In 2017 Idiocracy is a Documentary

#7921

jugheadnaut wrote:When the gay marriage debate was first gathering steam, I thought the solution was obvious. Make the civil/legal aspects of marriage the sole concern of government and make it available to any pair of adults,under a name other than marriage. The term 'marriage' would be completely privatized. This seemed to solve all the problems. Gay couples would not only get the full panoply of rights traditional to married couples, there would be complete marriage equality as well, which was my main interest.

To my surprise at the time, most gay marriage activists were adamantly opposed to this. They wanted exactly the same marriage heterosexual couples had. It became clear their fundamental goal wasn't to solve issues gay couples had, it was to make the normalization of gay relationships formal legal doctrine. I had thought they were doing a tremendous disservice to the gay community, in that it seemed unlikely there would be true gay marriage for decades. It seemed more important to the activists to have the real and pressing problems gay couples faced available as ammunition in the larger ideological battle instead of solving them. Of course, it didn't turn out this way. There was a huge and incredibly quick shift in public opinion favorable to gay relationships and gay marriage won unconditionally. While it's not the solution I thought made the most sense, I'm perfectly happy with this outcome.

What I'm not happy with is that the ideological zeal continued after the war was won. Suddenly gay marriage was orthodoxy, the only acceptable belief a decent person could have, even predating the legalization. Like a conquering army killing off the wounded after a rout, private individuals found to have supported the 'traditional marriage' side were suddenly marked for revenge if they held any position of responsibility, and providers of services who just wanted nothing to do with gay marriages would have a legal cudgel brought down on them.

That's very much how my thinking went, although I would add that gay marriage has only benefited a few of the most privileged gays, at the expense of all others.

#7922

Kirbmarc wrote:Kamala Harris has a bad track on due process.

Through her career, Harris has been a bit of a triangulator, at least by California standards. Unlike Bill Clinton, whose triangulation made him a broad spectrum moderate, Harris' triangulation has mostly manifested itself in being "tough on crime", due process be damned.

The hard left sees her as an unreliable ally, so it's likely we'll see a lot of virtue signalling coming from her in the runup to the next presidential campaign. For the libertarian-minded, she may wind up being the worst of the candidates by far.

#7923

screwtape wrote:
jugheadnaut wrote: When the gay marriage debate was first gathering steam, I thought the solution was obvious. Make the civil/legal aspects of marriage the sole concern of government and make it available to any pair of adults,under a name other than marriage. The term 'marriage' would be completely privatized. This seemed to solve all the problems. Gay couples would not only get the full panoply of rights traditional to married couples, there would be complete marriage equality as well, which was my main interest.

To my surprise at the time, most gay marriage activists were adamantly opposed to this. They wanted exactly the same marriage heterosexual couples had. It became clear their fundamental goal wasn't to solve issues gay couples had, it was to make the normalization of gay relationships formal legal doctrine....
I'm sorry you had your eyes opened to human nature so roughly. But if your suggestion would have been accepted, what word would you have chosen for the pair-bonding that was not sanctioned as 'marriage' by a church" I'm anxious to avoid confusion with other usages, so 'coupling', 'pairing', 'partnering', 'unionizing' have to go by the wayside. 'Living in non-sin' or perhaps 'Living in sinlessness' make perfect sense, but are a bit clumsy. Might I make a suggestion that 'shacking up'* become the accepted legal term for such unions?

*A suggestion made after experience of four years of shacking up, followed by thirty seven years of legal marriage. The shacking up was incomparably better.

Simple, one of the names that is commonly given to it, civil union or domestic partnership. The couple would be absolutely free to call themselves married, whether they had some kind of ceremony or not. Where things would get a bit weird is if a couple had a 'marriage' ceremony, but no civil union. Just like current civil marriage laws, the couple would eventually automatically be considered to be in a legal civil union, but it would be a novel situation at the outset and probably would need some kind of name to distinguish it.

#7924

screwtape wrote:
I'm sorry you had your eyes opened to human nature so roughly. But if your suggestion would have been accepted, what word would you have chosen for the pair-bonding that was not sanctioned as 'marriage' by a church" I'm anxious to avoid confusion with other usages, so 'coupling', 'pairing', 'partnering', 'unionizing' have to go by the wayside. 'Living in non-sin' or perhaps 'Living in sinlessness' make perfect sense, but are a bit clumsy. Might I make a suggestion that 'shacking up'* become the accepted legal term for such unions?

*A suggestion made after experience of four years of shacking up, followed by thirty seven years of legal marriage. The shacking up was incomparably better.

Is 'de facto' or 'common law' not the widespread legal term in usage for non-married couples?

nb not every country had America's experince of 'ramming it through hard' (although Australia's current attempt may seem a bit rough for some) - so in those cases at least, I guess the objectionable now have less to object to.

#7925

jimhabegger wrote:
screwtape wrote:... service to others is the best behavioural treatment for one's mental health.
I've noticed that too.

I took you off 'ignore' simply to see that. Don't let me down.

#7926

Brive1987 wrote:COD returns to Normandy.

With a twist.

The developers have talked about the realism and attention to detail in their latest COD game — down to visiting the real-world locations and consulting noted historian Marty Morgan — and while that may prove to be true of the single-player campaign, it is most assuredly not applicable to the multiplayer element.
Most notably, players can choose a male or female soldier, and some of the commanding officers giving introductory briefings are female.

From an inclusion perspective this is great, giving players the chance to customise a soldier they feel better represents them on the battlefield. From a historical perspective however, it’s problematic because it pretty much instantly takes away from the sense of realistic era recreation the designers have been trying for.

Well, some of the "German" troops defending Normandy were ex- Russian PoWs, which is essentially uniform crossdressing, which makes them trans. Put that in the game.

