The Refuge of the Toads

[Kirbmarc]

Thibeault sightings are rare enough I was tickled to get a screencap from the Kickstarter video.

http://imgur.com/ItoLEVy.jpg

<snip>

Is the first a real Lousy quote? Because that's the most blatant example of the Slippery Slope fallacy I've ever seen out of the Atheism Plus forum.

The SJWs are exactly like the fundamentalist Christians who think that when you mock them or don't say "Merry Christmas" or don't allow them to have state sponsored prayers you're "oppressing" them.

[Brive1987]

New theory.

The Orbit is intentionally a design vomitorium as a pity play for the "help us get started" ebeg.

There is no way. No fucking way at all, that any template could be that bad. I call bullshit.

Can anyone really see Greta or Alex, let alone Gen X Miri or Heina firing up their browser, seeing the 'great leap forward' and not crawling back to PZ?

[Scented Nectar]

Where's Scented Nectar when we really need her? ;-)

Seems you need to put everything after the equals sign in the YouTube brackets. Comme ca:
[.youtube]-dY77j6uBHI[/youtube]

And there is the Preview, you know, although there are variations.

But another YouTube video of her that might be relevant - an oldie but a goldie:
[.youtube]Prls6Iz3B3E[/youtube]

Quickie:
Just put the video's 11 character code in the youtube tags. It's a combo of characters that use only letters, numbers, and dashes (both - and _), and it's found in the video's url. It might be surrounded by other characters like ='s and &'s, so find the 11 character string in the url. Sometimes it's at the very end, and other times it's in the middle somewhere.

The quoted youtube tags above have been disabled by adding a period in the tags, so the 11 character strings show.

[Ape+lust]

Thibeault sightings are rare enough I was tickled to get a screencap from the Kickstarter video.

http://imgur.com/ItoLEVy.jpg

<snip>

Is the first a real Lousy quote? Because that's the most blatant example of the Slippery Slope fallacy I've ever seen out of the Atheism Plus forum.

The SJWs are exactly like the fundamentalist Christians who think that when you mock them or don't say "Merry Christmas" or don't allow them to have state sponsored prayers you're "oppressing" them.

Yup! Jason's a gumball dispenser of deepities.

http://imgur.com/KED7r7h.png

[InfraRedBucket]

Also noticed this at the bottom of every page.
As always Myers and FTB keeping up with the times....

http://i.imgur.com/Ge32w9q.jpg

To be fair, showing current-year takes some mad php coding skills.

Well, a bit of copy and paste (there are plugins and instructions elsewhere that can help)
A pity then, their web guru has taken himself off to the Orb.

[x_?_x]

Where's Scented Nectar when we really need her? ;-)

Seems you need to put everything after the equals sign in the YouTube brackets. Comme ca:
[youtube]-dY77j6uBHI[/youtube]

And there is the Preview, you know, although there are variations.

I used preview.

Sometimes it takes the video a few moments to come up on screen; I guess I just pulled the trigger prematurely.

[MarcusAu]

Is there any human activity that does not lead inevitably to death?

[VickyCaramel]

"anybody of water"?

I have identified as a body of water since being diagnosed with water retention. My pronouns are splish, splash, splosh.
You know you have spent too much time on Tumblr when you read "anybody of water" and it doesn't occur to you that it's a typo.

I hate to tell you this, I think you might be a dike. I think it might be best to stay away little dutch boys.

I can deal the the Dutch boys, it's the Italian men that are very persistent in there belief that they have the equipment for fixing dykes.

[HunnyBunny]

DID THE LIZARD BITE YOUR NIPPLES? IT’S VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU TELL ME THIS, SENSUOUS STRANGER. WE BARELY SHUT THE BLAST DOORS BEHIND US IN TIME TO KEEP THE SWARM OUTSIDE AND GET TIME TO BREATHE AGAIN, AND I NEED TO KNOW IF WE HAVE A LUCILICIOUS BREACH. THERE ARE QUARANTINE PROCEDURES. SENSUOUS QUARANTINE PROCEDURES. THERE’S A SENSUOUS MITER SAW INVOLVED.


