“IM-PEACH-MENT?!?” Donald yelled from the Presidential Shitter.
“Oh, fuck, here we go,” the hair said.
“Shh. Sleeping,” the hat said hoarsely.
“Will you wake up?” the hair said, rocking back and forth. “This is embarrassing.” Donald had left the hat on the Resolute desk, upturned like a turtle dying in the sun, the hair inside the cap.
“Call the scheduling secretary!” Donald said. “Get her to get that old hag over here! We had a deal, dammit. A deal!”
“WAKE UP!” the hair screamed.
“What, goddammit?” the hat asked loudly and then quietly, “Why am I upside down?”
“Donald left us like this after you passed out,” the hair said.
“I passed out?”
“You took like eight Benadryl.”
“Why did I take eight Benadryl?”
“I don’t know,” the hair said wearily. “Why do you do anything you do?”
“Where’s Donald?” the hat asked.
“Reading Twitter on the shitter.”
“Stop rhyming; too tired for that,” the hat replied.
“Turn over,” the hair order. “Let me out of your bowlish nethers.”
“And Schumer! Get them both in here!” Donald yelled. “Drag him in by his hairy tits if you have to!”
The hat rocked to one side, grunting, and then to the other. “I’m stuck, I think,” he said, still rocking.
“I can’t get any leverage,” the hair said.
“Throw your weight to the said side when I do,” the hat said.
“I’m hair!” the hair said. “I don’t weigh anything.”
“All that Rogaine you been stress-eating?” the hat asked maliciously. “You weigh, buddy-boy. You weigh.”
“ARE YOU CALLING ME FAT?!?” the hair screamed.
“Fat?” Donald asked. “Who’s calling me fat?”
“Can we just do this?” the hat asked. They grunted and rocked together until the hat flipped over. The hair crawled out from under the brim with a series of loud sighs.
They heard the toilet in the Presidential Shitter flush once, then again and again. “Goddammit,” Donald grumbled.
“He eats, like no fiber,” the hair whispered.
“Who called me fat?” Donald demanded, standing in the doorway to the Oval Office.
“Oh, my God, Donald!” the hair said.
“Donald!” the hat ordered, “Put your pants on!”
“What?” Donald asked, shrugging and making the bulbous tip of his penis bob.”
“Go,” the hair ordered. “Pants. Now!” Donald grumbled in retreated to the bathroom.
“A fucking mycological goddamn nightmare,” the hat muttered.
“Should we see if we can get Nancy and Chuck to come over?” the hair asked.
“Of course not. Nancy doesn’t want impeachment, she’s just had her hand forced. And Chuck is just her ass-puppet.”
“What are we going to do?” the hair asked.
“Yeah, what are we going to do?” Donald asked, back in the doorway and struggling to button his pants.
“We sit back let them eat each other alive,” the hat replied.
“We sit back let them eat each other alive,” the hat replied.
Yes. Go with the tried and true tactics.
“like a turtle dying in the sun”
Let me tell you about my mother.
*dives for cover*
Gods I hated Faulkner.
Just read a story about the transcript from that phone call. From what I read it boils down to, “Biden was bragging about ending the investigation, can you look into it?”, and “See if you can find out anything about Clinton’s server”. A lot of people voted for Trump because he would do this type of thing. So if that’s all that’s in the transcript, and the transcript is accurate, the Dems have found another rake to step on.
eh, not exactly.
He did blatantly lie before and say he didn’t ask the Ukraine to look into it in their call. Transcript reveals he did. Unless there’s a a quid pro quo, it may not be that bad.
But it’s still pretty silly and he does not look good.
Got ‘im this time!
And the minimizing
They just edited it out to protect Trump.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-ukraine-unredacted-call-transcript-read-ukraine-president-released-by-white-house-today-2019-09-25-live-updates/
Yeah… there is an ellipsis in there. CNN was making a big deal out of that. “What else was there? Why did they cut it out??”
They are going with the “if it is possible that something else was said, we are perfectly within our rights to make it up and pretend that it is the verbatim gospel.
I’m having a hard time seeing it the way they see it. I wonder if there are any weirdos like me out there. I’m not a Trump guy, at all. But I don’t see it. I assume Trump guys won’t see it. But what of mr and mrs independent in Michigan? How do they react?
They’ll vote for whoever promises to find them a decent football coach.
He also asked about Crowdstrike and the DNC servers.
That’s where he starts…. basically “hey, we had this russian interference thing… and I hear it started with some dude in your country… can you look into it?” And later he tosses in “and I’m hearing stuff about Biden and his son”.
Remove “Biden runs for president” from the equation and you’d say he absolutely should have pushed for this.
It seems that they have forgotten that Obama used the FBI and other agencies to spy on Trump, pulling in an Australian ambassador to actually spy on the campaign, a british national and former intelligence agent to go to Russia and get Russian Intel on Trump….
Now they are saying asking a foreign leader anything at all about a political opponent is obviously a high crime and nobody will oppose impeachment now.
Implicit quid pro quo. Bet that is where this ends up.
He did blatantly lie before and say he didn’t ask the Ukraine to look into it in their call.
Trump brings up Crowdstrike and the Hillary server mess:
[cut and paste from ScribD redacted because it was a fucking mess]
He also brought up the prosecutor being fired, Biden’s kid, and Biden bragging about getting the prosecutor getting fired, and asked them to look into it. Zelensky said they were looking into that whole mess because it implicates the honesty of the Ukrainian government.
Caveat: I skimmed, may have missed something.
Transcript here.
One is baffled at how any of this is criminal and thus any basis for impeachment. Remember, impeachment should only be for crimes committed by the President while in office.
Because they’re saying it’s improper for the president to use his power as president to have a foreign leader investigate his political opponent.
I’m sort of middle of the road on this, but I understand the argument.
Like, you know, having an Australian diplomat spy on an opponent’s campaign. Or maybe paying the Russians for their intel dossier via an intermediary….
Do we know that Obama was involved in that though? I mean we think that, but do we know it?
We’ll never know that because no one in the Media or in the bureaucracy wants to know.
Was the FBI not under Obama’s DOJ?
If the dossier had been legitimate there would have been nothing wrong with asking for it. The difference between asking someone to investigate something and asking someone to make up an allegation is pretty significant. And damn it I hate having to defend Trump here because that transcript is a permanent record that our president is a babbling imbecile.
“the other thing, There’s a lot of talk about Biden’s son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out aboput that, so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great. Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it…”
This is indisputably him asking them to look into the situation, so when Trump said he had not done so he obviously spoke falsely. Now you can certainly argue, as I would, that there is nothing remotely improper about asking a nation to investigate wrongdoing that may have occurred, even if that wrongdoing involved an opponent. In fact I find it hard to imagine a counter argument.
Being a candidate should not provide immunity from investigation.
The Constitution says “high crimes and misdemeanors”. Pretty plain language that, even though the process is political not judicial, the President cannot/should not be impeached for something that isn’t a crime. Its quite non-specific on what kinds of crimes, but I don’t how you can say the Constitution provides for impeaching a President who hasn’t committed a crime of some kind.
Now, can Congress disregard the plain language? Of course. Wouldn’t be the first time.
” Remember, impeachment should only be for crimes committed by the President while in office.”
Well, high crimes & misdemeanors, which sounds definitive but probably isn’t. As has been noted repeatedly, impeachment is a political process not a judicial one. For example, Obama’s imperial assassination of an American citizen. Legally pretty clear, but politically, nothing was going to happen (for all kinds of reasons).
You could also argue that there could be a cumulative factor: that is, an accumulation of minor offenses that amounts to a need to remove someone from office.
None of this is to say that I support (or oppose) impeachment. Just that I think it isn’t necessary to prove a straight line as you would in a courtroom.
For example, Obama’s imperial assassination of an American citizen
Not to worry. Trump got his sister, also an American citizen.
Has he ever looked good?
That’s my problem. The guy is a train wreck and he’s unsupportable. But he’s miles better than what the Democrats are putting up. BIden went around the bend about 20 years ago…. and he’s the most palatable of the DNC candidates.
That is one hard pill to swallow.
They are all-in.
CNN is blaring that this is it. They are saying that asking a foreign leader to look in to a political opponent is beyond the pale and he is done. 100%, no room for interpretation, this is it.
The money quote for me was, on reading the transcript one CNN commentator said “there is just so much here…. .I mean, why would you put this out?!?!”
It is a giant nothing burger. The Ukraine president said they were well aware of the Biden situation and added a lot of detail as he said they were already looking into it.
