of their drivers are also losing a whole bunch of money, by having very low wages (less than could be earned stocking shelves in a supermarket) and not having the depreciation cost of their vehicle.

By making sturm and drang over self-driving cars they are able to put off the day when their investors demand that Uber start making a profit, and doing so in a way that is sustainable.

267
wheat-dogg  Mar 27, 2018 • 3:36:51am

Kim Jong-Un has left Beijing, after stealthily entering it inside an armored train yesterday.

Security at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse and Beijing railway station quickly returned to normal on Tuesday afternoon after the distinctive green train carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong-un set off on its return journey to Pyongyang.

A little over two hours after the armoured express was reported to have pulled out it was business as usual, according to South China Morning Post journalists at the scene.

Two sources, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue, confirmed that the mystery guest was Kim.

“It wasn’t his sister, it was Kim himself,” one said.

scmp.com

Maybe my Internet access will return to normal — or as normal as it gets inside China.

268
Alephnaught  Mar 27, 2018 • 3:45:46am

Happening right now in Westminster: a House of Commons culture committee is today about Cambridge Analytica. The Guardian’s covering it here on a live news blog. Currently, one of the CA whistleblowers, Christopher Wylie is answering questions from MPs. A sample:

Q: Is it true that Steve Bannon came up with the name Cambridge Analytica?

Yes, says Wylie.

He says Alexander Nix, who was head of CA until he was suspended, has a standard sales pitch. It involves his posh veneer.

But that did not play well with Steve Bannon.

Nix realised that, Wylie says. So he decided to set up a “fake office in Cambridge” to present a more academic image for the company.

It was as a result of that the Bannon decided the company should be called Cambridge Analytica. He liked the academic image.

However, one person that won’t be giving evidence to the committee is Mark Zuckerberg.

Damian Collins, the Conservative chair of the committee, opens by saying Mark Zuckerberg has responded to the committee’s invitation to give evidence.

He says Zuckerberg has proposed that Chris Cox, Facebook’s chief product officer, gives evidence. The committee will set that up for after Easter, he says.

He says the committee still thinks Zuckerberg should appear. It was not clear from his letter whether he was refusing, Collins says. He says the committee will write to Zuckerberg again, repeating the request for him to appear.

Live video of the committee is here:

Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Christopher Wylie appears before MPs - watch live

269
Shropshire Slasher  Mar 27, 2018 • 3:57:11am

Mark Zuckerberg took out newspaper ads to apologize for Facebook’s recent data breach. Too bad he didn’t own a giant social networking company to get the news out. When you are hot, you are hot, when you are not, you are not. I wonder when Facebook will be a penny stock?

270
Alephnaught  Mar 27, 2018 • 4:18:18am

re: #209 Kragar

In the House culture committee, Chris Wylie’s just mentioned Palantir as an example of companies that operate in a similar manner to Cambridge Analytica.

EDIT: Even better, they met.

271
Alephnaught  Mar 27, 2018 • 4:25:00am

Heh, so that’s why Mr Zuckerberg is not appearing before the committee:

272
Patricia Kayden  Mar 27, 2018 • 5:00:38am

re: #6 JordanRules

[Embedded content]

Wow. Carrey is on fire. I guess it took an ignorant bigot becoming President to get Carrey to talk about politics. Now is not the time to be apolitical.

273
William Lewis  Mar 27, 2018 • 5:02:44am

re: #272 Patricia Kayden

Wow. Carrey is on fire. I guess it took an ignorant bigot becoming President to get Carrey to talk about politics. Now is not the time to be apolitical.

Now if only he’d learn how to actually be funny…

274
Shropshire Slasher  Mar 27, 2018 • 5:08:21am

A fairly long article about the secret slave sex cult NXIVM, (he branded his sex slaves with his initials) and the arrest of its founder, Keith Raneire. It’s ‘nice’ to know this shit has been going on in my back yard for years. /

275
jeffreyw  Mar 27, 2018 • 5:13:37am

Imgur


Good morning!

276
Shropshire Slasher  Mar 27, 2018 • 5:16:46am

Don Jr. applied for a pistol permit:
(Link goes to NY Post Page Six)

It is not clear why he applied in Pennsylvania, but just before his wife, Vanessa Trump, filed for divorce, Don Jr. was issued the permit, which lasts for five years and is accepted in many other states across America, but not in New York.

A source told us, “It isn’t clear why Don Jr. applied for a permit in Pennsylvania. But there is speculation that he didn’t do it in New York because you have to supply financials.”

NYPD guidelines for handgun-license applicants state that a New York state tax return may be required as part of the paperwork.

And we all know how much the Trumps don’t enjoy sharing their tax returns.

277
Jebediah, RBG  Mar 27, 2018 • 5:24:22am

.re: #131 Jason Munro

What a face! Do strangers walk up and ask if they can hug him? I would.

278
Eventual Carrion  Mar 27, 2018 • 5:33:04am

re: #154 Joe Bacon 🌹

The same Teabaggers who were financed by the Koch Brothers are the ones posting the lies about Soros financing the kids!

It’s what they do so they figure everyone does.

279
I cannot.  Mar 27, 2018 • 5:41:48am
280
ObserverArt  Mar 27, 2018 • 6:14:12am

re: #204 Gus

I am the ghost of Christmas past!

Morning!

I was just reading through the thread from overnight and saw…

A Gus appearance!

Cool. Hi Gus.

281
wheat-dogg  Mar 27, 2018 • 6:14:25am

I was perusing the websites of some libertarian pundits today, and they are notably unimpressed with Trump and the GOP right now, mostly for spending too much and borrowing too much. One of them posted this image, which I haven’t seen elsewhere. It fits The Donald.

The King of Debt
282
lawhawk  Mar 27, 2018 • 6:21:26am

Greets and saluts from the resistance in the NYC metro area. CNN is back to its old tricks in grabbing a bunch of Trump supporters and having them rate Stormy Daniels appearance.

These are the same kind of people who demanded Clinton be impeached over much less. Trump paid off women and lied about every aspect of that encounter, complete with financial chicanery.

So of course the bots are out in full force too.

Meanwhile, Stonekettle found a story about a guy who shot himself while adjusting his holster in a supermarket.

Let’s take the costs for this “minor” mishap: across medically treated cases, costs average U.S. $154,000 per gunshot survivor.

Multiply that by the 130,000+ shot and survive every year, and you begin to get an accounting of just the health care costs. Throw in the legal costs, lost wages, criminal justice costs, incarceration, etc., and the costs add up.

283
darthstar  Mar 27, 2018 • 6:23:13am
284
Eventual Carrion  Mar 27, 2018 • 6:26:21am

re: #226 Anymouse 🌹

The right to love shall not be infringed.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness we Declare.

285
dangerman  Mar 27, 2018 • 6:33:02am

re: #101 Sea Mexican!

There’s this quote that I find particularly idiotic:

This should be plastered all over Florida. 1) Not speaking Spanish hasn’t stopped anyone from claiming Hispanic heritage. By all means, Jennifer Lopez barely speaks Spanish and no one is trying to revoke her Puerto Rican creds. Same goes with hundreds of people from all walks of life. 2) That type of revisionism might not play well with Cuban’s oral history.

Anything…
Absolutely anything to misdirect from what those millions are trying to say

286
makeitstop  Mar 27, 2018 • 6:33:59am

Josh Marshall gets an email from a reader (presumably a lawyer) who offers up a big reason why no lawyers will take him on (emphasis mine).

No big law firm can rep Trump because of powerful partners (especially female) redlining it and the associate recruiting pr disaster it would trigger (especially with young women). Repping Trump is a political statement no large law firm can afford to make. Big city lawyers are disproportionately Dems.

Most firms now have at least a few powerful female partners and they ALL have 50 percent young women as associates. Of course many of the men despise Trump too, but it is the women who are saying you represent this fucking pig and I will quit tomorrow and everyone knows they mean it. And any firm that represented Trump may as well just give up on attracting female associates. It would become their entire brand overnight, and it is a terrible black mark. The top firms are interchangeable, so it doesn’t take much to drop to the bottom of young associates’ list. Yes, the fact that he won’t pay, will fucking lose spectacularly and along the way will inevitably force his lawyer to choose between suborning perjury and quitting (if he can), but the truth is it’s the Trump brand they just can’t afford. He’s a Swastika.

287
wheat-dogg  Mar 27, 2018 • 6:38:37am

re: #286 makeitstop

Additionally, several of the companies licensing the Trump brand are severing those connections as soon as they can. Trump = losing money.

288
lawhawk  Mar 27, 2018 • 6:41:20am

re: #286 makeitstop

AmLaw 100 firms… those are the firms that have attorneys who can deal with the kinds of issues Trump faces. It’s highly competitive and while you can find firms that lean GOP (and there’s plenty of them out there), every law firm has to weigh whatever involvement with Trumpworld against the downside.

The downside is permanently losing inflow of new talent, loss of existing staff, and compromising the reputation of the firms.