#7927

Oglebart wrote:...one of the reasons I decided to get my dog was to try to benefit my mental health, and the responsibility that comes with it has been very good for me. I don't have kids though, so don't have that frame of reference, I'm sure that's a whole new level (for most people of course). I don't call him an "emotional support animal" however. He's just my dog, how old-fashioned eh?

Nothing wrong with old-fashioned, as there is no reason to assume that newer means better, whether considering cars, politics or morals. Is it really a new concept that you help yourself most by helping others? I thought that was old hat.

#7928

My dad always said "The Lord helps those that help themselves...and Lord help them if I catch them doing it".

#7929

Kirbmarc wrote:The question of refusal of service is a different matter. It's actually a matter of refusal of service in general which has only emerged due to the gay marriage debate, and it's not tied to a discussion of individual rights but of anti-discrimination laws (can private businesses refuse service to a particular group of people?). I think that putting it under the big umbrella of "gay marriage" muddles the waters.

As I understood it, I don't think we know whether or not the bakery refused, or would ever refuse, to make the cake because the customer was gay. It was because the customer intended to use it in a gay wedding. I see the general question as being under what circumstances, if any, the government can rightfully prohibit private businesses from refusing to provide a product or service because of how the customer intends to use it, if that use is not illegal. Has that issue ever come up before? For example, can the government prohibit a business from refusing to sell a camera to someone because she intends to use it to make pornographic movies?

#7930

On the depression thing: I think I had a curious little brush with it some years back that’s worth recounting. One morning in my 51st year, I woke up feeling like every breath I took was a waste of air. My life was a failure, I had let down my family, my colleagues, myself, everybody despised me, I would never do anything worth doing...etc. For much of the day, I was either on the edge of tears, or actually blubbering. My family could say nothing to me without being snapped at or wailed at. Since I’ve always been a glass-half-empty-but-that’s-okay kind of person, this frightened everyone. But around four o’clock in the afternoon, the feeling snapped off like somebody hit a switch. I was fine again.

About four weeks later, it happened again. Eight hours of lachrymose self-loathing, and then the switch flipped. Four weeks after that, when I woke up in tears, the penny dropped—this was a pattern, it was probably related to menopause, and I’d be fine by suppertime. So I named it “H-Day” (H for hormones), warned the family to leave me alone for the duration, and waited it out. Yep, fine by four. This happened monthly for about 18 months, but it didn’t worry me or the family after I recognized the pattern, and I never went to a doctor about it. I figured as well that, if that was the worst menopause could throw at me, menopause could bite it.

My point: I have had occasion in my life to be sad, anxious, grieving, frightened, uncertain, paranoid, and despairing, sometimes in novel combinations. But the H-Day feeling was like nothing else. It did not relate to how my life was going. Knowing it would switch off in a few hours did not make it any less awful. I was briefly the victim of my own chemistry. And I reckon that, if it had settled on me instead of switching off by itself in a few hours, I would eventually have been forced to seek help. If this was a reflection of how the clinically depressed feel all the time, I can fully understand how they’d be desperate for meds or anything else to make it go away.

#7931

jugheadnaut wrote:Simple, one of the names that is commonly given to it, civil union or domestic partnership. The couple would be absolutely free to call themselves married, whether they had some kind of ceremony or not. Where things would get a bit weird is if a couple had a 'marriage' ceremony, but no civil union. Just like current civil marriage laws, the couple would eventually automatically be considered to be in a legal civil union, but it would be a novel situation at the outset and probably would need some kind of name to distinguish it.

It seems that you now want 'marriage' to be applied to any voluntary union, even if unmarked by any kind of recognition or ceremony. The confusion might stem from these thing, where (1) is traditionally wed in a church, (2) is the state needs to record the union, church or not, and (3) you can become married without a church being involved:
1. In the UK, where there is an established church (yep, I'm sticking my fingers down my throat for using the phrase), signing the Marriage Register in a church IS a civil union, 'cos legal reasons.
2. Let's take post-revolutionary France as an example next, where what happens in church was first separated from what civil law required. Marry in church all you like, but only the 'marriage' recorded in a civil register counted.
3. Screw the churches, marry in whatever civil ceremony your country requires, as I did in 1980.

We might all be better off if we avoided having separate religious and civil names. Wouldn't it be simpler for everyone if we had 'marriage' as the legal concept of union between two (nope, not going N=>2 just yet) people? I have seen zero harm from so-called gay marriage in Canada, and at the same time I see all sorts of nastiness elsewhere where people are arguing about it.

Take that argument a stage further and start asking about whether 'marriage' of any sort ought to exist, or whether the law might be able to protect an individual's interests without that concept. Are we dragging around an out-dated concept here? Most children born these days are technically bastards anyway. Maybe we need to update the legal system more than we need to rethink straight/gay marriage. In the end, it might be that St Paul, however briefly, wrote some sense in that he described marriage as an institution thus:

Thomas Cranmer wrote:DEARLY beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the face of this congregation, to join together this Man and this Woman in holy Matrimony; which is an honourable estate, instituted of God in the time of man's innocency, signifying unto us the mystical union that is betwixt Christ and his Church; which holy estate Christ adorned and beautified with his presence, and first miracle that he wrought, in Cana of Galilee; and is commended of Saint Paul to be honourable among all men: and therefore is not by any to be enterprised, nor taken in hand, unadvisedly, lightly, or wantonly, to satisfy men's carnal lusts and appetites, like brute beasts that have no understanding; but reverently, discreetly, advisedly, soberly, and in the fear of God; duly considering the causes for which Matrimony was ordained.
First, It was ordained for the procreation of children, to be brought up in the fear and nurture of the Lord, and to the praise of his holy Name.
Secondly, It was ordained for a remedy against sin, and to avoid fornication; that such persons as have not the gift of continency might marry, and keep themselves undefiled members of Christ's body.
Thirdly, It was ordained for the mutual society, help, and comfort, that the one ought to have of the other, both in prosperity and adversity. Into which holy estate these two persons present come now to be joined. Therefore if any man can shew any just cause, why they may not lawfully be joined together, let him now speak, or else hereafter for ever hold his peace.