If anyone bothers to read this thing, it blows up in the Dems face.
But prolly they will only read the headline, which says “Transcripts show Trump pushed Ukraine to investigate Biden” Huge headline. Pushed.
Well, maybe. But that’s about the most gentle push I’ve ever heard of.
If you view Trump as an outsider who is fighting the “deep state”, then asking someone to look into Biden and Crowdstrike are positives, not negatives.
It is the one good thing about Trump.
I would vote for a Dem in 2020 if they would nominate someone who was an explicit enemy of the deep state.
Honestly, that is the biggest problem with the Johnson/Weld ticket last time, they wouldn’t have been anti-deep-state.
Well, most of the DNC crowd is against the deep state…. but the problem is that they just won’t keep it deep any more. They want it right out in front, making sure that you believe the proper things, think the proper thoughts and are a good citizen.
“Well, most of the DNC crowd is against the deep state”
Nothing says “We’re against the deep state” quite like “We need lots more government.”
Don’t forget that with the exception of the folks like Devin Nunes, Trump is the only politician who at least claims to fight the deep state. The silence of Ted Cruz or Mike Pence has not been unnoticed.
I have a hunch that Pence’s general MO is ‘speak very softly and carry a big stick’.
He also hates Mondays.
He wishes they were Sunday, ’cause that’s his fun day.
For you, Ted.
Who is Mike Pence?
I think he wrote Animal Farm
No, that was Huxley.
One important point here many conservative outlets are pointing out: he asked the Ukraine’s help in an existing DOJ investigation of election corruption. Since the investigation started there it doesn’t seem that improper.
“They grunted and rocked together until the hat flipped over.”
So, their first sex scene?
Sadly, they are both strict bottoms.
who isn’t
Why are you posting under a pseudonym, Eddie?
I’m glad someone got the joke. Like I know it sucked but grrr
(Nothing against Eddie btw. Or cocksuckers. idk why I’m explaining myself, please ban me)
Ban you? No, we’re going to promote you.
lol omg tonio
“Tonio is a cocksucker…” LOL. All true except maybe the poofter.
Wait you are gay? No way! Next thing you’ll tell me is Rhywun is also or that Q is straight..
To: Heroic Quadroon
From: Soyboy, erudite Catholic
Tonio is a cocksucker. That’s right, cocksucker. Pillow-biting cocksucking bent poofter uranist.
Please don’t ban me and block my IP, SP! Please no!
I miss Eddie, Eddie was overly sensitive but he was quite intelligent. You sir are no Eddie.
I mean, true. It was just a reference to prove I’ve been here because no one remembers me (and you shouldn’t, truly—but you don’t even remember / barely acknowledge(d) posters you ought to (have), like idk Diego (who also left), that dude with the racecar avatar, lol, I don’t fucking know, I haven’t been here in a while. You’re very cliquish, and that’s not trolling. You have your crew and fuck everyone else, even those who have lurked for years).
I miss Eddie too, even as a cocksucker.
That last sentence was ambiguous and I’m cool with that.
I mean, whatever, dude. I’m trying to get banned, genuinely. Tattle on me, please.
I do.
When I was lurking over at TOS then came out of the shadows, I remember getting hammered because *I* assumed that because I “knew” everybody that they should also know me too.
So I had to explain that while I was soaking up everybody’s opinions and personae, they had no clue who I was, so I shouldn’t have expected a warm welcome.
This was only to say that I do remember you.
Meh. I get the cliquish critique. But Everyone is pretty welcoming. And sure we might miss a few who leave (i had forgotten about Diego) but that’s the nature. I posted a little at TOS but under a different name. I might not be part of TPTB but i do feel welcome and apart of the group here, not like an outsider trying to get in. It just takes time for people to get to know how you tick. Also contributing helps alot (through comments, but also through articles). I don’t think i’ve ever seen an article deadpanned here (except maybe robc’s article about SLT), everyone is pretty welcoming.
I never expected a warm welcome, and I still don’t. But thanks for the “warm” “welcome”
In fairness, how would we know how long someone lurked?
And I would like to say that we had several lurkers come out for the spring BIF, and they both shipped and received local beers. You sir, were not one of those lurkers.
I had several exchanges with Diego. Did he leave angrily? I must have missed that. And I see no evidence of ‘fuck everyone else” here, How do you expect us to engage lurkers? By definition they don’t say anything to respond to.
Here, I’ll give it a go. hey lurkers. I hope you find my comments amusing. that is the goal. Feel free to tell me to go to hell if I piss you off.
What’s with the Lloyd Bentsen impressions? I’m not asking for acceptance. I get it. I know this place, I know “the other place.” I know you guys.
Just ban me and recommend me a gun. Well, not in that order, lol.
I know of 2 lurkers.
Lurkers don’t stay if they aren’t enjoying themselves, even if it is just hate-reading.
@SoyBoy: Fuck off Tulpa, Happy now?
@Jarflax: Go to Hell. (Ok i’m just kidding, don’t taze me bro)
@Neph: yeah… I got nothing but in the spirit of being welcoming, i didn’t want to leave you out.
When I was lurking over at TOS then came out of the shadows, I remember getting hammered because *I* assumed that because I “knew” everybody that they should also know me too.
There was a much less welcoming vibe at TOS. I joined the commentariat late and there were several folks who got hostile at questions about the in jokes. A big spur to my migrating here was that most of the folks who were welcoming over there left to come here.
I can see cliqueishness in this group, but when someone leaps from the shadows flinging poo and saying “ban me” over and over again, it comes off as a half-assed troll job trying to get a rise out of people.
Clearly “lurkers” was the wrong word. I mean even people who post here, maybe not that much, maybe not since the beginning—those people are always Tulpa, no matter how much they post, and they’re not responded to, and it’s not (just) because they don’t have anything worth responding to: it’s because you have your clique here. And that’s cool. Friends conglomerate, and then reject excess, and that’s how it should be. You have that, and it’s great. But so why not close it? You guys have beer exchanges and meet-ups and it’s beautiful, and you go way back, and it’s awesome that that can happen now.
I really think that’s lovely.
SP, if/when you see this, will you ban and delete my username and IP or whatever is possible here?
Jarflax: I guess that’s the benefit to coming out of the shadows before the move. Or at all. You were smart. I’m too fucking shy and stupid to do any of it, and when I tried (too late) you guys rejected me. And I was still afraid regardless.
This is all irrelevant. You all know about guns, but I know nothing. Shouldn’t you have a beginners article about it?
I mean even people who post here, maybe not that much, maybe not since the beginning—those people are always Tulpa,
It is established that we are all Tulpa
no matter how much they post, and they’re not responded to,
There is no one here that I will not respond to if they post something I:
1. agree with strongly and want to amplify
2. disagree with strongly and want to rebut
3. can make a joke based on
and it’s not (just) because they don’t have anything worth responding to: it’s because you have your clique here.
There are a couple of folks here who seem to only respond to certain other people, but you are saying this to me, Nephilium, Leon, Mojeaux and UCS none of whom I see doing this at all.
I’m too fucking shy and stupid to do any of it, and when I tried (too late) you guys rejected me. And I was still afraid regardless.
In case you haven’t noticed we’re engaging you now. I do recall you popping up before, and don’t recall any specific conversations, but I think this rejection is at least in part in your head. Today you popped up asking to be banned and lashing out so you got a hostile reception, but in this thread you are being engaged with because you actually started saying things. I’m not sure what you are looking for here?
If I have nothing to say, I don’t say anything.
If ANYBODY sparks something, I will respond no matter who they are.
And also, it took me a long time to realize that “Fuck off, Tulpa” is the standard greeting of a n00b.
“I miss Eddie”
“he was quite intelligent.”
This is worse than anything that SugarFree has written.
@Soyboy: Mind telling me which clique I’m in? I’d like to know.
The complaining about a lack of responses is a bit entertaining when you’ve got a whole thread going asking about home defense weapons.
I do not recall Eddie.
I was just giving some noxious unsolicited thoughts because I’m an asshole, and most are almost assuredly bullshit. Nothing personal, and no one should care what I think. So it’s a clique? So what? That’s a good thing. I respect you guys. I’ve lurked long enough—I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t think you were wise and insightful (and funny) overall.
I just want to kill myself. You’re libertarians, I think you can appreciate that choice. I’m thinking via gun, but I don’t know how to go about it.
I guess just to see what happens if I just say things. It’s still an isolated internet site, so it’s not that scary.
