Other drivers: I cannot tell you how many times I have seen a poor driver change lanes directly into another vehicle, or lane changing in front of another car in such a way as to impact the left front quarter panel and drive the law-abiding driver into the guardrail or off the road.
This one is more complicated. This is also the reason I refuse to initiate a left turn on to a 4+ lane road (2 lanes each direction and usually a center left turn lane around here) if there is a car that could potentially change lanes into my target lane without signaling.
As for other drivers not checking their blind spots, get the big picture, keep your eyes moving, and assume they don't see you. Leave yourself an out and be prepared to use it. This is perhaps the only time I can think of that might require good reflexes and practice.
My first car was in an accident when my father borrowed it; a woman was speeding and talking on the phone, swerved to pass a car stopped at a stop light, and ran a red light to plow into the side of my car. 2 good points: there were witnesses, so her lies to the police did not hold up, and the car was an Olds Delta 88, and damage was minimal.
This one is more difficult, especially in the city where often it's not possible to get a good idea of cross traffic. Keep your eyes moving and get the big picture. Don't be afraid to go a bit slowly when approaching an intersection with poor cross traffic visibility. This is especially important when driving big truck. They pounded into my head that if instead of your first car, if were a big truck involved in the collision with the Olds Delta 88 (used to have one of those; we called it Der Monster in German class), the big truck driver would be held at some degree of fault.
At any rate, it was a preventable collision, not by your father if it was a poor visibility intersection, but because the other driver was clearly not using any of the keys of the Smith System (or any other safe driving technique for that matter).
Yes, I realize I'm being a bit unreasonable here, but this is why I've always said that probably 90% of drivers shouldn't have operator licenses. That would force a decent mass transit infrastructure to emerge. I don't buy the "but America is sooooooo big!" argument. My town would be greatly improved by an elevated rail system over the main drag with trains getting to every stop in both directions every 15 minutes. I can dream.
Ranton put it fairly concisely in a different reply to GP.
People as a whole won't become dumber and lazier. Also the same thing as why I'm in agreement with the basic minimum income proposition: people as a whole won't become more intelligent or creative. Actually, both sides of that coin are both strong arguments for basic minimum income.
I haven't spotted it, so I'll throw out the oblig Manna link. I like the way the story ended. The protagonist basically went back to an agrarian lifestyle. The important point I feel is that the protagonist was able to; he was free to make that choice because of the benefits of living in a post-scarcity society where the basic minimum income has completely exceeded the amount of income a person could possibly use in a week.
The protagonist didn't need to join a farming community to survive, but he did anyway because it made him feel useful. Feeling useful is important to most people, and in basic minimum income trials, most people either keep working their day job or quit to invent, form new businesses, and innovate. The rest do things for the local community, e.g. skilled trades*/community organizers/outreach/etc. There are a few deadbeats, but not nearly as many as one might fear.
* Every time I drive by a boarded up house, it always makes me depressed. I don't even live in that big of a city. There are homeless people right here downtown who could live in that house if I had the free time to learn some basics and fix the place up. Instead I'm stuck behind a computer, posting to/. because keeping this seat warm is of more value to our society than letting me take some building classes at the local college, getting me some supplies, and turning me loose on every last boarded up house in town.
Fsck beta: what is wrong with/. today? I was going to use my account to post this, but every time I press preview I get logged out. The other times I posted, I was able to press back and preview would keep me logged in on the 2nd try. Hitting submit now and I guess we'll see whether my username makes it through or not.
I'll probably see it with a friend or two later this week but probably not in 3D. I mean, I love 3D when it's done right e.g. Gravity or Interstellar. I think I saw both of those two to three times each. Oz the Great and Powerful was pretty good 3D also.
I had to pick two things out of your comment.
Guess what - everyone took a snapshot the moment they appeared like they'd been force mind tricked - I am sure that was the intention of showing the images. I honestly felt alien, like being surrounded by a herd of strange animals and you are not sure what they'd do next...
I know this feeling well. Very well put. The mass hypnosis surround this movie has been surreal. (Also the notion that a surprising number of co-workers have that I'm somehow excited about this movie is just... bizarre.)
Really, the only reason I'm going to see it is so that I can be flippant about it when I return from vacation and the Big Bang Theory fans start asking me about how much I liked Star Wars.
drink responsibly and that women do not like drunken men (fuck you, you are a beer manufacturer!)
What. The. Actual. Fuck. Really? Why is? Argh! I can't even! Fuck political correctness. I would have walked out.