If you take the godliness out of that, and apply it to any couple of whatever sexes want to have their mutual union recognised by the society they live amongst, it seems workable to me. I guess I am saying that there ought to be NO two distinct categories of union - currently civil union and marriage. Why shouldn't societies in which atheists form the majority simply say you (whoever and whatever you are) are married if you fill in the forms and sign on the dotted lines - provided you understand you are making a legal promise to observe certain responsibilities. Undertake all the religious ceremonies you care to indulge in after that, as that is your business and not ours. Marriage is now simply a recognition by the society you live in that you have chosen to partner together, with all the legal implications that are entrained. C'est tout. Finis. No second class unions. Nothing recognised by a god. Just what society, civil decency, and most importantly, the requirements of the ensuing issue (children, you idiots!) demand. After all, what can marriage be from an evolutionary point of view, except a better way of ensuring the successful upbringing of offspring and the survival of the genes of the parents?

#7932

Barbie's Boyfriend wrote:Sorry I forgot to put /s after my statement. I thought it was self evident I was being sarcastic. Perhaps not

I was talking about the attorney, who didn't seem very sarcastic to me. 90% of what is written here is sarcasm.

#7933

Howdy, I know I flounced, but... (famous first words)

No one else in the world remembers Rebecca Watson but you guys and this is about her. I had to come back for a bit. :D

Someone cloned her about 10 years ago! If you don't believe me, one of them is in this video. :lol:

It all starts with the kid following an Infowars guy around filming him for about 5 minutes (not in the clip below), so he says a polite "how are you, young ma'am" to her, but it accidentally sounds like "... young man". Her reaction is like what Watson would do too. The kid is not ONLY unfortunate in getting a Watson-like look. She also seems to have her personality!

Trump!

#7934

CaptainFluffyBunny wrote:
CommanderTuvok wrote:Thunderfoot has a shave for the first time in two decades.....but he still needs a fucking haircut.

Anyway, this reminds me. If Peezus ever wants his beard "shaved", I'll happily rip it off with a pair of rusty pliers. Just name a time and place, PZ. :lol:
Is it just me or does he look like a dorky male version of Scented Nectar...?

Ok, what's with these fucking clones? There should be consent. I don't mind my own self being cloned, but it looks like they spliced some of my hair and (partly the) face/eye shape genes with someone else's dorky brexit-supporting-cuz-work-travel-convenience genes. Creepy as fuck.

I have to say though... My features improve his looks. Ok, you can keep them this time TF, but ask first next time, ok? :lol:

#7935

It must be clone day today. I came back here to drop off a clone vid, and then I did a vanity search and found another clone vid. Weird.

#7936

Scented Nectar wrote:Ok, what's with these fucking clones? There should be consent. I don't mind my own self being cloned, but it looks like they spliced some of my hair and (partly the) face/eye shape genes with someone else's dorky brexit-supporting-cuz-work-travel-convenience genes. Creepy as fuck.

I have to say though... My features improve his looks. Ok, you can keep them this time TF, but ask first next time, ok? :lol:

Oh wait, the change he made was shaving, so that must have just brought out the hair and face-eye-shape somehow. Weird. I wonder if there's someone my dad never told me about some of his vacations overseas years ago.

HALF BRO? :shock:

#7937

I'm not sure how much personal stuff I want to reveal but i had experience of clinical depression for a number of years during the 90s.
We have a generic term for "feeling a bit down" so lay people equate that with the word "depressed" in a general sense but clinical depression is a number of factors/symptoms over a period (or returning episodes).
There's "chemical imbalance" , though the precise mechanisms are often not fully understood, there's also "reactive" depression where a traumatic life event triggers an episode (eg loss of a relationship/ bereavement), Most people feel sad, but recover and learn from such events (sometimes known in psychology as "resilience" ) but some do not. Think of it as a compromised "emotional" immune system. Another factor is lack of confiding relationships in childhood & adolescence and adult hood..

I will make a strange analogy perhaps, I would equate deep clinical depression with falling in love. Both very real experiences for the person
with life changing consequences but impossible to really fully imagine unless you've experienced them.

I was 29 at the time, when my father died from stomach cancer , that was the trigger though other factors made me vulnerable at the time.

Mum died in April this year aged 92. She had vascular dementia , severe mobility problems and I was a part time carer for her. I cried a bit at the time but not as much as I expected. So far I feel strangely detached but mostly functioning. Early days yet.

#7938

screwtape wrote:
Oglebart wrote:...one of the reasons I decided to get my dog was to try to benefit my mental health, and the responsibility that comes with it has been very good for me. I don't have kids though, so don't have that frame of reference, I'm sure that's a whole new level (for most people of course). I don't call him an "emotional support animal" however. He's just my dog, how old-fashioned eh?
Nothing wrong with old-fashioned, as there is no reason to assume that newer means better, whether considering cars, politics or morals. Is it really a new concept that you help yourself most by helping others? I thought that was old hat.

No, not at all, I'm on board with that sentiment. The old fashioned quip was only meant to apply to my last sentence, should have had a paragraph break perhaps! ;)

#7939

I've been dealing with clinical depression for a long time and have been able to hold back the worst of the symptoms with a combination of medication as well as behavior. At the worst times it is the worst hell you can imagine.
In my case and commonly it is a lot more than a profound sadness or the sort of grief one experiences when losing a loved one in the most tragic circumstances or the oppressive lethargy and inability to feel any sort of satisfaction with life. Sometimes my brain goes into a mode like a skipping record, constantly cycling intrusive thoughts that no amount of distraction or meditation can shut down. Take that month after month without any relief.
It is a real disease with a chemical/mechanical component and the chin up and get over it crap that assholes like PJW spout work as well on that as they do for diseases like cancer.