There might be some small firms willing to take on the challenge, but when things go south, they’ll be screwing themselves because everyone knows Trump screws over everyone when it comes to billing. Trump himself raised that as a point yesterday.

289
makeitstop  Mar 27, 2018 • 6:41:39am

Trump: ‘We want to open national parks for mining.’

Courts: ‘Nope.’

290
wheat-dogg  Mar 27, 2018 • 6:44:00am

re: #289 makeitstop

Trump: ‘We want to open national parks for mining.’

Courts: ‘Nope.’

So much winning, you’ll get tired of it. — D. Trump, 2016

291
lawhawk  Mar 27, 2018 • 6:44:23am

re: #289 makeitstop

More details.

292
dangerman  Mar 27, 2018 • 6:45:21am

re: #154 Joe Bacon 🌹

The same Teabaggers who were financed by the Koch Brothers are the ones posting the lies about Soros financing the kids!

We did it this way so they must be too

293
dangerman  Mar 27, 2018 • 6:48:59am

re: #162 Kragar

[Embedded content]

The White House is investigating a guy who works in the White House who is the son-in-law of the guy who lives in the White House?

294
dangerman  Mar 27, 2018 • 6:58:24am

re: #177 Anymouse 🌹

Woman dies from bee-sting therapy that Goop, Gwyneth Paltrow promote (goes to Ars Technica, psuedoscience claims a life):

(more)

The painful and dangerous practice—called apipuncture—is generally peddled by nonmedical practitioners and, in recent years, has generated buzz among celebrities

someone really wrote that

295
TedStriker  Mar 27, 2018 • 7:00:26am

re: #294 dangerman

someone really wrote that

As an Ars reader, I can tell you that Beth Mole is prone to punning.

296
Lupin  Mar 27, 2018 • 7:01:05am

re: #233 wheat-dogg

I favor the idea that someone who’s immortal, or at least longer-lived than the rest of us, would be more of a positive influence on society than a negative one, like the McLeods of the Highlander universe. Some of that idea comes out in the AC series, as Takeshi was born 150 years earlier and has seen enough shit to be a decent human being.

Robert Hedrock from A.E. Van Vogt’s The Weapon Makers. Francis Sandow from Roger Zelazny’s Isle of the Dead. R. Daneel Olivaw from Isaac Asimov’s Robots/Foundation series.

297
dangerman  Mar 27, 2018 • 7:04:47am

re: #198 Anymouse 🌹

After the frenzy of collecting water samples all day (including washing bleach out of my eyes with unfiltered arsenic/uranium water), I’ve decided that I’m sick of water for the day and have settled down to cheap whiskey in Kool-Aid.

let us know when the x-ray vision kicks in

298
Backwoods_Sleuth  Mar 27, 2018 • 7:06:38am
299
HappyWarrior  Mar 27, 2018 • 7:07:46am

re: #298 Backwoods_Sleuth

[Embedded content]

I honestly disagree with him there. But I have felt that the 2nd needs a 2018 set of eyes for some time.

300
dangerman  Mar 27, 2018 • 7:08:26am

re: #203 BigPapa

[Embedded content]

i proposed to my former future ex-wife while scuba diving

to prep, i sewed the ring into the box so when i opened it underwater that would not happen

301
Belafon  Mar 27, 2018 • 7:09:47am

re: #296 Lupin

Robert Hedrock from A.E. Van Vogt’s The Weapon Makers. Francis Sandow from Roger Zelazny’s Isle of the Dead. R. Daneel Olivaw from Isaac Asimov’s Robots/Foundation series.

Phil Connors from Groundhog Day. :)

302
Sir John Barron  Mar 27, 2018 • 7:11:37am

re: #299 HappyWarrior

I honestly disagree with him there. But I have felt that the 2nd needs a 2018 set of eyes for some time.

Yeah this is where we lose a great many people.

303
dangerman  Mar 27, 2018 • 7:13:51am

re: #227 Targetpractice

You want a scary scenario? A hack on a foreign government’s payroll being paid to release a virus that would shut down every car with an active internet connection. Right now it’s not a scary scenario, but 10-20 years from now? You will probably bring an entire country to a halt.

you could bring NYC to a halt with a half dozen timed and choreographed tractor trailer “accidents”

304
HappyWarrior  Mar 27, 2018 • 7:14:18am

re: #302 Sir John Barron

Yeah this is where we lose a great many people.

I do believe in the right of self-protection and although it’s not for me, hunting, target shooting, and collecting.

305
Mike Lamb  Mar 27, 2018 • 7:19:27am

re: #298 Backwoods_Sleuth

[Embedded content]

Is #impeachstevens trending in NRA circles yet?

306
dangerman  Mar 27, 2018 • 7:20:47am

re: #239 Anymouse 🌹

That kind of shows the drawback of driverless cars in rural areas. Someone coming here could not go to the village cemetery (or anywhere north of the village), since the roads (county roads, all legal) do not appear on maps (never mind Street View).

they’re going to be useful in some places. not everyplace.
where the roads are well maintained
where the weather is mostly, well, not snow piled up on the ground
where the traffic is somewhat “predictable” and flows
point to point long haul trucking (interstate) where a driver gets on/takes over at depots near the end
in general where the ability to be in driverless mode is “most of the time”

and it’s going to evolve over time as tech changes and people activate the “clever”

307
Belafon  Mar 27, 2018 • 7:21:23am

re: #222 Targetpractice

When it comes to things like self-driving cars, I think Ian Malcolm: “Yeah, yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn’t stop to think if they should.” I think there’s a niche for self-driving vehicles, most likely in the transportation industry where insurance companies could argue that the safety of replacing drivers with computers outweigh any inherent dangers. But I doubt even major insurance companies are going to rush to mandate self-driving cars become standard anytime in the next 20-30 years. Seatbelts and airbags made sense because if they failed, the damage done was no worse than without them.

It won’t be too long until cars are required to have automatic braking and lane correction. Then, they’ll be required to have systems in place that allow them to communicate information to other cars, which will allow the user, and then the cars to detect traffic patterns ahead. Once the cars have those features on highways, then the car will be allowed to drive itself base on that input.

308
dangerman  Mar 27, 2018 • 7:23:51am

re: #246 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

Which makes it difficult for undocumented aliens to get established. Right now, America is running around in circles, unevenly applying a patchwork of often unjust and even inhumane methods to try to control immigration.

That is not a sign of a modern, industrialized state.

there’s a big section of this country that will not accept that “to fix it” will take time and a phased process. and it wont necessarily be pretty and will involve certain aspects that some people wont like.

there cannot be a black and white, instant “everybody out except ‘us’” fix
its far too complicated

309
lizardofid  Mar 27, 2018 • 7:24:39am

re: #303 dangerman

you could bring NYC to a halt with a half dozen timed and choreographed tractor trailer “accidents”

Or a congested urban freeway for that matter.

Click to Reveal

Make those rigs tanker trucks and it a potential nightmare.

Oh, and good morning all.

310
HappyWarrior  Mar 27, 2018 • 7:28:19am

re: #305 Mike Lamb

Is #impeachstevens trending in NRA circles yet?

They probably think he should be disbarred.

311
Belafon  Mar 27, 2018 • 7:38:51am

Can we change the second amendment to read:

The right to own guns for hunting shall not be infringed. But, if you think they have any more use than that in civilian hands, the government has the authority to question if you should have one.

312
makeitstop  Mar 27, 2018 • 7:39:00am

Today marks four years since we brought home a little guy who has grown into a big guy. Happy Puppyversary to our Scout! Good boy.

313
gwangung  Mar 27, 2018 • 7:44:13am

re: #292 dangerman

We did it this way so they must be too

Sigh. Kickstarter, Generousity, GoFundMe, etc. aren’t a thing for these numbskulls….

314
Weaselone  Mar 27, 2018 • 7:48:23am

re: #298 Backwoods_Sleuth

1st take away: I thought he was already dead
2nd take away: I don’t agree with repealing the 2nd, I’d just prefer some laws and a new set of court rulings that put reasonable new restrictions on what can be owned and put the responsible back into responsible gun ownership.

Taking the NRA at their word, we are all (or at least all gun owners) apparently part of the ‘militia’. In the Northeast, prior to the Revolutionary War, that meant you had to haul your butt and firearm(s) out to the town square several times a year and drill. Due to social pressures and other factors of the time, this was really not optional. When I argue with the gun nuts in my family, it’s usually on the basis of replicating this situation in the modern country.
1. People need to regularly demonstrate that they know how to use all of their weapons properly and responsibly to their communities.
2. Collectively, we need to know what weapon everyone has
3. The weapons people have should be limited to what they can carry and drill with. Exceptions can be made for actual collectors.
4. Individuals need to be held responsible for the damage caused by their weapons. If your weapon gets stolen or sold, you haven’t reported that fact, and it’s used, you need to be held accountable.