But you guys know about guns, and I don’t know how to find out about them. Like I can’t find a “beginners firearms for dummies” thing?? Maybe I’m fucking blind.
I have no idea what happened with Diego. He just disappeared. It was weird. He was one of my favorite posters. I saw him posting on Reason a while back when I still occasionally checked out that site, so idk. It was a dumpster fire there. Idk what motivated him to go back.
I just want to kill myself. You’re libertarians, I think you can appreciate that choice.
To avoid chronic pain? yes
At the early stage of Alzheimers? yes
Because you feel isolated? Hell no, that is a waste.
I just want to kill myself.
Seeing as I just spent a couple of hours talking with my depressed brother as he explained all the options for killing himself and why he dismissed them, I find this comment unsettling.
If you’re joking, I don’t like it.
If you are serious, understand that you will destroy the lives of anyone that actually cares about you. So unless, you are an orphan with no close relatives or friends — go find a therapist or call a hot line.
@Jarflax: No, I just mean because it’s a personal, individual choice. (And also to avoid those future former affirmative references you made, but that’s more just partial explication.)
“Tonio is a cocksucker…” LOL. All true except maybe the poofter.
I miss Eddie, too, for the same reasons. I berated him mercilessly at TOS and he always took the high road. Sometimes good enemies are better than bad friends.
I’m not joking, and I know, and we all know. We’ve, well, I’ve heard it all my life, and I know. It’s not flippant, it’s not GLIB. I know the consequential pain others will feel but it’s all just comparative and so they can and should fucking hate me but so
be it
“Sometimes good enemies are better than bad friends.”
WORD bitch! Especially on the internet. Idk, maybe that was the asshole point I was sort of almost trying to make—you know, beneath the genuine asshole points (but also I’m not distancing myself from anything I said).
I believe my SLT article had exactly one supporter (other than myself).
Don’t kill yourself with a gun!
You’ll be lumped in with all the bullshit “gun violence” statistics, and that’s bad.
….(I said “genuine” but I meant *general and it’s really bothering me so I had to say something.)
..
Maybe robc, but that’s probably the most notorious contributed article on here ever, soo. That’s a damn trophy.
Maybe robc, but that’s probably the most notorious contributed article on here ever, soo. That’s a damn trophy.
Just wait until I get around to writing part 2 and part 3.
I will eliminate that one supporter if it is the last thing I do! And at my pace, it might be.
I have no problem being the lone voice of …ummm… reason …ummm….yeah, guess that is the right word, on this site.
LOL. It’s ok, those are the plurality (vast plurality? is that a sensible, appropriate phrase?) of them so 1 more won’t budge it. And hell, they’ll skew anything they want however they want for their benefit no matter what whenever forever. (Which is why I’m bored of the “but it’s a double standard / it’s hypocritical!” stuff, but I digress.)
Don’t kill yourself.
You also shouldn’t feel bad for pulling a thread into OT.
It’s almost always ot.
Thanks. It’s cool. You guys don’t know me so it doesn’t actually matter, so I’ll deal with it. But I appreciate you guys and your knowledge and, you know, making it worth lurking all these years– like a decade, actually. lol
You’re good people. Except you-know-you.
“Seeing as I just spent a couple of hours talking with my depressed brother as he explained all the options for killing himself and why he dismissed them, I find this comment unsettling.
If you’re joking, I don’t like it.
If you are serious, understand that you will destroy the lives of anyone that actually cares about you. So unless, you are an orphan with no close relatives or friends — go find a therapist or call a hot line.”
Double this, dude.
That was supposed to be you-know-who but you-know-you actually is coherent even if not equivalent. It’s like close though right
Power bottoms?
No, they just sort of scissor.
Huh. I don’t think that jibes with established canon, not unless the Hat has extremely unusual anatomy.
Who are you, the script girl?
Not Adahn is red shirt guy.
It’s not sad that I know that reference, but but it is sad that I haven’t cancelled my subscription even though my nephew broke my gaming computer and I don’t have time to play now that I’ve taken up shooting.
But classic is back!
So, 14 slot bags max, crafted ammo and hanging around in /2 “LFM SM need heals”?
No thanks.
Thunderfury.
And talent trees!
What, you don’t like running around for 39 levels hoping to scrape 100g together?
I don’t think I was able to afford my first mount until 47.
afford my first mount
Seems like you could have come up with $20 (same as downtown) earlier than age 47.
Noob.
I bought gold.
“A fucking mycological goddamn nightmare,” the hat muttered.
Amazing
Are orange mushrooms poisonous?
Sorry to go OT, SF, Fantastic story:
Somewhat related though is the release of the transcript (H/T Raston Bot): https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Unclassified09.2019.pdf
My first thought reading through the first page is “Man how much does it get to your head when you have so many guys trying to suck your dick” Could the Ukranian Pres have a bigger brown nose?
“Man how much does it get to your head when you have so many guys trying to suck your dick”
How is this OT?
Look at things from his perspective – The Russians have taken Crimea, and a Russian backed separatist group is warring for control of the eastern part of his country. The EU is not helping, and indeed, more likely to cower before Putin. He needs to keep the US friendly, and flattery, supplication is exactly the sort of approach that appeals to Trump.
Another masterpiece.
I’m torn on my favorite line.
or
My friend texted me Happy Impeachment Day. There’s #ImpeachmentParty on Twitter. Lots of excitement. It’s nice to see people happy.
I’m afraid for the Mental health of my Fellow Americans.
Like i said yesterday (this time with more punctuation): I think a lot of the people excited about impeachment are the same people who think Hillary should have won with the popular vote. They don’t understand that Impeachment only means it get’s tossed to the Senate, and that the Senate will not convict.
And Donald will crow and crow and throw his “innocence” in their face at every opportunity. This is going to be an epic own goal.
also they have only opened an impeachment inquiry.
Not really. Previous impeachment inquiries have started with the vote of the full House, which triggers enhanced subpoena authority. Pelosi was just tapdancing; nothing has really changed.
So they haven’t even done that?
One assumes the Republicans also get full subpoena power.
Committees issue subpoenas. Committees now controlled by Dems. So, no, the Repubs don’t get subpoena power.
And I’m willing to place money down that the party loyal Dems in purple districts really don’t want an impeachment vote to be held.
saw polling from yesterday that said yes/no on impeachment in swing states was 20/60 (the rest undecided or don’t care, i assume).
swing-state Dems are realllllly not happy.
The UAW strikes aren’t really helping them either.
It’s OK. I live in California. We’re unique(ly mentally ill). I’m not worried about most of the country. But it is sad and weird to see people get so pumped about this stuff…. like there aren’t more important things. (Which is the point, because for them (us?) there aren’t, well, not always.)
get’s
Apostrophe abuse is definitely an impeachable offense.
What kind of asshole does that? With the current zietgeist, an impeachment would bring us closer to a shooting civil war at any time in our history since 1861.
Probably someone like me. Sorry.
if one tulpa texts ” ” to another tulpa, do they both disappear down a wormhole to the next time-space continuum?
No, we fixed that bug.
But also they genuinely don’t get that, that’s the thing. And I probably don’t fully get it either, I don’t get broader American culture, I just happen to be a congenital contrarian. But so they’re signaling to their in-group or whatever. (Which they probably see me as.) It’s not their faults individually, it’s just .. kind of sad aggregated.
You make it sound like a shooting war is a bad thing. At least the left would stop worrying and love 2A.
The niggling partisan harassment has been consistently tiresome this entire administration.
Trump’s exactly the sort of man-child bully weasel that the people voted for, so largely he should be left alone.
If the people want to reelect a man-child bully weasel, then he really should be left alone unless he shoots someone in the middle of fifth avenue.
The only purpose any of this serves is to illustrate what an indigestible candidate Herself was.
But Don. It was HER TURN! And Trump hates the Jews and the gays!
What do you mean he waved a rainbow flag at a rally? I never heard that.
It’s what I think a lot of people voted for, actually, IMHO. I want the fighting. I don’t want to pretend that the powerful aren’t Epstein (ok, I’ll be generous and say they’re not ALL quite THAT bad) types. Let them fight each other for dubious legacy. And so thereby leave us the fuck alone.
(Well, leave us alone relative to the counterfactual, I mean. Let them have their world and their bubble.)
Sorry to go OT so early.
