In 2017 Idiocracy is a Documentary

[deLurch]

Boy Scouts have much less discipline. Every year there are a few Boy Scouts who drown on a camping trip, or electrocute themselves putting up a flag pole. This is very uncommon for Girl Scouts.

My understanding is that boy scouts are by far more active in the great outdoors. "Camping" for girl scouts is pretty much only done at established improved camp grounds with shower facilities & bathrooms.

[katamari Damassi]

MJ is also brownwashed. She's the snappy SJW type who crops up throughout the movie dissing everyone (that she's MJ is revealed right at the end).

And of course Aunt May can't possibly be a nice old white working class old lady who's Pete's main moral compass anymore, she has to be a hot latina MILF (affording the movie a couple of oddly uncomfortable moments). Not exactly brownwashing, I guess, but sort of thinly-disguised immigrantwashing.

The bottom line is that none of the important characters in his life are white any more. In another possible world, one that didn't have a constant drip, drip, drip of ethnic replacement, it might have been fun to switch things around, but in the current timeline it's just another tiresome, enervating drip.

I was actually hoping that the MCU would incorporate Miles Morales' Spiderman. Not because I'm a huge fan, but because I felt that Parker had been done to death and had the stink of Sony failure on him. Also, the MCU uses a lot from the Ultimate universe.
We're going into Anchorage on Saturday and am debating whether to see Spiderman, or Valerian. I've decided I can wait for the latest Apes movie to come to Redbox.

[Bhurzum]

https://images.encyclopediadramatica.rs ... _Jones.jpg

https://darkcornerbooks.files.wordpress ... raft-4.jpg

[katamari Damassi]

Is anyone from the Pit making a trip to see the eclipse in the USA? My husband and I actually had a fight about it. I really wanted to go, and he just shrugged it off and said he didn't want to take time from work for it. I was really surprised that it doesn't interest him much, nor does he regard it as a once in a lifetime event. I can go by myself, but now I'm hesitant, because I fear: I waited too long so I can't book a hotel, will have to rent a car-though I have family in Oregon I could stay with, flying in and out of Alaska is a big pain in the ass, wherever I go will be cloudy that day(my biggest fear).
I was privileged to see a partial eclipse in Africa 20 years ago, which I stupidly watched through 2 pair of sunglasses, and that's probably responsible for a freckle on one of my retinas.

[katamari Damassi]

https://images.encyclopediadramatica.rs ... _Jones.jpg

https://darkcornerbooks.files.wordpress ... raft-4.jpg

Why does Zinnia think appearing to be suffering a stroke is sexy? Is it another weird fetish?

[MarcusAu]

...
We're going into Anchorage on Saturday and am debating whether to see Spiderman, or Valerian. I've decided I can wait for the latest Apes movie to come to Redbox.

Go for Valerian. You've probably seen enough Spiderman to know what to expect, and Valerian is a bit less familiar and has the possibility at least of being a fantastic surealistic French mind-fuck.

(Obviously I have my own bias).

[katamari Damassi]

Some Democrats are excited that Kamala Harris is indicating a possible presidential run in 2020. I don't know that much about her to judge, but a cursory glance makes her look like Obama 2.0-a charismatic black junior senator barely into her first term running for president. What are the odds of that working a second time? Or is it a winning formula? She doesn't appear to be too identitarian-having been a prosecutor will work against her with the SJW's, but she doesn't appear to be very populist either-she's already taking money from big donors. Thoughts?

[katamari Damassi]

...
We're going into Anchorage on Saturday and am debating whether to see Spiderman, or Valerian. I've decided I can wait for the latest Apes movie to come to Redbox.

Go for Valerian. You've probably seen enough Spiderman to know what to expect, and Valerian is a bit less familiar and has the possibility at least of being a fantastic surealistic French mind-fuck.

(Obviously I have my own bias).

I'm leaning that way. I love The Fifth Element more than I like the Star Wars movies-the new ones anyway.

[Steersman]

Laci Green's role as the SJWs Emmanuel Goldstein solidifies:

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/transparen ... cisgender/

Blogger is a complete cunt -- an hyper-protective, belligerent father of a transboi railing against the world and society and the universe. Ex-minister too, so still fundie by nature.