Two problems. No, three problems. 1.) If I'm a man today, not that it matters, because either way, I'm NOT FUCKING ATTRACTED TO WOMEN. 2.) If I'm a woman today, this time it matters, because DON'T FUCKING TELL ME WHAT I FIND ATTRACTIVE OR NOT! 3.) Thank you for reminding me I live in man's world, where everything revolves around men even if we've shifted to beating them up. Four things. 4.) Help me out here! Do men like drunk women?
Bump. Not sure about the Planned Parenthood thing.
In fact, Obamacare is currently forcing me to buy insurance because the penalty of going without, even though I currently have no access to medical services, is greater.
I have next week off, and I will make a very serious effort to get medical care. There's "religious objection!" and in addition to that, I may also be being held guilty for denying women's health services due to Obamacare in the first place! If I fail, well, I have until the end of March 2016 and then I can only hope the ensuing drama will at least get a headline or two.
What a fucking stupid law. I used to have no trouble getting medical care or getting my meds. Now, it's "religious objection!" Now it's "you pro-rape misogynerd invader rapist who wants to control women's bodies!" Now, they've shut down my access to the international pharmacy I had been using for the past 14 years. My doctor retired and I get sandbagged at the scheduling desk. I'd love to play nice, but I'm fucking paying fucking money for fucking nothing! My employer is paying even more fucking money for even more fucking nothing!
There are no such things as accidents as concerns vehicles: cars, four wheel trucks, big trucks, or bicycles. There are only collisions. Not linking to the Smith System because obvious shill is obvious.
No, I'm sorry, safety fucking first. Especially as concerns an operation such as this one, there are no motherfucking accidents. This is the result of an asshole manager. (In this case, an asshole manager who even fails at gaslighting!)
Mod away. I'm surprised that they haven't been mostly downmodded yet.
Don't worry. I won't hurt anyone unless I'm certain they're about to show me or somebody I care about the love of Christ by sending one of us to the hospital. So far, when people I care about have been threatened, a disapproving stare and just walking away has done the trick. A gun is a deterrent first. I hope that's all mine will ever need to be, and I hope I'll never even need to reach for it.
Thank you for the well wishes. The best to you and yours. Hope you enjoyed the solstice, and have a merry Christmas!
unfortunately such idiots exist who go out of their way to feel "offended" by someone wishing them well the wrong way
Here is the wrong way to do it: notice somebody you're pretty certain doesn't go to church or else is probably homosexual. Get in their face and scream "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" Is the intention to give the listener a heart attack or tinnitus or something??
I believe I have every right to be offended at that one.
Here is another wrong way to do it (this didn't happen to me): notice somebody who is obviously trans and has ear buds in. Get in their way and mumble "merry christmas." (It's mumbling; no capitalization.) Force them to pause what they're listening to, take their ear buds out, and inquire what you just said.
That's less offensive but still obnoxious.
I don't know who these atheists who get their panties in a bunch about "merry Christmas" are, but I sure as fuck found out this year that there are people in my community (both this one and the town I live in) who think homosexuals--not even athiests!--are trying to make Christmas illegal.
I don't watch lamestream media, especially around this time of the year because I am fucking sick of "merry Christmas" jihadists. Maybe I've just been deluding myself that it's possible to hold libertarian views, have a certain birth defect, and somehow not get dragged into the PC/anti-PC/SJW/anti-SJW/gamergate/anti-gamergate/whatever by anti-PC assholes who have already declared me an enemy of liberty due to their paranoid delusions.
I've said it before, I'll say it again just to make sure fair warning gets out to any "merry Christmas" jihadists. You've (the jihadists) already declared me an enemy. You believe because of a birth defect I have that I want to make Christmas illegal. You believe I am a valid target for your IRL harassment (should have stuck to trololololing). Will I be a valid target for physical violence next year at this rate? I hope I don't find out, because I will probably have a gun. Gays with guns. Gays who support the 2nd amendment. Gays who realize every day that the reason the 2nd amendment needs to exist is so we can defend ourselves against other 2nd amendment supporters and "merry Christmas" jihadists, because you're all fucking delusional. Because you (the jihadists) didn't even ask me what I thought about the 2nd amendment, "merry Christmas," beer and hot wings, hate speech, marriage, etc, etc before you declared me an enemy of liberty with a gay agenda who wants to make everything you like illegal, turn your sons gay, implement communism and rob you blind, and make straight marriage illegal.
I don't want to have to seriously hurt you (the "merry Christmas" jihadists) over something so utterly stupid because you've worked yourself into delusional frenzy that the gays are out to get you. I haven't owned a gun from the time my white supremacist ex-parents threw me out up until now because I was pretty sure I didn't need one. Now I'm not so sure. Don't think that because I'm gay or short or androgynous looking that I haven't fired a variety of firearms before from shotguns to handguns to rifles.
tl;dr Here is something everyone can celebrate this time of the year: over 10,000 years of human history trying to understand the tiny lights in the sky at night and the big light in the sky during day. Celebrate the winter solstice! Grab a few science documentaries and learn more about the reason for the season!