Some years ago I read Arnold Toynbee’s A Study of History. I was reminded of it recently when I responded to an article posted on Facebook by a prominent neo-conservative that contended that imperialism is the hallmark of an robust and dynamic civilization. I noted that, quite the opposite, expansionism is usually a phenomenon associated with a civilization’s late maturity and early decline.
But, the recollection got me to thinking. One of the interesting things Toynbee contended was that civilizations ultimately decline because they encounter a challenge that they are not equipped to respond to. This led me to wonder – what potential challenges facing our civilization could be that fatal challenge? What challenges, if not dealt with, pose the risk of our civilization being bested by one more capable of dealing with the challenge? My initial vote, at least provisionally (and thus subject to change) is an embarrassment of riches. Our civilization has proven so wildly effective that our elites no longer feel a particular loyalty to our civilization, creating a disaffection at the top that I believe might ultimately prove fatal.
Whoops! Meant to add:
Any feedback on that challenge? Any alternate candidates?
GLOBULL WARMING!
“Our civilization has proven so wildly effective that our elites no longer feel a particular loyalty to our civilization”
What civilization are these elites loyal to then? The Islamic world? China? Seriously, using Huntington’s framework, where do they align?
I don’t think Huntington’s framework really applies. I think they think of themselves as belonging to a new “post-Western” civilization. Civilizations don’t so much collapse as get usurped by new ones. And I think many of our elites think of themselves as belonging to such a new civilization. The problem with that is that there really doesn’t seem to be much appetite for a post-Western civilization outside of the elites. Hence the rise of the various nationalist/populist campaigns in recent years.
Ok, but remembering my Toynbee, that’s a description of the “universal church” – a symptom of decline but not the cause.
As I said, it’s been awhile since I read it. But, it sounds to me more of an abandonment of a universal church.
I dunno, I think the Middle East (Arabs, anyway) and probably China have an appetite for a post-western civilization. Thus HM’s question.
I doubt the Middle East, at least, would be particularly happy with post-Western civilization in the sense I’m referring. I’m talking about a new civilization growing out of Western civilization.
The elites might be naiive enough to think they can start a third post-western way, but they are too small compared to Islam and China to not be overwhelmed by them. One only has to look at England and France to see their elites – acting as you say they do – getting overwhelmed by Islam and China.
Perhaps if the elites actually HAD a third way in mind and weren’t so welcoming to Islam and China you would have a better position, but the elites don’t really have any goal other than “Us at the top by hook or crook”.
Do we define our civilization based on the progress from Aristotle to Aquinas to Magna Carta to Locke to Jefferson and Madison? Or do we define it as Plato to Augustine to Cotton Mather to Breton Woods? It has always had both elements in it and there has usually been a class element to the divide with elites leaning toward the Plato side.
d’oh I moved Aquinas back in time!
The best answer I can give you is “yes”. I think the tension between those traditions has always been part of our civilization. And it probably works well. But, even the Plato/Augustine/Mather/Breton Woods axis has never traditionally thought of itself as outside our civilization and our elites have generally seen themselves as answerable to God or posterity in the context of that tradition.
My impression is that that generalization doesn’t hold so clearly for our current elites.
Businesses fail because they are myopic.
I’ve tried to think of a significant company that made a huge change and succeeded. Who was one thing for a decade, successful, and then changed to be another thing and went for another decade, successful. I’m sure there are historic examples, but I’m not coming up with them. Most die instead of change; who changed?
goddammit
IBM, Microsoft, Apple, the baby Bells
must say I really only like Apple of those
the rest strike me as more of the same (otherwise, being around for a century doing the same thing as technology evolved would qualify everyone from Ford to Budweiser)
3M occurs to me: massive changes from original operations
IBM managed to go from office machines to IT services as their main line. They survived the change and are somewhat successful, as far as I know.
okay, maybe IBM is in
MSFT makes more money in services and cloud hosting than selling copies of windows, that’s a pretty big change IMO.
the baby Bells going from dumb pipe telephony/ISPs to buying out content creators is big as well
IBM kind of did. i mean they are all ‘business machines’ but they changed a lot. Cincinnati Milacron did with a big hiccup in the middle. But it isn’t the way to bet.
I’m not sure that IBM makes any hardware anymore.
They sold that to Lenovo.
Sylvania, Nentendo, Sony
Sony is the perfect answer.
I’ve worked in the Sylvania plant in Seymour, IN on occasion.
Businesses that are successful in the long term tend to remain specialized and small, or they suggest and grow large. Larger businesses don’t tend to change their core focus overnight, they branch out to another venture and let the less profitable divisions wither. 3M would br a good example of that pattern.
Suggest? That was supposed to be diversify. I should stop posting from my phone.
Part of the problem is that most new iideas ultimately prove lousy. A business making a transition to something new might have the wrong “new thing”, might be terrible at executing in the new space, or may just not have the requisite resources (knowledge of the particular business, supply chains, etc.) to succeed.
the wrong “new thing”
Exactly. As technology advances and application tends to address dynamics further up Maslow’s pyramid, the hit or miss of each business idea becomes further risky. To some extent, this is corollary to the notion that most high-tech wins are more about being in the right place at the right time, to essentially be run over by a demand wave while standing still in a serendipitous spot.
Said another way: in the old days a guy decided to build a better horseless carriage and did and then went out and sold it. Whereas if we look at the spectacular personal technology successes, almost none of the products look precisely like the original kitchen table sketches or concepts that they scratched up at the very beginning of their design journey.
That’s part of why I argue that “Western Civilization” as it is usually conceptualized is way too broad to be of any real use.
What an asshole…
They are sociopaths. They align with themselves. They will adopt any culture, religion, or political doctrine that maximizes their power and wealth. Loyalty and principle are words not in their vocabulary. Right now it looks like what suits them best is Islam and International Communism. Those two systems are custom designed for concentration of power, so why not.
All that is true. But, I’m not sure it’s complete. They’re dismissive of traditional ideas and doctrines that would actually advance their wealth and power. And, of course, there’s the whole issue of the fact that their very status as elites owes to the existence of our civilization.
“All that is true. But, I’m not sure it’s complete. They’re dismissive of traditional ideas and doctrines that would actually advance their wealth and power. ”
Which ones would that be? I am in agreement with Suthen that what these people want is concentration of power with themselves and to destroy the existing structures that stand in the way of them acquiring this. Don’t confuse what the credentialed elite in the leadership class is after with the slavish following by the envy driven mouth breathers they pray on to get support for their revolutionary ideas.
drug-resistant syphilis will save the planet for coyotes and cockroaches
I’m pretty sure all mammals can get syphilis.
Treponema pallidum, the bacteria responsible for syphilis, is only pathological in humans. Animals can get related diseases from different subspecies of that bacterium though. If you want a zoonotic STD, brucellosis is your culprit.
And the Incels
Global warming.
Not the scientific reality of it, the political bullshit around it.
I doubt there’s any single reason they decline and fail. It’s like asking, why do businesses decline and fail? Lots of reasons, many of them very similar to what happens to civilizations.
“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
Businesses fail because they are myopic. They think what makes them a raging success will never change and they cant see change even as it happens right in front of their nose.
Governments are the same. Governments are the products of culture. As cultures change governments resist that change hoping to keep their place.
Ok. (sorry again for the OT):
I finished reading/ skimming through the transcript and have a lot of thoughts and want to get them down and organized.
First i tried reading it before reading to much commentary on it, and i invite you to do the same, to formulate your own opinions on it.
1. I don’t think this makes Trump look “Clean”, or especially good for Him. It actually looks like he did what they are saying, which is trying to push Ukraine to investigate the Company the Hunter Biden was a board member of. He mentions Biden in the transcript.
2. Why did Trump Release this? Maybe he thinks it’s nothing. Maybe He thinks it’s better to get ahead (It’s not the crime but the coverup and whatnot). Or maybe he’s just dedicated to transparency (lol).
3. I don’t think this is a Slam Dunk for the Dems: Politically this requires them to sink Biden, i think. Either Trump is guilty and they impeach, then they can’t run a guy who’s pretty much guilty of the same thing as the man they are impeaching. It also puts Obama in the line because there is clear evidence that Obama admin did something similar. If the Dems argue that pushing an investigation for corruption of a political opponent is wrong, then they are indicting Obama. It would be interesting if they impeached Trump, he was convicted, and then Pence prosecuted Obama. (not that any of that would happen, and perhaps that is the saving grace for the Dems here)
4. Finally I’m trying to parse this conflict. When is it acceptable to investigate a politician for crimes. I don’t think politicians should get it easier or a get out of jail free pass, but i also see the great opportunity for corruption in allowing a government to investigate the people who are opposed to those in power. In the end i fall back and say that this is one of those untenable problems you get when you have the state.