In my snark imagination, this takes the form of gun owners actually having to report with all their weapons at least annually. The weapons then get reviewed verses what’s in the database. If there’s new weapons or missing weapons, they’re in deep shit. If they don’t report with the weapons and they get caught with them, they’re in even deeper shit. They then have to demonstrate they can properly handle these weapons to exceedingly anal instructors. If they can’t, the weapon gets seized until they can demonstrate proficiency. Finally, they have to march 10 miles with every weapon they own strapped to them. If they can’t, they get seized until they can. As an option, the owners can also permanently relinquish control of part of their arsenals and perform the march with the remainder.

315
dangerman  Mar 27, 2018 • 7:54:03am

re: #276 Shropshire Slasher

Don Jr. applied for a pistol permit:
(Link goes to NY Post Page Six)

this is a real good example of go to the jurisdiction where you can get what you want because you cant or wont qualify (or do what’s necessary) where you live

its why adjoining states with different rules are problematic (“chicago” / indiana)

316
Dave In Austin  Mar 27, 2018 • 7:56:27am

Executive Time……

Youtube Video

317
Jay C  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:17:34am

re: #314 Weaselone

1st take away: I thought he was already dead
2nd take away: I don’t agree with repealing the 2nd, I’d just prefer some laws and a new set of court rulings that put reasonable new restrictions on what can be owned and put the responsible back into responsible gun ownership.

Taking the NRA at their word, we are all (or at least all gun owners) apparently part of the ‘militia’. In the Northeast, prior to the Revolutionary War, that meant you had to haul your butt and firearm(s) out to the town square several times a year and drill. Due to social pressures and other factors of the time, this was really not optional. When I argue with the gun nuts in my family, it’s usually on the basis of replicating this situation in the modern country.
1. People need to regularly demonstrate that they know how to use all of their weapons properly and responsibly to their communities.
2. Collectively, we need to know what weapon everyone has
3. The weapons people have should be limited to what they can carry and drill with. Exceptions can be made for actual collectors.
4. Individuals need to be held responsible for the damage caused by their weapons. If your weapon gets stolen or sold, you haven’t reported that fact, and it’s used, you need to be held accountable.

In my snark imagination, this takes the form of gun owners actually having to report with all their weapons at least annually. The weapons then get reviewed verses what’s in the database. If there’s new weapons or missing weapons, they’re in deep shit. If they don’t report with the weapons and they get caught with them, they’re in even deeper shit. They then have to demonstrate they can properly handle these weapons to exceedingly anal instructors. If they can’t, the weapon gets seized until they can demonstrate proficiency. Finally, they have to march 10 miles with every weapon they own strapped to them. If they can’t, they get seized until they can. As an option, the owners can also permanently relinquish control of part of their arsenals and perform the march with the remainder.

Good points, but it’s likely that the NRA’s glib version of “history” ignores the fact that even Back In The Good Old Days,
1) Not everybody owned a firearm.*
2) Militia “service” was virtually entirely voluntary (enforcement was fairly lax).
3) The main armed forces of the States (and/or the Continental government) were those “well-regulated” militias the 2A mentions: i.e. their arms were government property, and were turned in back to the state armories when their musters were over.

Check out the history of Shays’ Rebellion for an example: Shays and his band of rebels made the Federal Armory at Springfield their main target for a reason: they didn’t have enough guns to arm all their guys. And they didn’t get them, either (they were driven off by cannon fire from a well-regulated - and official - militia). But of course, history means little to modern-day obsessives like the NRA.

* Michael Belleisles (sp?) tried to examine the issue of olden-days gun ownership a few years back, but IIRC, his book (and reputation) got trashed over research fail (?) - and no one has bothered to look into the matter since.

318
FormerDirtDart 🍕🐀  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:18:11am
319
dangerman  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:19:33am

re: #307 Belafon

It won’t be too long until cars are required to have automatic braking and lane correction. Then, they’ll be required to have systems in place that allow them to communicate information to other cars, which will allow the user, and then the cars to detect traffic patterns ahead. Once the cars have those features on highways, then the car will be allowed to drive itself base on that input.

in some cities, the car in your garage will tell you to go back inside for another cup of coffee because “we’re not leaving here for quite some time”

320
dangerman  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:20:40am

re: #309 lizardofid

Or a congested urban freeway for that matter.

[Embedded content]

Oh, and good morning all.

i didnt want to say it
that’s what i was implying

321
dangerman  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:22:05am

re: #311 Belafon

Can we change the second amendment to read:

“your desire to want a weapon in case of “tyranny by the government” is proof you shouldnt have one”?

322
JordanRules  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:25:37am
323
dangerman  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:25:39am

re: #318 FormerDirtDart 🍕🐀

[Embedded content]

puerto rico still doesnt have full power and infrastructure back

324
freetoken  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:26:59am

re: #315 dangerman

this is a real good example of go to the jurisdiction where you can get what you want because you cant or wont qualify (or do what’s necessary) where you live

Is Pennsylvania the “Gretna Green” of guns?

325
HappyWarrior  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:27:14am

re: #322 JordanRules

[Embedded content]

Yeah I find that very hard to believe.

326
lizardofid  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:27:32am

re: #320 dangerman

i didnt want to say it
that’s what i was implying

Sorry, I should have caught the drift. I actually felt a little guilty typing it.

327
HappyWarrior  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:27:44am

re: #323 dangerman

puerto rico still doesnt have full power and infrastructure back

It’s a scandal that has unfortunately been ignored.

328
FormerDirtDart 🍕🐀  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:28:46am
329
Eclectic Cyborg  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:28:51am

re: #322 JordanRules

I wonder how much of that foreign money was rubles…

330
HappyWarrior  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:30:33am

re: #329 Eclectic Cyborg

I wonder how much of that foreign money was rubles…

Blood rubles for Wayne and Dana.

331
Belafon  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:30:57am

re: #322 JordanRules

What’s that about fungible money again?

332
dangerman  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:32:00am

re: #326 lizardofid

Sorry, I should have caught the drift. I actually felt a little guilty typing it.

you masked it
i was too lazy

333
freetoken  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:32:43am

We were talking yesterday about those notorious “polls”, and I asserted that I doubt they really mean much.

Anyway…

Poll: Trump leads Stormy Daniels in 2020 match-up, but not if she uses her real name

The adult film star who has alleged an affair with President Trump could lead him in a hypothetical match-up in the 2020 race - but only if she used her real name, according to a new poll.

The poll from left-leaning Public Policy Polling found that in the match-up between Democrat Stormy Daniels and Republican Donald Trump, 32 percent of people said they would vote for Daniels, trailing behind the 41 percent who said they would vote for Trump.

But when Daniels’ real name, Stephanie Clifford, is used in the pairing, 42 percent said they would vote for the adult film actress, compared with 41 percent who said they would vote for Trump.

[…]

334
makeitstop  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:32:44am

And just like that, the White House investigation of Jared is done, and they cleared him.

My surprised face is in my other trousers….

335
dangerman  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:34:19am

re: #331 Belafon

What’s that about fungible money again?

precisely!

336
The Vicious Babushka  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:34:32am

re: #323 dangerman

puerto rico still doesnt have full power and infrastructure back

When Trump awarded himself a “10” on Puerto Rico Response he decided that he didn’t need to do anything more.

337
HappyWarrior  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:34:35am

re: #334 makeitstop

And just like that, the White House investigation of Jared is done, and they cleared him.

My surprised face is in my other trousers….

[Embedded content]

Foxes not planning to rob hen house says spokesfox.

338
FormerDirtDart 🍕🐀  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:34:35am

re: #333 freetoken

We were talking yesterday about those notorious “polls”, and I asserted that I doubt they really mean much.

Anyway…

Poll: Trump leads Stormy Daniels in 2020 match-up, but not if she uses her real name

339
HappyWarrior  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:35:17am

re: #336 The Vicious Babushka

When Trump awarded himself a “10” on Puerto Rico Response he decided that he didn’t need to do anything more.

It’s worse than Katrina because at least Bush eventually realized he fucked up.

340
HappyWarrior  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:35:42am

re: #338 FormerDirtDart 🍕🐀

[Embedded content]

Stupid but I’d take Biden too.

341
Belafon  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:36:06am

So, the NRA is admitting they are a money laundering operation.

342
FormerDirtDart 🍕🐀  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:36:14am
343
Dave In Austin  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:37:38am

re: #317 Jay C

I had a late nite convo with a local wingnut on the Statesman site. I basically said Grandfather everything that’s out there. All new production long guns are limited to a 5rd internal magazine.

He was not happy. But not on a Constitutional basis. He saw an infringement on his convenience and capacity..

After that I just set the sea lion loose on him.

344
HappyWarrior  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:39:07am

re: #343 Dave In Austin

I had a late nite convo with a local wingnut on the Statesman site. I basically said Grandfather everything that’s out there. All new production long guns are limited to a 5rd internal magazine.

He was not happy. But not on a Constitutional basis. He saw an infringement on his convenience and capacity..

After that I just set the sea lion loose on him.

That’s their real opposition. Not on legal grounds but on convenience.

345
FormerDirtDart 🍕🐀  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:41:49am

A herd of mini bulls

346
Dave In Austin  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:42:42am

re: #344 HappyWarrior

That’s their real opposition. Not on legal grounds but on convenience.