I WANNA KISS THOSE LUCILICIOUS LIPS OF YOURS, BUT I NEED TO KNOW FIRST: DID THE LIZARD BITE YOUR NIPPLES? THERE’S ONLY A SHORT TIME BEFORE THAT ANSWER WILL DECIDE ALL OF OUR FATES. THIS IS THE LAST HOLDOUT, THE ONE PLACE THE SWARM HASN’T FOUND YET AND MADE INTO ITS OWN. IF THE SWARM ERUPTS HERE, THIS HAS ALL BEEN FOR SENSUOUS, SENSUOUS NAUGHT. WE SHALL BECOME AS ONE WITH THE REPTILIAN CONSCIOUSNESS AND EMERGE FORTHWITH TO LAY LUCILICIOUS SWARM EGGS ACROSS THE LANDSCAPE. SO I ASK WITH SENSUOUS URGENCY: DID THE LIZARD BITE YOUR NIPPLES?

:?

https://web.archive.org/web/20160315103 ... uarantine/

[deLurch]

My sources are probably the same and/or similar to yours. If I had the kind of proof that I suspect we both want to see you would have seen it by now. Hence my use of the weasel words "I am under the impression"

And that is the rub. Ever since Hillary became a possible candidate for President, the Republicans have been gunning for her. Trying to smear her with everything they can. Benghazi. Benghazi. Benghazi.

Did she and Bill cash in post Presidency? You bet your Kodiak bear they did with speaking fees aplenty.

But did they sell out the US citizens to corporate interests while as senator & president? I have yet to see the proof.

I see spin, but no substance.

[VickyCaramel]

Also noticed this at the bottom of every page.
As always Myers and FTB keeping up with the times....

http://i.imgur.com/Ge32w9q.jpg

To be fair, showing current-year takes some mad php coding skills.

Well, a bit of copy and paste (there are plugins and instructions elsewhere that can help)
A pity then, their web guru has taken himself off to the Orb.

Code: Select all

<?php echo date('y'); ?>

...they feel qualified to blog about science, tech and internet culture but maybe they feel that code is a tool of the patriarchy?

[Ape+lust]

The new Star Wars woke up Mr Plinkett. Yay :D

[youtube]4sU7bsDhgxU[/youtube]

[InfraRedBucket]

Code: Select all

<?php echo date('y'); ?>

...they feel qualified to blog about science, tech and internet culture but maybe they feel that code is a tool of the patriarchy?

That particular bit of code goes back a long way. No wonder they don't want to be reminded of it.

In Greek mythology, a mountain nymph condemned to speak only in echoes because her chattering distracted the goddess Hera from the infidelity...
Echo. The Macmillan Encyclopedia. In Greek legend, a nymph deprived of speech by Hera and able to repeat only the final words of others.

[Kirbmarc]

On the Atheism Plus forum pretty much everyone believed that using "stupid" as an insult inevitably leads to the justification of the murder of "neuroatypical" individuals and from then to eugenics and probably more.

Lousy's argument is that this happens for every "microaggression". If you satirize feminists, or if you tell Anita Sarkeesian that she's a liar and she sucks, you're supporting rapists. If you mock Black Live Matters or the Mizzou protesters for being stupid and self-interested about their activism, you probably want slavery back. If you argue that Islam needs to reform and adapt to liberal democracy you're a genocidal racist.

But this is only true if you're "punching down". If you're "punching up" you can say that GamerGate supporters need to be tossed into a lager, argue for male gendercide, mock everything about the people you dislike, and you're still on the side of the angels. You can also create slurs for the members of the "oppressed groups" which you don't like ("Uncle Tom" "Aunt Mary" "gender traitor" "native informant") without worrying about the effects of those "microagressions".

If you politely point out this contradiction, you're a "demented fuckwit" and a "sea lion".

Ultimately "microaggressions" are only a good excuse to silence your critics, while you're allowed to do and say whatever you want because of your "oppressed identity" or because you're an "ally".

Of course if you're in need of oppression points you can always invent a new oppressed identity. If you're a white cis hetero male you can claim you're polyamorous if you like to fuck around, or demisexual if you don't.

[Kirbmarc]

Code: Select all

<?php echo date('y'); ?>

...they feel qualified to blog about science, tech and internet culture but maybe they feel that code is a tool of the patriarchy?

That particular bit of code goes back a long way. No wonder they don't want to be reminded of it.

In Greek mythology, a mountain nymph condemned to speak only in echoes because her chattering distracted the goddess Hera from the infidelity...
Echo. The Macmillan Encyclopedia. In Greek legend, a nymph deprived of speech by Hera and able to repeat only the final words of others.

Zeus was polyamorous.

[Brive1987]

.
Farewell List

Anyone want to do a table listing who thanked FtB and who thanked PZ?