I think it is less damaging to have it out in the open early. Having read the text, I can see this boiling down to the people who already hate him continue to do so, those who already support him continuing to do so, and the middle hearing a bunch of shrieking from both ends and covering their ears.
This might force the moderate Dems to actually have to give in to the progressives and go through with a for real impeachment.
Which also works in his favor given both the composition of the senate and if the current polls can be believed (ie, even dem voters are not favorable towards impeachment)
Why did Trump Release this?
1) It keeps the Democrats talking about Impeachment, which is a net winner for him
2) It keeps him from looking Nixonian. The received wisdom of the Nixon scandal was, “its not the crime, its the cover up”, and so far that appears to be true for Trump. “Trump releases transcript of Ukraine meeting” puts the issue to bed for lots of low income voters
“They’re impeaching me for trying to uncover possible corruption? I don’t know if these are the people you want to be in charge of America.”
The spin almost writes itself.
Thus, the whistleblowing.
*dons tinfoil hat*
I’ve read the entire transcript–it’s short. There’s nothing even remotely inappropriate there wrt Trump. Ukraine has been demanded by the West to fight corruption since forever. That has always been a condition for an improvement of the relations with Europe and the US (whether it’s visa-free travel to the Schengen zone or getting credits). The corrupt behavior that affects both Ukraine and the United States should not be an exception.
After reading it now, I don’t think it’s all that bad and I’m changing my middle-road attitude a bit.
He seemed to merely be asking the Ukraine to cooperate with the existing investigations, which would be not that bad really.
Agreed, I’m struggling to find any way to read this that could be interpreted as being an impeachable offense.
Or you can go the route they seem to have taken at TOS and just say that since the transcript isn’t a smoking gun for impeachment, well then therefore it must be fake or Trump altered it somehow. Cuz, y’know, orange man bad, etc.
TDS is literally a national mental health crisis at this point.
Why you make fun fun of the Mentally challenged?
/jk
Apparently we’re all crazy assholes, now.
And racist!!
“Finally I’m trying to parse this conflict.”
There but for the grace of God go I.
I read it.
Seems more like Dems are scared shitless Trump will find the DNC server they claimed they couldn’t access and Mueller couldn’t find despite not looking for it.
This is more of the same shit that the proggintelligentsia have spent the last 3 or so years doing, now albeit at a factor 10 of urgency since all their stall tactics have failed miserably to prevent Trump from moving along with getting us all to know how corrupt the Obama administration really was (since they couldn’t get rid of him), and it reeks of desperation. They fear the IG report exposing the criminality of Obama’s weaponized bureaucracy and what it means for all of them that willingly went along with the fabricated crisis they hoped to use to get rid of the outsider the people put there to destroy their corrupt machine.
Their problem is that trump will not just rollover or keep quiet, so this too will not just backfire on them spectacularly, but cause irreparable damage to the marxist party. I say that is all good for the rest of us.
On pure politics alone, this is a tarpit for the Dems.
Because you cannot talk about it without talking about Biden and his son. Biden, actually threatening (he claims) to withhold aid to get a prosecutor fired isn’t a good look, especially since one of the few investigations that prosecutor seems to have been pursuing was to a company his son is connected to.
And, since we’re on the topic Biden Jr, just why was he getting all these jobs overseas that he has no qualifications for? The only plausible answer is influence peddling. Put that together with Biden’s threat, and who knows what else, and it stinks on ice. And not for Trump.
The Dems would be smart to drop this.
I’m sure Biden wishes they would. Harris and Warren on the other hand see it as a twofer
If they don’t think a full-out brawl on this via impeachment, including deep dives into the Biden clan (and potentially other Obama-era shenanigans), won’t splash on them and every Dem, they are fools indeed.
The claim that Trump is corrupt for asking that a political opponent be investigated runs smack into their celebration of investigations of their political opponent, Trump. Again, a deep dive on this is going to show lots of dirty hands on the Dem side of the ledger, splash on everybody, etc.
I just don’t see them coming out ahead on this, despite Trump’s clumsiness in bringing up Biden at all. Christ, have Giuliani do that confidentially as your consiglieri.
Jarflax bring up a good point though. A large enough bloc in the DNC wants to be done with the Clinton era and move on with a more Marxist direction. That means there’s enough in-fighting within the party and people are trying to feel around to see what the ruling bloc within the party will be in the next couple years and how they can fit in. That’s why the Pritzkers were funding both Clinton and Obama, and Obama kind of had to make room for HRC somewhere. Sanders wasn’t getting funded by the Pritzkers and he was getting traction anyway. The old guard Dems were loving that Trump was usurping the GOP, but were ignoring what was going on in their own party.
I don’t even think Pelosi cares anymore. She’s got her exit strategy in place and she’s just trying to make sure the Marxists don’t plunder her wealth.
This led me to wonder – what potential challenges facing our civilization could be that fatal challenge?
Trump.
*I couldn’t resist.
Serious reply- the current deconstruction of history. A generation being taught to despise and defame western civilization is going to be ill equipped to survive.
I think what you’re talking about is part of the larger “revolt of the elites” that I allude to above. So, yeah, I agree.
We’re a couple generations into this now. “Hey Ho Hey Ho Western Civ has got to go” was something like 30 years ago.
Even worse, they didn’t replace it with anything.
My brain is bupkis.
And nature once again weeds out the undesirables.
I would say that our unprecedented wealth has apparently given us permission to be stupid. Sooner or later being stupid catches up with you, no matter how rich you are.
I don’t know anything about guns. At all.
What a good first gun to get for self-defense?
No one needs guns for self-defense. Just call the cops.
You need someone to record the aftermath and file a report.
How big are your hands? If you want simplicity I’d suggest a revolver, but the model and caliber choice depends in part on the size and strength of your hand.
A PPK.
Had to say it after the last thread. And it’s not actually a bad choice in 9mm (recoil vs. stopping power).
A 12 gauge Remington or Mossberg tactical pump shotgun if you’re only going to have one. They’re by far the most versatile weapons out there and they’re easy to use too. If you need a pistol try holding a bunch of them before buying because the actual fit to an individual’s hand is highly variable from model to model.
Thanks, Stinky
+1 on a shotgun. Pump action makes very intimidating noises when cocked. The shot is not likely to penetrate walls. You don’t have to be too accurate in a high-stress situation to at least wing your target. They’re inexpensive. They’re ubiquitous.
You don’t have to be too accurate in a high-stress situation to at least wing your target.
At indoor range (call it 5 yards max), a full cylinder 12 gauge shotgun prints a pattern several inches across, certainly no more than a foot. It doesn’t increase your margin of error by much.
I got my new 11-87 to the range last weekend for the first time. 20 gauge #3 buckshot (20 pellets) at 7 yards. Two thirds are in the 10 ring. Everything is in the 9 ring. There is very little spread at any distance you will have inside a typical suburban house.
What choke do you have on it?
Brand new out of the box. Just the cylinder bore as far as I can tell — I did not install a choke.
From the website of the retail shop I bought the shotgun:
Specifications:
Barrel Length: 21″
Overall Length: 40 1/4″
Magazine Capacity: 4
Barrel Type: Vent Rib, Rem Choke Mod
Sights: Single bead
Length of Pull: Adjustable
Stock Material: Synthetic
Stock Finish: Matte Black
Drop at Comb: 1 1/2″
Drop at Heel: 2 1/2″
Weight: 6.5 lbs.
Hmm, Google tells me I may be an idiot.
Modified choke will be tighter than full cylinder, and give you a tighter pattern. Pretty typical “out-of-the-box” choke, I think.
Don’t rule out semi-auto shotguns. They are my choice, because in a high-stress life and death situation, I would rather rely on a proven mechanism than my fallibility in racking the slide.
This is why I bought a Remington 11-87.
I’ll be trying out the CZ 1012 this weekend.
For carrying? Something you feel like you can carry every day. Something you don’t mind losing to the police. Something with a decent history and parts. Holster availability. 9mm seems to be the leading choice currently.
People like different stuff. Find one you can hold and shoot.
For home? You could get away with the same thing as a carry gun.
I l like my Walther PPQ, but it’s probably the biggest it can be for concealed carry.
How much do you want to spend?
Do you live in an anti-freedom state?
I live in California, so yes.
I don’t care how much I have to spend.