Bullshit. You gender me female, then find some piece of evidence that indicates otherwise and the you freak the fuck out and call the police. I expect this to begin escalating directly to violence in the near future, so be warned: I may just have a gun on me.
You see on my paperwork I'm male, then you find out one of my meds is for women only, so you freak the fuck out and give me a "religious objection!" and revoke my healthcare access while I still am forced by the government to pay for your obese ass.
Or, you note that I'm most likely homosexual so you get in my face and shout "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" in the most angry tone of voice I have ever heard those words in.
Well, keep in mind then. Come this time next year, I may very well have a gun on me.
If they want to keep escalating this until one becomes physically violent with me, well, what can I say? Gays with guns. Religiously object to my gun in your face after you take a swing at me!
You know what, Slashdot? This is the first year I have absolutely no interest in the Santa Tracker. I will not be watching any of the Rankin & Bass stop-motion folklore. Christmas is dead to me.
You know why? You Christian assholes have apparently determined that I'm somehow out to stop you from saying "merry Christmas." I mean, what the actual fuck. You assholes think that saying "merry Christmas" to me will somehow cause me agony because god hates fags. You've done this to my friends as well. I got jumped by a guy who needed to shout "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" in my fucking face.
I used to regularly give to a fund for local foodbanks. No more. That's how you fucking Christians want to be to me? Well, fuck you. Starve to death. Freeze to death.
I am fucking sick of this "merry Christmas" jihad. When the revolution comes, you had better the hell stay off my property. There is no militia that will be getting my supplies. You know why? Because I will fucking shoot you dead the minute you step on my property.
I hope you all had a happy solstice! We're continuing the celebration by watching yet more science documentaries! Merry Christmas, everyone, and a happy Gregorian new year!
Bit late to reply, will make this request when this comes up again if you don't want to respond here. (I hate this site's UI.) If you have some kind of psychotectic method you're keeping secret, there are many trans women out there who would love for you to publish your studies.
(I've made up my mind anyway since I'm attracted to men and would rather be a heterosexual woman who can't have children than a homosexual man with mutilated genitals who can't have children. It's not a perfect choice. In all truth, if I could be an intact, heterosexual man, I might not mind being as such. I was probably that way in many previous lives anyway and might be in my next. Who knows.)
I pass well enough to get ma'amed even when I'm clearly dressed as a man Not everybody is that lucky. If you have some way of changing mental gender, please help us out. You might even stand to make a substantial amount of cash, and I would be glad to refer people to you who will have a difficult time because they can't pass well or at all.
In 2015, all we know how to do is change the body until you reveal this amazing new advance of yours.
Eh, just wait until gynoids are perfected. It'll be interesting to see what happens to this faux idea of "consent" when men no longer need to take legal risks to fill the natural need for sex.
Well, never mind. What will probably happen is more crap like an article from a while back where some woman was blaming all men for her poor dating skills and managed to get media attention for this.
I mean, I understand the concern was that he was going to use them for revenge porn. Don't we generally wait until after the crime before the courts get involved unless there's a clear and imminent danger to life, limb, or property? I'm no expert on German law, but if they have actionable precrime there, I may reconsider whether I want to take up their offer of free tuition for anyone in the world who wants it.
I don't know. Things like this make me thankful I'm not attracted to women.
I wouldn't doubt it if the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is behind this somehow, but if this is more along the lines of code.org, I don't think selling Microsoft software would be the focus.
It's been amazing watching the media fall all over themselves trying to trivialize programming. Everyone Can Code! We've got a president who's a programmer because he spent an hour of code. We've got a female CEO who's a programmer because she figured out the secret lingo all us evil misogynerds invented to keep women from programming and can now copy and paste HTML and CSS from StackOverflow (couldn't resist linking there *grin*).
I suppose if I count time self-teaching, classroom time, and experience out in the real world, I've been doing this stuff for 20 years. There's still stuff I don't grok, like functional programming. I still haven't gotten around to teaching myself database clustering or done any exercises in maintaining, say, a petabyte sized distributed data set.
There's a programmer shortage! We need more women programmers! We need more H1Bs! You xenophobic misogynerd!
Oh wait, didn't we just find out that we're going to lose 8% of those jobs over the next decade?
I suppose it all works out nicely for the Illuminati or whatever they call themselves. Trivialize programming. Drive down wages. Lower the standards. Scare people like me out of the field. Make "cyber" space (yes, I know cyberspace was a thing) sound like a scary place full of revenge porn and other harassment. Generate more "cyber" crime and "cyber" terrorism as software continues to be hilariously easy to hack due to incompetent developers paid 3rd world wages by gaslighting asshole managers.