Ashley Miller
http://archive.is/n4m4H

Szvan
http://archive.is/Esebr

Biodork
http://archive.is/giLEL

Miri
https://archive.is/TDa0L

Aoife
https://archive.is/ebGah

Dana Hunter
https://archive.is/WibHL

Alex
No post

Greta
https://archive.is/rQD5Y

Heina
https://archive.is/CpJ0x

Zinnia
https://archive.is/XY8HE

[Shatterface]

Thibeault sightings are rare enough I was tickled to get a screencap from the Kickstarter video.

http://imgur.com/ItoLEVy.jpg

<snip>

Is the first a real Lousy quote? Because that's the most blatant example of the Slippery Slope fallacy I've ever seen out of the Atheism Plus forum.

The SJWs are exactly like the fundamentalist Christians who think that when you mock them or don't say "Merry Christmas" or don't allow them to have state sponsored prayers you're "oppressing" them.

Yup! Jason's a gumball dispenser of deepities.

http://imgur.com/KED7r7h.png

Microaggressions lead to violence: fuck microagressors into the ground with a rusty porcupine.

[Scented Nectar]

http://i.imgur.com/68zoAmd.jpg

You just made Amy cry. :cry:

"It's My TAM Meet & I'll Cry If I Want To "
[youtube]6C8zfDrSMiE[/youtube]

[feathers]

Niki seems likes a total shitstain. The Orbit is off to a flying start.

Oh, and here's the archive link to Niki's cuntishness. Why give these morons unnecessary clicks?

https://archive.is/osESJ

That is fantastic, it encapsulates in one single post everything that's wrong with the, err, SJW movement.
"I know everything, I can't hear you fuckface, lalalalala".

[feathers]

So what proportion of The Orbs is trans? 50%?

I'm beginning to thinks, Dori Mooneyham says:

I’m a trans lesbian psych student

I think that's about 7 so far if my count is right.

They should have called it The Transition. Or "In Transit".



Or The Transition Camp.

[feathers]

How did 0.05% (or whatever) of the population get to dominate the entire discourse on gender in less than two years?

Not just the discourse on gender, but just about any forum- including open source programming.

[feathers]

She's gonna bring some porn to FTB. Anything for those much needed clicks, I guess.

It's easy to read 'much needed dicks' there if you do your own faux kerning.

[Snapfingers]

OK, so I read the orbit today. The graphics and layout is like something from 1997. But I did learn a few things: it's not called "trigger warnings" anymore. Because noone knows what can trigger someone else. It could be extra crispy bacon.
https://thenib.com/trigger-warning-brea ... .1vfn181zb
So from now on use content notices, when writing about potentially difficult topics. OK?

Also Zinnia is a mom. :character-kermit:

[Hunt]

Myers demonstrating his outstanding technical web skills:

Benson seems particularly concerned that her blog remains at FTB. I sense an imminent re-camping.

To me it seems quite obvious that The Orbit is the direct result of the Benson kerfluffle. Zvan even made a point of uttering the litmus test mantra "transwomen are women" in the video intro using her saccharine sweet little voice. At the time Myers recited the right words but in his usual habit, waited until the precise moment it sounded least sincere. Nobody believes him for a moment. So, actually, it's right that Ophelia and PZ kiss and make up. They're two peas in a pod.

[feathers]

I'm seeing problems already with one of the new FTB bloggers. Kristjan Wagner, on the Pro-Sience blog says:

Wager, not Wagner. As in Pascal's.

[Dave]

PZ Myers

14 March 2016 at 12:02 pm

There is no hurry, he says after scrambling to add 13 blogs just this morning (with a few more pending).

See how popular we are??? This exodus from us to the Orbit is NUTTIN! NUTTIN I tells ya!

PZ Myers

14 March 2016 at 12:21 pm

Yes…but then what happened is a legion of applicants descended on us, and we had to put together criteria to rank them, and we had this swarm of people who already had a track record. We are also bringing in a few of those inexperienced people at a time in a group blog (in case you were wondering what that “New Frontier” thing was about) to get experience, but we didn’t want to have a group blog of 10 people in which all the voices would get lost in the cacophony.

I’m serious when I say people should apply again in the next round. This time we had novelty driving an almost totally indigestible mass of applications. Next time I’m hoping it will be more manageable.

Probably won't have to hurry so much next time, eh Peez. :lol:

Ye gods, what a clusterfuck it all is.

This is what a professional, tenured scientistteacher at a cow-college spends his waking hours doing. Stupid fucking blag shit. And bragging about it.