#7940

Fucking skunks everywhere. Every fall there are tons of young stupid skunks in my neighborhood. By November most of them are dead... either struck by cars or eaten by owls or coyotes. But, the period from Sept 1st to Nov 1st is hazardous to my crazy dog.

Last night, my 21 year old daughter had a drunken bash birthday party. So, I was up late, and drunk, and walking the dog around the block at 2:30 am. And... he bolted after a skunk. Normally, this is no big deal because I restrain him on his leash. This time however, his collar snapped loose and he got sprayed in the face. Fuck.

So, I was up at 2:30am last night washing the dog in detergent, hydrogen peroxide, and baking soda.... and drunk.

And I feel like shit today... haha. Just watching the hurricane on CNN. It is down to a Cat 3 so that is good news. Will probably get back to a 4 as it comes in from Cuba unfortunately.

But, I have no real regrets... hey. My dog and my daughter are fantastic. They need my help and I feel a duty and honor to provide it. There is no "logic" to it, but an honorable valuable life must include giving to others. Sometimes we get angry or frustrated, but this is all part of the magic formula. I was only angry at my damn dog for about 5 seconds... and then I went into dad mode. Washing him and speaking kind words. He can't help it that he bolts after skunks and I keep trying to train him to be more restrained. He is better than he used to be... but really... part of this is on me for not modifying his behavior enough to avoid skunks. I can't blame my dog for being a dog.

And.... my dog is fantastic. And I can't picture how sad I will be when he eventually leaves this mortal coil.

And perhaps I am a bit nostalgic today, but right now I feel sorry for our beloved Becky. She obviously has a fair amount of mental disorder. There is only so much she can do. People around her have presented her with a model of how the world words that is deeply flawed. She has embraced a deeply flawed model of how people think, act, and feel. It must be very frustrating for her. Now, I am not saying I would ever want to spend any time with her. She is exactly the kind of person I avoid for my own emotional safety. But still... I feel sad for her today.

Really, the left leaning models of how the world work are not helping individuals. This is why I rail about left leaning political policies. They actually do evil to individuals. They strip away the liberty and freedom of action that is essential to creating an honorable life. Honor is a real thing and a noble goal. (and don't get me started on po mo philosophy and the likes of Noam Chomski)

#7941

Scented Nectar - you dog!

Nice to have you back (even if just for a bit).

Hopefully you will stick around - or at least revisit for Xmas. Which would give me an excuse to post this vid (as it goes with your icon):

PS Hope things off planet have been going great - and if you have any more music recommendations let me know.

#7942

Kirbmarc wrote:
Barbie's Boyfriend wrote:Sorry I forgot to put /s after my statement. I thought it was self evident I was being sarcastic. Perhaps not
I was talking about the attorney, who didn't seem very sarcastic to me. 90% of what is written here is sarcasm.

And sometimes (oftentimes these days), I just ain't too bright.

Sometimes, I feel as if I am the least intelligent person in the Pit. At least until Comstink returns

#7943

InfraRedBucket wrote:

Think of it as a compromised "emotional" immune system.

There may be links between CD and immune disorders such as Psoriasis as well as possible genetic links.

#7944

free thoughtpolice wrote:InfraRedBucket wrote:
Think of it as a compromised "emotional" immune system.
There may be links between CD and immune disorders such as Psoriasis as well as possible genetic links.

If by CD you mean 'clinical depression', I learned when I worked in a dermatology clinic in the early 80's that Sweden allowed psoriasis sufferers to be prescribed at public expense a holiday in Morocco. Now whether they benefitted purely from the UV in the north African sunshine, or whether there was something more from being removed from work/family/marital stress I don't know and I don't know if that was ever studied.

I will add that the consultant dermatologist I worked with was a lovely guy who drove a TVR Tasmin convertible and who delighted in taking me out of pager range all over Hertfordshire while he did his domiciliary visits. Perhaps responsible for my fixed belief that everyone needs to own a convertible in order to grow to full personhood. :D

#7945

RebeccaB wrote:On the depression thing: I think I had a curious little brush with it some years back that’s worth recounting. One morning in my 51st year, I woke up feeling like every breath I took was a waste of air. My life was a failure, I had let down my family, my colleagues, myself, everybody despised me, I would never do anything worth doing...etc. For much of the day, I was either on the edge of tears, or actually blubbering. My family could say nothing to me without being snapped at or wailed at. Since I’ve always been a glass-half-empty-but-that’s-okay kind of person, this frightened everyone. But around four o’clock in the afternoon, the feeling snapped off like somebody hit a switch. I was fine again.

About four weeks later, it happened again. Eight hours of lachrymose self-loathing, and then the switch flipped. Four weeks after that, when I woke up in tears, the penny dropped—this was a pattern, it was probably related to menopause, and I’d be fine by suppertime. So I named it “H-Day” (H for hormones), warned the family to leave me alone for the duration, and waited it out. Yep, fine by four. This happened monthly for about 18 months, but it didn’t worry me or the family after I recognized the pattern, and I never went to a doctor about it. I figured as well that, if that was the worst menopause could throw at me, menopause could bite it.

My point: I have had occasion in my life to be sad, anxious, grieving, frightened, uncertain, paranoid, and despairing, sometimes in novel combinations. But the H-Day feeling was like nothing else. It did not relate to how my life was going. Knowing it would switch off in a few hours did not make it any less awful. I was briefly the victim of my own chemistry. And I reckon that, if it had settled on me instead of switching off by itself in a few hours, I would eventually have been forced to seek help. If this was a reflection of how the clinically depressed feel all the time, I can fully understand how they’d be desperate for meds or anything else to make it go away.

it is so patently obvious that we are slaves to chemistry that it amazes me how many people can't see it. The somewhat cavalier prescribing of benzos notwithstanding, reluctance to pop meds can turn otherwise temporary mood/sleep/anxiety problems into life shattering problems. It can be a choice between a short term correction or a downward spiral that can take years to fully recover from.