He was bitching that it went against 150 yrs of technology in firearms. I don’t care is it’s gas operated or not.

#5Bullets

347
Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:45:34am

re: #345 FormerDirtDart 🍕🐀

A herd of mini bulls

[Embedded content]

That’s nice, but really sad too.
I work with health-care claim data, and the data on sick kids is the saddest. I used to work in advertising, which was less useful, but at least no one was dying in my data.

348
Citizen K  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:48:07am
349
freetoken  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:49:43am

re: #346 Dave In Austin

So, is your online acquaintance, who is so worried about holding back weapons technology, going to whine about the gov’t not allowing him to buy a “ray gun”?

I ask that because last week there was some big news on the maser front:

Diamonds and sapphires allow masers to operate continuously

Scientists from Imperial College London and UCL used a synthetic diamond grown in a nitrogen-rich atmosphere to create a new maser that operates continuously.

A maser (microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) is the older, microwave frequency sibling of the laser. It was invented in 1954 and has traditionally been used in deep space communication and radio astronomy.

However, early versions of the maser had to be cooled to temperatures close to absolute zero (-273°C) to be able to function […].

But with the new additions, carbon atoms were ‘knocked out’ from the diamond using a high energy electron beam, creating spaces known as ‘vacancies.’ A press release by Imperial explains that the diamond was then heated, which allowed nitrogen atoms and carbon vacancies to pair up, forming a type of defect known as a nitrogen-vacancy (NV) defect centre.

When placed inside a ring of sapphire to concentrate the microwave energy and illuminated by green laser light, the maser worked at room temperature and continuously.

[…]

In time, perhaps we’ll get hand-held masers.

Then all the gun nuts can go out and microwave all the objects of their hatred.

350
HappyWarrior  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:50:42am

re: #348 Citizen K

[Embedded content]

Don’t you have better things to do than bitch at kids, Steve? Btw never seen you object to 18-21 year olds not being able to legally drink but I get it, you’re afraid of being voted out finally once enough of your constituents see what a miserable old fascist fuck you are.

351
Patricia Kayden  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:52:10am
352
ObserverArt  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:54:43am

re: #322 JordanRules

Tim Mak ✔
@timkmak
NEW: National Rifle Association acknowledges it receives foreign money, but says none went to election work.

Issue is that it also acknowledges moving $$ between its election work accounts and it other accounts. npr.org …

11:13 AM - Mar 27, 2018

I believe the NRA…doesn’t everyone?

353
Eclectic Cyborg  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:54:52am

re: #351 Patricia Kayden

Stevens has probably been labeled a RINO already.

354
Citizen K  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:56:38am

re: #350 HappyWarrior

Don’t you have better things to do than bitch at kids, Steve? Btw never seen you object to 18-21 year olds not being able to legally drink but I get it, you’re afraid of being voted out finally once enough of your constituents see what a miserable old fascist fuck you are.

The sad thing is the ‘raise the voting age’ hobby horse seems to be the new thing among the dead enders. Literally demanding the voting age be pulled up from 18 because the marches have proven that 18 years olds are too dumb and evil to deserve the vote.

It’s just fucking maddening. And knowing the way our punditry works, I wouldn’t be surprised to see that mainstreamed within a month.

355
HappyWarrior  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:56:54am

re: #353 Eclectic Cyborg

Stevens has probably been labeled a RINO already.

He has been for years.

356
HappyWarrior  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:57:50am

re: #351 Patricia Kayden

[Embedded content]

Correct. Of course that gets in the way of you know facts.

357
ObserverArt  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:58:26am

re: #334 makeitstop

And just like that, the White House investigation of Jared is done, and they cleared him.

My surprised face is in my other trousers….

[Embedded content]

I have a feeling this is going down in some notes at the offices of the Mueller investigation.

358
Citizen K  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:58:55am

Also, well timed with the Stephon Clark shooting… -

359
Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis  Mar 27, 2018 • 8:59:28am

re: #352 ObserverArt

I believe the NRA…doesn’t everyone?

I’m trying to think of a good reason that foreigners would want more guns on America’s streets, and having a hard time finding anything.

I can think of some anti-American reasons.

360
Teukka  Mar 27, 2018 • 9:03:06am

OT, but excitement for the evening in my neck of the woods. Fire with explosion risk included.

For a while, this was as close to home I got.
The cause of the commotion. Left roof of the bright yellow building.
361
Alephnaught  Mar 27, 2018 • 9:08:52am

Chris Wylie’s statements in front of MPs earlier today re: Cambridge Analytica have made waves in India.

362
Teukka  Mar 27, 2018 • 9:09:42am

re: #360 Teukka

OT, but excitement for the evening in my neck of the woods. Fire with explosion risk included.

[Embedded content]

Jntz9ehNciHFNq9r+7kmLe9gXbr/U5LOYYq1hUUwhBa7DGV3lG5PGclv0DH1dhQk0MmrDxX5nmSd1KTT5dtu3RLV3K/+vrenyLERNLQE0ibdIAOcvcjc8ObdfF1EnK69GarOrWQgD2A=

363
lawhawk  Mar 27, 2018 • 9:13:04am

re: #334 makeitstop

Bugnuts insanity.

364
dangerman  Mar 27, 2018 • 9:22:44am

re: #363 lawhawk

Bugnuts insanity.

[Embedded content]

that would be my words for it

The White House investigated a guy who works in the White House who is the son-in-law of the guy who lives in the White House

nothing
to
see
here

365
Quoth the raven, Covfefe.  Mar 27, 2018 • 9:31:14am

Morning/Afternoon Lizardim.

366
Shropshire Slasher  Mar 27, 2018 • 9:38:22am

re: #354 Citizen K

The sad thing is the ‘raise the voting age’ hobby horse seems to be the new thing among the dead enders. Literally demanding the voting age be pulled up from 18 because the marches have proven that 18 years olds are too dumb and evil to deserve the vote.

18 year olds have historically not voted enough to make a difference as it is.

367
Belafon  Mar 27, 2018 • 9:40:05am

PPP:

The high school students receive a positive 56/34 favorability rating for their efforts, while the NRA is upside down with 39% of voters seeing it favorably and 44% negatively.

368
HappyWarrior  Mar 27, 2018 • 9:44:24am

re: #367 Belafon

PPP:

Glad to see that.

369
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Mar 27, 2018 • 9:45:03am

re: #354 Citizen K

The sad thing is the ‘raise the voting age’ hobby horse seems to be the new thing among the dead enders. Literally demanding the voting age be pulled up from 18 because the marches have proven that 18 years olds are too dumb and evil to deserve the vote.

It’s just fucking maddening. And knowing the way our punditry works, I wouldn’t be surprised to see that mainstreamed within a month.

lower the gun owning age but raise the voting age?

370
Stanley Sea  Mar 27, 2018 • 9:46:15am

re: #365 Quoth the raven, Covfefe.

JEfjm9242JE0JQ5ARHXF9zeRrHjEp/zVMiex4ccE9jTihvxzCAt3o+VWi+mvawgiRt2JMsDAnW9ESx+YMQLu+xFXAuTMpfo8ZFA2qR5O/qbwcYHKqZFgYX8XHwIiDOVKMbyDiATe3z0gLIkbItaGUwU7fPJNW3GO

371
JordanRules  Mar 27, 2018 • 9:46:48am

LOL

372
Quoth the raven, Covfefe.  Mar 27, 2018 • 9:47:49am

re: #370 Stanley Sea

[Embedded content]

37sGp5SKM570oEVZX9f95TiO8Yz9v0d5imxJlZcagyUJaGqGZwHeO8prNUedja9lWH2VguEelDfcXkjdlhR0aOd71Vs3oSzhj+STy7k5N18j7/nudwWCoU50Al4T64QdSAGb8DiGm9KRqMCNEGfgMyS2Vsst69SNQnNg1I254de/1ouBUz52CQMjKwTz0D8tKF77MwKRA5GgM+OeiU5aOUSqtd2Im5/M/RC/uKSSsGUr9o4z6OZ6cyu2eTXqBB1AoHLviSDY8L5Qy7ALvkYojvDaumTYFmoaDuKCjYUNivwp/ISpVR4qrJsuAPhZCAXuGq3nQGQ5x8Mo1yd//3kM/43ZKfMS8YkusIwn4VULjA0g2Kk7qIHSlzM0ooQUWZwY3zeFA7pcaNbnyLmhXoKH+VmXwn7yxwEYLuA0gD7igbivEOUl5D1AEi6HiJSczG1bYE+IrYgkQl7hRP1uTlvgCg==

373
HappyWarrior  Mar 27, 2018 • 9:49:25am

re: #369 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

lower the gun owning age but raise the voting age?

Kkking Logic.

374
Dave In Austin  Mar 27, 2018 • 9:50:22am
375
HappyWarrior  Mar 27, 2018 • 9:52:49am

re: #374 Dave In Austin

[Embedded content]

Yep they don’t deserve to share Lincoln’s name. They haven’t been his party in a long time.