Find a range and shoot of a bunch of stuff, then ask these gun freaks for their advice.
Just walk in and make an ass of myself because I know nothing and will say dumb shit?
I mean, I know yes. I just don’t know how to do it.
Sign up for a class at a gun store. It’s expected that you know nothing.
Gun guys love, I mean LOVE, teaching novices. No not all of them, but if you go to a gun shop, or range and hang around for a bit to see who is who, and then mention that you are interested but know nothing about guns, you will have people sharing their knowledge and opinions (probably far past the amount you want to hear)
That’s good to know. Thank you. It’s still intimidating, of course. It’s like gym rats– “No one cares what you look like or your form or anything, they’re just glad you’re starting and trying.” But it’s still anxiety-inducing. Buttfuck it, aye
Your asking them about something they are interested in.
How do you respond when someone wants to talk about something you’re interested in? If you’re like me you have to restrain yourself from giving a fistpump and spewing (phrasing!) way to much to fast.
I just assume most people are smug and mean in general, based on experience.
That’s a good answer.
However, if you want actual recommendations:
Because .45s are awesome.
Revolver option.
BTW, looking at the CA “allowed” list made me sad for CA Glibs.
It could be worse, they could be stuck in New Jersey instead, at least the Cali glibs have nice weather.
And the fucking hoops. Thanks Sean.
“at least the Cali glibs have nice weather”
Which is why I’ll never leave for long. It’s actually ruined me.
“I don’t know anything about guns. At all.”
Check out big dick braggart over here.
lmao
I have been extremely happy with the Springfield 1911 EMP in 9MM and the Sig p938 in 9MM. I shot the Springfield 911 in .38 ACP. It is a lovely pistol, but I wanted 9MM. A year after buying my Sig p938, Springfield came out with a 9MM version of the 911. I would buy it instead of the Sig if I was in the market.
I’m real pleased with the Kimber Micro 9 I got recently.
https://www.amazon.com/photos/shared/A2_m80dOSrumvJTo4ilG3w.MwfmF85lV-TvPP2vg_Y50J
Rifles are way more fun and easier to shoot than pistols. I would suggest either a .22 long rifle or pistol caliber carbine. The ammo will be cheap, it won’t bash up your shoulders, you’ll learn and practice without a lot of hassle. It’s not like you’ll get a carry permit in CA.
If money doesn’t matter, this would be a ton of fun. The manual arms is basically the same as an AR-15 if you ever decide to go that route later. It’s accurate and 9mm ammo will be easy to find during the apocalypse. Beretta and many other companies make somewhat cheaper versions.
California-legal carbines. I’d be shopping for CZ or Sig.
Thank you Drake
Good luck sir!
Learn the 4 rules and have fun.
Not to try and tell anyone what to do but we should maybe stop with the gun suggestions given that Soyboy has announced that he is asking for these suggestions in order to kill himself
I would never hurt another person, ever.
I am glad to hear that, but I don’t want to help you kill yourself either. You seem to be hurting and I am sorry I jumped on you earlier (although in my defense you did kind of ask for it). If I can help in some way let me know.
Yeah, that.
lol. That was a mere hop at best 😉 I AM no Eddie, but it was just a droll reference, that’s all. I liked Eddie. I was just making references because I wanted people to think “How does this weird person know these things?” and for them to feel queer, and then I wanted to get banned because how embarrassing is that
I have to actually get off here and do some work, but if you need to talk my handle at gmail will reach me.
Thanks Jarflax. You’re kind.
Clearly I failed at getting banned, but I hope when SP isn’t busy she will. Maybe erase everything? Please do
Sorry for attention-whoring. It wasn’t actually my initial intention.
Clearly I failed at getting banned, but I hope when SP isn’t busy she will. Maybe erase everything? Please do
No can do. I’m pretty sure the buisness model is to collect all the stuff we say and then blackmail us in the future.
“No can do. I’m pretty sure the buisness model is to collect all the stuff we say and then blackmail us in the future.”
SP and Old Man are old, rich and happy, so I doubt—
Then again, so was Epstein. And…. idk, Preet? I don’t fucking know.
fuck
“I don’t know anything about guns. ”
Which congressional district do you represent?
Exactly. I should run.
Except I have a visceral discomfort with dissembling, and it’s fucked me, I’m a fucking psycho.
I feel really stupid that this is SugarFree’s thread. I’m sorry.
Well you certainly got attention didn’t you, don’t do anything stupid please,
the more Tulpae around here the better
Cheers!
I don’t want attention, I feel like a fucking asshole, I hate all of this
BAN ME PLEASE
Yeah, I suck, people fucking suck
I would email SP directly but I deleted all my email accounts. Please just delete all of this and I’m sorry for intruding
I mean I fucking suck, it’s me, it’s not people, I’m not blaming anyone else, I know what I am I just don’t want to say the words
I didn’t want attention like this, I thought it would be quick, and I’m sorry. I’m logging out please ban and delete me please
I know what I am I just don’t want to say the words
A human being in pain? Who actually seems like an ok sort who would fit in here when he isn’t screaming about how bad he is and begging to be banned. That’s who I am seeing.
Are you gonna carry it?
Keep it next to the bed?
Do you have neighbors a block away or on the other side of the drywall?
What do you see as the threat to defend against?
Do you have any specific physical limitations?
Conversation recently at the office, with a pretty ordinary Dem. I am a known gun owner. After some preliminaries:
OD: Do you have an assault rifle?
RC: No. There’s really not a good definition of those, but I don’t have one by any definition.
OD: Why not?
RC: Because they are medium caliber weapons that basically shoot bullets in the .20 caliber range. What I have is called a battle rifle, not an assault rifle, because it shoots high-caliber .308 rounds. I got it because I like the extra range and because it will punch through all but the very hardest body armor.
OD: . . . .
RC: So, about that TPS report . . . .
Don’t battle rifles need to be select fire? I don’t think I’ve heard the term applied to anything else.
Technically, I think you are right. Of course, I think that if you go by those (military) definitions definitions (rather than the cooked-up media/gun controller definitions), so do assault rifles.
I was, you might say, firing for effect anyway. I am pleased to say I got the effect I wanted.
M1 Garand is not select fire. I think it is generally considered to be a battle rifle.
I took three Benedryl last night and shit got weird.
You took them rectally?
Did you wake up with someone’s hair in your bowlish nethers?
I was looking at some druggie forum a while back and people were talking about dosing up on Benadryl and having extremely realistic hallucinations. I don’t know how you’d stay awake to manage to do that.
fuzzy weird or weird weird?
Just fuzzy! And I didn’t send my mother naughty pics this time, so it wasn’t that bad.
And I didn’t send my mother naughty pics this time, so it wasn’t that bad.
Ok, I take back my joke about you being a male prostitute. You are a stand up comedian even I would recognize aren’t you?
Would you recognize Paula Poundstone?
Who is pounding her with a stone? Or does she pound the stone?
I know I have said it before….long before Trump was on the scene.
I don’t vote for Republicans or Independents to go to Washington to ‘get along’ with the left. I don’t want them to be bipartisan and ‘get things done’. I am not interested in compromise. Any compromise with evil is one where evil wins, where evil gets to advance its agenda one more increment. Fuck that and fuck the spineless, useless shits that make up 95% of the R party.
I will vote for any rattlesnake or bully to go to Washington, get down in the muck and fight tooth and nail for the values I hold dear. I hire these motherfuckers to go to Washington to kick ass. Fuck compromise.
That is why I will vote for Trump again presuming he stays on this path. I have no use for squishes.
He is very entertaining and I like that he’s very “fuck you people” about it all and that he uses Twitter the way he does. I also like that he makes the right people’s heads blow up and that it deepens the divide between the privileged elite and Joe Sixpack, who is not stupid.
However, I followed him in the 80s and 90s because I was a market hound at the time. He stiffed his contractors. He agreed with the Kelo v. City of New London ruling. He had declared he would be running for president at least two times before, so I didn’t take him seriously this time and I still think he was in it on a lark and is still trying to keep it to a lark. But mostly, he stiffed his contractors and that I cannot get over.
I don’t think I can pull the trigger for Trump. I pulled the trigger for GJ last time, but I won’t do that again, either.
To me, he’ll always be the Short-Fingered Vulgarian that SPY Magazine routinely mocked.
I held my nose and voted for him, but I largely agree with you Mojeaux. He is a charlatan and a buffoon. He is not at all a principled person, much less a principled conservative (in the classical liberal mold of conservative, he is arguably a populist flavor conservative ‘Murica fuck yeah guy) . He’d ban guns in a heart beat if he thought it would fly with his voters.