#7946

screwtape wrote:
free thoughtpolice wrote:InfraRedBucket wrote:
Think of it as a compromised "emotional" immune system.
There may be links between CD and immune disorders such as Psoriasis as well as possible genetic links.
If by CD you mean 'clinical depression', I learned when I worked in a dermatology clinic in the early 80's that Sweden allowed psoriasis sufferers to be prescribed at public expense a holiday in Morocco. Now whether they benefitted purely from the UV in the north African sunshine, or whether there was something more from being removed from work/family/marital stress I don't know and I don't know if that was ever studied.

I will add that the consultant dermatologist I worked with was a lovely guy who drove a TVR Tasmin convertible and who delighted in taking me out of pager range all over Hertfordshire while he did his domiciliary visits. Perhaps responsible for my fixed belief that everyone needs to own a convertible in order to grow to full personhood. :D

My psoriasis improves during the summer especially the patches that are exposed to the sunlight. I can't say whether stress makes it worse though it wouldn't surprise me. I tried getting a prescription for a tropical vacation after my doctor suggested it but was told that our shitty Canadian health system wouldn't pay for it. :x

#7947

free thoughtpolice wrote:I've been dealing with clinical depression for a long time and have been able to hold back the worst of the symptoms with a combination of medication as well as behavior. At the worst times it is the worst hell you can imagine.
In my case and commonly it is a lot more than a profound sadness or the sort of grief one experiences when losing a loved one in the most tragic circumstances or the oppressive lethargy and inability to feel any sort of satisfaction with life. Sometimes my brain goes into a mode like a skipping record, constantly cycling intrusive thoughts that no amount of distraction or meditation can shut down. Take that month after month without any relief.
It is a real disease with a chemical/mechanical component and the chin up and get over it crap that assholes like PJW spout work as well on that as they do for diseases like cancer.

PJW has always been a crank, but with with his last video on depression he's shown himself to be as bad as Deepak Chopra or Ken Ham. Fuck him with a rusty gay frog.

#7948

Very likely we all love Blaire White. Ought we to judge her 'facial feminisation surgery'?

Before:

Screen Shot 2017-09-09 at 4.58.37 PM.png: (207.32 KiB) Downloaded 223 times

After:

Screen Shot 2017-09-09 at 4.56.26 PM.png: (213.94 KiB) Downloaded 215 times

For a completely meaningless personal preference, I would go with 'before'.

#7949

OK. I was mentally calling this complete bullshit when I first heard it. It is the claim going around that Heather Heyer from the Charlotesville tragedy died of a heart attack. I mean, if you get hit by a car, it is kind of bullshit to say that the medical examiner finds she has a heart attack, and getting hit by the car was unrelated.

What that asshole did is still horrible. And he still maimed several people. And I still think he was going too fast across the pedestrian mall where there were not the crowds before he hit the protesters.

But as to the death, here is an overview of the case laid out:

In short,
1. Heather Heyer is significantly obese. The photos in the media did not show her current condition.
2. Heather Heyer is not the woman in the aqua shirt, splayed out on the hood (Still fucking horrible).
3. Heather Heyer was not hit by the car. (I am still not certain of this).

This "article" contains more photos, still & video shots.
http://www.occidentaldissent.com/2017/0 ... rt-attack/

Now to counter the above position, Heather clearly was knocked down during the incident. Now that may have been due to getting hit by other people in the crowd.

In any case reasonable doubt in my mind has been lain.

#7950

MarcusAu wrote:That's the problem - lots of people say things like that - but no one does anything about it.

Not entirely true; that Simon Robinson was clearly on the ball, & expect Rob Ranco has learned a lesson:

https://twitter.com/SteersMann/status/9 ... 5637575680

Think people can go overboard on "call-out culture" - as they can on just about anything, but also think it has its value:

Call-Out Culture Isn’t Toxic. You are.

Every month or so, an article comes out screeching about how terrible, horrible, no good very bad “call-out culture” is. Before I get into that, I want to start from the beginning. ....

#7951

Kirbmarc wrote:
deLurch wrote:Correct. But whenever this issue comes up of depression being either too seriously, or not seriously enough, I believe the primary problem is that the word ranges from a frumpy day, to the winter blues, to near suicidal lethargy and dispare. The only way to rectify it is to identify a word or phrase that disambiguates these conditions. I am looking at a language problem.
"cue to Steersman barging in with a dictionary, five links to twitter memes, lots of geese and ganders, some sauce, and 30,000 characters"

Forget to put a /s after your statement? Or my challenge of your overly descriptivist take on linguistics still rankles a bit? ;-)

<snip>

Kirbmarc wrote:PJW is a woomeister who promotes woo and could actually harm some of his followers who might believe his woo. He's not a specialist, he's not trained, he shouldn't address the argument as if he were an authority. If he really wanted to talk about depression he should at least have consulted a trained specialist, not a guy who lifts weights and writes tweets.

Yea, he's a bit of a dork. Though seems substantially less so than his partner in crime, Alex Jones. But still think PJW periodically hits the nail on the head - stopped clocks and all that.

#7952

screwtape wrote:
free thoughtpolice wrote:InfraRedBucket wrote:
Think of it as a compromised "emotional" immune system.
There may be links between CD and immune disorders such as Psoriasis as well as possible genetic links.
If by CD you mean 'clinical depression', I learned when I worked in a dermatology clinic in the early 80's that Sweden allowed psoriasis sufferers to be prescribed at public expense a holiday in Morocco. Now whether they benefitted purely from the UV in the north African sunshine, or whether there was something more from being removed from work/family/marital stress I don't know and I don't know if that was ever studied.