Fixed it for you.

To be a scientist, one must do science. That train left PZ at the station 15+ years ago.

[feathers]

Absolutely insane. How long before some POC homo disses a transexual and gets defended by a polygendered two-spirit brony, leading to a flamewar between fourth generation dildosexuals and a splinter group of cisamorous disabled carpet munchers?

Yes, thank you Mr H2O, that'll do for the moment!

*wipes coffee from screen*

[Dave]

President Trump wouldn't mean the end of the republic, who knows, he might actually do some good.

I suspect that Trump might actually be good for the USA. I am under the impression he would:

1. Scale back the military, which implies pulling out of all/most of the foreign adventures & regime changes.
2. Reverse job losses from H1B visas, and send illegals home.
3. Restructure international trade.

Who knows, he might even tackle your crumbling infrastructure as well.

Im really curious, what gives you that impression?

1 - His obsession with anyone who self-touts their abilities is tailor-made for supporting the Military-Industrial complex.

2 - While his rhetoric says one thing, his business practices say another. As a large proponent of the phrase, "actions speak louder than words" Im inclined to believe his actions over his rhetoric.

3 - Here, you might have a point based on his actual experience (as well as self-promotion) as a negotiator. However, International trade deals are a much different process than business deals, the latter of which often have a much greater face-to-face component, the former are almost completely negotiated via proxies.

On your last point, I have seen nothing to indicate he is even aware of the issue. Is this anything but wishful thinking?

[d4m10n]

Looking forward to some Minnesota rage-blogging on this topic

[Dave]

If I thought for a second they'd actually honor their promises I'd put down the full 100 for the banner ad myself.

Go for it. If they don't let you it would be fraud.

http://i.imgur.com/R1pk9UH.jpg

They have to throw up a banner ad (that they approve of) for two weeks and you get to choose the time and placement.

It would be worth it just so you can start out way past where they are comfortable and slowly move it down until they are.

"Subject to network approval."

[feathers]

http://i.imgur.com/pCWDCLu.jpg

I love you

So, so good. To repeat for the thousandth time: just compare our Shoopers' skills and sense of humor with the SJWs'. It's like Seinfeld versus a live feed from a webcam inside a ping pong ball.

PS, just spotted the Surlyramics. Always something new to see with our Shoopers.

I also note that just the 'T' of FTB is still readable. T for TreeFrogBlogs (you know, those tiny lethally toxic ones).

[Kirbmarc]

.
Farewell List

Anyone want to do a table listing who thanked FtB and who thanked PZ?

<snip>

Alex
No post

<snip>

Why doesn't this surprise me at all?

[paddybrown]

http://imgur.com/KED7r7h.png

Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate... leads to suffering...*

*(I'm at work, or I'd look the actual clip up on Youtube)

[paddybrown]

Echo. The Macmillan Encyclopedia. In Greek legend, a nymph deprived of speech by Hera and able to repeat only the final words of others.

I work with someone who does that. Now I know it's all Hera's fault!

[John D]

This is one of the best opinions pieces I have read on why Trump is popular. My Brother-In-Law lives in Western Virginia. He is quite well off because he is a lawyer, but this area of the country has had crushing poverty for many years. It is important to remember that most poor people in America are white. The poverty rate for whites has stayed fixed for about 30 years while the poverty rate for black has declined. Blacks still have a higher poverty rate than whites, but they are closing the gap. So, when does someone start talking about white poverty? Maybe they start now....
http://www.usnews.com/news/the-report/a ... ps-america

[feathers]

But .... :doh: the "change that wouldn't make much of a difference" was clearly edit > delete goodbye to old rubbish.

Could you imagine Peez doing a

Code: Select all

drop tables;

and having to restore from backup?

[feathers]

Commie: How did the weasel work out?

Mostly by running around the house, nibbling some cables on the way. That's how weasels work out.

[Dave]

This is one of the best opinions pieces I have read on why Trump is popular. My Brother-In-Law lives in Western Virginia. He is quite well off because he is a lawyer, but this area of the country has had crushing poverty for many years. It is important to remember that most poor people in America are white. The poverty rate for whites has stayed fixed for about 30 years while the poverty rate for black has declined. Blacks still have a higher poverty rate than whites, but they are closing the gap. So, when does someone start talking about white poverty? Maybe they start now....
http://www.usnews.com/news/the-report/a ... ps-america

Have not read the article, but your claims about poverty rates seems off:

White poverty rates have been reasonably steady from the mid 1970s, having minor jumps in the early 80s and early 90s that were each recovered from after about 2-3 years, and actually had a minor decline around 2000, but have been increasing markedly since.