376
Stanley Sea  Mar 27, 2018 • 9:53:16am

re: #372 Quoth the raven, Covfefe.

h3m9mVR2tLjDWIkK9NvASK2UtFiBHQzk

377
electrotek  Mar 27, 2018 • 9:55:56am
378
gocart mozart  Mar 27, 2018 • 9:57:07am
379
dangerman  Mar 27, 2018 • 9:58:06am

re: #367 Belafon

PPP:

The high school students receive a positive 56/34 favorability rating for their efforts, while the NRA is upside down with 39% of voters seeing it favorably and 44% negatively.

also to note:

the people at the washington march and every other march - they are not all students or “under 21”

and in any event - of those students that are between 18 and 21, and moreso, under 18 - they are having tremendous influence on people who do vote

380
dangerman  Mar 27, 2018 • 9:58:46am

re: #369 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

lower the gun owning age but raise the voting age?

well one is right there in the constitution while the other is…oh wait…

381
dangerman  Mar 27, 2018 • 9:59:44am

re: #375 HappyWarrior

Yep they don’t deserve to share Lincoln’s name. They haven’t been his party in a long time.

and they should not be given any opportunity to disown him

382
FormerDirtDart 🍕🐀  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:01:33am
383
gocart mozart  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:03:15am
384
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:05:57am

re: #373 HappyWarrior

Kkking Logic.

You can use the term “thought process” perhaps, but leave logic out of it.

385
lawhawk  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:06:34am

Trumpworld thinks that they can honor/recognize legacy of Linda Brown?

No. Just no.

Everything Trumpworld and the GOP have done over the past 30 years has been to wipe out all the hard fought gains that trailblazers like Brown, Parks, and countless other African Americans made to gain equality under the law and in practice.

When Trump equates Nazis with the people protesting Nazis, Pence and all the rest have zero standing to state anything. Every day Pence and the rest are in power not only dishonors the work done on civil rights, but the GOP are actively trying to dismantle the gains on voting and civil rights daily.

386
FormerDirtDart 🍕🐀  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:08:01am
387
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:10:10am

re: #386 FormerDirtDart 🍕🐀

@VeraMBergen
“Trump noted that the Department of Defense was getting so much money as part of the $1.3 trillion spending package that the Pentagon could surely afford the border wall.”

US military invades and occupies Mexico

US military forces Mexico to provide materials and slave labor

Wall paid for!

388
lawhawk  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:14:05am

re: #386 FormerDirtDart 🍕🐀

Trump doesn’t get how appropriations work. He thinks it’s all fungible.

It isn’t.

Narrator: It isn’t. Trump’s a dumbass who doesn’t know the way appropriations works.

389
dangerman  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:15:30am

Denver area lizards:

RfMcpVI2etJ3rw6zE3j8FGhzn9AQKM2DBiaNFWM0v8oRVjXGrZOXMvGqnx0vF/z1ZHSNEsXliWbYd8Qu7pdtjO7E3Tqye2qLrdE7FwSWbbZPIsvCXfsv207bz6+CS0HPzKHWZ3Dx2Q9SEVIl2VQIF2DVlKISXCPJ9NbAS4Z+WTVePkhBTMcmGLeiOpDo3pDjQauzICm/JOacdN08WdFMJLIwSFHc+nuwBTKUBkEmmtyBOZoBg6UTr5JGsq8Qq7r4ZSXC6Q/H5Yct9cmO1w6RQOzea6+keeKOWcdtkfN+iTyxq6V6Hku74QfUeZ296iKjM6u9LEcstXupkIepLgzkcqU1t9NWJMR0Jilxwo3b8M/TaIidF5aBnuM76l8POyWYWYkDTrF3Vv2ltIIJ1I3dcwjZ3/cI8zTY5zXaRiovLntnTfuHG8UKNTvtmzZk8h8xXlqLsJ0HwyiUffl+Fci0YQ==

390
Dr. Matt  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:16:37am

re: #388 lawhawk

Trump doesn’t get how appropriations work. He thinks it’s all fungible.

It isn’t.

Narrator: It isn’t. Trump’s a dumbass who doesn’t know the way appropriations works.

He probably watched the movie Dave one too many times and thinks he take budgeted money and use for his pet project.

391
Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:17:12am

re: #389 dangerman

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

392
dangerman  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:18:49am

re: #386 FormerDirtDart 🍕🐀

Trump is privately pushing the US military to fund construction of his border wall, citing a “national security” risk

i think there’s a word for taking budgeted money from one line and using it for something else / on another line

393
lawhawk  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:19:17am
394
FormerDirtDart 🍕🐀  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:21:01am

re: #388 lawhawk

Trump doesn’t get how appropriations work. He thinks it’s all fungible.

It isn’t.

Narrator: It isn’t. Trump’s a dumbass who doesn’t know the way appropriations works.

You could possibly task some construction units to build the wall as “training”
But yeah, you can’t fund the material or outside contractors with Mil dollars

395
dangerman  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:27:54am

re: #391 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis

[Embedded content]

thanks loads

f0Mxxqo15qQqmRxPzCdujRC0kmDSxkKcJGvopr/zWJJnbnNaJFk2ChpUL0pCB6HwsfF/w/Jg2MIImkp4uCVfvM8UdIlZjTmdzOt3br2z7GOpBi2sjd2mxni6dIg7fY6WP1+dli9fe2mD2M4YL8ciDPbAEIris52dLmSlwETIYxU=

396
Dave In Austin  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:29:12am

OH!!! Oh!!! Oh!!!! (Waving Hand)

397
TedStriker  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:37:38am

re: #396 Dave In Austin

OH!!! Oh!!! Oh!!!! (Waving Hand)

[Embedded content]

Horshack Ooh Ooh

398
JordanRules  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:37:58am
399
TedStriker  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:38:33am

re: #398 JordanRules

[Embedded content]

Zuck, you’re still fucked…first with the CA skulduggery, then with the revelation that the Facebook app for Android has been scraping all sorts of user data for years.

400
wrenchwench  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:39:20am

Oops. I’m following the wrong one.

401
JordanRules  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:39:24am
402
wrenchwench  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:40:11am

And the right one.

403
ObserverArt  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:41:27am

re: #385 lawhawk

Trumpworld thinks that they can honor/recognize legacy of Linda Brown?

No. Just no.

[Embedded content]

Everything Trumpworld and the GOP have done over the past 30 years has been to wipe out all the hard fought gains that trailblazers like Brown, Parks, and countless other African Americans made to gain equality under the law and in practice.

When Trump equates Nazis with the people protesting Nazis, Pence and all the rest have zero standing to state anything. Every day Pence and the rest are in power not only dishonors the work done on civil rights, but the GOP are actively trying to dismantle the gains on voting and civil rights daily.

Every time I see an image from the Civil Rights era with a bunch of White folks making themselves look bad as they mock or laugh at a young Black student who is making history I wonder how they judge themselves now when they look at the image all these years later.

I hope some of them had a change of heart and look at the images in embarrassment. However, you know some of them remained bigots all their lives and look at the image with pride.

I don’t know if it was ever done, but it would make an interesting documentary to go back with the image to the people in the photo and find out how they turned out and what they think about it all today.

404
Hecuba's daughter  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:42:58am

re: #379 dangerman

My sister, two friends, and I were at the Chicago march — my sister and I are receiving Social Security and our friends have children in their twenties. There were people of all ages attending these marches nationwide, but the NRA and their acolytes are trying to disparage everyone who participated.

405
Belafon  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:43:04am

re: #401 JordanRules

I also don’t see how Trump really thinks it’s going to help. California can just tell everyone to fill it out and they will protect immigrants. Texas, Arizona, and other conservative states won’t, and so the immigrants will be underrepresented, and therefore lose funding and electoral influence.

406
dangerman  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:44:52am

re: #404 Hecuba’s daughter

My sister, two friends, and I were at the Chicago march — my sister and I are receiving Social Security and our friends have children in their twenties. There were people of all ages attending these marches nationwide, but the NRA and their acolytes are trying to disparage everyone who participated.

the nra is not handling this well
i’m all for it

407
ObserverArt  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:45:12am

re: #389 dangerman

Denver area lizards:

[Embedded content]

You would dish on other members behind our backs.

Note to self: Points off for Dangerman. : )

408
FormerDirtDart 🍕🐀  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:45:57am
409
dangerman  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:48:21am

re: #405 Belafon

I also don’t see how Trump really thinks it’s going to help. California can just tell everyone to fill it out and they will protect immigrants. Texas, Arizona, and other conservative states won’t, and so the immigrants will be underrepresented, and therefore lose funding and electoral influence.

im guessing that their thinking is not about how the question is answered

it’s that many wont respond / participate. that will drive down the count in blue areas.

410
dangerman  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:50:02am

re: #407 ObserverArt

You would dish on other members behind our backs.