I will add that the consultant dermatologist I worked with was a lovely guy who drove a TVR Tasmin convertible and who delighted in taking me out of pager range all over Hertfordshire while he did his domiciliary visits. Perhaps responsible for my fixed belief that everyone needs to own a convertible in order to grow to full personhood. :D

Sorry, us guys with bald heads who live in the sub tropics do NOT need convertibles

#7953

InfraRedBucket wrote:I'm not sure how much personal stuff I want to reveal but i had experience of clinical depression for a number of years during the 90s.
We have a generic term for "feeling a bit down" so lay people equate that with the word "depressed" in a general sense but clinical depression is a number of factors/symptoms over a period (or returning episodes).
There's "chemical imbalance" , though the precise mechanisms are often not fully understood, there's also "reactive" depression where a traumatic life event triggers an episode (eg loss of a relationship/ bereavement), Most people feel sad, but recover and learn from such events (sometimes known in psychology as "resilience" ) but some do not. Think of it as a compromised "emotional" immune system. Another factor is lack of confiding relationships in childhood & adolescence and adult hood..

I will make a strange analogy perhaps, I would equate deep clinical depression with falling in love. Both very real experiences for the person
with life changing consequences but impossible to really fully imagine unless you've experienced them.

I was 29 at the time, when my father died from stomach cancer , that was the trigger though other factors made me vulnerable at the time.

Mum died in April this year aged 92. She had vascular dementia , severe mobility problems and I was a part time carer for her. I cried a bit at the time but not as much as I expected. So far I feel strangely detached but mostly functioning. Early days yet.

So sorry about your mom.

Depression is very much a real thing, and you have to be a bit of a jerk-off to tell people to just buck up. I've had a few friends and a couple of girlfriends with clinical, acute depression or dysthymia. There is an ethological rational for depression in response to adverse outside stimuli.

#7954

MarcusAu wrote:Scented Nectar - you dog!

Nice to have you back (even if just for a bit).

Hopefully you will stick around - or at least revisit for Xmas. Which would give me an excuse to post this vid (as it goes with your icon):

PS Hope things off planet have been going great - and if you have any more music recommendations let me know.

Hey, that's right, Christmas is right around the corner. Time goes by so fast! I hope you're well too. :)

My playlist of (mostly) early punk/new-wave downloads is now at almost 6400 strong. I keep finding more bands' discographies to put into my bookmarks for later downloading. Over on discogs, the individual genres have SO many artists listed. Way more than wiki, which I mentioned last time.

Instead of doing what I used to do, which was to listen to a bit of each song first as a preliminary filter stage for ones that are really awful, I'm now downloading blind. Even though there's a chance that one or two will be shit or even that I might grab the worse quality of 2 available vids, it's more than made up for in download speed. Kill em now and sort em out later, is what I'm doing. I'm already listening to them though, with the folder set to play randomly, and I'm still hearing new ones. Most are great so far. I'm finding old ones I'd long forgotten about and new ones too in my favourite genre/era. Eventually, I'll go through them one by one and sort them into category playlists or something.

I'll only put two here, and sans lyrics to be, um, sensitive to potential triggerings that may otherwise occur.

Well, Christmas is covered, so here's some scary Halloween! :D

"THE LEGENDARY ROCKING HUMDIGERS dracula´s daughter (Irish horror) Terri Hooley "

This next guy dresses like a vampire and evil clown had a love child, so that's close enough to fitting the monster theme.
"Klaus Nomi - Total Eclipse 1981 Live Video HD "

Oh what the fuck, some days I like to live dangerously. Here's a third. :mrgreen:

The next one that gave me a HUGE ton of nostalgia when I heard it again recently. It's not a halloween one, but been there done that in the last few paragraphs, so it's ok. :D

"The Dishes - Monopolies Are Made At Night"

#7955

I'm following the Heather Heyer story and it's some wild shit

#7956

deLurch wrote:OK. I was mentally calling this complete bullshit when I first heard it. It is the claim going around that Heather Heyer from the Charlotesville tragedy died of a heart attack. I mean, if you get hit by a car, it is kind of bullshit to say that the medical examiner finds she has a heart attack, and getting hit by the car was unrelated.

What that asshole did is still horrible. And he still maimed several people. And I still think he was going too fast across the pedestrian mall where there were not the crowds before he hit the protesters.

But as to the death, here is an overview of the case laid out:

In short,
1. Heather Heyer is significantly obese. The photos in the media did not show her current condition.
2. Heather Heyer is not the woman in the aqua shirt, splayed out on the hood (Still fucking horrible).
3. Heather Heyer was not hit by the car. (I am still not certain of this).

This "article" contains more photos, still & video shots.
http://www.occidentaldissent.com/2017/0 ... rt-attack/

Now to counter the above position, Heather clearly was knocked down during the incident. Now that may have been due to getting hit by other people in the crowd.

In any case reasonable doubt in my mind has been lain.

* Fields is criminally culpable for all injuries and the death that resulted from his action;
* As I'd mentioned previously, it now seems certain that antifa was hunting down UniteTheRight demonstrators as they departed, and had been bashing Fields' car prior to his ramming attack;
* If Fields acted in fear for his life, instead of with intent to harm people, the severity of charges against him should be lower, with the death of Heyer negligent manslaughter.

That video gal is very clear and logical. She has a good sense of the law, referring indirectly, for example, to the principles of mens rea, non compos mentis, and Eggshell Skull. All this, of course, makes her a throat-punchable nazi.

Seriously, it's a shame that bright young minds are being attracted to the Right, because the Left is so completely batshit crazy.

#7957

NB: whether Heyer was directly hit by the car is irrelevant.

#7958

screwtape wrote:Very likely we all love Blaire White. Ought we to judge her 'facial feminisation surgery'?

Before:
Screen Shot 2017-09-09 at 4.58.37 PM.png
After:
Screen Shot 2017-09-09 at 4.56.26 PM.png
For a completely meaningless personal preference, I would go with 'before'.