Black poverty rates jumped in the early 80s (around the 82 recession, just like white poverty did) but did not recover throughout the 80s and only began to drop back to mid-70s levels in late 90s into 2000. They have increased since.

IOW, the only reason you can claim that black rates have been dropping over the past 30 years is because you are picking a high-point (when blacks missed the mid-80s recovery) as your starting point.

[VickyCaramel]

President Trump wouldn't mean the end of the republic, who knows, he might actually do some good.

I suspect that Trump might actually be good for the USA. I am under the impression he would:

1. Scale back the military, which implies pulling out of all/most of the foreign adventures & regime changes.
2. Reverse job losses from H1B visas, and send illegals home.
3. Restructure international trade.

Who knows, he might even tackle your crumbling infrastructure as well.

Im really curious, what gives you that impression?

1 - His obsession with anyone who self-touts their abilities is tailor-made for supporting the Military-Industrial complex.

2 - While his rhetoric says one thing, his business practices say another. As a large proponent of the phrase, "actions speak louder than words" Im inclined to believe his actions over his rhetoric.

3 - Here, you might have a point based on his actual experience (as well as self-promotion) as a negotiator. However, International trade deals are a much different process than business deals, the latter of which often have a much greater face-to-face component, the former are almost completely negotiated via proxies.

On your last point, I have seen nothing to indicate he is even aware of the issue. Is this anything but wishful thinking?

My understanding of Donald Trump is that is actual talent is for hiring the 'right man for the job'. He may well identify a problem like the Industrial Military Complex and decided it needs sorting out, and set somebody on it. But it is now a complex problem... like an addiction, there is no way to sort it out without the economy going through some painful withdrawal symptoms.

I think it far more likely that he will tackle some easier problems. Although he is not a person I think of alongside the likes of Warren Buffet, he does seem to be a man who can get things done.

[dog puke]

So what proportion of The Orbs is trans? 50%?

I'm beginning to thinks, Dori Mooneyham says:

I’m a trans lesbian psych student

I think that's about 7 so far if my count is right.

They should have called it The Transition. Or "In Transit".

Or The Transition Camp.

The Transit of Penus. :twatson:

[dog puke]

A new video from Gerfmann...

[youtube]hD9nTOPUICM[/youtube]

[Matt Cavanaugh]

My favorite part was where Lousy was being interviewed by Charlie Rose.

I have a friend who works in Hollywood who, as a joke, lists as one of his major accomplishments that he did the set design for The Charlie Rose Show.

[jet_lagg]

John Oliver nailed it with his piece on Trump. The man was born into money. He's not that great of a businessman, with several spectacular failures and bankruptcies under his belt. He is an exceptional self-promoter, wildly inflating his net worth and thus giving the impression he's such a great businessman. And finally, he views the truth the same way a lemur views the supreme court vacancy.

I don't believe Oliver will ever understand how much he embodies the smug liberal attitude that made Trump a success, but he's spot on in his assessment of the man.

[youtube]DnpO_RTSNmQ[/youtube]

[Matt Cavanaugh]

I hear with Lousy gone there is an opening ......

:lol: ;) ;)

http://i.imgur.com/6qHmL4c.jpg

And who's gonna fill the Tourette's slot, now that Ed Brayton is at Patheos?

[Cnutella]

Commie: How did the weasel work out?

Mostly by running around the house, nibbling some cables on the way. That's how weasels work out.

That's not how I give my weasel a work-out.

[BillHampReturns]

John Oliver nailed it with his piece on Trump. The man was born into money. He's not that great of a businessman, with several spectacular failures and bankruptcies under his belt. He is an exceptional self-promoter, wildly inflating his net worth and thus giving the impression he's such a great businessman. And finally, he views the truth the same way a lemur views the supreme court vacancy.

I don't believe Oliver will ever understand how much he embodies the smug liberal attitude that made Trump a success, but he's spot on in his assessment of the man.