Lock the internet down! Backdoor encryption! There, that's better. It's far easier to control the Narrative without the internet or effective encryption.
Somehow, iPhones will still work. We just won't be able to boot non-Approved operating systems. Don't like Windows or iOS? That's ok, there are several approved variants of Linux, and systemd will keep you safe on all of them, citizen.
The roommate and I celebrated yesterday by watching science documentaries and drinking b33r. (Perhaps it technically should have been on the 21st iirc, but close enough.)
I'm confused. Why you think anyone wants to keep you from saying, "merry Christmas?" I wished a co-worker a merry Christmas a little bit ago when she wished me one. I didn't experience agony. It's not like saying Ni!
Did you even read the comment you're responding to?
Economic rights need to happen. I'm not sure what strawman you're attacking, but GP appears to be in support of the 2nd bill of rights that was proposed to be the capstone of the New Deal. GP also put forward the alternative of adopting a new Constitution.
Is your problem that s/he didn't invoke things like the Several States' right to call for a Constitutional Convention that would be necessary for such changes?
These are the things I think need to happen:
1. The Several States should invoke Article V and apply for a constitutional convention. Although it is not specified, I believe there is precedent from when the Articles of Confederation were replaced that such a convention could entirely replace the existing constitution. However, I don't see any glaring problems that haven't been patched.
2. Repeal the 16th and 17th Amendments.
3. Reaffirm the 9th and 10th Amendments. (Effectively, strike down the existing social safety net, drug war, and Obamacare.)
4. Ratify an amendment to give Congress the power to create a single payer national healthcare system. (Yes, funded by my taxes. TANSTAAFL, and I will gladly pay my dues to live in civilization.)
5. Ratify an amendment to give Congress the power to create a basic minimum income. (Yes, funded by my taxes. TANSTAAFL, and I will gladly pay my dues to live in civilization.)
6. Ratify an amendment to change federal elections for Representatives and POTUS to a saner system than first-past-the-post. (Remember, I've already changed it so that the Several States are now electing their senators again, the way it was meant to be.)
7. Ratify an amendment to clarify that corporations are only people in a strict legal sense when involved in a lawsuit. Give congress broad regulatory powers over corporations, particularly concerning federal elections. This one might also include a provision for a corporate death penalty according to due process. (Don't like it? Then make your business a sole proprietorship or partnership.)
8. Ratify an amendment to change the treaty ratification process. Make it so that the Several States themselves are the ones who ratify treaties, and make it by three-fourths majority. Essentially the same requirement as applying for an Article V convention.
That should be a good start at least. I hope I used all the correct magick words, but I'm sure #4 and #5 will get your knee jerking anyway.
Ok, this time you get a virtual +1 sad but true from me.
I'll probably end up being a welder or machinist or join a commercial fishing crew. So many other, more rewarding, ways to make money in this world.
Plus, when the asshole managers who don't value skill and experience run this world into the second dark age or if the revolution comes, I'll also end up with a practical skill.
Well don't get your hopes up. Sanders is a feckless rug to be walked over by congress
That may be true. It would still be a powerful message to the political establishment.
Sure, Congress can override vetos and fail to propose bills in line with Sanders' goals. SCOTUS can rule things unconstitutional. However, I would hope that would mean that certain incumbents would find themselves out of a job and that the several states might move forward will calling for a constitutional convention.
Then again, I've been saying for a while that the ballot box, jury box, and soap box may very well all be broken at this point. Things will get interesting in a bad way, since that leaves only one box left.
Well, I guess gaslighting, bullshitting, fast talking, Gish galloping, lying, manipulation, psychological abuse, backstabbing, brown nosing, and knowing which palms to grease are all skills, too.
Slashdot Mirror
Deer jumping into traffic
See key #6.5 above: know your local butcher.
Other drivers: I cannot tell you how many times I have seen a poor driver change lanes directly into another vehicle, or lane changing in front of another car in such a way as to impact the left front quarter panel and drive the law-abiding driver into the guardrail or off the road.
This one is more complicated. This is also the reason I refuse to initiate a left turn on to a 4+ lane road (2 lanes each direction and usually a center left turn lane around here) if there is a car that could potentially change lanes into my target lane without signaling.
As for other drivers not checking their blind spots, get the big picture, keep your eyes moving, and assume they don't see you. Leave yourself an out and be prepared to use it. This is perhaps the only time I can think of that might require good reflexes and practice.