Note to self: Points off for Dangerman. : )

we’ll livestream it

411
Jay C  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:50:26am

re: #405 Belafon

I also don’t see how Trump really thinks it’s going to help. California can just tell everyone to fill it out and they will protect immigrants. Texas, Arizona, and other conservative states won’t, and so the immigrants will be underrepresented, and therefore lose funding and electoral influence.

Of course it’s not going to “help” - ISTM the whole point of making “citizenship” a part of the next census has just a few aims:
1) as a sop to the “nativist” contingent in the GOP (i.e. racist bigots)
2) as a political cudgel to beat Democrats/liberals with (the old “open borders” canard)
3) letting Donald Trump, personally, look like the Great American Hero.

To me, no. 3) is the main point in any case: YMMV

412
Belafon  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:50:35am

re: #409 dangerman

im guessing that their thinking is not about how the question is answered

it’s that many wont respond / participate. that will drive down the count in blue areas.

Red states also have this problem, and blue states will be more likely to protect their immigrants.

I know, they’re not thinking it all the way through.

413
ObserverArt  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:51:41am

re: #408 FormerDirtDart 🍕🐀

[Embedded content]

I think for actual national security instead of building a wall to keep foreigners out, we should start running some people like Coulter and the Fox News folks out.

They don’t really like America anyway.

(No I am not totally serious…just a thought)

414
JordanRules  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:53:09am
415
dangerman  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:54:25am

re: #412 Belafon

Red states also have this problem, and blue states will be more likely to protect their immigrants.

I know, they’re not thinking it all the way through.

im just wildly speculating

since ICE is already known to be using facebook data, it’s not a stretch for folks to be worried they’d find a way to access census data too (assuming it wasnt just dropped in their laps)

416
Alephnaught  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:55:33am

re: #398 JordanRules

[Embedded content]

MPs in Westminster are not too pleased that Mr Zuckerberg refused to appear at their committee, especially after Christopher Wylie’s testimony today. Let’s see if he changes his mind on this too…

417
Colère Tueur de Lapin  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:56:43am

re: #247 wheat-dogg

The USA is still midway between modernity and antiquity in many respects.

The US is a regressive society. We still adhere to much of our puritan presbyterian forebears. We have subpopulation that is reactionary and that population has an out of proportion level of power in our society. None of these things are good from a 21st century perspective.

Gambling is (mostly) illegal, sexuality is repressed and considered to be “bad” or “dirty” by many, education is being pushed back in importance, etc. As I said, too many reactionaries.

418
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:58:39am

re: #417 Colère Tueur de Lapin

The US is a regressive society. We still adhere to much of our puritan presbyterian forebears. We have subpopulation that is reactionary and that population has an out of proportion level of power in our society. None of these things are good from a 21st century perspective.

Gambling is (mostly) illegal, sexuality is repressed and considered to be “bad” or “dirty” by many, education is being pushed back in importance, etc. As I said, too many reactionaries.

We have made a lot of gains in personal freedoms, women’s, minority and LGBT rights, but we have a sizable and influential segment of the population (and government) working hard to repeal them.

419
electrotek  Mar 27, 2018 • 10:59:53am

Did anyone hear about Pakistan’s first transgender news reporter? All this while Trump is undermining transgender rights by refusing them to protect this nation.

420
JordanRules  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:01:05am

re: #416 Alephnaught

MPs in Westminster are not too pleased that Mr Zuckerberg refused to appear at their committee, especially after Christopher Wylie’s testimony today. Let’s see if he changes his mind on this too…

I followed it after you posted it this morning. Lots of really interesting testimony. Zuck keeps ducking and it doesn’t look good.

421
Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:02:56am
422
Barefoot Grin  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:03:46am

Heard on NPR this morning:

“Mark Zuckerberg issued an apology in newspapers across the nation yesterday; do you think he is sincere in his apology?”

“Mr. Zuckerberg is someone who decides how he is supposed to feel and then feels that way.”

The tone was “yes, in the moment” but in context it was “it doesn’t matter because his business model is convincing advertisers that he can manipulate FB users using their data.”

423
Alephnaught  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:11:58am

re: #420 JordanRules

I followed it after you posted it this morning. Lots of really interesting testimony. Zuck keeps ducking and it doesn’t look good.

What’s interesting is that, as I noted earlier, Mr Wylie was asked if he had any legal threats since he blew his whistle, and he said the Facebook was top of the list, but more recently they suddenly quietened down a bit. And this was on the same day Mr Zuckerberg basically blew off appearing at the committee Mr Wylie was currently speaking to…

424
Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:12:29am

Some of Cambridge Analytica’s best work was done for them—by Politico (Kos)

Politico writes about politics. Politico also sells ads. There’s nothing wrong with that—the second activity helps fund the first, just as it does on Daily Kos. They also have the occasional editorial or piece written by someone with a deeply-held political position, including both candidates and those involved in campaigns. Again, this is both a common occurrence and a widely accepted practice.

But Politco is also one of those outlets where the staff engages in writing ads, including lengthy pieces written and packaged to look like journalism. And that’s an issue. Because it makes a big overlap in the Venn diagram of information that was advertised on Politico, and information that was written by Politico. It makes it very difficult to object if this material is held up as something “Poltico says …”

425
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:13:09am

re: #389 dangerman

Denver area lizards:

[Embedded content]

SwlPeIDUueaa3JvzqaUmKdt6sfQoX5UnJ7DCyMyLUb44/Q/WR/EYuP/hEmbALiQTRuebnlVqjFVe6H/3jcL7nliAEWZKImXlUUc1GXlEIvV4V8d66yHpd7B6tnx9kGwvOkbEhaxq0mlaKDx0GQ1pLpGKN/AH7KSepu99ftcBb0GaF0stj4jybLbV4hodT1sRta8uTZsBzd8EU9Zi2GUl1pDaUHkv54RtoWU4GsidsTiWX+TRDV1J+PfVY/RKmCYnm6FWoevZhBOaKO262AXakug2jQLY78WDXHkeft3qClPHI1hsN26AcdPq7DnGigeB

426
FormerDirtDart 🍕🐀  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:13:37am
427
ObserverArt  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:14:55am

re: #422 Barefoot Grin

Heard on NPR this morning:

“Mark Zuckerberg issued an apology in newspapers across the nation yesterday; do you think he is sincere in his apology?”

“Mr. Zuckerberg is someone who decides how he is supposed to feel and then feels that way.”

The tone was “yes, in the moment” but in context it was “it doesn’t matter because his business model is convincing advertisers that he can manipulate FB users using their data.”

As more and more info comes out about Facebook, it sure is looking the original intent to set up a great way to socialize was never a part of its design.

It’s been a database that has gotten all of it’s data under false pretense and willing to sell it to whoever pays for it and not a dime goes to the people that gave them their data.

Zuckerberg is a cold-hearted bullshitter and he used everyone to become filthy rich.

I don’t see that as sociable at all.

428
lawhawk  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:16:20am

Honest Trailer of Last Jedi:

Honest Trailers - Star Wars: The Last Jedi

429
sagehen  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:16:58am

re: #286 makeitstop

Josh Marshall gets an email from a reader (presumably a lawyer) who offers up a big reason why no lawyers will take him on (emphasis mine).

Beyoncé - Run the World (Girls)

430
Anymouse 🌹  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:18:13am

re: #427 ObserverArt

As more and more info comes out about Facebook, it sure is looking the original intent to set up a great way to socialize was never a part of its design.

It’s been a database that has gotten all of it’s data under false pretense and willing to sell it to whoever pays for it and not a dime goes to the people that gave them their data.

Zuckerberg is a cold-hearted bullshitter and he used everyone to become filthy rich.

I don’t see that as sociable at all.

Am I the only person in the country not on Facebook (well, most of the people in my town aren’t on it either)?

431
Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:20:35am

re: #427 ObserverArt

As more and more info comes out about Facebook, it sure is looking the original intent to set up a great way to socialize was never a part of its design.

It’s been a database that has gotten all of it’s data under false pretense and willing to sell it to whoever pays for it and not a dime goes to the people that gave them their data.

Zuckerberg is a cold-hearted bullshitter and he used everyone to become filthy rich.

I don’t see that as sociable at all.

Of course that was never part of the design. Zuck realized in school that he could get people to give him their data so he could sell it. It’s for profit, and the users are not the customer, and never were.

If people want a great way to socialize, they should try getting together and talking. It’s very unlikely that a non-profit Facebook is going to come along, and most people will not pay to socialize online.

432
Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:22:55am

re: #430 Anymouse 🌹

Am I the only person in the country not on Facebook (well, most of the people in my town aren’t on it either)?

You live in the land time forgot. Even my relatives in their 70s are on Facebook.

433
Belafon  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:23:49am

re: #427 ObserverArt

As more and more info comes out about Facebook, it sure is looking the original intent to set up a great way to socialize was never a part of its design.

It’s been a database that has gotten all of it’s data under false pretense and willing to sell it to whoever pays for it and not a dime goes to the people that gave them their data.

Zuckerberg is a cold-hearted bullshitter and he used everyone to become filthy rich.