Profile is more feminine in 'after', but straight on we're creeping dangerously toward Whacko Jacko territory.

#7959

free thoughtpolice wrote: My psoriasis improves during the summer especially the patches that are exposed to the sunlight. I can't say whether stress makes it worse though it wouldn't surprise me. I tried getting a prescription for a tropical vacation after my doctor suggested it but was told that our shitty Canadian health system wouldn't pay for it. :x

You ask for a paid vacation to somewhere south of the US border, and they send you for a week to Windsor, Ontario.

#7960

The point where PZ Myers stopped being an irritating prick and became an utter cunt I would happily watch eaten by rats was his response to Robin Williams' suicide. A lot of commentators saw that as an opportunity to talk about their own experience of depression and he saw it as an opportunity to double down on lecturing them about their white privilege.

I hope he gets a fucking brain tumour and then has his limbs amputated because he catches MRSA in hospital and lives another 40 years shitting himself and drooling down his chin.

#7961

Matt Cavanaugh wrote:
free thoughtpolice wrote: My psoriasis improves during the summer especially the patches that are exposed to the sunlight. I can't say whether stress makes it worse though it wouldn't surprise me. I tried getting a prescription for a tropical vacation after my doctor suggested it but was told that our shitty Canadian health system wouldn't pay for it. :x
You ask for a paid vacation to somewhere south of the US border, and they send you for a week to Windsor, Ontario.

:-) 49th Parallel in any case ... But, a paid vacation there for one week is first prize in the Lottery, second prize is two weeks ... :rimshot:

#7962

Shatterface wrote:The point where PZ Myers stopped being an irritating prick and became an utter cunt I would happily watch eaten by rats was his response to Robin Williams' suicide.

And why, exactly, are you always so far behind the times? ;)

#7963

screwtape wrote:
Shatterface wrote:The point where PZ Myers stopped being an irritating prick and became an utter cunt I would happily watch eaten by rats was his response to Robin Williams' suicide.
And why, exactly, are you always so far behind the times? ;)

I didn't like him before that but I didn't actively hate him either.

#7964

Matt Cavanaugh wrote:* Fields is criminally culpable for all injuries and the death that resulted from his action;

Yeah, I was thinking over the scenarios & implications.

* Had she been watching the collision on TV & had a heart attack: Not responsible.
* Had she been watching across the street: Not responsible
* Being impacted by either the throw bodies, or the people fleeing the oncoming car: He is responsible. In this case there is a direct causal relationship.

Yes, she was morbidly obese. But people don't experience life threatening situations on a day-to-day basis.

#7965

Shatterface wrote:...

I hope he...lives another 40 years shitting himself and drooling down his chin.

More of the same really.

#7966

Steersman wrote:

:-) 49th Parallel in any case ... But, a paid vacation there for one week is first prize in the Lottery, second prize is two weeks ... :rimshot:

I don't have to get off Vancouver Island to go south of the 49th but the sunbathing in January doesn't improve a lot by going 40 miles south. :(

#7967

Myers is a cunt, but the best punishment for an attention whore shock jock like him is one that he's carefully crafting with his own hands: being ignored, forgotten, left with a steadily dwindling viewership of loons while all the people he envies stay relevant and successful. The icing on the cake would be his Hordelettes turning on him and calling him a shitlord rape apologist for all of his old rape jokes and the story about the false assault accusation, but even without that his future looks pretty pathetic for someone who wanted to be seen as a potential "Fifth Horseman" of Atheism.

#7968

At first I thought this was cute. But then I considered that the fox's unusual behavior is a result of it being locked in a cage (albeit large) and devoid of sufficient socialization and stimulating activity by itself.

#7969

deLurch wrote:OK. I was mentally calling this complete bullshit when I first heard it. It is the claim going around that Heather Heyer from the Charlotesville tragedy died of a heart attack. I mean, if you get hit by a car, it is kind of bullshit to say that the medical examiner finds she has a heart attack, and getting hit by the car was unrelated.

What that asshole did is still horrible. And he still maimed several people. And I still think he was going too fast across the pedestrian mall where there were not the crowds before he hit the protesters.

But as to the death, here is an overview of the case laid out:

In short,
1. Heather Heyer is significantly obese. The photos in the media did not show her current condition.
2. Heather Heyer is not the woman in the aqua shirt, splayed out on the hood (Still fucking horrible).
3. Heather Heyer was not hit by the car. (I am still not certain of this).

This "article" contains more photos, still & video shots.
http://www.occidentaldissent.com/2017/0 ... rt-attack/

Now to counter the above position, Heather clearly was knocked down during the incident. Now that may have been due to getting hit by other people in the crowd.

In any case reasonable doubt in my mind has been lain.

I swear, the American media is trying to portray Charlottesville as though it was the worst white nationalist gathering in the US since the Duluth lynchings. In reality, FIFTY people of the group United Right, carrying tiki torches, went to protest the removal of a Confederate statue, and a THOUSAND people went there to counter protest. Which is the higher number? Regardless how you feel about these people, they didn't go there to fight. They stood at the base of the statue, occasionally shouting nationalist slogans like 'Blood and soil', while the rest of the people there surrounded them like it was the ending of 300.

And of course, after the cunt who drove his car through the crowd, the media was galvanised into upping the ante on their coverage.

But the reason they were able to do that was because this was woman got killed and they used that to drive it forward — the narrative that Nazism is alive and well in America, that the country should come together after what happened in Charlottesville, that this was the culmination of Donald Trump's presidency - absolute fearmongering, sensationalist tripe — and it wasn't even fucking true?

She was just a morbidly obese woman who died of natural causes? Unfuckingbelievable. Un. Fucking. Believable. :bjarte:

#7970

Shatterface wrote:The point where PZ Myers stopped being an irritating prick and became an utter cunt I would happily watch eaten by rats was his response to Robin Williams' suicide. A lot of commentators saw that as an opportunity to talk about their own experience of depression and he saw it as an opportunity to double down on lecturing them about their white privilege.