My first car was in an accident when my father borrowed it; a woman was speeding and talking on the phone, swerved to pass a car stopped at a stop light, and ran a red light to plow into the side of my car. 2 good points: there were witnesses, so her lies to the police did not hold up, and the car was an Olds Delta 88, and damage was minimal.
This one is more difficult, especially in the city where often it's not possible to get a good idea of cross traffic. Keep your eyes moving and get the big picture. Don't be afraid to go a bit slowly when approaching an intersection with poor cross traffic visibility. This is especially important when driving big truck. They pounded into my head that if instead of your first car, if were a big truck involved in the collision with the Olds Delta 88 (used to have one of those; we called it Der Monster in German class), the big truck driver would be held at some degree of fault.
At any rate, it was a preventable collision, not by your father if it was a poor visibility intersection, but because the other driver was clearly not using any of the keys of the Smith System (or any other safe driving technique for that matter).
Yes, I realize I'm being a bit unreasonable here, but this is why I've always said that probably 90% of drivers shouldn't have operator licenses. That would force a decent mass transit infrastructure to emerge. I don't buy the "but America is sooooooo big!" argument. My town would be greatly improved by an elevated rail system over the main drag with trains getting to every stop in both directions every 15 minutes. I can dream.
Ah, like it used to be 5-10 some odd years ago. I miss those days.
Ranton put it fairly concisely in a different reply to GP.
People as a whole won't become dumber and lazier. Also the same thing as why I'm in agreement with the basic minimum income proposition: people as a whole won't become more intelligent or creative. Actually, both sides of that coin are both strong arguments for basic minimum income.
I haven't spotted it, so I'll throw out the oblig Manna link. I like the way the story ended. The protagonist basically went back to an agrarian lifestyle. The important point I feel is that the protagonist was able to; he was free to make that choice because of the benefits of living in a post-scarcity society where the basic minimum income has completely exceeded the amount of income a person could possibly use in a week.
The protagonist didn't need to join a farming community to survive, but he did anyway because it made him feel useful. Feeling useful is important to most people, and in basic minimum income trials, most people either keep working their day job or quit to invent, form new businesses, and innovate. The rest do things for the local community, e.g. skilled trades*/community organizers/outreach/etc. There are a few deadbeats, but not nearly as many as one might fear.
* Every time I drive by a boarded up house, it always makes me depressed. I don't even live in that big of a city. There are homeless people right here downtown who could live in that house if I had the free time to learn some basics and fix the place up. Instead I'm stuck behind a computer, posting to /. because keeping this seat warm is of more value to our society than letting me take some building classes at the local college, getting me some supplies, and turning me loose on every last boarded up house in town.
Fsck beta: what is wrong with /. today? I was going to use my account to post this, but every time I press preview I get logged out. The other times I posted, I was able to press back and preview would keep me logged in on the 2nd try. Hitting submit now and I guess we'll see whether my username makes it through or not.
Wow, am I so glad I decided to wait for a camrip.
I'll probably see it with a friend or two later this week but probably not in 3D. I mean, I love 3D when it's done right e.g. Gravity or Interstellar. I think I saw both of those two to three times each. Oz the Great and Powerful was pretty good 3D also.
I had to pick two things out of your comment.
Guess what - everyone took a snapshot the moment they appeared like they'd been force mind tricked - I am sure that was the intention of showing the images. I honestly felt alien, like being surrounded by a herd of strange animals and you are not sure what they'd do next...
I know this feeling well. Very well put. The mass hypnosis surround this movie has been surreal. (Also the notion that a surprising number of co-workers have that I'm somehow excited about this movie is just... bizarre.)
Really, the only reason I'm going to see it is so that I can be flippant about it when I return from vacation and the Big Bang Theory fans start asking me about how much I liked Star Wars.
drink responsibly and that women do not like drunken men (fuck you, you are a beer manufacturer!)
What. The. Actual. Fuck. Really? Why is? Argh! I can't even! Fuck political correctness. I would have walked out.
Two problems. No, three problems. 1.) If I'm a man today, not that it matters, because either way, I'm NOT FUCKING ATTRACTED TO WOMEN. 2.) If I'm a woman today, this time it matters, because DON'T FUCKING TELL ME WHAT I FIND ATTRACTIVE OR NOT! 3.) Thank you for reminding me I live in man's world, where everything revolves around men even if we've shifted to beating them up. Four things. 4.) Help me out here! Do men like drunk women?
Bump. Not sure about the Planned Parenthood thing.
In fact, Obamacare is currently forcing me to buy insurance because the penalty of going without, even though I currently have no access to medical services, is greater.
I have next week off, and I will make a very serious effort to get medical care. There's "religious objection!" and in addition to that, I may also be being held guilty for denying women's health services due to Obamacare in the first place! If I fail, well, I have until the end of March 2016 and then I can only hope the ensuing drama will at least get a headline or two.