Post is mostly 'shut up and listen, and don't forget to beg for your ally cookie', but this paragraph takes the cake:
<snip>

I dare you all to comment. He wrote about he dumped a girlfriend for wrongthink immediately following sex, so his ban-hammer must be terrible and swift.

I am under the impression that people who are into Gender Studies are nutbars. The further into it they get the more crazed they become. This one denies that there is such a thing as biological sex.

[.youtube][/youtube]

I got other things to do with my time than engage these crazies.

We all have to decide where we want to stand to move the world - one way or the other, or if that's our thing. But seems that the "defense of Western Civilization" [such as it is] is an ongoing thing, a battle for hearts and minds, and that one of the "theatres of war" is the depredations of those "crazies". Seems worthwhile if not advisable to at least fire a shot or two across their bows whenever the opportunity presents itself.

[katamari Damassi]

If you're a fan of House of Cards(the US version), then check out the movie Miss Sloane. Like HoC, it's an entertaining though implausible political thriller.

[Kirbmarc]

Some Democrats are excited that Kamala Harris is indicating a possible presidential run in 2020. I don't know that much about her to judge, but a cursory glance makes her look like Obama 2.0-a charismatic black junior senator barely into her first term running for president. What are the odds of that working a second time? Or is it a winning formula? She doesn't appear to be too identitarian-having been a prosecutor will work against her with the SJW's, but she doesn't appear to be very populist either-she's already taking money from big donors. Thoughts?

I don't know much about Harris except that she refused to take Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Asra Nomani seriously when they talked to the Senate about the very real problem of Salafi infiltration of US mosques, and the damages this causes (among other things). It might be because Nomani backed Trump, but it's still quite irresponsible to let partizanship color one's perception of reality.

[rayshul]

Well on the upside Kamala Harris will probably destroy any chance Hillary had of running

[Kirbmarc]

Well on the upside Kamala Harris will probably destroy any chance Hillary had of running

Is Hillary seriously thinking about running again? Didn't she realized after being defeated by a former game show host with zero experience that maybe, just maybe, she should give up on her presidential ambitions?

[Guest_936d3dec]

Is Hillary seriously thinking about running again? Didn't she realized after being defeated by a former game show host with zero experience that maybe, just maybe, she should give up on her presidential ambitions?

And now Mr. Podesta, I am ready for my close-up

[Steersman]

Never mind

Expect you saw my original comment on Patheos after I had posted a text copy here - I didn't expect it to long see the light of day. Been pleasantly surprised that "TransParent" left it there but then he may not have had much choice. But I expect that second comment was blocked by "timberwraith" - seems that's a feature of Disqus to allow individuals to block comments in response.

Which kind of allowed me to make a few other subsequent comments, at least until this one which may well have been the final straw for TransParent as it seems all my comments to all others are blocked now:

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

[katamari Damassi]

I don't know if this has been posted here already-it's from May of last year-but it's a good, comprehensive article about transgenderism. My only nitpick is I believe that a study confirmed that medical examiners could differentiate male and female brains a majority of the time.

http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/fe ... der-anyway

[katamari Damassi]

Well on the upside Kamala Harris will probably destroy any chance Hillary had of running

Is Hillary seriously thinking about running again? Didn't she realized after being defeated by a former game show host with zero experience that maybe, just maybe, she should give up on her presidential ambitions?

Yes, I'm certain that she's running again. Her cronies won a battle for control of the Democratic National Committee, and she's already formed a PAC-though ostensibly it is to support other candidates. Nothing will end her ambition to be president.

[Old_ones]

Well on the upside Kamala Harris will probably destroy any chance Hillary had of running

Is Hillary seriously thinking about running again? Didn't she realized after being defeated by a former game show host with zero experience that maybe, just maybe, she should give up on her presidential ambitions?

Yes, I'm certain that she's running again. Her cronies won a battle for control of the Democratic National Committee, and she's already formed a PAC-though ostensibly it is to support other candidates. Nothing will end her ambition to be president.

I don't hate the woman, but if this is true, then honesty I hope she has a stroke or something. She'll never be president, and she'll help us elect worse candidates than we would have without her. Give it up Hillary. Take up knitting or something. Try to climb Mount Everest. Stop ruining your party with vainglorious fantasies about things you will never do.

[AndrewV69]

Peeking in at FA, I see a post up about the Boy Scouts of America being pressured to let girls in (they already allow transgender boys). A commenter asks if the Girl Scouts also accept boys, and of course the first response is "that's not the point!"