Trump is a success not just because of smug liberal attitudes, but because a lot of people are tired of being called bigots, racist, and worse simply because they don't share liberal opinions. SJWs are just an extreme form of liberalism, but the basic tendencies to silence others, shout them down, and resort to violence (it's okay when they do it) is always there. Every liberal movement I have ever watched has been filled with anger that is either barely contained or not contained at all and spills over into violence. They aren't interested in debate, discourse, or discussion. Their philosophy is that they are right, evidence be damned, and they will ensure that everyone else believes as they do even if they have to bludgeon them to death to demonstrate it. Liberals are bullies and many people, both conservative and middle-of-the-road types, are tired of it. They'd rather have someone like Trump in office, someone who won't take the bullying, even if they have to sacrifice some ideology or overlook certain flaws. The fact of the matter is, and liberals should take this to heart, is that Trump is more palatable than someone like Clinton or Sanders who is constantly framing every opponent as an asshole, idiot, imbecile, bigot, racist, etc.

As an aside, Trump is more successful than anyone he is going up against. Regardless of what Oliver or any other talking head has to say, Trump's success is quite obvious. These stories about bankruptcy or failed university attempts come across as exactly what they are .. desperation. People are tired of politics as usual and if the establishment hasn't caught on, then good riddance.

[Matt Cavanaugh]

I am under the impression that everything is for sale with those two. Not to mention they do not seem to care who the buyer is or what may happen next either.

Devil's Advocate:
I hear quite a bit about how Hillary sells out to the highest bidder. But I see very little in terms for proof or facts. It would be great to be able to compare her history as a senator, but nearly every bill that gets passed has a bit of pork in it. So provide me some proof. Show me some bills that she has sponsored as a senator that are pure pork at the expense of the American people.

And/Or (since many people expect Hillary's potential presidency to mostly mirror Bill Clinton's presidency) show me what actions Bill Clinton took as President that sold out the American people for corporate interests.

Shhh! -- don't let facts spoil the narrative.

In that respect, Hillary will be no worse than every other corporate whore in DC, and definitely better than that cum-swallowing skank ho, obama.

As for Bill, he wanted NAFTA -- but everyone except Perot wanted NAFTA. Bill also put that wolf, Rubin, in charge of the chicken coop, the economy. OTOH, the last time the US economy wasn't in the shitter, was 2000.

Bernie says he's against trade treaties that send American jobs to other countries' workers. But he is for letting in an endless stream of immigrants -- which is just moving the workers instead of the jobs. Thanks for nuthin', Bernie.

[Stout]

Spy was fucking amazing. I found it hard to believe how fucking amazing it was. It shouldn't have been that good. My hopes for Ghostbusters are lower though. :(

I'm totally in agreement over Spy and I'm going to wait for the IMDb rating and reviews before I even consider giving Ghostbusters a watch.

I'm currently wrapping up watching season 2 of the 100 and given that show rocks the diversity angle with women in almost all the positions of power and the bad guys being mostly white, I was expecting to find several SJW analyses gushing over this show.

I came up empty.

[VickyCaramel]

John Oliver nailed it with his piece on Trump. The man was born into money. He's not that great of a businessman, with several spectacular failures and bankruptcies under his belt. He is an exceptional self-promoter, wildly inflating his net worth and thus giving the impression he's such a great businessman. And finally, he views the truth the same way a lemur views the supreme court vacancy.

I don't believe Oliver will ever understand how much he embodies the smug liberal attitude that made Trump a success, but he's spot on in his assessment of the man.

Trump is a success not just because of smug liberal attitudes, but because a lot of people are tired of being called bigots, racist, and worse simply because they don't share liberal opinions. SJWs are just an extreme form of liberalism, but the basic tendencies to silence others, shout them down, and resort to violence (it's okay when they do it) is always there. Every liberal movement I have ever watched has been filled with anger that is either barely contained or not contained at all and spills over into violence. They aren't interested in debate, discourse, or discussion. Their philosophy is that they are right, evidence be damned, and they will ensure that everyone else believes as they do even if they have to bludgeon them to death to demonstrate it. Liberals are bullies and many people, both conservative and middle-of-the-road types, are tired of it.

You realize that most of the people on this forum would identify as liberal, with a fair few of us straying further to the left into socialism?

Unlike the word 'feminism', the word 'liberal' cannot so easily be tainted by a few fringe loonies, especially as they are decidedly illiberal.

[Dave]

As an aside, Trump is more successful than anyone he is going up against. Regardless of what Oliver or any other talking head has to say, Trump's success is quite obvious. These stories about bankruptcy or failed university attempts come across as exactly what they are .. desperation. People are tired of politics as usual and if the establishment hasn't caught on, then good riddance.