I don’t see that as sociable at all.

So, in other words, the Social Network was a documentary.

434
DodgerFan1988  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:24:55am

“Moderate” Romney

435
HappyWarrior  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:25:39am

re: #432 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis

You live in the land time forgot. Even my relatives in their 70s are on Facebook.

My grandmother’s 88 year old cousin is too heh.

436
ObserverArt  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:25:55am

re: #430 Anymouse 🌹

Am I the only person in the country not on Facebook (well, most of the people in my town aren’t on it either)?

No you are not.

I had an account for less than one year forced by the manager of the company I worked for. It was going to lead to more business I was told. I was against it from the get-go. He was fired later in the year and the day after he left the company I killed my account.

Then the owner said kill it all…and then he shut down the businesses the following summer. He was done with the write-offs. We had bigger issues than not using social media.

Now that I know more about how Facebook works I am so glad I never used the account to list anything personal about me. I set it up as an anonymous account with the basic info needed to open the account. That was back in 2011. I had it for 7 months.

I do remember it was sort of difficult to really kill it. Now I know why. They needed the numbers…I was just another datapoint. How nice.

437
HappyWarrior  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:25:59am

re: #434 DodgerFan1988

“Moderate” Romney

[Embedded content]

Yeah? Well fuck you too Mitt.

438
Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:28:25am
439
ObserverArt  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:30:06am

re: #431 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis

Of course that was never part of the design. Zuck realized in school that he could get people to give him their data so he could sell it. It’s for profit, and the users are not the customer, and never were.

If people want a great way to socialize, they should try getting together and talking. It’s very unlikely that a non-profit Facebook is going to come along, and most people will not pay to socialize online.

I should have written that to make a better point of “it was sold to users as being designed for everyone to socialize.” I wasn’t too clear on that.

I agree Zuck had his eyes on the data and all the ways he could monetize it from the get-go.

I wonder how many users are even aware of what has been revealed. I guess there are more and more people dropping out. I wonder how much it has really hurt their figures of new accounts being created.

440
dangerman  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:30:45am

re: #425 Anymouse 🌹

[Embedded content]

rbWSXHCdP8n7U2ZO7Nkn+7M4+fnQO848sXgKAzYSDyM=

441
ObserverArt  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:31:04am

re: #433 Belafon

So, in other words, the Social Network was a documentary.

I didn’t see the movie. I’ll have to check it out. What was its main message?

442
KGxvi  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:31:51am

re: #441 ObserverArt

I didn’t see the movie. I’ll have to check it out. What was its main message?

It’s main message was that Silicon Valley is full of terrible people.

443
dangerman  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:32:25am

re: #430 Anymouse 🌹

Am I the only person in the country not on Facebook (well, most of the people in my town aren’t on it either)?

no

444
KGxvi  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:34:30am

re: #434 DodgerFan1988

“Moderate” Romney

[Embedded content]

Says the son of a natural born citizen who wasn’t born in the United States.

445
HappyWarrior  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:36:50am

Your daily reminder that Mitt Romney hired Kris Kobach before Trump did and courted Trump’s support when Trump was full birther. Fuck Mitt and the idea he’s going to save the GOP.

446
ObserverArt  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:36:56am

re: #434 DodgerFan1988

“Moderate” Romney

[Embedded content]

How Christian of Mitts. Trump has allowed him to demonstrate how much an ass he is and how low he will go.

All that BS he threw out about Trump being “a phony, a fraud” was just like Trump. He was talking about himself too.

447
HappyWarrior  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:37:27am

re: #444 KGxvi

Says the son of a natural born citizen who wasn’t born in the United States.

Who was able to run for President. It’s always the most pathetic seeing guys like him and Cruz espouse this shit.

448
lawhawk  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:37:28am

re: #441 ObserverArt

I didn’t see the movie. I’ll have to check it out. What was its main message?

There are lots of really smart people who are misanthropes and incapable of having normal social interactions. Many of them are now billionaires because they capitalize on fact that they think they’re the smartest in the room and don’t care about the morality or ethics or consequences of their decisions.

Oh, and that Mark Zuckerberg is an asshole who screwed over people who were his friends, including his then girlfriend, his best friend Saverin, and anyone else he could think of.

449
Citizen K  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:38:48am

Again, the fact that this is actually becoming a major thing for the wingnuts is both sad and concerning.

450
ObserverArt  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:39:45am

re: #448 lawhawk

There are lots of really smart people who are misanthropes and incapable of having normal social interactions. Many of them are now billionaires because they capitalize on fact that they think they’re the smartest in the room and don’t care about the morality or ethics or consequences of their decisions.

Oh, and that Mark Zuckerberg is an asshole who screwed over people who were his friends, including his then girlfriend, his best friend Saverin, and anyone else he could think of.

Now I am going to have to dig it up to watch it.

451
HappyWarrior  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:40:06am

re: #449 Citizen K

[Embedded content]

Again, the fact that this is actually becoming a major thing for the wingnuts is both sad and concerning.

They think it’s heresy to even consider modifying the second but they think nothing of modifying the 14th or repealing the federal income tax one. Or this too. Fucking cowards are scared.

452
MsJ  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:40:19am

Hq27Ny13BWa42Oi7vyhJDWj5oIg/aQ8yTgzr6khoF8W0AF4OkQOZ5Fq04GXwjXcl

453
Belafon  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:40:20am

re: #448 lawhawk

There are lots of really smart people who are misanthropes and incapable of having normal social interactions. Many of them are now billionaires because they capitalize on fact that they think they’re the smartest in the room and don’t care about the morality or ethics or consequences of their decisions.

Oh, and that Mark Zuckerberg is an asshole who screwed over people who were his friends, including his then girlfriend, his best friend Saverin, and anyone else he could think of.

In a universe of people who think that they can save the world solely with their next big thing, Zuckerberg still manages to be the biggest asshole.

454
Skip Intro  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:40:27am

re: #434 DodgerFan1988

“Moderate” Romney

[Embedded content]

And Romney’s sons are every bit as vile as Trump’s sons are. Willard thinks he’s got another chance to be Pres in 2020 by out assholing Trump.

455
HappyWarrior  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:40:49am

re: #450 ObserverArt

Now I am going to have to dig it up to watch it.

You should. My parents both enjoyed it even though they had no FB accounts at the time. It was quite interesting for me to watch because I got on FB quite early as I started college in 2005.

456
sagehen  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:41:20am

re: #427 ObserverArt

As more and more info comes out about Facebook, it sure is looking the original intent to set up a great way to socialize was never a part of its design.

It’s been a database that has gotten all of it’s data under false pretense and willing to sell it to whoever pays for it and not a dime goes to the people that gave them their data.

Zuckerberg is a cold-hearted bullshitter and he used everyone to become filthy rich.

I don’t see that as sociable at all.

When Zuck was teasing a possible potential presidential run for himself… it’s because he already knew absolutely for sure (even while denying it publicly) that Facebook and its data could and would manipulate users for election purposes.

457
HappyWarrior  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:41:52am

re: #454 Skip Intro

And Romney’s sons are every bit as vile as Trump’s sons are. Willard thinks he’s got another chance to be Pres in 2020 by out assholing Trump.

If you ask me, I think that’s the only reason he denounced Trump. He thought Trump would lose and he’d use 2020 as a comeback. And yeah the sons are pieces of work too. I am glad Mitt is talking this way though lest we forget what a jerk he is. Not we here but the public at large.

458
ObserverArt  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:44:01am

re: #455 HappyWarrior

You should. My parents both enjoyed it even though they had no FB accounts at the time. It was quite interesting for me to watch because I got on FB quite early as I started college in 2005.

Many of my friends have accounts and wanted me to join. They give me shit when I mentioned I thought it was evil. I figured out pretty early that it was a huge database on people and their lives. That creeped me out. I just didn’t think it out far enough that it could be used like it has been used.

459
KGxvi  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:44:25am

re: #449 Citizen K

[Embedded content]

Again, the fact that this is actually becoming a major thing for the wingnuts is both sad and concerning.

They also wanted to repeal the 17th Amendment because, reasons.

460
ObserverArt  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:44:35am

re: #456 sagehen

When Zuck was teasing a possible potential presidential run for himself… it’s because he already knew absolutely for sure (even while denying it publicly) that Facebook and its data could and would manipulate users for election purposes.

Sure is clearer now isn’t it?

461
HappyWarrior  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:44:54am

re: #458 ObserverArt

Many of my friends have accounts and wanted me to join. They give me shit when I mentioned I thought it was evil. I figured out pretty early that it was a huge database on people and their lives. That creeped me out. I just didn’t think it out far enough that it could be used like it has been used.

Understand completely. I keep my account as my way of staying in touch with family and for my personal soap box.

462
Hecuba's daughter  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:45:46am

re: #448 lawhawk

There are lots of really smart people who are misanthropes and incapable of having normal social interactions. Many of them are now billionaires because they capitalize on fact that they think they’re the smartest in the room and don’t care about the morality or ethics or consequences of their decisions.