My wife was a Girl Scout leader for many years. As such.... I was also signed up as a "scout". Girl Scouts are super open as far as membership goes. They have allowed atheists to join for decades for example which is a good thing regarding my wife and I ... and my atheist children. I am pretty sure Boys are allowed. The Girl Scouts do have many rules however. These rules are designed to improve safety and security. For example.... if a married couple is on a trip with scouts they are NOT allowed to sleep with each other. They must sleep in separate gender specific places. It is kind of like saying anyone can join... but you can't get to do whatever you want.

Boy Scouts have much less discipline. Every year there are a few Boy Scouts who drown on a camping trip, or electrocute themselves putting up a flag pole. This is very uncommon for Girl Scouts.

Some Christians didn't like the open ideas in Girl Scouts and so they started a religious version of Girl Scouts. Many battles for the Girl Scout name and organization have ensued in the US.

I knew someone once in the Scouts organisation. One year after a Canukistan Jamboree he told me that there was a huge amount of fuss internally as there were reports from irate parents that some of the Girl Guides had returned home preggers. At least two if I recall correctly.

I believe it was kept out of the papers. I dunno how they managed that one though. This was around 20-25 years ago.

[Old_ones]

Quick addendum to my last post: I voted for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump. I would vote for her against a lot of Republicans, but the problem is that most Americans won't. I don't seriously wish her any harm, but she is harming her party. We need a Democrat who can appeal to most of the country, not a Democrat who appeals really strongly to 36% of it, and alienates everyone else.

[deLurch]

Some Democrats are excited that Kamala Harris is indicating a possible presidential run in 2020. I don't know that much about her to judge, but a cursory glance makes her look like Obama 2.0-a charismatic black junior senator barely into her first term running for president. What are the odds of that working a second time? Or is it a winning formula?

I think some level of charisma is necessary for a successful presidential run. Hillary sorely lacked charisma.

Her lack of deep political history will probably work in her favor since the public seems to be hating on career politicians Left & Right.

As far as her gender/race attributes go, yes that helped Obama. Especially since he did not play up the fact that he was black. But Hillary played them up as if they were credentials during a period in which the US was a bit damn sick of people playing up the identity characteristics. The US got over their "first X president' fix with Obama. I don't expect that gambit to work again this generation. Because a black/white/male/female politician is no better than any other politician. It is the policies that they support that matter.

Her biggest downside right now is that fact that she is a Democrat. The voters really don't seem to be biting on what the Democrats are selling right now. And that is probably what voters as an aggregate fear most. The Dems have significantly failed to turn their boat around. So unless she is amazingly successful at turning that boat around... it really all comes down to her.

[Kirbmarc]

Quick addendum to my last post: I voted for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump. I would vote for her against a lot of Republicans, but the problem is that most Americans won't. I don't seriously wish her any harm, but she is harming her party. We need a Democrat who can appeal to most of the country, not a Democrat who appeals really strongly to 36% of it, and alienates everyone else.

You'd think this would be common sense, but you'd be surprised.

[Old_ones]

Quick addendum to my last post: I voted for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump. I would vote for her against a lot of Republicans, but the problem is that most Americans won't. I don't seriously wish her any harm, but she is harming her party. We need a Democrat who can appeal to most of the country, not a Democrat who appeals really strongly to 36% of it, and alienates everyone else.

You'd think this would be common sense, but you'd be surprised.

The problem is that it's hard. Obama did it, but he wasn't an average guy. Hillary can't do it because she is polarizing and the right wing (fairly or unfairly) has made her radioactive. Bernie can't do it because he is a radical. Martin O'Malley couldn't do it because he was boring. John Kerry can't do it because he is boring and goofy. Al Gore can't do it because he has the charisma of a cardboard cutout. Bill Clinton did it because he had a recession to use against H.W. Bush, and he could speak in a way that helped him appeal to other people from the south. Anyone going up against Trump next election will need to be Bill Clinton and not Hillary Clinton, regardless of what happens between now and then.

[deLurch]

Anyone going up against Trump next election will need to be Bill Clinton and not Hillary Clinton, regardless of what happens between now and then.

Agreed. Worst of all is that the way the media & pundants are trying to throw up anything they think will stick against Trump at him now, he will be utter and complete teflon come the next election. He could shoot babies on live television, and no one would listen to the media.