Trump is successful as a marketer, building a brand and licensing it. There is little evidence that he is actually successful at building and running a business. No matter how successful his opponents have been in business, or havent been, this is worth pointing out as he is currently marketing himself to the American people as a successful businessman, not as a marketer and brand developer.

Having said that, how successful or unsuccessful in business his opponents are is a bit of a red-herring as that is not what they have chosen as a career. They have a record in politics and should be judged on that, they are not the ones attempting to translate their successes in one field to another.

I do find the stories about bankruptcy a bit hollow. I know several people in real estate and it is very common to create single purpose entities for each project. In that scenario, one or more bankruptcies simply means that not every project was successful, not that the overall business was poorly run. Most businesses have projects that fail. As an analogy, Microsoft is a very successful company, but they still had Windows ME and Vista. In a real-estate model, Windows ME and Vista would have each been their own company which went bankrupt, but the umbrella company, Microsoft, would still be considered successful.

On the other hand, the Trump Steaks, and Trump University and Trump etc, are telling, to me. One, they show his business for what it is -- a licensing business and brand development, not real-estate development. Two, as mentioned above, I personally know others in real-estate. For those who are successful, they wouldnt bother with most of this shit, because its not worth their time -- they make more money working on their RE deals. So this really suggests he is not as successful as he claims. Three, part of his claim is that hes very good at picking the right people, but the failures of many of these ventures suggests his record for picking the right people is not as good as he claims it is. He certainly didnt pick the right people to license his name to in Trump Steaks or Trump University.

[Billie from Ockham]

Bernie says he's against trade treaties that send American jobs to other countries' workers. But he is for letting in an endless stream of immigrants -- which is just moving the workers instead of the jobs. Thanks for nuthin', Bernie.

Are you really arguing that the jobs that moved out of the US under various trade treaties are the same jobs that immigrants do in the US?

[jet_lagg]

John Oliver nailed it with his piece on Trump. The man was born into money. He's not that great of a businessman, with several spectacular failures and bankruptcies under his belt. He is an exceptional self-promoter, wildly inflating his net worth and thus giving the impression he's such a great businessman. And finally, he views the truth the same way a lemur views the supreme court vacancy.

I don't believe Oliver will ever understand how much he embodies the smug liberal attitude that made Trump a success, but he's spot on in his assessment of the man.

Trump is a success not just because of smug liberal attitudes, but because a lot of people are tired of being called bigots, racist, and worse simply because they don't share liberal opinions. <snip>

I should have elaborated further, but that's what I was getting at yes. Part of the smugness is "knowing" that they aren't racists when everyone else is. If we're speaking very broadly, I think that's something liberals can work on to reach out to more moderates.

[deLurch]

I'm totally in agreement over Spy and I'm going to wait for the IMDb rating and reviews before I even consider giving Ghostbusters a watch.

I'm currently wrapping up watching season 2 of the 100 and given that show rocks the diversity angle with women in almost all the positions of power and the bad guys being mostly white, I was expecting to find several SJW analyses gushing over this show.

I came up empty.

The mountain men part held promise.

But there was just so much stupid teen angst bullshit going on, and not enough mutant future earth stuff. And all of the stupid choices... And the lead women keep on forgetting what that asshole just did 5 seconds ago in order to form a new alliance that will last for all of 5 hours before she gets fucked over again.

So is the show improving? Or are the leads still morons?

[Matt Cavanaugh]

First: NAFTA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Ame ... _Agreement

Second: Glass/Steagall: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass%E2% ... egislation

Those are two right off the top of my head. Hillary's health-care plan morphed into ObamaCare - a massive corporate handout for insurance companies, in essence, but that one is harder.

Repealing Glass-Steagall was a terrible mistake that led directly to the banking disaster. I can't recall Bill Clinton's views on it, but I believe the repeal was passed with a veto-proof majority. Sanders advocates reinstating it.

*

obamacare is actually based closely on a proposal by the far-right think tank, The Heritage Foundation. The bill was essentially written by the insurance lobby, who obama invited in for closed door sessions in April 2009. Consequently, the law has thousands of back doors, & only the insurance industry lawyers know what they open.

In 1993, Hillary took point for Bill's healthcare proposal. It was similar in some ways to obamacare, but had more oversight on HC providers, especially in capping costs. It was rejected by Dems and Gops.

In 2007, Hillary wrote a long piece in the NY Times on healthcare. She proposed gradually expanding coverage over the course of two terms in office, until everyone was covered. In 2008, she did propose mandated enrollment in HC plans, with (as in '93) tight controls on costs.