I hope he gets a fucking brain tumour and then has his limbs amputated because he catches MRSA in hospital and lives another 40 years shitting himself and drooling down his chin.

After everything he's said and done, I still don't hate Myers - I nothing him. He's a tawdry little nobody of zero consequence and even though it's fun to point and laugh at his antics, ultimately, he's beneath me in every way that matters. Fuck Myers, fuck his degenerate clique of professional victims and God-speed the day he attains self-awareness and explodes in a searing ball of white-hot embarrassment.

Until that glorious day, it's popcorn and lulz.

Oh, and welcome back Scented!

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/01/ee/7f/01ee ... shunds.jpg

#7971

PZ Myers is experiencing his own karma. He now has no voice. He speaks and nobody hears. His tweets get the likes and retweets that mine get. Which shows you how irrelevant he is now.

He is a troll that is no longer being fed.

Sartre said Hell is other people. For Myers, Hell is listening to the echo of his own voice and knowing that there are no other people listening to him.

#7972

Myers now dreams of a gig like Hebden Bridge.

https://www.hebdenbridge.co.uk/news/2014/177.html

#7973

deLurch wrote:
Matt Cavanaugh wrote:* Fields is criminally culpable for all injuries and the death that resulted from his action;
Yeah, I was thinking over the scenarios & implications.

* Had she been watching the collision on TV & had a heart attack: Not responsible.
* Had she been watching across the street: Not responsible
* Being impacted by either the throw bodies, or the people fleeing the oncoming car: He is responsible. In this case there is a direct causal relationship.

Yes, she was morbidly obese. But people don't experience life threatening situations on a day-to-day basis.

This is where Eggshell Skull comes into play. In the eponymous example, you get into an argument with another person. You shove that persona and they fall to the ground, smacking their head on the pavement. A normal person gets a little bump or a scrape, but the person you shove has a skull as fragile as an eggshell, so they die of a massive brain hemorrhage. You say, how could I know they had an eggshell skull? but it doesn't matter, you're still culpable for their death.

An interesting legal question is, are the antifa thugs who were bashing Fields' car ultimately culpable, given that Fields had an 'eggshell psyche'?

#7974

SM1957 wrote:PZ Myers is experiencing his own karma. He now has no voice. He speaks and nobody hears. His tweets get the likes and retweets that mine get. Which shows you how irrelevant he is now.

He is a troll that is no longer being fed.

Sartre said Hell is other people. For Myers, Hell is listening to the echo of his own voice and knowing that there are no other people listening to him.

I Have No Alexa Rank And I Must Scream.

#7975

In most cases it would be difficult to tell if someone had an Eggshell Skull - but in others you would not have to be Quincy to work it out.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... man_66.jpg

#7976

Matt Cavanaugh wrote:An interesting legal question is, are the antifa thugs who were bashing Fields' car ultimately culpable, given that Fields had an 'eggshell psyche'?

I think that each individual is responsible for their own actions. I personally believe that the individual(s) beating on the car with sticks (at least one can be seen doing so prior to the run down), should be held culpable for the panic they induced. Their culpability should not automatically absolve Mr. Skitzo of his actions.

But this isn't the first time we have seen something like this. A mob of people on bikes or feet start attacking a car. The driver panics and gets the hell out of dodge. Until we start placing some heads on pikes for attacking cars, this shit will continue.

Somehow the message needs to be sent, mobs attacking cars is a fucking stupid idea.

#7977

On the subject of odd musical instruments.

#7978

On an unrelated note, I just can't pick up enough spoons to fully review the Sandy Hook conspiracy's case.

10 minutes in. Lots of set up. Going to lengths to hide the identities of their investigators, and explaining that we should not care too much about who the individuals are, but to focus instead on the information they present. Then it dives straight into investigating the identities and backgrounds of the parents of the murdered children.

I don't recommend bothering to watch it. I didn't have the spoons to do it either. Bastards just can't get to the fucking point.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpqUkvqSjAo

#7979

Shatterface wrote:
screwtape wrote:
Shatterface wrote:The point where PZ Myers stopped being an irritating prick and became an utter cunt I would happily watch eaten by rats was his response to Robin Williams' suicide.
And why, exactly, are you always so far behind the times? ;)
I didn't like him before that but I didn't actively hate him either.

Now, now. If you are going to be completely fair and unbiased both sides will classify you as an enemy. Utter cunthood is easily achieved, and Paul Zachary Whatsit got there long before Robin Williams decided he had no further purpose. PZW (sounds like a Polish interwar fighter) got there the day he accepted a job in an undergrad only, no research "university".

Here we go, the aeronautical equivalent of zebrafish/Roundup research:

PZW.jpg: (28.42 KiB) Downloaded 118 times

#7980

Matt Cavanaugh wrote:This is where Eggshell Skull comes into play. In the eponymous example, you get into an argument with another person. You shove that persona and they fall to the ground, smacking their head on the pavement. A normal person gets a little bump or a scrape, but the person you shove has a skull as fragile as an eggshell, so they die of a massive brain hemorrhage. You say, how could I know they had an eggshell skull? but it doesn't matter, you're still culpable for their death.

If I understand the US law well this means that in this hypothetical case you're guilty of manslaughter, not murder. Am I correct?

An interesting legal question is, are the antifa thugs who were bashing Fields' car ultimately culpable, given that Fields had an 'eggshell psyche'?

Wouldn't this create a dangerous precedent? Imagine that in a street fight someone punches a man who then pulls out a gun and shoots the one who punched him and a couple of other bystanders, wounding them or killing them. Even if the man who was punched and shot people had schizophrenia I don't think that you can find the person who punched him culpable of his shooting spree because of the "eggshell psyche".