Oh, and that Mark Zuckerberg is an asshole who screwed over people who were his friends, including his then girlfriend, his best friend Saverin, and anyone else he could think of.

Think of Mark Zuckerberg as someone with the ethics of Trump, but without the racism or misogyny; with at least 75 more IQ points and a lot of real wealth, but with the same contempt for the American public and democracy.

463
HappyWarrior  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:46:41am

re: #459 KGxvi

They also wanted to repeal the 17th Amendment because, reasons.

I was shocked when I found out that was a fairly common view in conservative circles. Granted I didn’t know about the 17th for a long time and just assumed Senators were always directly elected. The attempts to repeal the 17th are purely cynical and rooted in their gerrymandered control of the state legislatures. State legislatures electing Senators may have been understandable prior to political parties and the mass polarization we have but not now, it would just be party line.

464
Citizen K  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:47:14am

re: #451 HappyWarrior

They think it’s heresy to even consider modifying the second but they think nothing of modifying the 14th or repealing the federal income tax one. Or this too. Fucking cowards are scared.

Sadly they’re cowards that still all but own the narrative with ridiculous ease Which means we ‘ll probably see this floated as a ‘serious’ mainstream idea before we ever actually get to even minimal gun control.

465
lawhawk  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:47:38am

re: #450 ObserverArt

Oh, and it’s got a killer soundtrack from NIN founder Trent Reznor (won an Academy Award for it too).

466
KGxvi  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:47:47am

re: #461 HappyWarrior

Understand completely. I keep my account as my way of staying in touch with family and for my personal soap box.

I keep it because a lot of apps that require log ins and/or accounts will let you bypass that with a facebook account.

467
HappyWarrior  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:48:01am

re: #464 Citizen K

Sadly they’re cowards that still all but own the narrative with ridiculous ease Which means we ‘ll probably see this floated as a ‘serious’ mainstream idea before we ever actually get to even minimal gun control.

Yep.

468
HappyWarrior  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:48:37am

re: #466 KGxvi

I keep it because a lot of apps that require log ins and/or accounts will let you bypass that with a facebook account.

That too and it really helps with my genealogy research. My Slovene cousin found me on FB and we talk semi regularly.

469
ObserverArt  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:49:01am

re: #466 KGxvi

I keep it because a lot of apps that require log ins and/or accounts will let you bypass that with a facebook account.

Ahhh…so they can find out where else you go online and comment, etc.

Even bigger database. Mark thanks you! : )

470
Eventual Carrion  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:50:28am

re: #469 ObserverArt

Ahhh…so they can find out where else you go online and comment, etc.

Even bigger database. Mark thanks you! : )

And if you use the phone app, who you call and how long you talk to them.

471
dangerman  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:51:15am

re: #451 HappyWarrior

They think it’s heresy to even consider modifying the second but they think nothing of modifying the 14th or repealing the federal income tax one. Or this too. Fucking cowards are scared.

and ignorant

472
ObserverArt  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:52:21am

re: #468 HappyWarrior

That too and it really helps with my genealogy research. My Slovene cousin found me on FB and we talk semi regularly.

So now Facebook knows your whole family history and geneology.

Mark thank you too!

Just having fun Happy and thinking of all the ways they track everything by just using your login and password. That means they are even more thorough than I would have thought. They fact they were also taking people data through phone apps really made me think how a simple click on something digital means more than you think.

It’s chilling. Damn.

Edit: Strange goings on. I quoted myself to make an edit, made the edit to “genealogy” to the quote and then realized I made a quote…duh. Now genealogy shows in the editing window but not the original post above though I see it before I post. Weird.

473
ObserverArt  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:52:46am

Opps…double post

474
HappyWarrior  Mar 27, 2018 • 11:56:51am

re: #472 ObserverArt

So now Facebook knows your whole family history and geneology.

Mark thank you too!

Just having fun Happy and thinking of all the ways they track everything by just using your login and password. That means they are even more thorough than I would have thought. They fact they were also taking people data through phone apps really made me think how a simple click on something digital means more than you think.

It’s chilling. Damn.

I hear ya. I’m just used to this kind of tech after using it for so long. I don’t knock anyone who doesn’t use it.

475
Dr. Matt  Mar 27, 2018 • 12:17:43pm

re: #434 DodgerFan1988

“Moderate” Romney

Mittens looking for a job in the Trump Regime again?

476
CleverToad  Mar 27, 2018 • 1:41:32pm

re: #389 dangerman

njqo0+6fg3XINuSCCS5+kuh4mgP2QqdlPKV3KTsj8r2pM6IjL4mCve5euHbGa091ftV/3Dy7bwrzNRk7H/zh6OKvWMhFD7G3S0DdUfHuVAKxlXbOkTtF0CTf4RBzrPepBN4ps2cThgUp3yK6tpLmZBShzZmQWN0y6rHzg8V7FJ8UumU3b1ykI1hwgJl2MT40ln9IsFRJIz/Yyygi8UQuIxmYz6DlgKV9gC7SzmaA97QrldHV5nDsG6hnbEh7+bQNRkpO7w2duPqIHiH3Rb4OyNSYsSdS+LuV1H+eiMqBxEhJ6FHhTEwDRl7/yVgWg97oTFW6VTinWioFXUImVQfDn5R8cI3tZAeqaQ9/mdbzJ1C6fXOgAawq+A==

477
The Major  Mar 27, 2018 • 3:29:01pm

re: #307 Belafon

It won’t be too long until cars are required to have automatic braking and lane correction.

That kind of automation will become standard equipment by 2022. Having it 100% automated? Sometimes my EyeSight-equipped Forester, even when turned on, doesn’t see the car head.

478
Sea Mexican!  Mar 27, 2018 • 4:43:49pm

re: #452 MsJ

[Embedded content]

gUzlGn8Wmlednd5goCKrUK1b/shDio4psmhu4aLfHCMo2lcSZkCWDDTxiDmxzKQfGfXiKrQ4dJ539vYeA5WDpHhu0oGxN9vY1KJPtNf0+/l+kHRY7s8c8c+tGewqHSKQERX5WNZpkutvuAiPQ8dnV+wyfT0HDg2cVIZxtb+8qjxYQMLE7X70VBeWVF8Wq8ihPfMkiTdGyzip0KyFJaLAkxODkXCcnJW/1VNckZ8KvDI1B//yrXuckrQu//JavfzMYjopbdcYS44YIRh1S7wAN1irx8/lkPQWnQxrKQ4E1imt7NwRBgnAgvsRfbPwrmsNwnSEKB8cTeU3xSdMm/ftDCxjYwXRo67uAKaUhVttC5tRCO6dqd2e1iBhsrACx6UCnaW3B5sPIHAy9edXjpNqpZAkRFHTUizDLc++jMAHnFUa2bdPkCNY8pOMV6xlIXNDM+A2IxxQbNeB5PL6NuW9bzimsrHds2JYJuFzN3NVq0MvCs4npw+XqTaVdl/etUb9NkKaJNbMccVdNenYerY1gN8zQJd0hBB9aTh29zuLXk5Wygzn1XUZOIkGL3Og6UCMj/tknmcoUcuGMyzPLMsit6HuI1ybkVbR0fHfXw0P6xYiBFzW0XfOCi7yPMb/NjvSTMpXQKlGWtINlrS6p/UvGGTEDXNzST1yUPJJBl9xWktXGJlykNbE5YpNwwJYHBx+4uKBwT0vuy9HlD1aZIFsn900jCde88FZG3xPlsMlR5NPQJQ1EuV9VttbJLJ61lYIr/KR1qLl3Wx+85X5P5s4pwJPX7rOsYOWjfHCUwPi9bzLYjbRFVo+xeBqmS/5NA5Vy4WHly672LpbO81AK5sGv9DC98sPwBDnC+XIFeTazZe1mZgvL8fL2gB3Oi1uI3Kz+pz9PDw7ZkQQKZd0B61B25f7VF51H5w37du83gnIKEYo5LLa31tn7lrXONGpEyaPpNkijexyIwDaBvD3iYeTUMXVhEKl5azrO/2M23XWU+IuwWtVjlQTGUWrlXk2s3Tuq5LfOPo20qDTJ4XKmfg0GhPU/h4lV1+XXi7zRIO8UeK2gAkgCuu5WgbUMD/zJDGbDAz7ShtJOU//3+Kc7SMxFt+DhE2DNJaw4vx/oISXQsBeSdHGNIFeCy/xGmg3CqYSKeAwLkx8Qp9ayq/w2rHpHJo0xQfBU9mjj/ZeYD+MihDYwvm6N0XuMRUxCREmkrh4Up3QbrIV2Q8Xlq6w7fdgynxIeBZkI89W//bfRqRpx5f2LAnPd9mpn/i8Vr2MFr2V


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The Pandemic Cost 7 Million Lives, but Talks to Prevent a Repeat Stall In late 2021, as the world reeled from the arrival of the highly contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus, representatives of almost 200 countries met - some online, some in-person in Geneva - hoping to forestall a future worldwide ...
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