In 2008, obama talked of an insurance initiative. His written platform was obtuse & vague. Progs ignored all that and assumed he would enact universal HC. He had, of course, already cut a deal with the insurance lobby. The "Town Hall" events during the Summer of 2009, ostensibly to hash out universal healthcare, were Kabuki to give the false impression of widespread opposition. The trick had already been turned, of course, months earlier.

[Karmakin]

This is one of the best opinions pieces I have read on why Trump is popular. My Brother-In-Law lives in Western Virginia. He is quite well off because he is a lawyer, but this area of the country has had crushing poverty for many years. It is important to remember that most poor people in America are white. The poverty rate for whites has stayed fixed for about 30 years while the poverty rate for black has declined. Blacks still have a higher poverty rate than whites, but they are closing the gap. So, when does someone start talking about white poverty? Maybe they start now....
http://www.usnews.com/news/the-report/a ... ps-america

He is strongest in Appalachia because the biggest indicator of support for Trump, according to a survey by the RAND Corporation, is agreeing with the statement, "people like me don't have any say."

That article really nails it, especially that part of it. People feel disempowered, and they're going to support any cause that makes them feel empowered. And this goes all across the political spectrum. Trump just happens to be tapping into a rather large font of these emotions. (So, on the other hand, is Sanders)

People are surprised that for example, more than you would expect cultural evangelicals are supporting Trump, who is kinda far away from the traditional evangelical candidate. Well, of course they are. What has the federal Republican party really delivered for Evangelicals over the last few years? Pretty much nothing. Just a lot of lip service.

Where I go crazy with this stuff, speaking as someone on the left, is the idea that we can fight these feelings of disempowerment by....disempowering them even more. Yeah. That's a great idea. Let's turn our ideas into what is essentially an existential threat to them. Sure, that will get their support.

[Matt Cavanaugh]

Bernie says he's against trade treaties that send American jobs to other countries' workers. But he is for letting in an endless stream of immigrants -- which is just moving the workers instead of the jobs. Thanks for nuthin', Bernie.

Are you really arguing that the jobs that moved out of the US under various trade treaties are the same jobs that immigrants do in the US?

What sorts of jobs do you think are lost to foreign workers, vs. the ones lost to immigrants?

[Suet Cardigan]

John Oliver nailed it with his piece on Trump. The man was born into money. He's not that great of a businessman, with several spectacular failures and bankruptcies under his belt. He is an exceptional self-promoter, wildly inflating his net worth and thus giving the impression he's such a great businessman. And finally, he views the truth the same way a lemur views the supreme court vacancy.

I don't believe Oliver will ever understand how much he embodies the smug liberal attitude that made Trump a success, but he's spot on in his assessment of the man.

Trump would be a lot richer if he'd just put his money into an S&P 500 Index Tracker:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-proba ... 20366.html

He could be twice as wealthy if he'd done something that requires no effort or intelligence.

[Tigzy]

Anyone else get the impression that Caine has one hand in her panties, the other on the mouse button, just waiting for her first ban?

Wow. That willing to turn us gay, are you?

I think you guise should lay off Caine. She has turned over another leaf lately and apparently her blog is going to be about cool art and stuff and she says there isn't going to be a lot of SJ content. She is actually a pretty good photographer too. :P

It was you, wasn't it.

http://web.archive.org/web/201603151636 ... -eat-here/

[Sulman]

I don't believe Oliver will ever understand how much he embodies the smug liberal attitude that made Trump a success, but he's spot on in his assessment of the man.

As a Brit here colleagues tend to assume I have some sort of affinity for the man, but in fact Oliver is exactly the kind of smug, self-satisfied little twat I can't stand. Very similar to 80s Ben Elton in just about every way.

There's a grand tradition of footlights kids turning up on television with this affected, blokey style, and I fucking hate it. That's just me.

[Jonathan]

I don't believe Oliver will ever understand how much he embodies the smug liberal attitude that made Trump a success, but he's spot on in his assessment of the man.

As a Brit here colleagues tend to assume I have some sort of affinity for the man, but in fact Oliver is exactly the kind of smug, self-satisfied little twat I can't stand. Very similar to 80s Ben Elton in just about every way.

There's a grand tradition of footlights kids turning up on television with this affected, blokey style, and I fucking hate it. That's just me.

I've seen a fair number of his shows; I always assumed he was just playing a role, a little like Stephen Colbert. Who knows what he's actually like.