[Kirbmarc]

Anyone going up against Trump next election will need to be Bill Clinton and not Hillary Clinton, regardless of what happens between now and then.

Agreed. Worst of all is that the way the media & pundants are trying to throw up anything they think will stick against Trump at him now, he will be utter and complete teflon come the next election. He could shoot babies on live television, and no one would listen to the media.

The exact same thing happened in Italy with Berlusconi. He's still around, and he's 81.

[MarcusAu]

So no consequences for Berlusconi - even after his interview with Paxman?

[youtube][/youtube]

[Keating]

Clinton losing to Trump twice would be hilarious, though.

[Barbie's Boyfriend]

Is California Attorney general Kamala Harris related to professional wrestler Jim "Kamala" Harris ???

https://www.quora.com/Is-California-Att ... -If-so-how

main-qimg-4bbec8311b79a8dd19036d9942e32a89-c (1).jpg

(30.71 KiB) Downloaded 191 times

[Kirbmarc]

So no consequences for Berlusconi - even after his interview with Paxman?

[youtube][/youtube]

I lived in Italy for a few years while studying, I live not too far from the Italian border, I know a lot of Italian people and I speak fluent Italian. Berlusconi has a significant hate-dom but there are many who are still his fans, and even most of people who don't like him don't think that he's significantly worse than any other Italian politician, just more crude and crass.

He's said and done far worse than what's in this interview.

He's (very likely) paid a minor to have sex with him. The girl, a Moroccan "exotic dancer" known as "Ruby the Heartstealer" who was 17 at those times, was later arrested for shoplifting, and Berlusconi himself called the police precinct to have her released to a woman who was also very likely one of Berlusconi's many sexual liaisons and later become an Italian MP. When he was asked why he was interested in the the arrest of the Moroccan "dancer" told everyone he believe she was Mubarak's niece (Mubarak was the former premier of Egypt).

He's also very likely rewarded a family with favors for the privilege of having sex with their 18 year old daughter, who allegedly called him "daddy".

He was only taken down for a while when he was convicted of tax evasion. But now he's back. He's not Teflon, he's Kevlar.

Trump seems to follow on his footsteps.

[rayshul]

https://archive.fo/B3MZu

Is iGen so different from the millennials because the former faces more chronic, long-term stress? Have the country’s colleges suddenly become brutal, toxic places, increasingly hostile to members of various identity groups? Some would argue, as Twenge does, that social media changed the nature of iGen’s social interactions. But if social media is the biggest cause of the mental-health crisis then the solution lies in changing the nature or availability of social media for teenagers. Making the offline world “safer” by banning the occasional stress-inducing speaker will not help.

[Kirbmarc]

In general the elitist left doesn't seem to realize that to many working class-middle class people political scandals don't really matter, what matters are promises about jobs, about lowering taxes and getting rid of crime.

A lot of people want immigration to stop or be curbed, they want more jobs for themselves and their children and don't care about foreigners, or see them as a threat to their livelihood and security. Those people will vote for anyone who will tell them that they'll bring back jobs and get rid of the immigrants. They don't care if they're a three-headed monster, they want to feel safe and know that their children will feel safe.

You have to deal with these voters, find some kind of compromise which is sane and works about immigration and employment. You can't just dismiss them as "privileged racists", because often they're not privileged at all, and don't give a shit about social guilt. You have to present them with something that values their interests, even though of course you can't just pander to them and promise them everything they want. Some of them will vote for the populist who promises "more police, more jobs and less immigrants" no matter what you do. But others might be inclined to support a more nuanced plan if there's something in it for them.

The absolute worst thing you can do is dismiss the whole lot of them as the "basket of deplorables", the "shitlords", the "privileged whites", etc. etc. Then they'll vote for the populist as a block.

Many people want simple things: to have a decent-paying job, to see their children get a decent-paying job, to feel safe and protected. Political nuance, or high ideals, don't really matter for most. Political activists are always a minority and they'll likely to follow a simplistic view of politics anyway.

You have to learn to tailor your message to your electors, without dismissing them as "uneducated". They often are uneducated, but they're also the people who are going to vote.