What a fucking stupid law. I used to have no trouble getting medical care or getting my meds. Now, it's "religious objection!" Now it's "you pro-rape misogynerd invader rapist who wants to control women's bodies!" Now, they've shut down my access to the international pharmacy I had been using for the past 14 years. My doctor retired and I get sandbagged at the scheduling desk. I'd love to play nice, but I'm fucking paying fucking money for fucking nothing! My employer is paying even more fucking money for even more fucking nothing!
Oh god, the shills are out!
There are no such things as accidents as concerns vehicles: cars, four wheel trucks, big trucks, or bicycles. There are only collisions. Not linking to the Smith System because obvious shill is obvious.
No, I'm sorry, safety fucking first. Especially as concerns an operation such as this one, there are no motherfucking accidents. This is the result of an asshole manager. (In this case, an asshole manager who even fails at gaslighting!)
I just read them in the voice of the blue and pink unicorns in this documentary about Candy Mountain.
Chaaarlie! It's a magical liopleurodon, Chaaarlie! The Republicans hate liopleurodons, Chaaarlie!
Mod away. I'm surprised that they haven't been mostly downmodded yet.
Don't worry. I won't hurt anyone unless I'm certain they're about to show me or somebody I care about the love of Christ by sending one of us to the hospital. So far, when people I care about have been threatened, a disapproving stare and just walking away has done the trick. A gun is a deterrent first. I hope that's all mine will ever need to be, and I hope I'll never even need to reach for it.
Thank you for the well wishes. The best to you and yours. Hope you enjoyed the solstice, and have a merry Christmas!
unfortunately such idiots exist who go out of their way to feel "offended" by someone wishing them well the wrong way
Here is the wrong way to do it: notice somebody you're pretty certain doesn't go to church or else is probably homosexual. Get in their face and scream "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" Is the intention to give the listener a heart attack or tinnitus or something??
I believe I have every right to be offended at that one.
Here is another wrong way to do it (this didn't happen to me): notice somebody who is obviously trans and has ear buds in. Get in their way and mumble "merry christmas." (It's mumbling; no capitalization.) Force them to pause what they're listening to, take their ear buds out, and inquire what you just said.
That's less offensive but still obnoxious.
I don't know who these atheists who get their panties in a bunch about "merry Christmas" are, but I sure as fuck found out this year that there are people in my community (both this one and the town I live in) who think homosexuals--not even athiests!--are trying to make Christmas illegal.
I don't watch lamestream media, especially around this time of the year because I am fucking sick of "merry Christmas" jihadists. Maybe I've just been deluding myself that it's possible to hold libertarian views, have a certain birth defect, and somehow not get dragged into the PC/anti-PC/SJW/anti-SJW/gamergate/anti-gamergate/whatever by anti-PC assholes who have already declared me an enemy of liberty due to their paranoid delusions.
I've said it before, I'll say it again just to make sure fair warning gets out to any "merry Christmas" jihadists. You've (the jihadists) already declared me an enemy. You believe because of a birth defect I have that I want to make Christmas illegal. You believe I am a valid target for your IRL harassment (should have stuck to trololololing). Will I be a valid target for physical violence next year at this rate? I hope I don't find out, because I will probably have a gun. Gays with guns. Gays who support the 2nd amendment. Gays who realize every day that the reason the 2nd amendment needs to exist is so we can defend ourselves against other 2nd amendment supporters and "merry Christmas" jihadists, because you're all fucking delusional. Because you (the jihadists) didn't even ask me what I thought about the 2nd amendment, "merry Christmas," beer and hot wings, hate speech, marriage, etc, etc before you declared me an enemy of liberty with a gay agenda who wants to make everything you like illegal, turn your sons gay, implement communism and rob you blind, and make straight marriage illegal.
I don't want to have to seriously hurt you (the "merry Christmas" jihadists) over something so utterly stupid because you've worked yourself into delusional frenzy that the gays are out to get you. I haven't owned a gun from the time my white supremacist ex-parents threw me out up until now because I was pretty sure I didn't need one. Now I'm not so sure. Don't think that because I'm gay or short or androgynous looking that I haven't fired a variety of firearms before from shotguns to handguns to rifles.
tl;dr Here is something everyone can celebrate this time of the year: over 10,000 years of human history trying to understand the tiny lights in the sky at night and the big light in the sky during day. Celebrate the winter solstice! Grab a few science documentaries and learn more about the reason for the season!
MERRY FUCKING CHRISTMAS!
You treat as as equals, we treat you as equals.