I’ll hold my nose and vote for him again because he crumbles away at the “regal” nature that we tend to hold toward the holder of the office.
I am not sure about the RE Development industry as his level. There is so much corruption. Contractors, state and city officials and permits, EPA crap, unions, organized crime, etc etc…having to deal with all of them and actually ending up with a finished product seems like quite a trick to me. Having litigation after the fact where someone is complaining they didnt get a fair shake? I don’t know if that can be sorted out or if there are any good guys involved. While that and the Trump U business gives me reservations I kinda brush it aside. After all, I am not a Trump fan, not really. What I am is the mortal enemy of ” you are damned right we are going to take. your guns and if you don’t give them up we are going to imprison or kill you”. Any stink bomb I can throw at evil shitstains like that is fine with me.
There were plenty of mom’n’pops he put out of business because he didn’t pay the bills.
Do you remember when he was in so much debt the banks were forced to give him more money so he could dig himself and them out?
He was the original “too big to fail.”
When it comes to corruption, size doesn’t matter. Most mom-n-pops are corrupt as hell. I worked for a mom-n-pop in high school and they had more ghost payrollers than actual workers.
Developers buy land in one entity, fund from another, and then do the building in yet another. Once the building is done the developing entity goes bankrupt, stiffs the contractors, and the land owner entity forecloses out the entity with the debts. It happens a LOT, but that does not excuse it and if you do it you are scum. The only client I ever outright fired (as opposed to just refusing to do specific things for) did something similar, and I took a pretty decent hit to my income to not be associated. It was well worth the money.
Oh I always vote 3rd party. However, that’s a really cheap brag since I’ve never lived in a battleground state.
If you want, I’ll forward you the junk mail I receive as much as three months out (and record as many ads as I can before going into a killing rage) and send them to you. I’ll take out the local election/issues ones and you’ll still have more then the standard LD50.
If I had wood heat, I’d take you up on that offer.
fuck the spineless, useless shits that make up 95% of the R party.
Preach it.
““What?” Donald asked, shrugging and making the bulbous tip of his penis bob.”
Oh my God.
Now for something a little lighter. I’ve posted this before, but I needed a laugh today. Things I Learn from My Patients. I won’t explain how my mind wandered to that, but it involved the word “poofter.”
I don’t think swallowing all your cock has the same results.
OT: U.S. Military Warns Troops About Possible ‘Joker’ Incel Violence, No Credible Threats Reported
Be safe out there – the incels are about.
Is that you John Wayne?
Paula go sleep with them, then they won’t be incels anymore.
“Shoot, move, communicate” – Out
“Cower, quiver, cry” – In
(Disclaimer: violence is wrong and the following is not to be construed as a defense of incel violence or any related behavior)
I’m curious on the glibertariat’s thoughts on the following:
I see this rise of “incel” culture or attitude as an, actually very logical, conclusion of our current culture. Consider the following, which are statements widely accepted and parroted (not word-for-word, but you get what i mean) by the media and cultural figures:
1. White people are evil/bad/etc.
2. Men are evil/bad/etc.
3. Men are sex-obsessed criminals who rape women every day (see 4-in-5 women stats)
4. But, virgins are losers and failures
5. There’s no excuse for you not to be successful, because you have white male privilege
So these guys are hearing: you are a bad person because of your race, you are bad person because all men are bad, having a sex drive is evil because it makes men into rapists, but if you aren’t/haven’t had sex you are a loser and a failure. Oh, and if you’re not successful and rich, you really are a huge fuck up and it’s your fault, since you have white male privilege.
How is that not a perfect recipe for a social outcast with a chip on their shoulder and no respect for others? And our response is too….further ostracize them and paint them as loser virgins?
Again, I am not trying to defend such behavior, but It seems so simple to me that this is a direct result of the culture we’ve built. It’s a golem of our own creation.
(and by “we” I of course just mean western culture as a whole, and present company excluded)
I agree that many angry incels could probably have their lives improved if they were treated with compassion instead of contempt.
It’s also true that the vast majority of incels are *not* violent. However, by and large they need to take some responsibility for their own lives. You don’t get any better with women by getting bitter and whining endlessly on the internet.
You don’t get any better with women by getting bitter and whining endlessly on the internet.
*revisits plans to land some major tail*
* convulsive laughter *
I agree 100%. They absolutely need to take responsibility for their own lives, really everyone does.
Bulls and stags get to hang out on the fringe and rub against trees until they man up and win something. The alternative is soma and legally-required pity fucks.
We have the soma. And the pitiful government fucks me.
I agree. I’m gonna sound like a lame old conservative here but I think it’s got a lot to do with hook-up culture and the demise of the family. When people used to pair off relatively young and getting around was considered undesirable (mostly for women), sex was more evenly distributed. With the rise of hook up culture we’ve come to resemble a herd; the females wait around to get poked by the dominant males and the beta males have to watch from the sidelines. It’s only natural anger and resentment follow. I think I’m mostly echoing points Q has made in his article.
” think it’s got a lot to do with hook-up culture and the demise of the family.”
No. It has a lot to do with the ills of social media.
I don’t see the two as mutually exclusive. Social media is the stage on which more and more of this all occurs/is viewed from.
This is important.
Yeah, I tend to agree. For various reasons, I’ve been exposed to and watching more teens/twentysomethings in the last few years, and it’s disturbing how much of their lives depend, absolutely depend, on their interactions on social media. The few I’ve known who’ve more-or-less kicked the social media habit are much more thoughtful and grounded, and have a lot less drama in their lives.
I am disturbed the tunnel vision/addiction that people in that age group have with their phones, and I am sure it is mostly social media. They simply cannot stop looking at their fucking phones.
Drives me nuts.
*shakes cane*
Wait, does this count the late 90’s/early 00’s? Fuck… you mean I was a dominant male? Gods damn I feel sorry for some people now.
That’s a very good point, I think I might agree. however, I think it may have less to do with sex per se, and more with the lack of a family. A family is in itself a support structure, as well as a source of purpose. Having a spouse and kids gives a reason to live, and I think a lot of these incels don’t feel they have any purpose in the world. Probably, as I mentioned above, because they feel that the world hates them.
I did not realize Q had an article on this topic. Did not intend to steal his thunder or disregard his (probably better written and more thoroughly thought out) points.
I see sexual desirability and the family connection as linked. Lack of success/rejection by women reinforces the idea that they aren’t suitable as mates and correspondingly won’t have a family.
Being rejected by a woman should destroy a persons confidence.
I assume you mean *shouldn’t*? If not I don’t understand your point
Yes. Shouldn’t. Sorry. SugarFree has me rattled.
and take 10 points off their credit score too, incels are higher credit risks.
Ah, I get your point then and I agree. See my response to HM below.
http://www.soc.duke.edu/~jmoody77/chains.pdf
See Figure 2.
1. White people are evil/bad/etc.
2. Men are evil/bad/etc.
3. Men are sex-obsessed criminals who rape women every day (see 4-in-5 women stats)
Change “white” to “black” and you have the basic racist stance during Jim Crow, yet you very rarely had black men launch campaigns of mass death.
Incel shit is a product of a massive sense of entitlement by a generation raised to never experience losing or rejection.
Yes. After being rejected don’t improve yourself by going to the gym, making more money, going to a therapist, whine about it incessantly on the internets.
Shut up, libcel.
Guess who is going to be the next subject of my reddit thread?
You! YOU!
AMA, brah.
But the black men didn’t have #5 to deal with.
No, they just had the “we’ll lynch you if you get uppity” thing instead.” Still steam building with no safety valve.
I’m not sure i agree. Do you think the lack of “black men launch(ing) campaigns of mass death” has more to do with the entitlement of today’s generation – or is it because black men in Jim Crow didn’t have the necessary means to engage in such campaigns?
Entitlement. Jim Crow era folks knew that all that would lead to was race riots.
Shooting up a theater is a symptom of narcissism. Why won’t you listen to ME? I DESERVE being listened to. I have the power of life and death now. Etc.
I get your point. I think i agree wrt entitlement. But I would say that it is more like #6 on my list of 5 examples, as opposed to an alternative to all 5.
Agreed. See my comments below.
This is a good point as well. Emotional fragility and lack of resiliency exacerbate the situation described above IMO.
“Change “white” to “black” and you have the basic racist stance during Jim Crow, yet you very rarely had black men launch campaigns of mass death.”