There's an elitist, classist dream at the core of the modern left. Far too many people in the left want a world which is made up only of highly sophisticated hipsters who are always mindful of what they say, have "good taste", enjoy the "right" forms of entertainment, have the "right" political opinions, etc. This is just an Utopian dream.

The left needs to be more humble, to research local issues, to know what really matters to people outside the highly educated intellectual bubble. Otherwise the populist right will win and win again, especially in a time of crisis and uncertainty.

Leftist leaders win when they tap into some collective will to change things after a disastrous right-wing leadership, especially if it's an elitist right-wing leadership, one tied to Big Business. Obama won because Bush Jr. was such a disaster that anyone wanted some change.

The left cannot win by being snooty and insisting that they have the moral high ground.

[screwtape]

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

Anyone who writes than "an exception to a rule does not disprove the rule" obviously does not understand the sense of the word 'prove' used in the original.

[shoutinghorse]

The British state funded (you go to court if you don't pay) broadcaster BBC was forced (under duress) to release the salaries of their high earning employees/stars today and it has made for some interesting reading, for example, a Mr. Gary Lineker, a former footballer who now presents an hour long football highlights show on Saturday evenings gets paid £1.75m per year. This is yet another 'celeb' who continually virtue signals the great unwashed to accept more migrants. As you can imagine it hasn't gone down too well.

https://order-order.com/2017/07/19/bbc- ... -revealed/

https://twitter.com/search?q=%23garylineker&src=tyah

[Hunt]

Quick addendum to my last post: I voted for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump. I would vote for her against a lot of Republicans, but the problem is that most Americans won't. I don't seriously wish her any harm, but she is harming her party. We need a Democrat who can appeal to most of the country, not a Democrat who appeals really strongly to 36% of it, and alienates everyone else.

You'd think this would be common sense, but you'd be surprised.

The problem is that it's hard. Obama did it, but he wasn't an average guy. Hillary can't do it because she is polarizing and the right wing (fairly or unfairly) has made her radioactive. Bernie can't do it because he is a radical. Martin O'Malley couldn't do it because he was boring. John Kerry can't do it because he is boring and goofy. Al Gore can't do it because he has the charisma of a cardboard cutout. Bill Clinton did it because he had a recession to use against H.W. Bush, and he could speak in a way that helped him appeal to other people from the south. Anyone going up against Trump next election will need to be Bill Clinton and not Hillary Clinton, regardless of what happens between now and then.

Bernie isn't much of a radical. A "socialist American" of Bernie's ilk means a social democrat operating in a capitalist society. America is a capitalist country, THE capitalist country. You'd have to be crazy to think that will change. Bernie was for boosting the "social" part of "social democracy," and he was a left wing populist. In a way, he was really kind of a perfect storm, and I'm not sure we'll see the like again. He's not getting any younger. It's really unfortunately that the left turned their nose up at him in preference for Hillary, a garden variety establishment Democrat. Bernie could have been something special, on par with other socialist presidents, like FDR.

[MarcusAu]

https://archive.fo/B3MZu

Is iGen so different from the millennials because the former faces more chronic, long-term stress? Have the country’s colleges suddenly become brutal, toxic places, increasingly hostile to members of various identity groups? Some would argue, as Twenge does, that social media changed the nature of iGen’s social interactions. But if social media is the biggest cause of the mental-health crisis then the solution lies in changing the nature or availability of social media for teenagers. Making the offline world “safer” by banning the occasional stress-inducing speaker will not help.

Article is from the Atlantic and is by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff (so you know it is worth a read).

They also namecheck Jonathan Rausch and his book 'Kindly Inquistors'

https://www.amazon.com/Kindly-Inquisito ... 0226705765

Those interested can hear an interview with Jonathan Rausch on the 'So to Speak' FIRE podcast:

https://soundcloud.com/so-to-speak-the- ... nquisitors

nb Rayschal - why the archive'd version of the article?

[Kirbmarc]

Bernie isn't much of a radical. A "socialist American" of Bernie's ilk means a social democrat operating in a capitalist society. America is a capitalist country, THE capitalist country. You'd have to be crazy to think that will change. Bernie was for boosting the "social" part of "social democracy," and he was a left wing populist. In a way, he was really kind of a perfect storm, and I'm not sure we'll see the like again. He's not getting any younger. It's really unfortunately that the left turned their nose up at him in preference for Hillary, a garden variety establishment Democrat. Bernie could have been something special, on par with other socialist presidents, like FDR.