Bullshit. You gender me female, then find some piece of evidence that indicates otherwise and the you freak the fuck out and call the police. I expect this to begin escalating directly to violence in the near future, so be warned: I may just have a gun on me.
You see on my paperwork I'm male, then you find out one of my meds is for women only, so you freak the fuck out and give me a "religious objection!" and revoke my healthcare access while I still am forced by the government to pay for your obese ass.
Or, you note that I'm most likely homosexual so you get in my face and shout "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" in the most angry tone of voice I have ever heard those words in.
MERRY FUCKING CHRISTMAS
Well, keep in mind then. Come this time next year, I may very well have a gun on me.
If they want to keep escalating this until one becomes physically violent with me, well, what can I say? Gays with guns. Religiously object to my gun in your face after you take a swing at me!
That's too good for him. Unleash the Krampus!
You know what, Slashdot? This is the first year I have absolutely no interest in the Santa Tracker. I will not be watching any of the Rankin & Bass stop-motion folklore. Christmas is dead to me.
You know why? You Christian assholes have apparently determined that I'm somehow out to stop you from saying "merry Christmas." I mean, what the actual fuck. You assholes think that saying "merry Christmas" to me will somehow cause me agony because god hates fags. You've done this to my friends as well. I got jumped by a guy who needed to shout "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" in my fucking face.
I used to regularly give to a fund for local foodbanks. No more. That's how you fucking Christians want to be to me? Well, fuck you. Starve to death. Freeze to death.
I am fucking sick of this "merry Christmas" jihad. When the revolution comes, you had better the hell stay off my property. There is no militia that will be getting my supplies. You know why? Because I will fucking shoot you dead the minute you step on my property.
That and MERRY FUCKING CHRISTMAS, assholes.
I hope you all had a happy solstice! We're continuing the celebration by watching yet more science documentaries! Merry Christmas, everyone, and a happy Gregorian new year!
And I say, your mind needs treatment
Bit late to reply, will make this request when this comes up again if you don't want to respond here. (I hate this site's UI.) If you have some kind of psychotectic method you're keeping secret, there are many trans women out there who would love for you to publish your studies.
(I've made up my mind anyway since I'm attracted to men and would rather be a heterosexual woman who can't have children than a homosexual man with mutilated genitals who can't have children. It's not a perfect choice. In all truth, if I could be an intact, heterosexual man, I might not mind being as such. I was probably that way in many previous lives anyway and might be in my next. Who knows.)
I pass well enough to get ma'amed even when I'm clearly dressed as a man Not everybody is that lucky. If you have some way of changing mental gender, please help us out. You might even stand to make a substantial amount of cash, and I would be glad to refer people to you who will have a difficult time because they can't pass well or at all.
In 2015, all we know how to do is change the body until you reveal this amazing new advance of yours.
Eh, just wait until gynoids are perfected. It'll be interesting to see what happens to this faux idea of "consent" when men no longer need to take legal risks to fill the natural need for sex.
Well, never mind. What will probably happen is more crap like an article from a while back where some woman was blaming all men for her poor dating skills and managed to get media attention for this.
I mean, I understand the concern was that he was going to use them for revenge porn. Don't we generally wait until after the crime before the courts get involved unless there's a clear and imminent danger to life, limb, or property? I'm no expert on German law, but if they have actionable precrime there, I may reconsider whether I want to take up their offer of free tuition for anyone in the world who wants it.
I don't know. Things like this make me thankful I'm not attracted to women.
Hope you had a happy solstice!
I wouldn't doubt it if the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is behind this somehow, but if this is more along the lines of code.org, I don't think selling Microsoft software would be the focus.
It's been amazing watching the media fall all over themselves trying to trivialize programming. Everyone Can Code! We've got a president who's a programmer because he spent an hour of code. We've got a female CEO who's a programmer because she figured out the secret lingo all us evil misogynerds invented to keep women from programming and can now copy and paste HTML and CSS from StackOverflow (couldn't resist linking there *grin*).
I suppose if I count time self-teaching, classroom time, and experience out in the real world, I've been doing this stuff for 20 years. There's still stuff I don't grok, like functional programming. I still haven't gotten around to teaching myself database clustering or done any exercises in maintaining, say, a petabyte sized distributed data set.
There's a programmer shortage! We need more women programmers! We need more H1Bs! You xenophobic misogynerd!
Oh wait, didn't we just find out that we're going to lose 8% of those jobs over the next decade?
I suppose it all works out nicely for the Illuminati or whatever they call themselves. Trivialize programming. Drive down wages. Lower the standards. Scare people like me out of the field. Make "cyber" space (yes, I know cyberspace was a thing) sound like a scary place full of revenge porn and other harassment. Generate more "cyber" crime and "cyber" terrorism as software continues to be hilariously easy to hack due to incompetent developers paid 3rd world wages by gaslighting asshole managers.