Or you could have changed “black” to “homosexuals”, and have the concurrent frenzy, despite no campaigns of mass death launched by actual homosexuals.
The media has to whip up some kind of frenzy or they have no reason to exist. This “incel” shit is the laziest one yet.
despite no campaigns of mass death launched by actual homosexuals
Who is Alexander the Great, chopped moussaka?
What are the incel campaigns? Most are just sad fucking losers consigned to the internet. They’re not conspiring.
Underestimate the Beta Uprising, do you?
lol maybe
I wish I were a women so I could just fuck them all and save the world, y’know? (And then take a long shower.)
I’d be the greatest hero.
There’s a second aspect that I think you’re missing. The left’s replacement of achievement and accomplishment with entitlement has given them the worldview that sex isn’t something that is a response to that in them that is valuable, but their due by virtue of the fact that they’re breathing.
Think about it. Take a speech by Bernie or AOC. Replace a few words, say “the rich” with, alternately, “Chads” or “women”, or “money” with “sex”. You’ll see it’s almost a perfect facsimile for an incel rant.
In some ways, they’re simply following the left’s ideology to its logical conclusion.
Why do you think so many jumped into the Yang Gang? They practically came in their pants when he gave a shout out to NoFap the other day.
This… This happened??
Which is kind of funny cuz….. I’d hit it.
ok I fucked that up. I used to know how to do this tags…
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D2yRHLgU8AAEVv_.jpg
Also, have you ever read Zamyatin’s “We”?
No, but the plot summary sounds pretty interesting.
Good book. Short read. You’ll really like it if you have a tooth fetish.
I added to my list, even though I found Tristan Shandy a difficult read.
I agree with that, and I see it as an aspect of my overall point that I definitely overlooked in my original post. It’s all of these things combined that have led us here. It would be a very interesting exercise to do as you say with a AOC or Bernie rant, maybe a future Glib article?
You can also try swapping out “billionaires” with “Jews” and see how it matches up with a certain other person from history.
See all the memes mocking small penises?
Oh no not memes!
I just skip the meme part and download small pee pee humilation porn.
I saw one with Australian women. They still called him “mate” while mocking his micro penis. The question remains, why would one submit themselves to this humiliation?
Arousal and shame circuits get mixed up during puberty. It’s not as if variants of the punish me I’m sooo naughty kink are exactly rare.
Meme magic is real bish
But seriously, that affects people.
I know I’ve learned of impotent or small-dicked serial killers who were motivated by that exact reason. And it makes sense, doesn’t it? And yet “only someone with a small dick would want an AR-15!” repeated repeatedly over and over, you know, like again and again.. That doesn’t have an impact? Even IRL you hear people mock people with small dicks. I work with a woman who told me “That guy over there has the smallest dick of anyone I’ve been with, HEE HEE.” (At least he’s got privilege, right?)
I work with a woman who told me “That guy over there has the smallest dick of anyone I’ve been with, HEE HEE.”
Sounds like somebody needs an appointment with HR and some tolerance training. That’s a hostile work environment you got.
There is no HR, thank God. But she’s an awful person.
Alternate approach:
“Huh. That’s weird, because he says you’ve got the loosest pussy of any woman he’s been with. Like throwing a hot dog down a bowling alley. Sounds like you could both be right, now that I think about it.”
lol I fucking would have, and wanted to, but I hate confrontation, especially with people I have to see regularly. So I just bottle it up. Very healthy.
+1 big vagina
There’s definitely something to that theory. I think with the “sexual revolution”, society is moving back to an animalistic arrangement where the highest status males mate with multiple women, and the lower status males never mate at all. On top of that, males are told that they’re horrible sexist monsters who are responsible for everything bad in the world. The result is a pool of males who feel that they have nothing to live for.
I think there’s something similar going on with white nationalist movements. People are told that in order to end racism, we have to have slavery reparations, affirmative action, and UK-style speech controls. In short, white people are told that they have to pay money and have their rights reduced or else they’ll never rid themselves of the original sin of racism. I don’t think it’s out of the question that an increasing number of white people might respond to this by saying, “If that’s what it takes to have a multiracial egalitarian society, then fuck it, I don’t want that.” Add in people like “The Squad” who are pushing socialism and deflecting all criticism by referring to their race, and I can see why white people might want to make the US an all-white nation or relegate non-whites to second class status. I’m only half white myself and couldn’t disagree more, and I still think a person bears the ultimate responsibility for their thoughts and actions… But this is a predictable result of Leftist policies and rhetoric.
Oh yes, i agree. It is very much the same thing in regard to white nationalism, a few of my points also apply directly to that.
And as you say, there is not an excuse for such attitudes, but these are the logical conclusions of the current zeitgeist.
There’s definitely something to that theory. I think with the “sexual revolution”, society is moving back to an animalistic arrangement where the highest status males mate with multiple women, and the lower status males never mate at all.
I think that can work for awhile, but I can’t see that it is sustainable. The “high-status” males you’re talking about, baby-daddy to a bunch of single mothers’ spawn don’t really have the resources to support hardly one family, let alone multiple. And “single mother” is a pretty shitty spot for a woman to find herself. Sure, the welfare state masks the unsustainability of the arrangement by acting as surrogate father. But, that only exacerbates the problem as more women make bad decisions and impose further costs on the welfare state.
It’s definitely unsustainable. The question is what the response will be. Will the government wise up and stop incentivizing/rewarding single motherhood, or will they double down on the welfare?
I think we already know the answer to that one, especially if we get more dems in office
Oh, they’ll double down. For awhile. But, that’ll only give them a bigger hole in the boat. Something that can’t go on forever, won’t.
In short, white people are told that they have to pay money and have their rights reduced or else they’ll never rid themselves of the original sin of racism.
And the irony is that the advocates of these policies even acknowledge that even these things won’t satisfy them.
Making these outcasts even more outcast will surely alleviate the nonexistent danger.
I already solved the incel problem. They just have to come out as trans and then they will not be hailed as out but as woke.
THERE MUST BE AN OUTCAST GROUP TO FEAR AND HATE. AND IF THERE ISN’T ONE WILL BE INVENTED.
There has always been a market for this bullshit.
“the bulbous tip of his penis”
https://archive.is/iXRAh/3ce09e106cf4619f93f6250ba6e89748816b5cc7.png
The dipshit House Dems can impeach Trump for any reason they like. It’s not a traditional criminal proceeding and it’s a largely political remedy to a president breaking his oath of office. I read the transcript; it’s nothing. Pure absurdity for them to be impeaching over this; but then again, this only serves to prove that it’s AOC’s party now. Pelosi held out as long as she could against the extra-chromosome brigade, but she finally broke.
The irony is that Dems have been screeching about Trump not wanting to get to the bottom of the “MUH RUSHUH KULLOOSHUN” for two years. Now he finally asks about it and they lose their shit. BTW: Biden *was* bragging about getting the prosecutor fired. There’s a fucking video.
The whole thing is a joke and, as usual, it’s at the expense of the citizenry.
Pelosi held out as long as she could against the extra-chromosome brigade, but she finally broke.
She gave a press conference. Launching impeachment requires more than that, it (traditionally) requires a full House vote. The House goes into recess in a couple of days.
Semi-confident prediction: The House never votes to launch impeachment. Why would they, when they can have their faux-impeachment “investigations” and “hearings” generating the headlines?
Npr hasn’t been able to get to any other news today.
OT – BTW – that rusting Tesla Model 3 was involved in multiple accidents.
Doesn’t change the issue that Tesla has pretty poor factory paint.
all factory paint anymore is total garbage. The water-based stuff they have to use now for VOC compliance doesn’t lay out as nice and as a result you get awful orange peel on everything
This – she didn’t break at all, quite the opposite. She threw up a smoke-screen.
Pretty clever, actually. Especially considering she can count on the MSM to carry her water and make a big deal out of it.
Do you remember when he was in so much debt the banks were forced to give him more money so he could dig himself and them out?
“If you owe the bank fifty thousand bucks and can’t pay it back, you have a problem. If you owe the bank fifty million bucks and can’t pay it back, the bank has a problem.”
The banks weren’t forced to do anything. They chose to lend him more money on the belief it was better than the alternative. IOW, they could collect pennies on the dollar now, or provide capital support in the belief that he would turn the businesses around.
To be fair, the banks in question bought into the deal knowing it was a high risk venture. They were also buying into the right to syndicate the loans at pretty hefty profits when they made the deals.