He was a victim of bad marketing on his part, too. He should have called himself a "keynesian" or call for a "Newer Deal" rather than insist on "socialism", which in the US is associated to communist dictatorships like Cuba. He's a social democrat, which is fine, I think, if you manage to avoid identitarianism (which he did, to an extent, and that's why the Hillary shills called him "sympathetic to white supremacist ideas" :lol: ).

In most of Western Europe Sanders would be an average left-wing politician.

[Kirbmarc]

"More Keynes and Mill, less Marx" would be a good plan for most leftist parties anyways.

[rayshul]

https://archive.fo/B3MZu

Is iGen so different from the millennials because the former faces more chronic, long-term stress? Have the country’s colleges suddenly become brutal, toxic places, increasingly hostile to members of various identity groups? Some would argue, as Twenge does, that social media changed the nature of iGen’s social interactions. But if social media is the biggest cause of the mental-health crisis then the solution lies in changing the nature or availability of social media for teenagers. Making the offline world “safer” by banning the occasional stress-inducing speaker will not help.

Article is from the Atlantic and is by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff (so you know it is worth a read).

They also namecheck Jonathan Rausch and his book 'Kindly Inquistors'

https://www.amazon.com/Kindly-Inquisito ... 0226705765

Those interested can hear an interview with Jonathan Rausch on the 'So to Speak' FIRE podcast:

https://soundcloud.com/so-to-speak-the- ... nquisitors

nb Rayschal - why the archive'd version of the article?

I must have ripped it from KIA or one of the other sites I visit for my dose of shitlord news. However I also have an extension thingy that somehow sends me to redirects or caches automatically rather than the real thing. I thought I'd turned it off though.

[zou3gou3]

Some Democrats are excited that Kamala Harris is indicating a possible presidential run in 2020. I don't know that much about her to judge, but a cursory glance makes her look like Obama 2.0-a charismatic black junior senator barely into her first term running for president. What are the odds of that working a second time? Or is it a winning formula? She doesn't appear to be too identitarian-having been a prosecutor will work against her with the SJW's, but she doesn't appear to be very populist either-she's already taking money from big donors. Thoughts?

Kamala Harris is a vindictive bitch who ran a harrassment campaign against the Backpage advertising website.

The First Amendment Lawyers Association (FALA) is asking new Attorney General of California Xavier Becerra to end the "abuse of governmental power" perpetuated by predecessor Kamala Harris against current and former executives of the classified-ad site Backpage.

http://reason.com/blog/2017/03/16/first ... ation-asks

[MarcusAu]

Tell us what you really think, zou3gou3 - Stop pussyfooting around.

[DrokkIt]

A couple of anthropologists take 4 years to get 45 "women of color" to do a SurveyMonkey and discover that astronomy is rife with misogynists and racists subjecting the WOCs to micro-agressions. I read the paper and respond:

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/tippling/2 ... 3423638972

I love how the comments on patheos now mostly consist of objections. Good work.

[Shatterface]

The British state funded (you go to court if you don't pay) broadcaster BBC was forced (under duress) to release the salaries of their high earning employees/stars today and it has made for some interesting reading, for example, a Mr. Gary Lineker, a former footballer who now presents an hour long football highlights show on Saturday evenings gets paid £1.75m per year. This is yet another 'celeb' who continually virtue signals the great unwashed to accept more migrants. As you can imagine it hasn't gone down too well.

https://order-order.com/2017/07/19/bbc- ... -revealed/

https://twitter.com/search?q=%23garylineker&src=tyah

BBC News is spinning it as 'two thirds of the highest earners are men'. So rather than tackle the obscenely high wages they want to make more women richer.

Because that will do wonders for inequality.

[Matt Cavanaugh]

Some Christians didn't like the open ideas in Girl Scouts and so they started a religious version of Girl Scouts. Many battles for the Girl Scout name and organization have ensued in the US.

Kind like how Amanda Metskas was too busy licking up bukkake to register Camp Quest as a trademark, and now there are numerous Christian "Camp Quests" all over the place?