Lock the internet down! Backdoor encryption! There, that's better. It's far easier to control the Narrative without the internet or effective encryption.
Somehow, iPhones will still work. We just won't be able to boot non-Approved operating systems. Don't like Windows or iOS? That's ok, there are several approved variants of Linux, and systemd will keep you safe on all of them, citizen.
I too wish they had used a more specific label.
Happy solstice and merry Christmas!
Happy solstice!
The roommate and I celebrated yesterday by watching science documentaries and drinking b33r. (Perhaps it technically should have been on the 21st iirc, but close enough.)
I'm confused. Why you think anyone wants to keep you from saying, "merry Christmas?" I wished a co-worker a merry Christmas a little bit ago when she wished me one. I didn't experience agony. It's not like saying Ni!
Strong bleeding-heart libertarian here.
Did you even read the comment you're responding to?
Economic rights need to happen. I'm not sure what strawman you're attacking, but GP appears to be in support of the 2nd bill of rights that was proposed to be the capstone of the New Deal. GP also put forward the alternative of adopting a new Constitution.
Is your problem that s/he didn't invoke things like the Several States' right to call for a Constitutional Convention that would be necessary for such changes?
These are the things I think need to happen:
1. The Several States should invoke Article V and apply for a constitutional convention. Although it is not specified, I believe there is precedent from when the Articles of Confederation were replaced that such a convention could entirely replace the existing constitution. However, I don't see any glaring problems that haven't been patched.
2. Repeal the 16th and 17th Amendments.
3. Reaffirm the 9th and 10th Amendments. (Effectively, strike down the existing social safety net, drug war, and Obamacare.)
4. Ratify an amendment to give Congress the power to create a single payer national healthcare system. (Yes, funded by my taxes. TANSTAAFL, and I will gladly pay my dues to live in civilization.)
5. Ratify an amendment to give Congress the power to create a basic minimum income. (Yes, funded by my taxes. TANSTAAFL, and I will gladly pay my dues to live in civilization.)
6. Ratify an amendment to change federal elections for Representatives and POTUS to a saner system than first-past-the-post. (Remember, I've already changed it so that the Several States are now electing their senators again, the way it was meant to be.)
7. Ratify an amendment to clarify that corporations are only people in a strict legal sense when involved in a lawsuit. Give congress broad regulatory powers over corporations, particularly concerning federal elections. This one might also include a provision for a corporate death penalty according to due process. (Don't like it? Then make your business a sole proprietorship or partnership.)
8. Ratify an amendment to change the treaty ratification process. Make it so that the Several States themselves are the ones who ratify treaties, and make it by three-fourths majority. Essentially the same requirement as applying for an Article V convention.
That should be a good start at least. I hope I used all the correct magick words, but I'm sure #4 and #5 will get your knee jerking anyway.
Ok, this time you get a virtual +1 sad but true from me.
I'll probably end up being a welder or machinist or join a commercial fishing crew. So many other, more rewarding, ways to make money in this world.
Plus, when the asshole managers who don't value skill and experience run this world into the second dark age or if the revolution comes, I'll also end up with a practical skill.
Well don't get your hopes up. Sanders is a feckless rug to be walked over by congress
That may be true. It would still be a powerful message to the political establishment.
Sure, Congress can override vetos and fail to propose bills in line with Sanders' goals. SCOTUS can rule things unconstitutional. However, I would hope that would mean that certain incumbents would find themselves out of a job and that the several states might move forward will calling for a constitutional convention.
Then again, I've been saying for a while that the ballot box, jury box, and soap box may very well all be broken at this point. Things will get interesting in a bad way, since that leaves only one box left.
Nobody likes the Xenos.
More often than not, it follows brains.
Hahahaha! Hahahahahaha!
Well, I guess gaslighting, bullshitting, fast talking, Gish galloping, lying, manipulation, psychological abuse, backstabbing, brown nosing, and knowing which palms to grease are all skills, too.
Updates on the stories that matter. Anyone want to make a submission?
Will the Trans-Pacific Partnership Force Us to Fund the Paris Climate Agreement?
Saginaw [Michigan] County Board calls on Congress to oppose Trans-Pacific Partnership
Poll: Donald Trump trails Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders in matchup
(This one may seem random, but is perhaps the most on-topic to this discussion of the bunch. People got killed but she didn't join Daesh at least? USA #1!) Suspect in Vegas crash said she was stressed living in car
Sanders Campaign Suspends Two More Staffers Over Data Breach
Global Trade Faces Fragmentation Risks From TPP, TTIP, TiSA