[jet_lagg]

Abear didn't mind the tripwires at the Cautionary Tale to Cisgenders post :p

http://i.imgur.com/dI2zkgg.png

http://i.imgur.com/zytWkkc.png

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/transparen ... 3421635508

[Matt Cavanaugh]

Some Democrats are excited that Kamala Harris is indicating a possible presidential run in 2020. I don't know that much about her to judge, but a cursory glance makes her look like Obama 2.0-a charismatic black junior senator barely into her first term running for president. What are the odds of that working a second time? Or is it a winning formula? She doesn't appear to be too identitarian-having been a prosecutor will work against her with the SJW's, but she doesn't appear to be very populist either-she's already taking money from big donors. Thoughts?

FYI, she's half India Indian.

We've had Kamala in the spotlight for some time here in California. She's a crafty politician and has, unlike obama, worked her way up the ladder the old-fashioned way. Which gives her more real experience than him. I doubt any politicians any more have sincere convictions, but Harris was the only state AG to oppose obama's pressure to let off the big banks who'd engaged in the mortgage fraud scandal -- until she caved.

Clog my arteries and call me Melissa McEwan, but I have doubts the USA can elect any liberal woman as POTUS. And imo, you got your one negro, so Cory Booker might as well not bother.

[Matt Cavanaugh]

If you're a fan of House of Cards(the US version), then check out the movie Miss Sloane. Like HoC, it's an entertaining though implausible political thriller.

I just started watching Borgen and I'm hooked. I'm really getting into Danish television in general, in no small part because the woman are so damned fine. Feathers you lucky dawg.

Danish is a funny language though. It sounds like mumbling in German to pretend your speaking Swedish.

Then again, Swedish sounds like sing-songing in English to pretend your speaking Swedish.

[Lsuoma]

Is anyone from the Pit making a trip to see the eclipse in the USA? My husband and I actually had a fight about it. I really wanted to go, and he just shrugged it off and said he didn't want to take time from work for it. I was really surprised that it doesn't interest him much, nor does he regard it as a once in a lifetime event. I can go by myself, but now I'm hesitant, because I fear: I waited too long so I can't book a hotel, will have to rent a car-though I have family in Oregon I could stay with, flying in and out of Alaska is a big pain in the ass, wherever I go will be cloudy that day(my biggest fear).
I was privileged to see a partial eclipse in Africa 20 years ago, which I stupidly watched through 2 pair of sunglasses, and that's probably responsible for a freckle on one of my retinas.

Yep. Booked a hotel room in Salem, OR back in November. Now, you're looking at upwards of $1K per night anywhere, and that's if you can even find somewhere.

[Fegg]

"More Keynes and Mill, less Marx" would be a good plan for most leftist parties anyways.

One big problem is that political ideologies unite (at least) three things which should not be united together.

1) A set of goals
2) A grand theory
3) A set of methods claimed to hold the solution to achieving the goals.

The problem is that we have no reason to believe that anyone has a good and workable grand theory.
Methods need to be modest experiments where we measure results and freely change our minds when
we discover what seems to work and what doesn't.

[Kirbmarc]

"More Keynes and Mill, less Marx" would be a good plan for most leftist parties anyways.

One big problem is that political ideologies unite (at least) three things which should not be united together.

1) A set of goals
2) A grand theory
3) A set of methods claimed to hold the solution to achieving the goals.

The problem is that we have no reason to believe that anyone has a good and workable grand theory.
Methods need to be modest experiments where we measure results and freely change our minds when
we discover what seems to work and what doesn't.

I completely agree, it's what Karl Popper would call "piecemeal social engineering". The institutions of liberal democracy provide the best setting for modest experiments where results can be measured and evaluated. Sadly ideologues have built their own countries within the country, their own ideological bubbles where reality is excluded and small scale, modest social experiments cannot even be evaluated. This is true of both the left and the right. Tribalism applied to politics is a cancer for liberal democracy.

[paddybrown]

I knew someone once in the Scouts organisation. One year after a Canukistan Jamboree he told me that there was a huge amount of fuss internally as there were reports from irate parents that some of the Girl Guides had returned home preggers. At least two if I recall correctly.

I believe it was kept out of the papers. I dunno how they managed that one though. This was around 20-25 years ago.

In Norn Iron we have an evangelical Christian music festival called Summer Madness. All the good-living, god-fearing teenagers go, and it's said six or seven a year come back pregnant.

[shoutinghorse]

So no consequences for Berlusconi - even after his interview with Paxman?

[youtube][/youtube]

To be fair calling Angela Merkel an unfuckable lard arse might be a tads rude but no one could ever accuse him of peddling fake news

[MarcusAu]

In Norn Iron we have an evangelical Christian music festival called Summer Madness. All the good-living, god-fearing teenagers go, and it's said six or seven a year come back pregnant.

Immaculate conception!

[Kirbmarc]

So no consequences for Berlusconi - even after his interview with Paxman?

[youtube][/youtube]

To be fair calling Angela Merkel an unfuckable lard arse might be a tads rude but no one could ever accuse him of peddling fake news

He did peddle fake news when he said he never insulted anyone in his political career. The guy has built his entire career on saying that his rivals were basically the Anti-Christ. :lol:

[Shatterface]

More vicious cuts to public spending by the Trump administration:

Trump Orders Government to Stop Work on Y2K Bug, 17 Years Later

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... ears-later

[Sunder]

Quick addendum to my last post: I voted for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump. I would vote for her against a lot of Republicans, but the problem is that most Americans won't. I don't seriously wish her any harm, but she is harming her party. We need a Democrat who can appeal to most of the country, not a Democrat who appeals really strongly to 36% of it, and alienates everyone else.

You'd think this would be common sense, but you'd be surprised.

The problem is that it's hard. Obama did it, but he wasn't an average guy. Hillary can't do it because she is polarizing and the right wing (fairly or unfairly) has made her radioactive. Bernie can't do it because he is a radical. Martin O'Malley couldn't do it because he was boring. John Kerry can't do it because he is boring and goofy. Al Gore can't do it because he has the charisma of a cardboard cutout. Bill Clinton did it because he had a recession to use against H.W. Bush, and he could speak in a way that helped him appeal to other people from the south. Anyone going up against Trump next election will need to be Bill Clinton and not Hillary Clinton, regardless of what happens between now and then.

Even with all of Hillary's disadvantages, it was a close race.

Had she run a smarter campaign, not neglected key battleground states in favor of shoring up her numbers in states that were already solid blue, had a better slogan than You Owe Me I'm With Her, it's very possible she could have won. Because Trump's ability to campaign was also awful.

Both candidates had a very tiny proportion of diehard fans, but the election was decided mainly by independents deciding to break one way or the other based on who they hated the least. Someone with all of Hillary's disqualifications but just 2 or 3 percent better tactics might have won.

[Matt Cavanaugh]

Quick addendum to my last post: I voted for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump. I would vote for her against a lot of Republicans, but the problem is that most Americans won't. I don't seriously wish her any harm, but she is harming her party. We need a Democrat who can appeal to most of the country, not a Democrat who appeals really strongly to 36% of it, and alienates everyone else.

I have no illusions about any politician, but I firmly believe Hillary would've been a far better president than obama, and much of the shitpile the dems now find themselves in would've been averted. We'd also have universal healthcare by now.

During the 2016 campaign, she was in large part constrained to follow the Dem's identity politics. But she is a plodding and overcautious candidate, her runs are the political equivalent of McClellan's peninsula campaign.

But if the Dems continue to engage in identity politics and to go along with this insane Kulturkampf being waged by the regressive left, they will continue to get their clocks cleaned at every level of government office.

[Matt Cavanaugh]

... yes that helped Obama. Especially since he did not play up the fact that he was black.

You've got to be kidding.

[John D]

... yes that helped Obama. Especially since he did not play up the fact that he was black.

You've got to be kidding.

I think Obama's race actually did help him. Most people who would use race against a black candidate will vote Republican anyways. So... for us "middle-American" white folks, we were proud to vote for the black guy. I viewed his race as a positive. I was under the false impression that it would help race relations. Too bad I was wrong about that.

[TheMudbrooker]

"More Keynes and Mill, less Marx" would be a good plan for most leftist parties anyways.

One big problem is that political ideologies unite (at least) three things which should not be united together.

1) A set of goals
2) A grand theory
3) A set of methods claimed to hold the solution to achieving the goals.

The problem is that we have no reason to believe that anyone has a good and workable grand theory.
Methods need to be modest experiments where we measure results and freely change our minds when
we discover what seems to work and what doesn't.

You've been in the Pit for more than ten minutes and nobody has told you to fuck off?
Goddamn, we're slipping.

[Bhurzum]

NSFW link.

Stiff drink on standby.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!